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Chris is a national author and speaker on estate, gift, income tax, financial planning, and succession planning topics. He has been invited to speak for the AICPA Advanced Estate Planning Conference, the Ohio Bar Association Plisken Advanced Estate Planning Conference, the Ohio Society of CPA 1st Annual Estate Planning Conference, the Canadian Strategies for the Preservation of Wealth Conference, the National Tax Conference, the Great Lakes Federal Tax Institute, the Cleveland Bar Association Estate Planning Institute, the Estate Planning Councils of Cleveland, Jacksonville, Columbus, Western Michigan, Ft. Wayne, Louisville, Peoria, and Akron, and various other local state bar and CPA association meetings throughout the Midwest and Florida. His award-winning articles have appeared in a variety of professional periodicals including Trusts & Estates, Tax Notes, Estate Planning, Tax Management – Estate, Gifts and Trusts Journal, TAXES – The Tax Magazine, Journal of Taxation, Journal of Personal Financial Planning, and The Tax Adviser. Chris received the nationally acclaimed “Article of the Year” award from the renowned wealth management periodical, Trusts & Estates magazine. Chris also served as President of the Estate Planning Council of Cleveland, Chair of the Trusts & Estates Section for the Collier County Bar Association, and Adjunct Professor of Taxation for the Graduate Program in Taxation at the University of Akron.

Chris is currently an Adjunct Professor of Law on the faculty of Ave Maria School of Law and serves as Treasurer of the Forum Club of Southwest Florida. He recently served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Community Foundation of Collier County and on the Board of Directors of the Kent State University Foundation, the Naples Zoo, the Naples Players, and the CFA Society of Naples.

Chris is the Managing Director of Bray Capital Advisors. Chris is also a managing partner of the law firm of Christopher P. Bray Associates, LLC. Chris serves high net worth families on a variety of private wealth management planning matters. He is admitted to the Ohio Bar, the Florida Bar, and is a member of both the American Institute of CPAs and the Ohio Society of CPAs. Chris received his Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Kent State University and his Master’s degree in Taxation and Juris Doctor from the University of Akron, all summa cum laude.

Before joining Bray Capital Advisors, Chris served as Senior Vice President and Market Executive for the Southwest Florida region of a national bank. Chris also served as the National Director of Estate and Succession Planning and was a Managing Director for the family office division of the same national bank. Earlier in his career, Chris served as the Director of the Estate and Succession Planning Services Group for Deloitte in Northeast Ohio. While at Deloitte, Chris served on the firm’s National Brain Trust developing sophisticated tax and estate planning techniques and strategies for the firm’s wealthiest clients.

Darian is the Chief Investment Officer of Bray Capital Advisors. Darian is also the chairman of the firm’s Investment Management Committee. Darian directs and oversees all of the portfolio management and investment research functions of the firm and he leads the firm’s portfolio management team.

Prior to joining Bray Capital Advisors, Darian was a partner in a Cleveland, Ohio based institutional investment management firm where he developed and implemented the firm’s investment valuation methodology. Darian also served as the Chief Investment Officer for the wealth management affiliate of a national CPA firm. In addition, Darian has substantial international equity management experience as the former managing director of a global investment advisory firm.

Darian graduated from Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. Darian is also a graduate of The Ohio State University, a member of the Ohio Society of CPAs, and an adjunct Instructor of Finance for Cleveland State University. Darian is fluent in both Taiwanese and Mandarin Chinese.

Kim is the Director of Operations for Bray Capital Advisors. Kim works closely with clients of the firm and coordinates all investment account opening, transfer, money movement and related asset maintenance activities. Kim has over 30 years of experience in fiduciary, investment management, and banking services.

Prior to joining Bray Capital Advisors, Kim worked closely with high net worth clients as a trust officer and fiduciary professional of a national bank. Kim earned her master’s degree in English education from New York University. Kim is a graduate of the Florida Bankers Association Florida Trust School and has been a member of the Corporate Fiduciaries of Southwest Florida.

Marcie is a Client Specialist with Bray Capital Advisors. Marcie assists with all aspects of client service for all of the firm’s clients. Marcie has over 25 years of administrative and office management experience supporting executives and management teams.