Leadership Team

Our Leadership Team

Our leadership team comprises a group of financial professionals with many years of experience in banking, insurance, investments, financial planning, and investment banking. We have a combined 175 years of overall financial services tenure as we have the distinct honor of serving our valued clients. Simply stated, we know WHOM we serve, and more importantly, we know WHY we serve.

 

  • Darren M. Thompson
    President & Chief Executive Officer
    Ministry Partners Investment Company, LLC (MPS Parent Company)
    Mr. Thompson has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Ministry Partners Investment Company, LLC (MPS's Parent Company) since December 2023. He previously held the postion of Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer from January 2022. Mr. Thompson previously served as Chief Lending Officer at America’s Christian Credit Union, one of the Company’s equity owners where he led various departments since 2013. Over his eleven year career at ACCU, he served as Manager of Loan Participations, AVP Credit Services, VP Business Lending and VP Corporate Services. Prior to ACCU, he worked at Western Corporate Federal Credit Union from 2003 to 2011 as a treasury trader. Mr. Thompson holds a Bachelor of Science in Marketing, and a Master of Arts in Management from Azusa Pacific University. He holds various certifications from the CUES School of Commercial Lending, CUES Advanced School of Business Lending and the New York Institute of Finance.
 
Joseph Turner

Joseph Turner
MPS Principal and Compliance
Ministry Partners Securities LLC

 

  • Brian S. Barbre
    Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
    Mr. Barbre has served as the Company’s Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Principal Accounting Officer since September 2017. Mr. Barbre has previously served as Vice President Finance and Treasurer of ECCU, the Company’s largest equity owner where he led the finance, credit analytics, and participations groups. Mr. Barbre is a Certified Public Accountant and has served as an Adjunct professor at Biola University where he has taught cost accounting and accounting information systems courses. Mr. Barbre also serves as the Treasurer of Ministry Partners for Christ; a private foundation that makes charitable grants to Christian organizations, and provides accounting, consulting, and financial expertise to aid evangelical Christian ministries. Mr. Barbre holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Magna Cum Laude, from Biola University. In addition, Mr. Barbre holds a Master of Business Administration degree with a finance emphasis from California State University Fullerton where the dean awarded him the Award for Academic Excellence upon graduation.
 

  • Daniel Flude
    Vice President of Finance & Controller, FINOP
    Mr. Flude has served as the Vice President of Finance since January 2022.  He has worked at Ministry Partners for over 13 years in the Finance and Accounting Department.  Mr. Flude served as the Company’s Controller prior to his promotion to his current role.  He also serves as the Financial Operations Principal for Ministry Partners Securities.  His duties with the Company include maintaining the Company’s financial statements and preparing the Company’s public filings. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Flude served as an auditor for McGladrey and Pullen, LLP, where he worked mainly with banks and finance companies.  Mr. Flude earned his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Oregon in 2004.  He maintains an active license as a Certified Public Accountant.  He also holds Series 28 and 99 securities licenses.
 

  • Andrew Johnston
    Vice President of Strategic Initiatives
    Mr. Johnston has served as the Vice President of Strategic Initiatives since January 2022. Mr. Johnston previously worked at MPIC from 2018 to 2021 as a Credit Analyst and Systems Administrator. Prior to that, Mr. Johnston worked as a Commercial Loan Officer and Credit Analyst at First Bank, and as Enterprise Applications/nCino Administrator for CalPrivate Bank. He graduated from Vanguard University with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration, Summa Cum Laude, in 2016 and is a member of the Sigma Beta Delta honor society for business. Additionally, Mr. Johnston was appointed to the Alumni Council for Vanguard University in 2020, where he focuses on alumni giving, endowment allocation, and capital campaigns.
 

  • Bruce H. Traub, PhD, CFP
    2nd Vice President - Wealth Manager
    Dr. Traub has served as 2nd Vice President, Wealth Management with Ministry Partners Securities since November 2013, working out of the Fresno offices. Mr. Traub has twenty-two years of experience in the securities industry, with most recent prior experience serving as a Financial Advisor at G.A. Repple and Company, Cambridge Investment Research, and Strongtower Financial. He also served in various administrative roles in Christian colleges and universities over twenty-three years, including Fresno Pacific University, Trinity Western University, and Westmont College. Dr. Traub received his BA from Seattle Pacific University in 1971 and received a Ph.D from the Ohio State University in 1977. He is a Certified Financial Planner, Certified Kingdom Advisor, and is a member of the Financial Planning Association and the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors. He holds FINRA Series 6, 7, and 66 licenses.
 

  • Andrew C. Papp
    2nd Vice President - Wealth Manager
    Mr. Papp currently serves as 2nd Vice President, Wealth Management with Ministry Partners Securities since July 2014, and is based in Glendora. He has been a financial professional for over thirty years, with his prior experience including serving as a Registered Representative of Cetera Adviser Networks LLC from 2007 to 2014. Mr. Papp is a graduate of University of California, Davis, where he earned a Bachelors of Science in Agricultural Economics and Business Management in 1981. He received a Masters of Divinity from Biola University with honors in 1985. He is a Series 7, 24, 66 and 63 registered representative and licensed life, disability, and long-term care insurance agent.
 

  • Virginia E. Havens
    Manager, Sales Support of Wealth Management
    Mrs. Havens serves as the Manager of Sales Support at Ministry Partners Securities and has been with the company since 2012. Prior to that, she worked at Strongtower Financial and Merrill Lynch, a career that has spanned over fifteen years. She holds FINRA Series 7, 66, and 99 licenses.
 

  • Barbara S. Wagner
    Registered Sales Assistant
    Ms. Wagner serves as a Registered Sales Associate with Ministry Partners Securities since 2020. She has over twenty-seven years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to MPS, she served in various capacities at Merrill Lynch, Crowell Weedon & Co., and Strongtower Financial. She holds FINRA Series 7, 24 and 66 licenses.

Our Board of Managers

Our Board of Managers serves to create the vital link between our parent Company, Ministry Partners Investment Company, LLC, its wholly-owned subsidiary Ministry Partners Securities LLC, and the executive management team, providing regulatory governance and accountability that guide the entire enterprise.

R. Michael Lee
Chairman of the Board
President / Chief Executive Officer, Kane County Teachers Credit Union

 

Jerrod L. Foresman
Corporate Secretary (Ministry Partners Securities, LLC)
President, Virtue Financial Advisors

 

Guy A. Messick
Vice-Chairman of the Board
Attorney – Partner, Messick Lauer & Smith P.C. (Retired)
General Counsel to the National Association of Credit Union Service Organizations (Retired)

 

The members of our Board of Managers, Brian S. Barbre, and Andrew Johnston are not actively involved in the day-to-day management and operations of Ministry Partners Securities LLC. They also do not provide investment advice or securities recommendations and are not engaged in the securities business of Ministries Partners Securities LLC. Darren Thompson, while a registered investment advisor, does not act in any principal capacity.