Our Team
Leonard Valletta
Leonard Valletta, is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Siena College and holder of a Masters Degree in Financial Planning. He is also a graduate of the College for Financial Planning and has been certified by the International Board of Standards and Practices for Certified Financial Planners, Inc. Mr. Valletta is past president of the Financial Planning Association of Northeastern New York. He continues to work on a committee with the association. He has been in practice since 1984, all with Albany Financial Group. He also serves the role of Registered Principal for the office. Len is a fully trained and licensed professional experienced in comprehensive financial planning and money management for individuals and small businesses. His particular areas of expertise are Retirement Planning, Investment Management and Estate Planning. He is deeply committed to helping people realize their financial goals and feels a strong sense of responsibility to help his clients enjoy their money that they have worked so hard to acquire. He is also one of WRGB’s (channel 6) Answers Team members and is called upon frequently to comment on the market and other various financial planning topics. He has also made several guest appearances on WTEN (channel 10), WNYT (channel 13), YNN (channel 9), and is an occasional contributor to the Capital District Business Review, the Daily Gazette and the Albany Times Union. He resides in Guilderland with his wife Patty, daughter Marissa and son Michael.
Joseph J. Hermann
After graduating from SUNY with a degree in Applied Science, Joe attended the College of St. Rose where he completed American College’s Financial Planning Program. He is a current member of the Financial Planning Association of Northeastern New York. Since Joe joined Albany Financial Group in 1996 and has been providing retirement planning and investment management strategies for business owners, individuals and their families. He has conducted several seminars and has contributed articles to local publications on the topics of retirement, investment, and estate planning. As an LPL Financial Advisor with Albany Financial Group, Joe understands everyone’s economic and life situation is unique. He believes it is the personalized service he provides that allows him to match the client’s goals, needs and objectives with the proper financial strategies. Joe lives in Burnt Hills with his wife Donna and his daughters Kelsey and Marissa.
Walt Klisiwecz
Walter Klisiwecz, CFP®, MBA provides comprehensive, personal financial planning to families and individuals throughout the New York Capital Region and the Northeast. A CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER TM professional since 2001, Walter provides a comfortable atmosphere for you to envision your future and clearly define your goals. He then helps to coordinate various elements of your current finances such as investments, risk management and fixed income sources and identify the tangible choices that will provide you the highest probability of reaching your goals to help maintain and improve your quality of life. He received his BS in Accounting in 1989 and an MBA in 1999 from the State University of New York at Albany. Walt is an active member of the Financial Planning Association of North East New York and is a member of the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce. He is an avid cyclist who has completed several 25, 50 and 100 mile bike rides to benefit various charities. Walt resides in Delmar NY with his wife and two sons. Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and federally registered CFP (with flame design) in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements. Securities and Investment Advisory Services offered through LPL Financial. A Registered Investment Advisor. Member FINRA/SIPC.
John Gigliello
John provides comprehensive financial planning & tax consulting services and has over 20 years of experience in taxation and finance. He is currently FINRA registered with LPL Financial and is designated by the United States Treasury Department as an Enrolled Agent (EA). This designation allows him to practice and represent his clients before the Internal Revenue Service.
Tony Pettograsso Professional Bio: Tony joined Albany Financial Group in 1990 upon graduation from Siena College where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Finance. Tony specializes in working with family run businesses with a focus on estate planning concerns, group retirement, strategies and benefit planning. In addition, he has a large group of senior clients.
Sandy joined Albany Financial Group in February, 1994. She is the friendly voice that answers your calls when phoning our office. She also serves as an assistant to Walt Klisiwecz, and, in general, serves in an office manager's role.
Denise has been the administrative assistant for Len Valletta since the fall of 1999. Prior to working with Len, she had a similar career with another financial services firm. Denise is extremely organized and detail oriented. She strives to make the paperwork and service issues of investing as easy as possible for the clients. Her focus is to make sure that all clients have a postive experience while working with Len and his team. She currently resides in Schenectady, New York with her husband, Matt, and her basset hound Dallas. She enjoys reading and music.
Karen has been Joseph Hermann's Administrative Assistant since January of 2007. As Joe's assistant she strives to keep Joseph's focus on his client's and their needs while she focuses on the background aspect of the business such as client review preparation, applications/forms and keeping track of all pending matters just to name a few. Karen has been in the financial industry since 2000 and prior to that worked in the food service industry. She graduated from SUNY Cobleskill where she earned her degree in restaurant management. Karen now resides in Rotterdam where she lives with her husband Tom, daughter Alexis and step-daughter Briana. She enjoys cooking, being outdoors and watching movies with her family.
Professional Bio: Christine came to Albany Financial Group in December of 2006 as Administrative Assistant to Len bringing with her over twenty three years of administrative background in financial services. Christine attended the St. Rose College in Albany New York studying Speech Pathology for two years and graduated from Hudson Valley Community College receiving a degree in Human Services. She takes great pride in her role and always tries to maintain a positive attitude to whatever she does. She resides in Wynantskill, New York with her husband Ed and daughter Jackie. They are all active in tennis. Christine also enjoys working out at the gym and cooking.
Michael started with Albany Financial Group in July 2008. He graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Finance from Bryant University (Smithfield, RI) in 1997. Michael went on to State Street Corp., one of the world's premier mutual fund custodians, and served in several roles over the following five years. After relocating to Clifton Park, NY, he spent the next two years in retail management with the Golub Corp. Michael returned to his finance roots in 2005 with the AYCO Co., where he focused on personal finance for Fortune 500 executives. Michael's role at Albany Financial Group is Para-Planner for Len Valletta's practice, it is based in Financial Analysis, but is also to support his ongoing service to his clients. For clients of the practice he should be viewed as an extension of Len. His role involves monitoring the financial planning process of our individual clients, investment analysis, and helping perform intense research and due diligence required in the financial planning profession. Michael resides in Clifton Park, NY with his wife Taryn and his two sons Max and Sam. |
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80 Wolf Road, Suite 301
Albany, NY 12205
Map and Directions
Phone: (518) 786-3300
Fax: (518) 786-7009