Chuck Sharpe, JD, Co-Founder

Chuck provides his visionary and strategic outlook on the trust company industry.  Leaning on his legal experience and financial planning exposure to entrepreneurs, multi-family generational planning and high net worth clients, Chuck provides additional estate and trust planning overview.   Chuck started his career at KPMG as an audit professional and later, after graduating from law school, joined Ernst & Young’s Personal Financial Counseling group. During his time with Ernst & Young, he focused on consulting high net worth individuals, entrepreneurs, and corporate executives on diverse estate planning and asset protection issues, ranging from simple wills and trusts to sophisticated, multi-entity transfer planning.  Chuck started his law firm in Dallas, Texas in 2003 focusing on estate planning, estate and trust administration and asset protection.

Chuck is Board Certified in Estate Planning and Probate by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and is a regular presenter to the financial planning sector regarding estate planning and coordination with financial plans. He is a graduate of Texas Christian University (1992) and the University of Oklahoma College of Law (1997).  He obtained has CPA license in 1993 and is authorized to practice law in Texas and Oklahoma.

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Matt Paladini, CFP, Co-Founder

At Wealth Advisors Trust Co. Matt provides his knowledge of finance and accounting to keep everything structured, organized, on budget and profitable.    

Matt spent four+ years at the international accounting firm of Ernst & Young, LLP in the Personal Financial Counseling group under the Firm's tax department. At Ernst & Young, Matt provided personal financial and accounting advice to corporate executives and business owners. Areas of specialized focus at E&Y included accounting, tax planning, retirement, and estate planning.

Matt received his Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of North Texas, and he is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER.

Christopher Holtby, CPWA, Co-Founder and Head of Learning & Business Development

At Wealth Advisors Trust Company, Christopher applies his business building, love of learning, operational, and wealth management expertise gained at Ernst & Young.  His role includes learning and facilitating knowledge around the trustee industry to assist those in choosing a  trust company. Christopher has co-authored two white papers, Directed Trusts Made Simple and the Trusteed IRA, and authored one published peer-reviewed paper, An Advisors Roadmap to the Trustee Industry.  From the operational side, Christopher created the trust administration process within SalesForce. He and his family are clients of the trust company as well.

Christopher grew up in Toronto, Canada, graduated from the University of Arizona receiving a BA in Psychology with an emphasis on statistics and a minor in English Literature. He lives in Dallas with his wife and three sons and enjoys skiing, mountain biking, hiking, reading history, and watching and participating in sports with his sons.

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Steve Blankenship, CFP, Co-Founder

Steve utilizes various skill sets in marketing and compliance issues surrounding the trustee services provided to Wealth Advisor Trust Company clients.  

Steve earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Baylor University.  Steve worked in a variety of positions in the financial planning industry including the Wealth Management practices of both Ernst & Young, LLP and Arthur Andersen, LLP. Steve’s wide range of experience has allowed him to work with and be mentored by four planners who were ultimately named to Worth Magazine’s Top Financial Advisors in America.

When he’s not in the office, Steve enjoys fishing and, during the fall, cheering on his Tennessee Volunteer football team.

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Ralph Pence, FSA and CLU, Co-Founder

Ralphs brings a wealth of experience as a former insurance actuary.  He brings those skills to light for Wealth Advisors Trust Co.in helping with insurance related issues and trusts. His former position at Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company's Regional Director for the Texas Region, he held this position since 2001. In this role, he was responsible for recruiting and developing producers in the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas.

Ralph began his career in the life insurance industry as an actuarial student with Columbus Life. In 1987, he joined Nationwide as an Associate Actuary, and became a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries in 1989. He was chief actuary for Penn Mutual from 1999-2001. Ralph holds a B.S. in mathematics from Ohio State University.