Our Team

Chad has been blessed to be able to build a comprehensive financial planning practice in Knoxville, Tennessee and the surrounding area over the last 27 years. Chad serves in his church as a Bible study leader and deacon. He is also aTrustee and chair for theTennessee Baptist Foundation headquartered in Nashville. He and his family and co workers support several charitable organizations in the community through the giving of time and resources. A few of these organizations include Habitat for Humanity, the FCA, Knox Area Rescue Ministries, and the Knoxville Nativity Pageant.

Chad graduated from East Tennessee State University where he met his wife, Lisa. He initially worked as a District Executive for the Boy Scouts of America before beginning his career at Northwestern Mutual in September 1993. Because of his long tenure at Northwestern, Chad has experienced many market cycles and understands the importance of good financial planning in the present. He believes that good planning is problem solving in advance and has a teaching and educating approach when working with clients. His client expertise lies with professionals, business owners and with those who are approaching or are in retirement.

Chad values lifetime learning and received his CFP® designation in 2008. As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, he understands the importance of collaboration and the great value of working with other professionals to make sure his client's needs are addressed at all levels.

Chad and Lisa have been married for 29 years and have two young adult children, Clay and Emily. He is a devoted family man and enjoys being outdoors, doing yard work, playing golf and traveling with his family and friends.

Kevin Proffitt is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, Wealth Management Advisor, and Managing Director of Northwestern Mutual – Knoxville. He has been with the company since 1988 and has been Managing Director since 2007. Kevin is responsible for the recruiting and development of Financial Advisors in the Knoxville office. The Knoxville operation has 46 team members serving as financial representatives and support staff. Kevin specializes in working with closely-held businesses and their owners.

Kevin has completed the CFP®, CLU®, ChFC®, CASL®, RICP® designations. He holds the Series 7, 6, 65, and 63 securities registrations, as well as the life/health, long-term care, and variable insurance licenses in 25+ states. He is a graduate of Maryville High School and Middle Tennessee State University.

Kevin serves on the Boards of Directors of the Boy Scouts of America Great Smoky Mountain Council, The Clayton Arts Center and the Boys and Girls Club (Blount County). Also, he is a Past President of East Tennessee Chapter of the Financial Planning Association, Maryville Kiwanis, The Society of Financial Service Professionals, Knoxville Chapter and the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisor – Knoxville Chapter.

His wife is Kimberly and they have two children, Kevin and Kelsey.

Jim has built a comprehensive financial planning practice in Knoxville, TN. He has consistently been named among the top wealth management advisors in Northwestern Mutual’ s Southern Region.

Jim graduated from Maryville College, where he was a standout academic scholar and football player. He was named to the ESPN All-Academic Team and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management and Organization with a Minor in Economics.

Jim started his career at Northwestern Mutual in the fall of 2008, right before the market crashed. He was able to experience and observe what good planning and poor planning looked like in one the worst economic markets in history. With Axiom Wealth Management, Jim leads a team that specializes in financial planning for physicians, business executives, and community leaders.

Throughout his lifetime of education, both formal and from experience, Jim has dedicated himself to learning how to help families reach financial security while protecting what is dearest to them. Once we’ve helped you protect your family and assets, we are able to take a look at your life’s vision and construct a plan designed to allow you to retire at your desired age and live the life you’ve dreamed of, whether that’s sailing the world or simply relaxing every day with your toes in the sand with a margarita in hand.

Jim has completed the CFP®, CLU®, and ChFC® designations. He holds the Series 7, 6, 65, and 63 securities registrations, as well as the life/health, long-term care, and variable insurance licenses in 25+ states.

Jim understands the value of community engagement and is involved with multiple organizations, including: United Way Board Member, Young Leaders' Society, and founding member of the 1922 Society (2013-Present), Metro Drug Coalition Board Member and current President (2015-Present), Young Professionals of Knoxville Past President (2010-2015), Dogwood Arts Festival former Board member and Finance Committee (2012-2016), Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Man of the Year 2013, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Knoxville (December 2011), Executive Committee to the Board of Governors-Club LeConte (2013), Children’s Hospital Fantasy of Trees Corporate Sponsor, and Knoxville Ice Bears Corporate Sponsor.

Jim and his daughter Emma reside in Knoxville where they love to visit Downtown/Market Square, attend UT & Maryville College football games, and experience different cultures around the world.

Mark grew up in the suburbs of Chicago (Schaumburg) with great parents who ingrained in him the importance of faith, family, character, hard work, education, and team work. After graduating high school, Mark attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on a basketball scholarship. Mark graduated with a double major in marketing and finance while playing for the men's basketball team coached by Bruce Pearl. Prior to graduation, he started the process of becoming a financial representative intern for Northwestern Mutual but put that on hold to work with Coach Pearl as a graduate assistant at the University of Tennessee.

After earning his master’s degree from Tennessee, Bruce Pearl hired Mark as a full time Assistant Coach. During his tenure with Coach Pearl and then with Coach Cuonzo Martin, he had many titles and had diverse responsibilities.

After the 2012-13 season, he left the coaching world and reengaged his financial background by joining Northwestern Mutual as a full-time Financial Representative in Knoxville, TN. As any coach would tell you, the relationship and trust you develop with your players/clients is the most important thing that determines their success. After that, you must continue to evaluate the player’s strengths and weaknesses to help motivate them to continually improve and achieve their goals. In coaching clients through their financial lives, those important do not change and trust is the life blood of that partnership. With Axiom Wealth Management, Mark focuses on hearing a client’s story, understanding their current financial position, then encouraging them to think about what they want to achieve are vital steps to developing a financial game plan that addresses these needs and gets them started on the path to financial security.

Mark holds the Series 6 and 63 securities registrations, as well as life/health, long-term care, and variable insurance licenses in 15+ states.

When he is not working in his financial practice, you can often find him hanging out with his wife Brooke (Waddell) and their three daughters Charli, Landri, and Jovi, working out, or helping out at their church (Sevier Heights). Mark stays involved in the Knoxville sports community, regularly contributing to radio and tv sports programs.

Greg is an accomplished, operationally diverse leader with 30+ years of experience driving customer success, revenue, and growth in financial services, consumer, retail, and industrial sectors. Greg excels in driving strategic imperatives and operations and is currently working closely with the Axiom leadership team to grow and support the practice. After almost 20 years as a comprehensive Northwestern Mutual client, he loves now sharing the value and benefits of Axiom Wealth Mangement Group & Northwestern Mutual to new families and businesses.

After growing up in East Tennessee, Greg graduated with high honors in Marketing from The University of Tennessee and later gained an MBA from The University of Phoenix. He has trained at the Center of Creative Leadership, IMD, Thunderbird, as well as other top programs. He is a life-long learner and now has life/health, long-term care, and insurance licenses in several states and holds Series SIE, 6, and 63 securities registrations.

Greg is very involved in the community serving on Boards of the United Way and the Private Directors’ Association. He is involved deeply with his church and faith and loves supporting his wife of 28 years and 2 adult daughters. Greg is also active with Big Brothers& Big Sister, TN Achieves, The Legacy Center, and the Entrepreneur & Innovation Center in Nashville.

He loves being active, playing golf, fishing, and hiking. He has traveled to all 50 states and visited 35 countries. All of this gives great perspective and excitement for the future ahead!

Kimberly began her career with a Knoxville Financial Representative in 2012. Kim later joined Jim LaPinska’s team as Director of Operations. With Axiom Wealth Management, her responsibilities include being a main point of contact for clients, business development and management, team workflow and technology coordination, and new representative development.

Kimberly graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration (Statistics) from the University of Tennessee then pursued a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning from UT. She had an 18+ year career in Urban Planning and Property Development before joining Northwestern Mutual. She is an Associate Financial Advisor and has completed the CLU® designation. She holds the Series 6 and 63 securities registrations, as well as the Tennessee life/health, long-term care, and variable insurance licenses.

Kim enjoys volunteering with various organizations including the Marble City Opera Board, the Knox Heritage Board, Friends of Literacy, the Knoxville Opera Guild, and Dogwood Arts. Kim was appointed by the Mayor of Knoxville to the Metropolitan Planning Commission (2005-2008), the Downtown Design Review Board (2005–2011, Chair for 5 years), the Wrecker Commission (2013-2017), and most recently to Knoxville's Community Development Corporation (2017-2020). She lives in Downtown Knoxville and enjoys traveling to interesting worldwide destinations.

Nathan T. Myers is a Tennessee native and graduate of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He has been with Northwestern Mutual since 2008. He and his wife live in the Uptown North area of Knoxville and have three sons.

Caroline joined Northwestern Mutual as an Associate Financial Representative for the Managing Director Kevin Proffitt in 2017. Her background and enthusiasm generate a new level of client experience in her role as Director of Client Relations and Marketing. After attending the University of Tennessee, she spent many years in the pharmaceutical industry. She learned the importance of building relationships and developed an excitement for customizing on an individual platform for all clients.

Caroline has always had a passion for enhancing client and office experience and developing tools that demonstrate the value a firm brings. Her background in pharmaceutical sales and purchasing contribute to her skills in marketing and relationship-building. Her emphasis on office philanthropy and client events contributes a specialized skill-set to the Axiom Wealth Management.

Caroline holds her RICP® designation, Retirement Income Certified Planner, along with Tennessee Life, Health, and Long-Term Care Licenses.

In her spare time, she is in the 2019 Provisional Class for the Junior League of Knoxville - an organization of over 500 women committed to promoting and developing the potential of women through leadership of trained volunteers. She also enjoys working with Volunteer East Tennessee helping around her community of Knoxville. If Caroline isn’t travelling around the world, you will find her with her dog Roxi, on a boat, hiking at Ijams, or walking around downtown with family and friends.

Chris began his career with Northwestern Mutual in Knoxville in 2012 as a Financial Representative. In 2014, Chris transitioned to a position that focuses on investment analysis. Chris is an Associate Wealth Management Advisor and holds the Series 7 and 66 securities registrations, as well as the Tennessee life/health, long-term care, and variable insurance licenses. In 2018, Chris earned the CFA® designation.

Chris has a comprehensive understanding of the operational aspects of investing and focuses on the technical side of financial services. He helps to create plans for asset allocation, as well as prepares reports for client meetings. Chris brings to Axiom broad professional experience and extensive knowledge of all aspects of investment business processing.

Chris graduated from the University of Tennessee with a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance. Chris was on the UT football team while earning his degree. Chris and his wife Kate live in Knoxville.

Andrew first started with Northwestern Mutual in Knoxville as a College Financial Representative in the Spring of 2017 now he has transition to working as an Associate Financial Representative.

Andrew's responsibilities with Axiom Wealth Mangement include creating and maintaining financial plans, coordinating insurance planning, review and analysis of our client’s plans and accounts, and preparation items for client review meetings.

Andrew is finishing his degree at the University of Tennessee with a Bachelor of Science in Finance and a collateral in Accounting. He expects to graduate in the fall of 2020 and continue with Axiom. He currently holds the Tennessee life/health and long-term care licenses and plans to pursue more once finished with his degree.

In his spare time, Andrew enjoys coaching on scholastic clay target teams in the local communities and can be seen practicing at local ranges. He participates in a handful of charity tournaments throughout the year. When not at work or the range Andrew spends time with family and friends and enjoying fun times with them.

Alexandra joined Northwestern Mutual in 2019, after having worked in the legal field. Alexandra’s Axiom Wealth Management responsibilities include assisting clients through the application and underwriting process, as well as administrative duties.

Alexandra graduated from Kennesaw State University in December 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a concentration in Economics. She is an Associate Financial Representative and holds her Tennessee life/health insurance licenses.

Alexandra lives in Sevierville. She enjoys spending time with her long-time boyfriend, William, friends, and family. She and William enjoy hiking and other outdoor activities with their three dogs.

Brittny joined Northwestern Mutual in the March 2018, after moving to Knoxville from Illinois. She has been working in the financial industry since 2014 as an assistant to financial advisors in various roles, which has allowed her the importance of personalized planning and needs. Brittny’s Axiom Wealth Management responsibilities include assisting with investment planning and strategy, as well as administrative duties.

Brittny graduated from Eastern Illinois University with a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations. She is an Associate Financial Representative and holds her Tennessee life/health insurance licenses.

In her spare time, Brittny enjoys exploring the Knoxville area with her husband and Miniature Australian Shepard, traveling, working out, and watching the Chicago Cubs. Brittny is also a proud St. Jude Hero. At least once a year, she will run a St. Jude Half Marathon and fundraise to raise money for the organization.

Rob Williamson began his career with Axiom Wealth Management while finishing his bachelor’s degree in Finance at the University of Tennessee and interning with us part time. His interest in finance and investment planning is helping him become a great asset to our Axiom Wealth Management Team.

Rob’s Axiom Wealth Management responsibilities include assisting with investment planning and strategy, servicing current Axiom clients, as well as administrative duties.

In his spare time, Rob enjoys running, attending sports events, and traveling.