Strength. Integrity. Humanity.
Our Team
Tony E. Montalvo, CLF®
Managing Partner
Tony began his career with New York Life in 1985 at the age of 22. He spent the first 8 years of his career as an Agent. After achieving Council^ and MDRT* consistently, he was promoted to Partner in the San Diego General Office. After building a successful nationally ranked team of Agents, Tony earned a promotion to Senior Partner in 2001; a role that prepared him for his eventual promotion to Managing Partner. His first Managing Partner promotion came in 2006, when he became the Managing Partner of the Memphis Tennessee General Office. After three years managing that office, Tony was asked to take a role in the Pacific Zone Office as a Corporate Vice President. In 2010, he was given the opportunity to accomplish a goal he had set at the beginning of his career, and return home to the San Diego General office as Managing Partner.
Tony and his wife Cynthia are San Diego natives and continue to live here locally. He has two sons, Tommy who is pursuing medical school and Drew, who recently received his bachelor's degree in accounting from Berkeley.
Alex Friedberg
Partner
Alex Friedberg graduated from the University of Florida with dual degrees in Finance and Mandarin Chinese in 2010. He began his career with New York Life in 2016 after serving in the Navy while stationed in Coronado, California. Passionate about helping others accomplish their financial goals and achieve peace of mind, Alex spent 4 years building his own financial services practice, working primarily with professionals and business owners. After achieving Career Summit^ in 2018, as well as achieving Council^ in 2019 and 2020, Alex was promoted to Associate Partner. Shortly thereafter in February of 2021, Alex was promoted again to Partner, where he now coaches and develops a team of dedicated agents and advisors, helping them to make a significant impact in their communities and in the lives of their clients.
Eddie Wall
Development Manager
Eddie came to New York Life in 2016 after a 15-year career working with small business owners in a professional sales capacity. Eddie received his FINRA Series 6 & 63 securities licenses and became MAP certified in 2017. He qualified for New York Life’s Career Summit in 2017 and Executive Council^ 2018 & 2020. As he built his successful financial service practice helping clients gain clarity on their financial future and creating plans to achieve those goals, he realized he wanted to expand that capacity to help more people in the local community create new career paths for themselves. In 2020 he accepted an offer to become an Associate Partner and was then promoted to Partner. In 2023 Eddie took on a new role of Development Manager for the San Diego General Office.
Eddie’s family moved to San Diego from Chicago when he was eight years old. His parents raised he and his sister in Ramona where his mother still resides today. He graduated from Ramona High School where he met and later married his high school sweetheart Anna and have two beautiful daughters together. He enjoys volunteering at his daughter’s school helping kids learn to read and at his church as an AWANA leader & games coordinator. He enjoys spending time with his family, training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and an active outdoor lifestyle in San Diego.
Brian Molinatti
Director of Agency Standards
Brian Molinatti began his career in the financial services industry in 1997. He has served in various roles throughout his career ranging from customer service to compliance. In 2002, he joined New York Life’s corporate compliance department in New York. In January 2017, Brian accepted the Senior Agency Standards Consultant position for the San Diego and Inland Empire General Offices. Brian has an MBA in General Management and holds his FINRA Series 4, 7, 24, 55 and 63 securities licenses. He resides in the city of San Diego and enjoys spending time with his family.
Jennifer Hickson
Office Manager
Jennifer Hickson began her career with New York Life in 1994 in the San Diego General Office. She received multiple promotions between 1994 and 2008, including the positions of Office Coordinator, Assistant to the Managing Partner and Assistant Office Manager. In 2008 she was promoted to the position of Administrative Manager for the office.
Jennifer received her bachelor’s degree from United States International University in 1981, then her MBA in 1983. Since joining New York Life, she has also obtained her ASC designation through LOMA. Jennifer and her husband Curt reside locally, and have two children Allie and Maximilian.
John Calabria
Assistant/Contracting and Licensing
John Calabria started his long career with New York Life as a temp employee in 1995. The following year, he was hired by New York Life for Contracting & Licensing. In 2000 he joined the Staff Department where he worked for 13 years. In 2013 he started working as Assistant to Managing Partner, Tony Montalvo, as the Contracting and Licensing person for the San Diego General Office. John received his masters in Telecommunication System Resources from National University and his bachelor’s degree in Management with a minor in English from San Diego State University.
John lives with his wife Mary. He has one daughter, Brittany and two step-children Mike and Chrissy, as well as three step-grandchildren. He enjoys spending the time with family, especially during the Holiday season.
* The Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT), The Premier Association of Financial Professionals, is recognized globally as the standard of excellence for life insurance sales performance in the insurance and financial services industry.
^New York Life Insurance Company Sales Production Achievement.