Erin Caiati

I spent the first part of my career as a casting director for Disney, which might sound like an unusual starting point for someone who now serves as Chief Operating Officer at Caiati Financial. But the connection makes perfect sense to me.

After studying fashion and theater design at  Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, (and growing up as the daughter of actor Richard Kiley, who created the role of Don Quixote in the original 1965 Broadway production of "Man of La Mancha.") I naturally followed into the arts. But somewhere along the way, I noticed a pattern: creative professionals often felt completely lost when it came to their finances. The terminology alone seemed designed to keep people out rather than invite them in.

That gap bothered me. My husband Dominick's work in financial services showed me there was another way to approach it. Since joining this industry in 2015, I've focused on translating financial planning into plain language, especially for clients who didn't inherit a Wall Street vocabulary. What I find most compelling about this work is how universal the underlying need is. Everyone's circumstances differ, but that desire for security and confidence cuts across every background.

When someone walks away from a conversation feeling genuinely informed rather than intimidated, that's when I know we've done our job.

My husband and I have four kids (three daughters and a son), plus Ralphie, our naughty pug. We spend weekends boating, and hosting family gatherings.