An experienced and committed team

Drew began his career in financial services in 1999 at Goldman Sachs , where, in 2008, he achieved membership in the firm’s influential Leadership Council. In 2009, he joined UBS Private Wealth Management and now leads one the largest teams in all of UBS. He is part of UBS’s Family Office Consulting Group, a designation given to a select number of advisors who work with larger multi-generational family offices.  He is also part of the firm’s Athletes and Entertainers Consultant group, who provide industry-specialized advice for entertainment executives and professional athletes.  

Prior to his career in wealth management, Drew spent 7 years designing and managing the construction of custom racing yachts at Nelson-Marek Yacht Design, focusing primarily on the design of America’s Cup yachts. In addition to designing the yachts, Drew was a crew member aboard multiple America’s Cup yachts. Drew continues to pursue his passion of sailboat racing, winning 4 World Championships & 3 National Championship in the past 6 years, contributing to his nomination as a Rolex Yachtsman of the Year Finalist.   Most recently, Drew won the 2023 Melges 24 World Championship held in Denmark.  He was also the 2021 & 2020 IC 37 National Champion, the 2019 Farr 40 World Champion, the 2017 & 2018 Melges 20 World Champion, as well as the 2017 Melges 20 US National Champion. 

Drew is passionate about animals, serving on the boards of and as treasurer for two nonprofit animal rescue organizations: Farm Girl Dog Rescue, Inc. and Animals Help People Help Animals (AHPHA). Equally enthusiastic about sailing, Drew is an active member of the New York Yacht Club, the San Diego Yacht Club and the California Yacht Club. He is on the investment committee for the San Diego Yacht Club. Drew is also on the board of the US Sailing Hall of Fame, and is involved with the AmerieOne Foundation, working to support young US athletes with their high performance racing programs.

With over 20 years of experience in private wealth management, Michael holds a high level of expertise that distinguishes him as a leader in the industry.  He is a lead financial advisor on Mainsail Wealth Partners and manages 10 staff members along with 6 other financial advisors.

Michael is a Senior Portfolio Manager and has served on the Private Wealth Management Banking Committee, advising UBS on lending issues that impact the firm’s wealthiest clients. 

Prior to starting his career in private wealth management, Michael utilized his entrepreneurial abilities and owned and operated a sports card distribution company. The company was active under Michael’s guidance and leadership for most of the 1990s. Michael earned an M.B.A.in Finance from UCLA Anderson School of Management, where he subsequently joined the Alumni Executive board and served as Chairman of the Alumni Development Committee. He also attended San Diego State University, where he earned a B.S. in Business Administration with a Distinction in Finance and is currently a member of the board on the university’s Campanile Foundation.

Outside of work, Michael is a runner and an all-around family man. He also serves on the board of the East Valley YMCA, and received The Significant Sig Award in 2021, which is one of Sigma Chi Fraternity’s highest honors recognizing alumni members for their exemplary achievements in their fields of endeavor.

Steven has over 24 years of experience in the financial services industry. He joined UBS Private Wealth Management in 2009 and received his Private Wealth Advisor accreditation & designation in 2012. Steven provides customized wealth planning strategies to high net worth individuals and families, with a focus on entrepreneurs who have sold a business and executives at public companies. He has experience in managing wealth resulting from IPOs, mergers, and sales of and privately owned businesses, and has spent most of his career working with options and the hedging of concentrated stock positions.

Steven was born in Cape Town, South Africa. At a young age, his family moved to the United States where he spent most of his childhood growing up in Atlanta, GA. After obtaining his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) with a double-major in Economics and Psychology, Steven joined Lehman Brothers in 2001 in their Equity Derivatives division. Two years later, he was hired by Credit Suisse to work in their Debt Capital Markets group and then transitioned into their Private Banking division in 2004. While working full-time, Steven was able to obtain his M.B.A. from the Marshall School of Business in 2009. Steven currently serves on the Board of Directors at Hillel Hebrew Academy.  He is passionate about mentoring and career guidance, and spends time working with military veterans through American Corporate Partners, as well as with high-school and college students.

Melanie Desma, with over 25 years’ experience in both Private Wealth Management and at UBS, brings to Mainsail Wealth Partners distinctive operational expertise and a deep level of understanding of all aspects of excellent client service.

Melanie began her career at UBS in 2000 working for PaineWebber Operations. After, she went on to office administration and then client services within the firm, gaining her preliminary experience in servicing clients and their specific needs. In 2005, Melanie accepted a position with UBS doing internal audits and moved to UBS’s home office in Weehawken, NJ. She spent two years conducting internal audits at various UBS locations within the United States and Puerto Rico. Melanie returned to California in 2007 as an operations manager to open the first UBS Private Wealth office in Los Angeles. She was in charge of hiring and training a new operations staff, approving transactions and reviewing trades and other risk items. There, she gained her unique experience as a flagship member and was a vital part of growing the Los Angeles office to the high-caliber it operates at now. The broad level of knowledge Melanie gained through her different positions within the company positioned her to extend this virtuosity to a private wealth management team.

And thus in 2009, Melanie decided to return to client services and joined Mainsail Wealth Partners, where she managed all aspects of client service, account openings and transfers, and relationship maintenance for a rapidly growing book of business. As the team has grown and expanded, Melanie now helms a team of 12 support staff. She has a deep level of expertise in account opening and transfers, incoming and outgoing disbursements, implementation of asset allocations, trading and day-to-day client requests. Her on-the-job experience sets her apart, differentiating the level of service every client experiences with Mainsail Wealth Partners.

Melanie received a B.A. in sociology from the California State University, Northridge. She holds the Series 7 and 66 securities licenses. Melanie lives in Long Beach with her husband Paul and two young daughters.

Kate has worked in private wealth management for 20 years. She is a CFA charterholder and a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®TM professional (CFP®), making her one of only a very few financial advisors to hold both designations.

Before joining UBS, Kate worked for a trust company, Fiduciary Trust International, where she guided clients through the complex estate administration process that begins upon the death of a family member (and often ends two years later with assets placed in various kinds of trusts).
Prior to that, Kate worked for 10 years at BT Financial Group, one of Australia’s leading private wealth management firms.

For Kate, everything is about the client and harnessing the full resources of a firm like UBS to find solutions for their specific needs. To do that, Kate gets to know her clients very well—to the point where she might know them better than they know themselves. 

Kate is a member of the Motion Picture Television Fund Professional Advisory Network and completes financial plans for members at no fee. Kate has a nice husband, Matt, and they enjoy golf at Bel Air Country Club. 

Langdon began his career in private wealth at UBS in 2016 after graduating from Johns Hopkins University with a B.A. in Economics.  During his time at Johns Hopkins, he was the captain of the Varsity Water Polo Team & earned Division III All-American accolades his senior year.

As a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®), Langdon focuses on creating customized financial plans for clients that serve as a roadmap for their future financial success. The goal is to serve clients as their trusted advisor, specializing in portfolio management, while incorporating tax optimization & effective estate planning.

Langdon works closely with entrepreneurs & founders, entertainment professionals, & ultra-high net worth families to create a sustainable plan that helps them meet their financial goals.

Langdon is on the board of the Young Professionals Group for the International Medical Corps. He also holds his FINRA Series 7 and 66 licenses, as well as his California Insurance & Annuities license. Outside of work, he enjoys swimming, playing basketball, and spending time with his two dogs.

Mark Thompson joined the Mainsail Wealth Partners team in 2011 after earning his M.B.A. from The Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. As Senior Wealth Strategy Associate and Chief Investment Officer of Mainsail Wealth Partners, Mark leverages deep market knowledge and broad industry experience to address the complex needs of high-net-worth clients.

In his role, Mark oversees portfolio analysis, develops and refines custom reporting and modeling, and manages the implementation of tailored investment strategies. He leads the analyst team, providing investment research, due diligence, and comprehensive analysis to support client goals. Having joined Mainsail in its early days, Mark has played an integral role in the team’s growth and continued success.

Prior to UBS, Mark worked at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. He earned his B.A. in Business Administration from Pepperdine University in 2009 and holds the Series 7 and 66 securities licenses.

Mark and his wife, Meagan, live in Danville, California, with their twins, Jeremiah and Penelope. Outside of work, he enjoys cycling, skiing, and playing the drums.

Nadine joined UBS in the Chicago office in 2008. After spending four years in Chicago, she relocated to her native California and transferred to the Los Angeles Private Wealth Management branch. Prior to joining UBS, Nadine worked as an Investment Associate at JP Morgan.

Drawing on her past experience, Nadine concentrates on trading, portfolio construction and implementation, performance reporting and lending.

She received a B.S. in finance with a political science minor from Miami University. Nadine holds the Series 7 and 66 securities licenses. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, hiking and spending time at the beach.

Prior to joining UBS in 2008, Lise worked in the mortgage industry for four years, serving most recently as an analyst for mortgage-backed securities. Lise joined the flagship team when it was formed in 2012, serving as an integral component to the team’s later success. She has deep experience within the field of private wealth management and brings her exhaustive competence in both client service and financial knowledge to her position as one of the most senior members of the team. Lise manages trading, allocation implementation, and client requests – all ranging from straightforward to complex. Above all, Lise works in evolving the unique relationship between the client and the team, providing a distinctive high level of individual and custom solutions for every client. She imparts her extensive knowledge to junior members and assists with developing the legacy component of the team. She received a B.A. in business administration from the University of California, Riverside. She holds her Series 7 and 66 securities licenses. She also received her Accredited Asset Management Specialist accreditation in December of 2022. In her free time, Lise enjoys traveling the world, cooking, baking and trying out new cuisines, as well as spending time with her kids and husband.

Corinne began her career at Merrill Lynch in 2000 and has over 24 years of financial markets experience in private wealth management.  In 2008, she joined UBS for the first time at the firm’s first UBS Private Wealth office in Los Angeles. She briefly left UBS in 2017 to manage a private wealth team’s transition to First Republic Investment Management. Corinne joined Mainsail Wealth Partners in 2020, where she assists with account opening and transfers, incoming and outgoing disbursements, implementation of asset allocations, trading, and day-to-day client requests.  Corinne graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Vermont, holds Series 3, 7, 63, and 66 licenses and is a California-registered insurance agent. In her free time, Corinne enjoys gardening, jogging, and spending time with her family. 

Gilbert Sanchez joined Mainsail Wealth Partners as a Senior Wealth Strategy Associate in 2020. He was most recently the investment strategist for Comerica Bank, where he acted as fiduciary for $200MM of client assets, modeled investment portfolios, and was in charge of manager and product research. Prior to joining Comerica Bank, he was the assistant operations manager for the UBS Private Wealth Management office in Los Angeles. In this role, he assisted in the monitoring and approval of operational requests requiring series 9/10 authority and oversaw operational risk and audit reporting. He began his career in 2011 as a financial services representative at Zecco Trading. Gilbert holds the FINRA 7, 9, 10, 63, and 66 securities licenses. 

Gilbert grew up in La Puente, California and has a B.A. in Economics from the University of California, Irvine. In his free time, he enjoys running by the beach, playing basketball, and spending time with his family.

Amanda Meraz has been with Mainsail Wealth Partners for over 7 years. She lends her expertise within the industry to her position as a Client Service Associate and manages disbursements, client requests, and spearheads the team’s alternative investments administration. She has lengthy experience governing client accounts, asset transfers, and implementing investment allocations, as well as training junior members on the team. Amanda graduated from University of California at Riverside with a B.A. in Business Economics and spent some time in Manhattan working in sales prior to her career in wealth management. Outside of work, Amanda enjoys traveling, going to the beach, dancing, and spending time with her family.

Ariana Bateman has over twenty years experience in the financial services industry.  She began her career working in compliance, client service, and insurance.  In 2008, she first joined  UBS with a private wealth team where she managed client needs including portfolio analysis and management, and trading.  Ariana joined the Mainsail Wealth Partners team in 2022 as a Senior Wealth Strategy Associate.  She assists with account opening, client service requests, trading, and the implementation of asset allocations. 

Ariana received a B.A. in Business Administration and a minor in Economics from the California Polytechnic State University: San Luis Obispo.  She holds Series 6, 7, 26, 51, 63, and 66 licenses and earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®) charter in 2012.  Ariana enjoys traveling, horseback riding and skiing, as well as spending time with her family.

Aaron Berger graduated Summa Cum Laude from California State University, Northridge in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in Financial Planning. He began his career in 2021 as an intern at the UBS Westlake Village office, where he earned his FINRA Series 7 and Series 66 licenses. In his current role as a Wealth Strategy Associate at Mainsail Wealth Partners, Aaron specializes in financial planning, working closely with clients to help them navigate complex financial decisions and build long-term strategies. In addition, Aaron has earned the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® certification, enchancing his ability to help clients with a multi-faceted approach of factoring all investment, estate, tax, and insurance needs to help adequately plan for life goals.

With a lifelong passion for finance, Aaron is an avid reader of The Wall Street Journal and enjoys staying up to date on financial news and developments. Outside of work, he enjoys listening to podcasts, going to the gym, and spending time with family and friends. He is also a skilled cyclist, as well as recently developed a passion for running, completing the 2025 Los Angeles Marathon.