Russell E. Wood, CFP©

Russ was born in Chicago, Illinois in March 1970. At the age of three his family moved to Woodbridge, Virginia, a suburb of Washington D.C. When Russ was twelve, the family moved to Albany, Georgia. Today his parents, Ron and Nancy, still reside in Albany. Russ is the oldest of three children.

After graduating high school, Russ entered the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA. While there, Russ worked at Augusta Newsprint Corporation as part of the Cooperative Education program. Russ graduated with honors in 1993 with a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering Degree.

Immediately after college, Russ joined the United States Navy as a Nuclear Power Officer. He was commissioned an Ensign in December 2003. Following nearly two years of nuclear power training, Russ reported to the nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65), based in Norfolk, Virginia. During his tour on the "Big E" Russ served as the Repair Division Officer and the Reactor Controls Division Officer, earning the Navy Achievement medal for each role. He participated in Operation Joint Endeavor and Operation Southern Watch during Enterprise's 1996 deployment to the Mediterranean Sea and Arabian Gulf. Russ left the Enterprise in 1998 and returned to Smyrna, GA to supervise recruiting of Navy Nuclear Power Officers for the Southeastern United States. During this tour of duty Russ also attended Georgia State University's graduate business school. While at GSU, Russ researched and co-authored a paper with Dr. Conrad Ciccotello titled An Investigation of the Quality of Financial Advice Offered by Web Based Sources (Financial Services Review, 2001). Russ separated from the Navy in November 2000 with the rank of Lieutenant. Russ graduated from GSU in December 2000 with a Master of Science degree in Personal Financial Planning.

In October 2000, Russ joined one of the largest fee-only financial planning and investment advisory firms in the Southeast, Homrich & Berg of Atlanta. During a five year stint with H&B, Russ earned the Certified Financial PlannerTM designation. While at H&B, Russ managed over $100 million in approximately 70 client accounts.

Russ joined SG Financial Advisors, LLC in August of 2005, serving as the Chief Investment Strategist as well as a personal advisor for clients. Recently, Russ was quoted in Practical Accountant magazine on the subject of investing in hedge funds. Russ is a member of the Estate Planning Council of North Georgia.

Russ and his wife Wendy live in Powder Springs, Georgia with their son Duncan. Russ spends his leisure time playing tennis or golf, reading, or giving back to his community. As a volunteer for Junior Achievement, Russ helped to teach the value of financial acumen and entrepreneurialism to Campbell high school students. He is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of Communities in Schools Marietta/Cobb County and is a member of the Rotary Club of Marietta.