Client Service & Marketing Team

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Client Service

Nell Merkle
Client Service
Nell works with our portfolio managers, custodians and back office to provide the highest level of client service possible. She joined the firm in 2005. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Merkle spent six years at Merrill Lynch on the Institutional Sales desk. Before Merrill Lynch, she spent eight years in client service as a retail sales assistant with Robinson Humphrey and JC Bradford. She received her BS degree in Industrial Management from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Nell is a Level I candidate in the CFA program.

Denise Drohan
Client Service
Denise works with our portfolio managers, custodians and back office staff to provide the highest level of client service possible. Ms. Drohan joined the firm in 2004. She started working in the financial industry 27 years ago. Through her career, Denise has provided client service excellence at both Merrill Lynch and Robinson Humphrey. Denise received her BS degree from Radford University.

Billie Sue McCurtain
Client Service
Billie Sue works with our portfolio managers, custodians and back office to provide the highest level of client service possible. Ms. McCurtain joined the firm in 2005. She has been involved in the client service industry since 1998. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. McCurtain worked at L.D. Davis Industries and Spartech Plastics.

Marketing

Troy DeCastro, CFA
Managing Director – Sub Advisory Services
Mr. DeCastro oversees the firm’s sub advisor relationships. His responsibilities include portfolio management and client service. He is a Principal of the firm. Mr. DeCastro joined the firm in 1998. Previously, he worked at Mercer Investment Consulting. He received his BS degree in Mathematics from East Tennessee State University and earned the CFA designation in 1997. Mr. DeCastro began his investment career in 1990.

Gregory Bauer, CFA, CAIA
Marketing – Institutional
Greg serves as Director of Consultant Relations and Institutional Sales for Crawford Investment Counsel. Prior to joining the firm in 2011, Greg worked as an Investment Consultant at NEPC and Callan Associates. He began his career in 1998 with Prudential Securities in Investment Banking. Greg received his BA degree in Economics from Brown University and his MBA from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Greg earned his CFA designation in 2004 and his CAIA designation in 2010.

Casey Krimmel
Marketing
Casey supports all aspects of the sales and marketing effort at Crawford Investment Counsel. These responsibilities include compiling the firm’s GIPS compliant composites, responding to new business opportunities, updating databases and overseeing the development of Crawford’s marketing materials. She joined the firm in 2009. Casey received her BS degree in Finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign. She is the current President of the Atlanta Illini Alumni Association. Casey is a Level I candidate in the CFA program.

Brandon Denihan
Portfolio Manager
Brandon is a portfolio manager to a select number of client portfolios. He joined Crawford Investment Counsel in 2004. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Denihan was a Key Account Manager at Wells Real Estate Funds. He began his career at Evergreen Investments where he worked as a Product Manager for three years. Mr. Denihan earned a BS degree in Mathematics from Wake Forest University.

Al Kirchner
Portfolio Manager
In addition to heading up the firm’s Jacksonville, FL office, Al is a portfolio manager. He joined the firm and opened the Jacksonville office in the Spring of 2008. Al began his investment career with Merrill Lynch in Kansas City, MO in 1982 and was subsequently recruited to help launch the Institutional Investment Consulting group with Morgan Keegan in Atlanta, GA in 1985. More recently, Al had his own Registered Investment Advisory firm in Jacksonville. A graduate of Westminster College in Fulton, MO, Al has also served as the head of marketing for a mutual fund complex and served as an analyst for the same firm. He is currently a member of the CFA Institute, The Jacksonville and Atlanta Society of Financial Analysts and serves on the Board of the Youth Crisis Center Foundation in Jacksonville.

Parker Mitchell, CFP®
Client Relationship Manager
Parker is a Client Relationship Manager who works specifically with fixed income only clients in providing client service and support. He joined the firm in 2011. Previously, Mr. Mitchell was a Vice President – Financial Consultant with Charles Schwab & Co. in Atlanta. He began his career in 2006 with Charles Schwab & Co. as an Operations/Client Service Specialist in Washington, DC. Parker received his BA degree from Mary Washington College. He is currently working toward his MBA at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He earned his CFP® designation in 2009.