Diahann W. Lassus, CFP^®, CPA/PFS

		In 1985, Diahann W. Lassus co-founded Lassus Wherley, a wealth management firm with offices in New Providence, New Jersey and Bonita Springs, Florida.  Diahann is President of the company.

Diahann has focused on finance since 1970, when she handled accounts payable for Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Florida while attending college at night.  She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Management from Florida State University in 1976.  In 1977, Diahann earned an MBA from the University of North Florida.  During this period, she worked as a graduate research assistant and was co-author of a study on the economic impact of the University of North Florida on the surrounding community.

Experience

After receiving her MBA, Diahann worked for Western Electric until 1984, fine-tuning her skills in assessment, analysis, supervision and planning.  She also developed first applications for new products, including site selection, presentation to customers and process monitoring.

Diahann worked for several AT&T organizations between 1977 and 1984, at one point overseeing annual sales of $140 million and managing 60 employees.  In 1984, she was AT&T’s Field Operations Manager for the Special Project Olympic Operations in Los Angeles, creating in eight months the largest temporary telecommunications network in existence.

Diahann taught Organizational Communication and Corporate Social Responsibility at the University of New Orleans during the 1978-82 academic years. Between 1987 and 1989, Diahann taught at Upsala College and the College of Saint Elizabeth.  She is an accomplished author and lecturer.

Accomplishments 

·        In 1998, President Bill Clinton appointed Diahann to the Retirement Savings Summit in Washington, D.C.  In 1996, New Jersey Governor Christine Whitman appointed her to the New Sources of Capital Board.  In 2000, New Jersey Speaker of the Assembly, Jack Collins, appointed Diahann to the Assembly Business Task Force.

·        Diahann served on the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Board of Governors from 1994-97.

·        In 1995, Diahann was a delegate to the White House Conference on Small Business, for which she chaired the New Jersey Capital Formation Committee.

·        Diahann appears on CNBC and is often quoted in national publications, including the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Kiplinger's Personal Finance and Tax Hotline.  She recently served on the Advisory Board for Doctor's Digest: Financial Planning publication.  Diahann authored a chapter for Inside the Minds: Wealth Strategies for Executives.  

·        Diahann served on Corporate and Advisory Boards including, Charles Schwab Institutional, Women's Financial Network at Siebert and National Advisors Trust Company, FSB.  She currently serves on the Rothman Institute of Entrepreneurial Studies Advisory Board, the International Institute of NJ Advisory Board, and the New Jersey Network (NJN) Professional Advisory Board.

·        Since 1994, Diahann has been a member of the Board of Directors for the Center for Women's Business Research.  Diahann recently served on the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) national board as Chair and has served as Chair, Industry Issues Committee.  She also currently serves on the NJ State Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and recently completed her term on the Editorial Advisory Board for the New Jersey Society of CPAs (NJCPA) magazine, New Jersey CPA.

Honors

Diahann was named one of Worth Magazine’s Top Financial Advisors an unprecedented seven times, beginning in 1994 with the top-60 list and most recently the 2008 Top 250.  She was named to the 150 Top Advisors for Doctors by Medical Economics.  Diahann has been profiled in the Dow Jones Investment Advisor Magazine, CPA Wealth Provider, the Journal of Financial Planning, and Financial Advisor Magazine.

Diahann was named U.S. Small Business Administration’s 1995 New Jersey Women in Business Advocate.  The following year, she was awarded the University of North Florida’s Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award.  In 2001, Diahann participated as a speaker in Florida State University's Bruning Distinguished Speaker Series.

In 2004 she was the inaugural speaker for the Female Entrepreneurship Series sponsored by the Rothman Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies.  Diahann has been named to the following in Business News New Jersey and NJBIZ:  The Business News 100, Twenty-six Intriguing Women of New Jersey Business, Top Women in Business, Women of Influence 2004, and Top Women in Business 2006.  She was honored by Executive Women of NJ (EWNJ) in 2006 in their Salute to Policy Makers, an awards dinner honoring women of achievement who serve on corporate and government boards and commissions.