Our people

Ed Deutschlander has been the CEO at North Star Resource Group since 2016.

Ed began his career at North Star just days after college graduation. He worked for one year as a financial advisor, but he quickly found his gifts were better used in the recruiting department, where he was soon promoted to National Recruiting Director and then transitioned into greater leadership roles within the firm. Having experienced the industry as an advisor, recruiter, and now executive, Ed brings a unique, multi-faceted perspective to his leadership.

With Ed’s clear focus on values and ethical practices, North Star has received several prestigious awards, including Top Workplaces USA (2021), the Star Tribune’s Top Workplaces (2016), Minnesota Business Magazine’s Best Companies to Work For (2015), Charitable Champions by InvestmentNews (2015, 2016, and 2019), and the Better Business Bureau’s Torch Awards for Ethics (2011, 2015, and 2019), among many others.

Individually, Ed has been recognized for his excellence in leadership in the industry and community, including Minnesota Business Magazine’s Paragon of Leadership award, NAIFA’s Four under 40, Minneapolis/ St. Paul Business Journal’s 40 under 40, and the Executive Leadership Individual-RIA’s LUMINARIES award from ThinkAdvisor.

Ed is a contributor in the financial services industry as the secretary of the Finseca board of directors, immediate past chair of the Finseca Foundation’s executive committee, and member of the board of trustees for the American College.

In terms of community service, Ed serves as a founding member of the Scott Richards North Star Foundation, which donates 10% of North Star’s annual profits to national and local nonprofits, and he is a founding board member for Bikes for Kids, a Minnesota-based nonprofit that has gifted over 5,000 bicycles and helmets since 2004.

Ed is a Midwest native and a 1993 graduate of Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn., where he played, started, and lettered in varsity football and baseball and served as captain of the football team. However, he now lives and works in Austin, Texas, with his wife of 28 years Toni, four children, and four rescue dogs.

Phillip C. Richards, CLU^®, RHU^® is the Executive Chairman and Founder of the affiliated companies that comprise North Star Resource Group. North Star represents a fully integrated array of financial services and products for individuals and businesses of all sizes and has over 140,000 clients with offices in 22 states with client assets under administration exceeding $10 billion.¹

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Dave Vasos is the president and CFO of North Star Resource Group. He is also a vice president and registered principal of CRI Securities, LLC, a securities broker-dealer, and a registered investment advisor.

Through his selfless service and leadership, Dave provides the guidance in developing, implementing, and maintaining a comprehensive financial strategy for North Star and our clients. During his time in financial leadership, North Star has been recognized as an INC. 5000 company (2007, 2009, 2014, and 2015) and on the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal’s list of Largest Wealth Management Firms by assets under administration (2017-2021).

Dave graduated from the University of Iowa with his Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and Financial Economics, and went on to receive a Master of Business Administration in Finance, He is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Practitioner and a member of The Financial Planning Association, The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), and GAMA International.

Diane has served as COO of North Star Resource Group since 2016. In her role, she manages over 165 team members in Minneapolis and across the country.

Diane started in the financial industry in 1979 at Securian Financial Services, and she joined North Star nine years later, where she held multiple leadership positions before becoming the highest-ranking female executive at North Star in 2016.

With her strong communication and support of North Star’s values, Diane’s leadership has helped North Star win several awards for workplace excellence including Top Workplaces from the Star Tribune, Charitable Champion from InvestmentNews, and the Torch Awards for Ethics from the Better Business Bureau of Minnesota and North Dakota.¹

Individually, Diane’s innovation and service has led to her recognition as one of Finance & Commerce’s Top Women in Finance in 2013, ² a Women Industry Leader in the Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal, the North Star’s Don Schoeller Frontline Leader Award in 2020, the North Star Scott Richards Medal of Honor for her integrity, service, leadership, and selflessness, and the 2021 Lifetime Achievement award from TeamWomen.

Diane contributes to the financial services industry through various group and board memberships, including Securian’s Women Inspiring and Supporting Excellence (WISE) Group, elevating the careers of female financial professionals. She is also a past president of the Minnesota Chapter of GAMA and a past board member of National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) of Minneapolis.

In service to her community, Diane has served on the executive board for TeamWomen, a female-led organization that coaches women to reach their full potential, and she mentored a number of the female leaders of the organization. She also regularly volunteers with her church, works with Volunteers Enlisted to Assist People (VEAP), and is actively involved in North Star’s Bikes for Kids event, which gifts local children in need with bikes and helmets.

Diane is a graduate of Drake University in Iowa, where she received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. She currently lives in Bloomington, Minn., with her husband Garry and near her two sons and two granddaughters.

Gary serves as North Star Resource Group’s executive vice president, where he provides professional consulting services to senior financial professionals on developing their teams, succession planning, and leading million-dollar practices.

Gary joined North Star in 2013, bringing with him over 30 years of experience managing financial representatives’ growth at Minnesota Mutual, Securian Financial Services, and Ameriprise Financial Services. He worked for four years as senior vice president of advisor growth and development before being promoted to executive vice president in 2017.

He specializes in developing practice management analytics to improve the productivity and effectiveness of a financial practice. Gary’s strategies are outlined in his book, Practice on Purpose: Achieve the Financial Advice Practice You Desire and Your Clients Deserve (2014).

In 2005, Gary received the Outstanding Leader Award at Ameriprise for leading his territory to the top 20% in the entire firm each year, including three years as the number one top-producing territory.¹

Beyond his work in individual firms, Gary is also an active contributor to the financial services industry on topics of coaching financial professionals and building practices. Within industry organizations, Gary is past chair of LIMRA’s Career Agency Building Committee and Securian’s ambassador and diplomat to GAMA International. He worked as an adjunct professor emeritus for the University of St. Thomas Graduate School of Business and is a regular presenter for GAMA International, speaking to financial professionals throughout the world.

Gary is a long-time Minnesota local, receiving his bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota, where he was active as a Martin Luther King Economics tutor and was elected to the student governing board of the business school. He later received a Master’s in Industrial Psychology from the University of Minnesota.

Currently, Gary and his family live in Prior Lake, Minn., where he enjoys time on the lake, outdoor sports, and reading books on leadership and business. Gary also takes time to travel, especially to visit family in Seattle.

Shaun McDuffee started his career as a financial advisor at North Star straight out of college in 1990. He helped launch the North Star Medical Division in 2001, North Star recognized him as one of North Star’s top five advisors in terms of revenue generated between 1998 to 2021, and he serves on the board of the Scott Richards North Star Foundation.

In service to his community, Shaun is involved in leading several national nonprofits. In 2006, he and his wife founded the McDuffee foundation to aid in children’s causes in the community. Then in 2013, Shaun founded Stop Alzheimer’s Now (SAN), a nonprofit dedicated to eradicating Alzheimer’s disease.

Shaun is a University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate, and he now lives and works in Austin, Texas, with his wife Kristin and their three daughters.

Davin has been a financial professional with North Star since 2001. He also serves as growth and development leaders at North Star Consultants of Texas – Austin and on our firm’s Servant Leadership Steering Committee.

With a focus on developing financial professionals, Davin believes recruiting the right people for the industry and training them for success is the best way to strengthen the business and provide quality guidance to the individuals and families who rely on North Star.

As a contributor to the greater financial industry, Davin is a member of the board of trustees for Finseca, trustee for the Finseca Foundation, member of the national sub-committee for the Leadership in Life Institute (LILI), and chair of LILI for the state of Texas.

Finally, Davin has spent several years coaching his three daughter’s elementary school basketball teams, allowing him to invest in the community while being all-in where it matters most: his family.

Before joining North Star in 2014, Tim spent 11 years with Securian Financial.

Tim attended St. John’s University in St. Joseph, Minn., and received his Master of Business Administration from the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis. He currently works out of North Star’s headquarters in Minneapolis.