At Gregory FCA, we have a passion for the financial world. In some cases, our staff members grew up in households where a parent worked in the industry, thus sparking their own interest. With Father’s Day on the horizon, we recently spoke with Senior Vice President Marissa Foy Comerford, Vice President Haley Rosa and Associate Vice President John Hanlon, who detailed how their upbringings inspired them to pursue careers in financial services PR.
Marissa Foy Comerford: Growing up with a father who worked as a financial advisor, Marissa remembers economic news being a common theme around the house. A local news radio station played in the background at breakfast each morning, while hard copies of The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Wall Street Journal were delivered to the porch daily. Marissa’s parents would transparently discuss family finances and how they spent and invested money, which made a strong impact on her.
While in college at Penn State, Marissa spent several summers and semester breaks working at her dad’s office, filing paperwork and performing administrative tasks. When it came time to explore career options, she was thrilled to connect with Gregory FCA and join the team here as a junior associate. Being able to go home and ask her father about industry developments gave Marissa a significant boost in learning the ropes of financial services PR.
Marissa credits her parents for her work ethic, determination and follow-through, which have been critical to her rise through the ranks at Gregory FCA and current status as one of our most tenured employees.
Haley Rosa: Both of Haley’s parents have ties to the financial industry, as her mom worked in finance before Haley was born, while her dad’s financial career spanned about three decades. When the time came to choose courses of study at Villanova University, Haley decided to pursue the accelerated business minor program.
Drawn to the idea of a public relations career, Haley didn’t specifically plan to go into financial services PR but loved the idea once she found Gregory FCA. She recalls prepping with her dad for her initial job interview to become a junior associate here nearly eight years ago, discussing economic issues and events to help ensure that she could knowledgeably respond to industry-related questions.
Haley also remembers a sports analogy that her father shared while she was growing up: “I want everyone to have fun, but nothing is more fun than winning.” Achieving success and winning for her clients is what has made Haley’s career in financial services PR so rewarding.
John Hanlon: A member of the Gregory FCA team since the summer of 2022, John was no stranger to the financial world growing up, with his father working in investment management. His dad built a book of business as an independent wealth advisor and grew his practice into a registered investment advisor firm, catering to both clients and advisors nationwide. Seeing his father read The Wall Street Journal every weekday and Barron’s each weekend inspired John to pay close attention to the financial news too.
John admired his father’s entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to going above and beyond for his clients and their families, helping them grow wealth and achieve their financial goals. As a student at NYU, John took business and marketing courses, which helped solidify his interest in the financial sector.
He was inspired by his father, who trained on Wall Street, to live, study and work in New York City — where John interned at Forbes magazine as a college freshman and sophomore. All of these factors helped influence John to pursue the career he now enjoys in financial PR, combining his interests in wealth and asset management with an enthusiasm for creativity, marketing, content creation and client services.
● At Gregory FCA, we don’t just serve the financial services industry, we’re part of it. Please contact us if you’d like to learn more about how we can help you achieve your marketing and PR goals.