Our Team

Tom Zachystal is the founder of the firm and our President and Chief Investment Officer. Prior to starting IAM, he was Vice-President Europe based in Prague, Czech Republic for another US RIA firm and worked for a major Wall Street investment firm. Tom also spent five years as an international business consultant and seven years as an engineer for oil services firm Schlumberger. During this time he worked in a dozen countries on four continents and it is his combination of international experience and investment knowledge that allows IAM to offer tailored financial solutions to expatriates and non-US investors as well as to American residents and citizens.

Tom has an MBA in Global Management from Thunderbird University in Glendale, Arizona, a BSc in Civil Engineering from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) credential as well as the British Investment Management Certificate (IMC), and is a Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP™) practitioner. He is a past President of the San Francisco Financial Planning Association, has been managing investment portfolios on a discretionary basis since 2002, and oversees investment management and financial planning for all our expatriate clients.

Shane Clark is an investment advisor and portfolio manager. He specializes in investment research and building portfolios tailored to our clients’ specific needs, with a focus on cross-border issues.  

Shane is based in Sevilla, Spain and is especially knowledgeable in managing and advising on investment portfolios for US citizens living in Europe. Building on over 10 years experience in international financial markets, he designs balanced and diversified global portfolios for long-term returns, considering risk, regulatory, and tax implications. 

Prior to his time with IAM, Shane founded and managed his own boutique investment advisory firm. Shane also worked for several years as a portfolio manager at a Trust Bank in Michigan. As an American expat himself, he worked in Europe as an independent consultant to start-ups, and SMEs in London and Brussels. Shane has also taught a variety of graduate financial markets and economics courses at the Strathclyde Business School, Scotland.  

Shane holds an MSc in Financial Economics and an MPhil in Economics from the University of Strathclyde, in addition to a B.A. in Business and Finance from Aquinas College, Michigan. Shane is a certified Agile Project Manager and holds the US Series 65 Investment Advisor license.

Laurie Thomas is our Customer Experience Director and has over 20 years experience in the brokerage industry. She passed her series 7 and 63 brokerage licenses in 1996 and worked as a broker and program manager at Charles Schwab in San Francisco prior to joining IAM in 2016. She also obtained the General Securities Sales Supervisor series 9 and 10 licenses in 2000. She holds a Bachelors degree from Guilford College in North Carolina as well as a Masters from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Laurie has spent many years within the financial services industry putting her passion to work on creating programs and initiatives to help clients become more financially fit. She is our Client Experience Director and her focus at IAM is on providing clients with financial plans that will help them better navigate their future and helping to ensure that we provide the highest level of service possible to our clients.

On a personal note, Laurie enjoys spending time outdoors, traveling, and volunteering in a reading program for young children, as well as spending time with her family.

Hugo joined EAFA in 2023 to oversee IAM communications. He has worked in marketing and communications in financial services for international Americans for over 10 years. He is based in the UK, having previously lived in Spain and Latin America.

Outside of work, Hugo enjoys spending time with his family, is a trustee of an educational charitable trust, and plays drums in a jazz band.

Marian Wellman has over 25 years experience in financial planning and tax consultation. She has an MBA in Finance from the University of Colorado and began her financial and tax consulting career in 1983 with a major US brokerage firm. She launched her own private practice in 1996 to offer comprehensive financial planning to individual clients and also acted as a Planned Giving Director for a church-based multi-state charitable foundation. In 2005 Marian moved to the Lake Chapala area, near Guadalajara, Mexico and started a tax preparation business catering to American expatriates. She became an Investment Advisor Representative for IAM in 2006, working with clients based in Mexico.

Marian relocated back to her home state of Colorado in 2015 to spend more time with family.

Randall Brody has over 20 years experience in tax consultation and banking, He has a Bachelors degree in Finance, an MBA, and is a National Tax Practice Institute Fellow and IRS Enrolled Agent. Randall built and ran three successful brick-and-mortar tax offices over ten years, preparing thousands of returns, before moving to a completely online business model focused on helping American’s living overseas with their taxes. Randall joined IAM in 2016 to expand the range of services he offers to his tax clients to also encompass financial planning and investment management.

On a personal note, Randall is an avid skier and in his spare time serves as a member of the local volunteer ski patrol and enjoys spending time with his family (wife, four daughters, son, granddaughter and grandson).