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History

Our Partners, Dennis Bartos, PA; Gonzalo Garcia, CLU; Cathy Neifeld, JD; and Partner Emeritus, Ed Leisher have more than 100 years of collective experience in the insurance industry. Our deep relationships in the industry allow us to advocate for advisors and their clients at the most senior levels of the insurance and reinsurance communities. Our partners are highly sought after as industry speakers and participate in advisory capacities for many professional insurance organizations such as Finseca, Forum 400, The Million Dollar Round Table’s Top of the Table (TOT), NAILBA and AHOU.

AgencyONE’s partners have a long and respected professional history. Ed Leisher, although now retired, was an industry leader in the life insurance brokerage business and was instrumental in the development of business models that support elite advisors in enhancing their value to their clients.  Dennis Bartos was hired as medical underwriter by The Underwriting Group (TUG) in 1982 – the first Certified Physician’s Assistant (PA) to be hired as a medical underwriter in the life insurance industry.  Dennis went on to become instrumental in the training of other PAs in the medical underwriting field. Their unique experience and a growing reputation in the field of life insurance sales led Ed to launch his own company in 1985 – Leisher & Associates. Dennis Bartos joined Ed as a partner and Chief Medical Underwriter later that same year. Leisher & Associates became one of the most successful Marketing Organizations for Executive Life and its Agent-Owned Reinsurance Company.

In 1990, Dennis and Ed formed The Potomac Group.   The Potomac Group joined ELAR Partners and Hartford Life and quickly became one of the top Independent Marketing Organizations under ELAR for Hartford Life. In 1992, Gonzalo Garcia joined the Potomac Group in support of the company’s advanced case design after having spent almost 10 years in other sales support roles.

The combined talents, expertise and leadership of Dennis Bartos, Gonzalo Garcia, and Ed Leisher resulted in the tremendous success of The Potomac Group. The Potomac Group’s performance and reputation as an organization specializing in the sale of insurance products to high net-worth individuals caught the eye of The BISYS Group (now Crump Life Insurance Services, a BB&T Company) – the nation’s leading independent distributor of Life, Long-Term Care, Disability and Annuity products. BISYS purchased The Potomac Group in 1998. Under their continued leadership, the BISYS-owned Potomac Group tripled in revenue between the years of 1998 and 2003. In 2003, the Potomac Partners Group (PPG) was founded with the intended focus to be life insurance premium financing programs.

Cathy Neifeld, JD joined Potomac Partners Group the same year becoming a specialist in the challenging arena of premium financing, complex life insurance design and the evaluation of premium financing programs. Potomac Partners Group became the leading premium finance aggregator for Credit Suisse and other financial sources.

Dennis Bartos continued to work with BISYS-Potomac until 2005 when he departed to start AgencyONE (its first incarnation) – a firm specializing in the underwriting of jumbo and impaired risk life insurance. In 2007, Gonzalo Garcia departed BISYS-Potomac to join Credit Suisse in the capacity of Managing Director in the Life Finance Group.

In 2009, these old friends and former co-workers began discussing the idea of reuniting and combining their efforts to partner in a new insurance and annuity brokerage firm. The timing was right and, in 2010, AgencyONE Insurance Marketing Group was formed combining the incredible talents and knowledge of  Dennis Bartos, PA; Gonzalo Garcia, CLU; and Cathy Neifeld, JD, and Ed Leisher, CLU.

AgencyONE’s 22 employees possess unique talents and abilities that offer our AgencyONE 100 Advisors highly specialized services to fit the financial planning needs of their clients. Whether it be case design and illustration specialists, underwriters, case managers, development specialists, marketing personnel or the AgencyONE back office staff, we are a close-knit team with years of long-standing tenure. We enjoy the time we spend together both inside and outside of the office.  From Associate to Partner, the AgencyONE team works closely and diligently to complement the planning of our AgencyONE 100 advisors for the benefit of their clients.

  • 1974

    Ed Leisher begins his career at TUG

    Ed began his life insurance career at The Underwriting Group (TUG) after his discharge from the Air Force.

  • 1980

    Ed is promoted to VP of Sales & Marketing at TUG

  • 1982

    Dennis Bartos, PA, joins TUG

    Dennis was hired as a medical underwriter – the first Certified Physician’s Assistant (PA) to be hired as a medical underwriter in the life insurance industry. 

  • 1985

    Ed launches Leisher & Associates

    Dennis Bartos joined Ed as a partner and Chief Medical Underwriter later in the year.

  • 1990

    The Potomac Group was formed

    The Potomac Group joined ELAR Partners & Hartford Life and quickly became one of the top Independent Marketing Organizations.

  • 1992

    Gonzalo Garcia joins The Potomac Group

    Gonzalo joined in support of the company’s advanced case design after having spent almost 10 years in other sales support roles.

  • 1998

    BISYS purchases The Potomac Group

  • 2003

    Ed founded Potomac Partners Group

    Ed left The Potomac Group/BISYS and founded Potomac Partners Group (PPG) with the intended focus on life insurance premium financing programs.

  • Cathy Neifeld, JD, joined PPG

    Cathy joined Ed at PPG, becoming a specialist in the area of premium financing, complex life insurance design, and the evaluation of premium financing programs.

  • 2005

    Dennis Bartos, PA, starts AgencyONE

  • 2007

    Gonzalo leaves BISYS-Potomac to join Credit Suisse

  • 2010

    AgencyTWO (dba AgencyONE) Insurance Marketing Group was formed

    After a year of discussion, these old friends and former co-workers formed AgencyONE as it is known today.