Insights

Norman C. Patrick, Jr. leads the overall Consulting practice at Advisors Plus, utilizing his 25+ years of expertise in the areas of payments and business strategy.

Drawing on his experience managing one of the largest debit card portfolios in the US, Norm originated the Advisors Plus Debit and Checking practice in 2007.

Today, by closely examining the profitability, functionality and positioning of a client’s debit card business, Norm helps financial institutions optimize complex portfolio details to achieve their big picture goals of increasing profitability and enhancing member satisfaction.

Norm also builds on his background in project management to work with financial institutions on business strategy engagements such as annual planning sessions and loan growth initiatives.

Before joining Advisors Plus, Norm was VP of National City Bank (now PNC Bank), where he held P & L and product development responsibilities for a portfolio of over 3.5 million consumer and small-business debit cards driving more than $250 million in annual revenue. Norm also has expertise in consumer loan operations through his management of project teams and loan servicing units at National City Bank and Chase Manhattan Bank (now JPMorgan Chase).

Norm holds a B.B.A. in Business with a concentration in Finance from Cleveland State University, where he also completed MBA-level coursework. He is a frequent speaker at industry events and board meetings, is often cited in the press and serves on the faculty of the CUES School of Payments.

Jason Hortiz is a Principal Consultant with the Credit Card practice at Advisors Plus. Jason advises financial institutions on product development and ways to enhance portfolio growth and profitability through P&L analysis, product assessments, and industry benchmarking reviews.

A seasoned leader with 20+ years of experience in Card, Jason specializes in product management, new product development, secured and student card strategy, increasing portfolio profitability and strategic end-to-end analysis to help institutions capitalize on their competitive advantage.

Before joining Advisors Plus, Jason served as Head of Emerging Credit Card Products for PNC Bank where he led the launch of their successful cash rewards product and the development of the student and secured strategies. Prior to PNC, Jason spent 15 years at Bank of America in various product strategy roles.

Jason holds a B.S. and a M.S. in Public Administration from Wilmington University in Delaware.

Michelle Hillenbrand-Whale is a Principal, Strategic Consultant with the credit card practice at Advisors Plus. She advises credit unions on credit card portfolio growth, profitability, and marketing strategies.

Michelle has decades of experience in credit card portfolio management, including credit card sales, structuring of credit card products, and creating customized targeted promotions that produce positive measurable results. Before joining Advisors Plus in 2007, Michelle served as a VP and Manager of Credit Card at SunTrust (now Truist) and as an AVP at Bank One (now Chase).

Michelle holds a B.A. in Communications from Kent State University and is an accomplished leader with over 30 years of leading teams and managing multiple partnerships. She has extensive leadership training and accreditations, and digital marketing and data management certifications. In addition, Michelle is a frequent speaker and writer for industry related events.

Christopher D. Joy is a Principal Consultant with the Credit Card practice at Advisors Plus. Chris advises credit unions on issues involving portfolio growth, profitability enhancement, member reward programs, and the competitive and regulatory environments.

Chris has earned an industry-wide reputation for creating balanced, effective and credit union-centric credit card portfolio solutions for his clients. His 30+ years of experience in managing, growing and optimizing credit card portfolios provides unique insight when assisting clients in the highly competitive credit card marketplace.

Before joining Advisors Plus, Chris served as VP and Manager of Portfolio Profitability for National City Bank (now PNC Bank) and as a financial analyst with Bank One (now Chase). Both organizations were in the top 20 US credit card issuers by loan volume.

Chris holds a BBA in Business Administration from Ohio University. He is a frequent speaker at industry events and is often cited in financial institutions publications. Chris also serves on the faculty of the CUES School of Payments.