Kelly Kidwell is president and CEO of Pacific Advisors, a West Coast-based financial services firm that specializes in advanced estate, business, charitable and philanthropic planning.
Kelly started his career in financial services in 1987. In 1993, he founded Pacific Advisors and has grown the firm from a small Southern California boutique to a statewide practice with more than 200 staff and advisors as well as 3,000 active brokers.
Pacific Advisors was ranked by Guardian’s most recent reports to be their number-one brokerage firm in the nation and their third-largest premium agency. Recently, Pacific Advisors also earned the distinction of being one of the top 250 international firms by GAMA International, which recognized Kelly for his excellence in management and contribution to the growth and vision of the insurance and financial services industry as a whole.
Kelly has earned several professional designations, including CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, Chartered Life Underwriter (from The American College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania), Life Underwriting Training Council Fellow, Certified Specialist in Planned Giving and Chartered Financial Consultant.
Professional memberships and achievements include the Top of the Table designation for the Million Dollar Round Table, Chair of the Charitable Planning Committee for the Association for Advanced Life Underwriting (AALU) and Leader of the Volunteer Planned Giving national program for the March of Dimes, from 2001 to 2008. He is also a member of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) and a member of the Los Angeles Estate Planning Council.
Kelly is a frequent lecturer for continuing education for accountants, attorneys and financial advisors throughout the country in the areas of advanced estate, business and charitable planning. Kelly is also the owner of C3 Media, a marketing and media firm that focuses on producing educational and marketing materials to assist both charities and professional advisors in the identification and cultivation of planned gifts. In 1999, Kelly formed Philanthropy International, a non-profit foundation that helps families set up component foundations and helps charities identify and develop planned gifts.
A resident of Claremont, California, Kelly is also a pilot and a Cub Scout leader. He and his wife, Cristy, have four children and enjoy taking their family hiking and camping among other outdoor adventures.