Employee Spotlight: Francesca Leverich

Welcome to our Employee Spotlight Series! Every month, we plan to showcase one employee, so that our Ramparts readers get an inside look at our firm and get to know different members of the team. This month, we checked in with Francesca Leverich, a client relationship specialist (CRS) who has been with Fort Pitt since October 2008.

Tell readers about your background & what led you to Fort Pitt

I’m originally from Pittsburgh and graduated from Carlow University with a major in Biology – so how did that lead me to Fort Pitt!? A few years after I graduated, I took a position in Orlando, FL with Schwab’s Institutional Service Team and was assigned to high net worth advisory firms. I was there from 1998 to 2004 and during that time I met my husband who was freelancing for Disney Entertainment. We married, started a family, and decided to come back home to Pittsburgh.

The CRS position at Fort Pitt was perfect for me because I came from Schwab (who is also Fort Pitt’s primary custodian). I knew what our firm needed and how to navigate within the Schwab infrastructure.

What are your day-to-day responsibilities as a CRS?

I work directly with Ted Bovard, managing director and principal, on a team with two additional CRS’s. Ted has a large number of our firm’s clients, so you can imagine there is a significant amount we oversee. Personally, I am involved in nearly every aspect of the client relationship such as: database entry, processing all types of paperwork, mailings, managing calls, personal requests, and appointment setting. That’s not all, but it gives you a good idea.

In addition, I act as a project manager for our Client Relationship Management (CRM) database, a platform that has significantly improved our day-to-day efficiency in the office. I assist with training and answering questions pertaining to the system.

I also assist with interviews for new hires and conduct new-hire training.

What is the best part about your job?

Definitely speaking with clients. I love the interaction with them and it is very rewarding to establish and maintain great, long-standing personal relationships. At times, clients have concerns and I take pleasure knowing that they trust Fort Pitt and the genuine personal service we provide.

Tell us something interesting about yourself

My parents are 100 percent Italian and were one of the last groups to go through Ellis Island. My sister and I learned Italian as our first language, and English as our second. We actually learned English primarily in kindergarten. I’ve traveled to Calabria, Italy twice to see family, but I would love to go back someday with my husband and son.