Cliff Kwartner was born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in Plainview on Long Island. He attended Towson University, where he began his career in financial services as a producer with National Life of Vermont. He built his business primarily through strategic relationships, laying the foundation for a referral-driven approach that still defines his work today.
Coming from a family-owned business background, Cliff developed a deep respect for entrepreneurs. Growing up, watching how hard his father worked with little time for anything else, taught Cliff how to effectively communicate with business owners. Be direct, be efficient, and build the relationship on trust.
Cliff later joined MassMutual to work with his mentor George Kinigopoulos, who told him, “You’re working in the minor leagues—it’s time to join the majors.” Within a few years, Cliff worked his way up to Brokerage Director, growing an important piece of the agency that had been previously overlooked. He worked with independent advisors, banks, CPA firms, and benefits companies to integrate MassMutual’s solutions on to their platforms. His passion to help businesses grow, and his motivation to identify and recruit successful advisors, have been the greatest drivers of his success.
Cliff has been married to his wife Sarah for 10 years. He’s a proud dad to two boys, Ben (8) and Ethan (5), a lifelong sports fan, golf enthusiast, and movie buff. Cliff believes if you’re not having fun doing what you do, you’re in the wrong business. As he steps into a larger leadership role, he’s tapping into his familiar “high energy”, to keep building and helping advisors, business owners, and families change their lives. Those are your Cliff Notes.