Two Decades of
Giving First.
The Pinnacle Group was founded by Dr. Pat Pachciarz®, CEPA®, CPT, CNC — on one guiding principle: that true success is measured not just by what we build, but by what we GIVE.BACK.®. A Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA®) and former J.P. Morgan Private Client Group advisor, Dr. Pat Pachciarz® serves clients in Aurora, Illinois, with the proprietary DAITT® Advisory Method.
Dr. Pat Pachciarz® is the Founder & CEO of The Pinnacle Group in Aurora, Illinois, and creator of the DAITT® Advisory Method. He is highly focused on the human connection in financial planning: how behavior and emotion shape money decisions. That focus is grounded in the Accredited Behavioral Finance Professional (ABFP®) designation he is pursuing. He is currently earning his Doctorate in Organizational Leadership at the University of St. Francis while simultaneously earning his Master's in Personal Financial Planning at the College for Financial Planning. A Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA®), he coordinates each client's banker, CPA, attorneys and advisors into one clear plan.
Caring for a parent, settling a family trust or facing a life transition? Dr. Pat Pachciarz® Clarity answers the family money questions people ask first, in plain English with official sources.
- ◆MSN Money: Top 10 Entrepreneurs of 2025 (published April 25, 2026) · Read on MSN →
- ◆Featured in CEO Times and BIZWeekly
- ◆Multiple J.P. Morgan Standard of Excellence Award Recipient
- ◆Doctorate in Organizational Leadership — currently earning
- ◆Master's in Personal Financial Planning — earning simultaneously
- ◆Accredited Behavioral Finance Professional (ABFP®) — in progress
- ◆Founder, Pinnacle Academy™ — Excellence in Habits
- ◆Chairman, GIVE.BACK.® Foundation
What changes when you work with a team that leads with GIVE.BACK.®?
Before
- Advice feels product-first, not life-first.
- Values and money sit in separate conversations.
- You meet specialists, but no one quarterbacks the plan.
- Legacy talk stays vague until something forces it.
After
- Dr. Pat Pachciarz® builds the plan around your life and your experts.
- GIVE.BACK.® is part of how the practice measures success.
- One team coordinates debt, risk, investments, tax, and trust.
- You get plain answers before you hire anyone.
Dr. Pat Pachciarz®
Dr. Pat Pachciarz®, CEPA®, CPT, CNC — Founder & CEO
Named one of MSN Money: Top 10 Entrepreneurs of 2025 (published April 25, 2026), featured in CEO Times and BIZWeekly, host of The Pursuit with Dr. Pat® podcast, creator of Pinnacle Academy™, and founder of the GIVE.BACK.® Foundation — Dr. Pat Pachciarz® has built one of the most comprehensive coordinated private wealth ecosystems in the country.
"It's not what you make — it's what you keep."
Our Core Values
These aren't words on a wall. They're the commitments that shape every recommendation, every relationship, and every result we deliver.
Meet the Team Behind the Strategy
Over 100 combined years of private wealth experience. Each person on this team was chosen not just for their expertise, but for their commitment to putting clients first.
Dr. Pat Pachciarz®
Dr. Pat Pachciarz®, CEPA®, CPT, CNC
Founder & CEO, Pinnacle Group
& Pinnacle Private Wealth
Founder, Pinnacle Academy™
Chairman, GIVE.BACK.® Foundation
Your private wealth advisor and tax strategist — and the coordinator who brings your banker, your CPA, your attorneys, and your advisors into one clear plan.
Most people first knew him as an athlete — captain of the men's basketball team at the University of St. Francis, then a shooting instructor for the Chicago Bulls Training Academy and the National Association of Basketball Coaches, whose early-2000s videos still teach players how to shoot. Basketball lit his love of fitness, and fitness is the door that led to everything he built next.
Jill Sage, PMP®
President and Chief Business Strategist
Jill Sage is a nationally recognized project leader and business strategist. Over 13+ years at ALDI USA, where she serves as National Project Manager, she has led U.S. business process alignment, national buying training, and technology transformation across an international organization — briefing executive leadership and mentoring teams through complex change.
As President and Chief Business Strategist of The Pinnacle Group, Jill architects the operating system behind Pinnacle's coordinated wealth, wellness, and business firms — turning vision into an executable machine.
A Project Management Professional (PMP®) certified by the Project Management Institute, Jill holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Illinois State University. Above all, Jill is a proud mother of two — the role she loves most.
Razel Esco
Chief of Staff & Chief Operating Officer, Fractional
Judy Matugas
Chief Marketing Officer, Fractional
Fractional CTO
Strategic technology leadership. Architecting the systems, automation, and digital infrastructure behind Pinnacle’s client experience and operations.
Strategic Partners
A trusted network of specialists — tax, legal, insurance, and lending — coordinated by Pinnacle to deliver a fully integrated advisory experience.
The GIVE.BACK.® Foundation
Dr. Pat Pachciarz® serves as Chairman of the GIVE.BACK.® Foundation — built on a simple belief that growing together and giving back aren't separate goals, they're the same one.
We tithe a portion of every engagement to charitable organizations across the Heart of America.
When you work with Pinnacle, your wealth plan is part of something larger than a portfolio.
Serving Aurora, Illinois and Beyond
The Pinnacle Group serves professional women, business owners, and educators in person in Aurora, Illinois — and virtually in all 50 states. Wherever you are, one coordinated strategy is within reach.
Our home base. Private wealth planning, tax strategy, and DAITT® advisory services for business owners and families.
Virtual engagements nationwide, anchored in Aurora, Illinois — wherever you are, one coordinated strategy.
"Distance doesn't limit strategy. Wherever you've built it — we'll help you protect it."
— Dr. Pat Pachciarz®, CEPA® · The Pinnacle Group
MSN Money: Top 10 Entrepreneurs of 2025