Fortress Brokerage Team

Michael A. Baratta is a graduate of Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, majoring in Finance and Accounting. Michael began his first company in 1980 growing the manufacturing and distribution business into a $160 million sales enterprise. The manufacturing and distribution company was sold in 2000.

Michael began Bloomfield Capital Management in 2000 catering to the retail investment and executive benefit market. Acquiring all Life, Health, and variable insurance licenses, series 6,63,65, 7, and a ChFC designation from the American College, the company grew acquiring outstanding production awards from many Life and investment companies repeatedly with typical production in excess of 1 million in each calendar year. This practice was sold in 2005 at which point the firm reached over 32 million in assets under management.

Moving to Atlanta Georgia in 2005, Michael took a position with Bisys Insurance Services as the Senior Sales Manager for the southeast.

After 18 months, during which he acquired a CLU from the American College, developing a 1250% increase in application count, and exceeding all sales goals, he had resigned to start his own firm.

In 2007 Michael started Fortress Brokerage Solutions providing Life, Long Term Care, Disability Income, Annuity, and Life Settlement solutions for insurance licensed agents and agencies. In addition Fortress Brokerage acquired one of the few Minnesota Life Master Distribution contracts awarded in the country. Fortress Brokerage provides Individual as well as voluntary and group benefit products to contracted agents. Fortress has developed many Direct BGA contracts along with Top IMO contracts with carriers generating in excess of $80 million in target premium thus far.

Ashleigh White is a graduate of Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA, where she obtained two Bachelor degrees; one in Journalism and the other in Political Science. She is a resident insurance agent in Georgia for Life and Accident & Sickness. She has worked for Fortress Brokerage Solutions since 2015 building relationships with agents and agencies, designing insurance cases, and continuing to build her knowledge of advanced insurance concepts. She is currently in the midst of working towards obtaining her Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFc) and Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designations from The American College. Ashleigh is a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success where she was awarded the National Engaged Leader award. She enjoys cooking Italian food and playing cribbage.

Lindsay McCain grew up in Marietta, GA. She graduated from Kennesaw State University with a bachelor’s degree in Marketing. She started working for White Horse Advisors, a parent company of Fortress in 2006, and once she graduated from KSU, she became an employee of Fortress Brokerage Solutions. Married since 2009, Lindsay and her husband share two children Riley and Cole. Outside of work, Lindsay enjoys tennis, softball, walking at the river, and spending time with her family.

Monica grew up and finished her Foreign Languages degree in her home country of Romania. She is very proud to be a US citizen and has lived in Georgia ever since her arrival.

So far her career spans over 20yrs, with a background in banking and the mortgage industries. She joined the FBS family as she wanted to be part of a team that felt more like a family than a faceless corporation.

Although new to the insurance industry, her combined knowledge and skill set she acquired in the mortgage and banking industry, have allowed her to hit the ground running.

She was able to quickly learn there is so much depth and complexity in the insurance business, and still learns something new every day!

When not at work, Monica enjoys the great outdoors, new dining experiences, gardening, documentaries, movies, and always has a hunger for learning something new.

Katie grew up in Woodstock, GA. She has over 20 years of Life, AD&D, Disability and Special Risk experience spending much of her career working at The Hartford as an Assistant Director. She has a Georgia and Tennessee Life, Accident and Sickness license. Katie joined Fortress Brokerage Solutions in 2023. Outside of work Katie enjoys spending time with family & friends, attending live concerts, UGA Football, traveling and baking. Katie has 2 daughters Haley & Harley and 1 grandchild.

Rob founded Essential Solutions in 2014 as a career agency with a large carrier. Within 2 years EIS became the Top Agency in the United States & Northeast Region. In 2019 Rob transitioned Essential Solutions to the broker channel, representing all carriers across the United States. His vision has been to create a top performing FMO/NMO within the industry, bringing innovative ideas and new strategies to the market, as well as cutting edge technology. He also has a focus on creating an environment for all agents to be a true partner and excell in this ever changing field. It’s his goal to assist advisors in developing a successful career, while also keeping their member’s needs and wellbeing at the forefront of their business.

Before starting Essential Solutions, Rob was a Regional Vice President with MetLife for 11 years. He covered the Northeast and Southeast during this time period and was responsible for overseeing the career distribution for Life Insurance sales. In 2010 Rob reached the Pinnacle with MetLife as the Top RVP in the Nation.
Prior to MetLife, Rob was the Managing Director for Mutual of NY (now MONY) in Atlanta. He was responsible for building a career agency for financial services. This included recruiting, training, & revenue within the Equity, Life Insurance, Annuity, & Health Markets.

Rob is a husband and father. He enjoys many outdoor activities such as camping, hiking, hunting, fishing, & kayaking. He loves to build things, work in the garden and yard, listen to music, and most other creative endeavors. He spent many years as a coach in youth sports (lacrosse and hockey) and created one of the top travel lacrosse programs in the nation; winning a National Championship in 2015 at the U15 level. His faith, community, & country are all important to him, and he has participated in many charitable organizations and events through-out the years, two of which are Best Buddies, and The Boys and Girls Club of America.

Lenore Guarino is from Berkley, Michigan and has spent 21 years in the insurance industry. She has three daughters and three grandchildren. She enjoys dancing, crafts, volunteering for charity during her time off and spending time with family / friends. Lenore has been a part of our team at Fortress Brokerage Solutions for 3 years. She is responsible for all life and annuity agent contracting, commission entries, case management and state license renewals.