Landsberg Bennett Team Debra Cooper

Debra Cooper

Chief Operations Officer & Financial Advisor

B.S., Western Michigan University

Growing up, my family moved quite a bit. Moving to a new high school as a sophomore was difficult. But I learned to forge relationships quickly and to be unafraid of change. This has served me well in a career that has taken me to many different cities in many kinds of roles.

I’ve been with Landsberg Bennett since its founding, and in financial services since 1992, when I started at Discover Financial Services as a college intern. After college, I continued at Discover in Chicago, and was transferred to Phoenix, Arizona, Michigan and Columbus, Ohio. I started in sales and service, moved to operations, and then joined the acquisitions team. I managed the operational relationships with our national merchants, finishing at Discover as a senior manager in strategic initiatives.

In 2003 I chose to move to a warmer climate and moved to Cape Coral to be closer to family. Since my degree was in finance, I transferred to Morgan Stanley and then spent four years working at Merrill Lynch prior to joining Landsberg Bennett.

Find common ground with our clients, and identifying with many of them, comes easily because of my corporate experience. My colleagues here tease me about having lived almost everywhere our clients have, but it’s true in many cases.

I love my role here — the organizational aspects, the problem solving. I like being valued for our dependability. Clients can rely on us to complete whatever their request or need may be. All of us at Landsberg Bennett put clients first. Our goal is not only the success of their plan, but also doing what’s best for them and their families. We form strong bonds with clients, often moving beyond purely financial relationships into genuine friendships.

Besides my career, my biggest sense of accomplishment comes from my philanthropic activities, which began in college with Meals on Wheels. My faith is central to my life, and it was an honor to serve on the school board of the local Catholic diocese for six years. Away from work, it’s all about spending time with my family and friends. We love spending time around the water and enjoying what Florida has to offer.

The best thing about working at Landsberg Bennett is the team, which is more like a family. Everybody works so well together, and we all put clients first. We’re not all alike, but we all have the same vision — doing the best for our clients and their families.