Blair Thompson serves as Founder and President of Sparta Wealth Partners. Employing his strategic background, Blair has assembled a wealth of business and financial resource specialists to meet the full spectrum of client needs all in one place. As both an adviser and leader of Sparta, helping others be successful is truly Blair's passion. Formerly a Senior Vice President and HNW Relationship Manager with private banks, Blair delivered a full suite of private banking, investment management, wealth planning, trust, insurance and estate services to high net worth individuals and companies across the country. Prior to the private banking roles, Blair owned and operated his own firm, Thompson Financial Partners, that evolved from a career adviser to a fully independent model in the late 2000’s prior to being rolled into the bank channel. Blair is extremely bullish on the future of independent advisory and the customization and flexibility it offers sophisticated clients and fellow advisers. He brings a rare skillset for having demonstrated success in multiple approaches within the industry as a whole. This experience serves as a tremendous basis for helping successful business owners evaluate what banking products, offerings and services best meet their needs from an agnostic advocate or personal CFO type lens. Blair holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Spanish from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a Million Dollar Round Table, MDRT®, qualifying member, holds the Certified Wealth Strategist, CWS®, designation and is a perennial Chairman’s Council and Leaders Club qualifier with several institutions. Additionally, he qualified and was nominated for the Prestigious Top 100 Financial Advisers in the USA. He has also served on the boards of the Society of Financial Services Professionals, National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisers, Special Operator Transition Foundation, The Rosie Network and the SEAL Naval Special Warfare Family Foundation and is a member of Forest Hill Church in Charlotte, NC. While Blair is a civilian, he has served on a National Innovation Council with the Department of Defense and is a uniquely positioned strategic adviser to companies in the US Special Operations Command Network. Blair was also appointed as the Private Capital Adviser for NavalX, a government organization focused on connecting the US Navy with private sector companies, entrepreneurs and disruptive technology. He truly enjoys connecting clients and prospective clients to each other for helpful synergies and believes this adds tremendous value for a Sparta style community of trusted advocacy. Blair maintains his Series 7, 63, and 65 registrations along with life, health, disability and long term care insurance licenses. Blair’s motto is: “One Day or Day One. You Choose.”

Andrew Burquest serves as a Partner and Advisor of Sparta Wealth Partners. He is passionate about building strong relationships and providing holistic solutions to the challenges faced by individuals and families. Every client is unique, and Andrew incorporates their priorities and objectives into each bespoke plan. Andrew leverages his distinctive background, and the specialist resources of Sparta Wealth Partners, to singularly fulfill client needs. Formerly a National Account Manager with TIAA, Andrew worked with large and boutique institutional investment managers across retirement plan, managed account, brokerage, and 529 plan businesses. He experienced customized investments solutions tailored to the requirements of sophisticated institutional clients and observed the inadequacy of investment opportunities offered to successful individuals. Prior to his institutional role, Andrew began his financial services career in private client advisory with Defender Capital. He developed comprehensive client-centric advisory experience and broad exposure to conventional equity and fixed income, as well as targeted private equity, alternative, and esoteric investment vehicles. Major Andrew Burquest is an Engineer Corp mustang in the North Carolina Army National Guard with over 20 years of military service. He has deployed overseas in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and mobilized near home to support North Carolina Emergency Management with hurricane and Covid-19 response missions. He has commanded at the Company level and served in key leader positions from platoon to Division/State. Andrew holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Virginia Tech and an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He has been a CFA® Charter holder since 2013 and maintains FINRA Series 7 and 66 licenses.

I've spent 20 years in the US Marine Corps, 16 in Marine Special Operations (MARSOC). I've been able to travel the world from Wyoming to Central Asia, South Pacific, and the Middle East. I've led high-performing teams, from 4 to 800 personnel in training environments to highly remote and austere places. My passions are getting my four children outside to show them the enjoyment I've found in hunting, fishing, and learning to preserve wild things in wild places. Now I want to help my tribe of veterans create a village, so we can preserve what is important to us. I will wade through life's nuance and texture so we can see the beauty of the human environment resting on the natural world. I know daily involvements from life are difficult. My experience has taught me how to wade through the quagmire of policy and contextual shades we call the human experience. As a Marine Raider (Special Operations), I was selected to perform above average in numerous areas. (Integrity, Effective Intelligence, Physical Ability, Adaptability, Initiative, Determination, Dependability, Teamwork, Interpersonal Skills, and Stress Tolerance). Simply put, I enable better, more robust, and more agile teams in any scenery from design thinking negations to final product delivery and even the board room. My military experience gave true bread and depth to international relations on a political scale and, more importantly, a human level. Regardless of ethnicity, race, creed, color, and nationality, a smile goes a long way. We need to remove labels and work together. What I gained in personal and cultural understanding was reinforced during my master's program at the John Hopkins University (Government 2022). This program allowed me to understand how rules, regulations, and policies affect people in the workplace.