Experienced. Effective. Ethical.
With more than seven decades of combined experience helping business owners and families grow and protect their wealth, the Pivar Financial Group team has seen it all—and whatever you want to achieve, we can help you get there.
Michael Pivar
Michael Pivar took a unique path to the world of financial services. After graduating from Ramapo College of New Jersey in 1996—and long before founding Pivar Financial Group with Kevin Gray and Don Bazemore—he began his career in the music industry, helping to launch the careers of platinum-selling artists whose names you know.
(It was during his 11-year tenure with RCA that he picked up the nickname “Peev,” which many of you call him today.)
In 2008, Michael moved to West Seattle, continuing to work in the music industry while focusing on raising his family; he and his wife have two sons. Ultimately, however, as someone with a unique ability to make people feel comfortable, he was a natural for the insurance industry. (After all, not many people can make talking about insurance enjoyable!)
After joining another company as an advisor for health, life, and disability insurance, he became an expert on the Affordable Care Act—and soon was regarded as an authority on healthcare and retirement planning, giving ACA seminars across the state. He decided to make the leap and start his own firm in 2017.
When Michael isn’t meeting with clients in his signature velvet jackets, you can find him on the golf course and at every Seattle Sounders FC game. And perhaps all that time around music-industry VIPs and velvet ropes years ago led to what he calls the “Velvet Experience”—the unmatched service Pivar Financial Group provides to the clients who are our own VIPs.
Kevin J. Gray
An insurance veteran of over 30 years, Kevin J. Gray has vast experience with life insurance, disability coverage, and executive benefits for high-net-worth individuals and business owners. He helps develop strategies for all of his clients to mitigate risk and protect wealth.
Earlier in his career, Kevin served as the advanced life sales consultant for Farmers Life, where he was responsible for nationwide training and joint sales work for the Advanced Markets Unit. He also was a financial advisor and consultant for Cornerstone Financial Group, where he crossed paths with Michael Pivar—and ultimately, where the seeds for Pivar Financial Group were planted.
Kevin earned the Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow (LUTCF) designation in 2010, and thanks to his teaching mindset, subsequently moderated several LUTC courses for the American College. A first-team All-American bowler at San Jose State, he loves traveling and also spent 22 years as a reserve police officer for the town of Las Gatos, California.
Don Bazemore
Before Don Bazemore got his foot in the door in the insurance industry, he was helping people with their own feet—a successful Brass Plum shoe buyer and manager at Nordstrom for 10 years, he regularly produced double-digit sales increases. He later joined Intershoe as a wholesale representative and helped grow the brand into the fourth largest in the Brass Plum shoe department.
Don’s insurance career began at Cornerstone America, where he focused on coverage for self-employed individuals and quickly earned a promotion to district manager. At Pivar Financial Group, his practice centers on client advocacy as he guides business owners and individuals through insurance decisions on life, health, and disability, along with providing tax-friendly retirement strategies.
A graduate of the University of Washington, Don is a dynamic public speaker with professional training from Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy, Tom Hopkins, Tony Robbins, Bob Proctor, and John Kalench. He enjoys playing music, outdoor recreation, and boating. Don, an Eagle Scout, is married with three children and lives in West Seattle.
Share On: