Our Team

John founded our firm in 2001 and maintains the following professional designations and credentials:

Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU®)

Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®)

Retirement Income Certified Professional® (RICP®)

John is securities licensed and maintains a Life & Health license in several states.

John considers the most rewarding aspect of his work the personal relationships he has with his team and his clients and the impact he hopes to make in their lives.

John enjoys road trips, biking, reading, snowmobiling, and spending time at "Koren's Cabin" on Bay Lake, Minnesota. John is also an FCC-licensed Extra Class Amateur Radio Operator, call sign "NG0Z" and enjoys talking around the world on his amateur radio station.

John was born and raised in the Twin Cities. He and his wife Koren, our Chief Operating Officer, have three adult children and live in Eden Prairie and Bay Lake, Minnesota.

Austin joined Northwestern Mutual in 2014 and was one of the top-performing college interns in the country. Austin joined our team in 2019 as a result of a mentoring relationship with John.

Austin focuses on being at the center of his clients' financial lives, helping them to develop a financial plan designed to accumulate and distribute wealth while managing risk and mitigating the effects of taxes. Austin also focuses on multi-generational wealth planning. Austin is securities licensed and has earned the Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP®) designation. He has earned a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^TM (CFP®) designation. 

Austin grew up in Apple Valley, Minnesota, and attended the University of Concordia- St. Paul, where he received a degree in Finance and played College Baseball. Austin currently resides in Burnsville, Minnesota.

Austin is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys Fishing in Northern Minnesota, hunting in Southwestern Minnesota and South Dakota, with his prized and trained Black Labrador Retriever, Dash.

AJ joined Grandview Square Financial as a result of a mentoring relationship with John. Having already spent time in the industry, AJ saw the value in having a team around him to better serve our clients and plan for them on a more comprehensive level. AJ attended Iowa State University earning a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Financial Planning. AJ has earned his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional  designation.

AJ focuses on helping clients learn how to best make use of their assets and opportunities to efficiently accomplish their lifetime and legacy goals. Through creating a comprehensive financial plan first, the client’s plan ultimately reveals the strategies and solutions that should be considered for implementation. AJ considers the most rewarding part of his career to be helping clients who have had long and prosperous careers in their retirement planning, and working with young and successful families maximize their current and future opportunities.

AJ is also a member of the Christian Men’s Business Committee, which is a nationwide group of Christian Businessmen that work to incorporate their faith based values into their personal and business practices.

AJ grew up in Bloomington in the hockey and golf community and is still an avid golfer. AJ lives in Eden Prairie with his wife, Jayden, and their husky, Mia. AJ and Jayden are members of Grace Church in Eden Prairie.

Koren joined the team in 2003 after a ten-year stint of being a stay-at-home mom, and has been heading up Investment and Risk Operations, Payroll, Human Resources and Customer Service ever since. Koren enjoys interacting with our clients and our team and continues to learn and grow as our business, industry and technology evolves.

Koren grew up in Plymouth, Minnesota, attended St. Cloud State and the University of Minnesota, where she and John met.

Koren enjoys getting together with family and friends, gardening, water sports, hiking, biking, and spending time at the cabin.

Koren and John celebrated 30 years of marriage in 2020, have three grown children, and live in Eden Prairie and Bay Lake, Minnesota.

Koren maintains Securities and Insurance licenses.

Amanda joined us in 2012 and her role on our team has grown every single day since. Amanda has a tremendous commitment to hard work and serving our clients on a very personal level and finds great rewards in bringing them peace of mind and being a part of a team that shares the same core values. Amanda is currently pursuing industry education.

Amanda personifies our team values of health and family first as her foremost love is being a wife and mother. She enjoys spending time with her family outdoors (fishing, hunting, hiking, watersports). Working out and maintaining a healthy lifestyle are important to her. Cleaning and cooking are her “relaxers.”

Amanda grew up in Central Wisconsin and lives in the South Metro with her husband Blake and two young daughters Leni and Burke.

Jayden joined Grandview Square Financial in 2020 after graduating from Iowa State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Education.

Jayden joins Amanda in Planning and is primarily responsible for helping to prepare and maintain financial plans and our suite of planning software and tools. Jayden is also our team's resident business process and culture coach.

In her free time, Jayden enjoys being at the gym, weekends at the cabin, and spending time with her husband, AJ, and their Husky, Mia.

Jayden currently holds her Life, A&H, Annuity and Long-Term Care Insurance Licenses.

Dayna serves our clients and team in Operations and Management.

Her education in business and finance was complimented by her involvement operating a family business and then working for a large wealth management firm in Chicago for seven years.

After raising her family in the greater Chicago area, Dayna was happy to return to her home state of Minnesota to be closer to family. She enjoys music, reading, hiking, and the great outdoors.

Kate joined the Grandview Financial team in early 2022 as part of our Client Relations team.

Kate has a 20 year background in customer service and education for the salon industry. This experience has given her a passion for serving clients while helping support teams in their respective roles. She is excited to join the world of finance and grow with us.

Kate grew up in east Bloomington and currently resides in Savage. At home she cares for her 2 young children and her mother. Her happy place is being with friends and family as she finds great joy in spending time with others.  In her free time, Kate loves finding new things to experience whether it be travel, food, museums or outdoor activities.     

Nick joined Grandview Square Financial in 2022. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Iowa State University.

Nick is a key member of our Operations team and is focused on investment transactions and portfolio building for our clients.

Some of Nick’s favorite pastimes include reading westerns, hunting, snowmobiling, and going to the cabin. He is an avid sports fan.