Principals

John D. Becker, CLU, AEP is the Founder and a Shareholder of Becker Suffern McLanahan. John founded the firm in 1961. His clients benefit from his 50 years of professional experience. John is nationally recognized as one of the leading experts in estate planning and wealth transfer. John is a life and qualifying member of the Million Dollar Round Table and a Member of the New Orleans Estate Planning Council. He is also well known from his involvement in civic and community causes including serving on the boards of the Catholic Foundation, Christian Health Ministries Foundation, Metropolitan Crime Commission, Greater New Orleans Foundation and as a member of the Finance Council of the Archdiocese of New Orleans among many others. John received his B.S. in Physics in 1961 from Loyola University.

Patrick W. Suffern, CPA, CLU®, AEP®, CPFA™ is a Principal and Shareholder of Becker Suffern McLanahan. Pat received a B.S. in Accounting from Louisiana State University in 1981. From 1982 to 1991, he practiced in the Tax Department of KPMG Peat Marwick in New Orleans where his primary responsibilities included Employee Benefits Consulting, Estates, Trusts and Personal Financial Planning.

Brian P. Becker, CLU®, AIF®, CPFA™ is a Principal and Shareholder of Becker Suffern McLanahan. Brian is a qualifying and life member of the Million Dollar Round Table (Top of the Table) and Northshore Estate Planning Council. Brian also served as a board member for The American College Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics in Financial Services. From 1991 through 1996, he was an Assistant Vice President in the Commercial Lending Group at First National Bank of Commerce. Brian received his MBA from the University of New Orleans in 1991 and his Bachelor of Science in Economics/Finance from Southern Methodist University in 1989.

Brian currently specializes in retirement plans and retirement plan consulting. With over 26 years of experience, he assists plan sponsors in improving and maintaining successful retirement plans that seek to drive positive outcomes and produce retirement readiness for participants. He is dedicated to helping plan sponsors develop and maintain sound fiduciary practices and provides comprehensive advice regarding plan design, investments, education, and plan administration.

Timothy McLanahan, CLU®, ChFC®, AEP®, CPFA™ is a Principal and Shareholder of Becker Suffern McLanahan. Tim has studied extensively in the general field of Estate Planning obtaining his Chartered Life Underwriter degree and Chartered Financial Consultant degree. Additionally, he has been designated as an Accredited Estate Planner. Tim is a firm believer in donating his time and talent towards civic endeavors and has done so for several organizations and schools during his career. He currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Crime Commission. Tim is a graduate of Tulane University receiving his Bachelor of Science degree in Management. 

Tim believes in a holistic approach to serving his client’s financial needs including design and implementation of a retirement plan, IRA, taxable investments and insurance in the right combination for the clients that he serves. With over 30 years in the Financial Services Industry, Tim knows that every client is unique and therefore there is no “one size fits all” solution to solving financial puzzles.