Since becoming a partner in Meridiem Advisory Group, Derrick leads the Financial and Retirement Income Planning team. He maintains several key professional designations which help him serve the specific and complex needs of his clients. As a Retirement Income Certified Professional, Chartered Financial Consultant, and Certified Financial Planner^™ professional, he holds a recognized standard of excellence in personal financial planning.

For more than 20 years, Derrick has dedicated his career to helping individuals and families plan and pursue their financial goals and retirement income objectives. His considerable financial knowledge and experience enable him to guide clients through various market conditions, some of which are historically challenging.

While working closely with each client to help them fully understand how their plans are progressing, he makes a point to educate them about suitable options and alternative opportunities that could help them achieve their goals. He focuses strongly on assisting clients in filling the gap between what they will need to live comfortably in retirement and what guaranteed sources of income will provide.

After graduating from Auburn University with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, Derrick began his professional life as an engineer with Pratt & Whitney. He later served as a chief operating officer for Sikes Composites, a family manufacturing business that employed 25 people. Derrick's interest in helping others ultimately led him to the financial services industry in 2001 as a financial advisor with Edward Jones. He later moved to Morgan Keegan before Raymond James acquired them in 2012. His engineering background is apparent in his disciplined, analytical approach to carefully managing assets for his clients.

Derrick and his wife, Patsy, live in his hometown of Wetumpka, Alabama, and have a daughter, Cassidy. They are active members of the Church of the Highlands. Each year he accompanies Patsy, a registered nurse, on a surgical mission trip to Guatemala with Health Talents International and assists with surgeries. Derrick enjoys fishing, reading, cooking, and attending Auburn football and basketball games in his free time.