Les was born in Raleigh, North Carolina in 1949. He attended schools in North Carolina, receiving his B.B.A from Campbell College in 1971. The next 1 1/2 years were spent traveling abroad, visiting and working in eighteen foreign countries.
Subsequent trips brought him to the San Francisco Bay Area, where he now resides. Professionally, Les entered the insurance business in 1975 and organized Koonce Financial Corporation in 1982. Presently, Les and his staff provide insurance, investment, and retirement and planning services to over 1,200 individual and corporate clients. Also, the firm facilitates working with clients and attorneys to provide estate planning services.
In 1992, Les was appointed General Agent of Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company of Northern California and managed over 70 associates in three Bay Area offices.
Since moving to the Bay Area, Les has served in several professional and community organizations. Included among those are the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of the Bay Area, Children's Home Society, Mid-Peninsula Boys and Girls Club, Scleroderma Research Foundation, El Camino Hospital Planned Giving Council, and the California Association of Life Underwriters (CALU). In 1993, the Peninsula Association of Life Underwriters honored him as the “Insurance Professional of the Year”. Currently Les sits on the Board of Directors for Palo Alto University, and the San Mateo Historical Association, and is President of the Menlo Park Kiwanis Club.
Les is married to Suzanne Solon Koonce, resides in Menlo Park, attends Menlo Park Presbyterian Church where he is a Deacon, and enjoys most sports - especially golf, running, and tennis.
Lindsey Paschal joined the Les Koonce staff in June 2010 with a desire to work with people and help make their lives easier. Born and raised in Raleigh, NC, she attended North Carolina State University and obtained a BS degree in Business and Marketing education and a minor in Business Management. Lindsey spent the last three years teaching High School Business and Marketing courses in Cary, NC. She moved to the Bay Area in April 2010, after her husband accepted a job transfer with Sony Ericsson.
Lindsey enjoys cooking, travelling, rooting for the NC State Wolfpack, and spending time with her husband, Trey.
Kim is a native Californian and long time Bay Area resident. She has over 28 years of experience within financial institutions. Her background varies in banking operations, project management, and technology management. Kim's experience in the financial industry includes working for several Bay Area community banks in various capacities. Due to mergers and acquisitions, in 2006 she decided to leave the volatile banking industry to pursue other interests.
