The COO Roundtable
Join host Matt Sonnen and a panel of COOs, as they share an open discussion about operational and technology best practices for the RIA industry, and shed a light on the tremendously important work COOs perform on a day-to-day basis.
Episodes
Matt is joined by industry veterans Jason Mirabella and Randy Lambert for Episode 81. Jason returns for his second appearance, having first joined Episode 37 nearly four years ago. Randy, the former COO of Orion, brings decades of experience after spending 30 years building and scaling one of the industry's leading organizations. Now, Jason and Randy have teamed up at Intention.ly to lau...
In this episode, Matt sits down with Linda Bready, a renowned operations consultant to RIAs and author of the new book, The Exit Equation – M&A Strategies, Tools, and Insights for Financial Advisors. What started as a guide for sellers preparing for mergers or acquisitions, Linda’s book reveals itself as a comprehensive blueprint for operational readiness. It’s packed with practical...
In Episode 79, Matt welcomes two long-time friends and industry experts: Lisa Crafford and Morgan Bell of Constellation Wealth Capital (“CWC”). CWC is a Chicago-based private equity firm founded in 2023 that specializes in making minority investments in growth-oriented wealth management firms across the United States. Lisa and Morgan first met at BNY Mellon Pershing, while consulting for...
Episode 78 dives deep into a challenge many COOs contend with on a daily basis: mastering M&A integration. Matt hosts a dynamic discussion with two former COOs who have recently stepped into groundbreaking roles focused exclusively on business integration: Eric Stephenson and Shelly Kapoor.
Eric is Managing Director of Integration and Optimization at Pathstone, a firm spanning 22 of...
Episode 77 finds Matt interviewing two seasoned RIA operators: Brad Cox and Michael Walliser, for an insightful conversation on growth, technology, and collaboration in the wealth management industry. Brad is COO, CCO, and Partner at Diversified Portfolios, Inc., based in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. The firm was founded in 1993 and has grown to approximately $1.8 billion of client asset...
We are excited to return to our traditional interview format for Episode 76, but this time with a twist! For the first time, we are interviewing an RIA who is actively searching for a Chief Operating Officer. In this episode, we delve into the responsibilities they envision for their new COO, once hired.
Sage Mountain Advisors, founded in 2018 out of Goldman Sachs, has experienced remark...
In the midst of volatile markets and a bustling tax season, Matt faced a unique challenge for Episode 75: he was unable to secure guests for the show. Rather than skipping an episode, he opted for a second monologue in a row, a format he typically reserves for special occasions. While he prefers to spotlight those leading operations at their firms, he chose a topic that resonates deeply ...
In Episode 74, Matt steps away from our usual interview format to share a vital message that could reshape how you approach your business. Drawing insights from his recent article in RIABiz, titled, How Fiduciary Duty Is Causing Confused Advisors to Run Bad Businesses, he dives deep into the crucial themes of firm capacity and RIA scalability. The primary function of a COO is to strate...
With Episode 73, Matt welcomes two thoughtful RIA operators to the podcast: Carrie King and Jay Tarno, CFP®. Carrie is Partner, Chief Compliance Officer, Director of Trading, and a Wealth Advisor at Ullmann Wealth Partners, located in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. Ullmann Wealth Partners was founded in 2002 and has grown from approximately $400 million in 2018 when Carrie joi...
We welcome Brittany Manning and Brian Habas for Episode 72! Brittany is the Chief Operating Officer at MCF Advisors, with offices in Covington, Lexington, and Louisville, Kentucky. The firm manages approximately $3.2 billion for both private clients and institutional clients and has 34 employees. Brian joined AlphaCore Wealth Advisory about six months ago as Chief Operating Officer. Al...
Matt was joined by Amy Flourry, Director of Operations of Rehmann Wealth, and Maria Millner, Partner and Head of Operations of Transcend Capital Advisors. Rehmann Wealth is headquartered in Lansing, MI, with additional offices in Ohio and Florida, and advises on approximately $4 billion across private client and retirement plan assets. Transcend Capital Advisors is headquartered in Madis...
Matt was joined by Jeremy Massullo of Concurrent and Dr. Jordan Hutchison of RFG Advisory for Episode 70. Jeremy was Concurrent’s very first employee seven years ago, and currently serves as VP of Operations. The firm is headquartered in Tampa, FL, started as an OSJ on Raymond James’ platform, and currently has approximately $9.5 billion of client assets. Jordan serves as RFG’s Vice Pre...
We are joined by Jina Yi of Wealth Architects and Victoria Latham of Parallel Financial and the Fiduciary Alliance for Episode 69. Jina has been with Wealth Architects, headquartered in Mountain View, CA, since 2007 and was appointed the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer in 2021. The firm employes 25 team members, managing close to $2 billion in assets under management...
Episode 68 could very well be the most impactful episode we have recorded. For five and a half years, The COO Roundtable has highlighted the incredible work COOs perform daily across the RIA industry. As such, we’ve tended to focus on the tactical elements of the job: How do you effect change at your organization? How do you approach technology or process implementations? How do you tack...
With Episode 67, we are joined by Meghan Martin of Apella Wealth and Chrissy Lee of Merit Financial Advisors. Meghan is the newly appointed Chief Operating Officer at Apella Wealth, headquartered in Hartford, CT. The firm advises on approximately $4.35 billion and has 93 employees across 16 office locations. Chrissy is the Chief Operating Officer at Merit Financial Advisors headquarte...
For Episode 66, we break the rules of a “roundtable” and have only one guest, Carolyn Armitage, joining Matt for a deep conversation around our industry’s continuing evolution of turning practices into businesses. It was a real thrill for him to interview one of his most respected RIA leaders for this conversation. As he states in the introduction, his Mount Rushmore of RIA practice ma...
We are joined by Rebecca Davis of Greenspring Advisors and Joe Klein from The Bahnsen Group for Episode 65. Rebecca is the Director of Operations at Greenspring, headquartered in Townson, MD with additional offices in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The firm has 41 team members and manages approximately $6.8 billion. Joe has the dual role of Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director...
In this episode, Matt welcomes COO Adrian Chastain of Gratus Capital and Partner and COO Kailee Ostroski from Connecticut Wealth Management. Gratus Capital manages approximately $3 billion of client assets, has 50 team members, and is located in Atlanta, GA. Connecticut Wealth Management, in Hartford, CT, has 65 team members and oversees about $3.3 billion of client assets. Matt, Adri...
In his third ever monologue “rant,” Matt takes a break from our normal interview format to speak directly to RIA owners and COO candidates to discuss the “Do’s and Don’ts of COO Onboarding.” Referencing conversations with COOs, past articles he’s written, and former podcast guests, Matt urges RIA owners to have a clear understanding of what they need from their next Operations hire b...
We are joined by Megan Hannah of Emerald Advisors and Spencer Rand from Five Oceans Advisors for Ep 62. Megan has the unique position of Chief Operating Officer and Portfolio Manager. Emerald Advisors is located in Bellevue, WA and manages approximately $700 million of client assets. Spencer has the dual role of Director of Operations and Chief Compliance officer at Five Oceans Adviso...
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