Background & Philosophy
I've spent my career at the intersection of technology and business problems. What interests me is what technology can do for a firm: a better experience for an advisor, a more reliable process for a compliance team, a platform that helps the firm grow. I don't believe in technology for technology's sake. Money spent on technology should bring value to the firm.
I started as a developer and spent nearly two decades at Jackson National Life Insurance, moving from writing code to leading engineering and quality management teams. That background matters to me. I've never stopped thinking like someone who has to build the thing, not just recommend it. When I evaluate a vendor, design a roadmap, or help a firm think through a platform decision, I'm drawing on that foundation.
The domain that captured me most was financial services, and specifically the broker-dealer and RIA world. My experience in that space spans more than twenty years, starting when Jackson National Life hired me to build a commission processing system for NPH, their BD/RIA network. I spent the better part of my Jackson career embedded in that organization, supporting the platforms, advisors, and operational needs of the network. That foundation deepened when I later served as Head of Technology for a multi-BD/RIA organization supporting two broker-dealers, a registered investment advisor, and more than 650 registered financial professionals.
After running technology for a multi-BD/RIA organization, I came to see something clearly: the expertise I'd built in platforms, regulatory frameworks, vendor relationships, and advisor experience was exactly what a lot of firms needed and didn't have easy access to. Some of those firms have no technology executive at all. Others have a good one who could use an experienced second set of hands. Consulting is how I make that expertise available to both.
I also work with FinTech companies that serve this market, helping product and go-to-market teams understand what the buy side looks like from the inside, and what moves firms toward or away from adoption.
I tend to show up as part strategist, part operator, and part teacher. The teaching instinct runs deep. I've spent years mentoring engineers, coaching teams through agile transformations, and helping business leaders understand technology decisions well enough to own them. My goal in any engagement is never just to solve the immediate problem, but to leave the people I work with better equipped than when I arrived.
That means I ask a lot of questions before I offer opinions. It means I try to understand the firm's context before recommending anything: its culture, its constraints, its history with technology. And it means I'll give you a straight answer, including when the answer is that you shouldn't spend money on this.
I hold an Executive MBA from Vanderbilt University's Owen School of Management and a Computer Science Engineering background from the University of Texas at Arlington. I've held FINRA Series 7 and Series 66 registrations. I'm a member of the Financial Services Institute's Operations & Technology Council and its OneVoice Planning Task Force, and I was a member of the Fidelity Tech Leaders Forum, an invite-only peer group of senior BD/RIA technology leaders. I founded the BD/RIA Ops & Tech Forum, a cross-firm peer group of technology and operations leaders. I've spoken at FSI OneVoice and at FINRA conferences on multiple occasions; the full list is on the Speaking page.
Outside my work in financial services, I founded BGC Software, a self-funded iOS software company, and a reminder that I still like to build things, not just advise on them.
At my core, I'm someone who likes to help people. That has expressed itself professionally in the work I do, but also outside of it. I served for a period as a board member for a local Big Brothers Big Sisters chapter, and teaching and mentoring have been constants throughout my career. If you work with me, you'll notice that orientation pretty quickly.