28 Financial Services Leaders to Follow on LinkedIn
By Matt Nollman
Growing your network on LinkedIn helps build your brand and form connections with potential clients. And the best way to stay vigilant and find these opportunities to connect is to follow or connect with industry leaders. It will help you stay on top of industry news and key conversations.
Identifying all the “must-follow” influencers is challenging, but here’s a solid start. These leaders launch and participate in conversations you can join on the most widely used professional network available today.
This is my list of 28 financial services leaders worth following on LinkedIn.
- Dani Fava, Group Head, Product Innovation, Envestnet
Dani is the group head of product innovation at Envestnet, where she advances the development of a connected, intelligent ecosystem to seamlessly managed a client’s current and future financial well-being. Her interests include disruptive technologies, blockchain, conversational AI, UX, and strategy. She is also an advisory board member of LCW, which helps organizations prepare to thrive in a culturally diverse world through services that include bias training, cultural competence, diversity and equity strategy, and global and cultural understanding. - Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO, JPMorgan Chase & Co
Jamie runs the largest bank in the U.S. He began his career at American Express and later helped build modern-day Citigroup. In 2000, he became the BankOne CEO, and a year after JP Morgan purchased BankOne in 2004, he was named CEO. He has been named four times to Time Magazine’s TIME 100 most influential people in the world list and Fortune’s World’s Greatest Leaders for 2018 list. - Amanda Lott, Head of Wealth Planning Strategy, J.P. Morgan Private Bank
Amanda is the head of wealth planning strategy at J.P. Morgan Private Bank. In this high-impact role, she drives the firm’s training, content, and strategic approach to help clients articulate their intentions and align their resources to achieve their goals and priorities. Amanda is well-versed in what goes into strong financial planning and execution. She discovered her calling as an undergraduate, earning a bachelor’s degree in financial planning and later a master’s in taxation. - Bob Reynolds, President and CEO, Putnam Investments
Since 2008, Bob has been Putnam’s CEO, and he was the first financial services CEO on Twitter. Now with 160,000+ followers on LinkedIn, Bob is undoubtedly someone to follow. He posts regularly on market trends, industry news, and important company updates; and is the author of From Here to Security. As a former NCAA football referee and former vice-chair at Fidelity, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more interesting financial services leader to follow. - Samantha Russell, Chief Evangelist, FMG Suite
Samantha’s passion is helping financial advisors understand digital marketing strategies and teach them how to use those effectively. She teaches optimal website design, SEO, content marketing, social media and video best practices. She has helped thousands of advisors experience significant organic growth and new business over the last five years. Samantha is a must-follow if you’re interested in fintech and digital marketing. - Aaron Klein, CEO, Riskalyze
Aaron is the co-founder and CEO at Riskalyze, a groundbreaking firm that makes it easy for advisors to help their clients understand risk. He also co-founded Hope Takes Root with his wife, Cacey. It’s an initiative to use vocational training and life mentoring to change the future of orphans and at-risk kids in Ethiopia. He frequently posts on industry news and trends and always looks to shout out his team. - Eric Clarke, CEO, Orion Advisor Tech
Eric is the CEO of Orion Advisor Tech. As an industry-recognized thought leader and advocate for advisory professionals, Eric has written numerous articles for Investments News and The Journal of Financial Planning. He has received multiple industry awards, including WealthManagement’s CEO of the Year for 2022, ThinkAdvisor’s IA25 in 2012 and 2019, and InvestmentsNews’ Icon & Innovators Award in 2019. - Michael Liersch, Head of Advice & Planning, Wells Fargo
Michael is the head of advice and planning at Wells Fargo, which he joined following stints at JP Morgan Chase & Co., Merrill Lynch, and Barclays. With a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard and a doctorate in cognitive psychology from UC San Diego, he brings experience in academia and a focus on behavioral finance to his work. He is a published author and a frequent media contributor. - Steve Gresham, CEO, The Execution Project
Steve is the CEO of the Execution Project and senior education advisor for the Alliance for Lifetime Income. A proponent of shaking things up in the industry, Steve is an ardent advocate for rethinking, reimagining, and reconstructing how people think about retirement. Steve shares his insights and highlights the trends that our industry should be focusing on. He’s active on social media, frequently writes for trade publications, and is a sought-after speaker. - Alex Chalekian, CEO, Lake Avenue Financial
Alex is the founder and CEO of Lake Avenue Financial and, most recently, the founder of Futurvest, an online well-being platform. Investopedia named him one of the Top 100 Financial Advisors in the United States from 2019-2021. He has served as a financial consultant to many successful professionals, business owners, and retirees. He maintains a highly active LinkedIn profile. His content varies in format and topic, but you’ll always come away with value. - Robert Sofia, CEO, Snappy Kraken
Robert is the CEO of Snappy Kraken, a SaaS marketing solution that helps financial advisors personalize, automate, and track marketing campaigns and business processes. He frequently posts about the most innovative marketing techniques advisors can use to advance their practice. In 2015, Robert was recognized as a 30 under 30 winner from Power. He’s the author of three books and has been featured in many publications, including Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, INC, and Business Insider. - Craig Iskowitz, Founder and CEO, Ezra Group LLC
Craig is the CEO and founder of Ezra Group, a strategy consulting firm providing technology and business advice to banks, broker-dealers, asset managers, and private equity and fintech firms. In addition to providing customized solutions to the wealth management industry, Craig publishes WMToday, a blog offering the latest insight on technology for wealth, asset, and investment management professionals. Craig is also the host of the Wealth Management Today podcast, where he discusses, dissects, and debates the latest news and trends in wealth management technology. - Gavin Spitzner, President, Wealth Consulting Partners, LLC
Gavin is the president of Wealth Consulting Partners. This consultancy advises financial institutions on leveraging technology and implementing best practices in investment platforms, portfolio management, goals-based advice and digital advice. Gavin often posts about industry news, key events, and the latest trends in financial services. Gavin is a leader to follow if you’re interested in financial technology platforms. - Michael Kitces, Head of Planning Strategy, Buckingham Wealth Partners
Michael is the head of planning strategy for Buckingham Wealth Partners, a private wealth management firm located in St Louis, Missouri, that oversees approximately $50 billion of client assets. He co-founded the XY Planning Network, AdvicePay, fpPathfinder, and New Planner Recruiting. He is the publisher of the e-newsletter The Kitces Report and the popular financial planning industry blog Nerd’s Eye View, which is dedicated to advancing knowledge in financial planning. - Meghan McCartan, Chief Marketing Officer, Hightower Advisors
Meghan is the chief marketing officer at Hightower Advisors, a leading RIA firm. There she oversees advisor-facing marketing, thought leadership and events. She strongly believes advisors can use their personal marketing efforts to drive growth. Meghan was recognized as “Ten to Watch for 2020” in Wealth Management magazine. Follow Meghan for the latest marketing insights for advisors. - Clara Shih, CEO, SalesForce Service Cloud, and Founder and Executive Chairwoman, Hearsay Systems
Clara became CEO of SalesForce’s largest customer service platform in 2021 and the largest SaaS business in the world. She also remains engaged in Hearsay, where she pioneered social media in financial services, building a highly effective platform of solutions for compliant advisor communication. Follow Clara with confidence, knowing you will get the most up-to-date and informed view of digital communication, technology leadership, and the future of work. - Cheryl Nash, CEO, Financial Supermarket
Cheryl is the CEO of Financial Supermarket of InvestCloud, an established and trusted leader in wealth technology. She was formerly CEO of Tegra118, which was once Fiserv Investment Services. Her specialties and expertise include leadership, product management, marketing, business development, diversity and inclusion, thought leadership, and women in wealth management. And she’s been recognized with the Money Management Institute’s Pioneer Award. Cheryl posts often, sharing expertise and insights that are welcomed and needed in our industry. - Adam Holt, CEO and Founder, Asset-Map
Adam is the CEO and founder of Asset-Map Platform, which enables advisors to have a visual and meaningful financial conversation with clients. Adam is an advisor in addition to being CEO. This brings a fresh perspective to the technology he’s building and the content he’s posting to LinkedIn. Lately, he also co-hosts a podcast, Rethink Financial Advice, with fellow fintech executive Derek Notman. - Mohamed El-Erian, Advisor, International Advisory Group, GIC
Mohamed A. El-Erian, Ph.D., is president of Queens’ College, Cambridge University; part-time chief economic advisor at Allianz; and chair of Gramercy Fund Management. He is a Financial Times contributing editor, Bloomberg Opinion columnist, and practice professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He has authored two New York Times bestsellers. - Margaret Keane, Executive Chair, Board of Directors, Synchrony Financial
Margaret was previously CEO and board member of Synchrony, one of the nation’s premier consumer financial services companies. She led the company’s initial public offering in 2014 and its separation from GE Capital in 2015. Under her leadership, Synchrony was consistently among Fortune’s Top 100 Best Companies to Work For. - Dan Schulman, President and CEO, PayPal
Dan managed PayPal’s spin-out from eBay, and he’s overseen major acquisitions and partnerships. Before PayPal, Dan led AT&T, American Express, and Priceline, and he helped to launch Virgin Mobile. In 2021, Dan was ranked third on Fortune’s list of the World’s Greatest Leaders, an honor recognizing individuals for their leadership throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. - Kyle Van Pelt, Chief Executive Officer, Milemarker
Kyle is the chief executive officer at Milemarker, which helps financial services companies through the integrations, data, and workflows needed to manage information and deliver the platforms that advisors and investors need. Kyle landed in fintech as a bit of a surprise, starting his career in sports management before opening a coffee shop with his wife and ultimately taking on roles at Riskalyze, SS&C Advent, and Skience. Follow Kyle if you share a passion for the potential of technology. - Rose Palazzo, Group Head, Envestnet | Money Guide
Rose is currently the group head of Envestnet | Money Guide. Before joining Envestnet | Moneyguide, Rose was the head of financial planning for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. In that role, she was an architect of Morgan Stanley’s proprietary goals-based wealth management platform, Goals Planning System (GPS). Rose has her finger on the pulse of the industry and shares her expertise and insights into the future of financial planning. - Ray Dalio, Founder, CIO Mentor, Member of the Board, Bridgewater Associates
Ray is the founder of the world’s most prominent hedge fund firm, Bridgewater Associates. He’s also the author of the New York Times bestsellers Principles: Life and Work and Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order. He was ranked 32nd on the 2022 Forbes 400 list of wealthiest Americans. - Robert Sofia, Founder, Chairman & CEO, Snappy Kraken
Robert is the founder, chairman and CEO at Snappy Kraken, where he has helped thousands of advisors with their marketing for nearly 20 years. He is an accomplished writer and speaker on marketing, branding, and entrepreneurship. His work has been featured in Forbes, INC Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, FOX Business, The Huffington Post, Business Insider, Investment News, Financial Planning, Wealth Management, ThinkAdvisor, The Journal of Financial Planning, and many other publications. - Sallie Krawcheck, CEO and Co-Founder of Ellevest
Sallie Krawcheck is the co-founder and CEO of Ellevest, an innovative digital investment platform designed to help women reach their financial goals. She is one of the highest-ranked women ever to have worked on Wall Street, having held posts such as CEO of Smith Barney, CEO of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, and CFO of Citigroup. She has been profiled as one of Fast Company’s “Most Creative People” in business, as well as in The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, and Forbes. - Adena Friedman, President, and CEO, Nasdaq
Listed among Forbe’s 40 most powerful women in 2015, Adena has served Nasdaq for two decades. She is an advocate for financial literacy and education. She has served on the Board of the Greater Washington, D.C., Chapter of Junior Achievement, a non-profit that supports youth in their journey to financial independence. - Larry Fink, Chairman and CEO, BlackRock
Larry is the founder, chairman and CEO of BlackRock, Inc., one of the world’s largest investment management companies by assets under management (AUM). He has been named one of the “World’s Greatest Leaders” by Fortune, and Barron’s has named him one of the “World’s Best CEOs” for 13 consecutive years. He serves as a member of the board of trustees of New York University (NYU) and the World Economic Forum and is co-chairman of the NYU Langone Medical Center Board of Trustees.
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