41 Financial Services Leaders to Follow on LinkedIn

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 41 financial services leaders worth following on LinkedIn.

1. 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.

2. 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 manage 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.

3. 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.

4. Aaron Klein, Co-Founder and Board Member, Nitrogen
   Aaron is the co-founder and CEO at Nitrogen (formerly 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.

5. 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.

6. Penny Pennington, Managing Partner, Edward Jones
   Penny is the Managing Partner at Edward Jones, a position that she has held since 2019. She has been at the company since 2000 and has made a large impact on the financial services industry throughout her career. As of 2023, Penny sits at number 69 on Fortune’s list of Most Powerful Women. In addition, LinkedIn named Penny a “Top Voice,” identifying her as a noteworthy contributor to the platform with expertise in financial services. Follow Penny to see her insightful contributions to the financial services industry.

7. 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.

8. Mike Betz, Director of Growth and Channel Strategy, Summit Wealth Systems
   Mike is the director of growth and channel strategy at Summit Wealth Systems. Before working at Summit, he spent time at SS&C Advent. Mike is very active on LinkedIn and has cultivated a unique, dynamic, and interesting page with content centered around the world of fintech. Before following Mike, though, beware that he is an advocate of “the Oxford comma and two-spaces between sentences.” Mike also has an interest in dogsled racing, and even spent some time living with and caring for 56 Alaskan Huskies while they were training for dogsled races.

9. 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.

10. Clara Shih, CEO, SalesForce AI, and Founder and Board Chair, 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.

11. Cheryl Nash, Chief Customer Executive, InvestCloud
    Cheryl is the chief customer executive 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. In addition, she has received the Money Management Institute’s Pioneer Award. Cheryl posts often, sharing expertise and insights that are welcomed and needed in our industry.

12. Rich Cancro, CEO and Founder, AdvisorEngine
    Rich is the founder of AdvisorEngine and has been the company’s CEO for the last 10+ years. Before starting his own company, Rich held leadership roles at Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan, Bear Stearns, and DLJDirect. Using his more than 25 years experience in wealth management technology, Rich has created an interesting and informative LinkedIn page that is definitely worth following.

13. 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.

14. Alex Chalekian, CEO, Lake Avenue Financial
    Alex is the founder and CEO of Lake Avenue Financial and the founder of Futurvest, an online well-being platform. Investopedia named him one of the Top 100 Financial Advisors in the United States from 2019-2023. 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.

15. Tim Seifert, SVP, Head of Retirement Solutions Distribution, Lincoln Financial Group
    Tim is the current senior vice president and head of retirement solutions sistribution at Lincoln Financial Group. He has been involved in the annuity industry for over twenty five years. During his career, he spent over twenty years in various leadership positions at The Hartford/PLANCO. Tim is active on LinkedIn, sharing insights and advice revolving around the financial services industry.

16. Noreen Beaman, Head of Leadership Development & Executive Coach, East Bay Merchant Partners
    Noreen was a founding partner at Brinker Capital and spent over 30 years there, serving as the company’s CEO from 2012 to 2020. In addition, Noreen recently earned her master’s degree from NYU in Executive Coaching and Organizational Consulting. Her experiences in that program led to her current position at East Bay Merchant Partners. Noreen has been recognized multiple times for the prominent role that she holds in the financial services industry, being named as Greater Philadelphia’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2018 by Ernst & Young and included on the 2017 InvestmentNews Women to Watch list.

17. Joshua Brown, CEO, Ritholtz Wealth Management
    Joshua co-founded Ritholtz Wealth Management with Barry Ritholtz and now serves as the company’s CEO. He is one of the most active voices of the financial services industry on LinkedIn. His bio, “I help people with their investments,” is a straightforward (and accurate) description of his content. In addition to his daily posts on LinkedIn, Joshua also posts regularly on his blog, Downtown Josh Brown, and just recently released his first movie, titled “This is Not Financial Advice.”

18. Lori Hardwick, Chairman of the Board, Vestwell
    Lori has been a prominent member of the wealth tech industry for over 25 years. She is currently chairman of the board at Vestwell and also holds positions on the boards of Docupace, Cerity Partners, Orion Advisor Tech, GenStar Capital, and Cetera Financial Group. Earlier in her career, Noreen spent 15 years as Group President of Advisor Services at Envestnet Asset Management. Noreen’s success is evident in her professional accolades, which include being recognized as a “Winner in Wealthtech” by Wealth Management Today and a “Woman to Watch” by InvestmentNews.

19. Jud Mackrill, Co-Founder, Milemarker
    Jud is a co-founder at Milemarker, a company that works to help wealth management firms innovate, create scale, and synthesize their technology. In addition to his role at Milemarker, Jud is also a General Partner at Mammoth and an Advisory Board Member at LifeYield. On his LinkedIn page, Jud shares his passion for modernization and innovation in the area of wealth management. And, after you follow Jud on LinkedIn, be sure to subscribe to his informative newsletter, The Connected Advisor.

20. Steve Gresham, Managing Principal, Next Chapter, and CEO, The Execution Project
    Steve is the managing principal of Next Chapter, 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.

21. Rose Palazzo, Group President, Envestnet | Money Guide
    Rose is currently the group president 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.

22. 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.

23. Adena Friedman, Chair and CEO, Nasdaq
    Listed among Forbes’ 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.

24. Thomas Buckingham, Chief Growth Officer, Nassau Financial Group
    Thomas started at Nassau Financial Group (formerly Phoenix Life Insurance) as an actuarial assistant in 1999. Twenty-five years later, he is now serving as the company’s chief growth officer, a position that he has held since 2021. Drawing on his extensive experience in life insurance and annuities, Thomas posts on LinkedIn weekly, sharing his thoughts on life in the world of financial services (and life in general).

25. David Blanchett, Managing Director, Portfolio Manager, Head of Retirement Research, PGIM DC Solutions
    David currently holds a variety of leadership positions at PGIM DC Solutions. Prior to his work at PGIM, he worked for ten years as the head of retirement research for MorningStar Investment management. David is an extremely vocal figure in the world of financial services, having published over 100 papers in various industry and academic journals. His research has received many awards, the most recent one being from the Financial Planning Association in 2023. In addition to being active daily on LinkedIn, David also contributes regularly to Advisor Perspectives, ThinkAdvisor, and the Wall Street Journal.

26. Randy Lambert, EVP, Tech Operations, Orion Advisor Solutions LLC
    Randy is currently the executive vice president of tech operations at Orion Advisor Solutions. Randy has had a successful career in financial technology for the last 30 years, all of which he has spent at Orion. On his LinkedIn page, Randy shares experiences from his involvement in the world of fintech and often recognizes his collaborators and colleagues for their contributions to the financial services industry.

27. Nicole Casperson, Founder, Fintech is Femme
    Nicole is among the most prominent fintech figures in media. Having previously served as a fintech reporter at InvestmentNews, Nicole is the founder of Fintech Is Femme, a media brand devoted to exploring the future of fintech and highlighting women-led companies. Nicole is also the author of Fintech is Femme newsletter, the host of the Humans in Fintech podcast, and a contributor at Forbes.

28. Jenny Johnson, President and CEO, Franklin Templeton
    Jenny has been president and CEO at Franklin Templeton since 2020. She has worked at Franklin Templeton since 1988 and played a large role in transforming the company into the successful investment manager that it is today. In 2023, for the fourth consecutive year, Jenny was named to Barron’s list of the 100 Most Influential Women in U.S. Finance. In addition, she was recognized in Forbes’ “World’s 100 Most Powerful Women” and “50 Over 50” lists in 2022. Jenny is one of the most successful individuals in the financial services industry and is definitely worth the follow.

29. 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. He also co-hosts a podcast, Rethink Financial Advice, with fellow fintech executive, Derek Notman.

30. 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.

31. 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.

32. Carl Richards, Creator of the Behavior Gap
    Carl is the chief brand officer of The Elements Financial Monitoring System. In addition, he is also the author of two books, The One-Page Financial Plan: A Simple Way to Be Smart About Your Money and The Behavior Gap: Simple Ways to Stop Doing Dumb Things with Money. In addition, Carl is the creator of the Sketch Guy Column, which ran weekly in the New York times for a decade. In this column, he created easy to understand sketches that demonstrate complex financial concepts. Now, Carl has launched a LinkedIn Newsletter with the goal of changing “the way you think and talk about money.”

33. 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.

34. 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.

35. Eric Clarke, Founding CEO and Board Member, Orion Advisor Tech
    Eric is a board member 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.

36. Amanda Lott, Head of Wealth Planning Strategy, Managing Director, 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.

37. Dan Schulman, Former President and CEO, PayPal
    Dan managed PayPal’s spin-out from eBay, and he oversaw 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.

38. Michelle Tran, Head of Enterprise Sales and Strategic Partnerships, SVP, Vestwell
    Michelle currently serves as the Senior Vice President at Vestwell. Before working at Vestwell, Michelle formerly held positions at BlackRock, Apex Clearing, and Harness Wealth. Throughout her career, Michelle has received many awards and distinctions, such as being recognized as #28 on FinTech Magazine’s Top Women in 2021 list. In addition to her general contributions to the financial services industry, Michelle is also focused on promoting equity in fintech and is the founder of NYC Fintech Women.

39. 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.

40. Aaron Schumm, Founder and CEO, Vestwell
    Aaron is the founder and CEO of Vestwell, a digital 401(k) platform that helps people save for retirement. In this role, Aaron works to address the growing savings gap. Before starting Vestwell, Aaron co-founded FolioDynamix, which was later acquired by Envestnet. In addition to his work in fintech, Aaron also volunteers with Stoked Mentoring, an organization that utilizes action sports culture to develop the skills of under-served youth.

41. 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 14 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.