Focus Financial announces retirement of founder Rudy Adolf

Rudy Adolf

Dan Glaser, the chairman of the company's board, has been appointed interim CEO, effective immediately.

Rudy Adolf, founder and CEO of Focus Financial Partners, will be retiring at the end of the year, the firm announced Monday.

Adolf will be succeeded immediately by the chairman of the company’s board, Dan Glaser, who has been appointed interim CEO.

Glaser is also an operating partner at Focus’ majority investment partner, Clayton Dubilier & Rice. Prior to joining CD&R earlier this year, Glaser served for 10 years as president and CEO of Marsh McLennan.

Focus said its board has already initiated a search for a new CEO.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Rudy Adolf for his vision in building Focus Financial into an impressive wealth management organization that always puts our clients’ interests first,” Glaser said in a statement. “Rudy is an industry pioneer and leaves a strong legacy of innovation and entrepreneurship at Focus.”

Adolf launched Focus Financial Partners in 2006 and the firm has since been one of the foremost aggregators of registered investment advisors.

The firms that Focus Financial has acquired have kept their own brands, while using Focus as a bank for their own deals. Other aggregators generally merge firms completely under one brand and marketing approach.