LPL CEO Mark Casady's Twitter photo proves he's ducking the razor

To benefit an animal-rescue charity effort that LPL is undertaking, LPL's usually clean-cut CEO Mark Casady is growing a beard. This week, he posted a Photoshopped “Duck Dynasty”-style beard on Twitter.
DEC 04, 2013
LPL Financial Holdings Inc. chairman and chief executive Mark Casady is sporting a surprisingly different look on his Twitter profile page these days. To benefit an animal-rescue charity effort that LPL is undertaking, the usually clean-cut Mr. Casady is growing a beard. This week, he posted a Photoshopped “Duck Dynasty”-style beard on Twitter. It turns out that this month is “Decembeard” at LPL. Other top executives at the firm, including president Robert Moore, are joining Mr. Casady in sporting fresh growth on typically closely shaven faces. Company spokeswoman Betsy Weinberger said that this was “an LPL-only initiative with an adviser of ours, Bob Fragasso.” The goal is to raise money for Animal Friends. According to a posting for LPL on CrowdRise, the charity is a “nonprofit companion animal resource center serving the needs of pets and people for 70 years. Programs include humane rescue, shelter and adoption services for homeless pets, humane education, pet behavior classes, pet-assisted therapy, wellness programs and more.” Launched on Monday, the fund-raising program had raised more than $6,000 through Wednesday afternoon. Mr. Casady, who led LPL's transformation over the past decade from a privately held brokerage firm to a publicly listed, 13,000-broker behemoth, also wore a stars and stripes bandana in the Photoshopped headshot, a la “Duck Dynasty” star Willie Robertson. What is next for Mr. Casady? If Twitter portraits hold truth, perhaps he will lead next year's meetings for LPL's top-producing brokers and financial advisers in a Louisiana duck blind rather than a hotel in Hawaii.

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