Sequoia taps industry veteran Chris Thom for new C-suite role

Sequoia is positioning itself for strategic growth as it unveils a new C-suite hire to help it build crucial relationships and map out its strategic marketing.

On Wednesday, Sequoia Financial Group announced that it has hired industry veteran Chris Thom as chief strategy and partnerships officer.

The firm, an SEC-registered wealth manager based in Akron, Ohio, oversees assets surpassing $18 billion as of March 31, 2024. The past year has brought significant inorganic growth for Sequoia, which included the firm snapping up Tennessee-based M Capital Advisors last October and acquiring Texas-based AltruVista in April.

In his new role, Thom joins the executive committee and reports directly to Tom Haught, CEO and founder of Sequoia Financial Group. Thom's responsibilities include enhancing Sequoia's strategic business partnerships and guiding the firm's brand and marketing strategies.

"Chris is a well-rounded leader with experience building and managing referral partnerships with professional services firms,” Haught said in a statement Wednesday. “We are excited to have him on our leadership team, where he will be instrumental in guiding our strategy, partnerships, and marketing initiatives."

Thom's role promises to be pivotal for Sequoia, which maintains active partnerships with major custodial referral programs at Fidelity and Schwab. The firm has also sustained a successful collaboration with Cohen & Company for over three decades.

With over 20 years of wealth management experience, Thom is bringing a deep cache of expertise and industry sophistication to Sequoia.

Before this appointment, he was a partner at RWA Wealth Partners, where he led business development and wealth services. His previous roles include divisional vice president at Edelman Financial Engines, senior vice president at Schwab Wealth Advisory, and director of wealth management at USAA.

Last week, Sequoia welcomed Gee Smith, who joined the firm when it snapped up Zeke Capital Advisors early last year, as head of Sequoia Sentinel. Launched last fall, Sequoia Sentinel is a family office dedicated to ultra-high-net-worth families and individuals, whose clients have a typical minimum account size of $25 million.

In 2020, Sequoia Financial joined the trend of private equity investment in the RIA space by selling a minority stake to Kudu Investment Management, a decision it made as part of a “durability plan.” It announced a deal for an additional $200 million in PE backing in 2022, which it got from Valeas Capital Partners.