CFP Board and FPA usher in new leaders as financial planning enters pivotal year

CFP Board and the Financial Planning Association are both starting 2026 strong with new leaders at the helm.

At CFP Board, Terri Kallsen has taken over as board chair, beginning a one-year term on Jan. 1. She leads the body that sets standards for more than 107,000 financial planners across the country and oversees policy and strategy for CFP Board of Standards and the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning.

In a statement announcing her appointment, Kallsen framed the year ahead around finding the organization’s next chief executive.

“My first priority as Chair is to lead a rigorous CEO succession process that ensures continuity and stability for our organization,” she said, calling the transition “a decision that will shape the future of financial planning and determine how effectively we serve the public for decades to come.”

Kevin Keller, who has led CFP Board for nearly 20 years, is set to retire from the chief executive role in April. He described the moment as an inflection point for planners and cast Kallsen as well-positioned to navigate it.

“She has the experience to navigate the complex, the conviction to defend the fiduciary standard without compromise and the vision to expand access to quality advice for the Americans who need it,” Keller said.

CFP Board said Kallsen will focus on standards around artificial intelligence, ethics and client service, as well as how new planning models and technology are adopted. The organization is also positioning its leadership change against rising demand for integrated planning, pledging to strengthen the talent pipeline and bolster support for certificants.

Kallsen brings experience from both wealth management and retail investing. She is managing partner and head of partnerships at Rise Growth Partners, the RIA growth accelerator established by Joe Duran, where she works on enterprise transformation and growth initiatives for partner firms.

She previously served as chief operating officer at RIA aggregator Wealth Enhancement Group and as executive vice president of investor services at Charles Schwab, where she oversaw 7,000 employees and $1.6 trillion in assets, along with senior roles at USAA and Thrivent.

On the membership side of the profession, the Financial Planning Association has officially installed longtime educator and planner Dan Galli as its president for 2026. Based in Massachusetts and now principal at Daniel J. Galli & Associates, he began his one-year term on Jan. 1, working with national and chapter leaders and chief executive officer Dennis Moore to advance the group’s strategic agenda.

Galli, a former schoolteacher who moved into planning as a second career, has made career changers and next-gen talent a focus.

“When we think about next generation financial planners, they’re not only those fresh out of college but professionals like me who came to love serving people while bettering their financial lives after following a different job path,” he said, adding that the profession “could use all the brilliant ideas it can receive.”

The Financial Planning Association plans to overhaul its four national conferences this year, beginning with FPA Lead 2026, and is pursuing partnerships to give members more guidance on issues like artificial intelligence.

That work builds on initiatives launched last year, including a new competency model that emphasizes behavioral skills and a revamped media platform to raise planners’ visibility.