The Ensemble Practice, the Seattle-based consulting firm specializing in advisory business development, named Catherine Williams as its new chief operating officer.
The C-suite hire announced Wednesday adds an executive with more than three decades of practice management experience to its leadership team.
Williams will also be taking on the role of co-leader of the firm's flagship two-year program for rising leaders at independent advisory firms.
The appointment signals a deliberate expansion of Ensemble's operational and educational capacity at a moment when the question of how firms identify and develop their next generation of leaders has rarely been more pressing.
"Catherine brings a depth of operational leadership and practice management expertise that is rare in our industry," said Philip Palaveev, CEO of The Ensemble Practice.
"Her experience – from leading a large RIA as COO to coaching advisors at some of the industry's most respected organizations – makes her uniquely equipped to help us scale our work and deepen our impact for the firms we serve," Palaveev said.
Williams arrives at Ensemble from Dimensional Fund Advisors, where she served as global head of Advisor Practice Management, delivering benchmarking insights and practice management guidance to advisory firms around the world.
Before her time at Dimensional, Williams held practice management and executive coaching roles at the Carson Group – which this year announced an initiative doubling down on next-gen advisor support – and as vice president of practice management and consulting at Fidelity Investments.
Earlier in her career, she spent 13 years with Coldstream Capital Management, including as COO of the $1 billion wealth management firm where she oversaw daily operations and led a 40-person staff.
In her new role, Williams will oversee Ensemble's profit-and-loss, operational capacity, and day-to-day execution. She will also take the helm of the G2 Leadership Institute beginning with the program's upcoming cohort – the G2 Class of 2028 – which opens for enrollment next month.
"Ensemble sits at the intersection of everything I care about in the industry: firm leadership, talent development, and the research that helps advisors make better decisions," Williams said in the announcement.
The G2 Leadership Institute is a two-year professional development program that trains advisors and operations professionals who are preparing to step into ownership and leadership positions at their firms.
Participants are grouped into teams that manage a simulated independent advisory firm, making decisions on strategy, growth, compensation, and human capital. The program includes four in-person sessions, 20 virtual webcasts, and a leadership project each participant executes within their actual firm.
According to Ensemble, more than 350 professionals from leading registered investment advisory firms have enrolled or graduated from the program since its founding.
Research from the Ensemble Practice's own 2025 Careers and Compensation report found that just 1.5% of incumbent senior advisors at independent firms were hired externally in the prior 12 months, a figure that underscores how heavily the independent channel relies on internal development over open-market recruitment.
"I think advisory firms are very scared of compromising their culture by importing outsiders from other industries," he told InvestmentNews in December. "They prefer to hire people without experience and teach them 'their way,' rather than trying to absorb from the outside."
The consequence, he noted, is a development process that tends to be slow and non-linear, which the Ensemble Priactice's G2 program is ostensibly designed to address.
Beyond her operational and G2 responsibilities, Williams will play an active role in Ensemble's research efforts.
The firm said it plans to release its data insights report shortly, with Williams bringing her background in benchmarking and practice management data to bear on Ensemble's ongoing industry studies.
"I'm excited to join a team that is so deeply committed to the growth and development of the profession, and to contribute to the next chapter of what Ensemble is building," Williams said.
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