Cetera taps Ed O’Brien as COO while Opto names Ron Diamond advisory board chair

Cetera Financial Group is reshaping its executive bench with the appointment of Ed O’Brien (pictured right) as chief operating officer, a move the firm says signals a strategic shift from building scale to fully activating it.

O’Brien, who will assume the role in May 2026, is tasked with accelerating advisor expansion and converting the firm’s enterprise footprint into a sustained competitive edge. His mandate comes as longtime COO Tom Gooley prepares to retire after several years overseeing operational build-out and institutional development.

The leadership change reflects a broader pivot at the independent broker-dealer network toward platform-driven growth designed to boost advisor efficiency, deepen financial planning engagement and enhance client outcomes.

“Tom Gooley was instrumental in building the backbone of this firm – expanding our scale, strengthening our rigor, and bringing stability while Cetera grew its operations,” said Mike Durbin, Chief Executive Officer of Cetera. “Our next chapter is about growth that comes from helping advisors do more for their clients, more consistently. Ed's role is to turn our platform into a true growth engine, turbocharged by AI, for advisors and a source of confidence and continuity for investors.”

O’Brien brings decades of experience developing and scaling wealth management infrastructure spanning custody, clearing, planning solutions and product distribution. Over the course of his career, he has helped launch foundational systems that later evolved into platforms driving advisor adoption, retention and long-term business growth.

“What attracted me to Cetera is the tremendous growth opportunity,” said O'Brien. “I believe my experience can drive meaningful impact, and I look forward to partnering with Mike and the leadership team to accelerate Cetera's market position. Cetera has built a powerful platform and strong momentum, and the growth runway ahead is significant.”

In his new post, O’Brien will oversee service delivery, technology, trading and operational functions. Key priorities include improving advisor productivity, strengthening client acquisition and retention through platform capabilities and reinforcing the operational resilience needed to support enterprise expansion. The initiatives align with Cetera Advantage, the firm’s strategy focused on enabling independent advisors to scale faster within its multi-channel ecosystem.

Cetera, which supports roughly 12,000 advisors and institutions, reported about $640 billion in assets under administration and $294 billion in assets under management as of the end of 2025.

Diamond’s new role

Separately, private markets technology provider Opto Investments announced that family office veteran Ron Diamond (pictured left) has been named chair of its advisory board, underscoring the firm’s push to deepen relationships with ultra-wealthy investors and their advisors.

Diamond, founder and chairman of Diamond Wealth and a board member at Cresset, leads a network of more than 130 families with assets ranging from $250 million to $30 billion. His syndicate invests across private equity, venture capital, real estate, private credit and other alternative strategies.

“It’s not very often that you come across a company that combines elite operators with great technology, which is why I’m so bullish about the opportunity in front of Opto,” said Diamond. “Over the course of my career in the family office space, it has become clear that nearly all of them are under-resourced to successfully navigate the increasing complexity of private markets investing. Opto has built an institutional platform that gives family offices the tools to overcome these hurdles, complete with diligence capabilities that transform how they evaluate opportunities to gain greater conviction in their investments.”

Opto’s platform is designed to streamline the full lifecycle of private investments, automating manual due diligence processes and enabling wealth managers and family offices to evaluate a larger volume of opportunities while maintaining consistent standards. As generational transitions loom for nearly half of family offices over the coming decade, the firm is positioning its technology as a tool to help institutionalize investment programs.

“Opto has incredible technology—truly unlike anything else on the market—and represents what many family offices have been missing,” added Diamond. “In my conversations with families about Opto’s diligence capabilities, many said it’s the first time AI could be integrated into their office in a way that feels governed, practical and trustworthy.”

Ryan VanGorder, Opto’s chief executive, said Diamond’s industry relationships and insight into family office investment behavior made him a natural fit to lead the new advisory group.

“When I sat down with Ron, it became clear that our mission to empower investors with the technology to confidently invest into the private markets was deeply aligned with his,” said VanGorder. “Ron’s roots in the family office community, trusted voice across both families and advisors and his eye for private market investments made him an ideal fit to chair our new advisory board.”

Beyond his industry work, Diamond is active in academia and advisory roles, including contributions to family office initiatives at leading universities and participation on several investment firm advisory boards.