Cetera welcomes Northwestern Mutual alum to CCO role

Cetera welcomes Northwestern Mutual alum to CCO role
The organization revealed Gwen Weithaus, who has more than 30 years' experience, as the new compliance chief for its investment services arm.
JUN 24, 2024

Cetera Financial Group has made another key addition to its C-suite as it taps a Northwestern Mutual to its investment services arm.

The organization announced Monday that it’s welcomed Gwen Weithaus as the new CCO for Cetera Investment Services. In her new role, Weithaus will oversee the implementation and maintenance of compliance programs, ensuring that policies and procedures are strictly adhered to and maintained.

Weithaus brings over three decades of experience in the financial services industry, with extensive expertise in mitigating risk for clients, financial professionals, advisors, broker-dealers, insurance companies, and investment advisors.

Prior to Cetera, she was vice president of wealth risk and controls at Northwestern Mutual, where she managed risk and controls programs, regulatory implementations, business continuity, and vendor risk management. She reports to Joseph Neary, Cetera’s chief risk officer.

LeAnn Rummel, president and CEO of Cetera Investment Services, expressed confidence that Weithaus “will play a critical leadership role.”

"Hiring Gwen is the latest example of our commitment to building a strong and dedicated home office team in support of our financial institutions, financial professionals, and their clients," Rummel said in a statement Monday.

Expressing her excitement, Weithaus highlighted the “promising growth potential and opportunity” at the Cetera organization.

“I look forward to using my experience to help Cetera Investment Services ensure regulatory compliance through policies and procedures to support our business, our financial institutions, and financial professionals," she said.

Weithaus's appointment is the latest in a series of key personnel additions at Cetera, including the late May appointment of Daniel P. Burkott as the chief compliance officer for Cetera's tax channel, which includes Cetera Financial Specialists and Avantax, acquired by Cetera Holdings last year.

Burkott reports to Joseph Neary and oversees compliance for both CFS and Avantax.

With over two decades of experience in compliance roles at firms such as Voya, Advisor Group, and Mass Mutual, Burkott was most recently the chief compliance officer at Cadaret Grant, where he led compliance shared services functions for Atria Wealth Solutions.

In a statement at the time, Todd Mackay, president of Avantax, commended Burkott’s expertise.

"Dan is a very experienced compliance professional who prides himself on building strong working relationships and protecting client interests through best practices, accountability, and transparency,” he said, highlighting his firm’s “commitment to recruiting exceptional home office staff in support of our tax-focused advisors."

Burkott also expressed eagerness about his new role, stating, "I'm eager to get under way with the tax-channel compliance teams serving the unique needs of our more than 4,000 tax-focused financial professionals and our home office team." Cetera also announced several other crucial leadership hires in recent months, including Jerry Patterson as its head of advanced wealth solutions and Michael Molnar as head of corporate development.

Latest News

Judge OKs more than $90 million in settlement money for GWG investors
Judge OKs more than $90 million in settlement money for GWG investors

Mayer Brown, GWG's law firm, agreed to pay $30 million to resolve conflict of interest claims.

Fintech bytes: Orion and eMoney add new planning, investment tools for RIAs
Fintech bytes: Orion and eMoney add new planning, investment tools for RIAs

Orion adds new model portfolios and SMAs under expanded JPMorgan tie-up, while eMoney boosts its planning software capabilities.

Retirement uncertainty cuts across generations: Transamerica
Retirement uncertainty cuts across generations: Transamerica

National survey of workers exposes widespread retirement planning challenges for Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers.

Does a merger or acquisition make sense for your firm? Why now is the perfect time to secure your firm’s future
Does a merger or acquisition make sense for your firm? Why now is the perfect time to secure your firm’s future

While the choice for advisors to "die at their desks" might been wise once upon a time, higher acquisition multiples and innovations in deal structures have created more immediate M&A opportunities.

Raymond James continues recruitment run with UBS, Morgan Stanley teams
Raymond James continues recruitment run with UBS, Morgan Stanley teams

A father-son pair has joined the firm's independent arm in Utah, while a quartet of planning advisors strengthen its employee channel in Louisiana.

SPONSORED RILAs bring stability, growth during volatile markets

Barely a decade old, registered index-linked annuities have quickly surged in popularity, thanks to their unique blend of protection and growth potential—an appealing option for investors looking to chart a steadier course through today's choppy market waters, says Myles Lambert, Brighthouse Financial.

SPONSORED Beyond the dashboard: Making wealth tech human

How intelliflo aims to solve advisors' top tech headaches—without sacrificing the personal touch clients crave