San Francisco-based Perigon Wealth Management has widened its investing chief's authority to include chief operating officer duties, consolidating oversight of investments, financial planning, technology and day-to-day operations under a single executive as the independent registered investment advisor pushes into its next phase of growth.
The firm, which managed approximately $11.2 billion in client assets as of Dec. 31, 2025, said Rafia Hasan will retain her chief investment officer title while taking on the expanded operational mandate. Perigon also named Chris Briley managing director of technology, a newly created post overseeing the firm's technology strategy and artificial intelligence integration.
Perigon also named Chris Briley managing director of technology, a newly created post overseeing the firm's technology strategy and artificial intelligence integration.
"As we considered how best to support our continued growth, it became clear we needed to enhance our executive leadership to provide additional strategic oversight of our critical operational functions," Perigon chief executive Arthur Ambarik said on Wednesday. "We created a structure that allows us to leverage Rafia's skills and ensures we have a clear line of executive oversight for these important firm functions."
Hasan, who joined Perigon in 2023 as chief investment officer, said the restructuring extends a playbook she has run on a smaller scale within the enterprise. "Over the past several years, our work to develop such a platform for Perigon's investment program provides a helpful blueprint for our firm to do the same across all the key operational functions," she said.
Prior to Hasan, Jonathan Hoy held the COO role at Perigon for almost six years from 2019 until August last year, according to his LinkedIn profile. Overlapping with that was Hoy's escalation to president of corporate development in January last year, a role that he still holds currently.
"As President of Perigon, Jon Hoy continued to oversee many of the key responsibilities with the support of the executive team and other managers," a spokesperson for the firm told InvestmentNews via email. "As Perigon grew, it became clear of the need to enhance the executive leadership team."
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Briley arrives at Perigon after serving as chief technology officer at Manning & Napier, bringing what the firm described as decades of financial services technology experience, including managing large global teams. He will report to Hasan and take charge of the firm's approach to AI integration – an area where wealth managers are increasingly tying compensation and hiring decisions to AI proficiency, according to a recent PwC survey of financial services firms.
Beth Bosworth continues as head of financial planning and will align that function within Hasan's unified structure, overseeing the wealth management solutions available to Perigon's advisors. Brian McGunnigle remains director of operations, focused on the processes supporting Perigon's advisor network, and will also report to Hasan.
Wednesday's announcement is the latest in a string of senior hires at Perigon over the past year. In April, the firm named Rory Shusted as its first chief people officer, a hire that reflected Perigon's push to build organizational infrastructure around a workforce that has expanded through both organic growth and acquisitions. Shusted, based in the Atlanta area, reports directly to Ambarik.
Before that in March, Perigon announced a double update as it brought on Jon Seif as managing director of digital strategy and Luke Samuels as senior director of business development, part of an effort to build a proprietary system for converting acquisition-driven growth into measurable organic expansion. Seif was tasked with overseeing the firm's data, AI and technology initiatives at the time – responsibilities that now appear to sit alongside Briley's newly created technology role under Hasan's operational umbrella.
Perigon operates as an advisor-led firm with teams across 19 office locations, and the firm has said its recent M&A activity created a need for more centralized programs that can support sustainable growth without eroding the personalized service advisors offer clients.
"Rafia already succeeded in centralizing our investment platform, and I am confident she can spearhead developing a single, unified structure to drive better experiences and results across the entire firm," Ambarik said.
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