Three acquisitive wealth management platforms have filled senior posts in marketing, data and finance, as firms that grew by stitching together advisory practices invest in the corporate functions needed to run them at scale.
Dynasty Financial Partners hired Alex Kaminsky as chief marketing officer, Mercer Advisors named Kyle Pounder vice president of data, and AlphaCore Wealth Advisory appointed Craig Cardwell as chief financial officer.
Alex Kaminsky is based at Dynasty’s headquarters in St. Petersburg, Fla., and reports to founder and CEO Shirl Penney. Gordon “Gordy” Abel, who led marketing at the firm for the past decade, will be taking the newly created post of chief brand officer, reporting to Kaminsky from New York City.
Kaminsky arrives after eight years at NYSE-listed Corpay, where he rose to global chief brand officer and ran a combined brand and demand-generation operation spanning communications, digital, events and customer experience. He also set up Corpay’s first AI-enabled creative studio. His earlier career stops include YP, The Weather Channel, Coca-Cola, ESPN and Turner Broadcasting, and he founded a brand consultancy that he ultimately sold.
At Dynasty, which supports more than 750 advisors and nearly $135 billion in platform assets, Kaminsky brings more than 25 years of strategic marketing experience across Fortune 500, public, and PE-backed companies. He will work with Ken Hoffman, head of Dynasty Consulting Group, and with Catherine Mitchell and Peter Ward, who lead the network marketing team serving RIAs on the platform.
Board member John Seifert, former chairman and CEO of Ogilvy, has advised on the firm’s brand refresh, and Gary Vaynerchuk of VaynerMedia made the introduction to Kaminsky.
At Denver-based Mercer Advisors, Kyle Pounder will lead the core data team behind Aspen, the firm’s integrated technology platform, along with its wider AI strategy. The firm has more than 460 advisors and upward of 43,000 clients.
Pounder reports to Cynthia Loh, Mercer’s recently appointed chief platform officer, who previously built advice platforms at Goldman Sachs, Charles Schwab and Betterment.
Ehsan Lavassani, a founding engineer and former chief engineering officer at Personal Capital who joined Mercer in September 2023 and led Aspen’s development, has been promoted to head of artificial intelligence and also reports to Loh.
Pounder spent five years at Wealth.com, most recently as chief technology officer, overseeing engineering, security and data teams through a Series A round led by Google Ventures and the Series B led by Charles Schwab this year. Before that, he was the sole data scientist on a Meta team building creator tools for Facebook and Instagram. He holds a PhD in mathematics from the University of Arizona and a master of education from the University of Notre Dame.
“Data is only valuable when it helps someone do something better for a client,” Pounder said. “[Mercer Advisors] has already invested in a strong technology foundation, talented people, and the culture to make data and AI practical. I’m excited to build on that."
La Jolla, Calif.-based AlphaCore recruited Craig Cardwell from Corient Private Wealth, where he was regional CFO and partner, overseeing financial operations and CFO services for 36 partner firms and leading due diligence and integration planning for regional acquisitions. He previously worked at RGT Wealth Advisors on strategic transactions, partner succession and ownership transition.
“As we have grown both organically and inorganically in recent years, we recognized the need for dedicated financial leadership to support us in accomplishing our goal to become a premier next-gen wealth management platform,” said Dick Pfister, founder and CEO of AlphaCore.
At AlphaCore, Cardwell will support the firm’s acquisition program, strengthen its capital structure and build financial reporting designed for much greater scale, working closely with its credit and equity partners.
The firm has been going through a busy stretch in its inorganic growth strategy in 2026, striking deals to acquire Elk River Wealth Management, Brave Family Advisors, Streamline Family Office and Blue Rock Financial Group.
“[Vestmark] bring to us the very scaled sponsor trading,” said Envestnet’s Sue Burton.
With 99.9% of companies now exempt from ownership reporting, advisors face widening gaps in client due diligence data.
A new TIAA survey finds 43% of Americans cut retirement contributions in the past year, even as a Social Security cliff looms.
A new Schroders survey shows demand for workplace retirement access to private equity and private debt is climbing fast, but education lags.
Pacific Sage Partners brings eight staff and deep client relationships to CAPTRUST's expanding Washington presence.
Knighthead Life entered the market with a competitive MYGA. A strong launch earned advisor confidence and paved the way for FIAs.
As AI makes financial information more accessible than ever, Lana Hock explains why human judgment, trust, and empathy remain the qualities clients value most in a financial advisor
