Savant Wealth Management taps William Blair exec for new CFO

Savant Wealth Management has appointed Jon W. Zindel as its new chief financial officer.

He joins the firm from William Blair, where he spent 12 years as a senior leader across technology, human resources, real estate, and philanthropy, and served as partner and CFO at the Chicago-based firm.

Zindel's experience, which spans 30 years, will assist Savant in its continued fast growth as an employee-controlled and founder-led firm. In 2023 alone, Savant acquired 11 RIA and tax and accounting firms, bringing its reach to 40 offices in 15 states while growing its AUM to nearly $26 billion.

“We realized about a year ago that we needed someone with in-depth knowledge, experience, and creative problem-solving ability to help Savant accelerate its long-term growth,” Brent Brodeski, Savant’s CEO, said in a statement. “We made the decision to part ways with our previous CFO at the end of August and began a nationwide search to find a proven industry leader to help us scale our platform for growth. Jon more than fits the bill, and I couldn’t be more excited to have him join our team.”

Employees own around 65% of Savant, and Zindel becomes one of 170 member-owners among 538 employees across the country.

“Savant is different from typical aggregators or financial buyers because it’s backed by patient capital – investors who are interested in solid growth versus just a quick return on their investment,” Zindel said. “Instead of growing for growth’s sake, Savant seeks partners who can help provide an unparalleled client experience, a deep bench of specialists, and a wide variety of services. This kind of stable, strategic growth will help Savant expand on its industry leadership for the long term.”