Two high-ranking executives at Carson Group – president Teri Shepherd and divisional president of Carson Partners Aaron Schaben – are leaving the company next year, reflecting the latest in a string of departures.
News of Schaben’s pending move to become CEO of the Carson Family Office began circulating Monday morning, following the news on Friday of Shepherd stepping down to focus on her family.
“At the beginning of the year, Aaron Schaben, Carson Group divisional president, partners, will move into a new role in the Carson community as CEO of the Carson Family Office,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. “This is an exciting step in Aaron’s career, one that keeps him closely connected to Carson Group while filling a valuable role for our founder and the Carson family.”
Shepherd, who has been at Carson Group since 2012, was the first woman to be an executive at the company and currently leads its operations, technology, legal, and finance teams. She has championed gender diversity at the company and broader industry and was named as one of InvestmentNews’ Women to Watch. She also oversaw the firm’s Carson Partners launch, which now represents more than 140 advisor firm locations, according to the company.
“We are grateful for Teri’s many years of leadership, Teri has been a mainstay of our organization, providing a steady hand and an empathetic presence through times of transformation. We appreciate her dedication to Carson Group and fully support her decision to focus on her family. We wish her the best and thank her for her commitment to our company,” Carson CEO Burt White said in a statement provided by the spokesperson. “We will take a thoughtful approach to our leadership needs for this growing business and share more as plans evolve.”
Late last month, former Carson Group senior vice president of financial planning and advanced solutions Erin Wood announced her departure from the firm after six and a half years for a role in advanced planning at AssetMark.
“We are excited to announce that Julie Ragatz, PhD, will now lead our advanced solutions team as vice president of financial planning and advisor growth. This strategic move, combined with the transition of the team under the guidance of Dani Fava, chief strategy officer, unites our wealth solutions, product, and strategy teams into one cohesive group, strengthening collaboration and building on the strong momentum of innovation on this team,” the Carson spokesperson said. “With Dani’s proven expertise and Julie’s outstanding leadership, this team is well-positioned to deliver even greater value to our clients and advisors. We are grateful to our former employees for their contributions and wish them well.”
The company departures come after the founder and former CEO stepped down earlier this year. Omani Carson, who recently changed his name from Ron, has focused on a new life transformation business that appears to be focused on business leaders.
That also followed the departure of the company’s former chief marketing officer Mary Kate Gulick, who brought a lawsuit against it in connection for alleged retaliation for her objections to how the firm responded to an alleged sexual assault by an employee at a conference. The company has denied the allegations in the lawsuit.
It is unusual to see multiple departures of executives in a short timeframe, said one source familiar with industry recruiting, who spoke with InvestmentNews anonymously.
“We’ve actually seen a lot of high-level departures from various companies this year. There has been kind of a crazy pattern,” the source said. “Every situation has been a little bit different.”
While a single departure doesn’t necessarily say much, numerous ones add up and can lead to questions from people both in and outside an organization, they said.
However, financial advisors may not care much either way, at least as long as the back office support they are getting remains strong, they said.
“Advisors are worried about what is right in front of them and helping their clients and growing their business,” they said. “If it isn’t going to impact their business, I don’t think it matters that much.”
Trade publication Citywire reported Monday on Schaben's pending departure from Carson Group.
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