Lifting while you climb
Women leaders shouldn’t wait until they reach the top to start helping other women but should be mentoring and encouraging them as they ascend the corporate ladder, says Grace Mellis, the new CFO at Altruist.
Nicole Casperson [00:00:03] Hi, everyone, I’m Nicole Casperson, fintech reporter with InvestmentNews and welcome to ThreeQuestions. Today, I’m sitting down with Grace Mellis, Altruist’ first chief financial officer. Grace has spent more than 20 years in finance, strategy and management. Most prominently spending nearly a decade at JPMorgan Chase, where she worked with Heidi Miller and Jamie Dimond on transformation and business expansion. I’m going to ask Grace about her new role with Altruist, what we can expect next with the company and her trailblazing role as a woman in the wealth texte C Suite. Thank you so much, Grace, for joining us.
Grace Mellis [00:00:41] Thank you so much, Nicole, for having me.
Nicole Casperson [00:00:42] So talk to us about your inaugural role as CFO of Altruist and why the firm decided to bring on a CFO now.
Grace Mellis [00:00:50] Well, I think it’s the right time. I mean, you know, Altruist is doing amazing things the RIA space. They’re really trying to create a phenomenal tech stack and experience for not just the RIA’s themselves, but the customers. And so they’re really blazing a trail there. And they just raised their series B, and I think it’s the right time to start putting in place a lot of the processes, getting the company ready to expand and to bring on more clients and to continue the growth metrics that they’ve been seeing over time. And I’m really excited to be on that journey with them.
Nicole Casperson [00:01:21] Altruist has been in growth mode as it looks to disrupt the RIA custodian space. What can our audience expect next for your firm?
Grace Mellis [00:01:28] Well, Altruist already has been disrupting the space in a really incredible way. We’re getting great feedback from our customer base where literally one customer said, like, I had a coffee, two meetings, and then I opened up a couple of accounts for those customers and then I had lunch. Usually I never have time for that. Right. I have to go and fill out paperwork and I have to do all these types of things. And so we’ve already disrupted just the sign on flow and the paperwork side for RIAs. And I think we’re going to continue to keep innovating and do more of the same.
Nicole Casperson [00:01:58] And today, you’re part of a very small percentage of women in the welth tech C Suite, also women of color. Right. So can you talk to us about how female leaders like yourself can ensure that they’re creating a pathway and space for more women like you to follow in their footsteps?
Grace Mellis [00:02:15] Well, it’s interesting because you don’t think about it every day when you wake up. But what I do think about is how do you lift while you climb? Right. So a lot of people sit there and they wait until they get to the top and they go and pick up my team. That’s not the way to do it. You have to be looking out along the way. You have to be mentoring. You have to be looking out for talent. You have to be encouraging and you have to be helpful. And you have to know that you are a role model. So you’re there to answer questions and be available. And if somebody wants to come and pick you up on a slack or grab a coffee, you’re always there for that.
Nicole Casperson [00:02:45] Mm hmm. Yeah, I love that piece of advice. Well, thank you so much, Grace, for joining us. Really appreciate it. There you have it, Altruist first CFO. Thanks again to our listeners for tuning in. We will see you next time.
