Rockefeller Capital Management hired a former General Electric executive, and human resources veteran, to lead talent acquisition on the road to meet its goal of gathering $100 billion in client assets within 5 years.
In September, Jack Ryan will join the wealth and asset manager that was formed earlier this year, the company said on Monday. The firm was created through the acquisition of family office Rockefeller & Co. by its management team, the investment fund Viking Global Investors and a Rockefeller family trust. The firm had $18.3 billion in assets under advisement from its existing businesses when it officially launched in March, but is down some $400 million since, according to its June 30 regulatory filing.
Rockefeller Capital Management president and CEO Greg Fleming, formerly the head of Morgan Stanley’s wealth management business, said Ryan will be instrumental in helping the firm reach its goal of $100 billion in assets within the 5 years.
The hire is different in that many of the other senior executives Fleming has brought on board to work at Rockefeller Capital Management were his colleagues from either Morgan Stanley or during his tenure as COO of Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch, he said.
Recently, Gene Mulligan, the firm’s head of managed, structured and alternative products, joined from Lincoln Financial Network, the retail wealth management affiliate of Lincoln Financial Group. Another high-profile addition, Christopher Randazzo, join the firm as Head of Wealth Management and Head of Technology and Operations from Morgan Stanley, where he was the chief information officer for the brokerage’s global wealth management and investment management divisions.
Ryan will report directly to Fleming and work with other leaders in the company on high-level strategies but he’ll also be hands-on in the hiring process, Fleming said. He will inherit a team of human resource professionals but will likely add others as well to help him hire and grow Rockefeller Capital Management across its different businesses.
“It’s great to have him on board and it’s really quite a positive sign for what we’re putting together here,” Fleming said. “Jack Ryan could have been the global head of HR for any firm in the world.”
Rockefeller Capital Management is focused on ultra wealthy clients, such as family offices, and Fleming said the firm plans on competing with established players, including the trust banks and the largest broker/dealers, by offering services through multiple channels. The firm’s brokerage license is currently with Axiom Capital Management, but Fleming said in the spring it will build out a full-service in-house b/d for any advisors coming on board who wants to do brokerage business.
In addition to its current wealth and investment management business, the company plans to offer an operating and technology platform to other advisors, and also offer advice on mergers and acquisitions that clients and affiliated advisors are considering.
Although assets under advisement have shrunk since the formation of the company, Fleming said it’s still on track to reach the $100 billion mark within 5 years, citing the human capital already in place and the prospect of attracting others.
“It’s the people, they are the key,” Fleming said. “That’s why I’m excited about bringing in someone like Jack Ryan.”