Following last month’s abrupt departure of Dr. Carolyn McClanahan, one of Whealthcare Planning’s founders and a WealthManagement.com 2020 Ten to Watch honoree, the firm’s remaining co-founder Dr. Chris Heye announced the software developer had hired interim CEO Kevin Ruth. Ruth has a background in financial planning, having most recently served as Fidelity’s head of wealth planning and personal trust, as well as in the financial services firm’s private wealth management division.
Despite the changes in leadership, the software provider continues to see enterprise partners as key to the long-term success of Whealthcare Planning, even while the software developer finalizes integrations with financial planning and CRM providers. To that end, Dr. Heye expects Ruth’s background at Fidelity to contribute the firepower the firm is looking for. The interim CEO’s “expertise and guidance will help us more effectively meet the needs of large financial enterprises looking to provide more comprehensive planning services to their clients over the age of 50,” said Dr. Heye in a statement.
Whealthcare Planning Interim CEO Kevin Ruth
Ruth, in an interview, said that he understands the importance of attracting enterprise partnerships and feels the relationships he built from his time at Fidelity, alongside with those of Steve Gresham, chairman of the advisory board at Cogniscient Inc. (Whealthcare Planning’s parent company), brings to the table will go far in leading to such strategic partnerships. “You have to make it really simple. Modularize it. Take it in chunks,” said Ruth about the recipe for making it onto an enterprise partner list. His firsthand experience seeing eMoney Advisor transition from the independent advisor channel to enterprise uptake, while at Fidelity, convinced him of the importance of quick, easy-to-digest modules.
Under Ruth’s leadership, Wealthcare Planning will be rolling out a “3.0” product in March, he said. It will be simple and something that can be completed in less than five minutes.
Along with the new leadership, Dr. McClanahan said she is resolving the “disagreements in business management” that arose between her and other executives at the firm by selling her stake in the company. Cogniscient is consolidating its complete ownership of the company by purchasing the 20% stake held by Dr. McClanahan’s CMCC Media Ventures firm. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“Whealthcare Planning LLC wishes Dr. Carolyn McClanahan the best in her future endeavors,” the announcement concluded, “and thanks her for granting us use of her many contributions to the Whealthcare Planning platform.”