Carson Group president Teri Shepherd to depart

Carson Group President Teri Shepherd will leave the company in March 2025. CEO Burt White stated that the firm fully supports Shepherd’s decision to focus on her family. “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,” White said. “We wish her the best and thank her for her commitment to our company.” White mentioned that the firm “will take a thoughtful approach to our leadership needs for this growing business and share more as plans evolve. Shepherd joined Carson in 2012, eventually becoming chief operations officer before taking on the role of president. She previously worked at the global biotech company Transgenomic and QA3 Financial, where she held the roles of executive vice president, chief financial officer, and chief operations officer. In July 2019, then-CEO and founder Ron Carson named Shepherd and Executive Vice President Aaron Schaben co-presidents. Schaben handled the firm’s “business growth and development,” while Shepherd oversaw the firm’s institutional and retail departments. Schaben has since left, leaving Shepherd as sole president. Carson retains a majority ownership in the firm and has pledged to devote more time to “further his family’s humanitarian impact.” The Omaha, Neb.-based firm includes Carson Wealth, Carson Coaching, and Carson Partners, with about $35.5 billion in AUM. Shortly after White claimed the top role, Carson announced several other executive additions. Heather Randolph Carter became the firm’s chief marketing officer. Dan Russell joined the executive suite as CFO to replace Nick Englebart, who now oversees Carson Group’s M&A strategy. Eric Vrba also joined the firm as controller in April. However, the firm has faced some internal challenges. In a federal court complaint, a former employee claimed the firm’s inaction in handling an alleged sexual assault at a conference left her psychologically scarred. Both Shepherd and White were frequently mentioned in the complaint. In late 2022, Shepherd assured the employee that the assault would “be handled appropriately,” though the claimant argued it was not.

Leadership changes at Carson Group

The ongoing suit is in Nebraska federal court. As Shepherd steps down, the firm prepares for leadership changes amidst its ongoing challenges and growth. Aaron Schaben, a top executive at the $38bn RIA Carson Group and long viewed as the heir apparent to company founder Ron Carson, is also leaving the wealth manager in 2025. According to sources who know the situation, Schaben will transition to a role at Ron Carson’s personal family office. A spokeswoman for Carson Group confirmed that Schaben, who has been pivotal at Carson Group, will become the Chief Executive of the Carson Family Office at the beginning of 2025. Schaben’s departure marks a significant change in leadership for Carson Group, where he was instrumental in driving the company’s growth. His new role will focus on managing the Carson family’s wealth and personal investments. The company departures come after the founder and former CEO stepped down earlier this year. This also followed the departure of the company’s former Chief Marketing Officer Mary Kate Gulick, who brought a lawsuit against the firm in connection to alleged retaliation for her objections to how the firm responded to an alleged sexual assault by an employee at a conference. The company denied the allegations. One anonymous source familiar with industry recruiting said it is unusual to see multiple executive departures in a short timeframe. “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 as long as the back-office support they are getting remains strong. Advisors are worried about what is right in front of them, 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.”