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Focused on the Future: Heather Fortner Shares Her Journey, Lessons and Advice on Making it to the C-SuiteFocused on the Future: Heather Fortner Shares Her Journey, Lessons and Advice on Making it to the C-Suite

The CEO of SignatureFD discusses the importance of understanding people’s motivations, the evolution of a firm’s messaging and why inclusion is key to a positive culture.

Suzanne Siracuse, CEO

July 26, 2023

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In the latest episode of the new podcast series, Focused on the Future, veteran industry leader Suzanne Siracuse talks with Heather Fortner, CEO of SignatureFD, about the importance of understanding people’s motivations, the evolution of a firm’s messaging and why inclusion is key to a positive culture.

Specifically, Heather discusses:

  • Her journey from intern to CCO to CEO

  • Why her degree in professional counseling was the most important thing she has done.

  • Her firm’s unique website messaging and how it came about.

  • The one question she was asked that influenced how she builds and develops her teams.

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Connect With Heather Fortner:

About Our Guest:

Heather is the Chief Executive Office and Chair of the Board of SignatureFD, an integrated and comprehensive wealth management firm with offices in Atlanta, Georgia and Charlotte, North Carolina, recently named to the Inc. 5000.

During her twenty-year tenure at the firm, Heather has created and executed strategies that have exponentially grown SignatureFD’s AUM from $250M to over $7B.  Her unwavering commitment to leading and building teams that exhibit excellence in leadership with heart has garnered her national recognition. Among these accolades, Heather has been awarded CEO of the Year by Wealth Management Magazine in 2021 and Most Admired CEO by the Atlanta Business Chronicle in 2022. In 2023, she was selected to the Leadership Atlanta Class of 2023 and named to the Titan 100 List. 

She is a longstanding advocate of DEI initiatives both at SignatureFD and within the wealth management industry broadly. Her focus on empowering women to take on leadership positions has helped SignatureFD achieve a 90% female executive leadership team. Her belief that every person has a purpose in life, to which wealth properly aligned can help support, is the cornerstone of SignatureFD’s client promise, Net Worthwhile™.

Resources:

 

Listen to the Focused on the Future Podcast

About the Author

Suzanne Siracuse

CEO, Suzanne Siracuse Consulting Services

https://www.suzannesiracuse.com/

Suzanne Siracuse, Founder and CEO of Suzanne Siracuse Consulting, LLC, specializes in advising financial services firms on innovative business strategies, distinctive marketing programs and impactful advocacy initiatives around diversity, financial literacy, and next gen talent.

Ms Siracuse is also the Creator and Host of The Big Reveal Podcast Series and the Creator and Host of The Focused on the Future Podcast Series.

Ms Siracuse is a founding member of the Invent Elite consulting consortium, which focuses on developing, launching, branding and operationally supporting broad based technology initiatives for financial services firms.

In addition, Ms. Siracuse is on the Board for the non-profit, Savvy Ladies, is an Independent Board member for ASYMmetric ETF’s, is a member of the Council of Ambassadors for the IWI’s Thrive Center for Diversity and Inclusion, is an Advisory Board member of Diversitas and is an advisory board member of the American College’s Center for Women.

In Nov 2020, Ms. Siracuse was recognized by InvestmentNews with the Women to Watch “Trailblazer” award for her commitment to DEI initiatives within the financial services industry and in November 2022 was honored as a Think Advisor Luminary for her contributions on Diversity Equity and Inclusion in the wealth management industry.

Prior to starting her own firm, Ms Siracuse was the CEO and Publisher of InvestmentNews.