Envestnet CEO Bill Crager said the announcement of three new business units at the technology firm brings to fruition more than two years of planning and preparation.
“We’ve been headed this direction and have worked really hard these last couple years to bring everything closer together, bringing the roadmap into better alignment with our offerings,” said Crager.
“This is purely execution and future-minded, to bring the parts of the business closer together,” he said when asked if today’s announcement was a response to ongoing rumors about the firm being for sale.
Several existing senior executives will be stepping into new roles amid the organizational changes announced on Tuesday. Those changes include formally reordering the technology giant’s many offerings into distinct business units. Specifically, the firm has created three units: Solutions, Data and Analytics, and WealthTech.
Dana D'Auria has been named group president of Envestnet Solutions and continues in her present role of co-chief investment officer (which she has held for almost two years). The Solutions unit includes research, overlay, portfolio management, direct indexing, sustainable investing and retirement services. This also includes the firm’s partnerships with its exchanges and third-party wealth and asset management service providers.
At the helm of the Data and Analytics unit will be Farouk Ferchichi. This unit combines what previously was Envestnet | Yodlee, Envestnet Analytics and Envestnet Abe.ai. among other tools. Ferchichi joined the firm in March 2021 as chief data and analytics officer.
Tony Leal will head up the firm’s new WealthTech unit. Leal has helped lead the venerable financial planning application MoneyGuidePro since its founding in 1997 and through its acquisition by Envestnet in 2019. Envestnet WealthTech will comprise the wealth technology solutions and platforms that serve the firm’s advisory customer base and include both the MoneyGuide and Tamarac platforms, as well as end client tools.
Tom Sipp will serve as Envestnet's executive vice president of business lines, helping to oversee and coordinate between the three units.
"We’ve paved the way for the future leadership of the company,” Crager said, specifically referring to Sipp’s new role.
Also part of the announcement was the departure of longtime executive Stuart DePina, who will be stepping down at the end of June. He most recently served as Envestnet’s president under CEO Bill Crager. Prior to that, he had run the Yodlee unit and was Tamarac’s CEO at the time of Envestnet’s acquisition in 2012.
"We acquired Tamarac 10 years ago and I've worked closely with Stuart for a long time and after Jud passed we came together and said this is what we have to do to bring Envestnet together," said Crager.
"Two years ago we decided that the landing point for Stuart was today," he said of completing the process of reorganizing the firm.
Going forward DePina will act in an advisory capacity leading Envestnet's committee for diversity, equity and inclusion.
"It is a great way for him to continue to influence the company in a profound way," said Crager.
