Cetera Financial Group has hired a former vice president at Northwestern Mutual as chief compliance officer for one of its platforms, according to the firm.
Gwen Weithaus will become CCO for Cetera Investment Services, one of Cetera’s network of four independent firms (including Cetera Advisors, Cetera Advisor Networks and Cetera Financial Specialists).
“Hiring Gwen is the latest example of our commitment to building a strong and dedicated home office team in support of our financial institutions, financial professionals and their clients,” Cetera Investment Services CEO LeAnn Rummel said.
She is replacing retiring CCO Brian Haley and will report to Cetera Chief Risk Officer Joseph Neary.
Weithaus has over 30 years in the financial services industry, including nearly 20 years with Northwestern Mutual. Before moving to Cetera, she was the vice president of wealth risk and controls at Northwestern, overseeing risk management for the firm and vendors and implementing regulatory mandates.
Weithaus also served as the director of compliance for Northwestern's retirement markets and a senior director of risk and controls for investment products and services. Before Northwestern, she briefly served as a regulatory consulting manager for Deloitte. According to her LinkedIn profile, she also worked in compliance at Thrivent Financial in the 1990s before a two-year stint as a compliance examiner with FINRA.
Additionally, Cetera Investment Services recently hired Tami Cain as head of Institutional Business Development and John Konikowski as senior manager of Managed Programs. Both joined Cetera from CUSO Financial Services.
The Investment Services hires are the latest in a spate of additions to Cetera’s C-suite since the start of the year. Earlier this month, Cetera brought in former Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company President Jerry Patterson as the head of advanced wealth solutions, a newly created position. Patterson will build out Cetera’s retirement, life insurance, and annuity products.
Cetera also brought in Fidelity alum Scott Baker as head of corporate strategy to replace George Karris, who is retiring. Baker was president and chairman of the board for Fidelity Personal Trust Company, responsible for the firm’s bank-regulated business unit (he previously held leadership roles at Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs).
The firm also named Michael Molnar as its new head of corporate development from Avantax, the tax-focused wealth firm it acquired in 2023. Molnar previously led succession planning for Avantax’s independent broker/dealer platform and M&A for its employee-model RIA. Last month, the firm added five new executives to its advisory solutions team, including alumni from Ally Financial, Commonwealth, LPL and Osaic.
