Tom Taylor, who has been in the industry since the early 1990s, will retire from as chief sales and growth officer at Cetera Financial Group at the end of this year. The firm is currently conducting a search for his replacement.
Taylor has been with Cetera since 1997 years, having joined Financial Network Investment Corp., which was renamed Cetera Advisor Networks in 2013. He’s served in a variety of roles at the firm, including as due diligence coordinator, vice president of sales and training, vice president of Cetera’s Financial Institutions division, chief administrative officer and chief operating officer. From 2015 to 2021, he was president and CEO of Cetera Advisor Networks, Cetera’s largest broker/dealer community, before stepping into his current role.
"Tom's countless contributions over nearly three decades have been instrumental in making Cetera the powerful industry leader it is today," said Mike Durbin, CEO of Cetera Holdings, in a statement. "Tom has been a true champion of Cetera's values and we are grateful for his leadership and the impact he has made on our culture and service to our advisors.”
Taylor’s retirement follows a number of changes to Cetera’s C-suite in recent months. Last 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).
Durbin also came from Fidelity, serving as head of Fidelity Institutional until December 2022. He joined Cetera in May of last year.
Also in June, Cetera hired Gwen Weithaus, a former vice president at Northwestern Mutual, as chief compliance officer for Cetera Investment Services, one of Cetera’s firms.
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.
In May, the firm added five new executives to its advisory solutions team, including alumni from Ally Financial, Commonwealth, LPL and Osaic.