Karl Heckenberg, president and CEO of Emigrant Partners, which invests in registered investment advisors, has announced he’s leaving the company. Barry Friedberg, co-chairman of New York Private Bank & Trust, Emigrant Partners’ parent company, will assume Heckenberg’s responsibilities on an interim basis. Heckenberg has made himself available to help with the transition.
“After five enjoyable and highly productive years leading Emigrant Partners, I have decided to take some time and consider what I'd like to do in the next stage of my career,” Heckenberg said, in a statement.
Heckenberg was appointed CEO and president of Emigrant Partners following Emigrant Bank’s acquisition of Fiduciary Network, an RIA aggregator, in 2018. He took over for Fiduciary Network co-founder and CEO Mark Hurley, who recently joined Digital Privacy & Protection, a cybersecurity company, as CEO.
Emigrant Bank, which is run by billionaire Howard Milstein, hired Heckenberg in 2017 to run Fiduciary Network once the bank acquired the 25% stake it didn’t already own. Prior to that, Heckenberg served in executive leadership positions at Lyons Capital Partners and Charles Schwab.
Milstein and Hurley became embroiled in a dispute over the sale of the remaining stake, with Hurley filing a lawsuit against him, claiming Milstein hired a private investigator to follow him. Milstein claimed that Hurley had been arrested for domestic violence in 2017, but Hurley argued it was a smear campaign against his reputation. In total, there were three separate arbitration battles between the two.
“The opportunity to work with Howard Milstein, Barry Friedberg, and my colleagues at Emigrant Partners has been the most rewarding of my career,” Heckenberg said, in a statement. “I am incredibly proud of the business we built together and all we accomplished. I expect Emigrant Partners and the firms it serves will only continue their success as they move forward together.”
“We are sorry to see Karl leave and wish him the best in his future endeavors,” said an Emigrant spokesperson, in a statement.
Heckenberg has led the team on numerous RIA deals over the past five years, and the firm now has 20 RIAs overseeing more than $100 billion in aggregate AUM.
