Aaron Schaben, a divisional president of Carson Partners, is leaving Carson Group next year to serve as CEO of Ron Carson’s family office, the company confirmed.
“This is an exciting step in Aaron’s career, one that keeps him closely connected to Carson Group while filling a valuable role for our founder and the Carson family,” a Carson spokesperson said in a statement.
As for a replacement, “We will take a thoughtful approach to our leadership needs for this growing business and share more as plans evolve,” the spokesperson said.
This follows news last week that Carson Group President Teri Shepherd is leaving the company “to focus on her family.” Other Carson execs have recently departed, including Erin Wood, head of financial planning and advanced solutions, who joined AssetMark as senior vice president of advanced planning, according to LinkedIn.com. Samantha Allen stepped down from her position as senior vice president of integrated marketing after 3 1/2 years with Carson. Monday, she announced on LinkedIn that she took a position with Merit Financial Advisors as executive vice president of marketing. Chief of Staff Brian Green has also departed, according to published reports.
Schaben started his career with Carson as a financial advisor in 2009, according to his LinkedIn profile.
After his ascendency to the role of executive vice president in May 2018, some believed that Schaben was the “heir apparent” to assume the role of CEO from Ron Carson when he stepped down. Carson founded Carson Wealth in 1983, with Carson Coaching and Carson Partners following in 1993 and 2012, respectively (all are based in Omaha, Neb.). The firm manages about $35.5 billion in AUM and received minority stakeholder support from Bain Capital in 2021.
In July 2019, Carson named Shepherd and Schaben co-presidents. Under the arrangement, Schaben would handle the firm’s “business growth and development,” while Shepherd would oversee the firm’s institutional and retail departments.
Schaben had since taken on a different role as divisional president, Carson Partners, leaving Shepherd as sole president.
In April, Carson stepped down from his position as chairman of the firm’s board and CEO, while Managing Partner and Chief Strategy Officer Burt White became CEO.
Carson retained majority ownership in the firm and pledged to devote more time to “further his family’s humanitarian impact.”
Shortly after White claimed the top role, Carson announced several other executive additions, including Dani Fava taking over White’s former role as Chief Strategy Officer and Heather Randolph Carter becoming the firm’s chief marketing officer. Daniel Applegarth joined the executive suite as CFO to replace Nick Englebart, who now oversees Carson Group’s M&A strategy. Eric Vrba also joined the firm as controller in April.
In April, former Carson Group CMO Mary Kate Gulick filed a complaint in federal court claiming the firm’s inaction in handling an alleged sexual assault at a conference by a firm employee left her psychologically scarred and that Ron Carson had made the decision to keep that employee at the company.
Both Shepherd and White frequently appear in Gulick’s complaint. In late 2022, after learning about the alleged assault, Gulick claimed Shepherd assured her the assault would “be handled appropriately,” though Gulick claimed it was not.
In later messages, Burt White (then chief strategy officer) allegedly told Gulick he questioned whether he even had “the energy” to change the organization, claiming Carson Group “needs a sharp right turn, and frankly, this company is driven horribly.”
Gulick claimed she suffered mentally from the aftershocks of dealing with the assault complaint and was given a “general show of support” from Shepherd and White. But she stated that in June 2023, White said she was being fired, telling her she oscillated between “greatness and, I don’t know, unhappiness.”
Carter told WealthManagement.com the firm would “unequivocally dispute” the allegations, and the suit is ongoing in Nebraska federal court.
Schaben’s departure was first reported by Citywire.com.
