Registration is now open for DeVoe Elevate
May 7 - 9, 2025 in Nashville!
-DRIVE organic GROWTH-
-OPTIMIZE your HUMAN CAPITAL plan-
DeVoe Elevate™ 2025 Speakers
More Speakers to Come!
Mark Tibergien is a nationally recognized expert on management, strategy, and transition issues within the financial services industry.
He has led organizations from start-up to exit, from dynamic growth to turn-around. He has consulted with hundreds of financial services organizations in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Canada.
He currently serves as Advisor in Residence for Ernst & Young’s Wealth & Asset Management Group; an independent director of Pathstone, an wealth management and multi-family office RIA; and as an Advisory Board Member for Commonwealth Financial Network, a $180 billion broker-dealer & RIA. In September 2024, he was presented with WealthManagement.com’s first Lifetime Achievement Award to “recognize Tibergien’s guidance, principles and wisdom that have helped shape the industry.”
Most recently, Mark was CEO of Pershing Advisor Solutions LLC, an affiliate of The Bank of New York Mellon. Prior to joining Pershing, he was a Principal in the CPA firm, Moss Adams LLP, where he was head of the Business Consulting Group, specializing in the financial services industry. He wrote a monthly column for Investment Advisor/Think Advisor on management issues.
He is the author of four books published by Bloomberg Press/Wiley & Sons: Practice Made Perfect (2005) and How to Value, Buy or Sell a Financial Advisory Practice (2006); Practice (Made) More Perfect (2010) and The Enduring Advisory Firm (2016).
Mark Tibergien
Keynote Speaker
Former CEO
Pershing Advisor Solutions
John joined DeVoe & Company as a special advisor in 2024.
For the preceding nine years he served as CMO for Focus Financial Partners, a leading RIA aggregator which executed a successful IPO, grew revenue to over $2 billion and more than tripled the size of its network between 2015-2024.
At Focus, John was responsible for developing programs to support organic growth, business development and marketing for the company’s 90+ partner firms. Based upon rigorous field testing, the programs he designed enabled participants to dramatically outperform their peers in matched control groups. He summarized his findings and insights in two internally published books outlining best practices for organic growth, entitled “Outperformers” and “Nester-Hunter-Builder.”
John’s previous financial industry roles include global director of advertising for Citi Smith Barney – where his campaign won the FCS’ Financial Marketer of the Year award – and leading paid advertising efforts for TIAA. His non-financial accolades include leading the team who launched “Can you hear me now?” for Verizon Wireless, which was inducted into the Advertising Walk of Fame.
John holds an MBA degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rice University.
John Mittnacht
Keynote Speaker
Special Advisor
DeVoe & Company
Former CMO
Focus Financial Partners
David DeVoe founded DeVoe & Company in 2011 to help wealth management companies optimize their business decisions. The company has supported hundreds of firms in consulting, investment banking and valuation engagements since launch. David has been a thought leader on RIA practice management for 18 years and was named the 'RIA M&A Guru' by Barron's magazine.
Previously, he served as Managing Director of Strategic Business Development at Charles Schwab Advisor Services. In this role, he developed and led Schwab’s Transition Planning platform, which provides comprehensive M&A and succession planning services to registered investment advisors. During this eight-year period, he provided strategic counsel to over 500 advisors. Previously, David worked in the Business Strategy group at American Express.
David holds a BA degree from the University of California, Berkeley and an MBA from Cornell University Johnson Graduate School of Management.
David DeVoe
Keynote Speaker
Founder and CEO
DeVoe & Company
Ben Harrison is a Managing Director and leads the client facing businesses for BNY Pershing. He is the Co-Chair of BNY’s Wealth Community Practice which aligns professionals serving the wealth industry across the BNY enterprise. Additionally, Ben serves as President & board member for BNY Mellon, N.A. Ben is a member of BNY’s Senior Advisory Council, a group of senior managing director working closely with BNY’s Office of the CEO and the Executive Committee on the bank’s strategic initiatives.
Prior to his current role, Ben led Wealth Solutions serving wealth intermediaries, the RIA custody business as well as business development and relationship management for the advisory marketplace at BNY Pershing. In those roles, he spearheaded key strategic initiatives and built successful partnerships with clients focused on powering their growth. Ben was a 2010 Chairman’s Circle Honoree, recognized for his outstanding performance and contribution to BNY. Before BNY Pershing, Ben worked at TD Ameritrade Institutional where he focused on the RIA business.
Ben earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics Management from Ohio Wesleyan University. He has also completed the Securities Industry Institute® program, sponsored by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Ben is a former Chair for the Foundation for Financial Planning and a current trustee. He also serves on the Board of The Woodstock Academy Foundation.
Ben Harrison
Managing Director, Head of Client Business Services
BNY Pershing
Ken Haman joined AB in 2005. As Managing Director of the AB Advisor Institute, he coordinates the group’s activities, develops the core curriculum, and serves as a consultant to FAs and key leaders at AB’s partner firms. Financial Advisors, advisory teams and managers seek out Mr. Haman when they need help with strategic marketing, improving their internal and external communications, and developing practice-management strategies.
Mr. Haman’s professional experience includes managing a practice in psychotherapy for 20 years in the Washington, DC, area and a consulting practice to large organizations, financial professionals and senior executives in the mid-Atlantic states. He holds a BA in business administration, graduate degrees in psychology and theology, and certifications in clinical hypnosis and neuro-linguistic programming.
Ken Haman
Managing Director, The Advisor Institute
AllianceBernstein
Rob Montella is a member of the business consulting team at First Trust Portfolios that helps financial advisors, RIA’s, banks, and institutional clients maximize efficiency and business growth.
Rob previously served as a Senior Strategist in Business Practices' for GSAM's Strategic Advisory Solutions team. He specialized in the delivery of practice management tools and services designed to improve financial advisors' business efficiency and productivity. Prior to joining Goldman Sach's, Rob spent 16 years with Ameriprise Financial, most recently as a Managing Partner with RiverSource University. In that role, he was instrumental in the development and implementation of a program that provided performance coaching and practice management consultation to top financial advisors at over 20 firms. Rob's work in the areas of Emotional Intelligence and Behavioral Finance has been featured in many industry journals and more recently in the book, "Educating Others to be Emotionally Intelligent." Rob received his Bachelor's degree from the Governor's State University.
Rob Montella
Business Consultant
First Trust Portfolios
Aimee J. Jachym is a Member in Miller Johnson’s Business and Corporate practice representing businesses in commercial transactions, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and compliance matters. She leads the firm’s RIA practice.
Investment Advisory Practice
Ms. Jachym represents financial industry professionals and registered investment advisory (RIA) firms throughout the United States and provides counsel on mergers and acquisitions, succession planning, and other business matters. She also advises RIAs on SEC and state registration, compliance matters, and client and partner transitions. Ms. Jachym has worked on dozens of RIA transactions, representing firms with up to $50B in assets under management.
International
Ms. Jachym works on many cross-border and international trade matters. She represents Korean and other international clients doing business in the United States and also advises domestic clients looking to expand their business into new markets. Ms. Jachym is proficient in verbal and written communication in Korean.
Corporate Law
Using her background in business and international affairs to meet the needs of local and global clients, Ms. Jachym counsels businesses of all sizes, including public institutions and start-ups, in diverse matters ranging from contract negotiations to regulatory matters and complex agreements. She serves as outside general counsel to several corporate clients and advises owners of privately-held entities on ownership issues, corporate governance, and succession planning.
Aimee Jachym
Member
Miller Johnson
Jay specializes in practice development, team leadership, communication, collaboration and adult-learning behavior. He and his team provide coaching to financial professionals across the country, and he frequently speaks regionally and nationally on behalf of Invesco Global Consulting (IGC). Jay is also a member of the IGC Leadership Team, which focuses on helping financial professionals grow, keep and optimize their practices in a complex and competitive business environment.
A keynote speaker, executive coach and author, Jay has worked in the financial services industry since 1999. His writing has been featured in multiple industry publications, and he is the coauthor of The Three Commitments of Leadership: How Clarity, Stability and Rhythm Create Great Leaders.1
Jay joined Invesco in 2019 when the firm combined with OppenheimerFunds. Previously, he was a Director of Business Consulting and head of CEO Advisor Institute Marketing at OppenheimerFunds. Prior to these postions, Jay held various leadership roles in the financial industry, including head of learning and development, national sales manager and head of professional development at ING, MassMutual and The Hartford, respectively. Jay earned a degree in economics and finance from the University of Massachusetts and a BS in business management from Western Governors University. He holds the Series 7 and 63 industry registrations.
Jay Therrien
Managing Director of Executive Consulting, Invesco Global Consulting
Invesco
Christine joined Mercer Advisors in 2021. She has more than 25 years in the financial services industry, including 17 years at Edelman Financial Engines. Christine is a member of the company’s executive leadership team, responsible for the overall technology vision and roadmap for the firm. She participates on panels or advisory boards for several companies, including Salesforce, Charles Schwab, and Fidelity. Christine earned her bachelor’s degree from William & Mary, is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, and holds the Chartered Retirement Plans SpecialistSM designation.
Christine Cataldo
Chief Technology and Digital Officer
Mercer Advisors
Jason Gordo is a co-founder and president at Modern Wealth Management. Gordo is an accomplished wealth management executive with a diverse background in business strategy, execution, and mergers and acquisitions. Prior to joining the founding team at Modern Wealth, Gordo was a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs Personal Financial Management where he was Head of Advisor Growth.
Gordo was part of the team that scaled and sold United Capital, a $25B RIA with 90 locations, to Goldman Sachs for $750M. While at United Capital he held various positions, including Head of Office and Head of FinLife Partners. Gordo was also a member of the United Capital executive team where he worked to help drive the firm’s growth and success.
Before joining United Capital, Gordo co-founded Valley Wealth, Inc., a wealth management firm that served high-net-worth clients, endowments, foundations, and corporate retirement plans. Under his leadership, the firm was named to Forbes Magazine’s list of fastest-growing RIAs.
Gordo graduated from Gonzaga University, earning a master’s degree in organizational leadership. He also holds industry credentials from the College for Financial Planning and the Center for Fiduciary Studies.
Jon Wainman is an advisor practice management consultant at Capital Group. He coaches and provides practice management consulting insights to top financial professionals. He has 22 years of investment industry experience helping financial professionals grow their retirement plan and practices and has been with Capital Group for 13 years. Earlier in his career at Capital, he was a senior sales capabilities manager and a retirement plan counselor, responsible for relationship management and sales development in western and central Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Prior to joining Capital, Jon was a regional vice president at Voya Financial. Before that, he was an internal wholesaler at Transamerica Retirement Plan Solutions. He holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Indiana University. Jon is based in Los Angeles.
Jon Wainman
Advisor Practice Management Consultant
Capital Group
Jason Gordo
President, Co-Founder
Modern Wealth Management
As Chief Practice Officer and member of the Beacon Pointe, LLC Board, Commie is passionate about improving the client and advisor experience. She originated our allWEALTH® approach and is focused on the development of life and legacy solutions and tech-enabled systems that make it easier for advisors to provide proactive, personalized advice and be advice-ready as life changes. Commie also oversees the firm’s approach to financial, estate and legacy planning and is a proud founding member of Beacon Pointe Women’s Advisory Institute and co-author of Your Dollars, Our Sense: A Fun and Simple Guide to Money Matters.
Before joining Beacon Pointe Advisors, Commie practiced estate planning at Albrecht and Barney and served as the Director of Estate Planning for Pacific Life Insurance Company. She earned her Juris Doctor from Pepperdine University School of Law, her BA in Economics from the University of California at Irvine, is a member of the State Bar of California.
She has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, US News & World Report, The Street, Financial Advisor IQ, The National Financial Educators Council, The Journal of Practical Estate Planning and The University of California, Irvine’s Wealth Management Frontier Journal. She regularly speaks on financial and estate planning topics and has been a guest lecturer at The Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California at Irvine and Stanford University.
Commie Stevens
Chief Practice Officer Managing Director of Wealth Planning
Beacon Pointe
In 2005 Shell Black started consulting on Salesforce. He was impressed by how the platform, when used well, enabled businesses to compete with much larger companies. In 2010, Shell’s affinity for solving problems in the cloud became a business. ShellBlack was founded with a simple mission —– to help companies maximize their CRM investment.
Shell previously worked in financial services, where he gained the industry knowledge he uses when assisting clients today. Shell and his team serve more than 400 wealth firms, including 40% of Barron's Top 20 RIA firms, underscoring ShellBlack’s reputation as Wealth Management's Premier Salesforce Partner.
Shell Black
President
ShellBlack
Russ Larsen is responsible for managing Wintrust’s middle market banking efforts in the northwest suburbs, Wintrust’s Investment Advisor Banking practice, and also serves as CEO of Village Bank & Trust. Russ has spent the last 30 years working with middle market companies in the greater Chicagoland area. He is passionate about establishing highly personalized relationships with an emphasis on strategic discussions about growth and succession planning.
Russ has a bachelor’s degree in finance with an emphasis in accounting from Northern Illinois University and an MBA in marketing with an emphasis in finance from DePaul University. He serves on the Board of Executive Advisors of the Northern Illinois University College of Business and as a board member for the American Cancer Society.
Russ Larson
Group Executive Vice President
Wintrust
Doug joined DeVoe & Company in 2021 as a Managing Director and works with our clients on consulting and investment banking projects.
Doug has more than 20 years of senior-level RIA management experience as COO/CCO and consultant. Most recently, he served as COO/CCO at Parcion Private Wealth (~$2B) in Seattle. He oversaw an 80% AUM growth trajectory in the first 12 months of his tenure there. Prior to Parcion, Doug spent six years at The Ensemble Practice, where he supported RIAs and broker-dealers with business consulting and strategic planning. Doug also served in leadership positions at Columbia Pacific Capital Management and Lakeside Capital Management, among other firms.
Doug earned an MBA from Thunderbird School of Management/ASU and a BA from University of California Los Angeles.
Doug Johnson
Managing Director
DeVoe & Company
Prior to founding Zoe Financial, Andres was an Executive Director at JP Morgan Asset Management, helping oversee $300 billion in assets.
Before JP Morgan, Andres worked in Morgan Stanley's Institutional Equity division, where he developed investment ideas and conveyed equity market insights to institutional clients.
Andres is consistently ranked as a top speaker at major industry conferences. He is a regular guest at CNBC & Bloomberg,
He holds a CFA designation and an MBA from the Wharton School, where he received the Joseph Wharton Fellowship and Toigo Foundation Fellowship.
Andres Garcia-Amaya
Founder and CEO
Zoe Financial
Dustin Mangone is a Managing Partner and the Director of Investment Advisor Services for PPC LOAN, a cash-flow based lender providing nationwide financing to service sector businesses. He has over 18 years of experience with cash-flow lending and has evaluated and underwritten over $1 billion in loans for investment advisors. Dustin now spends 100% of his time consulting on the M&A financing needs of RIAs and Independent Investment Advisors nationwide and is a regular speaker on these topics. Dustin’s experience is focused on acquisitions, mergers, buy-ins, buy-outs, equity purchases, succession plans, and debt consolidations.
Dustin is a 2002 graduate of Texas A&M University and spent 2 years as a financial advisor providing retirement planning for non-profit organizations before joining PPC LOAN in May of 2005.
Dustin Mangone
Managing Partner
Director of Investment Advisor Services
PPC LOAN
James Hughes serves as a Managing Director for Live Oak Bank’s Small Business Lending division; his title is Head of Professional Services Lending. In this role, James oversees the management of Investment Advisory, P&C Insurance, Accounting & Tax and Law Practice lending at Live Oak Bank. James leads the sales team and oversees the lending process from the initial call to loan servicing. Since joining Live Oak in 2013, he has helped hundreds of businesses achieve their goals through financing. James has served in several roles at Live Oak, including as a sales trader, relationship manager, underwriter, loan officer and business development officer.
Before joining the bank, James worked at one of the leading investment banks in the world, where he managed a group of derivative trading assistants and several client service teams. Through this unique experience, James has gained an understanding of business owners' challenges. James' dedication is to assisting small business owners attain success and continue to thrive with Live Oak Bank’s products and services James has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Bucknell University.
James Hughes
Managing Director - Small Business Lending Division
Live Oak Bank
Yelena is the Head of Product for Catchlight. In her role, Yelena is responsible for developing and managing the Catchlight platform products providing strategy development, product management, and go-to-market support. She is driven to help advisors leverage data and technology to grow their businesses.
Prior to joining Catchlight, Yelena spent over 25 years in various roles across Fidelity Investments. She has focused her efforts on the cross section of advisor and investors facing technology. She has specialized experience in portfolio management, institutional order management, trading platforms, and workplace investing technology.
Yelena Melamed
Head of Product
Catchlight
2025 AGENDA Highlights
DeVoe Elevate™ offers rich and insightful content. Networking breaks, meals, and receptions provide options for
learning from your peers, speakers, and other experts.
Human Capital SESSIONS
Dynamic Leadership and the Enduring Advisory Firm
Building Culture: How Elite Leaders Build a Team and Influence Behavior
Tales from the Field: Succession that Works
Next-Gen Capital: Fueling Tomorrow, Today
Creating a Culture to Attract and Retain Top Talent
Beyond the Exit: Building a Sustainable Succession Strategy
Growth SESSIONS
Supercharging RIA Growth: Unlocking Competitive Advantage
Creating a Growth Mindset
The Professional Referral Method: Becoming the Trusted Advisor
Crafting a High Performance Business
Growth, Engineered: Smart Tech Strategies That Scale
Event Location
Grand Hyatt nashville
1000 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203, United States of America
The DeVoe Elevate room block is available for confirmed registrants only. Limited rooms remaining.
Please visit the hotel website for booking instructions here.
The room block closes on Tuesday April 15, 2025, or when sold out.
Instructions to book will also be provided in your event registration confirmation.
2025 Networking Events
Make sure to join us for our third annual Women in Wealth Brunch in partnership with our Premier Partner, Beacon Pointe. It will be a fantastic way to kick off the event! Registration required.
Save the date for the Main Evening Event at the iconic Category 10! Thank you to Invesco QQQ, our Diamond Partner, for their partnership on this event! Registration required.
You won't want to miss the Early Evening Reception at the close of Thursday, May 8. Join us for a good time after a full day of learning and connecting.
If you would like to learn more about becoming a partner, please email us at events@devoe-co.com.
Join us at Elevate, where we consistently earn high NPS scores reflecting top-tier speakers and insightful content that keeps attendees highly satisfied and eager to return.
DeVoe Elevate™ was selected as one of the best conferences to attend in 2025 by Michael Kitces’ Nerd’s Eye View
The 18 Best Financial Advisor Conferences To Attend In 2025
Follow along on social media using #DeVoeElevate2025.
Please enjoy these photos from previous DeVoe Elevate™ events.
