People Moves: Cetera Hires Former eMoney CEO as COO to Drive Advisor Productivity

People Moves: Cetera Hires Former eMoney CEO as COO to Drive Advisor Productivity In addition, Savant Wealth adds head of advice to the CIO’s role; InspereX bolsters RIA and private market sales teams; and former Hightower CEO Bob Oros takes a vice chairman role at alternatives firm PPB Capital Partners. Cetera Hires Former eMoney CEO Ed O’Brien to Drive Advisor Growth Cetera Financial Group, the San Diego-based independent broker/dealer, has hired the former CEO of eMoney as chief operating officer, effective May 2026. In his new role, Ed O’Brien will lead Cetera’s service, technology, trading and operations teams, focusing on increasing advisor productivity and planning depth while converting platform capabilities into client acquisition and retention. O’Brien had two stints with Fidelity Investments, which owns eMoney, with his most recent position at the institutional division, a channel Mike Durbin led before departing to become Cetera CEO in 2022. O’Brien had been head of the financial planning provider eMoney Advisor from 2016 to 2022, having taken that position from a role as head of platform technology at Fidelity. At Cetera, O’Brien will succeed Tom Gooley, who in January announced his planned retirement after leading operational growth and development. “Tom Gooley was instrumental in building the backbone of this firm—expanding our scale, strengthening our rigor and bringing stability while Cetera grew its operations,” Durbin said in a statement. “Our next chapter is about growth that comes from helping advisors do more for their clients, more consistently. Ed’s role is to turn our platform into a true growth engine, turbocharged by AI, for advisors and a source of confidence and continuity for investors.” Cetera serves approximately 12,000 advisors and institutions and has $640 billion in assets under administration and $294 billion in assets under management. Savant Wealth Expands CIO Zach Ivey’s Position to Include Advice Savant Wealth Management expanded Chief Investment Officer Zach Ivey’s position to include the newly created executive role of advice officer in an aim to bolster how the firm delivers wealth advice to clients. Ivey has been the firm’s chief investment officer since January 2025 and was previously a financial advisor. In the new role, Ivey will oversee the firm’s wealth advice strategy, aligning design with execution and ensuring consistency across regions, offices and client segments. He will also lead investment management, tax planning, risk management and wealth transfer in his role as chief investment officer. “Our clients don’t experience Savant in silos, and our advice shouldn’t operate that way either,” Ivey said in a statement. “This role is about helping make sure our advice feels seamless, intentional and aligned, while giving advisors the support they need to do their best work.” Rockford, Ill.-based Savant is a fee-only RIA with about $42.3 billion in assets under management and $1.7 billion in assets under advisement. Savant had conducted a nine-month national search before deciding to go with Ivey. InspereX Adds Two Senior Sales Professionals to RIA and Private Markets Teams InspereX, a Delray Beach, Fla.-based distributor of fixed income, structured products, ETFs and alternative investments, has hired two senior sales professionals to expand its RIA and private markets coverage. Andrew McCall joined as vice president, institutional RIA sales, covering the Great Lakes and Midwest regions from Chicago, while Vincent Calvanese was named regional vice president, private market solutions, responsible for the West and Southwest regions from Denver. “The addition of Vince and Andrew reflects our continued investment in building a scaled, multi‑channel distribution platform that aligns with how advisors are allocating today,” Bob McDermott, managing director and head of WMS product and partnerships, said in a statement. “RIA Sales and Private Markets remain two of the most important growth areas for our business.” McCall reports to Brandon Laczkowski, head of RIA sales, and joins from BlackRock, where he served as vice president and options strategist. Calvanese reports to Mark Whyman, managing director, private market solutions, and previously served as head of distribution at S2K Financial and as head of private market investments at Redwood Investment Management. InspereX encompasses over 500 issuing entities, partners with more than 1,500 organizations, and has distributed over $850 billion in new issue securities. Bob Oros Joins PPB Capital Partners as Vice Chairman PPB Capital Partners, a Conshohocken, Pa.-based provider of alternative investment solutions to the private wealth management community, appointed former Hightower Advisors CEO Bob Oros as vice chairman of its board of directors. Oros was the chairman and CEO of Hightower for over seven years, during which he led a major acquisition spree for one of the country’s largest RIAs. He was replaced last year by former Goldman Sachs Ayco CEO Larry Restieri. “Bob is one of the most forward-thinking leaders in the wealth management space,” Brendan Lake, founder and CEO of PPB Capital Partners, said in a statement. “Bob’s insights and experience building world-class platforms will be instrumental in guiding PPB’s next phase of growth and innovation.” Before joining Hightower, Oros held senior executive roles at HD Vest (now Avantax), Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services and LPL Financial.