The Succession Alliance taskforce has added five new board members from Loyal North, 7IM, MKC Wealth and Quilter.
The Succession Alliance is a new taskforce created by the industry support group the Consumer Duty Alliance, with a focus on improving exit outcomes across the Financial Planning profession.
The taskforce is led by Ben Wright, chief innovation officer of Melo, and a past board director of the Personal Finance Society.
Debbie Dry, acquisitions director at Loyal North, brings over 25 years’ experience in Financial Planning and wealth management, with deep expertise in mergers and acquisitions. She has led the acquisition and integration of more than 50 advisory firms and works with business owners on sustainable growth strategies and maximising long-term value.
Eugene Onwuka, corporate & strategy development director at 7IM, has more than 17 years’ experience leading transformation across financial services, including M&A integration, risk and technology.
Morven Grierson, compliance director at MKC Wealth, is a senior compliance leader with over 20 years’ experience in wealth management, specialising in governance, risk and regulatory frameworks. She supports firms to scale in a controlled and sustainable way, with particular expertise in SM&CR, financial crime oversight and operational resilience.
Steve Gazard, chief distribution officer at Quilter, is a highly experienced financial services leader with a broad background spanning advice, operations, distribution and corporate transformation. Known for building high-performing teams and driving client-focused growth, he brings extensive experience across mergers, acquisitions and business restructuring.
Keith Richards, CEO of the Consumer Duty Alliance and former Personal Finance Society CEO will also join the board.
The board will oversee the development of the Alliance’s programme of work and will be supported by a wider steering group drawn from across the profession.
Alongside the formation of the board, the Alliance has also confirmed its founder sponsors as Quilter, Financial Solutions Group, Brooks Macdonald and Perspective
The Consumer Duty Alliance says the taskforce will help, “by bringing together expertise from across the profession to improve consistency, raise expectations and provide practical education that supports better decision-making” in succession planning.
The Succession Alliance aims to promote greater consistency on how succession processes are approached, improve education and understanding of the full range of exit options and develop a voluntary charter with minimum standards for those involved in external succession.
The taskforce claims that succession is one of the most significant and least consistently planned or managed challenges facing Financial Planning firms. It highlighted that external succession practices in particular ‘vary widely between buyers and brokers’, transparency is ‘inconsistent’, and incentives are ‘not always aligned.’