Carson Group President Teri Shepherd is leaving the company.
According to a statement from CEO Burt White, the firm fully supports Shepherd’s “decision to focus on her family.”
“We are grateful for Teri’s many years of leadership; Teri has been a mainstay of our organization, providing a steady hand and an empathetic presence through times of transformation,” White said. “We wish her the best and thank her for her commitment to our company.”
Shepherd’s departure was first reported by ThinkAdvisor, which stated she’ll step down in March.
As for replacements, White said the firm “will take a thoughtful approach to our leadership needs for this growing business and share more as plans evolve.”
In July 2019, then-CEO and founder Ron Carson named Shepherd and Executive Vice President Aaron 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 has since taken on a different role as divisional president, Carson Partners, leaving Shepherd as sole president. Shepherd was also named as one of WealthManagement.com’s “Ten to Watch” in 2020.
Shepherd joined Carson in 2012, eventually becoming chief operations officer before taking on the role of president. She previously worked at the global biotech company Transgenomic and QA3 Financial, where she held the roles of executive vice president, chief financial officer and chief operations officer.
In April, Ron 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.” Carson founded the Omaha, Neb.-based firm in 1983, and it now includes Carson Wealth, Carson Coaching and Carson Partners, with about $35.5 billion in AUM and minority stakeholder support from Bain Capital.
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.