Elevation Point, a minority investor in independent and breakaway advisors launched last year by former Sanctuary Wealth CEO Jim Dickson, has made another move to strengthen its senior leadership team to work with partnered firms.
Lara Galloway, formerly chief marketing officer at Goldstone Financial Group, will join Minneapolis-based Elevation Point as head of growth. She will focus on helping partner firms with organic growth initiatives, including coaching teams on expanding their practices.
Melinda Brodbeck, formerly a managing director at communications agency JConnelly, will be head of corporate communications, focusing on Elevation Point’s presence in the industry as a leader in minority stake partnerships, along with assisting its partner firms.
Dickson said the new hires, who will report to him, will help the firm establish both itself and its partner RIAs as growth-oriented organizations.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about helping advisors scale and grow,” he said. “We want to give them the ability to build a brand and take that to market and have that brand grow, and Lara and Melinda will allow us to do that.”
Since its launch, Elevation Point has made a series of hires from within the industry, including former leaders at BNY Pershing, Dynasty, Summit and UBS. It also announced an investment of its own from Emigrant Partners in May to take part in its investments. So far, Elevation Point has staked two Michigan-based RIAs and one in Minnesota.
“If you look at what Lara has done her whole career, it’s helping advisors solve their organic growth challenges,” he said. “She will do that for our firms, and we can go to them and say ‘this is the growth engine that you can plug into to drive organic growth, which honestly is the missing link in our industry.”
Dickson said advisors who had previously been at wirehouses, in particular, usually aren’t skilled at marketing or selling themselves.
He sees Brodbeck as the strategy part of that equation, using her experience in public relations for RIAs.
“Melinda has helped hundreds and hundreds of firms build and launch their brand in a way that shows their value proposition and what they are going to bring to the market,” he said.
Galloway, meanwhile, will be on the execution side on long-term strategies to bring in clients.
Galloway had led strategic marketing initiatives at Goldstone related to brand, client acquisition and revenue growth. Before that role, she was an executive at AcquireUp, working with advisors and financial technology firms on marketing, training and partnerships.
“What drew me to Elevation Point is twofold: the people behind it and its mission to support the shift to independence in wealth management,” Galloway said in a statement.
Brodbeck has been working in strategic communications for RIAs, family offices, fintechs and financial services firms and consumer brands. She previously worked with Dickson from her role as his lead contact at JConnelly, which Elevation Point will continue to work with after her move, Dickson said.
“I’ve had the privilege of working with Jim for years and have always admired his clarity of vision and integrity of execution,” Brodbeck said in a statement. It’s been an honor to help shape Elevation Point’s story, and I’m thrilled to now formally join a firm that’s redefining what real partnership in independence looks like.”
Dickson characterized the lack of organic growth in the advisor industry as a “crisis,” noting that firm AUMs have been bolstered by over a decade of strong markets. He sees Elevation Point’s investment offer as standing out due to a focus on offering organic growth strategies and training to partner firms.
“We want to be known as the firm that helps you grow so you can maximize your enterprise value,” he said. “There is ultimately alignment through that strategy because it’s great for you and great for us—that’s the difference in being an aligned investor versus a platform that buys and sells services.”
Listen to Jim Dickson speak about the next move after a deal is signed at Wealth Management EDGE, June 10-12 at The Boca Raton Resort. Register Now.