Envestnet's Bill Crager Urges Advisors to Be Prepared for the Worst

By Melanie Waddell

News December 11, 2019 at 04:55 PM

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Reflecting on the loss of Envestnet CEO Jud Bergman on Oct. 3, Bill Crager, president of Envestnet and head of Envestnet Wealth Solutions, who was named interim CEO after Bergman's death, urged attendees at the MarketCounsel Summit Wednesday to not ignore a succession plan.

"I may be the 2019 poster child for succession, but it is essential … no matter how big or how small your business is, to make sure that you're thinking about the risks that are lurking in your business," Crager told attendees during a heartfelt discussion with MarketCounsel CEO Brian Hamburger.

Envestnet founder, Chairman and CEO Bergman, 62, and his wife, Mary Miller, 57, died Oct. 3 in a car crash in San Francisco.

Crager told attendees to not think "that it won't happen to you … Again, we are promised in life there will be suffering and there will be tragedy; it will occur, and to prepare for it I think is essential."

"As a business person, there are deep risks that you cannot imagine," Crager said.

"How do you address those? How do you protect yourself, your business? How do you protect all the people that work for you in a way that business goes on throughout that day, the next week, the next month — and not just endure it, but really flourish and pursue the vision behind the leader of that company?"

Crager told attendees to reflect when faced with a tragedy on "how do we take the purpose of our company and make sure that it does prevail?"

Crager said part of his message at the Envestnet Christmas dinner in Chicago on Thursday will be: "We have seen dark days; we've been challenged. It's not OK just to get through."

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