Redtail CEO Joins Riskalyze Board

Tim Welsh, head of Nexus Strategy, said the move is not likely a precursor to a merger or acquisition.

"An M&A has to have scale today, and that means taking out a competitor," he said in an interview with ThinkAdvisor. "They don't compete directly and are complementary."

Plus, Klein and McLaughlin "are neighbors in Sacramento," Welsh explained, adding that if Riskalyze wanted to buy Redtail "they would have just done it" and not appointed McLaughlin to its board. 

The move gives Riskalyze the opportunity to learn from the CEO of Redtail, which has more than 100,000 users in the broker-dealer space, says Welsh. 

Riskalyze Chairwoman Lori Hardwick, for one, seem to agree. "Brian brings a wealth of knowledge and deep industry expertise, and his unique insights will be particularly valuable," she said in a statement. "Transitions such as these allow for an opportunity to bring new perspectives to the table, so that we can continue to serve the financial services industry in a powerful way."

In addition to Klein, Hardwick and McLaughlin, the Riskalyze board now includes Michael McDaniel, co-founder and chief investment officer of Riskalyze, and Abhay Puskoor, principal at FTV Capital.

"As a long standing company partner, I've watched Riskalyze climb quickly to the top of the financial services market," McLaughlin said in a statement. He intends to "help advise Aaron and his leadership team and contribute my experience and expertise in financial technology."

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