Kestra Hires JPMorgan Exec as Chief Information Officer

By Janet Levaux

Career Moves August 05, 2020 at 11:11 AM

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Nick Harness, chief information officer of Kestra Financial.

Kestra Financial Inc. on Tuesday named Nick Harness as its chief information officer, a role that supports the firm's four units — Kestra Financial, H. Beck, Arden Trust Co. and Bluespring Wealth Partners.

Harness recently was chief technology officer of JPMorgan Chase, where he worked for the past five years. He also spent 17 years at Morgan Stanley and eight years (2006-2014) as the chief information officer of its Investment Research Division.

"Nick's specialty is driving positive change in fast-paced and highly regulated business environments," said Kestra CEO James Poer, in a statement. "Having … partnered with colleagues across the globe to deliver streamlined technology solutions across various business lines, he brings broad and deep experience to our quickly growing organization."

The news comes two weeks after the firm tapped Stephen Langlois as president of its Kestra Financial division, which includes the Kestra-branded broker-dealers and RIAs.

"I was drawn to Kestra Financial Inc.'s rich culture and forward-looking focus on technology," according to Harness. "This is an organization that clearly prioritizes and embraces technological innovation, and I look forward to collaborating across the board to stay on the cutting edge."

Kestra Financial Inc. works with some 2,400 financial professionals and $113 billion of assets under administration. It is based in Austin, Texas.

Its Kestra Financial unit, which encompasses an independent BD, RIA and platform for traditional and hybrid RIAs, has some 1,700 affiliated advisors and includes Kestra Private Wealth Services, Kestra Advisory Services and Kestra Investment Services.

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