Tom James to Leave Raymond James' Board

Raymond James Financial Chairman Emeritus Thomas A. James says he is retiring from the firm's board on Feb. 22, having served for 48 years as a director — including 40 as CEO.

He will, however, keep an office at its headquarters "and continue in several advisory roles both business and charitable, working part-time at the firm," according to a statement.

"At age 81, it is time for me to reduce my time with firm responsibilities and spend more time with my wife, Mary, outside of business," James added. "We have an excellent board and management team, and I am proud of their accomplishments."

CEO Paul Reilly, who took the reins from James in May 2010, explained that the firm "will continue to apply the management principles Tom exercised as CEO and taught innumerable levels of past and current leadership from his first day as CEO in 1970 to today.

"Our leadership team and I will continue to value his mentorship and advice as we continue to nurture the client-first culture he so thoughtfully and deliberately established, and build on the firm's growth and success," Reilly added.

Raymond James currently works with about 8,700 financial advisors and some $1.24 trillion in client assets. The head of its Independent Contractor Division, Jodi Perry, won a 2023 ThinkAdvisor LUMINARIES award for excellence in executive leadership.

James' Legacy

Tom became CEO of Raymond James Financial in 1970, succeeding his father, Bob James. Under Tom's leadership, Raymond James not only built a successful public company, but also a big tent for advisors.

Mike Hines, founder and CEO of Consolidated Planning Corp. in Atlanta, joined Raymond James in 1975 because it was "financial-planning oriented," he said. "When Tom came on board," said Hines, "he changed everything."

In those early days, Hines could "call Tom James up on Sundays" at his office telephone extension because he knew James would be there.

When asked how Tom and the firm changed everything, Hines said simply, "Raymond James had integrity, even in the 1970s," conducting extensive due diligence on investments before approving them for sale by reps, which Hines said "still happens today." That's why, he said, "in 2008, they didn't get in trouble."

The younger James also brought in graduates from his alma mater, Harvard Business School, who were "top-notch people. That's been a Raymond James differentiator" then and now, Hines said.

"To do well, you have to be willing to change" to succeed in any business, Hines said, and "Tom changed before he had to." As a client-focused advisor himself, in fact, Hines gives James and the company the ultimate compliment. "Raymond James has always treated us — the advisor —as a client."

Upon receiving an alumni award from Harvard Business School in 2013, Tom summed up his approach: "You have to have very good people; you have to delegate authority to those people. If you apply those principles and a hard work ethic, you will be successful in business."

– Jamie Green contributed to this report.

Shown in photo: Tom James