Page 32 - Investment Advisor - Jan/Feb 2021

Cover Story

Investment Advisor: How did you two meet?
CHERYL NASH: April and I met in 2012 at the Tiburon CEO Cheryl Nash
Summit in San Francisco. That was the first time I went to Tegra118; CEO, 2020–present
this conference.
We were two of the very few females in the room, and we Fiserv Investment Services;
saw each other and later met in the ladies’ room. From then on, president, 2011–2018; and senior
we became fast friends. When I learned that April had her own vice president, 1983–2011
firm, we started working together.
April was influential in helping me and my career. CheckFree Investment Services; held various roles, ending
Actually I’d say she’s probably been along for the ride with as broker-dealer business unit leader, 1983–2004
me. Since 2012, April’s been very instrumental in helping
our business think about what marketing looks like and Other activities: Chair of Diversity and Inclusion
think about how you put sales and marketing together to Committee for Tiburon Advisors; board of governors
really put out a story that encourages clients to buy from a member for Money Management Institute; co-chair of
fintech/wealthtech perspective. MMI Women in Wealth Management; board member for
And now, growing a business via sales and marketing is one MMI Leadership Pathway program; and advisory board
of the areas that I focus on, along with getting involved with member for the Envestnet Institute on Campus
LinkedIn and social media. She’s really helped us understand
the importance of [LinkedIn/social media], how you use it to Alma mater: Eastern Illinois University
your benefit and how you use it as a sales tool.
When it comes to where women in the industry are going,
it’s really about where we come together in today’s world I quoted Cheryl. The whole idea of that blog, interestingly
to support each other. For instance, April is a phenomenal enough, was about how the future develops.
marketer, and she will always retweet, like, share and sup- Men almost have to be forced to be together with others in
port many people’s information on social media. This makes a some ways. It’s lonely at the top for men and rare to find peer-
really big difference, because obviously the readership then is to-peer relationships, whereas women seek each other out,
that much larger. and that’s what we do naturally, right?
Many people appreciate what she does and who she is. Cheryl and I became fast friends right there in the ladies’
And outside of that, we’ve also become friends. When her room without any introduction; we introduced ourselves. We
son was looking for an internship, she called me and asked didn’t have any pomp and circumstance going on. I’ve known a
if we had anything going on at Fiserv. We brought him in, lot of people and worked in many organizations, and then have
… and he got to learn the industry. I did the same thing run my own firm since 2008.
with my son. He became an intern and is now working in Out of the people I know in wealth management, something
this industry. like 75% of people have either worked for or with Cheryl. She
This is where women excel — you build a relationship and has touched their careers. So, whether she’s supervised or
then you make sure it’s not just a relationship in which you say directly worked alongside them or they’ve been a client, she’s
“hi” and have a cup of coffee. But instead, you actually help had so many different types of relationships with people. And
each other and work together. It’s been apparent in our indus- on top of that, you won’t find anyone more universally loved
try that there’s a need for this, as there aren’t many of us who and respected than Cheryl.
can work together. All of this goes hand in hand with growing With her organization and its structure, it’s been really easy
together. We both grew from our relationship. to raise Cheryl’s brand as a personal brand and work side by
side with her. There’s not another person like her who’s so
APRIL RUDIN: I felt like a fish out of water at that Tiburon universally respected, admired and checks all the boxes, and …
conference. That’s what I remember. This was the first time I she’s not even old enough to have won a lifetime achievement
went to it, and it was a bit intimidating for me, because it was award — she’s a mid-career professional.
a CEO summit with a lot of very senior people. Also, other things that I so respect about Cheryl are that
I didn’t really have expectations, other than being happy to she’s a great listener, a great learner and is so eager to help
be included, and I was taking everything in. At a break, I went everyone. At the same time, she’s a mother, a president, a CEO
to the ladies’ room, and there was Cheryl with that beautiful, and a fintech expert. She fulfills so many different roles. …
friendly smile and her willingness to always say “hello.” That really makes her unique in the industry.
I said to her, “Look, there’s no line in the ladies’ room. And As for her most recent job change, she went from being an
I put that hashtag on Twitter, and we tweeted #NoLineInThe employee of a global multinational organization to a leader-
LadiesRoom. Then I wrote a Huffington Post blog in which ship role as an entrepreneur. She did it with zero fanfare and

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