Financial Services Leadership
25 Years in Financial Services.
I help VPs through C-Suite at major financial institutions step into enterprise leadership, and earn the mandate, authority, and recognition that come with it.
Former JP Morgan, HSBC, Bloomberg, and Wells Fargo. Advisor to executives at firms where the stakes are high and the decisions have lasting consequences.
Schedule an Introduction & AssessmentWho I Work With
You're not underperforming.
You're under-positioned.
My clients are technically excellent, commercially proven, and already operating at a high level. What they share is a gap between the scope of their contribution and the scope of their leadership. Closing that gap is good for them and for the firm that needs them at the next level.
The Operator Without a Lane
A Managing Director the firm deploys across multiple lanes. Carrying critical work, trusted by everyone, but without a mandate of his own. The answer isn't doing more. It's choosing the lane worth owning and earning the right to lead it.
"I'm the guy behind the guy."
The Leader at the Ceiling
Strong results, multiple years in the same role, and a next level that never quite arrives. The problem isn't performance. It's that leadership still sees the role, not the leader ready for more.
"I've been 'almost ready' for three years."
The Leader in Transition
A promotion, a reorg, a new boss, a sponsor who left, a new firm, or a role that ended. Transitions define the next chapter, and most leaders navigate them alone. The first moves matter most, inside the firm or beyond it.
"I don't want to make a reactive move."
How I Work
This is not about more effort.
It's about the right moves, sequenced correctly.
Most advisory work addresses only the surface: the narrative, the next title, the next role. That's incomplete, and out of order. I start with what's running underneath.
Layer 01
Decision Clarity
Name the decision that actually changes the math, whether that's which lane to own, which move to make, or what to stop carrying. Leaders who don't name the inflection point drift through it.
Layer 02
Leadership Positioning
Choose the mandate worth owning, build the plan for it, and make the case to leadership. Hand off everything else so nothing falls apart. The firm gets a clear owner, and the leader gets the scope to match.
Layer 03
Presence & Communication
Manage up and lead down with the same clarity. Clear expectations with leadership, direct communication with your team, and a presence that shows senior management the leader they're looking for.
Layer 04
Relationship Capital
Build relationships across the firm and the industry that make you better at the job you have now. Outside conversations bring new ideas, approaches, and market intelligence back inside. This is the Career Flywheel: relationships create conversations, conversations create ideas, and ideas create better performance.
Layer 05
Leadership Installation
Install an operating system that prevents regression: emotional regulation, decision quality, scope clarity, pattern recognition. The result isn't a performance you put on. It's a lane you own.
The Results
Wins for the leader. Wins for the firm.
From many lanes to one owned mandate.
An MD relied on across multiple lanes, with no mandate of his own. We identified the lane the firm most needed solved: ambiguous, complex, and suited to his skill set. We worked with his leadership to hand off the other lanes without gaps, then built his plan. He presented a plan to consolidate a fragmented product line to senior markets leadership. Ninety percent of it was adopted.
The leader: co-owner of a priority business, with compensation that moved from $900K to $1.6M.
The firm: its hardest problem finally owned, and no gaps left behind.
The leader his firm was looking for.
A trading technology sales leader working through ambiguity about what was expected of him. We clarified those expectations with his leadership, then changed how he showed up in both directions: more direct with his leadership, more direct with his team, and a presence to match.
The leader: less frustration, sharper focus, confidence in his decisions.
The firm: a team that respects him, and a leader senior management now sees as the model for the role.
Repositioned onto strategic growth.
A Senior MD in institutional sales, absorbing operational work that wasn't his. We moved him onto strategic revenue growth and removed the operational drag.
The leader: focus on the work that drives his number, and CRO-level opportunities in view.
The firm: its senior revenue leader spending his time on revenue.
Off the plateau. On the MD track.
A Director in the same role for multiple years, delivering but not advancing. We redefined how she positioned her work and her value, and she stepped into a role on a Managing Director track.
The leader: a clear path to MD.
The organization: a proven leader, ready for the next level.
Reporting to the CTO. Equity in the business.
A Director-level leader buried in a large organization, with no clear path and no proximity to decision-makers. Now reporting directly to the CTO at a PE-backed company.
The leader: a seat at the table and equity in the business.
The firm: a leader operating where decisions get made.
From displaced to Head of Legal.
An SVP-level legal executive, displaced, with no platform. He built a fractional practice with four clients in six weeks, then turned one of his relationships into an offer: Head of Legal at a publicly traded company, with a path to CLO.
The leader: back in a senior seat, on a CLO track.
The hiring company: a proven legal leader, brought in through a trusted relationship.
The Work in Action
What stood out to me immediately was that Brian never tried to give me answers. Instead, he helped me see blind spots, challenge assumptions I didn't realize I was making, and become much more intentional about how I was spending my time, energy, and attention.
Through our work together, I became more conscious of the work I was taking on, the impression I was leaving with others, and the emotional and practical habits that were either helping or hurting my growth as a leader.
My relationships with senior leadership improved. I became more confident in my decision-making. My team responded differently to me.
If you're looking for someone who will help you think more clearly, lead more intentionally, and operate at a higher level, I'd strongly recommend having a conversation with him.
Trading Technology Sales Leader · Bloomberg
What Brian does isn't generic. He helped me see dynamics I was inside of and couldn't name, and gave me a framework for making decisions that has changed how I operate at work and outside of it.
What's different about Brian is that he doesn't tell you what you want to hear. He tells you what's true, and he does it without ego. He's deeply fluent in the financial services world. He understands the pressures, the relationships, and the pace.
Managing Director, Strategic Relationships & Market Structure · Tradeweb
What stood out about Brian was that he's honest and credible. He's not salesy. Whether I agreed with it or not, he told me what was true. That's what I paid for.
You don't get feedback from people from your same tribe. You get feedback from people who are different. I needed someone I couldn't just bring along and BS. He sees common things across all his clients, patterns I couldn't see because I was inside them. That objectivity is something a friend or family member just doesn't have.
Founder & CEO · Strategic Data Products
Brian is an exceptional coach who has made a significant impact on how I approach work, my career, and my life. From our first conversation, he exhibited a unique ability to listen and understand my specific challenges.
By identifying my limiting beliefs, he helped me gain clarity on my values, strengths, and aspirations. His expertise in strategy and tactics was equally impressive. He provided valuable resources and constructive feedback that were pivotal in enhancing my effectiveness.
Product · FinTech
Introduction & Assessment
The place to start is a 30-minute conversation.
We use the Introduction & Assessment to understand where you are, what options exist, and whether there's a fit. You'll leave with one clear takeaway you can act on immediately.
Schedule an Introduction & AssessmentI work with a small number of senior leaders at a time. Engagements are situation-specific and selective.
The Leadership Circle
For a select number of leaders I've worked with, the relationship continues.
The Leadership Circle is a private, invitation-only community for graduates of the 1:1 advisory engagement. Members receive ongoing direct access, daily leadership voice notes, and a monthly group session built around ongoing pattern recognition and strategic thinking.