American College Board Taps Banking Industry Veteran

One of the nation's largest financial planning schools has a new chairwoman -- and for the first time, it's a banking industry veteran.

The American College of Financial Services announced Monday that Linda S. Need from Wells Fargo Advisors has been named chairwoman of the school's board of trustees. Need, a Certified Financial Planner, is senior vice president and managing director of life insurance for Wells Fargo Advisors. She also heads the national life insurance practice for Wells Fargo Insurance Services USA.

"Linda represents a significant bridge for The American College as we extend our deep financial services expertise into banks and brokerage firms,” said Mike Davidson, acting president and CEO of The American College, in a statement announcing the hire. “Our educational offerings are broader than ever before, including the launch of a Ph.D. program in financial and retirement planning, CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) exam prep, and programs in philanthropy, special needs planning, core advisor training and advanced retirement planning." 

Need joined Wells Fargo in 2001 and is responsible for building the company's insurance platform. She previously held several leadership roles in the insurance and investment management at Bank of America as well as various positions at Morgan Stanley, Allstate, Tillinghast, and Northwestern Mutual.

The American College, located in Bryn Mawr, Pa., provides credentials for certified financial planners, retired income certified professionals, chartered financial consultants and chartered life underwriters. School officials claim they have provided professional education to more than 20% of the personal financial advisors, planners, insurance agents and wealth managers currently operating in the U.S.

Read more:

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
Career moves Financial planning
MORE FROM FINANCIAL PLANNING