Wes Long, head of Wedbush's Private Client Services Group, has left the regional brokerage, according to BrokerCheck.
It was unclear why Long left the firm on March 17, and whether he has landed employment elsewhere.
Long, a 25-year industry veteran, had spent most of his career at Wedbush. He started with the firm in 1997 as vice president and assistant sales office manager in Portland, Ore., according to the firm's website which had not been updated to reflect his departure.
He rose through the ranks becoming an executive vice president and head of the private client services group in 2012, helping to oversee the Los Angeles-based firm's approximately 400 advisors.
Wedbush did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and Long could not be reached. A receptionist at the firm's office said he was no longer with the firm and did not have contact information for him.
His departure comes at a potentially difficult moment. Wedbush Securities and its founder and president, Edward Wedbush, are currently appealing a FINRA enforcement decision that imposed more than $300,000 in fines on the firm and a month-long suspension of the top executive for failing in their reporting duties.
FINRA imposed the sanctions on Wedbush and the firm for allegedly failing to properly disclose customer settlements and complaints, supervise regulatory reporting and to implement corrective measures.
Their appeal is currently before the SEC, according to FINRA records.
DETERMINED TO RISE
Long's father was in the air force, and the family moved frequently between military bases in the U.S. and Europe, he said in a 2013 interview with On Wall Street. The experience of leaving friends behind made him more outgoing, Long said.
"One of the biggest gifts of these sometimes painful childhood experiences is that I can relate to people from all over the country and from all walks of life," he said. "It also boosted my self-confidence at a young age, which had a positive effect on my entire career. Because I believe in my abilities, I don't quit when someone tells me 'no.'"
Long joined the industry as an account executive with Smith Barney in 1990, after first being rejected for not having enough sales experience, Long recounted. For a year-and-a-half, he worked at a Cosmetics company before landing a second interview at Smith Barney with the same hiring manager who previously turned him away. This time, he got the job.
Long moved to A.G. Edwards the following year where he worked as an investment executive, but left the firm for Wedbush because he felt that management was not seeing his potential.
"I'm kind of hard-headed, so being told "no" as much as I was in my life spurred me on. My dad raised me to work hard and never quit. I learned that lesson playing sports, too. Ultimately I may not be able to do something, but no one's going to tell me I can't," Long said.
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