LPL taps BNY Mellon veteran amid recruiting push, leadership change

LPL tapped a former CEO of BNY Mellon’s corporate trust unit to help oversee the 16,000-advisor firm’s recruiting and sales network.

Scott Posner, who joined the No. 1 independent broker-dealer on Sept. 26 as executive vice president for business development, was most recently with technology giant IBM's management consulting practice.

Based in San Diego and charged with leading LPL’s recruiting and sales strategy, his direct reports include the firm’s regional heads of recruiting, the firm says.

He reports to Rich Steinmeier, who also is new to the firm, taking over for longtime recruiting chief Bill Morrissey just last month. Steinmeier previously had served as chief digital officer of UBS Wealth Management USA before coming to LPL in a high-profile move from the wirehouse.

LPL has expanded its head count beyond that of the wirehouses from its acquisition of the assets of National Planning Holdings last year. At the same time, the firm retained 150 fewer NPH advisors than the 2,000 it expected.

CEO Dan Arnold told analysts on LPL’s last earnings call that the firm was not making any changes to its strategy under the hiring of Steinmeier. However, the firm started offering larger recruiting deals earlier this year, and LPL grabbed three teams from rival Cetera Financial Group in less than a month.

“LPL is an industry leader, and it is an honor to have a role to further establish the firm as a destination of choice for independent advisors,” Posner said in a statement. “I am energized by the firm’s desire to leverage data, technology and innovation to transform the sales experience.”

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Posner spent 17 years at BNY Mellon, working in several executive roles within the bank’s investment services unit. In addition to being the CEO of the corporate trust division, he also led BNY Mellon’s strategic growth initiatives group.

Following his tenure at the bank, he led the financial services practice of a strategy and management consulting firm called Decker Partners for three years and acted as a member of IBM’s financial services digital transformation team for one year.

“Scott brings a wealth of sales and business leadership experience to LPL, along with a vision for applying emerging technologies that enable productivity and improve outcomes,” Steinmeier said in a statement. “His knowledge and experience will help us further differentiate LPL by leading through innovation and centering the sales and transition process around the client experience.”