Envestnet CEO, Co-Founder Crager Stepping Down

Envestnet Inc.’s CEO and co-founder, Bill Crager, will be stepping down from the top position while the company’s board starts a search for a replacement, the firm announced Monday.

On March 31, Crager will move from CEO to senior adviser with a focus on client and partner relationships, according to the New York-based firm. Board Chair James Fox will serve as interim CEO during the search for a successor.

Bill Crager

Crager founded Envestnet in 1999 with then-CEO Jud Bergman. Crager, who had been president and chief executive of wealth solutions, took the CEO role after Bergman’s tragic death in a car accident in 2019.

“Under Bill’s leadership, Envestnet has grown into a leading provider of integrated technology, intelligent data and wealth solutions with $5.4 trillion in client assets and over 107,000 advisors served,” Eric Jones, senior vice president of communications, said in an emailed response.

In November, the firm announced a partnership with Empower called Retire Complete, which gives financial advisers access to a qualified retirement plan for clients that leverages Envestnet’s 3(38) fiduciary service and investment selection methodology. Jones noted that Empower “is and will continue to be a very important strategic partner of Envestnet helping advisers to grow their business.”

The announcement noted that Crager, in his advisory role, will continue to be a “visionary voice for the financial services industry” while working on client partnerships and the firm’s strategic initiatives.

“For more than 24 years, it has been my privilege and honor to work with Envestnet, creating an industry leader,” Crager said in a statement. “Starting in April, I will have the time and opportunity to focus on what I have always loved doing—growing Envestnet’s relationships and empowering our clients to provide holistic financial advice and solutions.”

Tom Sipp, Envestnet’s executive vice president, will continue to lead business lines, partnering with Crager and Fox, according to the announcement. The board, along with an executive search firm, will be considering both internal and external candidates for permanent CEO. Envestnet did not give a timeline for finding a replacement.

The firm was among the first in the financial industry to provide independent advisers with a range of fee-based products via an open-architecture platform, according to the announcement.

Envestnet reaffirmed its fourth quarter and full year guidance given on a November 8 earnings call, with expectations of fourth quarter 2023 revenue to be between $309 and $314 million and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of between $64.5 and $68.5 million.