Director, Partner Success

Apella Wealth is an employee-owned, wealth advisory firm (RIA) headquartered in West Hartford, CT with offices across the nation serving thousands of investors, families, businesses and institutions.

Founded in 2014, we are growing rapidly with approximately $12B in assets under management. We are scaling both organically and through strategic acquisitions as we enter new regional markets and develop world-class, client-relevant capabilities.

Most importantly, we are growing by identifying the right partners that embrace our culture, share in our values, and are dedicated to putting client service first in all they do.

We compete for talent.

We owe it to our clients and our co-workers to find the right people for them and us.At Apella, we do meaningful financial planning with people we genuinely enjoy working with.

THE ROLE

As the Director of Partner Success, you will lead the M&A program from post-LOI through integration in close partnership with our CEO and PE stakeholders. This role is intentionally designed to straddle both sides of the M&A process, due diligence and post-close integration, so that deal partners experience a single, consistent point of continuity as they move from evaluation through closing and onto the Apella Wealth platform. This individual reports to Apella’s Chief Operating Officer.

This role represents a deliberate change from a traditional, single-phase M&A structure: rather than handing deal partners off between a diligence team and a separate integrations team at close, this role owns the relationship and the process continuously from LOI through integration. The goal of this is to reduce handoff risk and create a seamless transition for deal partners, their clients, and their employees.

The role requires a unique combination of sales skills, empathy (deal partners and their clients need consistent counsel as they navigate this transition), operational expertise (spanning HR, client reporting, technology, trading and other operational aspects of both the deal partner and Apella), and disciplined project management. Timely, efficient and accurate execution and communication to senior leadership is paramount.

This is a leadership role that provides management and direction to M&A team members and works closely with Apella Wealth executive leadership team members, external business partners, and internal support teams throughout the deal lifecycle.

Where you will work:

This role will be remote or work out of our West Hartford, CT -based team with occasional travel to the HQ, office sites for deal meetings, HOVs, annual strategy planning sessions and company offsites.

What you will be responsible for:

• Coordinating Apella’s diligence review process, including tailoring due diligence request lists and reviewing seller-provided diligence
• Constructing and managing deal timelines for all parties involved in the M&A process
• Reviewing and understanding deal partner book of business and billing practices and ensuring the accuracy of run-rate revenue calculations
• Identifying/assessing operational misalignment between Apella and partners and providing solutions
• Managing the client consent process pre-closing, including generation of new client IMAs
• Coordinating with the M&A team to ensure reverse due diligence is up to date on a quarterly basis
• Managing the process from the day the deal partner signs a Letter of Intent, through closing, and continuously for several quarters post-close to complete integration onto Apella’s platform
• Delivering concierge service to deal partners, exhibiting relational maturity and responsiveness
• Providing leadership to M&A integration team members, training and delegating issues and projects
• Overseeing M&A integration project plans including database integrations (portfolio management system, CRM, etc.) and document migrations
• Communicating and coordinating throughout Apella and with external partners to smoothly onboard all aspects of deal partner business, including clients, employees, operations, and technology
• Collaborating with custodial partners to complete integration-related action items within timelines
• Developing and overseeing onboarding and training for deal partner firms
• Generating executive team reporting related to M&A due diligence and integration
• Running and supervising all Integration calls and meetings, internally and externally
• Providing feedback and operational improvement suggestions for Apella’s business processes (operations, procedures, workflows, etc.) to create efficiencies across the full M&A lifecycle

What qualifications we’re looking for:

• 4-year college degree in business, finance, economics, or a related field
• 8+ years of experience in financial services, with exposure to M&A due diligence and/or integration
• Strong, mature judgement on when to elevate vs when to handle issues internally
• Demonstrated ability to build trusted relationships with deal partners, clients, and internal stakeholders through both the diligence and integration phases of a transaction
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Detail-oriented with strong analytical skills
• Excellent organization and time management skills; able to manage multiple priorities and deadlines across concurrent deals
• Able to work independently with minimal supervision while leading and developing a team
• Comfortable operating with a sales mindset while balancing operational and administrative rigor

WHAT WE OFFER

A base salary range of $190K–$220K with annual discretionary bonus and equity potential along with the ability to drive the in-organic growth strategy for a rapidly scaling financial services firm

• Day 1 Medical, Dental, and Vison health insurance coverage for you and your specific needs
• Health Savings Account (HSA) and Flexible Spending Account (FSA) options w/company contributions
• 401(k) retirement plan with company match to help you achieve your financial goals
• Unlimited paid time off (PTO) policy to ensure you have time to rest and recharge when needed
• Employer-paid life insurance, AD&D, short-term disability, and long-term disability coverage options
• 16-week fully paid Parental Leave programs and adoption assistance support to help you start a family
• Continuing education and certification fee reimbursement for professional development
• Discount perks on travel, childcare, fitness, electronics, meal delivery, pet insurance, and more
• Most importantly: The chance to help shape the future of a rapidly growing wealth management firm