I am so honored to have had the opportunity to speak with Natalie Wolfsen, CEO of Orion. She shares with us her journey and some incredible insights along the way. I found myself intrigued by her steps and mind set that propelled her to the top! I learned so much from Natalie in the brief time we spent together, as I am sure you will as well.
– Maree Moscati, CEO
Natalie Wolfsen
CEO
Orion Advisor Solutions
Maree: Natalie, how has your career path prepared you for your current position as CEO of Orion?
Natalie: Something that’s so fantastic about Orion, other than it being an amazing company, with an amazing set of solutions, serving a wonderful group of clients, is that our business offerings bring together all the experience that I’ve had throughout my career.
I’ve worked in technology and technology product development as well as investment and investment product development. I led a TAMP. I worked in marketing and strategy, and all those functions, coupled with the client segments that I led — insurance marketing organization (IMO) and broker dealer-affiliated advisors, enterprises — all of that experience comes together into exactly what Orion is doing in the industry.
Joining Orion has been a wonderful opportunity for me to leverage everything I’d learned with the knowledge and experience from the beginning of my career to the stage of my career I’d reached when I started at Orion.
Maree: How did the opportunity at Orion come about? Did they come to you and state that they are looking for a dynamic leader with your skill set, did the board approach you? How does one come about such an incredible opportunity?
Natalie: I’ve worked with several members of Orion’s board of directors in my previous roles, so they were familiar with my background. When Eric Clarke, the founding CEO of Orion, decided to retire, the board reached out to me, and said, “It seems like what you’re doing and the accomplishments you have achieved in your career, paired with everything we know about you, would be a good fit for Orion.”
I wasn’t really looking for a change, so I said I would “think about it.” The more I did, the more excited I was about the opportunity, and what the Orion team and I could accomplish together.
I replied to the board and took on this incredible role.
Maree: I find it interesting it's always when we are not looking for opportunities that they kind of unexpectedly cross our paths, which is always wonderful. It is apparent that the relationships we build across our journey are a critical component to our upward mobility along our journey.
Natalie: It’s critically important to keep those relationships open. The work we do every day matters, because you never know what’s going to happen in your career, and how that can lead to the next opportunity.
Maree: Natalie, in your world, what do you find really exciting that is currently happening in the wealth management tech space at the moment?
Natalie: There’s so much happening in wealth management and in wealth and fintech. What’s most exciting to me is the incredible amount of innovation happening across our industry.
There’s innovation in technology, and the application of AI, and how that’s driving efficiency. There are incredible strides forward in investments with customization and outcome orientation. Even in financial planning, the comprehensiveness and customization that’s happening is very exciting. Innovation is driving the industry forward to be more investor-driven and less market-driven. I’m excited to be part of this transformation.
Maree: So I’d like to switch up our conversation a bit now and ask you who is your most influential mentor and why?
Natalie: I’m a believer in mentorship, both being a mentor for others, and also drawing on advice and expertise from mentors throughout your career. The most important mentor of my career has been the current executive chairman of Orion, Charles Goldman. We’ve worked together at different firms: Schwab, AssetMark, and now Orion.
Throughout those experiences with him at different levels of my career, he’s always been incredibly supportive of me taking on new challenges and has ensured that I had opportunities to be part of, and drive, key strategic initiatives. These opportunities allowed me to prove my ability to take on increasingly senior roles. His open, honest feedback meant that I never made the same mistake twice. He was also a great sounding board for me and made himself available when I had a question or wanted to test an idea.
I would encourage everyone to have that type of mentorship relationship with a handful of people, and then also to be a mentor to several people so that you’re helping those employees who are talented and deserving of more opportunity.
Maree: I love that! We all experience moments in our careers that we feel we wish we could have a “do over.” With that being said, Natalie, can you share with our audience the one “oops” moment that you had, and how did you overcome it?
Natalie: If you’re not learning, you’re dying. While my mistakes were always very painful, I wouldn’t change much, because out of mistakes came incredible maturing which propelled me forward in my career.
Reflecting on my experiences though, I wish I had recognized sooner when a role wasn’t aligning with my strengths. Persisting in a position that doesn’t leverage what you’re good at, while spending years trying to improve in areas that don’t come naturally or bring enjoyment, is not the most efficient use of time. In my early career, I attempted to bridge these gaps, and although I gained valuable knowledge, it was a tough process that didn’t necessarily result in career progression. It’s probably wiser to seek out positions that capitalize on your strengths more than they expose your weaknesses.
Something else I would change from early in my career is that I competed a lot. I competed to be right, I competed for the promotion. I competed for the opportunity, and I wish I hadn’t done that. You’re only competing with yourself.
Being in an environment where you have a team of people where everyone is helping everyone succeed is much more satisfying.
If I could go back early in my career, I would compete less and win with others more.
Maree: I appreciate that response. And I know that our followers will really appreciate hearing that coming from such a successful leader such as yourself. In your opinion, and you've been around in the wealth management financial services arena for a number of years, what would you say in today's world would make financial services — whether it's in the tech space or the retail space — a better place for the next generation of women?
Natalie: My advice for women in the industry is to be very purposeful about sponsoring and advocating for one another.
That may sound small, but it’s incredibly important. We all need to take the time to build relationships with younger women in our organizations that we think have talent. We need to proactively offer them feedback and advice.
We can also make sure that talented professionals are given opportunities on high potential projects that position them for promotions and for future leadership.
I also believe we should help young professionals find their voice. How many times have you been in a meeting with a large group of people and there’s a young woman trying to make a point? And the man next to her, not in an intentionally rude way, interrupts to clarify the point she’s trying to make?
Don’t let it happen. Take a moment and say, “Bob, I’d really like to know what Sally has to say.” Whether it’s a board meeting or a project review meeting, a meeting with 100 senior leaders or an all-team meeting with the whole organization, I always try to make sure people can find their voice.
Maree: If you had to leave the young women of today, young professionals, three pieces of advice coming into the wealth management industry or fintech side of the equation, what would those three pieces of advice be that you would offer them?
Natalie:
1. Focus on delivering high-quality work every time. Great things will happen.
2. Don’t be afraid to get angry. That doesn’t mean inappropriately angry. What it means is to know your worth and advocate for yourself.
3. Always take stock of how you’re feeling, where you are, what your goals are, and understand that time is scarce. If you’re lucky, you have a 30-to-35-year career. If it’s not working out for you, find something that is because you only have so many years.
Maree: Wow those are wonderful pieces of advice. Thank you for sharing all of your insights Natalie and we all wish you continued success!
Bio:
Natalie Wolfsen joined Orion Advisor Solutions as CEO in October 2023 and is a member of the firm’s Board of Directors. She is the former CEO of AssetMark and has nearly 30 years of financial services industry experience. For over 25 years, Natalie has served independent advisors (RIA and broker-dealer affiliated) with more than a decade of working with independent and insurance broker-dealers. Prior to joining AssetMark in 2014, Natalie previously held digital and investment platform development, investment solution management, strategy and marketing roles at First Eagle Investment Management, Pershing, Charles Schwab and American Express. Natalie has an MBA from University of California, Los Angeles and a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of California, Berkeley. In 2024, Barron’s recognized Natalie as one of the 100 Most Influential Women in U.S. Finance, a testament to her visionary leadership and substantial impact on the financial service industry’s trajectory. Natalie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nataliewolfsen/