By: FA Staff
After more than five decades at the helm of Halbert Hargrove, a Long Beach, Calif., wealth management firm, Russ Hill is stepping aside to make room for JC Abusaid, whom he hired 25 years ago and trained, according to an announcement from the company.
Abusaid, formerly president and chief operating officer, will serve as CEO. The firm also promoted Cecilia Williams, former director of investment operations to chief operating officer and Kelli Kiemle, former director of marketing and client experience, to director of growth and client experience. Both have been with the firm for 15 years, the release said.
The firm also announced that it reached $3 billion in assets under management.
“Looking back on the past 25 years at Halbert Hargrove, I’m extremely proud of what our team has accomplished,” Abusaid said in a statement. “Helping to grow the company from seven employees and $250 million in assets to 44 employees and $3 billion in AUM isn’t even the highlight. What gives me the greatest sense of accomplishment is seeing how people I hired and mentored, like Cecilia and Kelli, have flourished both personally and professionally.”
Hill, who has been with the firm 52 years and pioneered the concept of asset-liability matching used by corporate pension funds in individual retirement planning, will continue in his role as chairman. He is also one of the original co-founders of Stanford University’s Center On Longevirty.
“At Halbert Hargrove, we believe a well-lived life is about more than money, which is why we’ve worked hard to cultivate a company culture that employees want to be a part of every day and grow with us,” he said. “The future of our firm is in excellent hands, as JC has been leading us for quite some time. I have no doubt we will continue to grow our firm while cultivating an incredible culture.”
Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC was the subject of a 2014 profile in Financial Advisor. The firm is a fiduciary investment management and wealth advisory firm that provides investment management, wealth advisory, financial planning and consulting services to individuals, families, charitable organizations, and trusts.
