Orion Advisor Solutions announced yesterday that CEO and founder Eric Clarke will retire at the end of 2023.
Clarke will remain as CEO until a replacement is in place and then take an advisory role. He will also continue as a member of the fintech’s board of directors.
“As Orion approaches our 25-year anniversary in 2024, I’ve recognized this as the right time for me to retire from the CEO role while remaining an active member of the company’s board of directors,” said Clarke in released comments. "I want to express my sincere gratitude to our advisor clients, team members, Board, and all involved in the RIA industry. I am humbled and grateful to be part of what we've built together over the past two-and-a-half decades."
Since founding Orion as a portfolio reporting system almost 25 years ago, Clarke has grown Orion through acquisition into a diversified, end-to-end provider of RIA technologies. Orion’s acquisitions have included planning platform Advizr, risk analytics system HiddenLevers and CRM Redtail Technologies, as well as a blockbuster merger with Brinker Capital, a TAMP.
All told, Orion serviced $3.6 trillion in assets across its platforms, supporting thousands of firms and millions of accounts as of March 31, according to the release.
Orion’s in-house offerings have also been expanded with marketing tools, client portals, cash management options, behavioral finance, custom indexing, artificial intelligence, and a host of other innovative services, technologies and options for financial advisors.
Orion’s CEO search will be led by Charles Goldman, the firm's executive chairman.
"In my role as an Orion board member and most recently as executive chair of the board, I've witnessed Eric's unwavering passion and commitment to serving Orion's advisor clients, team members, and the industry as a whole,” Goldman said in the announcement. “He is a visionary, high-integrity leader who has helped grow and transform the RIA and wealthtech industries. The Orion Board of Directors and I have the utmost respect for him as a leader and as a person. We're grateful to have Eric remain on the Board and support his successor, setting them up for success. Eric's retiring at a high point in Orion's journey, and we will now capitalize on his wealth of knowledge and experience while enabling fresh perspectives and ideas to shape our future."