Just eight months into her tenure as the first president of wealth management firm Cresset, Liz Nesvold is moving on. She will be replaced by Susie Cranston, who is coming over from JPMorgan Chase, a Cresset spokesperson confirmed.
Nesvold's departure continues the raft of shakeups at the top of many private equity-backed RIA aggregators. Ironically, Nesvold was one of the first major players in the RIA consolidation frenzy as an investment banker who orchestrated many early deals in the pre-pandemic era.
Nesvold will continue in her role as president of the $40 billion AUM asset management firm until Feb. 11. Cranston, who has been JPMorgan Chase’s managing director, chief operating officer and head of integration, will officially begin at Cresset on April 23 and will be based in San Francisco.
“Cresset is thrilled to welcome Susie as our new president and COO. Her extensive financial services leadership experience makes her the ideal candidate to fulfill these crucial roles,” a firm statement read. “Just as importantly, Susie is an incredible cultural fit for Cresset. She shares our values of continuous curiosity and optimistic energy and is results-focused with a client-first mentality. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome her to the Cresset team."
It’s unclear exactly what happened at Cresset that Nesvold has resigned so soon after taking a job that she described on her LinkedIn page as the culmination of 30 years of experience as a “passionate advisor, investment banker and executive.”
“As a career consultant and investment banker to the wealth management industry, I joined Cresset because I saw an opportunity to impact a maturing business," Nesvold said in a released statement. "Having worked exhaustively with an amazing team to make significant contributions to center the company, I decided it was the ideal time to move on to the next chapter of my professional career. I have spent weeks working to effect a smooth and orderly transition, which will conclude in the next couple weeks. I'm grateful for Cresset’s confidence in my ability to lead the organization and work alongside an incredible group of industry practitioners and support teams.”
Before joining Cresset, Nesvold was considered one of the top investment bankers in the RIA space, beginning when she co-founded and built investment bank Silver Lane Advisors from 2007 to 2019, when it was sold to Raymond James. She then joined Raymond James’s investment banking unit as managing director and head of asset and wealth management investment banking.
But in February 2022, Nesvold left Raymond James under unclear circumstances, and it was reported at the time she had invoked a contractual clause that allowed her to exit with severance if the firm reduced her authority or compensation, among other things.
While at Raymond James, she had worked on a handful of Cresset’s M&A transactions, and through these she developed a relationship with founders Eric Becker and Avy Stein, to whom she reported when she accepted her position as president.
According to a source familiar with her time at Cresset, Nesvold’s role as president involved a lot more than M&A, although she did complete one deal last year, which is in keeping with the firm’s track record of one or two deals a year.
“Cresset isn’t just about M&A deals,” the source said, adding that the firm’s aggressive growth from $30 billion in assets under management last year to $40 billion this year is equally about organic growth. “Being president included a great many other things, including integration and overseeing the firm’s strategy and family office model.”
Cranston began her career at McKinsey & Co., where she spent 12 years in various roles focused on strategy, risk management and transformational change, according to her LinkedIn page.
In 2013, she joined First Republic Investment Management as executive vice president of private wealth management and was eventually promoted to chief operating officer at First Republic Bank before the bank failed last year and it was sold at government auction to JPMorgan Chase.