Insights

January 17, 2024

The COO Roundtable: Episode 60

In Podcast: The COO Roundtable

Contributions from: Matt Sonnen

Episode 60 marks our 5-year anniversary, and Matt was feeling nostalgic for this conversation with Amber Salzman of Capstone Financial Advisors and Jean Paul Atallah of RZH Advisors.  Amber is the Manager of Client Services and a partner of the firm, which is located in Downers Grove, IL, and manages approximately $1.8 billion with 35 employees.  She also has her Financial Paraplanner Qualified Professional (FPQP®) certification.  Jean Paul has spent his entire career in the financial services industry but only joined RZH Advisors about 18 months ago, where he is the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer.  The firm is located in Stamford, CT, manages about $1.6 billion, and has 11 employees.  Listeners of this episode will realize quickly that Amber and Jean Paul are true students of the industry, and they discuss with Matt different sources and industry groups they rely on for best practices, as well as:

  • How they each approached CRM implementations at their respective firms
  • The search for the RIA Operations “holy grail” and how they ensure clean data is flowing across their tech stack
  • The optimal firm structure for delivering services to their ideal clients
  • What strategies they implement to best serve and motivate their employees
  • How they both approached the crunch of year-end tasks this year

Here is the Wealthmanagement.com article that Amber mentioned: Growing RIAs Must Focus on Process, Not Technology

We hope you enjoy, share, and subscribe on Google PodcastsApple Podcasts, or Spotify.

You can read the full transcript here.

Related Articles

October 1, 2025

The COO Roundtable: Episode 79

In Episode 79, Matt welcomes two long-time friends and industry experts: Lisa Crafford and Morgan Bell of Constellation Wealth Capital (“CWC”). CWC is a Chicago-based private equity firm founded in 2023 that specializes in making minority investments in growth-oriented wealth management firms across the United States. Lisa and Morgan first met at BNY Mellon Pershing, [...]

Contributions from: Matt Sonnen

September 3, 2025

The COO Roundtable: Episode 78

Episode 78 dives deep into a challenge many COOs contend with on a daily basis: mastering M&A integration. Matt hosts a dynamic discussion with two former COOs who have recently stepped into groundbreaking roles focused exclusively on business integration: Eric Stephenson and Shelly Kapoor. Eric is Managing Director of Integration and Optimization at Pathstone, a [...]

Contributions from: Matt Sonnen

August 5, 2025

The COO Roundtable: Episode 77

Episode 77 finds Matt interviewing two seasoned RIA operators: Brad Cox and Michael Walliser, for an insightful conversation on growth, technology, and collaboration in the wealth management industry. Brad is COO, CCO, and Partner at Diversified Portfolios, Inc., based in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.  The firm was founded in 1993 and has grown to approximately $1.8 [...]