The Voices of Leadership

INTERVIEWER: But what is your best day at work?

JON BEATTY: My best day at work is when I get to talk with clients, working closely with advisors, and I make sure that they're part of every day for me.

INTERVIEWER: What is your best day not at work?

JON: When I'm outside having fun. I love playing tennis, golf, walking with my wife. Those are my best days on the weekends.

INTERVIEWER: What questions do you like getting from advisors?

JON: What I like to hear from advisors, from all of you, is where are the opportunities? How can we lean into support you more? How can we help you with your clients? How can we solve problems? Deliver against opportunities? That's what we enjoy at Schwab.

INTERVIEWER: How do you answer those questions?

JON: Well, I think we certainly want to be good listeners upfront. Get information as to what the opportunity is, what the challenge is, and then take that back, and ideate on it, get creative, innovative, and come back with solutions.

INTERVIEWER: What do you love most about the work you're doing now with advisors?

JON: I feel like I've walked at least a short period of time in your shoes and know what it's like to work with individual investors, the thrill of that, the necessity of it, and how it can be very rewarding.

INTERVIEWER: Extrovert or introvert?

JON: Introvert, actually. I like small groups of people. Working one-on-one with advisors, with all of you, it's just really enjoyable. There's a great reward that comes from that. It's more than a financial reward. It's an emotional reward. It stays with you for a very long time.

INTERVIEWER: What would you say to advisors who are new to working with Schwab?

JON: We are so excited to get to know you, to help you, and be a part of your success going forward.

INTERVIEWER: Your go-to small-talk topic?

JALINA KERR: Sports. I love all sports, really. Baseball, softball, golf, you name it.

INTERVIEWER: How long have you been working with independent advisors?

JALINA: Nearly my entire career, almost 29 years now.

INTERVIEWER: What do you like most about it?

JALINA: I really love the fact that we, as a company, are very aligned with clients, and are always thinking about ways to do right by them.

INTERVIEWER: Describe your best day at work.

JALINA: Waking up every day, and knowing that I'm coming to work with my teams to focus on what we can do differently for advisors, and make their experience better every single day.

INTERVIEWER: Tell us something you've learned from advisors.

JALINA: I've learned that all advisors are not made the same. They are not one size fits all. When you look across the thousands of advisors we serve, each one of them has a slightly different business model.

INTERVIEWER: What would you say to advisors who are new to Schwab?

JALINA: We care about you and your clients, and we want you to succeed.

INTERVIEWER: What makes somebody a great leader?

JALINA: Listening. We probably need to listen more than we talk, and I think that makes for a really good leader.

INTERVIEWER: What are the three qualities you most admire about your team?

JALINA: Their curiosity, they challenge one another very respectfully, and they're highly collaborative.

INTERVIEWER: What's your proudest accomplishment in your role?

JALINA: Advisors look differently than they did 30 years ago when I first started, and the fact that we've been able to evolve our business and continue to grow right alongside advisors makes me really, really proud.

INTERVIEWER: How long have you been working with independent advisors?

TOM BRADLEY: The majority of my career, close to 40 years, actually.

INTERVIEWER: What do you love best about your career?

TOM: Making a difference in people's lives.

INTERVIEWER: Your biggest motivator?

TOM: Family. Motivate me every day to do better.

INTERVIEWER: Nicely stated. What three qualities do you most admire about your team?

TOM: They work hard, they work smart, and they're passionate about what they do.

INTERVIEWER: What word would your team use to describe you?

TOM: I work hard, I work smart, and I'm also passionate about what I do, and enthusiastic.

INTERVIEWER: What kinds of questions do you like getting from advisors?

TOM: I love talking to advisors about how we can continue to grow the independent investment advisory space. The advisors' part is to continue to focus and put the client first. Our part is to take care of the advisors and their clients.

INTERVIEWER: How do you see through clients' eyes?

TOM: I put myself in their shoes. How would I want to be treated? What would I be looking for?

INTERVIEWER: Tell us something you've learned from advisors.

TOM: If you put the client first, success will follow. I've learned that from advisors. Don't worry about anything else. Just focus on that. Success will follow.

INTERVIEWER: What are you excited about now?

TOM: Excited about the future. Excited about growth. Excited about continuing to help advisors grow their businesses. We have advisors that are large. We have advisors that are newer and smaller. This is the fastest-growing space in all the financial services. That's an exciting place to be.

INTERVIEWER: Okay, so we're rolling and… okay.

MICHELLE: Oh, we're doing it. Okay.

INTERVIEWER: How long have you been working with independent advisors?

MICHELLE: I've been working with independent advisors for the last 15 years.

INTERVIEWER: What do you like most about it?

MICHELLE: They inspire me because of what they've gone through and their journey to become independent, and I really admire what they do for the clients each and every day, and they push us to do better.

INTERVIEWER: What's your biggest motivator?

MICHELLE: I'm a doer. I like to get stuff done, and that fulfills me. And the impact that I make is one of the, you know, motivators that I have as far as in my personal and professional life.

INTERVIEWER: Why does collaboration matter to you?

MICHELLE: We're the quarterback. You know, we're working with the advisor to service their day-to-day, meet their needs, and so we're bringing in business partners, again, bringing in the advisor to make sure that we're providing a really great client experience.

INTERVIEWER: Describe your best day at work.

MICHELLE: Working with my employees on initiatives that will impact positively the employee and advisor experience, and cherry on top, getting amazing feedback from our advisors.

INTERVIEWER: What would your best day be like not at work?

MICHELLE: I love to be active and outdoors, and I love to eat, so enjoying really good food.

INTERVIEWER: Feel good?

INTERVIEWER: First item on your bucket list?

JOHN TOVAR: I want to take my wife to see the Northern Lights.

INTERVIEWER: Your biggest motivator?

JOHN: To provide for my family.

INTERVIEWER: How long have you been working with independent advisors?

JOHN: 23 years now.

INTERVIEWER: What do you like most about Schwab's culture?

JOHN: Schwab's culture is very similar to the culture that I came from at TD Ameritrade. I think there's just a deep caring for each other as employees, and then just the laser focus on doing what's right for the client, making sure that advisors are successful.

INTERVIEWER: What three qualities do you most admire about your team?

JOHN: Dedication, passion, and integrity.

INTERVIEWER: What does great service look like?

JOHN: I think great service looks like every single touch point with our organization because we are doing what our advisors' clients expect us to do. We had a great client of ours at TD Ameritrade, and she told me one time, 'John, I never have a client walk in and say, 'I want to beat the S&P.' They come in and say, 'Am I going to be okay? Can I take care of my family? Can my daughter go to college?'' And so it was just when I heard that was like, wow, these are the people I want to help.

INTERVIEWER: How do you encourage advisors to approach it with ideas, questions, concerns?

JOHN: I try to make myself available and really try to stress, 'I mean it. Contact me. I don't know what I don't know, and I want to help you be successful because if you're successful, I'm successful, and we're all successful.'

INTERVIEWER: Three adjectives that best describe you.

LISA MIHELICH: Thoughtful, calm, and confident.

INTERVIEWER: I like it. And that was a very confident way to answer that question. What is your go-to small-talk topic?

LISA: I ask the person questions about themselves.

INTERVIEWER: How long have you been working with independent advisors?

LISA: Almost 29 years. I've been in a unique role, in that I've been always on the customer service side. I can relate to the service professionals, and I know what they do. It's very rewarding for me to work with advisors, help them problem-solve.

INTERVIEWER: How do you see through clients' eyes?

LISA: I like listening to other people, learning about other people versus the other way around, which is why this is so hard.

INTERVIEWER: Who is your personal hero, how about that?

LISA: My dad, because the things that he role-modeled in his career are things that I emulate today. He worked at a shoe company, and he would come home at night, and he'd have these shoe magazines. And that showed me that it's important that you really truly understand your industry.

INTERVIEWER: What makes you hopeful?

LISA: The diversity that we're seeing in our industry. I know I don't have all the ideas myself, and I really like different perspectives.

INTERVIEWER: What does great service look like?

LISA: Being available for our advisors when they need us, providing quality, accurate information. And then when the unique, complex things come up, we're there to help partner and consult with advisors to provide a great solution.

INTERVIEWER: And what does it feel like to you and your team?

LISA: Rewarding. You go home, feeling like you've accomplished a lot.

INTERVIEWER: I kind of like that.

LISA: Yeah?

INTERVIEWER: You just get right to it.