Barry Simmons, a former top executive in J.P. Morgan Wealth Management's East Division, is joining Wells Fargo Advisors as its new head of national sales.
Simmons will oversee Wells Fargo Advisors' sales and development efforts and work closely with the four managers of its Western, Northeast, Central and Southeast divisions. He will also collaborate with officials overseeing the unit's advisor recruitment, team and succession planning, event organization for advisors, branch and client communications and other efforts.
Phil Waxelbaum, an industry recruiting expert and the founder of Masada Consulting, said the move highlights the ability of Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf and his executive team to attract talent from other large wealth management firms. Waxelbaum noted that Scharf was once at JPMorgan — he worked there for nine years from 2004 to 2012 — and no doubt he and his colleagues maintain many ties to employees of their banking rival.
Scharf's last position at JPMorgan was as managing director of its One Equity Partners, which was then the bank's private equity arm.
"They have a fantastic Rolodex," Waxelbaum said. "They are going to tap that talent, because they know what they are capable of and know what their performance values are."
Simmons' position at Wells Fargo Advisors was most recently held by Heather Hunt-Ruddy, who is now president of the Central Division of Wells Fargo's wealth and investment management unit. Simmons will report to Sol Gindi, the head of Wells Fargo Advisors and of the Wealth and Investment Management's client relationship group.
"We are at a pivotal point in delivering on our growth strategy, with new technology and enhanced product offerings rolling out this year," Gindi said in a statement. "Barry's deep industry experience will help us carry out our strategic objective to deliver all of Wells Fargo Advisors' capabilities to serve clients and help advisors grow their businesses."
At J.P. Morgan Wealth Management, Simmons oversaw a team of more than 1,600 financial advisors. He joined JPMorgan Chase in 2016 as the head of its card customer service division and eventually became head of its California consumer and wealth management division.
