WILEY BROS - Key Persons
Andy Byer is best known for his unmatched enthusiasm and positivity. He has worked with thousands of advisors over the last 25 years to help them grow their practices and to better serve their clients. He knows proper planning and meaningful communication are at the heart of all great relationships between advisors and clients. Andy has a long history in the advisory and planning business and his experience has taught him that structuring advice around defined goals is the key to success. Prior to his role within Wells Fargo Community Bank, he spent 16 years at Wells Fargo Advisors ("WFA"). He was a member of the WFA Executive Management Team and served on the Operating Committee. While at WFA, Andy held a variety of executive leadership roles, but a common theme throughout his career has been a focus on client outcomes through planning, advisor productivity and overall growth of the business.
Cheri Cooper has built an operations platform and approach to service defined by a simple, but highly differentiated element, it's personal. With this unique approach and platform, there are no 800 numbers, automated help lines or non-answers. She has intentionally staffed her group with individuals who see themselves as an extension of the advisors' teams and who have a passion for helping advisors deliver best-in-class service to customers and change lives for the better. Cheri brings to her role 25 years of experience, including 20 at Wells Fargo Advisors, in wealth management, operations, technology and risk management.
Most recently, Cheri led the transformation of the Wells Fargo Advisors platform used by private-client, bank-based, independent, and clearing firm advisors. Cheri's focus in leading this initiative was to transition from outmoded, in-house technologies to best-of-breed market solutions. From 2015-2019, Cheri was the Chief Operating Officer for the Wells Fargo Wealth Brokerage Services organization, supporting 3,000 bank-based advisors. Prior to 2015, Cheri held various leadership positions within Wells Fargo Advisors' operations and technology division.
David Kowach is most known for his unflappable energy and contagious enthusiasm. He is a passionate leader with a deep-rooted commitment to personal and organizational growth. Throughout his career, he has challenged himself to lead courageously and has never wavered in his support for those who made success possible. At &Partners, he is creating the firm he always envisioned - one where advisors and their clients come before everything else. David brings to his leadership role over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to founding Ampersand Partners, LLC, he had the privilege of serving as President and CEO of Wells Fargo Advisors, which under his leadership served more than 3 million clients with $2 trillion in assets. More recently, he led the Wells Fargo Community Bank where he re-engineered retail banking to enhance both efficiency and client loyalty.
Big firms, where politics can trump performance and progress, do not hold allure for John Alexander, anymore. He is interested in building something better. After 26 years with Wells Fargo Advisors, John is dedicating himself to creating an environment where advisors want to work and a business where they and their clients will thrive. John started his career as an advisor at Edward Jones. He went on to lead the retail branch advisor system at Wells Fargo. At Wells, John gained practical field experience and grew as a leader. He spent time repositioning under-performing businesses, developed strategies to expand into new markets and designed tools to drive growth and harness efficiency in the core advisory space.
Job Titles:
- Principal Taxable Fixed Income
Job Titles:
- Managing Director, Municipal Bond Department
Melanie McFaddin possesses 40 years of aggregate diverse finance experience, including over 30 years working within IT and human capital services and 27 years specifically in sell-side M&A.
Her areas of expertise encompass understanding deal valuation and structural dynamics, as well as the operational metrics and value-drivers for companies whose value is derived from the intangible assets of human capital, including companies providing IT staffing, consulting and solutions; management consulting; digital agency, digital transformation, and mobile development; business analytics and data; MSPs in staffing, IT and HR; BPOs in IT, legal, and human capital; and the software toolsets that touch these spaces.
Over the course of her career, she has been involved in the consummation of over 75 transactions with an aggregate value of over $1 Bn and has consulted on many others. She is well-known and respected for her expertise in marketing, negotiating, and closing transactions and possesses a tenured, strong, and varied group of industry-specific contacts in the space that includes both strategic and financial players.
Her other industry experience includes establishment and management of treasury function for Landmark Graphics Corporation, a $200MM multinational, NASDAQ-listed, IT product and services company that commercialized 2D and 3D seismic software and services in the Oil & Gas vertical and which was sold to Halliburton. In this capacity Ms. McFaddin was responsible for corporate planning and analysis, international business planning, currency and risk management, foreign and domestic trade finance, cash and investment management, and M&A assistance.
Her other industry experience includes establishment and management of treasury function for Landmark Graphics Corporation, a $200MM multinational, NASDAQ-listed, IT product and services company that commercialized 2D and 3D seismic software and services in the Oil & Gas vertical and which was sold to Halliburton. In this capacity Ms. McFaddin was responsible for corporate planning and analysis, international business planning, currency and risk management, foreign and domestic trade finance, cash and investment management, and M&A assistance.
Prior to her experience at Landmark, she spearheaded the establishment of an IT lending practice for The Toronto Dominion Bank where she worked with such firms as Sun Microsystems, Advanced Micro Devices, and Apple in various lending activities, including lines of credit and structuring off-balance-sheet joint ventures to build their corporate campuses. She was also involved in corporate finance for an impressive list of clients, including Avery Dennison, Tenneco, Browning Ferris, and EDS.
Prior to this she was instrumental in the formation of the worldwide Project Finance group for Societe Generale, where she was involved in projects in independent power development, chemical plant construction, and other specialized structured financings with clients such as Cogentrix, Westlake Petrochemicals, Spacehab, James River, and Kronos.
She has spoken at many conferences and CEO roundtables covering such topics as building value through partnering with private equity, building value and valuation in the IT services sector, and the dynamics of M&A in the professional services sector. She has also been quoted in such publications as The Business Journals of Nashville, Washington DC, Atlanta, and Houston, The Wall Street Reporter, The Daily Deal, ComputerWire, Corporate Financing Week, Consulting Wire, and has been featured on both CNN and Bloomberg News.
She holds FINRA Series 7 and 79 licenses and both a BBA and an MBA with a concentration in Finance from the Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston.
Randy Bradshaw understands that deep connections, between advisors and their clients, are what changes lives for the better. As a result, he is a firm believer that the client is best served when the advisor is trusted and empowered to deliver. His commitment to the sanctity of the advisor/client relationship is unwavering. He has been an integral part of helping to build a firm around this conviction-a place where advisors and their clients can truly thrive.
Randy has nearly two decades of experience with Edward Jones, one of the top Fortune 500 brokerage firms. He started as a financial advisor and went on to lead thousands of advisors and their teams as a General Partner and Principal. In his most recent role, Randy was responsible for overseeing 18,000 branch teams where he focused on developing the training, coaching and consulting functions required to support the nationwide network's performance.
Scott Nelson understands the drivers of profitability better than almost anyone in the industry and that is why he is leading the finance function at &Partners. However, Scott is much more than a CFO. He is a strategic leader who appreciates the importance of ensuring that the client and advisor experience at &Partners is second to none.
With years of experience leading one of the largest sweep programs in the United States, Scott has the experience necessary to facilitate the provision of comprehensive advice that encompasses banking services. Most recently, he was a Managing Director at Accenture where he led teams focused on wealth management transformations. Prior to Accenture, Scott held various leadership roles at Wells Fargo Advisors.