John notes that this leadership transition process began around five years ago, with certain limitations already set. Nicola was not going to be sold to an external firm, and it was not going to preference an external leadership candidate. John is also not retiring, he is retaining his board seat and strategic oversight of the firm, and he is not selling his roughly 40 per cent stake in the firm. The idea behind this transition, he explains, was finding someone who could lead Nicola as a legacy asset into the next generation.
The fact that Chris Nicola is literally the next generation of John’s family was incidental to the intention, they say. His appointment was arrived at after a review process with three other internal candidates and a final decision by Nicola’s board. John says he kept himself at arm’s length as much as possible throughout the process and that Chris’ combined familiarity with the firm and success in wealthtech outside the firm won him the approval of the board.
“My background has largely been in technology, even when I was working at Nicola Wealth 30 years ago at the age of 15 building networks and working on the servers,” Chris says. “I worked in the software industry for startups which led me to co-founding WealthBar…everything you do when you run a startup, coming up with the business plan, the marketing plan, pitching investors, convincing clients to invest with you, that’s all experience I can apply to a more traditional but in many ways more sophisticated asset management firm.”
Chris’ appointment to the CEO role is as much a statement about Nicola’s technology focus as it is a statement about legacy. Chris’ believes his knowledge and roots in technology can help keep the firm ahead of the broader industry trends which are largely tech-driven. It’s that experience which John says helped earn Chris the role.
Chris himself acknowledges the responsibility of what he’s taking on, with his excitement to be in this role. He expressed gratitude for the support he’s already received from within the organization and notes that he will be leaning on Nicola’s other leaders where needed. The challenge now before him, he says, is to maintain the firm’s excellence in execution while pushing to grow and scale into new regions. Finding the right people to power that growth, he says, will be core part of that challenge.
