Video of John Thiel's conversation with Alan Siegel
How do we achieve
Financial Clarity?
John Thiel,
Head of
Merrill Lynch Wealth Management
Using clarity and simplicity to humanize financial concepts.
***JOHN
THIEL BIO
John Thiel is head of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. In this role, he is responsible for the strategic management of over 14,
000 financial advisors and 6,000 client associates who make up Merrill Lynch’s
U.S. Wealth Management
Group, along with more than
300 private wealth advisors in the
Private Banking and
Investment Group.
John was named head of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management in
April 2011, but his journey with Merrill Lynch began two decades before, when he joined the company as a financial advisor in
Tampa, Florida in
1989. John was then selected to join the
Global Private Client Division leadership team, later serving as the director in both Oakbrook and
Northbrook, Illinois. In
2000, John joined the Private Banking and Investment Group, opening the private wealth management business in the
Pacific Coast Region as regional managing director. During that time, he also led the firm’s leadership
Advisory Council to
Management between
2003 and
2005. He was named head of the Private Banking and Investment Group in
2006, a role he held until his current one.
As his leadership and responsibilities within Merrill Lynch have grown, John has gained a new perspective on the role of Merrill Lynch’s advisors. One of his key priorities as the head of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management is accelerating the shift toward a new dialogue: talking to clients about money in the way they think about it.
Clients feel their money ‘has a job to do’ to help them reach their goals (e.g., educate their children, care for their parents, fund their homes, etc
.). Under John’s leadership, Merrill Lynch is focused on helping clients reach the outcomes they desire by offering the right capabilities, stripping away needless complexity, and constantly adjusting and adapting to their changing needs – the heart of the company’s goals-based approach. Merrill Lynch has always been the standard-bearer for the financial services industry, and this is a responsibility John takes very seriously. Since joining the firm, John has strived to carry out the principles of
Charlie Merrill’s
100+-year-old legacy – that the customer must always come first, through good economic times and bad. Simultaneously, John recognizes how the wealth management industry continues to change, and the requirement for Merrill Lynch to be forward-thinking.
Outside of his other responsibilities as head of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, John serves as a member of the Global
Wealth and
Investment Management (GWIM)
Executive Committee, the
Risk Rating Executive Oversight Committee, and the GWIM
Product Approval Committee. He is also the executive sponsor for the GWIM
Diversity and
Inclusion Council.
Before joining Merrill Lynch, John led a distinguished career in public accounting and the insurance industry. His background includes tax and estate planning experience, with financial operating expertise as a
CPA with
KPMG. John also served as a senior instructor of the
Dale Carnegie Professional Selling courses, helping countless students improve their skills.
A vocal advocate for cancer research, John serves as chairman of the
Manhattan Region
Financial Services Cares Board of the
American Cancer Society. He also serves as chairman of the Board of
Florida State University’s
Foundation. John received his
Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Florida State University and became a
Certified Public Accountant in
1985.