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Leadership

To protect your long-term interests, Wedbush leadership continues to create a positive and secure environment for its clients, investors, and colleagues while placing major emphasis on innovation, creativity, and performance.

Wedbush Securities has grown into an industry leading firm through a strong leadership team that is actively involved in the success of all Wedbush colleagues and advisors.

Leadership Team

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Gary Wedbush

President & Chief Executive Officer
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Daniel Billings

Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
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Rodrigo Parrode

Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer
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Kirsten Fraunces

Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer
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Robert Fitzsimmons

Executive Vice President, Co-Head of Multi Asset Clearing & Prime Services
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Farid Naib

Executive Managing Partner & Chief Development Officer 
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Robert Paset

Executive Vice President, Co-Head of Multi Asset Clearing & Prime Services
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Burke Dempsey

Executive Vice President, Head of Investment Banking & Capital Markets
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Kevin White

Executive Vice President, Senior Advisor & Head of Investment Management
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Christopher Mone

Executive Vice President, Head of Wealth Management
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Andrew Druch

Executive Vice President, General Counsel
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Donald Hultgren

Executive Chairman of the Board

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Gary Wedbush

President & Chief Executive Officer

Gary Wedbush is President & Chief Executive Officer of Wedbush, overseeing day-to-day management, strategic direction, development, and growth of all Wedbush Securities client and corporate services. Gary is a member of the Wedbush Securities Board of Directors, the President’s Executive Committee and Management Committee.  Having been at Wedbush Securities for over 20 years, Gary served as Executive Vice President and Head of Capital Markets and Correspondent Services responsible for all Capital Markets Correspondent functions, including investment banking, equities, fixed income, and clearing and execution services.

Gary joined the Firm in February 1998 as Senior Vice President and Head of the Trading Division. Previously, he was a Principal and Director of Convertible Securities of the former Montgomery Securities (now Bank of America Merrill Lynch Securities) in San Francisco. He also served as an Institutional Trader and Trading Manager in the Convertible Securities Department at Lehman Brothers and S.G. Warburg in New York.

He received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles, and his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.

Daniel Billings

Executive Vice President,
Chief Financial Officer

Daniel Billings is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Wedbush Securities. Dan also serves on the President’s Executive Committee and Management Committee. He joined Wedbush in 2015 as Senior Vice President and Controller and was appointed to Chief Financial Officer in 2017. During his tenure at Wedbush, he also served as Chief Financial Officer of Lime Brokerage from January 2016 to April 2018. With over two decades of experience within financial services, his extensive background has included roles within accounting, treasury, financial reporting and regulatory accounting.

Prior to joining Wedbush, Dan served in multiple positions during 15 years at Jefferies: Vice President, Treasury; Senior Vice President, High Yield Trading Controller; and Senior Vice President, General Ledger Controller.  Dan began his career as Audit Manager at KPMG US, where his clients included SEC registrants, asset managers, registered broker dealers, and precious metals brokers.

Dan currently holds his CPA and Series 27 licenses. He earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from Pepperdine University.

Rodrigo Parrode

Executive Vice President,
Chief Operating Officer

Rodrigo Parrode is the EVP, Chief Operating Officer at Wedbush Securities. He is also the Global CIO/CTO for Wedbush Financial Services. In these roles he is responsible for the maintenance and continuous development of all technology inside and outside of the firm. Additionally, he ensures the platform side of the business execution is performed properly and in synch for optimal support.

Rodrigo has over 20 years of experience in the IT, banking, and operations spaces. Prior to joining Wedbush, Rodrigo was a Managing Director at Merrill Lynch where he served as an Executive Director responsible for the Wealth Management Sales Enablement and Advisory platforms and at JPMorgan Chase where he served as Asset Management Latam CTO and head of middle office, he also led the strategy and development of the global Wealth Management Discretionary Platforms, the Advisory Platforms and Document Management. He began his career at Deutsche Bank in London as a trading platforms developer.

Rodrigo is a graduate of Royal Holloway, University of London where he received a BSc in Computer Science, he is also a graduate of University College London (UCL) where he received an MSc in Data Communications, Networks and Distributed Systems, and FIA – Fundação Instituto de Administração where he received a Master of Business Administration in Accounting Finance.

Kirsten Fraunces

Executive Vice President,
Chief Administrative Officer

Kirsten Fraunces is Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer for Wedbush Securities. She is a member of the President’s Executive Committee and responsible for overseeing the CAO Division; including Equity Research, Brand, Strategy and Talent.

Kirsten joined Wedbush in 2002 as a VP in Equity Sales, and during her 20 year tenure she has played a pivotal role, as Head of Equities, in ensuring that Wedbush remains a leader in the financial industry, providing the highest quality research to investors.

Prior to joining Wedbush, Kirsten worked at J.P Morgan Investment Management in Equity Research and was a Vice President of Equity Research at Merrill Lynch.

Kirsten earned her BA in Math and Music from Smith College, and MBA from the University of Southern California, and has over 20+ years of investment industry experience.

Robert Fitzsimmons

Executive Vice President,
Co-Head of Multi Asset Clearing & Prime Services

Robert Fitzsimmons is an Executive Vice President for Wedbush Securities with oversight of futures, securities lending, and the fixed income groups. Bob also serves on the President’s Executive Committee. Bob joined Wedbush in 2016 as its Managing Director and Head of Wedbush Futures, where he oversaw the business within the Futures Commission Merchant, with a focus on developing and defining the strategic direction for the Futures and Treasury Division.

Bob has over 30 years of experience in the financial industry, with extensive experience in the fixed income, futures, equities and technology space. He also held CEO tenures with several other financial services organizations including ITG Derivatives and NQLX.

Bob graduated from Harvard University and earned his Master of Business Administration from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago. He holds his Series 7, 9, and 10 licenses.

Farid Naib

Chief Development Officer,
Executive Managing Partner

Farid Naib is Chief Development Officer at Wedbush, where he leads strategic growth initiatives, partnerships, and long-term value creation across the firm’s financial services and technology platforms. He brings more than 30 years of experience across capital markets, fintech, and financial infrastructure.

Previously, Farid served as CEO of Lightspeed Financial Services Group and CEO of Sterling Trading Technology, leading growth, operational improvements, and platform expansion. Earlier, he founded FNX Limited, a global OTC trading technology firm acquired by GL Trade (now part of SunGard/ FIS). He has also served as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at The Wharton School and was a senior operating advisor at LLR Partners.

Prior to coming to Wedbush, Farid served as Managing Director of YPO Global, managing staff in over 30 countries. He has held board and leadership roles with various firms including GAIN Capital and M&I Systems. He holds degrees from Emory University and an MBA from The Wharton School.

Robert Paset

Executive Vice President,
Co-Head of Multi Asset Clearing & Prime Services

Robert Paset is Executive Vice President and Co-Head of Multi Asset Clearing and Prime Services (MACPS) for Wedbush Securities.  Rob is responsible for strategic direction, growth, and day-to-day management of Advanced Clearing and Prime Services (ACAPS) groups and has been with Wedbush since 1997.  Rob also serves on the President’s Executive Committee.

Rob has over 40 years of diverse experience in almost all aspects of the securities industry including operations, trading, sales and marketing, risk management, litigation, compliance, administration, and corporate reorganization. He has served on SIFMA’s Independent Contractor Firms Committee, and currently serves on SIFMA’s Clearing Firms Forum, and has served as a FINRA arbitrator.

Rob is a recipient of the Edward Wedbush Onward and Upward Award, the highest honor at Wedbush, embodying the spirit and vision of Ed through growth, service, and client satisfaction

He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles in Economics/Business and holds Series 3, 4, 7, 12, 22, 24, 27, 53, 55, and 63 licenses.

Burke Dempsey

Executive Vice President,
Head of Investment Banking & Capital Markets

Burke Dempsey is Executive Vice President and Head of Investment Banking & Capital Markets for Wedbush Securities Inc. His personal specialty is investment banking for financial institutions and fintech companies. He is a member of Wedbush’s President’s Executive, Underwriting, and Fairness Opinion Committees. During his 39 years of covering financial services, tech, media and analytics companies he has executed over 300+ publicly announced transactions worth approximately $75 billion and was honored as a Leader of Influence by the Los Angeles Business Journal. Mr. Dempsey has helped companies position for and execute watershed mergers and IPOs.

Before joining Wedbush, Mr. Dempsey was Managing Director and co-head of Financial Institutions at Sterne Agee, Managing Director and Head of Investment Banking at Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., and a Managing Director at UBS heading their fintech efforts.

Mr. Dempsey holds a bachelor’s degree in Applied Earth Science from Stanford University. He holds his Series 7, 24, and 63 licenses.

Kevin White

Executive Vice President,
Senior Advisor Head of Investment Management

Kevin serves as the Executive Vice President, Senior Advisor & Head of Investment Management at Wedbush Financial Services (WFS). He works closely with senior leadership to foster strategic growth through the creation of new commercial and capital partnerships. Kevin also oversees Wedbush Spring Hill, a real estate investment management firm that invests in commercial real estate opportunities. 

With over 30 years of experience in investment management, Kevin founded and led Spring Hill Capital Partners, LLC, a firm specializing in commercial real estate and structured finance. Prior to this, he was a Managing Director at Lehman Brothers, where he held senior positions in Fixed Income, Global Structured Finance Syndicate, Institutional Equities, Client Group Management, and Global Real Estate.  

Kevin holds a BA in Chemistry from The College of the Holy Cross and an MBA in Finance and Real Estate from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Based in Wedbush’s New York City office, he is committed to delivering customized, institutional-quality investment opportunities to Global Family Office clients, enhancing WFS’s distinction in a dynamic market environment. 

Christopher Mone

Executive Vice President,
Head of Wealth Management

Chris Mone is an Executive Vice President of Wedbush Securities. He serves as the head of the Wealth Management division, and is a member of the Presidents’ Executive Committee and Management Committee of the firm. Wedbush Securities is one of the largest securities firms and investment banks with headquarters on the West Coast. Founded in 1955, and built on a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation, Wedbush remains an independent, family and employee-owned, fully diversified, self-clearing financial services firm and true American success story. With over 25 years of experience in various leadership roles in the financial services industry, Chris joined the leadership team at Wedbush in 2019 to embark on a new chapter of growth.

With over 28 years of experience in the finance industry, Chris formerly held roles such as President of U.S. Markets for Wilmington Trust Wealth Advisory, President of the Greater Los Angeles region of BNY Mellon Wealth Management, Managing Director of UBS Wealth Management, and was a top Financial Advisor with Prudential Securities and Edward Jones.

Chris earned his bachelor’s degree in English and Literature from St. John’s University and his Juris Doctor from Fordham University School of Law. He holds his Series 3, 7, 8, 63, and 65 licenses.

Andrew Druch

Executive Vice President,
General Counsel

Andrew Druch serves as Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Wedbush Securities Inc. He is responsible for firm-wide oversight of legal and regulatory matters. He is a member of the Wedbush Board of Directors and serves on the President’s Executive Committee.

Andrew has over 30 years of broad-reaching legal experience in securities and banking. Throughout his career he has played a pivotal role in building and mentoring legal and compliance departments to better serve companies’ business lines. He held the role of General Counsel for ING Bank, Rabobank, and most recently, DNB. Andrew began his legal career at the New York Stock Exchange, where he was held in high regard for his deep regulatory knowledge, drawing attention from firms, including Lehman Brothers and Drexel Burnham Lambert, where he played an integral role during both of the firms’ periods of success.

Andrew received his bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the State University of New York at Albany and his Juris Doctor from Rutgers University School of Law. He is licensed to practice law in CA, FL, and NY and holds his Series 7, 14, 24, and 63 licenses.

Donald Hultgren

Executive Chairman of the Board

Donald Hultgren is Executive Chairman of the Board of Wedbush Securities Inc. Don also chairs the President’s Executive Committee.

With over 41 years of experience in the financial industry, Don joins Wedbush after being President of Three Part Advisors, LLC, a Texas-based, capital markets advisory firm. Previously, he was Chief Executive Officer of SWS Group, the New York Stock Exchange-listed holding company of Southwest Securities. Don began his career in 1981 as an equity research analyst and was Director of Equity Research at Raymond James and Associates before moving on to SWS.

Don earned his bachelor’s degrees in Accounting and Business/Management from Augustana College in Rock Island, IL, and then went on to complete his Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin. He holds his Series 7, 16, 24, and 63 licenses.