KMS Financial Services, a unit of Ladenburg Thalmann, said Erinn Ford will become its new president in March. Most recently Ford served as president of Cetera Advisors, which is part of Cetera Financial Group.
Ford will take the reins from Tracy “Ace” Forsythe, a 20-year KMS veteran who is retiring this summer. KMS works with about 350 financial advisors.
“We were pleased to support KMS in bringing aboard Erinn, as part of our broader strategy of promoting the success of our subsidiaries by providing them with the resources, contacts and intellectual capital to excel in serving financial advisors,” said Ladenburg President & CEO Richard Lampen, in a statement.
Ford cut her teeth in the business at Pacific West Financial Group, where she spent nearly 22 years and served as chief marketing officer, according to her LinkedIn profile. She moved from Pacific West to Cetera in early 2012.
“KMS combines a boutique service culture with the industry-leading resources of Ladenburg, while heavily emphasizing the accessibility of the KMS leadership team to the advisors served by the firm,” Ford said in a statement. “I am a strong proponent of the network model as a structure that adds substantive value to the businesses of independent financial advisors, and Ladenburg is one of the leading players in our industry with this approach.”