As president and chief operating officer of LPL Financial, Esther Stearns provides strategic direction and oversight for all aspects of the firm. She is directly responsible for Business Technology Services, Broker/Dealer Support Services, Custom Clearing Services, and Corporate Shared Services areas such as Corporate Communication, Strategic Planning, Sponsor Relations, and Human Capital.
With over 2,500 employees in Boston, Charlotte, and San Diego,LPL Financial offers proprietary technology, comprehensive clearing and compliance services, practice management programs and training, and independent research to over 12,400 financial advisors and over 750 financial institutions. Additionally, LPL Financial supports approximately 4,000 financial advisors who are affiliated and licensed with insurance companies with customized clearing, advisory platforms, and technology solutions.
Ms. Stearns joined the company in 1996 as chief information officer. In this position, she led the build out of an advanced technology platform to help financial advisors manage and streamline their daily business processing. She was named COO in 2004 and president in 2007. Ms. Stearns was instrumental in building and packaging the Custom Clearing Services offering to provide back-end support services to broker/dealer organizations.
Prior to joining LPL Financial, Ms. Stearns worked at Charles Schwab for 14 years in a variety of leadership roles that include information technology, operations, managing surveillance, internal control,and credit.
She is a member of the Independent Firms Committee of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Chicago, and is Series 7, 24, 27, and 63 registered. Ms. Stearns resides in San Diego, where she is raising her three children. Her philanthropic interests focus on education with an emphasis on supporting foster and emancipated foster youth.
Founders Note: I am so very excited about Esther Stearns, as a person, and so appreciative of her personal assumption of the responsibility for the Operation HOPE/LPL Financial relationship and partnership. In late 2010, LPL Financial as part of national Framework Agreement between Operation HOPE and the Financial Services Roundtable, committed $1 million to the new Operation HOPE Financial Literacy Empowerment Center at Ebenezer, which will be the anchor for the Martin Luther King, Sr. Community Resource Complex at the King Center.