David Kowach is most known for his unflappable energy and contagious enthusiasm. He is a passionate leader with a deep-rooted commitment to personal and organizational growth. Throughout his career, he has challenged himself to lead courageously and has never wavered in his support for those who made success possible. At &Partners, he is creating the firm he always envisioned – one where advisors and their clients come before everything else. David brings to his leadership role over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to founding Ampersand Partners, LLC, he had the privilege of serving as President and CEO of Wells Fargo Advisors, which under his leadership served more than 3 million clients with $2 trillion in assets. More recently, he led the Wells Fargo Community Bank where he re-engineered retail banking to enhance both efficiency and client loyalty.

Big firms, where politics can trump performance and progress, do not hold allure for John Alexander, anymore. He is interested in building something better. After 26 years with Wells Fargo Advisors, John is dedicating himself to creating an environment where advisors want to work and a business where they and their clients will thrive. John started his career as an advisor at Edward Jones. He went on to lead the retail branch advisor system at Wells Fargo. At Wells, John gained practical field experience and grew as a leader. He spent time repositioning under-performing businesses, developed strategies to expand into new markets and designed tools to drive growth and harness efficiency in the core advisory space.

Randy Bradshaw understands that deep connections, between advisors and their clients, are what changes lives for the better. As a result, he is a firm believer that the client is best served when the advisor is trusted and empowered to deliver. His commitment to the sanctity of the advisor/client relationship is unwavering. He has been an integral part of helping to build a firm around this conviction—a place where advisors and their clients can truly thrive.

Randy has nearly two decades of experience with Edward Jones, one of the top Fortune 500 brokerage firms. He started as a financial advisor and went on to lead thousands of advisors and their teams as a General Partner and Principal. In his most recent role, Randy was responsible for overseeing 18,000 branch teams where he focused on developing the training, coaching and consulting functions required to support the nationwide network’s performance.

Cheri Cooper has built an operations platform and approach to service defined by a simple, but highly differentiated element, it’s personal. With this unique approach and platform, there are no 800 numbers, automated help lines or non-answers. She has intentionally staffed her group with individuals who see themselves as an extension of the advisors’ teams and who have a passion for helping advisors deliver best-in-class service to customers and change lives for the better.  Cheri brings to her role 25 years of experience, including 20 at Wells Fargo Advisors, in wealth management, operations, technology and risk management. 

Most recently, Cheri led the transformation of the Wells Fargo Advisors platform used by private-client, bank-based, independent, and clearing firm advisors. Cheri’s focus in leading this initiative was to transition from outmoded, in-house technologies to best-of-breed market solutions. From 2015-2019, Cheri was the Chief Operating Officer for the Wells Fargo Wealth Brokerage Services organization, supporting 3,000 bank-based advisors. Prior to 2015, Cheri held various leadership positions within Wells Fargo Advisors’ operations and technology division.

Scott Nelson understands the drivers of profitability better than almost anyone in the industry and that is why he is leading the finance function at &Partners. However, Scott is much more than a CFO.  He is a strategic leader who appreciates the importance of ensuring that the client and advisor experience at &Partners is second to none.

With years of experience leading one of the largest sweep programs in the United States, Scott has the experience necessary to facilitate the provision of comprehensive advice that encompasses banking services. Most recently, he was a Managing Director at Accenture where he led teams focused on wealth management transformations. Prior to Accenture, Scott held various leadership roles at Wells Fargo Advisors. 

Andy Byer is best known for his unmatched enthusiasm and positivity. He has worked with thousands of advisors over the last 25 years to help them grow their practices and to better serve their clients. He knows proper planning and meaningful communication are at the heart of all great relationships between advisors and clients.  Andy has a long history in the advisory and planning business and his experience has taught him that structuring advice around defined goals is the key to success. Prior to his role within Wells Fargo Community Bank, he spent 16 years at Wells Fargo Advisors (“WFA”). He was a member of the WFA Executive Management Team and served on the Operating Committee. While at WFA, Andy held a variety of executive leadership roles, but a common theme throughout his career has been a focus on client outcomes through planning, advisor productivity and overall growth of the business.