HighTower Appoints Michael LaMena as Chief Operations Officer

CHICAGO, March 31 /PRNewswire/ -- HighTower, the first open-source, advisor-owned financial services company, is pleased to announce the appointment of Michael LaMena as its Chief Operations Officer. Mr. LaMena, an industry veteran with extensive experience managing the operations of global wealth management platforms, brings significant further depth to HighTower's dedicated senior management team as the firm continues to expand.

"HighTower's distinctive multi-clearing and multi-custodial approach to financial services rests upon our unique operational structure and ability to continue attracting exceptional talent and intellectual capital to the firm," said Elliot S. Weissbluth, HighTower's CEO. "Michael's deep knowledge and background in supporting ultra-high net worth business represents precisely the caliber of leadership that HighTower is committed to developing."

In the newly created role of Chief Operations Officer at HighTower, Mr. LaMena will oversee HighTower's Open Source platform and HOST (HighTower Open Source Technology) portal, as well as the firm's trading capabilities and enterprise relationships with the Street's trading, clearing, and custodial firms. He will report to the CEO, Elliot S. Weissbluth.

Previously, Mr. LaMena spent 14 years at Morgan Stanley & Co. His most recent position there was as Executive Director of Private Wealth Management Operations in New York, where he oversaw the operations division supporting Morgan Stanley's ultra-high net worth wealth management business. Prior to that, Mr. LaMena was Morgan Stanley's Executive Director of Private Wealth Management for Asia in Hong Kong.  Mr. LaMena is currently honoring his "garden leave" and will start with HighTower in early April.

"HighTower is building out an executive management team with the proven ability to execute and a true commitment to industry innovation," said early HighTower investor and HighTower Co-Chairman, Doug Brown. Mr. Brown is also a former Vice-Chairman of Morgan Stanley.  "We are very pleased to welcome Michael to HighTower."

Furthermore, HighTower announced an expansion of its Northern California presence with the addition of Barnaby Levin as a Managing Director and Partner of the firm. Mr. Levin will be based in HighTower's San Francisco corporate offices. Previously, he was a Director of Wealth Management at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. Mr. Levin specializes in applying a thematic investment style toward achieving total return over specified time horizons. Currently, he serves on the board of Stanford University's Institute of Economic Policy Research.

"Barnaby represents the finest quality of talent and professionalism in our industry.  He is incredibly dedicated to his clients and brings a single-minded focus on doing what is best for them," said HighTower Co-Chairman Dave Pottruck. "We are excited about Barnaby's joining the HighTower partnership and look forward to working with him as we deepen our West Coast footprint."

For media inquiries, please contact Jennifer Connelly at 973.732.3521 or [email protected].

About HighTower

HighTower is the first open-source, advisor-owned financial services company. HighTower advisors are experienced investment professionals with large, established practices. As a dually-registered, multi-custodial firm, HighTower provides sophisticated investment solutions as well as an independent and unobstructed view of the markets. The company is headquartered in Chicago and maintains corporate centers in New York and San Francisco and offices around the country. See www.hightoweradvisors.com. Securities offered through HighTower Securities, LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC/MSRB. HighTower Advisors, LLC is registered with the SEC as an investment adviser.

SOURCE HighTower

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