With the recent rapid growth of Horizons Sustainable Financial Services, we now find some opportunity and some necessity to expand leadership and re-define some responsibilities within the Santa Fe headquarters.
Founding Partner Kimberly Griego-Kiel, MBA, AIF®, will more closely focus the majority of her attentions on the parts of the business that demand her most specialized knowledge. She will continue to work with clients, of course, and will participate in strategic policy oversight at the highest level of the company — but she will be spending more of her time cultivating industry relationships, producing the Deep Impact Investing podcast, and mentoring rising professionals. Additionally, she will be able to focus attention on the ways that Horizons can promote anti-racism and gender equity, and will have greater freedom to accept speaking engagements, publication opportunities, and media inquiries.
Chief Investment Officer, Johann A. Klaassen, PhD, CFP®, AIF®, will see some shift in his duties as well. He will focus more specifically on portfolio design and investment management, and have oversight of operational policy. He will continue to work with Bryanna Briley, who joined Horizons in August 2020 as Advisor Support Associate, to manage the growing relationships with all of our affiliated independent investment advisors.
As Kimberly and Johann focus on their most industry-specific knowledge and skills, we are delighted to announce that we have been joined, as of October 1, 2021, by Aarón G. Garza, JD, as our new Vice President for Operations and Compliance. Aarón will help ensure that our processes run precisely, efficiently, and in compliance with all applicable state and federal laws and regulations, and will develop internal policy in accordance with best practices and oversee our relationships with contractors and vendors.
Aarón grew up in the Ysleta area of El Paso, Texas. He earned his B.A. from St. John’s College in Santa Fe (where he and Johann first met, years ago), and his JD from the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah. He is a former U.S. Army infantryman and a combat veteran of the Persian Gulf War. Aarón joins Horizons from the world of higher education administration, where, most recently, he oversaw compliance with state and federal laws related to non-discriminatory practices in a large university.
While living in northern Utah, Aarón served on the boards of the Ogden-Weber Community Action Partnership and the Ogden Branch of the NAACP. He brings a deep personal and professional commitment to ethical and equitable practices, inclusivity, and fundamental fairness to his new role at Horizons.
You can find more information about all of us at our About Us page, here. Please join us in welcoming Aarón, and in our optimism for the future of Horizons!
