We have important news to share! We mailed out the following letter to all of our clients earlier this week, and wanted to spread the news even wider with this post:
After twenty-five years with the company, Founding Partner Kimberly Griego-Kiel has resigned her positions as CEO and Chief Compliance Officer of Horizons Sustainable Financial Services, Inc., effective December 31st of this year.
We’ve been making plans for these changes with Kim for a while, but privacy concerns kept us all quiet until now. While we all thought we had more time to make a smooth transition, Kim needed to move up the timing in order to accommodate her obligations to the care of members of her extended family and to her own health. Fortunately, Kim and Horizons have been able to adjust our plans, in order to avoid disruption.
Kim will continue to produce and host the Deep Impact Investing podcast, which has been, by far, the most popular and effective of Horizons’ outreach projects. She will continue to be available to consult with Horizons’ home office staff during a generous transitional period. Nothing of substance will change in the mission or culture of the company. We will miss Kim greatly, but her departure is intended to have little impact on client experience.
Johann Klaassen, currently Horizons’ Chief Investment Officer, will add the role of CEO to his responsibilities. Aarón Garza, currently Vice President for Operations and Compliance, will succeed Kim as Chief Compliance Officer, a position for which he has been preparing with Kim since he joined the company just over a year ago.
Bryanna Briley and Johann will be the primary points of client contact for now. We expect to launch a hiring search in the Spring or Summer to bring in a client services professional, to focus on the day-to-day management of client requests, as well as longer-term financial planning projects for clients. She will train with Johann and help ensure that all inquiries are addressed efficiently. Senior staff members will of course remain readily accessible to serve your needs.
Kim and her wife, Rose, will re-locate to Oregon before the end of the year to better attend to the care of older family members and to provide Kim with a climate more conducive to her own health. Kim will remain a member of the Board of the U.S. Social Investment Forum, continue to mentor young advisors just entering the financial services industry, and accept occasional speaking engagements. She hopes to find time to work on a couple of book manuscripts, while also traveling a bit for pleasure, spending time with Rose and their dogs, and enjoying a somewhat more relaxed pace of life.
Please join the rest of the team in wishing Kim well — and rest assured that Horizons will remain the company you know and trust, and always at your service!
Kim and Johann