Christine DeMao, AIF, SHRM-CP®, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Partner at Gibson Capital, LLC, was recently a guest on The COO Roundtable, a podcast sharing the importance of professional management within RIAs and highlighting the individuals who lead these firms. Christine joined host Matt Sonnen of PFI Advisors and guest Yonhee Gordon of JMG Financial Group to discuss how organizations can maintain growth, build positive cultures, and navigate the evolving needs of employees in the workplace.

Christine explained how her unconventional path in the wealth management space gave her a unique perspective into various work environments and leadership styles. This outlook helped solidify her conviction in working at Gibson Capital—a relationship spanning 13 years and where she is now an owner. 

As COO, Christine shared how she is the steward of carrying on the positive and progressive culture Gibson has built over the last three decades and how the firm continues to improve its practices and leverage technology while staying true to its core values. Some of these components that tend to differ from the industry standard include how Gibson does not set sales quotas but pays staff purely on salary and how the organization is structured without silos between teams to foster teamwork and ensure a consistent client experience. 

Christine also noted that she attributes her opportunity to become a managing partner in a non-revenue producing role as a testament to Gibson Capital equitably valuing and respecting each team member’s unique skills and perspectives. Additionally, she shares the pandemic as an example of the need to adapt overnight, to encourage firms to find value in operational and practice management roles in order to help an organization stay afloat. Listen to the full episode to hear more about:

• How Gibson Capital is managing the remote and in-office needs and challenges of its team and clients.
• Which key performance metrics Gibson Capital monitors to ensure firm efficiency, accuracy, and productivity.
• How Christine is finding creative ways to make their culture of gratitude tangible for the Gibson Capital team to foster an environment in which employees are happy to work.

Stream the whole conversation here.