Merit Financial Advisors Names New CEO, Other Leadership Changes

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Key Points

Merit Financial Advisors President Kay Lynn Mayhue will succeed Rick Kent as chief executive officer on Jan. 1. Kent, 71, will become the company’s executive chairman.
Managing principal and partner Zach Mersberger will succeed Mayhue as president of the wealth management firm.
Merit Financial Advisors has grown from about $2 billion in 2017 to $32.92 billion in assets under advisement as of Sept. 12.

Fast-growing wealth management firm Merit Financial Advisors unveiled a set of leadership changes, with its top executives taking on new roles as the company pursues expansion efforts. President Kay Lynn Mayhue will succeed CEO Rick Kent as chief executive on Jan. 1. Kent, 71, will become the company’s executive chairman.

Merit Financial Advisors’ executive leaders, from left: Zach Mersberger, president; Kay Lynn Mayhue, CEO; and Rick Kent, executive chairman. Photo: Courtesy of Merit Financial Advisors

Managing principal and partner Zach Mersberger will succeed Mayhue, 50, as president, and other team members at the top-ranked registered investment advisory firm are being tapped for expanded roles, the company says.

Atlanta-based Merit’s leaders say the new roles will help the company meet its challenges and goals after a period of rapid change. Merit has grown organically and through dozens of acquisitions since 2017 when it had about $2 billion. It had $32.92 billion in assets under advisement as of Sept. 12. In 2025, Merit sold a minority stake to Constellation Wealth Capital, a private-equity firm founded by Karl Heckenberg.

Kent says that the leadership changes at Merit also reflect the philosophy they urge advisors to follow. “When we bring in partnership firms, we want them to be thinking about the next generation,” Kent says. “I think we are leading by example by doing this now. And to build a really successful company, you have to do that. You can’t expect the leadership to remain the same. You have to evolve it.”

As Merit’s president, Mersberger will focus on enterprise execution and alignment within its growing network of advisors and offices, the company says. Age 37, he joined Merit with his brother after their firm was acquired by Merit nearly three years ago.

Merit also gave expanded roles to other staff members. Brian Andrew, chief investment officer, will take on the additional role of chief strategy officer. Chief Operating Officer Chrissy Lee will assume the additional title of chief enterprise officer. And Alex Hansen, chief advisor success officer, will take on expanded responsibilities across organic growth and wealth solutions, the company says.

As executive chairman, Kent will focus on the company’s long-term strategy, organic growth, culture, and leadership development.

Kent and Mayhue have shaped Merit’s culture and steered its growth since Mayhue’s firm merged with Merit in 2017. Kent says now is the right time for her to assume the CEO role. “I can see she’s ready to go,” he says. “I’ve seen it, especially over the past year.”

Mayhue credits their close partnership with helping run Merit effectively. They met more than a decade ago through a coaching program. Once Kent and Mayhue started talking about potentially bringing their firms together, “we quickly realized that we would make great partners,” Mayhue says.

Mayhue says the company’s growth goals remain the same, but the ways it achieves growth may change. “The types of M&A we are doing is evolving and will continue to evolve,” she says. “We are doing partnerships with larger firms and having conversations with firms that we didn’t think we would.”

While Merit now has 70 offices, it still can bulk up its presence in certain markets. “We have cities where we have prospective clients and we are flying in advisors to meet those clients,” she says. “That means we have geographies that aren’t covered.”

Write to Andrew Welsch at andrew.welsch@barrons.com

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