Good morning. Just as more than 100,000 U.S. financial advisors are expected to retire over the next decade, Thrivent is racing to hire the next generation.
The Minneapolis-based financial services company announced this week plans to hire 600 financial advisors in 2026 as part of an effort to expand its workforce. The company exceeded the same hiring target in 2025 and said continued recruitment will help meet rising demand for purpose-driven financial advice.
“This is part of our growth plan,” Nick Cecere, Thrivent’s chief distribution officer, told me. “Adding new advisors is how we continue to grow our business.”
Thrivent recruits advisors through both its traditional field network and a newer Virtual Advice Team, an employee channel where advisors serve clients remotely rather than through a traditional in-person practice. Participants typically spend 12 to 24 months in the program before joining an established advisor team or launching their own practice.
The program attracts both early-career professionals and second-career candidates, Cecere said, like teachers, coaches and business professionals, for example, seeking a career focused on helping clients.
The hiring push also reflects a broader talent shortage in the financial advice industry, as many veteran advisors approach retirement. According to McKinsey, addressing this gap requires changing the advisor operating model to increase productivity (lead generation, teaming, and an AI- and technology-enabled shift toward value-adding activities) and also attracting new talent to the industry faster than before.
Thrivent, No. 388 on the Fortune 500, is led by CEO Terry Rasmussen. It has more than $212 billion in assets under management and advisement, more than 4,500 employees, and serves 2.4 million clients. Thrivent was founded in 1902 as an aid association for Lutherans, and its banking and investment services are open to nonmembers, regardless of religious affiliation, according to the company.
It operates regional hubs in Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Minneapolis and Milwaukee that support the virtual advice program, and the company is considering further expansion.
Thrivent is investing in AI to support, not replace, its advisors. “We’ve made the strategic decision to hire more financial advisors because it will enable us to serve even more people,” according to David Royal, Thrivent’s EVP and chief financial and investment officer.
The personal relationships and trust between Thrivent’s advisors and clients are “deeply important” for planning the future, building legacies, and improving their communities, Royal said. Technology, including AI, helps modernize the business and “gives our teams better tools so they can focus on high‑value, purpose‑driven work,” he said.
Strong advisor retention and client satisfaction remain central to Thrivent’s long-term growth strategy, Cecere said, as the industry adapts to changing demographics and new digital tools.
Have a good weekend.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
Leaderboard
Fortune 500 Power Moves:
Olivier Leonetti was appointed CFO of Equinix, Inc. (No. 446), a digital infrastructure company, effective March 16. Leonetti brings more than 30 years of financial leadership experience. He most recently served as CFO of Eaton, a power management company. Before Eaton, he was CFO of Johnson Controls. Earlier in his career, Leonetti was CFO of Zebra Technologies and Western Digital. He has also held senior finance leadership roles at Dell and Amgen. Leonetti will succeed longtime Equinix CFO Keith Taylor. As announced last year, Taylor is retiring in 2026 following a 27-year career with the company.
Every Friday morning, the weekly Fortune 500 Power Moves column tracks Fortune 500 company C-suite shifts—see the most recent edition.
More notable moves this week:
Tonya Stevens was appointed CFO of Navitas Semiconductor (Nasdaq: NVTS), effective March 30. Stevens joins Navitas from Lattice Semiconductor, where she served as chief accounting officer and previously as interim CFO. Before Lattice, Stevens held senior finance leadership positions at Intel Corporation, Acumed and American Veterans Security. She began her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers, focusing on audit, financial risk management and capital markets transactions for multinational clients.
Angela Nam was appointed CFO of FTI Consulting, Inc. (NYSE: FCN), effective May 1. Most recently, Nam served as CFO and chief accounting officer of FTAI Aviation Ltd. She began as chief accounting officer and added the CFO role following the spin-off of its infrastructure business in August 2022. Before joining FTAI Aviation, she was a senior vice president of private equity at Fortress Investment Group LLC.
Jérémie Papin is stepping down from his role as CFO at Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. for personal reasons, according to the company. George Leondis is appointed to succeed him effective April 1. Papin will remain with the company through mid-May to lead the closing of FY25. He joined Nissan in 2004 as head of finance for Nissan Australia. Over the past two decades, he has taken on senior finance and leadership roles across Nissan’s key markets.
Saqib Baig was appointed interim CFO at Peloton Interactive, Inc., effective March 27, succeeding Liz Coddington, who will step down to pursue an external opportunity, as previously announced, according to an SEC filing. Baig has served as the company’s chief accounting officer since November 2022, and since August 2025 he has also served as CFO of the company’s commercial business unit. Before joining Peloton, Baig was controller of accounting risk, valuation, and financial reporting at Meta Platforms, Inc.
Tom Fitzgerald was appointed interim CFO of Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE: PLNT), effective March 9. Fitzgerald’s appointment follows the departure of Jay Stasz from the company. Fitzgerald previously served as CFO of Planet Fitness from 2020 to 2024. Prior to joining Planet Fitness, he served as CFO and SVP of Potbelly Sandwich Works; held multiple leadership roles at Charming Charlie, including president, CFO, and chief administrative officer; and served as chief administrative officer of Sears Canada. Planet Fitness has initiated a search for a permanent CFO with the assistance of an executive search firm.
Big Deal
Will the humanoid robot population proliferate in the near future? With production scaling steadily, BofA Global Research expects the global “robot population” to reach 300 million by 2040 and 3 billion units by 2060—outnumbering cars per capita. While analysts believe industrial and service applications are likely to come first, by 2060 they project household humanoids will make up the largest share (62%, or two billion units).
Going deeper
Here are four Fortune weekend reads:
"‘What will our kids do?’: One question was on every investor’s lips at Morgan Stanley’s big AI conference"—Nick Lichtenberg
"If you want a promotion at Accenture, CEO says you’ve got to use AI"—Sasha Rogelberg
"The pay premium for job-hopping is disappearing—switching roles nearly has nearly the same payoff as staying loyal to an employer" —Emma Burleigh
"Jensen Huang runs the world’s most valuable chip company. His bonus is $4 Million—if he’s lucky"—Jacqueline Munis
Overheard
"In enterprise AI, trust isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s the foundation that determines whether your investment moves from pilot to production."
—Ruba Borno, vice president of AWS Specialists and Partners, writes in a Fortune opinion piece titled, "Most AI investments fail—here’s what the winners get right."
