Our leadership team.

April Rudin has built a long career by thinking differently and taking advantage of periods of change.

Whether it was in her first career as the original “millennial girl” who helped lead the effort to automate Kelly Services' branch offices globally in the late 80's or her ability to see around corners by launching the Rudin Group in 2008 during what might be termed as the lowest point in financial services, April is a seeker of the white space and the new opportunities it brings.

April has had a varied career in marketing, and technology but has always been known to be a disruptor, innovator and sometimes just a pain in the ass as she questioned conventional wisdom at an early age. About fifteen years ago, in her return to the workforce after being exhausted by raising her children, she chose financial services over the garment industry since she lived in New York City. Note: she has an affection for shoes.

April sensed that the intersection of old, musty brands and new, forward-thinking millennials along with evolving wealthtech/fintech firms would create a seismic marketing opportunity for wealth management and asset management firms. Always an early adopter of technology, April was a pioneer in #WFH when the Rudin Group was launched thereby recognizing the advantage of accessing a global workforce for global clients. Her kids called her “the first woman on Skype” which is now Microsoft Teams.

Amazed by the lack of differentiation and sea of sameness in wealth management/financial services brands, but certain that next-geners would NOT want to engage with brands that used dated, stock iconography like a lighthouse, chess piece, yacht or compass, she downloaded Yahoo tools and designed her own website. That was the birth of the Rudin Group (literally her third child.)

Born in Chicago, raised in Detroit, and, now living, in metro New York City, April does not like to be thought of as a “Jersey girl.” She much prefers old Motown tunes, and Bob Seger to Bruce “you know who.” Proud mother of two sons who only follow New York sports teams instead of Detroit much to April's chagrin.

With a name like Valentine, you'd expect Kara to have a big heart. Not to mention that she was born on Valentine's Day. It's her heart (and creative mind) that keeps Kara going with almost three decades of strategic marketing experience in the financial services. From wirehouse to RIA, and from organic to inorganic growth, it's hard to beat her vast experience. Kara spent the first 20 years of her career at Morgan Stanley and Bank of America's Global Wealth and Investment Management Division, working at both Merrill Lynch and U.S. Trust. Following the market into RIA land, she has also held marketing leadership roles at Dynasty Financial Partners, Rockefeller Capital Management and Cary Street Partners.

Ironically for a New Yorker, it was a move to California that prompted Kara to explore a career in financial services. She began as a client associate in Carlsbad, California. It was in this role that Kara developed a passion for the industry and an understanding of the complexities in capturing the attention of advisors and clients. After a year in California, she relocated and transferred into a marketing role in New York City.

Kara's number one fan is her son along with many of her clients. She loves to play golf and is an avid sports fan which may or may not be mutually exclusive.

Ben's passion for storytelling began in elementary school, fueled by an obsession with current events in his hometown Long Island paper - Newsday - and later deepened in college as a big fan of U.S. and African American history. Fast forward two decades later, and he turned that love of storytelling into a dynamic career, helping major financial brands like Bank of New York Mellon, Chubb, TIAA, Fisher Investments and Bank of America craft compelling narratives that drive revenue, elevate brands, promote products/services and build thought leadership.

This work has often included collaborating with financial brands on external media, internal communications, executive communications, content development, crisis and issues management, messaging and social media. Ben is a firm believer in the power of collaboration, rolling up his sleeves and digging into a client challenge.

Along the way, he has had some incredible moments— launching the world's first transparent mutual fund, putting Merrill Edge on the map and even supporting a client challenge to the ICI on increasing fund disclosure. Ben has also worked with major industry asset managers like BNY Investments, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Schroders, Putnam, and USAA, always striving to tell stories that resonate. Previously, he led cross-functional PR strategies for Chubb and BNY Mellon, spanning NA, EMEA, LATAM, and APAC, and most recently shined a spotlight on Chubb's Risk Engineering Center which one media outlet referred to as the "Disneyland of Fire Protection.”

But life isn't all about media strategies, clips and thought leadership campaigns. When he is not crafting the next big narrative, you'll find him living life to the fullest—he has been to over 100 concerts and Broadway shows, explored international travel destinations, scouted new art for his apartment and is always on the hunt for the tastiest restaurants. And at the end of the day, Ben loves coming home to Brooklyn, his sweet and seven-years-young white Golden Retriever, who brings a whole lot of joy to his life.