Highland Capital Management, a provider of registered alternative investments, has hired six regional sales directors in the Pacific Northwest, Florida, North Texas, Long Island, the Midwest and Southeast, and expanded its sales team at its home office in Dallas.
Anthony Wilson (San Francisco), Derek Andersen (Florida), Kevin Wentworth (Texas), Joseph Kearney (Long Island), Chris Shahda (Atlanta) and Tom Antonovich (Minneapolis) join a growing team of sales professionals.
Highland expects to continue its expansion to a total of 30 sales professionals over the next year and has additional plans to add a director of marketing later this year.
Based in San Francisco and covering northern California, Oregon and Washington, Wilson brings to Highland two decades of experience as an investment management sales executive. Most recently, he was western division director for Artio Global Management and previously held similar levels of responsibility at IndexIQ and Turner Investment Partners.
Andersen, regional sales director for Florida, joins Highland with eight years of experience as a financial adviser and wholesaler, most recently with The Hartford, where he was regional marketing director for South Florida and Puerto Rico. Prior to working in finance, Andersen played professional baseball for the Tampa Bay Rays and coached baseball at the college level.
Wentworth joins the external sales team as regional sales director, covering North Texas, Austin, Oklahoma and Arkansas. He brings to Highland more than 14 years of combined experience in sales, management, and service, most recently serving as regional vice president/external wholesaler for Hartford Mutual Funds. Prior to Hartford, Wentworth was with JP Morgan Asset Management for 10 years.
Kearney, regional sales director for Long Island, has 16 years of combined experience in sales and financial consulting. Most recently, he served as regional wholesaler/assistant vice president for AllianceBernstein. Kearney held similar positions with Prudential Investments and First Investors Corporation, serving as an internal sales consultant for Prudential for four years and financial consultant for First Investors for three years.
Shahda is based in Atlanta and leads Highland’s external sales efforts in the Southeast region, encompassing Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. He comes to Highland from Hartford Mutual Funds, where he was an advisor consultant since 2005. After turning Hartford’s presence in the DC, Virginia, and Maryland area into a top 10 territory within 16 months, Shahda went on to grow Hartford’s sales in both Georgia and South Carolina as well.
Antonovich, based in Minnesota, oversees sales in the Midwest, covering Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and the Dakotas. Since 2005, he had been an advisor consultant for Hartford Mutual Funds, where he served the independent, bank, and regional firms in Minnesota, growing his territory significantly within three years. Antonovich previously served as regional director for Walls Fargo Funds for six years.
“We’re very excited to round out our regional coverage,” says Brad Ross, president of Highland Capital Funds Management. “The team’s experience is critical to expanding our presence with sophisticated advisors and firms that are driving the growth in liquid alternatives.”
In addition, Highland has also relocated and expanded its internal sales team to its home office in Dallas, adding seven new members to the team led by Justin O’Brien, formerly of Fidelity. His team comes to Highland from leading financial services firms, including Hartford Funds, Merrill Lynch, and Invesco.
“These new hires represent Highland’s continued commitment to growth,” Ross says. “With their experience, they will make immediate contributions to our team.”
