Position
The Chief Fiduciary Officer serves as the senior fiduciary executive of the Trust Company and is responsible for the overall administration, governance, and risk management of fiduciary activities. The role ensures that all trust, estate, agency, custody, directed trust, and related fiduciary services are administered in accordance with governing documents, applicable laws and regulations, fiduciary best practices, and company policies.
The Chief Fiduciary Officer provides strategic leadership over fiduciary administration, oversees fiduciary risk management, chairs or participates in key fiduciary committees, and serves as the primary fiduciary subject matter expert for management, the Board of Directors, regulators, clients, and internal stakeholders.
Responsibilities
- Own and maintain the enterprise fiduciary governance framework for the Rockefeller Trust Companies, including fiduciary acceptance and retention standards, directed trust governance, Trust Committee administration, discretionary action review, exception management, fiduciary risk reporting, and litigation oversight.
- Maintain, monitor and adapt fiduciary policies, standards, procedures, and decision-making authorities governing the administration of fiduciary relationships.
- Chair or participate in key fiduciary and governance committees and ensure that matters requiring elevated review, approval, or escalation are presented with appropriate analysis and documentation.
- Maintain a standing governance cadence for fiduciary risk reporting, exception tracking, trend analysis, committee oversight, and escalation of significant or complex matters.
- Promote a culture of sound fiduciary judgment, accountability, constructive challenge, and compliance with legal, regulatory, and ethical standards.
- Collaborate and advise the Presidents of The Rockefeller Trust Companies on fiduciary governance, particularly as it relates to new and existing business.
- Serve as the senior fiduciary subject matter expert for executive management, the Boards of Directors, regulators, clients, beneficiaries, advisors, attorneys, and other stakeholders.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business, Law, Trust Administration, or related field. (do we want to limit to these areas?
- J.D., LLM, MBA, CFP®, CTFA®, or other advanced credential preferred. (is JD required LLM preferred?)
- Minimum 15 years of fiduciary administration experience.
- Minimum 10 years of progressive leadership experience within a trust company, private bank, wealth management firm, or trust department.
- Extensive knowledge of fiduciary law, trust administration, estate planning, fiduciary taxation, and investment management.
- Demonstrated experience working with regulatory examinations and fiduciary audits.
- Strong understanding of directed trusts, discretionary trusts, charitable structures, private trust companies, and complex wealth structures.
Skills
- Exceptional fiduciary judgment and decision-making, with a client first team centric mindset.
- Strong understanding of fiduciary risk management frameworks.
- Executive presence with ability to communicate effectively with clients, boards, regulators, attorneys, and advisors.
- Proven leadership and team development capabilities.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to balance client service objectives with fiduciary and regulatory obligations.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
