By Craig Iskowitz, in WealthTech Today, featuring Cecilia T. Williams CFP®, AIF®, Chief Operating Officer
RIA Operations and the COO’s AI Playbook
This PCH Stage ops conversation Rob Burgess (Senior Reporter, ThinkAdvisor) interviewed Cecilia Williams (COO, Halbert Hargrove) and Caitlin Douglas (COO, Elevation Point) on what COOs must own when AI lands at their firm.
COO must own all workflows at the data-lake layer instead of rebuilding the same process inside the CRM every time a new tool arrives.
Scale choices need a 1/3/5-year plan you can defend later, not a pile of AI pilots that cannot explain how the firm got bigger.
Keep the “wow” client experience and retention while automation stays invisible. Advisors know the contact schedule; clients feel check-ins, not the machine.
The truncated tape still ends on an operator truth: reverse bad decisions fast, and do not sweat the small stuff while the service promise stays human.
