Waddell & Reed Financial EVP Thomas Butch Steps Down; Promotes Bloss To COO

(RTTNews) - Waddell & Reed Financial Inc. (WDR) said that Thomas Butch has stepped down as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. and as President of Waddell & Reed, Inc. and Ivy Distributors Inc. Brent Bloss, who has served as Chief Financial Officer of the company since March 2014, will be promoted to the role of Chief Operating Officer effective immediately. Bloss, who joined the company in January 2002 in the finance division, will continue to serve as CFO through the filing of the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017.

The Board intends to appoint Benjamin Clouse, who joined the company in October 2015 and has served as the company's Chief Accounting Officer since February 2017, as CFO to succeed Bloss in 2018. Clouse is a CPA with 21 years of finance and accounting experience, formerly serving as CFO of Executive AirShare Corporation and in various leadership positions on the finance team at H&R Block, Inc.

Effective immediately, Nikki Newton will become President of IDI, a subsidiary that serves as the largest distributor of the Ivy Funds. Newton, who has 25 years of industry experience and has been with the company since January 1998, currently serves as Head of Global Relationship Management for IDI, which includes National Accounts and consultant relationships, as well as institutional sales.

Also effective immediately, Shawn M. Mihal will become President of WRI, a registered broker-dealer subsidiary that offers securities and insurance products and investment advisory services through financial advisors located throughout the U.S. Mihal currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of WRI after joining the company in March 2015 as Chief Regulatory Officer and Chief Compliance Officer.