Denver (July 16, 2003) -- After two years on the job, Louis J. Garday, Chief Executive Officer of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. has resigned to return to the for-profit sector, the CFP Board of Governors announced.
Garday's resignation from the board, which oversees and issues the CFP designation, is effective July 31, 2003.
"I have accomplished the key goals that I set out to accomplish when I accepted this position," Garday said in a statement. "I have enjoyed guiding CFP Board in this very exciting period for financial planning, and the time is right to return to the for-profit sector where I have spent the vast majority of my career.”
“The CFP Board was aware for some time that Lou was considering going back to the for-profit sector,” said Lance Ritchlin, CFP Board Senior Editor. “He’s taking some time off, using some accumulated leave.”
Executive Vice President Gary Diffendaffer will assume responsibility for operations until a new CEO is appointed. The Board of Governors will appoint a search committee that will conduct a national search for a replacement.
“Gary already runs a lot of our day-to-day operations anyway, since Lou was a public figure and spent a lot of time traveling and stumping for the organization,” Ritchlin said. “So he [Diffendaffer] probably won’t have to do that much that’s different from what he’s been doing.”
"The Board of Governors wants to thank Lou for the tremendous work he has done during his tenure as CEO," said Rick Adkins, CFP, chair of CFP Board's Board of Governors. "He brought CFP Board a fresh perspective that combined the best practices of the for-profit business community from which he came and CFP Board's not-for-profit mission to serve the public by ensuring that it has access to competent and ethical financial planning.”
During his tenure as CEO, Garday helped extend the Board’s reach into areas like support for Ph.D. education and other educational outreach to the public and the profession. He also led efforts to streamline operations in areas such as the disciplinary process and the organization's interface with its stakeholders, and worked extensively with the Board's international council and affiliates. In addition, the number of CFP Board-Registered Programs increased from 189 to 271, while the number of certificants increased from 37,649 to 42,233.
-- Melissa Klein
