As Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of JNBA Financial Advisors, Richard oversees the strategic direction of the company. He also leads the firm’s specialty group, Family Office Services, and is the key decision maker in how the family office operates. Richard has played a key role in growing the firm from $90 million to nearly $1.5 billion in client assets under management. Richard is a leader who advocates for his team and inspires others to collaborate and share their expertise as they develop solutions for clients and other stakeholders.
“Use wisdom to be a loyal advocate.”
Prior to joining JNBA in 1996, Richard was the executive domestic and international contract negotiator for Irwin Jacobs Companies. His international experience also includes working for Ladbroke Racing in the United Kingdom.
Richard attended the University of Minnesota Duluth. He also completed a specialty education by participating in the Program on Negotiation with the inter-university consortium of Harvard, MIT, and Tufts.
Richard serves on national and local boards, including the Dean’s Business Advisory Council at UMD’s Labovitz School of Business and Economics, and the NIFAP Study Group. He is also one of two senior teaching fellows emeritus at UMD’s Labovitz School, and he previously served on the TD Ameritrade President’s Council.
As president and board chair of the Starkey Hearing Foundation, Richard has led global mission trips, launches creative fundraising collaborations, and influences decision-makers around the world. He is chair of the Essentia Health Foundation Board and previously served as a board member of Special Olympics Minnesota for six years. He also serves on the Leadership Council of Home Base, a national nonprofit dedicated to healing the invisible wounds of war, and founded the Richard S. Brown Foundation, which allows him to spread his philanthropic vision directly. As a former firefighter, Richard is proud to be the first member of the Minnesota Firefighter Initiative (MnFIRE) Advisory Board to help connect the nonprofit with healthcare organizations to support and protect the health of fire service professionals.
Richard’s mother, Judith, founded the firm and was a pioneer in offering fee-based financial advice. Richard continues his mother’s vision by concentrating on the company’s client-centric service model and maintaining its independent, values-driven, and community-focused principles.
