Kestra Financial Strengthens Operations and Client Experience Leadership Team with Two Key Hires

Kristan Garner joins as Head of Client Service and John Milligan as Head of Operations, expanding leadership team under Client Experience Officer Angela Xavier

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kestra Financial, an industry-leading wealth management platform, today announced the appointments of Kristan Garner as Head of Client Service and John Milligan as Head of Operations. These appointments strengthen the firm's operations and client experience leadership as Kestra continues to scale support for its growing community of financial professionals and their clients across both Kestra Financial and its breakaway-advisor channel, Kestra Private Wealth Services (Kestra PWS).

Garner will lead the firm's Client Service organization, overseeing advisor service, technology solutions, and account services with a focus on elevating the experience for advisors and their clients. She brings more than 15 years of experience in financial services and investment operations, joining from Fidelity National Information Services (FIS), where she most recently served as Director of Operations, leading global operations and contact center teams. Prior to that, she spent nearly a decade in investment operations roles at USAA.

Milligan joins Kestra Financial as Head of Operations and will oversee the firm's core operational functions, including trading, cashiering, producer compensation, and fee billing. He brings more than two decades of financial services experience, with deep operations leadership across brokerage and capital markets, joining from Truist Bank, where he most recently served as EVP, Head of Capital Markets Operations. During his tenure at Truist, he led broker-dealer operations and helped guide the integration of SunTrust and BB&T's brokerage businesses into Truist Investment Services. Earlier, he held field and operations leadership roles at Ameriprise Financial. A U.S. Navy veteran, he is a CFP® professional.

These appointments build on Kestra's ongoing investment in operations and client experience, including the appointment of Angela Xavier as Executive Vice President (EVP), Client Experience Officer, and the establishment of a secondary headquarters in Tempe, Arizona, to anchor its client service and operations teams. Garner and Milligan will play key roles in advancing the firm's commitment to operational excellence, service quality, and a seamless experience for advisors and their clients.

"When I joined Kestra, it was because of the firm's clear commitment to the advisor and client experience," said Angela Xavier, EVP, Client Experience Officer at Kestra Financial. "We're focused on building the leadership, infrastructure, and service model needed to deliver an exceptional experience for advisors and their clients. Kristan and John bring deep expertise in client service and operations, and their leadership will help us continue raising the bar for efficiency and operational excellence across the advisor experience."

For more information about joining Kestra Financial and Kestra PWS, visit www.kestrafinancial.com.

About Kestra Financial
Kestra Financial is a leading independent wealth management platform headquartered in Austin, Texas. A division of Kestra Holdings and established in 1997, the firm empowers independent financial professionals and wealth management firms – including traditional and hybrid RIAs – by offering personalized support, integrated business management technology, and access to a collaborative community of like-minded financial professionals. With a culture rich in reinvention, Kestra Financial has developed integrated business management technology that, combined with its personalized consulting services, offers exceptional scale and efficiency.

The Kestra Financial division includes affiliates of Kestra Private Wealth Services, LLC (Kestra PWS), Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS) and Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Securities offered through registered representatives of Kestra IS. Investment advisory services offered through appropriately licensed representatives of Kestra AS or Kestra PWS. Kestra Financial, Kestra PWS, Kestra IS, Kestra AS, Bluespring Wealth Partners, Kestra Investment Management, Arden Trust Company and Comprehensive Brokerage Services are affiliated under common ownership of Kestra Holdings. For more information about Kestra Financial, please visit www.kestrafinancial.com.