JERSEY CITY, N.J., Oct. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Former TD Ameritrade Chairman Joe Moglia says the just-finalized online broker’s acquisition by Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCHW) marks the end of an era and the beginning of a new one.
Moglia admits to this being a bittersweet time in a touching internal video thank-you salute to TD Ameritrade’s Associates, and he adds: “Our Associates did wonderful work—many of whom have become my friends and all of whom will share in our great legacy—but this evolution was for the overall good and I truly believe the best is yet to come.”
What’s in Store
Now a free agent, so to speak, the business maverick and retired head football coach at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, SC, looks forward to the future. Although the TD Ameritrade name is going away and being melded into the Schwab brand, Moglia will continue to be Chairman of the Boards at: Fundamental Global; Capital Wealth Advisors; and most recently, the newly formed FG New America Acquisition Corp (NYSE: FGNA)—a fintech SPAC (special purpose acquisition company). Additionally, he will retain his Coastal Carolina University roots and remain its Chair of Athletics and Executive Advisor to the President.
Poised for Exciting New Opportunities
“Whether in the board room or on the gridiron, I’ve developed core leadership principles that have been competitive differentiators for me in both my personal and professional lives,” Moglia explains. “Nothing would be more satisfying than to share these lessons and help others to actualize their professional and personal potential and I’ve begun working on a leadership book that should be published next year.” He also looks forward to doing more in the way of speaking engagements and media opportunities.
“I’ve helped lead companies and teams through cultural and other types of transformation. Considering so many are in the process of reinventing themselves these days, I think I can help guide people on how to grow and pivot successfully,” Moglia adds. “I’m really excited about what the next chapter holds.”
Decades of Successful Leadership in Finance and Football
Moglia became the CEO of TD Ameritrade (then Ameritrade) in 2001, when it was a fledgling firm on the brink of bankruptcy, worth just $700 million with client assets of approximately $24 billion. On his watch as CEO, from 2001 until he stepped aside to become chairman of the board in 2008, the company’s market cap rose from $700 million to $10 billion. Shares increased 500% during that time and six straight record years were had from 2003 to 2008. And now, as TD Ameritrade becomes one with Schwab, the company will have client assets of about $5.5 trillion. Quite a ride.
What makes Moglia quite different from virtually all other business leaders is that he started out as a football coach, his last job as a defensive coordinator at Dartmouth University—a passion he relinquished to support his growing family. He left in 1984 to enter Merrill Lynch’s training program that included 26 individuals—25 MBAs and one football coach. As of 1988, he was Merrill Lynch’s number one producer in the world. By the time he left, he had become a member of both the Institutional and Private Client Executive Committees, and his final responsibilities were all investment products and the firm’s insurance company, as well as its 401 (k) business and middle markets.
He released the daily reins of TD Ameritrade to become chairman in 2009, and later returned to coaching football. In his last 11 years of college coaching, he was a part of eight championship teams, and as a head coach had a winning percentage of .718. In 2020, he was named to the 2010–2019 Big South Football All-Decade Team, one of 10 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers—the most by any school on the All-Decade Team. He was the fastest coach in Big South history to 30 overall wins (30-8) and 40 overall wins (40-11) and has the most FCS Playoff appearances by a head coach in Big South history. He has also received multiple Coach of the Year honors, including the Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year award, was a recipient of the Vince Lombardi Award, and was also inducted into the Lombardi Hall of Fame. He has been inducted into eight Halls of Fame, been the subject of a biography and is the only author in the world to have written books on both investing and football.
