“His departure has no impact on the firm’s future or our strategic plans,” Edelman writes in an email. “Certainly, both Ric and David each had very big individual brands unto themselves; it’s not entirely surprising to hear that they just couldn’t find a way to merge them that worked for everyone. When you put that much into building a personal brand — which they both have done — it tends to make you very protective of that brand, which can be challenging to compromise around even for an otherwise appealing business synergy.” But back in the summer of 2014, it seemed that Bach was a viable key man in EFS’s succession plan.“David is eight years younger than me, so there’s that possibility, which we acknowledge,” Edelman said in a joint phone call with Bach In an RIABiz interview. “Our thought was we’d hire a COO who could turn in a few years into a CEO. We’ve decided to accelerate that process now,” Edelman said in January. “We’ve realized our needs are both diverse and timely. So, we need a CEO to focus on that. The company is getting bigger and there’s no way that I can sustain all of the functions. It’s important to focus on continuity for the firm. It’s not healthy for the business to be solely dependent on me.” Bach, based in New York, is certainly a media force, having made hundreds of appearances in all manner of media; a popular live speaker and with bestselling books to his name, all ringing variations on the theme, Live Rich, Finish Rich. As ambassador for Edelman and his army of advisors, Bach toured the country under the EFS banner, taking his “Smart Couples Finish Rich —The Retirement Tour” to Chicago, Detroit, Boston and Irvine, California. While on the road, Bach says he spoke with about 2,000 attendees. Edelman and Bach also worked to double the size of the EFS speaker team, a group of advisors who give seminars for the company, and had about 5,000 people attend associated “Finish Rich” seminars. “We had a tremendous year and I’m extremely proud of work together,” he says in an email. “We had many new initiatives that I was thrilled to be a part of. It was a pleasure do over 135 media appearances, providing financial education messages to over a hundred million consumers and doubling the media impressions of the firm.” He continues: “Ric has a tremendous team of dedicated and hardworking people at EFS and I wish them all continued success. I have no doubt that anyone who came to EFS as a result of our partnership or my seminars will be well taken care of by their fantastic advisors.”