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Esther Stearns

President & Chief Operating Officer

As president and chief operating officer of LPL Financial, Esther Stearns participates directly in the strategic direction and oversight of all aspects of the firm. In addition, she is directly responsible for Business Technology Services, Broker\/Dealer Support Services, Custom Clearing Services, and Corporate Shared Service areas such as Corporate Communication, Strategic Planning, Sponsor Relations, and Human Capital.Ms. Stearns joined the company in 1996 as chief information officer. In this position, she led the build out of an advanced technology platform to help financial advisors manage and streamline their daily business processing. She was named COO in 2004 and president in 2007. Ms. Stearns was instrumental in building and packaging the Custom Clearing Services offering to provide back-end support services to broker\/dealer organizations.Prior to joining LPL Financial, Ms. Stearns worked at Charles Schwab for 14 years in a variety of leadership roles that include information technology, operations, managing surveillance, internal control, and credit.She is a member of the Independent Firms Committee of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Chicago, and is Series 7, 24, 27, and 63 registered.