Gateway Financial Partners, a Glastonbury, Conn.–based large office of supervisory jurisdiction of LPL Financial with $6.5 billion in assets under advisement, has hired Christian Widen, a former senior vice president of business development at CircleBlack, as its director of business development.

Widen has over 25 years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to his time at CircleBlack, he was a business development officer Charles Schwab for nine years. He also has business development experience at Pershing, RBC Wealth Management and Fidelity.

Related: LPL OSJ Gateway Financial Partners Introduces Equity Participation Program

Widen will report directly to David Wood, founder and chief visionary officer of Gateway, who said his appointment is part of a strategic plan to boost the firm’s recruiting efforts. Widen has experience scaling businesses within the RIA space.

Gateway currently has about 170 advisors. Last year, the firm launched an equity ownership program for its financial advisors and employees. Under the Gateway Growth Partnership, the OSJ will take a 15%-20% revenue stake in the advisor’s practice, in exchange for a combination of cash and equity in Gateway’s holding company.

In 2022, Gateway acquired Advisors’ Pride, another LPL OSJ, in Appleton, Wis. The deal represented Gateway’s first major OSJ acquisition.