Brett Rees

Brett Rees is an accomplished financial services executive and trusted advisor with more than 30 years of experience helping business owners, corporate executives, entrepreneurs, and boards navigate complex financial, strategic, and governance decisions. His career spans middle-market commercial banking, corporate finance, private wealth management, executive leadership, and board governance, providing him with a unique perspective on the financial and operational challenges facing privately held businesses.

Brett began his career in middle-market commercial banking, where he advised privately owned companies on business lending, capital structure, cash flow management, credit analysis, and financing strategies to support growth, acquisitions, and expansion. Working closely with business owners and executive management teams established the foundation for his expertise in corporate finance, financial oversight, business strategy, and long-term value creation.

Building on that foundation, Brett spent more than two decades in senior executive leadership positions within the financial services industry. During his 25-year tenure at Northern Trust, Brett held several senior executive leadership positions, including National Director of Sales for the Wealth Management Group, where he led national sales strategy, business development, talent acquisition, executive compensation design, and strategic growth initiatives across the organization. He later served as President of the Mid-Atlantic Markets and Regional Executive for the firm’s Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) Advisory Practice across the Eastern Region, where he was responsible for expanding the firm’s regional presence, leading multidisciplinary teams, and advising successful business owners, executives, foundations and families on complex financial, governance, and succession matters. Brett currently serves as a Managing Director and Wealth Consultant with Waldron Private Wealth, where he advises closely held businesses, corporate executives, and ultra-high-net-worth families on sophisticated financial strategies, governance, succession planning, and long-term wealth preservation.

Throughout his career, Brett has partnered with founders, owners, executive leadership teams, and boards of directors to strengthen financial oversight, corporate governance, financial controls, risk management, strategic planning, succession planning, capital allocation, ownership transition, and long-term enterprise value creation. He has extensive experience evaluating financial performance, conducting financial due diligence, assessing strategic growth opportunities, reviewing capital investment decisions, and advising organizations through mergers, acquisitions, and other transformational business objectives.

Brett is recognized for combining disciplined financial oversight with practical business judgment, enabling leadership teams to make informed strategic decisions that strengthen organizational performance and create sustainable long-term value.

Brett has demonstrated a longstanding commitment to fiduciary leadership and strong governance through his service on numerous nonprofit boards. He most recently served as Trustee, Audit Committee Chair, and Executive Committee member of Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens in Washington, D.C. He previously served as Finance Chair, Executive Committee member, and Advisory Board member of the Virginia Funders Network and has held board leadership positions with numerous educational, arts, human services, and community organizations.

Brett earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin. Drawing on more than three decades of executive leadership and advisory experience, he provides boards and executive management teams with an independent perspective on financial stewardship, corporate governance, strategic planning, succession, financial due diligence, and the disciplined management of corporate assets to support long-term growth and shareholder value.