Susan John, CFP® Leads CFP Board’s Board of Directors

At the start of this New Year, Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards welcomes Susan John, CFP® as the new Chair of the Board of Directors.  She will lead the professional standard-setting body during an exciting period of growth and change as it implements the new Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct for CFP® professionals.

“These are exciting times to be a CFP® professional,” said John. “One in four financial advisors in the United States holds CFP® certification. With the implementation of the new Code and Standards this year, the certification will hold even greater value to the public, firms and stakeholders alike as all CFP® professionals will be required to act as a fiduciary whenever they provide financial advice.

John is the Founder and President of Financial Focus, Inc., a firm she started in 1995 that provides comprehensive planning services to northern New England professionals, retirees, and families. She earned her CFP® certification in 1989 and has been on CFP Board’s Board of Directors since 2016.

She has a long and distinguished record of achievement in the financial planning profession including serving as Chair of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) in 2010, where she led a variety of efforts to raise the profile and impact of the membership organization.

One of her great accomplishments at NAPFA was helping to form the Financial Planning Coalition, a collaboration between the three major financial planning organizations in the United States, which also includes the Financial Planning Association and CFP Board.

“Susan is known within the profession as a forward-thinking and effective leader,” said CFP Board CEO Kevin R. Keller, CAE. “We will rely on her steady leadership as we implement the new Code and Standards and continue on our path of facilitating Americans’ access to CFP® professionals.”