Nick Engelbart

As the chief financial officer at Carson Group, Nick Engelbart describes his role as “splitting time between conventional CFO work, supporting the firm’s growth strategy and M&A.”

Engelbart, 33, has been CFO of the $21 billion Omaha, Nebraska-based mega-RIA for three years. He’s the youngest CFO in the firm’s history.

He manages a team of 23 people and expects to double that head count in the next five years.

Since becoming CFO in 2020, Engelbart has been responsible for leading Carson Group through more than 40 deals, ranging from full acquisitions and minority stake ownership deals to partner M&A.

One of the unique aspects of his success at Carson Group, especially with regard to his leading role in mergers and acquisitions, is that it’s his first job in financial services.

Before joining Carson Group, he worked at Intrado, an Omaha-based telecommunications company, where he also specialized in strategy and M&A.

A Nebraska native with a young family, Engelbart talks about Carson Group as if he’s been part of the company for decades, crediting his colleagues for his successes.

“What gives me the most energy and passion every day is the people; we have amazing people here at Carson,” he said. “I don’t know what the future holds, whether it’s the CFO role or another role, but I want to be in a role where I can make an impact.”

—Jeff Benjamin