PANELIST

Julia Richardson

SVP and General Counsel– Retirement Business, Benefits and Compensation, Raymond James

Julia graduated with her B.A. from Barnard College, Columbia University and J.D. from the George Washington School of Law.

Julia has over 17 years of experience in the financial industry with a focus on fiduciary services with both institutional and retail businesses. Her legal expertise extends to employee benefits and executive compensation within the human resources function. She leads the legal team with respect to these areas of expertise at Raymond James.

In addition to her daily responsibilities at Raymond James, Julia owns several breakfast franchises with her family and the plan is to expand. She has expertise in both the acquisition of businesses, selling, and funding. Julia has spoken on the topic of entrepreneurship and wealth building with focus on passive to semi-passive income as a way to do so. As she looks into the future, she has continued plans to acquire smaller businesses with a proven track record of profit with the major shift in wealth transfer that is currently underway.

Outside her professional and business pursuits, Julia was the recent co-lead for the National Women’s Inclusion Network for Raymond James. She mentors associates across the firm both through formal mentorship programs and informally. Julia is on the Board of Trustees for the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, FL where she serves on the Finance Committee, the Governance Committee, and most leads the Community Engagement Committee. Julia is the immediate past president of the Florida Security Dealers and Advisors Association (FSDA), the longest state led organization of its kind that focuses on the positive promotion of the Industry in the state of Florida with a focus on advocacy, collaboration and education.

In addition to her professional and community involvement, Julia is very close with her family. She has 3 siblings. She is the proud mom of two (Lauren, age 13, who is actively involved in volleyball and Ben, who enjoy anything adventurous, soon to be 9), and a dog mom.