West Monroe strengthens financial services practice with acquisition and senior appointments

West Monroe, a Chicago-headquartered management consulting firm, has bolstered its financial services sector with the acquisition of The Hartsema Group, the appointment of Brett Mastalli as banking practice leader, and the hiring of Wade Spencer as a managing director.
The Hartsema Group was founded in 2013 and is based in Columbus, OH. The boutique firm’s four partners work with regional banks and payment technology companies on building and managing customer advisory boards.
Doug Hartsema founded the consultancy after spending three decades in financial services. He was previously director of the treasury management business at Huntington National Bank, a managing director at JPMorgan, and head of treasury services at Wachovia.
"I am thrilled to bring The Hartsema Group into West Monroe, an organization that shares our values and commitment to the banking and payments industries," Hartsema said. "I'm confident this transition will deliver even greater resources and support to our clients."
Brett Mastalli succeeds interim banking practice leader Jordan Sternlieb, who will remain a senior partner in the banking practice and leader of West Monroe’s Los Angeles office.
Mastalli has 30 years of banking industry experience, including nearly nine years in the banking practice of West Monroe. He most recently led the firm’s banking team in New York. Mastalli has extensive experience advising on commercial lending transformation, digital bank modernization, customer experience design, and core banking solutions.
Prior to joining West Monroe, Mastalli was a senior manager at Accenture and an executive consultant at Charitnet & WebsiteMasters. Earlier in his career, Mastalli was an SVP at First Citizens Bank.
"Banks trust West Monroe to help them better understand their clients, become more agile, and unlock new value through technology," Mastalli said. "I'm honored to lead a talented team of financial services experts as we continue driving innovation and delivering meaningful results for our clients."
Wade Spencer joins the Chicago office as a managing director and leader of the wealth management practice. He will focus on helping wealth management businesses enhance advisor productivity, modernize operations, and leverage technology.
West Monroe expects to triple its wealth management client roster in the next two years on the back of industry demand for digital and modern solutions.
Spencer was previously a managing director at F2 Strategy, a wealthtech management consulting firm. Before that, he was an associate director at BCG, where he focused on digital transformation projects with wealth and asset management organizations.
Earlier in his career, Spencer was a director in the wealth management practice of accounting firm Plante Moran and a managing director at Schwab Advisor Services.
“With financial advising on the rise, wealth managers are scaling their businesses to meet clients' growing expectations for world-class experiences," Spencer said. "These are exciting times to deploy technology, data strategies, and AI to support the wealth management industry's organic and acquisitive growth."
Founded in 2002, West Monroe provides consulting in business operations, M&A, organization and people, customer engagement, product and experiences, and data and technology. The consulting firm has over 2,250 employees globally.