Investment consultancy LCG announces leadership succession plan

LCG Associates, a national investment consulting firm, on Monday announced James Challen will be named CEO and Claire Chotiner will be named president in 2024.

An 18-month leadership transition plan will see Challen and Chotiner succeed president and CEO Edward Johnson, who will retire at the end of 2024. Johnson has been at LCG since 2004 and has served as president since 2001 and as CEO since 2004.

Both Challen and Chotiner have 20+ years of experience in investment and are based in the firm’s Atlanta headquarters.

Challen has been at LCG since 2009, when he joined the firm as a consultant. He was named VP in 2013 and SVP in 2016. As lead consultant, Challen supports family offices, pensions, endowments, and foundations. He also conducts capital market and asset class research, investment manager due diligence, and special topical studies.

Before LCG, Challen worked at Morgan Keegan (now Raymond James), a wealth management and capital market firm, where he was latterly first VP of the manager due diligence group. In the role, he led a team that made investment recommendations for institutional and private clients. Before that, he held roles in research at the firm.

Challen began his career at Remtech Services, where he was a financial analyst.

He has a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Colorado and is a chartered financial analyst and chartered alternative investment analyst.

Chotiner joined LCG in 2007 as investment analyst, and was promoted to VP in 2011. She has served as chief operating officer since 2021. In addition to her COO responsibilities, Chotiner also works with a limited number of clients and conducts capital market and asset class research. She is also a member of the board of directors and chairs the DEI and technology committees.

Before joining LCG, Chotiner held client service, marketing, and sales roles at Donaldson & Co (now Getco), a soft-dollar and commission recapture specialist.

She has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Georgia and is a chartered financial analyst and chartered alternative investment analyst.

“The Board and I are excited to watch James and Claire lead the firm through the next several decades. We're fully confident that these two will excel in their new roles," said Johnson. "Their success not only in client-relationships, but also in managing internal teams, in addition to supporting all LCG departments are a few of the many reasons the Board has voted James and Claire as our company's next leaders."

LCG recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. Initially founded to advise on defined benefits, the employee-owned firm today provides a range of consulting and research services to foundations, endowments, corporations, nonprofits, and private investors.

LCG’s offerings span alternative investments, asset/liability analysis, ESG, investment policy development, outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) services, performance reporting, and vendor search.

The firm has 36 full-time employees across offices in Atlanta, Dallas, and Seattle.

"On behalf of the entire team, we want to express our congratulations to Ed on his upcoming retirement. We sincerely appreciate Ed for his dedication to the firm, its employees, and our clients over the past 34 years,” said Challen. “Claire and I are committed to continuing Ed's legacy and will strive to ensure LCG continues to provide excellent, customized service to each of our clients.”

LCG earlier this year welcomed Christopher Philips as SVP and leader of the OCIO practice.