Barron's Advisor Eleni Mavromati: What It Takes to Be a Great Wealth Management COO
Feb 24, 2026
Eleni Mavramati, Merrill private-wealth COO who oversees operations, HR and business development for a large team. She talks about the evolution of COO duties, daily orchestration of compliance and marketing, creative referral tactics like events, and the future focus on organization, AI and culture to boost team performance.
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Promote From Within To Preserve Culture
- Grooming talent internally preserves team culture and reduces risky external hires for cultural fit.
- The team trains analysts from undergrad through reviews, trust and estate work, then into client relationship manager roles.
Use Monthly Prospect Calls For Business Development
- Do build repeatable business development forums where teammates share prospects and best practices to move stalled leads forward.
- Eleni runs monthly prospect calls where senior partners mentor juniors and brainstorm stuck opportunities.
Women’s Hikes Turn Networking Into Referrals
- The team experimented with a women-focused hiking program to create informal networking that converted into referrals.
- A junior partner organized nature walks where women connected, became friends, and started referring clients to the team.