Chris Jay

Chris Jay is not the first financial advisor in his family.

But at Merrill Lynch, he represents a lot of firsts. At 35, he’s the youngest chair of the firm’s financial advisor advisory council to management. He’s also the first Black chair, and the first to be openly gay.

Jay started at Merrill as an intern in college, and today he leads a team working with 350 families with a total of about $3.5 billion in assets under management.

His career path started with a unique upbringing. He was adopted in Anchorage by a father, an advisor who helped open the first Merrill office in Alaska in the ’70s, and a mother who was the first Black flight attendant for Alaska Airlines.

“I attribute a drive to both of them being very hardworking, honest people,” Jay said of his inspirational role models. “We were always taught growing up that success only matters if it helps other people. Part of achieving is so that you’re setting an example.”

He had previously led Merrill’s NextGen Leadership Council, helping revamp and expand it to include Gen Z members. He’s served as a longtime chair of Blackpast.org, which is the largest free encyclopedia for Black history, and he also serves on the board of Seattle NPR affiliate KUOW.

“Hopefully,” Jay said, “I’m right here doing this in 20 or 30 years.”

—Emile Hallez