In a recent announcement to our clients we introduced Zach Horn, MBA, CFP® as our new Managing Partner and President of the Board. (In case you missed it, you can read about our recent leadership changes here.)
Zach has been with Foster & Motley for over 12 years, starting as a Trader and progressing to Investment Manager and eventually becoming a Shareholder of the firm. Whether you have a relationship with him already or this is your first introduction, we think you will learn something new from the interview we recently did with him. We hope you enjoy getting to know our new Managing Partner!
Q: As you take on the role of Managing Partner, what are you most excited about?
A: I am most excited to help continually develop and pursue Foster & Motley’s vision and continue the great legacy Dave Foster & Mark Motley have built. We pride ourselves on being an independent firm that puts our clients’ interests first. Our purpose is to understand the life clients envision and objectively act to achieve it. We do that by hiring and developing an incredibly talented team that believes in that purpose and shares a culture of providing the highest quality service to our clients. I am fortunate to work with an amazing group of dedicated individuals who make Foster & Motley unique and we are fortunate to serve wonderful clients that value our services and our trusted relationships.
Q: As you think about the coming year, what are some goals that you hope to accomplish?
A: I’ll break my goals down into three categories: Family, Professional and Personal…
My family goals for this year and next include helping my son, Zion, have a successful Kindergarten year. I want to be sure that as he starts his education, we set the right foundation for learning and relationship building. Also, my wife Lindsay and I are working with my youngest son, Miles, to become fully conversational. Miles is a talker and is learning and repeating new words every day. And I want to continue investing in the strong partnership I have with Lindsay, raising our family and encouraging her to spend time doing things she loves.
My professional goals for the current year include developing a high level of comfort and confidence in my new role as Managing Partner. I am surrounded by experienced, talented, supportive people and I look forward to learning as much as I can from others and from my own experiences. I would like to participate in more public speaking opportunities. This is something I have not yet done a lot of and I look forward to doing more as the opportunities arise. It takes me outside my comfort zone a little bit and that’s a good thing in my opinion. I love to read, and I make time for that, but I would like to find time to write more – both professionally and personally. We provide a lot of great articles and information on our firm’s Insights page and I look forward to contributing to this more.
My personal goal for the next year, or however long it takes, is to consistently break 100 out on the golf course! I love golf but it doesn’t love me. My brothers and I get our poor golf game from our dad so usually a score under 100 will win when the four of us are playing. I just need to find the time to play and practice more, so my game isn’t too embarrassing.
Q: Let’s go back to the beginning, tell us about what life was like for you growing up.
A: My family and I moved from Tipp City, Ohio to Centerville, Ohio when I was in the 4th grade. My parents found Centerville to be home and this is where they raised a family and still live. My mom was a librarian in the school district and my dad was the City Manager. My parents kept my brothers and I busy with sports, school and being involved in the community. Both my parents were very involved in our lives; my mom kept us organized and made sure we were where we needed to be on time and had everything that we needed, while my dad coached us in sports and tried to keep us in line.
Q: What is one lesson you learned from each of your parents?
A: My mom is a very caring person, she taught my brothers and me compassion and how to be a good person. My dad taught us to be hard working and frugal; for me that that translated into understanding the value of a dollar. I guess my interest in finance started early!
Q: Tell us more about you growing up – what were your interests, what kind of jobs did you have?
A: I was somewhat shy and reserved when I was young but competitive when it came to sports. I have always enjoyed reading as well so you would generally find me carrying around a ball or a book. I played football and basketball but my favorite sport to play was baseball… so of course I hoped to become a professional baseball player for the Cincinnati Reds. As I grew up, my parents encouraged me to work. I worked at restaurants in all types of roles - serving, busing tables, and washing dishes. I worked for UPS running packages to doors during the holidays and even tried driving a paper route, but I couldn’t get up that early for long!
Q: Tell us a little more about your wife and kids.
A: My wife Lindsay and I have been married for 9 years. We live in Mason with our two sons, Zion who is 5 and Miles who is 2. They are both starting to get into sports and I’m grateful that I’m able to be involved like my dad was and coach their teams. Both Lindsay’s parents and my parents live close by, so the boys are fortunate to spend a lot of time with their grandparents. Lindsay was a school teacher for 10 years and now stays home raising our boys. We value our family time and make it a habit to have family dinner together nightly.
Q: What is a piece of advice you would give your boys?
A: Treat others with kindness and respect. I want my boys to value relationships, to hold on to the good ones and make the most of them. I hope they learn to be confident in themselves and focus on what makes them happy, and relationships with other people are a big part of that.
Q: Thanks for sharing about the personal side of things! Let's chat a bit about you, what led you to your career and specifically with Foster & Motley?
A: My finance education helped lead me to where I am today. I was always curious about investments and the finance industry, so I started working in a job that was related to sales and finance in the Columbus area. That job provided great insight on what I wanted to do in the future as well as what I didn’t want to do. I left that job to move to Cincinnati to be with my future wife, and I took the first and only job I interviewed for which was with Foster & Motley as the Securities Trader for the firm. As I moved up in my career on the Investment Management team, I enjoyed getting more involved in the management aspect of the business as well. To further develop business knowledge, I attended night classes at Xavier and earned my MBA with a concentration in finance. Several years ago, I was presented with the opportunity to be a Shareholder of the firm and have become more and more involved with management of the business ever since.
Q: How do you keep a healthy work/life balance?
A: I try my best to be present in the moment. For me that means using vacation time wisely and focusing on my family when I am away from the office. It also means focusing on work when I am in the office. Knowing that Foster & Motley has a culture that values family as I do is very helpful - I know that when things come up with my family, I will have the flexibility that I need.
Q: What is most rewarding about your job, or jobs rather, now that you are adding a high level of firm leadership to your role as Investment Advisor?
A: Building relationships and watching those around me find success in their lives is the reason I come into work everyday. Having the opportunity to see our clients work towards their goals and celebrate with them as they are achieved is something that we all look forward to here at Foster & Motley. Additionally, I value the relationships I have with my colleagues. I enjoy helping them find their passion and utilizing their talents to grow professionally, serve clients, and contribute to the firm’s success. I am grateful for the opportunity I’ve been given with this new leadership role and am excited to play a bigger part in our employees’ growth as well as learn from them along the way.
Q: It's clear that you have a deep love for your family and the roles you hold at Foster & Motley. What is something you are passionate about outside of work, family, and of course, improving your golf score?
A: I love to be involved in the community and in organizations. One example is Rotary International, which brings together past and present business and professional leaders in order to provide humanitarian services and advance goodwill locally and around the world. Specifically, I am a member of the Mason/Deerfield Rotary Club and one current project we are all proud to be raising funds for is to build Common Ground playground in Mason, an all-inclusive playground designed for all children to play together including those with disabilities. I am also active with Ohio University’s Alumni Association as a director of the board. I really enjoy connecting with different generations of alumni and giving back to the University.
Let’s end with a few Fun Facts that we learned about Zach through this interview process!
- My favorite meal is a filet cooked medium with any kind of potatoes. Lots of great options in Cincinnati but Jeff Ruby’s is a treat!
- I used to play the clarinet and drums.
- Two bucket list items are to see all 32 major league stadiums with my boys, and travel to Europe with Lindsay.
- My favorite book as a child was The Giver and my favorite books today are anything by Malcom Gladwell to really get me thinking and any of Dan Brown’s books for entertainment.
Lastly, I am beyond grateful for the opportunity I have to impact the lives of employees and the clients of Foster & Motley!