Jesse MacDonald

Jesse MacDonald, TFO Wealth Partners’ Chief Marketing Officer, views his journey to TFO as a series of fortunate events that guided him to the life-changing decision to join the organization.

Originally from Burlington, Ontario Canada, Jesse attended college in Tennessee before moving to Ohio with his then-fiancé (now wife) to pursue his graduate studies. As a former college tennis player, Jesse looked for a local tennis club to join and ended up being hired as the head professional. It was here that Jesse met TFO Wealth Partners Founder and Member, Cleves Delp.

“If I would have found a different tennis club to join, I wouldn’t have met Cleves, which changes my family’s entire life,” Jesse marveled. “Soon before I graduated from graduate school, I asked for Cleves’ help in how to best prepare for finding a new career. I had no idea, right there in that office, I was being interviewed. Despite not knowing the exact role I could play within the company, I was offered a job on the spot.”

Jesse started in 2009, being tasked with helping the company develop a firm-wide training program for new hires. Shortly after, he transitioned into the company’s life insurance business by directing operations for the Exclusive Marketing Organization, a national life insurance producer group. Jesse was then asked to lead TDC Energy, a subspecialty helping commercial businesses manage and reduce their energy costs.

“While I loved the different ways I was able to help the business, my passion had always been for marketing. The leadership at TFO recognized this and entrusted me to grow a marketing division within the company, a role I was thrilled to take on.” Under Jesse’s direction, the marketing team continued to grow, bringing on graphic design and digital creative talent. Before long, the new team became a vital part of the TFO firms.

Over the years, Jesse has also been tasked with leading the ideation and/or creation of several proprietary systems and programs TFO uses with its client families. This includes the development of a gamified financial literacy program for next-gen learners called RightTrak. This program has also been adopted by several high schools, and college athletic program to expand the impact of its financial literacy to more students. Jesse also led the development of the firm’s financial wellness program, LiveWell, and more recently helped in the implementation of its life fulfillment assessment tool, the Fulfillment Index.

“At TFO, I’m blessed to be part of a team that embraces constant change. My journey within TFO certainly hasn’t been linear, but I’ve learned and grown so much by touching so many different parts of the business. We are always thinking of new ways to make our clients’ lives better and new challenges to take on, and that has permeated through the TFO team. Leadership is always thinking that way, and this ultimately means an abundance of opportunities for our people. It’s led to a lot of folks being here for a long, long time,” Jesse said. “If you’re a hardworking, self-initiating team player who wants a challenging and fun work atmosphere where leadership encourages personal growth and opportunity, TFO is the long-term place for you.”