Gavin Spitzner, the well known and outspoken advisor technology expert and consultant, died Monday after a short illness “that he battled bravely,” according to a statement released Tuesday by his family. He was 57.
“Gavin wanted all his friends, family and colleagues to know he died at peace without any regrets,” the family stated in a Twitter post.
Spitzner, who had launched his own firm, Wealth Consulting Partners, in 2015, had recently announced he was being treated for Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), a cancer of the blood and bone marrow.
Prior to starting his consultancy, he spent spent 16 years with Prudential Wealth Management Solutions and then another two years with the group after it was acquired by Envestnet.
Spitzner has also served on the boards of several advisortech startups, including most recently Lumiant and Bento Engine, and had also been a senior consultant for Invent.us the last 3 1/2 years.
He was very active in his non-work hours too, having volunteered as a youth basketball, softball and baseball coach and as a mentor for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. He graduated from Ohio State University with a bachelor of arts in behavioral science.
Last month, Spitzner appeared remotely at the 2022 MarketCounsel Summit. At the time, he was actively undergoing treatments for AML. He first realized something was wrong after feeling extremely fatigued, and, with further tests, doctors discovered he was anemic and eventually diagnosed him.
At the conference, Spitzner pledged to be open with co-workers and clients, and ended his consulting work immediately after the diagnosis, discussing treatment plans just a few days later.
He had been receiving outpatient chemotherapy since October 2022 and said at the time he was responding well. Spitzner also said he was also on track for a stem cell transplant and urged attendees to visit BeTheMatch.org, saying there remains a huge shortage of stem cell donors, particularly in the United States.
There was an outpouring of sympathy from the financial advisory community on social media upon hearing the news.
