Bob Hogan is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Ascension FG, LLC which he founded in 2022.  Ascension is focused on being the partner firm of choice to trust companies.  The company’s approach includes investing in select trust organizations, preserving their brand, and remaining committed to their independent way of doing business. Ascension also offers a robust infrastructure further helping partner trust companies leverage an efficient, high-performance operating platform.

Bob spent the first 10 years of his career at Price Waterhouse rising to the level of Senior Manager where he supported financial service companies. During his time with the firm, he was selected for a two-year “tour of duty” in the firm’s Brussels, Belgium office.

From 1991 to 1996, Bob worked at Salomon Brothers, where he rose to the position of General Auditor and was an administrative member of the Board of Directors.

In 1996, Bob was approached by NationsBank in North Carolina to join the bank. When NationsBank merged with Bank of America, Bob was asked to take on the role of Chief Operations Officer for Banc of America Securities.

During Bob’s time with Banc of America Securities, he moved his operations group to the 81st floor of One World Trade Center in New York City. Bob was present on the floor with his management team the morning of September 11, 2001. After his team of 150 associates exited, Bob was one of the last to leave the building. It took him nearly 1 hour and 10 minutes to get out and step onto the street.

After ten years with Bank of America, Bob was introduced to the Chairman of Capitol Bancorp Ltd. in 2005, who asked him to build out a wealth management business for the Bank. This was a turning point in Bob’s career, as he began directing much of his attention on business development and his entrepreneurial skills. Over the next 17 years, Bob founded three successful full-service wealth management and trust companies through organic growth and acquisitions, which includes:

• Capitol Bancorp Ltd. – Chief Executive Officer, Executive Management Committee Member, and Founder of Capitol Wealth Inc. (growing the business to +$1.5 billion in AUM/AUA);
• CertusBank, NA – Executive Vice President and Founder of the Wealth Group (also known as CertusWealth) which encompassed a nationally chartered trust company, a Broker/Dealer, a Registered Investment Advisor, an Insurance Agency, a Philanthropic business (including a 501c3), a Financial Planning practice and Family Office business (growing the business to +$1.2 billion in AUM/AUA);
• Advocacy, Inc. and Advocacy Trust LLC – Chief Executive Officer, President, and Founder of Advocacy which is a state-chartered trust company in Tennessee with reciprocity within 45 states and districts. Advocacy’s business is directed towards supporting people with special needs trusts and has been one of the fastest growing trust companies in the U.S. (growing the business to +$1.2 billion in AUM/AUA).

Bob is a graduate from the State University of New York at Geneseo, a Certified Public Accountant, NASD Series 7, 27, and 63 Registered, and Six Sigma certified. He was an associate professor at Boston University International in Brussels. In addition, Bob was the founder and coordinator of the Crusader Lacrosse Team for Christ the King High School. He also served as the Treasurer and Vice Chairman of Cannon School in Concord, NC.

Bob and his wife, Laura, met in high school and have been married for over 35 years. They’ve lived in the Lake Norman area for the past 27 years where they are active parishioners of St. Mark Church. They’ve raised 3 successful young adults, Bobby, Shannon, and Danny.