ETF Leader Krisko Passes Away

Denise Krisko, President and Co-Founder of Vident Investment Advisory (VIA) and an ETF industry leader and legend, died unexpectedly on June 10th.

Ms. Krisko made an indelible impact on the index management and ETF industry over her more than two decades in the space, most recently as President and Co-Founder of VIA, which she helped build into one of the largest and most successful providers of ETF sub-advisory services and other key offerings for the investment management industry.

Prior to co-founding VIA, she was the Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director at Index Management Solutions, and she also previously held senior positions with Mellon Capital Management, BNY Asset Management, Northern Trust, and Deutsche Asset Management, after having begun her career with The Vanguard Group.

Ms. Krisko will be succeeded on an interim basis by Vince Birley. Vince Birley is the co-founder of Vident Financial, the parent of VIA. Mr. Birley has more than 30 years of financial services industry experience and will be assisted by VIA’s experienced Executive Committee and team of portfolio managers.

Ms. Krisko graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a BS in Economics and later earned an MBA in Finance from Villanova. She also held the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. Throughout her career, Ms. Krisko made a point of mentoring the next generation of women leaders in the asset and index management industries, first as a leader in BNY Mellon’s Women Initiative Network and also as a senior leader of Women in ETFs. Among her many honors and accolades, Ms. Krisko was named one of the Top Women in Asset Management by SourceMedia and Money Management Executive in 2019.

Ms. Krisko is survived by her husband, Robert, and son, Christopher. Ms. Krisko was a resident of Harding, NJ. The family is asking for privacy at this time.