Amy Webber is taking Cambridge to new heights

FAIRFIELD — One of the largest companies in Southeast Iowa is located just north of Fairfield in the form of Cambridge Investment Research.

The financial services company boasts more than 900 employees and over $1 billion in annual revenue. One of the people who has played an important role in the company’s growth is Amy Webber, its current Chief Executive Officer.

Webber became the CEO at Cambridge in 2017, taking the reins from the company’s founder Eric Schwartz, who now serves as Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors. Webber was recently honored for her leadership by WealthManagement.com, which named Webber CEO of the Year in the Broker-Dealers category at its 2022 Industry Awards held in New York City in early September.

Webber’s journey began in her home state of Wisconsin. In high school, she dreamed of becoming a corporate attorney, and leaving her small town behind for the Big Apple. At the age of 18, she moved to Madison to attend Madison Business College, which had a legal assistant program. She could attend classes in the morning, and do a work study program in the afternoon.

Webber left Wisconsin and got a job in Phoenix where she was Director of the Service Center for a large broker-dealer. After a stint in Arizona, she and her husband decided to relocate. Webber interviewed for jobs throughout the Midwest including in Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan, where her husband is from.

“My husband and I said we’d never come back to a small town, and here we are,” she said.

Webber got a job at Cambridge Investment Research in 1998. She remembers that she was employee No. 22, and that the company was doing about $7 million in revenue. It was a smaller company than the one she left behind in Phoenix, and she was taking a pay cut to move here. But she could see Cambridge’s potential for growth, and she liked the energy she saw.

“I’m a bit of a risk-taker, and I thought, ‘what’s the worst that could happen?’” she said. “I’ll just move again.”

Instead of moving, Webber has stayed put. She climbed the corporate ladder, becoming the president in 2008, and its CEO in 2017. During the time Webber has worked for Cambridge, its revenue has gone from $7 million to $1.4 billion today, and from 22 employees to 945.

According to her list of accolades compiled by WealthManagement.com, Webber served on the FINRA Board of Governors from 2017-2021, the Financial Services Institute Board of Directors, and has hosted the Cambridge Stronger podcast, where she interviews independent financial professionals and discusses industry trends.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com