B. Riley Financial, Inc. announced that Scott Yessner has been appointed Chief Financial Officer, effective June 3, 2025. Mr. Yessner, age 55, who has served as a strategic advisor for B. Riley Financial for the past two months, will succeed Phillip Ahn, who is departing to pursue another opportunity. Mr. Yessner brings to B. Riley significant experience and a proven track record as the Chief Financial Officer of public and private companies, with a particular focus on leading corporate transformations.
He previously served as CFO of California Expanded Metal Products Company (CEMCO), where he helped the company improve EBITDA by $40 million over two years, which ultimately culminated in CEMCO's sale. Prior to that, he was the CFO of Universal Technical Institute where he oversaw a transformation that delivered $45 million improvement in EBITDA and during which time the company's stock price increased 250%. Earlier in his career, he served as a divisional Chief Financial Officer for several large diversified financial services companies, including Wells Fargo Advisors and MUFG Union Bank.
Mr. Yessner has held various finance and strategy roles at Jackson National Life Insurance Company. Mr. Yessner has also served as an advisor to private equity firms. Mr. Yessner received a B. A in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles and is a CPA licensed in CA.
