Executive Team

John Birrenkott

Founder and President

John Birrenkott is founder and president of WealthBook, a Web 2.0 software-as-a-service solution for professional advisors. He founded WealthBook in 2007 with a vision of integrating families with their trusted advisors and creating an online platform to empower professional advisors with a tool for serving clients and growing their practice.

Birrenkott’s experience in the financial services industry provided the insight for the revolutionary concept of WealthBook. By leveraging the power and flexibility of the Internet, he seized an opportunity to build a secure, online environment where a team of professional advisors can work on behalf of their shared clients. The net result: professional advisors can render superior client service with enhanced, 360-degree insight into the needs of each client portfolio. In addition, WealthBook creates a natural environment for reaching out to new clients and colleagues through trusted introductions.

Prior to founding WealthBook, Birrenkott was a First Vice President—Investments at UBS Financial Services and Wealth Management Advisor at Merrill Lynch Global Private Client Group. Birrenkott also is a 15-year technology veteran with domestic and international business experience with Microsoft Corporation and Rockwell International.

Birrenkott received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology in 1989. Married and father to two young children, Birrenkott stays busy when he’s not behind the helm at WealthBook. However, he still manages to find time for being an avid golfer and professional musician.

Peter J. Baird

Vice President of Sales and Consulting

Peter Baird brings almost 20 years of sales and general management experience in the financial software industry to the WealthBook team. Baird has served on the executive team of four software startups, giving him a valuable perspective on heading up WealthBook’s sales and consulting initiatives.

His professional background includes financial advisory experience with high-net-worth portfolios, and he currently holds NASD Series 7, 66, and 31 licenses. Baird is licensed for insurance and is licensed as an International Wealth Advisor.

Prior to joining WealthBook, Baird served as Managing Director of Greencoat, which provides IT infrastructure, strategic planning, and vendor relations consulting services to the Broker/Dealer and higher education communities. Baird previously worked at Merrill Lynch, UBS, and JPMorgan/Chase as a financial advisor with the primary responsibility of building tailored financial plans for high-net-worth individuals and their companies.

His sales and management experience in the high-tech industry includes positions at Corillian Corporation, Accelr8 Technology, and Formation Technologies. Baird holds a BS in Business from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and serves as an Executive Board Member for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.

Ben Creighton

COO, Senior Vice President of Consulting

With a rich history in management consulting, Ben Creighton brings 20 years’ experience to WealthBook as COO and Senior Vice President of Consulting. His career is characterized by successfully solving business problems and producing significant improvements in operations, supply chain, and sales in the finance, investment, consulting, and technology industries.

Prior to joining WealthBook, Creighton was a managing partner at Sambelex Capital/Key Consulting, where he delivered entrepreneurial leadership, engagement management, strategic consulting, fundraising, negotiations, and project management. Other career highlights include a management role at Bearingpoint (a sourcing and supply chain management consulting group) and a consulting engagement with Broadlane, which provides healthcare sourcing and technology development. Creighton’s early career is marked by a lengthy term at IBM, where he led a sales team and managed many large-scale projects.

Creighton holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Ohio State University and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

John Katzenberg

Chief Financial Officer

John has spent his business career in the financial services industry providing advice to a sophisticated client base. Prior to joining WealthBook, he was a Managing Director and one of the founding members of the sponsor coverage group in the investment bank at Citigroup. For 16 years John advised private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies on capital formation, mergers & acquisitions, and strategic growth initiatives. He worked extensively with growing and transitioning small, medium and large companies where he partnered with management to implement change.

John also spent eight years as a real estate investment specialist at CB Richard Ellis, where he helped build the first investment property specialization group in the Boston office. He focused exclusively on the purchase and sale of office, retail and multi-unit residential buildings.

John is a graduate of Tufts University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Soviet Studies. He also received an MBA from Harvard Business School.

John is a member of the Denver advisory board for Facing History and Ourselves, an organization that delivers classroom strategies, resources and lessons that inspire young people to take responsibility for their world. In addition, he is on the board of the Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado. He is a loyal and lifelong member of Red Sox nation as well as an avid follower of all Boston sports teams.