The path to Unrivaled

Making an impact for our clients, co-workers and community.

A different approach

Everything an IMO should NOT be — that’s what Cody and David experienced while working for a traditional IMO. They realized the industry needed a shakeup, that advisors deserved better. While sitting around Cody's kitchen table, they envisioned an IMO where every department, product and service was built around advisors’ needs. Fully independent like the advisors they served, no private equity. From that vision, Advisors Excel was born and became the fastest-growing IMO in the country — the only one of our kind.

Experience Different

Unrivaled Partnership

Our way of doing business transformed the entire financial services industry — and we’re just getting started.

Meet the Founders

Cody Foster

Founder

Cody Foster is a co-founder of Advisors Excel, an industry-leading marketing organization assisting independent insurance agents and financial advisors around the country.

He is originally from Stockton, Kansas, and graduated from Washburn University in 1999 with a degree in mass media.

Immediately out of college, Cody joined the financial services arena as the director of marketing for a corporately owned, national field marketing organization. With a passion to pursue something larger and help others succeed, he and close friends David Callanan and Derek Thompson opened the doors to Advisors Excel in 2005, chasing a dream to redefine their industry.

Cody and his wife, Jennifer, were married in September 2001 and have two wonderful children, Dylan and Ella. Cody’s involvement with his family and his responsibilities with Advisors Excel leave him limited time for other passions, but when such pockets are available, you’ll find him pursuing his interest in real estate, tucked away in a great book or cheering on his beloved Kansas State University Wildcats.

Check out cody’s podcast

David Callanan

Founder

David Callanan is a co-founder of Advisors Excel, the nation’s leading independent marketing organization assisting independent insurance agents and financial advisors around the country.

David is a native of Benton, Kansas, a small town just northeast of Wichita. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in management and marketing from Washburn University in 1998, entering the financial services industry the following year.

David served as director of annuity sales for a large, corporately owned insurance marketing organization. Under his guidance, the company’s annuity volume skyrocketed from roughly $400 million to just under $1 billion in 2004. Convinced that more was possible, David joined college friends Derek Thompson and Cody Foster in 2005 and formed Advisors Excel.

David and his wife, Karlun, were married in September 2003 and have been blessed with two beautiful girls, Chloe and Jolie. A die-hard University of Kansas fan, you can often find David courtside, rooting for his Kansas Jayhawks when he isn’t soaking up time with family or friends.

FEARLESS. ADVENTUROUS. TENACIOUS.

Our Community

Making an impact

We’re incredibly blessed as an organization and believe it is our duty to make a big impact on the community that helped us get to where we are. Every quarter, our employees take time from their workday to volunteer for one of the many organizations we partner with to serve within our five pillars of community engagement.