
Relentless, Relevant, and Ready: Orion Ascent Recap with Jessica Perez
From Next Mile by Milemarker
March 10, 2026 · 31 min
About this episode
Kyle Van Pelt interviews Jessica Perez about key lessons from the Orion Ascent conference and the importance of a relentless mindset in wealth management technology.
Episode 135: This week, Kyle Van Pelt talks with Jessica Perez, VP of Growth at Milemarker. Jessica brings a boots-on-the-ground perspective to the wealth management technology space, working directly with advisory firms to help them unlock the full potential of their data. Kyle and Jessica recap key lessons from the Orion Ascent conference, where the central theme was “Relentless”—a mindset focused on continuous improvement across technology, client experience, and firm operations. They discuss how advisors can avoid the overwhelm that often follows large industry events and instead identify one or two meaningful priorities to pursue. Jessica also shares her perspective on evaluating technology partners, embracing innovation like AI without chasing every trend, and focusing on the changes that truly move an advisory firm forward. In this episode: (00:00) - Intro (01:28) - Orion Ascent recap (03:15) - How advisors can apply a relentless mindset without getting distracted (07:29) - The "AI frenzy" and improving client experience through smarter technology (10:29) - How AI conversations are shaping advisor technology strategy (13:24) - From tinkering to transformation (15:02)…
People in this episode
Host: Kyle Van Pelt
Guest: Jessica Perez
Topics covered
- wealth management technology
- continuous improvement
- advisor technology strategy
- data sharing
- client experience
- evaluating technology partners
Keywords
- Orion Ascent
- wealth management
- technology partners
- AI innovation
- client experience
- data integration
- advisory firms
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Milemarker, AI
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