When most people think of the financial services industry, the first words that come to mind aren’t usually trust, ethics, or humanity. Too often, the industry has been defined by profit margins, product pushing, and high-pressure sales tactics — not by a deep commitment to serving others. But for Proxy Financial’s co-founder and CEO, CJ Davidson, that old model just doesn’t cut it. He’s building something entirely different — a business rooted in integrity, collaboration, and a belief that success only matters when it empowers both clients and advisors to live fulfilled lives.
When I sat down with CJ for C-Suite Success, what immediately stood out was his humility. Here’s a leader who has built a company spanning 19 major cities, nine states, and three countries, yet he still approaches each conversation with incredible gratitude and solidly grounded foundation. “When you’re in the middle of building something — creating a dream — you get lost in the day-to-day sometimes,” he reflected. “It’s really healthy to understand that it’s not just about what happened today, but the net effect of the bigger thing you’re committed to.”
That “bigger thing” — his mission — was born from experience. Early in his career at MetLife, CJ believed he’d found his lifelong path. “I was all in,” he said with a laugh. “My parents even named their dogs after Snoopy.” But when corporate mergers shifted the culture and direction of the company, CJ found himself swimming upstream. “I saw a different side of the industry,” he explained. “And it really didn’t sit well with me. The rules were written for corporate profitability, not for the well-being of the advisor or the client.”
It was in that moment of disillusionment that Proxy Financial began to take shape — not yet as a company, but as a vision. CJ and his team asked a powerful question: If we could build a career and live the life we imagined, what would that look like? The answer wasn’t about breaking into a new market or finding a faster way to scale. It was about redefining what it means to do good business.
“At Proxy, we’re trying to build an environment where advisors can be their most genuine selves,” CJ said. “We want to create a system where doing the right thing is not only possible — it’s profitable.” He believes in giving advisors the tools and freedom to build their own businesses with integrity, not just serve as employees chasing quotas. “Our advisors want to take you by the hand, guide you, and be of counsel. That’s who they are at their core. And the companies that enable that don’t just monetize it — they support it.”
This spirit of disruption runs deep in Proxy’s DNA. CJ jokes that one of his and his co-founder, Bryan Caulkins’, favorite mantras is, “Let’s try to break the system.” What he means is: let’s challenge the outdated structures that put profits before people and create something that works better — for everyone involved. “If you’re honest, if you have integrity, and you put the client first,” he said, “it’s impossible for us all not to win.”
But building something different takes courage — and patience. “Doing it the right way, what we call the Proxy Way, takes time,” CJ shared, adding, “There are no shortcuts.” For him, that lesson has been learned the hard way. “I’m naturally impatient,” he admitted. “When things become clear, I want them done. But I’ve learned that consistency, commitment, and staying true to our mission is what builds something that lasts.”
Even with Proxy’s rapid growth, CJ remains deeply reflective. “It’s easy to lose focus on where you started,” he said. “If I’m not careful, I’ll look back and realize I didn’t appreciate everything that was good about right now. The energy, the learning, the people — those are the moments that matter.”
When I asked CJ about his first taste of success, his answer wasn’t about hitting a sales milestone or opening a new office. It was about connection. “It was the first time I met with a client and realized this was about something much deeper than finance,” he recalled. “I had this human-to-human moment where I understood the real value I was providing. What we do is real. We’re one of the most important resources in a person’s life to help them fulfill the life they’ve imagined. It’s not about money — it’s about being useful.”
That concept — being useful — sits at the heart of CJ’s leadership. He believes that when you lead with service and empathy, financial success becomes a natural outcome. “It makes me happy to help people,” he said. “There’s nothing better than seeing someone achieve what they didn’t think they could because you cared enough to guide them there.”
As Proxy continues to grow, CJ’s excitement today comes from something new: watching others lead. “I’m learning how empowering it is to have a team that does things better than I used to do them,” he said with a grin. “It’s incredible to see talented people who believe in the mission and bring it to life in ways I couldn’t have imagined.” He describes Proxy’s culture as a “sculpture that hasn’t hardened yet” — a living, evolving creation that everyone has a hand in shaping. “I want everyone’s fingerprints on it before it sets,” he said. “Years from now, I want them to be able to look at what we’ve built together and say, ‘I had my hands on that.’”
That sentiment captures everything CJ stands for: collaboration over competition, people over profit, and purpose over position. A reminder that the most powerful disruption in business doesn’t come from technology or market timing, but from the courage to do the right thing and the patience to see it through.
As CJ so perfectly put it, “If you have integrity and do the right thing, it’s impossible not to be successful.”
You can listen to the full interview on C-Suite Radio or watch the entire conversation on C-Suite TV.
