Chicago, Feb 20 — Morningstar, Inc. (Nasdaq: MORN), a leading provider of independent investing insights, has appointed Scott Brown as President, Direct Platform, effective March 2, 2026. Brown will lead Morningstar’s largest business segment and a core growth engine, with flagship products such as Morningstar Direct, Morningstar Data, and Direct Advisory Suite (the latest evolution of Advisor Workstation) and capabilities such as manager research and ratings embedded within it.
Brown brings more than two decades of experience building and scaling data platforms, modernizing legacy systems, and delivering technology-led and AI‑enabled products that support growth and operational excellence. He joins Morningstar from Experian, where he led a multi-billion-dollar portfolio across the Financial Services & Data and Marketing Services divisions, delivering technology-enabled growth.
While at Experian, Brown advanced the Ascend platform with AI product innovation, including the launch of Ascend Ops, an AI model deployment capability that was quickly adopted by over 50 institutions. He also oversaw the introduction of the Credit + Cashflow Score, the first combined credit score using consumer-permissioned banking data. Earlier in his career at Nielsen, he modernized its flagship audience measurement product line and spearheaded its cloud transformation.
“Direct Platform is central to how we empower clients with our unique intellectual property,” said Morningstar CEO Kunal Kapoor. “Scott has repeatedly scaled large data businesses, unified platforms, and built great products that translate into real client value. I expect his appointment to strengthen our ability to innovate at a time when demand for data and research content is surging, and as we grow our offerings to help investors navigate the increased choice and opportunities they face.”
At Morningstar, Brown plans to build on the strong foundation in place, advance platform capabilities, and deliver product enhancements faster across key client segments in asset and wealth management. He has a strong track record of unifying complex data ecosystems, including integrating streaming and television measurement at Nielsen and combining credit and banking data at Experian. This experience aligns with Morningstar’s vision to unify public and private market data, analytics, and tools for an AI-enabled marketplace.
“Morningstar has a clear mission and a strong foundation of trusted data and independent insights, which is a significant competitive advantage,” Brown said. “The opportunity is to accelerate how that advantage is delivered through a connected platform, faster product innovation, and AI-enabled capabilities that help clients navigate increasingly complex markets. I’m excited to work alongside the team to execute the vision and scale this business to the next level.”