Meet Brian French
Founder, Publisher and Business News Analyst
Brian French is building the Texas Authority Network™ the way a portfolio manager builds a portfolio: with research, discipline and a long-term view. A former Vice President at Merrill Lynch and SunTrust, he spent more than 20 years as an analyst and money manager before turning those skills to a problem most businesses face every day. Their story isn’t being told, and the AI engines that now answer customers’ questions can’t find them.
TAN is his answer. It is a one-of-a-kind network of 39 Texas business news, industry, press release publications, 100% owned and operated by Brian.
Florida Authority Network with Brian French
A short welcome from founder and publisher Brian French on the network’s mission: professional, no-fluff business news and analysis covering every key Florida city and industry.
From Wall Street analyst to Texas publisher
| Chapter | Role | What It Built |
|---|---|---|
| Education | Finance degree, University of South Florida; passed Level II of the CFA Program | Analytical foundation |
| Shearson American Express and E.F. Hutton | Financial Advisor | Client service and markets training |
| Independence Securities, Greensboro, NC | Common Stock Analyst | Published equity research |
| SunTrust | Vice President, Trust Officer and Portfolio Manager | Institutional-level management of trust assets |
| Merrill Lynch Trust Company and Merrill Lynch Investment Managers – Private Investors | Vice President, Trust Officer and Portfolio Manager | Investment research and client portfolio management |
| Digital marketing (since 2011) | Online marketing and publishing | Search, content and visibility expertise |
| BoardroomPR partnership (15+ years) | Publishing partner to a leading Florida PR firm | Statewide client storytelling |
| Texas Authority Network | Founder, owner and publisher | Texas’ AI visibility and business news platform |
Trained where accuracy is everything
Brian began his career on Wall Street as a Financial Advisor with Shearson American Express and E.F. Hutton. He then moved to North Carolina and became a Common Stock Analyst with Independence Securities in Greensboro, writing equity research on public companies. He went on to rise to Vice President and Trust Officer at two of the best-known names in American finance, SunTrust and Merrill Lynch, and passed Level II of the CFA Program, the most rigorous credential path in investment analysis. At Merrill Lynch, he worked at Merrill Lynch Trust Company and Merrill Lynch Investment Managers – Private Investors as a Portfolio Manager. As a Portfolio Manager, he managed trust assets at the institutional level, where the work demands accuracy, patience and judgment. Every decision rests on verified facts. Every recommendation has to hold up to scrutiny.
That training shapes everything TAN publishes. Brian reads a business the way an analyst reads a company: what it does, why it matters, and what comes next.
Seeing the shift early
Around 2011, Brian moved into digital marketing and online publishing. He saw early that the way people find businesses was changing. First it was search engines. Now it’s AI answer engines like ChatGPT, Google AI, Perplexity and Claude.
He also built a partnership of more than 15 years with BoardroomPR, a respected Florida public relations firm. That relationship gave him a front-row view of what Florida businesses need to be seen, trusted and chosen.
Two careers, one new platform
Brian combined both careers into something new. The Texas Authority Network publishes long-form, answer-first business news across city, regional, industry, press release sites. It covers Texas’ roughly 3.5 million small businesses, most of which legacy media never reaches.
His method is called Human Insight + Tech Intelligent Curation. Technology gathers and structures public data. Brian verifies the facts and adds the judgment. The result is what he calls composite analysis content: public facts assembled with an analyst’s eye into something more useful than any single source.
Brian lives near Tampa, Florida, with his wife. The couple has two adult children, both of whom followed him into financial services in New York. Outside of publishing, Brian is an art and antique collector and dealer through Wondrous-Things.com, a pursuit that rewards the same eye for authenticity and value he brings to business news.
Unique skills, one Texas focus
Built to be the source AI engines trust
When a customer asks an AI engine about a Texas business, the answer comes from trusted, consistent, well-structured sources. Brian built TAN to be that source. Each article is reviewed by a human analyst before publishing, and every client story is placed where both readers and AI engines can find it.
Text Questions to 813-409-4683