InvestOps USA 2025
March 10 - 12, 2025
JW Marriott Grande Lakes, Orlando
Main Day 1 - Tuesday, March 28th
7:45 am - 8:30 am
Conference Registration
8:30 am - 8:35 am
Welcome Address: Rory Pilbrow, Editorial Director, WBR
8:35 am - 8:45 am
Chairperson’s Opening Remarks: Charlie Dwyer, Consultant, Cutter Associates
DEFINING THE OPERATING MODEL OF THE FUTURE
8:45 am - 9:20 am
Head of Investment Operations Keynote Panel: Future-proofing your investment operations: How can you build a best-in-class operating model to effectively respond to new market dynamics, regulatory demands and the fast-evolving technology landscape?
Dennis Mackey -
Managing Director, Head of Data & Process Solutions,
State Street Global Advisors
Cinda Whitten -
Global Head of Investment Operations,
Nuveen, a TIAA company
Jesse Robinson -
Head of Investment Operations,
Lord, Abbett & Co.
Evan Fire -
COO,
Pzena Investment Management
Jon Gezotis -
Managing Director, Head of Fund Services- North America & Global co-Head of Middle Office,
Citi
- What are the major market trends that the buy side need to respond to remain competitive, meet investor needs and retain market share?
- Evaluating tech game changers: What are the latest service offerings under development and how are they set to radically improve investment operation processes, transform the client experience and drive overall firm performance?
- What are the major people, process, and tech considerations that the buy side must consider when building the roadmap for a next generation operating model?
- What are the core operational capabilities and competencies that COOs should be prioritising over the next 2-3 years?
Dennis Mackey
Managing Director, Head of Data & Process SolutionsState Street Global Advisors
Jon Gezotis
Managing Director, Head of Fund Services- North America & Global co-Head of Middle OfficeCiti
9:20 am - 9:55 am
All Star Panel: Accelerating your digital transformation journey: How can you launch a digital roadmap that leverages the latest data and tech capabilities to streamline your operations and enable your function to focus on value-add tasks?
Jeff Ryan -
Director Process Automation COE,
BlackRock
James Kearney -
Global Head of Investment Operations,
Vanguard
Matthew Kelly -
SVP Global Head of Digitization & Automation,
Northern Trust Asset Management
Walter Joyce -
MD, Head of Investment Services,
TIAA
John Lehner -
President,
FundGuard
- How to build a comprehensive picture of the tech trends disrupting the market and understand where your firm could benefit from the latest digital innovations
- How to define your firm’s long terms digital vision – What do you want to achieve and how will you get there?
- How can you identify operational weaknesses and keep pace with the latest tech developments to identify the relevant tools set to enhance operational efficiencies?
- How to pilot and scale digital transformation projects across a global firm to maximize impact and drive greater value?
9:55 am - 10:15 am
Keynote Fireside Chat: Transforming the Client Lifecycle
Darren Thomas -
Senior Vice President, Regulatory & Compliance Business,
S&P Global Market Intelligence
Uday Kiran Bolusani -
VP Global Middle Office,
Fidelity
Laura Jacques -
VP, Trade Operations,
Fidelity Investments
Find out how your business can transform the client lifecycle management process from end to end with data, low-code / no-code solutions, and consulting services that integrate with legacy and market infrastructure to deliver customizable, configurable workflows and a golden data source.
- Client Reference Data Golden Record
- Digitization & Automation
- Addressing Regulatory Change (T+1, UMR, EMIR, SEC, ESG, Crypto, etc.)
- Integration to Market Infrastructure
- Low-code/No-Code Client Lifecycle with integrated data sets and automation tool
Darren Thomas
Senior Vice President, Regulatory & Compliance BusinessS&P Global Market Intelligence
10:15 am - 10:50 am
Technology Innovation Panel: Streamlining Operational Workflows to Drive Operational Excellence: How can you best automate and integrate front to back & cross-asset processes to globally scale operational capabilities and drive business value through Operational Excellence
Frederic Crosnier -
Global Head of Operations,
JP Morgan Asset Management
Justin Palmer -
Global Head of Strategic Change Initiatives & Transformation,
Barings
Tom Shea -
Global Head of Middle Office,
Manulife
Jose Cortez -
VP of Buy-Side Sales,
FlexTrade
Mark Davis -
SVP, Head of Strategy,
FIA Tech
Charlie Dwyer -
Consultant,
Cutter Associates
- How can you identify which operational processes are primed for automation and enable your team to focus on value-add tasks?
- How can you ensure a seamless transition from manual to automated processes whilst managing business as usual?
- How can you best integrate automation tools with existing technologies and processes?
- How can you ensure that automation is delivering true value-add and enhancing business performance?
- How far can automation of operational processes develop – what is the end goal and how desirable is it to scale automation technologies throughout investment operations?
10:50 am - 11:10 am
Keynote: Riding the Wave: Three trends shaping how organizations think about their business model
Gary Paulin -
Head of Global Strategic Solutions,
Northern Trust
- Explore the future-state operating model and how trends and challenges of today will make way for a future unlike the past
- Learn about the new challenges and ways of working
- Discover how to create a future-fit operating model
Buy Side Workshop
11:10 am - 11:40 am Innovation Workshop – Data Challenges and Innovative solutions for emerging regulatory change Claire Savage - COO, Aqmetrics- What are some key data management challenges facing firms today
- How can Buy Side firms best overcome these challenges?
- What are the new regulations for investment managers in 2023 and beyond?
- How can you ensure your firm is up to speed with regulatory updates and that your operations and compliance staff are prepared for them?
Buy Side Workshop
11:10 am - 11:40 am Buy Side Only Workshop: Unlocking operational data to accelerate analytical insights Adam Watson - Director of Global Custody Commercial Product, BNY Mellon Steve Taylor - Head of Data Management Platforms, BNY MellonSkyrocketing data volumes, mounting demands from teams across the investment process to consume more data, faster, and pressures to deliver operational alpha have forced investment organizations to drastically reimagine how they manage and utilize their data to extract maximum value.
Effecting change means operations executives must address the limitations of entrenched legacy technologies and complex organizational processes. Join us to explore how managers are overcoming these hurdles and tapping into operational data sets to drive transformative outcomes, including:
· Fuelling the front office to achieve new and differentiating insights
· Arming operations professionals with ways to streamline workflows and reduce risks
· Achieving near-real time data delivery and access across the organization
BALANCING IN-HOUSE & OUTSOURCED CAPABILITIES
11:40 am - 12:15 pm
360 Panel: Striking the optimal outsourcing balance: How can you best map out your current internal competencies to identify where outsourced technologies and services will offer the greatest operational value?
Chris Kuehne -
SVP Head of Investment Operations,
Northern Trust Asset Management
Brad Kirk -
VP Global Investment Operations,
Mackenzie Investments
Christopher Farrell -
Head of US and Global Strategy,
FINBOURNE Technology
Matt Gray -
Investment Accounting and Operations,
SimCorp
Jay Wolstenholme -
Research Director,
Chartis Research
- How can you drive cross-functional collaboration to best understand where outsourced services and technologies will offer enhanced business value?
- How to leverage shared services and technologies to drive greater process optimization and boost cross-asset efficiencies?
- How can you strike the optimal balance between in-house tools and external technology providers to drive process automation, boost performance and cut costs?
12:15 pm - 12:35 pm
Keynote: Accelerating the modernization of buy-side reconciliation: How can you best tackle the top three reconciliation challenges to transform and scale your business on a faster timeline?
Neil Vernon -
CTO,
Gresham
- The top 3 reconciliation challenges and how ongoing market, regulatory and competitive pressures are intensifying their impact
- The operations models and technologies that are adding the most value to the entire process today and what’s in store for the future
- Top 3 things you should be focusing on now to get consistent, high-value iterative wins for your operations team – and your entire firm
RESPONDING TO EVOLVING CLIENT DEMANDS
12:35 pm - 1:10 pm
Panel Discussion: Supporting portfolio diversification: What are the investment trends that are shaping today’s market and how can you ready your investment operations division to best respond and seize market share?
Uday Kiran Bolusani -
VP Global Middle Office,
Fidelity
Fausto Ortega -
Director, Global Middle Office,
American Century Investments
Anthony Mirabile -
MD Global Head of Alternative Investment Operations,
Goldman Sachs Asset Management
Mike Sleightholme -
President, Broadridge International and Head of Asset Management Solutions,
Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.
Scott Kurland -
Managing Director, Insurance Solutions,
SS&C Technologies
Charlie Dwyer -
Consultant,
Cutter Associates
- Which alternative asset classes should firms be prioritizing in order to respond to evolving client investment priorities?
- How can firms streamline cross asset operations to offer a diverse and agile product portfolio?
- How to break down functional siloes and ensure teams successfully collaborate to explore shared efficiencies and process optimization?
- How do you ensure that regulatory and compliance measures are met when expanding product offering into alternative asset classes?
Anthony Mirabile
MD Global Head of Alternative Investment OperationsGoldman Sachs Asset Management
Mike Sleightholme
President, Broadridge International and Head of Asset Management SolutionsBroadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.
1:10 pm - 1:30 pm
Keynote: A new approach to data governance to accelerate digital transformation and proactively meet evolving regulations
Daniel Mossissa -
Director, Strategic Architecture, Investment Technologies and Operations,
Franklin Templeton
Sophie Marnhier Foy -
Head of Product Marketing,
Adenza
Driven by regulatory reforms, intensified margin pressures, market volatility and ESG compliance, sell-side and investment management firms need to change their approach around data, and define an optimized and strategic transformation.
The session will dive into the following strategic trends:
- Data automation and digitization
- System consolidation for better STP rates
- Data management in the context of collateral management, regulatory needs (including UMR, CFTC rewrite) and beyond
- Platform transformation to optimize data and related costs
Daniel Mossissa
Director, Strategic Architecture, Investment Technologies and OperationsFranklin Templeton
Location: Valencia Patio & Terrace
BUY SIDE WORKSHOP
1:40 pm - 2:20 pm Buy Side Only Workshop: Building Robust Security Measures Throughout Your E2E Operating Model: Why Getting it Right is Critical for Growth Bryan Faxel - Director of Security, RidgelineSecurity can no longer be relegated to a single department or role at your firm. It's too critical - not just to protecting your investors' data, but to being a driving force for growth. From changing regulatory standards to higher client expectations to critical operational risks, security should be at the forefront of every firm's priority list. In this interactive workshop with buy-side leaders, Ridgeline will give you tangible ways to create a security-first culture at your firm that can unlock significant growth.
UPGRADING DATA CAPABILITIES
2:20 pm - 2:50 pm
Innovation Panel: Enabling smarter front office decision making: How can you integrate advanced analytics into your operations function to best support trading and portfolio management teams with enhanced service levels that boost performance?
Matthew Kelly -
SVP Global Head of Digitization & Automation,
Northern Trust Asset Management
Russell J. Newman, CIPM, MD -
COO,
Rothschild
Scott Bevier -
Managing Director, Head of Investment Operations Solutions Sales,
J.P. Morgan
KY Chong -
Acting Head of TradeNeXus,
TradeNeXus
Audrey Blater -
Senior Analyst,
Coalition Greenwich
- How can you gain a better understanding of front desk requirements to build a data analytics strategy that best supports traders and portfolio managers?
- How can you drive greater collaboration with the front office to ensure that new technologies are fully utilized and successfully adopted by end users?
- How to develop data science capabilities to interpret data patterns from the trading desk and share actionable insights to drive enhanced decision making?
- How to ensure you have a robust data cleansing strategy the delivers improved data quality and insights over time
Location: Palazzo F&G
LEVERAGING AUTOMATED WORKFLOWS
2:50 pm - 3:10 pm
Keynote Interview: One & Done: How Buy-Sides gain trading & post trade advantages by digitizing client account data in pre-trade
Gabino Roche -
Founder & CEO,
Saphyre
Jill Sigelbaum -
Head of Strategic Development & Partnerships,
London Stock Exchange Group
Grace Kang -
Head of Investment Operations,
Boston Partners Global Investors
Fausto Ortega -
Director, Global Middle Office,
American Century Investments
Today’s middle and back-office teams, of buy and sell sides, have a ton of manual activities to complete to ensure end-to-end accuracy from pre- thru post-trade. From collecting account data and documents to then synchronizing internal systems and mapping to external electronic trading platforms, it’s a checklist of activities that need to be followed not just for onboardings but for any maintenance events. Failure to do so leads to trade exceptions and fails, as well as just sheer delays and unnecessary costs wasted. Applying digitizing with automated intelligence is one of the ways that can synchronize your operations and respective systems without the overhead while giving you trade advantage by being ready and first to trade and swift to settle.
LEADERSHIP IN TIMES OF CRISIS
3:10 pm - 3:40 pm
Guest Speaker: Lessons from The Miracle On The Hudson- How to train and lead your teams and yourself to instinctively make the right decisions in a high-pressure environment Jeff Skiles, Co-Pilot of U.S. Airways Flight 1549, "The Miracle on the Hudson"
Jeff Skiles -
Co-Pilot Flight 1549,
U.S. Airways
When you’re a pilot and both your engines fail over the largest city in America, you must act quickly and independently, but you must also trust in the system that has trained you and prepared you to handle such crisis moments. Jeff Skiles’ story of the “Miracle on the Hudson” would not have the perfect ending if not for years of training and preparation that allowed the two pilots to understand exactly what the other was doing – thus maximizing their time, communication, and effectiveness. Having only met each other three days earlier, Skiles and Sullenberger were able to work together as a team because they trusted in their system and training and the professionalism of everyone involved, from the air-traffic controllers to their crew. As he takes audiences through the nearly catastrophic events leading up to US Airways Flight 1549’s emergency landing on the Hudson River, Skiles delivers the key lessons and principles that made the flight crew prepared, calm, and confident so they could successfully land the plane. If such lessons can save 155 lives when time is tight and every move must be perfect, imagine what these lessons can do for your organization.
Sweet Treats Break- Assorted cookies & chocolate dipped strawberries served with refreshments
- How can your firm take a collaborative approach with clients to create bespoke services and solutions based on investor demands?
- To what extent can digitized client services be integrated with cross functional data platforms to create a holistic digital first approach?
- What are the future tech capabilities required to enable buy side firms to truly transform client services with bespoke solutions?
- How can you best approach increased digitization of client services to deliver more personalized experiences at every touch point?
Track Chair: Michael Koegler Managing Principal & Founder, Market Alpha Advisors
TRACK A - DRIVING DATA INNOVATION
4:05 pm - 4:35 pm Panel: Building robust data framework: How can you implement a cross functional data framework to best democratize data across your operations function and empower informed decision making? Eric Bolisay - Director Middle Office Funding and Client Services, T.Rowe Price Vince Pasqualicchio - COO - Investments, American Family Insurance Yann Bloch - VP Product Management, North America, NeoXam Nanda Kumar - Sr. Product & Data Consultant, SIX Mike Koegler - Managing Principal & Co-Founder, Market Alpha Advisors
TRACK A - DRIVING DATA INNOVATION
4:35 pm - 5:00 pm Panel: Boosting performance with advanced analytics: How can you implement an advanced analytics framework to better connect the back and front office to drive efficiencies, streamline processes and improve the client experience? Justin Palmer - Global Head of Strategic Change Initiatives & Transformation, Barings Jessica Rausch - Director, RBC Global Asset Management John Pizzi - Senior Director, Enterprise Strategy, Capital Markets, FIS Mike Koegler - Managing Principal & Co-Founder, Market Alpha Advisors
TRACK A - DRIVING DATA INNOVATION
5:00 pm - 5:25 pm Interview: Harnessing client data: How can you best collect, store and analyse client data to build stronger relationships, improve service and enhance value for investors? Evan Fire - COO, Pzena Investment Management Jessica Rausch - Director, RBC Global Asset Management Mike Koegler - Managing Principal & Co-Founder, Market Alpha AdvisorsTRACK B - OPTIMISING OPERATIONS FOR ALTERNATIVES
4:05 pm - 4:35 pm Panel: Streamlining derivatives operations: How have buy side firms responded to the final phase of UMR and which technologies have been pivotal in overcoming operational challenges for OTC derivatives? Fausto Ortega - Director, Global Middle Office, American Century Investments Ky Dong - Strategic Business Consultant, Franklin Templeton Investments Jennifer Weber - Investment Operations Manager, Principal Global Investors James Pike - Head of Business Development, Taskize Jay Wolstenholme - Research Director, Chartis Research
TRACK B - OPTIMISING OPERATIONS FOR ALTERNATIVES
4:35 pm - 5:00 pm Interview: Succeeding in alternative investments: How can you develop the operational capabilities required to cost-effectively support and scale increasing investor allocations in private assets classes and alternatives? Jeff Frusciante - Director of Operations, Brigade Capital Management Eric Bolisay - Director Middle Office Funding and Client Services, T.Rowe Price Harald Collet - CEO & Co-Founder, Alkymi Jay Wolstenholme - Research Director, Chartis Research
TRACK B - OPTIMISING OPERATIONS FOR ALTERNATIVES
5:00 pm - 5:25 pm Panel: Digital assets bootcamp: How are digital assets set to disrupt capital markets and how can buy side firms best prepare for the regulatory, technological, and operational implications of digital asset investing? Caitlin Dean - SVP Portfolio Operations & COO of the Funds, CI Investments Inc Jasmine Burgess - COO, Coinbase Asset Management Jay Wolstenholme - Research Director, Chartis Research
TRACK C - MAXIMISING VALUE IN OUTSOURCED PARTNERSHIPS
4:05 pm - 4:35 pm Panel: Streamlining middle and back-office operations with outsourced partnerships: How to identify internal limitations and opportunities to drive performance improvements through process outsourcing Bob Kurinsky - COO/CFO, Driehaus Capital Management Caitlin Dean - SVP Portfolio Operations & COO of the Funds, CI Investments Inc Charlie Dwyer - Consultant, Cutter Associates Jason Yule - Head of Strategy & Sales – North America, WTax
TRACK C - MAXIMISING VALUE IN OUTSOURCED PARTNERSHIPS
4:35 pm - 5:00 pm Interview: How to track, manage, and participate via an outsourced provider in shareholder class actions to ensure recoveries of lost assets? Jeff Lubitz - Executive Director, ISS Securities Class Action Services Charlie Dwyer - Consultant, Cutter Associates
TRACK C - MAXIMISING VALUE IN OUTSOURCED PARTNERSHIPS
5:00 pm - 5:25 pm Interview: Outsourced relationship management: How to nurture meaningful relationships with outsourced partners to ensure productive and value adding partnerships? Charlie Teeple - Head of Investment Operations, Liberty Mutual Investments Mike Maxwell - Head of Operations, Brown Advisory Araya Solomon - Head of Financial Services Americas, DXC Luxoft Charlie Dwyer - Consultant, Cutter Associates
TRACK D - HEADS OF INVESTMENT OPERATIONS BOADROOM
4:05 pm - 4:55 pm Buy Side Boardroom: Evaluating Head of Investment Operations’ transformational priorities: What are the core capabilities and technologies that need to be upgraded to offer market leading service levels and drive revenue generation? Steven Wisneski - SVP Head of Operations Strategy, Franklin Templeton Cinda Whitten - Global Head of Investment Operations, Nuveen, a TIAA company Mike Guarasci - COO, Polen Capital Andrew Onslow - Global Head of Investment Management Operations, Morgan Stanley15:50 Buy Side Boardroom: Evaluating Head of Investment Operations’ transformational priorities: What are the core capabilities and technologies that need to be upgraded to offer market leading service levels and drive revenue generation?
Steven Wisneski, SVP, Head of Operations Strategy, Franklin Templeton (Invited)
Cinda Whitten, Global Head of Investment Operations, Nuveen (Confirmed)
Mike Guarasci, COO, Polen Capital (Confirmed)
We bring together the event’s most senior attendees for a closed-door session to brainstorm and benchmark around the major priorities that COOs and Heads of Investment Operations face in their roles today.
Buy side only working group for COOs and Heads of Investment Operations
*Open to a maximum of 15 buy side attendees*
TRACK A - EMBRACING BLOCKCHAIN AND FINTECH INNOVATIONS
5:25 pm - 6:00 pm Panel Discussion: Evaluating blockchain developments: How is blockchain technology set to transform investment operations and what can firms do to benefit from the latest innovations? Jasmine Burgess - COO, Coinbase Asset Management Steven Wisneski - SVP Head of Operations Strategy, Franklin Templeton Cihan Kasikara - SVP, Global Head of Investment Operations, American Century Investments Uday Kiran Bolusani - VP Global Middle Office, Fidelity Mike Koegler - Managing Principal & Co-Founder, Market Alpha Advisors- How is blockchain being successfully applied to investment operations functions and how is it impacting key processes?
- How can you best prepare your firm to leverage the advantages of blockchain technology?
- What are the major opportunities for blockchain to transform Investment Operations and how can these opportunities be realised?
- What are the major barriers that need to be overcome to enable blockchain to become more prevalent in investment operations?
TRACK B - BUILDING DATA DRIVEN OPERATIONS
5:25 pm - 6:00 pm Workshop: Optimizing your data model: How to build a robust data governance and management foundation to support long term transformation strategies and drive greater business value Victor Dituro - CDO, Investment & Analytics Data, JP Morgan Asset Management Michael Woodall - COO, Putnam Investments Ruchir Verma - Head of Global Services, Investment Management, Zurich Insurance GroupJoin this deep dive workshop to discuss and debate with peers, strategies to build a fully optimized data-driven operating model. Whether you are just getting started or well on your way to leveraging data insight across operational processes, join this closed-door session to share best practice advice around how to optimize data operations at your firm today.
Location: Cordova 6
TRACK D - HEAD OF INVESTMENT OPERATIONS BOARDROOM
5:25 pm - 6:00 pm Buy Side Boardroom: Strategies for talent acquisition, upskilling and retention: How to ensure that your firm can compete with cutting edge industries and rival organisations Laura Jacques - VP, Trade Operations, Fidelity Investments Rachel Connell - Director, Business Analysis, Fidelity Investments- Why is talent acquisition and retention becoming a major concern for investment operations leaders?
- What strategies can be put in place to improve the talent pipeline and ensure that investment operations functions are future-proofed?
- What are the skills gaps that need to be plugged?
- How can financial markets best compete with big tech and cloud native industries who are typically attracting the strongest digital talent?
Location: Cordova 6
6:00 pm - 6:00 pm
End of Day One
6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Drinks Reception – Open to all attendees
It’s Tiki & Tequila time! Northern Trust invites you to join the InvestOps Tiki & Tequila party in the exhibit hall directly after the final session. Visit the Tiki Hut Beach Bar, Taco Station and enjoy tequila cocktails while you kick back to the chilled vibes of our beach band. We look forward to welcoming you!