InvestOps USA 2025
March 10 - 12, 2025
JW Marriott Grande Lakes, Orlando
Main Day 2 - Wednesday, March 29th
8:00 am - 8:45 am
Conference Registration and Networking Breakfast
“Ain’t got muffin on me”- kickstart day 2 of InvestOps and grab an English breakfast muffin
8:45 am - 8:50 am
Chairperson’s Opening Remarks: Gavin Little-Gill, Head of Investments & Securities, Aite-Novarica
TRANSFORMING GLOBAL OPERATING MODELS
8:50 am - 9:25 am
Keynote Panel: Assessing the evolving role of operations leaders: What are the modern skillsets required to transform your people, processes and tech to thrive in future markets?
James Kearney -
Global Head of Investment Operations,
Vanguard
Bob Kurinsky -
COO/CFO,
Driehaus Capital Management
Vince Pasqualicchio -
COO - Investments,
American Family Insurance
Andrew Onslow -
Global Head of Investment Management Operations,
Morgan Stanley
Gavin Little-Gill -
Head of Investments & Securities,
Aite-Novarica
- As a COO how do you build strong connections between the core capabilities of your ‘People’ ‘Technology’ & ‘Process’ pillars that underpin all operational performance?
- What strategies do you have in place to ensure a continual evolution of the core business pillars?
- How do you envision skill sets changing and operational processes developing into the future and how will organisational structures change in order to support this change?
9:25 am - 10:05 am
All Star Panel: Driving front-to-back connectivity: How can you streamline your global cross-asset operations to break down operational siloes and drive efficiencies to combat increased margin pressures?
Frederic Crosnier -
Global Head of Operations,
JP Morgan Asset Management
Jeffrey Coleman -
Head of Investment Operations,
Mercer
Mike Leader -
Managing Director, Head of Operations,
CPP Investments
Anthony Mirabile -
MD Global Head of Alternative Investment Operations,
Goldman Sachs Asset Management
Andy Volz -
COO & Head of Sales,
Clear Street
Martin Ouellette -
Director,
Meradia
Gavin Little-Gill -
Head of Investments & Securities,
Aite-Novarica
- Succeeding in increasingly globalized market: How can buy side firms ensure operational processes are effectively optimised and scaled throughout regional teams to ensure global uniformity and driver process optimisation?
- Is front to back, cross asset streamlining always desirable or are there instances where functional siloes operate more efficiently in isolation?
- How do you overcome the challenge of scaling operations whilst responding to regional market trends & regulations?
Anthony Mirabile
MD Global Head of Alternative Investment OperationsGoldman Sachs Asset Management
PIONEERING CROSS INDUSTRY COLLABORATION
10:05 am - 10:40 am
Innovation Panel: Building a connected investment operations ecosystem: How can you best engage your internal stakeholders to advance the pace of digital transformation to meet investor demands and deliver on company objectives?
Cihan Kasikara -
SVP, Global Head of Investment Operations,
American Century Investments
Tom Shea -
Global Head of Middle Office,
Manulife
Mike Muniz -
Partner and Chief Revenue Officer,
Canoe Intelligence
Mahesh Narayan -
Institutional Asset Management Segment Head,
Arcesium
Gavin Little-Gill -
Head of Investments & Securities,
Aite-Novarica
- What is the best approach to engaging the full spectrum of firm stakeholders when driving new in-house initiatives?
- How to pilot new digital-first processes to demonstrate greater system, team and data unity, and its impact on time savings and risk management
- How can you collaborate with senior stakeholders to better connect front to back, cross-asset systems and benefit from increased interoperability to drive improved decision making?
- How can firms foster more productive relationships with third party partners and drive improved transformational progress?
- How to develop a more customised technology infrastructure that responds to the specific needs of your firm?
10:40 am - 11:00 am
Fireside Chat: From banks to leading a Fintech – Access FinTech
Roy Saadon -
CEO,
Access Fintech
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Networking Break
11:05 am - 11:35 am
Buy Side Workshop: Leveraging the advantages of agile firm structures: How can mid and small tier firms optimize and adapt operational processes to gain advantage over market leaders?
Russell J. Newman, CIPM, MD -
COO,
Rothschild
Matt Ahlstrand -
VP Product Management & Solutions Consulting,
SS&C
- What are the major advantages that smaller firms can leverage over larger firms to drive faster transformation and better respond to market shifts?
- How should 2nd and 3rd tier firms approach challenges such as automation to keep pace with wider industry trends without the same financial backing to invest in technologies and talent?
- How can mid and small tier firms seize market share in alternative asset classes where larger firms do not necessarily have the agility to respond?
- How can smaller firms offer more bespoke and tailored client services?
THRIVING IN FUTURE MARKETS
12:00 pm - 12:30 pm
Panel: Meeting rising ESG expectations: How can we as an industry strive towards embracing ESG standards and leverage innovative technology solutions to keep pace with increasing client and regulator demands?
Fate Saghir -
SVP, Head of Sustainability,
Mackenzie Investments
Mike Guarasci -
COO,
Polen Capital
Elisabeth Seep -
Head of ESG Product Management,
RIMES
Chris Napoli -
Industry Principal, Financial Services,
Snowflake
Jay Wolstenholme -
Research Director,
Chartis Research
- What are the ESG standards that the industry should be aspiring to achieve & who are the stakeholders that need to be engaged in order to further advance standards?
- What are the current capabilities in providing ESG insights and how are regulatory updates and investor expectations driving advancements?
- How can you ensure your firm is up to speed with changes in the ESG regulatory landscape and how can you develop investment processes to support enhanced ESG reporting?
- How can data and technology firms partner with asset managers in order to drive improving ESG capabilities to match incoming regulations and standards?
KEEPING PACE WITH REGULATORY CHANGES
12:30 pm - 1:00 pm
Keynote Panel: Accelerating to T+1 – In Conversation with Jim Kearney, Vanguard & DTCC: How can our industry better collaborate to identify and overcome current limitations and enable a seamless transition to T+1 Settlement cycles?
James Kearney -
Global Head of Investment Operations,
Vanguard
David Kirby -
Executive Director, Americas Relationship Management & Global Account Management,
DTCC
Sean McEntee -
Executive Director, Institutional Trade Processing,
DTCC
- SEC Proposes Rule Changes to Shorten the Security Settlement Cycle to T+1 by March 31, 2024, is the industry on track to meet this target?
- What are the key obstacles and market factors preventing the investment industry from transitioning to T+1 settlement periods?
- Who are the stakeholders who need to be engaged in order to make this priority a reality?
David Kirby
Executive Director, Americas Relationship Management & Global Account ManagementDTCC
1:00 pm - 1:20 pm
Fire Side Chat: From albatross to catalyst – mega trends driving asset managers to evaluate their tech infrastructure
Kunal Khara -
Global Head of Financial Institutions and of Aladdin Platform & Product Services,
BlackRock Aladdin
Tommy Arnold -
Principal, Financial Services Organization Consulting Wealth & Asset Management,
EY
- In this discussion, Kunal Khara, Global Head of Financial Institutions and of Aladdin Platform & Product Services at BlackRock and Tommy Arnold, Principal, FSO Consulting Wealth & Asset Management at EY, will highlight the major trends that are forcing firms to weigh their business, data and resourcing strategies to drive digital transformation and overall efficiency.
Kunal Khara
Global Head of Financial Institutions and of Aladdin Platform & Product ServicesBlackRock Aladdin
Tommy Arnold
Principal, Financial Services Organization Consulting Wealth & Asset ManagementEY
ENSURING BUSINESS CONTINUITY IN TURBULENT TIMES
1:20 pm - 1:45 pm
Panel: Winning the war on talent: How can you best train and upskill your teams and hire top new talent to thrive in a digital-first future?
Mike Leader -
Managing Director, Head of Operations,
CPP Investments
Joy Dowd -
Head of North America Client Services,
JP Morgan Asset Management
Rachel Connell -
Director, Business Analysis,
Fidelity Investments
Gavin Little-Gill -
Head of Investments & Securities,
Aite-Novarica
- How can firms deal with the major talent gaps that are developing? people are paying up for talent even if they don’t have the commensurate experience – is this just temporary or new normal?
- Higher turnover creates strain on resources – what are people doing to prevent burnout and improve retention rates?
- Is there a post-covid hangover that is hurting productivity and morale?
- How is hybrid working affecting performance, what are the pros and cons of this new normal and how can firms optimise this working setup?
1:45 pm - 3:00 pm
InvestOps Lunch
Enjoy a delicious lunch open to all at the end of the day as you reflect on the latest market insights and industry updates shared over the past couple of days.
Enjoy a delicious lunch at the end of the day as you reflect on the latest market insights and industry updates shared over the past couple of days.
These interactive working groups provide the perfect opportunity to sum-up your findings, consolidate new connections and collaborate on lessons learnt with your peers
BUY SIDE LUNCH WORKING GROUPS
BUY SIDE - WORKING GROUP A
1:45 pm - 3:00 pm Working Group: Vendor relationship management: How to select and build productive relationships with vendors to drive operational performance improvements. Habideen Kassim - Managing Director – Head of Investment Operations, GenworthIn an increasingly tech driven operational landscape, it is crucial that asset managers have defined processes to select and on-board new technologies partners. Join this session to discuss the art of vendor relationship management to drive sustained process improvement and purposeful technology partnerships.
BUY SIDE - WORKING GROUP B
1:45 pm - 3:00 pm Working Group: How can you make D&I initiatives a key pillar of investment operations strategy to drive business value Joy Dowd - Head of North America Client Services, JP Morgan Asset ManagementHow to ensure that ever improving D&I standards are upheld to create diversity of thought and enhanced business performance
BUY SIDE - WORKING GROUP C
1:45 pm - 3:00 pm Working Group: Building a Data Driven, automated value chain for Investment Operations & Accounting on a global Platform. Ruchir Verma - Head of Global Services, Investment Management, Zurich Insurance GroupHow to build a highly automated, fully integrated data driven operating model for Investment Operations & Accounting serving 33 countries with 45 GAAPs, 30+ automated interfaces, self-service analytics utilising the ‘buy vs build’ mix driven by data strategy that achieves an automation rate of 90%+
Conference Close
ICI - SOAC Committee Private Meeting
2:30 pm - 5:30 pm
Private Business Meeting: ICI SOAC Committee
Members of the ICI’s SOAC Committee are invited to join the private business meeting.
Lunch will be served in the meeting room.