Scottsdale, AZ Cutter Connect 2026

Cindy Castellano is the CEO of Cutter Associates and has over 30 years of experience in the investment management industry. She formerly led Cutter Associates’ Client-Facing and Wealth practices, advising asset and wealth management firms on their sales and distribution, marketing, product development, consultant relations, client service, and client reporting. Cindy has conducted system searches for CRM, marketing automation, portals, pitchbooks/client presentation, content management, client reporting, client onboarding, and RFP systems. Prior to joining Cutter, Cindy served as Vice President and Head of Operations for a division of Guggenheim Investments, where she led mutual fund accounting and administration; institutional accounting, billing, and client reporting; SMA operations, performance reporting (GIPS); and fixed income performance, attribution, and risk reporting. As Vice President and Head of Equities, Cindy led the firm’s investment team and supervised equity trading activities.

Cindy also spent 10 years as a Senior Portfolio Manager and Research Analyst, managing over USD 500 million in AUM for mutual funds and VITs using social awareness (ESG), large cap growth, and mid-cap growth investment strategies. She developed the investment process, directed research analysts’ day-to-day efforts, and created the firm’s social criteria and proxy voting guidelines. Cindy, a Chartered Financial Analyst, holds a bachelor’s of business administration from Washburn University. 

Angela Centeno has more than 25 years of experience in financial services. Prior to joining Cutter in 2015, Angela worked for The Northern Trust Company in multiple roles including sourcing and procuring enterprise market data, investment operations outsourcing, and vendor and custodian relationships. She previously held senior positions in operations management, project management, data management, and solutions implementation. Angela earned a bachelor of science in accounting and a bachelor of science in business administration from the University of Kansas, as well as an MBA in finance from DePaul University. She is a registered CPA.

Recent research assignments and publications include the following:

• AI Use Cases in Investment Management: Infinite Possibilities
• Alternative Investments
• Client Reporting Systems
• Cutter Benchmarking: Alternative Investments
• Cutter Benchmarking: Derivatives and Collateral Management
• Cutter Benchmarking: Firmwide ESG Capabilities
• Derivatives and Collateral Management Solutions
• ESG Data Management
• ESG: It’s a Jungle Out There ─ A Look at the Data Provider Landscape
• ESG Investing: One Vision, Many Lenses
• Market Data Administration
• Private Debt

Jon Chandler has 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining Cutter Associates in 2014, Jon was a senior business analyst for State Street Global Advisors (SSGA), where he was involved in a number of projects for the front and middle office, including UAT design and execution for an order management system (Fidessa IMS), the implementation of a web-based due diligence platform (FundInsight), and an enterprise solution to support blended benchmarks. Prior to his project roles, Jon was a principal in fixed income trade operations at SSGA. He has extensive experience with post-trade operations and applications, such as OASYS/CTM, PORTIA, MBSExpert, and FailStation. Jon earned a bachelor of arts in history from the University of Florida and an MBA from Northeastern University.

Recent research assignments and publications include the following:

• Alternative Investment Systems
• Cutter Benchmarking: Alternative Investments
• Cutter Benchmarking: Derivatives and Collateral Management
• Cutter Benchmarking: Investment Risk
• Cutter Benchmarking: Performance Measurement and Attribution
• Derivatives and Collateral Management Solutions
• Execution Management Systems
• Managed Data Services
• Order Management Systems
• Outsourcing Solutions
• Performance Measurement and Attribution Systems
• Portfolio Analytics Solutions
• Private Debt
• Risk Management Systems
• The Evolving Front Office Support Model

Stacia Graham brings more than 30 years of experience in investment management as Head of Research at Cutter Associates, where she leads a team of analysts that delivers insights and events to Cutter’s global members.

Stacia joined Cutter in 2018 and, as part of the research team, worked closely with members and vendors to author numerous reports and deliver insights at events on many topics, including client reporting, modern compliance in investment management, investment management platforms, portfolio analytics solutions, asset allocation and total portfolio approach, and research management systems. She brings a deep understanding of end-to-end asset management processes and project management, and has also served as a subject matter expert for targeted engagements in enterprise risk and compliance.

Prior to joining Cutter in 2018, Stacia held various senior roles at Wellington Management Company in compliance, investment administration, and operational risk, including leading the global Investment Guideline Compliance team for eight years.

She earned her bachelor of science in business administration from Bryant University and an MBA from Bentley University.

Laura Jesson has more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry as a project manager, business analyst, and consultant. She joined Cutter Associates in 2013. Prior to Cutter, Laura spent eight years at Wells Capital Management and Evergreen Investments, where she managed investment operations projects, including those focused on outsourcing, client reporting, and trade management. She previously worked at Omgeo as a member of the Central Trade Manager (CTM) product design team. Laura started her career at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) as a process consultant supporting a variety of projects for clients in the financial services industry. Laura earned her bachelor of arts in economics and psychology from Amherst College. She holds the Project Manager Professional (PMP) certification.

Recent research assignments and publications include the following:

• AI Use Cases in Investment Management: Infinite Possibilities 
• Business Intelligence Tools
• Cutter Benchmarking: Client Reporting
• Cutter Benchmarking: Firmwide ESG Capabilities
• Cutter Benchmarking: Managing Vendors and Service Providers 
• DataOps: In Theory and Practice
• Enabling Data Analytics
• ESG Data Management 
• ESG: It’s a Jungle Out There ─ A Look at the Data Provider Landscape
• ESG Investing: One Vision, Many Lenses 
• Execution Management Systems
• Hybrid Work Arrangements and Their Impact on Firm Culture
• Using RPA to Automate Business Processes
• The Role of the CRM for Asset Managers

Kathy McDermott has more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry. Kathy, who joined Cutter Associates in 2011, has authored multiple Cutter Research reports on a wide range of topics. She spent ten years as a consultant for a variety of asset management firms, with a focus on business analysis for front- and middle-office projects. Kathy was previously the senior business analyst, equity trading systems, at Wellington Management, specializing in the firm’s proprietary electronic and basket trading applications. Earlier in her career, Kathy worked for Thomson Financial Services (now Thomson Reuters), supporting FirstCall and PORTIA clients in Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and Thailand, and later went on to manage PORTIA implementations. She also worked at LongView (now Linedata) as an account manager and then product manager of electronic trading. Kathy earned her bachelor of arts in mathematics from Hamilton College.

Recent research assignments and publications include the following:

• Alternative Data and the Expanding Universe of Investment Information
• Cutter Benchmarking: Data Management
• Cutter Benchmarking: Market Data Administration
• DataOps: In Theory and Practice
• Enabling Data Analytics
• The Evolving Front Office Support Model
• Evolving Data Governance: Building a Data Culture
• Making Snowflake Part of Your Modern Data Platform
• Managed Data Services
• Market Data Administration
• Order Management Systems
• Outsourced Trading: Has the Time Come?
• Reference Data Management Solutions

Natalie McIntyre, Head of Consulting at Cutter Associates, brings extensive asset and wealth management background experience, along with technology expertise, to Cutter’s team. During her career, she has been at the forefront of leveraging data, technology, and AI to drive next-generation investment management across the value chain.

Prior to joining Cutter in January 2025, Natalie was the Head of Technology Consulting, formerly Axxsys Consulting, and a partner at Alpha FMC AWM North America, where she served as a senior advisor to asset and wealth managers, delivering end-to-end solutions spanning business strategy, transformation, technology design, and implementation. She advised clients on their strategic technology direction, data governance practices, trading platforms and practices, portfolio management tools, and operational organization, as well as data management architecture, tools, and practices. Natalie holds a Bachelor of Science in business and economics, with a pre-law concentration, from Skidmore College.

Alijah Poindexter is an experienced professional in financial services research and consulting, with a background spanning banking, healthcare, asset management, and fintech. He joined Cutter Associates in 2025, where he supports the firm’s research initiatives with a focus on research production and design, analysis, and content development. He has co-authored reports on investment data platforms, data management, and investment management trends. Prior to Cutter, Alijah was a senior research associate at Datos Insights, producing market research on commercial banking, digital payments, and healthcare payments. He also led multiple client consulting engagements, delivering strategic, data-centric advisory work. Earlier in his career, he served as associate editor at Bank Automation News, where he focused on banking coverage and industry events, and held program and research analyst roles. Alijah earned his BBA from Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee.

Tripp Crosby teaches organizations how to unlock the innovation mindset by showing teams at every level how to think creatively even under pressure. As the creator behind viral workplace sensation A Conference Call in Real Life (among others viewed by millions worldwide), Tripp has built a career proving that breakthrough ideas don’t come from artistic talent, but from understanding how humans actually think, collaborate, and overcome constraints.

He’s applied this expertise running a creative production agency that’s helped Fortune 500 brands like Zapier, McKinsey, Monday.com, GoDaddy, Delta, Coca-Cola, Verizon, Snowflake, and Workday cut through the noise and connect authentically with their audiences. Now he brings that same real-world experience to stages worldwide helping leadership teams, decision makers, and non-“creative types” discover how to generate bold ideas, turn limitations into breakthroughs, and create space for innovation without sacrificing what matters most.

Tripp brings firsthand experience building scalable creative systems and guiding organizations through high-stakes innovation challenges. He gives actionable frameworks to apply immediately. He teaches audiences how to make space for fresh thinking when there’s no time, how to generate brilliant ideas by embracing “bad” ones first, how to connect with teammates and customers by actually listening and valuing feedback, and how to gain a fresh perspective of what’s next as a brand, team, or even as an individual.

As engaging as he is strategic, Tripp blends hilarity with substance, making audiences laugh at workplace absurdity one moment, then challenging them to see their own role in solving it the next. His presentations are interactive experiences that blend tactical expertise with the kind of authenticity and vulnerability that makes people not just think differently but feel differently about their work. He brings a rare combination of creative practitioner credibility, business acumen, emotional intelligence, strategic insight plus the comedic timing that makes complex ideas land and stick. The result is an experience that gives people permission to think bigger and the tools to actually do it. Tripp meets leaders where they are and shows them what’s possible when creativity becomes an asset.