Advance Together – Cutter Member Meeting ASIA-PACIFIC

Angela Centeno joined Cutter Associates in 2015, bringing more than 20 years of experience in financial services. Prior to Cutter, Angela worked for The Northern Trust Company in multiple roles managing enterprise market data, investment operations outsourcing, vendor relationships, 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:

• Asset Management Trends: 2022 and Beyond
• Market Data Administration
• An Introduction to Vendor Management
• Best Practices for Developing a Vendor Management Program
• Vendor Management: Trends ─ And the Tools that Can Help
• Data Cataloging Tools
• Rethinking Research Management
• Alternative Investments
• Managing Benchmark and Index Data
  

Jon Chandler brings more than ten years of experience in the financial services industry to his Director's role at Cutter Associates. Prior to joining Cutter, 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
• Collateral Management
• Investment Accounting Solutions
• Order Management Systems
• Performance Measurement and Attribution Systems
• Reconciliation Solutions
• Risk Management Systems

Howard Corey, who has more than 15 years of financial services industry experience, joined Cutter Associates in 2021 as a Senior Research Analyst. Howard’s broad experience in both wealth and asset management includes client services, portfolio operations, multi-asset class trade execution, and client performance reporting.

Before joining Cutter, Howard was a Wealth Advisor with Shorepoint Capital Partners. His prior roles include Chief Operating Officer at One Charles Private Wealth, an SEC Registered Investment Adviser, and Principal at Partners Capital Investment Group, where he managed the US Client Services Team and was responsible for multi-asset class trading and client reporting for both private and institutional clients.

Howard earned a bachelor of arts in economics from Roanoke College and an MBA from Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management.

Stacia Graham has more than 20 years of experience in investment management, bringing a deep understanding of end-to-end asset management processing and project management to her role as Managing Director at Cutter Research. Prior to Cutter, Stacia worked at Wellington Management Company LLP in Boston in various roles within compliance and operational risk, including leading and managing the global Investment Guideline Compliance team for eight years. She earned a bachelor of science in business administration from Bryant University and an MBA from Bentley University.

Recent research assignments and publications include the following:

• All-In-One or Standalone Solutions? Finding the Right Technology Strategy
• Asset Allocation Solutions
• Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) Systems
• Performance Measurement and Attribution Systems
• Rethinking Research Management
• Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
• The Future of Work in Investment Management

Jason Inzer has over 20 years of experience managing data, analytics, and technology at leading investment firms. He has worked directly in the front office throughout his career, specializing in data management and data analytics for front-office applications. Jason has successfully led multiple data and digital transformation projects for large organizations and has helped firms develop a data-driven culture to optimize business processes and create new sources of value. He has a strong technical background, with in-depth knowledge of modern data platforms and tools. Prior to joining Cutter, Jason spent five years as Chief Data and Technology Officer for Sustainable Insight, an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) asset management firm, and 15 years at Deutsche Bank in roles that included Global Head of Data and Analytics of Deutsche Bank equity research and Head of Research Analytics at DWS Investments. Jason holds a bachelor of arts from The Ohio State University and a master of science in business analytics (MSBA) from NYU Stern School of Business.

Andrew Jenkins brings more than 20 years of experience in buy-side financial services, with a focus on project management in the areas of performance measurement and attribution, portfolio analytics, GIPS compliance, risk management, and data management. At Cutter Associates, Andrew works in the firm’s Strategy & Data Management and Performance Measurement practices.

Andrew is a thought leader on performance measurement business practices and GIPS compliance, regularly speaking on the topics at industry conferences. Andrew has a deep understanding of asset management operational and technology processes, and has successfully managed several large-scale operational and systems integration projects throughout his career, including data warehouses, performance measurement and attribution systems, web-integration services, and the acquisition and implementation of a client reporting service. He is active in multiple industry groups in the areas of performance measurement and risk and in board-related forums.

Prior to joining Cutter, Andrew was a director at Charles Schwab Investment Management, where he oversaw performance measurement and attribution, risk, client reporting, and competitive research. He previously worked in the Board Analysis Services Group at Lipper Analytical (now Thomson Reuters). Andrew holds a bachelor of arts in economics from the University of Colorado.

Laura Jesson has more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry as a project manager, business analyst, and consultant. She joined Cutter Associates in 2013. Prior to joining Cutter, Laura spent eight years at Wells Capital Management and Evergreen Investments, where she managed investment operations projects. 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:

• Client Reporting
• Corporate Actions
• Cyber Security
• Front Office Data
• Managing Operating Costs
• Managing Vendors and Service Providers
• Opportunities for External Sourcing

Onawa Promise Lacewell has a research focus on the impact of disruptive technologies on the financial services sector and on the client-facing technology that wealth managers use to support the digital experience of UHNW and HNW end clients. Specifically, she is interested in how wealth managers use digital portals and mobile apps to support the client experience of UHNW and HNW end clients. Onawa holds a PhD from the University of Missouri.

Recent research assignments and publications include the following:

• Behind the Login of Wealth Management Client Portals
• Benchmarking of Value-Added Services for UHNW clients
• The Rising Popularity of Family Offices
• AI Throughout the Wealth Management Lifecycle
• UHNW Benchmarking

Rob has over 15 years of experience in financial services, spanning portfolio construction, asset allocation, portfolio management, investment risk, investment systems, quantitative manager, and quantitative specialist supporting the end-to-end investment process, solutions, and performance. He is a senior investment professional with experience across the superannuation, asset management, and treasury spaces as a portfolio manager and quantitative specialist supporting the end-to-end investment process. Prior to joining Cutter, Rob was a senior portfolio manager in QSuper’s Investment Strategy team, with responsibilities across asset allocation, the whole of portfolio construction and risk management, as well as supporting the equities, fixed income, and alternatives teams. Rob holds a graduate certificate in applied mathematics, specializing in computational and discrete mathematics from the Queensland University of Technology. He also holds a bachelor of business and a bachelor of applied science and more recently completed the diploma of superannuation. Rob is a member of the Advisory Committee for the Fixed Income & Credit forum run by the Centre for Institutional Investors (CII).

Gina McCafferty has 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. She served at Cutter from 1999 to 2011 as Principal and Managing Director of CutterResearch, and she was instrumental in growing that business. Gina returned to Cutter in 2017, and established and ran the company’s Wealth Management research division. In 2019, she was appointed to Head of Research, responsible for Asset Management and Wealth Management product development and delivery to over 200 member firms around the globe. Gina was previously at Investit Ltd., where she served for six years as head of the company’s research service. Prior to that, she held senior positions at DST International with product responsibility for their global accounting and performance measurement systems, and at SunGard as Vice President of Client Services for their securities trading products.

Kathy McDermott has more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. She joined Cutter Associates in 2011 and has authored a number of 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
• Behavioral Analysis in Investment Management
• Client Reporting Systems and Practices
• Data Access for Business Users
• Managed Data Services
• Market Data Administration
• Mastering Client, Account, and Product Data
• Order Management Systems
• Outsourced Trading: Has the Time Come?
• Reference Data Management Solutions

Anna Schneider researches and analyzes market data, conceptualizes and writes research reports, and presents research to relevant networks in international settings. Anna is focused on researching the Asian wealth management landscape. She is especially focused on the China’s financial services sector, including how it is impacted by disruptive technological, economic, legal, and regulatory developments, and the related implications for wealth management industries worldwide. Anna holds a double master’s degree in Chinese-European economic and business studies from the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in Chengdu, China, and the Berlin School of Economics and Law in Germany. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in Asian studies and management from the University of Applied Sciences in Constance, Germany. Anna is fluent in English and holds an Advanced Certificate HSK 6 in Chinese. Her native language is German.

Recent research assignments and publications include the following:

• Wealth Management in Asia
• Mobile Apps for Wealth Management Benchmarking
• Thinking Beyond the Crisis: Developing a Strategic Approach to Mobile Communication
• I, Advisor: Implementing AI Throughout the Client Journey
• Mobile Trading on the Rise - Background, Trends, and Relevance for Wealth Managers

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. 

Arnie Wachs, Head of Consulting at Cutter Associates, brings extensive business and technical knowledge to the role, with over 30 years of investment management industry experience. Arnie advises 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. He has extensive experience working for investment management firms, financial software vendors, and consulting firms, in roles that included business analyst, developer, system architect, development management, project management, product management, sales, and executive positions. He has a deep understanding of investment management system use and design. He also leads the firm’s Technology and Architecture practice.

Prior to joining Cutter, Arnie worked for ITG, where he led the product management efforts for the development of the next-generation OEMS platform. Prior roles include Head of Equity Systems at BlackRock Solutions, Senior Product Manager at Charles River Development, and Vice President at Fidelity Investments, where he designed and developed the firm’s global trading platforms. Arnie also led efforts at State Street Global Advisors to create an enterprise-wide, cross-asset class security and benchmark master. He holds a Bachelor of Science in physics from Clarkson University.

Maurice Ashley made history in 1999 when he became the first African-American chess grandmaster. He is a three-time national championship coach, author of Chess for Success: Using an Old Game to Build New Strengths in Children and Teens, ESPN commentator, iPhone app designer, puzzle inventor, and motivational speaker.

Maurice is well known for providing dynamic live tournament coverage of world-class chess competitions and matches. His high-energy, unapologetic, and irreverent commentary combines Brooklyn street smarts with professional ESPN-style sports analysis. He has covered every class of elite event, including the World Chess Championships, the US Chess Championships, the Grand Chess Tour, and the legendary “man vs. machine” matches between Garry Kasparov and IBM’s Deep Blue.

Traveling the world as an ardent spokesperson for the many character-building effects of chess, Maurice shares how chess principles and strategies can be applied to improve business practices and assist with personal growth. Maurice also acts as a master of ceremonies and inspirational speaker at business conferences and high-class chess events.

Maurice has received multiple community service awards from city governments, universities, and community groups for his work. In recognition of his immense contribution to the game, he was inducted into the US Chess Hall of Fame in 2016 and the Brooklyn Technical High School Hall of Fame in 2018.

Andrew Besheer is responsible for leading Appway’s go-to-market strategy for the United States and Canada, as well as representing the voice of the client for Appway’s solutions development and programs.

Prior to joining Appway, Andy spent 16 years at Broadridge Financial Solutions where he held a number of positions. As founding President of Broadridge Advisor Solutions, he was responsible for Broadridge’s front office and advisor-facing solutions, which was comprised of advisor websites, financial planning content, digital and print marketing solutions, and data aggregations solutions. Prior to that role, he was President of Customer Communications, where he led the transaction, print, and electronic document storage businesses. Andy also held a series of product management and strategy-related roles and was GM of the electronic solutions business. Before joining Broadridge, Andy was a Vice President at Instinet and at NatWest Capital Markets, accountable for components of their respective middle and back offices.

Alex Cheatle is Co-founder and Group CEO of Ten Lifestyle Group plc (“Ten”). Ten is the established market leader for travel and lifestyle concierge service, helping affluent and high net worth individuals and their families to discover, organise, and enjoy dining, live entertainment, travel and premium retail at better value and quicker than they could themselves.

Underpinned by industry-first technology, Ten provides its services to its more than 2 million members 24/7, 365 days a year, wherever they are in the world. Founded in 1998, the growing business has over 800 staff and 22 offices worldwide. Ten is the partner of choice for over 50+ blue chip private banks, wealth managers and premium brands globally including HSBC Jade, Coutts, Royal Bank of Canada, China Merchants Bank, SMTC, SwissCard and Westpac. Ten’s vision is to become the most trusted service platform in the world.

Prior to founding Ten, Alex started his career at Procter and Gamble and read Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford University.

Justin J. Donohue is vice president and director of Intelligent Automation & Process Innovation at MFS Investment Management (MFS). He has over 17 years of experience in the asset management industry and currently oversees the risk control function for Technology & Investment Operations organizations and for the past 4 years has led the enterprise wide Intelligent Automation strategy and program. Mr. Donohue chairs the Technology Risk & Strategy Committee and Intelligent Process Automation Group. Prior to joining MFS, Justin was a consultant with Deloitte & Touche LLP.

As Head of Client Delivery, Elena is responsible for developing and executing the product vision for Delta. She has been with UBS Delta since 2009, when she joined as Director responsible for sales and marketing across Germany, Austria and Eastern Europe. Prior to that, she was a Structured Credit Trader with Morgan Stanley for five years. Elena earned a Master’s degree in MORSE at Warwick University in the United Kingdom.

Pratik Karia is the Global Head of Engineering for Bloomberg's Buy-side OMS platform (AIM, Asset and Investment Manager), a premium product used by large financial institutions around the globe. With 13 years of experience across both the buy-side and sell-side, Pratik has worked across a broad spectrum of the trading life-cycle, including front office tools, trading, risk and compliance, as well as post trade operations. He currently leads a team of 300+ engineers globally, from New York to London to Pune. Pratik is passionate about building scalable and high-throughput technology, is an advocate of Agile and lean startup principles, and helps lead diversity and inclusion initiatives for Bloomberg Engineering.

Pratik holds a Masters of Computer Science from Virginia Tech and a Bachelor of Computer Engineering from the University of Mumbai.

Spiro is the Director of Account Management. He joined Jennison in 2000. Prior to heading the security master group, he played a key supervisor role in Jennison's Operations department, where he had various roles since joining the firm.

Rob Klapprodt joined Vestmark in 2001 as VP of Products and is now Corporate Strategy Officer of the company. Prior to Vestmark, Rob was a Senior Product Manager at Vignette Corporation (NASDAQ: VIGN) for the company’s data analytics and content personalization solutions. In this pivotal, cross-functional position, he defined and shaped the market strategy for the product line. He joined Vignette through their acquisition of DataSage, a data mining and CRM software provider, in January of 2000. At DataSage, Rob held positions in sales, consulting, and product management. There, his experience and expertise were integrated into the design and development of DataSage's flagship solution. Rob worked at Oracle Corporation before joining DataSage, where he focused on Oracle's data warehousing and business intelligence solutions for large enterprises.

Rob holds a BS from Pennsylvania State University, where he studied Economics and Mathematics.

Anders drives SimCorp’s initiatives to realize the ecosystem-enabled innovation strategy. This involves two, broad activities: Deliver new co-innovation programs together with customers and partners on machine learning and broader industry challenges. Secondly, initiate the SimCorp Open Platform to offer optionality in functionality and services from fintech start-ups and more established partners. Prior to SimCorp, he was a developer and architect for several years, and had a stint as a start-up CTO. At SimCorp, he has previously held various technology strategy, architecture and product management roles.

Bernadette Rivosecchi, Managing Director, is the head of product for Aladdin Sustainability.

In her role, she is responsible for the vision and development of Aladdin product offerings delivering sustainable data and analytics to the firm and its clients.

Prior to joining APMD, Bernadette spent three years in Global Marketing and led a global team of product managers, designers and developers responsible for the strategy and creation of digital experiences for individual investors. Bernadette joined BlackRock in 2005 and spent 13 years in BlackRock's Portfolio Analytics Group (PAG) creating and championing Aladdin's analytic capabilities to BlackRock investors, risk managers and client businesses.

Bernadette earned a BS degree in Finance from the Pennsylvania State University.

Amrik brings a wealth of digital transformation consulting and pre-sales experience assisting leading regional and global wealth management and financial services firms.

Amrik has been with Contemi for over 7 years and has managed various global wealthtech projects for a wide range of financial services firms including private banks, wealth managers, investment banks, and asset managers. In his current role, he is focused on taking Contemi’s global prospects and customers’ needs and translating them into a customised demonstration of what Contemi can help them solve.

Experienced in large scale implementations of wealth management solutions, he works hand-in-hand with Contemi’s global Sales, Product and Operations teams bringing Contemi's value proposition to the market.

Yaela Shamberg is Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at InvestCloud, Inc. Over the last 11 years, Yaela has helped elevate the company into a leading global financial technology platform. Today, InvestCloud supports trillions in assets across hundreds of diverse clients – from the largest banks in the world to wealth managers, asset managers and asset services companies. She plays a critical role in the company’s path of innovation and commitment to building beautifully designed apps. As one of the co-founders, she values and cultivates the dynamic and fresh culture of InvestCloud. Prior to this, Yaela worked for Credit Suisse and holds a master's degree in taxation from the University of Colorado, Boulder. She proudly sits on the board Food on Foot, a Los Angeles based non profit getting homeless individuals back into independent living.

Lucy Tancredi is the SVP of Cognitive Computing for the financial software and data firm FactSet, where she has over 25 years of experience leading global technology organizations. Her current focus is on improving the firm’s competitive advantage, customer experience, and operational efficiency through leveraging Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing in the development of innovative AI services. Lucy has a special passion for Corporate Social Responsibility and Diversity & Inclusion initiatives, and serves on the boards of the Fairfield/Westchester Society of Information Management as their Director of STEM Outreach, and Random Hacks of Kindness Jr, a non-profit which hosts one-day “Kids Coding for a Cause” hackathons. Lucy has a Bachelor of Computer Science from M.I.T. and a Masters of Education from Harvard University.

Hoony oversees technology research and development and the Solutions Engineering Group at MackeyRMS. He has more than 25 years of experience in various product leadership and program management roles across enterprise software, mobile platform, and consumer electronics industries. He holds an MS and BS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.