Naples, FL Cutter Connect 2024

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

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

Dru Holmquist has over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. He has developed expertise across asset management distribution, investment management, and wealth management technology and operations. Dru is a successful senior leader with a deep track record of collaboration initiation, strategy design, team building, program management and process innovation. He has conducted strategy programs for CRM, client mastering, data architecture, client reporting, client onboarding, trading, research, and portfolio management capabilities. His knowledge spans the equities, fixed income, municipals, commodities, private debt, private equity, real estate, farmland, agri-business, and timber management sectors, as well as the following vehicle types: Mutual Funds, Closed-end Funds, ETFs, UCITs, UITs, Institutional Separate Accounts, SMAs (traditional, dual contract and models), LPs, 529 Plans and REITs.

Prior to joining Cutter Associates, Dru served as Managing Director of Technology for Nuveen Advisory Services, the business organization responsible for delivering the investment and asset management expertise of Nuveen. Dru was responsible for all business applications and technology that supported the Sales, Client Service, Marketing, Product and Fund Administration business teams. He oversaw the deployment of Salesforce as a CRM application, that unified multiple investment manager affiliates by redesigning the lead generation process, sales pipeline stages, sales reporting, distribution analytics, marketing analytics, and client engagement model. In addition, Dru implemented a product and account master, and initiated the business case to begin a client master effort. He was the technology leader that owned the business transformation efforts for the advisory services organization.

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

Lisa Masten has more than 20 years of experience in the investment management industry, leading projects and designing solutions in the areas of performance and attribution, data management, market data administration, portfolio analytics, and investment accounting. Lisa leads Cutter Associates’ Data and Performance practice, where she advises and designs operating models, selects systems, and implements business and technology solutions. She also organizes the Implementation practice for Cutter, including leading development of its adaptable delivery framework and project toolkit.

Prior to joining Cutter, Lisa was a Senior Manager at Invesco, where she managed a global team responsible for designing and implementing data, performance, and accounting solutions. She has held roles implementing and supporting processes and technology across the front, middle and back office at multiple asset management firms. Lisa holds a Bachelor of Arts in finance and computer science from North Central College in Illinois.

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

Tom Phipps has more than 25 years of experience in the investment management industry, with a background in the automation of the investment process, including portfolio management, risk analytics, trading, compliance, performance, operations, investment accounting, data management, and systems integration. He leads Cutter Associates’ Front Office practice, providing deep expertise in front-office vendors and operating models. His consulting experience includes strategic advisory, systems selection, and change management execution engagements for some of the world’s most prominent investment management firms. He also leads the development of Cutter’s Strategy and Search methodologies.

Tom gained his expertise in technology and operations at software vendors and asset management firms, where he held leadership roles in technology management. His prior experience includes Senior Manager at Deloitte Consulting, Chief Technology Officer at PanAgora Asset Management, Chief Technology Officer at Atlas Venture, Vice President of Operations at DSTi North America, and various management roles in technology and professional services at NCS Financial Systems (now SunGard AMS). Tom holds a bachelor’s degree in operations management and management information systems from Florida State University.

Chris Stifel has over 20 years of experience in the investment management industry ─ with a particular focus on middle and back office operations.He has worked on numerous data management projects to support process changes in pricing, corporate actions, security setup, market data administration, and quality control. In addition, Chris has helped to implement many improvement initiatives, including developing target operating model data strategies, system searches to replace legacy platforms, strengthen integration, client onboarding, reduce market data spend, minimize risk, and maintain a high level of process effectiveness and efficiency. He has worked with organizations to raise awareness of data governance and build the framework to implement a sustainable firmwide program.

Prior to joining Cutter Associates, Chris served as an Operations Manager at Income Research & Management (IRM), overseeing performance and composite management, data management, and account onboarding. He holds a bachelor of science in finance from Bentley College, has the CIPM designation, and became a Certified Seismic Administrator in 2020.

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.

Scott Draeger is the SVP of Product Marketing and Vertical Solutions at Smart Communications. With a passion for collaboration, he focuses on making front office and back office communications better for recipients and your financial institution. He has helped financial institutions around the world improve heavily regulated communications that span the entire customer lifecycle, including communications for marketing, onboarding, proposals, statements, compliance, notifications, and other heavily regulated communications.

Rochelle is responsible for enabling go-to-market and growth strategies across sales, marketing, product, and client engagement. Before taking on this role, Rochelle was a Senior Pre-Sales Consultant, engaging with clients and prospects across the financial services industry. Prior to joining Arcesium, Rochelle spent over five years at BlackRock Aladdin servicing institutional asset managers and leading several implementation projects across North and South America.

Kirsten Hansen is a Senior Sales Director with Ridgeline based in Boston, MA. Kirsten has been in financial services and technology for over twenty years. Kirsten began her career in operations at Investors Bank and Trust (State Street) in both Boston and Dublin, Ireland. Following her time at IBT/ State Street, Kirsten spent time consulting with CItisoft implementing middle office solutions. Kirsten then joined JP Morgan in a product development role followed by ten years at BNY (formerly Eagle Investment Systems) where she held roles implementing the Eagle accounting and performance measurement solution followed by roles leading a derivatives product management team and business development where she was responsible for sales of the Eagle solution in North America to both institutional and wealth clients. Kirsten joined Ridgeline in 2024 and lives in Boston’s Seaport.

Tim Luyet is a Commercial Development Principal at SimCorp. He joined SimCorp earlier this year. Tim has over twenty-five years of experience in the financial services industry on the buy side. He began his career as a trader and later transitioned to working on various aspects of global asset management, including data warehousing, front, middle, and back-office work, ongoing analytics, digital websites for asset managers, sales strategies, and investor reporting.

Sid leads the Solutions Consulting practice at Ridgeline working with Sales teams and Customers to deliver tailored, strategic solutions for the asset management industry. Prior to Ridgeline, he spent over a decade at Charles River Development, a State Street Company, in various roles including Product Management, Consulting and Presales. Sid brings deep expertise in investment management solutions combining front and back office across various asset classes.

Patrick oversees the commercial activities at Kurtosys, a leading solutions provider of client reporting, client portals and multi-region websites for the investment management industry. Having spent the last twenty years working on both the buy and sell side, Patrick has a wealth of experience in most areas of investment technology, ranging from client reporting and digital through to trading and risk. Pat stewarded the build out of the Kurtosys Cloud platform for almost 10 years and is a keen proponent of data centralization and the modernization of the IM tech stack via the cloud, topics he speaks about regularly at industry events.

Tracy is Director of Thought Leadership & Regulatory Affairs at Fenergo – the global technology leader in client lifecycle management for financial institutions. Tracy has over 25 years of experience in banking in the areas of client onboarding, legal documentation, and compliance. In addition to her time as Executive Director Wholesale Compliance Advisory at Rabobank, she also oversaw compliance of both capital markets and corporate lending client onboarding at SunTrust Bank (Truist) for over a decade. Earlier in her career, Tracy worked for Man Investments and Goldman Sachs in Switzerland. She is a graduate of Florida State University and John Marshall School of Law.

Mahesh oversees Arcesium’s capabilities for institutional asset managers, including the Arcesium Data Platform, middle- to back-office solutions, and associated financial operations.

Previously, he was the commercial director of BlackRock’s Aladdin Data Cloud, the data warehouse platform, supporting large global asset managers and asset owners in their data strategy, data analytics, and data re-platforming needs.

Before BlackRock, Mahesh was Global Head of Portfolio Management and Research at Refinitiv, responsible for Refinitiv’s buy-side data, workflow, and analytics solutions to a diverse set of financial institutions across the Americas, EMEA, and Asia Pacific. Earlier in his career, Mahesh worked for various hedge funds, including S.A.C. Capital and Calypso Capital Management, and as a consultant with McKinsey & Company.

Education & Credentials

MBA, NYU Stern School of Business

BS/BTech in Engineering, IIIT Mumbai

Paneesh is the Head of Front Office Technology at Thrivent Financial, where he is responsible for Front and Middle office systems and processes, and Data engineering. He’s currently driving an end-to-end transformation of Investment processes using Aladdin. Prior to Thrivent, he has held technology leadership positions at Ernst & Young, and Neuberger Berman.

With over 15 years of experience in financial services, Mallory Vaughn is a seasoned expert in product management, digital transformation and strategy. She hails a proven track record of leading organization change through agile teams and delivering top-performing products. Recognized for her expertise in product strategy and execution, Mallory has a deep understanding of the investments and insurance landscape and has successfully spearheaded cross-functional teams to deliver innovative solutions.

Currently, as the Director of Business Transformation at Liberty Mutual Investments, Mallory is at the forefront of driving transformational change across people, processes, data, and technology. She is a strong advocate for user-centricity and is dedicated to fostering a culture of innovation and collaboration to advance the company's product development efforts.

Ted Wright is Head of RMS – Americas at Verity. After nearly a decade on the sell-side (Morgan Stanley, Oppenheimer & Co.) and in real estate private equity, Ted has spent the past 9+ years building investment management technology businesses. He graduated magna cum laude, with distinction, from Colby College.

Paul Zikopoulos is changing the way audiences are looking at their businesses in terms of sales, obstacles, and potential for growth - and the key ingredient is data! He’s been named an expert on big data by publications such as Big Data Republic, Technopedia, and Analytics Week. He is also included on multiple "experts to follow" lists around the world - including SAP’s “50 Big Data Twitter Influencers”. Paul has been consulted on this topic by “60 Minutes” and advises various universities as they develop their curriculums to match market needs. Paul has won multiple awards for his speaking in part because he has a unique ability to take the often complex world of analytics, big data, AI, data science, machine learning, etc. and reach audiences of all ages and skills levels with the right message. Paul is a Fortune 35 (IBM) Vice President focused on Analytics, an award winning writer (who has published more than 19 books and over 350 articles on various topics) and sits on the advisory board of Women 2.0 - a for profit company committed to close the gender gaps in founding, investing, and workplace leadership.