After 60 plus episodes and almost two years of covering the operational side of the investment management industry, the time has arrived.  It's time to sign off. Thanks for listening. Thanks for being part of the Operational Leaders podcast.  And thanks for helping make this the best podcast covering the ins and outs of running an investment management business. In the past, I was fortunate enough to work with an awesome set of people who were guided by the highest ethical principle of...

This past season and in prior seasons, guests have graciously lent their industry expertise.  Many have also mentioned some very important charitable causes.  In this episode, we conclude Season Three by welcoming Sumudu Waas, the Acting Executive Director at Help for Children (HFC).  HFC is a global foundation supporting the prevention and treatment of child abuse. Sumudu joins this episode to talk about the mission of Help for Children and the foundation’s deep roots within the alternative...

Sylvian Forté is passionate about artificial intelligence.  In 2014, he took that passion and co-founded SESΛMm, a company that applies natural language processing –  a subfield of artificial intelligence – to extract billions of articles and messages from the web and turn them into relevant insights for investors. In this episode, Sylvian explains the rise of artificial intelligence and big data and their use in the investment field.  He discusses the various use cases for AI and his...

As the former Chief Architect at a leading private equity firm, Richard Change saw a gap in data standards, as well as limitations on how firms stored and tracked investment information.  In 2012 he set out as co-founder to start PFA Solutions.  The company now focuses on technology solutions for calculating GP carry allocations and tracking consolidated performance information across fund firms. Richard joins this episode to talk about the ongoing gap in industry-wide data standards and how...

John Brennan spent nearly 25 years on the buy-side of the alternative investment management industry, include most recently 10 years as the Chief Technology Officer at Highfields Capital.  He now serves as the Chief Strategy Officer at Eze Castle Integration. John joined the podcast as our very first guest.  He returns in this episode to talk about integrating new technologies and the importance of first understanding the underlying business environment.  Along the way, John hits on a number...

Elaine Chim heads the private equity product for the Americas and APAC at the Apex Group.  From her position, she maintains a unique view of the market for fund administration and a broader array of client services for private equity firms.  In this episode, Elaine discusses the growing use of third-party administrators by private equity firms.  She explains some of the trends behind this transition, including the importance of technology solutions that larger administrators can provide in...

Jersey Finance celebrates its 20th year as a member organization formed to champion the competitive position of Jersey's finance industry.  The celebration coincides with the Island of Jersey’s 60th anniversary as a leading finance center.  In this episode, Jersey Finance Deputy CEO, Amy Bryant, and Legal and Technical Manager, Peggy Gielen, discuss the merits of Jersey for investment fund domiciliation.  They talk about the origins of Jersey as a finance center and its investment funds...

The ability to raise capital is fundamental to the success of any investment management firm.  Evan Katz often stands in the middle of that effort, serving as Managing Director of Crawford Ventures, a firm dedicated to helping hedge and PE funds grow, thrive and raise substantial investor capital. In this episode, Evan talks about his role advising firms looking to raise capital.  He shares his observations about some basic fundraising principles, tips and best practices, and why some...

Shaun Murray helps lead Margin Reform, a UK-based consultancy focused on helping clients address margin, collateral and legal issues in the derivatives, repo and securities lending space.  He joined Margin Reform as CEO in 2019, teaming up with former colleague Chetan Joshi, the firm’s founder and COO. In this episode, Shaun provides some background on the development of the derivatives market and particularly the impact of the 2008 financial crisis. He explains how the crisis led to...

In November 2019 James Newman and his business partner, Quentin Thom, left their in-house positions and founded perfORM Due Diligence Services.  Their firm is an innovative, flexible and technology-driven ODD service, and the first of its kind in the UK. In this episode, James talks about how he and Quentin saw the need for an independent third-party ODD service and what led them to create perfORM.  He also discusses the types of assignments investors request and how those assignments have...

More than twenty years ago, Brian Davis left his legal practice and became one of the top legal recruiters in the profession.  He focused his talents on financial services and later became a recognized pioneer for concentrating his work in the alternative asset space.  Today, Brian serves as the Managing Partner in New York for Major, Lindsey & Africa, the world’s premier legal executive search firm. In this episode, Brian shares his perspective on the alternative asset management...

John Phinney has held almost every C-Suite position in the investment management industry.  He has seen some of the best practices - and the worst - on the operational side of the business.  In 2013, he left the in-house world behind and co-founded Convergence, Inc., a firm committed to filling a void in data, research and analytics coverage of the Alternative Investments space. In this episode, John shares experiences and insights from his noted career.  He talks about the importance of...

John D’Agostino is one of the industry’s leading experts on cryptocurrency.  He sits on the board of several of the industry’s largest crypto-focused hedge funds, leads the Digital Asset Working Group for AIMA and much more.  He is also the former Head of Strategy for the New York Mercantile Exchange. John joins this episode to provide an overview to digital currency.  He explains what people typically mean when they refer to “crypto,” and why a single definition can prove elusive.  John...

Michelle Noyes serves as a Managing Director and Head of the Americas at the Alternative Investment Management Association (or AIMA), where she has worked since 2012.  In this episode, Michelle provides an inside look at the industry’s top global trade associations and some of the challenges the organization faced and overcame this past year.  In particular, she describes the goals of AIMA and how the organization set about fulfilling them on a remote basis, AIMA’s quick pivot after COVID to...

In 2001, David Lewis founded a one-person consulting practice that has since grown to become OperationsInc, one of the largest HR consulting practices in the U.S.  When the COVID pandemic hit nearly twenty years later, David and his team set out to become nationally recognized experts on all matters related to managing companies through the crisis and its eventual aftermath. In this episode, David discusses the crisis and some critical early lessons.  He then shares his thoughts on why...

A key to every successful investment management firm is the ability to attract and retain capital.  And that key begins with a story.  Kathleen Muir, founder and CEO of the Muir Network brings her twenty plus years of experience in the alternatives industry to help managers develop and communicate their story or their brand.  In this episode, Kathleen talks about lessons learned from her experience as both an in-house branding and marketing specialist as well as a trusted outside adviser. ...

Ron Biscardi has spent the better part of his career in finance focusing on connecting investors and managers.  Along the way, he built the world's largest capital introduction conference. In 2020, Ron saw the impact of the global pandemic and the resulting food insecurities that impacted so many.  He decided to combine his ability to connect people with charitable efforts to address hunger issues.  The result was iConnections, a software platform that serves the alternative investment world...

Mark Fordyce had an idea to create a firm that provides a full suite of outsourced services to alternative investment managers.  Then he executed on it.  The result - in 2009 Mark co-founded Blue River Partners which has since grown to become the preeminent outsourced service provider to the alternative asset management industry. In this episode, Mark talks about starting and growing Blue River Partners and a key early decision to combine legal and compliance support with accounting and...

After spending the better part of his 20-year career at top multinational law firms, Rich Chen decided to strike out on his own.  In 2019, he started the boutique law firm of Richard L. Chen PLLC.  He focuses on providing legal and business advice to investment management firms. In this episode, Rich discusses his career path, the vision for his legal practice, and why he believes that leading his own firm offers the best way to channel his passion and expertise to help clients.  Rich adds...

Grace Reyes has become one of the most prominent voices in finance when it comes to promoting diversity and inclusion in the investment industry.  In 2020 she founded The Investment Diversity Exchange (TIDE) to focus on these goals and create a united voice for diversity. In this episode, Grace talks about her career in finance and some of her experiences that lead to the creation of TIDE.  She also discusses a core mission of TIDE to connect asset owner with managers to expand the scope of...

Alan Meaney stands at the forefront of the fintech movement that’s changing the operational side of investment management firms. He serves as the CEO and was co-founder of Fund Recs, a company originally built to automate the trade and transactions reconciliation process.  Now Fund Recs is venturing out to help firms automate their internal process. In this episode, Alan talks about the fund reconciliation problem he and his co-founder saw when they started Fund Recs in 2013.  He discusses...

Gary Berger has spent over 30 years providing audit services and business advice to the private fund industry.  Along the way, he became a trusted advisor to existing managers and a “first call” for start-up managers seeking a range of advice from organization structures to economic and tax issues. In this episode, Gary discusses how he got started in the accounting profession, his early days auditing hedge funds and some of the key changes to both the private fund industry and the auditing...

Dan Nathan was a trader in the hedge fund business before pivoting his career to become a business advisor and market commentator, including his noted position as a regular panelist on CNBC’s Fast Money.  He returns to the Operational Leaders podcast this week for the second part of a special two-part bonus episode. In part 2, Dan flips the script on host Terrance O’Malley and gets Terrance to open up and share some of his experiences and thoughts on the investment management business. ...

Before RiskReversal.com and RiskReversal Advisors, before the regular panelist role on CNBC’s Fast Money, Dan Nathan was a trader in the hedge fund business.  He joins the Operational Leaders podcast for a special two-part bonus episode.  Dan and host Terrance O’Malley swap personal stories about their experience in the asset management business and share insights into the private fund sector. In Part 1, Dan describes his early days as a hedge fund trader, and how he later pivoted to the...