Geographic & Proposition Strategy

• A large European bank and asset manager was looking for support in developing their in-country strategy, specifically whether to pursue growth, focus their product offering or to divest from the business.
• Over a 4-week engagement, the team would conduct both a strategic options analysis and feasibility study in order to provide the organisation’s leadership with a recommendation on the best course of action.
• Using data on clients, headcount, business segment costs and revenues, banking licenses and other regulatory implications, we were able to provide an in-depth analysis of the viability of the organisation as a whole and the profitability of each business. Furthermore, we produced a comparison of each Key Performance Indicator to that of their closest competitors and market best practice. Finally, we assessed the market appetite for a potential purchase of each business and provided an assessment of the implementation costs, high-level planning and risk assessment of pursuing each strategic option.
• Together with the leadership team of the organisation, we produced a recommendation for each business which included merging two business entities, rationalising their client base to focus on their most profitable customers and selling two separate business.

Post-merger Integration

• Following a merger, a global asset manager needed to rationalise their UK Distribution function to meet their increasingly diverse range of client needs.
• As programme manager, my role was to lead the end to end consultation process and support the leadership team in developing their new operating model.
• I developed a detailed method to track the ~200 individuals throughout the process, ensuring all HR milestones were completed, risks were understood and mitigated, and client relationships were appropriately managed. Furthermore, I was tasked with supporting the leadership to help them define their target operating model and develop their organisational culture, as well as remapping their new market strategy onto their dual Salesforce instances.
• With the support of a team of 30, we completed the consultation process in 7 weeks; furthermore, the leadership team had a strong foundation with which to re-launch their Distribution business.

ESG Commercialisation Strategy

• A global asset manager was looking to improve the market perception of their ESG and Responsible Investing procedures.
• I was tasked with understanding the underlying causes of the issue, including performing a market analysis, identifying and prioritising the remediating actions required and rolling-out these improvements across the client-facing functions of the organisation.
• I conducted a series of stakeholder interviews, gathered all existing documentation and conducted proprietary market research on the status of ESG and Responsible Investing issues. Together with the client I prioritised the programme of work according to the budget available, and then developed an implementation plan to achieve the large number over tasks. Over the next 6 months, I collaborated with multiple teams across the organisation to deliver a global training programme for all sales teams, review their product pipeline, create new sections of their website and create a suite of new marketing collateral.
• At the end of the project, the client had a strong understanding of their market positioning and had the tools necessary in order to increase their market presence on this topic within their existing client segments.

Middle Office Op Model & Outsourcing

• The asset management arm of a Global Bank was looking to create a uniform operating model across their middle office operations, which had a mixture of in-house, fully outsourced and hybrid models.
• My role was to conduct a detailed Request for Information (RFI) and produce a recommendation for the most appropriate model for the organisation’s middle office, produce a short-list of outsourced providers, and support the production of a business case to determine the validity of this proposal.
• I developed a comprehensive framework for assessing the providers’ responses to the RFI according to the quality of their proposition and the coverage of their services in relation to the asset manager’s requirements. A set of information sharing workshops were conducted to allow the providers to better understand the asset manager’s requirements and ask any questions prior to providing their response to the RFI. In addition, I worked with the providers to prepare cost proposals for their services.
• A detailed report was prepared outlining the strengths and weaknesses of each potential outsourced provide and an outline of the impact each would have on their global operating model.

Digitising Distribution Processes

• The Chief Commercial Officer of a large asset manager was looking to innovate their existing sales processes in order to maximise the time their sales team could spend with clients and provide them with the information that would allow them to optimise their conversations.
• I was tasked with developing a proof of concept for three separate initiatives: influencer network visualisation, radio station automation and optimising meeting note capture.
• Firstly, I developed an outline of how each of these concepts could be structured, including the data, architecture and applications required. I then performed market research to understand the best vendors aligned to the needs of the organisation and the organisation’s existing technology infrastructure. Lastly, I performed business case analysis, including both the implementation and ongoing in comparison to the business benefits. I also worked with our Data Architects to produce a prototype of the influencer network tool.
• A report was delivered with the proof of concept details for each initiative, and a recommendation on whether these should be progressed.