TechTalk: Tech Transformation in Investment & Wealth Management – The Role of Culture, Leadership and Data Driven Decision Making

This webinar took place on 7th December. You can view an on demand version by clicking here.

The Investment Association and the Engine invites you to our virtual TechTalk as we explore the role of culture, leadership and data driven decision making to help innovate, implement and future proof the investment management sector.

Historically the investment and wealth management sector has been slow to adopt emergent technology, however, in order to increase efficiency, improve consumer outcomes and ultimately future-proof it is imperative that there is an organisational culture and multi-level sponsorship that supports innovation. The use of data as a strategic asset together with an insights driven culture will be key characteristics of successful investment management firms of the future.

This TechTalk offers insights from leading member experts and will examine the current trends and case studies to help our sector not only succeed today but prepare for tomorrow.

14:00 Opening remarks
Gillian Painter, Head of Membership and Engine, The Investment Association

14:05 The future of tech investment and deployment
Amanda West, Senior Vice President Innovation, Refinitiv

14:35 Fireside chat: The role of leadership, culture and data in future-proofing investment and wealth management
Joe Parkin, Head of Banks and Digital, BlackRock Investment Management
Gareth Johnson, Divisional Director – Head of Managed Investment Services, Brewin Dolphin Ltd

15:00 Fintech Q&A
Julie Chakraverty, CEO, Rungway

Igor Tesinsky, FCCA, Co-Founder & CEO, Intellibonds

15:10 Closing remarks
Gillian Painter, Head of Membership and Engine, The Investment Association

Speaker Biographies

Gillian Painter, Head of Membership and Engine, The Investment Association
As Head of Membership and Engine, Gillian is a senior member of the IA Enterprises management team. Engine is the IA’s Innovation hub and FinTech accelerator. Since its launch in October 2019, Gillian has managed the growth of Engine which now encompasses an ecosystem of over 130 firms, innovator programmes, as well as a regional co-working hub in Birmingham and an international programme. Engine is focused on innovation and transformation for the investment management and wealth sectors providing an extensive programme of thought leadership, resources and connectivity. Gillian has a strong experience in technology having worked in technical and operational roles for global IT and telecom firms.

Amanda West, Senior Vice President Innovation, Refinitiv
Amanda West is Global Head of Refinitiv Labs. Working directly with customers and partners, she is responsible for the operation of a global innovation program focused on emerging technologies — AI/ML, Cloud, Big Data, and Blockchain — and experimenting with new agile, early-stage business, and operating models in financial services. Amanda has held a number of different strategy, innovation, proposition, and marketing roles at Refinitiv, Thomson Reuters and Reuters Group. She is passionate about the customer, a strategic thinker, driven by results, and has deep appreciation of the Refinitiv business.

Joe Parkin, Head of Banks and Digital Channels in the UK, BlackRock Investment Management
In his role he is responsible for BlackRock’s relationships with Private, Retail and Neo Banks, as well as Digital Channels in the UK. Mr Parkin’s previous roles at BlackRock included acting as Head of the iShares business in the UK, Digital Wealth for Northern Europe, Chief of Staff for the iShares business in EMEA, and overseeing and coordinating iShares’ relationships with key financial institutional clients across EMEA, including bank and insurance groups. Prior to joining BlackRock in April 2012, Mr Parkin worked at Goldman Sachs for 6 years. During that time he worked within Private Wealth Management (PWM), where he assisted in building out Goldman Sachs’ footprint in the emerging markets, and Goldman Sachs Asset Management, where he was in UK Discretionary Sales. Mr. Parkin is passionate about driving financial wellbeing and inclusion in the UK, and believes that technology is the enabler for this. He serves as an Advisory Panel Member for Engine, the UK Investment Association’s FinTech accelerator, and a Chapter Member for the UK Government’s Fintech Strategic Review.