Strata

We're delighted to welcome C. Rudy Lewis Lewis to the Strata team. Rudy joins us with over 15 years of experience at BlackRock, where he held Director roles across BlackRock Solutions' Relationship Management Group and the Alternative Client Engagement team for eFront in North America. During his time at BlackRock, he served as Regional Lead for Aladdin in Los Angeles, developed and maintained client relationships across the West Coast, and earlier co-managed a team of analysts overseeing 21 clients globally with over USD 1.8T in assets under risk management on Aladdin. Most recently, Rudy served as the Front Office Aladdin Implementation Lead on engagements with a major global asset manager and a leading US asset manager, having previously held Director-level roles in Fixed Income Platform Solutions at a global investment bank and in Banking and Capital Markets Advisory at a Big Four professional services firm. Rudy brings deep Aladdin and eFront implementation expertise and leadership to the Strata team as we continue to grow our US business rapidly.

We're delighted to welcome Christopher Dean as the new Chairman of Strata FSC. Christopher joins us following a distinguished 40-year career in IT consulting, including serving as Global Consulting CEO at Credera and leading the firm's UK business for many years. His experience scaling consulting businesses through periods of significant growth makes him an exceptional fit for Strata at this stage of our journey. Strata is leading change in the investment industry as experts in Aladdin®, eFront and the wider data ecosystem. Our team of industry practitioners brings hands-on expertise to design and implement transformative solutions for Asset Managers, Insurers, Asset Servicers and Wealth Managers, combining strategic advisory with end-to-end delivery that produces outcomes and results. Strata is the second Growth Capital Partners-backed business Christopher has joined, and we're proud to benefit from his insight as we accelerate our growth and shape the next phase of our international expansion. Welcome to the team, Christopher. We're looking forward to what's ahead. "We welcome Chris to the Strata team, his direct experience of leading a consulting firm through the same stage of growth as ours is rare and invaluable. John Marsland (our outgoing chair) joins our leadership team and will work with our global clients as a senior advisor, having first hand, c-suite experience, of running an Aladdin programme.” - James Howell

A growing number of asset owners are moving beyond Strategic Asset Allocation, because the investment environment has outgrown it. Higher macro volatility, expanding private markets exposure, and the demand for more transparent, outcome-focused governance are pushing leading institutions towards Total Portfolio Approach: a framework that evaluates every investment for its marginal contribution to real outcomes, rather than its fit within a predefined asset-class bucket. Our latest paper explores this evolution in depth, from the structural limitations of SAA, to the governance, operating model, and technology foundations that make TPA work in practice. We also address the questions we hear most often from clients: Do you need to abandon SAA entirely? Can smaller asset owners adopt TPA? How long does the transition realistically take? The shift from SAA to TPA is less a stylistic choice than a strategic imperative for asset owners intent on resilience and durable real returns. Inside this guide by Anders Rox Hansen, you will find: - Why SAA is straining under today's conditions - What TPA is, and what it isn't - The four operating model pillars that underpin successful adoption - A practical, step-by-step roadmap for asset owners ready to make the shift If you are reassessing your portfolio framework, or simply want to understand where leading practice is heading then this paper is worth your time. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/egNYphTA

We’re delighted to welcome Angela Mullin to the Strata team. Angela joins us with significant experience in investment operations leadership, including a senior role at BlackRock, where she served as Vice President. There, she led initiatives across alternative investments and corporate actions that delivered measurable operational impact, including enhancing alternative investment funding processes, streamlining onboarding for complex products, and successfully delivering multiple Aladdin implementation projects. She also led the US Corporate Actions team, driving automation and system upgrades that significantly improved processing times and team efficiency. Earlier in her career, Angela held leadership roles at Barclays, Citi Alternative Investments, Highbridge, and Goldman Sachs, building and managing corporate actions teams, overseeing global operations, and delivering projects that strengthened accuracy, reduced risk, and improved team performance. With a strong track record across alternative investments, Aladdin implementation, and operational transformation, Angela brings valuable experience to the Strata team.

We're delighted to welcome David Jackson to the Strata team. David brings nearly two decades of experience delivering large-scale change across front, middle and back office within global asset management, including close to nine years at a leading global asset manager. There, he held progressive senior roles spanning from Agile Business Analyst to Programme Workstream Lead, with significant delivery responsibility across BlackRock Aladdin IBOR and ABOR implementations. Most recently he led the migration of operational and investment data into Snowflake, designing automated ingestion of Aladdin data into a centralised cloud platform and introducing AI-assisted testing that achieved approximately 75% efficiency gains over manual approaches. Earlier, David held delivery roles at a multi-asset manager and a major UK investment manager, contributing to regulatory change programmes including MiFID II, GDPR, AIFMD and Solvency II, alongside infrastructure transformation and global outsourcing initiatives. With deep expertise across Aladdin implementation, data platforms, Target Operating Model design and programme delivery, David brings exceptional experience to the Strata team.

We are pleased to share our joint white paper in partnership with BlackRock's Aladdin® business exploring the power of outsourcing middle-office with the Aladdin Provider model. At Strata we are frequently asked by clients to support the design of optimal middle-office outsource models, Aladdin Provider has been designed to do just that, delivering significant scale, efficiency and transparency, whilst retaining control for the Asset Manager, Asset Owner or Insurer. Whether you're actively exploring middle-office outsourcing or simply want to understand what best practice looks like, 'The COO's guide to middle-office outsourcing' is a useful starting point. Download the full paper at this link: https://lnkd.in/e7eii_Ec

We are delighted to welcome Will Denison-Edson CFA FRM to the Strata team! Will brings over 20 years of experience delivering data and technology solutions across asset and wealth management, with deep hands-on expertise across the Aladdin ecosystem including Aladdin Explore, Studio, Answer, Portfolio Construction and Aladdin Data Cloud. Most recently as an Aladdin Consultant a leading UK asset manager, he optimised Aladdin front office workflows and delivered custom analytics across front-office and risk functions, including Python-based extracts with Aladdin Data Cloud. Prior to this, as Global Head of Performance, Analytics and Risk Technology at a major global asset manager, he delivered a multiyear technology roadmap and designed a self-service reporting platform using Azure and Snowflake. Earlier, Will led the Aladdin risk implementation at a prominent US asset manager, building a global risk platform integrating multiple data sources across fixed income, equity, derivatives and multi-asset portfolios. With exceptional breadth across risk, performance, analytics and investment technology, combined with strong cloud and Python development capability, Will brings outstanding technical depth to the Strata team.

We're delighted to welcome Avinash Bhandari to the Strata team! Avinash joins us with nearly 18 years at BlackRock, where he has held a series of progressive senior roles centred on the Aladdin platform. Most recently as APAC Head of Aladdin Client Experience, he has been responsible for end-to-end product experience for clients leveraging Aladdin to manage their investment book. Prior to this, as Director, he managed senior-level client relationships across BlackRock Solutions' Aladdin enterprise system and was actively involved in presales and business development across the region. Earlier in his BlackRock tenure, he worked as a Data Relationship Manager, implementing new clients onto the Aladdin platform and training client data teams on security setups and workflows. With close to two decades of deep, hands-on Aladdin expertise spanning client success, relationship management, business development and platform implementation, Avinash brings exceptional knowledge to Strata's growing Aladdin advisory and client capability.

We're delighted to welcome Hiroko Taylor to the Strata team. Hiroko joins us with a decade of senior leadership at BlackRock in Singapore, where as Director she led APAC Derivative Operations across Singapore, Japan, Taiwan and India, managing teams of 40+ and overseeing post-trade functions spanning derivative confirmations, margins and reconciliations. Throughout her tenure at BlackRock she worked closely with investment, trading and client experience teams to ensure operational integrity across the Aladdin platform, and served as a key sponsor for regulatory reporting initiatives under ASIC and MAS. She also spent three years leading BlackRock's Technology and Operations Emerging Talent Programme across APAC. Her broader career spans more than 25 years across some of the world's most respected financial institutions, including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and UBS, with experience across trading, derivatives operations, product control and large-scale operations leadership across Tokyo, Singapore and Asia. With deep front-to-back knowledge of investment operations and a strong track record leading regional teams across complex, multi-market environments, Hiroko brings exceptional experience to Strata's growing operations and Aladdin advisory capability in APAC.

Is your middle-office op model driving competitive advantage? Middle-office outsourcing is on the front line of efficiency gains for asset managers. Cost pressure, operational complexity, and the need for scalable infrastructure is pushing COOs to ask hard questions about their current operating models. Strata have partnered with Aladdin® to publish a practical guide exploring how the Aladdin Provider model is enabling firms to modernize their operations, without sacrificing control, transparency, or strategic flexibility. Inside the guide: → Why asset managers are rethinking traditional middle-office structures and moving toward outsourced operating models → How Aladdin Provider enables asset managers and servicers to work from a single source of data, reducing friction, and improving oversight → A practical checklist for COOs evaluating middle-office outsourcing — covering governance, technology assessment, provider selection, and operating model design Whether you're actively exploring middle-office outsourcing or simply want to understand what best practice looks like, this guide is a useful starting point.   Download the full guide at this link: https://lnkd.in/e7eii_Ec