CutterCast: Martech in Investment Management

John Refford joined Cutter Associates in 2018 as a consultant in the client-facing practice. John brings deep expertise in digital marketing technology within the financial services industry. Prior to joining Cutter, John spent 20 years at Natixis Investment Managers, most recently as Senior Vice President, Marketing Technology. There, John led the effort to digitize and modernize the firm’s marketing strategy by launching new digital capabilities and marketing channels. He pioneered the firm’s social media and lead generation programs focused on building brand awareness and driving advisor engagement. Prior to joining marketing at Natixis, John spent 12 years in IT, where he was responsible for the firm’s system, network, and security for global offices. John was a member of the Investment Management Education Alliance and served as a Digital Council board member from 2015 to 2017. A recognized leader in digital strategies, John has presented numerous times at industry events on digital marketing topics. He holds a bachelor of science in computer science from Fitchburg State College, a graduate certificate in technology management from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and an MBA from Babson College.

In her role as Director of Marketing Technology at Janus Henderson Investors, Megan Michuda researches, develops, and implements technologies supporting marketing teams. Megan has served Janus Henderson in a variety of digital marketing roles over the past seven years, partnering closely with marketing, IT and BI to advance the firm’s capabilities in analytics, web experience, operations, and marketing automation. In 2018, Megan’s team won a Stackie Award at Scott Brinker’s annual MarTech Conference, honoring noteworthy marketing stacks across the MarTech industry. Prior to joining Janus Henderson, Megan worked in product marketing for the DISH Network. Megan earned her Master of Science degree in information and communication technology, with a specialization in technology management from the University of Denver. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Brown University.

David Tabora is responsible for the technology team and platforms supporting Digital Marketing for J.P. Morgan Asset Management. He partners very closely with regional Digital leadership and MarTech leadership in defining and executing the strategy for Digital platforms and applications. Prior to joining J.P. Morgan, David spent 15 years at Goldman Sachs where he had global responsibility for the trading and execution technology teams for asset management. He lived in India from 2011 through 2014, where he built technology teams to support front-office functions in asset management. David holds a B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Rutgers University.

Dominic Traynor recently joined BNY Mellon’s Investment Management business as Global Head of Digital Experience. He is responsible for building out the digital experience across BNY Mellon’s digital assets, including websites, email programs, and social media. He partners closely with the distribution and technology teams to ensure that the MarTech capability enables this strategy. Previously, Dominic served as head of Digital and Direct Marketing at BlackRock (EMEA) for 7 ½ years, where he oversaw all aspects of digital marketing across the iShares, Retail, and Institutional businesses. More recently, Dominic was at M&G as head of Digital, where he was responsible for driving digital marketing strategy and for building out digital capability and experience.

Jay Wightman has built his career at the intersection of business, digital innovation, and end-user experience. As an innovator and entrepreneur, Jay has been a founding member of several Boston-based startups focused on the defining challenges of our time: scaling business models over the web, rethinking legacy offerings with a focus on digital experience, and transforming marketing organizations through web, mobile, and cloud technologies. Jay brings this expertise and his experience managing cross-functional teams to his role as Head of Digital Experience at John Hancock investments, where he is responsible for driving digital transformation.