Chanelle Crabtree
Consulting Principal – Investment Operations and Outsourcing
Chanelle Crabtree has extensive experience consulting for the asset management industry in Australia for the past 20 years. Chanelle has considerable knowledge and expertise in investment management, outsourcing, and the development of operational models that support the investment management lifecycle. Chanelle leads Cutter Associates’ Investment Operations and Outsourcing practice, and oversees Cutter’s Australia office. She has decades of experience working for investment management firms, custodians, and consulting firms, in roles that included middle-/back-office operational, business analyst, project management, consulting, and senior management. She has a deep understanding of investment management, covering the operational, governance, and system requirements to support all types of clients, products, and asset classes.
A former Director at Deloitte, Chanelle led key engagements, particularly for complex clients with diverse asset classes, covering target operating model design, sourcing, and implementation. Prior to Deloitte, Chanelle was a Lead Consultant at Morse Consulting Pty Limited, where she led various engagements that covered target operating model design, sourcing of custodians/systems, and implementations with investment managers and superannuation clients.
Laura Jesson
Senior Research Analyst
Laura Jesson has more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry as a project manager, business analyst, and consultant. She joined Cutter Associates in 2013. Prior to Cutter, Laura spent eight years at Wells Capital Management and Evergreen Investments, where she managed investment operations projects, including those focused on outsourcing, client reporting, and trade management. She previously worked at Omgeo as a member of the Central Trade Manager (CTM) product design team. Laura started her career at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) as a process consultant supporting a variety of projects for clients in the financial services industry. Laura earned her bachelor of arts in economics and psychology from Amherst College. She holds the Project Manager Professional (PMP) certification.
Recent research assignments and publications include the following:
- AI Use Cases in Investment Management: Infinite Possibilities
- Business Intelligence Tools
- Cutter Benchmarking: Client Reporting
- Cutter Benchmarking: Firmwide ESG Capabilities
- Cutter Benchmarking: Managing Vendors and Service Providers
- DataOps: In Theory and Practice
- Enabling Data Analytics
- ESG Data Management
- ESG: It’s a Jungle Out There ─ A Look at the Data Provider Landscape
- ESG Investing: One Vision, Many Lenses
- Execution Management Systems
- Hybrid Work Arrangements and Their Impact on Firm Culture
- Using RPA to Automate Business Processes
- The Role of the CRM for Asset Managers
William Walker
Senior Director, Consulting
William is a proven initiative-taking leader with proficiency in managing, defining and implementing innovative technology, operations and client data management solutions in the Asset & Wealth Management industry. Experience working with tier 1 asset, wealth, pension & superannuation fund managers in multiple global jurisdictions, including Australia, Asia, United States and Europe.
He has extensive knowledge of the full suite of front to back-office processes and technologies with experience devising, developing and delivering strategies in Australia as well as globally. He specializes in managing high performing delivery teams with direct involvement in technology, operations, data management, front office teams, and senior stakeholder management.
William spent 17 years at JPMorgan, initially focusing on client reporting solutions for asset managers and pension funds within the Securities Services business in London. After relocating to New York he was a central figure in the design and development of their first strategic mobile enabled, global client reporting and data management solution that was ultimately central to the client implementation effort.
Following his time in Securities Services William then took a key role in the Asset & Wealth Management Technology leadership where he was responsible for the delivery of portfolio management and portfolio implementation tools for the Private Bank Discretionary business, including; pre-trade controls, mandate management portfolio/model management and discretionary product launches. A key part of this role included managing the relationships with the Portfolio Management & Trading teams as well as senior Middle Office stakeholders. In addition to that William was a lead stakeholder in the selection process for appointing an outsourced Custodial service provider for a new product line.
In moving to Sydney William took a role as Fund Services Product Manager where a core function was to lead the response to Custodial RFPs.
Following his career in the industry William moved into consulting where he has led the search, selection & implementation of various platforms and the establishment of associated operational processes across the Australian asset, wealth and superannuation industry. This has included the implementation of Matrix and establishment of the data governance framework and middle office function. Most recently he is leading the program to define & deliver an investment platform for a major superannuation fund.
William holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from the University of Edinburgh.
The results of participating Benchmarking firms' vendor management practices.
Investment management firms remain focused on opportunities to remain competitive and efficient. One vital way to do this is to optimize third-party relationships and manage vendors (including service providers and other suppliers). Firms have a wide range of maturity and approach the discipline of vendor management in different ways – from the vantage point of cost, risk, value, and future opportunity.