Catalyst, a consultancy that specialises in outsourcing, restructuring and IT initiatives, has formed an asset management division. The new division will be headed up by Paul Stevens. Previously CIO at Barclays Global Investors, he brings over 20 years of experience to the company.
The new division aims to help fund managers implement OTCs, portfolio controls and compliance modeling and checking applications. In addition, Catalyst will work with asset managers to create a “golden source” of static and real-time data.
“The new division will allow Catalyst’s clients to benefit from leveraging extensive and proven expertise in analysing, designing and implementing large scale change,” says Stevens. “They can then apply this to their specific area of business. I am very excited by the opportunity to combine Catalyst’s sell-side expertise and systemic change approach with the asset management community. My goal is to grow this group and provide high-end, high-value services to this community and establish Catalyst as the trusted advisor for complex change programmes.”
Prior to joining Catalyst, Paul Stevens was CIO at Barclays Global Investors, working between London and San Francisco, and managing a team of over 450 people spread across five locations. During his five years at BGI, Stevens developed and implemented a unified global IT group, led the creation and adoption of a firm-wide IT governance process and eliminated over $40 million in costs.
Prior to BGI, Stevens was global head of application development at JP Morgan Investment Management in New York and created and implemented a plan that reduced the annual US $40 million IT application budget by 20%. Before joining JP Morgan he was head of custody systems at SG Warburg and was responsible for a team of 35 people who developed and maintained all back office business activities.
Greg Davis, CEO at Catalyst, says he is pleased to attract such a senior figure. “He has joined the team to spearhead our drive into asset management,” he says. “He brings extensive sector experience and contacts; this together with our change management expertise and existing track record will form the basis for a truly differentiated offering to buy-side firms. In today’s market place the integration and change within firms can have the opposite of the desired effect and actually slow the growth of a business. Catalysts aim to handle `the difficult stuff’ and exploit the benefits of change.”