Earlier this year we formed a Strategic Advisory Board made up of experienced technology and investment professionals in the private markets. In this series, we’ll get to know each one a little bit better.
Assunta Gaglione-Austin is the former co-CTO of KKR & Co. Inc., where she led a global technology team responsible for enterprise technology strategy and execution for the $200B AUM global asset management firm. During her decades of experience in the financial services industry, Assunta built innovative, industry-level-award-winning software for different functions, including sales and deal pipeline management, client portals, data engineering, automated listed equity trading and private markets portfolio company data aggregation, analytics and reporting.
I was looking for something new mid-career. The public markets were commoditizing and under increasing regulatory scrutiny. The private markets were fascinating. There is real adrenaline around deal-making. It has been challenging and rewarding to apply technology to a relatively lower volume, higher margin business.
There are so many stakeholders. Data management is harder to get right when you have that many voices in the conversation. It’s not impossible, it’s just harder because you need to understand multiple perspectives to design something relevant and lasting.
Start small, get feedback and iterate. Use platforms that are configurable and partners you trust, because change is inevitable and you’ll want help.
Generally speaking, the private markets attract people with incredible raw intellect and analytical capabilities. And yet we too often hear people are spending time gathering, cleansing and reviewing data before applying their skills to what really matters – insight and decision-making. What a waste of talent, energy and comp dollars. Better data management gives an organization an edge by unleashing that intellect in strategic and differentiating ways.
Food sourcing, understanding foodways, cooking and enjoying food and drink with others.
