< The 2014 Tech 50: Moving Out of the Lab and Into the Cloud
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Catherine Bessant
Global Technology and Operations Executive
Bank of America Corp.
Last year: 4
Reflecting on one of the biggest jobs in financial technology — or anywhere in banking, for that matter — Catherine Bessant waxes philosophical: “Is technology a supporting element of banking, or is it what we sell?” Bank of America Corp., of which Bessant has been global technology and operations executive since 2010, had 238,560 full-time employees as of March 31. Today, with a $17 billion operating budget, Bessant’s group consists of some 124,000 staff and contractors, 40,000 of whom came on in April, indicating how the balance is tipping at $2.1 trillion-in-assets BofA. “We still have to deliver on all the traditional fronts, reducing the cost of providing services, [ensuring] stability and platform performance,” says Bessant, 54, who previously served as BofA’s president of global corporate banking and chief marketing officer. “But innovation is increasingly about technology capabilities,” which will be critical to growth and competitiveness. Emphasizing the importance of intellectual property, the Charlotte, North Carolina–based bank obtained 265 patents last year, 62 percent more than in 2012. “Think about the transformation of our business model against a backdrop of serving 30 million active online customers and 15 million mobile customers,” Bessant says, noting that delivery channels are changing and customer loyalties can swing in a world of handheld devices and social media. She regards regulatory change as “an opportunity to make our work better. You can’t motivate a large technology and operations organization if you classify a significant portion of the work as a burden.”
The 2014 Tech 50
1
1
3
4
5
Thomas Secunda
Bloomberg Jeffrey Sprecher
Intercontinental Exchange Catherine Bessant
Bank of America Corp. Stephen Neff
Fidelity Investments Lance Uggla
Markit 6
7
8
9
10
Robert Goldstein
BlackRock David Craig
Thomson Reuters Phupinder Gill
CME Group Anna Ewing
NASDAQ
OMX Group R. Martin Chavez
Goldman Sachs Group 11
12
13
14
15
Deborah Hopkins
Citi Ventures Dan Mathisson
Credit Suisse Daniel Coleman
KCG Holdings Michael Spencer
ICAP Michael Bodson
Depository Trust &
Clearing Corp. 16
17
18
19
20
Joe Ratterman
BATS Global Markets Dominique Cerutti
Euronext Ron Levi
GFI Group Gaurav Suri
D.E. Shaw Group Charles Li
Hong Kong
Exchanges and
Clearing 21
22
23
24
25
Lou Eccleston
S&P Capital IQ Lee Olesky
Tradeweb Markets Richard McVey
MarketAxess Holdings Seth Merrin
Liquidnet Holdings Antoine
Shagoury
London Stock
Exchange Group 26
27
28
29
30
Christopher
Perretta
State Street Corp. Kevin Rhein
Wells Fargo & Co. Peter Carr
Morgan Stanley Hauke Stars
Deutsche Börse Robert Alexander
Capital One
Financial Corp. 31
32
33
34
35
David Gershon
SuperDerivatives Chris Corrado
MSCI Joseph Squeri
Citadel Tanuja Randery
BT Global Services John Bates
Software AG 36
37
38
39
40
Gary Scholten
Principal Financial Group David Gledhill
DBS Bank Simon Garland
Kx Systems Cristóbal Conde
FinTech Innovation Lab Jeff Parker
EidoSearch 41
42
43
44
45
Kim Fournais &
Lars Seier Christensen
Saxo Bank Kenneth Marlin
Marlin & Associates Tyler Kim
MaplesFS Jim McGuire
Charles Schwab Corp. Jim Minnick
eVestment 46
47
48
49
50
Steven O’Hanlon
Numerix Sebastián Ceria
Axioma Yasuki Okai
Nomura Research Institute Niki Beattie
Market Structure Partners Mas Nakachi
OpenGamma