Newsmakers

JPMorgan Investor Services Appoints New CTO

John Galante has taken the IT reins at JPMorgan Investor Services, where he was recently named chief technology officer. He joins the firm from Citigroup, where he was managing director for Global Securities Services Technology. Galante replaces Phil Fasano, who departed last year for Capital One.

Galante plans to focus on middle- and back-office outsourcing initiatives for customers. His to-do list also includes a timely client-delivery platform, with goals of improving accuracy, reliability and consistency of data, he says. Predictability will be a general theme with all IT projects, he adds. "As we make investments as a business, we want to feel comfortable that those estimates represent the right level of investment, with consistent delivery, on time and on budget."

Galante plans to both build and buy. "In certain areas, such as fund administration, there are enough products in the marketplace, so we should be buying there," he says. "But we'll continue to develop in-house systems for other asset services or trading." With a team of 1100 IT professionals and more than 250 applications to support, Galante acknowledges that a strong technology strategy is vital. His challenge, he says, will be to "put in place an architecture that is built to last."

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