**London**: At the FundsTech Forum 2025, expert panelists highlighted the vital COO-CTO relationship in securing successful digital transformation within asset management, focusing on technology-business alignment, AI prudence, vendor relations, and operational efficiency challenges.
At the FundsTech Forum 2025 held today in London, industry leaders convened to explore the vital relationship between chief operating officers (COOs) and chief technology officers (CTOs) in driving successful digital transformations within asset management firms. The panel titled “Bridging the Gap: How Best to Foster Alignment Between the Business (COO) and Technology (CTO) for Successful and Meaningful Digital Transformation” delved into how technology and business leadership can collaborate effectively to propel organisational change.
Moderated by Nick Dekker, senior partner and head of technology consulting UK at Alpha FMC, the discussion featured prominent voices including Davina Goodall-Smith, COO, board member, and ESG advocate; Sachin Anandikar, CTO at Pemberton Asset Management; and Vishal Shah, CTO at Alcentra.
Goodall-Smith noted a shifting paradigm within the COO role influenced by heightened fintech innovation and more tech-savvy client expectations. “The right technology is critical—not just for scaling into new geographies but also for supporting new products,” she stated, emphasizing the growing importance of operational relevance in transformation strategies. Addressing fears among boards about lagging behind technological advancements, she stressed that boards’ main focus remains on business resilience and long-term success rather than technology for technology’s sake. “It’s about doing things for the right reasons,” she added, highlighting communication as a crucial element in aligning technology with business objectives.
The COO also cautioned against hastily adopting artificial intelligence (AI) amid prevailing market hype. “The real risk is rushing the AI story,” Goodall-Smith advised, stressing the need for board-level education on transparency, ethics, and bias in AI deployment. She further underscored the evolving nature of vendor relationships, stating that partnerships must go beyond outsourcing to genuinely add value. She identified fragmented technology stacks and the complexity of multiple outsourced providers as significant challenges, particularly in achieving a single source of truth for regulators.
Pemberton Asset Management’s Anandikar focused his insights on operational efficiency as central to technology strategy, especially within private debt. Explaining their approach to AI, he said, “We did an initial marketing push with AI… by finding real use cases, taking them to the board and CEO, and getting them prioritised, we could show early victories—and build on them.” He compared asset managers to multi-balance sheet banks due to their substantial reporting requirements and highlighted the slower innovation pace in asset management due to less mature change management disciplines compared to banks. On outsourcing, Anandikar emphasised evaluating partners on “scale, cost, and the ability to manage new information” to ensure effective operational support. He also noted the increasing importance of internal tech-savvy personnel as drivers of change.
Shah from Alcentra highlighted the dramatic evolution of technology skillsets since the Covid-19 pandemic, shifting focus from cloud and automation to data analytics and AI by 2025. He detailed the intensified pressures on COOs, who are now reconsidering entire technology platforms rather than minor process tweaks. Regarding board dynamics, Shah explained the difficulty in quantifying the value of transformation initiatives given factors like resource costs and perceived efficiency across offices. Talent retention emerged as a pressing concern, with Shah emphasising the need for broad organisational AI education alongside specialist external hires. On vendor strategy, he shared that Alcentra favours flexibility by decoupling from vendors but retains outsourcing for specialised functions such as regulatory reporting.
The panel concluded that the COO-CTO relationship is increasingly symbiotic, reflecting the merging boundaries between operations and technology roles as firms navigate the complexities of digital transformation in the asset management sector. The Funds Europe Magazine is reporting from the FundsTech Forum 2025 in London.
Source: Noah Wire Services
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