2015: A Year in Profiles

Each month in the pages of Waters magazine we feature longform articles on the IT struggles pertaining to new regulations or trends or products. But we also like to take a step back and get to know the people leading these initiatives. So each month our cover profile features a different C-level executive, where we discuss their careers and interests, in addition to the projects that they're working on.

This year we had a mix of chief technology officers, chief information officers, chief executives, heads of security and one head of trading, representing the US, UK, France, Switzerland, Canada and the Netherlands.

But before we move on, let's take a quick look back. In 2014, of our 12 cover subjects, two moved on to new jobs. Mary Kotch, formerly CTO at AIG, is now the global CIO for insurance firm Validus. Dayna Corlito, who was chief operating officer at BTG Pactual, left the industry entirely and is now the owner of an in-home training franchise in addition to being a winemaker.

While it's impossible to know what's ahead for this year's crop of executives, their insight proved valuable in setting the tone for our coverage in 2015. 

January: Neal Pawar, chief technology officer, AQR

AQR CTO Neal Pawar's background in theater had given him the benefit of being able to relate to different people while managing projects. Dan DeFrancesco sat down with Pawar to talk about his path to AQR and what was ahead in 2015 and beyond.

February: Oliver Bussmann, chief information officer, UBS

UBS information chief Oliver Bussmann believed ─ and still believes ─ in the power of social media to transform an institution as careful as a Swiss investment bank, even ─ and perhaps especially ─ as it continues to reinvent its operations and technology. From Zurich, he talked with Tim Bourgaize Murray about how this aspiration may just be the beginning.

March: John Marcante, chief information officer, Vanguard

Vanguard CIO John Marcante spoke with Dan DeFrancesco about how events at the midpoint of his career at one of the largest asset managers in the world set the precedent for how the rest of his professional life would pan out.

April: Jay Leek, chief information security officer, Blackstone Group

From baking in security for newly developed platforms and testing vendors' mettle, to understanding new threat vectors ─ and advising the firm's portfolio companies ─ cyber is all Blackstone Group CISO Jay Leek thinks about. At the sprawling $290 billion alternatives house, an enterprise-grade approach to protecting technology and information isn't optional-it's a necessity. By Tim Bourgaize Murray.

May: Pierre Dulon, head of global IT, Credit Agricole

Marina Daras sat down with Pierre Dulon, head of global IT at Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, to discuss how he created a leaner IT structure by deploying an "IT commando team" across the French institution to forge an ever-closer union between IT and the business.

June: Jos , chief executive officer, Euronext

Jos Dijsselhof is a technologist with a passion for people. Or perhaps he's a people person with a passion for technology? Both descriptions are pertinent for the Dutch man who had just been promoted to interim CEO of Euronext, less than a year after joining the firm. Marina Daras sat down with him a few days before his promotion to talk about the firm's strategy after its June 2014 IPO, his life in Asia, and all things European.

July: Yves , chief executive officer, Tobam

Yves Choueifaty was at the forefront of the smart beta revolution well before it spread across the asset management industry. From Paris, the CEO told Tim Bourgaize Murray how a twist of fortune pushed his firm, Tobam, to rapid independence, and why technical acumen has always been central to the burgeoning asset management house's success.

August: Lou , chief executive officer, TMX Group

Lou Eccleston had been CEO of TMX Group for less than a year, but the new top man at the Toronto-based firm had already begun implementing a series of changes to transform it into more than just the owner of exchanges. Eccleston talked to Dan DeFrancesco about his vision for the future of TMX and the role that technology will play in it.

September: Kyle McNamara & Michael Zerbs, co-heads of information technology, Scotiabank

Kyle McNamara and Michael Zerbs, had recently been named co-heads of information technology at Scotiabank. They spoke with Dan DeFrancesco about dividing responsibilities, working together and handling all the issues that come with running the technology behind one of the biggest banks in Canada. It's a true team effort.

October: Curt Engler, head of trading, equities, JPMorgan Asset Management

For two decades, Curt Engler had straddled the line between quants, trading, and technology at some of the world's largest investment managers. As head of trading for JPMorgan Asset Management's massive US equities desk, he spoke with Tim Bourgaize Murray about order optimization, a nascent buy-side-built dark pool, and honing the relationship between portfolio managers and traders.

November: Scott Murray, chief technology officer, Northern Trust

Scott Murray, CTO of Chicago-based Northern Trust, always keeps an eye on the future. And as Dan DeFrancesco found out, Murray's decisions, much like his approach to managing technology, have always been carefully calculated.

December: Barney Dalton, chief technology officer, Aspect Capital

Barney Dalton, CTO of London-based Aspect Capital, was an integral part of the implementation of agile processes at the hedge fund, instilling a sense of flexible control to both development and infrastructure. Dalton talked to John Brazier about agility, robotics, and a baptism of fire to the hedge fund space.