Senior Business Analyst & Project Manager Financial Services

10/2021 – 12/2022

Following HSBC Insurance's acquisition of AXA Investment Managers, highly specialised derivatives portfolios needed to migrate onto HSBC AM's front-to-back operating model — the same model I had built the year prior for the same client. The challenge: a major client with their own processes, contracts and service-provider relationships, integrated without disruption. And one regulatory first: UMR for an insurance portfolio, with no precedent.
• Owned the requirements analysis for the integration — portfolios, processes, contracts, service-provider connections, reconciliation flows; translated client-specific needs into functional specifications
• Performed gap analysis between the client's existing operating model and HSBC AM's target architecture — drawing on derivatives subject-matter depth across Portfolio Management, Middle Office, Fund Accounting, Custody and Collateral
• Designed the target operating model for the integration — collateral and margin management fully embedded into HSBC AM's existing derivatives operating model, with processes, data flows and timings aligned end-to-end
• Designed and specified a bespoke collateral management tool for the portfolio manager — enabling cross-portfolio oversight of securities collateral, stress-testing of potential collateral impact, and prioritised management of Initial Margin and Variation Margin calls with external service providers
• Delivered the world's first UMR implementation for an insurance portfolio — analysed regulatory requirements without precedent and translated them into operating-model and IT design
• Embedded directly with the client's C-level (CIO, COO, derivatives strategists) — central interface between client, product, operations and external partners
• Coordinated UAT across functions and external service providers — agile delivery with structured plans, risk logs and reportings
• Ran the integration as PM across two regional hubs (Singapore, Hong Kong) without formal authority — parallel project tracks, pragmatic decisions under time pressure
Outcome: Derivatives platform scaled sixfold in AUM during the integration; operational capacity built in Hong Kong, fully integrated front-to-back operating model stabilised across two regional hubs — without disruption to daily business. A major institutional client transitioned onto an existing platform with quantifiable business benefits realised across the asset-management and insurance sides of the relationship.

Business Analyst, Projektmanagement

10/2020 – 10/2021

HSBC AM's largest institutional insurance client wanted derivatives portfolio management brought in-house — but HSBC AM did not have the capability in Hong Kong. Operating model, front-office team and platform integration needed to be analysed, designed and built from scratch, with the client expecting continuity of service throughout.
• Owned the requirements analysis end-to-end — translated client needs into a complete front-to-back operating model for equity derivatives (order origination, trading, clearing, settlement); drawing on direct derivatives subject-matter expertise
• Designed the target operating model and documented functional specifications — central interface between client, internal HSBC AM functions and external partners from preparation to go-live
• Replaced manual Excel and email processes with system-supported infrastructure — analysed existing workflows, specified automation requirements, coordinated build and UAT for order, trading, clearing and settlement processes
• Negotiated and implemented ISDA and CSA contractual frameworks, including fee structures
• Coordinated UAT and operational readiness across functions and external service providers — ensured end-to-end test coverage across the full front-to-back chain
• Built new front-office capability in Hong Kong — including hiring of dedicated derivatives portfolio managers
Outcome: A regulatorily compliant, scalable derivatives capability live on the HSBC AM platform — and the foundation for the post-M&A integration that built directly on this operating model the following year. A major institutional client onboarded onto an extended platform, a new function established within an existing bank IT landscape, and a dedicated team built up in Hong Kong.

Business Analyst, Projektmanagement

6/2019 – 9/2020

Avaloq's largest BPO client engagement (Deutsche Bank Wealth Management) was operationally complex and not delivering its commercial potential. Brief: take strategic ownership of the relationship, run global change and operations programmes across Avaloq's wealth and investment platform services, and turn it into a more profitable, more scalable engagement.
• Carried end-to-end programme accountability across multiple jurisdictions — scope, budget, risks, issues and senior client communication; central interface between client, technology, operations and external partners
• Managed a team of business analysts across locations — developed standards for requirements engineering and documentation, and jointly accompanied BAs through client requirements gathering and specification
• Translated functional requirements into concrete platform implementations — alignment of processes, data flows and handovers between the Avaloq platform and the Deutsche Bank backend landscape
• Steered a complex cross-functional team across business, product, engineering and second-level support — led local delivery teams in Singapore while coordinating global stakeholders across time zones
• Steered a USD 6m change-the-bank portfolio — resource planning, vendor coordination, onboarding plans, steering-committee reporting; mitigated risks and dependencies through practical resolutions
Outcome: Programme profitability up 15%, project costs down 30% — the largest client account transitioned into a more scalable and sustainable engagement. A complex platform-client relationship led from operationally unstable to structured and profitable through clear governance, robust delivery discipline and continuous optimisation of the operating model.

Programm-Manager, Business Analyst, Projektmanagement

6/2016 – 6/2019

HSBC AM faced a regulatory wave — MiFID II, EMIR, GDPR, BAIT, KAGB — that had to land in operational reality across the German entity, with deadlines that were not negotiable. In parallel, the firm was migrating to a new front-office platform. The German entity needed a single operational lead carrying both the PM and the BA work, on time and audit-clean.
• Acted as Lead Business Analyst across multiple major regulatory programmes over three years — read and analysed the full regulatory texts of MiFID II, EMIR, GDPR, BAIT and KAGB, and derived the operational requirements for the asset-management entity in close collaboration with Compliance, Legal, Audit and the relevant business functions
• Authored detailed requirements documents for each regulation and translated them into concrete operating-model designs — key deliverables included Trade and Transaction Reporting (system implementation), cost disclosure (Kostenausweis), record-keeping obligations, best-execution policies and EMIR clearing obligations and trade reporting for derivatives
• Acted as Lead Business Analyst for the German entity as pilot client in the global rollout of Bloomberg AIM — involved end-to-end from requirements analysis, implementation planning, test planning and execution through to go-live; findings and lessons from the pilot informed the subsequent global rollout
• Coordinated parallel regulatory implementations as PM — onboarding plans, risk logs, status reporting; managed dependencies between internal teams, outsourcing partners and Legal/Compliance functions
• Kept senior management decision-ready — pragmatic decisions under time pressure, risks and bottlenecks identified and resolved
Outcome: All five regulations delivered on time and on budget; ISAE 3402 Level 1 certification achieved with zero audit findings — a quality level rarely seen in the industry — and the reputation of the German entity strengthened within the global HSBC AM organisation. Multiple parallel regulatory implementations, a platform migration and audit cleanliness consolidated within a single programme.

Business Analyst, Projektmanagement

1/2010 – 6/2016

Managing director of an own FinTech and consulting firm serving Tier-1 institutional asset managers (DWS, Union Investment, BayernInvest, Deka) with front-office solutions, transformation projects and specialist resourcing — while personally leading all major client mandates as Lead Business Analyst.
• Acted as Lead Business Analyst across all major client engagements — gathered requirements from Tier-1 institutional buy-side clients (DWS, Union Investment, BayernInvest, Deka), authored functional specifications and guided development teams through multi-year build, UAT and delivery cycles
• Led the BA work on tailored front-office software solutions — research tools, decision-support tools, trading-support tools, ESG rating and reporting platforms — each developed to client-specific requirements and integrated into existing bank IT landscapes
• Developed internal BA standards and methodologies — defined how requirements were gathered, documented and handed over to development; established templates for functional specifications, change requests and UAT protocols that became the firm's standard across all client engagements
• Optimised the requirements-to-delivery process between BA team and client stakeholders — introduced structured feedback loops, sign-off gates and traceability between client requirements and delivered functionality, reducing rework and aligning expectations early
• Co-led the post-acquisition integration of OVAM (Oppenheim Vermögens- und Asset Management) into Deutsche Bank / DWS together with the firm's owner — requirements analysis, process design, data migration and operating-model integration
Outcome: Built a profitable buy-side delivery business in institutional asset management from scratch, sustained Tier-1 client relationships across six years, and co-led the post-acquisition integration of OVAM into Deutsche Bank / DWS together with the firm's owner.

Business Analyst, Projektmanagement

1/2005 – 12/2009

Deutsche Bank's institutional Master-KVG platform was building its institutional client base across pension funds, insurance companies and corporate treasuries. The challenge: take new institutional clients from initial mandate definition all the way through to live operations — including fund-vehicle structuring, contractual framework and operational integration — while acting as Lead Business Analyst on platform development projects.
• Led the institutional client onboarding function and acted as Lead Business Analyst on platform development projects — translated client mandates into fund-vehicle structures, contracts, delegation arrangements and operational workflows
• Owned the requirements analysis for each client onboarding end-to-end — structured fund vehicles across the full institutional spectrum (UCITS, Spezialfonds, SICAV, Investment AG), authored functional specifications for platform adjustments required per client
• Acted as Lead Business Analyst on internal platform projects — Pre-Trade Compliance tool introduction, automation of investment proposals into trades with external portfolio advisors, and automation of transaction booking for outsourced portfolio managers managing delegated portfolios
• Led the BA work on the cross-departmental client onboarding process — analysed requirements across multiple functions, co-defined the target operating model for how institutional clients were onboarded end-to-end across the organisation
• Negotiated and steered 100+ outsourcing and advisory contracts with external portfolio managers, sub-advisors and trading partners — including manager switches and large-scale fund migrations between providers handled smoothly
• Designed the operational interface between external asset managers and the central platform — orchestrated processes, data flows and timings between providers, custody and internal reporting
• Coordinated up to 30 internal and external resources via onboarding plans, risk logs and reportings — full PM responsibility plus deep BA work for each client mandate
• Granted Prokura (statutory signing authority) — a rare distinction at AVP level
Outcome: A wide range of institutional clients onboarded onto one of the first institutional Master-KVG platforms in the German market — including large-scale fund migrations executed without disruption to existing operations. The onboarding function I led contributed to growing the platform from a new-business proposition to an established offering for German institutional clients.

Operations Manager, Business Analyst, Projektmanagement

10/2002 – 12/2005

Operations specialist in Deutsche Bank's institutional asset management arm — cross-border securities and FX settlement across ~300 broker-dealers and 30+ custodians.
• Acted as Lead Business Analyst on Germany's first automated trade-matching and settlement-instruction system (in partnership with OMGEO) — managed the introduction and continued development of the platform over three years, co-shaped the product design, trained OMGEO's analysts on institutional asset-management requirements, and achieved 95% automation of the matching and settlement process
• Supported large-scale fund and custody migrations across the institutional buy-side

Business Analyst, Operations Manager, Projektmanagement

10/2000 – 9/2002

Daily operations across 10 European jurisdictions, working directly with local CSDs and Deutsche Bank's custodian network.

Operations Manager