Looking Back, Looking Forward: What the Next Phase of Investment Operations Is Really About

As InvestOps USA marked its tenth anniversary, the closing plenary Looking Back, Looking Forward offered a timely opportunity to reflect on how investment operations has evolved — and what is genuinely changing as firms look ahead.

Moderated by Citisoft’s COO Tom Secaur, the session brought together a diverse set of perspectives from across the industry, with insights from:

• Cinda Whitten (Global Head of Investment Operations, Nuveen),
• Evan Fire (COO, Pzena Investment Management),
• Bob Kurinsky (COO/CFO, Driehaus Capital Management),
• Jack Lynch (Chief Strategy Officer, Ridgeline),
• and Vince Pasqualicchio (Investments Chief Operations and Technology Officer, American Family Insurance).

Rather than focusing on headlines or hype, the discussion centered on the practical realities of delivering change in today’s operating environment. Three themes in particular stood out.

1. Data has moved from supporting act to lead role

Early in the discussion, Tom asked panelists to reflect on the most significant changes they had seen in investment operations over the past five to ten years, before pushing further on how operations are increasingly viewed as a source of strategic advantage rather than just efficiency.

A consistent reflection from the panel was how often transformation efforts stalled in the past when data was treated as a downstream concern. For many firms, progress only followed once data became a primary business driver rather than something that simply reported on outcomes.

Today, data is shaping decisions around operating models, resilience, and scale from the outset. When data sits at the center of transformation, it becomes harder to defer difficult choices but far easier to build momentum and alignment across the organization.

2. Transformation is no longer a once-(or twice)-in-a-career event

Building on that foundation, Tom steered the conversation toward how firms are approaching scale and optionality today, asking how organizations can build operating models that grow without creating unnecessary complexity, and where flexibility is genuinely achievable versus overstated.

The discussion highlighted a clear shift away from large, episodic transformation programs. Instead, firms are embracing smaller, continuous change — designing operating models that can evolve incrementally rather than waiting for the next “big bang” moment. In practice, this allows them to respond to growth, regulation, and market change as a constant. This shift is redefining what success looks like: less about completion, more about sustained adaptability.

3. Technology matters, but people and execution still decide outcomes

While AI, tokenization, and platform innovation featured heavily across the conference, the panel was clear that technology alone does not deliver results. Tom brought this to the forefront by asking what ultimately enables change to stick, and what mindsets or capabilities will truly separate the next generation of operations leaders.

Execution remains the differentiator. Governance, scalable operating models, deep domain expertise, and thoughtful approaches to talent all play a critical role in determining whether transformation delivers lasting value. The real work often begins after the technology decision is made.

The conversation was a reminder that while tools and technologies will continue to evolve, lasting progress in investment operations comes from strong foundations, thoughtful execution, and the ability to adapt continuously.

As firms look ahead to the next decade, the challenge is how to sustain transformational change by building operating models, data foundations, and teams that can keep pace with ongoing change. That is where focused, experience‑led transformation makes the difference.