Introduction
Meet Phil, the Chair of the Advisory Board at CTFSI. With an impressive 35-year career at Goldman Sachs, where he served as a partner and global head of Operations, Phil brings a wealth of experience and strategic insight to our advisory team. His extensive background includes serving on various industry boards and advisory committees, and as Vice Chair of CLS Group. Phil’s current focus at CTFSI is leveraging his vast experience to shape and scale our products. Let’s delve into his professional journey, motivations, and what excites him about the future at CTFSI.
Professional Path
What was your professional experience prior to coming to work for/with CTFSI?
I enjoyed a 35-year career in London and New York with Goldman Sachs before retiring in 2021. I helped to build and scale many businesses as a partner and global head of Operations. I served on a number of industry boards and advisory committees and was the Vice Chair of CLS Group for a number of years.
Motivation and Interest
What got you interested in working with CTFSI?
In a word, Sanjiv! He’s built a great team of dedicated professionals at CTFSI, with a purpose that’s cutting edge and one I know I can contribute to. It ticks all my boxes of working with smart people I admire, on something that’s entrepreneurial and challenging, where I can make a difference and have fun along the way.
Current Focus
What is your current focus at CTFSI?
It’s really about experience and connections. I love working with the team to see the opportunities to shape and scale our products. We’re a small team with big ambition and exercising the right judgment as to where we focus our time is critical. What’s also critical is helping to assemble a first-class team of professionals, advisors, and investors who can come together to deliver for our clients.
Excitement and Engagement
What gets you most excited about CTFSI and the markets we are in?
As I mentioned, I spent 35 years in financial services with a ringside seat for the evolution of technology and how it’s powered the growth in innovation and scale. AI is poised to accelerate that journey and I can see so many opportunities for its deployment, particularly in the complex operations of our customers.
“To make a real impact in financial services you need the right combination of engineering and business expertise. We have this at CTFSI, and I’ve been blown away with the speed at which the team can stand up solutions for complex and nuanced challenges.”
What is special about what we are doing or how we are doing it?
Two things stand out. No doubt AI has been headline-grabbing of late, with some cool applications, but frankly, some that are gimmicky and overhyped. To make a real impact in financial services you need the right combination of engineering and business expertise. We have this at CTFSI and I’ve been blown away with the speed at which the team can stand up solutions for complex and nuanced challenges.
The other standout is the focus on the human-centric implementation of AI. Financial services are highly regulated and companies need to be able to ensure and demonstrate they have control over their operations. At CTFSI, we develop our products to be transparent and auditable and to seamlessly engage with the workflows and the humans that operate them. Success is solving the “last mile problem” to help our clients fully extract value from AI.
Fun Fact – Music Interests
What is your favorite music track from the last 6 months?
My taste in music is getting more and more rooted in the 60s and 70s. Growing up listening to the 80s and 90s, I feel I missed out on two great decades of talent with more originality. “Magic Carpet Ride” by Steppenwolf is a great track. Maybe appropriate for CTFSI too, it’s not magic, but I’m enjoying the ride!