The appointment positions the firm to expand technology services and increase investment in digital and data transformation, says BBH.
Michael McGovern, managing director, BBH
Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. (BBH), the venerable private bank founded in Philadelphia in 1818, reports that Michael McGovern, a managing director, has been appointed head of the firm’s investor services’ financial technology offerings, which include middle office services, its proprietary Infomediary offering, and other software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology for asset managers and financial institutions
Infomediary, which BBH characterizes as a messaging and connectivity engine, provides “data translation, transformation, and transmission services to … asset managers, transfer agents, and regional banks.”
The hosted communications platform offers a single point of connectivity between clients and external service providers and internal systems, according to BBH. “Infomediary takes in data in any electronic format, normalizes it, and then translates, transforms, and transmits the information over networks such as SWIFT or via proprietary connections,” officials add.
The Infomediary modular applications are:
- InfoAction: automation for the corporate actions event lifecycle;
- InfoFX: a foreign exchange (FX) alternative that combines execution with reporting via an automated workflow;
- InfoRecon: an automated process for reconciling cash data and securities data across service providers;
- InfoSettle: a service for identifying and acting on failed or failing trades across custodians in a real-time environment
The newly created fintech post “positions BBH to expand technology services; [and] increase investment in digital and data transformation,” the firm says in a statement.
McGovern, who was previously BBH’s chief information officer and head of systems, will focus on “data strategy and client information delivery channels – two areas that asset managers and financial institutions have increasingly looked to leverage for revenue generation, cost control, and product enhancements,” the firm says, also spotlighting its “client base of over 250 institutions.”
Succeeding McGovern are Managing Directors Brian Condon and Lorrie Gordon, who have been appointed BBH’s co-heads of technology.
Condon joined BBH from JPMorgan in 2016. At JPMorgan, his positions included chief technology officer (CTO) of the bank’s global funds services business and managing director and head of product development and product solutions for the custody and funds services business.
Gordon joined BBH in 1994. Her past BBH positions in Europe and the U.S. include chief development officer and global head of Infomediary.
“Many asset managers target the middle office to reduce cost and increase analytic value, and there are clear efficiencies to be gained in this area,” Geoffrey Cook, the BBH partner responsible for fintech, says in a prepared statement. “But if the real objective is transformation, asset managers will want to go beyond an organizational construct that was developed before automation and big data.”
BBH reports $4.8 trillion in assets under custody and administration (as of December 30, 2016).
The firm operates in 18 locations, including New York, Boston, Beijing, Charlotte, Chicago, Denver, Dublin, Grand Cayman, Hong Kong, Kraków, London, Luxembourg, Nashville, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Tokyo, Wilmington, and Zürich.
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