MMI Executive IQ Capstone Innovation Project Winner Announced

Third Cohort of Elite Professional Accelerator and Certification Program Graduates Set Innovation
into Action

NEW YORK, June 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Money Management Institute (MMI) is thrilled to share the 2024 finalists and winner of the Executive IQ Capstone Innovation Project that were announced during a live graduation ceremony on LinkedIn honoring the third cohort of the Executive IQ program in May. 

Executive IQ^® by Money Management Institute is a one-year executive-level professional accelerator and certification program that combines a university-backed curriculum with real-world case studies from the industry's most prestigious consultants and Fortune 500 companies. The program is designed for investment leaders with at least 10 to 15 years of experience in the industry looking to advance their careers and their organizations.

In collaboration with PwC and the University of Virginia's Darden Executive Education & Livelong Learning program, the three-month Capstone Innovation Project puts lessons taught throughout the program about technology, digital disruption, leadership and embracing a growth mindset into practice. Applying the PwC innovation prototype model, teams were tasked with identifying an industry problem and then developing an innovative prototype to address this issue.

Team SCALE earned top honors this year with its tool that provides leaders with data-based insights regarding the utilization of SaaS products to eliminate redundancy, cut costs and increase efficiency. The tool provides deep visibility into usage trends of various SaaS solutions to allow informed decision-making and strategic application of resources across an enterprise. Team SCALE included Gui Costin of Dakota, Michael Dunphy of Vestmark, Raquel Galan of LSEG, Clay King of Invesco and Marco Vala of iCapital.

"The Capstone Innovation Project process challenges participants to embrace change, foster creativity and think big while starting small," said MMI President and CEO Craig Pfeiffer. "I'm proud of how each team challenged the status quo and took thoughtful action within these prototypes. The participants of this year's cohort are poised to shape our industry for years to come, and their achievements are a testament to the power of the Executive IQ program." 

Innovation and Creativity Through Teamwork, Diversity

Three finalists were selected from a field of thirteen Capstone Innovation Project teams. The other two finalists were Team Client Connection Creator and Team SUCCEED.

• Client Connection Creator (CCC) enhances an asset manager's effectiveness and efficiency while increasing client engagement and loyalty by allowing teams to focus on soft skills versus data aggregation and insight scraping. The team developed a platform with structured data and cognitive AI-enabled models to free the asset managers to focus on the client experience and sales. Team CCC included Dale Korman of Harbor Capital, Purvi Rana of iCapital, Michael Scholten of Principal, Matt Witkus of BlackRock and Jane Yue of Invesco.
• SUCCEED is a human solution to navigate the complexities of estate transfers, providing a centralized, cloud-based platform for individuals to access all resources necessary to plan and prepare for a wealth transfer. Team SUCCEED included Armand Amritt of AllianceBernstein, Leia Goodgold of InvestCloud, Brendan McDonough of iCapital, Courtney Morgan of iCapital and Claire Nolan of BNYMellon.

"Reviewing this year's Capstone Innovation Projects was not an easy task, as this incredibly talented and creative cohort leveraged their diversity of experiences, ideas and approaches to deliver incredible results," said Richard Evans, Professor at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, and faculty advisor to the Executive IQ program. "Each team, not just the finalists and winner, presented fantastic solutions to real industry problems, and I fully expect to see these concepts put into practice across the industry." 

Tim Williams, Executive Vice President, Director of Education Initiatives and Executive IQ Program Director, said, "I'm continually impressed with the seemingly endless creativity and willingness to push boundaries to improve our industry at the core of the Capstone Innovation Projects. Thank you to all the participants for their dedication to the process and their work to enhance the way we do business."

Teams were judged on relevance to the financial services industry, business opportunity, creativity and originality, and overall presentation. The announcement of the winning team was made following live virtual presentations by the teams to a panel of eight judges. The panel of judges included: 

• Craig Pfeiffer, President and CEO, MMI
• Professor Richard Evans, University of Virginia Darden School of Business
• Emma Hartman, Senior Manager, Customer Transformation, PwC
• Roger Paradiso, Global Head of Product Solutions, Franklin Templeton; Executive Chairman, O'Shaughnessy Asset Management
• Cheryl Nash, Chief Customer Executive, InvestCloud, Inc.
• Team SmartPrep (2023 winner) represented by Aoife Sullivan and Eugene Eignor

The winning team is invited to attend the MMI Annual Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, October 15-17. Team SCALE will highlight their prototype and participate throughout the Conference.  

Mr. Pfeiffer concluded, "Continuous improvement, creativity and lifelong learning are critical elements of our industry. MMI is proud to partner with Darden, PwC and Microsoft to facilitate opportunities for our future leaders to explore these elements collaboratively."

About Executive IQ

Executive IQ^® by Money Management Institute is an executive-level professional accelerator for investment leaders looking to advance their careers and organizations. This one-year certification program combines a university-backed curriculum with real-world case studies from the industry's most prestigious consultants and Fortune 500 companies. Designed for tomorrow, Executive IQ helps transform experienced decision-makers into industry innovators, able to turn challenge into opportunity. Participants gain the tools they need to lead and grow their organizations and the chance to build executive-level networks they can count on for life.

About the Money Management Institute (MMI):

Established in 1997, the Money Management Institute (MMI) is the industry association representing financial services firms that provide financial advice and investment advisory solutions to investors. Through conferences, educational resources and thought leadership, MMI facilitates peer-to-peer connections, fosters industry knowledge and professionalism, and supports the development of the next generation of industry leadership. MMI member firms are dedicated to helping individual and institutional investors, at every level of assets, plan for and fulfill their financial goals. For more information, visit www.MMInst.org.

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SOURCE Money Management Institute