Financial Services Technology Executive

James McClenahen III, CFA

Platform Strategy · AI & Intelligent Automation · Wealth & Investment Technology · M&A Integration

I help financial services firms turn technology into measurable business results by combining 15+ years in wealth and investment management, 25 years of hands-on technical work, and the discipline of a CFA charterholder.

Ponte Vedra, FL (Jacksonville area) · Open to remote and Northeast Florida roles

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Results at a glance

Measurable outcomes

SaaS CRM & integration revenue growth in four years

EBITDA margin expansion over the same period

Revenue from a CRM and services offering launched in under four years

Wealth tech business I contributed to, growing 10%+ year over year

Clients served across the business

International product, development & QA team built and led

Implemented re-architecture and agile frameworks

What I bring

Business and technology, in equal measure

Platform Strategy & Enterprise Applications

Owning platforms end to end, from roadmap and build/buy/partner decisions through delivery and adoption.

Proof: Own platform strategy for an award-winning SaaS CRM and integration business serving 500+ firms.

AI & Intelligent Automation

Finding practical AI use cases and turning them into working, governed solutions.

Proof: Helped build and define the AI offerings for the Black Diamond Wealth Platform.

Wealth & Investment Technology

Deep fluency in managed accounts, rebalancing, trading, BOR/IBOR and client reporting, from both the operator and vendor side.

Proof: Managed SMA IBOR and rebalance trading across 1,000+ accounts.

Growth, Go-to-Market & Commercial Strategy

Pricing, packaging, segmentation and partner programs tied to revenue.

Proof: Grew revenue from $4M to $30M while keeping client retention above 100%.

M&A Integration, Risk & Compliance

Bringing acquired businesses onto common platforms without disrupting clients, with compliance built in.

Proof: Standardized core platforms across acquired businesses; supported SOC 2 and GDPR execution.

Selected work

Case studies

Scaling a wealth-tech SaaS business

Revenue from $4M to $30M in four years; EBITDA margin from 4% to 30%.

Challenge: Grow a SaaS CRM and integration business serving wealth managers, RIAs and asset managers profitably.
What I did: Owned platform strategy and the application lifecycle; launched a Salesforce-based wealth CRM and a follow-on outsourced services offering, defining packaging, pricing tiers and deal structure; built and led a 25-person international product, development and QA team with an agile SDLC and release cadence.
Result: Revenue grew from $4M to $30M in four years, EBITDA margin from 4% to 30%, client retention stayed above 100%; the new offerings reached $15M in under four years. Recognized with the 2019 Best Cloud-Based Application Provider award (Waters Technology) and the 2026 WealthTech Award for Best CRM Provider.

Putting AI to work in wealth and trust operations

Less manual data transposition and new insights for management reporting.

Challenge: Reduce manual, error-prone work in investment and trust operations while protecting client data.
What I did: Developed AI use cases including OCR extraction of unstructured trust documents into structured data with an NPI obfuscation filter, automated detection of data discrepancies across CRM, IBOR and performance reporting, and a subscription/redemption proof of concept on a Salesforce-based workflow engine and an MCP server; directed the design of LLM-driven automation for ETL, integration and reporting across acquired subsidiaries; helped build and define the AI offerings for the Black Diamond Wealth Platform, including go-to-market strategy, partnerships, MCP due diligence and agentic platform research.
Result: Less manual data transposition and new client, revenue and relationship insights for management reporting.

Integrating acquisitions without disrupting clients

Standardized platforms with minimal end-user disruption.

Challenge: Bring acquired businesses, including an international SaaS tuck-in, onto common systems.
What I did: Managed technology integration and system onboarding, standardizing core platforms such as CRM while preserving critical legacy workflows.
Result: Standardized platforms with minimal end-user disruption, supporting a portfolio growing 15–25% a year.

Automating investment operations

Operational labor costs down more than 33%; manual reporting effort down 95%.

Challenge: Daily operational and reporting work at a $2B+ asset manager was manual and labor-intensive.
What I did: Automated more than 30 daily operational and reporting workflows.
Result: Operational labor costs down more than 33% and manual reporting effort down 95%, alongside a 99.99% error-free trading record.

How I lead

Principles I bring to every team and engagement

Start with the business outcome

Every initiative gets a business case built around cost, risk and adoption, and is measured after launch.

Build compliance in, not on

Controls belong in the SDLC from day one (I supported SOC 2 and GDPR execution through static analysis, security testing and continuous monitoring).

Organize teams around what they own

I built and led a 25-person international product, development and QA team, mentoring people and organizing them around the platforms they own rather than the requests they receive.

Speak both languages

As a CFA charterholder with 25 years of hands-on technical work, I translate between executives, engineers and clients.

Career journey

25 years across technology and investment management

Sr. Director, Wealth and Investment Technologies
2019 – Present
SS&C Technologies, Inc. · Jacksonville, FL
- Own platform strategy and the end-to-end application lifecycle for an award-winning SaaS CRM and integration-as-a-service business serving 500+ wealth managers, RIAs and asset managers.
- Grew revenue from $4M to $30M over four years, expanding EBITDA margin from 4% to 30% while sustaining client retention above 100%.
- Helped build and define the AI offerings for the Black Diamond Wealth Platform, including go-to-market strategy, partnerships, MCP due diligence and agentic platform research.
- Industry advisor on initiatives including compliance, TAMP operations (SS&C ALPS Advisors), advanced trading (OMS/EMS) and model delivery features of the Black Diamond Rebalancer, contributing to TAMP AUM growth from $200M to $2B.
- Built and led a 25-person international product, development and QA team.
- Advise C-suite leaders (CEOs, COOs, CIOs, CTOs) on multi-product technology initiatives with TCVs of $250K to $5M.
- Participate in steering decisions for a wealth and investment technology portfolio representing $500M in annual revenue with 15–25% YoY growth.
- Manage strategic partner relationships with Microsoft, Salesforce, AWS and Conga.
Vice President, Multi-Family Office (UHNW)
2016 – 2019
Seven Post Investment Office LP · San Francisco Bay Area, CA
- Technology lead and owner of the firm's enterprise application portfolio and $1M+ technology budget; directed a public cloud migration that cut annual hosting costs by over $500,000.
- Managed SMA IBOR operations and rebalance trading across 1,000+ SMA accounts; as one of RedBlack's first clients, we helped create its initial rebalancing application.
- Helped build the firm's KYC workflow for new client onboarding.
Chief Operating Officer and Director of Research, Hedge Fund
2016
Meson Capital Partners LLC · San Francisco Bay Area, CA
- Developed proprietary multi-factor investment models; implemented workflows and technology to scale operations.
Senior Investment Operations & Analytics Associate
2010 – 2016
Broadmark Asset Management LLC · San Francisco Bay Area, CA
- Automated 30+ daily operational and reporting workflows, cutting labor costs by more than 33% and manual reporting effort by 95%.
- Owned SEC, UCITS and CFTC regulatory reporting; served on the investment committee for a $2B+ portfolio.
Operations / Investment Associate, Multi-Family Office
2007 – 2010
Wetherby Asset Management
- Custodian operations, money movement, CRM and client reporting; developed internal tools to streamline portfolio rebalancing.
Graphics Designer / Software Developer
2001 – 2007
QSS Group / Perot Systems at NASA Ames Research Center
- Developed web interfaces and applications for the Intelligent Systems Division, including the Mars Rover missions.

Thought leadership

Talks & articles

I chair thought leadership panels on emerging technologies and speak at industry events, seminars, webinars and executive forums.

Panels chaired

Emerging Technologies in Wealth and Asset Management · 2024, 2025

Industry webinars

WealthManagement.com · CRM growth, trust technology and unique assets · 2023–2025

Published articles

CRM, automation, M&A integration and the wealth transfer · 2024–2026

Recommendations

What colleagues say

Recommendation coming soon

Skills & tools

Toolkit

Platform Strategy & Roadmaps
Build/Buy/Partner
Business Cases
Go-to-Market
Pricing & Packaging
M&A Integration
Vendor & MSA Negotiation
Executive & Board Communication

Credentials

Education & certification

Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)

CFA Institute · 2014

BS, Business Administration, Concentration in Finance

San Jose State University · 2006

Whether you're scaling a platform, putting AI to work or integrating an acquisition, I'd welcome the conversation.

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