COO & CTO Practice
Holland Mountain is globally recognized for Private Capital operational and digital strategy expertise. We have delivered operational & digital strategy work for over 40 of the leading Private Capital firms globally. In these projects, we help COOs, CTOs and other operational leaders plan and implement the people, processes, technology and data capabilities they need to achieve their business objectives and advance their digital maturity.
Many firms that reach out to us for strategy advice have a variety of operational systems and Excel in place, but lack a vision of how to best leverage their technology, integrate data sources and provide better management information to their stakeholders. Teams working in siloes with outdated processes are common issues that we help overcome with best practice input and a digital strategy.
Our digital strategy engagements provide firms with a target future state operating model and plan to achieve it. Our strategy work includes tactical recommendations than can be applied immediately to kick start the change process alongside the strategic recommendations required around technology and people to achieve the target state.
Services of the COO & CTO Practice
- Operating model review and benchmarking (covering people, processes & technology stack)
- Technology trends and landscape advice
- Target Operating Model design
- Digital & data strategy definition
- Data remediation recommendations
- Strategy for the launch or integration of new investment strategies
- Executive-level business intelligence requirements & planning
- Software vendor and service provider management support
Jeremy Hocter
Head of Consulting
Jeremy is a leading expert in Private Capital operations, technology and data. He has 20 years’ experience advising GPs and LPs on operational strategy & best practice, alongside delivering successful change management engagements.
He has a wealth of experience working with all the major industry software vendors & service providers, and a detailed understanding of the capabilities & limitations of available solutions.
Examples of Our COO & CTO Projects
Operational Strategy Review & Change Program
The Client
A PE Infrastructure Manager headquartered in Paris
Project Scope
Operational Strategy Review & technology change across front, middle and back office operations
Description
The firm had grown rapidly in recent years and its manual, Excel-heavy processes had become unsustainable. The business wished to both improve existing technology and put new technology in place. Ahead of doing so, the firm engaged Private Capital best practice experts, Holland Mountain, to conduct an Operational Strategy Review. We led workshops with each of the functions in scope, establishing the business’s process, technology & data needs and looking at what was working well today, what was not working well, and the capabilities the team would ideally have. We worked with the business to design the Target Operating Model, then the Operational Roadmap, showing how the business could move from current state to future state most efficiently. We have worked with the firm since to support them with the improvements to existing systems, and to select and implement new systems (including a fund accounting, admin & reporting system).
Operational Setup for a New Private Credit Strategy
The Client
A pan-European multi private asset class manager
Project Scope
Target Operating Model & Data Model definition to support the launch of a private credit strategy
Description
This large, listed multi-asset class manager wished to launch a Private Credit strategy, and had hired a team to manage it. A long term Holland Mountain client, the firm engaged us to review its Operating Model & Data Model (both of which we had originally supported them to design) to establish the change required for the successful launch of the new Private Credit strategy. Once the operational strategy had been agreed, we supported the firm to make the required changes to its systems, to implement a new loan monitoring system (Black Mountain, now Allvue), and to outsource loan management. At a later date, we also advised the firm on the integration of an acquired Private Credit business.
Operational Setup to Separate from Parent Company
The Client
An Infrastructure Debt & Equity Manager
Project Scope
Operational strategy definition to setup standalone operations
Description
The firm had a agreed a separation from its parent company. Having relied on the parent’s technology, the firm had 6 months to setup standalone operations. Holland Mountain was engaged to deliver an Operational Strategy Review. Through a series of workshops across the middle and back office, we designed 3 operating model options (fully in house, fully outsourced and hybrid). To enable cost/benefit analysis, we managed an outsourced loan management & administration RFI process. The firm decided on a fully outsourced model, achieving the best future state for the business within the transition period. Holland Mountain managed the onboarding project, including the migration of historic transaction and loan admin data, the security master and report development.
Data Strategy & Transformation
The Client
A strategic financer for Private Equity investors (FoF)
Project Scope
Target Data Model design followed by enterprise Data Platform implementation
Description
The business wished to put in place a best in class data model to support its continued growth and the launch of a new strategy. The firm engaged Holland Mountain to establish the Target Data Model that would achieve the most efficient flow, aggregation and visualisation of data across the business. After the Target Data Model was agreed, Holland Mountain managed the change programme, including implementing a CRM system, a loan management system and implementing an enterprise Data Platform. As part of the Data Platform implementation, we managed the setup of the optimal flow of data between the firm and its two fund administrators and the ongoing reconciliation of this data with the firm’s loan management data, managed in house.
Operational Setup for a New Private Credit Strategy
The Client
Real Estate Equity & Credit Manager
Project Scope
Definition of best practice operating model for Private Credit, followed by selection of the best suited software and service solutions
Description
The business had an existing Real Estate Equity strategy and wished to launch a Private Credit strategy. Having previously worked with Holland Mountain on a similar project (in which a Private Credit strategy was launched through an acquisition) the firm engaged us to advise them on how to setup a best practice Private Credit operating model. After this initial strategy project, we managed two selection processes, one for an in house loan monitoring system, and the second for an outsourced loan administrator.
Data Strategy & Data Platform Implementation
The Client
Real Estate & Infrastructure Manager
Project Scope
Data Strategy Review and implementation of a Data Platform for Real Estate and Infrastructure
Description
The firm had undergone rapid growth and had added a large number of systems to its operating model, without an overarching data strategy. As a result, the firm had multiple siloes of unconnected data, and no single source of truth. The firm engaged Holland Mountain to deliver a Data Strategy Review. We assessed the data needs across the firm, and mapped these back to the current data sources, performing a gap analysis. We designed the Target Data Model. Underpinning the target data model, we outlined the changes required to the underlying data sources to achieve the Target Data Model. Alongside this project, we managed the implementation of a Data Platform, across both Real Estate and Infrastructure, to enable the firm to achieve consolidated reporting.
