Brown Brothers Harriman promoted Michael McGovern to the newly created position of head of investor services fintech offerings, as custodial banks ramp up digital offerings in the face of competition.
Previously a managing director and the chief information officer, McGovern will focus on data strategy and client information delivery channels.
The new job will focus on middle-office services like hedge funds, software tech solutions and
Rivals BNY Mellon, Northern Trust and State Street have all upgraded their middle-office support offerings, including the expansion of their data management platforms.
Other custody banks, including Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade, Fidelity Investments and Pershing, have broadened their adviser fintech offerings in the past year, either through internal development, partnerships or M&A.
The nearly 200-year-old Brown Brothers said it wants to help its 250 clients to access, organize, transmit and use data more effectively.
“Mike's experience applying information technology across the borders of front, middle, and back offices is rare and differentiated,” Geoffrey Cook, a partner and head of investment operations and technology services, said in a press release. “It's the kind of competence our forward-thinking clients can put to use with today's new and emerging technologies.”
McGovern said in the release that cross-border operations are directly relevant to clients and now is a good time to help clients reach their objectives through digital and data solutions.
Before coming to BBH in 2013, he was a vice president at JPMorgan Chase for seven years and afterward was a managing director at Citibank.
Succeeding McGovern, managing directors Brian Condon and Lorrie Gordon have been appointed co-heads of technology. Condon joined BBH in 2016 and Gordon has been working at the firm, which oversees $4.8 trillion in assets, for over 20 years.
