Overview
The Virtual Technology Executive (VTE) serves as a strategic technology advisor and trusted partner to Abacus clients across the financial services sector, including hedge funds, private equity firms, venture capital firms, family offices, and asset managers.
Operating at the intersection of technology, cybersecurity, data, regulatory compliance, and business strategy, the VTE aligns Abacus’ platform and services with each client’s investment operations, growth objectives, risk posture, and compliance obligations.
This role is designed for environments where technology performance, uptime, data integrity, security, and regulatory adherence directly impact financial outcomes and organizational risk. The VTE provides executive-level guidance to ensure clients can operate with speed, confidence, and resilience in highly competitive and highly regulated markets.
As part of Abacus’ evolving operating model, the VTE also helps clients navigate emerging technologies, including AI, by identifying practical opportunities, ensuring responsible and compliant adoption, and aligning initiatives to business value and regulatory expectations.
The Virtual Technology Executive ensures that technology, cybersecurity, data, and compliance—along with emerging capabilities such as AI—are aligned to drive measurable business outcomes, operational resilience, and long-term competitive advantage for our clients.
Role Objectives
- Align technology strategy with investment performance, firm growth, and regulatory requirements
- Ensure secure, scalable, and high-performing environments for clients
- Act as the executive interface between client leadership, and Abacus delivery teams
- Drive adoption and optimization of the Abacus platform (IT, Cyber, Infrastructure, Data) in alignment with regulatory and audit expectations
- Identify opportunities for efficiency, risk reduction, compliance maturity, and innovation
Key Responsibilities
- Strategic Advisory & Client Leadership
- Serve as a CIO / CTO level advisor to financial services clients
- Develop and maintain technology roadmaps aligned to client business objectives
- Translate complex technology concepts into business and financial impact
- Guide executive stakeholders (CIO, COO, CFO, Partners) on:
- Technology investments
- Risk management strategies
- Operational scalability
- Financial Services Technology Expertise
- Advise on and support environments including:
- Portfolio Management Systems (PMS)
- Order Management Systems (OMS)
- Market data platforms (Bloomberg, FactSet, etc.)
- Fund accounting and investor reporting systems
- Understand and optimize:
- Trade lifecycle workflows
- Deal lifecycle (private equity)
- Data flows and dependencies across systems
- Infrastructure, Performance & Availability
- Ensure high availability and performance of mission-critical systems
- Guide clients on:
- Cloud strategy and infrastructure design
- Performance optimization and scalability
- Global connectivity and office expansion
- Define and align Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR) strategies with operational risk tolerance (RTO/RPO)
- Cybersecurity & Risk Management
- Advise on cybersecurity strategies aligned to financial industry risks
- Ensure alignment with:
- SEC and regulatory expectations
- SOC 2, NIST, ISO frameworks
- Promote a risk-based approach to technology decision-making, including emerging risks associated with new technologies
- Data Strategy & Emerging Technology
- Guide clients in developing modern, well-governed data environments to support:
- Investment decision-making
- Reporting and analytics
- Identify opportunities to improve:
- Data accessibility
- Operational efficiency
- Insight generation
- Advise on practical applications of emerging technologies, including AI, ensuring alignment with business objectives, data governance, and security requirements
- Vendor & Platform Strategy
- Evaluate and rationalize client technology stack, including:
- Market data providers
- Trading and fund platforms
- Security and infrastructure vendors
- Support vendor selection and cost optimization
- Provide guidance on emerging technology vendors (including AI-related solutions) to ensure alignment with security, scalability, and business value
- Ensure alignment to Abacus’ standardized platform for scalability and margin optimization
- Client Success & Relationship Management
- Build and maintain trusted, long-term executive relationships
- Collaborate with CXMs to lead Business Reviews and strategic planning sessions, ensuring alignment between client goals, technology strategy, and delivered outcomes
- Partner with CXMs to proactively identify, escalate, and remediate at-risk client relationships
- Work jointly with CXMs to ensure clients achieve measurable value, drive adoption of services, and become strong advocates for Abacus
- Operational Alignment & Continuous Improvement
- Partner cross-functionally with all internal stakeholders to align strategy to execution and ensure positive, measurable client outcomes, working closely with teams across Solution Design, Client Success, Service Delivery, Sales, Operations, and Finance.
- Ensure alignment between strategy and execution
- Analyze service trends to identify:
- Efficiency opportunities
- Cost optimization
- Service improvements
- Contribute to continuous feedback loops that refine both client outcomes and Abacus service delivery
Qualifications & Experience
Required Experience
- 7+ years in a technology leadership, consulting, or advisory role
- Experience supporting financial services firms (hedge funds, private equity, asset management, or similar)
- Proven experience working with C-level stakeholders
Preferred Experience
- Background in a financial services-focused MSP or consulting firm
- Experience with capital markets technology ecosystems
- Exposure to cloud-first infrastructure environments
- Familiarity with data analytics, automation, or AI-enabled business tools
Education
- Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Business, Finance, or related field preferred
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
Industry & Technical Expertise
- Strong understanding of:
- Financial services operating models
- Trading and investment workflows
- Data sensitivity and confidentiality requirements (MNPI)
- Knowledge of modern IT environments including:
- Cloud platforms
- Cybersecurity frameworks
- Enterprise applications
Strategic & Business Acumen
- Ability to connect technology decisions to:
- Business performance
- Risk exposure
- Financial outcomes
- Ability to evaluate emerging technologies pragmatically, focusing on real business impact over hype
Communication & Executive Presence
- Exceptional ability to communicate with:
- Executives and investment professionals
- Technical and non-technical stakeholders
- Strong presentation and storytelling capabilities
Relationship Management
- Proven ability to build trust and influence at senior levels
- Strong negotiation and vendor management skills
Operational Discipline
- Strong time management and prioritization
- Ability to operate in high-pressure, time-sensitive environments
- Commitment to documentation, process adherence, and continuous improvement
Success Profile
The successful VTE will:
- Think like a business leader, not just a technologist
- Understand how technology impacts investment performance
- Operate with a strong sense of urgency, precision, and accountability
- Balance innovation with governance, particularly when introducing emerging technologies
- Act as a force multiplier across clients and internal teams
Benefits of Working for Abacus:
- Exposure to diverse array of technologies
- Part of a team of experienced colleagues who aim to deliver exceptional service
- Competitive compensation
- Performance bonus
- Robust benefits package: medical, dental, vision, disability, life insurance, 401k, and PTO
- Opportunities to further technical education through online courses
- Positive, friendly, supportive work environment
Salary: 125-175k DOE + performance bonus
