Michael H. Cavanaugh
Lake Worth
Summary
Dynamic and results-driven financial services executive with over 15 years of experience leading high-impact operational and strategic initiatives across broker-dealer, FCM, and hedge fund environments. Proven track record in business development, client relationship management, credit structuring, and risk mitigation. Adept at driving revenue growth, improving service delivery, and advising senior leadership on transformative strategies. Recognized for building scalable infrastructures, leading cross-functional teams, and delivering innovative solutions that exceed business goals.
Collaborative leader partners with coworkers to promote engaged, empowering work culture. Documented strengths in building and maintaining relationships with diverse range of stakeholders in dynamic, fast-paced settings.
Overview
18
18
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Head of Operations
NinjaTrader Group
12.2020 - 08.2025
- Led strategic initiatives that directly contributed to exceeding revenue targets and expanding market share, including the integration of two Introducing Brokers, resulting in $3M annual cost savings.
- Played a key leadership role in scaling operations and infrastructure, supporting organizational growth from $345M valuation to $1.5B acquisition (closed May 1st, 2025).
- Lead the Futures Commission Merchant day-to-day operations, corporate initiatives and help grow the company from 70K customers generating $40M EBITA to 300K customers = 2 million users of the firms software – resulting in $132 million EBITA.
- Acted as a trusted advisor to executive leadership, providing strategic input on business decisions, operational models, and technology investments.
- Spearheaded client satisfaction initiatives by optimizing service delivery models and implementing feedback-driven process improvements.
- Partnered with internal stakeholders to craft detailed presentations, proposals, and business cases for new initiatives and client solutions.
- Directed change management programs tied to platform integrations and operational restructuring, ensuring readiness, execution, and sustainability.
- Oversaw credit and risk frameworks for institutional clients, contributing to the development of comprehensive credit structures and lending decisions.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to enhance data governance standards and ensure alignment across operational databases and reporting systems.
Vice President Clearing Operations
TradeStation Securities, Inc.
04.2015 - 12.2020
- Developed and executed business cases for new product offerings, including a retail cryptocurrency platform, assessing ROI and strategic fit.
- Improved client onboarding and cashiering workflows, resulting in measurable gains in client satisfaction and operational efficiency.
- Provided strategic recommendations to senior leadership on lending programs, including the Fully Paid Lending initiative that generated $7M in gross revenue.
- Led cross-departmental efforts to align operational functions with business goals, enhancing service levels and reducing risk exposure.
- Partnered with legal and compliance teams to structure credit agreements and due diligence protocols for institutional clients.
- Delivered accurate financial analysis and risk assessments to support lending decisions and investment strategies.
Vice President, Regional Head of Collateral, Margin & Valuation
Deutsche Bank Ag
12.2011 - 04.2015
- Directed strategic offshoring initiatives and change management programs, maintaining control integrity and improving cost efficiency.
- Provided executive-level insights into operational risk and control gaps, influencing remediation strategies and audit outcomes.
- Developed KPIs and dashboards to assess ROI and operational performance across margin and collateral functions.
Executive Director – Operations & Client Services
JPMorgan
11.2010 - 12.2011
- Senior operations manager responsible for 75 Operations and Corporate Action Client Service professionals supporting Corporate Pension plans, Custodians, Investment Managers, Sovereign Wealth Funds.
- Collaborated with Executive Management team and other division heads to develop and implement enhancements for operational systems, processes, and staffing designed to provide world class service to JPMorgan customers.
- Developed, motivated, and lead a high-performance management team within Operations. Attracted, recruited and retained staff capable of meeting established goals of providing world-class service with available resources.
- Spear-headed several automation initiatives that improved operational efficiencies and reduced operational risk – OFAC, Fax elimination using OCR technology, standardized check float tables, reduced unprocessed transaction rate by 70%.
Director of Trading Operations – Trading desk, Operations & Portfolio Engineering
First Quadrant, LP
11.2007 - 11.2010
- Senior manager responsible for 25 Trading, Operational, Portfolio Engineering and Client Service professionals supporting a $41 billion Hedge Fund whose specialty was Global Assets Allocation, Global Macro, Long Short Equity, Essential Beta, Tactical Currency Allocation and Volatility Arbitrage Options strategies.
- Responsible for identifying and improving the operations infrastructure through process control improvements and system enhancements. Support the process to identify, report and analyze errors, losses and near misses.
- Implemented a cash management program in Oct.2008 that exceeded revenue target by $5 million annually.
Education
High School Diploma -
Franklin D. Roosevelt High School
Brooklyn, NY06-1983
No Degree - Economics, Money & Banking
NY Institute of Finance
New York, NY06-2002
Skills
- Strategic Business Development
- Client Satisfaction Optimization
- Stakeholder Engagement
- Operational Excellence
- Change Management
- Regulatory Compliance
- Governance
- Technology-Driven Process Improvement
Certification
FINRA Licenses: Series 3, 4, 7, 27, 30, 63, 65, 99 (Active & Dormant)
Timeline
Head of Operations
NinjaTrader Group
12.2020 - 08.2025
Vice President Clearing Operations
TradeStation Securities, Inc.
04.2015 - 12.2020
Vice President, Regional Head of Collateral, Margin & Valuation
Deutsche Bank Ag
12.2011 - 04.2015
Executive Director – Operations & Client Services
JPMorgan
11.2010 - 12.2011
Director of Trading Operations – Trading desk, Operations & Portfolio Engineering
First Quadrant, LP
11.2007 - 11.2010
High School Diploma -
Franklin D. Roosevelt High School
No Degree - Economics, Money & Banking
NY Institute of Finance
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