Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Certification
Community Leadership
Timeline
Generic

Stevland Polite

New York,NY

Summary

Technology Product Owner with 10+ years of experience delivering secure, scalable identity and access management solutions and digital platforms in financial services. Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams, translate regulatory requirements into actionable product features, and drive enterprise-wide access modernization for trading, compliance, and risk systems. Skilled in access governance, entitlement frameworks, IAM platforms, and stakeholder alignment across high-stakes environments. Passionate about leveraging innovation, data, and agile delivery to build resilient, compliant, and user-centric financial technologies.

Overview

13
13
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification

Work History

Vice President Institutional Securities Technology

Morgan Stanley
06.2022 - Current
  • Designed and implemented entitlement control frameworks across 10 internally developed electronic trading platforms valued at $150M, enhancing regulatory compliance and platform security
  • Led cross-functional initiatives with risk, compliance, and engineering teams to optimize trade destination access for 250+ global equity desks, resulting in an 80% increase in process efficiency, visibility, and control in line with regulatory mandates
  • Collaborated with senior management to develop strategic initiatives and long term goals for entitlement centralization
  • Fostered innovation within the team by introducing Design Thinking techniques through tailored training, which facilitated the creation of data solutions that directly impacted the teams ability to secure buy-in from key stakeholders in order to achieve our annual goals
  • Championed diversity in recruiting by representing Morgan Stanley at the AfroTech Conference, proactively identifying and interviewing high-caliber technology talent to strengthen the firm's commitment to building a diverse workforce.
  • Actively engaged in the Black Employee Network (BEN) and Race and Ethnic Diversity (RED), consistently participating in events that foster community, promote professional development, and advance diversity and inclusion within

Identity and Access Management Analyst

Richemont International
12.2020 - 06.2022
  • Specialized in Azure AD and Saviynt to support authentication, authorization, and identity security across 26 global luxury brands, reducing access-related incidents by enhancing policy enforcement
  • Acted as IAM Product Liaison for enterprise cloud migration, managing DNS cutovers and Global Policy Object updates to ensure secure identity provisioning during Azure AD transformation
  • Provided expert guidance on best practices, resulting in improved overall organizational effectiveness.

Information Security Analyst

HedgeServ
08.2017 - 03.2019
  • Oversaw identity governance for a SaaS platform managing $350B+ in assets under administration, implementing policies and procedures to ensure secure and compliant access
  • Developed PowerShell scripts to automate access workflows, improving operational efficiency and freeing up 30% team capacity to focus on IAM policy design and compliance
  • Rolled out Proofpoint awareness and phishing simulation programs, improving phishing detection rates and strengthening employee cyber hygiene
  • Led Varonis integration to automate access controls, data classification, compliance management, and real-time threat detection — significantly reducing risk and increasing data security across shared drives

IT Security Analyst - User Access Control

BNP Paribas
01.2017 - 08.2017
  • Designed and launched IAM governance framework impacting 6,000 employees; improved SLA delivery by 95% and eliminated 1,500-ticket backlog within 3 months through standardized workflows and metrics
  • Finalist in BNP Innovation Factory for designing a product concept to securitize digital ad space, combining financial innovation with Gen Z and millennial engagement strategy

VP, Supervisor of Access Management

Natixis
05.2013 - 05.2016
  • Owned end-to-end access management for 150+ critical banking applications and 650 users, aligning controls with trade lifecycle and reducing access-related audit findings via real-time risk modeling
  • Directed a team of security analysts to deliver access lifecycle management, audit remediation, and operational support across front/middle/back-office platforms
  • Served on cross-functional steering committees for Application Integration, BCP, and DR — aligning security, risk, and resilience strategies with enterprise IT
  • Integrated Physical Security into Access Management, redesigning controls and procedures to reduce physical risk exposure by 60% through updated policies and facility safeguards
  • Authored and implemented Natixis’s Physical Security and Personnel Safety Policy, formalizing security standards for facilities and staff across the U.S. region

Consultant, Security Analyst

Barclays
09.2012 - 05.2013
  • Managed access risk remediation for 14 critical Credit applications within FICC Tech, reducing high-risk combinations by 75% through analysis and enforcement of least privilege
  • Built and executed a business continuity testing plan for 100+ credit services using Excel VBA and heat map modeling, delivering executive-level visibility into system resiliency and recovery posture

Education

Ignite Certificate - Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Stanford Graduate School of Business
New York, NY
2015

Technical Consulting Graduate Program - Technical Operations

FDM Group
New York, NY
08.2012

Bachelor of Science - Business Administration: Finance, Marketing and International Business

Drexel University
Philadelphia, PA
2011

Skills

  • Risk-Based Access Control & Entitlement Models
  • Agile Product Ownership (Scrum, SAFe)
  • Regulatory & Compliance Requirements Gathering
  • Stakeholder Engagement & Communication
  • User Story Writing & Acceptance Criteria
  • Go-to-Market Strategy (internal platform launches)
  • Cross-Functional Team Leadership
  • Governance Program Development
  • Global Stakeholder Collaboration (Tech, Risk, Legal, Ops)
  • Change Management & Process Improvement
  • Executive Communication & Reporting

Certification

  • American Management Association (AMA) Managing Successfully 
  • BCS-ISEB Foundation Certificate in Business Analysis
  • BCS-ISEB Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Foundation Certificate
  • Series 7 – General Securities Representative Exam
  • Association for Project Management Introductory Certified

Community Leadership

  • Author - "Named After Legends: Self-Discovery Amid the Shadows of Giants" (Atmosphere Press, Spring 2024)
  • Co-Founder - Black Bravado: Mentorship, Mental Health Advocacy, and Positive Media (January 2016 to January 2021)
  • Founder - Polite Ventures: Impact development and consultancy (January 2016 to Present)

Timeline

Vice President Institutional Securities Technology

Morgan Stanley
06.2022 - Current

Identity and Access Management Analyst

Richemont International
12.2020 - 06.2022

Information Security Analyst

HedgeServ
08.2017 - 03.2019

IT Security Analyst - User Access Control

BNP Paribas
01.2017 - 08.2017

VP, Supervisor of Access Management

Natixis
05.2013 - 05.2016

Consultant, Security Analyst

Barclays
09.2012 - 05.2013

Bachelor of Science - Business Administration: Finance, Marketing and International Business

Drexel University

Ignite Certificate - Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Stanford Graduate School of Business

Technical Consulting Graduate Program - Technical Operations

FDM Group

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