Violeta Dela Cruz
New York,NY
Summary
Seasoned product leader with 15+ years driving cross-functional alignment and stakeholder management. Expert in developing strategic alliances for transformative data platforms in private banking and financial services. Skilled at translating complex requirements into actionable roadmaps, leveraging emerging technologies.
Overview
16
16
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
WM UMA Program Management Lead | Executive Director
J.P. MORGAN
03.2024 - Current
- Develop a long-term vision and strategy for the UMA platform, focusing on execution considerations in a growth-oriented environment
- Establish cross-functional workstreams, ensure clear project plans and milestones, and integrate business and support functions to enhance efficiency and stakeholder satisfaction
- Collaborate with Technology and Operations to define integration plans, leverage current assets, identify gaps, and formulate growth strategies through in-house development, external vendors, and strategic alliances
- Act as a credible challenger to stakeholders across Program & Project Management, representing Wealth in critical cross-enterprise forums and initiatives
- Liaise with Business, Legal, Risk, Compliance, and Controls partners to ensure alignment with Corporate Risk and Control and Transformation plans
- Represent the platform in relevant risk control forums and regulatory engagements
- Enhance program management frameworks to ensure consistent project delivery while continuously challenging the status quo
WM ESG Data Product Manager | Executive Director
J.P. MORGAN
01.2023 - 03.2024
- Pioneered transformative data solutions ensuring compliance with vital regulations in sustainable finance initiatives and complex strategic programs
- Managed integration of ESG principles across business functions to embed sustainability into strategies and decision-making
- Built cloud-based platform leveraging Python to deliver ESG calculations and methodologies and Tableau for data visualization
- Developed robust data tools and centralized ESG data hub for regulatory reporting compliance
- Led agile product team employing user-centered design principles and backlog management
- Enforced compliance with firms' policies and data governance through rapid concept-to-launch delivery
WM Solutions Data Product Manager | Executive Director
J.P. MORGAN
03.2022 - 01.2023
- Successfully scaled the Wealth Management Manage Solutions' $500 billion business, driving rapid growth and achieving remarkable process efficiency improvements of up to 25%
- Demonstrated execution leadership by defining an ambitious 3-year product vision and program & project plans with clear milestones and deliverables
- Led agile product team of 15 to capture complex requirements, validate pain points through user research, and prioritize backlogs
- Designed and delivered an innovative suite of self-service analytics tools providing portfolio managers with real-time insights into investment performance
- Architected cloud-based platform on AWS leveraging Python, Java, and SQL to enable rapid scaling
- Managed $10M budget and roadmap tradeoffs between IT stakeholders and business units
AM Data Strategy Lead | Executive Director
J.P. MORGAN
12.2018 - 02.2022
- Demonstrated leadership by spearheading the establishment of Asset Management's renowned Investment Book of Records (IBOR) managing $2T in AUM
- Partnered with leadership and cross-functional teams to define strategic vision, product design, roadmap, requirements, and capabilities for a new big data platform (IBOR)
- Partnered with data scientists to apply machine learning techniques such as NLP and clustering algorithms for portfolio optimization and risk modeling
- Onboarded $500B Global Liquidity Funds pilot onto IBOR, reducing breaks 45% through automation
- Spearheaded $1.5T Global Fixed Income integration, improving portfolio manager data and performance
- Partnered closely with LOBs (Markets, Operations, Investment Banking) to align product roadmap to firm's strategic vision and CIB business needs
- Led data-centric product management, including architecting scalable data warehouse solutions, and managing 40+ person agile squads
WM UMA Platform Program Lead | Executive Director
MORGAN STANLEY
09.2017 - 12.2018
- Results-oriented strategic leader recruited to spearhead the creation of a high-performing Program and Project Management team for a significant Advisory Platform initiative
- Managed $60M program budget and supervised agile delivery across 4 scrum teams to meet milestones
- Established PMO standards, project governance, and success metrics to guide large 15+ system implementation initiative
- Drove product vision and delivery of digital advisory platform, coordinating cross-functional resources to meet milestones
- Aligned product roadmap to firm's strategic vision across LOBs while meeting line of business requirements
- Captured requirements through user research, client journey maps and translated them into intuitive, best-in-class digital advisory platform design
WM Transformation Lead | Executive Director
MORGAN STANLEY
10.2014 - 08.2017
- Spearheaded transformative initiatives with a $50 million budget to modernize Wealth Management platforms, driving operational efficiency and delivering exceptional client experiences through business process management, digital product integration, and robotics process automation
- Directed diverse team of 30 to transform wealth management call center, reducing costs 35% and improving efficiency
- Defined robust service model for integrated client experience across platforms
- Reduced manual processes by 25% through business workflow automation initiatives
- Facilitated integration of client-facing platforms to enable seamless onboarding and self-service
- Consulted on organizational restructuring and change management strategies to recruit top talent
Institutional Securities Strategy | Executive Director
MORGAN STANLEY
01.2009 - 01.2011
- Led digital modernization of 30+ front and middle office trading systems serving institutional clients, consolidated disjointed legacy platforms into integrated technical architecture
- Orchestrated large-scale digital transformation encompassing 30+ trading and data systems modernization projects
- Consolidated disparate legacy platforms into an integrated data warehouse to enable workflow automation and advanced analytics
- Spearheaded requirements analysis, process reengineering, and change management initiatives to optimize efficiency
- Oversaw $85M multi-year program budget and managed offshore vendor partnerships
- Influential leader responsible for cross-functional agile teams through full SDLC from planning to successful on-time delivery of mission-critical systems
- Reduced costs by 30% and improved SLAs through platform consolidation and automation
Education
St. John's University, Tobin College of Business
New YorkSkills
- Strategic Alliances & Vision
- Program & Project Execution Leadership
- Change Management
- Business Process Reengineering
- Agile & Waterfall Methodologies
- Stakeholder Engagement & Alignment
- Cross-functional Team Management
- Risk Management & Compliance
- Budget Oversight
- Financial Services Technology
Certification
- NASD, Series 99
- AWS Cloud Essentials for Business Leaders
- Product Led / Agile Certification
- PRI ESG Certification
Timeline
WM UMA Program Management Lead | Executive Director
J.P. MORGAN
03.2024 - Current
WM ESG Data Product Manager | Executive Director
J.P. MORGAN
01.2023 - 03.2024
WM Solutions Data Product Manager | Executive Director
J.P. MORGAN
03.2022 - 01.2023
AM Data Strategy Lead | Executive Director
J.P. MORGAN
12.2018 - 02.2022
WM UMA Platform Program Lead | Executive Director
MORGAN STANLEY
09.2017 - 12.2018
WM Transformation Lead | Executive Director
MORGAN STANLEY
10.2014 - 08.2017
Institutional Securities Strategy | Executive Director
MORGAN STANLEY
01.2009 - 01.2011
St. John's University, Tobin College of Business
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