Akshata Ashok

Resourceful Investment Banking specialist with over 13 years of hands-on experience in Operations – beginning my stint in Private

Wealth Management in Goldman Sachs, later in Corporate and Investment Banking in JPMorgan Chase possessing broad knowledge in the core business and its operational nuances. Seeking a challenging position in a professional environment where I can enhance my skills and strengthen them in conjunction with the firm’s goals and objectives

JPMorgan Chase & Co.: Sep ‘20 - Jul ’22

Job responsibilities as a Vice President – Bank Loans Team (Fund Services, Securities Services Operations)

❑ Ensure accurate NAV delivery on Bank Loans Pension and Mutual Funds by way of daily Trade capture, Settlements, Cash &

System Reconciliations, Credit Activity related Exception Management by partnering with various teams such as Corporate

Actions, Custody, Reconciliations, Technology, Client Facing teams, Agent Banks, Investment Managers etc.

❑ Proactively govern and track aging items and reasons for deviation from expected behavior, if any, ensuring efficient risk management and mitigation. Perform periodic review of varied routine and non-routine tasks to establish standardized and efficient processes

❑ Ensure timely review of all Bank Loans Operating Service Agreements, Charters, Audit and Business Resiliency Plans.

❑ Manage escalations, work cohesively with the Global Bank Loans teams on BAU as well as projects to ensure seamless rollout of enhancements/migrations and new client on-boarding thereby capitalizing on the established sun model

❑ Manage a team of 20 full time & 5 contract employees in Bangalore, providing guidance and mentorship for their growth and career progression.

❑ First hand involvement in formulating a dynamic hiring strategy for the team and actively drive the recruitment process in co-

ordination with HR to on-board diverse talent that can embrace the firms culture. Also participated in campus hiring programs to help shortlist candidates that best suit Operations requirements.

❑ Organized 2 super-days in partnership with HR and have additionally conducted over 100 ad-hoc interviews in 2022 to hire resources to cater to the rapidly growing business in the team. Successfully extended offers at various levels to ~30

candidates.

❑ Lead the People Pillar for Bank loans Bangalore and Manila driving key initiatives like structured training programs via Bank

Loans University, Rewards & Recognition, Skip level Engagements, Managerial Excellence Program, publish Newsletters, create awareness via Diversity & Inclusion sessions and team connects

❑ Core member of the PRIDE Business Resource Group (Digital Platform Services) in 2021 which focuses on engaging and supporting LGBT+ and Ally employees in promoting and creating an inclusive work environment

Goldman Sachs Services Private Limited - Jun ‘08 - Jan ’20

Job responsibilities as a Vice President, Team Manager - Offshore Mutual Funds Operations Team (Regional Head)

[December 2017 to January 2020 – 2yrs 2mos]

❑ Real-time Trade executions & life-cycle support for PWM clients based in EMEA and Asia for Offshore Mutual Funds

❑ Delivering an exceptional client service to global sales teams and portfolio advisors managing High Net Worth client portfolios

❑ Drive change delivery through Annual Business Plan conceptualization, resource planning & allocation, senior stakeholder communications and implementations

❑ Active engagement with transfer agents and market intermediaries to settle Mutual Fund Trades, Transfers & Switches.

❑ Ensure data accuracy and timely client posting of Cash settlements, Asset Servicing events and Trading error resolution

❑ Manage a team of 8 diverse and highly skilled professionals, prepare Depth Charts, motivate individuals, strengthen team dynamics, groom next level leaders by providing relevant platforms

❑ Work closely with global stakeholders like Technology, Business Unit Management, Legal, Compliance, Operations, Service,

and Reporting teams to design and implement innovative solutions for enhanced client experience

❑ Pro-active risk & reputation management by hands-on involvement with Consumer & Investment Management business in evaluation of financial/reputational/systemic risks and implementation of remediation measures

❑ Vendor relationship management to ensure platform readiness, business continuity and transactional connectivity

Job responsibilities as an Associate, Team Lead - Portfolio Administration & Reconciliation Team

[June 2008 to November 2017 – 9yrs 5mos]

❑ Develop proposals, business cases for new initiatives. Analyze existing Operations/Processes and provide recommendations to enable identification of opportunities and challenges to ensure future success

❑ Provide strategic decision support for maintaining the integrity of the client sub ledger and the firm’s books & records by performing daily reconciliations on all product types.

❑ Resolve complex exceptions to ensure clients can view accurate Cost Basis, Realized Gain or Loss and Taxlot information real-

time. Reconcile entitlements and accruals for Asset Servicing workflows. Effectively manage & escalate aged items.

❑ Work with project holders on analyzing financial results, completing accurate and insightful forecasts, variance and scenario investigation for their projects

❑ Efficiently prepare Business Requirement Document to build pipelines between sub-ledger and the reconciliation platform,

analyze data, fix data quality issues, create test scripts and perform UAT & prod-parallel testing for seamless Go-live

❑ Provide training and administrative support on initiatives related to efficiency gain, risk mitigation, elimination of manual touch points

❑ Effectively manage and resolve discrepancies in preparation of yearly US tax reporting cycle for release of the Tax Package in order to meet the client reporting SLA. Travelled to Salt Lake City (USA) office to provide extended support for the same

Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology - Mount Carmel College, Bangalore, India