Edward R. Merchant Email and Phone Number
Innovation is about execution. This statement is true whether the topic is incremental optimization of a mature platform or radical transformation of an operating model and its supporting technical architecture. The true innovators aren't those who just have good ideas but who can also actually get the things done necessary to make them real.I am a hands-on technology execution leader that consistently gets things done by building consensus at all levels within an organization based on a solid grasp of the details - financial, operational, and technical. I have a track record of delivering results in organizations of various sizes, from $20M to $20B. I have repeatedly demonstrated success in designing and executing large-scale transformations leveraging new technologies and operating models. Proven performance managing operational budgets up to $500M, and in-year cost reduction goals as sizable as $50M. Extensive knowledge of CTO/CIO’s focus areas and an in-depth understanding of the IT industry (including Leadership, IT Operations Management, strategy and trends, integration of generative AI technologies). A mentor with a passion for attracting, recruiting, mobilizing technology development and operations teams of up to 3,000, driving adoption of modern technologies, tools and methodologies to improve operational efficiencies and enhance products and services. I believe in the value of teamwork and know that when teams are properly engaged, they will go above and beyond to exceed business targets. I have attracted, recruited, mobilized, and guided technical and operations teams ranging in size from 25 to 3,000 associates to establish foundations necessary to accelerate performance, mitigate risk, and increase revenue.Skill SetsDigital Transformation * IT Strategy * Systems Engineering * Enterprise Architecture * Information Architecture * Behavioral Operations * Large Scale Program Management * Operations Management * Change Management * Consultative SellingCurrent Technology FocusSoftware Development methods, tools and accelerators (DevSecOps, Site Reliability Engineering) * Application Modernization (Microservices and API enablement) * Data Modernization * AI/ML, including Generative AI * Hybrid and Multi-Cloud Management
Cognizant Technology Solutions
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Vice PresidentCognizant Technology Solutions Nov 2010 - PresentTeaneck, New Jersey, UsHead of BFS Consulting, Banking and Financial Services 2023 to present- Providing strategic and tactical leadership to industry, technology, transformation and process consulting teams supporting Banking and Financial Services clients. Responsible for driving business growth and profitability, developing client relationships, ensuring delivery quality, generating thought leadership, and cultivating consulting talent.Solutions and Sales Leader, Banking & Financial Services 2020 to 2023- Built and led a team of consultative solutioning specialists to achieve revenue and sales targets on a $2B+ portfolio of services covering Software and Platform Engineering, Core Technologies and Insights, and Enterprise Platform Services. Senior Digital Partner, Banking & Financial Services 2016 to 2020- Solutioned, sold, and led client engagements related to evaluation and implementation of emerging digital methods, frameworks and technologies. Also advised on remediation/turnaround of digital initiatives failing to meet revenue and operational objectives.Chief Technology Officer, Banking & Financial Services 2012 to 2016- Led a global team of 200+ architects supporting both business development and delivery of complex programs. Drove discovery and implementation of pragmatic solutions to overcome barriers preventing institutions from maximizing business value extracted from new technologies and platforms.Consulting Partner, Banking & Financial Services 2010 to 2012- Served as a trusted advisor on Cognizant’s largest accounts facilitating sale and delivery of both advisory and implementation services.
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Global Head, Capital Markets SolutionsCapgemini 2009 - 2010Paris, France, FrRESPONSIBILITY PROFILE: As Global Head of Capital Markets Solutions, I reported to the Global Head of Practices and was responsible for developing a go-to-market strategy, offers, and execution roadmap for re-entering the NA and UK Capital Markets sectors following the company’s decision to retreat from them in late 2008.ACHIEVED IN THIS ROLEVALUE PROPOSITION DEVELOPMENT / CREATION• Due to competitor successes, NA Capital Markets investments halted due to the 2008 financial crisis were resumed. The CEO of Global Financial Services tasked me to develop an expansion roadmap and establish credibility with prospective clients. I led an initial investigation into European Capital Markets, collected data, revamped delivery frameworks, supported the sales team pipeline, assembled delivery resources, and evangelized to the media. These efforts resulted in a 15% YoY growth trajectory for FY 2010. -
Business Unit Head, Banking And Capital Markets, Uk, And IrelandCapgemini 2008 - 2009Paris, France, FrRESPONSIBILITY PROFILE: Here, I reported to the CEO of Global Financial Services BU with a $4M OPEX and 500 employees with five direct reports. I was in charge of stewarding the execution of a go-to-market strategy to close major framework contracts despite the ongoing financial crisis and enhancing efficiencies within a select BU.
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Business Unit Head, Capital Markets, North AmericaCapgemini 2007 - 2008Paris, France, FrRESPONSIBILITY PROFILE: In this role, I reported to the CEO of Global Financial Services BU with a $5M OPEX, $71M revenue goal, and 1,000 employees with seven direct reports. Leadership recruited me to enhance a select business unit’s efficiencies.ACHIEVED IN THIS ROLETURNAROUND• I was recruited to enhance efficiencies within the $71M North American Capital markets team. Within just six months, I eliminated low margin/growth potential business, implemented consistent operational controls for timely bookings, billings, and collections, and offset the impacts of the 2008 financial crisis. We were able to retain $40M in annuity business and spearheaded sales initiatives to close ~$25M in new business and $10M in follow-on deals to maintain revenue levels. Because of this leadership, FY 2008 was closed with a 39% margin.
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Chief Information Officer, AsiaAbn Amro N.V. 2005 - 2007Amsterdam, NlRESPONSIBILITY PROFILE: In my last position with ABN Amro, I reported to the Head of Operations & Technology, Asia, with a $370M budget and 320 employees with six direct. I was responsible for maximizing IT synergies within the newly formed Asia unit and delivering IT services across ABN Amro’s banking, payments, and securities businesses in 16 countries. -
Global Head Of Strategy And Architecture, Wcs / Interim Cio, Wholesale Client Services AmericasAbn Amro N.V. 2004 - 2005Amsterdam, NlRESPONSIBILITY PROFILE: In this role, I reported to the Global CIO, Wholesale Client Services with a $166M budget (as CIO. As Global Head, my budget was $7M) and up to 600 employees (with seven direct).
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Global Head, Vendor Management, Wholesale Client ServicesAbn Amro N.V. 2004 - 2005Amsterdam, NlRESPONSIBILITY PROFILE: I Reported to the Global CIO, Wholesale Client Services, with a $533M OPEX and 3,000 employees with eight direct. Responsible for reengineering and implementing contract and service management policies, procedures, and organization required to manage global outsourcing and consulting services spending.ACHIEVED IN THIS ROLETURNAROUND• The Wholesale Sale Client Services CIO called upon me to focus efforts and improve outcomes within a multi-year application service outsourcing deal. In the next six months, I created an executive hotline and tactical fix team to address high-profile issues, developed remediation plans for tasks behind schedule, and facilitated internal banking issue resolution. We redefined governance processes, integrated business acceptance testing methodologies, and renegotiated select SLAs at no additional cost. These actions resolved all previous billing disputes (and reduced the subsequent frequency of disputes by ~50%), restored end-user satisfaction levels, improved client satisfaction survey scores by 23%, and secured $23M in additional savings in 2005 and $28M in 2006-07 through renegotiation of select contracts. As a result, I was promoted to Chief Information Officer of Asia.
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Chief Information Officer, Clearing And Execution ServicesAbn Amro N.V. 2002 - 2004Amsterdam, NlRESPONSIBILITY PROFILE: As CIO of Clearing and Execution Services, the Divisional CEO recruited me to ensure that 100+ software development and IT operations staff from four recent acquisitions complied with bank/regulatory policies while maintaining agility and responsiveness to markets served (professional traders, institutional, hedge funds, and corporate markets).ACHIEVED IN THIS ROLESERVICE OR PRODUCT OPTIMIZATION / EXPANSION• The CEO, AACES recruited me to foster synergies between ABN’s European business and US-based clearing and prime brokerage groups. The following year, I worked with client-facing teams across multiple units to understand their client needs and expectations, conducted workshops with Operations/IT BUs to unearth synergies, and established a strategy to address regulatory issues across markets. I also met with stakeholders to validate potential business opportunities and led informal education sessions to raise awareness of global initiatives and best practices. New service offerings revenue increased by 5%, and the Prime Brokerage business expansion into Europe drove $50M in revenue.
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PrincipalKpmg 1998 - 2001Toronto, On, CaRESPONSIBILITY PROFILE: I continued building an architecture advisory practice to modernize the technology of trading and payment platforms, which consistently contributed $10-$15M/year in revenue while generating an additional $20 - $30M pull-through revenue for other practices.ACHIEVED IN THIS ROLEFUNDRAISING• The Global Straight Through Processing Association was formed to address cross-border trade operational issues. At the time, the information required to match post-trade and pre-settlement trade information was manually intensive and error-prone. A Partner tasked me to develop a solution that would address the diverse concerns of multiple stakeholders. Over 12 months, I defined an operating model and technical design for a platform, conducted roadshows with business and technical stakeholders, and was listed as a co-inventor on the Transaction Flow Monitor (TFM) international patent application (WO2003065256A1). Funding of $100M from 92 consortia members was successfully raised as a result, and the system launched in 2002 with no issues. -
Senior ManagerKpmg 1996 - 1998Toronto, On, CaRESPONSIBILITY PROFILE: When I started with KPMG, the Head of Financial Services Consulting recruited me to build an enterprise architecture practice from the ground up focused on modernizing complex transition processing systems. We achieved an $8M/year run rate by the second year in the firm.ACHIEVED IN THIS ROLEVALUE PROPOSITION DEVELOPMENT/CREATION• I identified gaps in the firm’s capabilities that needed to be addressed to establish credibility as a partner for rearchitecting critical, high-volume transactional systems. I built out the team, methodologies, and frameworks needed to successfully win first-of-their-kind engagements with leading banking and capital markets organizations. This resulted in my promotion to Principal.
Edward R. Merchant Education Details
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Montclair State UniversityIndustrial Education And Technology -
Fairleigh Dickinson UniversityMechanical Engineering
Frequently Asked Questions about Edward R. Merchant
What company does Edward R. Merchant work for?
Edward R. Merchant works for Cognizant Technology Solutions
What is Edward R. Merchant's role at the current company?
Edward R. Merchant's current role is Global Head for Banking & Financial Services Consulting at Cognizant.
What schools did Edward R. Merchant attend?
Edward R. Merchant attended Montclair State University, Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Who are Edward R. Merchant's colleagues?
Edward R. Merchant's colleagues are Abhay Bhosale, Senthil Ramachandran, Manjari Saxena, Raj Chock, Sathish Kumar Thiagarajan, Randy Guess, Pmp, Roshan D'souza.
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