Separating a business and building its technology

During my Investec tenure, the back-office operations of Investec Asset Management were separated into Silica. The project required a business move and a new technology environment while maintaining operational continuity.

I served as both Project Manager and Technical Lead. I managed the business move and acted as the subject-matter expert for the technical aspects.

Designed and built the server room.

Purchased and configured IBM Blade servers.

Configured new applications and established the new network.

Planned and executed the move and cutover.

The separation and move were completed with zero operational downtime.

Separately, I ran the integration of the Fedsure acquisition into Investec. This was acquisition integration work, distinct from the Silica separation.

A business move depends on the operating plan and the technology being ready together. In this project, responsibility for both gave me direct visibility into the dependencies behind the cutover.