When a prestigious lifetime achievement award is being presented, an audience tends to heed the recipient’s words of wisdom. “The change I’ve seen in the last 30 years is nothing compared to the change that is in front of us,” Kurt Woetzel, the former President of the BNY Mellon Markets Group, told the audience at Global Custodian’s Industry leaders awards in New York.
His words echoed the sentiment from the event’s boardroom discussion where some of the market’s biggest service providers were joined by hedge funds to discuss the widespread regulatory change affecting the industry. Basel III, compliance and costs topped the agenda.
During this period of change, which Woetzel referred to, the roles of these service providers has become one of great importance to clients, and they were subsequently recognised during the evening.
Their innovation, evolution and support for clients continues to allow them to navigate through this tough period of seismic change. Global Custodian’s Industry Leaders awards provided the perfect platform to honour these firms.
Woetzel’s former company – BNY Mellon – were one of the nights big winners, taking home two awards, one for Mutual Fund Administrator of the Year: Fund Accounting and one for Tri-Party Securities Finance: Overall.
Other dual winners included Citco Fund Services and SS&C Globeop, both in the Hedge Fund Administrator of the Year category. Pershing Prime Services – a branch of BNY Mellon – also won a prime brokerage award for clients using equity long/short strategies.
HSBC’s Hedge Fund Administrator of The Year award for Asian clients added to its first gong of the night for Prime Broker of the Year, also for Asian clients, while Deutsche Bank picked up two prime brokerage awards itself.
The biggest winner on the night was Morgan Stanley, which scooped three awards in the Prime Broker of the Year categories. The bank won the accolades for Clients who priorities Capital Introductions, Large Clients and Clients who are mainly users of Fixed Income PB.
The two lifetime achievement awards topped off the evening, as a pair of industry legends took to the stage in recognition of their contribution to the global custody business.
Roy Zimmerhansl, Global Head of Securities Lending at HSBC joined Woetzel in receiving the award after operating in the securities services industry for over 30 years.
Now based in Hong Kong with HSBC, Zimmerhansl has previously held roles in investment banking, custodian banks, a central depository, an interdealer broker and a consultancy has even had experience as a journalist, featured for the first time many years ago in Global Custodian.
His counterpart in entering Global Custodian’s hall of fame was the recently retired Woetzel, who was keen to remind the audience that there is still ‘gas left in the tank’ when it comes to his profession.
At BNY Mellon, Woetzel headed up the company’s Global Collateral Services, Global Markets, and Prime Services businesses.
Woetzel first joined The Bank of New York in 1985 in the broker-dealer business and in 1990 was named division head for the business. In 1995 he moved into corporate technology and held numerous roles and eventually was named the chief information officer in 2002.
In his life before BNY Mellon, Woetzel formed a technology start-up and managed the technology infrastructure for Adolph Coors Company.
By Jonathan Watkins, Editor, Global Custodian
To view a gallery of the event click HERE