An inquisitive nature

What attracted you to Diamond Castle?
I was initially drawn to Diamond Castle because of the level of expertise and the track record of success of the founders. Also, I had always worked in large organizations in the past, having been at KPMG prior to joining CSFB in 2001. I felt this would be an exciting and rewarding experience, working on setting up fund administration from the ground up, and also working closely with the partners on a day-to-day basis.

At Diamond Castle, what are your responsibilities?
I am responsible for building an infrastructure for Diamond Castle, and I also manage financial reporting and tax reporting to our investors. I have been involved in developing and maintaining internal controls, policies and procedures. I also get involved and am responsible for human resources issues, office management, employee benefits and budgets for our management company. All of this has come under my wing, so I have been able to learn a lot more. It is a much broader position than my previous job.

What was the first thing you did upon arriving at the firm?
I felt the best approach would be to talk to other people in similar positions at other funds, so I made contact with as many other CFOs as I could, through roundtables, conferences, and former clients. I gathered as much knowledge as I could about their experience, about what was done right and what was learned. For example, a lot of people felt that they had not focused enough on information technology and on building up that type of an infrastructure where they have the right systems to handle their growth.

What were your other priorities in setting up Diamond Castle's back office infrastructure?
I spent much time in the beginning exploring whether to have an in-house accounting staff, to outsource the fund administration, or to find a balance between the two. After looking at the different providers and having discussions with people at other firms, I decided to go with an in-house system called The NextRound for our accounting system. I felt it was important to have a system in place that we could have control over that would also be flexible and easily accessible. We' re now in the process of transferring to that system. I have not ruled out outsourcing, but I wanted to develop the team internally and have strong people in our back office system, and perhaps address the need for outsourcing in the future.

How does the firm decide which back office systems and processes to adopt?
I generally speak with Larry Schloss, our CEO, on these decisions. For example, in the case of the accounting system, we discussed my research and findings and what others did with that system, and then we made the decision on which avenue to take.

What skills developed at CSFB have carried over to your current responsibilities, and what lessons have you learned since joining Diamond Castle?
At CSFB, I was able to work with the partners at Diamond Castle in the past, so I am familiar with the types of deals they are doing and fund structuring issues, and I think my tax background and experience at CSFB also helps me to recognize those issues and address them ahead of time.

It was a change, going from a large organization where there were different departments for everything – be it legal, HR, travel, or treasury – and coming to Diamond Castle, where there is a smaller group and need for more flexibility. I have these skills from having seen all those functions in place at CSFB and KPMG, but it is a very different way of actually juggling those tasks. The fact that I have a broader set of responsibilities means that I really need to prioritize when setting up the fund administration function.