Diversity & Inclusion

Dharrini Gadiyaram is the Global Head of Enterprise Risk Products for Bloomberg, responsible for developing the business strategy across risk solutions including market risk, credit & counterparty risk and collateral management that are used by the sell-side and buy-side. Ms Gadiyaram joined Bloomberg in 2014 and has held various roles including product management for front office risk solutions and FX/commodity derivatives across the terminal, enterprise data and risk solutions. Prior to joining Bloomberg, Ms Gadiyaram led oil refined products and exotic derivatives trading for Credit Suisse, and has held roles in commodities quantitative research and risk technology at Credit Suisse and Lehman Brothers. She graduated in Computer Science and Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras.

Julia Bardmesser is the Founder and CEO of Data4Real, a strategic advisory firm helping CEO’s create maximum value from their data and digital assets.  Julia has over twenty years of experience in cross-platform solution delivery in the financial industry, architecture, data management, and data governance. She has worked in leadership positions at such leading organizations as Citi, FINRA, Freddie Mac, Thomson Financial Services, Bear Stearns and Bloomberg L.P. In her previous role Julia served as Senior Vice President, Head of Data, Architecture and CRM. for Voya Financial. She led the transformation of Voya into data, cloud and analytics enabled company by leveraging enterprise data and technology capabilities.  

Julia is known for providing practical and thoughtful advice on all things digital, data and AI. She serves on several technology start up advisory boards including:  

· The Medici Project  

· Polymer 

· Women Leaders in Data and AI (WLDA)  

· Fluree 

In addition, Julia has received various awards for her thought leadership in the industry, including:  

· World’s Top 200 Business and Technology Innovators by engatica 2023 list 2022 WLDA Changemaker in AI award  

· CDO Magazine’s List of Global Data Power Women in 2020, 2021, 2022  

· Top 150 Business Transformation Leader by Constellation Research in 2019  

· Best Data Management Practitioner by A-Team Data Management Insight in 2017  

She holds a Master of Arts in Economics from New York University. In her spare time, she travels and goes to the theatre – where she prefers plays over musicals. 

Prosasty is the former Chief Data Officer for SVB’s Commercial bank. As the Managing Director and Chief Data Officer, Prosasty oversaw the Bank’s largest revenue generating line of business, data strategy, data operations, governance, and architecture for the bank, ensuring that producer data is accurate, consistent, secure, and compliant for regulatory needs. 

Previously, Prosasty was the Global Head of Data Governance and Policy at Citi, where she led the development and implementation of the data governance framework, standards, and processes across the enterprise. 

Prosasty also held the role of Chief Data Officer for Global Banking and Markets at HSBC, where she was responsible for data quality operations, drive customer value through AI/ML techniques.

Prosasty also serves as an active Board Member for the EDM Council WDP, a network of data executives with over 250 member firms and 10,000 professionals. Prosasty leads Woman Data Professionals forum to promote DEI and raise global awareness for women in data through spotlights and rising star programs. 

Prosasty has also been recognized as one of the “Top 100 Global Data Power Women” by CDO Magazine for three consecutive years. Prosasty has a MS in Computer Science from Johns Hopkins University, an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Marla A. Dans is Head of Data Management and Governance at Chicago Trading Company (CTC) – United States. Prior to CTC, Marla was Head of Data Governance at Tradeweb, consulted for data programs across multiple financial services firms, held a strategic position in JP Morgan Asset Management’s chief data office, and for nearly two decades worked for Morgan Stanley in executive director roles in information technology, across application development, DevOps, infrastructure, and information security roles. 

Marla is an active member of the global Enterprise Data Management (EDM) Council and co-founder of the EDM Council’s Women in Data Forum, a long-term member and former board member of the Women’s Bond Club of New York, and an active member of 100 Women in Finance. She is a keynote speaker and panelist on data and data analytics. 

CYNTHIA DIBARTOLO, ESQ. is the Founder and CEO of Tigress Financial Partners, the nation's only disabled & woman-owned investment bank, broker-dealer, NYSE floor broker and research provider. She guides the overall strategy and direction of the firm parlaying her extensive corporate and securities experience into a new generation of financial services firm. Stone X Group Inc., a Fortune 100 Company, owns a minority stake in Tigress Financial Partners.   Tigress is a Member SEC, FINRA, NYSE, MSRB & SIPC.  Cynthia has 30 years of accomplishment-laden experience aligned with Fortune 500 companies, driving achievements in revenue growth, brand expansion and new offerings. Her ability to set the overall vision and strategy for a company propelled her career at Merrill Lynch, Smith Barney-Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Bear Stearns. 

Beginning her career as an institutional credit analyst with Bear Stearns, then an attorney with Merrill Lynch, Cynthia segued into a Compliance Director at Smith Barney. She earned a coveted position in management within the Private Client Group at Smith Barney. Upon the integration of Smith Barney and Citicorp, she transitioned to the bank platform spearheading the turnaround of under-performing “franchises". She is credited as a leader behind a plan between Smith Barney and Citicorp Investment Services to develop a Mass Affluent Offering, leading to the integration of the two broker dealers and later assumed a position as a Risk Management Director. 

Cynthia is a 9/11 survivor and became permanently disabled after battling head and neck cancer in 2009.  She then founded Tigress Financial Partners, a woman-owned and operated financial services firm sensitive to people with disabilities. Cynthia was profiled by Forbes CEO Series article entitled “A Tigress in a Shark Tank”. Forbes described Cynthia as "one tenacious Tigress...her father’s words inspired her to pick herself up from tragedy and start a business. Both the woman and her story are unique, amazing and forcefully inspiring." 

Cynthia is also the Member of the BNY Mellon Pershing Minority Business Enterprise Council; Member of the National Association of Securities Professionals (NASP) Advisory Council;  Chairperson of the Wall Street Project Economic Summit; Chairperson of the Diversity Broker-Dealer Coalition; Vice President of the Women's Syndicate Association and Chairperson of the Financial Services Committee for the Rainbow PUSH Coaltion. 

Mary Fleisch, Deputy director of market data sourcing and vendor management, Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Mary has established herself as an accomplished professional in her field with her expanse expertise in market data content and cost containment, contract negotiation, information technology, compliance, training, library services, record retention, and business continuity, to list a few. 

Investment professionals significantly trust and respect Mary's remarkable communication skills and ability to clearly convey technical information and processes. She is recognized for her ability to lead teams through changes in the workplace while maintaining a positive and productive environment.  She is recognized for being able to cut through the noise and get to the bottom of the issue and work towards a resolution.  

As the Deputy Director of Market Data Sourcing and Vendor Management, Mary manages a team of six professionals responsible for the full lifecycle of data vendor procurement and management that includes data negotiations, billing, and liaising with individual departments as well as acting as a liaison with compliance, audit, human resources, and technology. 

Mary is also Vice President of Cerebral Palsy of Nassau, a not-for-profit entity that assists individuals with disabilities from infants through adults by providing multiple services.  She has been an active advocate for people with disabilities as has also served as Vice President of FedAbility a resource network at the Federal Reserve.  She also understands the pull of life/work balance as she cares for her disabled brother who lives with her on Long Island.  

Andrew Foster, C.F.A., is the Chief Data Officer at M&T Bank. As CDO, he leads data strategy and governance, as well as the development and delivery of platforms, tools, and methodologies to enable M&T to harness the full potential of its data to continuously meet the evolving needs of customers and communities. He also partners with multidisciplinary teams across the organization to drive data-driven outcomes to support customer experience, business resilience, performance optimization, and growth.   

Foster brings over 20 years of experience leading data, automation, and innovation organizations in the financial services industry, most recently as Deputy Chief Data Officer (Americas) and Head of Data Governance at Deutsche Bank in New York. He previously held leadership positions at Europe Arab Bank (EAB) PLC and Arab Bank PLC, both in London.  

Committed to pursuing greater inclusion in the fields of data and technology, Foster has consistently advocated for women in data management, serving in volunteer leadership and outreach roles for Women Data Professionals, the gender diversity arm of EDM Council, a leading global trade association for data and analytics management.  

A native of South Africa whose career has taken him through London and New York, Foster works at M&T Bank’s Tech Hub at Seneca One in Buffalo, New York. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Science, specializing in Finance, from the University of Cape Town in South Africa and has participated in executive leadership programs through the London Business School. 

Dessa Glasser is FRG’s Principal for the data strategy advisory and analytics practice, providing innovative solutions to clients in data, risk, and analytics. She is an independent board member of Oppenheimer & Co. Inc; and chair of the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF).

Before joining FRG, Dessa was the Managing director at JPMorgan Chase, responsible for the Capital Stress Testing Analytics and was the Chief data officer for Asset and Wealth Management. As Deputy director of the Office of Financial Research, she received the US Treasury Exceptional Service Award. Dessa was the Chief risk officer for Bunge and held senior positions at Credit Suisse, Merrill Lynch, IBM, and KPMG.

Dessa has a B.S. from Fairleigh Dickinson University and a Ph.D. and M.A. in economics from Fordham University, where she is on the advisory board for the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. 

Lory is a data science director for wealth management technology, responsible for leading global AI initiatives at JPMorgan. As a former law intern, software engineer, business intelligence analyst, research scientist and as "engineer one" of a start-up, she brings a unique perspective on data projects. This diversity of experience has driven her to make data science accessible for everybody. She holds multiple patents in AI applications, and is a published technical author and an international speaker for Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning. Lory was named the 2021 Data Science Professional of the Year at the WatersTechnology Women in Data and Technology Awards. Lory holds a bachelor's degree in Mathematics from the University of San Carlos in the Philippines.

Vishal Patel is the Chief Data and Analytics Officer for Webster Bank in Connecticut, USA. In his role, he responsible for various aspects of data management that covers data governance, business intelligence & analytics, master and reference data management, data engineering, data platform management and API strategy for the bank. 

An experienced data management professional, Vishal has more than 2 decades of experience in successfully leading all phases of diverse data modernization and technology programs within financial services industry. Prior to Webster Bank, Vishal held several senior leadership roles and developed data-management solutions at JP Morgan Chase & Co., General Electric Company and AllianceBernstein L.P. 

Vishal is also an advisory board member for MIT’s Center of Information Systems Research - Data Research Board Advisory. Vishal received his bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from University of Mumbai and holds diploma in Electrical Engineering from University of Mumbai. 

Accomplished Data Governance and Data Strategy Expert with a proven track record of success. Unique ability to build and lead high-performing teams, driving success through collaboration and a servant leadership approach. Innovator who identifies untapped opportunities and implements strategic data initiatives that deliver tangible improvements in organizational performance. Expertise in developing and executing data strategies that align with overall business strategies, resulting in a data-centric organizational culture. Passionate about fostering data literacy across the workforce. 

Thought Leadership 

Member of three advisory groups for data professionals:  

• Global Advisory Board for Corinium’s “Business of Data” 

• Governing Body for Evanta’s “Boston CDO Community” 

• Advisory Board for Worldwide Business Research’s FIMA USA conference 

Frequent speaker at data & technology conferences:  

• Boston CDO Executive Summit (06/2022 and 05/2023).  

• CDO and Data Leaders’ Global Summit (05/2023).  

• FIMA USA (06/2022 and 04/2023).  

• Chief Data and Analytics Officers Summit, Financial Services (03/2023).  

• GDS Data and Analytics Digital Summit (11/2022).  

• Chief Data and Analytics Officer Fall (10/2022).  

• MIT 2022 Chief Data Officer and Information Quality (07/2022).  

Author of more than 35 articles & white papers for software firms such as Oracle, SAP, Informatica, D&B, and Information Builders, as well as Information Management magazine and Hub Designs’ blog.