James Arnold is a consultant at F2 Strategy where he helps firms bring new platforms online. He has worked in the financial industry for over 25 years, starting his career at SEI working in operations, middle office and service roles and moving  into roles in product management, product development and portfolio management software implementations. James’ strength is using his broad experience to intimately understand the needs of his clients. He can then help them to see things from several different perspectives to understand both the upstream and downstream effects of the decisions they make. James lives in the suburbs of Philadelphia.

What would you tell someone starting out in the industry right now? 

Be adaptable and always have a growth mindset. Understand that as technology evolves there will be constant change during your career. You will be amazed at how different things will be in a few years compared to when you started. 

What does the phrase, “Do Good with Tech” mean to you? 

It means being efficient and always trying to determine the best way to do things with the tools and expertise available to you instead of settling for lesser solutions for a quick fix in the near term that are less ideal for the long term. Remain curious and be ready to evolve as tech evolves. 

What has changed the most since you started out in the industry? 

Just how fast everything evolves and becomes more efficient. I remember when I first started working after college and was given a tour of the onsite tape library that contained historical database information for my company’s mainframes. It was the size of a football field stacked to the ceiling with media that someone had to go, retrieve and load when it was requested. Now that type of historical information is available instantaneously going back decades.