Getting more from the team you already have.
I recovered more than $10m a year in value by redesigning how a trading function was structured. There were no headcount cuts and no extra layer of process: the value came from repurposing the capability that was already there.
Why it matters
Much of the value in a trading function is created or lost in how the work is organised, not in any single decision. When strategy and execution sit with the same people, the urgent crowds out the important. The fix is usually a better structure, not a bigger one.
How I go about it
Start with the decisions, not the org chart
Find where teams overlap, where decisions are made by feel rather than method, and where nobody links a decision to its commercial outcome. Put a number on each gap so effort goes where it pays.
Design for where the function is heading
Define the capabilities the business will need, then build the structure around them, rather than around the roles and historical splits that exist today.
Separate setting strategy from executing it
Let one group analyse performance, find pricing efficiency gaps and test changes across the whole book, while another executes that strategy in real time and owns the live decisions. Specialist skill goes where it adds most, and execution becomes consistent.
Close the loop and unlock the team
Feed real-time insight from execution back into strategy so the system keeps learning. A clearer structure also frees people from the tools to develop into insight and strategy work.
This page sets out my general approach. Specific data, methods and tools from previous employers remain confidential.
What this means for your business
Operators
A practical redesign of how trading and commercial teams are structured, so strategy and execution each get proper attention.
Racing bodies
A clearer operating model for commercial and wagering decisions across your own organisation.
Investors
An assessment of operational efficiency and the value available from a better operating model.