General Finance
Mar 7, 2025
Get to Know Gradient: Morgan Dunbar, Head of Strategy
Where were you before Gradient?
“I spent the beginning of my career developing a system for trading analytics that I eventually sold to Citi. I joined Citi’s team and, after several years, was responsible for running the electronic trading department out of the Tokyo office.”
“After leaving Citi, I spent 10 years doing fintech venture capital investment and consulting. During this time, I was particularly focused on surfacing and investing in innovative technology companies that operated in the asset management industry.”
“Right before joining Gradient, I was the Head of Strategy for a $115 billion asset manager.”
What inspired you to join Gradient?
“To me, the most attractive part of joining Gradient was the team’s mix of AI and capital markets expertise. It felt like a natural fit for both my distinct experience and my long-time passion for financial services. I’m incredibly excited about AI’s potential in financial services and there’s no company that’s better positioned to benefit this industry than Gradient.”
What are some of the biggest opportunities for AI in financial services?
“One major opportunity is automating manual, repetitive work. This is probably the easiest place to start and has huge potential from a cost and risk reduction standpoint. The type of automation offered by AI can simultaneously reduce expenses while freeing up employees to focus on higher value work.”
“Another major opportunity for AI in financial services is using AI to generate alpha in predictive analytics, portfolio construction, trading, and risk avoidance.”
What are companies most nervous about when implementing AI?
Most companies have three main concerns when implementing AI. The first is the fear of missing out. Companies want to do something but don’t know where or how to start. The second is career risk. Many individuals are concerned about mishandling the implementation of AI in a way that might negatively impact their careers. Finally, there’s the issue of data privacy, which is especially troublesome when selecting a vendor.
What are some of the most important parts of the AI vendor selection process?
“One important step is determining what you’re able to develop internally and where you should leverage external support. It’s important to get a balanced and honest view of your capabilities so you know where you fall short. Then, bring on a provider that can fill those gaps.”
What does the timeline usually look like for AI implementation?
“This is one thing that really excites me about Gradient. There’s a perception that implementing AI takes a long time. Gradient has proved that it doesn’t have to. We can go through the entire implementation process – from ideation to deployment – in a matter of weeks.”
What are some common barriers to AI adoption?
“The biggest barrier is usually just bureaucracy, especially with larger organizations. It can be difficult for the entire team to align on an AI strategy. Then, once they do, there are legal, compliance, and even HR hurdles to overcome.”
“Finding the right vendor to partner with is usually the best way to overcome this barrier.”
What are some of the biggest limitations of AI?
“In my experience, technology is rarely the limiting factor. Usually, the biggest hurdles come from aligning on a use case and seeing the AI through deployment.”
What is your biggest piece of advice to companies interested in implementing AI?
“Choose one problem and find a way to solve it using AI.”
“Focusing on solving just one problem can help organizations overcome the fear of getting started. Start by finding a provider who understands your business and has the AI and engineering expertise to deploy against your use case. Once the AI is up and running, you should define success, measure it, and determine if the spend is worthwhile.”
“Gradient is particularly adept at reporting the ROI of the AI implementation and adjusting as needed.”
What sets Gradient apart from other providers?
There are three things that set Gradient apart from other providers: our dual expertise in AI & financial services, our collaborative partnership approach, and the speed at which we can bring a use case to market.”
Thanks for reading!
We hope that you’ve enjoyed this episode of Get To Know Gradient as we interviewed the Head of Strategy, Morgan Dunbar. Interested in speaking with Morgan about how a high-performing, cost-effective custom AI system could benefit your financial services business? Contact the Gradient team today to learn more.
Share
