2023 SPARK Roundtable: How to Achieve Best Practice with a Small Team

Salvatore Cordaro

CIO, Tages Capital

Prior to founding Tages Group in 2010, Salvatore was the former Head of Portfolio Management within Alpha Strategies at Credit Suisse. While at Credit Suisse, he also served as Deputy Head of Alpha Strategies, Head of Manager Selection and Strategy Analysis in the Alternative Investments and Mutual Funds Team, and Deputy Head of Hedge Fund Research and Selection in Alpha Strategies. Prior to joining Credit Suisse, in 2004, he was a Senior Hedge Fund Analyst and a Portfolio Manager with BSI SA (Generali Group).

Salvatore holds a Degree in Economics and Business Law from Bocconi University of Milan. He is a CFA and a CAIA Charter holder.

Brian Digney

Research and Content Director, SBAI

Brian Digney joined the SBAI in March 2023 in the role of Research and Content Director. He is responsible for content development and co-ordination of the ongoing and future working groups on a wide variety of topics, including valuation of private assets, ESG & carbon footprinting, governance, insurance linked strategies, digital assets, asset management regulation and compliance as well as new topics to be determined in the future.

Prior to joining the SBAI, Brian was the Head of Due Diligence & Governance Oversight at Innocap Global Investment Management (Ireland) Ltd (2018-2023) in Dublin, a subsidiary of Innocap Investment Management Inc., a US$50bn hedge fund platform. He acted as Designated Person for Operational Risk Management, a regulated role by the Central Bank of Ireland. He also sat on Innocap’s Irish Risk Oversight and Valuation Committees. In 2017, Brian joined Albourne Partners in London as a Senior Operational Due Diligence Analyst. From 2015 to 2017 he was employed as an Operational Due Diligence Analyst at Mercer Sentinel in London. From 2010 to 2015 he held various Associate level roles at Decura LLP, Morgan Stanley and Citi.

Brian holds an LLB Hons in Law with Criminology and an M.Sc. in Management and Corporate Governance from University of Ulster. Brian is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst.

James Orme-Smith

Chief Executive Officer & Chief Risk Officer, Sandbar asset Management

Prior to joining Sandbar in 2018, James was the CEO for Eisenstat Capital Partners for four years. Before that, he worked for global investment banks for 13 years, starting in equity research sales and then for nine years in prime brokerage. Ultimately promoted to Managing Director, he managed a number of teams within equity financing businesses.

Before entering finance, James was commissioned into the British Army in 1994 and served with the Irish Guards and Airborne Forces. During his eight-year career, James spent much of his time on operations or managing training tasks in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. James was educated at Harrow School and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.