Growing up, Danielle Vento was an all-around athlete, participating in soccer, baseball, basketball, and softball. Being part of these teams taught her valuable lessons in dealing with adversity, overcoming failure, and understanding her role in the teams' successes and setbacks.
Her time on these teams also helped Danielle learn to forge her own path: she was the first and only girl on her Little League team and the sole female member of her high school's nationally ranked computer team.
Now, with 17 years of experience in financial technology, Danielle reflects on how the lessons of resourcefulness, resilience, and authenticity—learned both on and off the field—have shaped her career in an organization where transformation is a constant.
Danielle and her family attend a US Women's National Soccer Team game
A Partner, Not a Vendor
Danielle joined the company in 2007, when it was still Eze Castle Software, as the first female business consultant in the New York office and the fourth female team member at the New York office.
"This was really a hybrid role—we handled tier-one production support, relationship management, and project work for a group of clients," Danielle recalls. "It was right around the time of the financial crisis, but it gave me an incredible opportunity to learn about technology, finance, and how our clients operate."
At the same time, her passion for sports helped Danielle build trust with her colleagues. She joined their all-male soccer team and assumed the position of goalie, the mentally demanding position she had played in college.
Over time, Danielle transitioned to another consulting team, focusing on the company's largest New York-based clients. "My first major project was a large upgrade for our biggest client," Danielle remembers. "I spent months working on-site with them, which gave me invaluable insight into their operations and challenges."
Through this experience, the company's refrain, "Be a partner, not a vendor," became a guiding principle for Danielle—one she would carry with her throughout her career.
Creating User Efficiency: Doing It Her Own Way
Equipped with her experience as a business consultant and her knowledge of firms' operations, Danielle moved into a new role on the Strategic Project Management (SPM) team.
Not a traditional project management team, the goal of the SPM team was to enhance the capabilities of the consulting organization.
"Previously, my work was dictated by incoming user requests," says Danielle. "Now, I was able to take a step back and figure out how I could proactively make an impact across our user base."
She started by developing and running a comprehensive training program to better equip new consultants for their work with clients. In addition, she worked with clients to conduct workflow audits that included interviews with users to determine how they were using the system and uncover any pain points they had.
Danielle reflects, "I would identify opportunities for clients to streamline their processes, especially tasks done manually. It was always rewarding to recommend ways they could leverage our software to enhance their productivity."
After spending a few years on this team, Danielle began to think about her next role. As the first girl on her sports teams growing up, Danielle created a place for herself on her terms. She brought that same thinking to what she wanted from her career.
"As a senior consultant, the next logical step was for me to take on a role managing one of the consulting teams," says Danielle. "But I liked what I was doing as an individual contributor on the SPM team, and I felt like I could make a larger impact across the organization in that role."
Danielle worked with her manager, and together, they designed and advocated for a new role: Danielle was promoted to be the first, but not the last, individual contributor associate director.
Danielle coaching her daughter and niece’s soccer team
Managing Through Change
In 2013, Eze OMS joined with Tradar PMA and Realtick EMS to create the Eze Software Group. The combined organization would create new solutions for clients and opportunities for the teams that support them, including Danielle.
"As our business grew, my manager transitioned to a new opportunity," says Danielle. “I stepped up and took responsibility for managing the SPM team—a team I had built and knew how to lead effectively. It was a proud moment for me to eventually become the manager of this team."
Danielle expanded the SPM team to include additional OMS experts. Today, over a decade later, these experts are still at the organization, serving in various leadership roles across our client experience organization and our sales team.
“As a manager, I am proud that the people I led are still here, leading teams of their own," says Danielle. “It shows me how everyone – me included – can grow in our roles.”
Over time, the convergence of these organizations led to the integration of the OMS and EMS into a single solution. Danielle was once again ready to dive in and help the team be successful.
“We expanded the team again to include integration experts, and I developed the processes, documentation, and best practices needed for them to succeed. These materials are still relevant and in use today.”
That same year, Danielle gave birth to her first child, giving her a new perspective on work-life balance. “Having a child forces you to be better at your job, to be more structured. I now run my life like I’ve run all my work projects: structured, organized, and detailed.”
Taking on the EMS Challenge
As the SPM organization continued to evolve, Danielle grew as a leader, taking on several initiatives that leveraged her expertise as an OMS specialist. Eventually, she was asked to step into a new and challenging role: leading the EMS consulting team.
Although Danielle had some experience with EMS integration, managing a team of seasoned EMS experts based in a different office was uncharted territory.
“At this point, I had been working on the OMS for nearly a decade," says Danielle. “My leadership style took what I’d call a ‘player-coach approach’—able to lead while also having an in-depth understanding of the work my team was doing. Managing the EMS team would require me to let go of being the expert while still adding value to the team.”
In time, Danielle became a successful manager of the EMS consulting team and one of only a few managers to manage the OMS and EMS teams simultaneously.
The EMS advanced trading and sales teams at Wrigley Field in Chicago
More Opportunities for Learning and Growing
Always one to embrace change and learn more, Danielle thrived in her first ten years at the company, learning and taking on progressively more responsibility. By 2018, those lessons would serve her well as she entered a new period of change: Danielle welcomed her second child, and Eze Software became part of SS&C Technologies.
As the two organizations integrated, Danielle's extensive expertise in leading teams, optimizing processes, and uniting diverse groups was instrumental in the transition.
Initially, she expanded her responsibilities by taking on the OMS product customization team. Danielle's responsibilities grew significantly as the organization continued to evolve, with new teams added to her purview every 18 months. Today, she leads the front office consulting organization, overseeing implementations, upgrades, and project work for the entire OEMS client base.
As SS&C technologies continue to evolve and unify, Danielle is excited by the opportunity to continue to learn – and the impact these solutions have on solving challenges for our users.
“For alternatives and investment managers, uniting best-of-breed solutions under a dedicated product strategy leader, a cohesive product development organization, and a streamlined, professional services team enables us to deliver innovative solutions and an exceptional user experience.”
Danielle and the New York front office consulting team
Growing into the Future
Positions change, technology evolves, and organizations merge. Still, the core lessons Danielle has learned along the way remain the same: clients are partners, hard work is invaluable, and it’s essential to define how and where you contribute to an organization’s success.
Danielle reflects on how her early experience working directly with clients shaped her approach to every role and team she has led since.
“When I lead teams, the needs of our users are always at the top of my mind,” Danielle explains. “I’m constantly asking myself: How can we improve implementations? How can we handle upgrades more efficiently and in less time? How can we consistently deliver a top-notch user experience that helps our clients overcome challenges?”
Danielle also credits much of her success to her willingness to support and advocate for herself and other women. Early in her career, she was mentored by one of the company’s female client service leaders. Now, she pays it forward as an active participant in SS&C’s Top Talent Program and Empower Leadership Group mentoring program.
“It’s important to lean into your strengths, but that doesn’t mean staying comfortable,” says Danielle. “My success in this growing, evolving organization has come from stepping outside my comfort zone and embracing new challenges. Even after 17 years, I’m still learning something new every day. As the organization continues to grow, I expect those learning opportunities to keep coming.”
