Women in WealthTech: Lisa Burns of Fidelity Institutional
The Head of Platform Technology shares her views on everything from what keeps her up at night to her favorite apps.
In her 25-year career with Fidelity, Lisa Burns has held many leadership positions within the firm’s Technology and Institutional businesses. Today, she is responsible for developing the long-term vision and strategy, along with execution and delivery of Fidelity’s technology offering serving broker-dealer, family office and registered investment advisor firms and their investors; she leads a team focused on end-to-end digital experiences.
“My team and I help advisors work more efficiently and find new ways to deliver value to clients. We’re creating frictionless experiences that help advisors be more productive and meet the demands of today’s tech-savvy consumers,” Burns explained. “We’re also focused on making it easy for firms to build differentiating platforms that help them grow and scale.”
What makes your job special for yourself, your firm and for advisors? This work is important to me, because it will enable broader access to advice.
By creating efficiencies around routine work — like account opening, portfolio construction & rebalancing — we enable advisors to scale and focus on the really important things, like planning and helping investors achieve life goals. That results in more valuable experiences for both advisors and investors.
What is your job focus? I’m focused on wealth platforms and technology solutions for advisors and their investors.
What technology are you most bullish on in the short run? AI and its application across the entire life cycle of an advisory relationship, from delivering personalization at scale in user experiences to core investing and ongoing oversight.
How about in the long run? I’m interested to see where blockchain technology takes us in the long run. I think the industry is just starting to really understand all of the possibilities there.
What keeps you up at night? Cybersecurity for sure, along with keeping up with consumer expectations in today’s rapidly changing technology landscape. How do we continue to keep pace with the developments that are happening across the ecosystem?
Which woman do you most admire? Abby Johnson, president and CEO of FIdelity Investments. Not only is she one of the most influential women in business, she’s also instrumental in driving the pace of innovation.
What is your go-to source for tech news and info? It’s impossible to pick just one! I follow all of the key influencers in our space. In terms of books, “The Innovator’s Dilemma” and “The Everything Store” are great reads that help me think more broadly about my work.
What is your favorite app or tool for your job? Internal analytics tools – they help us understand where to focus our energy for the greatest impact.
And off the clock? Alexa – I use it for everything from turning on my lights to checking the traffic in the morning.