Looking Forward

Tokens

BlackRock Platform Innovation (BPI) is a group which drives many of the hardest cross-enterprise projects in the firm (for example, integrating acquisitions, leading complex fund launches, and guiding expansion of our business in new countries). From 2016 to 2018, BPI commemorated every project with a Poker Chip designed to celebrate its success with a unique design. Matt Anestis would give a chip to everyone in BPI and its partners who worked on the project. Matt, Rob Kapito and Rob Goldstein also received full collections which quickly grew into an impressive physical representation of the intangible project work the team completed alongside its partners.

Kidder Peabody discs

In 1994, BlackRock was asked by General Electric (GE) to assist with the sale of mortgage-backed securities held by Kidder Peabody. GE was one of the first Aladdin® clients, opening the door for other companies to seek BlackRock’s expertise. These are replicas of the discs that hold the Kidder Peabody portfolio.

Bowling pin

In 2013, BlackRock hosted the Aladdin 20.20 Conference to bring together representatives from multiple teams across the firm to think about the vision for technology and the Aladdin platform in the future. The group discussed what was important for the Aladdin platform going forward and how we could better serve clients.

Charlie

Charlie Hallac (1964-2015) was BlackRock’s first employee, the initial architect of the Aladdin platform, and the creator of the BlackRock Solutions business. Charlie served as co-President of BlackRock, a member of the Global Executive Committee and Co-Chair of the Global Operating Committee. Charlie was dedicated to defining and driving the firm’s strategy while developing its leaders and instilling the BlackRock culture in all areas of the firm. The image shows Charlie speaking at the Aladdin 20.20 conference and is a representation of his dedication and passion for the firm.

Aladdin caricature

This image was created as an educational tool in 2013 for the Aladdin 20.20 conference and it was used in different forums such as the “Knowing BlackRock” program. It represents how the Aladdin platform works and is still used as one illustration of our One BlackRock culture.

Early Wynn baseball card

Implementing the Aladdin platform for a client is a long and in-depth process that is marked by several important milestones. From the beginning, the first milestone of the implementation process was called “Early Win.” Rob Goldstein, Head of BlackRock Solutions and Chief Operating Officer, marked that occasion by giving the implementation teams an “Early Wynn” baseball card.

Project Aladdin

This image is the cover page to the Aladdin system implementation for the BGI merger. It outlined how BGI would take advantage of the capabilities that the Aladdin platform had to offer and was the first step in the journey that BGI and BLK embarked on in becoming One BlackRock.

Green Package t-shirt

This T-Shirt represents the Green Package®, a comprehensive suite of portfolio risk management reports that help institutions to analyze and manage risk. Green Package took its name from the green-colored paper on which the reports were originally printed, making them easy for portfolio managers to find on their desks. The T-shirt hangs in the New York office on the floor occupied by the Portfolio Analytics Group (PAG), the team that produces the report.

Genie lamp

The process of implementing Aladdin for a client is a long and in-depth process that is marked by several important milestones. At the other end of the process, the “go-live” day of a client implementation is memorialized with an Aladdin lamp. The lamps are proudly displayed in BlackRock offices around the world to represent the hard work of the many teams who achieved a “go-live” day.

Burger Heaven napkin

In the summer of 2007, Tom Fortin, head of the Aladdin Enterprise Risk Management Platform Development team, and Dan Schwieger, a key member of the Global Fund and Accounting Services team, met at Burger Heaven, a restaurant in Midtown Manhattan, to discuss the re-architecting of the accounting system (known today as Alpha). The project plan was written on a napkin during their lunch meeting. When Tom presented the plan to Charlie Hallac, Co-President of BlackRock, Charlie was skeptical as to whether the redesign would be completed in the proposed short timeframe. In response to Charlie’s skepticism, Tom bet him a nickel that he could complete the project by November 2008. When Tom was able to successfully deliver the project on November 21, 2008, Rob Goldstein, then Head of BlackRock Solutions, bought a box of wooden tokens as a celebratory gesture for everyone involved in the project.

Selling a risk system not a culture

Selling a risk culture: The article explains the growth of BlackRock’s analytics and risk management capabilities, beginning with the establishment of the BlackRock Solutions business. In the early years, BlackRock was focused on building risk models and developing its systems to assist with the management of portfolios. Clients began to ask for these risk reports on their own portfolios and shortly thereafter BlackRock started selling its Green Package service to clients.

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Principles & Purpose