Digital Assets Strategy and Execution - Vice President

Digital Assets Strategy and Execution - Vice President

Purchase, NY

Firm Overview:

Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, investment management and wealth management services. The Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, and individuals from more than 1,200 offices in 43 countries. As a market leader, the talent and passion of our people is critical to our success. Together, we share a common set of values rooted in integrity, excellence, and strong team ethic. Morgan Stanley can provide a superior foundation for building a professional career - a place for people to learn, to achieve and grow. A philosophy that balances personal lifestyles, perspectives and needs is an important part of our culture.

Division Description: 

Wealth Management (WM) Platforms manages industry-leading platforms, across all WM channels and client segments, to provide a unified digital experience, unlock growth, and deliver efficiencies for Advisors, Clients, and Institutions. WM Platforms consists of ten sub-teams including: Field Experience & Platforms, Digital Client Experience & Platforms, Workplace Platforms, Automation & Workflow, Digital Trading & Investing, Generative AI UX Design & Research, Strategy & Execution, WM Platforms Risk and the Chief Operating Office.

Team Description:

The Digital Client Experience & Platforms Team is responsible for all aspects of the digital client experience with focus on self-directed bank, brokerage, and advised accounts. The team consists of Mobile, Retail Web and Bank Platforms, Portfolio Analytics, Digital Advice & Transactions, and Account Opening teams.

Digital Assets & Data Platforms is responsible for creating the platforms, standards, and scalability needed to support a rapidly expanding digital assets ecosystem – from custody and wallet infrastructure to tokenized product enablement. The team is also responsible for creating a modern data ecosystem that supports growth and innovation while ensuring consistency, integrity, and accessibility of core Wealth Management data across all platforms.

Position Summary

The Vice President, Digital Assets Portfolio Management Lead, is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management's Digital Assets portfolio. Reporting to the Executive Director, this role ensures strategic initiatives are effectively planned, coordinated, governed, and executed across Product, Technology, Operations, Risk, Compliance, Legal, Finance, and third-party partners.

The successful candidate will establish execution discipline across the portfolio by managing interdependencies, maintaining governance processes, tracking delivery, and providing leadership with actionable portfolio insights. This individual will serve as the operational hub for the Digital Assets organization, enabling teams to execute efficiently while providing transparency into portfolio health, risks, and priorities.

Responsibilities

Portfolio Management & Execution

• Support planning activities for new initiatives, including business case development, prioritization, sequencing, and implementation planning.
• Manage the day-to-day execution of the Digital Assets portfolio across multiple strategic initiatives, ensuring delivery against business objectives.
• Develop and maintain integrated portfolio plans, including milestones, dependencies, risks, resource requirements, and executive reporting.
• Coordinate cross-functional workstreams spanning Product, Technology, Operations, Risk, Compliance, Legal, Finance, Cybersecurity, and third-party vendors.
• Drive accountability across stakeholders by monitoring deliverables, escalating issues, and proactively resolving execution challenges.

Program Governance & Operating Rhythm

• Execute the operating cadence for the Digital Assets organization, including portfolio reviews, steering committees, working groups, and executive governance forums.
• Prepare executive-ready presentations, status updates, dashboards, decision materials, and meeting readouts.
• Track program decisions, action items, and key risks to ensure timely follow-up and transparency across leadership.
• Maintain portfolio reporting and governance artifacts that enable informed decision-making while minimizing administrative overhead.
• Continuously improve governance processes to increase efficiency, visibility, and execution quality.

Cross-Functional Enablement

• Partner with Product Managers and Technology teams to coordinate delivery across interdependent initiatives.
• Support organizational readiness activities, including operational processes, launch planning, training coordination, communications, and documentation.
• Facilitate collaboration across business and control partners to ensure initiatives satisfy operational, regulatory, and risk management requirements.
• Coordinate external vendor activities where applicable to ensure delivery commitments remain on track.

Portfolio Analytics & Executive Reporting

• Develop portfolio metrics and dashboards to provide leadership with visibility into initiative health, milestones, resource utilization, risks, and delivery progress.
• Analyze portfolio performance and identify opportunities to improve execution efficiency and organizational effectiveness.
• Produce executive communications that synthesize complex information into concise recommendations for senior management.
• Support annual planning, budgeting, and portfolio prioritization exercises.

Organizational Effectiveness

• Help establish scalable operating practices that improve coordination across Digital Assets initiatives.
• Document processes, governance standards, and operating procedures that enable consistency across programs.
• Support special projects for Digital Assets leadership related to strategy, operating model evolution, organizational planning, and business management.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, transparency, and continuous improvement.

Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Economics, Engineering, Computer Science, or a related discipline.
• 5-7 years of experience in program management, business management, consulting, product operations, COO organizations, or strategic initiatives within financial services.
• Experience managing large cross-functional initiatives involving multiple stakeholders and competing priorities.
• Demonstrated ability to operate effectively in highly regulated environments.
• Exceptional organizational skills with strong attention to detail and execution discipline.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including experience developing executive-level presentations.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities with the ability to synthesize complex information into actionable recommendations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting digital assets, blockchain, tokenization, digital custody, payments, capital markets, or financial technology initiatives.
• Familiarity with Agile delivery methodologies and technology development lifecycles.
• Experience working across Product, Engineering, Operations, Risk, Compliance, and Legal organizations.
• Advanced PowerPoint and Excel skills with experience developing executive dashboards and presentations.
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior stakeholders without direct reporting authority.
• Strong understanding of portfolio management, governance, and strategic planning.

Preferred Skills

• Proven ability to build compelling presentations to executives and large audiences, translating complex topics into practical conversations.
• Knowledge of digital asset products and infrastructure and how to stand up an operating model in a regulated wealth environment.
• Strong track record of running decision-oriented governance, managing interdependencies across Tech/Risk/Legal/Operations, and driving outcomes through influence.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM MORGAN STANLEY:

At Morgan Stanley, we raise, manage and allocate capital for our clients – helping them reach their goals. We do it in a way that’s differentiated – and we’ve done that for 90 years. Our values - putting clients first, doing the right thing, leading with exceptional ideas, committing to diversity and inclusion, and giving back - aren’t just beliefs, they guide the decisions we make every day to do what's best for our clients, communities and more than 80,000 employees in 1,200 offices across 42 countries. At Morgan Stanley, you’ll find an opportunity to work alongside the best and the brightest, in an environment where you are supported and empowered. Our teams are relentless collaborators and creative thinkers, fueled by their diverse backgrounds and experiences. We are proud to support our employees and their families at every point along their work-life journey, offering some of the most attractive and comprehensive employee benefits and perks in the industry. There’s also ample opportunity to move about the business for those who show passion and grit in their work.

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Expected base pay rates for the role will be between $110,000 and $190,000 per year at the commencement of employment. However, base pay if hired will be determined on an individualized basis and is only part of the total compensation package, which, depending on the position, may also include commission earnings, incentive compensation, discretionary bonuses, other short and long-term incentive packages, and other Morgan Stanley sponsored benefit programs.

Morgan Stanley is an equal opportunity employer committed to building and maintaining a workforce that is diverse in experience and background. Our recruiting efforts reflect our strong commitment to a culture of inclusion, where individuals are hired, developed, and advanced based on their skills and talents.

Our workforce reflects a broad cross-section of the global communities in which we operate, bringing a variety of backgrounds, talents, perspectives, and experiences.

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