The “Meet the Envisionaries” series introduces team members from across the business. Marta Doran, Strategic Client Success Executive, partners with Envision clients to help set the strategic agenda, strengthen and grow relationships and identify opportunities to improve processes and the end-client experience. “I love looking at things from all different angles and asking, ‘Can we make this better?’” says Doran.
What’s your role with Envision?
I’m a Strategic Client Success Executive, and my role is to help drive the strategic agenda with our clients: What are we working toward? What’s the next step? How do we make this better? My work complements the ways Envision’s day-to-day production and operations teams support our clients.
A lot of my work comes down to understanding what our clients are focused on and how we can best align Envision’s efforts to help them meet their objectives. Speaking our client's language is key.
What has your career path looked like?
I started in the industry in my early twenties at Putnam Investments. I was previously working as an assistant manager in a boutique retail shop and knew I wanted to move into a full-time career. Call me crazy, but I applied for a processing job that started at 4:30 in the morning. Putnam came back and said, essentially, “Thanks, but no thanks—we want you in the call center.”
That turned out to be the beginning of my career. I started in August, finished training and transitioned to the phones in October, and by December I was promoted to a team supporting one of Putnam’s largest broker-dealer clients, Edward Jones.
From there, I moved through other roles supporting other broker-dealers, managing teams, and eventually taking on senior leadership responsibilities. Toward the end of my time at Putnam, I was an operations leader managing both a team of home office specialists and operational relationships with broker-dealers such as Fidelity, Pershing, Charles Schwab, and Morgan Stanley. We served as a single point of contact for those firms on everything from day-to-day operational matters to fund mergers, contracts and due diligence.
I also served for about nine years on the Investment Company Institute’s Transfer Agency Advisory Committee and chaired the committee for the last three years.
In your work with Envision’s clients, what are you most proud of?
Because my clients have been using Envision’s solutions for some time, they know and trust our company. Since I am new to the relationship, I need to earn their trust in me. So, my first focus has been learning about them and their strategic and tactical goals, and building trusted relationships with my counterparts. I’ve known some of the people I work with today for years through my work at Putnam and the industry organizations, but they haven’t worked with me in this role before. Since trust is earned, it is a big personal focus for me.
Longer term, what excites me is helping move the business forward. I’ve spent my career thinking about investment products and the people those products ultimately serve. In this role with Envision, my focus has shifted. I am now focused on how Envision can adapt its investor recordkeeping technology and services to help our clients deliver better service and broader capabilities to the intermediary and end-investor clients.
I’m a consumer, too, and I see how quickly expectations have changed. My 22-year-old son would rather not call a service center; I value easy self-service technology, but I also want a knowledgeable person available when I need one. We both expect intuitive websites and quick access to information. That creates a real opportunity to help clients strengthen both experiences — the investor’s self-service journey and the service team’s ability to help.
In what ways do you partner with other firms to serve Envision clients?
Consumer expectations and technology are rapidly reshaping investment management and distribution. Evolving our core systems matters, but so does connecting their data with the capabilities our clients choose. Alongside investing in our own technology, we collaborate with client-selected technology and service providers to build scalable, efficient connections. Our API-first approach helps us respond quickly. One current priority is the growth of retail alternative investments: we’ve fully automated subscription documents for firms using the Corastone and iCapital distribution platforms, with several similar integrations underway.
The important distinction is that we’re not working with these firms independently. We’re working with them through the eyes of our clients. Our job is to make sure everyone is aligned with what the clients are trying to accomplish and how the different technologies and services can work together to support it.
That’s particularly valuable given Envision’s open, API-based technology and the opportunities that it creates for clients to connect different parts of their operating environment.
What’s an interesting question you’re asked in your work?
I love problem resolution. Of course, that’s a double-edged sword, because to resolve a problem, you need to have a problem to solve in the first place.
But I’m both strategic and a little bit “in the weeds,” so the question I really enjoy is: How do we make this process better?
I like looking at the issue from all different angles. Can we streamline it? Can we make it work better? Can we make it as close to a well-oiled machine as possible?
Being new to Envision helps. Fresh eyes make it easier to ask questions that people closer to a process may not have had reason to revisit.
What advice would you give someone starting a career in your specific field?
Listen—not simply to respond, but to truly understand what the other person is saying.
I’d also say yes to opportunities that aren’t necessarily in your job description. Some of the biggest growth in my career has come from doing exactly that. You stretch yourself, learn new skills, work with different people, and start to understand the bigger picture.
In my previous role, for example, I lost count of how many contracts I reviewed with our legal team. I’m not a lawyer, but that experience taught me a tremendous amount. Legal brought the legal perspective, and I could bring the operational perspective—how the contract would work in practice.
Having an open mind and being willing to step outside the boundaries of your job can teach you a lot.
What hobby or pastime do you enjoy away from work?
Life is busy, so I make room for the simple things that help me reset: slowing down, being present, volunteering, disconnecting from my to-do list, and spending time with people I care about. That balance brings me back with fresh energy and perspective.
What would you say makes Envision special?
Throughout my career, I've found that the most rewarding environments are those where people are encouraged to contribute beyond their day-to-day responsibilities, collaborate across teams, and bring new ideas to the table. Envision fosters that kind of culture.
There's a genuine sense of connection and accessibility across the organization, which creates opportunities to learn from others, challenge yourself, and help drive positive change. It's a place where your voice matters, your contributions are recognized, and you can continue to grow both personally and professionally.