Head of Platform Management, U.S. Institutional

About Lord Abbett

Founded in 1929, Lord Abbett is an independent firm with a singular focus on the management of money. Over the course of our history, we’ve earned a sterling reputation for our leadership, influence, and innovation in the asset management industry. Today, our independent perspective, our commitment to active management, and our intelligent product design continue to make us relevant to individual and institutional investors.

We’re looking for people with a keen interest in working for a trusted leader in the asset management industry, a desire to expand their knowledge, and a passion for delivering a client experience that exceeds expectations. From the very beginning, we’ve recognized that our people are our greatest asset. As an investment‑led, investor‑focused firm, we value intellectual curiosity, teamwork, and collaboration across the organization.

The Head of Platform Management, U.S. Institutional, is a commercially focused operator responsible for translating strategy into execution. In partnership with the Head of U.S. Institutional and other enterprise leaders, this role will prioritize the design and implementation of mission‑critical processes that drive new client acquisition and deepen relationships with existing clients. Working in partnership with client‑facing teams across the U.S. Institutional group, the Head of Platform Management will ensure disciplined coordination of internal and external efforts at each stage of the client lifecycle, from prospect engagement through due diligence and onboarding.

The role will also own the orchestration of strategic engagements with clients and prospects, including communication plans and proactive executive outreach.

• Design and drive processes to acquire new clients and grow with existing clients.
• Partner with the Head of U.S. Institutional and client‑facing teams to build standard operating procedures that accelerate acquisition of new institutional clients and expand relationships with existing clients.
• Ensure disciplined implementation of processes that enhance the firm’s ability to execute at critical points in the client acquisition process, e.g., transitioning engaged prospects into formal due diligence.
• Coordinate and advise cross‑functional working groups and deal teams to optimize engagements with clients and prospects, e.g., due diligence on‑sites, finals presentations, and industry conferences.
• Provide actionable analysis and insights.
• Monitor and analyze Institutional Sales, Client Relationship Management, and Consultant Relations data and dashboards to assess progress against stated goals, i.e., increasing the number of engaged prospects moving into due diligence, the conversion rate for prospects in due diligence, and the number of existing clients doing follow‑on allocations or awarding new mandates.
• Collaborate with institutional teams to acquire and deliver intelligence/data that informs prospecting and due diligence efforts, including development of prospect and client profiles.
• Prepare and deliver executive‑level reporting that provides insights into the health of the platform, informs strategy, and optimizes resource allocation.
• Own day‑to‑day platform management.
• Establish and manage the operating cadence of the U.S. Institutional platform, including engagements and deliverables that promote transparency and information flow, i.e., team‑wide strategy briefings and reporting, client lifecycle analyses, etc.
• Act as the primary coordination point for internal teams across Investments, Client Services (Marketing/Product Management, Client Information Services, RFP Team), and Corporate Services (Finance, Legal, Compliance, Operations, Technology, Finance).
• Partner with Finance and Human Capital Management on budgeting, expense management, headcount planning, and financial analysis.

• 10+ years of experience in asset management, with a strong understanding of institutional sales, consultant relations, and client service models.
• Proven ability to lead front‑office platforms, ideally in a COO, institutional distribution, business management, or strategy…