ABOUT US
WE ARE EXPERTS IN ETFS
OUR CORE TEAM
Michael O'Riordan
Founding Partner
Michael has over 20 years Financial Services experience. He started his career in Investment Banking working at Deutsche Bank and RBS before moving to Credit Suisse where he begun his Asset Management career. He has worked at Credit Suisse, HSBC, BlackRock and JP Morgan within various product development and strategy roles covering Mutual Funds and ETFs.
Michael has built ETF businesses at Credit Suisse, HSBC and JPMorgan and brings significant experience and understanding to what it takes to launch a successful ETF business. He has an in-depth understanding of the product development process and an excellent understanding of the regulatory landscape across Ireland, Luxembourg and the UK.
Lorraine Hedderman
Head of Search
Lorraine has over 20 years Financial Services experience gained at firms such as Bank of Ireland, Barclays Capital, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Citibank.
Lorraine’s career has covered various capital market functions from product development to operational execution, across all major asset classes – Equity, Fixed Income, Alternatives. Having worked at a number of prestigious firms, she brings a deep level of insight into the workings of these organizations and the best practices applied.
Catarina Donat Marques
Head of Business Development
Catarina started her ETF career in 2012 at ETF Securities, where she played a pivotal role in developing its retail distribution channels. Her achievements ranged from establishing long-lasting partnerships with European execution-only brokers to educating the market on exchange-traded funds and the asset classes accessible via them. She also has a strong understanding of ETF trading due to her role in the Capital Markets team.
Catarina then joined WisdomTree as a Director of Distribution Strategy, further deepening her knowledge and network across the ETF space in Europe.
In addition, Catarina’s entrepreneurial mindset led her to successfully launch two independent businesses. Catarina holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Catholic University and a Master’s Degree in Finance from Cass Business School.
Nuria Corominas-Rovira
HEAD OF PR SERVICES AND BLACKWATER'S COMMUNICATIONS
Nuria is a seasoned communications and marketing professional with over 20 years working experience within this industry. She has a long career working in PR agencies managing Financial Services, Fintech, Tech, SaaS, Recruitment and Retail clients.
Prior to that, Nuria worked as a journalist in prestigious media outlets such as the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and contributed to other international media companies, as well as being the UK and Ireland news and current affairs correspondent for major Spanish main media outlets.
Kate Barnett
HEAD OF MARKETING
Kate is a seasoned financial services marketer with extensive experience in integrated campaign deployment, content development, and strategic analysis. Coming from the Index team at Nasdaq, Kate is an ETF enthusiast who has worked closely with global asset managers to support the success of their ETFs from ideation to launch and beyond.
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
Blackwater won Best ETF Research Provider Award at the ETF Express 2023 Awards
Blackwater won Best Educational Content Award at the ETF Stream 2020-2021 Awards
