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Employee Spotlight

Michael Branchick
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A Little Background

What brought you to Driehaus?

A recruiter presented the opportunity at DCM to me. I was working in a project role, but was interested in making a change. As soon as I started interviewing, I clicked with everyone. DCM is a storied organization and its reputation spoke for itself.

What do you do here at Driehaus?

I am a Project Manager. I essentially enact change in the firm, especially if it is IT centric. Changes to OMS, cybersecurity, mutual fund admin changes, software updates, etc. are all examples of types of projects I work on. I work in tandem with each department at the firm helping to execute requests with our fantastic development team – I sort of touch everything so am always a good place to start with questions!

How do you explain your job to friends and family?

I say that I manage projects at an asset management firm… there are typically no follow up questions haha, unless they are also a project manager or work in Finance.

Let's talk finance

What advice would you give for people in this role or people who want to pursue this role?

It is important to be able to adapt and always be thinking how you can add value and make things more efficient for the firm. Don’t take on projects for the sake of taking them on and have enthusiasm about the ones you do. Find a champion for each project and make sure you have key buy in from users and stakeholders. Finally, if you have several projects on-going or in the pipeline, be sure to prioritize.

How has your role changed/evolved since the COVID-19 pandemic?

Overall, it hasn’t changed much. I am on the Business Continuity Committee, which is pretty cyber centric, and we met weekly during the pandemic. We happened to roll out Microsoft Teams a couple of weeks before, and now it is something we use daily.

Fortunately, I was here long enough before we moved to work from home, so I was able to build relationships with colleagues in person.

What about Driehaus

What would you say is most unique about Driehaus?

Aside from the environment/office, I’ve found that each person I work with is highly intelligent and dedicated to their job. There isn’t a weak link anywhere. There are also great people in leadership roles that you can trust and that take time to care about the employees. There isn’t any micromanagement – I am treated like an equal. The tenure is unique, too! We have employees that have worked here for over 25 years. Lastly, I have made countless mentors here at DCM and I am so grateful for them.

What is your favorite memory at Driehaus?

My first DCM party was the holiday party, which was a blast! There have been several great firm events post-covid. That moment of getting back to a work event after COVID and getting to finally connect with everyone was such a nice memory. I also have two babies at home, so the flexibility offered here has always been something I’ve appreciated.

Michael after work

What are your hobbies?

Honestly, I have limited time for any hobbies because I have a newborn. I do, however, enjoy Jiu-Jitsu, old man soccer leagues, and started drawing/painting during the pandemic. I have continued to pursue those. I used to play guitar in high school and recently went through a bit of a mid-life crisis and bought a new one, so I’m looking forward to dedicating some time to that!

If money and time were of no consequence, what would you do?

Anything I want, at any point in time haha! I would balance my time between travel, family, philanthropy and getting good at things I find interesting.

Michael Branchick

IT Project Manager

Began at Driehaus: 2019

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