Financial Strategies Group

Richard Wastrom is a founding partner of Smith Hanley Associates and is the co-manager of the Financial Strategies Group (FSG). He directs searches in both the Institutional Investment and the Alternative Investment Management communities. His work encompasses a broad range of directives including chief investment officers, chief financial officers, chief technology officers, as well as roles within single and multi-family offices. Additional mandates involve investment research strategists, risk managers, and quantitative portfolio managers. Mr. Wastrom’s depth of experience and long-term relationships in the dynamic financial markets field have yielded proven expertise, respect and success (as noted by Emanuel Derman in his memoir, My Life As A Quant). He received his BA in Business Administration from the University of Vermont. 

A partner at Smith Hanley Associates, Jud has been with the firm since 1995. Having more than 25 years of experience in the field of portfolio management, quantitative research and technology recruitment for the financial industry, he fulfills both contingent and retained searches. Jud has worked in all facets of quantitative research and trading recruitment from individual portfolio managers to the establishment of several systematic global hedge funds managing billions in client capital. He has also filled a plethora of quantitative and technical roles. From the chief technology officer of a $10BB hedge fund, to the lead developers and quantitative analysts of countless trading desks at the world’s leading investment banks and hedge funds, Jud’s vast network of connections offers both clients and applicants an experienced and informed resource in the global market. A 1993 graduate of Hobart College, Jud has a Bachelor of Science in political science. 

Deirdre Kiniry is a Managing Director and has been with Smith Hanley Associates since 2000. Deirdre has over 30 years of recruitment experience covering a diverse range of searches in the financial services sector for institutional asset managers, investment banks and hedge funds. She has completed senior-level marketing and business development searches for several alternative asset management clients. Other successful mandates have included sector-specific portfolio managers and analysts. Deirdre is a graduate of the University of Connecticut. 

Rory O’Neill is a Director at Smith Hanley Associates within the Financial Strategies Group. She focuses on asset management and hedge fund clients across all strategies, with particular expertise in fundamental long/short equities. Rory brings more than twenty years of experience in finance to Smith Hanley. Prior to joining Smith Hanley, she worked at SAC (now Point72) in equities management as the Director of Broker Relations, at Lehman Brothers for eight years in equity research and equity sales marketing, and at Intel Corporation’s treasury department. Rory holds an MBA with concentrations in finance and accounting from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. 

Shane Meehan joined Smith Hanley in 2023. He is currently on the Data Science and Analytics team. Prior to joining Smith Hanley, he recruited healthcare professionals for more than thirty years. He prides himself on approaching each interaction in a consultative manner, valuing the skill of listening in order to better understand the needs of the candidate and client. This allows him to serve those needs in the most effective and efficient way possible. He holds an MBA with a concentration in Finance from the University of Connecticut and a BS in Business Management from Bryant College. Outside of work, Shane enjoys immersing himself in the beauty and wonder of nature.

Julian Madden joined Smith Hanley in 2026. Julian has spent over a decade as a trusted consultant to the world’s largest investment banks and asset managers as a Partner at Django Group specializing in competitive intelligence and human capital to help financial leaders stay ahead of the curve. His career path took him through wealth management roles at firms like Bear Stearns/JPM and Merrill Lynch, as well as a fast-paced sales stint at Yelp. He’s a proud alumnus of Columbia Business School, where he earned his MBA, and Connecticut College.

Outside of the office, Julian plays as much golf, hockey, and racquet sports as possible. He lives in Southport with his family and their two dogs.

Jed joined Smith Hanley in 2026 bringing over a decade of recruiting experience across quantitative finance, technology, machine learning and artificial intelligence. Prior to Smith Hanley, Jed had formative experiences running the entirety of the Talent Acquisition function at a Nvidia, DCVC, AIX, Yosemite backed AI startup, as well as working for Meta in executive search for Engineering Leadership, which encompassed Machine Learning & AI (Research, Applied, Product, AI Infra), Infrastructure & Core Systems, Consumer Product and AR/VR. He earned his Bachelors of Science at New York University.  Outside of work Jed enjoys spending time with his wife and two children, skiing, mountain biking and cooking.