Strategic advisory/consulting project work summaries

1. 0
2018-19
CASE STUDIES
AND PROJECTS
504-782-7677
ross.aymami@gmail.com
Chicago, IL
Ross Aymami

2. ross.aymami@gmail.com | (504)782-7677
1
Ross Aymami
Consultant, Chicago
About
Ross is a management consultant in Chicago with a background in law and years of experience
as a commodity trading professional. He leads work in change management and is a leader in
operational efficiency. He has partnered with US and international clients to conduct
engagements on strategy, advisory to business leaders, organizational transformation, and data
analytics.
Ross’ recent experience includes advisory and strategy for a derivatives trader; risk
management solutions for an international commodities trader; and a technology transformation
for a proprietary trading startup. He also optimized the business development processes for a
management consulting firm.
Prior to consulting, Ross worked as a portfolio manager for a commodity derivatives trading firm.
Education
Southern University Law Center, Baton Rouge, LA
J.D.
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
B.S., Biological Sciences
B.A., Political Science

3. ross.aymami@gmail.com | (504)782-7677
2
Hong Kong Consumer Goods Manufacturer
Commercial due diligence saved a strategic buyer
from a disastrous acquisition
Aging manufacturer needed to understand nascent technology like Blockchain
before pursuing a strategic buyout
The Challenge
The client, a middle-tier consumer goods manufacturer in Hong Kong, needed to understand the
technology and competitive landscape behind Blockchain and smart-contract tokens. The
organization had experienced several years of decreasing revenue and increasing costs and
was presented with an opportunity to pursue a strategic acquisition.
The Solution
Performed exhaustive due diligence, assessing revenue growth and cost reduction opportunities
to determine the target’s full potential. In addition to providing top and bottom line analysis,
fieldwork interviewing the target’s employees, customers and competitors provided an
integrated investment thesis that helped determine the deal’s ultimate success.
The Result
The proposed technology acquisition was not recommended, ultimately saving the manufacturer
from a potential loss of 40% in invested capital. It was determined that the disadvantages of the
nascent technology outweighed the benefits to the client, and an operational efficiency strategy
was advocated as an alternative to the acquisition.

4. ross.aymami@gmail.com | (504)782-7677
3
Illinois Non-profit Organization
Transforming mindsets helped define strategic vision
and purpose
Non-profit organization in Illinois needed to produce a strategic roadmap with clear
goals and objectives
The Challenge
The client operated with an undefined business model that lacked clarity on mission and
organizational structure. In addition, the organization offered many social service and
educational programs, but there were no annual fundraising objectives or overall program goals
defined.
The Solution
Changed the mindset of the administration to think “differently.” This included answering three
uncertainties: Why does this organization exist? How will the organization achieve its goals?
And what is the desired result? Understanding the mission and purpose provided insight into the
elements of each program and service and how they collectively shape the direction of the
organization.
The Result
The non-profit organization transformed into an entity that intentionally operates each program
and service connected through the lifeblood of mission and purpose. Operational work will
continue to focus on identifying financial metrics that support the organization and fuel its growth.

5. ross.aymami@gmail.com | (504)782-7677
4
Singapore Commodity Trader
Improved controls reduced risk by over 10%
Commodity futures group in Singapore needed to limit its portfolio risk for an
existing algorithmic trading strategy
The Challenge
The client ran a short-term momentum strategy across many commodity trading products. If
extreme volatility occurred, and the market gapped several price levels beyond the client’s exit
limit, the strategy could never trigger a stop-loss for open positions. This effectively subjected
the portfolio to unlimited drawdowns, and a Black Swan volatility event could create catastrophic
losses for the client.
The Solution
Built an automated mechanism using Trading Technologies’ Algo Design Lab (TT ADL) that
implemented stop-loss controls. It required specifying the correct order-type messaging to the
exchange and communicating risk parameter messages to the clearing firm. The client’s strategy
was rebuilt to include the new risk controls, and thorough testing was conducted across a range
of market conditions to ensure 100% accuracy. Instruction and training on the risk control
mechanism was provided to the client.
The Result
The performance of client’s strategy improved, and the overall profitability of their portfolio grew
by over 10%. More importantly, this risk control mechanism standardized the client’s risk
management protocols for future strategies.
Comprehensive risk solution saved 30% in portfolio
drawdowns
Singapore trader sought continued partnership to rebuild a complete risk
management strategy from the bottom up
The Challenge
The client ran a discretionary trading strategy that was linked to Australian interest rates and the
Australian housing market. The trading firm needed to understand the health of the mortgage
industry overall, the exposure of home loans in the Big 4 banks’ balance sheets, and the leverage
levels of consumer credit. If the market was vulnerable to a systemic collapse, the client needed
a risk plan to mitigate losses.

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The Solution
Researched the Australian Big 4 banks’ current mortgage exposure and ran a comparative
analysis against the US banks’ mortgage exposure, specifically filtering into mortgage
delinquency trends. The qualitative findings were used as an underlying context for analyzing
historical risk parameters against the current economic environment. Generated a report and
presented the analysis to the client.
The Result
This two-pronged approach to creating a comprehensive risk solution optimized the client’s
position limits and risk controls. Stress-testing the client’s portfolio against historical economic
conditions contained the firm’s risk exposure within the appropriate threshold, saving the client
from over 30% of potential portfolio risk draw downs.
Strategy automation generated additional ROI and
investment diversification
Continued success and partnership allowed the client to seek strategy on new
business opportunities
The Challenge
The trading client envisioned a new strategy to capitalize on a short-term commodity mispricing
and needed to execute this strategy before the opportunity disappeared. The client did not have
the technical capability nor the time and resources to deploy this strategy to the market
efficiently.
The Solution
Designed and built a 100% automated robust strategy according to the trader’s requirements
using TT ADL. It included data analytics, signal generation, order execution and risk
management functions all encompassed into one standalone algorithmic strategy. Conducted
analysis on other markets and products to identify additional strategic opportunities and reported
these new findings to the client. Trained the client on the strategic operations and provided
follow-up support as needed.
The Result
The algorithmic solution and market analysis allowed the trading firm to apply the strategy across
multiple exchanges and several products, ultimately generating additional monthly ROI and
investment diversification for the client’s commodity futures portfolio.

7. ross.aymami@gmail.com | (504)782-7677
6
Chicago Proprietary Trading Firm
Technology transformation provided 22% in yearly
cost savings
Chicago-based trading startup needed advisory on technology implementation for its
strategic operations
The Challenge
The client developed a basket of commodity trading strategies from several years of market
research and testing, and the firm was ready to finally deploy its capital. The firm needed to
select the data analytics applications and trading execution platform that would give it the best
edge to compete against other financial market participants. However, the client did not have
the resources to select the best technology solutions that would save both time and money.
The Solution
Provided advisory on utilizing applications built with emerging technologies. Application
selections from Trading Technologies provided the ability to “trade from anywhere” – meaning
that the client could manage the portfolio’s strategy from desktop, tablet and smart phone
decision points. This selection involved implementing a technology migration from a legacy
client-side trading platform to a more robust cloud-based platform that utilizes Amazon Web
Services (AWS) infrastructure. Existing data was migrated to the new platform completely and
without compromising the integrity of its strategic value. Provided training on operating the
trading applications to the client.
The Result
This technology transformation has delivered 22% in yearly cost savings for the client. In
addition, the data and strategy migration has increased workflow efficiency, improved security
protocols and reduced capital risk.

8. ross.aymami@gmail.com | (504)782-7677
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Strategy optimization expanded new business
opportunities by 10X
Continued partnership provided for an opportunity to optimize the client’s existing
strategy and expand into new business ventures
The Challenge
The firm wanted to scale an existing business strategy across multiple trading exchanges and
asset classes. Each exchange-listed product trades and behaves differently with its own
nuances, so the current strategic model would require more personnel to manually edit hundreds
of parameters throughout the day. This was an unrealistic situation that would decrease the
efficiency and effectiveness of the client’s operations.
The Solution
Rebuilt the client’s business strategy from the bottom up. The strategic transformation included
additional data calculations that normalized commodity price and volume metrics across the
global universe of exchange-traded products. This meant that the client could apply the strategy
immediately to a new commodity or trading exchange, without needing to manually adjust its
parameters.
The Result
The workflow optimization allowed the trading firm to scale its strategy across 10x more trading
products than was previously feasible. The client could now apply a vigorous portfolio
diversification by accessing foreign markets and asset classes that were previously not
attainable. Standardizing the controls ultimately saved time and additional capital expenditures
required for hiring additional manpower.

9. ross.aymami@gmail.com | (504)782-7677
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Australian Derivatives Trader
Streamlining ‘proof of concept’ models yielded over
$50,000 in cost savings
Australian proprietary trading firm needed to test a model for a new business
strategy
The Challenge
The client designed and built a new trading strategy from years of data analytics and machine
learning technology. The firm needed to analyze the performance of the new strategy
immediately, but it required a complete translation into an executable format. The trading firm
did not have an available developer that could devote resources to rebuilding the entire strategy
from scratch. The client needed the quickest and most cost-effective solution to deploy the
strategy to the live market.
The Solution
Designed, built, and tested the proof of concept model utilizing TT’s Algo Design Lab. By using
this application to deploy the strategy to live exchange-traded products, it facilitated immediate
analysis and real time optimization. Time to market and development costs were reduced
dramatically, and the concept model saved the client from the capital-intensive burden of hiring
another full-time developer.
The Result
The client ultimately saved over $50k in development costs and several months of time without
needing to write a single line of code. This freed more capital to use for profit-generating
ventures, and it expanded the client’s breadth of trading strategies. The streamlining method
also provided a new opportunity to expedite the testing of future business strategies.

10. ross.aymami@gmail.com | (504)782-7677
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Independent Derivatives Trader
Subject matter expertise leads to continued
partnership
Independent trader in Ohio requested advisory on portfolio selection and trading
strategy
The Challenge
The client had begun building out an independent trading business, having conducted vast
amounts of research and analytics on different commodity markets to trade and strategies to
employ. The client’s focus required an understanding of the mechanics of macro/micro trends
and market microstructure of commodity derivatives using order book analytics.
The Solution
Provided resources of data analytics methods, instructed on the use of trading applications and
analytics tools, and shared market knowledge about specific arbitrage trading experience. This
advisory also included sourcing the appropriate trading platform for the client’s strategy and
negotiating a competitive commission fee with the trader’s brokerage firm.
The Result
Continual monthly partnership with the client to advise on research, modelling of commodity
products, and general strategy.

11. ross.aymami@gmail.com | (504)782-7677
10
Chicago Management Consulting Firm
Business development intelligence lowers new client
acquisition costs
Chicago-based management consulting firm needed to redefine its business
development process
The Challenge
The firm’s existing prospective client list contained only limited information about each business
prospect. This limited the firm’s ability to determine which prospects had a higher probability of
need for its services and which of the firm’s services was the best fit for the prospect.
The Solution
Utilizing multiple sources and platforms, executed an in-depth analysis of 200+ publicly traded
companies assessing their financial health, technology usage and planned future investments
to qualify, rank and provide qualitative intelligence on each prospect. Developed and
standardized the reporting assessment and presented a comprehensive analysis on each
prospect to senior leadership for approval.
The Result
The qualitative intelligence and quantitative ranking of the existing prospects saved the firm from
over two months of business development time and enabled the client to target prospects more
effectively. The downstream effects resulted in lower new client acquisition costs and increased
sales process efficiency. Finally, this project optimized the framework and process for qualifying
prospects, which the firm continues to utilize.