Following the Taskize platform’s win as Best Collateral Management & Optimisation Solution at the TradingTech Insight Awards 2026, CEO Diederik Geeraerts shares his perspective on the sector.
Originally featured in the TradingTech Insight Awards Europe 2026 Winners’ Report, in this interview, he explains why the industry’s next phase of optimisation depends as much on human interaction as on mathematics… and how Taskize is evolving to support that shift.
As collateral movement becomes faster, more complex, and increasingly real-time, firms are reassessing where true optimisation is achieved. While significant progress has been made in algorithms and balance sheet efficiency, operational friction and fragmented communication remain persistent sources of risk.
Winner of the Best Collateral Management & Optimisation Solution at the A-Team Group’s TradingTech Insight Awards Europe 2026, Taskize has focused on addressing this gap by placing collaboration, transparency, and workflow accountability at the heart of collateral operations. In this interview, CEO Diederik Geeraerts explains why the industry’s next phase of optimisation depends as much on human interaction as on mathematics, and how Taskize is evolving to support that shift.
As the TTI editorial team surmised, "As settlement cycles shorten and collateral decisions move closer to the point of execution, the need for real-time visibility and coordinated decision-making continues to grow. Geeraerts’ perspective highlights a broader industry transition: from siloed optimisation tools towards integrated control layers that connect automation, data, and human oversight."
"By positioning collaboration as a core component of collateral optimisation, Taskize reflects a market increasingly focused on resilience, accountability, and speed of response. In an environment defined by continuous trading and real-time risk, that ability to connect people and processes may prove as critical as the algorithms that underpin them."
“Taskize reflects a market increasingly focused on resilience, accountability, and speed of response.”
TradingTech Insight: First of all, what does winning the TradingTech Insight Award mean for Taskize at this stage of the company’s development?
Diederik Geeraerts: The award is a strong validation for Taskize. It reinforces our core belief that collaboration and communication are critical to effective and optimal collateral management. At this stage of our growth, it reflects a broader market shift beyond a sole focus on optimisation algorithms and core infrastructure, towards greater transparency, speed of response, and accountability across workflows.
While the industry has invested heavily in optimisation, the communication and workflow layer is now being recognised as equally important, and it is encouraging to see Taskize’s role in that evolution acknowledged.
TTI: What do you think clearly differentiated Taskize from the other collateral management and optimisation solutions the judges were considering?
DG: I did review some of the other nominated solutions, and I think the key difference is that we are addressing a fundamentally different problem. Rather than trying to replace existing collateral systems, we provide a solution that connects people and processes, and supports the decision-making that sits between them. That allows decisions to be made far more efficiently, with greater transparency of data and much faster turnaround times.
TTI: Collateral workflows have traditionally been fragmented across multiple communication channels. What operational and risk-related problems does that fragmentation create, and how does Taskize address them?
DG: In simple terms, fragmentation leads to lost context. In long email threads with multiple participants, it can take several minutes just to find the original data point. This loss of context duplicates effort, delays responses, and increases operational risk, particularly during margin stress events, while also leaving no single point of truth.
Taskize addresses this by centralising conversations into structured, traceable workflows linked directly to underlying collateral events, bringing transparency and accountability within a robust, auditable risk framework. Everything happens within a secure ‘bubble’, ensuring information is contained and carefully managed rather than scattered across multiple channels.
TTI: Taskize is often described as a collaboration platform rather than a conventional post-trade system. Why is that distinction important, and how does collaboration contribute directly to collateral optimisation alongside algorithms and balance sheet efficiency?
DG: Historically, optimisation has often been viewed as a purely mathematical exercise, and while that component is significant, optimisation is also fundamentally human. Algorithms can only take you so far; discussions around contract set-up and margin calls remain critical.
The industry has largely solved the mathematical side, but there is still substantial room for improvement in human-to-human interaction, including data structuring, visibility, oversight, and maintaining a single point of truth. Taskize places that human element at the centre, while using tools, automation, and AI-driven components to support and streamline those interactions.
TTI: Front office users are increasingly involved in collateral discussions. Why is front office engagement becoming critical to effective collateral management and optimisation, which was previously seen more as a middle- or back-office function?
DG: Collateral decisions now have a direct impact on pricing, liquidity, and client relationships, and the key change has been their increasingly real-time nature. Multiple intermediaries are no longer sufficient, as front office teams need to connect quickly and seamlessly with the back office.
Taskize supports this by bringing different messaging systems into a single platform, enabling smoother communication. At the same time, front office users require greater visibility because decision points are being pushed later in the process and must be made faster, creating urgency and a need for much closer front-to-back office integration.
TTI: How important are integrations with existing communication tools, such as messaging platforms and email, in driving adoption without disrupting established workflows?
DG: They are essential. Adoption only works when technology fits naturally into existing ways of working, and one of the biggest barriers is the need to switch between multiple applications.
Over time, layered legacy systems have created unnecessary friction, with staff spending significant time just opening the tools they need. Taskize brings those workflows together in a single platform, allowing users to avoid multiple systems and manage their work in one place.
TTI: What measurable efficiency, risk reduction, or resource optimisation outcomes are clients typically seeing once Taskize is embedded into their collateral workflows?
DG: Clients report several clear outcomes. Disputes are resolved much faster because discussions are brought upstream, and firms see fewer fails, which is increasingly important as markets move towards shorter settlement cycles, including T+1 in Europe from October 2027.
Real-time communication and data allow potential settlement issues to be anticipated and resolved more quickly, reducing complexity and significantly lowering escalation rates. This improved visibility also enables more effective use of resources, with Taskize routing issues to the right expertise and available capacity through its smart directory.
And of course, faster, more efficient query resolution also leads to increased client satisfaction, exemplified with both higher NPS and increased client loyalty.
“Faster, more efficient query resolution leads to client satisfaction, higher NPS and increased loyalty.”
TTI: Finally, looking ahead as collateral markets move towards real-time interaction, greater automation, and more continuous trading models, how do you see Taskize’s role evolving?
DG: We see Taskize increasingly acting as a control layer between automation, optimisation engines, and human oversight. The industry will continue to invest in automation and optimisation, but there is a growing need to bring those elements together in a single, efficient, oversight-driven platform.
Taskize enables firms to maintain full control while quickly identifying when processes move into exception management. We expect to see greater emphasis on real-time oversight, real-time sentiment analysis, and real-time management information and reporting, alongside seamless real-time connectivity across the industry. That is the direction in which Taskize will continue to evolve.
TTI: Thank you, Diederik.
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