Madoff Will Oversee the Firm’s Expansion of Data-Led Investment Systems, Operational Architecture, and Strategic Growth Initiatives
[New York, NY — October 2025] Macallan Capital Partners today announced the appointment of Justin Madoff as Chief Operating Officer, a move that reflects the firm’s focus on data-driven leadership in investment operations and technology-led growth.
Madoff’s approach reflects a career that spans political strategy, real estate, marketing, and combat sports promotion, experiences that shaped his understanding of how diverse systems behave under pressure.
“Every space I’ve worked in, from political campaigns to real estate projects to combat sports promotions, runs on the same physics,” he says. “Once you understand how data interacts across people, timing, and outcomes, you stop reacting and start orchestrating. The real edge today isn’t having more data,” Madoff adds. “It’s knowing what questions to ask it.”
At Macallan, Madoff is part of the team driving the firm’s focus on operational clarity and data-driven insight. His efforts help ensure that technology enhances judgment rather than replaces it, supporting a culture of transparency, agility, and informed decision-making. “I’m thankful to work alongside people who’ve built their careers on precision and trust. Every day at Macallan is a chance to learn from that experience. The partners here bring deep expertise, and my goal is simply to add value where I can by connecting dots, improving processes, and learning every step of the way.”
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Q&A with Justin Madoff, COO at Macallan Capital Partners
Driving Data-Driven Leadership in Investment Operations
Q1. What’s one metric or dashboard that tells you more than most people realize?
“Response time. It sounds simple, but it tells you everything about culture and process. When response time is tight, it usually means the system is clean, people know where things live, who owns what, and they trust the information in front of them. It’s a small metric that exposes a lot.”
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Q2. If you could redesign one industry process from scratch using modern tools, what would it be and why?
“Due diligence. It’s one of the smartest parts of the industry still trapped in the dumbest format: PDFs and endless email chains. We have the tech to make it live, interactive, and layered and have started to deploy it at Macallan. Imagine DD that updates itself as new information comes in. The feedback loop could move from weeks to hours.”
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Q3. What’s your philosophy for balancing instinct with analytics when making decisions?
“Instinct is pattern recognition that hasn’t been labeled yet. The data usually catches up to what your experience already suspects. I try to use analytics to sharpen instinct, not override it. The key is staying curious. The best decisions come from asking better questions, not staring at more charts.”
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Q4. You spent time around combat sports. What did that world teach you about business strategy?
“A lot, it’s an exciting world if you’re around the right people. Control and discipline win fights, not strength and chaos. Take Bud Crawford over Canelo. It wasn’t raw power, it was rhythm and precision. He dictated every exchange. Business works the same way. Deals, campaigns, even internal systems, our goal is to control tempo. You can take more shots if you own the pace.”
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Q5. How do you think about AI in the context of your work at Macallan?
“I’m not someone who gets excited by every new tool that calls itself AI, tech bloat is very real. I’m interested in what actually changes the way we work. AI is just how we process complexities now. We deal with thousands of variables across deals, markets, and people, and AI gives us a way to surface relationships we might miss, faster.
Where it becomes real for us is in marketing, due diligence, underwriting, and pattern detection. Instead of replacing the human element, it strengthens it by cutting out the noise so our decision-makers can focus on context and judgment. The human side still decides what matters; the technology just helps us see it sooner.
I think the firms that get it right won’t be the ones shouting about AI adoption to the streets, they’ll use it quietly and precisely as part of a disciplined, data-informed process, not a marketing story. There’s definitely a responsibility that comes with integrating AI into what we do, the risk isn’t in using it, it’s forgetting what it can’t do.”
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Q6. You’ve both led and been part of teams across different industries. What’s one leadership principle that translates everywhere?
“Clarity over charisma. People don’t always need a pep talk, they just need to understand the objective and know their role in it. There’s a time and place for it, but if you set the objective clearly, everything else, the culture, the accountability, the results, will all fall into place.”