The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) makes senior appointments to drive its transformation

As part of its transformation programme to build a data-led regulator able to make fast and effective decisions, the FCA announced a restructure in December. This brought together two supervision divisions with the FCA’s policy and competition functions. Following rigorous and wide-ranging recruitment processes, Nikhil Rathi, Chief Executive of the FCA since October, has now made four further appointments to the FCA’s executive team:

Stephanie Cohen will be the FCA’s Chief Operating Officer (COO).
Jessica Rusu will join the FCA’s as its first Chief Data, Information and Intelligence Officer (CDIIO).
Sarah Pritchard will become Executive Director, Markets.
Emily Shepperd will take up the newly created role of Executive Director, Authorisations.
The FCA has also appointed Clare Cole as Director of Market Oversight and as part of that role she will lead the FCA’s response to Lord Hill’s forthcoming Listings Review.

Nikhil Rathi, Chief Executive of the FCA, said:

“I am delighted to be welcoming Stephanie, Jessica, Sarah and Emily into the FCA to be part of our executive leadership team. They bring with them a deep understanding of the consumers we seek to protect, the markets we oversee, and all have track records for operational excellence. As we continue transforming the FCA – building a data-led regulator – their global experience and leadership, drawn from a variety of backgrounds, will be vital in ensuring we can act more quickly to reduce harm to consumers and ensure market integrity.

“I also congratulate Clare on her appointment as Director of Market Oversight, a role she takes on at an important time for UK markets as the FCA takes forward the work of Lord Hill’s Listings Review.”

Stephanie, Jessica, Sarah and Emily will sit on the FCA’s Executive Committee, its most senior executive decision-making body. They will join Nikhil Rathi, Chief Executive; Mark Steward, Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight; Megan Butler, Executive Director of Transformation; Nausicaa Delfas, Executive Director of International; Sheldon Mills, Executive Director, Consumer and Competition; Sheree Howard, Executive Director, Risk and Compliance Oversight; and Sean Martin, General Counsel.

The new executive directors and director

Stephanie will be responsible for the FCA’s operations and business performance, systems and infrastructure, and finances. As COO, Stephanie will play a central part in the FCA’s transformation, taking the lead on operational changes to make the FCA more efficient, dynamic, and technologically driven. Stephanie grew up in Scotland, has an MA from Edinburgh University and is also a qualified accountant. She brings over two decades of experience in large financial services firms, including 14 years at BlackRock where she was the Global COO for the active equity businesses and the Alpha Strategies division, comprising Active Equities and Fixed Income.

Stephanie Cohen said:

“I am truly delighted to be joining the FCA at this pivotal moment. Now more than ever, the FCA has a vital role to play in protecting the interests of consumers, and I can’t wait to get started.”

As CDIIO, Jessica will lead the transformation of the FCA’s use of data, intelligence and information to effectively oversee the 60,000 firms it regulates. Jessica will evolve the FCA’s relationship with big tech companies, fintechs and the wider data science community and champion the FCA’s global Innovate agenda. Before taking up her current role as Chief Data Officer at Chetwood Financial, a digital challenger bank, Jessica was Senior Director of Finance & Analytics at eBay in Europe where she built out their advanced analytics and customer insight function. She has also worked in credit analytics at Ford Motor Company and in stress testing at GE Capital.