People: Venkatakrishnan named as Barclays CRO

CS Venkatakrishnan, the New York-based head of operational risk at JP Morgan, is to join Barclays as the bank's new chief risk officer (CRO).

Venkatakrishnan originally joined JP Morgan in 1994, and has served the firm in a variety of roles including head of model risk and development. As CRO of Barclays, he will join the bank's executive committee and report directly to group chief executive Jes Staley. He is expected to take up the London-based position in May.

Venkatakrishnan has "a long and well-established track record of helping to prudently define and manage risk appetite in large complex financial institutions like ours", said Staley in a statement. "He has extensive experience in the development of regulatory capital models and with stress testing. His presence will further strengthen our core management team."

Venkatakrishnan will replace Barclays' long-serving CRO Robert Le Blanc, who is stepping down to become vice-chair of risk and strategy, according to the bank. Le Blanc worked as CRO for 12 years, having previously enjoyed stints at Dresdner Kleinwort and JP Morgan in senior risk, credit and loan portfolio management roles.

In his new role, Le Blanc will also report directly to Staley.

Andrew Bailey, BoE

Andrew Bailey has been appointed as the new chief executive of the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Bailey is expected to take over from Tracey McDermott in July, the FCA said in a statement. McDermott was named as acting chief executive in September after the sudden departure of former chief executive Martin Wheatley.

Bailey has worked at the Bank of England for 30 years, and currently holds the post of deputy governor for prudential regulation and head of the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). He also sits on the board of the FCA.

At the PRA, Bailey has overseen the introduction of new rules on capital for banks and insurers and on bankers' remuneration, as well as the introduction of stress tests for big UK banks.

Bailey has also spent time working at the FCA's predecessor, the Financial Services Authority, where he held responsibility for the prudential supervision of banks and insurance companies.

In his new role, Bailey will be a member of the Bank of England's Financial Policy Committee and the PRA board. His successor at the Bank of England has yet to be announced.

Thomas Poppensieker, former lead partner in the global risk practice at McKinsey in Germany, is set to rejoin the consultancy after two years spent working at Deutsche Bank.

At Deutsche, Poppensieker headed up the bank's three lines of defence risk strategy programme in Frankfurt. He will return to his former role at McKinsey and will be based in Munich.

Poppensieker first joined McKinsey in 1997. He is a member of the executive board of the Frankfurt Institute of Risk Management and Regulation and has also served as a member of the European Commission's Group of Experts in Banking Issues, which advised the commission on the implementation of new bank rules such as Basel III.

He will report to Raúl Galamba, the Madrid-based head of McKinsey's risk practice, as well as Cornelius Baur, managing partner of McKinsey's German office.

Middle- and back-office services firm Pershing has appointed Lisa Dolly as its new CEO.

Dolly previously served as Pershing's chief operating officer, a position she had held since 2013. Having worked at the firm for 25 years, she has held a number of senior roles, including chief administrative officer. She has also participated several cross-industry groups affiliated with the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation and served as chair of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association's steering committee for operations and technology.

She replaces Ron DeCicco, who is retiring after 45 years at the company. According to a statement, DeCicco will continue to serve Pershing in an executive advisory role, working closely with Dolly, Pershing's executive committee and key clients as part of the transfer process.

Dolly's successor as chief operating officer is expected to be named over the coming weeks.

Jane Jarcho, SEC

Jane Jarcho has been appointed as deputy director of the US Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE), the agency said on February 3.

Jarcho, who has worked for the agency since 1990, is currently national director of the OCIE's investment adviser and investment company examination programme, overseeing around 600 lawyers, accountants and examiners responsible for inspections of registered investment advisers and investment companies.

In her new role, she will assume broader responsibilities for other examination programmes, including those focused on exchanges, personnel and IT. She will continue to be based in Chicago and will report to OCIE director Marc Wyatt. At the same time, she will continue to have responsibility for the investment adviser and investment company programme.

David Higginson, EY

London-based consultancy EY has appointed five new partners to its UK and Ireland fraud investigation and dispute services team.

The hirings come amid growing investment in the unit due to the increasing prevalence of cyber crime, according to a statement from EY.

Among the new hires, David Higginson and Trevor Horwitz will be charged with working with businesses on all forms of financial crime, as well as regulatory investigations related to economic sanctions, money laundering and financial misstatements. Melissa Myatt and Richard Abbey will lead specialist teams responding to complex corporate fraud, bribery cases and regulatory breaches. All four will be based in London. Eoin O'Reilly will lead the data analytics function in Ireland, based in Dublin.

Melissa Myatt, EY

Higginson, Horowitz, O'Reilly and Myatt have all been promoted internally, while Abbey joins from New York-based investigations and intelligence firm Stroz Friedberg, where he was most recently head of the forensic accounting practice.

The team will report to John Smart, head of the fraud investigation and dispute services team in London.

Paul Smith, the former chief executive of the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC), has been hired as head of policy at the UK Payment Systems Regulator (PSR).

He takes the role previously occupied by former policy chief Mark Falcon, who left the PSR in September 2015.

Prior to working at the AEMC, Smith held roles at UK postal services regulator Postcomm and the UK Office of Gas and Electricity Markets. At the PSR, he will be based in London and report to managing director Hannah Nixon.

Azad Ali, Fieldfisher

UK law firm Fieldfisher has appointed Azad Ali as a partner in the firm's financial services regulatory practice.

Ali was most recently a counsel in the financial institutions advisory and regulatory group at US rival Shearman & Sterling. He specialises in advising clients such as banks, broker-dealers and infrastructure providers on UK and European regulatory matters, including the impact of reforms such as Basel III and Mifid.

In his new role, Ali will be based in Fieldfisher's main office in London and report to Guy Usher, partner and head of the firm's derivatives and structured finance group.