First SEC whistleblowing chief leaves regulator

Sean McKessy, the inaugural chief of the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Office of the Whistleblower, left the US regulator in July.

Prior to his appointment there, McKessy served as corporate secretary for Virginia-based tobacco firm Altria Group and as securities counsel for Illinois-based construction equipment firm Caterpillar. He was also senior counsel in the enforcement division at the SEC between 1997 and 2000.

Jane Norberg, deputy chief of the Office of the Whistleblower, has been made acting chief. The SEC declined to comment on a permanent replacement.

The Office of the Whistleblower was founded in 2011, under the US Dodd-Frank Act, to encourage the reporting of fraud and other violations of securities law. Under Dodd-Frank, whistleblowers are entitled to up to 30% of the total penalties imposed.

McKessy spoke to Operational Risk in 2012, soon after the agency issued its first award of $50,000 to an unnamed whistleblower, who reported a case of securities fraud. At the time, McKessy resisted calls for more transparency on the identity of whistleblowers, saying it might discourage others from coming forward.

"We will honour our whistleblower's confidentiality, and empower our whistleblowers to decide whether and under what circumstances they want to be identified," he said.

Iain Wright

Old Mutual Wealth, the wealth management arm of London-based asset manager Old Mutual, has hired Iain Wright as chief risk officer (CRO).

Wright joins from Sun Life Financial, where he had held a similar position since 2011. He replaces Kevin Lee-Crossett, who previously held the joint role of CRO and chief legal officer. Crossett retains his role as chief legal officer.

Wright began his career as a chartered accountant at New York-based Deloitte. He went on to work for the London Stock Exchange, where he held a number of roles, including head of equity and debt markets. He later became CRO of the UK and Europe division at London-based insurer Prudential.

At Old Mutual Wealth, Wright is based in London, and oversees strategic, operational and financial risks. He reports directly to chief executive Paul Feeney, also based in the capital.

Standard Chartered has appointed Daniel Trinder as head of regulatory reform.
Trinder joins from Deutsche Bank, where he was managing director and global head of regulatory policy. He replaces Glen Falting, who had held the role of head of legal and compliance on an interim basis since the departure of David Wilson at the end of 2015.

A former economic adviser at the South African Department of Trade and Industry, Trinder joined the UK Treasury in 2001. He held a variety of positions there, including team leader for European and international financial services. In 2006, Trinder was hired by Goldman Sachs as executive director of government affairs, before moving to Deutsche Bank in 2010.

In his new role, Trinder will be responsible for ensuring StanChart is able to adapt to regulatory changes and address the challenges they entail. Based in London, he will report to Neil Barry, group head of legal and compliance in Singapore.

Margot Lyons has been appointed as Ulster Bank's new chief risk officer (CRO) in the Republic of Ireland.

Lyons joins the bank, a subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), from GE Financial Markets in Dublin. There, she was a managing director in the risk management division, overseeing operational risk.

A qualified management accountant, Lyons has held a number of senior positions at financial services firms such as Japanese bank Mizuho. She replaces interim CRO Adrian Haines, who previously served as director of risk for personal and business banking at RBS. He has since returned to his former role.

At Ulster Bank, Lyons is based in Dublin and reports directly to chief executive Gerry Mallon.

London-based insurance broker Neon Underwriting, previously known as Marketform, has appointed Olly Reeves, head of risk management at Lloyds of London, as its new chief risk officer.

Reeves will assume the newly created position in November and report to managing director Ian Martin.

Reeves first joined Lloyd's in 2004. He has played a role in overseeing the insurance market, building risk frameworks and helping to obtain model approval under Europe's Solvency II rules. Prior to joining Lloyd's, he was a manager in the financial services division of London-based consultancy Ernst & Young.

At Lloyd's, Reeves will be replaced by Neil Griffiths, a senior risk manager, on an interim basis.

London-based broker and wealth management firm WH Ireland has appointed Marc Cane as group head of compliance and risk; a newly created position that combines the two areas.

He joins from London-based specialist investment firm Ingenious Media, where he was group compliance officer and money laundering reporting officer.

In his new position, Cane's responsibilities will include liaising with regulators, analysing new regulatory developments and managing risks. He will be based in London, reporting to chief executive Richard Killingbeck.

London-based reinsurance broker JLT Re has appointed Micah Woolstenhulme in the newly created position of head of risk and economic advisory. He joins from New York-based rival Guy Carpenter, where he was managing director of enterprise risk management and actuarial.

Woolstenhulme began his career as an associate in consulting at London-based PwC. He joined Guy Carpenter in 2011, from reinsurer Swiss Re, where he had been vice-president in charge of product development and strategy since 2007.

In his new role at JLT Re, Woolstenhulme will be based in the US and report to David Flandro, global head of analytics.