PIMFA Financial Crime Conference 2026

Alex joined PIMFA in June 2017 as a Policy Adviser, where she works on a wide range of regulatory matters, engaging with policy makers and the regulator to promote members’ interests.

She previously worked for the Association of Professional Financial Advisers (APFA) in the same capacity. APFA merged with the Wealth Management Association (WMA) to form PIMFA.

Alex has a legal background, having studied law at Cambridge University and was called to the Bar in 1997. She was a tenant at Lamb Chambers, Temple where she specialised in personal injury claims, contractual disputes and professional negligence. Alex has experience of advisory, drafting and court work including appearances in the Court of Appeal, the High Court and county courts.

Kate is an experienced FCA Head of Department with significant Enforcement, Supervision and Transformation experience. She currently heads up the Consumer Investments Supervision Department responsible for Investment Platforms, SIPP Operators, P2P, Crowdfunders and Proactive teams working on Ongoing Advice Services, Complex ETPs, Trading Apps, Retirement Income and Financial Crime.

She previously led a Retail Enforcement Department, investigating some of the FCA’s most high-profile complex cases. She also set-up the FCA Interventions Team, developed the FCA’s Financial Promotions Strategy and was responsible for all Retail Enforcement referrals from Supervision.
Prior to joining the FCA in 2010 Kate was a lawyer specialising in financial services litigation in private practice

Daren is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution and Litigation team and has over 30 years experience in acting for financial institutions, large corporations, Governments and individuals in relation to complex investigations, litigation, regulatory enforcement proceedings and legal and regulatory compliance.

Daren regularly advises clients on matters relating to fraud, bribery, corruption and money laundering.

He assisted the Ministry of Justice in drafting the Guidance on the Bribery Act 2010. he has also advised the Joint Money Laundering Steering Group on the Guidance Notes for the financial services sector.

Tom is the Partner leading the Financial Crime team for Grant Thornton UK Advisory & Tax LLP. He has over 20 years’ experience as a practitioner and as a consultant to financial service firms in the Financial Crime arena covering Fraud, AML, Sanctions and Conduct issues. He has led a number of globally significant programmes concerned with advising on building, reviewing or improving financial crime frameworks primarily at firms’ subject to intensive regulatory scrutiny involving multiple jurisdictions and regulators.

Tom has advised a variety of firms across multiple sectors including Insurance, asset management, retail banking, commercial banking, investment banking, SPVs, corporate trustees services providers and large corporates. He has appeared as an expert witness in the UK RCJ and has been instructed through the legal sector.

Charlie Morrison is an Inspector in the City of London’s Cyber Crime Unit. In his career he has also worked in response policing and in intelligence.

He built and now leads Cyber Griffin, the joint City of London Police and Corporation programme which protects the Square Mile from cyber-attack. This work has origins in both policing and private industry defence practices.

His team have responsibility for police taught cyber protection work in the Square Mile.

Before joining PIMFA, Maria held various roles within financial regulation. She is a former civil servant and studied law and legislative studies with a year working in Westminster Parliament. Maria was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 2019 and holds a Master of Laws in European Social Security from KU Leuven, where she focused on pensions.

Laura Lehane joined AJ Bell in June 2024 as the Head of Financial Crime and MLRO, where she leads the development of financial crime frameworks and ensures compliance with AML, CTF, Market Abuse and fraud regulations.

Since joining AJ Bell, she has been advocate in data sharing and collaboration across sectors to prevent, detect and deter financial crime.

Laura spent 20 years at NatWest, with the last 12 in financial crime roles across both first and second lines, including operations, controls, transaction monitoring, and oversight.

Katarina Helde Cook, Head of Financial Crime Compliance and MLRO for Handelsbanken Wealth and Asset Management, is passionate about the role of financial services in the fight against financial crime –to protect our society, victims, businesses, and the wider economy.

Becky Thompson is Continuous Improvement Manager at Redmayne Bentley, where she leads a team focused on driving operational efficiency through process improvement, RPA, and AI.

Holding over 17 years of experience in financial services – with varied roles at Link Group, Lloyds Banking Group, Halifax Bank of Scotland, and Redmayne Bentley - Becky brings expertise in investment operations, regulatory processes, and digital innovation.

She is passionate about helping others work smarter – not harder - by fostering a culture of continuous improvement and delivering scalable, real-world solutions.

Marit Rødevand is the co-host of The Laundry podcast and the CEO of Strise, a Norwegian technology company leading the way in innovation for AML automation.

Strise’s advanced platform has become a critical tool for compliance teams across Europe, with 70% of top-tier Nordic banks relying on its services. Named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in 2024, Strise continues to set the standard for AML solutions by streamlining processes, enhancing efficiency, and significantly reducing the time and cost of AML compliance.

Eugenia Giannoulopoulou is the MLRO for Rothschild & Co Wealth Management. She has over 20 years’ experience in financial crime compliance, specialising in governance, regulatory engagement, and complex remediation programmes.

She has held head of financial crime positions with Citibank, CMC Markets and Brown Shipley and started her career at Raymond James. Eugenia is a lawyer by background, a Fellow at the International Compliance Association and serves as Chair of PIMFA’s Financial Crime Committee.

Richard is Head of Compliance and MLRO at JM Finn.

He has over 20 years’ experience in Compliance & Risk roles starting his career at Barclays before working at F&C Asset Management, and Close Brothers Asset Management.

Prior to joining JM Finn, Richard was Chief Risk Officer at Kingswood Group.
He is a CFA Charterholder and a Chartered Fellow of the CISI. Richard is also Chair of the PIMFA Regulation Committee, and a member CISI Compliance Forum as well as the CISI Ethics and Integrity Committee. Outside of work, Richard is a trustee of the Printing Charity and Chair of their Investment Committee.

He is also a trustee at the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and a Governor at Roding Valley High School. In his spare time, he suffers by way of being a season ticket holder at Leyton Orient.

Aaron Guilder is Head of Financial Crime at Rathbones Group Plc and responsible for overseeing the financial crime framework across the Group. As part of his role, he is also the MLRO/SMF17 for Rathbones Investment Management Limited, as well as several other of the Group’s UK entities.

Aaron has 30 years’ experience in the financial services industry, with the past 20 years having been spent in a variety of senior compliance and financial crime related roles across the asset management, private banking and wealth management sectors. Aaron is a member of the financial crime committee for PIMFA.

Alex joined PIMFA in June 2017 as a Policy Adviser, where she works on a wide range of regulatory matters, engaging with policy makers and the regulator to promote members’ interests.

She previously worked for the Association of Professional Financial Advisers (APFA) in the same capacity. APFA merged with the Wealth Management Association (WMA) to form PIMFA.

Alex has a legal background, having studied law at Cambridge University and was called to the Bar in 1997. She was a tenant at Lamb Chambers, Temple where she specialised in personal injury claims, contractual disputes and professional negligence. Alex has experience of advisory, drafting and court work including appearances in the Court of Appeal, the High Court and county courts.