Richard Collins
Strategic Advisor, Governance and Compliance
I have been an Advisory Board Member, Committee Chair, Steering Committee Member, and a Compliance, Governance and Risk Leader with over twenty years Board or C-suite level experience with sector expertise in Financial Services (Investment Banking, Investment Management, Sovereign Wealth Fund (“SWF”), Retail Banking), and Professional Services (Research and Consultancy including Data Analytics).
At Board level what I do is add value to a business by driving a strategy and culture of effective but proportionate corporate governance and compliance. I do that by establishing a vision of success, a mission and a strategy to achieve demonstrable results, aimed at enhancing the business brand and reputation for trust, based on the industry sector, the regulatory environment and relevant internal and external factors. All this leverages off my specialist experience and knowledge in auditing and assurance, strategic governance oversight, advising on integrity and compliance issues, IPO preparation work and climate change investment considerations.
My roles have included:
Leading Member of the Investors Advisory Board (the Governance Committee) of the Softbank Vision Fund (a US$ 100bn tech fund);
Member of the Tribunal Panel of the Accountancy Disciplinary Scheme of the UK Financial Reporting Council;
Chair of the Authorisations Committee at Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority;
Chair of the ‘Treating Customers Fairly’ Steering Committee and Member of Group Risk Management Committee, Public Policy & Regulation Steering Committee and Market Disclosures Committee at Lloyds TSB Group.
In an executive capacity, I was most recently a Managing Director and Head of Compliance of the Public Investment Fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where I built a compliance and governance function from zero to a size and capability commensurate with the needs of a US$320 bn Sovereign Wealth Fund. Previously I was the Head of Risk Management at Wood Mackenzie, a US$ 2bn Energy Research and Consultancy professional services and data analytics company, where I built the Legal, Risk and Compliance Function across offices worldwide to an IPO-ready standard. Earlier, I was Group Compliance Director of Lloyds TSB Group, where I reformed a dysfunctional and weak function of some 600 staff into an effective capability appropriate for a large retail bank with 17 million customers and 70,000 staff.
I hold an MA in Mathematics from the University of Cambridge, UK and I am a UK Chartered Accountant.
