"20 Questions With .... The Queen of getting it done"

I don't think anyone has noticed, but this year I have focused this series on strong female leaders. I have been asking for recommendations, and Louise came highly recommended both from seniors and juniors in the market.

When we sat down for this chat, I was impressed with her honesty and the general "give a stuff" which came through from her. Not just in the way she hires and how thoughtfully looks at compliance and financial crime, but also in the impact changes and workload make on her team.

Looking further down into the interview, her advice for junior members of her team is spot on and honestly applicable to a lot of people at all levels.

She is a fellow Queen of organisation and has a methodical approach - I mention this as it is important and refreshing to hear someone so senior speak of the smaller habits which make her a success. I find it can sometimes be easy to look at success and think it just happens, but you will read that there is a lot of determination, and chipping away to get to where she is.

So, without further ado "20 Questions With .... The Queen of getting it done"

1. What does a typical day look like for you?

My immediate answer is: I don’t think I have a typical day. Most days start with a back-to-back calendar, but the order of these tends to be ever-changing and I need to be able to pivot to whatever the business priorities are.

2. Tell me about your first financial services job and how you got it

There is a story behind this. I was working as a conveyancer helping people buy and sell property. The firm I was working for was going through some changes, so I contacted a recruiter.

I went for an interview at a law firm and 10 minutes in I realised they didn’t want a property expert, they wanted someone to advise FS firms.

After realising the recruiter had sent me to the wrong interview, the person interviewing me and I had a chat and he offered me a job. Luckily I had been working in a bank ?2 years prior, but for a short time pre inter railing but I think the stand out was the attitude, and I have carried this hiring theory throughout my career; hire the person, not just the experience.

After I left that law firm, I went to another for 4 years then joined Tesco Bank from there. They hired me to do all the regulatory work to launch mortgages. When I left they had their full suite of products. It was a great experience as they were trying to build a bank at a time they were breaking away from RBS.

3.?What do you love about your current role?

The diversity of things I get involved in. I feel like nothing much happens in AMEX UK that I don’t know about. No one ever dreams of being an MLRO or compliance person, but I find it super interesting seeing the younger people come into this line of work. At both Tesco and AMEX I have led large teams so having a window into this level keeps it a bit real.

4.?What do you love the least about your current role?

Sometimes working in a global organisation, naturally, we must be operational, efficient, and effective which means there has to be compromise. This can be hard to settle on; I like this aspect the least, but it presents the best opportunities to influence and educate.

5. What has been the biggest development or issue you have seen in the last 12 months in your role

We have uplifted the AML framework over the last 18 months or so which was a huge undertaking.

This is a global company, and in every global company we do need to influence to avoid over-alignment to make sure things are compliant in your region. Our AML approach has now been localised to the UK. This has been wonderful for the team, and our customers, but it has been hard work to uplift and do the day-to-day.

6.?What do you predict will be the biggest for the next 12 months

I think Russia / Ukraine will unfortunately continue, and the UK Financial Services companies will need to find support for people in those countries. The approach at the moment is quite one-size-fits-all and we need to work through it. From an innovation aspect, the digital ID proposal will be very interesting – there is a real push for this.

?7. If you could have another career, what would you have done?

I probably would have been a police officer. I have a natural curiosity for things, and a pretty good gut feel.

8.?What would surprise people to know about your job?

Maybe the amount of stuff we get involved in – maybe because I am the DPO and CCO as well as MLRO

9.?What’s your best advice for the most junior person in your team

To be themselves; we have seen a lot of people who think you have to be a certain way to work in a corporate environment. It can be exhausting to have a ‘work’ persona. The energy you put into that, you could put into your work instead! When people talk to me, I notice they become really formal whereas I prefer to see their real selves and don’t apologise for it.

10.??What’s the best advice for the most senior person in your team

It’s actually probably similar; I have directors who report to me who are very ambitious. They are great as they are themselves and it’s a strength. Don’t be afraid to do things your own way.

Also, we work in a job where the to-do list is never done, so find your own mindset to not get anxious about this – it will never end, so just be at peace.

11.??If you had to name one personal trait which makes you good at your job, what would it be?

I am super organised in how I approach things. I am methodical. I use my inbox as a to-do list, not a storage place. I like a to-do list, and you need to be able to multi-task.

12.??Who do you look up to?

I always say my dad – he has a really strong work ethic. He is 75 now and retired, but he has instilled this work ethic in me and my siblings. My generation – you went to school and then University and then a job. For my dad’s generation, this wasn’t the path. He came from a family of 7 kids, left school at 14 and assisted a ?milkman, then got a job at a ceramic tile warehouse when he was 16 or so. When he was in his 30s he had 3 kids, did an MBA, and was the MD of that tile company.

When I was doing my A-levels, he studied with me to help me. He then went on to have his own business, from hard work and his right attitude.

I just wished they taught all these kids waiting for GCSE results that success can happen at any time.

13.??What do you think makes a good leader in financial crime?

You have to understand the company you work for, first and foremost. You can understand the regulations etc, but unless you understand what the company you work for does, you won’t be able to layer policy and regulation properly. I have always spent a lot of time with first line to make sure they see compliance as part of their strategy.

14.??What do you say you do, when asked at a BBQ

I often say I work for AMEX, then they start to ask me about products but they end up assuming I am a lawyer.

15.??What tool do you think is the most useful in doing your job?

I use email and my laptop and I talk to people. I think if you can’t connect to folk it doesn’t work. So I think anything which helps me connect.

16.??How do you keep up to date with industry knowledge?

Reading, podcasts, talking to people and I think there is an intellectual curiosity about the topics. There is never an empty to-do list so you need to be curious. Every year I have a couple of mantras for my teams. This year it was “talk more, email less” and “be intellectually curious”.

17.??I have just graduated, but want to get into financial crime – what do you think I should do?

Speak to people, use LinkedIn – connect with people who work in the industry. Don’t think too rigidly about it; you don't have to work for a finance company, take a look at the police, and citizens advice bureau. Some of the best people I have hired are people who approached me when I wasn’t hiring and they wanted to showcase their intellectual curiosity.

18.??What’s your favourite restaurant/bar in London?

Santini in Belgravia at the back of the AMEX office. There’s also Uni and Food Philosophy nearby, but Santini is my favourite.

19.??What do you look for when hiring people and how does someone impress you?

Aside from what I have said about being curious. There is nothing more off-putting at the end of the interview when candidates say “what are the next steps”. No questions on the company, the team, the job.

I am quite an informal interviewer, and I say “you can always flip this back on me” and hardly anyone does. They get so caught up that they are interviewing for a job, they forget it is a two-way street. Some people do take me up on the offer, and it becomes a brilliant conversation and I can see they have a questioning brain.

20.??Finally – what is one thing you want to learn more about?

I’m not sure there is just one thing. I would like to learn better Italian – I have been learning it for a number of years. From a work perspective, I would love to learn a little more about crypto;I would love to be able to talk about it credibly.

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Every week we are adding guests to our roster and would love your nominations and requests - after all, this is for you! Leave a comment or drop us a note to let us know who you'd like to hear from!

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Speak soon,

Jess