By AML Intelligence Correspondent
DEUTSCHE Bank today (Monday) appointed Laura Padovani as Chief Compliance and AFC Officer. She also joins the German lender’s male-dominated top ranks.
The promotion of Padovani, who joined Deutsche last year as chief compliance officer, will make her the second female on what will become a 10-person board.
Deutsche Bank has lagged many other top European lenders in female representation at board level.
Deutsche Bank’s chairman Alexander Wynaendts has said he aimed for greater gender balance, and he has also sought to strengthen internal controls at a bank that for years made headlines over lapses for issues like money-laundering.
“Now is the right time for her to assume responsibility for key control functions at the management board level,” he said.
She assumes the portfolio from board member Stefan Simon, who will continue his role overseeing the Americas and the legal department.
“Her appointment will facilitate further steps to evolve and strengthen the bank’s control environment. Following significant progress made in recent years under Simon’s leadership, more day-to-day controls are being re-integrated into the processes of businesses, an approach Padovani has significant experience with. This will enable control functions to focus on monitoring and challenging the business units while further improving the resilience of the bank’s controls. In doing so, the bank is setting up its control framework in line with industry best practice,” the bank said.
Simon will focus on his critical role as Management Board member responsible for the Americas region while also retaining his responsibility for Legal & Group Governance.
“Laura Padovani has already made important contributions to strengthening our control environment since joining Deutsche Bank 14 months ago,” said Wynaendts.
“Now is the right time for her to assume responsibility for key control functions at the Management Board level.
“I would like to thank Stefan Simon for laying the solid foundations of structural improvements to our Compliance and AFC functions over the past years and attracting strong talent to the bank,” Wynaendts continued.
“The new set up now allows him, in addition to his responsibility for the Legal function, to further develop the Americas, which is a strategic core market and major growth region for the bank.”
CEO Christian Sewing added: “Laura Padovani’s focused mandate and her comprehensive experience in developing control processes will enable a better integration of day-to-day control tasks within the business units, while ensuring that our control functions can focus on further improving our overall framework. In doing so, we are implementing a best-practice approach and setting up our control environment for the long run.”
Padovani joined Deutsche Bank in April 2023 as Chief Compliance Officer after holding management positions with responsibilities for Compliance and AFC in several major financial institutions.
Prior to Deutsche Bank, she spent seven years at Barclays, most recently as Group Chief Compliance Officer, following responsibilities for operational compliance processes for businesses including retail and investment banking. Before that, she spent 20 years at American Express.
“I would like to thank the Supervisory Board for the trust it has placed in me, it is an honour to join the Management Board of Deutsche Bank,” Padovani said.
“I look forward to working more closely with my colleagues on the Management Board to further evolve our control environment, building on the significant progress we made in recent years,” she added.
As part of her leadership team, Nita Patel is joining Deutsche Bank as Head of AFC and Group Anti-Money Laundering Officer, effective September 1.
“Nita Patel is one of the most renowned Compliance and AFC experts across the industry”, Padovani said.
“We are very happy that she is joining Deutsche Bank to further help evolve our control environment. Graham Kent also brings a wealth of experience in control functions and institutional knowledge about Deutsche Bank. I’m looking forward to working with both of them in a strong leadership team for Compliance and AFC.”
Patel has more than 25 years of experience in Compliance and AFC functions of leading financial institutions including Goldman Sachs, Nomura, and Bear Stearns. Most recently she was the Chief Compliance Officer and a Member of the Group Executive Board of Credit Suisse.
Padovani’s successor in her previous role as Chief Compliance Officer will be Graham Kent, currently Head of Compliance for the Private Bank as well as the EMEA region and Head of Business Selection & Conflicts Office.
Kent has been with Deutsche Bank for almost 20 years, working in various senior positions, first in Legal, then in Compliance functions for several areas of the bank including investment banking and the UKI region.
Both Padovani and Patel will be based in Frankfurt, while Kent will continue to be based in London.
We hope you enjoyed reading this article
If you would like unlimited access to AML Intelligence premium articles, newsletter delivered twice a week, access to our Global Bank Fines and Penalties database, free access to Boardroom Series events and much more, select one of our subscription options and become a subscriber!
