London, England, United Kingdom
15 years professional experience spanning global payments, financial services, central banking and government inc. strategic leadership roles at Visa, the Bank of England, and the Office for National Statistics. I am currently a Director in Visa Direct's Strategic Initiatives team, where I lead global, cross-functional and cross-market teams delivering enterprise growth initiatives to shape the future of money and payments. My work focuses on scaling new commercial opportunities, accelerating innovation, and building partnerships across the payments, fintech and broader financial ecosystem inc. as part of cross-industry collaborations. Previously at Visa, I worked in Product & Payment Services Risk, leading enterprise-level strategic risk initiatives that enabled growth, strengthened operational resilience, and protected the integrity of the global payments ecosystem. In this role, I partnered closely with product, technology, commercial and regional leadership teams across multiple geographies. Before joining Visa, I spent several years at the Bank of England, working across Risk, Supervision, Prudential Regulation and Parliamentary Affairs. I served as Private Secretary (Chief of Staff) to the Chief Risk Officer, supporting executive decision-making and organisational resilience throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. I also spent 18 months as Head of Risk at the Office for National Statistics, leading the Risk function during a critical delivery period including the 2022 Census, the Covid Infection Survey, and the transformation of UK economic statistics. While in government, I chaired the HM Treasury Risk Profession Skills & Capability Working Group, and the ONS Risk team won the 2022 UK Government Risk Excellence Award. I began my career advising Parliamentarians in both the UK House of Commons and the European Parliament, including working for the former Secretary of State for Scotland. Academically, I hold a First-Class degree in Politics and History from the University of Hull, an MSc China in Comparative Perspective from the London School of Economics, and an Executive MBA from the University of Exeter Business School. I also completed an exchange at the City University of Hong Kong School of Public Policy. I’m a grade 8 guitarist with performance diplomas from the London College of Music, a former ice hockey player, and enjoy running, reading, tennis, podcasts, music and Arsenal. Most importantly, I am Sara's husband and a very proud father to Nico and Gabriela.
Secondment from the Bank of England