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AFME's members represent leading European and global banks.

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Senior Management Team Directors Chair
Adam Farkas Chief Executive Officer
Adam Farkas is the Chief Executive Officer of AFME. He joined the Association in February 2020 and is responsible for shaping its overall strategy. Adam was also appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA) in March 2022, coordinating industry views on key global regulatory issues. Adam also sits on the Board of TheCityUK, an industry-led body representing UK-based financial and related professional services. Before joining AFME, Adam was the Executive Director of the European Banking Authority (EBA) from April 2011 until the end of January 2020 where he managed the organisation’s daily operations and led the implementation of its regulatory work programme. Between 2011 and 2019, he represented the EBA on the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. Prior to joining the EBA, he acted as the Executive Chairman of the Hungarian Financial Supervisory Authority from 2009 to 2010 where he spearheaded the Authority’s response to the financial crisis. His other previous positions include CEO for Allianz Bank from 2006 until 2009 and co-CEO of CIB Bank (Intesa Sanpaolo Group) between 2002 and 2005. Between 1997 and 2001, he was Managing Director and Member of the Board at the National Bank of Hungary. Adam started his career as an Assistant Professor at the Budapest University of Economic Sciences (subsequently renamed Corvinus University of Budapest). He was also a consultant to various financial institutions in Budapest and London, including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) between 1991-1997. Adam holds a doctorate degree in Finance from the Budapest University of Economic Sciences, and a Master’s in computer-based simulation and modelling from Sunderland University in the UK.
Beverly Vince Head Of Operations +44 (0)20 3828
Beverley Vince is HR and Operations Director. As a member of the Senior Management team, she is responsible for HR, IT and Office Facilities. Beverley joined AFME in June 2011 and in her role works to ensure close alignment between its people and business objectives. Her responsibilities include the development, delivery and implementation of long term HR strategy both in our London office and in our offices in Brussels and Frankfurt. Before joining AFME, Beverley held a senior HR role in one of the UK’s leading health and social care organisations, providing specialist services to people involved with substance misuse. Prior to that she worked as an HR Business Partner for several independent insurance brokerages driving people strategies and delivering operating efficiencies. Beverley is a CIPD Fellow with a Masters qualification in Organisational Design and Development.
Caroline Liesegang Managing Director, Head of Capital and Risk Management, Sustainable Finance and Research
Caroline Liesegang is Head of Capital and Risk Management, Sustainable Finance and Research. Before the renaming of our Prudential Regulation Division, her title was Head of Prudential Regulation and Research at AFME. Before joining AFME, Caroline was the UK Chief Risk Officer of Commerzbank London Branch from 2018 until February 2022. In her capacity as CRO, Caroline designed and implemented the local risk governance framework, and had the principal direct oversight of risks booked and managed in and from Commerzbank’s UK entities. Besides chairing the London Risk Committee, Caroline was part of the Branch’s Senior Management. Caroline also held a global management role in Commerzbank Group for stress testing and scenario analytics from December 2017 until February 2022 as part of the Groups’ capital management. In this role, Caroline led capital-related internal and supervisory scenario and stress test exercises. Prior to joining Commerzbank, Caroline held a Deputy Head of Division position in the ECB’s Single Supervisory Mechanism, leading quantitative and systemic risk analyses and supervisory methodology development for indirectly supervised firms. During that time Caroline also assumed a management role during the SSM Comprehensive Assessment in 2014 and represented the SSM among others in the ESRB macroprudential assessment group. Between 2013 and 2014, Caroline worked for the EBA as a Senior Stress Testing Expert, coordinating the EU-wide stress test. Caroline started her career at Deutsche Bundesbank in 2003, holding positions in on-site and off-site banking supervision, micro-and macroprudential analysis and research. She represented Deutsche Bundesbank in international working groups from 2008, as well as acting as a member of the research task force of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and CEBS/EBA task forces. Caroline holds a BSc from Deutsche Bundesbank University in Business Administration and Central Banking and a MSc in International Economics and Economic Policy from Goethe University Frankfurt.
Jacqueline Mills Managing Director, Head of Advocacy Mobile +32 (0) 4 71 56 01 53 Direct +32 (0)2 883 55 47
Jacqueline Mills is Head of Advocacy, responsible for the formulation and delivery of AFME’s advocacy across the association’s external stakeholders in the EU27 and UK. Jacqueline joined AFME in the Prudential Regulation Division in 2014 and was in charge of coordinating AFME’s policy work on the CRD5/CRR2. In 2017, Jacqueline relocated from London to Frankfurt to establish the Association’s Frankfurt Office. She was also responsible for developing AFME’s relationships with key supervisory authorities, with a particular focus on the ECB SSM and running AFME’s SSM Supervisory Committee. Prior to joining AFME, Jacqueline was Head of Asset Finance Policy and Research at Leaseurope, the European Leasing Federation in Brussels. Jacqueline has also worked for Deloitte and Eurofinas in Brussels and was an assistant lecturer in Finance at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. Jacqueline has a Masters in Finance and Accounting and holds a DEA (1st year PhD) from the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management.
James Kemp Managing Director, Global FX Division +44 (0)20 3828 2705
James Kemp is the Managing Director of the GFMA’s Global FX Division, having established it in 2010. He also established AFME’s Technology and Operations Division in 2016, and more recently took management responsibility for the Compliance, Tax and Accounting Committees which he has merged to form the new Compliance, Control and Accounting (CCA) Division. He is heavily involved with efforts to enhance industry conduct, having been involved in the Global FX Code work and as a Board member of the UK’s FICC Market Standards Board. He sits on the Bank of England’s FX Joint Standing Committee. The Global FX division has 24 global members - between them accounting for the majority of the global FX dealer market - and is represented in Europe, North America and Asia. Working with key regulators and supervisors, the group monitors policy and regulatory developments to ensure the establishment of harmonised regimes and infrastructure to enable an effective global market for all participants. This same goal exists for the Tech & Ops group across the emerging EU fintech/regtech landscape, while the Compliance, Control and Accounting Division again seeks to ensure practical and consistent implementation across its various priority topics covering compliance and tax/accounting issues. James has previously been a business strategy consultant at The LEK Partnership; working out of London and Chicago, as well as UK Head of Equities and Fixed Income Products at Reuters. He was the founder and managing director of the financial markets technology consultancy, Stentra, a market leader in FX e-trading, as well as commodities, fixed income and swaps. Six years after the company was established, it was sold to ION Trading.
Rick Watson Managing Director, Head of Capital Markets, Membership & Events +44 (0)20 3828 2737
Rick Watson is Managing Director and Head of Capital Markets, Membership and Events at AFME. He is on AFME’s Senior Management Team and leads staff in fixed income, equities, MiFID, Capital Markets Union and sustainable finance initiatives, as well as overseeing membership relations, over 30 annual events and the CRM team. Previously, Mr. Watson held a variety of senior fixed income and other product origination positions at FGIC, HSBC, Bear Stearns, UBS, Morgan Stanley and Freddie Mac. He has co-authored a book on securitisation, served on the EIOPA Stakeholder Group, and is a trustee of the East End Community Foundation.
Andrew Harvey Managing Director, Europe, Global FX +44 (0)20 3828 2694
Andrew Harvey is Managing Director, Europe, of the Global FX Division of GFMA (the Global Financial Markets Association). The Division was formed in June 2010 to support efforts to promote an efficient FX market, monitor regulatory developments that could affect the market and assist the industry in building out the infrastructure of the future. While focused on Europe, Andrew has responsibilities for global initiatives as the Division seeks to harmonise evolving rules for FX across jurisdictions. Previously, Andrew was an Executive Director at Morgan Stanley where he worked for seven years - initially as European Head of FX and Cash Fixed Income. Andrew co-chaired the GFXD Operations Committee, and was an active member of the Bank of England Operations Committee. After leaving this role, Andrew ran the Global Emerging Markets Rates and Credit groups before moving to be the Global COO for Derivative Operations. Prior to Morgan Stanley, Andrew worked at Goldman Sachs for nine years within its Foreign Exchange group.
April Day Head of Equities (ECM, Trading and Post Trade) +44 (0)20 3828 2682
April Day is Managing Director, Head of Equities Capital Markets. With a strong background in investment banking, her previous roles have included Director of Equity Sales for both Dresdner Kleinwort and Panmure Gordon. April holds a Legal Practice Certificate from the Oxford Institute of Legal Practice and an LLB (Hons) in Business Law.
Arved Kolle Director, Strategy Lead Germany | ECB Liaison | EU-UK Relations +49 (0) 69 710 456 662
Arved Kolle is Director responsible for ECB Liaison, Government Affairs Germany, and EU-UK Relations, and is based in AFME’s Frankfurt Office. Previously, he worked at the Association of British Insurers within the Conduct Regulation team. Arved started his career with a think tank in Brussels and with EU political monitoring agency DeHavilland. Arved holds an MSc in Political Economy from the London School of Economics and a BA in European Studies from Maastricht University.
Coen ter Wal Director, Technology & Operations +44 (0)7920 238 651
Coen heads AFME’s Technology and Operations division, leading the organisation’s work in the areas of emerging technologies (including Artificial Intelligence, Distributed Ledger Technology, data and quantum), cyber- and operational resilience, as well as the efficiency of operational processes. Prior to joining AFME, Coen worked in tech consulting and as a FinTech policy lead at the Dutch Central Bank (DNB).
Constance Usherwood Managing Director, Capital and Risk Management +44 (0)20 3828 2719
Constance is part of the Prudential team and works across a number of areas including risk weighted assets, non-performing loans, cross border aspects of CRDV and green finance. She also works on preparations for CRDVI/CRR3 and the prudential aspects of cross-cutting issues such as Capital Markets Union and Banking Union. Constance joined AFME from HSBC, where she was Prudential and Trade Policy Manager with responsibilities, amongst other things, for assessing upcoming international regulatory standards, and assisting in formulating and advocating policy positions with high-level policy makers and European legislators. Prior to that, Constance worked as a Policy Expert at the EBA on promoting supervisory convergence in relation to CRR. Constance started her career in the European Parliament where she was Policy Advisor to UK MEP Sharon Bowles for three and a half years. Alongside managing the Brussels office, she had a broad range of responsibilities, including the drafting and negotiation of amendments to a wide range of post-crisis financial services legislation. She has a BA Hons in Modern Languages from Pembroke College Oxford and is a German speaker.
Daniel Kim Head of IT +44 (0)7917 763 727
Daniel Kim is Head of IT with over ten years of experience. He is responsible for the design and implementation of AFME’s IT strategy and infrastructure. He played a key role in the recent office relocation which provided an excellent opportunity to further AFME’s digitisation agenda, moving away from reliance on physical infrastructure, towards a cloud-based office solution, increasing the ability to operate in a hybrid environment and ensuring business continuity. Daniel holds a Law degree from the University of Reading
Elena Travaglini Director, Head of Membership +44 (0)20 3828 2733
Elena Travaglini is AFME’s Head of Membership, responsible for managing members’ retention as well as new members’ acquisitions. With a strong background in relationship management, marketing and business development she started her career in venture capital in the US to then cover a number of marketing and business development roles in diverse industries including leisure, ecommerce and financial services in London, Tokyo and San Francisco. She holds a degree in Oriental Studies from L’Istituto Universitario Orientale in Naples Italy and an MBA from London Business School.
Fiona Willis Director, Compliance Control & Accounting (CCA) and Technology & Operations (T&O) +44 (0)7880 388 135
Gary Simmons Managing Director, High Yield and Equity Capital Markets +44 (0)20 3828 2723
Gary is the Managing Director of AFME High Yield division, for which he leads AFME’s efforts to lower costs and increase efficiency in the execution of high-yield transactions and to address any related legal and regulatory issues, and which also lobbies for the reform of corporate insolvency laws. He also heads the AFME Equity Capital Markets division, which monitors business, legal and regulatory issues affecting European equity capital markets, and provides related policy, advocacy and regulatory engagement for member positions. Gary is a New York-qualified lawyer and was previously a senior associate at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton. After an initial period in New York, Gary spent several years in London, gaining extensive experience in cross border and emerging markets debt transactions, particularly high-yield bond issuances and leveraged loans. He has a Juris Doctor from Rutgers University School of Law (with honors) and a Bachelor of Arts (with highest honors) from Rutgers University. Following law school, Gary was a law clerk to the Honorable William H. Walls of the United States Federal District Court, District of New Jersey.
Giulia Pecce Director, Head of Secondary Capital Markets and Wholesale Investor Protection Policy +44 (0) 7584 706 718
Giulia joined AFME in June 2022 and is the Head of Secondary Capital Markets and Wholesale Investor Protection. She runs AFME’s MiFID Steering Committee, the Retail Investment Strategy Working Group, the Investment Research Working Group and other ad hoc MiFID groups. Before joining AFME, Giulia worked at the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for 8 years where she held various policy roles, leading on, and/or contributing to, retail and wholesale policy files. Prior to joining the FCA, Giulia worked for an international law firm (M&A and Capital Markets) and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Legislative Office). Giulia has a law degree from Luiss Guido Carli (Rome) during which she completed a semester abroad at the University of Glasgow, School of Law, within the Erasmus Programme. She holds an LLM in Banking Law and Financial Regulation from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Ian Sandles Director, Tax and Accounting +44 (0)20 3828 2708
Ian Sandles is Director of Tax and Accounting at AFME. Ian has specialised in tax throughout his career, and spent more than 20 years working as an in-house tax adviser at major investment banks, including Barclays, Lehman Brothers and Nomura. He started his career at Deloitte where he qualified as a chartered accountant and chartered tax adviser. Ian has a MA in History from Oxford University.
Joanna Montague Events Director +44 (0)20 3828 2715
Joanna McDonough is AFME’s Events Director, responsible for leading the events team in delivering an extensive portfolio of member-focused events, and identifying new strategic events opportunities for AFME. With a strong background in events and operations, her previous roles have included Managing Director at EuroFinance (an Economist Group Business) and Event Director at Metapack.
Julio Suarez Director, Research +32 (0)2 883 55 50
Julio is AFME’s Research Director and leads on the production of AFME’s quarterly data reports on European capital markets and the annual Capital Markets Union (CMU) Key Performance Indicators report. He has also written several key analytical reports including on Insolvency Reform and Capital Markets in Central and Eastern Europe. More broadly, he is also engaged in AFME’s work on CMU matters and is a member of ESMA’s Group of Economic Advisers. Prior to joining AFME, Julio was Senior Economist at BBVA, leading macroeconomic and financial sector analysis. Julio has a BSc in Economics, BEng in Industrial Engineering and a MSc in Economics from Los Andes University in Colombia as well as a Master in Public Policy from the University of Chicago.
Louise Rodger Managing Director, Compliance, Control and Accounting (CCA) +44 (0)203828 2742
Louise Rodger is responsible for the running of AFME’s Compliance Committee and associated working groups. Louise joined AFME in July 2017, as Director, Compliance. Previously, Louise spent six years at the Financial Conduct Authority, most recently engaged in their implementation of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II. Louise has also worked in legal and regulatory policy roles at the Electoral Commission, the Crown Prosecution Service and Ofcom. Louise has a BA in English & History from Greenwich University.
Marcus Corry Director, Technology & Operations +44 (0)20 3828 2679
Marcus leads on Operational Resilience and Cyber Security policy at AFME, covering both EU and UK developments relating to wholesale capital markets. Current priorities include the EU’s milestone Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) and the Commission’s Cyber Security Package, encompassing the proposed Cyber Resilience Act and the ENISA Cyber Security Certification Schemes. The current role builds on over 10 years’ experience in Digital Finance regulatory affairs, working with the full range of financial services market participants on how to respond to the challenges and opportunities of digitalisation. This has included time in both London and Brussels, engaging closely with EU and UK officials on how Regulation can better reflect changing consumer/client behaviours and provide a secure environment for innovation. Marcus has a legal background, with an LLM from UCL and has previously worked for legal self-regulator, the Law Society.
Mark Bearman Director, Capital and Risk Management +44 (0)20 3828 2675
Mark Bearman is a director in the Prudential Regulation Division. His main focus is in relation to regulatory capital and liquidity standards arising from Basel III/CRD4 and from developments to the wider prudential framework. Mark has degrees in Economics and Financial Services and is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers. Prior to joining AFME in January 2011, Mark was a Manager in KPMG's Risk and Regulatory Practice. He worked primarily on Basel II proposition and its implementation, which included the provision of analysis of the post Basel II environment and its implications, the design and completion of ICAAP documents, and leading work on assessing the effectiveness of Basel II implementation. In his later years with KPMG, Mark's work expanded to include also engagements on liquidity and the preparation of ILAA documents. Before joining KPMG, Mark worked for several years in banking supervision at the Financial Services Authority where he was primarily responsible for the risk assessment and supervision of wholesale banking groups.
Nahom Kagnew Director, Head of Digital Transformation +44 (0)203 828 2722
Nahom, with over ten years of experience in CRM system implementation and digital transformation projects, has prioritized enhancing AFME’s CRM infrastructure, bolstering underlying platforms, and establishing new vendor relationships to meet AFME's future needs. Moving forward, his main focus will be developing processes, tools, and metrics to support business goals and drive growth. This entails optimizing reporting mechanisms, ensuring data hygiene, and identifying untapped opportunities for digital development within the organization.
Oliver Moullin Managing Director, Sustainable Finance, General Counsel and Company Secretary +44 (0)20 3828 2712
Oliver Moullin is a Managing Director leading AFME’s work on sustainable finance. He is also AFME’s General Counsel and Company Secretary. Oliver joined AFME in 2012 and previously led AFME’s work on Brexit and Recovery and Resolution policy. He also advises on legal and governance matters. Prior to joining AFME, Oliver was a Senior Associate at the law firm Hogan Lovells, where he advised on restructurings and insolvencies of large companies and financial institutions. He also spent a period on secondment to Barclays’ legal team. Oliver has a law degree from the University of Bristol.
Pedro Pinto Director, Advocacy +32 (0)2 883 55 48
Pedro Pinto is Director for Advocacy at AFME's Brussels Office. Pedro has more than 15 years’ experience working in the financial services industry. Prior to his current position he worked at NYSE Euronext where he headed the Legal and Regulatory department in Lisbon for 6 years. Mr. Pinto held these responsibilities in conjunction with his position as Chief Compliance Officer for the NYSE Euronext Lisbon market. From 2002 to 2005, he was a Senior Legal and Regulatory Counsel at Euronext and Euronext Lisbon Corporate Secretary. Pedro started his career as a Lawyer in a Portuguese law firm alongside tenure as a lecturer in economics at the Law School of the University of Lisbon. Mr. Pinto is a lawyer by training with a degree in law and post graduated studies in Securities Law from the Law School of the University of Lisbon and executive management studies at the INSEAD and at the Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School.
Peter Tomlinson Director, Head of Post Trade +44 (0)20 3828 2680
Pete Tomlinson is a Director in AFME’s Post Trade division, with additional responsibility for the Prime Services Forum. In his role, he primarily supports AFME members with the implementation of post-trade regulatory changes. Prior to joining AFME, Pete worked at Deutsche Bank for seven years in various middle office roles within the Delta One business. He holds a degree in financial economics from the University of Liverpool.
Rebecca Hansford Head of Communications and Marketing +44 (0)7825 081 686
Rebecca Hansford is AFME's Head of Communications and Marketing, responsible for driving AFME's strategic communication with the media and overseeing the Association's marketing function. Rebecca brings over a decade's PR experience in communications to the role. Prior to AFME, she worked at a financial PR agency, managing a number of banking industry clients. Before that she worked for both the European Commission and European Parliament as a translator.
Remi Kireche Director, Advocacy +32 2 883 55 53
Rémi is the Director of Advocacy at AFME's Brussel office. Rémi has 10 years of experience working in financial services and public affairs in Brussels and Paris. In his role, he is responsible for AFME’s advocacy on initiatives to enable capital market development, notably in the areas of securitisation, post-trade and equity capital markets. Prior to joining AFME, he worked for Flint Global, a consulting firm where he advised financial institution clients on EU financial services policy and regulation and for almost six years at the European Commission in DG JUST, where he was responsible for corporate governance legislation for banks and investment firms. He has also worked for Société Générale in Brussels and at the French AMF, as a European Policy Officer. Rémi began his career as a Blue Book Trainee working in the cabinet of the then Internal Market Commissioner, Michel Barnier. He holds an LLM in European Legal Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges and a Master’s Degree in European Law from the Université de Bordeaux IV.
Richard Middleton Managing Director +49 (0) 69 710 456 661
Dr Richard Middleton has been a Managing Director at AFME since 2010 in various roles, most recently as Head of Compliance. In 2020, Richard relocated from London to Germany and has since been based in AFME's Frankfurt office. Prior to joining AFME, he worked in banking, industry and academia. Richard qualified as a Chartered Accountant with EY. Richard has a doctorate in Mathematics from Oxford University. Richard is learning German and has passed the exam for the Goethe-Zertifikat C1.
Shaun Baddeley Managing Director, Securitisation +44 (0)20 3828 2698
Shaun is Managing Director, Securitisation at AFME. Before that, he was MD, Head of European ABS at Santander CIB. He had several roles covering origination, structuring for funding and capital management. Before that he spent ten years at Fitch Ratings analysing Structured Credit, CDO Asset Managers and Performance Analytics. He began his career in HM Forces as a Captain in the Royal Armoured Corps. Shaun holds an MBA from Cranfield, attended Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and has a BA Joint Hons from Exeter University.
Stefano Mazzocchi Managing Director and Deputy Head Advocacy +32 (0)2 883 55 46
Stefano Mazzocchi is Managing Director for Advocacy at AFME's Brussels Office. Stefano has spent two years (2010-2011) as a Policy Advisor in the Regulatory Affairs Department at the Institute of International Finance in Washington DC. Prior to his work at the IIF, for six years Stefano Mazzocchi has worked for Intesa Sanpaolo's International Regulatory and Antitrust Affairs office as a Regulatory Advisor. Stefano spent five years at the European Parliament (1999-2004) as an Economic Advisor in the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee. In recent years he has also been a regular contributor for a number of Italian newspapers on key political and regulatory developments in the EU. Mr. Mazzocchi is an economist by training. He has a degree in Economics from the Università Politecnica delle Marche and a Master in Finance from Solvay Business School - Université Libre de Bruxelles.
Victoria Webster Managing Director, Fixed Income +44 (0)20 3828 2689
Victoria is AFME’s Director of Fixed Income, having joined the association in November 2015. She is responsible for the AFME Primary Dealers, Credit and Covered Bond Boards, focusing on developments in regulation, policy and market structure. Victoria has more than 19 years of fixed income experience in banking, vendor sales, broking and market making. Prior to joining AFME, Victoria worked at Barclays Investment Bank in a role focused on fixed income electronic trading.