WINNIE ELBL

Group Risk Management accountability for the following risks within the Group’s taxonomy / risk landscape: Strategic Projects (including M&A); Reputation; Horizon; Policy and Climate risks.

• Strengthened Group Office functions’ governance practices in consistent comprehensive policies and guidance frameworks to provide the foundation to financial and non-financial stability and growth through including new markets (regions and demographics) and new service offerings (technology enablement, healthcare).
• Identify and assess emerging risks to the Group through regular monitoring against qualitative and quantitative measures, communicating potential threats to strategy or operations
• Committee Reporting and Management: Overseeing quarterly reporting of key risk indicators (financial and non-financial) for Group office to multiple Committees across key entities (including Operational Risk Committee, Board Risk Committee and ESG Committee)
• Utilized data analysis and scenario analysis (where data is available) to identify and assess transverse operational risks across the Risk Landscape material to business operations and strategy

• Emerging risk management: established a protocol for identifying and monitoring emerging risk and overseeing the business unit adoption of the operationalized framework; produced the first annual list of emerging risks for the Group, with qualitative and/or quantitative assessment
• Incident and Crisis Management: enhanced incident management practices through data-driven analyses; improved crisis readiness by establishing a framework of training, playbooks and practical response governance
• ESG and climate risk management: influence the development of Group climate and ESG initiatives to ensure a balance of strategic relevance, operational resourcing and regulatory compliance. Contributing to regulatory enquiries, rating agency disclosures and Group publications.
• Risk support in corporate activities: Formalised risk management role and approach to strategic projects including M&A, bancassurance and other corporate development initiatives

Key Achievements

• Direct panel ensuring comprehensive service delivery for large scale transformation engagements (>HKD10M) that involve managed service technology or technology implantation offering (currently overseeing HKD220M portfolio).
• Facilitate discussion on identified commercial conflicts - perceived conflicts of objectivity and counter to reputation - between divisional risk management partners, ethics and independence resolvers and where necessary, international counterparts, to manage and resolve commercial conflicts.
• Collaborate closely with legal counsel providing guidance on risk appetite and commercial balance, on contractual negotiations for high profile, contentious issues, negotiating global master services agreements, alliance agreements, and cross border service delivery agreements.
• Formulated companywide internal Risk Appetite Statement balancing value creation and value protection, enabling swift decision making at opportunity identification stage, and providing clear delegation of authority for escalations for risk approvals to enhance the speed to market.
• Identify and manage engagement of emerging entity specific risks, assessing risk appetite service delivery, governance protocols, crisis response development and execution, leading committees such as 2020 COVID19 response team to ensure business continuity and investigating and reporting on whistle-blowers.
• Run global compliance program for local Advisory business to ensure compliance with global and local risk management policies, reporting results to regional partner and global compliance team (3-month program, >140 partners reviewed annually on a rotational basis, team of 4 coordinating across HK and PRC)

• Banking and finance litigation, insolvency and dispute resolution; acting for banks and large financial institutions.
• specialised in financial institution enforcement of securities, including guarantees, mortgages over real property (and other interests such as leases, stock and other assets) and security interests
• involved in significant cases, extending to the High Court, involving complex and novel legal issues, involving allegations of fraud, undue influence and unconscionable lending
• advised clients on prospects of success and strategy, including providing practical and commercially driven solutions together with specific recommendations for the client.
• Settled pleadings and other court documents; negotiated and drafting terms of settlement.

Key Achievements

• Supported a landmark trial on Directors' duties in relation of organisational governance and accounts
• Sole instructing solicitor in a High Court matter relating to trustee corporations and individual exposure.