Sheela Kumari
Hyderabad
Summary
Results-driven professional with over 15 years of diverse experience in Financial Crime Risk Management and Compliance. Expertise includes building and leading compliance teams for a cryptocurrency exchange startup, focusing on client onboarding, ongoing transaction monitoring, KYC reviews, and SAR investigation reporting. Proven track record in change management, compliance training, and policy development across various organizations. Committed to enhancing organizational integrity and mitigating risk through strategic compliance initiatives.
Overview
17
17
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior AVP - FinCrime Risk Management
Wells Fargo
09.2023 - Current
- Lead the transition of the model validation function and implementation for the India team.
- Monitoring of transactions as an activity to detect and prevent money laundering, fraud, and other illicit activities.
- Collaborating with model owners and the analytics team in understanding the logic and cascading it to the team members for effective absorption of the process.
- Involve in conducting internal training sessions and create awareness of risk and compliance mindsets for over 45 staff.
- Maintaining accurate and complete records of transition documentation, training, internal reviews, and investigations to be audit-ready.
- Successfully managed change within the organization, ensuring smooth transitions during periods of restructuring or process improvements.
- Promoted and led a performance enhancement culture by actively coaching and mentoring direct reports.
- Assisted in recruiting, hiring and training of team members.
FCC Change and Control Ops Manager
Common Wealth Bank of Australia
11.2021 - 09.2023
- Regional point of contact for Change and Training Management-related matters for 900+ analysts for Enhanced Customer Due Diligence, Global Client Onboarding, and Transaction Monitoring.
- Ensuring Control reports are remediated and attested to in a timely manner.
- Responsible for planning, developing, delivering, and tracking change management deliverables, including communication, training, stakeholder engagement, Change Impact Assessment, Business Readiness Analysis, coaching, resistance management, change reinforcement, and post-implementation reviews.
- Stakeholder engagement is based on the Change Calendar to understand change impact and deadlines.
- Played a coordinator role within the Change Management process for all Financial Crime and Compliance (FCC) technology, and process-related changes.
- Ensure that all the relevant documentation (as part of FCC system change request) is collected and stored accordingly in the bank’s internal Change Management sharepoint for record keeping
- Plan multiple change and training deployments basis upcoming change engagements to ensure effective absorption of changes
- To ensure smooth Go-Live preparedness such as on-time training, system access, UAT, Go-live communication
- To actively participate in post-go-live forums, to ensure smooth running, and to report any process/system-related issues identified to the support team via respective channels to get solutions and share the same with the ECDD India Team.
- Responsible for reviewing error trends and QA reports to understand the need for additional or refresher training, based on business requirements.
- Responsible for driving and evaluating internal streams, such as innovation ideas and tables for discussion with relevant stakeholders.
- Lead team of 20 Ops Analysts and responsible for Performance Management, Quality Assurance Management, Reporting, Training, and procedural documents updates
Senior Compliance Consultant
SFOX Inc (Crypto Currency Exchange)
08.2018 - 10.2021
- Collaborate with the CCO and senior management to design and implement policies, procedures and processes relating to transaction monitoring, KYC, EDD, and tuning thresholds to optimize investigations, update policies and procedures on an ongoing basis
- Respond to ad hoc requests from law enforcement agencies, escalate issues, assist with case management including metrics tracking and reporting, identify opportunities to improve processes and tools for greater efficiency, some assistance with suspicious activity reports
- Maintain detailed documentation to demonstrate compliance with regulations and internal policies and procedures
- Investigate and close or escalate cases including conducting customer profile reviews and updates, analysis of transactional activity, and enhanced due diligence
- Conduct Enhanced Due Diligence and Annual high-risk reviews on the high rollers list of customers
- Preparing suspicious activity report for submitting to regulators
- Attending and conducting compliance trainings for new hires and providing support during learning curve
KYC Specialist Manager (ENO III)
Credit Suisse Services India Pvt Ltd
02.2017 - 08.2018
- Conducting and arranging monthly FCC case studies for awareness sessions for FCC
- Client on-boarding request for Global Markets (eg; Equities, Fixed Income), Loan (lender, Borrower) and Investment Banking Capital Market (IBCM) deals
- Perform Client Identification and Know Your Client checks on new clients in accordance with firm’s policies and procedures
- Work independently and meet the business deadlines with accuracy, handle trouble shooting to mitigate risks
- Perform renewals, remediation or uplift of client records to required standards where needed in line with defined procedures
- Handle volume spikes and prioritize work including ad-hoc requests and projects to meet business demands in a timely manner
Assistant Manager – FCC Training
Nomura Services India Pvt Ltd
09.2011 - 10.2013
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to develop customized training solutions, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and objectives.
- Preparing User Guide Manual detailing the process to operate for the FCC AEJ
- Spearheaded adoption of new Learning Management System (LMS), enhancing efficiency of training delivery and tracking.
- Collaborated with other departments to align training programs with organizational goals and objectives.
- Single point of contact for compliance training roll out across AEJ and EMEA region
- Communicated all learning and performance objectives, schedules, and training assessments to upper management.
- Creating training strategies, work force planning, initiatives and compliance training resources
- Negotiating on training building cost and interacting with third party vendor for timely SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model) file delivery
- Performing training UATs/BVTs and stakeholder sign-offs prior go-live
- Managing logistics of Compliance training programs, tracking completion and implementing follow-up processes
- Trained staff during demonstrations, meetings, conferences, and workshops.
- Conducted orientation sessions and organized on-the-job training for new hires.
AML Senior Reviewer
HSBC Electronic Data Processing India Pvt. Ltd
05.2008 - 09.2011
- Performed transaction monitoring, analysis, research, and investigate the accounts of the customers of HSBC Bank for any money laundering activities involved, and assist the compliance officers in filing suspicious activity reports.
- Worked on various detection scenarios in TM program
- Conducted sanction screening and adverse media search screening on the customer and associated parties.
- Contributed to risk assessments by providing insights from transaction monitoring activities, helping the organization stay ahead of potential threats.
- Ensured timely resolution of alerts by maintaining an organized case management system and prioritizing high-risk cases.
Education
B.Sc - Computer Science
St. Joseph’s College, Andhra University
01.2008
Post Graduate Diploma - Management
Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU)
Skills
Monitoring of AML transactions
Suspicious activity reporting
Client onboarding expertise
Thorough due diligence analysis
Sanction risk evaluation
Regulatory compliance education
Quality assurance review
Stakeholder relationship management
Mentoring expertise
Change management expertise
Regulatory compliance testing
Financial crime risk assessment
PERSONAL DETAILS
- Date of Birth: 10-12-1986
- Gender: Female
- Nationality: Indian
Timeline
Senior AVP - FinCrime Risk Management
Wells Fargo
09.2023 - Current
FCC Change and Control Ops Manager
Common Wealth Bank of Australia
11.2021 - 09.2023
Senior Compliance Consultant
SFOX Inc (Crypto Currency Exchange)
08.2018 - 10.2021
KYC Specialist Manager (ENO III)
Credit Suisse Services India Pvt Ltd
02.2017 - 08.2018
Assistant Manager – FCC Training
Nomura Services India Pvt Ltd
09.2011 - 10.2013
AML Senior Reviewer
HSBC Electronic Data Processing India Pvt. Ltd
05.2008 - 09.2011
Post Graduate Diploma - Management
Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU)
B.Sc - Computer Science
St. Joseph’s College, Andhra University