By PAUL O’DONOGHUE, Senior Correspondent
THE continued lack of women in C-suite positions was highlighted at the ‘Women in Fincrime’ seminar at the ‘European Anti-Financial Crime Summit 2025’.
Vivienne Artz, CEO of the FTSE Women Leaders Review, said her position has given her a unique insight into the scale of the issue.
“7% of CEOs in the FTSE 350 are women, 7%,” she told the event.
“When we look at directorships, we can say that 50% are women and 50% are men, but only 16% of executive directors are women.”
The fact was one of the insights highlighted at the ‘Women in Fincrime’ seminar, which focused on themes including female empowerment, equality and self-belief.
Bruna Szego, Chair of the EU’s new AML Authority, and Catherine de Bolle, Europol Executive Director, both gave headline speeches.
The main panel for the event featured some of the leading female voices in the AML and compliance space.
These included Linda Hamilton, Head of Financial Crime Operations at JP Morgan Chase and Ms Artz. In addition, the panel featured Andrea Bowe, a director at the UK’s FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) and Oonagh Van Den Berg, founder of RAW Compliance AI.
It was moderated by Xolisile Khanyile, Chair of the Global Coalition to Fight Financial Crime. She has also held a variety of other prominent positions, including Director of South Africa’s Financial Intelligence Centre and Vice Chair of the Egmont Group.
Opening the panel, she said: “If you are the woman and you feel that men in the room are not really hearing – shout, if you can. Scream, Because we do have voices, we are enough. We don’t need any validation from men. We belong where we are. We are capable.”
Ms Bowe urged women to “take responsibility” for their careers.
“That’s not to say that you shouldn’t have mentors and sponsors, but it is down to you, really, really challenge yourselves. Be bold, be brave,” she said.
Ms Hamilton, who previously worked as deputy director of organized crime at HMRC in the UK, said she has been impressed with the level of female leadership at JP MorganChase since joining six months ago.
“There is depth of understanding and how to tackle financial crime, and an understanding that diverse voices and not agreeing with each other all the time is healthy, as long as you do it in the most constructive way,” she said.
Ms Van Den Berg urged women in leading executive position not to suffer from ‘imposter syndrome’.
“It’s only now, in my forties that I’ve been able to step back and look at myself and realize I’m good at what I do, and I own that. And so I would ask everybody in this room to look at yourself and realize just how fantastic you are.”
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