Meet the Team
Bill Howarth, Chief Executive
Bill Howarth is the Chief Executive of the ICA and is responsible for its global Compliance, AML and Financial Crime prevention policy and initiatives. From a legal and university teaching background he still lectures at international conferences and on university courses and programmes.
Former positions include Principal of a distance learning college and several university posts, including academic and directorial positions. Bill has written extensively in the field of trusts, estates and international law and has published books in private international law.
Bill is the general editor of the ICA course manuals and materials and designed and edited the education courses and qualifications for the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).
Andrew Glover, Regional Director
Andrew began his career in the Financial Services sector in 1986, moving into the Compliance arena in 1989. Working mainly in the Product Provider sector he held various management posts covering areas such as business verification, complaints handling and financial promotions. This breadth and depth of knowledge lead to appointment to the CF10 Controlled Function. As the impact of AML legislation within the industry increased he concentrated on this area and was appointed to the CF11 Controlled Function of Money Laundering Reporting Officer, responsible for all aspects of compliance with the regulations and guidance.
In 2003 he formed, and still chairs when in the UK, the Money Laundering Reporting Officer’s Discussion Group (MLRODG). The aim of the MLRODG is to provide a focal point for MLROs to ensure that they remain up to date in a constantly changing environment, to collectively comment on industry developments and to share concerns, best practice and solutions. This is achieved via quarterly meetings, in addition to the ability to telephone / email the other members.
As the Global Director of Education and training for the ICA, he had oversight for the UK and International programmes. Also, his role encompassed the development of the training and education programmes in new jurisdictions. Andrew is a visiting lecturer and mentor for the University of Manchester. Following the launch of the Singapore Government competency standards Andrew relocated to the ICA Regional Office in Singapore as Regional Director.
Sharon Ward, Development Director
An experienced Compliance Officer with over twenty years experience in financial services and an MSc in Financial Regulation & Compliance Management, Sharon joined the ICA when our educational programmes were launched in the UK in early 2004. As the Global Course Director she was initially responsible for overseeing the development of the International and UK Compliance and Money Laundering Prevention Diploma courses and worked on a series of development projects, including the Financial Services Skills Council/International Compliance Association Occupational Standards for Compliance and AML project.
During her time with ICA, has taught on each of these programmes, both in the UK and overseas and was appointed as a visiting lecturer to work on the University of Manchester Business School MBA in Wealth Management where she delivered the Management of Compliance, Regulation and Risk Programme on a global platform.
In her current role as ICA Development Director, Sharon has led a series of projects aimed at enhancing the ICA’s educational offering. This year she will be focusing on activities relating to the Association aspect of the organisation and will be involved in the project to update the Occupational Standards in Compliance and Anti Money Laundering with the FSSC.
Pekka Dare, Global Head of Anti Money Laundering and Financial Crime
As well as being a qualified lawyer, Pekka has a wealth of experience in industry, including having worked as a MLRO for a large UK Life & Pensions firm and managed the Financial Crime Department of a major UK high street bank with responsibility for fraud prevention, anti money laundering and counter terrorist financing. Pekka started his working life as a solicitor in private practice undertaking criminal and civil litigation. He has experience of conducting prosecutions for tax evasion as well as providing legal advice in dealing with Organised and Serious Crime for the New Zealand Inland Revenue. He has also worked for the UK Department of Trade and Industry in the investigation of corporate fraud and misfeasance.
He has served as a committee member of the Institute of Money Laundering Prevention Officers (IMLPO), as well as being a member of the ABI Anti Money Laundering Committee. Pekka also acts as chair of the Bristol Money Laundering Forum, a network of industry practitioners.
Pekka is Course Director for the ICA Anti Money Laundering and Financial Crime Prevention programmes.
Jonathan Bowdler, Course Director
Jonathan is the Course Director responsible for the ICA Compliance programmes. With sixteen years industry experience, eight of which have been in senior Compliance roles including holding Approved Person status, Jonathan has a wealth of practical compliance experience.
This has included establishing centralised complaints functions, developing regulatory early warning systems, designing and implementing control and monitoring systems and the complete turnaround of a failing compliance function in a regulated firm. His proudest achievement though was the development of one of his compliance team to take over as Head of Compliance (CF10) when he left that particular organisation.
With an MBA from Henley Business School and a Diploma in Management from Reading University Jonathan is also highly qualified in business management, and is therefore able to place compliance management within the context of wider corporate strategy, a must-have skill for the modern Compliance professional.
Jonathan is also a fully qualified investment and mortgage advisor and is a member of a number of industry forums.
Professor David Jackman, Academic Consultant
David is the author of the FSA's Training and Competence rules and was part of the management team that set up the FSA. Previously he was in charge of T&C, internal training and consumer education at IMRO and had related roles at SFA and the Securities and Investment Institute. David started his career in banking.
The first CEO of the Skills Council for Financial Services (FSSC), David chairs the British Standard's Committee for Financial Services and is closely involved with the continuing development of T&C, especially in the institutional sector. As first 'Business Ethics Adviser' for FSA David pioneered principles-based regulation and Treating Customers Fairly (TCF). He joined Compliance.co.uk Group in October 2006 to steer the development of services particularly focussing on business principles and ethics. This is intended to contribute towards a new 'quality mark' for compliance oprations.
David acts as Academic Consultant to the ICA and regularly teaches on the compliance programmes.
Sam Gibbins, Business Development Executive
Sam is the Business Development Executive for the Asian region, based out of the Singapore office, and brings together previous work experience centred on Singapore, Hong Kong and London. Sam utilises his extensive network of worldwide contacts to highlight the benefits of the ICA and its programmes to financial professionals in a variety of jurisdictions, promoting the courses to individuals and business’ alike and strengthening the brand presence throughout Asia.
Prior to joining ICA, Sam worked as a Financial Services Consultant for a boutique Executive Search firm based in the City of London, placing top tier Compliance, AML and Financial Crime professionals into roles in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. After spending some time working for a large international firm in the Technology Banking recruitment sector, Sam decided to specialise and moved into a more niche, but rapidly evolving segment of the market, liaising closely with senior individuals at top-tier institutions to select the best resources for their business.
Sam moved to Singapore in 2009 to help ICA grow into the foremost provider of Compliance training to the Asian region.
The Teaching Faculty
The ICA has an international teaching faculty, which is supplemented by local academics and industry practitioners. Many of the ICA team involved in writing and delivering the programmes are published authors. They are often called upon to liase with regulators, representative bodies and forums around the world on matters of compliance and fraud prevention. With many years experience between them, the teaching faculty ensures the learning experience is both interesting and informative.