Chief Commercial Officer — Risk And Controls Estate

The mandate

Customer and operating evidence now point to commercial execution varying materially across markets within a multinational-owned regulated universal or specialist bank. The immediate arena is the risk and controls estate during a core-banking renewal. For mandate 098, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The Chief Commercial Officer operating perimeter covers approximately £49,650 million in loan and deposit book, with activity spanning several risk and controls estate customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The Chief Commercial Officer Banking remit carries direct influence over roughly 1,350 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The group board and the relevant risk and people committees want a Chief Commercial Officer who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the risk and controls estate. The Chief Commercial Officer Banking seat must resolve a core-banking renewal, while preserving the underlying strengths of the risk and controls estate. For mandate 098, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The Chief Commercial Officer’s first year on the risk and controls estate is expected to end with repeatable growth, price realisation and strategic-account depth. In mandate 098, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is an urgent replacement for the Chief Commercial Officer — Risk And Controls Estate seat following an accelerated leadership transition. Interim accountability is in place for the risk and controls estate, but the board wants a permanent appointment within 6–8 weeks because a core-banking renewal cannot remain under split ownership. The predecessor’s outcome is being handled neutrally and professionally. The external search remains confidential until the preferred candidate and transition plan are agreed.

What you will own

• Set the Chief Commercial Officer value-creation thesis for the risk and controls estate, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately £49,650 million in loan and deposit book, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the Chief Commercial Officer Banking organisation of about 1,350 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the risk and controls estate economics and execution constraints created by a core-banking renewal, with Chief Commercial Officer-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one Chief Commercial Officer operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the risk and controls estate; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Have led price, pipeline and strategic-account decisions with direct responsibility for profitable revenue in mandate 098.
• Build the Chief Commercial Officer’s three-year succession and capability plan for the risk and controls estate, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Banking organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the risk and controls estate baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to commercial execution varying materially across markets, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal Chief Commercial Officer portfolio and organisation choices for the risk and controls estate, install the new operating cadence, fill critical leadership gaps and deliver the first measurable release of cash, capacity or customer value.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate a repeatable risk and controls estate trend against repeatable growth, price realisation and strategic-account depth, lock the following year’s capital and talent plan, evidence control sustainability and present a credible three-year value case with downside actions.

What the board will measure

• Delivery of the Chief Commercial Officer’s agreed first-year risk and controls estate value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A Chief Commercial Officer forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the risk and controls estate’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the Chief Commercial Officer mandate’s highest-priority risk and controls estate risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical risk and controls estate talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the Chief Commercial Officer’s direct reports.
• A quantified Chief Commercial Officer-owned improvement in the risk and controls estate operating constraint behind a core-banking renewal, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 098: no unresolved high-severity escalation older than 30 days and no material surprise withheld from its agreed governance forum.

The person

You are currently a Chief Commercial Officer, Sales President or Business Unit Head in a multinational-owned Banking or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the risk and controls estate, your Chief Commercial Officer track record includes a transition where the original plan was no longer sufficient; you can explain your choices, evidence and numerical impact. Candidates from financial services, payments, lending, insurance or regulated fintech will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this Chief Commercial Officer brief.

As a Chief Commercial Officer candidate, you bring 22–28 years of progressive Banking or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 22-28 experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of £28,800 million and led an organisation of at least 950 people.

For mandate 098, the board wants two transitions: a difficult risk and controls estate portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a core-banking renewal. As the prospective Chief Commercial Officer for this risk and controls estate, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 098 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The Chief Commercial Officer must be based in London; international relocation is supported, but this Banking role is not designed as a remote appointment.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of Chief Commercial Officer, Sales President or Business Unit Head, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Banking governance forum.
• Proven Chief Commercial Officer ownership of at least £28,800 million and leadership of no fewer than 950 employees in a comparable risk and controls estate context.
• One completed Banking or adjacent-sector example of commercial execution varying materially across markets with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from financial services, payments, lending, insurance or regulated fintech; experience that is purely functional and lacks Chief Commercial Officer-level risk and controls estate consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the London location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 098.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated Chief Commercial Officer package is £290,000–390,000 base + annual incentive and LTI, calibrated to the final risk and controls estate scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 098 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The Chief Commercial Officer appointment in London, centred on the risk and controls estate, offers regular exposure to the group board and the relevant risk and people committees. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 098.

Confidentiality

This search is being conducted without naming the client for mandate 098. Identifying information will follow only when both sides elect to proceed under confidentiality; nothing in the published mandate should be treated as a clue to ownership or brand for mandate 098.