Sphere is revolutionizing cross-border payments by enabling merchants in underserved areas to leverage stablecoins for quick, affordable transactions. Our mission is to promote financial inclusion through cutting-edge technology and compliance excellence.Drive Licensing and Banking Relationships: Secure relevant licensing (e.g., MTLs, trust charters) and establish key banking relationships. Draft and manage compliance documentation, onboard vendor partnerships, and operationalize policies to meet audit and certification requirements (e.g., SOC2, ISO27001).Implement Core Product Features: Lead short-term product initiatives, including stablecoin transmitter aggregation, MVP development for licenses and banking, and potential long-term features.Lead Risk and Compliance Strategy: Develop risk management and compliance initiatives across product, engineering, and operations. Maintain relationships with vendors, regulators, and banks. Act as the primary advocate for compliance training and risk education across the organization.Sphere’s Development: Support the design and implementation of Sphere’s new product buildouts.

Began with implementing and executing KYC Operations strategies and policies; within 12 months, oversaw all Risk and Compliance Operations at Flutterwave [‘24 $3.2B valuation] to optimize workload efficiencies, reduce vendor costs ($800k) and transfer from an OpEx to CapEx working model for additional cost efficiencies.- Five global teams (KYC, Sanctions, Risk Operations, Fraud Operations, and Support) were unified under a cohesive Risk and Compliance Operations strategy, enhancing efficiency and simplifying OKR and KPI reporting.- Partnered with a consultant to implement KYC SOPs and AML Monitoring Rules and completed a 9-month KYC Remediation Project through a BPO that improved compliance and resolved audit findings.- Optimized Fraud and AML Monitoring by recalibrating detection thresholds based on risk exposure metrics, reducing Non-Suspicious alerts by 60%, and achieving a >90% Alert to SAR Filing ratio.- Reduced remittance chargebacks by implementing new fraud detection strategies and initiating cross-departmental product/engineering projects, leading to twice removal from Visa’s monitoring programs.- Maintained SLAs at over 90% by restructuring workforce allocation models, maintaining a 7:4 headcount ratio, and keeping turnover below 10%, which improved overall operational efficiency despite minimal resource availability.

Drove root cause analysis investigations, applying data analytics to enhance account security protocols, improving fraud detection accuracy without compromising user experience [$5.5B GPV '22].- Developed and led the Risk Platform team, collaborating with data science and engineers to deploy 20+ projects, mitigating high-risk activities and reducing overall platform risk exposures.- Implemented a machine-learning-enabled transaction monitoring system, leveraging real-time data insights to reduce fraud and losses by over 80%, significantly enhancing detection accuracy.- Successfully removed Wyre from Visa’s VDMP and VFMP Monitoring Programs, saving $300k and preserving key card acquirer relationships.

Hired and directed a 17-member team to establish Risk Investigations, Loss Prevention, and Data Analytics at Binance.US (valuation: $4.5B ‘22). Directed the migration of risk management and trade surveillance systems from the global parent, implementing U.S.-specific controls, data segregation, and real-time crypto trade surveillance for $306M in daily trading volumes.- Developed and executed internal policies and procedures to maintain chargeback and fraud loss levels within corporate appetite.- Developed and modified existing ACH models, deployed vendor enhanced, plus enforced policies to reduce ACH Returns below Nacha Thresholds to preserve banking partnership and payment rails.- Collaborated with data scientists to create machine-learning models for transaction monitoring and a governance program.

As Head of Risk Operations at Cash App, I built and led a team of high-performing analysts to identify and prioritize emerging threats, establish strong relationships with cross-functional teams, and oversee system enhancements to maintain risk strategies efficiently.- Led a team of analysts to identify and prioritize emerging threats, covering KYC onboarding, transaction monitoring, and risk analysis.- Built strong relationships with Data Science, Engineers, and Product Managers to promote risk management philosophies and frameworks.- Oversaw system and analytical tool enhancements to maintain productivity and efficiency of risk strategies.

As AVP, AML & Fraud Manager at Rabo AgriFinance, I worked closely with senior management to ensure compliance with regulations, conducted risk assessments to improve processes, and provided training on regulatory requirements.

As Enterprise Fraud Manager at Scottrade Financial Services, I advised on high-risk matters, created fraud prevention strategies, and communicated with key stakeholders. I also prioritized projects, provided training, and collaborated with various agencies and institutions to combat fraud.