About GCI

Martin Woods

Chair

Martin Woods has a wealth of experience as a detective who once investigated financial crimes, including global frauds and money laundering. Upon leaving the police service he embarked upon a career as a senior financial crime compliance officer, working for and with a wide variety of firms all over the world. He has provided training to regulators, central banks, law enforcement agencies and regulated firms and has been called upon to provide expertise as well as guidance. He has been highly commended by regulators and is passionate about empowering people to fight financial crime.

He advocates we are all here to Make A Difference and he is always on the look out for those who may want to join his MAD – Make A Difference revolution. He prides himself as an enemy of the money launderer, the fraudster and the terrorist, who uses training to equip, inspire and motivate others.

Aruna Iyengar

Member - APAC

Aruna has worked in Financial Services since she was in University, studying her Banking and Finance Degree. Post graduation, she spent 16 years at Macquarie Bank working in Client Services, Adviser Services and Outsourcing Relationship Management, before becoming the first Risk & Compliance Office in Service & Operations, Macquarie Financial Services Group. Over the next 10 years in her role in Compliance, she supported the business, and delivered both classroom and online compliance training on various topics. Joining JPMorgan Chase in 2012, she has been leading the APAC Compliance Training Team, developing complex online Compliance Training on a number of topics, supporting 16 countries in APAC, as well as partnering on Global Training Modules and Compliance Training Strategy. She is passionate about developing and delivering high quality, engaging and education Compliance Training for her stakeholders.

Turkka Toivola

Member

Turkka Toivola is an experienced compliance specialist with extensive knowledge of FATCA and CRS agreements. Turkka has worked in the financial industry for almost ten years and in that time has gained international experience by working for one of the largest banks in the Nordic countries and is currently residing in Finland. Turkka believes in continuous learning and education and encourages the pursuit of professional certifications. 

Turkka holds a BBA in business economics and a certificate in anti-money laundering. He is currently completing his masters’ degree in international business management..

Ahmad Tarteer

Member - MENA

Ahmad Tarteer is a very well-rounded and qualified ‎Compliance and AML expert and accredited trainer and speaker in Compliance and Anti-‎Financial Crimes. He is also a leader and influencer in the compliance and AML community and a well-known ‎expert in many related subjects, especially International Sanction, FATCA, and CRS; in ‎addition, he is an expert in AML intelligence and Business Logic Units since he implemented ‎AML solutions and AML System scenarios.

MARCENA HUNTER

Member

Marcena is a Senior Analyst at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, which she has been with since 2012. While Marcena’s work has covered a wide scope of material and geographic spread, her current work has focused on gold-related crime, other mineral resources, illicit financial flows and development responses to organized crime. Marcena is also currently a Research Fellow and PhD candidate at the University of Queensland, Sustainable Minerals Institute. Marcena past work includes analysing migration flows, access to justice, and gender issues, as well as providing guidance on security sector and criminal justice reform. Marcena has a JD from Washington and Lee University, and a BA in Political Science from the University of Denver. She is currently based in Australia.

BRADEN M. PERRY

Member - GCI Americas

A former federal enforcement attorney and veteran in regulatory compliance and white-collar defense, Mr. Perry has the expertise and consults with clients throughout the United States in areas of internal investigations, enforcement matters, regulatory issues, and corporate transactions, including advising on highly complex regulatory structures. Mr. Perry routinely guides clients through all stages of litigation and specializes in complex, high-stakes disputes involving matters of first impression. He also regularly counsels clients on cybersecurity issues and is a strong advocate for top management and board member understanding of current cyber issues facing financial institutions. Mr. Perry serves as an expert witness in complex financial matters and has a deep understanding of the vast array of statutes, regulations, case law, and other requirements financial institutions are required to follow.

Viviana van Agtmaal

Member - South Africa

Experienced risk and compliance manager. Multi-faceted with UHNW client sales and advisory as well as in-depth international compliance and regulatory hands-on experience.
 

Proven skills in implementing and training on regulatory requirements and formulating practical compliance procedures and relevant documents. A passion and a flair for education in the financial services arena, Conscious Capitalism and Conscious Leadership
 

Nicola Johnston

Member - Europe

With extensive and wide-ranging experience in compliance across the financial services industry, Nicola has worked as an industry consultant since 2013. Prior to that her experience was in-house on both the buy and sell sides, globally and locally, and working for one of the largest consultancy firms in the UK.

Throughout her career, Nicola has been a key provider of technical advice and guidance to senior management, non-executive directors and to wider business audiences. She has significant experience contributing to, and coordinating responses from businesses to industry bodies and regulators, with the aim of communicating clearly concerns and queries. Nicola is also able to advise on the structure of compliance departments, both standalone and within wider risk teams, including accountability, communication channels, relationship building and reporting lines.

Nicola has a proven track record of creating and delivering training packages to a wide variety of audiences. This experience ranges from general training about financial services, providing a broad overview of the relevant regulatory environments and extends to very specialised and targeted training, often delivered to meet specific regulatory requirements and to fill knowledge gaps.

Nicola holds a postgraduate diploma in financial services law, has an MBA and is a chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investments

Holger Pauco-Dirscherl

Member - Europe

Holger is the Head of Financial Crime and Director at UBS Deutschland AG acting as Deputy MLRO and Deputy Compliance Officer

Holger is a passionate Senior Financial Crime Professional working on a wide range of projects and has a unique blend of international knowledge, expertise and experience together with a good reputation in the national and international Anti-Financial Crime field. He is a recognized SME for Financial Crime giving a wide range of trainings and acts as a speaker on conferences and symposiums both national and international.

He has investigated large, complex and international Money Laundering, Sanctions, Corruption and Fraud cases and identified suspicious activity and weak controls, processes, manuals and policies. Within his activities he offered pragmatic solutions to minimise Financial Crime and Regulatory Risk.

David Hernandez

Member - GCI Americas

Senior Vice President, BSA/AML and OFAC Officer | Financial Crimes | Compliance | Risk Management

Accomplished senior leader and trusted advisor with nearly 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. Proven track record in building and transforming AML, Sanctions/OFAC, Fraud, and Enterprise Risk programs to meet evolving regulatory expectations and align with institutional strategy. Recognised for strategic vision, strong governance, and the ability to influence executive and board-level decision-making.

Expert in navigating complex regulatory environments and strengthening enterprise-wide risk and control frameworks. Designed and implemented advanced metrics to enhance oversight of EDD, fraud investigations, and SAR reporting, delivering both operational efficiency and regulatory confidence. Successfully remediated critical exam findings, driving the institution to a satisfactory rating.

Inspirational leader with a history of building high-performing global teams. Skilled at developing leaders, fostering collaboration, and instilling accountability across diverse compliance disciplines. Delivered efficiency and consistency by uniting cross-geography AML functions under a common framework of excellence.

Trusted strategic advisor to executives and the Board, shaping AML and financial crime strategies to align with business priorities while ensuring regulatory compliance. Provided critical insights on emerging risks, industry trends, and suspicious activity, enabling informed, proactive decision-making at the highest levels.

Respected influencer, able to translate complex regulatory requirements into actionable strategies. Promote collaboration across all business lines, ensuring alignment and shared accountability toward enterprise goals.

Advanced expertise in strengthening AML frameworks through data-driven enhancements. Optimised transaction monitoring models to improve efficiency and risk accuracy across payments, ACH, card activity, and wire transfers. Built KPI/KRI dashboards that improved oversight and strengthened program transparency.

Anthony Cook

Member - GCI Americas

Anthony Cook is a retired IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent with 20+ years of federal law enforcement experience specializing in financial crime, AML/BSA compliance, and complex multi-jurisdictional investigations. He has provided witness testimony at trial in U.S. District Court as a Lead Case Agent, Seizing Agent, and Summary Witness and testified before grand jury in multiple jurisdictions. Mr. Cook served as IRS-CI Regional Attaché in London and Dubai and represented the U.S. Government at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as Lead Delegate on the Task Force on Tax Crimes. He has represented the U.S. Government on assignments in over 30 countries and served as Chair of the Board for the Foreign Law Enforcement Community in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Cook has worked directly with financial institutions, regulators, and global Financial Intelligence Units on BSA/AML compliance, SAR obligations, KYC/CDD standards, FATF requirements, and trade-based money laundering. He conducted criminal tax and money laundering investigations, secured informal intelligence and formal evidence overseas through Mutual Legal Assistance and Tax Treaties, and uncovered beneficial ownership by tracing global illicit financial transactions. He has participated in numerous proffer sessions with Assistant U.S. Attorneys and defense counsel, Rule 15 depositions, and preliminary hearings. He instructed at the OECD Finance and Tax Crime Academies in Argentina, Italy, and Japan and led courses on professional enablers, beneficial ownership, and trade based money laundering.

He has represented the U.S. Government on assignments in over 30 countries and served as the Official U.S. Delegate to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Task Force on Tax Crimes. He is the former Chair of the Board for the Foreign Law Enforcement Community (FLEC) in London representing 150 law enforcement officials from over 50 countries.

Gavin St John Heath

Member - GCI Europe

Gavin is an influential, commercially minded Executive Director, Chief Risk & Compliance Officer, and MLRO with over 20 years’ experience guiding firms through complex regulatory environments across global financial services, investment management, payments, and legal sectors.

Holding FCA Senior Manager Functions SMF3, SMF16, and SMF17, he has a proven track record of designing and embedding enterprise-wide compliance frameworks, leading governance reform and regulatory remediation programmes, and driving cultural change to build accountability and integrity at every level of an organisation.

Gavin brings deep expertise in regulatory engagement (FCA, SEC, MAS, CIMA, BVI FSC), prudential oversight (MiFIDPru, CRR, ICAAP/ICARA), financial crime prevention (AML/KYC, sanctions, ABC), and data governance (GDPR, ISO/IEC 27701). Recognised for delivering Consumer Duty, SMCR, and horizon-scanning initiatives, I ensure boards and senior leadership receive actionable, risk-based insight to support both compliance and strategic growth.

His career began on the trading floors, where he developed a deep understanding of financial instruments, capital markets, and the critical role of risk management. Since then, he has held senior global leadership roles across FCA-regulated entities, consistently providing pragmatic guidance through periods of rapid growth, regulatory change, and international expansion.

As a hands-on leader and trusted board advisor, Gavin has chaired risk and compliance committees, managed large international teams, and coached senior executives on regulatory obligations.

Siobhan Hannon

Member - APAC

Siobhan Hannon is a senior compliance and risk leader with more than 20 years of regulatory and financial‑services experience across the UK, Europe, and the Asia‑Pacific region. She currently serves as Head of Compliance and Anti‑Financial Crime at Intesa Sanpaolo, where she oversees the bank’s compliance, AML, and AFC frameworks in Australia, bringing deep expertise in governance, regulatory engagement, and cross‑border risk management.

Her career includes senior roles such as Head of Risk and Compliance at Omni Bridgeway, Head of Compliance at Scotiabank, and Head of Risk and Compliance at Mega International Commercial Bank, where she led enterprise‑wide compliance programs and supervised regulatory obligations across multiple branches. She has also held leadership positions at UBS as ANZ Head of Training and Central Compliance, and earlier compliance roles at Boronia Capital, Wellington Management, and Credit Suisse First Boston, giving her a uniquely broad perspective across banking, asset management, hedge funds, and global markets.

Siobhan holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from the University of Auckland, grounding her operational expertise in strong legal and regulatory foundations. Known for her strategic leadership and deep technical capability, she is recognised as a trusted advisor in compliance, AML, and financial‑crime risk across the region.