People Moves
Another Former Regulator Goes Private

In another example of a former regulator turning “poacher” after being “gamekeeper”, UK investment firm Schroders announced that Sheila Nicoll has taken up the newly-created job of head of public policy.
In another example of a former regulator turning “poacher” after
being “gamekeeper”, UK investment firm Schroders announced that
Sheila Nicoll has taken up the newly-created job of head of
public policy.
In this role, she reports to Massimo Tosato, executive vice
chairman of Schroders, the UK-listed firm said in a statement
today.
Sheila was previously Senior Advisor at EY, focused on the asset
management sector and was director, conduct policy at the
Financial Services Authority between 2009 and 2013, having joined
the FSA as director, retail firms division in 2007.
“Schroders has been a long-term supporter of meaningful
regulation, acknowledging the role it plays in improving trust,
protecting the customer and enhancing market stability.
“In creating this new role of Head of Public Policy, we want to
enhance our engagement with regulatory change globally to promote
the best outcome for our clients and the firm,” Tosato said.
The most high-profile person, arguably, to have taken on a role
at a bank after having left a watchdog is that of Hector Sants,
head of the FSA during the financial crisis period, joining
Barclays in January 2013, only to leave late last year after
taking sick leave for stress.
Other moves from watchdogs to private sector includes that of
Jeremy Heales, who had been head of retail banks at the Financial
Conduct Authority, joining advisory firm Alvarez & Marsal about a
fortnight ago. In the US, Mary Schapiro, the former chairman of
the Securities and Exchange Commission, has gone to Promontory
Financial Group. Such moves have prompted concerns in the media
and elsewhere of a revolving door between regulators and private
sector, to the detriment of both, although it can be argued that
without hands-on experience in the private sector, it is
difficult to see how regulators can perform well. There are also
questions about whether, even after measures to curb bank
bonuses, regulators can easily match the pay of the private
sector.