Jennifer Shasky Calvery is the global head of Financial Crime at HSBC and is an experienced global executive with a demonstrated history of achievement in the legal profession , as a regulator and as a compliance professional in financial services , advocating as well as delivering greater transparency and integrity . She has deployed both strategic vision and execution while navigating sensitive geopolitical issues , managing crises and influencing policy . Calvery likes using data-derived insight and partnerships across organizations and focusing on excellence as well as innovation to inspire change for the better . Prior to joining HSBC , Calvery worked as director of the U . S . Department of the Treasury ’ s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network ( FinCEN ), where she held a CEO-equivalent role at the helm of the U . S . government ’ s lead regulatory agency for anti-money laundering / counter-terrorist financing ( AML / CTF ).
ACAMS Today ( AT ): Having worked for the public and now the private sector , what is necessary for a more effective partnership between the government and financial institutions ( FIs )?
Jennifer Shasky Calvery ( JSC ): At the end of the day , we ’ re in a people business . You need to build trust between the public and private sectors . This trust is developed through spending time with each other and discussing what is going well , what is not going well and the challenges we both face . The next step is working through those challenges by starting small and then building on success . Every time I have seen the public and private sectors start small — sometimes from a place of distrust — they usually get to a place of greater trust and are willing to try riskier things together . This all comes from spending that time together and being open-minded . You need people from both the public and private sectors who are willing to come to the table . If you have willingness from both sides , then things rapidly move forward .
AT : To expand on the partnership question , how important are partnerships within the public sector ?
JSC : Partnerships within the public sector are incredibly important . Different organizations in the government have different roles to play in trying to keep the financial system safe , and if they are not working together , they are not going to be optimized . Also , if they are working against each other , the outcomes could be worse . Again , it is all about building trust . One of the things about people who serve in the government is that most of them are driven to make an impact for good . This is one of the reasons they serve in the public sector . I suggest aligning around their common purpose of making an impact for good and then extracting what each government organization brings to the table . Then showing everyone how working together will make an impact , both individually and collectively . This usually motivates people .
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