Christina Rea

Christina Rea is the Founder & CEO of RayCor Consulting, a leading compliance advisory firm for fintech and AI companies. She helps startups, banks, and law firms build scalable, exam-ready programs, and is known for transforming ambiguity into action across regulatory risk, licensing, AI governance, and financial crime compliance.

What makes you a Risky Woman?

I lead where rules don’t yet exist, guiding fintechs, AI companies, and sponsor banks through regulatory uncertainty, financial crime exposure, and frontier risk. I bring fearless oversight, strategic clarity, and lived resilience to high-stakes environments. I don’t just manage risk; I help reshape how the next generation navigates it.

Name your top 3 achievements

1. Built a respected compliance advisory firm from scratch, becoming a trusted partner to high-growth fintechs, AI startups, law firms, and sponsor banks.
2. Created a pioneering AI governance framework now shaping how compliance leaders oversee agentic decision-making and frontier risk.
3. Featured nationally as a speaker and thought leader on crypto, AI, and financial crime, including past leadership as CCO of Binance.US.

What is the biggest risk you’ve taken in your career?

I walked away from stability and credibility in traditional law and compliance circles to build something entirely my own after a particularly traumatic point in my life. With no safety net, I launched a consultancy in a high-stakes industry as an outsider and survivor, betting on my vision, voice, and values to lead in spaces few women do.

What’s something most people don’t know about you?

I live with cPTSD and PMDD, and built my business while managing both. My edge as a risk leader comes from surviving systems I now help others navigate.

What is the best quality for successful leaders in Risk?

The ability to make clear, ethical decisions under pressure while anticipating unintended consequences. Great risk leaders balance conviction, curiosity, and the courage to say no.