Lucy da Piedade

I’ve been in the Risk Management game for a long time – almost 25 years of experience spanning global financial services, risk advisory consulting, external audit and legal professional practice and have spent most of that time in senior roles in global systemically important banks. I am currently the Head of the Group Controls Office at Deutsche Bank.

What makes you a Risky Woman?

To be a good risk manager you have to be able to grasp detail and think analytically but also strategically and make high quality decisions in uncertain conditions. Its a cross functional job, you get to be “nosy” about everything, its never boring and you’re constantly exposed to the “new” – new technologies, new regulations, new risk environments – so lots to keep you on your toes.

Name your top 3 achievements

I really only have one – Balancing (imperfectly) my family and my career and keeping relatively fit and healthy along the way.

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

Deciding to take a role in Operations – which was out of my comfort zone but where I learned more about executing change and people leadership than I did at any other time in my career.

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

I speak 5 languages – Portuguese (because that is where my family hails from), German (my husband’s first language), French, Afrikaans (I grew up in South Africa and this is one of the official languages) and English (of course!).

What is the best quality for successful leaders in Risk?

Curiosity