Sireesh (above) develops and executes Microsoft strategy for risk management and compliance. Harris (below) is an enterprise risk management and compliance solutions specialist.

Microsoft’s Risk and Compliance Headed by Sireesh Globally and Harris in US

Microsoft has added two executives for varied responsibilities around risk management and compliance. Sai Sireesh Pachava is the global lead for risk management and compliance strategy and solutions. Sireesh is responsible for developing and executing Microsoft strategy to meet the risk management and compliance solutions needs of the financial sector.

Sam Harris is enterprise risk management and compliance solution specialist for Microsoft. In this role, Harris serves as an evangelist for Microsoft’s portfolio of ERMC solutions including document management and records retention, audit and controls, risk analytics and reporting, and security and privacy, which are actively used in the banking, capital markets, and insurance industries.

Sireesh was earlier the Asia-Pacific strategist for banking and capital markets at Microsoft, where he incubated several Basel II, Op Risk and Corporate Governance initiatives across the region.

Sireesh has more than 15 years of global experience across financial sector solutions, enterprise risk consulting and financial sector strategic initiatives, and has worked in North America, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and India. His earlier stints have been at a KPMG member firm, Reuters Risk Practice and short stints at Banque Nationale De Paris, BPI Investment Management and Bank of America.

Deeply passionate about financial services and risk management practices, Sireesh has been involved in the incubation of Professional Risk Manager’s International Association (PRMIA) chapters in the Asia-Pacific region and currently serves pro bono on the directors standards committee for PRMIA. He is also currently incubating the PRMIA Seattle chapter. He has also authored several articles on risk and compliance and has served as trustee director for Reuters Centenary Fund, PLC in the UK, as advisor and mentor for Stanford University’s digital vision fellowship project, and as a volunteer for the rural credit delivery prototype, for the International Institution of IT in Bangalore, India.

Harris brings both financial services and solutions experience to his role in ERMC. Prior to joining Microsoft, Harris was director, enterprise risk management at SAS where he led the US pre-sales support team and spearheaded delivery of the SAS Risk Intelligence sales strategy. He also served in product marketing and management roles for the launch of SAS’ risk management program.

Harris has extensive experience in financial services and with risk management solutions for market risk, credit risk, credit scoring, operational risk, and compliance with Basel II, Sarbanes-Oxley, and Patriot Act regulatory initiatives. Prior to joining SAS, Harris enjoyed a successful career at Wachovia Bank as a vice president with experience in both the retail and corporate banking divisions.

Haines was promoted to serve in Gain Capital’s newly created CIO role.

Haines Promoted to CIO at Gain Capital

Gain Capital Group LLC, an independent provider of foreign exchange services for institutional and individual investors, has appointed Andrew Haines as chief information officer (CIO). In this newly-created position, Haines reports to Glenn Stevens, CEO, and is a standing member of the executive management team.

As CIO, Haines is responsible for aligning IT strategy with the strategic business objectives of the company, as well as overseeing day-to-day technology operations. Specifically, Haines’ responsibilities will include all aspects of the company’s information technology, including trading and business application development, infrastructure operations, and business continuity planning. The position was created because the firm’s growth underscored the need for a “cohesive, integrated approach to technology,” according to Stevens.

Haines was most recently vice president, application development at GAIN Capital Group. He has over 20 years of experience delivering business and trading solutions for major corporations in the financial services and brokerage industries, including Merrill Lynch and Smith Barney.

Gain Capital is a Microsoft-based shop with much of its online offering geared toward Internet Explorer and Windows.

McKee will head Financial Objects’ banking division.

McKee Moves from CSC to Financial Objects

John McKee has joined Financial Objects, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, as divisional director of the com- pany’s banking division. McKee will be responsible for the strategic direction and leadership of the division, which accounts for nearly half of the company’s turnover.

McKee’s role at Financial Objects will be to retain and grow the existing customer base, which currently includes more than 75 customers using its banking solutions. He will head up the three major product lines: the ibis s2 wholesale banking system; the activebank retail banking system; and radar, the company’s operational risk management system.

McKee joins Financial Objects from CSC Computer Sciences, where he was UK sales director for the financial services operations and had assumed sales leadership of opportunities worth more than 50 million US dollars.

He has held a number of business management roles at start-up companies and has worked in several management and sales oriented roles for technology companies that include Oracle, Informix, Sybase, Continuum, Unisys and Data Logic. He started his career in the Royal Air Force.

Hughes to Lead Microsoft’s Investment Management IPSS

Andy Hughes has joined Microsoft’s Enterprise Partners Group Worldwide Financial Services team in capital markets as the worldwide industry manager, solutions, responsible for the investment management industry priority solutions scenario.

The investment management segment of capital markets represents a $4.2 billion opportunity market, and Hughes will oversee investment analytics, trade compliance, investment services and trade-floor-in-a-box technologies. He will be responsible for business strategy and solution management, partner alignment, industry analysis, community building, and sales enablement.

Hughes is a ten-year veteran of Microsoft and most recently serves as an industry business development manager in the worldwide financial services team responsible for managing global independent software vendors such as Thomson Financial, Bloomberg and Misys.

Prior to joining Microsoft, Hughes spent five years at Bloomberg Financial Markets and six years at Dow Jones Telerate in various sales and sales management roles, focused on the sale of software solutions to the investment banking and asset management community.

When he’s not taking his children to hockey, dance, soccer, scouts, basketball, drum lessons or choir practice, he himself likes to play soccer, go hiking, read or listen to music.

Birch will lead sell side marketing across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Fidessa Appoints Birch as Sell-Side Marketing Manager

Fidessa group plc, provider of the Fidessa and Fidessa LatentZero trading solutions for the sell-side and buy-side, has appointed Katy Birch as sell-side marketing manager. Reporting to Simon Barnby, global marketing communications director, Birch will be responsible for Fidessa’s sell-side marketing activities across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. She began her new role on Oct. 1 and is based in London.

Birch will focus on working with the sales and product management teams to identify key target segments and provide marketing support to drive sales growth throughout the EMEA region.

Birch has 15 years’ experience working in the financial technology sector. Her career includes senior marketing roles at Rolfe & Nolan, Monis (now part of SunGard), Future Dynamics (now part of FFastFill), Sophis and OpenLink. Birch combines expertise across all areas of product, marketing and marketing communications with solid experience in multi-asset trading and risk management systems.

Prodger to Lead Microsoft’s Advisor Platform IPSS

Prodger will help grow a segment of capital markets that represents a $1.2 billion opportunity.

Brad Prodger has joined Microsoft’s Enterprise Partners Group Worldwide Financial Services team in capital markets as the worldwide industry manager, solutions, responsible for the Advisor Platform industry priority solutions scenario.

Prodger will be responsible for driving Advisor Platform and related industry initiatives, helping to grow revenue and market adoption in a segment of capital markets that represents a $1.2 billion opportunity. His work will include business strategy and solution management, partner alignment, industry analysis, community building, and sales enablement. His role will also leverage his extensive experience engaging with the US Financial Services Group, the developer and platform evangelism team and the product groups.

Prodger has more than 20 years of experience across capital markets, banking and insurance, and comes to the Worldwide Capital Markets team from the US Financial Services Group where he was most recently a solution specialist.

Prior to joining Microsoft, Prodger was the managing director of sales at NorthStar Systems International, focused on front-office advisor portal and integration technologies. He was also a business development manager at Advent Software.

Prodger has a keen interest in running, mountain biking, volleyball, fishing and a love for classic British sports cars.