Sierra T. Ware
Adel
Summary
Dynamic compliance and operational risk leader with a proven track record at Wells Fargo, driving a 20% reduction in risk incidents through strategic risk management and cross-functional collaboration. Expert in regulatory compliance and stakeholder engagement, leveraging advanced data analytics tools like Tableau and Power BI to enhance decision-making and operational resilience.
Overview
15
15
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Lead Compliance and Operational Risk Officer, VP
Wells Fargo, Corporate Risk
08.2022 - Current
- Lead targeted compliance and operational risk reviews to proactively identify emerging issues, formulate mitigation strategies, and present actionable insights to senior stakeholders - driving cross-functional consensus, accelerating decision making, and strengthening enterprise risk posture.
- Direct a high-visibility workstream and a 10-member team to operationalize Risk and Control Self-Assessment (RCSA) policy requirements, close systemic policy gaps, and deploy updated RCSA methodologies and best-practice standards – elevating the enterprise risk posture and supporting the and closing policy gaps, resulting in enhanced RCSA methodologies, stronger control effectiveness, and improved enterprise readiness for regulatory examinations.
- Direct a cross-functional workstream, partnering with senior stakeholders to influence enterprise risk ratings, drive corrective action plans, and implement organization-wide strategies that ensure timely delivery of regulatory commitments.
- Develop and implement comprehensive conduct management strategies, leveraging specialized expertise in Insider Threat Risk, Information Security Risk, Information Management Risk, Fraud Risk, and other related risks across the enterprise, resulting in a 20% reduction in risk incidents and enhanced overall security posture.
- Lead rigorous root cause analysis of operational loss events (valued at $200k to multi-million dollars) and deployed corrective controls that significantly reduced recurrence risk, mitigated future financial exposure, and reinforced long-term operational resilience.
- Act as a cross-domain operational risk expert – spanning fraud, insider threat, information security, information management, and transaction-processing execution- to identify emerging risks, influence control enhancements, and reduce enterprise loss exposure by strengthening risk visibility and governance.
- Collaborate with key stakeholders, data analytics, and technology teams to design and deploy enterprise risk dashboards, metrics, and reporting mechanism – enabling improved risk visibility, enhanced thematic analysis, strengthened actionable insights for senior leadership decision-making, and improved accuracy and timeliness of regulatory reporting across the organization.
- Conduct comprehensive reviews of risk assessments to validate accuracy and completeness, identify emerging trends and systemic issues, and escalate critical insights to senior stakeholders to strengthen risk posture, inform decision-making and drive timely remediation.
- Continuously monitor emerging industry trends, regulatory changes, and risk management best practices to proactively inform enterprise risk strategies, strengthen control environments, and ensure alignment with evolving compliance expectations.
- Strategically modernize and assess the effectiveness of enterprise risk KRI/KPI frameworks and performance metrics leveraging data-driven insights to identify emerging trends, strengthen control environments, and recalibrate measures to improve risk transparency, decision making quality, and overall organization resilience.
- Strategically modernize and assess the effectiveness of enterprise risk KRI/KPI frameworks and performance metrics leveraging data-driven insights to identify emerging trends, strengthen control environments, and recalibrate measures to improve risk transparency, decision making quality, and overall organization resilience.
Lead Control Management Officer, VP
Wells Fargo, Corporate Risk
06.2021 - 08.2022
- Proactively identified and mitigated risks, integrating with business and risk processes to mature the control environment, resulting in a 30% improvement in risk management effectiveness and a 25% reduction in operational losses.
- Successfully executed risk transformation deliverables by translating RCSA results into actionable initiatives and activities, leading to a 20% improvement in the business's risk environment and a 15% reduction in identified risk exposures.
- Successfully facilitated the on-time and high-quality completion of Risk Transformation deliverables, including Risk and Control Self-Assessment (RCSA) and Internal Control Policy uplift for Model/EUCT Risk and Strategy, Planning, and Governance (SPG), resulting in a 15% improvement in compliance adherence and a 10% reduction in audit findings.
- Enhanced the quality of control design and documentation, ensuring alignment with Internal Control Policy standards, which resulted in a 20% improvement in audit compliance and a 15% reduction in control deficiencies.
- Proactively identified and escalated issues raised through RCSA and horizontal/emerging risk analysis, including Operational Risk Events (OREs), Business Level Scenario Analysis, and Key Risk Indicators (KRIs), ensuring timely remediation and a 15% reduction in risk exposure.
- Ensured effective and consistent execution of the Risk Management Framework, building Front Line Risk Mitigation capabilities and ownership. Coordinated issue analysis, thematic reviews, and remediation activities across businesses and functions, resulting in a 20% improvement in risk management effectiveness and a 15% reduction in recurring issues.
- Fostered a culture of horizontal thinking and collaboration, ensuring regulatory commitments were consistently met, and driving a 20% increase in cross-functional team efficiency.
- Engaged with key stakeholders to assess the effectiveness of risk mitigation strategies and identify opportunities for enhancement, resulting in a 15% improvement in risk mitigation effectiveness and a 10% increase in stakeholder collaboration.
Compliance Senior Associate, AVP
Wells Fargo, Consumer and Small Business Banking
06.2014 - 06.2021
- Evaluated the effectiveness of business programs in alignment with the Enterprise Compliance Program Policy and Regulatory Change Management Policy, resulting in a 15% improvement in compliance adherence and a 10% reduction in regulatory breaches.
- Assessed Major Compliance Requirements and mitigating controls to ensure compliance with regulations, resulting in a 15% improvement in regulatory adherence and a 10% reduction in compliance-related incidents.
- Monitored newly enacted, finalized, and modified laws and regulations, effectively communicating potentially actionable regulations to the line of business, resulting in a 10% improvement in regulatory compliance and timely adaptation to new legal requirements.
- Reviewed business products, services, activities, and risk profiles to assess the impact of newly enacted, finalized, and modified laws and regulations on the line of business, resulting in a 10% improvement in regulatory compliance and timely adaptation to new legal requirements.
- Identified gaps and opportunities in Enterprise Regulatory Change Management policies, procedures, reporting, and systems, recommending solutions that effectively mitigated risks, resulting in a 15% improvement in regulatory compliance and a 10% reduction in compliance-related incidents.
- Executed compliance program elements to identify and mitigate risks in business activities, achieving a 15% reduction in compliance-related incidents.
- Advised on regulatory compliance and risk management, effectively challenging assessments to enhance compliance adherence by 15% and reduce incidents by 10%.
- Oversaw governance for CSBB operations, including deposit products and branch systems, enhancing operational efficiency by 15% and increasing customer satisfaction by 10%.
- Utilized subject matter expertise to consult and provide guidance on all banking regulations, including SCRA/MLA, BSA, AML, Reg D, Reg DD, Reg CC, Reg E, UDAAP, RSNIP, CRA, FCRA, Privacy, Reg Z, and others, resulting in a 15% improvement in regulatory compliance and a 10% reduction in compliance-related incidents.
- Supported all products owned, delivered, or supported by CSBB, ensuring seamless integration and alignment with business objectives, resulting in a 10% increase in operational efficiency and a 15% improvement in customer satisfaction.
- Provided strategic oversight and governance for CSBB, encompassing Deposit Products, Branch Support, Marketing, and Small Business Banking functions, resulting in a 15% improvement in operational efficiency and a 10% increase in customer satisfaction.
- Offered expert consultation on banking regulations and ensured compliance across all products and services offered by CSBB, resulting in a 15% improvement in regulatory adherence and a 10% reduction in compliance-related incidents.
- Evaluated the effectiveness of business programs in alignment with the Enterprise Compliance Program Policy, ensuring adherence to regulatory requirements and industry best practices, resulting in a 15% improvement in compliance adherence and a 10% reduction in regulatory breaches.
- Kept abreast of new laws and regulations impacting the financial industry, analyzing their implications on business lines and facilitating necessary adjustments to maintain compliance, resulting in a 15% improvement in regulatory adherence and a 10% reduction in compliance-related incidents.
Operational Risk Consultant, AVP
Wells Fargo, Consumer Lending
07.2012 - 06.2014
- Conducted comprehensive operational risk assessments of change management activities, including third-party change management, to identify and mitigate risks in business operations. Successfully implemented risk mitigation strategies that resulted in a 20% reduction in operational risk incidents and enhanced overall business resilience.
- Actively participated in and supported high-risk projects and initiatives, providing expert consultation on operational risk mitigation strategies. Successfully identified and mitigated potential risks, contributing to a 25% reduction in operational risk incidents and enhancing overall project outcomes.
- Identified and assessed operational, litigation, regulatory, and reputational risks for new and existing processes and controls. Successfully implemented risk mitigation strategies that resulted in a 15% reduction in risk incidents and enhanced overall compliance and operational efficiency.
- Conducted thorough operational risk assessments for customer impact issues, including detailed root cause analysis and the development of effective risk mitigation solutions. Successfully implemented these solutions, resulting in a 20% reduction in customer impact incidents and enhanced overall customer satisfaction.
- Developed testing strategies and methodologies to assess control effectiveness, identifying and mitigating control weaknesses, resulting in a 15% improvement in control effectiveness.
- Provided expert operational risk consulting for action plans related to non-compliance findings and issues management. Successfully developed and validated corrective action plans, resulting in a 20% reduction in non-compliance incidents and enhanced overall issue resolution effectiveness.
- Evaluated the adequacy and effectiveness of policies, procedures, processes, initiatives, products, and internal controls. Successfully identified and addressed control weaknesses, resulting in a 15% improvement in control effectiveness and enhanced overall operational efficiency.
- Conducted self-assurance activities to confirm business processes and controls were operating as designed, identifying and addressing control weaknesses, resulting in a 15% improvement in control effectiveness.
- Monitored process, control, and risk metrics, exception reporting, and customer complaint data to identify compliance risks, emerging risks, trends, and control gaps. Successfully presented findings to business leadership, resulting in a 20% reduction in compliance risks and enhanced overall risk management effectiveness.
- Coordinated the production of periodic operational risk performance reports for senior management, including comprehensive trend analysis and actionable recommendations to mitigate risk. Successfully identified and addressed emerging risks, resulting in a 20% reduction in operational risk incidents and enhanced overall risk management effectiveness.
- Mentored less experienced consultants in operational risk assessment and mitigation strategies, guiding them in risk identification and mitigation, contributing to a 15% improvement in team performance.
Quality Monitor
Wells Fargo, Consumer Lending
09.2010 - 07.2012
- Provided comprehensive risk oversight for the Complaints Management Program within Consumer Lending Operations, including third-party risk management. Ensured strict adherence to the Complaints Management Policy, resulting in a 20% reduction in compliance-related incidents and enhanced overall operational efficiency.
- Collaborated with complaints case owners and senior management to execute Complaints Management Policy requirements and promptly remediate issues, addressing and resolving complaints to realize a 15% improvement in compliance adherence.
- Conducted investigative research to assess regulatory risk using multiple internal systems to analyze complex complaints, identifying and mitigating regulatory risks, resulting in a 15% reduction in compliance-related incidents.
- Reviewed investigative findings, drafting recommendations and corrective action plans to mitigate identified risks, implementing these plans to achieve a 15% reduction in risk incidents.
- Developed and implemented comprehensive testing strategies and methodologies to evaluate the adequacy and effectiveness of policies, procedures, processes, and internal controls. Successfully identified and addressed control weaknesses, resulting in a 15% improvement in control effectiveness and enhanced overall operational efficiency.
- Oversaw team member compliance with home preservation regulatory requirements and enterprise standards. Successfully ensured adherence to regulations, resulting in a 15% improvement in compliance adherence and enhanced overall operational efficiency.
Education
Bachelor of Arts - Business Management
William Penn University
Des Moines, IASkills
- Regulatory compliance
- Risk management
- Risk assessment
- Operational resilience
- Cross-functional collaboration
- Stakeholder engagement
- Strategic thinking
- Root cause analysis
- Tableau
- Power BI
- Archer
- ServiceNow
- SharePoint
- Microsoft Office Suite
- Python
- Gemini
- Copilot
- Root cause analysis
Certification
- Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager (CRCM), Active, 11/01/20
- Six Sigma, 01/01/21
Timeline
Lead Compliance and Operational Risk Officer, VP
Wells Fargo, Corporate Risk
08.2022 - Current
Lead Control Management Officer, VP
Wells Fargo, Corporate Risk
06.2021 - 08.2022
Compliance Senior Associate, AVP
Wells Fargo, Consumer and Small Business Banking
06.2014 - 06.2021
Operational Risk Consultant, AVP
Wells Fargo, Consumer Lending
07.2012 - 06.2014
Quality Monitor
Wells Fargo, Consumer Lending
09.2010 - 07.2012
Bachelor of Arts - Business Management
William Penn University