The Power of Collective Ambition
At Armstrong Wolfe, we bring together the global COO community in financial services to tackle shared, non-proprietary challenges that shape the industry.
Through our flagship initiatives – the International COO Community (iCOOC) and Women in the COO Community (WCOOC) – we deliver exclusive corporate membership programs designed to foster collaboration, innovation, and leadership within this critical professional network.
As a trusted partner, we facilitate high-quality, engaging discussions among our members, enabling meaningful peer-to-peer exchanges in a confidential environment governed by the Chatham House Rule. These conversations are enriched by insights from our industry advisors, alliance partners, and a global network of alumni.
The value lies in our unique ability to connect COOs across the financial services ecosystem, empowering them to share knowledge, navigate challenges, and drive meaningful change together.
An Overview of our Programme
Our programme facilitates meaningful, high-quality engagement among senior leaders in the financial services industry through curated discussions in intimate settings. These take place during exclusive dinners, breakfasts, or online forums, offering unparalleled opportunities to connect with influential decision-makers, thought leaders, and their deputies.
Round Table Discussions: At the heart of our programme are round table discussions tailored for:
- Chief Operating Officers (COOs)
- Chief Control Officers (CCOs)
- The COO to the Chief Risk Officer
- Heads of Compliance and Operational Risk
These discussions, driven by the community, delve into a diverse range of topics, including:
- Operational Resilience
- Non-Financial Risk
- AI and Innovation
- Managing Change and Transformation
- Regulatory Adoption and Risk Management
- Conduct and Culture
- Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I)
- Talent Development
Focused Formats for Immediate Impact: In addition to round table sessions, we offer bespoke formats to address specific challenges and opportunities:
- Cluster Calls: Small, focused groups of 4–6 members collaborate on narrowly defined challenges or specialized topics.
- Broader Industry Debates: Larger forums bring together a cross-section of industry professionals to explore topics of shared interest and broader significance.
Our programme is designed to foster collaboration, spark innovation, and drive actionable insights, ensuring every discussion delivers value to our members and their organizations.
Membership
As a member of the iCOOC community, senior executives gain exclusive access to our roundtable discussions and the opportunity to host events on the iCOOC calendar. These interactions are conducted under Chatham House Rule, fostering a secure and trusted environment for open, candid conversations.
Our discussions are designed to:
- Deliver deep analysis and actionable insights
- Explore key considerations and innovative solutions
- Facilitate meaningful dialogue and debate across the COO community
Through iCOOC and our other forums, members can tap into a unique network of industry leaders, creating opportunities to collaborate on shared challenges and shape the future of the financial services industry.
The collective expertise of the community is pivotal in addressing some of the most pressing issues facing COOs today, including:
- Emerging Technologies: Crypto, Blockchain, Quantum Computing, and AI
- Regulatory Landscape
- Geopolitical Risk Management
- Operational Resilience
As a member, you’re not just part of a network – you’re contributing to the development of effective, cross-industry solutions and driving meaningful change.
Participation Benefits
Membership provides a wide range of opportunities to engage with the iCOOC community and shape its direction. These benefits include, but are not limited to:
1. Engage in Events
- Attend exclusive programs such as roundtable dinners, online forums, and working groups.
- Take on active roles in events, including serving as a panellist, facilitator, or judge as opportunities arise.
2. Drive the Community Agenda
- Participate in steering committees to influence and drive the agenda of the COO community.
- Host iCOOC program events to highlight your company’s brand, showcase thought leadership and extend hospitality to peers.
3. Foster Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing
- Provide thought leadership and insights, contributing your expertise to the broader COO community.
- Request Cluster Calls to spark vibrant discussions, exchange best practices, and explore topics of mutual interest with your peer network.
- Share articles, research, or other content through platforms like the Armstrong Wolfe COO Magazine, amplifying your voice within the industry.
4. Champion Diversity and Inclusion
- Actively support initiatives such as Women in the COO Community (WCOOC) and Ad Centrum, fostering greater diversity and inclusion within the financial services sector.
By participating, members not only enrich their own professional development but also contribute to the growth, innovation, and resilience of the global COO community.
Pricing
iCOOC Membership operates on an annual agreement.
It runs from January to December, however this can be tailored to meet your organisation’s needs on a global or regional basis.
Membership benefits are extended to all qualified employees within the member firm, ensuring your team has access to unparalleled opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and leadership development.
To learn more about our pricing structure and how Armstrong Wolfe can support your goals, please contact us at .
Armstrong Wolfe Forums & Events 2025
In 2025, we are proud to offer our members an extensive program of over 100 events, comprising 60+ in-person gatherings and 40+ online sessions.
We recognise the growing importance of online engagement in today’s business landscape, enabling us to connect our global community in real time for meaningful discussions. However, we firmly believe that in-person events remain the cornerstone of our community, fostering deeper connections, collaboration, and impactful engagement.
For more information about our membership or events program, please contact:
Banking: Maurice Evlyn-Bufton, CEO
Asset and Wealth Management: Terry Yodaiken, CAO
We look forward to welcoming you to Armstrong Wolfe in 2025 and helping you become an active part of our thriving global community.
Gary Simpson
COO, Global Markets, ICBC Standard Bank
“Armstrong Wolfe has uniquely positioned itself as an effective conduit for the COO community to agree, discuss and take proactive measures to address the key themes and challenges facing the financial sector, both planned and unforeseen. By combining peer knowledge and perspectives with deep SMEs and solution providers, AW forums and events provide invaluable support to sell and buy side COOs.”
Cynthia Nestle
Former Americas COO and Global CAO, DWS
“Armstrong Wolfe’s knowledge and understanding of the asset management industry and the issues it faces is impressive, along with their ability to mobilize speakers to address topics of interest, create conversations and provide actionable advice. This has been particularly helpful during COVID, when understanding what the industry is doing is critical to operating a business during a crisis.”
Summer Hinton
Former Global COO, Capital Markets, Bank of Montreal
“Armstrong Wolfe continues to deliver high-value and provide deep insights, covering our current environment and providing a future-focused outlook on tomorrow’s opportunities. Our membership has been a powerful benefit that has enriched our entire team.”
Iain Heeps
UK COO & Deputy UK CEO, BNP Paribas Asset Management
“Armstrong Wolfe provide a fantastic forum for COOs – and other C-suite roles – to share, learn, debate, and develop as a community. Their intellectual promptings, with which the AW team seed debates and discussions, have helped me to develop and grow and to make connections with peers across my industry.”
Mark Price
Joint Chief of Staff, CIB + Regional Head, Markets, Africa & Middle East, Standard Chartered Bank
“Having been a COO in Markets for most of the last 20 years, Maurice and AW have been a key driver of providing definition and understanding of the ambiguous role the COO plays. More importantly, he has successfully created a sense of community (in particular through WCOOC) that has sped up the continued professionalisation of the COO role. Since meeting him at the very first Markets COO breakfast roundtable, through to discussing my recent shift into the business, his insight and perspective have been a big help to me and I’m sure to many other COO’s over the years.”
Khadeeja Bassier
Global COO, Ninety One
“I am not an easy convert when it comes to communities of this nature. My departure point is always scepticism. From our first meeting, the enthusiasm with which Maurice spoke of the initiative together will his experience piqued my interest. The depth of immersion in the topic and importance of connectivity doesn’t stop with Maurice – the combined Armstrong Wolfe team are all a pleasure to deal with. The value I see in Armstrong Wolfe’s iCOOC is the commitment of the team to foster genuine, collaborative engagements…”
Steven Kiker
Group Chief Controls Officer,Wells Fargo
“Maurice and the team at Armstrong Wolfe have been a great resource for our COO team at Wells Fargo. Their insight into critical issues that impact the COO community is invaluable and their ability to create a vast network of like-minded professionals across the financial services industry is something that our team finds great value in.”
David Sharratt
Global Head Data Product Commercialisation, Standard Chartered
“Congratulations on your continued success and progressive evolution. For many years you have added value to the FS COO community, and I have witnessed your transition into a purpose-focused enterprise. The COO community benefits from the support, innovation and thought leadership Armstrong Wolfe brings to it, with the 2022 COO Compendium being another example of demonstrating your deep rooted understanding of this largely misunderstood function. Well done!”
Loretta Marcoccia
EVP, Group Head, Global Operations, Scotiabank
At Scotiabank, we appreciate the work that Armstrong Wolfe has done to advance a shared understanding of the COO office across financial services, build awareness of the intersection of conduct, culture, purpose in an organization and to drive connection and collaboration across the global COO community.”
Chris Dickens
Head of Non Financial Risk MSS | HSBC
“Armstrong Wolfe demonstrates a deep understanding of the roles that COOs play within Banking. It leverages this understanding to bring together the COO community, where we can benefit through interaction on shared priority topics.”
Jason Hope
Global Head of Non-Financial Risk, Macquarie Commodities & Global Markets
“More than a decade ago Armstrong Wolfe were the pioneers of bringing the global banking COO/CCO community together to discuss topical and emerging issues. As a result, they and their network are at the forefront of thought leadership in this space.”
Harry Toukalas
Co-Founder & CEO, Swarm Dynamics
“Armstrong Wolfe’s unique integration of conduct, culture, purpose and CSR with a focus on the financial services COO community is both timely and necessary. They also have a great global network for delivering on this, which means COOs, CCOs, CROs and CHROs get to see practical solutions that really work”
Pascale Moreau
“Under Maurice Evlyn-Buftons’ leadership, Armstrong Wolfe offers a broad view of market activities through the COO angle, looking at the strategic day-to-day actions that enable financial markets to function. It offers key insights from major market players on new trends and technologies, as well as interesting pointers for business development and transformations. Armstrong Wolfe’s Women in the COO Community (WCOOC) initiative actively engages with women in leadership and disruptive subjects linked to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Definitely a must have when belonging to the COO community.”
