Women in the COO Community

WCOOC

Supporting, empowering & inspiring the female leadership of tomorrow

Established in 2016, Armstrong Wolfe’s Women in the COO Community (WCOOC) initiative is now globally recognised across major financial hubs, including New York, Toronto, London, Paris, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

WCOOC is dedicated to championing the advancement of women in financial services, with a focus on nurturing the leadership of tomorrow—those who will drive the industry forward into the future.

What We Do

WCOOC brings together members of our global COO network to collaborate, share insights, and provide guidance on topics related to career management and professional growth.

Our initiative features:

  • Podcasts, Articles, and Interviews: Showcasing stories, strategies, and advice from inspirational leaders.
  • Engaging Events: Hosting speakers from both within and outside the financial services industry to inspire and inform.
  • Cross-Level Participation: Open to individuals at all stages of their career, fostering inclusivity and collective growth.

WCOOC is led by industry professionals and supported by regional steering groups, ensuring timely, relevant, and forward-thinking content that resonates across the globe.

Our Mission

  • Inspire Tomorrow’s Female Leaders: Empowering women in financial services to embrace ambition without limits.
  • Educate Peers: Highlighting business management and the COO role as aspirational career paths.
  • Promote Cross-Industry Dialogue: Offering a platform for debate and collaboration to address shared challenges.

Join us as we continue to support, empower, and inspire the female leaders who will shape the future of financial services.

WCOOC Leadership Team

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Emma Prophet

Global Chair

Emma Prophet is Group Head of Operations at TP ICAP and their EMEA Business Sponsor for Diversity and Inclusion Network groups.  Emma joined TP ICAP following 15 years at Morgan Stanley, where she was a Managing Director and held various leadership roles across Clearing, Data and Securities Operations based in London, Glasgow, Singapore and New York.

Prior to her time at Morgan Stanley, Emma started as a consultant working with various Financial Services firms and then spent 5 years as Project Manager delivering cross-functional change at Barclays Capital.

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Stiofan De Burca

Deputy Chair

Stiofan is a highly motivated, self-starter by nature who fosters collaborative approach in determining most effective way forward in balancing a change agenda with significant growth targets with the need to build an effective and scalable controls and infrastructure environment to support it.

He has worked in the Financial Services Industry for over 20 years across EMEA, APAC and Americas and is a qualified accountant who has leveraged his skills in the charity sector as well in a range of activities in the UK and Africa.

Confidence Clusters

To support our executive female COO community members, we provide Confidence Clusters. Each cluster of six managing director COOs remains the same over a 12-month period, meeting every quarter for a 60-minute on-line exchange. This safe space allows our female members to engage with a peer group with confidence and in-confidence on common challenges.

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How does this work?

Frequency: The group meets once every quarter.

Confidentiality: Discussions are held in a safe space under the Chatham House Rule, ensuring privacy.

Commitment: The same six members will participate for a full year, promoting continuity.

Duration and Agenda: Each meeting lasts 60 minutes, with topics submitted in advance or raised spontaneously.

Scheduling: Meetings for the upcoming year are confirmed week 1 January.

Support: Armstrong Wolfe will manage logistics and documentation, including noting action points and providing feedback to the WCOOC Chair.

WCOOC Steering Group

North America

Andres Oranges
COO Finance
Societe Generale

Kay Lazidis
SVP, COO, U.S. Global Banking & Markets
Scotiabank

Rhiannon Wakefield
COO, Americas
TP ICAP

Caitlin Behrens
COO, Americas
Standard Chartered Bank

Susie Roberts
Managing Director, Chief of Staff for Global Fixed Income & Currencies

EMEA

Yvonne Waldron
Director – Treasury Services Global Business Change Lead and EMEA CAO
BNY Mellon

Sophie Rutherford
MD, EMEA Head of FX Business Risk
State Street

Emma Prophet
Global Head of Operations
TP ICAP

Fahreen Kurji
Chief Customer Intelligence Officer
Behavox

Natalie Golding
COO
Payment Systems Regulator

Anna Chadderton
Head of International FICC Operations
Goldman Sachs

Thomas Snowden
Director, Strategic Projects
EMEA Executive Team
BlackRock

APAC

Fatema Bookwala
MD and COO Markets and Securities Services ASEAN
HSBC

Katy Matvey
Former APAC COO
Wells Fargo

Dawn Tan
APAC Head of Operations
TP ICAP

Stiofan De Burca
Chief Financial Officer
JP Morgan Asset Management

“I am excited to be a part of the WCOOC Steering Group as the work of the WCOOC is important to continue to connect and advance the women in the global COO Community.”

Katy Matvey Former APAC COO Wells Fargo

WCOOC Testimonials

Armstrong Wolfe Forums & Events 2025

In 2025, we are proud to offer our members an extensive program of 100 events, comprising 61 in-person gatherings and 39 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.

Recent WCOOC Content

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Armstrong Wolfe are proud signatories of the Women in Finance Charter.

Despite being called ‘Women in the COO Community’, our mission is to promote all talent regardless of gender, race or socioeconomic background to leadership positions, and we are appreciative of the fact that best practice and true change must be a holistic effort and involve all members of the community.

To improve D&I in the workplace, we have a strong board of ambassadors who contribute to our purpose of providing opportunities and the cause of leadership for all women and underrepresented groups across financial services.

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Contact:
+44 (0) 203 664 8863
(London, UK)

Hours of business:
08:30 am to 17:30 GMT
(Monday – Friday)

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