Chris Faherty and Megan O'Donnell-Lace join KordaMentha

KordaMentha has boosted its capabilities in the area of anti-money laundering and terrorism financing with the additions of Chris Faherty and Megan O’Donnell-Lace to its Financial Crime practice.

Chris Faherty, a senior leader who has helped organisations navigate financial crime risks across four continents, joins as partner, while Megan O’Donnell-Lace, a financial services industry expert with senior bank experience, arrives as executive director. The pair operate out of Auckland and Melbourne.

Alice Saveneh-Murray, Head of KordaMentha’s Financial Crime practice, said that the move to grow the practice comes in response to rising demands of clients aligned to governments’ evolving anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regimes. “Chris and Megan will enhance our capability to serve the trans-Tasman market.”

Faherty works with clients to design and implement fit-for purpose financial crime frameworks. He helps organisations improve operational performance, conduct independent audits, devise effective remediation plans and build and assess control environments.

He joins KordaMentha from TSB Bank in New Zealand, where he was Head of Compliance and Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer. Before that, he spent nearly a decade at EY, where he led the firm’s Forensic & Integrity Services practice in New Zealand.

O’Donnell-Lace has previously held several leadership roles across her 20-year career in financial services, including serving as Head of Group Compliance Strategy at ANZ, where she spent nine years. Prior to ANZ, she was a partner at Adaptive Business Consulting in South Africa, and a Senior Portfolio Manager at Barclays in Africa.

Last year, KordaMentha was named one of Australia’s leading consulting firms by Consultancy.org.