Compliance isn’t a box to tick, it’s a competitive advantage. In this special episode, Jennifer Geary is joined by her co-author Natalie McManus to bring to life their new book, How to be a Chief Compliance Officer: Turning Compliance into Competitive Advantage.
Drawing on Natalie’s eclectic career spanning regulation, financial services, and aviation, and her deep conviction that compliance is rooted in social good, this conversation unpacks the philosophy, the framework, and the passion behind the book. From the Compliance 365 model to the art of being heard in the boardroom, this is a masterclass in what modern compliance leadership really looks like.
You’ll learn how to:
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See compliance as a strategic enabler, not a retrospective enforcer
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Apply the Compliance 365 model: three lenses, six spokes, five pillars
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Make the case for compliance investment in the language of the CFO
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Build a compliance function that is forward-looking, agile, and outcome-based
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Bring flair, conviction, and social purpose to the CCO role
About Natalie McManus:
Natalie McManus is Managing Director of Innovate Compliance, a compliance and risk thought leadership consultancy, and Head of Impact Consulting’s IC Insights publication. She is a former Compliance Chief of Staff at Citibank and ex-regulator at the Financial Conduct Authority, and has held compliance and risk leadership roles across financial services and aviation in the UK, EMEA, and globally.
Natalie is a NED at the Institute of Employment Studies, a Fellow of the ACCA and the International Compliance Association, and holds a BA in PPP (Hons) from the University of Oxford, with further degrees in law and applied accounting. She is the co-author of How to be a Chief Compliance Officer: Turning Compliance into Competitive Advantage, Book Six in the C-Suite Framework series.
Chapters:
00:37 — Introducing the book and Natalie McManus
02:09 — Natalie’s career: regulation, aviation, and reinvention
08:00 — Why Jennifer and Natalie felt like kindred spirits
10:55 — The eureka moment: AI exposed compliance’s broken foundations
12:22 — How the book came together: blending technical and leadership lenses
15:15 — Who the book is really for, and why it surprised its authors
16:07 — The Compliance Trinity: culture, conduct, and control
17:02 — The 365 model: an uncommon way to anchor compliance in organisational DNA
21:32 — Breaking down the 365: three lenses, six spokes (IMPACT), five pillars
30:44 — Advisory as the beating heart of the CCO role
36:38 — Flair, conviction, and the art vs. science of compliance
40:42 — Compliance as social good and the licence to operate
42:26 — Reflections on collaboration, creativity, and what comes next
Resources & Links:
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C-Suite Framework courses & books: https://csuiteframework.co.uk/
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Natalie’s consultancy: http://www.innovatecompliance.co.uk
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