Bill Winters
William Thomas Winters (born September 1961) is an American investment banker who has served as group chief executive of Standard Chartered plc, a British multinational bank focused on emerging markets in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, since June 2015.[1][2]
Winters began his career at JPMorgan Chase, rising to co-head of the global investment banking division by 2004, where he oversaw major deals and operations until a reported disagreement with CEO Jamie Dimon led to his departure in 2009.[3] Following a brief stint founding the hedge fund Renshaw Bay, he joined Standard Chartered amid the bank's struggles with profitability and regulatory pressures, implementing cost-cutting measures, divestitures of underperforming units, and a renewed emphasis on compliance and risk management.[2][4]
Under Winters' leadership, Standard Chartered has achieved improved financial returns and navigated geopolitical challenges in its core markets, though the bank has faced significant regulatory fines for historical lapses in anti-money laundering controls and sanctions compliance, totaling over $1 billion in 2019 alone, which Winters has publicly described as unacceptable and addressed through enhanced systems.[5][6][7] His tenure has also emphasized sustainable finance and flexibility in post-pandemic work policies, resisting strict office mandates in favor of trust-based management.[8][9]