How Majella Walsh, VP at Scotiabank, Champions Learning and Leadership in Global Compliance

By Sarah Walker

You wouldn’t think that postgraduate study in Alternative Dispute Resolution would lead someone to the heart of global banking, but that’s what happened to Majella Walsh. When she left Ireland for London to pursue her master’s degree, she didn’t realize that the skills she was developing in “how to build consensus through negotiation and collaboration” would later become crucial to her career.

Today, Majella is Scotiabank’s Chief Compliance Officer for Europe and Global Head of Capital Markets Compliance – a title that means she impacts how people think about, interact with, and understand the world of compliance.

Majella notes the central and critical role that compliance plays in the world of finance. “I see our field as sitting at the heart of any financial services organization. It’s the link between the visionary goals and the operational realities.”

It’s a perspective Majella has cultivated over two decades of career experience, working in a regulatory body and across asset management, retail and investment banking. She’s also tackled complex challenges like Brexit adaptations and firm expansions into new markets like Asia.

Each role has taught her that compliance works best when embedded early in business decisions, rather than approached at the end. She’s also learned that what’s needed is to maintain curiosity and learning in the field, for leaders to empower complex teams, and to foster collaboration on a global level.

Reframe the conversation

Instead of waiting for problems to arise, Majella involves compliance from day one of any major initiative, ensuring that the function is a strategic partner. There is always a changing operating landscape, be it on the regulatory front or geopolitical changes, and Compliance is part of that team which is involved in assessing what is changing and how the organisation needs to adapt, considering those changes.

Her advice for compliance professionals is to start by reframing their role in business conversations. “Start with understanding what the business is trying to achieve. Then you can look at the challenges or blockers and help develop options and alternatives that meet both the regulatory requirements and the business objectives.” Business colleagues want strong, unambiguous feedback on proposals, as well as clear articulation of any concerns.

Lead Through Empowerment

Traditional compliance leadership can sometimes fall into the trap of micromanagement, trying to control every decision and approve every action. But this approach can weaken compliance’s influence across an organization; creating teams that wait for direction rather than proactively championing compliance thinking throughout a firm.

Majella learned this lesson when she transitioned “from being a technical expert managing a small team to leading a large team of senior individuals.”

The experience taught her that effective compliance leadership involves “looking ahead, removing blockers for my team and essentially getting out of the way, empowering my team to operate effectively.” When compliance professionals feel trusted and empowered, they naturally become better ambassadors for the function. They can then carry compliance thinking into every meeting, decision and strategic conversation.

She now applies this philosophy in her global role with Scotiabank, trusting her teams to navigate complex regulations across multiple countries while they find common ground. This empowerment creates a multiplier effect: instead of compliance wisdom being bottlenecked through one leader, it flows organically through empowered team members who become compliance advocates in every corner of a business.

“I think fundamentally it comes down to having a highly skilled, strong global team who know how to apply the rules in their relevant jurisdictions and being able to find commonality at a global level.”

The effect of Majella’s leadership also extends across the global department through her work as co-chair of the Global Compliance and AML Inclusion Council where she champions inclusion not just because “it’s the right and the fair thing to do,” but because diverse teams make better decisions. “When you prioritize and enable fairness, all the research shows it increases trust, and it reinforces strong governance. This drives excellence.”

Build Industry Change

Majella’s influence in the compliance field extends well beyond Scotiabank. She’s also a voice in the industry and Chair of the Association of Foreign Banks’ Compliance Advisory Committee in the UK. She’s leveraging these platforms to engage in conversations on how the industry thinks about the future of compliance.

In today’s ever-evolving regulatory environment, staying informed is a continuous journey. She believes it’s important to stay curious and continue learning. Majella says that people have been her greatest source of learning. “I have gained enormously over the years from people I have worked with, my executive leaders and those in my reporting lines, as well as my peers; and I continue to do so.”

Looking ahead, she’s particularly excited about two developments she believes will reshape how compliance operates: digital transformation and behavioural science integration.

“The potential here is immense from streamlined workflows to enhanced data-driven decision making,” she says about technology’s role. Having witnessed enormous technology changes over her 20-year career, she believes “we’re probably not yet fully understanding what AI and other technology-driven tools can offer the field of compliance.”

The behavioural science piece represents the human side of this evolution and its power to drive meaningful change. It’s not a new science but one where we can pursue much broader application. She recently completed an Executive Education Postgraduate Diploma in Behavioural Science. “At Scotiabank we’re really fortunate because we actually have an in-house team within the compliance function that’s dedicated to this discipline,” she notes. Alongside all the technological advances, it’s about understanding what motivates people to create solutions that benefit everyone. “A part of the compliance role involves helping people to ultimately demonstrate the right behaviours. The more we understand about what motivates individuals and why they act in certain ways, the more effectively we can support and sustain the culture that we aim to uphold.”

Her consistent message remains: compliance professionals are important contributors who help organizations achieve their goals while maintaining ethical and regulatory standards.

“What’s unique about compliance is that we’re embedded everywhere in a bank – we see the interconnections across the business and functional units that others might miss. That positions us perfectly to help see challenges, bridge gaps and unlock potential.” She adds: “I feel fortunate to have a career in compliance. It’s a massively varied, interesting field to work in, with outstanding people and so much opportunity. It’s exciting to think of where it will go next.”