Ashurst Consulting appoints Niki Short and Chris Baker as Risk Advisory partners 17122021

Niki's appointment will further scale the firm's capacity to assist clients with regulatory change, risk & compliance management and regulatory disputes. Niki is a recognised leader in the risk consulting space. She spent 14 years with Deloitte, followed by a global role as GM Operational Risk and Compliance at NAB. She joins Ashurst from Blackhall & Pearl.

Chris joined Ashurst in 2020 and currently leads Ashurst Risk Advisory's Managed Services and Regulatory capabilities. Chris has over 25 years' experience across financial services, telecommunications, transport and defence and a strong track record in resolving complex regulatory, conduct, compliance and risk related matters. Prior to joining Ashurst Chris was the GM Regulatory Change, Investigations and Remediation for NAB's Wealth Management Division.

Head of Ashurst's Risk Advisory practice, Philip Hardy, comments: "We are thrilled to welcome Niki to Ashurst, and extend a welcome to the partnership to both her and Chris. Their appointments bring the number of Ashurst Consulting partners to eight, capping off an amazing year of growth for the team. 

Niki brings deep expertise to our clients across key risk capabilities including risk framework and capability uplift, product reviews, compliance rectification and business remediation and optimisation. 

Chris has a unique combination of experience and expertise across a number of industries and over the past year with the firm, has shown how vital a strong managed services capability is to the continued growth of the Risk Advisory practice. 

We look forward to them playing a part in the growth plans we have in place for the team."

Niki comments: "I am excited to be joining Ashurst Risk Advisory and I look forward to playing a key role in a dynamic, fast growing team. Our clients value holistic solutions, including the way we can uniquely combine risk and legal capabilities, and I look forward to collaborating with them to deliver the quality advice the team is known for. Ashurst's global reach and innovative outlook provide a significant opportunity to continue to grow and expand our practice."

Chris comments: "I am delighted to be extending my leadership role at the firm and join the partnership. The Ashurst Risk advisory team have set the standard for what an innovative, expertise led, collaborative and client focused advisory practice should be, and I look forward to being a bigger part of it."

Since commencing operations in mid-2020, Ashurst Consulting has experienced rapid growth in demand for offerings across all areas of the risk advisory business such as financial crime, transformation, health and safety, cyber and data, regulatory compliance, conduct and enterprise risk management.