_Stephen has three decades of experience in advising clients in internal audit and internal control frameworks, risk management, corporate governance, regulatory relationships, compliance transformation initiatives, quality assurance and control testing, risk and control self-assessment programs, and areas of regulatory compliance including BSA/AML and sanctions, and model validation. He also helps clients with the implementation of a control and compliance culture and has experience with new applications of artificial intelligence relating to internal controls.

Prior to joining Ludwig Advisors, Stephen spent 13 years at Promontory Financial Group as a managing director and led projects across broad areas of risk management, internal audit and compliance. He assisted clients in responding, addressing, and validating actions taken in response to supervisory criticism. Previously, Stephen spent nearly 20 years in global positions with American Express, where he was a senior member of the global Internal Audit team. He was general auditor of the company’s major U.S. and international bank subsidiaries and was responsible for global internal audit regulatory relationships. At American Express, he was responsible for the development and implementation of a number of leading practices in internal audit and risk management, including risk assessment methodologies, operational risk framework development and implementation, and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.

Stephen is a Certified Internal Auditor and Chartered Accountant.