Banking on Change: How Standard Chartered Group Chief Executive Bill Winters Stays Ahead

Stepping into the CEO role is a challenging transition for any leader to make. It’s even more challenging when you know you’re stepping into the role at a turbulent time in an organization’s history.

Our guest today experienced that transition over a decade ago and has since built a compelling story of transformation and value creation. Standard Chartered Group Chief Executive Bill Winters joins Marla Oates and Clarke Murphy to talk about why he knowingly stepped into the role at a challenging time at the bank and what he did to restore confidence in the company. Bill shares how he manages innovation and perpetual transformation in a highly regulated industry, including how the bank is using AI, reskilling teams, and continuing to evolve with digital assets. He also unpacks how he builds relationships and trust with his board, including plans for the next CEO succession.

We’ll also hear from Henryk Krajewski, leadership advisor at Russell Reynolds Associates, who shares his perspective on how CEOs can unlock greater value in today’s environment.

Bill Winters
Group Chief Executive, Standard Chartered

Bill Winters was appointed to the Board of Standard Chartered PLC as Group Chief Executive on 10 June 2015, having joined the Group in May 2015. He is based in London.

Bill has had a distinguished career in banking, having spent 26 years with JP Morgan in diverse leadership roles, becoming co-Chief Executive Officer of the Investment Bank in 2004 until he stepped down in 2009. Bill was the only career banker to be invited to be a committee member of the Independent Commission on Banking, established by the UK government in 2010 to recommend ways to improve competition and financial stability in banking. Subsequently, he served as advisor to the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards and was asked by the Court of the Bank of England to complete an independent review of the bank’s liquidity operations. Bill was awarded a CBE for his services to the UK economy and financial services in 2013. Bill founded the private credit fund Renshaw Bay in 2011 where he was Chairman and CEO until he stepped down from the company on appointment to the Standard Chartered PLC Board. Bill was an independent non-executive director of Novartis International AG from 2015 until March 2025.

Bill is deeply engaged in driving the climate finance agenda. He is a member of the GFANZ Principals Group and a founding member of the World Bank Private Sector Investment Lab. Bill sits on the Distinguished Advisory Group of the Integrity Council for Voluntary Carbon Markets and the board of Climate Impact X (CIX) and chaired the Taskforce for Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets.

In January 2023, Bill was appointed UK chair of the India-UK Financial Partnership formed between the Ministry of Finance of India and HM Treasury by Ministers during the UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue in 2014 to strengthen links and deepen cooperation between the financial services industries of both countries.

Bill is an Independent Director on the Board of Stripe, Board Advisor of the International Rescue Committee and Chair of The Coronet Theatre Board of Trustees.