Leadership Team

Scott serves as Chief Executive Officer of Thistle Group, after joining in 2025. He brings over 25 years of leadership experience in consulting and business transformation across the life sciences, energy, and financial services sectors.

In his role, Scott is focused on driving the Group’s growth and expanding its capabilities, embedding regulatory compliance, financial crime prevention, and robust governance expertise directly into clients’ growth and transformation initiatives.

Sue is Chief Operating Officer of Thistle Group. She brings extensive international experience in COO and CPO roles across the professional services sector, including law and management consulting.

As a member of Thistle’s senior leadership team, Sue is responsible for driving operational efficiency, strengthening the firm’s people proposition and overseeing the group’s shared business services, spanning finance, commercial and operations. She is known for her strong people focus and her track record in building leadership teams that support sustainable growth and transformation.

Alex is the Chief Financial Officer of Thistle Group, having joined in 2025. He has spent his career in the professional services sector, most recently as CFO of a private equity-backed Strategic Insights and Analytics consultancy. With significant experience in M&A, driving both organic and acquisitive growth for entrepreneurial businesses, his role at Thistle will work alongside the leadership team to drive continued investment in the business and maintain a robust internal governance environment.

In addition, Alex is a Trustee and Chair of the Finance Committee at HWLP Multi-Academy Trust.

Jessica is Managing Partner at Thistle Initiatives and has been instrumental in building and growing our Financial Crime division. She has worked with firms of all sizes, from start-ups to Tier 1 banks, to design, scale and assure financial crime frameworks. She has led multiple US monitor engagements and global s166 Skilled Person reviews, developed policies and procedures, implemented systems, transformed processes, embedded change and supported remediation both in the UK and internationally.

She holds a Master’s degree in Intelligence and International Security and an ICA Diploma in Financial Crime Prevention.

Katie is a senior transformation specialist with deep expertise in regulatory interpretation and end to end implementation across the financial services sector.

With over 15 years’ experience delivering complex, multi-year programmes, she has led major regulatory change initiatives, guiding firms through the full lifecycle from rule interpretation and impact assessment to operating model redesign, systems change, governance uplift and BAU embedding. Katie has extensive experience designing and implementing regulatory aligned control frameworks, establishing robust governance structures, and integrating compliance obligations directly into business operations.

Josh is Chief Commercial Officer at Thistle, having previously served as Finance Director. He is responsible for commercial strategy across the business, including revenue growth and marketing.

A central part of his role is working closely with Thistle’s Partners to shape new opportunities, strengthen client relationships and ensure the firm’s commercial approach supports long‑term, sustainable growth.

Harry joined Thistle in 2024 and now serves as Head of M&A. His role involves leading and coordinating M&A activity across Thistle Initiatives, working closely with clients, counterparties, and professional advisers throughout each stage of the transaction lifecycle. He plays a central role in originating opportunities, conducting strategic evaluations, and supporting the execution of deals, while also helping to cultivate new commercial relationships across the Group.

He previously served globally as a British Army Officer and has since held advisory and leadership roles within private banking, wealth management, and a FinTech start-up.

James is the Founder and Director of the Thistle Group, including Thistle Initiatives. He focuses on building sustainable commercial growth across the group, while advising clients on complex regulatory and strategic matters.

James provides specialist M&A support, including regulatory due diligence and transaction structuring, and is particularly experienced in FCA supervision and enforcement engagements. He is a trusted adviser to boards and senior executives, known for his practical judgement, deep regulatory insight and ability to navigate high‑stakes regulatory situations with clarity and confidence.

Alex joined Thistle Initiatives in 2015 after two decades of working with complex financial products. His diverse experience spans front office trading and dealing, management, and consultancy, giving him valuable insight into FCA compliance and regulation.

At Thistle, Alex has supported hundreds of buy- and sell-side firms through M&A and provides advisory services on enforcement actions, MiFID audits, compliance services, and more. He holds a CISI Diploma in Investment Compliance and a CFA Certificate in Investment Management.

Danny is a Partner in Thistle’s Change and Transformation team. With more than 17 years of experience leading complex transformation programmes, he brings deep expertise in guiding organisations through large‑scale operational and strategic change.

Danny has supported clients across a wide range of industries and at every stage of the transformation lifecycle, from shaping strategic direction to designing and delivering new operating models.

Matthew is a Partner at Thistle Initiatives specialising in credit, mortgages and insurance. He supports firms in navigating the FCA regulatory landscape, offering strategic guidance, insights and tailored compliance solutions.

With extensive experience across the sector, Matthew helps firms translate regulatory requirements into practical frameworks, ensuring they can achieve their commercial goals while maintaining robust compliance standards.

Michael has joined as a Partner in the Financial Crime team, working alongside Jessica Cath. With over 15 years’ experience in financial crime compliance, he was most recently a Director at BDO, where he built a strong reputation for leading s166 Skilled Person reviews and providing firms with proportionate, risk-based advice to stay compliant.

His career also includes senior roles at Bovill, Lloyds Banking Group and Investec, giving him practical, well-rounded expertise to help firms strengthen their financial crime compliance frameworks.

Nikki has re-joined Thistle Initiatives as a Partner in the Insurance team, working alongside Matthew Williamson. Formerly Managing Director at UKGI, she brings extensive expertise in Delegated Authority markets, MGAs, InsurTech and product development, with a proven record of delivering practical, solutions-driven outcomes for insurance firms.

Nikki also continues to serve as a Director at the Association of Professional Compliance Consultants (APCC).

Peter is a Partner in the Change and Transformation team, where he helps organisations deliver complex change with confidence.

He brings more than 20 years’ experience across financial services, advising boards and executives on operating model design, regulatory change and large scale transformation. Alongside his consulting work, Peter is an experienced coach known for his practical approach, clear thinking and focus on building sustainable, people-centred outcomes.

Sam has 14 years’ experience leading large scale change and transformation programmes in the Financial Services industry, working with several Tier 1 institutions across Banking, Insurance and Wealth and Asset Management.

He has led numerous Regulatory Change programmes including remedial responses to S166, Consumer Duty and Operational Resilience. He also has vast experience delivering pre- and post-M&A transformation programmes, such as new target operating model design and implementation, and post-merger integration.