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Accountability Without Certainty
You are expected to provide clear answers in situations the regulations do not resolve.
Grace Suleyman Advisory
The Sounding Board Built for SMFs and Senior Risk & Compliance Leaders.
For those currently in the seat and those preparing for it.
Confidential advisory, mentoring and leadership support for regulated professionals navigating personal accountability, stakeholder pressure and complex decisions.
FCA-approved SMF16/17 and Chief Compliance Officer with over 20 years' experience across legal, compliance, governance, risk and leadership.
The Reality of the Role
The Reality of the Role
Holding a SMF role means making consequential decisions in conditions that rarely offer certainty.
Unlike other senior leaders, SMFs operate under scrutiny that extends beyond the firm. The consequences reach your personal reputation, your regulatory standing and your individual accountability.
Most SMFs do not have a trusted person to think this through with. Generic coaching does not reach it. Career coaching gets you to the role. It does not prepare you for what happens once you are in it.
This is different.
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Pressure From Every Direction
Regulators, boards, business leaders and stakeholders create competing demands, often simultaneously.
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No Safe Internal Space
Some conversations change the moment you have them internally. You need a trusted space outside the organisation.
About Me
About Me
I am Grace Suleyman, an FCA-approved SMF16/17 and Chief Compliance Officer with over 20 years' experience across legal, compliance, governance, risk and leadership. For six years and counting I have held personal regulatory accountability as a SMF, sitting on the Executive Committee and reporting directly to the CEO.
I know what it means to carry that accountability. To hold the line while remaining commercially credible. To be the person everyone escalates to, with nowhere to escalate to yourself.
What I have learned is that the hardest part of this role is rarely technical.
It is the weight of personal accountability.
The absence of a trusted space to think.
The pressure to appear certain when the answer is not clear.
That is the gap I work to close.
I have also learned that knowing the right answer and feeling confident enough to act on it are not always the same thing. Even with experience. Even in the seat. That tension is more common than most SMFs will admit and acknowledging it is not a weakness.
I work with a small number of clients at any one time.
FCA-approved SMF16/17
Chief Compliance Officer
20+ years experience across legal, compliance, risk & governance
6 years as FCA-approved SMF16/17
Executive Committee Member
Direct CEO reporting line
Experience managing direct FCA scrutiny
Private practice experience as a lawyer
Qualified solicitor (England & Wales)
Who This Is For
Who This Is For
Specialist support for regulated leaders.
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Current SMF 4, 16 and 17 Holders
Navigating complex decisions, governance challenges or stakeholder pressure.
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Aspiring and Newly Appointed SMFs
Preparing for the realities of senior accountable leadership, visibility and scrutiny.
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Senior Compliance, Risk and Governance Professionals
Building influence, judgement, confidence and executive presence.
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Regulated Firms
Seeking confidential senior advisory support for regulated leadership development and SMF readiness.
You May Be Facing
You May Be Facing
You are good at your job. You have built your credibility over years. And yet there are moments, sometimes days, where the weight of what you carry feels disproportionate to the support available to you.
You are expected to provide clear answers in situations the regulations do not resolve. You are managing pressure from above, below and across the organisation, often simultaneously. You are holding the line on independence while being expected to remain commercially effective. You are the person others escalate to and there is rarely somewhere you escalate to in return.
Some challenges cannot be raised internally. Not because the organisation is hostile, but because your position means that certain conversations change the moment you have them. The wrong word to the wrong person at the wrong time carries consequences that other senior leaders simply do not face.
You may be dealing with
A governance issue that requires careful handling
A stakeholder dynamic that is becoming difficult to manage
A decision where commercial and regulatory positions are genuinely in tension
A board conversation you need to prepare for properly
The accumulating pressure of operating at this level with less support than the role demands
Or you are building toward a SMF role and you are not certain you are ready for the shift the seat demands.
If any of this resonates, this is why I built this.
How I Work
How I Work
Two formats of confidential senior support.
Service · 01
SMF Readiness and Compliance Leadership Mentoring
For professionals preparing for, or newly appointed to, a senior accountable role.
Technical excellence gets you to the door of a SMF role. What happens once you are in the seat is a different challenge entirely.
This programme develops the mindset, judgement and leadership capability the role demands, before the expectations are live and the scrutiny is real.
What we focus on
- Thinking and communicating at board and executive level
- Building credibility and influence across the organisation
- Exercising independent judgement under pressure
- Managing upwards and navigating organisational dynamics
- Making decisions with confidence in conditions of ambiguity
- Understanding and owning the accountability that comes with the title
How the programme works
Typically six sessions over three months. The programme follows a structured arc tailored to where you are, whether preparing for appointment or consolidating your position in a role you have recently taken on.
For compliance professionals not yet targeting a SMF role but looking to build senior leadership capability, a three-session foundation package is also available.
Fees
Fees discussed on enquiry.
Service · 02
Strategic Advisory for SMFs and Senior Leaders
Confidential support for those operating under personal regulatory accountability.
This is not generic executive coaching. It is confidential, senior-level advisory support from someone who holds personal regulatory accountability and understands the reality of operating in that environment.
Support is structured around your specific situation, not a fixed programme.
What this typically covers
- Navigating complex decisions where there is no obvious right answer
- Preparing for difficult conversations with boards, executive teams or regulators
- Sense-checking your thinking on governance, conduct or escalation issues
- Managing stakeholder pressure while preserving your independence and credibility
- Finding a clear path forward when commercial and regulatory priorities conflict
How we work together
Typically two sessions per month. Direct access between sessions for time-sensitive issues. A brief written note after each session capturing key considerations and next steps.
Fees
Fees discussed on enquiry.
A Confidential Space
A Confidential Space
All enquiries and engagements are treated with complete confidentiality. Some challenges cannot be discussed inside the organisation. This is a safe space outside it. Completely judgement free.
I built this because I looked for it myself and could not find it.
Discreet.
Experienced.
Practical.
Calm.
Funding This Support
Funding This Support
Many clients find this support falls within their firm's professional development, training or advisory budget and carries legitimate leadership value.
If you are considering whether your firm might fund this engagement, I am happy to discuss how the support is framed to help with that conversation.
Book a Confidential Introductory Call
A no-obligation conversation to understand your situation, your challenges and whether I am the right fit to help.
All enquiries are treated with complete confidentiality.
Practice
Grace Suleyman Advisory