Who We Are
Coenobium Advisors brings together a network of highly experienced professionals with a core focus on the private and public sectors of the broader financial industry. We partner with international consulting firms to provide senior-level subject matter expertise and strategic advisory services in support of their engagements in the areas of Governance, Risk and Compliance.
Based in Europe, the US, and the Middle East, our globally experienced team members work across geographies, including our area of primary business activity, the Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) region.
Seasoned Practitioners
Our experts are all seasoned practitioners, having on average 25 years of experience working with top-tier financial institutions, consulting firms, and supervisory authorities, in client- and regulator-facing roles.
Our Team is Your Team
Our multidisciplinary global network of senior subject matter experts brings together a flexible team with deep
experience and the ability to support your GRC engagement with ‘plug-n-play’ efficiency, whatever the challenge.
Arion Petasis
Chief Executive Officer
Nicosia | Cyprus
Arion has 25 years of consulting experience in the strategy, regulatory, and GRC space. He previously held senior roles with Promontory Financial Group, where he led engagements in 25 countries in Europe, North America and the Middle East for both banks and regulatory authorities. He also held positions in risk consulting with PwC in Chicago and Booz Allen in Washington DC and New York.
Claes Norgren
Chairman of the Board
Stockholm | Sweden
Claes is an economist, former head of the Swedish FSA, Deputy Governor of the Swedish Central Bank and Auditor General. He was also a member of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, chaired the Banking Advisory Committee of the European Union, and was President of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). He has worked with numerous clients in the private and public sectors in the EU and in the Middle East, advising them on governance, regulatory and compliance matters, and supporting and evaluating the operating frameworks of central banks and supervisory authorities in several countries. Claes previously worked as a consultant and Managing Director & Head of the Nordics practice at Promontory Financial Group from 2015 until 2024.
Damian Robinson
Chief Operating Officer
Athens | Greece
Damian has more than 35 years of experience in the financial services and consulting industries. He previously held senior roles with the international banking division of the American Express Company in the US and Europe, and was a senior consultant with Promontory Financial Group. For the last 15+ years has advised banks and regulatory authorities in Europe and the Middle East on governance, risk and compliance matters.
Chris Tatham
London | United Kingdom
Chris has over 25 years’ experience in Financial Services and Consulting, including 13 years in the Middle East. He was previously a Managing Director and MEA Regional COO at Credit Suisse, where he also ran the Private Bank onshore and Chief of Staff of Saudi Fransi Capital.
Tom Loughlin
Washington, DC | USA
Tom spent 18 years as a Managing Director at Promontory Financial Group, where he led numerous complex engagements for financial institutions in the U.S, Bermuda and Australia. Previously, he served for over 20 years with KPMG and KPMG Consulting, where he was an Audit Partner and then a Consulting Managing Director.
Juan Perez Calot
Madrid | Spain
Juan is an internationally recognized expert in the financial industry. He worked with the BBVA Group for more than 20 years, serving as UK Country Manager before becoming Joint General Manager of the Group.
Raymond Strecker
New York | USA
Ray works with clients at the intersection of regulation, risk, and technology. His current areas of focus include AI governance and risk management, risk data governance, cloud adoption, cryptocurrency regulation, operational risk management, and large-scale risk and compliance planning and execution. He has a broad background in IT consulting for financial institutions and has led practices at IBM, Promontory, Tata Consultancy, Dell, Virtusa, and AMS (now CGI).
Vikram "T T" Bhat
Stamford, CT | USA
T T has more than 35 years of experience in the finance industry, having worked in senior roles with HSBC Banking Group in Asia, the Middle East, the UK and the US. His expertise includes the areas of Treasury, Market Risk, Risk Strategy, Balance Sheet and Capital Management, and he served as Chief Operating Officer of HSBC’s Global Asset Management business in the USA.
Mona Shibel
Dubai | UAE
Mona has 28 years’ experience in banking and consulting for banks, financial institutions, regulatory authorities, and governments in the areas of risk and compliance. She has been involved in numerous AML/CFT compliance assessments in the Gulf region and has assisted national competent authorities to prepare for FATF & FATF-style body mutual evaluations. Her experience includes credit risk and transaction advisory services. Previously, she was a senior consultant with Promontory Financial Group and she began her career with Bank Audi.
Amedeo Cristofaro
Florence | Italy
Amedeo is an experienced leader in the payments and financial services industries with over 25 years of experience working with global players. He previously held senior positions with Wells Fargo, Standard Chartered, and American Express, as well as both executive and advisory roles with several fintech startups in the payments, trade finance, open banking, embedded finance and crypto spaces.
Katrina Jermolova-Rebjatnikova
Riga | Latvia
Katrina has 10 years of banking and energy sector experience, specializing in organizational transformation, outsourcing, regulatory, compliance, governance, risk and control. Previously she was with Luminor Bank, where she led strategic programs in the areas of audit, compliance, and regulatory risk, and where she was instrumental in setting up multiple international branches.
Sadeer Munir
Dubai | UAE
Sadeer Munir is an experienced consultant and banker who has advised senior leaders, management and boards of private and public entities on key strategic and operational issues including global acquisitions, divestitures, restructurings and financing transactions. He started his career with Booz Allen Hamilton’s US technology practice and held positions with Deutsche Bank in New York.
Marina Kolokotroni
Nicosia | Cyprus
Marina is a seasoned Compliance Professional with a 30-year track record of excellence in the financial services industry. Her high-impact accomplishments on behalf of systemically important institutions include developing a comprehensive Global Financial Crime Systems and Controls assessment program and leading Compliance functions for both domestic and foreign banks as an ECB-approved Chief Compliance Officer. She previously held senior regional roles for Citibank in Europe, and was a senior consultant with Promontory Financial Group. Marina began her career in London, where she qualified as a Chartered Accountant and dedicated nearly a decade to the audit profession.
coenobium (se-NO-bee-um) OR (kee-NO-bee-um)
Noun (plural coenobiums or coenobia)
A conventual or monastic community; also, a convent or monastery. Synonyms: cenoby, coenoby
(by extension)
1.
(botany) A fruit of a plant from either of the families Boraginaceae (the borages) or Lamiaceae which has small loculi or compartments, reminiscent of the cells in a convent or monastery.
2. (botany) A colony of algae which acts as a single organism; a coenobe.
3. (zoology) A colony of unicellular organisms (such as protozoa) which acts as a single organism.
