Chief Internal Auditor
Fotoulla Charalambous joined the EBRD in September 2019 as the Chief Internal Auditor. The Internal Audit Department, as a third line of defence, is responsible for providing independent and objective assurance to the Board of Directors and Executive Management on the adequacy and effectiveness of internal controls, governance and risk management processes to mitigate the Bank’s key risks.
Fotoulla has extensive experience in the audit profession having spent over 30 years working at the Royal Bank of Scotland, Citigroup, and Price Waterhouse Coopers prior to joining the EBRD. At RBS between 2013 and 2019, Fotoulla held several leadership roles including COO for Group Internal Audit, leading the transformation of the function in the aftermath of the financial crisis, and Chief Auditor covering a portfolio spanning bank-wide conduct, financial crime, culture and functions as well as retail and commercial banking.
Prior to RBS, Fotoulla had a long career in Internal Audit at Citigroup in a variety of different roles both in London and overseas including leadership of the institutional businesses: corporate and investment banking, markets, transaction services and credit risk review. Her most recent role was Regional Chief Auditor for EMEA, which spanned 54 countries where she led significant change initiatives for Internal Audit. At Citi she built a track record of building high performance teams across diverse geographies and cultures and built strong stakeholder relationships both internally and externally, with regulators and external peer networks. She was also active in diversity initiatives, co-sponsoring committees and acting as a coach and mentor.
Fotoulla began her career at PWC where she qualified as a Chartered Accountant in their financial services sector. She holds a BSc (Hons) degree in Biochemistry from Imperial College London.
