Melanie Breazeale
Mooresville,NC
Summary
Versatile business professional with 20+ years in banking, compliance, and financial regulation, including 10 years in management. Skilled in product management, business analysis, strategic planning, project execution, technology development, control and risk management, and process design. Proven track record of leading collaborative, cross-functional teams to deliver innovative products and solutions to internal stakeholders and clients. Creative and meaningful problem-solver with a knack for intrapreneurship. Recognized as an engaging, inclusive leader and team member.
Overview
16
16
years of professional experience
Work History
Executive Director, Senior Lead Control Management Officer
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
12.2022 - 07.2025
- Oversaw risk management for the Front Office and Middle Office groups with proven knowledge of products, services, processes, systems, and customers within Foreign Exchange.
- Engaged in discussions with LOB partners on strategy, industry trends, organizational changes, and new/modified markets, systems, products and services, to determine impact and identify and remediate risk issues across all risk types, including financial risks.
- Managed an average of 15 Operational Risk Events (ORE’s) and Root Cause Analysis (RCA) monthly, average of 2 Risk Escalations monthly and 100's of Shared Risks yearly, in order to identify, track and mitigate risk.
- Collaborated with, guided and counseled LOB process and control owners for Control Assurance, including identifying where controls reside, managing control changes, evaluating effectiveness of control design and implementation to mitigate risks.
- Conducted risk assessments to evaluate the adequacy and effectiveness of policies, procedures, processes, systems, technology, and internal controls.
- Analyzed business, industry, system changes or other material business environment changes to determine impact, identify and assess operational risk issues.
- Facilitated training sessions for an average of 7 local and/or overseas staff, enhancing knowledge of compliance regulations and best practices resulting in increased efficiency, meeting service level agreements (SLA’s) and project delivery timelines.
- Developed and maintained comprehensive reports to track performance metrics (KPI's, SLA's) and inform strategic decisions.
- Collaborated with senior leadership to define long-term strategies that drive organizational growth and sustainability.
FX Global Product Manager - Macro
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
07.2013 - 12.2022
- Authored 15 highly complex BRD’s to document regulatory requirements for the following jurisdictional reporting of foreign exchange trades: EMIR/ESMA, MiFID, Brexit (Europe), Canada, HKMA (Hong Kong), Bank of Israel, and CFTC (USA).
- Established strong relationships with key stakeholders, fostering collaboration across departments for seamless product development and successful production releases.
- Reviewed current and ongoing regulatory rules for multiple jurisdictions such as: CFTC, ESMA, HKMA, Bank of Israel, MiFID, Brexit and Canadian provinces to ensure Wells Fargo is adhering to and in compliance with each regulation as it pertains to FX trade reporting.
- Liaised between various lines of business to support and implement enhancements including compliance, legal, technology, business, customer onboarding, front office, middle office, operations, and external vendors and clients.
- Ensured over 15,000 Foreign Exchange trades for the bank were reported accurately and met regulatory requirements within the required timeframe across multiple jurisdictions on daily basis.
- Monitored, identified and investigated any production gaps in trade entry systems, customer onboarding, and regulatory reporting to ensure compliance requirements were resolved as soon as technologically possible while escalating risks when necessary.
- Managed product roadmap, budgeting, resourcing, forecasting, investment planning, risk assessment aligning with company goals and ensuring timely product and project delivery.
- Collaborated with LOB partners on matters relating to the identification and implementation of corporate policies, procedures, and regulatory rules to mitigate risks.
- Led at minimum 2 projects quarterly to implement resolution or UI/UX enhancements for the customer, front office users, legal/compliance/regulatory or other impacted groups.
- Leveraged Agile methodologies for efficient project management and rapid iteration cycles in response to changing market demands.
- Drafted test plan, created acceptance criteria/use cases, conducted UAT, logged defects and ensured all regulatory reporting requirements are in place to successfully achieve regulatory deadlines as well as validated a stable production environment.
- Oversaw product lifecycle management and product backlog ensuring timely delivery of high-quality features and enhancements.
Business Analyst - Branch Exams - Governance, Risk and Compliance
LPL Financial
08.2011 - 04.2013
- Authored Business Requirements Document that led to approval for Branch Exams to conduct Non OSJ (Office of Supervisory Jurisdiction) visits every two years resulting in a $1,157,400 revenue for LPL Financial.
- Identified discrepancies and improved processes within Branch Exams including pre-audit information, number of examiners needed per office visit based on production and size of institution, duplications of advisor’s credit reports being pulled within Branch Exams and other departments, continued charges for equipment from persons no longer employed at LPL.
- Automated the 'Audit Kit' – converted paper audit kit prep process into a paperless, electronic audit kit by saving individual reports from multiple sources into one combined PDF allowing the Auditor to review, make notes and save to a shared drive resulting in a 20-hour gain per Analyst a week on processing, reviewing, as well as saving money and resources.
- Created electronic forms specific to interface requirements including: 'Product Sponsor Reimbursement Form for ERISA Plans' (Form F151), 'Branch Segmentation Questionnaire', 'Annual Compliance Meeting Log', 'GRC Communication Request Form - Advisor GRC Alerts and Targeted Communications'.
- Prepared weekly audit kits for 10 Branch Examiners; ensured completion prior to scheduled audit, maintained audit file repository, electronic record retention, obtain credit reports, CRD (U4) reports, outside business activity and yearly commissions for advisors.
- Supported senior management; compiled data for proposals, presentations and management reports, provided technical support, improved workflow and communication through WebEx meetings for 47 employees, authored department Technical Support checklist; ensured all technology and necessary applications were ordered for new hires.
- Reduced departmental costs: utilized free, online video services for interviews versus paying for flights, taxi, etc., refurbished existing technology instead of purchasing new technology, identified and resolved redundancies in daily work and services rendered from outside sources.
Compliance Analyst – Home Office Supervision
LPL Financial
09.2009 - 08.2011
- Created 'Electronic Correspondence Coversheet' resulting in 63% less paper and ink usage, reduced process time by 30-man-hours per month, delivered a more efficient, user-friendly submission process for Advisors. Negated the use of outside source to process this information which resulted in the form being adopted by other lines of business within the company.
- Spearheaded procedure for tracking Electronic Correspondence, decreased reconciliation process by 25-man-hours per month, utilized existing technology at no extra cost to LPL.
- Devised a more resourceful method for collecting data and distributing EBTR’s (Electronic Branch Trade Reports), saving 2½ weeks of total processing time a month which resulted in mitigating discrepancies, delivering a more accurate and current report to Advisors.
- Improved 'New Advisor' and 'Insurance Only' Welcome Packets to ensure up-to-date and helpful information was available for Advisors.
- Developed and implemented the 'HOS Compliance Specialist Desktop Procedures' resulting in best practices that reduced inconsistencies between Compliance Specialists.
- Supported and trained customers on regulatory and compliance-related issues.
- Assisted in the preparation of reports for senior management, outlining findings from investigations into suspected non-compliant activities.
- Project Management: Staff Relocation; coordinated, planned 25-person move including all technology and personal items, Project Beacon; organized seamless conversion of hundreds of Financial Advisors, ensured smooth transition for Advisors and staff Analysts, Yearly Holiday Party; budgeted, organized and secured venue, successfully engaged 100+ employees to bring a gift donation for local children’s charity.
Skills
- Management – Product, Process, Project, Risk
- Business Requirements Documentation (BRD)
- Agile, Waterfall, SDLC Methodology
- Production validation and support
- Data - Analytics, Mapping, Quality/Integrity
- FX Products – NDF, Forward, Option, Swaps
- FX Transaction Regulatory Reporting
- Microsoft: Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Visio, Publisher, SharePoint, Confluence
- JIRA/Agile - Story refinement, backlog and prioritization
- User Acceptance Testing (UAT), Test Plan, Test Cases
- Application Lifecycle Management (ALM)
- Root Cause Analysis (RCA)
Timeline
Executive Director, Senior Lead Control Management Officer
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
12.2022 - 07.2025
FX Global Product Manager - Macro
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
07.2013 - 12.2022
Business Analyst - Branch Exams - Governance, Risk and Compliance
LPL Financial
08.2011 - 04.2013
Compliance Analyst – Home Office Supervision
LPL Financial
09.2009 - 08.2011
Community Service and Volunteer Work
- Student Life Youth Leader at Church
- A Child's Place
- Alexander Youth Network
- Bed's for Kids
- Habitat for Humanity
- Samaritan's Purse
- Logos Africa Christian Academy - Child Sponsor
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