London-based CMC Markets plc (LON: CMCX) has added finance veteran Clare Francis to its Board as a Non-Executive Director. She has already assumed the role on 19 December 2022.

CMC Markets Taps Clare Francis as Non-Executive Director

"I am very pleased to welcome Clare to the Board of CMC, and we are looking forward to working with her," Chairman of CMC Markets, James Richards, said in a statement. "Clare brings extensive knowledge of risk management frameworks and financial services to CMC, which will help us as we continue to develop our diversification strategy."

Apart from joining as a Non-Executive Director, Francis became the Chair of the Group Risk Committee, the Consumer Duty Champion, and a member of CMC's Audit, Nomination, and Remuneration Committees.

Francis is a financial industry expert with about 37 years of experience working in several major companies. Most recently, she worked as the European Head of Global Banking and the UK CEO at Standard Chartered Bank. There, she was also the Global Head of Investors, Insurance and the Public Sector.

She joined Standard Chartered from Lloyds Banking Group, where she worked from February 2006 until November 2012. There, she held leadership roles like Global Head of Financial Markets (Sales) and Global Head of Corporate and Institutional Banking. She was the Head of Global Corporates & Global Head International when she parted with the company.

She started her career at Natwest in 1985 and then moved to HSBC, where she spent 17 years. She climbed the corporate ladder at HSBC and held the position of Europe Head & MD of Financial Markets Sales when she separated in early 2006.

Currently, Francis is sitting on the board of the UK Department of International Trade's TAG and Infrastructure Exports board.

Check out the recent London Summit session on "Cultivating Female Leadership in Fintech: Challenges & Opportunities."

CMC Markets Strengthening the Leadership

In recent months, CMC strengthened its leadership by adding multiple new faces and internal shuffles. Last month, Camilla Boldracchi was moved to the Institutional Sales team. In addition, the company hired Nathan Sage as the Equities Risk Trading Manager and promoted Michael Bogoevski to the Head of Distribution for APAC and Canada.

Meanwhile, the company's net operating income for six months, between April and September, jumped by 21 percent to £153.5 million. Its net trading revenue came in 27 percent higher at £128.4 million, while the figure from investing stream declined by 14 percent to £20.8 million. It ended the year with a flat pre-tax profit of £36.6 million.