Rachel Fichter (Past Speaker)

With over 17 years of experience in financial services, I have had the opportunity to serve in a wide range of learning and development roles across the industry. In my current position as Chief Learning Officer at S&P Global Ratings, I am designing a digital learning strategy and transforming the learning platform to help employees succeed in their current roles, develop into future roles, and achieve their broader career aspirations. Prior to joining S&P Global Ratings, I was Managing Director and Head of Learning and Development for JPMorgan Chase's Commercial Banking line of business, where I was also a member of the global Learning & Development leadership team. I began my career at Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt as a member of the Corporate Leadership and Organization Development team and became the Head of Learning and Development for Credit Suisse's global technology organization in 2006. After spending time in a Chief Operating Officer role in Credit Suisse's Investment Banking Operations, I joined JPMorgan as Head of Training for Worldwide Securities Services. Through my experiences over the years, I have developed a key combination of business and HR skills. These include business strategy development and management, leadership and talent development, succession planning, employee engagement, onboarding, recruiting and internal mobility. I am also passionate about developing the capabilities of HR professionals, in particular as we transform ourselves to help our clients in this digital era. I hold an MBA from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and am currently finishing work on my doctorate in Adult Learning and Leadership at Columbia University. My dissertation topic is on developing ethical behavior in financial institutions. This is my second career. After completing my Bachelors and Masters degrees in music performance, I was invited to study in Germany on a German Government Grant. I played the cello professionally for eight years before deciding to make a career shift.