Iwona Szmidt is Managing Director, Head of Global Currency, Commodities & Derivatives Operations (GCCDO) and GMO Transformation & OpEx (TOpEx) Market Leader and Site Lead for Chester.
Iwona Szmidt joined Bank of America in 2018, in Chester. Iwona started her tenure at BofA as Head of FX Operations & TC, she took on responsibility for the Chester site in 2020, expanded her global functional role to include OTC Derivative Confirmations & Settlement and then Commodities in 2021 and was appointed into her current role in May 2023.
Prior to joining Bank of America, Iwona worked at NatWest Markets (NWM) for seven years, performing several leadership roles, most notably running its Global Collateral and Funding Operations, as well as site lead for Markets Operations at its Manchester Office. Previously to NWM, Iwona spent six years at Morgan Stanley in London in various Derivative Operations Management roles, before moving on to run its EMEA Branch Operations. Earlier Iwona spent six years at Goldman Sachs, in London, in various Treasury & Derivative Operations roles.
Iwona is a member of the GMO SLT, co-chairs the Global Operations and GMO EDI Councils, is a member of the BofA EMEA Philanthropy Board and chairs the Chester Site Steering Group. Iwona is on the boards of Business in the Community’s (BITC) North West Leadership Board and Right to Succeed Liverpool.
Iwona graduated from the University of Liverpool with a B.A. in Architecture.
Iwona’s parents are of Polish origin, but she was born and raised in London and lived there until 2010 when she moved to the Northwest of England. Iwona lives in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, with her husband and young daughter.
As a huge advocate for the growth of the business community and employee talent in the Northwest of England and working in an organisation that believes in supporting and giving back to the communities we work in, Iwona felt that BITC was a great organisation to put her energies into, to truly move the dial on how businesses and the communities of North West England can work together to create great regional opportunities and a brighter future.