Credit Trends - UK & Ireland

Sean Marion Managing Director, EMEA Banking Moody's Investors Service

Sean Marion is Managing Director in the Financial Institutions Group, based in London. He is responsible for Moody’s analytic teams that rate banks and nonbank financial companies in the Nordics, Baltics, South-Eastern Europe and emerging markets in Middle East and Africa. Prior to relocating to London in 2011, Mr. Marion held various positions of progressive responsibility in Moody’s, including working in the firm’s offices in Mexico City and Toronto.

Before joining Moody’s, Mr. Marion worked for The Economist Intelligence Unit, conducting research on macroeconomic and country risk. Mr. Marion holds graduate degrees in economics from the Université Paris I (Sorbonne) and the London School of Economics. He also holds an undergraduate degree from Bishop’s University, Canada.

Mr. Marion is fluent in French and Spanish.

Alastair Wilson Managing Director, Global Sovereign Risk Moody's Investors Service

Alastair Wilson is a Managing Director and Head of Moody’s Sovereign Risk Group. In this capacity, he leads Moody’s global team of sovereign risk analysts, with responsibility for maintaining the quality of Moody’s sovereign ratings and for the analytical leadership Moody’s aims to provide to investors and issuers through its research.

Until August 2014, Alastair was Chief Credit Officer in EMEA, responsible for the quality and consistency of Moody’s credit standards and methodologies across all franchises within the region. He joined Moody’s in September 2010 following twenty-one years at the Bank of England. At the Bank, he worked in a variety of roles in banking supervision, FX and reserves management, banking operations and financial stability.

Alastair graduated from St John’s College, Oxford University in 1988, having studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics. He is based in London.

Colin Ellis EMEA Chief Credit Officer and Managing Director, Credit Strategy Moody's Investors Service

Colin Ellis is Moody’s Chief Credit Officer in EMEA, and a Managing Director in the Credit Strategy team. He is responsible for identifying and analyzing the broad macro and credit trends, and leading and coordinating Moody’s ratings approach, across franchises in the region. He is also a member of Moody’s Macroeconomic Board, which sets the global forecasts that underpin Moody’s universe of ratings.  Colin joined Moody’s in February 2012, initially leading the work of the Macroeconomic Board and authoring the quarterly Global Macro Outlook. He subsequently worked in the Financial Institutions Group, developing quantitative forward-looking analyses of sectors and institutions, including modelling asset trends and stress testing.  Previously Colin has worked at the Bank of England, Daiwa Capital Markets and the BVCA. Colin is a Visiting Research Fellow in the economics department at Birmingham University, and has published on topics ranging from investment and pricing to private equity and data uncertainty. He is also a Fellow of the RSA.  Colin holds degrees from York University, the London School of Economics and Political Science, and Middlesex University. He is based in London. 

José Manuel Barroso President of the EU Commission 2004-2014 Goldman Sachs International

José Manuel Barroso is chairman of Goldman Sachs International. He joined Goldman Sachs in 2016 after a high profile career in EU and Portuguese politics.

In 1999, Barroso was elected president of the Portugese Social Democratic Party and became the leader of the opposition. In 2002, he was elected Prime Minister of Portugal and in 2004 he was nominated as President of the European Commission. Barroso remained in the Presidency for two five-year terms where he played an influential role in the passing of the Treaty of Lisbon, responding to the financial crisis and incorporating new members in the European Union, as the EU went from 15 to 28 countries between 2004 and 2014.

On behalf of the EU, José Manuel Barroso received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012 and gave the acceptance speech together with the President of the European Council.

Barroso’s academic positions included visiting professor at Georgetown University. Most recently, he was visiting professor of International Economic Policy and a policy fellow at the Woodrow Wilson School, at Princeton University.

Philipp Lotter Managing Director, Global Ratings & Research Moody's Investors Service

Philipp Lotter is Managing Director – Global Ratings and Research,based in London. He is responsible for the development of MIS ratings and research opinions for global fundamental and structured finance ratings groups,and the delivery of services to issuers and the market.

Prior to assuming this role in November 2019, he was Global Head and before that EMEA Co-Head of the Corporate Finance Group.

Philipp has spent many years of his career abroad with strong Emerging and Developing Markets coverage experience. He spent more than 5 years in Asia, where he he ldthe dual role of Country Manager for Moody’s office in Singapore, as well as Managing Director of the Corporate Finance Group responsible for companies across Southeast Asia and India.

Before that, Philipp spent more than 3 years in Dubai, United Arab Emirates,where he was responsible for setting up the Moody’s office in Dubai and for the ratings of Middle Eastern corporate issuers across all sectors, including Islamic finance. Having joined Moody’s in London in 2003, Philipp started as an analyst covering utilities and the oil & gas industry.

Before joining Moody’s, Philipp spent 3 years in rating advisory at Citigroup.His career has also included positions at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein in London and Frankfurt in rating advisory, bond and credit research, and leveraged financing. Philipp holds a Diploma from the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management. He has also attended international semesters at the European Business School in London and University College Dublin.

Marie Diron Managing Director, Sovereign Risk Moody's Investors Service

Marie Diron heads the Sovereign Risk Group for Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, and Sub-Sovereign Risk Group for Asia Pacific and EMEA. She is responsible for analytical teams covering more than 70 sovereign ratings, 15 Multilateral Development Banks and around 400 sub-sovereign ratings in about 30 countries.

Marie has worked as Moody’s lead sovereign analyst for a number of Asia Pacific credits, including China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Sri Lanka and Australia. Marie has also worked in Moody’s Credit Policy, leading a number of macroeconomic analyses, including our regular Global Macro Outlook and other credit research work. 

Marie was previously Director at Oxford Economics, leading the company’s forecasting and scenario analysis service to financial sector and corporate clients, after a number of years at the European Central Bank and Brevan Howard LLP.  Marie received a MPhil in Economics from the University of Cambridge and graduated from the Ecole Centrale Paris.

Laurie Mayers Associate Managing Director, Global Investment Banks and European Banks Moody’s Investors Service

Laurie Mayers is an Associate Managing Director in Moody’s European Banking team. Laurie has responsibility for the analytical teams covering bank and non-bank financial institutions in the UK and Ireland as well as for the global investment banks located in EMEA and North America. Leveraging her risk and regulatory background, she also provides leadership within the Financial Institutions business unit on the cross jurisdictional implications for banks of the implementation of Basel III, the BRRD and TLAC/MREL requirements, UK ring fencing and Brexit. 

Prior to Moody’s, Laurie’s most recent role was Manager of the Capital Management Team at the UK Financial Services Authority (now the Prudential Regulation Authority), where she had responsibility for Pillar 2 capital assessments and firm-wide stress testing for the largest UK banks and building societies.

Laurie’s previous roles include Partner, Risk and Regulatory Advisory, Ernst & Young, Group Head of Basel 2 and a member of the Group Risk Executive Team at RBS, Global Head of Counterparty Credit Risk at RBS and previously, Principal and EMEA Head of Credit for Morgan Stanley International. Laurie began her career at as a staff economist at the New York Mercantile Exchange , and subsequently worked as a lending officer in the Commodity Finance Division at Chase Manhattan Bank following completion of their credit analyst training programme.

Laurie holds a Master’s Degree in International Affairs (with a specialisation in International Economics) from Columbia University SIPA and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Economy from Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts.

Richard Etheridge Associate Managing Director, Corporate Finance Moody's Investors Service

Richard Etheridge is an Associate Managing Director in the EMEA Corporate Finance Group based in London, leading a team of analysts in the high yield and leveraged finance franchise covering a diverse portfolio of industries.

Prior to Moody’s in 2014, Richard had spent the last 18 years in the leverage finance market. He was most recently a senior credit analyst at Pramerica Investment Management, focusing on European high yield bonds and leveraged loans. Previously Richard was a senior portfolio manager in the leveraged loan group at Aladdin Capital, where he managed a team of credit analysts and operations professionals. Prior to Aladdin, Richard was a director and head of warehousing and credit analysis for European leveraged loans at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein. He started his banking career at Natwest Bank. His early career was in the Royal Navy. Richard has a Physics degree from Imperial College of Science and Technology in London, an MBA from Henley Management College, and is an associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers.

Sean Marion Managing Director, EMEA Banking Moody's Investors Service

Sean Marion is Managing Director in the Financial Institutions Group, based in London. He is responsible for Moody’s analytic teams that rate banks and nonbank financial companies in the Nordics, Baltics, South-Eastern Europe and emerging markets in Middle East and Africa. Prior to relocating to London in 2011, Mr. Marion held various positions of progressive responsibility in Moody’s, including working in the firm’s offices in Mexico City and Toronto.

Before joining Moody’s, Mr. Marion worked for The Economist Intelligence Unit, conducting research on macroeconomic and country risk. Mr. Marion holds graduate degrees in economics from the Université Paris I (Sorbonne) and the London School of Economics. He also holds an undergraduate degree from Bishop’s University, Canada.

Mr. Marion is fluent in French and Spanish.

Alastair Wilson Managing Director, Global Sovereign Risk Moody's Investors Service

Alastair Wilson is a Managing Director and Head of Moody’s Sovereign Risk Group. In this capacity, he leads Moody’s global team of sovereign risk analysts, with responsibility for maintaining the quality of Moody’s sovereign ratings and for the analytical leadership Moody’s aims to provide to investors and issuers through its research.

Until August 2014, Alastair was Chief Credit Officer in EMEA, responsible for the quality and consistency of Moody’s credit standards and methodologies across all franchises within the region. He joined Moody’s in September 2010 following twenty-one years at the Bank of England. At the Bank, he worked in a variety of roles in banking supervision, FX and reserves management, banking operations and financial stability.

Alastair graduated from St John’s College, Oxford University in 1988, having studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics. He is based in London.

Colin Ellis EMEA Chief Credit Officer and Managing Director, Credit Strategy Moody's Investors Service

Colin Ellis is Moody’s Chief Credit Officer in EMEA, and a Managing Director in the Credit Strategy team. He is responsible for identifying and analyzing the broad macro and credit trends, and leading and coordinating Moody’s ratings approach, across franchises in the region. He is also a member of Moody’s Macroeconomic Board, which sets the global forecasts that underpin Moody’s universe of ratings.  Colin joined Moody’s in February 2012, initially leading the work of the Macroeconomic Board and authoring the quarterly Global Macro Outlook. He subsequently worked in the Financial Institutions Group, developing quantitative forward-looking analyses of sectors and institutions, including modelling asset trends and stress testing.  Previously Colin has worked at the Bank of England, Daiwa Capital Markets and the BVCA. Colin is a Visiting Research Fellow in the economics department at Birmingham University, and has published on topics ranging from investment and pricing to private equity and data uncertainty. He is also a Fellow of the RSA.  Colin holds degrees from York University, the London School of Economics and Political Science, and Middlesex University. He is based in London. 

José Manuel Barroso President of the EU Commission 2004-2014 Goldman Sachs International

José Manuel Barroso is chairman of Goldman Sachs International. He joined Goldman Sachs in 2016 after a high profile career in EU and Portuguese politics.

In 1999, Barroso was elected president of the Portugese Social Democratic Party and became the leader of the opposition. In 2002, he was elected Prime Minister of Portugal and in 2004 he was nominated as President of the European Commission. Barroso remained in the Presidency for two five-year terms where he played an influential role in the passing of the Treaty of Lisbon, responding to the financial crisis and incorporating new members in the European Union, as the EU went from 15 to 28 countries between 2004 and 2014.

On behalf of the EU, José Manuel Barroso received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012 and gave the acceptance speech together with the President of the European Council.

Barroso’s academic positions included visiting professor at Georgetown University. Most recently, he was visiting professor of International Economic Policy and a policy fellow at the Woodrow Wilson School, at Princeton University.

Philipp Lotter Managing Director, Global Ratings & Research Moody's Investors Service

Philipp Lotter is Managing Director – Global Ratings and Research,based in London. He is responsible for the development of MIS ratings and research opinions for global fundamental and structured finance ratings groups,and the delivery of services to issuers and the market.

Prior to assuming this role in November 2019, he was Global Head and before that EMEA Co-Head of the Corporate Finance Group.

Philipp has spent many years of his career abroad with strong Emerging and Developing Markets coverage experience. He spent more than 5 years in Asia, where he he ldthe dual role of Country Manager for Moody’s office in Singapore, as well as Managing Director of the Corporate Finance Group responsible for companies across Southeast Asia and India.

Before that, Philipp spent more than 3 years in Dubai, United Arab Emirates,where he was responsible for setting up the Moody’s office in Dubai and for the ratings of Middle Eastern corporate issuers across all sectors, including Islamic finance. Having joined Moody’s in London in 2003, Philipp started as an analyst covering utilities and the oil & gas industry.

Before joining Moody’s, Philipp spent 3 years in rating advisory at Citigroup.His career has also included positions at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein in London and Frankfurt in rating advisory, bond and credit research, and leveraged financing. Philipp holds a Diploma from the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management. He has also attended international semesters at the European Business School in London and University College Dublin.

Marie Diron Managing Director, Sovereign Risk Moody's Investors Service

Marie Diron heads the Sovereign Risk Group for Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, and Sub-Sovereign Risk Group for Asia Pacific and EMEA. She is responsible for analytical teams covering more than 70 sovereign ratings, 15 Multilateral Development Banks and around 400 sub-sovereign ratings in about 30 countries.

Marie has worked as Moody’s lead sovereign analyst for a number of Asia Pacific credits, including China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Sri Lanka and Australia. Marie has also worked in Moody’s Credit Policy, leading a number of macroeconomic analyses, including our regular Global Macro Outlook and other credit research work. 

Marie was previously Director at Oxford Economics, leading the company’s forecasting and scenario analysis service to financial sector and corporate clients, after a number of years at the European Central Bank and Brevan Howard LLP.  Marie received a MPhil in Economics from the University of Cambridge and graduated from the Ecole Centrale Paris.

Laurie Mayers Associate Managing Director, Global Investment Banks and European Banks Moody’s Investors Service

Laurie Mayers is an Associate Managing Director in Moody’s European Banking team. Laurie has responsibility for the analytical teams covering bank and non-bank financial institutions in the UK and Ireland as well as for the global investment banks located in EMEA and North America. Leveraging her risk and regulatory background, she also provides leadership within the Financial Institutions business unit on the cross jurisdictional implications for banks of the implementation of Basel III, the BRRD and TLAC/MREL requirements, UK ring fencing and Brexit. 

Prior to Moody’s, Laurie’s most recent role was Manager of the Capital Management Team at the UK Financial Services Authority (now the Prudential Regulation Authority), where she had responsibility for Pillar 2 capital assessments and firm-wide stress testing for the largest UK banks and building societies.

Laurie’s previous roles include Partner, Risk and Regulatory Advisory, Ernst & Young, Group Head of Basel 2 and a member of the Group Risk Executive Team at RBS, Global Head of Counterparty Credit Risk at RBS and previously, Principal and EMEA Head of Credit for Morgan Stanley International. Laurie began her career at as a staff economist at the New York Mercantile Exchange , and subsequently worked as a lending officer in the Commodity Finance Division at Chase Manhattan Bank following completion of their credit analyst training programme.

Laurie holds a Master’s Degree in International Affairs (with a specialisation in International Economics) from Columbia University SIPA and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Economy from Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts.

Richard Etheridge Associate Managing Director, Corporate Finance Moody's Investors Service

Richard Etheridge is an Associate Managing Director in the EMEA Corporate Finance Group based in London, leading a team of analysts in the high yield and leveraged finance franchise covering a diverse portfolio of industries.

Prior to Moody’s in 2014, Richard had spent the last 18 years in the leverage finance market. He was most recently a senior credit analyst at Pramerica Investment Management, focusing on European high yield bonds and leveraged loans. Previously Richard was a senior portfolio manager in the leveraged loan group at Aladdin Capital, where he managed a team of credit analysts and operations professionals. Prior to Aladdin, Richard was a director and head of warehousing and credit analysis for European leveraged loans at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein. He started his banking career at Natwest Bank. His early career was in the Royal Navy. Richard has a Physics degree from Imperial College of Science and Technology in London, an MBA from Henley Management College, and is an associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers.