Ellen Watson-Hicks

Ellen is Railpen’s Chief Risk and Compliance Officer and a Chartered Accountant (ACCA), leading the organisations approach to enterprise risk management, regulatory compliance and corporate governance. With over 25 years of experience in financial services, she has built a strong track record on board governance, oversight, and risk framework implementation, working across leading institutions including the Universities Superannuation Scheme, TP ICAP, Nomura and Aviva.  

At Railpen, Ellen has developed and embedded a comprehensive risk governance system, integrated organisation-wide training to create a risk-aware culture, and strengthened risk advice, oversight and governance for all Board members, including independent non-executive directors. She works closely with the Audit and Risk Committees and executive leadership to provide independent challenge, strategic risk advice, and decision-making assurance that protects long-term member value.  

An approachable and collaborative leader and trained mental health first aider, Ellen is passionate about building high-performing risk and compliance teams and fostering a culture of transparency, accountability, and operational resilience. Her focus on governance improvement, regulatory readiness, and risk mitigation strategies helps ensure Railpen and the Trustee continue to meet their fiduciary responsibilities and deliver for members.