Global Custodian’s Industry Person of the Year, 2017-2025
Launched in 2017, Global Custodian’s Industry Person of the Year grew from a single London prize to annual awards in London, Singapore and New York, with winners chosen by live vote.
Global Custodian introduced the Industry Person of the Year award in 2017 to recognize individual achievements over a 12-month period rather than lifetime service. The award began at the Leaders in Custody event in London and expanded into annual ceremonies in London, Singapore and New York.
Organizers maintain a living shortlist throughout the year, adding and ranking names based on industry conversations and developments. A longer list of candidates is reduced to four finalists one to two weeks before each ceremony, and those finalists are profiled on Global Custodian’s website. The winner at each event is chosen by a live vote, typically cast by about 300 peers attending the awards night.
Selection criteria emphasize recent impact. Considered factors include achievements within an organization, leadership of notable projects, promotions and public thought leadership. Organizers also factor in informal peer endorsements. The award is open to professionals across global custodians, market infrastructures, fintechs and fund administrators and is not limited to chief executives.
The London and Singapore editions focus on custody and technology, while the New York ceremony has a fund-services emphasis. The New York awards have produced winners from fintechs and a fund administrator, while custodians have accounted for a large share of victories overall. In Asia the award has been presented twice and both wins went to HSBC.
Winners by year are: 2017 Justin Chapman (Northern Trust); 2018 Pervaiz Panjwani (Citi); 2019 Fiona Gallagher (Deutsche Bank); no award in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic; 2021 Caroline Butler (BNY Mellon); 2022 Roman Regelman (BNY Mellon); 2023 Hannah Elson (JPMorgan); 2024 Valerie Urbain (Euroclear); and 2025 Margaret Harwood-Jones (Standard Chartered).
Each year’s shortlist has included candidates from a range of firms and roles across the securities services sector. Global Custodian is preparing to reveal the four candidates for the 2026 awards.
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