Global financial leaders awarded for digital risk innovation

Andy Lawrie, Tech Lead for Credit Risk at Nationwide Building Society, has received recognition as one of four recipients of the inaugural FICO Decision Hero Awards for contributions to analytics and digital transformation in financial services.

The Decision Hero Awards, presented by FICO, acknowledge individuals who have utilised advanced analytics to advance transformation within the financial sector. Lawrie's work at Nationwide focused on overhauling the credit decisioning framework by leading a migration to the FICO Platform. This initiative centralised decision-making across several product lines, resulting in higher levels of efficiency, agility and compliance at the building society.

Lawrie has built his career in decision science, credit risk, and fintech, with previous senior positions at Aviva and Banco Santander. His experience includes developing automated risk models and AI-driven credit assessments and contributing to modernisation efforts in decisioning systems across Europe.

"To make analytics work at scale, you need two things: clear strategy and cultural alignment. We designed our decisioning transformation not just for technology, but for the people using it," Andy Lawrie commented.

"The 2025 Decision Heroes embody what's possible when bold vision meets advanced analytics. From improving credit risk and operational efficiency to fighting fraud at scale, they demonstrate the power of data-driven decisioning," Nikhil Behl, President, Software at FICO, said, applauding the recipients.

Deb Strickland, Credit Risk Strategy and Product Manager for Wells Fargo, was also honoured in the awards. Strickland has worked in credit risk management for over twenty years, driving the implementation of machine learning-led credit decisioning at the US bank. She has played a key part in the launch and refinement of underwriting models, new credit products, and portfolio risk strategies. Before joining Wells Fargo, Strickland held senior roles at PayPal and Washington Mutual, where she contributed to the advancement of risk frameworks and the integration of advanced analytics to produce compliant and innovative products in both the US and UK financial markets.

"The best strategies and analytics are just aspirations on a slide until my team brings them to life. FICO's tools help turn that vision into real results," Strickland said.

Another award recipient was Chartsiri Sophonpanich, President of Bangkok Bank. Sophonpanich has led the bank through a comprehensive digital transformation and regional expansion over nearly thirty years. During his tenure, Bangkok Bank adopted FICO's analytics solutions to enhance risk assessment, improve credit decisioning, and deploy AI-driven fraud detection. The institution and its subsidiaries now process hundreds of thousands of digital loan approvals monthly under his leadership.

"Success in analytics is not about having the best technology—it's about having the right mindset. We've embedded analytics into every decision-making layer, making it a part of how we serve customers," Chartsiri Sophonpanich said.

The fourth individual recognised was Ulisses Okamoto, Partner for Fraud Risk Management at Itaú Unibanco. Okamoto has overseen the bank's digital fraud strategy transformation, including the transition to cloud-based fraud detection systems. This approach reportedly reduced over USD $20M in monthly fraud losses and improved detection rates by 20%. Prior to his role at Itaú, Okamoto worked at Citibank, where he was involved in the development of AI-powered fraud models and risk mitigation strategies.

"Fraud prevention isn't just about risk—it's about delivering safe, standout experiences. In today's digital world, security shapes brand perception and business success. Ignore it, and you'll fall behind—left out of the competition and out of the game," Ulisses Okamoto commented.

The FICO Decision Hero Awards highlight the diverse contributions of senior figures across global banking organisations, recognising their efforts in harnessing analytics and data-driven systems to support transformation and improve outcomes in financial services.