Bill Winters

Bill Winters
Winters at the World Economic Forum in Davos, 2021
Bill Winters
Born	William Thomas Winters September 1961
Birthplace	Connecticut, United States
Nationality	American
Occupation	Banker
Title	Group Chief Executive, Standard Chartered
Education	Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (MBA) Colgate University (BA)
Spouse(s)	Anda Winters
Children	2
Awards	CBE; TIME100 Climate Leader (2025)

William Thomas Winters CBE (born September 1961) is an American banker who has served as the group chief executive of Standard Chartered PLC since June 2015. Before joining Standard Chartered, Winters spent over two decades at JPMorgan Chase, where he rose to become co-head of the firm's investment bank. His tenure at JPMorgan was marked by a reputation for risk management that helped the firm avoid some of the most damaging exposures during the global financial crisis of 2007–2008. After departing JPMorgan in 2009, Winters founded the alternative asset management firm Renshaw Bay before being recruited to lead Standard Chartered through a period of significant restructuring. Under his leadership, Standard Chartered has pursued a strategic focus on wealth management, digital banking, and sustainable finance across its core markets in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. In 2025, TIME named Winters to its list of the 100 Most Influential Climate Leaders, recognising his efforts to position Standard Chartered as a leader in climate-related finance.

Early Life

William Thomas Winters was born in September 1961 in Connecticut, United States. Details about his family background and upbringing have not been extensively documented in public sources. Winters grew up in Connecticut and went on to pursue higher education at institutions in the northeastern United States.

Education

Winters attended Colgate University, a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York, where he earned his undergraduate degree. He subsequently pursued graduate studies at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, one of the leading business schools in the United States, where he obtained a Master of Business Administration.

Career

JPMorgan Chase (1983–2009)

Winters joined JPMorgan (then J.P. Morgan & Co.) following his graduation and spent approximately 26 years at the firm, during which he rose through the ranks of the investment banking division. He became co-head of JPMorgan's investment bank, serving alongside Jes Staley in overseeing one of the largest investment banking operations on Wall Street.

During his career at JPMorgan, Winters was involved in several significant developments in global finance. He played a role in the early development and trading of credit default swaps (CDS), a financial instrument that became central to the global financial system and later to the financial crisis. He was also involved in JPMorgan's expansion into the United Kingdom through the merger with Cazenove, a historic British brokerage and investment banking firm. The deal, which was announced in 2004 and completed in stages, marked the end of Cazenove's long history as an independent partnership and gave JPMorgan a significant presence in the UK market.

Winters became known within the industry for his approach to risk management. During the period leading up to the 2007–2008 financial crisis, he was credited with helping JPMorgan avoid significant exposure to some of the riskiest and most complex financial products, including certain collateralised debt obligations and subprime mortgage-backed securities, that devastated rival firms. The Seattle Times reported that Winters had steered the firm away from these investments, a stance that helped JPMorgan emerge from the crisis in a relatively stronger position than many of its competitors.

Despite his contribution to the firm's stability through the crisis, Winters departed JPMorgan in September 2009. His exit was part of a broader management reorganisation under CEO Jamie Dimon, in which the leadership of the investment bank was restructured. The departure attracted considerable attention in financial media, with analysts and commentators noting the irony that a banker who had helped protect the firm from the worst of the crisis was being replaced. Fortune and the New York Observer both reported on the internal dynamics and political manoeuvring that accompanied the leadership changes at JPMorgan during this period.

Renshaw Bay and Independent Commission on Banking

Following his departure from JPMorgan, Winters founded Renshaw Bay, an alternative asset management firm based in London. The firm focused on alternative investment strategies. During this period, Winters also served as a member of the UK's Independent Commission on Banking (ICB), chaired by Sir John Vickers. The commission was established by the British government in the wake of the financial crisis to examine the structure of UK banking and make recommendations for reform. The ICB's final report, published in 2011, recommended the ring-fencing of retail banking operations from investment banking activities within UK banks—a proposal that was subsequently adopted into legislation.

Standard Chartered (2015–present)

In February 2015, Standard Chartered announced that Winters would succeed Peter Sands as group chief executive, taking up the role in June 2015. His appointment came during a period of significant difficulty for the bank, which had experienced falling profits, rising bad debts particularly in its commodity-related lending portfolio, and regulatory challenges across several markets. The Guardian reported on Winters' appointment, noting his extensive background in investment banking and risk management.

Upon assuming the role, Winters embarked on a comprehensive restructuring of Standard Chartered's operations. The bank undertook a large-scale cost reduction programme, exited certain non-core businesses and geographies, and significantly tightened its risk management and compliance functions. The restructuring also involved raising fresh capital to strengthen the bank's balance sheet.

Over the subsequent years, Winters oversaw a strategic pivot at Standard Chartered toward wealth management, transaction banking, and financial markets businesses across the bank's core footprint in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. The bank also invested in digital capabilities and fintech partnerships.

Financial Performance

By 2025, Standard Chartered had reached its return on tangible equity (ROTE) target a year ahead of schedule, a key financial milestone for the bank under Winters' leadership. The Financial Times reported that Standard Chartered's profits rose in the final quarter of 2025, driven by an increase in wealth management fees and an inflow of assets. Bloomberg reported in February 2026 that the bank increased its annual bonus pool by 10% for 2025, though Winters' own total pay package remained flat.

The issue of executive remuneration at Standard Chartered under Winters drew scrutiny on several occasions. In 2019, Reuters reported that the bank faced an investor protest over CEO pay at its annual general meeting, with a significant minority of shareholders voting against the remuneration report.

Succession Planning

By early 2026, questions regarding Winters' succession at Standard Chartered had become a prominent topic among investors and in the financial press. The Times reported that Winters was under pressure to clarify his succession plan, particularly following the departure of the bank's finance chief, who had been seen by some analysts as a potential successor. Having led the bank for over a decade by this point, Winters' tenure as CEO had become one of the longest among major international bank chiefs.

Hong Kong and Geopolitics

As CEO of an Asia-focused bank with a major presence in Hong Kong, Winters navigated a complex geopolitical environment, particularly regarding relations between the West and China. In late 2022, ahead of the Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit in Hong Kong, Winters publicly stated that Hong Kong remained "open" and confirmed his plans to attend the event in person, signalling the bank's continued commitment to the city as a financial centre. During this period, he also praised Hong Kong's moves toward regulating virtual asset trading, calling on the city to remove remaining travel restrictions.

Workplace Policies

Winters attracted media attention in 2025 for his stance on remote work and return-to-office policies. In an interview with Bloomberg, he stated that he personally worked from the office four days per week but left the specific arrangement to individual employees, saying: "We work with adults, and the adults can have an adult conversation with other adults." The comment, reported by Fortune, was noted as a contrast to the stricter mandates issued by some other major bank CEOs.

Climate and Sustainable Finance

Under Winters, Standard Chartered positioned itself as an active participant in climate-related finance initiatives. Winters served as a member of the Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets (TSVCM), an initiative convened by the Institute of International Finance (IIF) and led by Mark Carney, the UN Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance. The bank committed to aligning its financing activities with the goals of the Paris Agreement and set targets related to net-zero emissions. In October 2025, TIME recognised Winters on its list of the 100 Most Influential Climate Leaders, citing his role in driving business climate action.

Personal Life

Winters is married to Anda Winters. The couple have two children. Winters has been based in London for a significant portion of his career, having relocated to the United Kingdom during his time at JPMorgan and remaining there through his tenures at Renshaw Bay and Standard Chartered. He holds American nationality.

Winters was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), an honour recognising his contributions to the banking sector and financial services.

Recognition

Winters has received several forms of recognition over the course of his career:

• Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) — Awarded for services to banking and financial services.
• TIME100 Climate Leaders (2025) — Named by TIME magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential Climate Leaders for his role in advancing climate-related finance at Standard Chartered.
• Member, Independent Commission on Banking (UK) — Served on the Vickers Commission, which reshaped the regulatory framework of the UK banking sector following the 2007–2008 financial crisis.
• Member, Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets — Participated in the international initiative to scale carbon markets, convened by the IIF.

At Standard Chartered, the bank's achievement of its ROTE target ahead of schedule in 2025 was seen as a significant validation of Winters' long-running restructuring strategy. The bank's improved financial performance, including rising profits driven by wealth management and transaction banking, was reported by the Financial Times and other financial publications.

Legacy

Winters' career spans two of the most significant chapters in modern international banking. At JPMorgan, his risk-averse approach during the pre-crisis years stood in contrast to the aggressive strategies pursued by many competitors, and his departure from the firm in 2009 was seen by observers as a cautionary tale about the internal politics of large financial institutions. The eFinancialCareers publication, in a retrospective analysis published in 2026, reflected on the contrasting trajectories of Winters and Jes Staley, his former co-head at JPMorgan, noting that Winters had gone on to lead a major international bank while Staley's career ended amid controversy.

At Standard Chartered, Winters' decade-long tenure has encompassed a comprehensive restructuring of the bank, a strategic reorientation toward wealth management and digital banking, and an increasing emphasis on sustainable finance. The bank's early achievement of its ROTE target in 2025 represented a tangible financial benchmark of the turnaround effort. His inclusion on TIME's climate leadership list reflected an evolving aspect of his public profile, moving beyond traditional banking into the intersection of finance and environmental policy.

As of early 2026, questions surrounding succession planning at Standard Chartered suggested that Winters' tenure as group chief executive was entering its final phase, though no formal departure timeline had been announced.