Interview with Rima Awad, former Global Head of Communications at BNY

Rima Awad's career is a study in ambition and reinvention. From building award-winning communications functions across global financial markets, to pioneering AI-powered communications tools before most organisations had even started the conversation, she has consistently operated at the frontier of what strategic communications can achieve. She made the bold move from Australia to London — one of the world's most competitive financial centres — and quickly established herself at the very top of her field. What does it take to lead communications through regulatory upheaval, live cyber incidents and a global rebrand — and come out the other side with an award on the shelf?

We are delighted to be interviewing Rima as she shares how she turns complexity into clarity; why human judgment will always matter more than the technology supporting it; and the leadership philosophy behind some of the most high-performing communications teams in the industry. She also has some strong views on what it really means to have a seat at the table — and what to do with it once you are there.

1. Could you give us a brief overview of your career so far?

Over twenty-five years at the sharp end of communications, transformation and financial services. But before any of that — I arrived in London from Australia twenty-seven years ago with a suitcase, a head full of dreams and a plan to travel and work for a while. That plan, as plans often do, took on a life of its own. London did not let me go — and honestly, I never really tried to leave. What started as an adventure became a career, a life and a city I am genuinely proud to call home.

From there, I moved through consulting roles with PwC, Visa and Aviva, then senior in-house roles at Experian, Logica, Infosys and Marston Holdings, before spending nearly a decade at BNY as Director and Global Head of Communications — where I transformed the function using AI, building Agentic tools that changed how we created, personalised and distributed content at scale.

Honestly? I have learnt more in the last two years than the first twenty-three combined. AI is affecting every single facet of communications and I am here for it — which, given I came here for everything, feels entirely on brand.

2. What crisis do you think comms professionals are least prepared for — and what should they be doing about it?

Cyber. Without question. Most organisations have a crisis plan — few have truly stress-tested it. I remember one situation where we had less than twenty minutes to agree a client communication, with facts still coming in and Legal, Technology, Resiliency and Communications all on the same call under enormous pressure. That experience showed me what genuine readiness looks like — and how rare it actually is. Run live simulations. Get your teams under real pressure before a real incident does it for you. A plan that has never been tested is just a document.

3. In a heavily regulated environment like global banking, how do you maintain a communications function that is genuinely agile and responsive?

Build the infrastructure before you need it. Playbooks, pre-approved frameworks, templates for the scenarios you know are coming — so you are never starting from zero at the worst possible moment. Agility in a regulated environment is not about moving fast without guardrails. It is about having the right guardrails so deeply embedded that speed becomes possible. And relationships with Resiliency, Legal, Compliance and Risk built in the quiet times are what makes everything work when it is not quiet at all.

4. You built an AI-powered agent from scratch inside a major global bank. What would you do differently?

Involve the end users earlier — much earlier. We built something genuinely powerful, but adoption takes longer than build. Every time. If I were doing it again I would co-design from the outset, pilot faster and measure adoption as rigorously as output. The technology was ahead of where people were ready to go. And that gap — between what is possible and what people are willing to embrace — is where the real work lives. AI is not just a technical challenge. It is a change communications challenge. The organisations that understand that distinction are the ones getting it right.

5. Where does AI genuinely add value in communications — and where should humans remain firmly in the driving seat?

The workforce right now is preoccupied with four things: AI, judgment, ethical decision making and change communications. And they are all connected. AI adds real value in speed, scale and insight — drafting at pace, personalising content, analysing sentiment, finding patterns humans would miss. But the questions that matter most — should we say this, is now the right moment, what is the human cost of getting this wrong — those require judgment. AI can draft the message, but it cannot decide whether that message should be sent — that call requires human intervention and judgment. That distinction matters enormously.

6. You grew a large global team for one of the world's key financial institutions. What is the most important lesson you have learned when managing people?

The most important lesson? Know when to lead and when to get out of the way.

The best teams I have built ran on three things: clarity of purpose, genuine autonomy and the kind of honest feedback that makes people better rather than smaller. I have always hired for potential over pedigree, and stretched people before they felt ready — because that is where real growth happens. What I found time and again is that people rise to the occasion when you genuinely back them. Not in a tokenistic way — but by putting them in rooms they have never been in before, trusting them to lead initiatives that matter and letting them own the relationship with senior stakeholders. That visibility, that real responsibility, is what builds confidence in a way that no training programme ever can. I have seen people transform when they realise the trust is genuine and the safety net is there if they need it.

The leaders I have admired most were never the loudest or the most certain. They were the ones who created the conditions for other people to do their best work. That is what I have always tried to do. And honestly, the teams that made me most proud were the ones that needed me least.

7. What would you say are your three key attributes that have contributed to your career success?

Clarity — I translate complexity into something people understand and actually act on. Resilience — including years in high-pressure environments that teach you to stay calm and make good decisions when everything around you is not calm at all. And relationships — I invest in the people around me, and the trust that builds over time has opened more doors than any strategy or skill set alone. Turns out people remember how you made them feel long after they have forgotten what you said. Communications professionals learn this — eventually.

8. What is the best piece of professional advice you have been given — and by whom?

Two pieces — both have stayed with me.

The first came from a senior leader early in my career: "Always solve for the business problem first — the communications will follow." It fundamentally shaped how I work. Too many communications professionals start with the message and work backwards. I start with what the organisation is trying to achieve. Simple in theory. Harder in practice than it sounds.

The second is one I gave myself — usually at the moments I needed it most: believe in yourself even when no one else does. Make the hard decision. Back your judgment. The results will speak for themselves. There have been moments in my career where I have taken a position, recommended a course of action or made a call that was not the popular one. Every single time, that conviction — uncomfortable as it was — turned out to be the right thing. Confidence is not arrogance. It is just trusting what you know.

And I would add one more for good measure: stories are always better told with anecdotes. Data tells people what happened. Stories make them feel why it matters. The best communications I have ever been involved in combined both — the rigour of the fact and the warmth of the human moment behind it.

9. If you hadn't moved into comms, what would have been your Plan B?

Law. Always law. I am obsessed with the courtroom — not in a crime podcast way, although I won't deny it — but because it insists on hearing two sides before reaching any conclusion. I try to live by that. Before forming a view, find the other perspective. Before communicating, understand what the other side is actually hearing. In communications, as in law, the person who listens best usually wins.

10. How do you maintain a healthy work-life balance?

Boundaries. Non-negotiable. Energy management beats time management every time. I swim — not for fitness, that is just a bonus — but because there are zero distractions in the water. No phone, no slack, no opinions. Just thinking space. Music takes me somewhere else entirely — it shifts something in me that nothing else does. And I walk to explore — no destination, no plan, just navigating and seeing where I end up. Some of my best ideas have arrived on a Tuesday afternoon in a street I did not know existed. Stop trying to think and the thinking finds you.

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