McKinley Capital Management Chief Compliance Officer Earns Top Industry Award

According to Lamb, a compliance officer has to understand every piece of the industry: portfolios, research, investor relations, sales, and more, because a compliance officer has to ensure that rules are being followed at every level, in every department. Lamb is able to connect the dots across departments because of her background in various positions in the industry. She is able to understand the relationships and how things work within the industry’s structure.

At McKinley Capital, Lamb leads the entire team in a unique and rigorous compliance program. Every employee at the firm is expected to act as a compliance officer, which is unique from the standard of compliance being just a function of one department.

“For more than ten years, McKinley Capital has relied on and benefitted from Deborah’s leadership,” Rob Gillam, McKinley Capital CEO/CIO said. “While some might think it is incredible to have her level of skill and talent at a boutique money management firm in Alaska, I think her tenure speaks to our firm’s industry-leading commitment to compliance. Deborah’s extensive regulatory knowledge and compliance expertise has helped make McKinley Capital a world-class global investment firm. She has absolutely earned this national award and we are honored to have her on our team.”

For Lamb, being the Chief Compliance Officer for McKinley Capital is more than just a job, it is a career that she is passionate about. Some of her favorite parts of the job is that a specialty in compliance didn’t exist when she started out, and that she gets to tackle a new challenge every day. Lamb has been a member of the National Society of Compliance Professionals for nearly twenty years and she actively sits on committees that respond to and meet with regulators, including the SEC, on topics and rules that materially affect how the business is managed. She has helped to develop the profession and she’s dedicated to sharing knowledge with other industry professionals.

Because the market, economy, and products are always changing, Lamb is a huge proponent of continuing education. She even helped to implement a certification program, the Certified Securities Compliance Professional certification program, through the NSCP in 2007 to help other professionals continue their education. In addition to having earned the CSCP certification, Lamb is a Certified Fraud Examiner, a Certified Investment Fund Director, and is always working to continue her education.

For everything she has given back to the profession, and for her dedication and commitment in her current role, Lamb was named this year’s Joan Hinchman Award recipient.

“This is like the Nobel Prize for our industry,” Lamb said. “To be selected by my peers for this award, it’s an honor.”

In addition to her volunteerism with the NSCP, Lamb sits on the Anchorage Opera Board of Trustees, the Anchorage Opera Foundation Board and the American Cancer Society Anchorage Wine and Food Festival Committee. She is an energetic and enthusiastic Alaskan by choice.