On September 3, the International Compliance Association (ICA), in collaboration with LRN, hosted a webinar to spotlight the winner of the ICA Compliance Culture Initiative of the Year Award — a category proudly sponsored by LRN. The award went to Wirex in recognition of its ambitious and transformative compliance culture program, which has reshaped the way compliance is embedded across the organization.
Meet the speakers
The session, moderated by Pekka Dare, brought together Ty Francis, Chief Advisory Officer at LRN, and Dhanush Lodhia, EMEA Head of Compliance at Wirex to explore the challenges, strategies, and outcomes that made Wirex’s program a standout success.
- Pekka Dare (President, ICA): Pekka led the discussion, guiding the audience through the key issues at the heart of culture change and compliance effectiveness.
- Ty Francis (Chief Advisory Officer, LRN): A long-time thought leader in ethics and compliance, Ty brought the perspective of both a judge for the awards and a practitioner advising global organizations on culture measurement and program effectiveness.
- Dhanush Lodhia (EMEA Head of Compliance, Wirex): Representing the award-winning program, Dhanush shared Wirex’s journey in reshaping its compliance culture from siloed and reactive to collaborative, transparent, and sustainable.
Why Wirex Stood Out
Wirex’s initiative was recognized as a clear winner for several reasons:
1. Addressing cultural challenges head-on: When the program began, compliance at Wirex was seen as a "departmental" responsibility rather than a shared organizational value. This led to siloed working, finger-pointing, and inefficiencies. Wirex set out to change this by making compliance everyone's job, from senior leadership to front-line teams.
2. Leadership buy-in and the risk culture framework: Wirex launched its “Risk Culture Framework” with strong support from the board and senior executives. By bringing together stakeholders from compliance, HR, customer support, and other teams, the program embedded compliance into the firm’s DNA.
3. Data-driven approach: The team conducted a culture survey using the Institute of Risk Management framework, assessing factors such as accountability, transparency, decision-making, and governance. This data helped prioritize efforts and provided a baseline for measuring progress.
4. Building psychological safety and engagement: Wirex encouraged employees to raise issues by celebrating, not penalizing, those who spoke up. Initiatives like the “Good News Channel” and small recognition rewards reinforced positive behaviors, helping build trust and psychological safety across the business.
5. Transparency and communication: Results from surveys were shared openly, both the positives and areas for improvement. This transparency built credibility and showed employees that leadership was listening and acting on feedback.
6. Measuring impact and sustaining change: Progress was tracked using both hard and soft metrics—from increased reporting of risk incidents (a sign of trust in the system) to stronger cross-functional collaboration. Importantly, Wirex embedded compliance culture as a continuous journey, not a one -off project.
Judges’ perspective
As an award judge, Ty Francis emphasized that Wirex’s program demonstrated vulnerability, transparency, and long-term commitment—qualities often missing in compliance initiatives. What stood out most was Wirex’s ability to make culture change both an internal driver of employee trust and an external competitive advantage, strengthening relationships with regulators, partners, and customers alike.
Key lessons for compliance leaders
- Secure leadership buy-in early, but engage the entire organization.
- Use data to diagnose cultural gaps and track improvements over time.
- Prioritize psychological safety so employees feel safe to speak up.
- Be transparent about challenges and share progress, good or bad.
- Think long term—culture change is a marathon, not a sprint.
The Wirex story highlights how compliance can move beyond being seen as a “blocker” to becoming a driver of resilience, trust, and sustainable business growth.
If you missed the session and would like to hear what was shared in more detail, you can watch the on-demand version of the webinar here.
