Richard leads Fitch’s team of Regional and Group Credit Officers located in a dozen cities around the world, who act as a senior check and balance in the rating assignment process, providing additional perspectives and research to protect the quality of Fitch’s ratings. The Chief Credit Officer’s group is also responsible for thematic cross-sector credit market commentary, including the team behind the agency’s market-leading FitchWire reports. Richard was appointed to the role in July 2021, having earlier served four years as the Regional Credit Officer responsible for Europe and Asia, subsequent to heading the agency’s utility rating practice in New York. Most recently, Richard was the global head of Fitch’s corporate rating practice from 2013 to 2021. Before joining Fitch in 1996, he worked in credit roles in Frankfurt and London at the central liquidity institution for the German cooperative financial system.