Katherine Avery is the Founder of Chimayo Consulting LLC, a boutique advisory firm specializing in AI governance, model risk management, operational risk, and regulatory compliance.

Prior to founding Chimayo Consulting, Katherine served as Global Head of Operational Risk at StoneX, a Fortune 50 financial services firm, operating across commodities, securities, and foreign exchange markets globally. In that role she held enterprise-wide accountability for operational risk strategy, governance, and execution across trading and clearing operations in a complex, multi-jurisdictional organization.

Previously, Katherine held senior risk management positions at S&P Global, BOK Financial, and BBVA, spanning operational risk and enterprise risk management. Earlier in her career, she held structured finance roles at a GE Capital and CBRE joint venture and at SitusAMC, formerly The Situs Companies.

Throughout her career, Katherine has worked with institutions subject to oversight by the OCC, Federal Reserve, FDIC, CFTC, NFA, FINRA, FCA, ESMA, MAS, BaFin, and other national and international authorities. She brings direct experience navigating supervisory examinations across banking, capital markets, and commodity markets, along with practical knowledge of international regulatory standards and risk frameworks, including Basel regulatory frameworks, COSO ERM, IOSCO principles, and the EU Benchmarks Regulation.

Through Chimayo Consulting, Katherine advises organizations on enterprise and operational risk management, model risk management, AI governance, third-party risk, and regulatory compliance. Her approach combines strategic perspective with practical implementation, helping clients build risk and governance capabilities aligned with their business objectives, regulatory obligations, and evolving technology landscape.

Katherine holds a BBA from the University of Mississippi and an MBA from University of Texas at Tyler. Her professional credentials include Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and Certified Risk and Compliance Management Professional (CRCMP), along with certifications in operational risk management from PRMIA and vendor risk management from Compliance Education Institute.

She is active in the professional risk, financial services, and entrepreneurial communities through organizations including ACFE, Houston ACFE, Financial Women in Texas, Women in Financial Markets (WIFRM), the Association of Women in Cryptocurrency (AWIC), PRMIA, and Risky Women. She also mentors through MassChallenge, Techstars, and programs at the University of Mississippi.

Chimayo Consulting is a member of the Texas Bankers Association (TBA) and Futures Industry Association (FIA) and supports the Corporate Guild of Dress for Success Houston.