Northern Trust’s Penelope Biggs accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Northern Trust’s chief strategy officer for the corporate and institutional services (C&IS) business, and well-known securities services industry figure, Penelope Biggs, was the recipient of Global Custodian’s Lifetime Achievement award last night.
The accolade was handed out at the Leaders in Custody awards at The Dorchester in London, as part of Global Custodian’s 30th Anniversary celebrations.
Biggs has spent nearly 25 years at Northern Trust, and 35 years in the securities services industry. Her most notable roles at the Chicago-based bank include head of the custody, fund administration and asset servicing businesses across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). She has also been responsible for managing Northern Trust’s offices in London, the Netherlands, Sweden, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia.
Biggs sits on the board of Northern Trust Global Services, and is a long-standing member of the C&IS global executive committee.
Outside of her daily duties, she is involved in various charity committees, and serves as the head of Northern Trust’s EMEA LGBT diversity group.
“There have been a number of highlights over my 35 years in an industry that has growth from strength to strength, re-inventing itself to suit the changing landscape and innovating to always stay ahead of the game,” said Biggs. “It’s been a real pleasure and a privilege to have been part of this evolution and looking forward to more good things to come. Many thanks to Global Custodian for their support and advocacy along the way.”
Biggs has rapidly emerged as one of the driving forces of Northern Trust’s global business, and is responsible for the planning, communication and implementation of the bank’s global strategy. Under her guidance and leadership the bank has been famous for its innovation across its range of functions.
“We are delighted to announce Penelope Biggs as our Lifetime Achievement Award winner for 2019,” said Jonathan Watkins, managing editor of Global Custodian. “Biggs has made an impact not only within Northern Trust but to the wider securities services industry during her illustrious career.”
Previous recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award include Margaret Harwood-Jones, global head of securities services, Standard Chartered Bank, Thomas Zeeb, CEO of SIX Securities Services and Yawar Shah, managing director at Citi.