About Gem

Straightforward guidance to businesses on financial services regulation

Gem Compliance Consulting Ltd is a established independent compliance consultancy that provides outsourced compliance advice, monitoring, training and project related services to financial services firms. This includes firms across a number of different sectors but specialising in small to medium sized investment managers (both MiFID and AIFMD), corporate finance firms and other advisory firms, general insurance brokers, and professional firms carrying out regulated activities incidental to their main business.

The firm was established in 2005 by Gillian Gallacher, an experienced compliance consultant. Gillian has worked in the financial services industry since 1986 and has focused on regulatory compliance since 1993. The firm is supported by a team of compliance consultants from a number of different sectors including investment advisory, fund management, mortgage and general insurance, consumer credit and banking organisations.

Gem Compliance has offices in London and Edinburgh and supports financial services firms throughout the UK. We specialise in supporting firms with applications for FCA authorisation and providing tailored compliance support for existing authorised firms.

Gem Compliance is a long standing member and supporter of the Association of Professional Compliance Consultants, which acts as a professional body to enhance and endorse the professional standards of compliance consultants throughout the UK.

Gillian Gallacher
Managing Director

Prior to starting Gem Compliance in 2006, Gillian worked in the financial services industry since starting as a graduate trainee with Scottish Widows in 1986, having obtained a law degree (LLB) at Aberdeen University. She has specialised in compliance roles since 1993 and has held various senior management positions including approved persons roles (both Compliance and Financial Crime) at a range of regulated firms.  

She also worked on the regulatory side of the industry when at Lloyd’s of London and has indepth experience both of FCA and Payment Services regulations and pre-FCA regulatory regimes.  She is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment (Chartered FCSI), having previously obtained her CISI Diploma in Investment Compliance in 2008.  She also has other CISI qualifications including Investment Operations and Global Financial Services Risk.  

Gillian is the Managing Director of Gem Compliance/Partner and Compliance Officer of Midmar Capital and is responsible for the overall operations of the firm and its staff. She also acts as a senior consultant to regulated firms, specialising in advice on FCA applications (authorisations, variation of permission, change of control) and regulatory perimeter issues and guidance. 

Outside of work, she enjoys watching many sports including rugby and otherwise spend time entertaining and walking her dog.  

Emma Jones
Compliance Manager

Emma started working in financial services in 2005 after graduating with a first class honours degree in Biochemistry from The University of Sheffield. 

After quickly climbing the ladder to a Team Leader position in Connells’ Mortgage Business Unit, Emma started working in Connells’ Compliance and Legal Services department as a Regulatory Risk Analyst. 

Between 2007 and 2010 Emma obtained her Certificate in Mortgage Advice Practice and a Diploma in Compliance. Emma left her position with Connells in 2011 and joined Countrywide Principal Services Limited as a Technical Compliance Adviser. 

In her role at Countrywide, Emma provided regulatory guidance on home finance, non-investment insurance and consumer credit related issues to Senior Management and Compliance and Legal staff within other Group subsidiaries, which included other directly authorised firms, their ARs and the Group parent company. 

In 2014 Emma joined Gem Compliance Consulting Limited as a Compliance Manager and has since achieved the CISI’s Diploma in Investment Compliance. 

Emma has previously held FCA approval for SMF17 (MLRO) and is currently SMF16 (Compliance Officer).

As well as responsibilities connected to her Compliance Officer role, Emma is involved in helpdesk queries, compliance monitoring and other forms of regulatory oversight, internal reporting, team training and supervision, and ad hoc project work.

Outside of work, Emma enjoys reading, watching films/boxsets, Zumba and walking her dog, but gets the most enjoyment from spending time with her “beautiful” family.

Andrew Wright
Compliance Consultant

Andrew entered the financial services industry in 2000 as a graduate trainee with National Australia Group, following a number of years as a professional cyclist and obtaining a business degree.

After an initial couple of years spent in business banking, Andrew has since been employed in a broad variety of risk, compliance and regulation roles with blue chip and global corporates, across the banking, wealth management, asset management and energy sectors.

Andrew specialises in compliance monitoring and general risk management advice.

Andrew’s qualifications include the industry recognised CISI Diploma in Investment Compliance, the Investment Management Certificate, and banking specific awards including Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland, the Diploma in Business and Corporate Banking, and the Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice.

Andrew joined Gem Compliance Consulting Ltd in July 2017 as an independent consultant.

In his spare time, he is entertainment to three children, and when feasible runs competitively.

Laura Thomson
Compliance Consultant

Laura started working in the financial services industry in London in 2001 and has worked in compliance since 2004. Her compliance roles have focused on investment banking, research and securities divisions. 

After having lived in Hong Kong for eight years where she worked for Morgan Stanley and then Goldman Sachs, Laura returned to the UK with her husband in 2018, choosing Edinburgh as their new home. 

Laura joined Gem Compliance as a part-time compliance consultant in February 2019 and advises on marketing approvals, fund closes, onboarding of appointed representatives and approved persons as well as market abuse and MNPI.  

In her spare time Laura hosts a radio show “Vinyl Voyages” with her husband which is broadcast in Edinburgh. Laura also enjoys cycling, swimming, running and acting. 

Agata Mackay
Senior Compliance Associate

Agata (Agie) started working in financial services in 2016, a few months after she graduated from the Heriot Watt University having been awarded a degree in Interpreting and Translating in Spanish and French. 

She worked for the Royal Bank of Scotland as a Premier Banking Officer before she secured a Relationship Manager role looking after her clients’ financial needs and handling their day to day queries. During her time at the bank, Agie also achieved a Chartered Banker Certificate. 

In December 2018, Agie joined Gem Compliance as a Junior Compliance Associate and has since achieved the ICA Certificate in Compliance and passed with distinction.

Agata is also approved by the FCA for SMF17 (MLRO).  

At present, as a Senior Compliance Associate, as well as responsibilities connected to her role as MLRO,  Agata gets involved in regular monitoring of regulated firms, advising on marketing approvals and fund closes, onboarding and internal data security.  

Hari Selvam
Compliance Associate

Hari, originally based in Malaysia, came to Edinburgh in 2016 to pursue an economics degree at Heriot-Watt University. After graduating in 2020 with an upper second-class degree, Hari decided to pursue a postgraduate degree in International Business Management with placement.  

It is as part of this placement component that Hari joined Gem Compliance as a Compliance Assistant intern in 2021. This is his first professional experience in the financial services, which he believes will cultivate his passion for this sector. 

 In 2022, Hari successfully completed his MSc International Business Management with Industry Placement with Merit and will be graduating in December 2022. His Master’s dissertation focussed on the effectiveness of Crypto-Assets regulation in the UK, from a compliance versus commercial perceptive. He joined as a permanent member of staff from November 2022.  

Hari has a deep interest in sports especially football, fun fact: he participated in the Daegu International Children Olympics in 2012 representing his country in football.  

Alasdair Horne
IT Consultant

Alasdair started working for Standard Life in 1987 in the Actuarial department primarily doing pensions calculations that had not yet been computerised.

In 1995 he moved department and started as a software developer using Microsoft Visual Basic and C# developing a number of financial calculation applications for the business areas.

His role developed into application support and development database administrator on the IBM DB2 distributed platform.

In 2010 he took an opportunity to move into full time production DBA and was the DB2 lead as well as taking on Oracle database management and support until his role was made redundant ending 35 years in Standard Life.

In his spare time Alasdair enjoys target shooting, representing Scotland in the past as well as being a Club Secretary, he also enjoys golf, hill walking, HIIT gym classes, watch and clock repair and custom watch building.

Alasdair joined Gem in October 2022 as an IT Consultant, working with the team on software and hardware issues as well as liaising with Gem’s 3rd party IT suppliers.

Lauren O’Connor
Fund Administration Assistant

Originally from Ireland, Lauren completed an MA (Hons) degree in Economics & Marketing at Heriot-Watt University in 2021. After graduation, Lauren entered the private equity sector, initially focusing on transaction advisory services before transitioning to a role with a pronounced focus on data analytics in the payroll industry. 

In October 2023, Lauren joined Gem Compliance as a Fund Administration Assistant to broaden her experience in the financial services and private equity industry.

Outside of work, Lauren is an active member of the tag rugby community and enjoys traveling.

Arinnjay Gautam
Fund Administration Assistant

Arinnjay came to the UK in 2019 to pursue university studies. He graduated with a BSc Honours in Economics and Finance from Newcastle University. 

 He speaks fluent English, Hindi, and proficient German which he learned during his time living in Switzerland. 

 Interesting fact about him is that he has done all his schooling in international schools. Through this he has made friends in all parts of the world.

Arinnjay loves travelling and playing sports in his free time. These days you can catch him playing badminton after work.

He joined Gem Compliance in October 2023 as a Fund Administration assistant.