EMERGING ISSUES TRACK: Business Controls - Effective Lines of Defense
Join industry experts for an in-depth panel discussion on the evolving regulatory landscape, including an analysis of key risk categories—financial, stakeholder/customer, regulatory, reputational, and operational—and examination of the concepts of inherent and residual risk within the Three Lines of Defense model. Attendees gain insights into implementing effective business controls, with a focus on Risk and Control Self-Assessment (RCSA) and issue management. The discussion also explores oversight frameworks such as Fannie Mae’s use of CORE (Counterparty Operational Risk Evaluation) and Freddie Mac’s MORA (Mortgage Operational Risk Assessment). Sponsored by Cooley.
Speakers
Moderator
Tara Pettersen is the Chief Risk & Compliance Officer at CMG Financial, a lender based in San Ramon, CA. With 30 years of industry experience, Tara ensures regulatory compliance and oversees risk management, fraud prevention, audits, vendor oversight, and quality control. Before CMG, she held key roles at ImpacMortgage, Hyperion Capital Group, and Pacific Northwest Mortgage. After joining CMG Financial as VP of Risk Management, she restructured and expanded the Compliance department, creating a Risk Management division. Her leadership earned her promotions to SVP and later Chief Risk & Compliance Officer. Tara mentors colleagues with kindness, helping them grow professionally and personally. Outside of work, Tara enjoys reading, yoga, hiking, camping, and photographing nature.
Speakers
Dawn is a leader with more than 35 years of experience across various operations in the finance industry, and 25 years in leadership roles. She has demonstrated abilities in the identification of risk, implementation of risk-mitigating controls, root cause analysis, change management, and process design, in order to achieve successful results. Her initiatives have a commonsense approach to strategic execution. She has 14 years of experience in a variety of roles pertaining to the originations of mortgage loans, 10 years of experience with various operations roles in the servicing of mortgage loans, and 14 years as a Business Controls manager, where she has found her passion. Dawn believes in establishing a culture that aims to educate business owners in understanding the benefits of a strong risk and control framework, with the encouragement of transparency. The best way to achieve this is through relationship management and excellent communication.
Cindy Patterson is the Vice President, Business Controls at Pulte Mortgage, where she is spearheading the launch of a dedicated Business Controls team to drive operational excellence and mitigate risk. With over two decades of experience, Cindy has held pivotal roles at Wells Fargo—as Corporate Risk Control Management Officer—and at JPMorgan Chase & Co., where she advanced through various positions that honed her expertise in Business Controls, Risk Management, Operational Oversight, Quality Control, and Internal Audit. Outside of work, Cindy enjoys hiking, exploring new travel destinations, and channeling her creativity through a vibrant event planning venture. She is also passionate about mentoring emerging talent across the organization, fostering growth well beyond her immediate team.
