About Athene

Athene takes its name from the Greek god of strategy, wisdom, military leadership and geopolitics.

Athene was founded by Julia Finch.

Julia is a strategic advisor and executive with 20 years’ experience delivering geopolitical, regulatory and reputational risk analysis and mitigation for senior decision-makers across government and financial services (FTSE 100), operating in the UK, Middle East, Africa and Asia.

She has experienced the impact of strategic decision-making in high-risk, high-pressure, critical situations. Whether dealing with the kidnapping of UK nationals in Afghanistan, peacekeeping operations in the Balkans, or the weapons proliferation problem in North Africa, it was vitally important for leaders to understand and successfully navigate the strategic risks and opportunities that they faced.

From her time working both in government and in financial services, Julia has extensive experience in producing high-stakes written and verbal intelligence briefings and advice for ministers, boards, and C-suite, under time pressure and uncertainty.

She builds trust at C-Suite and Board level, and with international and regulatory bodies such as the Financial Conduct Authority, the Prudential Regulatory Authority, and the United Nations.

She is known for her rigorous analytical judgement, narrative-driven reporting, and the ability to translate complex political and regulatory matters into clear, decision-ready insight for commercial and policy decisions.

During her 20-year executive career, Julia has:

• Delivered analysis-driven strategies and transformation programmes at a FTSE 100 bank, strengthening reputational resilience across multiple markets, and informing Board decision-making. She has achieved compliance with new regulatory requirements (OCIR & Basel) ahead of schedule, mitigating financial and reputational risk
• Been appointed by the FCA and peer banks as Chair of the Retail Banking Cyber Coordination Group – where she was recognised for fostering collaboration and consensus in sensitive discussions within complex regulatory environments
• Represented the UK in multilateral intelligence discussions; and (through geopolitical analysis and persuasive briefing) secured US$300M in international investment to mitigate shared security risks
• Led high-stakes crisis response and risk management – and been commended by Prime Minister David Cameron for leadership during COBR’s 24/7 intelligence analysis / crisis response resulting in successful hostage rescue
• Been recognised by ministers for the quality of her written briefs and analysis on international geopolitical matters, which informed governmental policy development, decision-making, and risk mitigation

A Classics graduate from Balliol College at the University of Oxford, Julia later trained as a professional coach at the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (accredited by the International Coach Federation). She counts amongst her clients senior managers at an international airline, a major UK media company, and a FTSE 100 bank.