ACAMS today announced that Mariah Gause, the Company’s Chief Operating Officer, and member of its Board of Directors, has been appointed to the additional role of Interim Chief Executive Officer. She will replace Scott Liles who recently announced he was stepping down as CEO. Mr. Liles will continue to serve as an executive advisor through the end of 2023.
Gause brings more than 20 years of finance and business transformation experience to ACAMS, having joined the organization in November 2020 as Vice President of Finance and Global Operations. She was promoted to Chief Operating Officer and appointed to the ACAMS Board of Directors in March 2022. Prior to ACAMS, Mariah served as the Vice President of Finance at Health Care Service Corporation.
Liles and Gause both joined ACAMS in 2020, and under their leadership, the Company has increased its global presence, introduced several new initiatives to help its global membership navigate the rapidly changing geopolitical and payments environments, developed new bespoke offerings for the public sector including law enforcement agencies, and further strengthened its thought leadership pillar.
“Scott and Mariah’s efforts over the past several years have positioned the Company for continued growth, and most importantly to maximize its impact on the global community of Anti-Financial Crime professionals. We remain committed to the strategic initiatives put in place over the past two years and the mission to eradicate financial crime. We are grateful to Scott for the pivotal role he has played and wish him continued success in the future and look forward to working with Mariah to lead the organization through this transition,” said Adam Reinmann, Chairman of ACAMS’ Board of Directors.
“The ACAMS Board of Directors is working with an executive search firm to identify a CEO and will work with Mariah and the broader senior leadership team to ensure a smooth transition,” he added.
About ACAMS®
ACAMS is a leading international membership organization dedicated to providing opportunities for anti-financial crime (AFC) education, best practices, and peer-to-peer networking to AFC professionals globally. With over 100,000 members across 180 jurisdictions, ACAMS is committed to the mission of ending financial crime through the provision of anti-money laundering/counterterrorism-financing and sanctions knowledge-sharing, thought leadership, risk-mitigation services, ESG initiatives, and platforms for public-private dialogue. The association’s CAMS certification is the gold- standard qualification for AFC professionals, while its CGSS and CCAS certifications are for sanctions professionals and AFC practitioners working in the crypto space, respectively. ACAMS’ 60+ Chapters globally further amplify the association’s mission through training and networking initiatives. Visit acams.org for more information.
