Honored by CNN/Fortune Magazine as one of the top fifty "Europe's Most Powerful Women in Business", Ms. Richards is a leader in Strategy, Finance and Business Development serving firms in Financial Services, Media and Technology. Ms. Richards built and led the Telecommunications Investment Banking Practice for HSBC, one of the world's largest financial institutions, based in London, where she served global telecommunications and media clients in equity offerings, mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity-linked financing and strategic advisory programs. Ms Richards provides unparalleled international management expertise, enabling the CEO and leadership team to unleash their vision and focus resources to achieve rapid implementation and accelerate growth. Ms. Richards serves as strategic advisor to innovative Media and Technology ventures, and to market-leading Financial Service firms, including hedge funds and investment advisors. Ms. Richards assists privately held companies in capital raising and mergers and acquisitions. Her success built upon more than 10 years in mobile communications as Managing Director, AirTouch Europe, now Vodafone. Ms. Richards' leadership was instrumental in securing the largest number of mobile licenses in Europe, managing successful bid teams and negotiating complex joint ventures, building what is today the leading mobile telecommunications provider worldwide. Previously, Ms. Richards was a senior consultant with McKinsey and Co., serving media, communications, and software clients. She holds an MBA from the Stanford Business School, where she was honored as an Arjay Miller Scholar in the top ten percent of the class, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a BA in History from Stanford University. Ms. Richards speaks German, French and Greek and has lived and worked in several European countries. She is an accomplished sailor and has cruised the world in her 41-foot sailboat.