Bain’s chief compliance officer starts new job at ACA Compliance

Bain Capital’s Global Chief Compliance Officer Alan Halfenger left the firm to take a position with ACA Compliance Group, a financial services consulting firm. He joined ACA as a partner on January 1.

“I really liked it but, after 10 years, you start to think about what to do next,” Halfenger said in an interview. “I had the opportunity to start a program there, build a program there … I left a good team in place, a team I’m proud of.”

Halfenger declined to comment on how Bain will transition to a new chief compliance officer. The firm named Managing Director and General Counsel Sean Doherty as its new chief compliance officer, though it is not clear he assumed the role on a permanent basis.

A spokesman for Bain declined to comment on the change in management.

ACA works with private equity firms, funds and family offices to develop compliance programs. ACA’s services include providing private firms mock SEC exams, conducting risk analysis of a fund’s governing documents and forensic testing of compliance processes.

Halfenger will help clients develop strategies to address regulatory compliance issues and risk. He expects to spend a significant amount of his time guiding registered financial advisors, including private equity firms, through new anti-money laundering rules proposed by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a Department of the Treasury regulator. The rules will likely be similar to those governing banks and broker-dealers, Halfenger said.

He also plans to help clients bolster their cybersecurity platforms to prevent attacks from hackers and thieves, including their own employees.

“Firms, as they add staff, have to be thinking about data-loss prevention,” Halfenger said. “Is the analyst who quits tomorrow going to take the model they built and take it to a competitor?”

Action Item: For more on ACA Compliance Group visit www.acacompliancegroup.com.

Photo of Alan Halfenger courtesy of Bain Capital