About the Team

Bruce Bugbee and Roberta Wagner began consulting together in the early 1990s. They have provided services to all types of financial organizations (banks, investment companies, trust departments, financial holding companies, mutual funds, credit unions, farm credit organizations, and savings and loans). Their experience includes working with large financial companies such as Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank, and State Street Bank and hundreds of regional and community banks around the country.

Roberta now devotes much of her time to executive sounding board services and enterprise risk management. Bruce is almost retired but still keeps thinking about ways to help banks and bankers. 

Bruce Bugbee led a team of 200 consultants as a National Partner for KPMG. By nature a great listener and problem solver, his engagements have spanned a wide spectrum of issues. He has particular expertise with trust, mutual funds, corporate governance, risk and crisis management, strategic planning, workflow measurement, and cost control.

Roberta Wagner has more than 40 years of experience in the financial services industry in senior regulatory and consulting roles. As a Managing Director at the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), she led the development of the improved examination policies and procedures. As the Director of Bank Supervision for the Comptroller of the Currency’s New York office, she had responsibility for regional and problem banks from Maine to the District of Columbia. As a consultant, she has acted as interim CEO of a troubled thrift, facilitated the development of strong risk management programs, led turnaround efforts, conducted numerous management and culture assessments, led board enhancement programs, done organization and workflow studies, and facilitated strategic planning sessions.

Both Bruce and Roberta have been involved in risk management in one form or another for most of their careers. They have formalized that experience into a process to help financial organizations build Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Systems. Roberta has been a speaker on ERM for the Risk Management Association and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS). She is the advisor to the Washington Bankers Association for their Enterprise Risk Management Development Program. They are not “cookie-cutter” consultants. They listen to client needs and craft an engagement designed to meet those needs.

Bugbee Wagner has:

• Conducted more than 40 management and board assessments;
• Facilitated the development of Enterprise Risk Management Systems;
• Performed workflow analyses to identify bottlenecks and streamline operations;
• Assisted with numerous bank reorganizations and acquisition integration teams;
• Led the development of policies and procedures, particularly in the lending area;
• Performed regulatory advisory services for countless banks;
• Conducted the first major survey of board practices, reporting results at the Council of Institutional Investors annual conference;
• Participated in a Harvard Business School study of problem banks; and
• Developed board of directors enhancement programs.