Caroline O'Connell is an innovator and accomplished marketing, strategy, and client experience executive who has added value to special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), venture capital and private equity firms, and Fortune 200 and 500 global companies across the financial services, wealth management, and insurance industries.

Caroline is an Independent Director and member of the Compensation Committee of Kingwood Acquisition Corp., a New York Stock Exchange-listed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) focused on the wealth management industry. She is also a Senior Advisor and member of the Omega Network for Omega Venture Partners, and member of the Strategic Advisory Board of FTV Capital.

Most recently, Caroline was a member of the Operating Committee and the first Chief Strategy and Customer Experience Officer of Equitable.

Prior to Equitable, Caroline sat on the Operating Committee of BNY Mellon and the Executive Committee of BNY Mellon Investment Services, which represented $12B+ of the firm's $15B+ in revenue, where she was the first Chief Marketing Officer. Prior roles within the BNY Mellon umbrella saw Caroline as the first Global Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Marketing Officer at BNY Mellon Pershing. She built Pershing's marketing function from the ground up and also led strategy, communications, the chief of staff function for the Chief Executive Officer, innovation, and product management.

Caroline is active in industry organizations and board service. She is a member of Extraordinary Women on Boards, and is a founding member of the Outthinker Chief Strategy Officer Network and Chair of its Advisory Board. She was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Securities Industry Institute® (SII) at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Insured Retirement Institute. She was also a member of the FCS Marketing Leadership Roundtable.

Caroline earned a Bachelor of Arts in Education and Master of Business Administration in Marketing from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA.