Won Palisoul

Won currently serves as VP of Global Banking Regulations Compliance at BNP Paribas, where she is the CSR Lead for the Asian ERG and Membership Lead for the Military ERG. Previously, she spent three years as VP of Dodd-Frank Act Compliance at SG Corporate and Investment Bank.

In 2021, Won was appointed to serve as Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness at the Pentagon. In this role, she supported initiatives to optimize STEM talent management, advance elite training and education, strengthen family support systems, and build resilience through Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA). During her tenure, she collaborated with the Departments of Labor and Veterans Affairs, the Small Business Administration, and the National Economic Council on supply chain strategy and military transition programs.

Before entering public service, Won held compliance roles across the financial sector. She served as Associate Director of Investment Bank CORC at UBS and as a Senior Compliance Officer at a credit-focused asset management firm. Earlier in her career, she was a Compliance Examiner at a Self-Regulatory Organization for the U.S. derivatives industry, where she conducted audits of OTC derivatives and swaps compliance programs to ensure adherence to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. She also managed operations for a $6 billion AUM retirement fund and was named as a Veteran Associate at the New York Stock Exchange.

Won began her professional journey as a Gas Turbine Technician (Electrical) in the U.S. Navy, serving aboard guided missile destroyers forward-deployed in the Pacific in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. After eight years of active and reserve service, she founded and operated a small business for four years before transitioning into finance.

Given her passion for the veterans community, Won founded the Women Veterans and Families Network, serves on the DNC Vets and Military Families Council and is a Board Member of New York Council of the Navy League. Through these roles, she convenes leaders from Fortune 500 companies and nonprofit organizations to advance DEIA best practices in hiring and supporting military veterans and spouses.

Won holds an M.A. in IT Management from Webster University and an M.S. in Nonprofit Management from Columbia University School of Professional Studies. She serves as adjunct associate faculty in the M.S. in Human Capital Management program, is a Board Member of the ColumbiaDC Alumni Club, and is a recipient of the Dean’s Excellence Award for alumni engagement. She is married to a U.S. Navy veteran, and together they have two children. Won and her husband are members of the USNA Parent Wardroom.