R.J. Bannister is partner and chief operating officer of Farient Advisors. He has 30 years’ experience in consulting to the S&P 1500 and large private companies as the named executive compensation consultant, representing either the compensation committee or management - and sometimes both parties.

R.J. has worked with hundreds of companies on their total rewards strategy, their executive compensation philosophy, and aligning their executive compensation programs, plans, policies, and processes to their business strategy. He has been able to create this alignment through deep insights on industry and compensation trends; sophisticated financial, market, and compensation analytics; and impactful, easy-to-implement solutions. R.J. has worked with companies across multiple industries, including media; entertainment and publishing; high tech and telecom; industrial, retail, and specialty apparel; financial; consumer products; pharmaceuticals; energy; and professional services firms. He also has worked extensively with private equity companies.

R.J. has presented at numerous forums and associations across the US, Western Europe, and Asia. He has frequently been quoted by the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and Agenda. R.J. also has written and contributed several chapters for books on the topics of executive compensation and value-based management.

Prior to joining Farient, R.J. was the founder/CEO of Bannister Group LLC, an executive compensation and total rewards consultancy which he founded in 2019. R.J. started his firm after retiring from Willis Towers Watson as a managing director after a 25-year career (1994-2018) leading their North American executive compensation practice. Prior to WTW, he was a consultant with Strategic Compensation Associates.

R.J. holds a MS in economics from the London School of Economics, where he graduated with high honors, and a BS in economics from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School with a triple concentration in corporate finance, strategic management, and international political science.