NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fitch Ratings is pleased to announce the appointment of Gautam Mitra to the newly created role of Head of Internal Audit, effective June 30th, 2016. Mr. Mitra will report directly to the Independent Directors of Fitch Ratings with a functional reporting line to John Olert, Chief Risk Officer, Fitch Group. Mr. Mitra will be responsible for providing independent assurance that Fitch's internal control processes are operating effectively in a governance framework aligned with industry best practices.

Mr. Olert commented: "The creation of this role complements Fitch's existing compliance monitoring and testing efforts and provides the structure for internal audit to independently assess Fitch's internal controls and their effectiveness. The internal audit team's findings and perspective will provide valuable input into Fitch's ongoing risk management process to ensure compliance with regulations and to protect against evolving threats. Gautam's audit experience and many valuable contributions in previous roles give him a unique mix of essential skill, insight and expertise for this role."

Prior to this appointment, Mr. Mitra has held several positions in risk and compliance at Fitch over the last 11 years and most recently was part of the Group Risk Management function at Fitch and helped develop Fitch's risk management framework. Before joining Fitch, Mr. Mitra spent seven years at Credit Suisse in the audit department and held previous roles with KPMG and Deloitte. He is an FCA (Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales) and earned a Master's degree in Engineering from Liverpool University.

Additional information is available at www.fitchratings.com.