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Graham Bristow Managing Director, Marsh Trade Credit UKGraham is the Managing Director of Marsh Trade Credit UK. Assuming the role in 2022 he is responsible for a team of nearly 60, located across five offices and with a client base from SME businesses through to mid-corporate and large global organisations. Throughout his career, Graham has always focused on serving clients and has established a reputation for delivering exceptional results. Graham began his career in 1985 at Marsh, called Sedgwick at the time, and gained extensive experience during his 10 years there, building a strong foundation in managing risks for clients. In 1995, Graham joined Aon and became Head of Corporate Trade Credit, where he led a team of professionals in designing and implementing customised credit risk solutions for clients. Under his leadership, the team delivered significant value to clients by providing them with innovative products and services to manage credit risks effectively. After 14 years in this role, he became the CEO where he was responsible for managing relationships with the key clients and helping them navigate the complexities of the trade credit landscape. In 2022, Graham joined Marsh as Managing Director. He brought his wealth of experience to bear, working closely with clients to develop risk management strategies that help them achieve their business objectives. Throughout his career, Graham has always had a passion for Trade Credit and a deep understating of the needs of clients. His focus on delivering exceptional results has earned him a reputation as a trusted adviser and partner to clients across a wide range of industries. |
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Guy Brooks Managing Director, Head of Distribution, Working Capital Finance, Pemberton Asset Management Guy is a Managing Director and Head of Distribution within the Working Capital Finance team at Pemberton. He is responsible for coverage of non-institutional clients and asset managers together with providing product support for the institutional client coverage teams.He brings over 25 years of investment and corporate banking experience within fixed income and trade finance, covering origination, portfolio management, syndications and trading. Prior to joining Pemberton in 2021, Guy was a Managing Director at Deutsche Bank and Global Head of Distribution and Credit Solutions, responsible for all the syndication and hedging activities for their global trade finance business. Guy started his career at Morgan Grenfell in Hong Kong, and then subsequently moved to Deutsche Bank London, where he held a number of positions in the trade finance team. In addition, he held EXCO roles for the Trade Finance and Lending business and the Corporate Bank UK. Guy holds a BSc from King’s College London. |
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Professor Edward I. AltmanDirector of Research, Credit and Debt Markets, NYU Salomon Center for the Study of Financial InstitutionsEdward Altman is the Max L. Heine Professor Emeritus of Finance at the Stern School of Business, New York University, and Director of the Credit and Fixed Income Research Programme at the NYU Salomon Center. Professor Altman has an international reputation as an expert on corporate bankruptcy, high yield bonds, distressed debt and credit risk analysis. He is the creator of the world-famous Altman-Z-Score model for bankruptcy prediction of companies globally. He was named Laureate 1984 by the Hautes Études Commerciales Foundation in Paris for his accumulated works on corporate distress prediction models and procedures for firm financial rehabilitation and awarded the Graham & Dodd Scroll for 1985 by the Financial Analysts Federation for his work on default rates and high yield corporate debt. He was a Founding Executive Editor of the Journal of Banking and Finance. Professor Altman was inducted into the Fixed Income Analysts Society Hall of Fame in 2001 and elected President of the Financial Management Association (2003) and a Fellow of the FMA in 2004, and was amongst the inaugural inductees into the Turnaround Management Association’s Hall of Fame in 2008.
In 2005, Dr. Altman was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Finance by Treasury and Risk Management magazine and is frequently quoted in the popular press and on network TV. He has been an advisor to many financial institutions including Merrill Lynch, Salomon Brothers, Citigroup, Concordia Advisors, Investcorp and the RiskMetrics Group, (MSCI, Inc.), Paulson & Co., FINRA and Golub Capital. He currently serves on the board of the Franklin Series Funds. Dr Altman is Co-Founder of Classis Capital, SpA, a financial advisor in Italy; and Wiserfunding in London, a fintech in the SME credit analytic space. He is also Chairman of the Academic Advisory Council of the Turnaround Management Association. Professor Altman was a founding trustee of the Museum of American Finance and was Chairman of the Board of the International Schools Orchestras of New York. |
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John OmotiVice President – Supply Chain Finance, Bank of China Limited, London BranchJohn currently heads up the development of supply chain finance for Bank of China’s London branch. He previously worked in trade finance teams in Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), Zenith Bank UK Ltd, GTBank UK, Bank of America, and MUFG Bank (UK). John has over 20 years’ experience in all aspects of trade finance operations, implementation and product management and development working mainly within transaction banking for various banks. He is a Certificated Professional Banker (CCBI) with the Chartered Bankers Institute and is a Certified Documentary Credit Specialist (CDCS), PRINCE2 with an MBA in Finance. |
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Markus WohlgeschaffenManaging Director, TraxpayMarkus Wohlgeschaffen is Managing Director at Traxpay GmbH and responsible for the Markets and Sales division. As a senior trade and supply chain finance expert and fintech co-founder, he has more than 37 years of experience in the financial services industry, as well as important intercultural skills gained in more than eleven years of working abroad in Japan and Italy. He has served as a senior member of various industry bodies, including the advisory board of the ICC Banking Commission and the board of trustees of the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics in Dortmund. He also advised the Italian state credit insurance company SACE. |
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Marc AuboinEconomic Counselor, Economic Research and Statistics Division, World Trade Organization Marc Auboin is a Counsellor in the Economic Research and Statistics Division of the WTO, responsible for trade and finance topics, including trade finance, and WTO relations with the IMF and World Bank. Previously he held several positions at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), was Deputy-Secretary General of the Monetary Committee of the European Union, worked for the French Treasury. He holds a PhD in Economics and published pieces of research on trade and finance issues in the IMF's World Economic Outlook, WTO discussion and working paper series, as well as in academic books and articles. |
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Federico Avellán BorgmeyerChief Partner Officer, efcomWith nearly 30 years banking technology experience, such as transaction and payment processing, credit card personalisation, payment and other transaction terminals, AI applications in finance, cryptography, DLT and factoring solutions in many C suite positions across business planning, finance, M&A, R&D, marketing and sales, operations and after-sales with World Card International, DataCard Corporation, Gemplus/Gemalto, FidelioNetworks, FirstData Corporation, Postbank POS Transact, Tech4Fin Deutschland and Factoring Blockchain Solutions, Federico is the strategic architect and now executer for efcom's new global marketing and sales approach. Federico is also Senior Partner at the Amontis Consulting Group, Executive Board Member at Sevar AG, Board Member at Meshed Systems and holds an MS from Technische Universität Berlin, MBA Visiting Scholarship from University of Illinois and lectures in Entrepreneurship at the Computer Science Department at the University of Applied Sciences in Darmstadt. He has lived and worked in the Americas, EMEA, mainland China and speaks Spanish, English and German. |
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Elliot AvisonCEO, DanceraceElliot is CEO of Dancerace – the complete, connected commercial finance OS. Technologist by trade and psychologist by training, Elliot has led the award-winning firm to rapid growth across Europe, Africa, Asia and America since 2015. Today, Elliot is working to realise the company’s vision to transform banks, lenders and borrowers ABL operations via open connectivity, data intelligence and intuitive user experiences. To find out more, visit dancerace.com. |
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Eric BalmerCEO, Global Supply Chain Finance Group (GSCF)Eric Balmer is an established leader in the trade finance space, with longstanding expertise in financing solutions. Before joining GSCF in 2022 as CEO, Eric spent 25 years at Credit Suisse AG in various leadership roles across Switzerland and the United States. Among other responsibilities, he has been a board member of FIDES Treasury Services AG and, most recently, Managing Director and Member of the Management Committee of Corporate an Investment Banking at Credit Suisse AG. Eric holds a PhD in Banking Law from the University of Fribourg. |
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John BeaneyGlobal Head of Receivables Finance Product Management, Global Trade & Receivables Finance, HSBCJohn is responsible for enabling HSBC to meet its client’s receivables finance needs across its global network. He manages one of the world’s largest trade credit insurance programmes and is responsible for the design and implementation of the technology which provides clients with exceptional user experiences. |
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James BinnsManaging Director, Global Head of Trade and Working Capital, Barclays James Binns is the Global Head of Trade and Working Capital for Barclays Bank, which serves corporate, non-bank FI and FI clients globally with teams located in UK, Europe, Americas, Asia and the Middle East. Prior to joining Barclays, James spent 4.5 years at Deutsche Bank where he headed Working Capital Advisory and Trade Finance for EMEA and latterly Global Cross Product Solutions. This followed 20 years at HSBC where James was based across Asia Pacific, the Middle East, USA and UK in a number of senior corporate banking and trade finance roles. |
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Hugh BlacklockGTRF Europe, Head of Sustainability, HSBCHugh Blacklock is currently the European Head of Sustainable Trade Finance at HSBC where he works with companies to improve sustainable practices in their supply chains and develop green projects. He was recently involved in the development of the ICC Standards for Sustainable Trade and Sustainable Trade Finance Hugh has worked in banking for almost 20 years and has held a variety of roles in areas such as project finance, structured trade and commodity finance, corporate real estate, and natural resources. |
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Mencía BoboGlobal Head Trade and Working Capital Solutions, Santander Corporate & Investment BankingMencía Bobo is the Global Head of Trade and Working Capital Solutions at Santander Corporate and Investment Banking. She joined Santander almost 20 years ago. Since then, she has held a variety of roles in areas such as project finance, receivable finance and structured trade. Prior to this, Mencía worked as a senior auditor at KPMG in Spain. She has a degree in Business Administration by Universidad Pontificia de Comillas (ICADE) and an Intensive Training course by INSEAD. |
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Jon BoranDirector, Trade Innovation & Solution Development, Lloyds Bank Jon Boran is a Director in the Working Capital Innovation & Solution Development team of Lloyds Bank, specialising in Trade. In his current role he is responsible for managing a portfolio of change projects, with a particular focus on digitising and enhancing the experience of our clients and colleagues. He was recently involved in Lloyds’ Digital Promissory Note initiative which saw the Bank complete the first transaction under ITFA’s Digital Negotiable Instrument Initiative. Jon has over 10 years’ experience in the Trade Finance world having previously worked as a Technical Manager and Senior Operations Manager in Lloyds’ back office operations team with responsibility over UK and Singapore operations. |
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Steve BoxFounder and Managing Director, Kata Executive ConsultingSteve is an industry expert with over 35 years of extensive experience in banking and working capital in global markets. He currently holds several senior strategic positions for a number of NBFI fintech companies and industry associations, including: Chairman of Accelerated Payments, CF2H and Smart Business Link and Strategic Advisor to WOA (World of Open Account), Hitachi Capital, OCI Ltd and Muse Ltd amongst others. Steve has previously held a variety of domestic and international roles, including: Deputy Chair and Head of Origination at Channel Capital Advisors LLP, Head of Europe/UK at Falcon Group, International CEO of Europe/Asia and North America at Bibby Financial Services, Global Head of Receivables Finance at HSBC (operating across 30 countries), European Head of Trade, Supply Chain, Commodities and Receivables Finance and CEO at HSBC Invoice Finance (UK) Ltd, Trade Finance and Equipment Finance Ltd (UK). He was previously Chairman of Asset Based Finance Association (UK), Board and Exec Committee member of International Factors Group and Factors Chain International. |
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Catherine Bridge ZollerSenior Counsel, European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD)Catherine Bridge Zoller is a Senior Counsel for financial law in the EBRD's Legal Transition Team, which aims to promote an investor-friendly, transparent and predictable legal environment in the EBRD countries of operations. Since joining the EBRD in 2012, Catherine has led financial law reform projects across a diverse range of jurisdictions and has helped develop strategies for non-performing loan resolution in central, eastern and south eastern Europe, as well as in Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Turkey and Ukraine. Catherine also works on SME financial inclusion projects and is currently leading an EBRD initiative to promote receivables based financing, together with colleagues from the EBRD Trade Facilitation Programme and SME Finance and Development teams. Catherine is an alumnus of Clifford Chance LLP, where she worked in the firm's London, Milan, Munich and Dubai offices. A UK and Canadian national, Catherine is a qualified solicitor in England and Wales and a graduate of Oxford University. She is fluent in French, German and Italian. |
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André CastermanManaging Director, Casterman Advisory, Chair of Fintech Committee, ITFA André Casterman is an independent consultant, advising financial institution and fintech clients on data management, trade finance, and capital markets innovations. André spent 20+ years at SWIFT, leading various innovations in the inter-bank payments, corporate treasury, and trade finance markets. During that time, he established an institutional partnership between SWIFT and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and created the first digital trade settlement instrument. André chairs the Fintech Committee of the International Trade and Forfaiting Association (ITFA) with a focus on helping banks take advantage of fintech innovations to automate trade finance operations and establish the business as an investable asset class through use of data analytics and artificial intelligence.
André holds a Master’s degree in Applied Economics from ICHEC Brussels Management School and two Master’s degrees in Computer Sciences and in Management from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). |
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Jonathan CroftManaging Director and CIO, Société Générale FactoringJonathan graduated from Pembroke College Oxford and started his IT career in 1991 with a European consultancy firm working in the banking and finance sector. 1996 marked his first factoring experience with solution integrations and Y2K migrations. Over the last 32 years he has played major IT roles across Europe from development and infrastructure to architecture and strategy with a strong business mindset. He has successfully led factoring teams through migrations, integrations, joint venture creations and most recently agile, infrastructure and digital transformations. In February 2017 Jonathan joined Société Générale as CIO heading up the Business and Information Solutions Directorate and as an Executive Committee member. |
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Parvaiz DalalManaging Director, Global Head Payables Finance, Treasury and Trade Solutions, CitiParvaiz Dalal heads the Global Payables Financing vertical for Citi. His role is to integrate various offerings into a holistic solution across payables vertical for clients on a global basis. Payables Finance comprises of Supply Chain Financing (SCF), a flagship and market leader product offering, Dynamic Discounting, Open Account Draft Discounting and various related financing across the payables value chain of institutional and commercial client group of Citi. Parvaiz lead the business end to end, including product management, onboarding and sales capabilities, working in close partnership with sales, coverage and banking partners. Prior to the current role, Parvaiz headed SCF for Treasury and Trade Solutions EMEA. Parvaiz moved to London in February 2015 primarily to uplift the SCF business at Citi to the next level by fully automating and digitising supplier onboarding and automating the end to end flow, doubling SCF EMEA business. Prior to this move, Parvaiz worked for five years in Singapore as Trade Head Asean. Prior to Citi, Parvaiz worked at RBS, Asia as Regional Trade Sales and Business Development Manager for the Asia Pacific region. He has over two decades of banking experience with Citi, ABN-RBS and Credit Lyonnais. His wealth of experience has been mostly spent in the transaction banking space and he has also managed corporate relationships. Parvaiz holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce with specialisation in Advanced Account and Statistics and has done post-graduation studies in Banking Law and Practice. |
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Kevin DayCEO, LendscapeKevin is committed to making Lendscape the technology partner of choice for banks and independent funders operating in the invoice finance, factoring, supply chain finance and asset finance markets.He has spent over 30 years at the company, and during this time, he has held positions as Software Developer, Business Analyst, Product Manager, Product Director, Board Member and COO. Kevin’s detailed understanding of the business, deep knowledge of the complex nature of secured lending products and the dynamics of an ever-changing market has given him a measured and unique perspective on technology and finance. He leads Lendscape with a continuous programme of R&D and investment, working closely with its growing client base to ensure simplified SME finance solutions. This focus on investment has enabled significant company growth and Lendscape now employs a global team to support its technology, business development, and customer support initiatives. While frequently requested for speaking engagements, as an author, Kevin has contributed to industry publications, including the Financial Times, Business Money, and Euromoney, writing on topics such as digitalisation, open architectures, and cloud computing to drive new technology innovation. |
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Raja DebnathCEO and Co-Founder, Veefin Solutions Raja Debnath is the Co-Founder of Veefin Solutions, a global leader in supply chain finance and digital lending technology with financial institutions as their clients across Asia, GCC and Africa. Veefin is also a pioneer in deep tier supplier finance technology. Prior to this he was the Senior Global SCF and SME Banking Advisory Specialist for Asia at International Finance Corporation, advising banks extensively across the Middle East, and Central Asia. Prior to that he was with EY, India as a Consumer and SME Banking Specialist. Earlier he had setup the micro and small enterprise lending business at Kotak Mahindra Bank in India. He holds an MBA from the Säid Business School at Oxford University and an MBA from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS) at Mumbai University. |
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Ian DuffyFounder and CEO, Accelerated PaymentsIan Duffy is the founder and CEO of Accelerated Payments, a company that delivers working capital to SMEs in Ireland, the UK and North America. Through Accelerated Payments, Ian is committed to deliver more flexible and cost-effective funding to the SME market by leveraging leading edge technologies. He is also chairman of a number of high growth companies in the tech and fintech sector. He has significant expertise and experience in supporting the promoters and management of high growth companies to develop and deliver their respective strategies. He also assists and supports the fundraising of capital and debt for these and other companies and has a particular interest in the tech and fintech sectors. Ian has been involved in a number of successful exits for investors and shareholders of private companies including FeedHenry, of which he was Chairman, and Fastway Couriers. Ian completed a B.A.I. in Engineering and Maths and at Trinity College Dublin, has a diploma in Applied Finance from the IMI and is a Chartered Director with the Institute of Directors in Ireland. |
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Sean EdwardsManaging Director, Head of Legal – EMEA, Special Adviser – Global Trade Finance Department, SMBC Bank International, Chairman, ITFASean Edwards is Head of Legal at SMBC Bank International plc, part of the Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group. He is a Special Adviser to the Trade Finance Department of the bank and in the Trade Innovation Unit. Sean is Chairman of the International Trade & Forfaiting Association (ITFA). He helped draft the Uniform Rules for Forfaiting (URF) and the Standard Definitions for Techniques of Supply Chain Finance published by ITFA, ICC, FCI, BAFT and the EBA. He is a former member of the Executive Committee of the ICC Banking Commission and the ICC Working Group on Digitalisation in Trade Finance. Sean is a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Trade Finance Expert Group. He is a non-executive director of KomGo S.A. Sean has written for all the major trade finance magazines and is on the editorial board of Global Trade Review (GTR). He has presented at many conferences. |
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Simon FeatherstoneChairman, Funding XchangeSimon has a diverse range of experience in financial services spanning almost 30 years. Most recently, Simon was the Managing Director of the Business Finance Division at specialist bank Shawbrook. Before joining Shawbrook, he was Global Chief Executive of Bibby Financial Services (BFS), the world’s largest non-bank invoice and trade finance business and prior to BFS, he was Managing Director of Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance and Network Director of Lloyds TSB Commercial Banking. Simon has served as CEO and subsequently Chairman of The Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (AMC) Plc and as the Deputy Chairman of the UK trade body the Asset Based Finance Association (ABFA), as well as on the Board of the global trade body, International Factors Group. He has also served as a Non-Executive Director on Bibby Distribution and Bibby Offshore Boards and currently advises a number of SME-focused businesses. |
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Will FoulkesCo-founder and CEO, StabilitiWill is an entrepreneur and leads the business team at Stabiliti – a company that traces carbon back to its roots. Stabiliti's goal is to create trust and transparency in carbon offsets in order to incentivise more businesses and individuals to buy them. This is the lead domino that will lead to more farmers and landowners planting carbon capturing natural assets. Will is an advisor to the Law Commission's DAO Committee, reviewing how DAOs can structure their organisational arrangements under the law of England and Wales and will identify any areas in need of further consideration and potential law reform. Will is a solicitor with over 10 years’ experience, currently a partner at gunner cooke llp, specialising in digital assets and DAOs. |
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Ignacio FrutosGlobal Head, Structured Receivables Finance, Santander Corporate and Investment BankingIgnacio has over 12 years’ experience in corporate investment banking performing different roles in London and Madrid in Structured Trade Finance and Receivables Solutions. He is responsible for structuring and execution of receivables transactions, helping corporates to optimise their working capital needs. Ignacio holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in ICADE, Madrid Spain. |
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Christoph GugelmannCEO and Co-Founder, TradeteqChristoph is co-founder and CEO of Tradeteq. He previously was a portfolio manager at the Trafigura owned Galena Asset Management in Geneva. Prior to that he was a managing director at Bank of America Merrill Lynch where he headed all public and private side market solutions teams for Europe, Middle East and Africa. Prior to that he held various management positions at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley in London, Frankfurt, and New York. He graduated in finance and business administration from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland in 1996. |
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Christian HausherrProduct Management Trade Finance, Supply Chain Finance EMEA, Deutsche BankChristian Hausherr is the European Product Head of Supply Chain Finance for Deutsche Bank’s Payables Finance solution, bringing to the role over 20 years of experience in banking, in-house consulting and product management for cash management and Supply Chain Finance (SCF). Christian spent his career within Deutsche Bank in various divisions and regions, mostly spanning across Europe and the Transaction Banking business. He holds a diploma in business administration from the University of Bayreuth and has worked in Germany, The Netherlands, Great Britain, Spain, the US, as well as in India and Uganda on corporate social responsibility assignments in the financial and educational sector. Christian contributed to the standard definitions for techniques of SCF and authored the open account section of the Wolfsberg Trade Finance Principles. He also acts as the chair of the Global Supply Chain Finance Forum (http://supplychainfinanceforum.org/) and as a technical advisor for the SCF section of the ICC Trade Register. |
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Georgios KoukisInternational Business Development Director, Senior Business Consultant Factoring & SCF, QualcoGeorge Koukis is a factoring and SCF specialist, with over 25 years of experience. Over the past two decades he has worked in managerial positions for reputed banks and financial institutions such as Citibank, HSBC, Millennium BCP and Société Générale in Europe and the Middle East. Due to his deep understanding of the industry and his vast knowledge of all aspects of receivables and SCF, he was successfully involved as a project manager in the setup and roll out of four factoring entities. George was among the first to develop and successfully introduce a fully automated SCF programme in the Greek market in 2010. He joined Qualco in September 2021. In his current role, George looks after the international business development of factoring and SCF solutions. He provides business consultancy services and manages the implementation of important projects. He holds a BA in Economic Sciences from the National Kapodestrian University of Athens. |
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Karol LeszczyńskiProduct Development Manager, Comarch Factoring Platform A member of Business Banking Unit in Comarch FBU sector, Karol is the Product Development Manager at Comarch Factoring Platform. He has 10 years’ experience in corporate banking at Raiffeisen Bank and BNP Paribas as a Relationship Manager and Factoring Sales Director, Southern Region Poland. He graduated from the Jagiellonian University in Cracow, with a degree in Management and Marketing in the Public Sector. |
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Mark MandulaSenior Vice President, United Capital Funding, Chief Learning Officer, BCR Publishing Mark is an internationally recognised factoring expert, speaker, author, serial entrepreneur and servant leader. He is Senior Vice President of United Capital Funding, a Tampa Bay, Florida B2B and B2G SME commercial finance professional services firm. He was Principal/ Managing Partner from 2000 to 2017 when the firm was acquired and has also served in a National Sales Director capacity. Since formation, United has grown 80 times in annual employed capital to B2B and B2G SMEs and is projected to exceed $1 Billion in NFE in 2022. Mark has also become an equity owner of BCR Publishing, and will serve as Chief Learning Officer. In this new role, he will lead the expansion of programming, events and best of breed events for BCR on a global basis. He believes that “power in knowledge, but only when shared.” Prior to joining United Capital in 2000, he was principal and shareholder in an investment banking firm that completed over 200 bank industry mergers and acquisitions over a 20+ year span. Following that, he was owner and CEO of a leading credit industry business and was nominated as an Entrepreneur of the Year. He holds an MBA and BBA in Finance and is a 2012 graduate of the Certificate in Private Capital Markets from the Graziadio Graduate School of Business at Pepperdine University, Malibu, California. He has been actively involved in multiple non-profit boards including Eckerd College, Tampa Bay Research Institute and others. Mark is a regular speaker and has participated in over 250 international conferences and has had more than 1,200 articles published online and ABA Banking Journal, Mergers & Acquisitions, BCR, FCI and other commercial finance global industry publications both online and in hard copy. He has also authored several editions of the World Factoring Yearbook, published by FCI and BCR on a global basis. |
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Duncan MavinJournalist, The Washington Post. Author, The Pyramid of Lies: Lex Greensill and the Billion-Dollar ScandalDuncan Mavin is an editor and columnist for The Washington Post, based in the UK. He was previously a journalist with The Wall Street Journal in London, New York and Hong Kong. His writing has also appeared in Barron’s, the Financial News and on Bloomberg News. Duncan is also the author of The Pyramid of Lies: Lex Greensill and the Billion Dollar Scandal. He is a former chartered accountant and studied history at Durham University. |
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Robert MetersDirector, SCHUMANN InternationalRobert Meters is Director Global Business at SCHUMANN and Director at SCHUMANN International Limited in London. He studied Business Administration and International Management at the University for Economics and Management. He has been in the credit risk management industry since 1993 and has worked for leading information service providers as well as in the telecommunications industry. At SCHUMANN, he advises and takes care of customers in the automation of credit decisions and the implementation of a fully integrated credit management workflow system that also supports onboarding and ESG KYBP processes. SCHUMANN offers the leading credit risk management solution for the financial services sector covering leasing, factoring, banking and trade credit insurance. |
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Wayne MillsFounder and Managing Director, Atom AdvisoryAfter a successful 30+ year banking career, Wayne Mills founded Atom Advisory Limited in 2022. Wayne has held various senior leadership positions in Transaction Banking, most recently leading the build-out and growth of the Transaction Banking Solutions team at Lloyds Bank, supporting clients across the UK, EMEA, US and Asia. Combining strategic, technical and commercial acumen, Wayne oversaw the delivery of innovative, risk-appropriate solutions across trade, supply chain finance and receivables. Atom Advisory creates value through expert, real world advice and training on trade, receivables and supply chain financing to banks, NBFIs and corporates. A core focus is to deliver ROI through actionable outputs aligned to strategy and purpose. Wayne also sits on the advisory board of an international training company and is passionate about supporting the next generation of talent to ensure diversity of teams and thought. |
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Peter MulroySecretary-General, FCIPeter Mulroy is Secretary General of FCI, the world’s largest network of factoring companies, with its headquarters in Amsterdam,The Netherlands. Peter was previously Senior Vice President, International Regional Manager and Managing Director with CIT. He is a past Chairman of FCI, and has served on the FCI Executive Committee for over a decade. Peter has an MBA from Thunderbird, School of Global Management in Arizona. As Secretary General, Peter assists banks, regulators and governments in introducing the concept of and educating people about the role of factoring. He addresses audiences around the world on the subject of factoring and international trade and is generally regarded as an ambassador for the factoring industry. |
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Sarah MurrowChief Executive Officer, Allianz Trade UK & Ireland Sarah Murrow joined Euler Hermes Americas in February 2004 and held a number of roles within the commercial underwriting and distribution areas of the business, including Regional Head of Broker Management from 2011-2016. In 2016, Sarah relocated to Paris and assumed the role of Head of Commercial Underwriting and Product Development for the Euler Hermes Group. Sarah was appointed the Regional Head of Market Management, Commercial Underwriting and Distribution for Euler Hermes’ Northern Europe Region, based in London in August 2017. In June 2021, she was appointed to her current role as CEO of Euler Hermes UK & Ireland, the first woman to hold the position. In March 2022 Euler Hermes was rebranded to Allianz Trade. Sarah holds a BA degree in International Relations from Roanoke College and a MBA from Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. |
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Özlem ÖzunerHead of Operations and Finance, e-Commerce, Allianz Trade Özlem joined Euler Hermes in 2011 as CEO of Euler Hermes Turkey where she has worked for 9 years before joining Allianz Trade UK and Ireland as Commercial Director in 2020. As of October 2022, Ozlem joined Allianz Trade E-Commerce team as Head of Operations and Finance.Özlem has more than 25 years of experience in financial services. She has held several leading roles in banking and finance, including Group Head of Corporate Banking, Group Manager of Retail Banking at HSBC Turkey. She is also familiar with the UK market as she spent time working in the UK as a Global Relationship Manager, Corporate Banking, HSBC, from 2001-2002.Özlem is experienced in driving growth in SME portfolios as well as successfully establishing and managing relationships with large corporates. Ozlem’s area of interest are credit risk, payments and BNPL. |
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Justin ParrCredit Risk Leader, Beacon Beacon’s mission is to make international trade simpler, bringing access to finance and sophisticated supply chain management insights to more businesses. Justin leads the risk-related development at Beacon, conceiving and executing a scalable operating infrastructure that brings the best outcomes for clients and risk management. This starts even before a customer journey begins, with the design and management of top-of funnel screening to drive more customised client interactions and higher conversions, through to rapid onboarding via proprietary built machine assisted decisioning, and then to close ongoing data-led lifetime management that not follows a client’s risk profile, but adds value to them by providing actionable financial insights and additional support as their business develops. |
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Solomiia PetrynaPrincipal, Climate Strategy and Delivery, Green Financial Systems, EBRDSolomiia is a Principal in the EBRD’s Climate Strategy and Delivery, Green Financial Systems team, which aims to deliver the bank’s ambitious green and climate objective of allocating at least 50 per cent of the bank’s lending to green investments by 2025 and alignment of the Bank’s activities with the goals of the Paris Alignment. Since joining the EBRD in 2016, Solomiia has led on implementation of multiple green FI products with partner banks, leasing companies and microfinance institutions across a diverse range of jurisdictions, from Bulgaria to Uzbekistan, dedicated to climate mitigation, adaptation and other environmental benefits. Her assignments covered the full project cycle, including project origination, structuring, execution, MRV, technical assistance and capacity building, as well as development of the EBRD green finance enabling tools, such as Green Technology Selector and Green Finance Academy. Since 2020, Solomiia has been working on the introduction of corporate climate governance and climate risk management approaches in partner financing institutions and currently leads on assignments with the financial sector regulators on the introduction of the respective policies and disclosure regulations. Solomiia is increasingly engaged in the EBRD Trade Facilitation Programme, supporting its delivery against the EBRD’s green objectives. |
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Rudolf PutzHead of Trade Facilitation Programme, EBRD Rudolf Putz is Head of the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD) Trade Facilitation Programme and has more than 30 years of experience in financing trade in Eastern Europe, the CIS and the southern and eastern Mediterranean. He started his professional career in 1983 as Deputy Head of Commodity Trade Finance at Centro Internationale Handelsbank AG Vienna, a subsidiary of Raiffeisen Bank International. In 1993 Rudolf Putz joined HELM AG Hamburg as Head of Structured Trade Finance and from 1996 to 1997 he was Deputy Head of Structured Trade Finance at Bank Austria International Trade Services Vienna, a subsidiary of Unicredit. In 1997 he became Director of Trade Finance at Deutsche Handelsbank AG Berlin, a subsidiary of Crédit Agricole, and since 2000 he has been developing EBRD’s Trade Facilitation Programme (TFP). Rudolf Putz holds a Doctor’s Degree from the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration. |
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Parm SanghaPartner, Enterprise Strategy, IBM ConsultingParm’s focus is to create strategy and execution plans to unlock the value of innovative technology including Blockchain, Generative AI, IoT and Metaverse. The aim is to prepare organisations to anticipate the opportunity and risks of web3 and the token economy. With a focus on financial services and public sector markets around the globe, including Hong Kong, Singapore, India, Europe and the UK, Parm regularly interacts with governments, regulators, industry associations, academia and technology start-ups to review the value new technology can bring to economies as well as the methods by which to overcome adoption challenges. Out of office hours, Parm is involved in coaching several start-ups in the education, financial and charity software markets as well as mentoring several Duke of Edinburgh Award students. He follows Arsenal Football Club, Formula 1, squash and has an awful golf handicap. |
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Abis SoetanDirector, Fitch RatingsAbis is a Director in Fitch Ratings’ Fund and Asset Manager Group. His responsibilities include assigning ratings to money market and bond funds, as well as publishing timely research on analytical and regulatory developments affecting the sector. Prior to Fitch, Abis worked in banking and corporate treasury, as well as asset management. Abis holds a BEng & Com from the University of Birmingham and is an alumnus of the Lagos Business School. He also has a Diploma in Treasury Management (AMCT) and Certificate in Financial Mathematics and Modelling (CertFMM). |
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Nick StainthorpePartner, Reed SmithNick is a finance partner who advises clients across the globe on a wide range of structured and asset backed financings. He has significant experience in trade receivables securitisation and warehousing for banks, corporates and factoring companies, receivables finance and supply chain finance, collateralised financing and risk transfer trades, receivables platforms, tokenisation and block chain, inventory finance, emerging markets and Islamic finance. Nick participates actively in industry bodies and speaks regularly at events on matters such as the implications of regulation on the finance sector and specialty finance. He hosts the Alternative Finance Investor Roadshow, which is a leading forum for the non-bank finance sector. Nick is listed as a Leading Lawyer by Legal 500 UK 2020 and states that “Nick Stainthorpe consistently excels. He has a strong commercial focus and a thorough understanding of both the law and complex transactional processes. He builds strong client relationships through a very open, two-way communication process.” Legal 500 UK 2019 states that Nick “has very broad experience, is approachable and finds creative solutions to any problems while balancing legal risks”. |
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Rob StraathofCEO, LiberisRob is a leading financial services expert, and CEO at Liberis, an embedded finance solution and platform. Rob has a wealth of experience from his roles at various SME-focused finance providers, such as Everline and Newable Business Finance, as well as senior level positions at Wonga, and in the J.P Morgan technology investment banking team in both London and San Francisco. |
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Dr Antonia Symeonidou Operations Manager, Real Economy FundDr Antonia Symeonidou heads Real Economy Fund’s trade finance operations and manages new business development & alliances. Real Economy Fund is a Trade Finance Fund, registered & regulated by CySEC to operate as an Alternative Investment Fund. As an associate Member of the FCI, REF’s focus is in cross-border transactions & supply chain finance, in addition to single contract and single invoice discounting facilities offered targeted to SMEs. Antonia’s current focus is on allying with institutional investors, to efficiently channel funds in targeted industries and markets. Antonia holds a PhD in bioengineering from the University of Cambridge. |
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Laurent TabouelleManaging Director, CODIX GroupLaurent is Managing Director of CODIX Group, an international commercial finance software provider, editor and integrator of the iMX solution. The technology supports all aspects of corporate/commercial finance, including PO finance, factoring, international/two-factors, reverse, classical, invoice discounting, asset-based lending, supply chain and inventory finance, leasing, as well as sophisticated debt collection capabilities. With a staff of 880+ business and technical experts located in 16 countries, CODIX delivers its iMX solution worldwide to clients of various sizes from SMEs to international groups, and always with a comprehensive suite of services, including system customisation, on-site training and assistance, as well as expert level business recommendations and project management. Laurent’s entire career has been in IT for the financial/SCF industry, first in the business systems analysis space, then projects and products management, evolving into management roles. Laurent has been CODIX Group’s COO since 2010. |
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Richard TalboysExecutive Director, Political and Trade Credit Risks, WTWRichard has worked in credit insurance for 48 years, first with ECCD (the UK ECA), then as a broker before joining WTW in 1987. He has been with WTW for 36 years and leads the GB Trade Credit line of business and the global centre of excellence in Trade Credit Excess of Loss for larger clients. Richard has worked with and has experience of a wide array of sectors, including forest products, travel and aviation, commodities, motor trade and its wholesale finance, supply chain finance and receivable purchasing for FIs, energy and in the agrochemical, food and drink sectors. He is an associate of UK Chartered Institute of Credit Management and a member of the FCIB, the international arm of the NACM and a sponsor/ member of the Association of Credit Directors and Professionals (AICDP). |
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Federico TravellaFounder & Executive Chairman, Novicap Federico is a Belgian-Italian technology entrepreneur and co-founder-CEO of NoviCap, a venture capital-backed financial technology platform that is building the Operating System for working capital. Federico was previously a Managing Director at Rocket Internet where he was pivotal in scaling technology ventures in Asia Pacific and Africa. His most notable involvements were in Lazada (acquired by Alibaba; NYSE: BABA), Jumia and The Iconic. He holds a Master’s degree in Marine Geology of Ghent University and is a Young Talent fellow at IESE Business School. Federico also advises the EU Commission on its innovation and entrepreneurship agenda. |
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Jonathan WilliamsHead of Transactional Legal, DemicaJonathan joined DEMICA in April 2019 and became the Head of Transactional Legal in July 2021. Prior to joining DEMICA, Jonathan was at the Royal Bank of Scotland where he was the Global Head of Trade Finance, Legal and a Managing Legal Counsel in the Capital Resolution Division. Prior to that he was Lending Counsel at ABN AMRO having formerly trained, qualified and practised at Herbert Smith. At DEMICA he focuses on Software as a Service contracts for the DEMICA payables and receivables finance platforms, securitisation reporting transactions and supply chain finance transactions. |
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Geoffrey WynnePartner, Sullivan & WorcesterGeoffrey Wynne is Head of Sullivan & Worcester’s London office and also Head of its award-winning Trade & Export Finance Group. Geoff is one of the leading trade finance lawyers. He has extensive experience in many aspects of banking and finance, specifically trade, structured trade and commodity finance, and related legal and compliance issues. He has recently been involved in a number of initiatives for trade finance in the digital world including digital payment obligations. Geoff is currently Co-Chair of the ICC Committee which wrote the recently published Uniform Rules for Digital Trade Transactions (URDTT). Geoff sits on the editorial boards of a number of publications and is a regular contributor and speaker at conferences. He is also the editor of and contributor to The Practitioner’s Guide to Trade and Commodity Finance published by Thompson Reuters. He is General Editor and contributor to A Guide to Receivables Finance, a multi-authored publication co-published by Sullivan, Deutsche Bank and the International Trade and Forfaiting Association (ITFA). The team which Geoff leads has won numerous awards including Best Trade or Supply Chain Finance Law Firm at the Global Trade Review (GTR) Leaders in Trade Awards, 2022 and Best Trade Finance Law Firm by Trade Finance Global (TFG) in its International Trade Awards, 2022. Geoff is ranked both in Chambers UK, 2023 in Tier 1 as a Leading Individual for Commodities: Trade Finance and included in the Hall of Fame by The Legal 500 UK, 2023. |
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Albulena Xhelili Berisha PhDDeputy Chief of Party, USAID CEA KCSFAlbulena is a Ph.D. in Economics (UK) and a Post-Doc in Economics based in the International Monetary Fund (IMF, Washington DC), specialising in bank efficiency, euroisation and macroprudential policies. She is an expert with 14 years of experience in Kosovo’s financial system and international organisations paired with almost a decade of teaching experience of economics courses. Abulena is currently serving as the Deputy Chief of Party (DCoP) of CEA USAID activity implemented by the KCSF in Kosovo. She is also a sustainable finance consultant experienced in ESG reporting of the private sector and regulatory initiatives, risk analysis, integrated due diligence and sustainable finance strategies. Albulena previously also served for 13 years at the Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo (CBK). She has a proven track record of effectively managing different professional and complex departments and strategic working groups at the CBK, where she led and reformed the licensing (DLS), financial stability, and anti-money laundering departments, addressing the financial ecosystem and contributing to Kosovo’s financial stability. She has been pivotal in the design and development of the key projects on drafting the financial legislation of the CBK with international donors and private sector. Abulena has led and contributed to dozens of working groups, designing and drafting key financial legal and regulatory frameworks of crucial importance to the financial system of Kosovo. |
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Igor ZaksCo-Founder and Chief Risk Officer, 40SeasIgor is the Co-Founder and Chief Risk Officer of 40Seas, a fintech platform that digitises and simplifies cross-border trade financing for SMEs around the globe. Igor is a seasoned finance professional, with extensive experience in banking, blue-chip corporates and consulting. Prior to joining the 40Seas founding team, Igor held senior banking roles at Citibank, Daiwa and Eurohypo/Commerzbank, and served as a senior executive at Dell on the financing and risk management teams. He was also a Managing Partner at SCF Capital, where he played a key role in launching one of the first supply chain financing platforms, and is an experienced consultant to many companies in the fintech space. Igor is a frequent speaker at major corporate events and sits on the advisory/editorial boards of TRF News and World of Open Account. Igor holds a Sloan Fellowship MSc with distinction from the London Business School and a Global Professional LLM from the University of Toronto. |
