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28-29 November
Clifford Chance
London

Accessibility, innovation, efficiency and social impact have become the most looked for goals of modern financial services. Alternative and receivables finance is the industry which has all these ‘must have’ features on offer, hence it will continue to gain more traction in the coming years.

Taking a global perspective, the Alternative and Receivables Finance Forum returns this autumn for a two-day event focusing on the latest trends and developments in the industry, including blockchain, tokenisation, BNPL, DEFi, risk mitigation, regulation and social impact.

It will bring together leaders in alternative finance to explore how the industry is developing and growing following a year of uncertainty.

The forum will be followed by the AI4RF seminar. Presenting an introduction to AI and GenAI, this half day event will provide attendees with a deeper understanding of how these powerful and emerging technologies are impacting the global factoring and receivables finance ecosystem and what this means for your organisation. For more information on the seminar click here.


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Tim Armstrong
Head of Receivable Financing & Data Science, Silver Birch Finance

Tim is a Director and Co-Founder of Silver Birch and leads their Receivable Financing and Data Science team. Tim has 22 years of experience of investment banking and financial services experience, including 8 years in the securitisation teams at Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch, syndicating both rated bonds and equity to a wide range of investors. He was also a Managing Director in the Innovation and Incubation team of a UK fintech and spent time in the corporate finance teams of Deloitte and KPMG. Prior to finance, Tim was an Officer in the British Army and worked as an engineer with BP. Tim has an MA (Oxon) in Physics from Oxford University and an MBA from London Business School.
Soojean Choi
Senior Associate, Clifford Chance

Soojean is a Senior Associate in the Structured Asset Backed Real Estate finance group. Soojean is experienced in advising arrangers, issuers, originators and investors on a range of portfolio acquisitions, and public and private securitisations in the unsecured consumer loan and credit card space, the unsecured SME space, and prime and re-performing RMBS.
Paul Coles
Director – Treasury, Orbian Management, Chair, Market Practice Committee, ITFA

Paul Coles has a specific focus on managing, developing and adding to Orbian's funding relationships for its supply chain finance programmes. Prior to joining Orbian, Paul was responsible for overseeing the transactional distribution activity that supported HSBC’s Global Trade and Receivables Finance business. He has also been the global co-ordinator and EMEA head for trade risk distribution at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and previously the trade asset management regional head at RBS NV, part of the legacy ABN AMRO network, where he was in the London-based trade credit distribution team. He started his career in trade finance over 25 years ago at London Forfaiting Company, where he held a variety of roles. Paul has a BSc in Management Studies from Royal Holloway, University of London and is a member of the Board of the International Trade and Forfaiting Association (ITFA), where he currently chairs the Market Practice Committee.
Simon Connor
Senior Associate, Clifford Chance

Simon is a Senior Associate specialising in securitisations, structured finance transactions, forward flow/factoring arrangements, asset backed commercial paper conduits and asset-based lending. Simon has considerable experience advising arrangers, originators and investors on complex cross-border securitisations (both public and private in nature) across the spectrum of asset classes, including trade receivables, lease receivables, telecommunication receivables, corporate and consumer loans (including CBILS, RLS and RLS2), and residential mortgages.
Bertrand de Comminges
Managing Director, Global Head Trade Finance Investments, Santander Asset Management

A renowned industry expert, Bertrand is currently the lead portfolio manager for the global Trade Finance strategy at Santander Alternatives Investments, SGIIC, SAU; Santander Holdings´ private investments arm. Previously, Bertrand worked for 8 years at HSBC. In his last role he was responsible for the European business development activities for Global Trade and Receivables Finance. Previously, he was HSBC’s Global Product Head of Structured Solutions and, Global Head of Solutions Structuring for the organisation among other roles. Before HSBC, Bertrand worked at JP Morgan as EMEA Head Structured Trade Advisory and, for RBS/ABN Amro, where in his last role he was EMEA Head of Trade. Bertrand is the Co-Chair of the International Trade & Forfaiting Association´s ITFIE working group (Trade Finance Investment Ecosystem), whose efforts are targeted to make Trade Finance an investable asset class for institutional investors. Bertrand is also a Subject Matter expert in the ICC’s Global Supply Chain Finance initiative. Bertrand is a Chartered Actuary, has a full-time MBA from the London Business School and an MSc degree in Economics and Business Sciences from UCM. On the private side, Bertrand is a trustee of educational charities and is a single father of five young children.

Sean Edwards
Managing Director, Head of Legal – EMEA, Special Adviser – Global Trade Finance Department, SMBC Bank International, Chairman, ITFA

Sean 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.
Enrique Elias
Head of Expansion, Two
David Frye
CEO, Levantor
Dr Rebecca Harding
Independent Trade and Trade Finance Economist, Founder, Rebeccanomics, Senior Fellow, British Foreign Policy Group

Dr Rebecca Harding is a Senior Fellow of the British Foreign Policy Group and an independent trade economist, public speaker and sustainable trade and supply chain specialist. In 2022 she was awarded the Net Zero Entrepreneur of the Year at the annual Scale Up Group’s Enterprise Awards event. She has built three data-based technology businesses in the trade and sustainability space and held senior positions at Deloitte, London Business School, the Work Foundation, and UK Finance, where she was Chief Economist. She acted as Specialist Adviser to the Treasury Select Committee and advised the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Entrepreneurship. She has acted as a trade finance and supply chains expert witness, is a member of the World Trade Board, the ITFA’s ESG Committee and the ICC’s sustainable trade finance technology sub-committee. Between 2004 and 2018 she was a Director and Trustee of the German-British Forum.

Her co-authored books, The Weaponization of Trade: the Great Unbalancing of Policy and Economics and Gaming Trade: Win-Win Strategies for the Digital Era have defined the trade-based nature of modern conflict. She provided the business case for the adoption into UK law the framework to enable digital trade; her work on the ‘regulatory paradox’ of current sustainability reporting requirements has catalysed the establishment of the ITFA’s cross-industry Audit Council to set sustainability reporting and audit standards. She has authored 8 other books on the German economy, global innovation policy, and SME financing and Venture Capital. Her high media profile includes frequent appearances on BBC television and radio, Sky News, CNBC, and Times Radio, as well as citations in the broadsheet media.
Suresh Hegde
Head of Structured Private Debt, Goldman Sachs Asset Management

Suresh is Head of Structured Private Debt at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Prior to joining GSAM, he worked at NN Investment Partners where he founded both the Structured Private Debt and Insurance Solutions businesses. He previously held roles in structured finance origination and credit structuring at J.P. Morgan, Bear Stearns, and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, and as a credit analyst at Standard & Poor’s. Suresh started his career at Linklaters in London. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Political Science from the University of Bristol.
Fadzai Mandaza
Senior Associate, Clifford Chance

Fadzai is a Senior Associate in the Structured, Asset Backed and Real Estate Finance team. Her experience includes advising arrangers, originators and investors on securitisations and structured debt transactions including residential mortgage backed securitisations, commercial mortgage backed securitisations, lease receivables financing, credit card/consumer loan receivables transactions and real estate finance transactions throughout Europe.
Mindaugas Mikalajūnas
CEO, SME Finance
Wayne Mills
Founder and Managing Director, Atom Advisory

After 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.
Martin Opfermann
Lead Portfolio Manager, Trade Finance, Allianz Global Investors

Martin Opfermann is a senior portfolio manager within Allianz Global Investors alternative asset management team and is leading the firm’s trade finance activities. Martin joined the firm in 2017 from Allianz Investment Management SE, where he was Head of Credit and in charge of Allianz Group’s credit allocation. In 2009, he spearheaded Allianz’s strategic shift into private markets and executed several debt investment strategies. Prior to this, Martin worked in the Fixed Income team of Allianz Lebensversicherungs-AG. Martin graduated from University of Mannheim as a Diplom-Kaufmann in 2002. He is also a CFA charterholder.
Özlem Özuner
Head of Operations and Finance, 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.

Rebecca Shepherd
Senior Associate, Clifford Chance

Rebecca is an English law qualified senior associate in Clifford Chance’s banking and finance practice. She is 15 years qualified and spent 6 years in the Istanbul office and is currently based in London. Rebecca specialises in financings in growth markets across Africa, Turkey and the Caspian region. She focuses on projects, trade and export finance. Rebecca works with a number of industry bodies in the development of policy, recommended forms and industry know how. She also works with clients on their LIBOR remediation and LIBER transition projects.
Abis Soetan
Director, Fund and Asset Manager Group, Fitch Ratings

Abis 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).
Chris Southworth Chris Southworth
Secretary General, ICC United Kingdom

Chris Southworth is Secretary General at the ICC United Kingdom. Prior to joining ICC he was Executive Director for Global Partnerships at the British Chambers of Commerce, Head of the International Chambers of Commerce Unit at UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) and a Senior Policy Adviser to Lord Heseltine for his independent review of UK competitiveness. In 2011 he helped set up the mid-size business export programme at UKTI and was a Senior Policy Advisor for the 2011 Government Review of Mid-Size Businesses. Former roles have encompassed deregulatory policy at Better Regulation Executive, social enterprise policy at the Department for Business and stints in a local strategic partnership and the charity sector.
Matteo Tarroni
Co-founder and CEO, Workinvoice

With a career spanning over three decades, Matteo is a seasoned financial expert. He is the Co-founder and CEO of Workinvoice, Italy's pioneering invoice trading platform, which has empowered SMEs to access cash through innovative financing models. His extensive experience in corporate financing issues is evident through his roles at Credit Suisse, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and Mediobanca, where he played a pivotal role in debt capital market origination and corporate finance.
Federico Travella
Founder and Executive Chaiman, NoviCap

Federico is a Belgian-Italian technology entrepreneur and co-founder and executive chairman 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 from Ghent University and is a Young Talent Fellow at IESE Business School. Federico also advises the EU Commission on its innovation and entrepreneurship agenda.
Mar Turrado
CEO and Founder, Findango Finance

Mar founded Findango Finance in 2019 and is CEO of the company. Prior to that she was Managing Director at Ahorro Corporación/Stormharbour LLC, CEO of Savia Financiación Non-Bank Lender and Managing Director at JB Capital Markets Group. Other roles have included CEO of Bravo Capital Non-Bank Lender, Corporate Bank Head at Instituto de Crédito Oficial/ICO, Head of ICO’s agency roles, including Funds for International Cooperation, Board Member of Compañía Española de Financiación al Desarrollo, Board Member of AXIS, the Spanish Government´s main vehicle for venture capital investments and Head of Strategic Clients at the Arcano Group. From 1993-2009 she held various roles in private banking and alternative investment at Citibank. From 1990-1993 she was a Senior Equity Analyst at FG Inversiones Bursátiles, acquired by Merrill Lynch and she worked at Arthur Andersen iun Auditing and Special Services from 1988-1990.
Michael Vrontamitis
Founding Partner, T3i Partner Network

Michael Vrontamitis is a founding partner of T3i Partner Network LLP. T3i Partner Network is a global collective of industry leading specialists in trade, treasury and technology with a focus on digital innovation. He also advises several start-ups, including Kountable Inc and Silver Birch Finance, and is deputy chair of the World Trade Board. A renowned industry thought leader, he is particularly passionate about the intersection between sustainability, technology and finance and the impact digitalisation can have in narrowing the trade finance gap and enabling sustainable supply chains. In his last role, Michael was the lead industry principal for Finastra’s Lending Business Unit, which covered cash management, trade and working capital management, retail and corporate lending at Finastra. Michael spent 25 years with Standard Chartered, spanning both wholesale and retail clients, as well as investor relations, working in Hong Kong, London, and Singapore in a number of leadership positions. His transaction banking roles included the head of product management for cash management, trade and securities services for Asia; the global head of trade finance product; and regional head responsible for the bank’s trade finance business with European and American headquartered companies, where he led sales, product, distribution, service and implementation in Europe and the Americas. Michael has been a member of the BAFT Board of Directors and BAFT’s Global Trade Industry Council. He was also part of the ICC Banking Commission Advisory Board, where he co-chaired the ICC Working Group on the digitalisation of trade finance and chaired the SWIFT Offshore CNY Best Practice Working Group on Cash and Trade. Michael was recognised by The Asset as The Renminbi Banker of the Year in 2014. He has a degree and Master’s in Economics from the University of Warwick.
James Watkins
Senior Associate, Clifford Chance

James is a Senior Associate in Clifford Chance’s structured, asset-backed and real estate finance group, specialising in structured finance and securitisation. He has experience advising arrangers, originators and investors, including banks, corporates and financial investors, on the financing and securitisation of a range of asset classes. James also has experience advising on related EU and UK regulation, with a particular focus on the EU and UK securitisation regulations.
Richard Wulff
Executive Director, International Credit Insurance & Surety Association (ICISA)

After completing a Master’s degree in Economics, Richard Wulff started his career in 1989 as trade credit insurance underwriting manager and reinsurance director of NCM, a precursor of Atradius, in his native country, the Netherlands. He founded a reinsurance captive for the company in Ireland prior to moving on to Munich Re in Germany. At Munich Re, he managed the non-European credit, surety and political risk reinsurance department until 2008. He then moved to India to become the Chief Underwriting Officer of HDFC-ERGO Insurance Company, a general lines insurance business. Richard subsequently became Group General Manager, heading up the worldwide credit lines at QBE Insurance in Australia, before moving to Hong Kong in that role. He returned to Holland in 2017 to found RW Consulting, a consultancy company for trade credit insurance, surety and political risk (re)insurance. In February 2021, Richard joined the International Credit Insurance and Surety Association (ICISA), an association with which Richard has been actively involved throughout his career in trade credit insurance, surety and political risk insurance, where he currently holds the title of Executive Director.

Geoffrey Wynne
Partner, Sullivan & Worcester

Geoffrey 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.

Clifford Chance

10 Upper Bank St Canary Wharf
E14 5JJ London
United Kingdom
See map: Google Maps

A&RF 2023 - Early Bird (Valid until 23rd Oct)

£945.00

(Standard Price - £1,195 + VAT)

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A&RF 2023 + AI4RF* - Early Bird (Valid until 23rd Oct)

£1,150.00

(Standard Price - £1,450 + VAT)

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*This ticket includes entry to the AI for Receivables Finance seminar

(any applicable VAT will be added on the next page)

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