Events

Maram Al-Jazireh is SVP/ Global Head of Financial Institutions at Arab Bank and is responsible for relationships and business development activities with financial institutions globally. She is also a member of the Financial Institutions Credit Committee. Maram grew up in Kuwait and graduated from Oklahoma State University with a major in Accounting. Prior to joining Arab Bank in 2001, she worked at Talal Abu-Ghazaleh International, Cairo Amman Bank, Citibank N.A, Amman and ABN Amro Bank, Dubai. She is co-chair of BAFT MENA Council and an advisory board member of Beyond Capital’s governance committee. She is also a fellow of the Middle East Leadership Initiative, a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network and founder of Mid The Art Reach Project.

Ashley Allen, Vice President and International Banking Manager for Arvest Bank, graduated from Oklahoma State University with a Master of Business Administration, in addition to holding a Bachelor’s in Marketing from the University of Oklahoma. Ashley thrives on providing technical advice for payment risk mitigation and coaching those new to international trade on best practices. She is experienced in all aspects of international banking and trade finance, including import and export commercial letters of credit, international and domestic standby letters of credit, documentary collections, and foreign currency advisory services. Ashley maintains a CDCS certification (Certified Documentary Credit Specialist) from the International Chamber of Commerce. Actively involved in the community, Ashley serves as Treasurer of the Oklahoma District Export Council, which utilizes business experience in support of the Nation’s export expansion effort. In her personal time, Ashley enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter, reading, and traveling.

Mike Barbary is a commercial technology attorney specializing in contracts, IP, and data licensing. Mike has built his career supporting technology companies' efforts to deliver solutions to market, drive adoption, and build revenue across client organizations while maintaining the highest standards of trust and partnership. As a front office executive, Mike is responsible for building long-term relationships with customers, negotiating enterprise software deals leveraging AI, machine learning, and other emerging technologies. Mike is passionate about helping industry stakeholders digitally transform their global trade businesses, harnessing the power of data, automation, and machine learning to unlock operational efficiency and reduce regulatory risk.

Chris is the Head of Correspondent Banking for the Americas based in New York. He has been with the bank since 2011 when he joined the Financial Institutions team in Singapore. Prior to Standard Chartered, Chris worked for several start-ups in Toronto and Hong Kong in the fields of asset management and television media. 

Tod Burwell is the President and Chief Executive Officer of BAFT. Prior to being promoted to CEO, he served as the Senior Vice President of Trade Products with oversight of all trade-related initiatives including the Global Trade Industry Council, Trade Committees, and other strategic initiatives of the organization. Mr. Burwell has over 25 years of trade, supply chain and cash management experience as a banking practitioner, as well as serving as a consultant to global corporations and suppliers of strategically integrated trade solutions. Prior to joining BAFT, Mr. Burwell was a Managing Director at JPMorgan Chase and held senior global management roles responsible for trade operations, launching the logistics business and managing global product sales for trade finance and logistics management.

Gerardo Gutierrez-Olvera joined BANORTE 6 years ago as Managing Director, responsible for Trade Finance and International Business. BANORTE is the second largest bank in Mexico, and the only one among the 6 largest banks in the country that is managed locally without any influence of foreign head offices. Gerardo joined Banorte in 2013 after more than 20 years of comprehensive and substantial experience in the local and international banking arena with Banco Santander and Bank of America, working for those institutions in Mexico, New York City, Madrid and the Asia-Pacific region based in Hong Kong, with main focus on the development, management and sales of products and business lines related to trade & receivable finance, international treasury services, corporate banking, financial institutions and correspondent banking. He studied Public Accountant at ITAM (Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de México), and prior to becoming involved in banking, he worked at PwC (PriceWaterhouseCoopers) Audit and International Trade & Taxes Practice in Mexico City. Gerardo is a Director of the Board and the current Chairman of the Banking Commission at the INTERNATIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (ICC) Chapter in Mexico.

David is an advisor to banks and Managing Director in EY’s Financial Services Organization based in Chicago. At EY he leads their Trade Finance and Working Capital Finance practice in North America as well as EY’s Trade Automation Platform solution. David is has over 30 years of experience in the banking industry, primarily in Transaction Banking, including developing new innovative growth strategies, achieving revenue growth, improving efficiencies, deploying leading-edge technology and leading large-scale global transformation programs. He recently led EY’s Trade Finance and Working Capital Finance practice in North America. Previously he held global executive roles in at Citibank and ABN AMRO/LaSalle Bank as well as consulting firms advising the sector. He has served as a Director of bank subsidiaries focused on Trade and was a Founder / Director of the Trade Information Network, an industry consortium designed to improve small to medium-sized enterprise access to funding.

Mark Garfield’s current role is Head of Global Financial Institutions at Zions Bancorporation responsible for foreign bank relationship development. He joined Zions Bancorporation in 2005. He has over 30 years of banking experience with 25 years in international banking management covering trade finance, trade services, foreign exchange, correspondent banking and product development. Throughout his career he has worked closely with corporate and commercial entities in the Midwest and Western U.S. providing banking support for cross-border trade. Mr. Garfield currently serves as a Director of BAFT and Chair of the Utah District Export Council. He served on the DEC National Advisory Board and Board of the World Trade Center, Utah.

Brian Gordon started his banking career at National Bank of Commerce in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1989 while attending the University of Nebraska. In 2000 he joined Wells Fargo (via acquisition) where he focused his calling in the 7 states surrounding Missouri as a business development officer for the Wells Fargo HSBC Trade Bank. He then joined Sovereign Bank in the Mid-Atlantic & New England markets to build from scratch a structured trade finance group. Before returning to the Midwest to join Commerce Bank, he was with HSBC in New York City as an international business development officer covering CT, NJ, NY, PA, MD, VA, and Washington DC.

Erin Moore is a SWIFT Payments Product Expert supporting the execution of SWIFT’s strategy of fast and frictionless cross-border payments. She is responsible for promoting ISO20022 migration, gpi, SWIFT Go, Pre-validation and Case Management. She works closely with financial institutions to transform the end user’s payment experience, harmonizing systems and schemes and refining efficiency of operations. She is a member of Women in Payments and a SWIFT Diversity and Inclusion global ambassador. Prior to joining SWIFT in 2020, Erin worked for The Clearing House and Citibank, holding various roles in product management and sales support and operations and technology as both an individual contributor and manager.

Gwen Mwaba joined Afreximbank in May 2015. In her role as Director & Global Head, Trade Finance, she heads the Trade Finance business for Afreximbank and leads a team executing transactions in all Afreximbank member states across Africa. Her expertise cuts across Receivables Financing, Pre-export and Pre-payment financing, Structured Trade and Commodity Financing and lending to Financial Institutions and Sovereigns. Gwen has 24 years of banking experience in Oil & Gas, Telecoms, Hospitality, Mining, Health and agri-business. Before joining Afreximbank, she worked for Standard Bank Plc in London and prior to that for Stanbic Bank Zambia and Standard Bank South Africa.

Amy Sahm joined Fulton Financial’s International Group in 2002 following a long-term career in the Japanese banking and trade industry. She works as department manager, overseeing product development, operations, sales and risk management. The International Group at Fulton is responsible for foreign exchange risk management and all international transactional products and services including Trade Finance for Fulton’s customer base. The International Group primarily serves import / export SME clients within Fulton’s five state footprint. She serves as a Board Member and Treasurer of both the World Trade Center of Harrisburg and the Mid-Atlantic District Export Council supporting the US Commercial Service Export Assistance Center. Amy is a member of the International Business Advisory Board of Elizabethtown College where she mentors students and presents guest lectures on international finance. Amy also holds a Board seat at BAFT as well as a Co-Chair position on the North American Council. In addition to BAFT, Amy is active throughout the North American regional bank network in several international banking industry groups.

Mr. Michael Salerno is the Vice President of Global Banking at First National Bank of Omaha where he manages a diverse portfolio of corporate and correspondent bank customers. He consults with trade and treasury management professionals to help define, create, and implement effective trade finance, global payments and international risk management solutions. Mr. Salerno specializes in providing foreign exchange and international payment solutions for financial institutions. He is the Treasurer for both the Nebraska District Export Council and the National Association of District Export Councils.

Paul Warfield’s current role is to expand and grow product offerings within global trade products and global treasury services. He joined Huntington National Bank in June of 2021 and has more than 30 years of international banking experience working with trade services, trade finance, foreign exchange, and correspondent banking. Throughout his career he has been focused on looking for innovative solutions and technology enhancements that provide regional banks with competitive solutions. He is an active member with BAFT working on various committees and is past co-chair of the Regional Bank Council and past Board Member.