Events

Tapan is a banking technology and domain expert, who now leads the payments product management function for iGTB. He has over 2 decades of experience in banking technology, having worked at Oracle OFSS (i-flex), Wipro, MindTree and Deutsche Software. He has worked in roles that range from development, design, consultancy to strategy and operational roles including managing large teams, top line targets and bottom-line responsibilities. He has implemented banking technology in multiple banks and consulted with CTOs and CIOs at banks on technology driven business and operational efficiency improvement.

Melanie Casalis joined the Coalition Greenwich in 2012. She consults with leading European banks on corporate banking, debt capital markets and transaction banking. Melanie previously worked at Societe Generale in London in corporate banking coverage for UK clients.

Toby Miarka advises international as well as domestic banks on strategic client service and product issues that result in profit enhancing and sustainable solutions. Before joining the Firm in 2006, Toby was a vice president at an M&A boutique and worked as an associate in the M&A department of Goldman Sachs in Frankfurt. He also was a research fellow at the Science Center Berlin, working on Bank-Firm relationship models in Germany, Japan, U.K., and the United States. Toby holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Humboldt University, Berlin and an MBA from the University of Cologne, Germany.

Tomas is a senior transaction banker with 25+ years of experience in cross-border payments and Swift. He is a Director, being responsible for sales activities towards Nordea’s largest correspondent banking clients. Prior to his current role, he has held various senior positions within Nordea, such as Payment Operations, Network Management, Product Management and Financial Crime Compliance. In his capacity as Global Product Manager, he was responsible for Nordea’s Swift GPI implementation. Tomas also serves on several payments industry committees in Sweden and Europe. He is Chair of the Swedish Swift Banking & Payments Committee and representing Sweden in the EMEA Swift Alliance (ESA), where he also is the deputy Chair of the Banking and Payments Committee. Until end of 2022, he was also the Nordic representative in Swift’s Transaction Manager User Group.

Sinan has 22 years of experience working in executive roles across various industries, focusing on several areas of banking, financial services & logistics i.e. trade & structured finance solutions, supply chain finance, new ventures and business development. Sinan joined DP World in April 2021, set up DP World Trade Finance where he continues to serve as Senior Executive Officer and Board Director, and globally leads DP World’s Trade Finance arm. In March 2017, he set up Maersk Trade Finance business in UAE, obtained regulatory license, rapidly grew business, and served as Senior Executive Officer, Board Director and Regional Trade Finance Head for Indian Subcontinent, Middle East & Africa region until 2021. Previously, Sinan was Regional Director of UK Export Finance (a British Government Department and the official Export Credit Agency of the UK) for Europe, MENA and Central Asia region, established UKEF’s overseas presence and originated trade & project finance deals. Prior to UKEF, he headed Trade Finance/Financial Services unit of CNH Industrial for Africa-Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions. Before CNH, Sinan held the position as Auditor at VakifBank and covered many areas of banking & financial services.

Alexander Rost joined Swift in early 2023 as Managing Director and Head of Central & Eastern Europe. He brings more than 30 years of international banking expertise to the organisation, acquired in different leadership roles at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt and the Far East. He is specialised in international payments as well as in structured export and trade finance. In the five years before joining Swift, Alexander headed up the financial institutions department of a large foreign bank’s subsidiary in Frankfurt.

Jan Paul van Pul is Senior Payments Advisor within ING Bank Transaction Services/Tribe Payments. One of his responsibilities is the area of interbank relations. More specifically the relationship with relevant Market Infrastructures, like SWIFT, ECB and National Central Banks, ACH’s and CSM’s and positioning ING in order to stay relevant in the SEPA and International Payments Business. Instant Payments, the SWIFT ISO 20022 migration, SWIFT GPI, Request to Pay, SEPA One Leg Out and EPI are developments in which he is heavily involved in order to service ING’s Corporate Clients and Financial Institutions in the area of Payments and Cash Management. He has a wide experience of 30 years in Global and European Transaction Banking and Global Financial Markets in management functions within Products, Operational and Project Management units with previous employers, like ABN AMRO Bank, Banca Antonveneta and consultancy firm Enigma. He now represents ING in several Payments Industry bodies , e.g. the SWIFT National Member Group NL, EBA Clearing, the European Banking Association and the European Payments Council.

Maarten has more than 24 years of experience in the Transaction Banking space with a specific focus on Correspondent Banking and International Cash Management. Maarten joined Barclays in 2010 with a mandate to build a euro clearing proposition for Financial Institution clients. Having built the proposition and managed the migration of the platform from London to Frankfurt in 2019, his focus shifted towards cash management origination and sales activities. In his current role as Head of Global FIG Sales, Maarten leads a global team of cash sales specialist covering the Financial Institutions and FinTech client segments. In addition to his position at Barclays, Maarten holds advisory roles at several industry bodies covering the international payments market. He is a member of the Advisory Group on Market Infrastructure for Payments (AMI-Pay) at the European Central Bank, a forum for the exchange of views on developments in payments. He serves on the TARGET Workgroup at the European Banking Federation and was a founding member of the Swift workgroup that developed the new GPI standard for cross-border payments.

Bana Akkad Azhari is Head of Treasury Services – Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) for BNY Mellon. She is responsible for the overall coverage and delivery of BNY Mellon’s products and services to existing and potential clients as well as market development and strategic growth opportunities in Payments, Trade and liquidity solutions. Based in London where she relocated in 2021 after leading Treasury Services Relationship Management and Business Development in the Middle East, Africa and Commonwealth of Independent States (MEA – CIS) region, Bana joined BNY Mellon in 2006 as Chief Representative with overall responsibility for the Bank's business in Lebanon. Prior to joining BNY Mellon, Bana worked for over nine years with Citigroup in Beirut where she held the position of Resident Vice President and was a member of the credit committee. She moved across various roles in the organization, the last of which was the position of relationship manager for financial institutions, branches of multinational corporations, and NGOs. Prior to that, she held various positions in Credit Administration and Treasury.

Zade Alnagger covers Global Economic Sanctions as part of the Global Risk organisation at Bank of America. Prior to this, Zade led the EMEA region for the financial crimes program, including AML, fraud and operational risk. Zade has been with Bank of America for 13 years and is based in London.

Pablo is responsible for the core trade finance products in Santander CIB, which includes LCs, SBLCs, guarantees for corporate and FI clients. He is also responsible for the capital, liquidity and portfolio distribution initiatives within Trade & Working Capital Solutions. With over 10 years of experience on Trade Finance, he joined Santander group in 2014, where he has held different positions in trade finance including roles in the syndication & distribution desk and structuring and origination of receivables transactions. In 2019 he was appointed in this new role covering the global responsibility for traditional trade. Pablo holds a Business Administration degree from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and an International Trade MBA in the UIMP / ICEX University. He is co-chair of the International Chamber Of Commerce Trade Finance Advocacy group and part of the Trade Register and Trade Digitalization initiatives.

Connie Blacklock is the Head of Real Time Payments for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) within the Payments & Commerce business at J.P. Morgan. The Payments & Commerce business combines Global Payments and Merchant Acquiring to provide integrated solutions to clients around the globe. She has end-to-end Product Management responsibilities including product strategy, roadmaps, product development and product performance. Connie has over 10 years’ experience within J.P. Morgan, starting her career within Infrastructure and Payments Technology. For the past 6 years, Connie has held roles within Payments Product Management in both Market Management and Product Management, supporting a variety of Markets, Payment Rails and Clearings. Throughout her career, Connie has supported multiple Diversity, Equity & Inclusion initiatives and is currently a lead as part of the J.P. Morgan Platinum sponsorship of the Women in Payments global organization; wherein 2022, she was an Innovation Award finalist, recognising her efforts in implementing J.P. Morgan as a Direct Participant of UK Faster Payments (FPS). Additionally, Connie represents J.P. Morgan across the industry speaking at a number of events and webinars, sharing thought leadership in the Payments space.

Helmut is a Partner within Forensic Technology in Deloitte Germany with 25+ years of professional experience. Helmut is leading the Deloitte DFIR Team in Germany. He is responsible for projects of Forensic Investigation of Cyber-Incidents (Ransomware, Network breaches, Bank Data Fraud, Data Leakage, digital sabotage and others). He also advises clients about Cybercrime prevention and conducted numerous complex eDiscovery-projects within national and international Investigations of several causes.

Ambrosia Caplice joined CIBC in 2018 and is currently Managing Director & Head of Global Transaction Banking. As Managing Director & Head of Global Transaction Banking at CIBC Capital Markets, Ambrosia works closely with partners across Capital Markets and Personal and Small Business Banking to build connectivity across the bank in payments, and focuses on growing Cash Management, Trade Finance, and Correspondent Banking businesses, as well as relationships with banks globally. Previously, Ms. Caplice was Managing Director & Head of Global Trade and Banking in Canada, and Head of Payment Solutions, leading the client experience and product development within the Payment Solutions and Correspondent Banking business. Prior to joining CIBC Capital Markets, Ms. Caplice worked at a leading competitor bank for over 26 years, most recently as Managing Director & Group Head, North American Financial Institutions, Corporate Banking.

With a decade of experience in the financial services industry, Emily has had the privilege of working in various leadership roles within renowned organizations. Beginning her journey at HSBC in a leadership position in FX marketing, she orchestrated market-leading campaigns that set new industry standards. Transitioning to the Global FX Product team in 2016, Emily played a role in leading FX commercialization efforts and recognized for her expertise, she extended her impact by consulting with global HSBC offices, providing insights to enhance their FX business. In 2019, Emily joined J.P. Morgan’s EMEA FX product team, leading commercialization. Here, she achieved success by orchestrating the most successful FX sales campaigns that generated record-breaking results. Emily developed innovative approaches, leveraging new data tools and pioneering marketing strategies. Emily later embraced the role of Head of UK Payment Sales – Specialty Finance, Loan Agency & Card Schemes at J.P. Morgan, looking after some of the firm’s largest clients and playing a key role in defining and executing a strategy that facilitated significant penetration. Emily's track record and public profile eventually led to an invitation from StoneX to become their EMEA Head of Financial Institution Sales. In this role, she is entrusted with leading the team, defining the strategy, and driving growth in the financial institution book for cross-border payments.

Greg has 20 years banking Operations experience, predominantly in Cash and Intraday Liquidity Management and Network Management. He is now part of the UBS Network Management team.

I am the Chief Economist of UBS Global Wealth Management. I believe passionately that economics is something everyone can and should understand. We all make economic decisions all of the time. The problem is that economists tend to wrap economics in jargon and equations. We do not need to do that. It is my job to help people realise what they probably already know – by developing and explaining the UBS economic view in a clear way. To do this, I publish research (most of which you can find here), make short videos, and appear in various print and broadcast media. I tend to think of myself as a political economist, not a mathematical economist. I get very excited about lots of things in economics. Diversity, inflation, education, trade, inequality, sustainability and social change are some of the topics I am very enthusiastic about (to the point of writing books about them).

In his current role, Stuart brings together FI customers across three customer sectors (Non-Bank FI, Funds and Banks & SSAs (Supranationals, Sovereigns & Agencies)) within the NatWest Group under one single, focused business. Stuart’s role as MD of FI is to drive the customer strategy and deliver the whole bank to our institutional customers. Stuart is a member of the Commercial & Institutional ExCo and Risk committees. His previous role was Managing Director for Institutional Banking and Depositary Services at RBS International. This also included NatWest Trustee and Depositary Services, the largest fully independent trustee and depositary provider in the UK. Stuart was also a member of the Exec Committee of RBS International.

Raquel Galán is Executive Director and Senior Sales and Relationship Manager of International Financial Institutions at BBVA. She has been responsible of the transactional relationships with financial institutions in Continental Europe and North of Africa since 2012. Prior to that, Raquel has been working in different positions within CIB. She started at Market Risk Unit, which led her to BBVA New York Branch. Thereafter, she worked at the DCM team back in Madrid, where she had various responsibilities. She was Head of the Medium Term Notes Desk at the Global Markets unit from 2007 until 2009. From 2009 to 2012, she lived in Qatar.

Based in Madrid, Carlos Gutiérrez joined Santander in 2006 where he has held different responsibilities, including Global Head of Cash Management, Head of Global Transaction Banking for US based in Boston and, most recently, Global Head of International Financial Institutions. During this period, he was Board Member of PAGOFX and part of the steering committee that launched OnePay FX. He moved into his current responsibility as European Head of Cash Management & Lending Sales back in 2021. Before joining Santander, he worked for Citibank for over 13 years holding various positions in GTS both in product management and sales. He also spent a few years in Asset Management where he was responsible for the institutional business in Spain & Portugal. Prior to that, he worked as an auditor for Arthur Andersen where he started his professional career.

Jenni is the Head of Financial Institutions, FinTech and Broker Dealers for Barclays Europe. Based in Frankfurt, she leads a pan European team of dedicated coverage bankers who provide cash management, FX risk management, debt and partnership opportunities to a wide range of established and fast growth clients in these sectors. Jenni is responsible for setting the European strategy for the sectors, as well as key driver of the global Business Appetite spanning US, UK and Europe. She is also a regularly featuring as a key note speaker in leading industry events and as a guest lecturer in London Business Schools. With over 17 years of Corporate Banking experience her prior roles include heading fintech sector in the UK where she was responsible for setting the governance structures as well as driving growth. She has also held various client coverage positions within the Barclays UK Corporate Bank including hospitality & leisure industry where Jenni also led the delivery of strategy and governance processes associated with related high risk sectors.

Simone is the Global Head of Payment Platforms at Commerzbank. In her role, she is responsible for the product management, IT operations, development and delivery of Commerzbank’s global cash management activities for retail and corporate clients as well as for the corresponding banking network. Simone has over 15 years of experience in wholesale Corporate Banking. She has held several management positions including Head of Corporate Banking in Commerzbank France as well as Head of International Platforms. In Commerzbank’s agile transformation, she drives technological development combined with a customer centric delivery approach. Simone and her teams represent Commerzbank in various German and European forums and working groups using in-depth payment knowledge, insights into customer requirements as well as technological development to provide thought leadership to the industry. She is a Board member at EBA Clearing and Fnality International.

Vanessa Manning will be responsible for driving further profitable growth across MUFG's Transaction Banking business in EMEA, as well as overseeing the strategic development of the Trade and Working Capital and Cash and Liquidity Management functions. With over 22 years' leadership experience in Global Cash & Trade Management gained from ABN AMRO, RBS, Standard Chartered and Deutsche Bank, Ms Manning is also an active member of institutional Diversity and Inclusion initiatives, including UK and European Women in Payments, and is a motivated mentor and mentee within the European Techstar Rise community.

Graduated from the ESCEM Tours and the University of Ottawa, Jean-François joined Société Générale in 1993. He held various managerial positions in the French retail network, essentially on the SME and large corporate segments. In 2011, he was appointed Senior Banker on a portfolio of key agribusiness corporate clients, most of them belonging to the cooperative sector. In November 2015, he joined GTB division as co-Head of Cash Clearing Services, before being appointed Head of the same business line one year later.

Paolo G. Muzzarelli joined UBS in October 2023 as Head of Transaction Banking Products. In his role, he is also a member of the Institutional & Multinational Banking Management Committee within the Swiss Bank division of UBS. Paolo joined from Credit Suisse (part of UBS Group), where he remains in charge of Transaction Banking Products. His career at Credit Suisse started in 2006 as a strategy analyst in the Group’s Corporate Development organization. Since 2011, he served financial institutions, covering banks as a Relationship Manager until 2015, when he took over the role of Head of Transaction Banking Products. Since May 2022, Paolo is a member of the board of directors of CLS Bank. Before starting his career in the financial industry, Paolo spent two years at McKinsey&Company in Zurich as well as three years as an independent consultant and founder of his own consulting firm.Paolo holds a Master’s degree in Business (lic. oec. HSG) from the University of St. Gallen.

Kumar Narayan heads USD Clearing product at J.P. Morgan and is responsible for setting the strategy for USD Clearing, developing roadmap for the product and implementing business initiatives to maximize the P&L, and managing overall risk to ensure business soundness. Prior to this role, he managed the USD Clearing Product at Standard Chartered Bank, Bank of America and Citigroup. Kumar represents JPMorgan on the SWIFT US National Group and Chairs the USNG. Kumar has 20+ years of experience in the Transaction banking space including 10+ years specializing in the Payments industry. Kumar has an MBA from the S.P Jain Institute, Mumbai, and a Bachelor of Engineering from NIT, Surat.

Francesca joined UniCredit in 2004 in the Institutional & International Affairs Department becoming its Head of Political Studies before moving to the coordination of Group’s International Network. Her broad professional experience in UniCredit brought her to the Trade Finance department where she held various roles and ultimately as Global Head of Trade Finance and Working Capital Solutions. Francesca has been instrumental in the successful development of the TFO tool (Trade Finance OCR) project, the digital transformation of trade finance paper-intensive business into a far more efficient system. Francesca is member of the Working Group on Sustainable Trade Finance at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

Simone Satan is the Head of Digital Market Management for Treasury Services at BNY Mellon. Simone is responsible for the value articulation and market support of BNY Mellon’s Digital Channels solutions. Her global team assures that we are offering optimized digital solutions and connectivity strategies that meet the needs of our clients. Simone previously headed the TS Relationship & Business Development business for Germany, Austria and the CEE Region. Prior to re-joining BNY Mellon, Simone spent 6 years with Visa in a Senior Relationship & Sales Management role. With more than 20 years experience in the payment field Simone has a deep understanding of the client base, their business models and needs paired with a profound knowledge of Treasury Services’ products including new payment technology & solutions.

Dr. Eberhard Schnebel is a philosopher, economist, and theologian. He is teaching Business Ethics at Goethe University in Frankfurt since 2013. Since 2016 he is teaching Digital Ethics and AI Ethics and publishing on ethical issues of AI. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the "European Business Ethics Network" (EBEN). Eberhard Schnebel works full-time at Commerzbank AG, Group Risk Management as responsible Manager for Data Governance. 2019 and 2020 he led the project "Data Ethics / Digital Ethics" to establish ethics regarding digitalization, Big Data and AI in the financial industry. Prior to that, he led the project "Business Ethics and Finance Ethics" to introduce ethics as a tool for increasing management efficiency and accountability.

Sarabjit Sidhu (Sid) based in London, has 20 years of banking experience and has been with Standard Chartered Bank for the past 12 years. Sid leads the SCB Network Management West team which includes Americas, Europe, Africa and Middle East region. Sid and his team support engagement with the bank’s external third-party relationships such as Custodians and Cash Correspondent Banking relationships. Sid’s team is focused on deepening existing relationships as well as identifying and developing new business. He prides himself in the open and collaborative approach taken by his team, which focuses on building lasting partnerships, supporting innovation strategies, as well as providing strategic support to any regulatory and risk requirements that impact the usage of third- party providers. Sid has previously worked at Barclays, ABN Amro and RBS/NatWest.

Rogier is the Product Head for Trade & Working Capital at Lloyds Bank, which includes Traditional Trade, Structured Trade Lending, Open Account and Invoice & Asset Finance. His team help large and small businesses access cash, sustainable financing and manage risk as they trade – domestically or internationally. Lloyds Bank are working hard to digitalise Trade to make it more accessible, faster and secure. In addition to his product management, development and innovation responsibilities, Rogier has a strong focus on capital treatment and optimisation and he has been working closely with the ICC UK on the implementation of Basel 3.1 in the UK. Prior to his current role, Rogier held various positions within Lloyds, most recently as the Head of Pricing and Balance Sheet Management in the Transaction Banking division. He joined Lloyds Banking Group in 2009.

Karin Walchshöfer is Managing Director and Head, EMEA for the Global Financial Institutions Group at BMO Capital Markets, and is primarily responsible for overseeing the growth and management of the bank’s relationships with financial institutions in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. She is based in the UK and manages teams in London and Toronto. Ms. Walchshöfer joined BMO in 2000. Prior to this, she worked at National Westminster Bank in London where she held various positions in their Correspondent Banking and Card Services units. Ms. Walchshöfer has been a member of the BAFT Europe Council since 2008 and was elected as BAFT EC Co-Chair in March 2022. She is also on the BAFT Board of Directors.

Andrew Wilson is the Global Policy Director at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and ICC’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations - a position which he has held since 2018. In his role, Mr. Wilson oversees ICC’s engagement with international organizations and processes, including the United Nations, the European Union, the World Trade Organization and the Group of 20 while leading the development of ICC’s policy recommendations, practical guidance and standard setting activities. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Wilson was Chief of Staff and Director of Global Communications at the ICC’s headquarters in Paris – during which time, he ran numerous global campaigns, including ICC’s application to obtain Permanent Observer status to the United Nations General Assembly. Previously, he held several roles at ICC’s national committee in the United Kingdom, including Interim Executive Director and Director of Policy, as well as policy roles in the private sector and the Government of the United Kingdom. Mr. Wilson holds degrees from the London School of Economics and the University of Leeds.