Monday 28 April 2025 - Global Fintech Forum

Please review the Agenda for the Global Fintech Forum 

Keith Grose

Keith is the Senior Country Director for the UK at Coinbase, based in London, leading product and business strategy in one of the world’s most dynamic fintech markets. A seasoned executive with a passion for building financial infrastructure, prior to joining Coinbase Keith led the establishment of Plaid’s UK and European operations, driving its growth as one of the largest private fintech companies globally, and served as COO of Sequence, focusing on B2B payments. Keith began his career in Silicon Valley as a consultant at Bain & Company before spending many years at Google, where he played a key role in scaling the payments and mobile hardware divisions. As an investor, Keith supports ambitious founders driving financial freedom through technology with a focus on B2B fintech & crypto startups.

Mo EL Husseiny

Mo El Husseiny is a leading investor in technology start-ups. He is the Founder and Managing Partner of Ventura Capital, an investment company focused on pre-IPO consumer opportunities including fintech. Mo established Ventura Capital in 2012 to pursue his vision of investing in technological innovations with the power to positively disrupt the technology market and the lives we all lead.
Ventura Capital has invested over $1 billion in such start-ups as Spotify, Zilch, Railsr, Coursera, Tekever, Uber and Upgrade. Across Ventura’s 14 year life the firm has realized an average exit of 4x invested capital and an IRR of 61% across all investment exits.
Mo previously worked for eight years at Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi Sovereign Wealth Fund.
In 2014 Mo was appointed as a committee member of the Finance Council in Brussels, a committee of EU parliamentarians subordinated to the European Parliamentary Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, devoted to progressing and integrating European Banking and Finance Policy. He holds this position as a representative of the private sector and now serves as Co-Chairman.
Mo is proud of his Lebanese and Scottish heritage, as well as the friendships and connections he has made around the world. Mo is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Albert Hall and a Trustee of the Royal Albert Hall Trust. Mo is Socio de Honor of the Royal Sailing Club of Spain, is a board member of the Club and is a Trustee of the Club’s Centre of the Disabled, which provides sailing for young people with disabilities.

Samantha Niblett

Samantha Niblett is the Labour Member of Parliament for South Derbyshire, Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Fintech and the founder of Labour: Women in Tech, a political not-for-profit campaigning for systemic change in gender equity by elevating women in STEM. Now a leading voice on gender equity and Tech in the House of Commons, Samantha combines 20+ years of experience in the data and technology sector with a personal passion for bringing attention to the voices of women and young people to unite the industry behind campaigns centering on economic growth, diversity and emerging technologies. Her work to smash barriers for women in STEM, tech and adjacent sectors, spans unions, industry, education and government, and her ongoing work in the House of Commons bringing together Parliamentarians will be crucial to achieving economic growth under the new Government.

Simon Cureton - SVP Partner Credit Services

Simon Cureton is Senior Vice President of Partner Credit Services at Tide. Previously he was CEO of Funding Options before being acquired by Tide and he was a founding member of Esme Loans. With extensive global experience, Simon has held senior roles at leading fi nancial institutions, including RBS International, Morgan Stanley, Barclays Capital, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and Deutsche Bank. A strong advocate for Open Banking and data-driven lending, Simon is a key fi gure in the fi ntech community. His focus is on driving company growth and expanding Tide's Partner Credit offering, to ensure SMEs in the UK, Germany and India have access to the right funding to empower them to grow and thrive with confi dence.

Bruno Diniz

Bruno Diniz is Managing Partner at Spiralem Innovation Consulting, Professor on Financial Innovation at the University of Sao Paulo (USP) and Independent Board Member at Open Finance Brazil. Regarded as one of the top fintech influencers in LATAM, Mr. Diniz is also host of Fintech Talks Podcast, international speaker, and bestselling author of three books on financial innovation.

Roberto Emilio Silva - Chairman of the Argentine Securities Commission (CNV

Roberto is a lawyer graduated from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) and holds a Master of  Laws (LL.M.) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA. Prior to his appointment at the CNV, he worked professionally in notorious national law firms and 
internationally at Shearman & Sterling (currently A&O Sherman) in New York. Since January 2024, he has served as Chairman of the Argentine Securities Commission (CNV),  leading the entity in charge of the supervision and regulation of the Argentine capital market and  Virtual Assets Service Providers (VASPs).

Harry Gill – Chairman, Pay10

A pioneering force reshaping the global fintech landscape, Harry Gill is widely recognized as a visionary leader who is driving innovation in financial services. 
Since founding Pay10 in 2017, he has scaled the company into a high-growth global fintech powerhouse. Under his leadership, Pay10 has aligned closely with national development agendas and built high-impact global partnerships, positioning the company at the forefront of the Alternative Payment Method (APM) revolution. Its secure, seamless solutions continue to challenge conventional banking models and advance financial inclusion. 
As Chairman, Harry drives Pay10’s long-term strategy and innovation roadmap, while actively shaping the future of digital payments and next-generation financial technologies. He combines disruptive thinking with disciplined execution, sharp business acumen, a global perspective and a deep commitment to transforming how money moves in the digital economy.
One sentence version:
As Chairman of Pay10, Harry Gill drives fintech innovation, transforming how money moves in the digital economy.
 

Adam Banks

Adam has a been a serial Digital Transformer focused on the creation of new capability and revenue streams driven by Technology. He is passionate about performance and
cultural change and has a combination of business and technical experience. He is known for his systemic thinking particularly when looking at complex organisations or ecosystems. With a strong Technology background Adam has a track record of
working across the organisation to redefine the products, services and ultimately revenue base of an organisation. Extensively using stories and metaphors to take others on the journey he is an authentic, inspirational leader who is motivated by long term value delivery.

Currently a Non Executive Director and Advisor Adam has a deliberately diverse portfolio from FTSE Top 5 through to Series A in terms of scale and maturity and from Mining and manufacturing through Media to Financial services and pure Technology
businesses in terms of sector. In addition to Board Membership and Advisory Adam also sits on Risk committees and Remuneration Committees and regularly chairs the Technology or Transformation Committees of the businesses he works with.
 

As CIO and CDO of A.P. Moller Maersk group, a global transport and logistics giant, Adam had accountability for all Technology activities and capabilities of a multi billion dollar technology organisation. He successfully created Maersk's global Technology
organisation moving Maersk to become the global market leader for Digital services. He has been acknowledge by numerous bodies including The World Economic Forum for leading the recovery of Maersk following the worlds largest Cyber Attack in 2017.
He also founded the shipping industry digital standards body gaining the support and funding of 90% of global carriers.
 

Adam has spoken at hundreds of events since the NotPetya Cyber attack, helping organisations understand the criticality of investment in cyber defence as well as educating boards and executive committees on effective response. He brings to life
the key decisions faced by organisations once they have been attacked and explores the range of responses and the associated outcomes.

Adam holds a bachelors degree from the University of Portsmouth and has undertaken executive education at Cambridge and IMD, he is also an Honorary Fellow of the BCS. He lives in the UK and is married with two children

Alastair Lukies 

Founder and Chairman, Pollinate / Chair, Fintech Alliance / Advisor, FinTech Growth Fund / Prime Minister’s Business Council Alastair Lukies CBE is a UK businessman and entrepreneur best known as a pioneer and champion for the UK’s global Fintech industry. He has been at the forefront of the UK’s Financial Technology industry, working with financial institutions, investors and regulators to promote collaboration and mutual benefit across the ecosystem. Al is Founder and Chairman of Pollinate International. He is also Chairman of the Fintech Alliance, Vice-Chairman of the Global Advisory Council at Motive Partners, Advisor to the recently formed government backed FinTech Growth Fund and sits on the Prime Minister’s Business Council. Alastair is a global speaker on technology driven businesses and leadership. Prior to Pollinate, Al founded Monitise and was awarded a CBE for services to mobile banking and charity in June 2014.

Cassie Craddock

Cassie is Vice President and Managing Director, UK & Europe at Ripple, which she joined in 2017. She is a seasoned fintech leader who specialises in working with global financial services companies to enable them to drive innovation, growth and efficiencies through new technologies, with a particular focus on blockchain, digital assets and payment infrastructure. Cassie’s international expertise has been built up across a range of cutting-edge fintechs, including French startup Mangopay, where she launched the UK operations before exiting the business to Credit Mutuel Arkea; as well as payments companies Ixaris and Veridu. 
 
Cassie began her career playing football for Ipswich Town in the FA Women's Premier League. In 2024 Cassie was appointed to the board of The Payments Association. As a leader with a LGBTQIA+ background, Cassie is a community advocate and passionate about fostering inclusive and supportive workplaces.
 

Sir Charles Bowman

Charles retired as a Senior Partner of PwC in September 2020. He joined Price Waterhouse in 1983, qualified in 1986 and was admitted to partnership in 1995. Amongst other leadership roles, he led PwC’s Building Public Trust programme.

Outside of PwC, he chaired the Assurance Panel and the Audit and Assurance Faculty of the ICAEW and was a member of its governing body. He was Chairman of the Audit Quality Forum and a member of the Advisory Council of the Prince of Wales’s Accounting for Sustainability Project.

Elected as the Alderman of the ward of Lime Street in the City of London in 2013, he served as the 690th Lord Mayor of London in 2017/18. His mayoral theme was ‘The Business of Trust’.

During his mayoral year, Charles Chaired the Department of Trade’s Fintech Board – and the Fintech sector formed a prominent part of his overseas engagement throughout his year in office.

Other outside activity has included membership of the Board of Trade, a JP, governor of a Primary School Academy in Hackney, board member of his school’s foundation, Ambassador to the Samaritans, Trustee and Chairman of The Lord Mayor’s Appeal and an Trustee to The Mansion House Scholarship Scheme.

He was knighted in the 2019 Birthday Honours for services to trust in business, international trade and the City of London.

Following retirement, he remains a Senior Advisor to PwC and sits as a non-executive director on the boards of 3 companies. He has served as an Advisory Board Member of the Fintech Growth Fund. He continues as a City Alderman – and amongst other City roles, is deputy Chair of the General Purposes Committee of the CoA, a member of the City’s Competitive Advisory Board and the Co-Chair of the UK-China Green Finance Taskforce. Charles is Honorary Air Commodore of 2623 Squadron, RAuxAF Regiment.

He is a Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Grocers and a liveryman of the Chartered Accountants. He chaired the Pan Livery Steering Group from 2019-23.

Married to Samantha, a veterinary surgeon, they have two daughters, Grace and Charlotte and live in Suffolk although he spends the working week in London. Other interests include golf, tennis, art and architecture and country matters – including helping, when allowed, to co-shepherd a small flock of sheep.

Chris Daniel

Chris Daniel is the Chair of Paul Hastings’ market-leading Global Fintech & Payments Group and is a partner in the Corporate Department. As the founder of the firm’s Band 1 and Tier 1-ranked Fintech team, Chris is recognized as one of the country's leading attorneys in payment systems law, including electronic payments, mobile payments, virtual and digital currencies, and money transmission.

Recognized as a “Fintech MVP” by Law360 and ranked Band 1 by Chambers, Chris is one of the most sought-after payments and cryptocurrency practitioners in the market. His unique strength lies in his ability to blend his financial services regulatory focus with unparalleled transactional experience in the Fintech industry.

Chris has significant experience advising clients on issues related to investments into payment systems companies and banks, the creation of settlement networks, transactional matters involving payment systems companies, global money transmission, and anti-money laundering issues associated with payments. He regularly practices before every US state banking department, all federal banking agencies, FinCEN, and OFAC, and his client base generally consists of:

• Private equity and venture capital firms.

• Fintech startups as they develop and commercialize their product offerings

. • Cryptocurrency companies along the entire range of crypto offerings from blockchain development to crypto exchanges, DeFi and DApps, and ecosystem development

. • Legacy depositories, payments companies, and card networks who are innovating or contracting with fintech companies.

• Trusted Platform Companies, for which financial services contribute a significant percentage of their business.

Cindy van Niekerk

Cindy van Niekerk is the founder of Umazi, a UK FinTech revolutionising business verification. With over a decade of experience delivering regulatory technology projects for major global banks, she is now focused on transforming how businesses build trust through verified digital identities.

Umazi is at the forefront of leveraging advanced technologies like AI and Web3 to streamline compliance, tackle financial crime and eliminate data redundancies, helping SMEs and global businesses scale confidently. She plays an active role in shaping industry standards through her involvement with various industry bodies and as a founding member of Ayra, an initiative focused on secure, interoperable digital ID.

As a strong advocate for inclusion and collaboration, Cindy continues to drive meaningful change across the global financial ecosystem.

Diana Avila

Dr Russell Collingham

Russell is currently the Head of AI and Data Science at Atom Bank, the UK's first bank built for smartphone or tablet, without any branches, and the first digital-only challenger bank to be granted a full UK regulatory licence, and based in Durham.

Prior to joining Atom, Russell was Head of Engineering for over 5 years at hedgehog lab, a digital agency based in Newcastle, leading the technical development and delivering award winning apps and digital products on mobile, web and cloud to customers such as Deliveroo, AJ Bell and Deliciously Ella. Russell was a software consultant for 15 years working with Harveys Furniture, Bensons for Beds, the MoD and Ringo.

Russell was at the University of Durham for 11 years where he gained a BSc in Computer Science, and a PhD in Artificial Intelligence before moving onto research and then joining the academic staff as a lecturer for 4 years until 1997.
 

Chief Banking and Expansion Officer: Diana is the Chief Banking and Expansion Officer at Wise. Since joining the company in 2015, she has held several key leadership roles, including Global Head of Banking and Expansion, Head of Banking (West), and Banking Lead for the Latin American region. Before moving to Wise, Diana was a Latin America Operations Manager at the International Project Finance Association (IPFA). Prior to this she was practising as a finance and banking lawyer in Colombia. Diana holds an MSc in Law and Finance from Queen Mary University of London and a Law degree from Universidad de los Andes (Bogotá, Colombia).

Frank Martire

At Bridgeport, Frank leads the sourcing, evaluation, and execution of the firm’s investment strategy. Frank brings over 40 years of experience leading, operating and investing in several of the world’s largest financial technology companies, and has completed over 100 investments and acquisitions across the financial technology sector during this time. Frank brings a wealth of experience in leading and scaling financial technology companies, including extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, value creation and synergy execution, complex integrations, talent acquisition and mentorship, organizational design, product development, and capital allocation.

Prior to Bridgeport, Frank held senior executive roles at multiple publicly traded financial technology companies including as Chairman and CEO of Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. (FIS), Chairman and CEO of Metavante Technologies, Inc. (Metavante), COO of Financial Institution Systems and Services Group of Fiserv, Inc. (Fiserv) and Executive Chairman of NCR Corporation (now separated into two distinct financial technology companies: NCR Voyix and NCR Atleos).

Frank is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of CSI, a leading digital core banking provider and a Bridgeport portfolio company. He is a Member of the Board of Directors of Cannae Holdings, Inc. and System1, Inc. He serves as a Board Member for Sacred Heart University and the Folded Flag Foundation and is a Member of the Mayo Clinic Leadership Foundation

Gina Clarke

Gina Clarke is a fintech journalist and event content director. She has worked for both UK and global outlets including TIME Magazine, Forbes and the BBC. 

Previously the content director for Money20/20 Europe she now continues writing on industry events for The Fintech Times, and is the content director for Fintech Abu Dhabi, Blockchain Abu Dhabi and Risk4.0 which all take place under the umbrella of Abu Dhabi Finance Week, held in December.
 

Husayn Kassai 

Husayn Kassai is the former Onfido CEO and Co-Founder, achieving unicorn status in 2020, sold in 2024 (largest UK AI exit, previous record set in 2014 by DeepMind). He’s a WEF Tech Pioneer; Forbes Contributor and “30 Under 30”; BA in Economics and Management from Keble College, Oxford. Husayn’s new company is Quench.ai - enabling teams to search, chat, and retrieve precise answers from organizational knowledge - and to automate tasks with AI. 
 
 

Jaidev Janardana, CEO

Devoted to creating simple and fair financial products and services, Jaidev joined Zopa in October 2014.Since then Zopa has secured its banking license to offer its customers a wider range of financial products, increasing its lending volumes six fold and growing its revenue 20x (as of 2023).Before Zopa, Jaidev spent 12 years at Capital One. Starting out in McLean, Virginia, he was initially focused on the US card business. He then moved to the UK in 2007 with a big task at hand – to manage credit risk through the financial crisis as Chief Credit Officer for the UK business. Having helped Capital One UK successfully navigate through the crisis, he took on the broader role of Chief Marketing Officer and was instrumental in returning the UK business back to profitability and growth.

Joanna Jensen

Joanna Jensen is the founder of the British multi-award winning, baby and child personal care brand, Childs Farm.  Created in 2010 as a solution to her own daughter’s sensitive and eczema-prone skin, every element of their range from content to bottle is thought through to ensure they are best for skin and best for planet. 

The brand was launched into mainstream retailers Boots and Waitrose in 2014 and became the number one brand in the baby and child segment in the UK in 2019 disrupting and reducing the market share of market leader Johnson’s Baby, from 32% to 15%.

A true disrupter, Jensen introduced naturally sourced ingredients and uplifting scents to her products and vibrant designs to her recycled packaging which had not been seen within the sensitive skin market and made Childs Farm stand out in store.  This combined with rave reviews from happy parents proved to be a winning formula.

In March 2022, Jensen sold 92% of Childs Farm for £36.8mn to PZ Cussons Plc, the personal care company and owner of well-known brands Imperial Leather, St. Tropez and Carex. The final 8% was sold in January 2025.

In June 2024 Jensen was appointed Chair of the EISA (Enterprise Investment Scheme Association), a scheme she has benefitted from both as an entrepreneur and as an investor.  

Jensen is a leading advocate of supporting female founded businesses through her role on the Advisory Board of Buy Women Built (BWB), a movement uniting many female founders to drive awareness of their excellent brands in the UK to consumers and investors.  She is also an Angel Investor in 12 female founded SMEs.

Jensen works directly with the Imperial Venture Mentoring Service (IVMS), Imperial College’s flagship entrepreneurial mentoring programme. Its mission is to support the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs with an elite group of industry mentors.
Jensen is Chair of the Parallel Club, the philanthropic arm of Paralympics GB, and was the owner of Tokyo and Paris medalling Paralympic Dressage Horse, Key Stone Dawn Chorus.

In June 2024 Jensen was appointed Chair of the EISA (Enterprise Investment Scheme Association), a scheme she has benefitted from both as an entrepreneur and as an investor.  
 

John Cotterell

John Cotterell founded Endava in 2000 with the intention of empowering people through technology. This philosophy drives everything Endava does and has allowed us to build long-lasting relationships with clients across multiple industries. Under John’s leadership, Endava listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2018. Today, Endava has 69 offices in 29 countries

Jordan Sinclair

Jordan Sinclair is the Head of Robinhood UK. Jordan has wide-ranging industry experience and previously helped lead Freetrade's European expansion. Prior to his role at Freetrade, he was the Director of Group Strategy and Corporate Development at Barclays. Jordan holds a BCom from the University of Cape Town and a MSc from the University of Edinburgh.

Mark Fairless, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director

Mark Fairless is the Chief Executive Officer for ClearBank and Executive Director on ClearBank's Group Board. He brings extensive experience in strategic leadership and is a proven expert in delivering enterprise and functional transformation.

Mark joined ClearBank in January 2023 as Chief Financial Officer and prior to that, was the CFO of the M&G Heritage Business. He has also held senior management roles at Santander UK and Barclays Investment Bank.

Mike Wilcox, Chief Operating Officer, Blockchain.com

Mike Wilcox is the Chief Operating Officer at Blockchain.com, where he leads business operations, sales, European licensing strategy, and customer-facing alignment, ensuring we scale effectively across key markets. Mike heads our London HQ and represents the company in advancing our European and UK priorities.

With over 25 years of experience in financial services, investment management, and operational leadership, Mike has held senior roles at firms including Point72, Velocity Global, and AlixPartners. Prior to joining Blockchain.com, he advised boards and investors on strategy, M&A, and market expansion, and served as CFO at Velocity Global, leading corporate strategy and financial transformation efforts.

Gareth Thomas

Gareth Thomas was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Services, Small Businesses and Exports) at the Department for Business and Trade on 9 July 2024. He was elected as the MP for Harrow West in July 2024.

  Rodrigo Verduzco Reynoso 

Nadia O'Shaughnessy

• Mr. Verduzco founded RUUT an investment platform “for non-investors” which currently has more than 120K users, 80% of them had never invested before.

• Currently serving as Chief Strategy Officer at Finsus, leading strategic initiatives and innovation in the fintech space.
• Prior to joining FINSUS, Mr. Verduzco served as Financing Lead at Incode Technologies. Raised >US$ 220M at a >1B valuation
• 8+ years of experience in traditional finance, Investment Banking (Moelis) and Equity & Capital Markets (GBM)
• RUUT was the 2025 winner of the Fintech Trailblazer Contest at NASDAQ, recognized as one of the most disruptive companies in the fintech ecosystem.
• Bachelor’s Degree, Finance at ITAM

Nadia is Head of Insight at Themis, a specialist provider of financial crime prevention solutions. She is responsible for Themis’ research programmes, thought leadership content and training projects.

Nadia has a diverse background in international affairs and research. Prior to joining Themis, she completed assignments at the United Nations, FTI Consulting, NATO Parliamentary Assembly and European Commission. Nadia has a dual master’s, with distinction, from the London School of Economics and Sciences Po, Paris, and a first class bachelor’s degree from the University of Cambridge, all in the International Relations sphere.

Nikhil Rathi 

Nikhil was appointed Chief Executive of the FCA on 1 October 2020. 
He began his career in HM Treasury before serving as Private Secretary to the Prime Minister between 2005 – 2008. Nikhil then became Head of the Financial Stability Unit, overseeing a number of the UK’s financial stability interventions before becoming HM Treasury’s Director of the Financial Services Group from 2009 – 2014. In that role, he also served as the UK representative to the EU Financial Services Committee. 
Nikhil joined the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in 2014 and was appointed CEO in 2015. 
Nikhil holds a BA in philosophy, politics and economics from the University of Oxford
 

Paul Taylor 

Paul Taylor is the founder and CEO of Thought Machine, the leading cloud-native core banking and payments technology provider. Thought Machine is present in 29 countries with a client list of over a dozen Tier 1 banks worldwide. 

Thought Machine is eradicating the outdated legacy technology prevalent in the banking industry. Its next-generation core platform enables banks to migrate away from old systems and launch highly differentiated, modern propositions.

Before founding Thought Machine, Paul successfully launched two companies, the second of which was acquired by Google in 2010. At Google, he led the text-to-speech team, which developed cutting-edge technology now found in all of Google's navigation and voice search products. Paul holds a PhD in AI and has held teaching positions at Edinburgh and Cambridge Universities.

Richard Davies

Richard Davies is CEO of Allica, a digital bank focused on established SMEs that has lent over £3bn since launching in 2020, and named by Sifted in 2024 as the fastest growing startup in Europe.

Previously he was COO at Revolut, as it scaled from 5 million to 15 million customers and launched in various new geos, and he was the inaugural CEO at OakNorth.

Rick Haythornthwaite

Rick is a highly experienced chair who combines a successful commercial career with a deep knowledge of financial services markets and technology, as well as a strong track record of delivery at significant customer-facing organisations. He has served as Chair of Mastercard Inc, Ocado Group plc, Arc International Holdings, Centrica plc and Network Rail Limited, and was a partner at Star Capital. Rick’s past non-executive directorships include Globant S.A., Cookson plc, Lafarge S.A., Land Securities plc and ICI plc. Rick’s chair experience extends to SMEs across industry sectors, including a fintech company, an industrial AI company, and a sustainability consultancy. Rick has been responsible for several high-profile business transformations and rescues, including as CEO of Invensys. Rick also led the Haythornthwaite Review of UK Armed Forces Incentivisation. Rick is currently Chair of NatWest, Chair of AA Limited, Senior advisory partner at Moelis & Co. and Visiting Fellow at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.

Roisin Perry

Roisin is Fintech Trade and Investment Manager at the UK Department for Business and Trade, supporting UK Fintechs to expand both domestically and internationally and driving inward investment. Prior to this, Roisin was a Free Trade Agreement negotiator for the United Kingdom. Before joining the Department for Business and Trade, Roisin held a number of private sector roles across UK and global business development, supporting a range of businesses from SMEs through to multinational corporations on their growth journeys.

Roxana Mohammadian-Molina

Roxana is an international investor and senior strategic advisor, with a career at the intersection of finance, technology and real estate. She is a Chief Strategy Officer and investor at award-winning FinTech BLEND that operates a real estate private credit platform, member of the Advisory Board of Women In Finance, Industry Expert Contributor at the Said Business School University of Oxford’s Postgraduate FinTech Program, and Vice Chair of the Saudi British Joint Business Council. Roxana has been recognized as a senior leader in the Innovate Finance Women In FinTech powerlist and holds several Board and Advisory roles across tech and FinTech firms. 
Prior to her current roles, Roxana was an investment banker at Morgan Stanley and Barclays, where she held various senior roles across commodities trading, strategy and research. 
 

Ryan Woods

Ryan Woods is the Head of Strategy at Started PR and a seasoned B2B PR expert with nearly a decade of experience. He leads with a content-first, strategic mindset that has helped elevate some of the most innovative fintech and tech brands across Europe. His work has secured clients top-tier media coverage, speaking opportunities at leading industry events, and supported over £200 million in successful fundraising. 

Most recently, Ryan was the lead author of The Check Up, Started PR’s flagship research report offering insights from fintech and tech founders across Europe. A confident moderator and speaker, Ryan has contributed to events such as Pro-Manchester and FinTech North, and regularly hosts The Get Started Podcast, where he draws out real insights through meaningful, engaging conversations.

Sam Everington

Sam Everington is CEO of Engine, Starling Bank's Software-as-a-Service arm. Engine delivers Starling's market leading, cloud native banking platform to financial institutions around the world. Previously, Sam led the development and design of the highly scalable, modular and cloud native core banking platform that powers Starling in the UK.

Sarah Kocianski

Sarah Kocianski is a fintech and insurtech strategist with over a decade of experience across global organisations, scaleups, and startups in the financial services industry. As CEO of FinTech Wales, she leverages her extensive expertise to support and grow the fintech ecosystem in Wales. Sarah has also worked with major banks, insurers, healthtechs, and retailers. Previously, she led Strategic Insights at Founders Factory, guiding fintech investment strategies for partners like Aviva, and served as Head of Competitor Strategy at 11:FS, a consultancy for financial services firms globally.

Sir Douglas Flint 

Sir Douglas draws on his extensive board experience to shape a collaborative approach, which facilitates open and constructive boardroom discussion. He guides the board’s review of performance and shaping of Aberdeen’s strategy and promotes its stewardship responsibilities, including active engagement with key stakeholders. He has considerable global experience, including in Asia, and he remains actively involved in international, financial and governance matters.
Previously, Sir Douglas spent over two decades at HSBC, serving as the banking group’s chairman for seven years and as group finance director for 15 years. Prior to this, he was a partner at KPMG. He was also previously a non-executive director at BP from 2005-2011 and a member of the Mayor of Shanghai and Mayor of Beijing’s Advisory Boards.
Sir Douglas received his CBE in 2006 and knighthood in 2018 recognising his services to the finance industry.

Board committee(s)
•    Nomination and Governance Committee (Chair)
External appointments
•    Chairman of IP Group plc
•    Chairman of the Royal Marsden Hospital and Charity
•    International Advisory Panel of the Monetary Authority of Singapore
 
 

The Rt Hon Alun Cairns 

The Rt Hon Alun Cairns is a former UK Cabinet Minister who served three Prime Ministers as the Secretary of State for Wales.
In Government and Parliament, he was a strong advocate for policies to support international trade and the development of the Fintech industry. He became the Co-Chair of the All-Party Fintech Group in Parliament and Deputy Chair of the Blockchain and Crypto Asset Groups.
Since leaving Parliament, Alun Cairns works as an international business consultant, supporting both business and the public sector in a range of fields, from finance to Blockchain, AI and Energy. He holds an MBA that specialises in International Trade.
Outside of business, Alun Cairns is a keen runner and has completed 13 London Marathons!
 

Tim Levene

Tim Levene is CEO of the UK’s only publicly listed, fintech-focused investment company Augmentum Fintech. After launching the first iteration of the fund in 2010 with the backing of RIT and Lord Rothschild, Tim and Co-Founder Richard Matthews launched Augmentum Fintech plc on the main market of the London Stock Exchange in 2018.

An experienced entrepreneur and investor, Tim has sat on multiple fintech boards including interactive investor, Tide and Zopa and is highly active in cross-industry initiatives working to boost the UK fintech sector such as the UK FinTech Strategy Group and Innovate Finance. Tim was a founding employee of Flutter.com, which became one of the highest profile digital businesses in the UK after it merged with Betfair.com in 2001.

A World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, Tim was elected in the City of London as an Alderman in the Ward of Bridge in 2022.
 

Veronica Maria Glab

Veronica is an independent consultant with over a decade of experience building go-to-market strategies across the UK, Europe, and North America. She advises fintech startups on strategic growth  partnerships, and works with leading funds and financial institutions to enhance their fintech investment theses and partnership strategies.
She brings over 10 years of experience in international trade and financial services, having worked at British American Business, the United Nations in New York on financial inclusion initiatives, and El Corte Inglés. Most recently, she led global partnerships and investment insights at Innovate Finance, where she authored the UK’s flagship FinTech VC Investment Report.

Mo Mizza

Mo is CFO at TrueLayer, where he has been with the company since March 2020. Mo has held various positions in the finance and investment banking industry, with experience at companies such as  MoneySuperMarket.com, Lazard, Canaccord Genuity Inc., and Hawkpoint. Mo holds a BA in Classics from the University of Oxford.

Clara Probert 

Clara Probert is the Managing Partner of Soluna Capital, where she leads capital strategy and investor positioning for high-growth companies across the technology landscape. She brings a particular focus to fintech as a transformational force reshaping how the financial industry operates and delivers innovation that drives economic growth.

Her career spans leadership roles in financial services, venture finance, and institutional capital. Clara has led complex transactions and advised companies through critical phases of growth and scale.

In the banking sector, she played a strategic role in expanding institutional reach into the innovation economy. As a founding member of a high-growth division at a leading UK bank, she oversaw the operational management of a venture debt fund and launched a national coverage strategy for the UK’s high-growth market. She also led the design and implementation of a large-scale technology platform that transformed relationship management and client engagement, delivering measurable returns.

Earlier in her career, Clara had exposure to key client portfolios in high-risk, regulated sectors—including some of the world’s largest PSPs and gambling companies—developing early insight into the dynamics of innovation, risk, and compliance in complex environments.

She operates at the intersection of capital, technology, and growth—partnering with some of the most forward-thinking companies shaping the future of their industries.

Katie Ramsey

 Katie Ramsey began her career after earning her degree from Loughborough University. Over the years, she has built an impressive portfolio of experience across some of the world's leading financial institutions, including PwC, Credit Suisse, and Macquarie Group. Through these roles, she steadily progressed through the ranks, developing deep expertise in finance, strategy, and innovation.

Now serving as Head of Fintech at the Department for Business & Trade, Katie plays a key role in shaping the future of the UK's fintech sector. She leverages her extensive industry knowledge and global experience to support policy development, foster innovation, and help maintain the UK’s position as a world leader in financial technology.

Alessandra Perrazzelli

Deputy Governor of Banca d'Italia, member of the Joint Directorate of the Insurance Supervisory Authority (IVASS) and also member of the ECB Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) Supervisory Board.

Member of the Board of Directors of the Bambino Gesù Children Hospital in Rome and Visiting Professor of the Polytechnic University of Milan, she also sits on the Board of the Bruno Kessler Foundation.

She was previously Italy Country Manager for Barclays Bank and sat on the Boards of Directors of Monte Titoli SpA, A2A and ATM (Azienda Trasporti Milanese).

She worked in Intesa Sanpaolo as Head of International Regulatory Affairs.

She founded and also chaired Valore D, an association aimed at fostering women to corporate management roles.

Alessandra Perrazzelli has received widespread recognition and awards for her work on diversity and inclusion, and for the promotion of technological innovation in the financial industry.

She began her career as a lawyer at leading law firms in New York and Brussels, specializing in the fields of banking law, financial services, telecom and public utilities.

Member of the New York State Bar and of the Italian Bar.

Graduated with honours in 1986, from the University of Genoa, with a degree in Law and a Master of Laws in Corporate Law, in 1988, from the New York University School of Law.

Alumna of the University of Stanford Business School since 2018.

Knight in the Order of the Merit of the Italian Republic since 2021.

EMMA Reynolds MP

Emma Reynolds MP was appointed Economic Secretary to the Treasury on 14 January 2025.

She was Parliamentary Secretary at HM Treasury and the Department of Work and Pensions from 9 July 2024 to 14 January 2025. She was elected as the MP for Wycombe in July 2024.

 H.E. Dr Khaled Al-Dhaher

Dr. Khaled Al-Dhaher is the Vice Governor for Supervision and Technology at the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA). He has over 30 years of leadership experience in technology and financial services. Before joining SAMA, he was the chairman and country managing director of Accenture Saudi Arabia. He has also held leadership positions at various companies in Saudi Arabia, the Middle East, and Africa. He worked with Microsoft as the general manager for Saudi Arabia and the general director of business solutions for MEA. Moreover, he held the position of managing director for Hewlett Packard Enterprise in Saudi Arabia. He also worked with Oracle as the director of business applications as well as the manager of financial services industry solutions at MEA. He earned his PhD in computer science and engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in the United States. He holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees in computer science and engineering from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia.

Raja Rajamannar

Raja Rajamannar is chief marketing and communications officer for Mastercard and serves as a member of the company’s Executive Leadership Team and Management Committee.

Over the past decade, Raja has transformed Mastercard into one of the fastest growing brands in the world. At the helm of the iconic Priceless platform, he and his team are on the cutting edge of experiential, multisensory marketing for consumers and customers alike. Raja has extended the reach and impact of the brand by embracing artificial intelligence and Web3 technologies while pioneering new standards in inclusive design.

Raja’s leadership has propelled Mastercard to one of BrandZ’s most valuable global brands, the world’s No. 1 audio brand five years in a row, as well as accolades from Disability:IN, Fast Company, Cannes Lions and other prestigious organizations. The transformative work led by Raja at Mastercard has been developed into case studies at both Harvard Business School and Yale School of Management.

A Wall Street Journal-bestselling author, Raja is a frequent speaker and media commentator. His book, “Quantum Marketing: Mastering the New Marketing Mindset for Tomorrow’s Consumers,” has become a touchstone for marketing leaders and academics around the world, and is now available in 11 languages.

Raja has deep business management experience, leading large revenue-driving organizations throughout his career. This has provided a critical foundation for ensuring marketing is a force multiplier for growth. Prior roles include president of healthcare at Mastercard, chief transformation officer for health insurance firm Elevance (formerly Anthem) and chief innovation and marketing officer for Humana. He held senior management roles with Unilever and Citibank.

Recently inducted into the Marketing Hall of Fame and Forbes’ CMO Hall of Fame, Raja has been recognized as one of Business Insider’s Most Innovative CMOs seven times. He was also named WFA Global Marketer of the Year, Advertising Person of the Year by The Ad Club of New York, Adweek’s Brand Genius, Billboard’s Top Branding Power Player and Fashion Group International’s Tech and Brand Innovation Award recipient, among many other recognitions.

He is president of the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) and on the boards of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), The Ad Council and Yale School of Management Consumer Insights Council. He serves on the board of PPL Corporation, a U.S. Fortune 500 company (NYSE: PPL), New York City Ballet, Cintrifuse, and not-for-profit Bon Secours Mercy Health.

Originally from India, Raja received his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Osmania University and Master of Business Administration from the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore. He currently resides with his wife and younger son in the United States.

Charlotte Crosswell OBE

Charlotte has been involved in capital markets, fintech and technology throughout her career – as CEO, Chair, Board Advisor and Non-Executive Director. Prior to CFIT, Charlotte was Chair and Trustee of Open Banking and was also CEO of the fintech industry body, Innovate Finance. In this role, she supported the work of Ron Kalifa in delivering the strategic fintech review (The Kalifa Review).

She works closely with entrepreneurs, financial services firms, academia, government and regulators on fintech advocacy and strategy. Charlotte received an OBE for her contribution to financial services in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2021. She believes firmly in a diversity and innovation-first approach.

Katherine Garrett-Cox, CBE

Katherine Garrett-Cox is CEO of GIB Asset Management, a sustainability-focused investment firm. Prior to joining GIB AM, Katherine was Chief Executive and Chief Investment Officer of Alliance Trust PLC and served as a member of the UK Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Group and the Scottish Business Board. Outside of her work at GIB AM, Katherine is the Chair of the Clean Air Fund, Chair of CDP Worldwide, Chair of Gousto, and sits on the Advisory Board of The Valuable 500. Katherine is a Member of the UK Society of Investment Professionals, CFA Institute.

Katherine was nominated a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum in 2006 and was awarded a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours List for her services to charity and to the asset management industry.

Myles Stephenson

Myles is currently the Chief Executive of Modulr - the new integrated payment service for businesses that need a faster, easier and more reliable way to move money. Modulr's API and platform delivers automated pay outs, simplified pay ins and the ability to launch new payment services across employment services, payroll, accounting platforms, lending, fintech, travel, and more.

Myles is an Experienced Payments Executive & Entrepreneur. From 2012 to 2015 Myles was Managing Director, WEX Europe which included leading the integration of CorporatePay into WEX Inc. and launching WEX’s broader product range in Europe. In addition, Myles was a Board Director for WEX Europe Services, WEX’s joint venture with Radius Payment Solutions.

Founded CorporatePay in 2008 with Blenheim Chalcot, CorporatePay grew rapidly to be a leading provider of commercial prepaid solutions. In May 2012, CorporatePay was acquired by WEX Inc., an international provider of corporate payment solutions publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

Prior to founding CorporatePay, Myles spent seven years with Retail Decisions Plc, a world leader in fraud prevention and payment services. Myles’ roles included Director of Retail Decisions Europe with P&L responsibility for the European business unit and subsequently Strategic Development Director. As Strategic Development Director, Myles led ReD's investment in two joint ventures, Mi-Pay and Digital Payments, which extended ReD's product capability into the mobile payments market. Myles started his career with Marks and Spencer Plc.

Myles earned his MA in Biochemistry at Christ Church, Oxford University, which included conducting his research project at Padova University, Italy.

Simon Rogerson

When he was in his early 20s, Simon Rogerson left his fund manager job to co-found Octopus. Two decades later, he’s an award-winning entrepreneur and CEO of a group of entrepreneurially-minded businesses.

Simon is an angel investor, business mentor and Ironman enthusiast (the triathlon event, not the superhero). He’s also a father of three.

Eileen Burbidge MBE

Eileen Burbidge is a partner at Passion Capital, an early-stage VC fund based in London. She brings extensive operational experience to her investment activities gleaned from business and product roles at Yahoo!, Skype, Apple and elsewhere.

Eileen is Chair of Tech City UK, the government backed organisation supporting digital business across the UK. She also serves on the Prime Minister David Cameron’s Business Advisory Group; as HM Treasury’s Special Envoy for FinTech, appointed by the Chancellor George Osborne; Tech Ambassador for the Mayor of London Boris Johnson; Patron for Naace, the National Association for Advisors in Computing Education; and advisor to edtechUK and also Cyber London Lab, Europe’s first cybersecurity startup accelerator.

She was made an MBE for services to UK Business in June 2015 and holds a BSc Engineering degree in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 

Nicola Anderson

Karan Jain

Nicola Anderson is the CEO of FinTech Scotland, a strategic cluster management organisation that works across the private, public and third sectors, as well as academia to drive responsible fintech innovation. 

Under Nicola's leadership, FinTech Scotland has become a leading cluster of excellence for fintech innovation, driving a range of strategic initiatives and programmes to support economic growth, and build an inclusive and internationally connected fintech ecosystem in Scotland and across the UK. She is a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion in fintech, and is actively involved in action orientated programmes and policy developments that drive greater financial inclusion and diversity in entrepreneurship.

Contributing to the development of fintech innovation across the UK, Nicola co-authored the FinTech Research and Innovation Roadmap (2021), supporting recommendations set out in the UK FinTech Review led by Ron Kalifa. The Roadmap is focused on industry prioritised research and innovation for the future of finance. 

Prior to joining FinTech Scotland, Nicola held a variety of senior roles in large corporates and in the financial services industry regulator, the FCA. With over 15 years of experience in financial services, she has a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing the sector, and is committed to driving positive change through collaboration and innovation.

Karan is the Founder and CEO of NayaOne, a Sandbox-as-a-Service platform, that enables Financial Institutions to accelerate the adoption of emerging technologies, streamline vendor collaboration, and deliver exceptional customer experiences. Karan is a highly regarded finance technologist, bringing a unique perspective and real-life learnings from both, financial institutions and start-up trenches. He is a multi-disciplinary CXO with expertise in delivering products to market, strategy, building complex trading applications, and developing and leading high-performing teams. Third-time entrepreneur with an in-depth understanding of the finance and tech ecosystem in the UK, US and Australia, Karan is an advisor to trade associations and young businesses. Karan also advises various regulatory WGs and Think Tanks in the domains of Digital Transformation, Cybersecurity, Fintech Partnerships (Sandboxes, toolkits and Synthetic data) and Data (AI and Data sharing).

Rory O'Neill

As Chief Marketing Officer, Rory and his team are responsible for marketing Checkout.com products and services to global Merchants. He's based in our London headquarters.

Prior to joining Checkout, Rory spent five years at Planet, a payment provider for the hospitality and retail sectors. While at Planet, he repositioned the company in the payments sector and worked with the Executive Leadership that sold the business to Advent International in 2021.

Rory has had several global marketing roles in the technology sector at Samsung Electronics, BlackBerry, GXS and General Electrics. He holds a bachelor's degree in Chemistry and masters degree in Economics from the University of Sussex, United Kingdom

Ajay Banga

Ajay Banga is the President of the World Bank Group, beginning his five-year term on June 2, 2023. He stepped into the role with a clear mandate: to transform the 80-year-old institution into a faster, more efficient, and more impactful partner in development. Since taking office, Ajay has led the adoption of a new vision and mission for the World Bank: to create a world free of poverty—on a livable planet. Under his leadership, the Bank has undertaken a broad set of reforms to boost lending capacity, simplify operations, and deliver development solutions that are practical, scalable, and impactful. He has prioritized a more agile institution—one that is easier to work with and focused on getting results. At the core of Ajay’s agenda is a belief that job creation is the most powerful driver of development—offering not just income, but dignity and purpose. That conviction has helped shape new efforts to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030, expand access to quality and affordable healthcare for 1.5 billion people, and develop a modern approach to agribusiness that can drive growth, improve food security, and create economic opportunity. Ajay has also brought renewed focus to harnessing the power of the private sector. He has strengthened collaboration with development partners, philanthropies, and investors, and launched the Private Sector Investment Lab—bringing together leading CEOs and asset managers to tackle the barriers holding back private capital in emerging markets. His approach reflects a fundamental shift: development progress at scale cannot be achieved without the innovation, financing, and execution capabilities of the private sector. Prior to joining the World Bank, Ajay was Vice Chairman at General Atlantic and, before that, President and CEO of Mastercard. There, he led a global workforce of nearly 24,000 and made financial inclusion a core part of the company’s strategy. He also founded the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth to advance equitable and sustainable economic opportunity. Ajay’s leadership extends beyond the private sector. He served as Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce (2020–2022), and has held board roles with the American Red Cross, Kraft Foods, and Dow Inc. He is also a co-founder of the Cyber Readiness Institute. His contributions have earned wide recognition, including the Singapore Public Service Star award (2022),  the Padma Shri from the President of India (2016), the Foreign Policy Association Medal (2012), and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. As President of the World Bank Group, Ajay Banga is reshaping the institution to meet the defining challenges of our time—with urgency, ambition, and a relentless focus on delivering results.

Karen Zhang

Passionate about bringing value to you and your business through the latest cloud technology industry innovations. Lifelong learner who is eager to connect with like minded people and communities to discuss ways on how Google Cloud can help you solve your business challenges and growth aspirations.

Justin Pike 

Justin Pike is founder and CEO of Burbank Developments - creators of CPoI, the world’s first technology that enables card-present payments to be accepted in online channels. This cutting-edge technology works within the existing standards over well established and globally resilient rails to enable consumers to tap their cards and enter their PIN securely on their own mobile devices at checkout. It mimics the in-store checkout - a user experience that is universally accessible, inclusive, familiar, and trusted by consumers across all demographics globally.

As an innovator in the IT industry for over 27  years, Justin has founded numerous successful companies including eNett - a multi-billion-dollar payment processor and the world’s largest processor for the travel industry, and MYPINPAD, which invented PIN on Mobile technology and grew to be the world’s leading SoftPOS provider.

Justin’s vision for Burbank, and indeed all the companies he has founded has always been to make payments safe, simple, and secure for everyone. He has built some of the world’s most complex payment and security solutions that continue to be used today.  Justin’s lens has always been first and foremost on ease of use, accessibility, and security for the consumer, but also with a view to deliver overwhelming revenue uplift and risk reduction to merchants who are most exposed.

Under Justin’s hand, some of the world’s most transformative payments, identity and authentication solutions have been created and delivered. A passionate innovator in this field – nobody knows this space better

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