11:15 am to 11:30 am GMT
Event Opens - Registration
11:30 am to 11:40 am GMT
Welcome Address - Chair's Opening Remarks
Anna Maj
FinTech Leader | Senior Advisor Truffle Capital | Expert European Innovation Council
Anna brings twenty years of experience (including C-Level and NED roles) in driving and fostering banking and payments innovation in Europe, with a focus on CEE (Citigroup, T-Mobile, mBank, PwC).
Anna is building cooperation models between banks and Fintech startups, particularly with regard to Open Banking, Payments as well as AI projects. She is a Senior Advisor at Truffle Capital; Senator, Member of the Global Startup Committee at the WBAF – World Business Angels Investment Forum; and a Jury Member and Expert at the EU/EC European Innovation Council (EICAccelerator) aimed at financing innovative SMEs across the EU.
She is driving innovation in the European payments ecosystem. Introduced one of the first online payment gateways in the CEMEA region as well as the first digital wallet and the first mobile payment platform. Managed the implementation of the first local mobile banking app and the first mobile payments initiative. Anna was also a CEO of a local acquirer and payment institution. She combines hands-on experience with a global strategic approach across the sectors (Payments, FinTech, Consulting).
Featured in the TOP10 Women in FinTech (FinTech Magazine, Aug 2020); 100 Women in FinTech (100WFinTech) ; “TOP 25 Women Leaders in Financial Technology of 2019”.
Senior Lecturer CFTE – Centre for Finance, Technology & Entrepreneurship (Open Banking and Platforms in Finance, Conversational AI in Banking). Co-Author of The PAYTECH Book and The AI Book.
11:40 am to 12:10 pm GMT
Opening Panel Session - How the FS sector can aid in the economic recovery
Have consumer priorities rapidly changed during 2020?
- How has the future of digital transformation been changed by COVID-19?
- What are FS companies doing to manoeuvre within this economic downturn?
- How are you overcoming barriers to adopting digital payments?
- Do you think its a time to be proactive or reactive?
Moderated by Anna Maj – FinTech Leader | Senior Advisor Truffle Capital | Expert European Innovation Council
Anna Maj
FinTech Leader | Senior Advisor Truffle Capital | Expert European Innovation Council
Anna brings twenty years of experience (including C-Level and NED roles) in driving and fostering banking and payments innovation in Europe, with a focus on CEE (Citigroup, T-Mobile, mBank, PwC).
Anna is building cooperation models between banks and Fintech startups, particularly with regard to Open Banking, Payments as well as AI projects. She is a Senior Advisor at Truffle Capital; Senator, Member of the Global Startup Committee at the WBAF – World Business Angels Investment Forum; and a Jury Member and Expert at the EU/EC European Innovation Council (EICAccelerator) aimed at financing innovative SMEs across the EU.
She is driving innovation in the European payments ecosystem. Introduced one of the first online payment gateways in the CEMEA region as well as the first digital wallet and the first mobile payment platform. Managed the implementation of the first local mobile banking app and the first mobile payments initiative. Anna was also a CEO of a local acquirer and payment institution. She combines hands-on experience with a global strategic approach across the sectors (Payments, FinTech, Consulting).
Featured in the TOP10 Women in FinTech (FinTech Magazine, Aug 2020); 100 Women in FinTech (100WFinTech) ; “TOP 25 Women Leaders in Financial Technology of 2019”.
Senior Lecturer CFTE – Centre for Finance, Technology & Entrepreneurship (Open Banking and Platforms in Finance, Conversational AI in Banking). Co-Author of The PAYTECH Book and The AI Book.
Bharat Mistry
Technical Director, Trend Micro

Bharat is a Technical Director at Trend Micro, responsible for leading the tech team and advising Trend Micro’s largest UK and Ireland customers on security transformation. Bharat has 20 years of experience as an information security professional and has worked for Alcatel Lucent/Nokia, KCOM, Siemens and before Trend Micro he held the position of Security Technologist in the CTO Office for HP Enterprise Security Services. Bharat works with CISOs to understand risks, develop security strategies and enable business objectives.
Colette Talbot
Head of Group Finance Transformation, Bank of Ireland

Colette Talbot FCCA is Head of Group Finance Transformation with Bank of Ireland. Prior to joining Bank of Ireland in 2016 she has lived and worked in a number of countries and has 25+ years of wide ranging experience gained in diverse industries including technology, construction and telecom. She is motivated by solving problems, creating value and finding better ways of working.
Jason Maude
Chief Technology Advocate, Starling Bank

Jason Maude is a coder, coach, and public speaker. He has over a decade of experience working in the financial sector, primarily in creating and delivering software. He is passionate about explaining complex technical concepts to those who are convinced that they won’t be able to understand them. He currently works at Starling Bank as their Chief Technology Advocate and host of the Starling podcast.
Anna Maj
FinTech Leader | Senior Advisor Truffle Capital | Expert European Innovation Council
Anna brings twenty years of experience (including C-Level and NED roles) in driving and fostering banking and payments innovation in Europe, with a focus on CEE (Citigroup, T-Mobile, mBank, PwC).
Anna is building cooperation models between banks and Fintech startups, particularly with regard to Open Banking, Payments as well as AI projects. She is a Senior Advisor at Truffle Capital; Senator, Member of the Global Startup Committee at the WBAF – World Business Angels Investment Forum; and a Jury Member and Expert at the EU/EC European Innovation Council (EICAccelerator) aimed at financing innovative SMEs across the EU.
She is driving innovation in the European payments ecosystem. Introduced one of the first online payment gateways in the CEMEA region as well as the first digital wallet and the first mobile payment platform. Managed the implementation of the first local mobile banking app and the first mobile payments initiative. Anna was also a CEO of a local acquirer and payment institution. She combines hands-on experience with a global strategic approach across the sectors (Payments, FinTech, Consulting).
Featured in the TOP10 Women in FinTech (FinTech Magazine, Aug 2020); 100 Women in FinTech (100WFinTech) ; “TOP 25 Women Leaders in Financial Technology of 2019”.
Senior Lecturer CFTE – Centre for Finance, Technology & Entrepreneurship (Open Banking and Platforms in Finance, Conversational AI in Banking). Co-Author of The PAYTECH Book and The AI Book.
Bharat Mistry
Technical Director, Trend Micro

Bharat is a Technical Director at Trend Micro, responsible for leading the tech team and advising Trend Micro’s largest UK and Ireland customers on security transformation. Bharat has 20 years of experience as an information security professional and has worked for Alcatel Lucent/Nokia, KCOM, Siemens and before Trend Micro he held the position of Security Technologist in the CTO Office for HP Enterprise Security Services. Bharat works with CISOs to understand risks, develop security strategies and enable business objectives.
Colette Talbot
Head of Group Finance Transformation, Bank of Ireland

Colette Talbot FCCA is Head of Group Finance Transformation with Bank of Ireland. Prior to joining Bank of Ireland in 2016 she has lived and worked in a number of countries and has 25+ years of wide ranging experience gained in diverse industries including technology, construction and telecom. She is motivated by solving problems, creating value and finding better ways of working.
Jason Maude
Chief Technology Advocate, Starling Bank

Jason Maude is a coder, coach, and public speaker. He has over a decade of experience working in the financial sector, primarily in creating and delivering software. He is passionate about explaining complex technical concepts to those who are convinced that they won’t be able to understand them. He currently works at Starling Bank as their Chief Technology Advocate and host of the Starling podcast.
Anna Maj
FinTech Leader | Senior Advisor Truffle Capital | Expert European Innovation Council
Anna brings twenty years of experience (including C-Level and NED roles) in driving and fostering banking and payments innovation in Europe, with a focus on CEE (Citigroup, T-Mobile, mBank, PwC).
Anna is building cooperation models between banks and Fintech startups, particularly with regard to Open Banking, Payments as well as AI projects. She is a Senior Advisor at Truffle Capital; Senator, Member of the Global Startup Committee at the WBAF – World Business Angels Investment Forum; and a Jury Member and Expert at the EU/EC European Innovation Council (EICAccelerator) aimed at financing innovative SMEs across the EU.
She is driving innovation in the European payments ecosystem. Introduced one of the first online payment gateways in the CEMEA region as well as the first digital wallet and the first mobile payment platform. Managed the implementation of the first local mobile banking app and the first mobile payments initiative. Anna was also a CEO of a local acquirer and payment institution. She combines hands-on experience with a global strategic approach across the sectors (Payments, FinTech, Consulting).
Featured in the TOP10 Women in FinTech (FinTech Magazine, Aug 2020); 100 Women in FinTech (100WFinTech) ; “TOP 25 Women Leaders in Financial Technology of 2019”.
Senior Lecturer CFTE – Centre for Finance, Technology & Entrepreneurship (Open Banking and Platforms in Finance, Conversational AI in Banking). Co-Author of The PAYTECH Book and The AI Book.
Bharat Mistry
Technical Director, Trend Micro

Bharat is a Technical Director at Trend Micro, responsible for leading the tech team and advising Trend Micro’s largest UK and Ireland customers on security transformation. Bharat has 20 years of experience as an information security professional and has worked for Alcatel Lucent/Nokia, KCOM, Siemens and before Trend Micro he held the position of Security Technologist in the CTO Office for HP Enterprise Security Services. Bharat works with CISOs to understand risks, develop security strategies and enable business objectives.
Colette Talbot
Head of Group Finance Transformation, Bank of Ireland

Colette Talbot FCCA is Head of Group Finance Transformation with Bank of Ireland. Prior to joining Bank of Ireland in 2016 she has lived and worked in a number of countries and has 25+ years of wide ranging experience gained in diverse industries including technology, construction and telecom. She is motivated by solving problems, creating value and finding better ways of working.
Jason Maude
Chief Technology Advocate, Starling Bank

Jason Maude is a coder, coach, and public speaker. He has over a decade of experience working in the financial sector, primarily in creating and delivering software. He is passionate about explaining complex technical concepts to those who are convinced that they won’t be able to understand them. He currently works at Starling Bank as their Chief Technology Advocate and host of the Starling podcast.
Anna Maj
FinTech Leader | Senior Advisor Truffle Capital | Expert European Innovation Council
Anna brings twenty years of experience (including C-Level and NED roles) in driving and fostering banking and payments innovation in Europe, with a focus on CEE (Citigroup, T-Mobile, mBank, PwC).
Anna is building cooperation models between banks and Fintech startups, particularly with regard to Open Banking, Payments as well as AI projects. She is a Senior Advisor at Truffle Capital; Senator, Member of the Global Startup Committee at the WBAF – World Business Angels Investment Forum; and a Jury Member and Expert at the EU/EC European Innovation Council (EICAccelerator) aimed at financing innovative SMEs across the EU.
She is driving innovation in the European payments ecosystem. Introduced one of the first online payment gateways in the CEMEA region as well as the first digital wallet and the first mobile payment platform. Managed the implementation of the first local mobile banking app and the first mobile payments initiative. Anna was also a CEO of a local acquirer and payment institution. She combines hands-on experience with a global strategic approach across the sectors (Payments, FinTech, Consulting).
Featured in the TOP10 Women in FinTech (FinTech Magazine, Aug 2020); 100 Women in FinTech (100WFinTech) ; “TOP 25 Women Leaders in Financial Technology of 2019”.
Senior Lecturer CFTE – Centre for Finance, Technology & Entrepreneurship (Open Banking and Platforms in Finance, Conversational AI in Banking). Co-Author of The PAYTECH Book and The AI Book.
Bharat Mistry
Technical Director, Trend Micro

Bharat is a Technical Director at Trend Micro, responsible for leading the tech team and advising Trend Micro’s largest UK and Ireland customers on security transformation. Bharat has 20 years of experience as an information security professional and has worked for Alcatel Lucent/Nokia, KCOM, Siemens and before Trend Micro he held the position of Security Technologist in the CTO Office for HP Enterprise Security Services. Bharat works with CISOs to understand risks, develop security strategies and enable business objectives.
Colette Talbot
Head of Group Finance Transformation, Bank of Ireland

Colette Talbot FCCA is Head of Group Finance Transformation with Bank of Ireland. Prior to joining Bank of Ireland in 2016 she has lived and worked in a number of countries and has 25+ years of wide ranging experience gained in diverse industries including technology, construction and telecom. She is motivated by solving problems, creating value and finding better ways of working.
Jason Maude
Chief Technology Advocate, Starling Bank

Jason Maude is a coder, coach, and public speaker. He has over a decade of experience working in the financial sector, primarily in creating and delivering software. He is passionate about explaining complex technical concepts to those who are convinced that they won’t be able to understand them. He currently works at Starling Bank as their Chief Technology Advocate and host of the Starling podcast.
12:10 pm to 12:50 pm GMT
Panel: Transitioning FSI Big Data Workloads to the Cloud
Cloud migration is gaining momentum in major financial institutions with many making large scale public commitments to the cloud. Due to the size of the systems involved, some of the most attractive targets for migration are ‘big data’ workloads. However, these workloads also present some of the hardest technical challenges to migrate.
- How can the financial space combine both streaming and batch data consumption to work across real-time and historical content?
- Why is there a need to support diverse workloads which include application usage, data science and quantitative research?
- How to balance transitioning with the desire to take advantage of cloud features like on-demand scalable compute.
Moderated by Kathy Schneider.
Brian Stephens
Co-Founder & CPO, Pegasus Enterprise Solutions

Brian Stephens is Co-Founder & CPO at Pegasus Enterprise Solutions in the UK. He is a veteran transformative technologist with extensive experience within the market data, middleware and market access domains in capital markets.
He is former Head of Market Access, Market Data and Middleware Technology at NatWest Markets and has driven innovative solutions that have created significant operational efficiencies. Brian created and delivered a next generation suite of APIs and market gateway solutions that provide agility and material cost reduction through abstraction of platforms, data and symbology.
Prior to this role, Brian held senior engineering roles with other UK based banks and began his career at Reuters where he was lead specialist supporting enterprise solutions.
Daniel Seal
Chief Product Officer, Kx

Daniel Seal joined the FD and Kx group in 2015. He had spent the previous twelve years developing and running kdb, market data and analytics systems for Tier 1 banks, including Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch. Now at Kx, he’s bringing that experience to market as Chief Product Officer and the head of Kx’ Streaming Analytics strategy.
Kathy Schneider
Chief Marketing Officer, Kx

Kathy was appointed as CMO in March 2020. Kathy brings extensive marketing leadership experience in the global technology sector, including senior marketing roles at privately-held as well as publicly-traded companies.
Prior to joining FD, Kathy was global CMO at Sungard Availability Services. Before Sungard AS, Kathy was Senior Vice President, Product and Marketing for EMEA at Level 3 Communications. At Criteo, she held a global role on the executive leadership team as Senior Vice President, Marketing & Communications. Schneider moved from consumer products to the technology sector in 1999 when she joined Dell Inc., now DellEMC. While at Dell, she led various marketing functions at a country, regional and global level. She has spent the last 16 years working and living in London with her family and will be based in FD’s New York office.
Jamil Ahmed
Director / Engineer, Solace

Jamil is a Distinguished Engineer at Solace, a provider of Event Broker and Event Mesh Technology, and works with companies in their pursuit of digital transformation using event-driven and multi-cloud architecture. Prior to joining Solace, Jamil held engineering roles within front-office trading, in investment banks such as Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and Nomura International. Jamil is also an ‘Alibaba Cloud MVP’.
Mark Etherington
Chief Technology Officer, Crux Informatics

Mark is the Chief Technology Officer of Crux Informatics, overseeing Platform Engineering, Data Engineering, Operations, and Information Technology initiatives. Mark started his career at Logica, a UK software house, and later worked at J.P. Morgan, where he built major systems across the firm as well as headed their distributed computing group globally. Joining Goldman Sachs in the mid 2000’s, Mark led their infrastructure group in EMEA prior to leading the Application Systems Infrastructure group that established virtualization within the firm and led to the development of the Goldman private cloud.
Leaving the firm in 2015 to help bring a trading spin-off to market, Mark joined Thomson Reuters through acquisition in 2017. Prior to joining Crux, he was the Global Head of Trading Technology at Refinitiv. Mark lives in New York with his wife Louise, has three children, and loves travel and skiing.
Brian Stephens
Co-Founder & CPO, Pegasus Enterprise Solutions

Brian Stephens is Co-Founder & CPO at Pegasus Enterprise Solutions in the UK. He is a veteran transformative technologist with extensive experience within the market data, middleware and market access domains in capital markets.
He is former Head of Market Access, Market Data and Middleware Technology at NatWest Markets and has driven innovative solutions that have created significant operational efficiencies. Brian created and delivered a next generation suite of APIs and market gateway solutions that provide agility and material cost reduction through abstraction of platforms, data and symbology.
Prior to this role, Brian held senior engineering roles with other UK based banks and began his career at Reuters where he was lead specialist supporting enterprise solutions.
Daniel Seal
Chief Product Officer, Kx

Daniel Seal joined the FD and Kx group in 2015. He had spent the previous twelve years developing and running kdb, market data and analytics systems for Tier 1 banks, including Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch. Now at Kx, he’s bringing that experience to market as Chief Product Officer and the head of Kx’ Streaming Analytics strategy.
Kathy Schneider
Chief Marketing Officer, Kx

Kathy was appointed as CMO in March 2020. Kathy brings extensive marketing leadership experience in the global technology sector, including senior marketing roles at privately-held as well as publicly-traded companies.
Prior to joining FD, Kathy was global CMO at Sungard Availability Services. Before Sungard AS, Kathy was Senior Vice President, Product and Marketing for EMEA at Level 3 Communications. At Criteo, she held a global role on the executive leadership team as Senior Vice President, Marketing & Communications. Schneider moved from consumer products to the technology sector in 1999 when she joined Dell Inc., now DellEMC. While at Dell, she led various marketing functions at a country, regional and global level. She has spent the last 16 years working and living in London with her family and will be based in FD’s New York office.
Jamil Ahmed
Director / Engineer, Solace

Jamil is a Distinguished Engineer at Solace, a provider of Event Broker and Event Mesh Technology, and works with companies in their pursuit of digital transformation using event-driven and multi-cloud architecture. Prior to joining Solace, Jamil held engineering roles within front-office trading, in investment banks such as Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and Nomura International. Jamil is also an ‘Alibaba Cloud MVP’.
Mark Etherington
Chief Technology Officer, Crux Informatics

Mark is the Chief Technology Officer of Crux Informatics, overseeing Platform Engineering, Data Engineering, Operations, and Information Technology initiatives. Mark started his career at Logica, a UK software house, and later worked at J.P. Morgan, where he built major systems across the firm as well as headed their distributed computing group globally. Joining Goldman Sachs in the mid 2000’s, Mark led their infrastructure group in EMEA prior to leading the Application Systems Infrastructure group that established virtualization within the firm and led to the development of the Goldman private cloud.
Leaving the firm in 2015 to help bring a trading spin-off to market, Mark joined Thomson Reuters through acquisition in 2017. Prior to joining Crux, he was the Global Head of Trading Technology at Refinitiv. Mark lives in New York with his wife Louise, has three children, and loves travel and skiing.
Brian Stephens
Co-Founder & CPO, Pegasus Enterprise Solutions

Brian Stephens is Co-Founder & CPO at Pegasus Enterprise Solutions in the UK. He is a veteran transformative technologist with extensive experience within the market data, middleware and market access domains in capital markets.
He is former Head of Market Access, Market Data and Middleware Technology at NatWest Markets and has driven innovative solutions that have created significant operational efficiencies. Brian created and delivered a next generation suite of APIs and market gateway solutions that provide agility and material cost reduction through abstraction of platforms, data and symbology.
Prior to this role, Brian held senior engineering roles with other UK based banks and began his career at Reuters where he was lead specialist supporting enterprise solutions.
Daniel Seal
Chief Product Officer, Kx

Daniel Seal joined the FD and Kx group in 2015. He had spent the previous twelve years developing and running kdb, market data and analytics systems for Tier 1 banks, including Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch. Now at Kx, he’s bringing that experience to market as Chief Product Officer and the head of Kx’ Streaming Analytics strategy.
Kathy Schneider
Chief Marketing Officer, Kx

Kathy was appointed as CMO in March 2020. Kathy brings extensive marketing leadership experience in the global technology sector, including senior marketing roles at privately-held as well as publicly-traded companies.
Prior to joining FD, Kathy was global CMO at Sungard Availability Services. Before Sungard AS, Kathy was Senior Vice President, Product and Marketing for EMEA at Level 3 Communications. At Criteo, she held a global role on the executive leadership team as Senior Vice President, Marketing & Communications. Schneider moved from consumer products to the technology sector in 1999 when she joined Dell Inc., now DellEMC. While at Dell, she led various marketing functions at a country, regional and global level. She has spent the last 16 years working and living in London with her family and will be based in FD’s New York office.
Jamil Ahmed
Director / Engineer, Solace

Jamil is a Distinguished Engineer at Solace, a provider of Event Broker and Event Mesh Technology, and works with companies in their pursuit of digital transformation using event-driven and multi-cloud architecture. Prior to joining Solace, Jamil held engineering roles within front-office trading, in investment banks such as Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and Nomura International. Jamil is also an ‘Alibaba Cloud MVP’.
Mark Etherington
Chief Technology Officer, Crux Informatics

Mark is the Chief Technology Officer of Crux Informatics, overseeing Platform Engineering, Data Engineering, Operations, and Information Technology initiatives. Mark started his career at Logica, a UK software house, and later worked at J.P. Morgan, where he built major systems across the firm as well as headed their distributed computing group globally. Joining Goldman Sachs in the mid 2000’s, Mark led their infrastructure group in EMEA prior to leading the Application Systems Infrastructure group that established virtualization within the firm and led to the development of the Goldman private cloud.
Leaving the firm in 2015 to help bring a trading spin-off to market, Mark joined Thomson Reuters through acquisition in 2017. Prior to joining Crux, he was the Global Head of Trading Technology at Refinitiv. Mark lives in New York with his wife Louise, has three children, and loves travel and skiing.
Brian Stephens
Co-Founder & CPO, Pegasus Enterprise Solutions

Brian Stephens is Co-Founder & CPO at Pegasus Enterprise Solutions in the UK. He is a veteran transformative technologist with extensive experience within the market data, middleware and market access domains in capital markets.
He is former Head of Market Access, Market Data and Middleware Technology at NatWest Markets and has driven innovative solutions that have created significant operational efficiencies. Brian created and delivered a next generation suite of APIs and market gateway solutions that provide agility and material cost reduction through abstraction of platforms, data and symbology.
Prior to this role, Brian held senior engineering roles with other UK based banks and began his career at Reuters where he was lead specialist supporting enterprise solutions.
Daniel Seal
Chief Product Officer, Kx

Daniel Seal joined the FD and Kx group in 2015. He had spent the previous twelve years developing and running kdb, market data and analytics systems for Tier 1 banks, including Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch. Now at Kx, he’s bringing that experience to market as Chief Product Officer and the head of Kx’ Streaming Analytics strategy.
Kathy Schneider
Chief Marketing Officer, Kx

Kathy was appointed as CMO in March 2020. Kathy brings extensive marketing leadership experience in the global technology sector, including senior marketing roles at privately-held as well as publicly-traded companies.
Prior to joining FD, Kathy was global CMO at Sungard Availability Services. Before Sungard AS, Kathy was Senior Vice President, Product and Marketing for EMEA at Level 3 Communications. At Criteo, she held a global role on the executive leadership team as Senior Vice President, Marketing & Communications. Schneider moved from consumer products to the technology sector in 1999 when she joined Dell Inc., now DellEMC. While at Dell, she led various marketing functions at a country, regional and global level. She has spent the last 16 years working and living in London with her family and will be based in FD’s New York office.
Jamil Ahmed
Director / Engineer, Solace

Jamil is a Distinguished Engineer at Solace, a provider of Event Broker and Event Mesh Technology, and works with companies in their pursuit of digital transformation using event-driven and multi-cloud architecture. Prior to joining Solace, Jamil held engineering roles within front-office trading, in investment banks such as Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and Nomura International. Jamil is also an ‘Alibaba Cloud MVP’.
Mark Etherington
Chief Technology Officer, Crux Informatics

Mark is the Chief Technology Officer of Crux Informatics, overseeing Platform Engineering, Data Engineering, Operations, and Information Technology initiatives. Mark started his career at Logica, a UK software house, and later worked at J.P. Morgan, where he built major systems across the firm as well as headed their distributed computing group globally. Joining Goldman Sachs in the mid 2000’s, Mark led their infrastructure group in EMEA prior to leading the Application Systems Infrastructure group that established virtualization within the firm and led to the development of the Goldman private cloud.
Leaving the firm in 2015 to help bring a trading spin-off to market, Mark joined Thomson Reuters through acquisition in 2017. Prior to joining Crux, he was the Global Head of Trading Technology at Refinitiv. Mark lives in New York with his wife Louise, has three children, and loves travel and skiing.
Brian Stephens
Co-Founder & CPO, Pegasus Enterprise Solutions

Brian Stephens is Co-Founder & CPO at Pegasus Enterprise Solutions in the UK. He is a veteran transformative technologist with extensive experience within the market data, middleware and market access domains in capital markets.
He is former Head of Market Access, Market Data and Middleware Technology at NatWest Markets and has driven innovative solutions that have created significant operational efficiencies. Brian created and delivered a next generation suite of APIs and market gateway solutions that provide agility and material cost reduction through abstraction of platforms, data and symbology.
Prior to this role, Brian held senior engineering roles with other UK based banks and began his career at Reuters where he was lead specialist supporting enterprise solutions.
Daniel Seal
Chief Product Officer, Kx

Daniel Seal joined the FD and Kx group in 2015. He had spent the previous twelve years developing and running kdb, market data and analytics systems for Tier 1 banks, including Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch. Now at Kx, he’s bringing that experience to market as Chief Product Officer and the head of Kx’ Streaming Analytics strategy.
Kathy Schneider
Chief Marketing Officer, Kx

Kathy was appointed as CMO in March 2020. Kathy brings extensive marketing leadership experience in the global technology sector, including senior marketing roles at privately-held as well as publicly-traded companies.
Prior to joining FD, Kathy was global CMO at Sungard Availability Services. Before Sungard AS, Kathy was Senior Vice President, Product and Marketing for EMEA at Level 3 Communications. At Criteo, she held a global role on the executive leadership team as Senior Vice President, Marketing & Communications. Schneider moved from consumer products to the technology sector in 1999 when she joined Dell Inc., now DellEMC. While at Dell, she led various marketing functions at a country, regional and global level. She has spent the last 16 years working and living in London with her family and will be based in FD’s New York office.
Jamil Ahmed
Director / Engineer, Solace

Jamil is a Distinguished Engineer at Solace, a provider of Event Broker and Event Mesh Technology, and works with companies in their pursuit of digital transformation using event-driven and multi-cloud architecture. Prior to joining Solace, Jamil held engineering roles within front-office trading, in investment banks such as Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and Nomura International. Jamil is also an ‘Alibaba Cloud MVP’.
Mark Etherington
Chief Technology Officer, Crux Informatics

Mark is the Chief Technology Officer of Crux Informatics, overseeing Platform Engineering, Data Engineering, Operations, and Information Technology initiatives. Mark started his career at Logica, a UK software house, and later worked at J.P. Morgan, where he built major systems across the firm as well as headed their distributed computing group globally. Joining Goldman Sachs in the mid 2000’s, Mark led their infrastructure group in EMEA prior to leading the Application Systems Infrastructure group that established virtualization within the firm and led to the development of the Goldman private cloud.
Leaving the firm in 2015 to help bring a trading spin-off to market, Mark joined Thomson Reuters through acquisition in 2017. Prior to joining Crux, he was the Global Head of Trading Technology at Refinitiv. Mark lives in New York with his wife Louise, has three children, and loves travel and skiing.
12:50 pm to 1:05 pm GMT
Implementing Change Inside & Outside Your Institutions
Track 1 - Refining Internal Technology
Revolution from Within
A stark difference between an established financial institution and a FinTech start-up is often fixed assets. Large organisations carry the weight of IT operating costs, which has often had new layers of systems, fixed and cyber-security bolted on. What are the benefits of shedding this system now?:
- Can you slash costs by simplifying legacy systems?
- Updating IT operating models to get ready for a new normal.
- How do you balance short-term strategies with long-term goals? Can large savings be made by adopting an aggressive SaaS-based model?
Valentina Smirnova
Head of Transformational Projects - Travel, AXA

Valentina is an experienced director with AXA Partners and specialises in programs of change, digital & cultural transformation, finding solutions for business challenges, identifying efficiencies & their implementation. Valentina developed and implemented digital solutions for operations.
Track 2 - Enhancing CX With Technology
All things data!
Although data is something in which most people deal with daily to some extent, it is a lot more complex than most recognise – there are many different forms and processes of data, each playing an equally important role in ensuring data is reliable, consistent and accurate. Join this presentation to gain an industry experts perspectives on:
- Big data – analysing and extracting information.
- Data analytics – transforming and modelling data.
- Data privacy – relationship between the collection and the dissemination of data.
- Data sharing and collaboration – enhancing strategic initiatives.
Aron Elston
Vice President – Technology Compliance, LPL Financial

Aron Elston is the Vice President – Technology Compliance at LPL Financial. Based in North Carolina, Aron’s specialises in utilising technology and analytics to bring new innovative capabilities to people and organisations.
1:05 pm to 1:15 pm GMT
Audience Q&A
Anna Maj
FinTech Leader | Senior Advisor Truffle Capital | Expert European Innovation Council
Anna brings twenty years of experience (including C-Level and NED roles) in driving and fostering banking and payments innovation in Europe, with a focus on CEE (Citigroup, T-Mobile, mBank, PwC).
Anna is building cooperation models between banks and Fintech startups, particularly with regard to Open Banking, Payments as well as AI projects. She is a Senior Advisor at Truffle Capital; Senator, Member of the Global Startup Committee at the WBAF – World Business Angels Investment Forum; and a Jury Member and Expert at the EU/EC European Innovation Council (EICAccelerator) aimed at financing innovative SMEs across the EU.
She is driving innovation in the European payments ecosystem. Introduced one of the first online payment gateways in the CEMEA region as well as the first digital wallet and the first mobile payment platform. Managed the implementation of the first local mobile banking app and the first mobile payments initiative. Anna was also a CEO of a local acquirer and payment institution. She combines hands-on experience with a global strategic approach across the sectors (Payments, FinTech, Consulting).
Featured in the TOP10 Women in FinTech (FinTech Magazine, Aug 2020); 100 Women in FinTech (100WFinTech) ; “TOP 25 Women Leaders in Financial Technology of 2019”.
Senior Lecturer CFTE – Centre for Finance, Technology & Entrepreneurship (Open Banking and Platforms in Finance, Conversational AI in Banking). Co-Author of The PAYTECH Book and The AI Book.
Aron Elston
Vice President – Technology Compliance, LPL Financial

Aron Elston is the Vice President – Technology Compliance at LPL Financial. Based in North Carolina, Aron’s specialises in utilising technology and analytics to bring new innovative capabilities to people and organisations.
Valentina Smirnova
Head of Transformational Projects - Travel, AXA

Valentina is an experienced director with AXA Partners and specialises in programs of change, digital & cultural transformation, finding solutions for business challenges, identifying efficiencies & their implementation. Valentina developed and implemented digital solutions for operations.
Anna Maj
FinTech Leader | Senior Advisor Truffle Capital | Expert European Innovation Council
Anna brings twenty years of experience (including C-Level and NED roles) in driving and fostering banking and payments innovation in Europe, with a focus on CEE (Citigroup, T-Mobile, mBank, PwC).
Anna is building cooperation models between banks and Fintech startups, particularly with regard to Open Banking, Payments as well as AI projects. She is a Senior Advisor at Truffle Capital; Senator, Member of the Global Startup Committee at the WBAF – World Business Angels Investment Forum; and a Jury Member and Expert at the EU/EC European Innovation Council (EICAccelerator) aimed at financing innovative SMEs across the EU.
She is driving innovation in the European payments ecosystem. Introduced one of the first online payment gateways in the CEMEA region as well as the first digital wallet and the first mobile payment platform. Managed the implementation of the first local mobile banking app and the first mobile payments initiative. Anna was also a CEO of a local acquirer and payment institution. She combines hands-on experience with a global strategic approach across the sectors (Payments, FinTech, Consulting).
Featured in the TOP10 Women in FinTech (FinTech Magazine, Aug 2020); 100 Women in FinTech (100WFinTech) ; “TOP 25 Women Leaders in Financial Technology of 2019”.
Senior Lecturer CFTE – Centre for Finance, Technology & Entrepreneurship (Open Banking and Platforms in Finance, Conversational AI in Banking). Co-Author of The PAYTECH Book and The AI Book.
Aron Elston
Vice President – Technology Compliance, LPL Financial

Aron Elston is the Vice President – Technology Compliance at LPL Financial. Based in North Carolina, Aron’s specialises in utilising technology and analytics to bring new innovative capabilities to people and organisations.
Valentina Smirnova
Head of Transformational Projects - Travel, AXA

Valentina is an experienced director with AXA Partners and specialises in programs of change, digital & cultural transformation, finding solutions for business challenges, identifying efficiencies & their implementation. Valentina developed and implemented digital solutions for operations.
Anna Maj
FinTech Leader | Senior Advisor Truffle Capital | Expert European Innovation Council
Anna brings twenty years of experience (including C-Level and NED roles) in driving and fostering banking and payments innovation in Europe, with a focus on CEE (Citigroup, T-Mobile, mBank, PwC).
Anna is building cooperation models between banks and Fintech startups, particularly with regard to Open Banking, Payments as well as AI projects. She is a Senior Advisor at Truffle Capital; Senator, Member of the Global Startup Committee at the WBAF – World Business Angels Investment Forum; and a Jury Member and Expert at the EU/EC European Innovation Council (EICAccelerator) aimed at financing innovative SMEs across the EU.
She is driving innovation in the European payments ecosystem. Introduced one of the first online payment gateways in the CEMEA region as well as the first digital wallet and the first mobile payment platform. Managed the implementation of the first local mobile banking app and the first mobile payments initiative. Anna was also a CEO of a local acquirer and payment institution. She combines hands-on experience with a global strategic approach across the sectors (Payments, FinTech, Consulting).
Featured in the TOP10 Women in FinTech (FinTech Magazine, Aug 2020); 100 Women in FinTech (100WFinTech) ; “TOP 25 Women Leaders in Financial Technology of 2019”.
Senior Lecturer CFTE – Centre for Finance, Technology & Entrepreneurship (Open Banking and Platforms in Finance, Conversational AI in Banking). Co-Author of The PAYTECH Book and The AI Book.
Aron Elston
Vice President – Technology Compliance, LPL Financial

Aron Elston is the Vice President – Technology Compliance at LPL Financial. Based in North Carolina, Aron’s specialises in utilising technology and analytics to bring new innovative capabilities to people and organisations.
Valentina Smirnova
Head of Transformational Projects - Travel, AXA

Valentina is an experienced director with AXA Partners and specialises in programs of change, digital & cultural transformation, finding solutions for business challenges, identifying efficiencies & their implementation. Valentina developed and implemented digital solutions for operations.
1:15 pm to 1:45 pm GMT
Round Tables
Round Table 1 - Never forget Cyber-Security & Trust
Take part in this interactive round table discussion…
With more touchpoints and critical data in the hands of consumers, the number of points in which antagonists can attempt to access data has increased. As digital has gone mainstream, the technology perimeter has expanded outside of traditional control boundaries, making information security increasingly difficult:
- How can you find the your weakest link within your IoT space?
- Can an institution ever be comfortable with billions of potential vulnerable devices connected to its corporate network?
- In a sharing economy, how can institutions enact wide-spread information security?
- How can IoT bolster physical security?
Bharat Mistry
Technical Director, Trend Micro

Bharat is a Technical Director at Trend Micro, responsible for leading the tech team and advising Trend Micro’s largest UK and Ireland customers on security transformation. Bharat has 20 years of experience as an information security professional and has worked for Alcatel Lucent/Nokia, KCOM, Siemens and before Trend Micro he held the position of Security Technologist in the CTO Office for HP Enterprise Security Services. Bharat works with CISOs to understand risks, develop security strategies and enable business objectives.
Conni Gibson
Vice-President & Chief Legal Officer, BMO Financial Group

Conni Gibson is an experienced Compliance and Legal professional with a demonstrated history of success in the financial services industry, including international experience. Conni is skilled in Corporate Finance, Acquisitions, Securities, Derivatives, and Regulatory. Highly skilled at sourcing and developing talent. Strong oriented professional graduated from The University of Calgary.
Bharat Mistry
Technical Director, Trend Micro

Bharat is a Technical Director at Trend Micro, responsible for leading the tech team and advising Trend Micro’s largest UK and Ireland customers on security transformation. Bharat has 20 years of experience as an information security professional and has worked for Alcatel Lucent/Nokia, KCOM, Siemens and before Trend Micro he held the position of Security Technologist in the CTO Office for HP Enterprise Security Services. Bharat works with CISOs to understand risks, develop security strategies and enable business objectives.
Conni Gibson
Vice-President & Chief Legal Officer, BMO Financial Group

Conni Gibson is an experienced Compliance and Legal professional with a demonstrated history of success in the financial services industry, including international experience. Conni is skilled in Corporate Finance, Acquisitions, Securities, Derivatives, and Regulatory. Highly skilled at sourcing and developing talent. Strong oriented professional graduated from The University of Calgary.
Round Table 2 - Enhancing Customer Experiences
Take part in this interactive round table discussion…
One of main goals within financial organisations is to maintain a good and trusting relationship with customers, achieving the best customer experience quality as possible. The deployment of emerging technologies and advanced analytics is becoming crucial in preserving these relationships, join this session to hear why, in addition to:
- How initial deployments have already improved customer experience?
- Why are chatbots becoming more and more useful?
- What this means for human interaction with customers?
- Disadvantages of implementing technologies to improve customer experience.
Mark Akerman
Chief Technology Officer, Oplo

Mark Akerman is a versatile technology, digital and business executive leader with experience across many product lines and companies particularly in the Financial services sector.
He’s forged a career around harnessing technology for maximum business impact and recently has driven great improvements through the combination of Cloud, DevOps and Scaled Agile working.
He has a genuine passion for the possibilities that are opened up by technology and on making customers lives simpler but with an eye on the ethics of using data and tech responsibly.
He’s taken on big challenges making a step change in capability, performance and operating expenses through systems rehosting, replatforming and outsourcing
Mark has mentored both individuals and start up/scale up companies to help them grow, focus and achieve their goals
1:45 pm to 2:05 pm GMT
Networking Break
2:05 pm to 2:10 pm GMT
Chair's Welcome Back
Anna Maj
FinTech Leader | Senior Advisor Truffle Capital | Expert European Innovation Council
Anna brings twenty years of experience (including C-Level and NED roles) in driving and fostering banking and payments innovation in Europe, with a focus on CEE (Citigroup, T-Mobile, mBank, PwC).
Anna is building cooperation models between banks and Fintech startups, particularly with regard to Open Banking, Payments as well as AI projects. She is a Senior Advisor at Truffle Capital; Senator, Member of the Global Startup Committee at the WBAF – World Business Angels Investment Forum; and a Jury Member and Expert at the EU/EC European Innovation Council (EICAccelerator) aimed at financing innovative SMEs across the EU.
She is driving innovation in the European payments ecosystem. Introduced one of the first online payment gateways in the CEMEA region as well as the first digital wallet and the first mobile payment platform. Managed the implementation of the first local mobile banking app and the first mobile payments initiative. Anna was also a CEO of a local acquirer and payment institution. She combines hands-on experience with a global strategic approach across the sectors (Payments, FinTech, Consulting).
Featured in the TOP10 Women in FinTech (FinTech Magazine, Aug 2020); 100 Women in FinTech (100WFinTech) ; “TOP 25 Women Leaders in Financial Technology of 2019”.
Senior Lecturer CFTE – Centre for Finance, Technology & Entrepreneurship (Open Banking and Platforms in Finance, Conversational AI in Banking). Co-Author of The PAYTECH Book and The AI Book.
2:10 pm to 2:40 pm GMT
Panel Session - Ethics of AI / Conversational AI
Artificial intelligence is continuously adapting and being used for a variety of purposes, especially within financial services. However, institutions need to be aware that designing AI systems using codes that ensure ethical automated responses is essential to progress forward. This panel sessions debates and gives perspectives on:
- How to ensure ethical AI programs
- Why is it important for AI to prioritise the well-being of humans?
- What to do when AI is proven unethical
- Conflicts against ethical AI
Moderated by Matt Cullen
Duncan Minty
Chartered Insurance Practitioner, Independent Business Ethics Consultant
Duncan Minty has been a Chartered Insurance Practitioner for 18 years, working as an independent ethics consultant. Duncan specialises in the insurance sector and has seen collaboration with insurers, brokers and professional bodies, helping organisations achieve greater certainty on ethical issues.
Matt Cullen
Head of Business Insight, Staysure Group

Matt Cullen joined Staysure Group as Head of Business Insight in January 2021.
He is an experienced facilitator, splitting his time between chairing and moderating events and being Chief of Staff at the Blockchain & Climate Institute. Previously, as Head of Strategy at the Association of British Insurers, he provided thought leadership on the big challenges and opportunities facing the insurance industry, and led on public policy topics including Open Finance and insurers’ use of data.
Earlier in his career, Matt led the development of the UK flood insurance scheme, Flood Re, building stakeholder support for the model, working on its negotiation, and leading the project team implementing the scheme. Matt began his career in the nuclear industry after reading Geography and Management at Cambridge University.
Teuta Bitici Mercado
Director, Responsible AI Program, Capital One

Teuta Mercado leads the Responsible AI program at Capital One which seeks to empower associates to ethically innovate machine learning. Prior to leading the Responsible AI program, Teuta spent almost a decade in Compliance, mostly within the financial services industry, providing guidance and oversight on various regulations, policies, and practices.
Waheeda Ali
Director, Artificial Intelligence Controls and Advisory, Enterprise Data & AI Governance, Scotiabank

Waheeda Ali is a seasoned financial services executive with extensive experience in major blue chip corporations. She has over 20 years of broad international experience in cultures spanning four continents. Consistently identified opportunities to profitably grow the portfolio in diverse economic and competitive environments. Waheeda developed and implemented economic downturn and portfolio de-risking strategies for recession planning.
Duncan Minty
Chartered Insurance Practitioner, Independent Business Ethics Consultant
Duncan Minty has been a Chartered Insurance Practitioner for 18 years, working as an independent ethics consultant. Duncan specialises in the insurance sector and has seen collaboration with insurers, brokers and professional bodies, helping organisations achieve greater certainty on ethical issues.
Matt Cullen
Head of Business Insight, Staysure Group

Matt Cullen joined Staysure Group as Head of Business Insight in January 2021.
He is an experienced facilitator, splitting his time between chairing and moderating events and being Chief of Staff at the Blockchain & Climate Institute. Previously, as Head of Strategy at the Association of British Insurers, he provided thought leadership on the big challenges and opportunities facing the insurance industry, and led on public policy topics including Open Finance and insurers’ use of data.
Earlier in his career, Matt led the development of the UK flood insurance scheme, Flood Re, building stakeholder support for the model, working on its negotiation, and leading the project team implementing the scheme. Matt began his career in the nuclear industry after reading Geography and Management at Cambridge University.
Teuta Bitici Mercado
Director, Responsible AI Program, Capital One

Teuta Mercado leads the Responsible AI program at Capital One which seeks to empower associates to ethically innovate machine learning. Prior to leading the Responsible AI program, Teuta spent almost a decade in Compliance, mostly within the financial services industry, providing guidance and oversight on various regulations, policies, and practices.
Waheeda Ali
Director, Artificial Intelligence Controls and Advisory, Enterprise Data & AI Governance, Scotiabank

Waheeda Ali is a seasoned financial services executive with extensive experience in major blue chip corporations. She has over 20 years of broad international experience in cultures spanning four continents. Consistently identified opportunities to profitably grow the portfolio in diverse economic and competitive environments. Waheeda developed and implemented economic downturn and portfolio de-risking strategies for recession planning.
Duncan Minty
Chartered Insurance Practitioner, Independent Business Ethics Consultant
Duncan Minty has been a Chartered Insurance Practitioner for 18 years, working as an independent ethics consultant. Duncan specialises in the insurance sector and has seen collaboration with insurers, brokers and professional bodies, helping organisations achieve greater certainty on ethical issues.
Matt Cullen
Head of Business Insight, Staysure Group

Matt Cullen joined Staysure Group as Head of Business Insight in January 2021.
He is an experienced facilitator, splitting his time between chairing and moderating events and being Chief of Staff at the Blockchain & Climate Institute. Previously, as Head of Strategy at the Association of British Insurers, he provided thought leadership on the big challenges and opportunities facing the insurance industry, and led on public policy topics including Open Finance and insurers’ use of data.
Earlier in his career, Matt led the development of the UK flood insurance scheme, Flood Re, building stakeholder support for the model, working on its negotiation, and leading the project team implementing the scheme. Matt began his career in the nuclear industry after reading Geography and Management at Cambridge University.
Teuta Bitici Mercado
Director, Responsible AI Program, Capital One

Teuta Mercado leads the Responsible AI program at Capital One which seeks to empower associates to ethically innovate machine learning. Prior to leading the Responsible AI program, Teuta spent almost a decade in Compliance, mostly within the financial services industry, providing guidance and oversight on various regulations, policies, and practices.
Waheeda Ali
Director, Artificial Intelligence Controls and Advisory, Enterprise Data & AI Governance, Scotiabank

Waheeda Ali is a seasoned financial services executive with extensive experience in major blue chip corporations. She has over 20 years of broad international experience in cultures spanning four continents. Consistently identified opportunities to profitably grow the portfolio in diverse economic and competitive environments. Waheeda developed and implemented economic downturn and portfolio de-risking strategies for recession planning.

Waheeda Ali
Director, Artificial Intelligence Controls and Advisory, Enterprise Data & AI Governance

Duncan Minty
Chartered Insurance Practitioner, Independent Business Ethics Consultant
Duncan Minty has been a Chartered Insurance Practitioner for 18 years, working as an independent ethics consultant. Duncan specialises in the insurance sector and has seen collaboration with insurers, brokers and professional bodies, helping organisations achieve greater certainty on ethical issues.
Matt Cullen
Head of Business Insight, Staysure Group

Matt Cullen joined Staysure Group as Head of Business Insight in January 2021.
He is an experienced facilitator, splitting his time between chairing and moderating events and being Chief of Staff at the Blockchain & Climate Institute. Previously, as Head of Strategy at the Association of British Insurers, he provided thought leadership on the big challenges and opportunities facing the insurance industry, and led on public policy topics including Open Finance and insurers’ use of data.
Earlier in his career, Matt led the development of the UK flood insurance scheme, Flood Re, building stakeholder support for the model, working on its negotiation, and leading the project team implementing the scheme. Matt began his career in the nuclear industry after reading Geography and Management at Cambridge University.
Teuta Bitici Mercado
Director, Responsible AI Program, Capital One

Teuta Mercado leads the Responsible AI program at Capital One which seeks to empower associates to ethically innovate machine learning. Prior to leading the Responsible AI program, Teuta spent almost a decade in Compliance, mostly within the financial services industry, providing guidance and oversight on various regulations, policies, and practices.
Waheeda Ali
Director, Artificial Intelligence Controls and Advisory, Enterprise Data & AI Governance, Scotiabank

Waheeda Ali is a seasoned financial services executive with extensive experience in major blue chip corporations. She has over 20 years of broad international experience in cultures spanning four continents. Consistently identified opportunities to profitably grow the portfolio in diverse economic and competitive environments. Waheeda developed and implemented economic downturn and portfolio de-risking strategies for recession planning.
2:40 pm to 2:50 pm GMT
Panel Q&A
Duncan Minty
Chartered Insurance Practitioner, Independent Business Ethics Consultant
Duncan Minty has been a Chartered Insurance Practitioner for 18 years, working as an independent ethics consultant. Duncan specialises in the insurance sector and has seen collaboration with insurers, brokers and professional bodies, helping organisations achieve greater certainty on ethical issues.
Matt Cullen
Head of Business Insight, Staysure Group

Matt Cullen joined Staysure Group as Head of Business Insight in January 2021.
He is an experienced facilitator, splitting his time between chairing and moderating events and being Chief of Staff at the Blockchain & Climate Institute. Previously, as Head of Strategy at the Association of British Insurers, he provided thought leadership on the big challenges and opportunities facing the insurance industry, and led on public policy topics including Open Finance and insurers’ use of data.
Earlier in his career, Matt led the development of the UK flood insurance scheme, Flood Re, building stakeholder support for the model, working on its negotiation, and leading the project team implementing the scheme. Matt began his career in the nuclear industry after reading Geography and Management at Cambridge University.
Teuta Bitici Mercado
Director, Responsible AI Program, Capital One

Teuta Mercado leads the Responsible AI program at Capital One which seeks to empower associates to ethically innovate machine learning. Prior to leading the Responsible AI program, Teuta spent almost a decade in Compliance, mostly within the financial services industry, providing guidance and oversight on various regulations, policies, and practices.
Waheeda Ali
Director, Artificial Intelligence Controls and Advisory, Enterprise Data & AI Governance, Scotiabank

Waheeda Ali is a seasoned financial services executive with extensive experience in major blue chip corporations. She has over 20 years of broad international experience in cultures spanning four continents. Consistently identified opportunities to profitably grow the portfolio in diverse economic and competitive environments. Waheeda developed and implemented economic downturn and portfolio de-risking strategies for recession planning.
Duncan Minty
Chartered Insurance Practitioner, Independent Business Ethics Consultant
Duncan Minty has been a Chartered Insurance Practitioner for 18 years, working as an independent ethics consultant. Duncan specialises in the insurance sector and has seen collaboration with insurers, brokers and professional bodies, helping organisations achieve greater certainty on ethical issues.
Matt Cullen
Head of Business Insight, Staysure Group

Matt Cullen joined Staysure Group as Head of Business Insight in January 2021.
He is an experienced facilitator, splitting his time between chairing and moderating events and being Chief of Staff at the Blockchain & Climate Institute. Previously, as Head of Strategy at the Association of British Insurers, he provided thought leadership on the big challenges and opportunities facing the insurance industry, and led on public policy topics including Open Finance and insurers’ use of data.
Earlier in his career, Matt led the development of the UK flood insurance scheme, Flood Re, building stakeholder support for the model, working on its negotiation, and leading the project team implementing the scheme. Matt began his career in the nuclear industry after reading Geography and Management at Cambridge University.
Teuta Bitici Mercado
Director, Responsible AI Program, Capital One

Teuta Mercado leads the Responsible AI program at Capital One which seeks to empower associates to ethically innovate machine learning. Prior to leading the Responsible AI program, Teuta spent almost a decade in Compliance, mostly within the financial services industry, providing guidance and oversight on various regulations, policies, and practices.
Waheeda Ali
Director, Artificial Intelligence Controls and Advisory, Enterprise Data & AI Governance, Scotiabank

Waheeda Ali is a seasoned financial services executive with extensive experience in major blue chip corporations. She has over 20 years of broad international experience in cultures spanning four continents. Consistently identified opportunities to profitably grow the portfolio in diverse economic and competitive environments. Waheeda developed and implemented economic downturn and portfolio de-risking strategies for recession planning.
Duncan Minty
Chartered Insurance Practitioner, Independent Business Ethics Consultant
Duncan Minty has been a Chartered Insurance Practitioner for 18 years, working as an independent ethics consultant. Duncan specialises in the insurance sector and has seen collaboration with insurers, brokers and professional bodies, helping organisations achieve greater certainty on ethical issues.
Matt Cullen
Head of Business Insight, Staysure Group

Matt Cullen joined Staysure Group as Head of Business Insight in January 2021.
He is an experienced facilitator, splitting his time between chairing and moderating events and being Chief of Staff at the Blockchain & Climate Institute. Previously, as Head of Strategy at the Association of British Insurers, he provided thought leadership on the big challenges and opportunities facing the insurance industry, and led on public policy topics including Open Finance and insurers’ use of data.
Earlier in his career, Matt led the development of the UK flood insurance scheme, Flood Re, building stakeholder support for the model, working on its negotiation, and leading the project team implementing the scheme. Matt began his career in the nuclear industry after reading Geography and Management at Cambridge University.
Teuta Bitici Mercado
Director, Responsible AI Program, Capital One

Teuta Mercado leads the Responsible AI program at Capital One which seeks to empower associates to ethically innovate machine learning. Prior to leading the Responsible AI program, Teuta spent almost a decade in Compliance, mostly within the financial services industry, providing guidance and oversight on various regulations, policies, and practices.
Waheeda Ali
Director, Artificial Intelligence Controls and Advisory, Enterprise Data & AI Governance, Scotiabank

Waheeda Ali is a seasoned financial services executive with extensive experience in major blue chip corporations. She has over 20 years of broad international experience in cultures spanning four continents. Consistently identified opportunities to profitably grow the portfolio in diverse economic and competitive environments. Waheeda developed and implemented economic downturn and portfolio de-risking strategies for recession planning.

Waheeda Ali
Director, Artificial Intelligence Controls and Advisory, Enterprise Data & AI Governance

Duncan Minty
Chartered Insurance Practitioner, Independent Business Ethics Consultant
Duncan Minty has been a Chartered Insurance Practitioner for 18 years, working as an independent ethics consultant. Duncan specialises in the insurance sector and has seen collaboration with insurers, brokers and professional bodies, helping organisations achieve greater certainty on ethical issues.
Matt Cullen
Head of Business Insight, Staysure Group

Matt Cullen joined Staysure Group as Head of Business Insight in January 2021.
He is an experienced facilitator, splitting his time between chairing and moderating events and being Chief of Staff at the Blockchain & Climate Institute. Previously, as Head of Strategy at the Association of British Insurers, he provided thought leadership on the big challenges and opportunities facing the insurance industry, and led on public policy topics including Open Finance and insurers’ use of data.
Earlier in his career, Matt led the development of the UK flood insurance scheme, Flood Re, building stakeholder support for the model, working on its negotiation, and leading the project team implementing the scheme. Matt began his career in the nuclear industry after reading Geography and Management at Cambridge University.
Teuta Bitici Mercado
Director, Responsible AI Program, Capital One

Teuta Mercado leads the Responsible AI program at Capital One which seeks to empower associates to ethically innovate machine learning. Prior to leading the Responsible AI program, Teuta spent almost a decade in Compliance, mostly within the financial services industry, providing guidance and oversight on various regulations, policies, and practices.
Waheeda Ali
Director, Artificial Intelligence Controls and Advisory, Enterprise Data & AI Governance, Scotiabank

Waheeda Ali is a seasoned financial services executive with extensive experience in major blue chip corporations. She has over 20 years of broad international experience in cultures spanning four continents. Consistently identified opportunities to profitably grow the portfolio in diverse economic and competitive environments. Waheeda developed and implemented economic downturn and portfolio de-risking strategies for recession planning.
2:50 pm to 3:05 pm GMT
A New Digital Normal… after the pandemic
Rik Ferguson
Vice President Security Research, Trend Micro

Researcher, writer, filmmaker and presenter Rik Ferguson is the Vice President of Security Research at Trend Micro. Rik’s research into the murky world of cybercrime and the cloudy future of technology sees him advise law enforcement, governments and large enterprises alike. A session with Rik will leave you with a lot to rethink.
3:05 pm to 3:15 pm GMT
Audience Q&A
Anna Maj
FinTech Leader | Senior Advisor Truffle Capital | Expert European Innovation Council
Anna brings twenty years of experience (including C-Level and NED roles) in driving and fostering banking and payments innovation in Europe, with a focus on CEE (Citigroup, T-Mobile, mBank, PwC).
Anna is building cooperation models between banks and Fintech startups, particularly with regard to Open Banking, Payments as well as AI projects. She is a Senior Advisor at Truffle Capital; Senator, Member of the Global Startup Committee at the WBAF – World Business Angels Investment Forum; and a Jury Member and Expert at the EU/EC European Innovation Council (EICAccelerator) aimed at financing innovative SMEs across the EU.
She is driving innovation in the European payments ecosystem. Introduced one of the first online payment gateways in the CEMEA region as well as the first digital wallet and the first mobile payment platform. Managed the implementation of the first local mobile banking app and the first mobile payments initiative. Anna was also a CEO of a local acquirer and payment institution. She combines hands-on experience with a global strategic approach across the sectors (Payments, FinTech, Consulting).
Featured in the TOP10 Women in FinTech (FinTech Magazine, Aug 2020); 100 Women in FinTech (100WFinTech) ; “TOP 25 Women Leaders in Financial Technology of 2019”.
Senior Lecturer CFTE – Centre for Finance, Technology & Entrepreneurship (Open Banking and Platforms in Finance, Conversational AI in Banking). Co-Author of The PAYTECH Book and The AI Book.
Rik Ferguson
Vice President Security Research, Trend Micro

Researcher, writer, filmmaker and presenter Rik Ferguson is the Vice President of Security Research at Trend Micro. Rik’s research into the murky world of cybercrime and the cloudy future of technology sees him advise law enforcement, governments and large enterprises alike. A session with Rik will leave you with a lot to rethink.
Anna Maj
FinTech Leader | Senior Advisor Truffle Capital | Expert European Innovation Council
Anna brings twenty years of experience (including C-Level and NED roles) in driving and fostering banking and payments innovation in Europe, with a focus on CEE (Citigroup, T-Mobile, mBank, PwC).
Anna is building cooperation models between banks and Fintech startups, particularly with regard to Open Banking, Payments as well as AI projects. She is a Senior Advisor at Truffle Capital; Senator, Member of the Global Startup Committee at the WBAF – World Business Angels Investment Forum; and a Jury Member and Expert at the EU/EC European Innovation Council (EICAccelerator) aimed at financing innovative SMEs across the EU.
She is driving innovation in the European payments ecosystem. Introduced one of the first online payment gateways in the CEMEA region as well as the first digital wallet and the first mobile payment platform. Managed the implementation of the first local mobile banking app and the first mobile payments initiative. Anna was also a CEO of a local acquirer and payment institution. She combines hands-on experience with a global strategic approach across the sectors (Payments, FinTech, Consulting).
Featured in the TOP10 Women in FinTech (FinTech Magazine, Aug 2020); 100 Women in FinTech (100WFinTech) ; “TOP 25 Women Leaders in Financial Technology of 2019”.
Senior Lecturer CFTE – Centre for Finance, Technology & Entrepreneurship (Open Banking and Platforms in Finance, Conversational AI in Banking). Co-Author of The PAYTECH Book and The AI Book.
Rik Ferguson
Vice President Security Research, Trend Micro

Researcher, writer, filmmaker and presenter Rik Ferguson is the Vice President of Security Research at Trend Micro. Rik’s research into the murky world of cybercrime and the cloudy future of technology sees him advise law enforcement, governments and large enterprises alike. A session with Rik will leave you with a lot to rethink.
3:15 pm to 3:55 pm GMT
Track 1 - AI & Banking
Applying Natural Language Processing to Proprietary Data
Join this presentation to find out why JP Morgan leverages proprietary equity research data to enhance natural language processing model. Learn about:
- Limitations of third party NLP solutions
- Advantages of NLP model based on proprietary JPM research data
- Applications of the NLP model
Peng Cheng
Head of Machine Learning Strategies, JP Morgan

Peng Cheng is a research analyst and JPMorgan and leads the Big Data and AI Strategies research effort. He is responsible for developing cross asset investment strategies leveraging alternative data and advanced statistical techniques. Previously, he covered Equity Derivatives Strategies in London. Prior to joining the bank in 2010, he was a Convertible and Volatility strategist at Lehman Brothers/Barclays in New York. He holds a Master’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley and is a CFA charterholder.
Transforming Financial Services with Graph + AI
Graph databases are changing the landscape for financial institutions and FS organisations worldwide are embracing graph analytics and machine learning as a way to increase profits, improve customer satisfaction, and find and stop fraud and financial crimes.
This session will cover:
- Why graph analytics is one of the top ten technology trends that will transform your business.
- Why graph analytics combined with machine learning is uniquely qualified for all fraud types: AML, Synthetic Id’s, Transaction Fraud, Credit Card, etc.
- Client case studies from major financial institutions who are currently using graph analytics to double the performance of fraud detection and improve accuracy of AML compliance by 10%
Gordon Malcolm
Director of Financial Services, EMEA, TigerGraph

Gordon Malcolm is Director of Financial Services, EMEA at TigerGraph. Gordon focuses on supporting digital transformation efforts as organisations become increasingly data-driven. He has over 20 years’ experience in the database, business intelligence and analytics space spanning the relational, object-oriented and column-based world. He is now firmly entrenched in the Graph Database and Analytics space and works with companies to uncover otherwise hidden relationships across large volumes and disparate sources of data to drive quantifiable and strategic enterprise value.
Audience Q&A
Anna Maj
FinTech Leader | Senior Advisor Truffle Capital | Expert European Innovation Council
Anna brings twenty years of experience (including C-Level and NED roles) in driving and fostering banking and payments innovation in Europe, with a focus on CEE (Citigroup, T-Mobile, mBank, PwC).
Anna is building cooperation models between banks and Fintech startups, particularly with regard to Open Banking, Payments as well as AI projects. She is a Senior Advisor at Truffle Capital; Senator, Member of the Global Startup Committee at the WBAF – World Business Angels Investment Forum; and a Jury Member and Expert at the EU/EC European Innovation Council (EICAccelerator) aimed at financing innovative SMEs across the EU.
She is driving innovation in the European payments ecosystem. Introduced one of the first online payment gateways in the CEMEA region as well as the first digital wallet and the first mobile payment platform. Managed the implementation of the first local mobile banking app and the first mobile payments initiative. Anna was also a CEO of a local acquirer and payment institution. She combines hands-on experience with a global strategic approach across the sectors (Payments, FinTech, Consulting).
Featured in the TOP10 Women in FinTech (FinTech Magazine, Aug 2020); 100 Women in FinTech (100WFinTech) ; “TOP 25 Women Leaders in Financial Technology of 2019”.
Senior Lecturer CFTE – Centre for Finance, Technology & Entrepreneurship (Open Banking and Platforms in Finance, Conversational AI in Banking). Co-Author of The PAYTECH Book and The AI Book.
Gordon Malcolm
Director of Financial Services, EMEA, TigerGraph

Gordon Malcolm is Director of Financial Services, EMEA at TigerGraph. Gordon focuses on supporting digital transformation efforts as organisations become increasingly data-driven. He has over 20 years’ experience in the database, business intelligence and analytics space spanning the relational, object-oriented and column-based world. He is now firmly entrenched in the Graph Database and Analytics space and works with companies to uncover otherwise hidden relationships across large volumes and disparate sources of data to drive quantifiable and strategic enterprise value.
Peng Cheng
Head of Machine Learning Strategies, JP Morgan

Peng Cheng is a research analyst and JPMorgan and leads the Big Data and AI Strategies research effort. He is responsible for developing cross asset investment strategies leveraging alternative data and advanced statistical techniques. Previously, he covered Equity Derivatives Strategies in London. Prior to joining the bank in 2010, he was a Convertible and Volatility strategist at Lehman Brothers/Barclays in New York. He holds a Master’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley and is a CFA charterholder.
Anna Maj
FinTech Leader | Senior Advisor Truffle Capital | Expert European Innovation Council
Anna brings twenty years of experience (including C-Level and NED roles) in driving and fostering banking and payments innovation in Europe, with a focus on CEE (Citigroup, T-Mobile, mBank, PwC).
Anna is building cooperation models between banks and Fintech startups, particularly with regard to Open Banking, Payments as well as AI projects. She is a Senior Advisor at Truffle Capital; Senator, Member of the Global Startup Committee at the WBAF – World Business Angels Investment Forum; and a Jury Member and Expert at the EU/EC European Innovation Council (EICAccelerator) aimed at financing innovative SMEs across the EU.
She is driving innovation in the European payments ecosystem. Introduced one of the first online payment gateways in the CEMEA region as well as the first digital wallet and the first mobile payment platform. Managed the implementation of the first local mobile banking app and the first mobile payments initiative. Anna was also a CEO of a local acquirer and payment institution. She combines hands-on experience with a global strategic approach across the sectors (Payments, FinTech, Consulting).
Featured in the TOP10 Women in FinTech (FinTech Magazine, Aug 2020); 100 Women in FinTech (100WFinTech) ; “TOP 25 Women Leaders in Financial Technology of 2019”.
Senior Lecturer CFTE – Centre for Finance, Technology & Entrepreneurship (Open Banking and Platforms in Finance, Conversational AI in Banking). Co-Author of The PAYTECH Book and The AI Book.
Gordon Malcolm
Director of Financial Services, EMEA, TigerGraph

Gordon Malcolm is Director of Financial Services, EMEA at TigerGraph. Gordon focuses on supporting digital transformation efforts as organisations become increasingly data-driven. He has over 20 years’ experience in the database, business intelligence and analytics space spanning the relational, object-oriented and column-based world. He is now firmly entrenched in the Graph Database and Analytics space and works with companies to uncover otherwise hidden relationships across large volumes and disparate sources of data to drive quantifiable and strategic enterprise value.
Peng Cheng
Head of Machine Learning Strategies, JP Morgan

Peng Cheng is a research analyst and JPMorgan and leads the Big Data and AI Strategies research effort. He is responsible for developing cross asset investment strategies leveraging alternative data and advanced statistical techniques. Previously, he covered Equity Derivatives Strategies in London. Prior to joining the bank in 2010, he was a Convertible and Volatility strategist at Lehman Brothers/Barclays in New York. He holds a Master’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley and is a CFA charterholder.
Anna Maj
FinTech Leader | Senior Advisor Truffle Capital | Expert European Innovation Council
Anna brings twenty years of experience (including C-Level and NED roles) in driving and fostering banking and payments innovation in Europe, with a focus on CEE (Citigroup, T-Mobile, mBank, PwC).
Anna is building cooperation models between banks and Fintech startups, particularly with regard to Open Banking, Payments as well as AI projects. She is a Senior Advisor at Truffle Capital; Senator, Member of the Global Startup Committee at the WBAF – World Business Angels Investment Forum; and a Jury Member and Expert at the EU/EC European Innovation Council (EICAccelerator) aimed at financing innovative SMEs across the EU.
She is driving innovation in the European payments ecosystem. Introduced one of the first online payment gateways in the CEMEA region as well as the first digital wallet and the first mobile payment platform. Managed the implementation of the first local mobile banking app and the first mobile payments initiative. Anna was also a CEO of a local acquirer and payment institution. She combines hands-on experience with a global strategic approach across the sectors (Payments, FinTech, Consulting).
Featured in the TOP10 Women in FinTech (FinTech Magazine, Aug 2020); 100 Women in FinTech (100WFinTech) ; “TOP 25 Women Leaders in Financial Technology of 2019”.
Senior Lecturer CFTE – Centre for Finance, Technology & Entrepreneurship (Open Banking and Platforms in Finance, Conversational AI in Banking). Co-Author of The PAYTECH Book and The AI Book.
Gordon Malcolm
Director of Financial Services, EMEA, TigerGraph

Gordon Malcolm is Director of Financial Services, EMEA at TigerGraph. Gordon focuses on supporting digital transformation efforts as organisations become increasingly data-driven. He has over 20 years’ experience in the database, business intelligence and analytics space spanning the relational, object-oriented and column-based world. He is now firmly entrenched in the Graph Database and Analytics space and works with companies to uncover otherwise hidden relationships across large volumes and disparate sources of data to drive quantifiable and strategic enterprise value.
Peng Cheng
Head of Machine Learning Strategies, JP Morgan

Peng Cheng is a research analyst and JPMorgan and leads the Big Data and AI Strategies research effort. He is responsible for developing cross asset investment strategies leveraging alternative data and advanced statistical techniques. Previously, he covered Equity Derivatives Strategies in London. Prior to joining the bank in 2010, he was a Convertible and Volatility strategist at Lehman Brothers/Barclays in New York. He holds a Master’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley and is a CFA charterholder.
Track 2 - AI & Insurance
AI impact across the Insurance Value Chain
Insurance companies around the world are turning to the use of AI, powering all different aspects of the insurance value chain. Not only is AI being used to help identify customer needs, but it is also being used to predict fraudulent activities as well as claim processing. This presentation will delve into:
- Major tech and behaviours shifts impacting the world of insurance
- Towards data-driven insurance– emerging business models
- AI enabled solutions across the value chain, key benefits and challenges
- Focus on a selected AI enabled solutions already implemented across APAC by the Swiss Re team
Dr. Ladina Caviezel
Vice President, Data Science Manager SEA, Swiss Re

Ladina joined Swiss Re in 2016 in the digital and smart analytics team. With her focus in APAC, Ladina bridges data science and the business by raising the awareness and understanding of big data among the business teams and enabling them in applying these smart analytics solutions to grow the business.
Prior to Swiss Re, Ladina worked as a Management Consultant for the medical and financial services industries in Europe and Singapore. She defined new innovative strategies built on strong analytics and using data to value-add and digitally transform the business.
Ladina studied veterinary medicine at the University of Zurich (CH) and holds a doctorate degree in Immunology and Hematology from the University of Pennsylvania (USA).
Biometric Authentication for Digital KYC Establishes Reusable Trust
The drive to digital has been accelerated by COVID. Banks need to be able to onboard customers online securely and effortlessly, while complying with KYC guidelines. The good news is that establishing trust at the onboarding stage opens up opportunities to improve customer satisfaction, increase revenues and prevent fraud and financial crimes.
This session will cover:
- How to build trust at the point of onboarding
- How to extend the value of that trust, making it effortless for customers to manage their accounts and access new products and services
- Case studies: how are banks and governments achieving this today?
Aarti Samani
SVP Product & Marketing, iProov

Aarti Samani is an accomplished business and technology professional with a 20+ year career, spanning multiple sectors including investment banking, consumer tech and health-tech.
She is a specialist in global expansion in both mature and emerging markets. Aarti offers a proven track record in successfully accelerating distribution, revenue and penetration in markets like India & USA. She is experienced in crafting and executing successful growth strategies harnessing cross functional teams, commercial tools and the integrated product portfolio
Audience Q&A
Aarti Samani
SVP Product & Marketing, iProov

Aarti Samani is an accomplished business and technology professional with a 20+ year career, spanning multiple sectors including investment banking, consumer tech and health-tech.
She is a specialist in global expansion in both mature and emerging markets. Aarti offers a proven track record in successfully accelerating distribution, revenue and penetration in markets like India & USA. She is experienced in crafting and executing successful growth strategies harnessing cross functional teams, commercial tools and the integrated product portfolio
Dr. Ladina Caviezel
Vice President, Data Science Manager SEA, Swiss Re

Ladina joined Swiss Re in 2016 in the digital and smart analytics team. With her focus in APAC, Ladina bridges data science and the business by raising the awareness and understanding of big data among the business teams and enabling them in applying these smart analytics solutions to grow the business.
Prior to Swiss Re, Ladina worked as a Management Consultant for the medical and financial services industries in Europe and Singapore. She defined new innovative strategies built on strong analytics and using data to value-add and digitally transform the business.
Ladina studied veterinary medicine at the University of Zurich (CH) and holds a doctorate degree in Immunology and Hematology from the University of Pennsylvania (USA).
Matthew Welch
Senior Production Manager, Transform Finance

Matthew Welch is Senior Production Manager at Transform Finance and specialises in financial sector technology. Having joined the events industry in April 2017, Matt has over four years of experience producing events that covered an array of topics ranging from global commodities, renewable energy and future technology.
Aarti Samani
SVP Product & Marketing, iProov

Aarti Samani is an accomplished business and technology professional with a 20+ year career, spanning multiple sectors including investment banking, consumer tech and health-tech.
She is a specialist in global expansion in both mature and emerging markets. Aarti offers a proven track record in successfully accelerating distribution, revenue and penetration in markets like India & USA. She is experienced in crafting and executing successful growth strategies harnessing cross functional teams, commercial tools and the integrated product portfolio
Dr. Ladina Caviezel
Vice President, Data Science Manager SEA, Swiss Re

Ladina joined Swiss Re in 2016 in the digital and smart analytics team. With her focus in APAC, Ladina bridges data science and the business by raising the awareness and understanding of big data among the business teams and enabling them in applying these smart analytics solutions to grow the business.
Prior to Swiss Re, Ladina worked as a Management Consultant for the medical and financial services industries in Europe and Singapore. She defined new innovative strategies built on strong analytics and using data to value-add and digitally transform the business.
Ladina studied veterinary medicine at the University of Zurich (CH) and holds a doctorate degree in Immunology and Hematology from the University of Pennsylvania (USA).
Matthew Welch
Senior Production Manager, Transform Finance

Matthew Welch is Senior Production Manager at Transform Finance and specialises in financial sector technology. Having joined the events industry in April 2017, Matt has over four years of experience producing events that covered an array of topics ranging from global commodities, renewable energy and future technology.
Aarti Samani
SVP Product & Marketing, iProov

Aarti Samani is an accomplished business and technology professional with a 20+ year career, spanning multiple sectors including investment banking, consumer tech and health-tech.
She is a specialist in global expansion in both mature and emerging markets. Aarti offers a proven track record in successfully accelerating distribution, revenue and penetration in markets like India & USA. She is experienced in crafting and executing successful growth strategies harnessing cross functional teams, commercial tools and the integrated product portfolio
Dr. Ladina Caviezel
Vice President, Data Science Manager SEA, Swiss Re

Ladina joined Swiss Re in 2016 in the digital and smart analytics team. With her focus in APAC, Ladina bridges data science and the business by raising the awareness and understanding of big data among the business teams and enabling them in applying these smart analytics solutions to grow the business.
Prior to Swiss Re, Ladina worked as a Management Consultant for the medical and financial services industries in Europe and Singapore. She defined new innovative strategies built on strong analytics and using data to value-add and digitally transform the business.
Ladina studied veterinary medicine at the University of Zurich (CH) and holds a doctorate degree in Immunology and Hematology from the University of Pennsylvania (USA).
Matthew Welch
Senior Production Manager, Transform Finance

Matthew Welch is Senior Production Manager at Transform Finance and specialises in financial sector technology. Having joined the events industry in April 2017, Matt has over four years of experience producing events that covered an array of topics ranging from global commodities, renewable energy and future technology.
3:55 pm to 4:25 pm GMT
Round Tables
Round Table 3 - Smarter AI With Analytical Graph Databases
Take part in this interactive round table discussion…
Today’s analytical graph databases are taking organisations to another level by connecting all their data, representing knowledge better, and obtaining answers to deeper questions in real-time. These benefits extend to the world of machine learning and AI. This session will explore:
- Why graph analytics is one of the top ten technology trends that will transform your business.
- How graph analytics is delivering value in a number of areas including fraud detection, Customer 360, AML, Entity Resolution, and Recommendation Engines.
- How graph analytics enhances, not replaces, existing technology.
Gordon Malcolm
Director of Financial Services, EMEA, TigerGraph

Gordon Malcolm is Director of Financial Services, EMEA at TigerGraph. Gordon focuses on supporting digital transformation efforts as organisations become increasingly data-driven. He has over 20 years’ experience in the database, business intelligence and analytics space spanning the relational, object-oriented and column-based world. He is now firmly entrenched in the Graph Database and Analytics space and works with companies to uncover otherwise hidden relationships across large volumes and disparate sources of data to drive quantifiable and strategic enterprise value.
Martin Darling
General Manager, EMEA, TigerGraph

Martin Darling is General Manager, EMEA at TigerGraph. Martin focuses on building and running the regional operation to support organisations as they explore how to drive business value from graph analytics and connected data. He has over 20 years’ experience in the big data and analytics space building and running operations in Asia Pacific, Japan, and EMEA for companies such as MapR, Hitachi Data Systems, and EMC.
Gordon Malcolm
Director of Financial Services, EMEA, TigerGraph

Gordon Malcolm is Director of Financial Services, EMEA at TigerGraph. Gordon focuses on supporting digital transformation efforts as organisations become increasingly data-driven. He has over 20 years’ experience in the database, business intelligence and analytics space spanning the relational, object-oriented and column-based world. He is now firmly entrenched in the Graph Database and Analytics space and works with companies to uncover otherwise hidden relationships across large volumes and disparate sources of data to drive quantifiable and strategic enterprise value.
Martin Darling
General Manager, EMEA, TigerGraph

Martin Darling is General Manager, EMEA at TigerGraph. Martin focuses on building and running the regional operation to support organisations as they explore how to drive business value from graph analytics and connected data. He has over 20 years’ experience in the big data and analytics space building and running operations in Asia Pacific, Japan, and EMEA for companies such as MapR, Hitachi Data Systems, and EMC.
Round Table 4 - All things AI
Take part in this interactive round table discussion…
When computing power moves away from centralised networks and data processing closer to the source, banking services will rapidly change. But is improving speed of service is the way forward to mitigate challenges of increasing amounts of data at the edge?
- How does Edge computing lower latency and increase decisions in near-real time?
- Is Edge computing the gateway to implementing new IoT options with fewer data limits?
- How would Edge, which would decrease the new for data centres, lower costs?
Philip Kinlen
Head of Innovation & Research, Allied Irish Bank

Philip is the Head of Research & Innovation for AIB. Philip finds it really interesting to see how mathematics can be used to find pragmatic solutions to problems in finance and technology. When it comes to the future he’s an optimist.
4:25 pm to 4:30 pm GMT
Chair's Closing Remarks
Anna Maj
FinTech Leader | Senior Advisor Truffle Capital | Expert European Innovation Council
Anna brings twenty years of experience (including C-Level and NED roles) in driving and fostering banking and payments innovation in Europe, with a focus on CEE (Citigroup, T-Mobile, mBank, PwC).
Anna is building cooperation models between banks and Fintech startups, particularly with regard to Open Banking, Payments as well as AI projects. She is a Senior Advisor at Truffle Capital; Senator, Member of the Global Startup Committee at the WBAF – World Business Angels Investment Forum; and a Jury Member and Expert at the EU/EC European Innovation Council (EICAccelerator) aimed at financing innovative SMEs across the EU.
She is driving innovation in the European payments ecosystem. Introduced one of the first online payment gateways in the CEMEA region as well as the first digital wallet and the first mobile payment platform. Managed the implementation of the first local mobile banking app and the first mobile payments initiative. Anna was also a CEO of a local acquirer and payment institution. She combines hands-on experience with a global strategic approach across the sectors (Payments, FinTech, Consulting).
Featured in the TOP10 Women in FinTech (FinTech Magazine, Aug 2020); 100 Women in FinTech (100WFinTech) ; “TOP 25 Women Leaders in Financial Technology of 2019”.
Senior Lecturer CFTE – Centre for Finance, Technology & Entrepreneurship (Open Banking and Platforms in Finance, Conversational AI in Banking). Co-Author of The PAYTECH Book and The AI Book.
11:15 am to 11:30 am GMT
Event Opens
11:30 am to 11:40 am GMT
Chair's Opening Remarks
Anna Maj
FinTech Leader | Senior Advisor Truffle Capital | Expert European Innovation Council
Anna brings twenty years of experience (including C-Level and NED roles) in driving and fostering banking and payments innovation in Europe, with a focus on CEE (Citigroup, T-Mobile, mBank, PwC).
Anna is building cooperation models between banks and Fintech startups, particularly with regard to Open Banking, Payments as well as AI projects. She is a Senior Advisor at Truffle Capital; Senator, Member of the Global Startup Committee at the WBAF – World Business Angels Investment Forum; and a Jury Member and Expert at the EU/EC European Innovation Council (EICAccelerator) aimed at financing innovative SMEs across the EU.
She is driving innovation in the European payments ecosystem. Introduced one of the first online payment gateways in the CEMEA region as well as the first digital wallet and the first mobile payment platform. Managed the implementation of the first local mobile banking app and the first mobile payments initiative. Anna was also a CEO of a local acquirer and payment institution. She combines hands-on experience with a global strategic approach across the sectors (Payments, FinTech, Consulting).
Featured in the TOP10 Women in FinTech (FinTech Magazine, Aug 2020); 100 Women in FinTech (100WFinTech) ; “TOP 25 Women Leaders in Financial Technology of 2019”.
Senior Lecturer CFTE – Centre for Finance, Technology & Entrepreneurship (Open Banking and Platforms in Finance, Conversational AI in Banking). Co-Author of The PAYTECH Book and The AI Book.
11:40 am to 12:10 pm GMT
Panel: How to utilise and leverage big data and analytics while adopting a new technology
- How best can we act on our enormous amounts of data through the use of real-time data analytics.
- Regulatory data initiatives: how can data sharing and integration blend with security & privacy?
- Responsible AI: What it means for your business and your customer.
- What are some of the best examples in this sector that leverages big data to its utmost capacity?
Moderator: Madeline Bennett
David Masters
Chief Data Officer, Global Prime Services, Société Générale

David Masters is a Director at Société Générale, working as the Chief Data Officer for SG International Limited (UK) and Prime Business (Global). He has over 23 years’ experience in data management, regulatory and asset management operations.
David’s current role focuses on building a data framework, in order to lead regulatory projects related to data management; ensuring that data quality is compliant with regulators’ requirements stated in BCBS 239; as well as ensuring that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is implemented in order for SGIL to be compliant. The focus is also to increase reliability of the data used by the business and contribute to optimize SGIL / PRM Global scarce resources’ management; and finally to set a roadmap concerning the monitoring and continuous improvement of data management.
His previous role as Referential Data Expert, involved as an SME in MiFIR and EMIR regulatory reporting and other non-financial regulatory reporting including Dodd-Frank, Canada, REMIT. There, David focused on various regulatory referential data initiatives such as counterparty and product referential data.
David also speaks regularly or else acts as chair / moderator at various industry forums and conferences.
David has been at Societe Generale Investment Bank London (formerly Newedge UK) for more than 7 years. He was previously at Goldman Sachs for over 16.5 years, working in Asset Management operations for 11 and more recently in Regulatory Operations for 5.5 years. David has a BSc Honours degree in Geology from Imperial College, London.
Jason Maude
Chief Technology Advocate, Starling Bank

Jason Maude is a coder, coach, and public speaker. He has over a decade of experience working in the financial sector, primarily in creating and delivering software. He is passionate about explaining complex technical concepts to those who are convinced that they won’t be able to understand them. He currently works at Starling Bank as their Chief Technology Advocate and host of the Starling podcast.
Madeline Bennett
Technology Journalist and Commentator
Madeline Bennett has been a technology journalist and commentator since 2000, covering everything from enterprise applications and FinTech to digital transformation.
Peter Moylan
Head of European Software Revenue, EMEA, Kx

With over 30 years of experience in the financial markets Peter Moylan has implemented and grown successful sales teams across the globe selling solutions to the financial services industry.
Prior to his term at Kx, he held the role of Global Head of Sales at NYSE Technologies; leading the function with an annual revenue of 500m USD. Before this time, Peter was at Reuters and then Thomson Reuters between 1992 and 2010; starting in account management, then Solution sales and sales management including a secondment to TIBCO finance technology. Peter was the regional sales director for Reuters based in Asia for 4 years – focused on their solutions businesses; including Risk Management, Order Routing solutions, Market data and professional services consulting.
He has been a Global Business Director responsible for delivering solutions to both HSBC and Deutsche Bank, and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Geology.
David Masters
Chief Data Officer, Global Prime Services, Société Générale

David Masters is a Director at Société Générale, working as the Chief Data Officer for SG International Limited (UK) and Prime Business (Global). He has over 23 years’ experience in data management, regulatory and asset management operations.
David’s current role focuses on building a data framework, in order to lead regulatory projects related to data management; ensuring that data quality is compliant with regulators’ requirements stated in BCBS 239; as well as ensuring that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is implemented in order for SGIL to be compliant. The focus is also to increase reliability of the data used by the business and contribute to optimize SGIL / PRM Global scarce resources’ management; and finally to set a roadmap concerning the monitoring and continuous improvement of data management.
His previous role as Referential Data Expert, involved as an SME in MiFIR and EMIR regulatory reporting and other non-financial regulatory reporting including Dodd-Frank, Canada, REMIT. There, David focused on various regulatory referential data initiatives such as counterparty and product referential data.
David also speaks regularly or else acts as chair / moderator at various industry forums and conferences.
David has been at Societe Generale Investment Bank London (formerly Newedge UK) for more than 7 years. He was previously at Goldman Sachs for over 16.5 years, working in Asset Management operations for 11 and more recently in Regulatory Operations for 5.5 years. David has a BSc Honours degree in Geology from Imperial College, London.
Jason Maude
Chief Technology Advocate, Starling Bank

Jason Maude is a coder, coach, and public speaker. He has over a decade of experience working in the financial sector, primarily in creating and delivering software. He is passionate about explaining complex technical concepts to those who are convinced that they won’t be able to understand them. He currently works at Starling Bank as their Chief Technology Advocate and host of the Starling podcast.
Madeline Bennett
Technology Journalist and Commentator
Madeline Bennett has been a technology journalist and commentator since 2000, covering everything from enterprise applications and FinTech to digital transformation.
Peter Moylan
Head of European Software Revenue, EMEA, Kx

With over 30 years of experience in the financial markets Peter Moylan has implemented and grown successful sales teams across the globe selling solutions to the financial services industry.
Prior to his term at Kx, he held the role of Global Head of Sales at NYSE Technologies; leading the function with an annual revenue of 500m USD. Before this time, Peter was at Reuters and then Thomson Reuters between 1992 and 2010; starting in account management, then Solution sales and sales management including a secondment to TIBCO finance technology. Peter was the regional sales director for Reuters based in Asia for 4 years – focused on their solutions businesses; including Risk Management, Order Routing solutions, Market data and professional services consulting.
He has been a Global Business Director responsible for delivering solutions to both HSBC and Deutsche Bank, and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Geology.
David Masters
Chief Data Officer, Global Prime Services, Société Générale

David Masters is a Director at Société Générale, working as the Chief Data Officer for SG International Limited (UK) and Prime Business (Global). He has over 23 years’ experience in data management, regulatory and asset management operations.
David’s current role focuses on building a data framework, in order to lead regulatory projects related to data management; ensuring that data quality is compliant with regulators’ requirements stated in BCBS 239; as well as ensuring that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is implemented in order for SGIL to be compliant. The focus is also to increase reliability of the data used by the business and contribute to optimize SGIL / PRM Global scarce resources’ management; and finally to set a roadmap concerning the monitoring and continuous improvement of data management.
His previous role as Referential Data Expert, involved as an SME in MiFIR and EMIR regulatory reporting and other non-financial regulatory reporting including Dodd-Frank, Canada, REMIT. There, David focused on various regulatory referential data initiatives such as counterparty and product referential data.
David also speaks regularly or else acts as chair / moderator at various industry forums and conferences.
David has been at Societe Generale Investment Bank London (formerly Newedge UK) for more than 7 years. He was previously at Goldman Sachs for over 16.5 years, working in Asset Management operations for 11 and more recently in Regulatory Operations for 5.5 years. David has a BSc Honours degree in Geology from Imperial College, London.
Jason Maude
Chief Technology Advocate, Starling Bank

Jason Maude is a coder, coach, and public speaker. He has over a decade of experience working in the financial sector, primarily in creating and delivering software. He is passionate about explaining complex technical concepts to those who are convinced that they won’t be able to understand them. He currently works at Starling Bank as their Chief Technology Advocate and host of the Starling podcast.
Madeline Bennett
Technology Journalist and Commentator
Madeline Bennett has been a technology journalist and commentator since 2000, covering everything from enterprise applications and FinTech to digital transformation.
Peter Moylan
Head of European Software Revenue, EMEA, Kx

With over 30 years of experience in the financial markets Peter Moylan has implemented and grown successful sales teams across the globe selling solutions to the financial services industry.
Prior to his term at Kx, he held the role of Global Head of Sales at NYSE Technologies; leading the function with an annual revenue of 500m USD. Before this time, Peter was at Reuters and then Thomson Reuters between 1992 and 2010; starting in account management, then Solution sales and sales management including a secondment to TIBCO finance technology. Peter was the regional sales director for Reuters based in Asia for 4 years – focused on their solutions businesses; including Risk Management, Order Routing solutions, Market data and professional services consulting.
He has been a Global Business Director responsible for delivering solutions to both HSBC and Deutsche Bank, and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Geology.
David Masters
Chief Data Officer, Global Prime Services, Société Générale

David Masters is a Director at Société Générale, working as the Chief Data Officer for SG International Limited (UK) and Prime Business (Global). He has over 23 years’ experience in data management, regulatory and asset management operations.
David’s current role focuses on building a data framework, in order to lead regulatory projects related to data management; ensuring that data quality is compliant with regulators’ requirements stated in BCBS 239; as well as ensuring that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is implemented in order for SGIL to be compliant. The focus is also to increase reliability of the data used by the business and contribute to optimize SGIL / PRM Global scarce resources’ management; and finally to set a roadmap concerning the monitoring and continuous improvement of data management.
His previous role as Referential Data Expert, involved as an SME in MiFIR and EMIR regulatory reporting and other non-financial regulatory reporting including Dodd-Frank, Canada, REMIT. There, David focused on various regulatory referential data initiatives such as counterparty and product referential data.
David also speaks regularly or else acts as chair / moderator at various industry forums and conferences.
David has been at Societe Generale Investment Bank London (formerly Newedge UK) for more than 7 years. He was previously at Goldman Sachs for over 16.5 years, working in Asset Management operations for 11 and more recently in Regulatory Operations for 5.5 years. David has a BSc Honours degree in Geology from Imperial College, London.
Jason Maude
Chief Technology Advocate, Starling Bank

Jason Maude is a coder, coach, and public speaker. He has over a decade of experience working in the financial sector, primarily in creating and delivering software. He is passionate about explaining complex technical concepts to those who are convinced that they won’t be able to understand them. He currently works at Starling Bank as their Chief Technology Advocate and host of the Starling podcast.
Madeline Bennett
Technology Journalist and Commentator
Madeline Bennett has been a technology journalist and commentator since 2000, covering everything from enterprise applications and FinTech to digital transformation.
Peter Moylan
Head of European Software Revenue, EMEA, Kx

With over 30 years of experience in the financial markets Peter Moylan has implemented and grown successful sales teams across the globe selling solutions to the financial services industry.
Prior to his term at Kx, he held the role of Global Head of Sales at NYSE Technologies; leading the function with an annual revenue of 500m USD. Before this time, Peter was at Reuters and then Thomson Reuters between 1992 and 2010; starting in account management, then Solution sales and sales management including a secondment to TIBCO finance technology. Peter was the regional sales director for Reuters based in Asia for 4 years – focused on their solutions businesses; including Risk Management, Order Routing solutions, Market data and professional services consulting.
He has been a Global Business Director responsible for delivering solutions to both HSBC and Deutsche Bank, and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Geology.
12:10 pm to 12:25 pm GMT
Cloud Computing Reaches for the Sky - Rationale, Challenges and Get Rights
Cloud computing means storing and accessing all information and data over the internet, instead of directly onto a personal device or a computer hard drive. The cloud can manage critical data, ensuring data can be restored and ‘bounce back’ in the event of a disaster. Hear from Lloyds Head of Risk across New Technology & Technology Change, give perspectives on:
- Why is everyone moving to the cloud?
- What are the key ‘watch outs’ for banks moving to the cloud?
- What are the major factors in successfully moving to and thriving in the cloud?
A. Johnson De Wet
Head of Risk across New Technology and Technology Change, Lloyds Banking Group

Prior to working at Lloyds, Angela worked At Deutsche Bank in the Cloud, Anti-Financial Crime Analytics, Data Quality and Finance Risk and Regulatory Reporting change and transformation teams.
Before joining Deutsche Bank, Angela worked as a Senior Manager at EY across Asia Pacific and EMEIA within the Financial Services Organisation focusing on Corporate Banking and Capital Markets transformation and advisory programmes. Angela started her career at IBM in Australia working as a developer, tester, designer and then business analyst and project manager.
Angela has an honours degree in Mechanical Engineering (Mechatronics / Robotics) and Computer Science from the University of Melbourne, Australia.
12:25 pm to 12:40 pm GMT
Survival of the Fastest - Do Banks Need to Think Like Tech Companies to Survive?
As the mobile banking landscape matures and Covid-19 greatly accelerates adoption, how should financial service providers react and adapt? Looking at how tech companies develop a culture of innovation and iterate fast can provide inspiration.
David Llewellyn
Marketing Director, EMEA, AppsFlyer

David Llewellyn is a full mix marketer with significant experience scaling high growth mobile technology businesses. Former roles with Shazam, Amazon, Skyscanner, FreeNow and Mobile Interactive Group, and now David leads marketing in EMEA for AppsFlyer.
12:40 pm to 12:50 pm GMT
Audience Q&A
A. Johnson De Wet
Head of Risk across New Technology and Technology Change, Lloyds Banking Group

Prior to working at Lloyds, Angela worked At Deutsche Bank in the Cloud, Anti-Financial Crime Analytics, Data Quality and Finance Risk and Regulatory Reporting change and transformation teams.
Before joining Deutsche Bank, Angela worked as a Senior Manager at EY across Asia Pacific and EMEIA within the Financial Services Organisation focusing on Corporate Banking and Capital Markets transformation and advisory programmes. Angela started her career at IBM in Australia working as a developer, tester, designer and then business analyst and project manager.
Angela has an honours degree in Mechanical Engineering (Mechatronics / Robotics) and Computer Science from the University of Melbourne, Australia.
Anna Maj
FinTech Leader | Senior Advisor Truffle Capital | Expert European Innovation Council
Anna brings twenty years of experience (including C-Level and NED roles) in driving and fostering banking and payments innovation in Europe, with a focus on CEE (Citigroup, T-Mobile, mBank, PwC).
Anna is building cooperation models between banks and Fintech startups, particularly with regard to Open Banking, Payments as well as AI projects. She is a Senior Advisor at Truffle Capital; Senator, Member of the Global Startup Committee at the WBAF – World Business Angels Investment Forum; and a Jury Member and Expert at the EU/EC European Innovation Council (EICAccelerator) aimed at financing innovative SMEs across the EU.
She is driving innovation in the European payments ecosystem. Introduced one of the first online payment gateways in the CEMEA region as well as the first digital wallet and the first mobile payment platform. Managed the implementation of the first local mobile banking app and the first mobile payments initiative. Anna was also a CEO of a local acquirer and payment institution. She combines hands-on experience with a global strategic approach across the sectors (Payments, FinTech, Consulting).
Featured in the TOP10 Women in FinTech (FinTech Magazine, Aug 2020); 100 Women in FinTech (100WFinTech) ; “TOP 25 Women Leaders in Financial Technology of 2019”.
Senior Lecturer CFTE – Centre for Finance, Technology & Entrepreneurship (Open Banking and Platforms in Finance, Conversational AI in Banking). Co-Author of The PAYTECH Book and The AI Book.
David Llewellyn
Marketing Director, EMEA, AppsFlyer

David Llewellyn is a full mix marketer with significant experience scaling high growth mobile technology businesses. Former roles with Shazam, Amazon, Skyscanner, FreeNow and Mobile Interactive Group, and now David leads marketing in EMEA for AppsFlyer.
A. Johnson De Wet
Head of Risk across New Technology and Technology Change, Lloyds Banking Group

Prior to working at Lloyds, Angela worked At Deutsche Bank in the Cloud, Anti-Financial Crime Analytics, Data Quality and Finance Risk and Regulatory Reporting change and transformation teams.
Before joining Deutsche Bank, Angela worked as a Senior Manager at EY across Asia Pacific and EMEIA within the Financial Services Organisation focusing on Corporate Banking and Capital Markets transformation and advisory programmes. Angela started her career at IBM in Australia working as a developer, tester, designer and then business analyst and project manager.
Angela has an honours degree in Mechanical Engineering (Mechatronics / Robotics) and Computer Science from the University of Melbourne, Australia.
Anna Maj
FinTech Leader | Senior Advisor Truffle Capital | Expert European Innovation Council
Anna brings twenty years of experience (including C-Level and NED roles) in driving and fostering banking and payments innovation in Europe, with a focus on CEE (Citigroup, T-Mobile, mBank, PwC).
Anna is building cooperation models between banks and Fintech startups, particularly with regard to Open Banking, Payments as well as AI projects. She is a Senior Advisor at Truffle Capital; Senator, Member of the Global Startup Committee at the WBAF – World Business Angels Investment Forum; and a Jury Member and Expert at the EU/EC European Innovation Council (EICAccelerator) aimed at financing innovative SMEs across the EU.
She is driving innovation in the European payments ecosystem. Introduced one of the first online payment gateways in the CEMEA region as well as the first digital wallet and the first mobile payment platform. Managed the implementation of the first local mobile banking app and the first mobile payments initiative. Anna was also a CEO of a local acquirer and payment institution. She combines hands-on experience with a global strategic approach across the sectors (Payments, FinTech, Consulting).
Featured in the TOP10 Women in FinTech (FinTech Magazine, Aug 2020); 100 Women in FinTech (100WFinTech) ; “TOP 25 Women Leaders in Financial Technology of 2019”.
Senior Lecturer CFTE – Centre for Finance, Technology & Entrepreneurship (Open Banking and Platforms in Finance, Conversational AI in Banking). Co-Author of The PAYTECH Book and The AI Book.
David Llewellyn
Marketing Director, EMEA, AppsFlyer

David Llewellyn is a full mix marketer with significant experience scaling high growth mobile technology businesses. Former roles with Shazam, Amazon, Skyscanner, FreeNow and Mobile Interactive Group, and now David leads marketing in EMEA for AppsFlyer.
A. Johnson De Wet
Head of Risk across New Technology and Technology Change, Lloyds Banking Group

Prior to working at Lloyds, Angela worked At Deutsche Bank in the Cloud, Anti-Financial Crime Analytics, Data Quality and Finance Risk and Regulatory Reporting change and transformation teams.
Before joining Deutsche Bank, Angela worked as a Senior Manager at EY across Asia Pacific and EMEIA within the Financial Services Organisation focusing on Corporate Banking and Capital Markets transformation and advisory programmes. Angela started her career at IBM in Australia working as a developer, tester, designer and then business analyst and project manager.
Angela has an honours degree in Mechanical Engineering (Mechatronics / Robotics) and Computer Science from the University of Melbourne, Australia.
Anna Maj
FinTech Leader | Senior Advisor Truffle Capital | Expert European Innovation Council
Anna brings twenty years of experience (including C-Level and NED roles) in driving and fostering banking and payments innovation in Europe, with a focus on CEE (Citigroup, T-Mobile, mBank, PwC).
Anna is building cooperation models between banks and Fintech startups, particularly with regard to Open Banking, Payments as well as AI projects. She is a Senior Advisor at Truffle Capital; Senator, Member of the Global Startup Committee at the WBAF – World Business Angels Investment Forum; and a Jury Member and Expert at the EU/EC European Innovation Council (EICAccelerator) aimed at financing innovative SMEs across the EU.
She is driving innovation in the European payments ecosystem. Introduced one of the first online payment gateways in the CEMEA region as well as the first digital wallet and the first mobile payment platform. Managed the implementation of the first local mobile banking app and the first mobile payments initiative. Anna was also a CEO of a local acquirer and payment institution. She combines hands-on experience with a global strategic approach across the sectors (Payments, FinTech, Consulting).
Featured in the TOP10 Women in FinTech (FinTech Magazine, Aug 2020); 100 Women in FinTech (100WFinTech) ; “TOP 25 Women Leaders in Financial Technology of 2019”.
Senior Lecturer CFTE – Centre for Finance, Technology & Entrepreneurship (Open Banking and Platforms in Finance, Conversational AI in Banking). Co-Author of The PAYTECH Book and The AI Book.
David Llewellyn
Marketing Director, EMEA, AppsFlyer

David Llewellyn is a full mix marketer with significant experience scaling high growth mobile technology businesses. Former roles with Shazam, Amazon, Skyscanner, FreeNow and Mobile Interactive Group, and now David leads marketing in EMEA for AppsFlyer.
12:50 pm to 1:05 pm GMT
Track 1 - Digital Transformation and How to Get Ahead
Fireside Chat: The Disruption of Fintech
The digital revolution and the continuous development of emerging technologies is significantly transforming the ways customers act when accessing financial services. Fintech is the most current and prevailing trend across the industry, even though it is causing disruption to traditional methods and the value chain of organisations. Hear from a leading industry expert explore:
- FinTech Vs traditional banking – the differences
- How banks are using FinTech
- Why do banks need to use FinTech?
- Why is FinTech the future?
Moderated by Matt Cullen
Matt Cullen
Head of Business Insight, Staysure Group

Matt Cullen joined Staysure Group as Head of Business Insight in January 2021.
He is an experienced facilitator, splitting his time between chairing and moderating events and being Chief of Staff at the Blockchain & Climate Institute. Previously, as Head of Strategy at the Association of British Insurers, he provided thought leadership on the big challenges and opportunities facing the insurance industry, and led on public policy topics including Open Finance and insurers’ use of data.
Earlier in his career, Matt led the development of the UK flood insurance scheme, Flood Re, building stakeholder support for the model, working on its negotiation, and leading the project team implementing the scheme. Matt began his career in the nuclear industry after reading Geography and Management at Cambridge University.
Rajan Bansi
President and CEO, RBC InvestEase

Rajan Bansi is President and CEO of RBC InvestEase, which is RBC’s recently launched robo-advisor where he also serves as Lead Portfolio Manager and UDP. Rajan is a CFA charterholder who obtained his MBA from Pepperdine University and an undergraduate degree in economics at the University of Toronto. An active member of the community, Rajan currently serves on the board of the Toronto Public Library Foundation and the organizing committee of the Writers Trust Gala.
Matt Cullen
Head of Business Insight, Staysure Group

Matt Cullen joined Staysure Group as Head of Business Insight in January 2021.
He is an experienced facilitator, splitting his time between chairing and moderating events and being Chief of Staff at the Blockchain & Climate Institute. Previously, as Head of Strategy at the Association of British Insurers, he provided thought leadership on the big challenges and opportunities facing the insurance industry, and led on public policy topics including Open Finance and insurers’ use of data.
Earlier in his career, Matt led the development of the UK flood insurance scheme, Flood Re, building stakeholder support for the model, working on its negotiation, and leading the project team implementing the scheme. Matt began his career in the nuclear industry after reading Geography and Management at Cambridge University.
Rajan Bansi
President and CEO, RBC InvestEase

Rajan Bansi is President and CEO of RBC InvestEase, which is RBC’s recently launched robo-advisor where he also serves as Lead Portfolio Manager and UDP. Rajan is a CFA charterholder who obtained his MBA from Pepperdine University and an undergraduate degree in economics at the University of Toronto. An active member of the community, Rajan currently serves on the board of the Toronto Public Library Foundation and the organizing committee of the Writers Trust Gala.
Track 2 - All things 'Tech'! - InsurTech, FinTech & RegTech
InsurTech
For many years the insurance industry has remained under the same structure and following the same procedures, retaining traditional techniques and methods. However, these traditions have been challenged, as the new occurrence of technologies and digital transformation is gradually being implemented. Join this presentation to hear discussions around:
- The impacts of InsurTech on the industry
- The advantages of InsurTech
- The consequences of Brexit on InsurTech
- CyberSecurity
Tracey Smith
Head of Fintech and Insurtech, Covéa Insurance

Tracey Smith has over 10 years experience working in the insurance sector with a focus on strategy and innovation. Tracey has expertise in the InsurTech and FinTech ecosystem in the UK and globally. She is experienced in leading people, developing products and propositions, developing strategies & business models, consulting and M&A including start-up investments. Tracey is a creative thinker, with cross sector experience, focused on enabling collaboration and decision making to drive the best results.
1:05 pm to 1:35 pm GMT
Round Tables
Round Table 1 - Blockchain as a building block for distributed applications
Take part in this interactive round table discussion…
Blockchain is a foundational technology that enables data to be shared by multiple participants without being compromised by bad actors since updates can only be made if consensus is achieved by at least two thirds of the nodes in the network. Financial services has a consistent track record of pioneering middleware technology and is doing so once again with blockchain and distributed ledger technologies. This session will explore:
- The benefits of permissioned blockchains
- The drawbacks of permissioned blockchains
- The case for smart contracts
- The case for blockchain-based file systems
Duncan Johnston-Watt
CEO and Co-Founder, BTP

Duncan is a regular keynote speaker, experienced entrepreneur and technology pioneer with over 30 years experience in the software industry. His latest venture is BTP, a leading enterprise blockchain company that brings the benefits of smart contracts and blockchain to business by providing a management platform, Sextant, that radically simplifies the deployment and ongoing management of distributed applications.
BTP has a strategic partnership with Digital Asset, creator of the open source smart contract language DAML, and its customers include the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and Quantum Materials Corp. BTP is a founding member of the InterWork Alliance (IWA) and an active member of the Global Business Blockchain Council, Hyperledger, Cloud Native Computing Foundation and closer to home ScotlandIS and techUK.
Duncan is the chair of the IWA’s Analytics Framework technical working group and a member of its Sustainability business working group. Duncan holds an MSc in Computation from Oxford University where he was a graduate student at Balliol College.
Round Table 2 - Regulation & RegTech
Take part in this interactive round table discussion…
Since the financial crisis, regulation has expanded at an exceeding rate, with regulators progressively opening up and looking for advanced and more efficient ways to cooperate. Global collaboration between RegTech companies, financial institutions and regulators is fundamental to overcome obstacles within RegTech. Hear from a subject matter expert delve into:
- The potential of RegTech
- Collaboration using big data
- How are regulators balancing between consumer protection and promoting innovation?
- Do firms need to be more data transparent when they implement tools and comply with data requests?
Ross Cameron
Head of Regulatory Developments, NatWest Group

Ross is Head of Regulatory Developments at NatWest Group, where his responsibilities include assessing the regulatory landscape and identifying any implications for the bank’s strategy and operations. He has been with NatWest Group for 15 years, holding senior roles across Economics, Strategy and Communications. Prior to his current role, Ross was responsible for providing strategic communications advice to the Group CEO. Ross is also a member of the CBI Financial Services Council and regularly represents the bank with trade associations and other key stakeholders.
Round Table 3 - Innovation in Transformation - Learnings from the high paced tech industry
Take part in this interactive round table discussion…
As with any strategic business function, operating in a silo is never likely to drive success. The need for rapid evolution in digital banking services has never been so critical as it is today. Join this roundtable session to discuss:
- How tech companies leverage cross-functional, integrated growth models to innovate at pace
- Digital Transformation Success Stories
- How Financial Institutions can leverage mobile
- Acquiring new customers digitally
David Llewellyn
Marketing Director, EMEA, AppsFlyer

David Llewellyn is a full mix marketer with significant experience scaling high growth mobile technology businesses. Former roles with Shazam, Amazon, Skyscanner, FreeNow and Mobile Interactive Group, and now David leads marketing in EMEA for AppsFlyer.
1:35 pm to 1:50 pm GMT
Track 1 - Digital Transformation and How to Get Ahead
First-hand Experiences: Banking Disrupters
Nicola Vidal
Chief Marketing Officer, VibePay

Nicola is the Chief Marketing Officer for VibePay, and has 20 years’ experience with UK start-ups. Nicola has a proven track record building start-ups including planning, management, commercial, business development and processes. Nicola is responsible for product launch, P&L and cross channel marketing and delivering against aggressive growth targets.
Track 2 - All things 'Tech'! - InsurTech, FinTech & RegTech
First-hand Experiences: Insurance Disrupters
Tobias Taupitz
CEO & Co-Founder, LAKA Insurance