2024 agenda
Welcome from the chair
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David Harrison
Founder
PaySavi
David Harrison
Founder
PaySavi
March 19th 2024-
09:00amWelcome from the chair
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11:40amVertical growth and opportunities work streams
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12:15pmRoundtables
David has over 25 years’ experience in the payments industry and was previously with a major UK Commercial Card issuer before being asked to join Visa Europe. He held a series of senior leadership positions including Head of Commercial Card Products, Head of Government Services, Head of European Market Development and Regulatory Workstream leader. David established PaySavi in 2018 to develop payment optimisation solutions for scheme, issuer, fintech and business association clients in EMEA, North America and Asia Pacific. PaySavi is also an approved supplier of Payment Consultancy Services to UK Government organisations. Since 2021, David has been working with Hi55, a new platform financing the payroll of any employer, whilst paying their staff sooner, and is currently Head of Cards & Payments.
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Global landscape: Global economic trends and the geopolitical challenges across Europe
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Kate Parker
Senior analyst
Economist Intelligence Unit
Kate Parker
Senior analyst
Economist Intelligence Unit
March 19th 2024Kate has worked on country risk across a variety of geographic regions for over 20 years. She currently covers Europe but also has extensive experience in Latin America and the Middle East & Africa. She manages the EIU’s Financial Risk services for Europe, producing sovereign credit ratings and assessing how political and economic risk affect creditworthiness. She has a wealth of external-facing experience, ranging from client presentations, conference work and ambassadorial briefings. She also writes regularly for The Economist, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) and the Huffington Post, among others. She has edited several of the books in the ‘Economist Guides’ series.
Regulation
Panel Discussion: Examining outstanding challenges of Payment Services Directive 3 (PSD 3) in commercial payments in Europe and how to prepare for it
Addressing the anticipated changes, the importance of having a consistent model approach.
Assessing how the legislation will shape the future and what to expect in practice.
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Dan Baker
Executive director, product head payment rails and value added services for Europe, Middle East and Africa
J.P. Morgan Payments
Dan Baker
Executive director, product head payment rails and value added services for Europe, Middle East and Africa
J.P. Morgan PaymentsMarch 19th 2024-
09:40amRegulation
Dan Baker is the Product Head for Payment Rails and Value Added Services for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) within the Payments & Commerce business at J.P. Morgan. The Payments & Commerce business combines Global Payments and Merchant Acquiring to provide integrated solutions to clients around the globe.
Dan has over 20 years’ experience within the Payments business covering both operational and product domains. Dan is currently leading a team of Payments Product managers responsible for payment rails in over 120 currencies, across 13 countries including direct connectivity to major financial market infrastructures; Euro1/Target2, STEP2/RT1, CHAPS, Pay U.K, CLS and domestic clearings across the region. His team is also responsible for value added services which includes Open Banking Pay by Bank capabilities.
Dan is an active industry participant, representing J.P. Morgan as part of the European Payments Counsel’s General Assembly.
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Max Savoie
Partner
Sidley Austin LLP
Max Savoie
Partner
Sidley Austin LLPMarch 19th 2024-
09:40amRegulation
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José Luis Navarro Llorens
Head of strategy open banking
BBVA
José Luis Navarro Llorens
Head of strategy open banking
BBVAJose Luis joined BBVA in 2010 and worked in various roles, Head of IT Asia, with the expansion of the bank in China, Head of IT for Consumer finance global, and since 2018 in strategy of Open Banking global for BBVA.
Has accumulated over 20 years of international experience in Project and Program Management, Business Consulting, Application Architecture, Operations and finally Strategy. Jose Luis worked with large national and international Financial Institutions: Cajamadrid (now BANKIA) , BBVA and Santander (Spain), Bancomer (Mexico), Banca Mora (Andorra), WLB (Hong Kong), BEA (Hong Kong) and BBVA (Hong Kong, China and Global unit)
Coming from a heavy background in technology and Consumer finance Jose Luis is a convinced and enthusiastic supporter of the Open Banking and Embedded Finance as the next logical steps for achieving a banking without borders
Moderator
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David Harrison
Founder
PaySavi
David Harrison
Founder
PaySavi
March 19th 2024-
09:00amWelcome from the chair
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11:40amVertical growth and opportunities work streams
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12:15pmRoundtables
David has over 25 years’ experience in the payments industry and was previously with a major UK Commercial Card issuer before being asked to join Visa Europe. He held a series of senior leadership positions including Head of Commercial Card Products, Head of Government Services, Head of European Market Development and Regulatory Workstream leader. David established PaySavi in 2018 to develop payment optimisation solutions for scheme, issuer, fintech and business association clients in EMEA, North America and Asia Pacific. PaySavi is also an approved supplier of Payment Consultancy Services to UK Government organisations. Since 2021, David has been working with Hi55, a new platform financing the payroll of any employer, whilst paying their staff sooner, and is currently Head of Cards & Payments.
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Networking break - sponsored by Inlogik
Empowering customisation and boosting returns with embedded finance
How can businesses create embedded platforms, solutions, and technologies to enhance the 5 star customer payment experience? Join this panel in analysing Banking-as-a-Service use cases and gain valuable perspectives in providing embedded offerings to corporate, middle market and SME customers and take a deep dive in strategies for monetizing APIs in the context of embedded finance. Finally, explore future predictions for checkout experiences and how AI could help in embedded finance.
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Brian Tomkins
Global head of commercial cards
HSBC
Brian Tomkins
Global head of commercial cards
HSBCMarch 19th 2024Brian Tomkins is Global head of commercial cards for HSBC’s Global payments solutions business. He leads the business, strategy, product development, and commercialisation for the full suite of Card products and solutions and has been with HSBC for 10 years. Prior to joining HSBC, Brian spent 15 years at Citi, where he held various senior roles in Europe and the U.S.
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Clive Cornelius
Head of travel & entertainment, procurement commercial products
Visa Commercial Solutions
Clive Cornelius
Head of travel & entertainment, procurement commercial products
Visa Commercial Solutions
March 19th 2024Clive joined Visa in 2018 to lead the travel segment for Visa business solutions in Europe, owning all travel-related issuer products and has recently also taken on responsibility for Procurement payment products. He has more than 15 years of experience in the business travel industry. Prior to joining Visa, Clive was Senior Director, Global Card Products for Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) where he was responsible for CWT’s card product portfolio, managing the relationships with the banks and networks that clients use, and delivering card products and services to ensure a smooth payment process for travel booked via CWT. Clive’s experience in travel also includes roles at Travelport and ebookers.
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Paul Staples
Head of corporate embedded banking
ClearBank
Paul Staples
Head of corporate embedded banking
ClearBankMarch 19th 2024Paul Staples is the Head of embedded banking at ClearBank and has had a 20-year career founding, building and scaling tech and business platforms across multiple industries including banks. Paul has been involved in Banking as a Service and embedded banking for many years and is an active commentator and advocate for safe and well-regulated embedded finance.
Prior to joining ClearBank in 2023, he was an advisor to several PE and VC firms and was formerly one of the founders of HSBC’s Global Embedded Banking business. At HSBC, he was charged with building and scaling the business by solving complex banking needs for customers and in doing so, unlocked value for all parties involved.
Paul has also founded several technology companies over the years, from oil and gas market places during the dot.com days and carbon depository solutions, to more recently building a SaaS platform that solves the complexity of the logistics for ports and construction sites not for last mile but last foot.
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Kasper Guul Laursen
SVP partner sales
Cardlay
Kasper Guul Laursen
SVP partner sales
CardlayMarch 19th 2024Kasper Guul Laursen is the SVP Sales and Partnerships of the Danish fintech scale-up Cardlay. With presence in Europe and US, Cardlay has disrupted the fintech industry by enabling both regional issuers and some of the worlds largest financial institutions and technology corporations to launch new digital innovative solution catering for both SMEs and global entreprises. Cardlay’s modular spend management platform enables banks, tech companies, fleet and mobility providers to launch digital corporate payment solutions seamlessly on top of
existing offerings, allowing companies to streamline ways of working with full control. As SVP Sales and Partnerships at Cardlay, Kasper has served in this role since beginning of 2022 driving the strategy of creating a global network integration and distribution model towards banks, mobility, tech and system integrators. Prior to joining Cardlay, he has served in various leading commercial roles at global B2B software companies.
Moderator
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Greg Toussaint
Director
Edgar, Dunn & Company
Greg Toussaint
Director
Edgar, Dunn & Company
March 19th 2024Greg Toussaint is a Director in the Paris office with Greg 15 years of consulting experience with EDC in business strategy for clients in Asia, Europe, North and South America. Grégoire has worked in EDC London’s, Sydney’s and Paris’ offices and developed global perspectives on payments.
Within EDC, Greg leads EDC’s B2B Payments Practice and has developed specific expertise in retail and travel payments, working for all actors in the payments value chain (e.g. central banks, issuers, acquirers, payment schemes, merchants and payment providers). Outside of work, Greg plays the saxophone and loves baking cakes.
Vertical growth and opportunities work streams
These roundtables focus on the key areas of payment challenges and technologies that are evolving in the following vertical themes: Delegates please select one.
• Healthcare – Simon Jones, Independent payments Consultant
• Travel – Patrick Diemer, Senior adviser, Arthur D. Little
• Fleet and mobility – Greg Toussaint, Director, Edgar, Dunn & Company
• Media – Malte Rau, CEO and Co-Founder, Pliant
• Education – Frank Martien, Founder, Windward Strategy
• Construction – David Harrison, Founder, PaySavi
• Employee benefits – Duncan Kennet, Head of new verticals, Visa Business Solutions Europe, Visa
• Insurance/ InsurTech – Alex Mifsud, CEO, Weavr
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Simon Jones
Independent payments
Consultant
Simon Jones
Independent payments
ConsultantSimon has over 30 years of experience in finance, treasury and transaction banking across both developed and emerging markets. Simon was previously Chief Customer Officer at ClearBank and lead the client management, product & marketing teams at the UK’s first cloud based infrastructure clearing bank.
Prior to joining ClearBank in 2019, Simon spent over 20 years at JPMorgan. During his time at the bank, he was responsible for treasury solutions in EMEA, supporting clients around the world. He was also Head of Corporate Sales in EMEA from 2012 to 2015 and Asia Regional Executive for Treasury Services from 2006 to 2010, based in Hong Kong.
Simon is actively involved in UK FinTech as a Mentor for TechStars Accelerator programme.
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Patrick Diemer
Chairman, European business travel association and senior advisor
Arthur D. Little
Patrick Diemer
Chairman, European business travel association and senior advisor
Arthur D. Little
Patrick is senior advisor at Arthur Dr. Little managing consulting firm. He also active as business angel, board member and investor in travel & payment start-ups. Patrick was CEO at Lufthansa AirPlus where he headed their global expansion strategy and developed AirPlus into one of the leading commercial card issuers. Earlier he led Visa Germany, and was SVP consumer marketing at Commerzbank. In his career he worked in the USA, UK and Germany, several times in start/scale-ups. He holds a Master of economics degree of Hamburg University. 2017 Patrick was named one of the ‘25 most influential’ by Business travel news. Currently Patrick volunteers for VDR, the German business travel association. He leads their task force ‘restart business travel’.
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Greg Toussaint
Director
Edgar, Dunn & Company
Greg Toussaint
Director
Edgar, Dunn & Company
March 19th 2024Greg Toussaint is a Director in the Paris office with Greg 15 years of consulting experience with EDC in business strategy for clients in Asia, Europe, North and South America. Grégoire has worked in EDC London’s, Sydney’s and Paris’ offices and developed global perspectives on payments.
Within EDC, Greg leads EDC’s B2B Payments Practice and has developed specific expertise in retail and travel payments, working for all actors in the payments value chain (e.g. central banks, issuers, acquirers, payment schemes, merchants and payment providers). Outside of work, Greg plays the saxophone and loves baking cakes.
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Malte Rau
CEO
Pliant
Malte Rau
CEO
PliantMarch 19th 2024In the last decade I focused on closing the gap between risk management and business development for several banks and fintechs in- as well as outside of Germany. I recently co-founded Pliant to make corporate credit cards as easy to use as they should be, and fix climate harming card incentives while solving the complexity of payments and lending at the same time.
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Frank Martien
Founder
Windward Strategy
Frank Martien
Founder
Windward Strategy
Strategy consulting and M&A advisory for payments has been Frank’s career since 1996 when he joined the boutique firm First Annapolis Consulting, Inc. (“FA”) where he focused on card strategy, launch, and optimization for networks, national & regional financial institutions, technology companies, and private equity firms in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Latin America. Following the acquisition of FA in 2017, Frank continued as a Managing Director within Accenture Strategy on the payments team. Windward Strategy, Inc. was founded by him in 2020 to provide strategy consulting with a focus on B2B payments.
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David Harrison
Founder
PaySavi
David Harrison
Founder
PaySavi
March 19th 2024-
09:00amWelcome from the chair
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11:40amVertical growth and opportunities work streams
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12:15pmRoundtables
David has over 25 years’ experience in the payments industry and was previously with a major UK Commercial Card issuer before being asked to join Visa Europe. He held a series of senior leadership positions including Head of Commercial Card Products, Head of Government Services, Head of European Market Development and Regulatory Workstream leader. David established PaySavi in 2018 to develop payment optimisation solutions for scheme, issuer, fintech and business association clients in EMEA, North America and Asia Pacific. PaySavi is also an approved supplier of Payment Consultancy Services to UK Government organisations. Since 2021, David has been working with Hi55, a new platform financing the payroll of any employer, whilst paying their staff sooner, and is currently Head of Cards & Payments.
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Duncan Kennett
Head of new verticals
Visa Commercial Solutions
Duncan Kennett
Head of new verticals
Visa Commercial SolutionsMarch 19th 2024Duncan has a career in payments that started with working in corporate transaction banking in Australia across a variety of products. On moving to the UK, he then started his career in commercial cards by working in the government field, then joined J.P. Morgan commercial cards as part of the Europe launch team, and from there to Bank of America, again in the early stages of product launch in Europe. He then worked in a variety of roles for Vocalink, including in the data science team, before joining Visa. He now manages development of solutions into new industry verticals.
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Alex Mifsud
CEO
Weavr
Alex Mifsud
CEO
WeavrMarch 19th 2024
Lunch and networking
Presentation: The evolution of commercial payment models
Fintechs have emerged as a key player in commercial payments, but what are the key trends driving this change? We will be highlighting new use cases and implications of modernising traditional payment models. Learn about the importance of modernised platforms and the benefits they can drive for corporations.
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Laura Shelton
Head of travel commercial payments, file services and MIS
Discover Global Network
Laura Shelton
Head of travel commercial payments, file services and MIS
Discover Global NetworkMarch 19th 2024Laura has more than 10 years of experience in commercial payments and more than 15 years in the business travel industry. A seasoned product manager, Laura is currently the Head of Travel Commercial Payments, File Services and MIS for Discover Global Network. With a product portfolio of solutions including Virtual Card Number, Corporate Card, and Travel Accounts for both large market and SME.
Innovation and market insight are at the core of Laura’s approach. Passionate about staying ahead of emerging trends to drive product strategy, Laura is driven by identifying new opportunities, translating insights, and breaking down complex products into simplified solutions, all with a focus on new product ideation and strategy.
Laura holds a Master of Arts degree from New Mexico State University in Communication Studies with an emphasis in Intercultural Communication and is currently based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Moderator
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Greg Toussaint
Director
Edgar, Dunn & Company
Greg Toussaint
Director
Edgar, Dunn & Company
March 19th 2024Greg Toussaint is a Director in the Paris office with Greg 15 years of consulting experience with EDC in business strategy for clients in Asia, Europe, North and South America. Grégoire has worked in EDC London’s, Sydney’s and Paris’ offices and developed global perspectives on payments.
Within EDC, Greg leads EDC’s B2B Payments Practice and has developed specific expertise in retail and travel payments, working for all actors in the payments value chain (e.g. central banks, issuers, acquirers, payment schemes, merchants and payment providers). Outside of work, Greg plays the saxophone and loves baking cakes.
Future of card payments – is the card still the optimal choice?
Delve into the evolving realm of card payments as we consider the continued efficiency of virtual cards within the payment landscape. Assess alternative payment methods like instant credit transfers and open banking, examining the trade-offs and customer preferences.
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Marc Pettican
Head of Barclaycard Payments
Barclaycard Payments
Marc Pettican
Head of Barclaycard Payments
Barclaycard PaymentsMarch 19th 2024Marc Pettican is currently Head of Payments for Barclaycard Payments. The strategic focus of this area is enabling businesses of all sizes, from SMEs to Multinational Corporate, to make and take payments, leveraging Barclays’ market leading acquiring and issuing capabilities. With over 30 years of experience in the payments arena, Marc has witnessed significant technology developments and innovation across the industry, and has often been a driving force in shaping new propositions for merchants (such as NFC, EMV, Data Security, eCommerce, Virtual Payments). He has undertaken a succession of senior sales, management, and leadership roles in Barclaycard, including overseeing the integration of The Logic Group, a gateway technology provider, into Barclaycard. Most recently, Marc was Head of Barclaycard Payments, responsible for all aspects of commercial activity, including Issuing, Acquiring and the growing area of Partnerships.
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Mark Evans
Head of cross border payments
HSBC
Mark Evans
Head of cross border payments
HSBCMarch 19th 2024Mark Evans is the Head of cross-border and cross currency payments for Global payment solutions at HSBC.
Based in London, Mark leads a team specialising in cross-border payment solutions for banks, corporate and commercial clients.
With over 20 years’ experience with the HSBC Group, Mark has held senior positions in consumer, commercial and corporate banking at HSBC, specialising in the research, development and deployment of digitally orientated services since the late 90’s. A founder member of HSBC’s digital team, Mark was instrumental in the early development of innovative banking services across multiple platforms, providing new services for HSBC’s clients in multiple sectors and geographies.
Prior to him being based in London, Mark was in Mexico City and oversaw the build-out of HSBC’s cash management services in Latin America, leading the deployment of digital services for corporate treasury, shared service centres and payment factories.
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David Voss
Managing director, head of EMEA commercial card
Bank of America
David Voss
Managing director, head of EMEA commercial card
Bank of AmericaMarch 19th 2024 -
Paola Mulder-Kaalen
Senior customer journey expert tribe payments / commercial cards
ING
Paola Mulder-Kaalen
Senior customer journey expert tribe payments / commercial cards
INGMarch 19th 2024Paola is a seasoned payment expert at ING Bank with over 25 years of invaluable experience in the payments industry. Her career has been marked by a relentless pursuit of innovation, particularly in the realm of (virtual) cards. She is deeply committed to driving digitalization initiatives, ensuring a customer centric approach in every solution she crafts. Her professional journey honed her skills in business development, enabling to strategically navigate the dynamic landscape of payments. Results-driven and dedicated, she thrives on creating strategic solutions that not only meet but exceed expectations. She joined ING commercial cards in 2020, prior to that Paola held several product and business development roles in Europe at ING and other prominent payment companies.
Moderator
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Greg Toussaint
Director
Edgar, Dunn & Company
Greg Toussaint
Director
Edgar, Dunn & Company
March 19th 2024Greg Toussaint is a Director in the Paris office with Greg 15 years of consulting experience with EDC in business strategy for clients in Asia, Europe, North and South America. Grégoire has worked in EDC London’s, Sydney’s and Paris’ offices and developed global perspectives on payments.
Within EDC, Greg leads EDC’s B2B Payments Practice and has developed specific expertise in retail and travel payments, working for all actors in the payments value chain (e.g. central banks, issuers, acquirers, payment schemes, merchants and payment providers). Outside of work, Greg plays the saxophone and loves baking cakes.
Deep dive into virtual cards in travel
Navigating the intricacies of the travel industry, a multifaceted vertical with diverse stakeholders (engaged in the production and distribution of travel services) requires a nuanced approach. In the current market, we will delve into the nuances of business travel – exploring specificities, seizing opportunities, and fostering further growth in this dynamic sector. Examine the concepts of business travel and the role of virtual cards within the realm of business travel and look at how virtual cards can effectively capitalise on the business travel opportunity. However, there are challenges to overcome to further expand the market and key initiatives are needed to boost virtual cards volumes.
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Nesrin Rachid
Senior customer journey expert tribe payments / commercial cards
ING
Nesrin Rachid
Senior customer journey expert tribe payments / commercial cards
INGMarch 19th 2024Nesrin has over 20 years extensive experience in the payments industry in commercial, strategic and product roles. Together with her teams she delivered multi-million euro’s results across markets. She is as passionate about people as about payments. Leading teams, clients and partners to results and growth. With her ‘can do’ mentality she has driven and adopted many strategic innovations based on client needs and centricity.
Nesrin joined ING Commercial Cards in 2011 where the business grew double digits year on year. Rolling out different solutions into many markets in Europe in different currencies establishing ING as a large European issuer.
Prior to ING Bank, Nesrin held several global relationship and business development roles within American Express.
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Ziad Minkara
CEO
CDS Groupe
Ziad Minkara
CEO
CDS GroupeMarch 19th 2024A graduate of the Higher Institute of Management in the multinational cycle, Ziad is the co-founder of CDS Groupe.
A convinced entrepreneur, Ziad positions his company at the heart of the concerns of travel buyers and travel managers.
With a wealth of international experience, he brings to the team a vision of the world and global issues within a French structure.
A man of conviction and passion, Ziad is strongly personally committed to the Francophonie and multiculturalism.
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Ashley Bowling
Vice president, business development Europe
Mastercard
Ashley Bowling
Vice president, business development Europe
MastercardMarch 19th 2024-
02:30pmDeep dive into virtual cards in travel
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03:15pmVirtual cards in B2B market
Ashley Bowling is Vice president of the commercial solutions business development, Europe at Mastercard. He is based in London and leads a team of payments and B2B acceptance specialists across Europe who work with strategic issuers and technology partners to support new commercial growth opportunities. Ashley has nearly 20 years’ experience in the commercial payments industry having worked across the T&E, B2B, and cross border payments segments. Before joining Mastercard Ashley spent several years American Express where he held roles in business development, relationship management & strategy. Ashley’ s early career also included leadership roles in internet technology and ERP systems sales.
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Greg Thompson
Chief commercial officer
Dataflexnet Limited
Greg Thompson
Chief commercial officer
Dataflexnet Limited
March 19th 2024
Moderator
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Patrick Diemer
Chairman, European business travel association and senior advisor
Arthur D. Little
Patrick Diemer
Chairman, European business travel association and senior advisor
Arthur D. Little
Patrick is senior advisor at Arthur Dr. Little managing consulting firm. He also active as business angel, board member and investor in travel & payment start-ups. Patrick was CEO at Lufthansa AirPlus where he headed their global expansion strategy and developed AirPlus into one of the leading commercial card issuers. Earlier he led Visa Germany, and was SVP consumer marketing at Commerzbank. In his career he worked in the USA, UK and Germany, several times in start/scale-ups. He holds a Master of economics degree of Hamburg University. 2017 Patrick was named one of the ‘25 most influential’ by Business travel news. Currently Patrick volunteers for VDR, the German business travel association. He leads their task force ‘restart business travel’.
Virtual cards in B2B market
B2B payments are undergoing a substantial transformation, with a notable focus on the evolution of virtual cards. However, with rapid transformation often comes confusion and the key benefits sometimes get lost in the noise. Join this panel to discuss how virtual cards are transforming rebates, working capital and extended payment terms – which key industry verticals are leading the charge and what strategies can be employed to expedite the widespread adoption of virtual cards.
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Linda Weston
Managing director, head of commercial cards
Barclaycard Payments
Linda Weston
Managing director, head of commercial cards
Barclaycard Payments
Linda Weston, Managing Director and Head of Commercial Cards, has over 20 years’ experience in the Payments industry. In her current role she leads the development and cultivation of excellent commercial payment solutions. Linda’s mission is to instil excellence and transformative product management competence across the product organisation and provide clear strategic direction that ensures focus on initiatives that drive demonstratable value to customers,
colleagues and the company. Since joining Barclaycard in 2014 Linda has led a transformational migration programme, driven the development of a number of critical and inventive capabilities and now leads the commercial card business. Prior to joining Barclaycard Linda held roles at a number of prominent Payments companies where she held a variety of product and operational roles. -
David Novak
Account management and client optimisation, corporate cards, Continental Europe
HSBC
David Novak
Account management and client optimisation, corporate cards, Continental Europe
HSBCMarch 19th 2024-
03:15pmVirtual cards in B2B market
David Novak is managing HSBC Commercial Cards’ account management and optimisation business across Continental Europe. He is based in Paris and is responsible to grow the strategic pan-European book, helping customers and prospects achieve their goals in terms of card adoption. Prior to joining HSBC, David spent his career at American Express, in Paris and in London, where he held roles in relationship management and business development with a specific focus on global corporate clients, including major French groups.
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Ashley Bowling
Vice president, business development Europe
Mastercard
Ashley Bowling
Vice president, business development Europe
MastercardMarch 19th 2024-
02:30pmDeep dive into virtual cards in travel
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03:15pmVirtual cards in B2B market
Ashley Bowling is Vice president of the commercial solutions business development, Europe at Mastercard. He is based in London and leads a team of payments and B2B acceptance specialists across Europe who work with strategic issuers and technology partners to support new commercial growth opportunities. Ashley has nearly 20 years’ experience in the commercial payments industry having worked across the T&E, B2B, and cross border payments segments. Before joining Mastercard Ashley spent several years American Express where he held roles in business development, relationship management & strategy. Ashley’ s early career also included leadership roles in internet technology and ERP systems sales.
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Rene Stynen
SVP, business development, EMEA
Boost
Rene Stynen
SVP, business development, EMEA
BoostMarch 19th 2024-
03:15pmVirtual cards in B2B market
Rene Stynen joined Boost Payment Solutions in 2006 to help build its business in EMEA, APAC and LAC, and currently serves as Head of business development for EMEA. Rene has 30 years of experience in commercial payments this year, starting out initially with Diners Club International, and prior to Boost having served in various roles at Citibank, as Head of large market & public sector products at Mastercard Europe, and as senior consultant at Paytech Group.
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Moderator
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Frank Martien
Founder
Windward Strategy
Frank Martien
Founder
Windward Strategy
Strategy consulting and M&A advisory for payments has been Frank’s career since 1996 when he joined the boutique firm First Annapolis Consulting, Inc. (“FA”) where he focused on card strategy, launch, and optimization for networks, national & regional financial institutions, technology companies, and private equity firms in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Latin America. Following the acquisition of FA in 2017, Frank continued as a Managing Director within Accenture Strategy on the payments team. Windward Strategy, Inc. was founded by him in 2020 to provide strategy consulting with a focus on B2B payments.
Networking break - sponsored by Discover Global Network
Panel discussion: Cards as a working capital optimisation solution
Exploring cards including Virtual Cards (VC) as an effective tool for optimising working capital. Should VCs be considered a cornerstone solution in the financial toolkit and how can they complement existing financial tools while bringing added value? The strategic utilisation of VCs as a means to optimise working capital solutions, highlighting their versatility and potential impact on financial operations.
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Karim Bennaziz Houmane
Global head of commercial cards sales
BNP Paribas
Karim Bennaziz Houmane
Global head of commercial cards sales
BNP Paribas
March 19th 2024Appointed in September 2018 Global Head of Commercial Cards Sales at BNP Paribas, leading the Sales and Account Management team in Europe. Prior to this role, Karim was Vice President of the Global Clients Group team in Europe at American Express. He started his career at American Express in 1992 straight after graduation where he held several roles in Marketing and Key Account Management in Germany, in the UK and in France. Karim holds a Diplom-Kaufmann (MBA) from the Johannes-Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany. He also holds a Specialised Master in “Consulting & Coaching for Change” from HEC Paris and Saïd Business School, Oxford University. Karim is actively engaged in change management, diversity & inclusion.
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Irfan Kamdar
Global online commerce head, senior vice president
Citi
Irfan Kamdar
Global online commerce head, senior vice president
CitiMarch 19th 2024 -
Anant Bhandarkar
Head of commercial cards
NatWest Group
Anant Bhandarkar
Head of commercial cards
NatWest GroupMarch 19th 2024Anant is the head of the Ccmmercial cards business for NWG and is responsible for the P&L, strategy, proposition, and end-to-end customer journey.
Anant has over 20 years of extensive experience in product development, product management, commercialisation, pricing, and innovation in the UK and abroad.
Moderator
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Frank Martien
Founder
Windward Strategy
Frank Martien
Founder
Windward Strategy
Strategy consulting and M&A advisory for payments has been Frank’s career since 1996 when he joined the boutique firm First Annapolis Consulting, Inc. (“FA”) where he focused on card strategy, launch, and optimization for networks, national & regional financial institutions, technology companies, and private equity firms in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Latin America. Following the acquisition of FA in 2017, Frank continued as a Managing Director within Accenture Strategy on the payments team. Windward Strategy, Inc. was founded by him in 2020 to provide strategy consulting with a focus on B2B payments.
Embedded payments & cards into expense management
Discover the evolution of expense management software with advanced functionalities, including card issuance, virtual cards, AI integration, seamless connections with ERP and AP/AR systems, real-time reporting capabilities, APIs, and enhanced digital and mobile experiences for employees.
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Ross Harris
Vice president, product management
Mastercard
Ross Harris
Vice president, product management
MastercardMarch 19th 2024Ross leads product engagements with industry partners and value-added services across multiple B2B and T&E services and offerings in Commercial Solutions at Mastercard.
Across his career, he’s led product management across virtual cards, consumer rewards, and consumer marketing. After having worked in 5 countries, he is now based in London driving efforts to power embedded payments capabilities across B2B and T&E verticals.
Prior to Mastercard, Ross worked in banking across a variety of analytical, product management, and leadership roles.
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Michael Riegel
CEO EMEA
Navan
Michael Riegel
CEO EMEA
NavanMarch 19th 2024An experienced entrepreneur and builder of companies, Riegel began his career in the early internet era, where he learned to create success out of growing organizations. Prior to Navan, Riegel was the CEO and co-founder of Comtravo, a tech-forward travel management company based in Berlin. (Acquired by the Navan Group in 2022).
As the general manager of EMEA, Riegel skillfully combined growth with technology to lead the go-to-market effort for the entire EMEA segment. Under his management, Navan’s EMEA booking volume and spend volume have more than doubled year-over-year. Navan’s European customers have also doubled since March 2022, with the region now supporting leading companies such as Unilever, Heineken, Stripe, Primark, and more.
Riegel oversaw the successful launch of Navan Expense in Europe and has proved vital toward driving the adoption of NDC.
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Karim Jouini
CEO
Expensya (Medius Group)
Karim Jouini
CEO
Expensya (Medius Group)March 19th 2024Karim JOUINI, co-founder and CEO of Expensya, now a Medius company, Karim has 20 years of experience in software – with expertise in cloud computing, payments and AI
At Medius, Karim has a Chief Product and Tech Officer role, leading the technology investments across the suite.
Moderator
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Patrick Diemer
Chairman, European business travel association and senior advisor
Arthur D. Little
Patrick Diemer
Chairman, European business travel association and senior advisor
Arthur D. Little
Patrick is senior advisor at Arthur Dr. Little managing consulting firm. He also active as business angel, board member and investor in travel & payment start-ups. Patrick was CEO at Lufthansa AirPlus where he headed their global expansion strategy and developed AirPlus into one of the leading commercial card issuers. Earlier he led Visa Germany, and was SVP consumer marketing at Commerzbank. In his career he worked in the USA, UK and Germany, several times in start/scale-ups. He holds a Master of economics degree of Hamburg University. 2017 Patrick was named one of the ‘25 most influential’ by Business travel news. Currently Patrick volunteers for VDR, the German business travel association. He leads their task force ‘restart business travel’.
Networking reception
Welcome from the chair
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Simon Jones
Independent payments
Consultant
Simon Jones
Independent payments
ConsultantSimon has over 30 years of experience in finance, treasury and transaction banking across both developed and emerging markets. Simon was previously Chief Customer Officer at ClearBank and lead the client management, product & marketing teams at the UK’s first cloud based infrastructure clearing bank.
Prior to joining ClearBank in 2019, Simon spent over 20 years at JPMorgan. During his time at the bank, he was responsible for treasury solutions in EMEA, supporting clients around the world. He was also Head of Corporate Sales in EMEA from 2012 to 2015 and Asia Regional Executive for Treasury Services from 2006 to 2010, based in Hong Kong.
Simon is actively involved in UK FinTech as a Mentor for TechStars Accelerator programme.
Advanced corporate case studies
Features two case studies and success stories from corporations that have effectively optimised their commercial payment processes, reduced costs, and embraced new payment technologies. Discover insights into their payment processes and strategies of the future:
Case study 1: Update on a initiative regarding GPL & G4C
Stefan Windisch, finance treasury operations, Roche Finanz AG
Case study 2: Use case in business travel
Paul Spelman, Managing director UK & Ireland, AirPlus International
Edward Eden, VP strategic finance, TravelPerk
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Stefan Windisch
Finance treasury operations
Roche Finanz AG
Stefan Windisch
Finance treasury operations
Roche Finanz AGMarch 20th 2024-
09:05amAdvanced corporate case studies
Stefan Windisch has held various finance positions at F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. in Basel, Switzerland since 2009. Since 2012, he has served as Senior Cash Manager in Treasury operations. Starting April 2024, Stefan will lead Roche’s worldwide In house Bank and cash management team. Before joining Roche, he worked as a controller for both an FMCG company and a leasing company in the UK and Germany.
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Paul Spelman
Managing director UK & Ireland
AirPlus International
Paul Spelman
Managing director UK & Ireland
AirPlus InternationalMarch 20th 2024-
09:05amAdvanced corporate case studies
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Edward Eden
VP strategic finance
TravelPerk
Edward Eden
VP strategic finance
TravelPerkMarch 20th 2024-
09:05amAdvanced corporate case studies
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Business banking opportunity in sustainability – new regulation for businesses in Europe
Addressing the practical implementation and benefits of ESG and DE&I initiatives within the payments ecosystem, emphasising good governance through fostering diversity and inclusion. Explore the impact of sustainability on corporate travel policies and budgets, navigating the intersection of trip budgeting and considerations for reducing carbon footprints
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Francois Benaroya
CEO
BNP Paribas Europe-Mediterranean
Francois Benaroya
CEO
BNP Paribas Europe-Mediterranean
March 20th 2024 -
Lavinia Bauerochse
Global head of ESG corporate bank
Deutsche Bank
Lavinia Bauerochse
Global head of ESG corporate bank
Deutsche BankMarch 20th 2024 -
Lubomila Jordanova
CEO
Plan A
Lubomila Jordanova
CEO
Plan AMarch 20th 2024 -
Stephen King
Vice president, sustainability solutions
Visa
Stephen King
Vice president, sustainability solutions
VisaMarch 20th 2024Stephen King started his career with Capital One as the Canadian business was just starting. Over the next decade, he would go on to lead several of their business units, with roles in strategy, innovation, credit and partnerships. The next decade of his career led him into strategy consulting, innovation and venturing within the environmental and social sector. Stephen is now combining his two decades of knowledge leading a newly created part of the business, Sustainability Solutions.
Moderator
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David Harrison
Founder
PaySavi
David Harrison
Founder
PaySavi
March 19th 2024-
09:00amWelcome from the chair
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11:40amVertical growth and opportunities work streams
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12:15pmRoundtables
David has over 25 years’ experience in the payments industry and was previously with a major UK Commercial Card issuer before being asked to join Visa Europe. He held a series of senior leadership positions including Head of Commercial Card Products, Head of Government Services, Head of European Market Development and Regulatory Workstream leader. David established PaySavi in 2018 to develop payment optimisation solutions for scheme, issuer, fintech and business association clients in EMEA, North America and Asia Pacific. PaySavi is also an approved supplier of Payment Consultancy Services to UK Government organisations. Since 2021, David has been working with Hi55, a new platform financing the payroll of any employer, whilst paying their staff sooner, and is currently Head of Cards & Payments.
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Optimising AI in B2B payments – what works and risks to avoid
Explore the evolving landscape of AI in financial services and its role in payments and commercial cards. AI is everywhere and anywhere, but where has it actually made a significant impact? What tangible achievements and practical use cases have emerged from the application of generative AI, and what implications does this hold for SMEs, banks and corporates? This timely panel will focus on how AI is already benefiting B2B payments and is simplifying complex payment choices for corporates while analysing the ongoing advancement of AI capabilities and how it could reshape the payments industry. What transformations, opportunities and risks can be anticipated in the near future?
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Marcus Vinicius Martinez
Industry advisor, EMEA, worldwide financial services
Microsoft
Marcus Vinicius Martinez
Industry advisor, EMEA, worldwide financial services
MicrosoftMarch 20th 2024A seasoned professional with an impressive track record spanning over 20 years in the dynamic world of financial services. With extensive experience as an industry expert and a highly sought-after management consultant, Marcus has been at the forefront of revolutionizing digital ecosystems and driving innovation. Throughout his career, Marcus has made significant contributions to numerous tier 1 financial institutions, shaping their business and technology strategies to adapt to the ever-evolving landscape. He has successfully led large-scale programs, tackling critical areas such as regulatory change, customer experience enhancement, streamlined payments systems, risk management, and empowering sales teams. Notably, Marcus’s expertise goes beyond traditional finance, as he has been an invaluable advisor in the realms of cloud computing and artificial intelligence adoption. His deep understanding of these cutting-edge technologies has enabled major financial institutions to leverage their transformative potential and stay ahead of the curve. Marcus’s passion for driving positive change in the financial services sector is truly inspiring. His holistic approach, coupled with a keen eye for detail, ensures that every project he undertakes delivers tangible and measurable results. His strategic thinking, combined with his ability to navigate complex challenges, has consistently earned him recognition as a trusted advisor and a true catalyst for success.
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Francesca Blythe
Partner
Sidley Austin LLP
Francesca Blythe
Partner
Sidley Austin LLPMarch 20th 2024
Moderator
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Simon Jones
Independent payments
Consultant
Simon Jones
Independent payments
ConsultantSimon has over 30 years of experience in finance, treasury and transaction banking across both developed and emerging markets. Simon was previously Chief Customer Officer at ClearBank and lead the client management, product & marketing teams at the UK’s first cloud based infrastructure clearing bank.
Prior to joining ClearBank in 2019, Simon spent over 20 years at JPMorgan. During his time at the bank, he was responsible for treasury solutions in EMEA, supporting clients around the world. He was also Head of Corporate Sales in EMEA from 2012 to 2015 and Asia Regional Executive for Treasury Services from 2006 to 2010, based in Hong Kong.
Simon is actively involved in UK FinTech as a Mentor for TechStars Accelerator programme.
Networking break
Innovating the future of payments- a deep dive into the next five years
Delve into the discussion on how to innovate and how the industry drive innovative thinking in their businesses, what is the future of the payments industry, spotlighting influential technologies like generative AI, blockchain, and real-time payments.
The second part of the session includes short pitches from fintech firms showcasing how their solutions enhance data analytics, sustainability, and process efficiencies in the commercial card space.
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Alla Gancz
Partner, UK payments consulting leader
EY
Alla Gancz
Partner, UK payments consulting leader
EYMarch 20th 2024Alla is a Partner in EY’s EMEIA financial services consulting business based in London, is a payments leader in the UK and a member of the global payments leadership team. With over 25 years of payments and advisory experience across financial services, Alla advises clients on strategic matters related to payments transformation, tech and ops modernisation, innovation and risk and compliance.
Alla is a partner and UK payments leader at Ernst & Young LLP in the financial services technology consulting practice and a member of global payments leadership team. With over 25 years of experience working in payments and technology consulting, Alla led digital transformation and innovation programmes across financial services. She is focused on helping EY clients to navigate the changing payments landscape, by defining and executing growth strategies, payments operations and technology transformation agenda, infrastructure modernisation and innovation, in addition to exploring the future of digital currencies (CBDCs, deposit tokens, stablecoins). Alla supports banks, PSPs, large corporates on their journey of adoption of real-time payments while accelerating transaction speed, reducing risk and fraud, creating new revenue sources, reducing transaction costs, and reaching new markets. She has recently co-authored and published the EY Global Paytech report: ‘The rise of Paytech – seven forces shaping the future of payments’ and ‘RLN – a strategy roadmap for cross-border payments’. Alla started her career at American Express and Mastercard prior to moving into advisory services around digital transformation and technology.
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Saira Khan
Head of innovation & partnerships
First Direct
Saira Khan
Head of innovation & partnerships
First DirectMarch 20th 2024Saira Khan is the Head of Innovation and Partnerships for First Direct Bank(HSBC), was recognised in Innovate Finance ‘Women in FinTech Powerlist 2022’. Having led the creation of innovation teams and centres in the United Kingdom, Asia, and the United States, while building and testing data management and open banking through global hackathons, she has developed a unique vision and reputation for being a catalyst for transformation around the world on leading deliveries with commercial impact. She is known as a key connector and championing moves towards a digital-first culture, enabling greater collaboration and connectivity between startups and corporations with proven results. While her passion and advocacy for change sets her apart from her peers in the finance sector, it is her work mentoring and supporting global talent in Africa, Asia, and the United States that drives Saira as she focuses and champions efforts around diversity, inclusion, education, and sustainability.
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Athena Varmazis
Senior vice president, consumer & credit cards
Royal Bank of Canada
Athena Varmazis
Senior vice president, consumer & credit cards
Royal Bank of CanadaMarch 20th 2024Athena has over 27 years of cards payments experience spanning commercial, small business and consumer. Her experience includes P&L management, new product development, acquisition and partnerships, with a proven track record of growth.
Athena is currently the Senior Vice President of Consumer & Commercial Credit Cards at Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). She joined RBC as VP of Global Loyalty and previous to RBC, Athena spent over 19 years at American Express in increasingly senior roles and receiving many leadership awards for her contribution to developing talent and teams. Last year, she received the Distinguished Women in Payments Professional award. Outside of her current role, she is a member of the Payments Committee of Metrolinx, one of the largest government agencies created to improve all modes of transportation across Ontario. She is also a board member of Pine River Institute, a live-in treatment centre helping youth struggling with addiction. She holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and lives in Toronto with her husband and children
Moderator
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Greg Toussaint
Director
Edgar, Dunn & Company
Greg Toussaint
Director
Edgar, Dunn & Company
March 19th 2024Greg Toussaint is a Director in the Paris office with Greg 15 years of consulting experience with EDC in business strategy for clients in Asia, Europe, North and South America. Grégoire has worked in EDC London’s, Sydney’s and Paris’ offices and developed global perspectives on payments.
Within EDC, Greg leads EDC’s B2B Payments Practice and has developed specific expertise in retail and travel payments, working for all actors in the payments value chain (e.g. central banks, issuers, acquirers, payment schemes, merchants and payment providers). Outside of work, Greg plays the saxophone and loves baking cakes.
Roundtables
The roundtables focus on the key areas of payments technologies that are evolving in commercial payment systems in Europe and the discussions will focus on their implementation and execution in a commercial and corporate context: Delegate choose 1.
● AP/AR automation – Frank Martien, Founder, Windward Strategy
● Virtual cards – Tajtana Schoen, Director, commercial solutions, Mastercard
● Cross border payments – Patrik Havander, Head of Visa B2B connect / cross border money movement Europe, Visa
● Embedded finance – David Harrison, Founder, PaySavi
● Data and spend management – Linda Weston, Managing director, Head of commercial cards, Barclaycard Payments
● Travel B2B payment – Simon Kwong, Commercial card product manager, Bank of America
● Fintech partnerships and M&A – Patrick Diemer, Senior adviser, Arthur D. Little
● Corporate travel – Michelle Hejtmankova, Head of product management issuing, Barclaycard Payments
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Frank Martien
Founder
Windward Strategy
Frank Martien
Founder
Windward Strategy
Strategy consulting and M&A advisory for payments has been Frank’s career since 1996 when he joined the boutique firm First Annapolis Consulting, Inc. (“FA”) where he focused on card strategy, launch, and optimization for networks, national & regional financial institutions, technology companies, and private equity firms in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Latin America. Following the acquisition of FA in 2017, Frank continued as a Managing Director within Accenture Strategy on the payments team. Windward Strategy, Inc. was founded by him in 2020 to provide strategy consulting with a focus on B2B payments.
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Tatjana Schoen
Director, commercial solutions
Mastercard
Tatjana Schoen
Director, commercial solutions
Mastercard
March 20th 2024-
12:15pmRoundtables
Tatjana Schoen is the B2B product commercialisation lead for Europe at Mastercard. In her current role she is responsible to formulate and optimise the go-to-market market strategy, articulating the value proposition to issuers, partners and their customers. Tatjana has vast experience in commercial Cards and has been working on the issuing side for the past 15 years, covering various roles in product and relationship management.
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Patrik Havander
Head of Visa B2B connect / cross border money movement Europe
Visa
Patrik Havander
Head of Visa B2B connect / cross border money movement Europe
VisaMarch 20th 2024-
12:15pmRoundtables
Patrik has a long and extensive experience in corporate banking prior to joining Visa in 2022. He has been leading Nordic and international teams for Nordea, SEB and Danske Bank. Focus has been on the Transaction Banking landscape, where he has earned a strong reputation for his strategic vision and commercial development expertise. He has been very engaged in the international bank to bank community in various boards and partnerships. He is member of the Board of Directors in BAFT.
He has a track record of strategy, sales excellence, crossed new frontiers in service and concept development and in online banking services. Patrik is well-known for his success in developing industry leadership within financial services. He has a wide-ranging and well-established network throughout the banking business, nationally and internationally. Over the years, Patrik has appeared as a speaker and panelist at numerous industry events.
Patrik is a graduate of Lund University and holds a Bachelor of Science.
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Linda Weston
Managing director, head of commercial cards
Barclaycard Payments
Linda Weston
Managing director, head of commercial cards
Barclaycard Payments
Linda Weston, Managing Director and Head of Commercial Cards, has over 20 years’ experience in the Payments industry. In her current role she leads the development and cultivation of excellent commercial payment solutions. Linda’s mission is to instil excellence and transformative product management competence across the product organisation and provide clear strategic direction that ensures focus on initiatives that drive demonstratable value to customers,
colleagues and the company. Since joining Barclaycard in 2014 Linda has led a transformational migration programme, driven the development of a number of critical and inventive capabilities and now leads the commercial card business. Prior to joining Barclaycard Linda held roles at a number of prominent Payments companies where she held a variety of product and operational roles. -
David Harrison
Founder
PaySavi
David Harrison
Founder
PaySavi
March 19th 2024-
09:00amWelcome from the chair
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11:40amVertical growth and opportunities work streams
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12:15pmRoundtables
David has over 25 years’ experience in the payments industry and was previously with a major UK Commercial Card issuer before being asked to join Visa Europe. He held a series of senior leadership positions including Head of Commercial Card Products, Head of Government Services, Head of European Market Development and Regulatory Workstream leader. David established PaySavi in 2018 to develop payment optimisation solutions for scheme, issuer, fintech and business association clients in EMEA, North America and Asia Pacific. PaySavi is also an approved supplier of Payment Consultancy Services to UK Government organisations. Since 2021, David has been working with Hi55, a new platform financing the payroll of any employer, whilst paying their staff sooner, and is currently Head of Cards & Payments.
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Simon Kwong
Commercial card product manager
Bank of America
Simon Kwong
Commercial card product manager
Bank of AmericaMarch 20th 2024-
12:15pmRoundtables
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Patrick Diemer
Chairman, European business travel association and senior advisor
Arthur D. Little
Patrick Diemer
Chairman, European business travel association and senior advisor
Arthur D. Little
Patrick is senior advisor at Arthur Dr. Little managing consulting firm. He also active as business angel, board member and investor in travel & payment start-ups. Patrick was CEO at Lufthansa AirPlus where he headed their global expansion strategy and developed AirPlus into one of the leading commercial card issuers. Earlier he led Visa Germany, and was SVP consumer marketing at Commerzbank. In his career he worked in the USA, UK and Germany, several times in start/scale-ups. He holds a Master of economics degree of Hamburg University. 2017 Patrick was named one of the ‘25 most influential’ by Business travel news. Currently Patrick volunteers for VDR, the German business travel association. He leads their task force ‘restart business travel’.
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Michelle Hejtmankova
Head of product management issuing
Barclaycard Payments
Michelle Hejtmankova
Head of product management issuing
Barclaycard Payments
March 20th 2024-
12:15pmRoundtables
Michelle has been in the payments industry for 24 years with experience ranging from Card operations, business consultancy, relationship management, scheme management and now heading up the Commercial Product Management Issuing team at Barclaycard Payments.
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Lunch
Open finance - advancing beyond open banking, leveraging data for informed decision-making and revenue growth
The growth of open payments has surged since the enforcement of the PSD2 mandate, but how are policymakers navigating the extension of open banking into open finance, alongside broader initiatives to more extensively open up economies, and what principles are being embedded to ensure broader access to services and data? Examine the evolution from open banking to open finance, where financial services extend beyond payments to include insurance, mortgages, pensions, and other areas. Our panellists will also discuss how APIs are embedded in various platforms, how to overcome common challenges and embrace best practice to offer financial services seamlessly while optimising commercial models, unleashing the full transformative potential in open banking and open finance.
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David Cox
Payments strategy lead, billing & payment solutions & operations
Virgin Media
David Cox
Payments strategy lead, billing & payment solutions & operations
Virgin Media -
José Luis Navarro Llorens
Head of strategy open banking
BBVA
José Luis Navarro Llorens
Head of strategy open banking
BBVAJose Luis joined BBVA in 2010 and worked in various roles, Head of IT Asia, with the expansion of the bank in China, Head of IT for Consumer finance global, and since 2018 in strategy of Open Banking global for BBVA.
Has accumulated over 20 years of international experience in Project and Program Management, Business Consulting, Application Architecture, Operations and finally Strategy. Jose Luis worked with large national and international Financial Institutions: Cajamadrid (now BANKIA) , BBVA and Santander (Spain), Bancomer (Mexico), Banca Mora (Andorra), WLB (Hong Kong), BEA (Hong Kong) and BBVA (Hong Kong, China and Global unit)
Coming from a heavy background in technology and Consumer finance Jose Luis is a convinced and enthusiastic supporter of the Open Banking and Embedded Finance as the next logical steps for achieving a banking without borders
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Heather Xiao
Former product and operations director
Open Banking
Heather Xiao
Former product and operations director
Open Banking -
James Dillon
Head of EMEA sales
9Spokes
James Dillon
Head of EMEA sales
9SpokesJames Dillon is a seasoned banking professional with over a decade of experience in the UK Banking and Fintech sector. His career spans corporate banking, working capital advisory, and payments clearing infrastructure. Additionally, James has played pivotal roles in a premier UK Open Banking provider, shaping the landscape of modern financial services. Currently leading the EMEA sales at 9Spokes, his profound understanding of payments, open banking, and data analytics positions him as a leading voice and perspective in the open banking and banking initiatives landscape.
Moderator
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Simon Jones
Independent payments
Consultant
Simon Jones
Independent payments
ConsultantSimon has over 30 years of experience in finance, treasury and transaction banking across both developed and emerging markets. Simon was previously Chief Customer Officer at ClearBank and lead the client management, product & marketing teams at the UK’s first cloud based infrastructure clearing bank.
Prior to joining ClearBank in 2019, Simon spent over 20 years at JPMorgan. During his time at the bank, he was responsible for treasury solutions in EMEA, supporting clients around the world. He was also Head of Corporate Sales in EMEA from 2012 to 2015 and Asia Regional Executive for Treasury Services from 2006 to 2010, based in Hong Kong.
Simon is actively involved in UK FinTech as a Mentor for TechStars Accelerator programme.
Digital money and crypto technologies in Europe - what is next?
This session will address and shed light on the immediate future and unveil what the transformative potential crypto technologies can bring to the forefront of the payments industry. Evaluate the motivations behind the development of CBDCs and the latest update on where the industry is with the adaption of CBDCs. Assess the concerns surrounding CBDCs and gain insights into the proactive measures being implemented to address them and answer the key questions:
- How are regulatory frameworks adapting to ensure a secure and efficient transition into the era of digital currencies
- What are the potential impacts on cross-border payments?
- How might the development of Central Bank Digital Currencies influence the existing crypto landscape in Europe
- How are European businesses leveraging fintech innovations and integrating blockchain technology beyond cryptocurrencies?
- What measures are in place to address security and privacy concerns related to digital money and crypto technologies in Europe?
- What are the key trends in the European crypto market, and how is the industry addressing concerns about sustainability and environmental impact?
- How does the concept of a ‘trilemma’ apply to CBDCs, as discussed in the recent paper published by the ECB?
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William Lovell
Head of architecture & future technology
Bank of England
William Lovell
Head of architecture & future technology
Bank of England
March 20th 2024I am a technology advisor on CBDC, data and payments. With over 25 years at the Bank of England, I have held a variety of roles in technology from application developer and test manager through to heading up the strategy and architecture function. I am currently working on the design of CBDC and the use of artificial intelligence across the bank.
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Ritesh Jain
Head of UK & Europe commercial cards
Citi UK, Europe and MEA
Ritesh Jain
Head of UK & Europe commercial cards
Citi UK, Europe and MEAMarch 20th 2024 -
Megan Caywood Cooper
Chief product officer
ClearBank
Megan Caywood Cooper
Chief product officer
ClearBankMarch 20th 2024Megan Cooper (nee Caywood) is the Chief product officer at ClearBank. She is leading the bank’s product strategy, creating and executing its roadmap at a crucial time during expansion into new markets whilst assisting in the development and maintaining the bank’s capabilities, aligning them with customer needs.
Prior to joining ClearBank in 2024, Megan was Chief product officer for the Barclays UK business after having spent 4 years as the Chief platform officer at Starling, which she joined as the 5th employee. She is also a board member of UK finance digital, technology, cyber products and services team, and was named in Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2018.
Moderator
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Simon Jones
Independent payments
Consultant
Simon Jones
Independent payments
ConsultantSimon has over 30 years of experience in finance, treasury and transaction banking across both developed and emerging markets. Simon was previously Chief Customer Officer at ClearBank and lead the client management, product & marketing teams at the UK’s first cloud based infrastructure clearing bank.
Prior to joining ClearBank in 2019, Simon spent over 20 years at JPMorgan. During his time at the bank, he was responsible for treasury solutions in EMEA, supporting clients around the world. He was also Head of Corporate Sales in EMEA from 2012 to 2015 and Asia Regional Executive for Treasury Services from 2006 to 2010, based in Hong Kong.
Simon is actively involved in UK FinTech as a Mentor for TechStars Accelerator programme.