Authors Page - Trade Finance Global

Iain is the Head of Trade and Supply Chain Finance for the world’s third largest fintech company, Finastra. He is responsible for product delivery of Finastra’s market-leading trade finance platform. Previously Agile Delivery/Engineering Lead and Product Owner for the End-to-End transformation of Commercial Servicing within Lloyds Banking Group. Background in Technology, Change and Product Ownership, over twenty years in Tier 1 Banks and now Fintechs. Successful Programme Management of major initiatives, “once in a generation activity” – Group CEO and Group CIO commenting on core account migration of £32 Billion Balances and Products. Organisational Management – Direct: 200+, Indirect: 600+ and Programme: 1000+. Financial Management: Up to 255M-EUR. Significant vendor and partner engagements, from initiation/negotiation to delivery execution. Built out or re-engineered existing organisations, across Infrastructure, Development, Change and Chief Operating Office.

As the EBRD’s Chief Economist, Beata Javorcik is responsible for advising the President and other senior members of the Bank’s management team on economic issues of strategic or operational relevance to the EBRD regions.

Pat Bermingham leads Adflex, a specialist provider of innovative payment services for merchants in both the private and public sectors. With over 15 years of experience, Adflex’s technology platforms have evolved to enable merchants to accept various types of payments across multiple platforms worldwide. The company is dedicated to offering exceptional ongoing support and cost-effective solutions, allowing businesses to process payments without significant investment in infrastructure, systems, or equipment. Adflex continues to position itself as a world-class payment service provider, completing the payment cycle efficiently.

Rudolf Putz, former head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) trade facilitation programme, has joined Oddo BHF as its head of trade product and distribution management. In his new role, he is responsible for developing trade solutions for international and corporate clients, managing the syndication of Oddo BHF’s trade assets and coordinating the company’s advocacy in the trade finance ecosystem. Putz headed up the EBRD’s trade facilitation programme for nearly 25 years, overseeing its expansion to new markets in the Mediterranean, a push for green finance and its help for Ukraine following the Russian invasion. Prior to this, he worked in trade finance at Helm, UniCredit Bank Austria and Crédit Agricole after earning a doctorate in international trade and business in 1982.

Luc Hendrickx has been the Director of Enterprise Policy and External Relations at UEAPME since 2000. He is responsible for SME policy, better regulation, legal affairs, internal market issues, accounting, retail, tourism, trade, corporate social responsibility, among others. Luc was a member of the cabinet of the Flemish Minister of the Environment and Employment from 1997 until 2000. In 1989, he joined UNIZO (a Belgian SME organisation) as Legal Counsellor. Between 1992 and 1998, Luc also lectured at VLEKHO (Flemish School of Economics) in Brussels. He started his career in 1986 as a salesman in his sister’s do-it-your-self shop. Luc Hendrickx holds a law degree from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium, a diploma from the Institut Européen des Hautes Etudes Internationales of Nice in France and a masters in European studies from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in Spain.

Susie Aliker is a proven CEO and Board member with extensive experience across UK and international banking and financial services. Recognised as a transformation and growth leader, she excels in scaling complex businesses in competitive markets. Susie drives commercial and operational transformation through bold, customer-centric strategies, with a clear vision and rigorous execution to ensure sustainable results. Her expertise spans business development, product and market growth, and both organic and inorganic strategies in B2B and B2C environments. With extensive knowledge in regulation, finance, digital, risk, and compliance across public, private, and PE-backed businesses, Susie has a strong track record in impactful culture change and stakeholder engagement. She is known for her positive, driven, and resilient leadership style, grounded in high integrity and impactful execution. Susie brings significant Board experience, having served as both an Executive and Non-Executive Director, including roles across Audit, Risk, Compliance, and Remuneration. Her deep understanding of corporate governance and robust, proportionate risk and ESG frameworks reinforces her commitment to high standards. Passionate about environmental and social agendas, Susie combines strategic agility and commercial acumen with high energy, achieving results that drive positive impact.

Olivier Paul has over 25 years of experience in international trade finance, following a decade in corporate banking. He serves as Global Head of Export Finance for BNP Paribas and leads the Competence Center of the bank’s Trade Finance business line. At the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Olivier holds the position of Head of Policy for the Banking Commission, where he plays a key role in shaping the industry’s regulatory, technological, and commercial landscape. His work focuses on maintaining trade finance banking product rules, engaging with regulators, and promoting financial inclusion in global trade.

Ian Sayers has a successful track record in international business strategy and sustainable export value chain development. He is now leading the improvement of access to, and use of, financing for sustainable SME growth in emerging markets and developing countries including the application of innovative financing, business and supply chain practices to improve enterprise profitability whilst reducing negative impact on the planet. Skilled in Sustainable enterprise and value chain development, Trade and supply chain financing, Strategy, Market development, International Business, Financing for sustainable development and development economics. Ian has experience of leading change in some of the world’s largest multinationals, with governments, entrepreneurs and the smallest of rural communities. He is a community leader for the World Economic Forum’s Accelerating Sustainable Development platform, an alumnus of the Skoll Foundation, Oxford Said, IMD Lausanne, Cranfield and Newcastle Universities.

Board Member and Managing Director of SABB since 2010, representing the foreign partner HSBC Holdings. He holds a Masters degree in Economics from Cambridge University, UK. Mr. Dew has considerable management and financial experience gained during his 40 years career with HSBC in a number of regions and countries.

Peter Jameson, based in Hong Kong, is currently a Managing Director and the Treasury and Trade Solutions Head for Europe at Citi. A leader, product head, payments specialist, correspondent banker, trade financier, program manager, diversity champion, and mentor, he brings extensive experience from previous roles at Citi and Bank of America. Peter holds a BSc in Accounting & French from Queen’s University Belfast, earned between 1995 and 1999.

More than 20 years of bank experience in CEE…strong and passionate leader, client & solution oriented! Eager to permanently learn and explore and support others developing themselves. Spezialgebiete: Profound knowledge of the CEE/CIS/SEE markets and players, commercial banking, correspondent banking and compliance (focus on sanctions and AML for banks)

As the founder and Managing Director of Global Trade Solution, she has more than 25 years’ experience in the International Trade and international Supply Chain and Logistics environment. The objective of Louise and her competent team at GTS is to provide consulting service combined with innovative solutions to enable the optimization of the international trade, supply chain and logistical environment. Linking all the different trade partners in the international supply chain as well as all the various statutory organizations is a primary drive for the GTS team. The various statutory bodies include the Customs and Port Authorities as well as the Other Government Agencies who focus on the related aspects of international trade including food safety, standards and health. GTS has adopted blockchain technology as a primary disruptor in the International Trade and Supply Chain environment. The GTS team is championing a number of blockchain initiatives with various industry role players to help shape the future of the industry and to modernize the international trade and supply chain landscape.

Olena Gryniuk is the CEO of WOA Digital and the CEE Director of SME Banking Club.

Mr. Kravchenko graduated from Russian Foreign Trade Academy with a degree in Foreign Trade Management. Over the years of his career, Mr. Kravchenko has always been a keen scholar, undergoing several executive development programmes including Executive Master in Energy Management from ESCP, Leadership in Banking Executive programme from London Business School as well as tailor-made Executive education from INSEAD. In 2005 Mr. Kravchenko started his career in Nomos-bank, promptly growing to a position of Head of International Markets Funding responsible for Eurobonds, Syndications and Structured Finance. After leaving Nomos-bank in 2010 he joined Trade Finance & Correspondent Banking Department of Sberbank of Russia. He’s been with the company ever since and in 7 years made a way to his current position of Global Head of Trade Finance.

A Zambian national, the Director joined Afreximbank from Standard Bank Plc., where she worked as Executive Vice President, Structured Trade Finance for East Africa based in London. Prior to that, she worked variously with Stanbic Bank Zambia Ltd as Head, Vehicle and Asset Finance and as Head, Corporate Banking; Standard Bank of South Africa as Head of Corporate Banking; African Banking Corporation as Corporate Banking Manager; and Stanbic Bank Zambia Ltd as Account Manager, Financial Services. Ms. Mwaba, holds a Bachelor of Applied Accounting from Oxford Brooks University, United Kingdom, and a Master of Business Administration from Heriot-Watt University, also in the United Kingdom.

Dominic Digby has been working in financial services for 20 years through his consultancy, Affinis. He has implemented ISO 20022 in supply chain scenarios for large corporates in several countries and with payment service provider and its major banks on end-to-end implementation. He has written several articles on ISO 20022, some available on LinkedIn.

Olivier Depierre, co-founder and Partner of the firm, is an attorney-at-law specialized in TGE support based on replicated hash-block technologies with a former background and long experience in Banking law, financial regulation and white-collar crimes. He worked several years with banks and other financial intermediaries in the field of compliance and acts now on mandates for establishments newly subject to a prudential supervision, such as trustees, independent portfolio managers and investment advisers, as well as on mandates for commercial companies in connection with matters in banking and financial law, regulations of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA (guarantee of irreproachable business activity, rules of conduct, authorisation requests), criminal business law as well as in contract law and debt collection & bankruptcy law. Former assistant at the University of Geneva in criminal law, Olivier is also a retired investigating Magistrate (captain) of the Swiss Military Court of First Instance. He is a founder committee member of the Geneva Blockchain Congress, and holds a LL.M in Banking & Financial law, a MAS in Compliance Management and is a former registered Trust & Estate Practitioner (TEP). He is a a member of the ICO evaluation committee of the Canton of Geneva and a regular author at the Centre for Banking and Financial Law at the University of Geneva. Moreover, Olivier is a speaker on blockchain/cryptocurrencies and financial regulation for various conferences. He has published a lot of articles and contributions in the Swiss French-speaking press.

Carl Wegner is the CEO of Contour – the trade finance network powered by R3’s Corda. Carl’s role aims to streamline communication and improve transparency between banks, corporates, and technology partners. Carl works closely with a range of leading trade finance institutions that are part of the network, as well expanding Contour’s reach in the trade finance space. Prior to Contour, he served as the Managing Director for Asia at R3, where he was instrumental in the business growth and market penetration of Corda solutions with Central Banks, Financial Institutions, and Corporates. Carl’s prior experiences include Managing Director and Head of Global Transaction banking, Greater China of Deutsche Bank, Managing Director of Transaction Banking for Standard Chartered Bank in Taiwan. He was also Head of Asia for TradeCard (now GTNexus), building its network in 14 countries. Carl has held posts as Treasurer of the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei and is a Board Member of the Taipei American School.  Fluent in Mandarin, he holds a B.S. in both Chinese Language and Chinese history from Georgetown University.