Authors Page - Trade Finance Global

Maëlia works for Bpifrance, in the subsidiary “Bpifrance Export Insurance” created for the management of the French State guarantees (previously managed by Coface State Guarantees, where she has been working for several years before). She is in charge of international relations and represents Bpifrance Export Insurance in many conferences, Bern Union general assemblies and technical workshops, ECAs bilateral meetings, OECD and EU matters). She works on business development and creation of new products for banks and exporters (SMEs and Key Accounts) along with their communication, she manages the rating of foreign companies and banks. She has a worldwide experience on export credit guarantees, dealing with exporters, banks and foreign buyers on commercial and financial projects. Previously she was Head of Division of Key Accounts (energy and nuclear power, telecom, space, project finance, engineering, buildings, public works and capital goods), Head of Division of Geographic Desks (Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania), Head of Division of Paris Club Rescheduling Agreements, Head of Certification ISO 9001 project for the State Guarantees Department, Head of clients requests, quality and statistics department. She has worked in all the geographic departments of the State Guarantees Directorate as well as in the Military Affairs Department.

Abdurrahman Özalp is chair of the ICC Turkey’s Banking Commision and Senior Trade Advisor of TEB Istanbul has more than 30 years of experience in international trade and banking. He is 56 years old, in 1986 graduated from The Faculty of Economics and Administration of Cukurova Universiy in Turkey. He passed the CDCS (Documentary Credit Specialist Certificate) exam in 2000 and CITF (Certificate of International Trade Finance) in 2010. On the DOCDEX List as expert of Documentary Credits and Guarantees. He is still an active member of some Group and Task Forces of ICC, i.e. Digitalization, URDG&Guarantees and Financial Crime&Risks. Every year he performs many seminars, conferences and trainings. He is author of nine books about payment methods, trade finance and delivery terms etc. one of the on BPO (Bank Payment Obligation), which is a new payment method, introduced and spreadwided in Turkey by whom. Nowadays strives to provide the use of blockchain in Turkey in the area of Trade Financing and International Trade.

Payson E. Johnston is the CEO and co-founder of Crowdz, a B2B payments company in Silicon Valley focused on helping SMEs get paid faster and access invoice finance. With over 20 years of experience in diverse areas, he served for 18 years as a global B2B supply chain Senior Manager for Cisco. He has lectured at the University of San Francisco and the University of California, Berkeley Extension. Payson is also the CEO of Envoi, a venture-funded startup backed by Diagram Ventures, leading efforts to redefine receivable finance. Previously, he co-founded and led Crowdz, raising $28 million from industry giants like Citi, Barclays, and Bold Capital. Under his leadership, Crowdz facilitated over $95 million in SME financing before its assets were acquired by Private Equity. As the Managing Director of Delphi, he drives strategic initiatives, leveraging his expertise in fintech to foster groundbreaking solutions. He holds an MBA from the University of San Francisco and an MA in Philosophical Theology from the University of Nottingham. He teaches business at the University of Tennessee Southern and has contributed to Tradetech reports with the World Economic Forum and the World Trade Organization. His research focuses on entrepreneurship, sustainability, and business ethics. As a mentor at Techstars, Payson supports startup founders in AI, payments, and emerging industries, providing strategic guidance for early-stage growth. His guiding principle is to drive positive change with integrity, making a lasting impact on family, community, and society.

Magister in International Trade Relations (UNTREF), Degree in International Relations and Political Sciences (USAL). Currently works as consultant, trainer, researcher and professor in the areas of business development, international trade, economic and production integration, global value chains and competitive intelligence. She is in charge of the Research area and of the Virtual Library of the ICBC Foundation. She gained her experience in the public and private sectors and in academia. She is Thesis Coordinator in the Master’s Course in International Business at UCES and in the Master’s Course in International Trade Relations at Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero, in charge of the Thesis Workshop at the Master’s Course in International Business (UCES) and professor in charge of professional relations activities. She is professor at the Bi-national UCES-FH Master’s Course in Mainz (Germany). Professor of Internationalization of Companies at the Master’s Course in International Trade (UNQ) and Professor of International Relations Systems and of the Thesis Workshop at the Master’s Course in International Relations (Universidad del Salvador).

John was appointed Acting CEO in June 2019. Prior to this, he was the Chief Underwriting Officer, a role he assumed in 2016. He brings over 13 years of experience in the credit and political risk sphere, as well as prior entrepreneurial experience. Previously, John was the Co-Head of Political & Credit Risks at Brit, one of the largest syndicates at Lloyds. John helped to establish Brit’s presence in this area and built out Brit’s team to rapidly become one of the most competitively positioned London market participants. Prior to working at Brit, John had established a strong underwriting reputation at both AXIS and XL Catlin in London and Bermuda. John also has a diverse range of entrepreneurial experience, for example having worked as a film producer, live events organiser and having established a record label. John holds a Master of Modern History degree from Oxford University.

Flora Tan is an editor and journalist at Trade Finance Global

Diana Smallridge is a leading expert on Export Credit Agencies, EXIM Banks and Development Banks around the world. Diana has worked with multilateral, bilateral and national agencies from over 50 countries on a wide range of projects. She is a hands-on senior consultant and seasoned project leader and is widely recognized as one of the foremost advisors in the field. She developed the Full Potential© strategic planning methodology which is applied in projects worldwide, as well as the Health Diagnostic Tool© to measure the overall performance of financial institutions with a development mandate. A pioneering thinker on issues such as climate finance, Diana is a sought after speaker and facilitator at international workshops and conferences, and has been the Conference Chairman for the Annual Global Convention on Insuring Export Credit and Political Risk since 2001.

As the CEO of Smart Currency Business, he is passionate about educating businesses to avoid pitfalls so that they can protect their profits from adverse currency fluctuations, and thrive. Renowned for speaking his mind, Carl is a vocal critic of the inefficient currency services provided by high street banks, and believes that first-rate customer service is the key to growth for any business. Carl regularly delivers seminars on the importance of currency exchange risk management, and provides commentary on a range of business-related topics, including currency strategy, international trade and business growth.

Francois is the Director of Business Development at a growing sourcing solution, Noviland, Inc. He holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from West Virginia University and has been with Noviland since it’s inception in 2016. Since then, he’s had a hand in establishing many of the processes and helping Noviland grow its userbase to have thousands of companies. In his off-time, he frequents many Meetups and entrepreneurial groups to contribute his knowledge in supply chain & manufacturing to help other small businesses grow their business efficiently and mitigate many of the risks often involved for first-time importers.

Sherry Kennedy is a Director of Communications Sherry sets the organisation-wide communications strategy for SEforAll focusing on stakeholder engagement and showcasing impact aimed at mobilizing resources for SDG7. She is a driven communicator committed to influencing leaders to act in a meaningful way to steer the world towards a more sustainable future. Sherry is a native of Toronto, Canada and has lived and worked in Washington, DC and Nairobi, Kenya with 20 years of experience in brand management, media relations, marketing and international development communications working for the Asian Development Bank,  the World Bank and the African Trade Insurance Agency. She is also passionate about advancing the communications profession and, in this capacity, has served as the Vice President of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Washington, DC and as a Board Director for IABC’s global body. She has a BA (Honours) in Sociology from Queen’s University, a Master’s degree in Social Work from Wilfrid Laurier University and a Master’s degree in Public Communications from American University.

Olli Jääsaari is a business developer with a background in banking and IT development. He holds a Master of Science (M.Sc.) degree from the Turku School of Economics at the University of Turku. With demonstrated skills in project management, trade finance, and customer service. He is a Standardised Trust expert and serves as Nordea’s Trade Finance & WCM Product Manager for guarantees and standby letters of credit. Olli manages development initiatives involving IT while focusing on the commercial side, including capital adequacy and liquidity regulation (CRR/CRD) and long-term product roadmaps.

Eng. Hani Salem Sonbol is the CEO of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC). His career in Development Banking started three decades ago where he served in many technical and leading positions across the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group. Eng. Hani accumulated diverse knowledge and experience during his career in positions like Director of the IsDB Group President’s Office, Director of IsDB Group Regional Office Morocco, Director Trade Finance and Promotion Department, and Deputy CEO ITFC, and Acting Chief Executive Officer at Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC). Eng. Hani is a Saudi National, obtained an Associate of Arts Degree from Marymount California University, USA, in 1980; Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Bluefield State University, West Virginia, in 1984; and Master’s Degree in Engineering Management with honors from George Washington University, USA, in 1987. In addition, he was exposed to a number of distinctive leadership development programs at Harvard University, USA and London Business School England.

Keri Leicher has over a decade in security and political risk management experience during which time she has advised some of the world’s largest companies with operations in high risk locations globally. She has worked for renowned consultancies in Cape Town, London and Kenya as well the South African Institute of International Affairs, the continent’s number-one-rated think tank. She holds two first class Masters degrees from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg and the School of Oriental and African Studies, London.

Simon became a Director of Texel Finance Limited in 2012 and manages a team of brokers placing political and trade credit risk insurance for bank, trader and corporate clients. In addition to his management duties, Simon specialises in structuring and negotiating insurance policies to meet clients’ risk management and regulatory needs and has a successful track record placing insurance for complex and/or difficult risks. Simon joined Texel in 2007 after 4 years at Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) where he worked as research analyst and then as a broker in the Credit and Political Risk team where he placed insurance for commodity trader and financial institution clients. Simon graduated from Bath University in 2003. Texel Finance Limited is a Lloyd’s registered and FSA regulated specialised credit and political risk broker, with a deep knowledge base of commodities and structured trade finance. Texel Finance’s parent company also owns Texel Asia Pte Limited, a Singapore-based broker, as well as Texel Capital Limited, which originates, structures, and distributes structured trade finance transactions.

John Khaw is a technology evangelist and cofounder of a trade finance technology startup after 10 years in trade finance operations in major banks like Westpac Banking Corporation and Citi. Combining this passion for technology and trade finance, John is now consulting for a major trade finance project in Singapore. John is also a member of the Digitalization Committee for Singapore International Chamber of Commerce.

Akinbobola Olukayode “Kay” Olugbemi studied Masters of Law in International Commercial Law (with Professional Arbitration Skills) at the University of Aberdeen. He is a Nigerian qualified legal practitioner with considerable experience working in a top tier law firm in Africa to provide legal advisory services and support to institutional investors in the trade and finance sector. Kay has been instrumental in advising on the licensing of major Fintech entities in Nigeria and the multi-jurisdictional financing of a Fintech group in Africa. Kay has also advised on major trade transactions in Africa and was part of the team that advised in the sub-concession of the Lekki Deep Sea-Port in Lagos, Nigeria. As a budding scholar, Kay is passionate about trade simplification and liberalization. He is also concerned about repositioning trade in Africa through economically tested trade principles and ideas. His current research interest centres around distributed ledger technology in trade, trade policy and governance and international arbitration.

Director, Trade Remedies Consultant, Lead Researcher Sarah is a leading expert in UK trade remedies, having worked in trade remedies at the Department for International Trade from its inception. Previously Sarah has worked as a journalist at Reuters and the BBC. Sarah was trained as a trade remedies investigator at the TRID and now runs a trade consultancy, Castle Knight Services Ltd. Castle Knight offera 1-day crash courses on trade remedies to explain how the system works and whether it is worth it to get involved in a case. They also assist companies throughout their participation in cases. In addition to trade remedies, Castle Knight monitors the changes in the UK’s trade policy and helps companies to participate in government and parliamentary consultations on trade issues, as well as lobbying to put forward their position in trade negotiations with the EU, United States and other countries.

Philip Oguntoye is a finance professional with extensive knowledge and experience in International Trade, Cash Management, and Financial and Investment Analysis. He spent about eight years with Citibank across various functions. Currently, Philip serves as a Senior Asset and Liability Management Analyst at Yorkshire Building Society. Previously, he advised individuals and businesses on financial and investment management at Ecofinar and worked as an International Trade Analyst at Citibank Nigeria, where he handled invisible trade, exports, and supply chain finance. With a background in Economics, he is in the final stage of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Program and is an accomplished writer with articles published in both local and international media.