Authors Page - Trade Finance Global

Joon Kim is the Global Head – Trade Finance Product & Portfolio Group manager in the Treasury Services Product Management group. In his current role, Joon is responsible for managing, developing and executing Trade Finance Product and Distribution strategy, working with all Treasury Services Global segments and Global Sales organizations to grow revenues and ensure risk and compliance measures are met. Joon has 25+ years of experience. He has held various senior positions at Standard Chartered Bank and American Express Bank, as Managing Director and Head of Transaction Banking for Corporate and Commodities for the Americas region. His various experiences include leading Trade Sales, Trade Product Management and Relationship Management teams, with an emphasis on development and sales of trade finance, supply chain financing, receivable services, trade processing and cross-border cash and liquidity management solutions to global financial institutions and corporations. He is a member of BAFT – Global Trade Industry Council and has written a number of articles, including a blog for ICC on “Business Unusual adapting to changes and facilitating Global Trade Finance.”

Vlad Drigin is a Data Analyst at Trade Finance Global

Joana Fabiao is the Marketing Manager at Trade Finance Global (TFG). She holds a BA in International Business from the University of Westminster, with a core focus on Global Economic Issues, International Financial Management and Organisational Behaviour. She also holds a certificate in Bloomberg Market Concepts. Prior to working at TFG she worked as Junior Consultant in the Marketing and Events Department at Westminster Business Consultants, focusing on their social media campaigns, content and marketing strategy.

Laurent is a serial fintech entrepreneur and investor and has been a financial advisor in asset finance for more than 10 years. In 2017, he set up Neo, the first European fintech that offers MiFID II-compliant investment services and PSD2-compliant payment services from a single platform, to help SMEs overcome the numerous challenges of international banking.

Igor Jakomin is Deputy Chief Executive Officer at CargoX – the independent supplier of blockchain-based Smart Bill of Lading (Smart B/L™) solutions. He has more than 20 years of experience in transport, logistics and shipping. He was United Parcel Service Country and Regional Manager, Managing Director of Samer Global Logistics, Supervisory Board member of Port of Koper and BTC Terminal, and advisor to many established companies in Slovenia. He also served as State Secretary (Deputy Minister) at the Slovenian Ministry of Transport for 3 years and holds a Ph.D. in transport and logistics.

Natasha Roston is Head of People and Growth at Trade Finance Global (TFG).  She builds partnerships to create innovative trade finance education projects and experiences. A key advocate for TFG’s annual Women In Trade campaigns, Natasha wrote a piece on the impact of gender stereotypes for gender equality in the workplace in 2022. Natasha is also responsible for TFG careers, culture, and team growth. A Level 2 Qualified Coach and Mental Health First Aid Champion, she leads internal training, supporting the holistic wellbeing of the team. Before joining TFG Natasha worked in education for over a decade. Initially as a classroom teacher, and then in academic and pastoral leadership roles. Following this, she worked in EdTech as a Learning Design Coach for Aula’s Higher Education platform. Natasha holds an MA from Tel Aviv University, a History PGCE from The Institute of Education and a BA from the University of Nottingham. Currently, she is studying for her Level 3 Certificate in International Trade from the Institute of Export & International Trade. In addition to her work at TFG, Natasha volunteers for the Young Women’s Trust as a Work It Out – CV Volunteer.   

Enno-Burghard Weitzel joined Surecomp in March 2021 as Senior Vice-President of Strategy, Digitization and Business Development. Helping the company fulfill its mission of setting the new global standard in trade finance digitization, his role primarily involves driving the strategic direction to ensure product development is completely aligned with customer needs. A seasoned expert in the field of corporate banking with a focus on cash and trade, Enno spent five years at leading global management consultancy firm McKinsey. He has also held senior positions at Commerzbank, one of the world’s top 20 trade finance banks. Enno’s command of the trade finance industry and his strong customer orientation are key to enabling customers drive growth through enhancing efficiency, reducing costs, fostering collaboration and improving customer service.

David Meynell is the founder of TradeLC Advisory, an advisory and consultancy service, and the co-owner of www.tradefinance.training, an online training platform for all aspects of trade finance.   He previously worked for Deutsche Bank for over 30 years in a number of international locations, culminating as Global Head Trade Product Management for Financial Institutions.  David is Senior Technical Advisor for the ICC Banking Commission and former Chief Examiner for the LIBF Certificate in International Trade Finance (CITF®). David co-chaired the ICC Working Group on the e-compatibility of ICC digital rules, leading to the release of eUCP Version 2.0 & eURC Version 1.0, and contributed as technical advisor to the drafting and publication of the ICC Uniform Rules for Digital Trade Transactions. He has recently been appointed as Digital Rules Advisor to the ICC Centre for Digital Trade and Innovation (C4DTI).   

Spencer Chilvers (Head of Export Control Policy) joined Rolls-Royce plc in June 2010 as part of the corporate export control team with special responsibility for export control policy, and relations with governments and the EU on export control issues. He is currently Chair of the Executive Committee of the UK Export Group for Aerospace, Defence & Dual-Use and a member of the Aero Space and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD) Export Control Committee. He is also a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.  Prior to that he worked for 14 years for the Export Control Organisation (ECO). During that time he was responsible for ECOs interests in the export control regimes, relations with the EU, including working groups dealing with dual-use items, trade sanctions and intra-community transfers of defence products.  He was also involved in work towards an Arms Trade Treaty, on small arms and light weapons issues associated with the UN Programme of Action, the OSCE Document and the UN Firearms Protocol.  He also participated in various UN Groups of Government Experts as the UK representative and was (and still is) active on international outreach work.

Heribert Knittlmayer joined SERV in 2007 as Head of International Relations & Planning (Chief of Staff). He has served as Chief Insurance Officer since 2014, and also as Deputy CEO of SERV since 1 January 2017. Previously, he held the role of SERV Project Coordinator at Export Risk Guarantee, where he was involved in the development of SERV products.

Mr. Zahoor N Dattu is an ex-banker (having worked in Central Bank of India, Mumbai, ANZ Grindlays Bank Ltd., Dubai, Mashreqbank Psc., Dubai and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, UAE as Head of Trade Finance Dept.). Mr Dattu has a total experience of 34 years of trade finance as under:- Mr Dattu is an M.Com from Bombay University and a CDCS (Certified Documentary Credit Specialist) from Chartered Institute of Bankers, London. Mr. Dattu was associated with the Consultancy firm from 2007 onwards – however, prior to this – he was an active speaker and conducted many training programmes in Emirates Institute For Banking & Financial Studies (EIBFS), Sharjah, UAE. Mr. Dattu is a certified trainer from the above Institute. He was also a faculty in Mashreq Learning Centre for the period from 1998 to 2004. He works closely with International Chamber of Commerce, UAE and conducts various trade finance programmes under the auspices of ICC, UAE and certified by them. He has successfully written policy and procedures in trade finance departments of Conventional and Islamic Finance Company. He does trade finance audit for banks.and conducts CDCS classes for banks’ staff. He is also the founding member of the informal Trade Finance Group formed amongst the Trade professionals in UAE.

Bill started in Freight Forwarding in 1970 in his native Birmingham, England.  In 1980, he transferred to the US by Jardine Air Cargo to open up their North American operations.  In 1985 , Bill joined Phoenix International who were a one-office Freight Forwarder with a staff of less than 50 people.  Over the next 10 years, he was one of the principal architects in making them one of the top three Ocean Freight Forwarders on the Transpacific route.  The company was sold to CH Robinson for $675 million but prior to that Bill had left to start his first Freight Forwarding Recruiting firm – Freight Match Services – in 1994.  In 2012 , he sold that company and went back into Freight Forwarding for 3 years and then created Logitalent in 2015.  Today Logitalent has 17 people based throughout the United States and are considered the premier Recruiting company for International Freight Forwarding and Domestic Truck Brokerage, working closely as Talent Partners with many of the largest Freight Forwarders in the world.  Bill is the most recommended Logistics Recruiter on LinkedIn and one of the Top 1% of all Recruiters on that platform.

David is a technology leader with a strong belief in people and helping them reach their potential. He has experience across multiple industries in communications, medical devices and industrial automation, Cochlear and AVEVA. With over 20 years of experience driving change, David’s focus is on the transformation of VERIDAPT from an IoT mining solutions company to a Fintech and SaaS commodity management and monitoring company in the banking and financing sector.

Malika Qurban is a Junior Marketing Manager at Trade Finance Global.

Linda Jacques is a Partner in the Marine, Shipping & Logistics team. Linda acts for clients all over the world and has an excellent understanding of trade issues which arise out of the carriage of goods by ship, air and land. It is common to find lawyers specialised in one of these fields but rarer to find a lawyer who fully appreciates the entire trade chain. She offers a pragmatic and incisive view to try and get issues and disputes resolved as cost-effectively as possible.

Mr. Punit Oza has over 30 years of experience in Dry Bulk Shipping, holding senior management positions in leading shipping companies including Precious Shipping, Noble Group & Torvald Klaveness. After holding senior commercial positions, Punit spearheaded the digital transformation of Klaveness Dry Bulk.Punit is an Affiliated Research Fellow at the Singapore Management University & lectures on “Geopolitical Risks & their impact on Trade & Shipping Flows”. He also lectures on the same topic at several global universities. Punit is also a Senior Adjunct Fellow at Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore Academy. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers and currently its Global Vice President. Punit also helms his own venture, Maritime NXT, focusing on training, teaching & consulting. He is also an investor and advisory board member at Motion Ventures, a fund focused on Maritime Startups. He holds a Masters in Shipping, Trade and Finance from Bayes (previously CASS) Business School, UK and a LLB and Post Graduate Diploma in Maritime Law from University of London.

Dr Han is qualified in both China and England & Wales. Having worked with leading UK and Chinese law firms in Shanghai, Hong Kong and London for over 15 years, he is well versed with disputes resolution in different jurisdictions and has a wide range of experience in handling complex commercial disputes.  He is a Solicitor-Advocate and regularly represents Chinese and international clients in ICC, LCIA, LMAA and CIETAC arbitrations, and in English and Chinese court proceedings. He is also a Fellow of Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in London and regularly sits as arbitrator in shipping and insurance disputes.

Sam Greenhalgh is the Sales Director at Zencargo and the Host of What’s in the Box, a podcast dedicated to all things freight.