Authors Page - Trade Finance Global

Nasser M. Al-Thekair is the General Manager of the Trade & Business Development Department, responsible for leading its Policy & Partnership, the Trade Development, and the Business Development & Decentralization functions in order to provide integrated and comprehensive support to ITFC and various stakeholders. In addition, he is also responsible for determining the strategy and providing input and expertise for enhancing the functioning and service quality of these functions by aligning functioning to market practice and conceptualizing systemic improvements and initiatives to drive operational effectiveness and efficiencies.

Cheryl Buss is the CEO of Absa International currently based in the United Kingdom. In capacity of CEO, Cheryl leads the banks UK and Europe, US, Middle East Asia and China international focus in addition to her direct responsibility for Absa Securities UK. Through this role Cheryl drives the Absa Group’s International strategy ultimately enabling connectivity with corporates and institutional clients through an independent international presence. Cheryl joined Absa in 2008 and managed the Global Clients Africa (GCA) business under the One Africa strategy which launched in 2011. One Africa included building the start-up strategy for the business, ensuring successful alignment with Group and designing a new operating model. Since the Barclays Plc announcement in 2016 where it sold its majority shareholding in Barclays Africa, Cheryl has successfully managed the separation of the GCA business which included the strategic build out of the Absa International Coverage business. She has 25 years of multi-disciplinary banking experience across Africa and the United Kingdom. Prior to her joining Absa, Cheryl worked at Standard Chartered where she held various roles. Cheryl has a passion for African business and the people that are involved in making this a success. Cheryl has a keen interest in the development and motivation of teams and actively contributes to the growth aspirations of individuals within the teams she leads. Cheryl is personally motivated by delivering value propositions that not only solve client needs but enable growth and sustainability for both clients and the continent.

Cynthia has 14 year of experience in the banking industry, mainly in Corporate Banking in the  Ports and Logistic sector, Leverage Finance, and special projects on Liquidity Management. She  is currently an Audit Manager covering the Corporate and Investment Banking activities at BNP  Paribas. Prior joining the banking industry, she holds a bachelor degree in Financial Management from the  Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Campus Ciudad de Mexico and a  MBA from HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management. Cynthia is originally from Mexico and has an international background. She works and lives in  London and previously she studied in Mexico, Belgium and Germany, and worked in Mexico,  Belgium, and France. Cynthia is passionate about trade finance, eager and looking forward to expand her knowledge  and to be exposed to the trade finance network.

Daryna Strogal is a Trade Finance Analyst at EBRD.

Senior leader and a qualified Trade and Supply Chain Finance Professional with over 23 years of Trade and Supply Chain Finance experience gained via multiple Trade and Supply Chain Finance roles, namely  Operations, Training, Sales, Product in 4 different jurisdictions, Sri Lanka, Maldives, United Arab Emirates and Canada. Consistent success delivering exceptional business and operational results through strategic target setting and a focus on execution.

Hugo Verschoren started his career as a banker in 1978 in the Letter of Credit department at BBL in Antwerp. For more than 10 years Hugo has been an active member of the Banking Commission of the International Chamber of Commerce as a Technical Advisor and been involved in working groups about Regulatory Advocacy, Compliance and Anti-Money Laundering, Bank Payment Obligation, Digitisation, the Uniform Rules for Digital Trade and the ICC Trade Register. Hugo is now the manager and owner of goVer Trade Technologies and an independent expert and consultant for the Trade Finance community.

Steven Lauricella has over a decade of experience in structured finance developing working capital solutions and has worked on a range of projects throughout his career, including legal structuring, technology integration and operational execution. As Head of Businesses Development and Partnerships at Previse, Steven is responsible for the growth and development of Previse’s early payment solution.

Rachel Vanni is a California attorney, founder of Local Content, and freelance writer based in San Diego, CA. Combining legal expertise with a passion for writing, she offers a unique and practical perspective on family, civil, and business matters. With over a decade of experience, Rachel has designed and executed digital strategies aligned with corporate marketing plans, building strong foundations for startups and small businesses. Her expertise spans digital marketing, content creation, and entrepreneurship, working with both B2B and B2C audiences. She has launched and managed multiple organizations and authored articles on contracts, AI, and marketing, focusing on content that educates, inspires, and connects with diverse audiences.

Don Coker has been called on as an expert banking and financial consultant in over 700 litigation matters and in many other non-litigation matters, and has testified as an expert in deposition, arbitration, or court 178 times.   He is an expert consultant in all areas of banking, finance, corporate finance, and international transactions, including trade transactions, anti-money laundering, wealth management, securities, credit cards, real estate, institutional management, bank taxation, and many related areas. Mr. Coker has been called on by well over one hundred banks worldwide, 77 of the world’s largest law firms, over 90 trusts, 65 insurance companies, and dozens of governmental entities, including cities and states, banking regulators, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Agency for International Development, the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the International Accounting Standards Board Foundation (in London), several members of the Forbes 400 List, and clients in 40 countries for work involving sixty-seven countries, and hundreds of others.  

Product Owner at Mercury TFS (a PagoNxT Company).

Khadija Khartit has 25 years of experience in management, investment banking, and startup advisory. Additionally, she holds FINRA Series 7, 63, and 66 licenses. Throughout her career, Khadija worked for and co-advised with leading investment banks such as UBS, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Credit Suisse, Barclays, and Banque Populaire. She supplied investment targets to Carlyle, KKR, InvestCorp and Standard Chartered. She worked on secondary offerings of prominent unicorns such as Lyft, Flipkart, Spotify, and Dropbox.

Dr Sanjay C. Kuttan is the chief technology officer at the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation. Dr Sanjay C. Kuttan  is an experienced leader and opinion maker with a demonstrated history of effectively working across the industry for commercial outcomes i.e, Renewables, Maritime, Oil & Gas and Consulting and for the public sector i.e., Regulator and R&D.

Viviane Gnuan-Stehli has served as the communications manager at SERV since September 2014. She also holds a master’s degree in applied linguistics.

Torben Sauer specializes in IT operations and infrastructure.  He joined Conpend as it emerged from the digital consultancy Proferus, bringing with him 20 years’ experience as an IT consultant.  As Conpend’s CEO, Torben’s role is to navigate the digital transformational journeys of the company’s clients.

Bethlehem Yazew is a research analyst at Trade Finance Global.

Jim is an award-winning, ex-Reuters, commodity freelance journalist who writes on behalf of Veridapt.

Marcus Lankford is a Restructuring Advisory Analyst at Kroll. He holds a BA in Economics and Politics, with a core focus on International and Environmental Economics, Political Lobbying and Digital Information at Work.

Anna Sands is a Senior Policy Advisor at WWF-UK, specialising in trade. She works on the UK’s new independent trade policy, and how to make it greener and more equitable. Previously she worked for the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, where she did research on global economic governance and sustainability. She has a BA in Law and an MPhil in Development Studies from the University of Oxford.