Authors Page - Trade Finance Global

Aurélie Grossemy is Director of International Business Development at Velotrade, the Hong-konguese platform specialised in trade finance. She has a solid transactional experience in receivable finance for the French and international market. She started her career in origination for General Electric Factoring in France where she has developed a compelling technical competence at structuring operations. Then she worked for the trade credit insurer Euler Hermes in the Structured Finance team. She provided strategic solutions on de-risking, capital optimisation and derecognition to banks and corporates on a variety of French or International programs of securitization, Supply Chain Finance and factoring. After spending most of her career in Europe, she entered Fintech world at Velotrade in Hong Kong. Aurélie has a Master’s degree in Business Management from SKEMA Business School

Nick’s experience and expertise includes commodity trading disputes, especially under GAFTA and FOSFA terms and oil trading contracts, cargo claims, disputes under charterparties, bills of lading, general average, MOAs and shipbuilding contracts.

Marilyn is the Global Head of Trade Finance, Trade Credit & Working Capital Solutions at Swiss Re Corporate Solutions. Marilyn is also a Vice Chair of the ICC Banking Commission, a member of the ITFA insurance & insurtech committees, the ITFA Trade Finance Investment Ecosystem working group and on the advisory board of Tradeteq. Previously, Marilyn was the Global Head of Trade Finance at global insurer American International Group (AIG) having joined in 2015 to build AIG’s trade finance team and products. Marilyn previously worked as a lawyer in the international banking and finance practice for global law firm Hogan Lovells in London and New York. Marilyn was seconded in-house to Citibank’s trade transaction services EMEA team including commodity trade finance, supply chain finance and risk optimisation divisions. Prior to that, Marilyn worked in international consulting.

Charles is recognised internationally as an authority in the field of receivables securitisation and working capital finance. He has over 30 years’ professional experience across a range of business sectors. He was engaged with Finacity Corporation since its inception in 2001 when he was appointed to Finacity’s Supervisory Board to represent the interests of Euler Hermes, an investor and strategic partner. Charles then headed Finacity’s European activity, leading its business development efforts. While at Euler Hermes in Paris, Charles successfully led the post-merger integration of the French Euler Group and German Hermes Group. Prior to joining Euler Hermes, Charles worked for Ford Motor Company, Union Bank of Switzerland and British Airways. Charles is a regular speaker at international trade finance and receivables securitisation conferences. He holds an MBA from the London Business School and a Master degree in Operational Research.

Dominik Langdale is a contributor at TFG.

Yüce Uyanik is a former factoring executive. Now, part time instructor at two universities in Istanbul on Foreign Trade, Finance, Accounting, Logistics and Sales Management subjects. An owner of a training consultancy company on Selling, Management and soft skills, Uyanik is also author of two books on Foreign Trade Transactions (2005) and Financing, International Factoring Rules (2002) and several scientific articles on private Law. Uyanik has been a member of the Legal committee of FCI since 2003.

Matt Reed has transactional due diligence experience with both private and public companies reporting under domestic and international accounting standards across various sectors including: consumer and industrial products, healthcare, professional services, and specialty finance. Since joining RedRidge Diligence Services, Matt has performed M&A and lender due diligence for strategic partners operating in the middle market throughout North America as well as Australia and Europe with deal sizes ranging from $1 million to $250 million.

James Esdaile is Managing Director at BPL Global. James has worked at BPL Global for 20 years, building a wealth of experience in numerous industry sectors. He was appointed to the Limited Board in 2004, and to the Group Board in 2006. As Joint Managing Director, James works alongside Sian Aspinall to set the company’s strategic course and ensure the highest levels of service for clients across the entire insurance placing process. Having joined BPL Global in 1997, James was appointed as Managing Director in 2015, charged with consolidating the broker’s position as the leading independent specialist in the CPRI market – by maintaining its reputation for high technical standards, overseeing its geographic and product growth, and developing its corporate structure.

Zane Piranditta is Commercial Partnerships Specialist at Currencies Direct

Brian Canup is a former Editorial & Research Assistant at Trade Finance Global (TFG). Brian holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MA in International Political Economy from King’s College London.

Manu is a London based consultant with 35 years of experience in Finance, Dispute Resolution and Insurance. He worked for 15 years in Investment Banking, Capital Markets and derivatives at Lazard and SBC after completing his MBA in 1984.  His 12 years’ experience of dispute resolution includes Arbitration and HM Courts and Tribunals where he has decided or advised parties on a variety of cases.  His insurance work has focused on representing policyholders on complex claims against insurers. More recently, he founded a technology start-up which provides compliance and credit data and insurance as well as invoice funding to companies from one dashboard, eliminating the need for multiple departments at smaller firms. Manu sits on the Charity Tribunal as a fee paid Member and is a Magistrate in central London.  He is a Member of the Finance Committee of JUSTICE, a UK based all-party law reform and human rights charity and a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Arbitrators. He studied Physics (Imperial College) and holds an MBA (LBS), an LLB and LLM in International Business Law (UCL).

Mark spent 18 years working for independent invoice finance companies and asset-based lenders in Manchester. In January 2019, PMD Business Finance launched its invoice finance division, which Mark joined to offer clients a fast and flexible review of their current funding. Mark’s time working in the lending arena means he understands what lenders are looking for from their clients. With PMD’s panel of over 70 funders, the firm is ideally placed to offer the best advice that allows clients to find the right funder for their business journey.

Alisa DiCaprio is the Head of Trade and Supply Chain at R3 in New York City. She joined from Asian Development Bank where she was a senior economist working on digital trade, trade finance and innovation. She has also worked in both the public and private sectors on export promotion, trade negotiations, and labour issues. Her PhD is from MIT, and she holds a BA and MA from Johns Hopkins University.

Chris Southworth is Secretary General at the International Chamber of Commerce UK. Prior to joining ICC he was Executive Director for Global Partnerships, at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), Head of the International Chambers of Commerce Unit at UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) and a Senior Policy Advisor to Lord Heseltine for his independent review of UK competitiveness. In 2011 he helped set up the mid-size business export programme at UKTI and was a Senior Policy Advisor for the 2011 Government Review of Mid-Size Businesses. Former roles have encompassed deregulatory policy at Better Regulation Executive, social enterprise policy at the Department for Business and stints in a local strategic partnership and the charity sector.

Simon Kleine is the Europe Business Lead for East and Partners, the leading specialist business banking insights and analytics consulting firm. He directs and leads all client work for East out of its London office, that also includes work for clients based in the Americas, the Middle East and Africa. He joined East in 2015 after a career that has seen him amass 15 years in the payments industry with American Express, Visa and Western Union, all where he held international communicationsleadershippositions. Beyond this he has held senior roles with global PR consultancies, serving clients across a range of industries. He holds a Politics BA Hons degree from Warwick University.

Dr. Rebecca Harding is a highly respected international economist specialising in the workings of trade and trade finance. She is CEO of Coriolis Technologies, a business providing Data as a Service to the trade finance sector. In this role she was nominated to the Women in FinTech Powerlist 2017. Rebecca is co- author of the acclaimed The Weaponization of Trade: the Great Unbalancing of Policy and Economics.

Sean Edwards is Head of Legal at SMBC Bank International plc, part of the Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group. He is a Special Adviser to the trade finance department of the bank and in the Trade Innovation Unit. Sean is Chairman of the International Trade & Forfaiting Association (ITFA). He helped draft the Uniform Rules for Forfaiting (URF) and the Standard Definitions for Techniques of Supply Chain Finance published by ITFA, ICC, FCI, BAFT and the EBA. He is a former member of the Executive Committee of the ICC Banking Commission and the ICC Working Group on Digitalisation in Trade Finance. Sean is a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Trade Finance Expert Group. He is a non-executive director of KomGo S.A. Sean has written for all the major trade finance magazines and is on the editorial board of Global Trade Review (GTR). He has presented at many conferences.

Susan Ross MBE is a trade credit broker at AON and Vice President at BExA. Susan Ross, Account Director within its Credit International division in the UK, was named on the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in July.  Susan will collect her MBE from a representative of Her Majesty the Queen at a ceremony today, in recognition of her tireless campaigning on behalf of the UK’s export economy. Susan has been a trade credit broker with Aon since the mid-1980s and has been a passionate volunteer member of the British Exporters Association for more than a decade, including a three year period as Chairman from 2009-2012. During this time Susan campaigned for the re-launch of the UK Export Finance (UKEF) Bond Support scheme to the benefit of the hundreds of companies who have since used the product to be able to bid for, and win, overseas business. Since its reintroduction in 2011, the UKEF Bond Support Scheme has been utilised by over 220 UK companies and supported almost £850m of UK exports.