Authors Page - Trade Finance Global

Yitian  Zhang is an undergraduate student at the University of Toronto and part of the TFG’s Student Writer Programme.

Marian heads the UK insurance and disputes practices working closely with the firm’s established trade and export finance team, and U.S.-based disputes team, offering advice on insurance, risk management and commercial dispute resolution.

Idris Nur is a Philosophy, Politics and Economics student at the University of Warwick with a keen interest in the intersection between finance and sustainability. He seeks to drive further awareness on how the financial services can be used as a force to deliver good, and achieve our environmental objectives.

Aaron Onyango is an Associate at Clifford Odhiambo & Company Advocates and Bronze Winner of the International Trade Professional Programme (ITPP) 2021.

Shirley is a Audit Staff Accountant at Deloitte. A Rotman Commerce University of Toronto graduate with aspirations in the fields of accounting, audit, and social activism. An aspiring CPA professional engaged in community building. Has founded with numerous student-led, grassroots organizations focused on creating communities of impact.

Daniela Chen is a Strategy Consultant at Monitor Deloitte. She graduated from Bayes Business School (formerly Cass), studying Investment and Financial Risk Management. Her interests include macroeconomics, equity research, trading and investment. She was a part of the TFG Student Writer Programme.

Mr. Dunlop is presently Director of Operations for ITFglobal.ie, and is responsible for the online trade transaction management team.  The team’s vision is for all companies worldwide to be able to trade goods and services between themselves online via the Internet. He is a trade finance consultant with patents pending for online eUCP trade finance Internet solutions.  Previously he was CEO of InterNetLC.com, LLC, providing management of international letters of credit for exporters and importers.  He was past Director of International Services for Escrow.com. From that experience, he identified the need for simplified online international trade finance capability. Mr. Dunlop has been providing commercial letter of credit transaction management and documentation services since 1992. He has designed online trade finance capabilities for international banks and proprietary Internet-based software systems. He also teaches as an adjunct instructor for International Transactions at Grossmont College in San Diego, California. His work experience includes aerospace engineering, airline operations, and commercial jet engine marketing and management positions with major airlines and OEM manufacturers. During his four years of active service in the US Army, he served as a Captain commanding a company in Vietnam, and Deputy Director of Engineering at  Corpus Christi Army Depot. Mr. Dunlop graduated from the University of Notre Dame in aerospace engineering and is a recipient of an Export Achievement Certificate from the US Department of  Commerce and a member of their District Export Council.

Agnès Joly is the Head of Trade Services, Global Transaction & Payment Services at Societe Generale. She joined Societe Generale in 1984, initially working as a junior maths expert for Export Finance and then as a FX derivative sales manager in the newly created Capital Market division. In 1991, Societe Generale created a team to help Western European companies partner with Eastern countries looking for trade and economic development and Joly was selected to focus on the Czech Republic and Hungary. She then went on to spend four years as human resources business partner for the Capital Market division prior to becoming deputy head of trade services.

Bob’s background in exporting and importing stretches over more than 50 years, initially in international banking then in the world of international commerce. In 1989 he started his own business as an independent consultant and educator assisting exporters and importers in the “back office” side of their businesses. In all, he has directly controlled and co-ordinated many tens of thousands of shipments of a very wide variety of products coming and going all round the world. Bob now has the honour of being the first Australian and only the second non-lawyer to be invited by the ICC to be a member of their Incoterms® Drafting Group to draft the new Incoterms® 2020. This was as a result of his being a member of the ICC’s committee which drafted the new publication “ICC Guide to Transport and the Incoterms® 2010 Rules”. He was previously a member of ICC Australia’s Incoterms® Committee contributing to the drafting of Incoterms® 2010 and was then Australia’s representative to the three days of Incoterms® 2010 Release Conference and Masterclass workshop in Paris October 2010. In May 2015 he gave a presentation on Incoterms® 2010 to the ICC’s first-ever conference in Yangon, Myanmar, and in October 2015 was invited to give a similar presentation to ICC Hong Kong.

Natalie has extensive senior leadership experience across a range of sectors, including her time as the CEO of the UK’s Financial Ombudsman. At the Financial Ombudsman, Natalie was instrumental in the resolution of critical consumer issues, including payment protection insurance (PPI). Natalie has a track record of leading technology-driven change, improving the reach and delivery of products and services to customers. After training as a strategy consultant at McKinsey, Natalie has held three CEO roles (at the National Archives, HM Courts and Tribunals Service and the Financial Ombudsman Service), and multiple executive director roles including HSBC UK. She is currently a Non-Executive Director at Countrywide PLC, and leads a boutique strategy consultancy practice.

Richard is a London based Partner and Solicitor Advocate at Eversheds Sutherland who specialises in advising on heavy- weight civil and public law matters in dispute situations and conducts High Court proceedings, arbitrations and other forms of dispute resolution in London and internationally. Richard has 20 years’ experience as a commercial disputes lawyer, which includes acting on: Minister of Finance (Incorporated) and 1Malaysia Development Berhad v International Petroleum Investment Company and Aabar investments PJs [2019], advising the Malaysian Claimants on Commercial Court proceedings and two LCIA arbitrations to set aside a consent award and settlement agreements entered into by the previous Malaysian Government.  IOEC V Dean International trading and Others [2019] – advising the successful Claimant who received judgment in full to recover $87m in stolen funds. The case is the leading authority on the interplay between illegality (post Patel v Mirza), sanctions and remedies. It also required the creation of bespoke processes to enable the first large scale e-discovery exercise in Iran for the purpose of foreign proceedings and establishing a three site virtual court. NIOC v Crescent Petroleum [2016]: acting in one of the largest ever challenges to an arbitration award before the London Commercial Court.

Cécile André Leruste is managing partner at Priscus Italia. She has more than 20 years of experience both in consulting and banking. Mrs. André Leruste worked at RGI Group, Accenture, McKinsey, Société Générale, Roland Berger and Capgemini. She graduated from HEC Paris business school and has an MBA from the Wharton School and the Lauder Institute. A mother of three, she has a passion for education and is vice president of the Paris-Ile de France Chamber of Commerce, overseeing its 19 schools. She is also a Board member of Savencia Gourmet. In 2013, she founded the Cercle des Femmes Dirigeantes, which gathers top female business leaders in France. Mrs. André Leruste is based in Paris.

Wayne Busch serves as President of Financial Services for NTT DATA Services, a top 10 global IT services provider. With more than 26 years in the financial services industry, his leadership of high-impact consulting, technology and operations teams has allowed him to personally serve an array of clients across North America and Europe. Wayne helps clients optimize their current business and leverages NTT DATA Services’ capabilities to rotate them toward new waves of growth, creating new operating models through digital platform delivery, technology services transformation and As-a-Service solutions.

Luca Corsini is a head of GTB at UniCredit Group

Vipin Bharathan is the founder of dlt.nyc an Enterprise Blockchain consulting firm. Vipin has deep and broad interests from change through socio-technical methods in regulated enterprises to self-sovereign identity.

Michael Vrontamitis is the Lead Industry Principal for Finastra’s Lending Business Unit, which covers Cash Management, Trade and Working Capital Management, Retail and Corporate Lending. He also advises several start-ups, including Kountable Inc, and is a member of the World Trade Board. A renowned industry thought leader, he is particularly passionate about the intersection between sustainability, technology and finance and the impact digitalization can have in narrowing the trade finance gap and enabling sustainable supply chains. Prior to Finastra, Michael spent 25 years with Standard Chartered, spanning both wholesale and retail clients, as well as investor relations, working in Hong Kong, London and Singapore. He was the Global Head of Trade Finance Product, and most recently responsible for the bank’s trade finance business with European and American headquartered companies. He also looked after sales, product, distribution, service and implementation in Europe and the Americas. Michael has been a member of the BAFT Board of Directors and BAFT’s Global Trade Industry Council. He was also part of the ICC Banking Commission Advisory Board, where he co-chaired the ICC Working Group on the digitalization of trade finance and chaired the SWIFT Offshore CNY Best Practice Working Group on Cash & Trade. Michael was recognized by The Asset as The Renminbi Banker of the Year in 2014. He has a degree and Master’s in Economics from the University of Warwick.

Ken has extensive international experience in the insurance industry having spent 40 years working across a broad spectrum of disciplines in operational, corporate development and strategic management roles. He has worked in several markets including the UK, Europe and the Far East.Currently leading the marketing and communications strategy for B3i, Ken applies a strong leaning towards future thinking and strategies for disruption, whilst constantly striving for change and challenging the status quo.