Authors Page - Trade Finance Global

Sukand Ramachandran is part of BCG’s Financial Institutions practice and advises financial institutions and clients across industries on digital and technology-enabled transformations. He heads up BCG’s Corporate banking segment in Europe and the Trade Finance topic globally. He is the lead for technology & digital in wholesale banking as well. Since joining BCG in 2006, Sukand has focused his work on wholesale banks worldwide, helping them transform how they engage with customers, and harness technology, business processes, and organization design to transform how they operate. He has deep experience in customer service transformations and in deploying intelligent automation technologies (artificial intelligence, robotics automation, etc.) to drive a step-change in how value is delivered within businesses and to customers.

CBI Managing Director, Vice President of the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business and the Italian Representative at ISO Technical Committee 68 Financial Services and ISO20022 RMG. She also holds positions of an Independent Board Member of companies. For over twenty years she has been the author of numerous articles and papers also in the international press, key note speaker, recognized opinion leader in the field of digitization of financial services, Electronic Payments and Open Banking. In 2021, she was included by Forbes Italy among the “100 influential Italian women of 2021″, nominated among the “Inspiring Fifty Italy” as a “role model” in STEM subjects, awarded Women in Finance – 2020/2021 Italy Awards in the category “Woman in FinTech of the Year” by the British Embassy in Italy, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Lener & Partners and Borsa Italiana, through the vote of an exceptional jury from the Italian institutional, financial and business world, as well as awarded by Le Fonti TV as “Managing Director of the Year – Banking”.

Daniel is the Deputy CEO of Anglo-Gulf Trade Bank and has led the project from its start with a goal of building the most data-driven digitally-enabled Trade Finance bank.

Alex started his career as a maritime lawyer with Holman Fenwick & Willan in London, Athens and Hong Kong. He then joined Freehill, Hogan & Mahar in New York, where his clients included many leading ship operators. In 2005, Alex co-founded essDOCS with the aim of eliminating the significant inefficiencies resulting from the use of paper documentation in shipping and trade. Today, Alex serves as essDOCS Co-CEO & CRO, where he is responsible for the Company’s strategic direction while overseeing all revenue-generating aspects of the business.

Joel Schrevens is Global Solutions Director at China Systems, responsible for Product Strategy on Trade and Supply Chain Finance. He is the main contact for organisations such as SWIFT, Contour and Marco Polo and other business and technology partners. Thirty years ago, Joel started his career at KBC Bank, where he worked for seven years in their Foreign Trade Operations. He is still grateful that he was given the opportunity by the bank to take a leading role in the automation of their trade back-office operations. It provided him with a blend of business, operational and technical expertise and also the mind-set to continuously think about how to optimise intra- and interbank business processes and customer service. While he is ‘notoriously’ known for his attention to detail, he takes some pride in his ability and creativity to think at the trade ecosystem level. He is passionate about the potential of new technology, but is also convinced that, as our data processing environments will become increasingly hybrid, it is essential to well understand the present in order to efficiently handle a long period of transformation and create a bright future for Trade.

Head of Trade Finance Origination & Advisory, NatWest Bank  

Judd leads the global product strategy of Wells Fargo’s International Group, improving the banking experience of corporate and institutional customers doing business globally. Primarily, he is responsible for product lines associated with Wells Fargo’s international businesses including global treasury management, global financial institutions, and global payment services. Judd’s team also serves the broader enterprise in global product and platform management, facilitating execution of the company’s international expansion, foreign branch network infrastructure, and Wells Fargo’s global payment and lending platforms.

President and Chief Executive Officer at BAFT, the global non-profit association responsible for providing thought leadership, advocacy, education, and a global community for organizations engaged in Transaction Banking. Oversee development of industry agenda for trade finance, cash management, liquidity, compliance, innovation and other areas affecting the transaction banking industry. Drive regulatory advocacy, establish best practices and provide training to thousands of practitioners in the transaction banking industry. Membership includes 300+ companies on 6 continents including over 85% of the world’s top 50 banks and the most influential business leaders in transaction banking.

John Mitchell is the CEO of next-generation payments software technology provider Episode Six, and an expert in the payments industry with decades of experience in leading and growing startups. Prior to co-founding Episode Six, Mitchell was the CEO of Rêv Worldwide. Prior to Rêv, he was at NetSpend Corporation where he was the primary architect and strategist of NetSpend’s sales and distribution strategy.

A respected thought leader and dynamic innovator in international trade and supply chain finance, who relishes new opportunities to expand cross-border business, nothing impassions Tony more than to develop a new market or solution to fill a competitive need and deliver tangible success. He spawned an industry by pioneering purchase order financing, helping successful international traders grow by financing inventory to fill available orders. Later, he developed buyer-led payables financing allowing creditworthy importers to buy goods on longer payment terms while paying their suppliers cash. Tony’s end-to-end trade expertise grew from credit insurer, to buyer and seller of goods, to logistician and specialist supply chain financier, over 25 years. His international trade finance management experience ranges from startups to a division of a top-five U.S. bank. Today, Tony believes in the power of technology to transform international trade and finance, aka Fintech. Cutting edge technology platforms from blockchain to Big Data and supply chain finance to B2B marketplaces have sought to leverage Tony’s experience and creative thinking to grow their businesses. Specialities: International Trade, International Trade Finance, Factoring, Asset Based Finance, Purchase Order Finance, Letters of Credit, Forfaiting, Receivables Finance, Inventory Finance, Supply Chain Finance, Trade Payable Finance, Logistics, Credit Insurance, Product Development and Launch, Market and Business Development, Startups, Fintech, Expert Witness

Veronika Koroleva is a partner at a challenger law firm gunnercooke llp. Veronika has advised on a wide range of structured trade and commodity transactions, including pre-export and prepayment financings, borrowing base facilities and ownership-based structures, receivables finance and supply chain finance. She also has experience with project finance and restructuring of cross-border financings in emerging markets.

Parth Desai, Founder & CEO, Pelican Parth Desai graduated from Georgia Tech with a Master’s degree in Artificial Intelligence and was quickly hired to work with one of the most celebrated global pioneers of Artificial Intelligence, Roger Schank. Parth rapidly built a deep expertise in AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP) that has driven his own ability to innovate over the past two decades. During that time, Parth built a global team and nurtured their collective AI expertise. Working collaboratively within the Banking, Financial Services and Insurance domain for Banks and Corporates, Parth has built a thorough understanding of the Payments, Securities, Anti Money Laundering and Risk Management from both the business and technology viewpoints. As Founder & CEO of Pelican, Parth works closely with his global team to deliver consistent innovation and client value that continues to underpin long-term client relationships.

Joshua is part of Leumi UK’s Marketing and PR team. Prior to joining the bank, he worked for a number of years as a business and financial journalist covering sectors such as technology, commodities, medicine and retail. During this time he was inducted into the Leaders of the Future Committee and the 30 Under 30. At Leumi UK he continues to write, drafting external communications and contributing to internal publications.

After his studies in Economics and Business Administration at the University of St. Gallen (HSG)/Switzerland, Davide started his professional career with UBS Zurich and New York in Commercial Banking and Structured Finance. During his 7 years at UBS, he covered several positions as a Credit Analyst, Credit Officer and Account Manager. In 2000, Davide joined Swiss Reinsurance Company as Senior Credit Underwriter and Structurer. In 2008 he was appointed Head of Underwriting for Trade, Commodity & Project Finance. In 2010, Davide moved to Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, the direct commercial insurance arm of Swiss Re Group, where he first took on the role as Head of Credit Underwriting Office, followed by an interim appointment as Global Head of Credit & Surety as of January 2015. Since August 2016 he heads up the global operations of Bank Trade and Infrastructure Finance (BTI), located in Zurich.

An experienced and curious individual with a demonstrated history of working as a Customer service Agent, Customer service Manager, and Operation Manager in the eCommerce world with a Bachelor of Science (BSc) Degree focused on Computer Science.

John WH Denton AO is Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce, Paris. John was formerly Partner and CEO of Corrs Chambers Westgarth, the leading Australian independent law firm. John’s appointment to the ICC is the first time that an Australian has held such a position. John is a member of the Board of the global infrastructure investor – IFM Global Investors. He is a member of the Board of the UN Global Compact. He is Asia Pacific Chair of Veracity Worldwide Advisory Board. John is Co-Chair of the B20 “Financing Growth and Infrastructure” Taskforce, Chair (emeritus) of the Business Council of Australia’s Global Engagement Task Force; Chairman (emeritus) of the Experts Group on Trade and Investment in Indonesia;and a founding member of the Australia-China CEO Roundtable. John was a member of the Australian Government advisory panel overseeing the development of the ‘Australia in the Asian Century’ White Paper. He was on the Government’s Cabinet sub-committee for the White Paper review process published in October 2012 and later a member of the Strategic Advisory Board advising the Government on implementation and emerging policy issues. A former diplomat, John was a Panel Member of the Independent Review of Aid Effectiveness and was the founding Chairman of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees Australia for more than a decade. John has a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and a Bachelor of Law from the University of Melbourne, and is a Harvard Business School Alumnus.

Simon takes responsibility for Finastra’s strategic direction and growth. His leadership steers the company as it realizes its open platform vision, accelerating collaboration and innovation in financial services, creating better experiences for people, businesses and communities. A firm believer in the principles of doing well by doing good, Simon chairs the World Trade Board and is passionate about how technology and open trade can drive financial inclusion and improve people’s lives. He also serves on the Board of Directors for Everbridge, a critical event management (CEM) software company. An inspiring and trusted Fintech thought leader, Simon speaks regularly at large-scale events including the annual World Trade Symposium, Paris FinTech Forum and The Milken Asia Summit. He is a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion, with refreshing and candid views on equality in the workplace. He was also named in Bank Innovation’s ‘Innovators to Watch’ list for 2018. Simon joined Finastra (formerly Misys) as President in 2015, was appointed Deputy Chief Executive Officer in 2017 and became Chief Executive Officer in June 2018. He brings more than 20 years of sales, management and global leadership expertise to the company, having previously held the role of President, Industry Cloud, at SAP. Prior to that he was a senior consultant with McKinsey & Company. He holds a degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the INSEAD Business School in France and a Bachelor’s degree in Business & European languages from the European Business School.

Ana Boata is the Global Head of Economic Research at Allianz Trade.