Abraham Georgakarakaros

VP Digital & E-Commerce Virgin Media & O2

Abraham Georgakarakos is the VP of Digital at Virgin Media O2, shaping the company's digital strategy and leading its execution. His role spans Digital Sales, eCommerce Product, Trading Operations, Experimentation and Personalisation. Over the past 20 years, Abraham held regional and global Digital leadership positions across EMEA in Fortune Global 500 organisations, including Vodafone Group, Microsoft, and MTN. Abraham's career has centred on utilising the transformative power of technology and digitization to drive sustainable growth in TMT and Consumer IoT (Internet of Things) across UK, EU and Middle East. Abraham is leading the strategy and delivery of Open Banking and Digital Payments in Virgin Media O2 and is extremely passionate about pushing the Open Banking and Open Finance agenda across the Telecom industry and beyond, to enable greater consumer financial confidence and benefits for customers and businesses. Abraham has a BSc in Computer Science & MBA in Informatics from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and an executive degree from Advanced Leadership Programme of Cambridge Judge Business School.

Andreas Ioannou

Investor Fintech Collective

Andreas is an Investor at FinTech Collective, a VC firm founded 14 years ago in New York City with a mission to back creators with a hunger to reimagine the way money flows through the world. He's based out of the firm's London office and seeks founders building category-defining companies. Prior to joining FinTech Collective, Andreas was an investor at CommerzVentures, a fintech-specialist venture capital firm investing across Europe and the US, where he led the firm’s London presence. He started his career at Raisin, a fintech startup operating the world’s largest global savings marketplace, across product and business development. Andreas earned his B.A. and M.Sci. in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge where he specialised in Computational Physics.

Barbara Gottardi

Founder & CEO Finbridge Global

Barbara Gottardi is a globally seasoned Chief Information & Operational Officer turned entrepreneur and non-executive leader with over two decades of experience driving digital and operational transformation at major financial institutions, including HSBC,Vanguard, Admiral Money. Over 20 years of experience in Finance technology leading high performing team globally across Investment Banking, Asset Management, Retail Banking and Wealth management.

A trusted leader and strategic thinker with a record of successful deliveries across the globe.

A real advocate for women in tech and true diversity in business.Outside work she is a mother of 2 teenager boys and a keen runner.

Bianca Zwart

Chief Strategy Officer bunq

As bunq’s Chief Strategy Officer, Bianca keeps the company laser-focused on its mission: building the first bank people actually love to use. She shapes bunq’s long-term strategy and steers the teams that keep the company centered on users’ wants and needs.

From entry level employee to CSO in less than 10 years – and all before the age of 33 – Bianca’s journey at bunq started in 2016 on the frontlines of user support. After rising to Head of PR & Communications, she left to launch and scale two successful companies – Black & White Communications, and Pioneer Academy – before rejoining bunq as its first Chief of Staff in 2022. Now, as CSO, she drives the strategy that powers bunq’s global growth and leads the company’s largest division, focused on making life easy for users everywhere.

Having lived an international lifestyle herself, Bianca brings the same borderless perspective as bunq’s users. That experience fuels her passion to redefine banking: so that people don’t have to slow down their international lifestyle to fit a bank, but have one that empowers it.

Catarina Pires

CPO BNP Paribas Personal Finance

CATARINA PIRES as TRIBE LEADER at BNP PERSONAL FINANCE is leading multidisciplinary teams that are focused on delivering the best onboarding experience to customers, by transforming, simplifying and optimizing their journeys. The customer-centric mindset requires the involvement of several parts, among teams and stakeholders during the whole process to achieve successful results.

With a partnership-driven approach, it inspires its teams to innovate, collaborate and deliver sustainable value that will cause positive impact. Keeping up to date with digital trends, such as Customer Engagement and Digital Accessibility, are a must to promote a test-and-learning approach, and keep active learning culture, among the teams.

Its leadership is moved by the idea that best solutions are born from the combination of right people, a purpose and future vision. Catarina truly believes that extraordinary things can be created with these 3 ingredients!

Christian Wolf

Head of Strategic Partnerships and Ecosystems Raiffeisen Bank International

Christian Wolf is a senior banking executive and board advisor specializing in digital transformation and regulatory innovation at one of Central and Eastern Europe's leading financial institutions. As Head of Strategic Partnerships & Ecosystems at Raiffeisen Bank International (€204bn assets, 11 markets), he provides strategic advisory to the Group Board of Management on emerging technologies and new business models. Currently serving on the supervisory board of Qivalis, a European banking consortium developing EUR-denominated stablecoin infrastructure, Christian brings deep expertise in digital assets, blockchain technology, and AI governance. Christian manages ElevatorLab and RBI's Fintech Scouts initiative, CEE's largest fintech partnership ecosystem with 40+ strategic collaborations, translating emerging technologies into actionable business strategies. His focus areas include stablecoins, electronic identities, AI in banking, and European financial resilience.

Christos Chamberlain

General Manager, UK & Europe Airwallex

Christos Chamberlain is General Manager of Airwallex for UK and Europe. Airwallex is a leading financial platform building the future of global banking for modern businesses. By combining proprietary infrastructure with software and AI, Airwallex is reimagining how businesses manage accounts, access capital, control spend, and embed financial services. Prior to Airwallex, Christos served as General Manager at Flexport, where he partnered with businesses to overcome the regulatory, financial and operational complexities of cross-border trade. Earlier in his career, he held senior operational roles in high-growth ecommerce companies, giving him first-hand experience of the financial bottlenecks that constrain global expansion.

Dan Kimerling

Co-Founder Deciens

Daniel Kimerling is the Founder and Managing Partner of Deciens Capital, a high-conviction venture firm investing in companies reshaping financial services. He leads the firm's early-stage investment strategy, with portfolio companies including Chipper, SimplyWise, and Treasury Prime.
Before Deciens, Dan co-founded Standard Treasury, an early pioneer in API-driven banking infrastructure. Backed by Y Combinator, Andreessen Horowitz, and Index Ventures, the company was named one of American Banker's "Ten Technology Companies to Watch" and SWIFT's "Global Innovator of the Year" before its acquisition by Silicon Valley Bank, where Dan went on to lead API Banking, Open Platform, and Global Research.
A Kauffman Fellow and Forbes "30 Under 30" honoree, Dan holds an A.B. and A.M. from the University of Chicago. He is based in Albuquerque, N.M.

David McHenry

Head of Treasury and Trade Solutions HSBC UK Innovation Bank

As the Managing Director and Head of Treasury & Trade Solutions at HSBC Innovation Banking UK, David has over 20 years of experience in treasury management sales, with a focus on emerging payments in the fintech, public sector, and correspondent banking fields.
In his current role, he is responsible for the development and deployment of HSBC Innovation Banking's Treasury & Trade Solutions (TTS) sales strategy, overseeing TTS sales team and the Implementation, Integration & Technical Delivery team.

He supports the Commercial Office's key strategic priorities, working closely with internal and external partners across local, regional, and global levels, and incorporating feedback from clients. He also oversees the TTS team's mission to assess customer needs and recommend effective strategies, driving volume growth in transaction banking, trade, deposit, and card solutions. Additionally, he has led business development efforts around interactions with fintech clients and prospects, leveraging his unique sales, management, and product development experience in both a boutique technology and a regional bank atmosphere.

Dimitri Masin

CEO Gradient Labs

Dimitri Masin is the CEO and Co-Founder of Gradient Labs, the conversational AI platform transforming customer operations in financial services. An early employee at Monzo, Dimitri built the bank’s AI and Data Science teams, helping it become one of the UK’s most successful fintechs. During this time, he worked on some of the most challenging problems in customer operations and saw firsthand how AI could be used to solve them.

Prior to Monzo, Dimitri worked at Google and Osper. He is known for building high-performance technical teams and for developing responsible AI systems for regulated environments. His work has spanned large-scale automation, operational efficiency, and applied machine learning across product, engineering, and operations functions. He frequently speaks about the future of AI in banking and advises early-stage fintech and AI founders.

Dora Grant

Chief Risk Officer Griffin

Dora is Chief Risk Officer (CRO) at Griffin. An experienced risk professional with more than 20 years of experience in financial services, Dora honed her skills in companies like Lloyds, Barclays and Legal & General where she was the Head of Governance, Planning and MI for the life and GI businesses.
Dora had been a CRO 3 times before joining Griffin and has sat as a Chairperson of the Endorsements Committee at the Institute of Operational Risk. Dora joined the financial services advisory team of the global accounting firm BDO in January 2020, before moving to Griffin in January 2023.
Dora is a prominent and well-known industry voice, speaking about the intricacies of risk and compliance in financial services and often sitting in industry roundtables and expert panels. She is now a member of the advisory Board of the FT’s Banking Risk & Regulatory.

Felipe Peñacoba

CEO, Payments Hub (Pagonxt) Pagonxt (Banco Santander)

Felipe Peñacoba is CEO of Payments Hub, within Getnet, Santander Group’s global payments platform. He leads the evolution of Santander’s account-to-account capabilities in the open market, building payment infrastructure designed to operate at scale across complex, multibank and highly regulated environments.

With over 25 years of leadership experience across banking, payments and technology, Felipe has driven transformation in both global financial institutions and high-growth organisations. He previously served as CIO and Management Board Member at Revolut Bank (EU), and held senior leadership roles at Santander UK and Finastra. He began his career at Accenture, working on large-scale core banking and payments programmes across Europe and Latin America.

Gabriella Kindert

CEO Snappi Bank

Dr. Gabriella Kindert is a banking and investment executive with 20+ years of experience across private credit, leveraged finance, and digital lending, with a track record spanning multiple geographies and market cycles. She is CEO of Snappi Bank, a fully licensed bank focused on innovative, data-driven lending solutions, including BNPL, embedded finance, and consumer credit.

She is Chair of the Board at Neptune Maritime Leasing, a fast-growing asset-based lending (ABL) platform, and serves as Senior Advisor and Investment Committee member at Credit Value Investments (CVI), a leading private debt platform focused on Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).

Previously, she held senior leadership roles at BNP Paribas Asset Management and NN Investment Partners, spanning global loan investing, leveraged finance, structured credit and alternative credit. She is the author of several books on credit and investment topics. She holds an MA in History and Economics, an MBA in Accounting and Finance, and a PhD in Finance.

Gustavo Pilatti

Chief Data Officer BNP Paribas Personal Bank

Gustavo Pilatti is Chief Data Officer at BNP Paribas Personal Finance in Portugal, where he leads a 29-person organization through the shift from analyst-dependent reporting to AI-enabled decision-making, currently running a portfolio of 20+ simultaneous use cases. His career has circled the same recurring problem: building data functions inside organizations where the foundation does not yet exist. He started in banking technology consulting in Latin America, then joined an Itaú-sponsored fellowship with McKinsey in São Paulo before returning to Itaú for six years to lead Data and AI across multiple business lines. He spent the following four years at iFood, where he built the data analytics team from zero to over 100 people distributed across Brazil, Portugal, Colombia, and Mexico. Born in Brazil and based in Lisbon, he defended his PhD in Data Science, a five-year research program on platform economics, social networks, and the power dynamics inside algorithmic systems. Alongside his executive work, he is a Teaching Assistant at the Nova IMS Master's program, has designed an AI Basics course adopted by eight Brazilian NGOs, and volunteered as an English teacher for children aged 4 to 12. Outside the profession, he has run several half marathons and completed a 100-kilometer ultra-trail through Patagonia, crossing on foot from Argentina to Chile.

Heidrun Luyt

Chief Growth Officer Qonto

Heidrun Luyt is the Chief Growth Officer at Qonto, the leading European business finance solution for SMEs and freelancers. Graduated from the University of Mannheim, Luyt has almost two decades of experience in driving growth in the international SaaS, fintech, and retail industries. She has a proven track record in brand development, go-to-market strategies and customer experience, having held leadership roles at IG Group, Pipedrive, David Lloyd Leisure, Le Creuset, and Peek & Cloppenburg.

At Qonto, she leads a team of over 300 people spanning local and global Sales, Acquisition, Client Development, Brand & Communications, as well as Growth Projects & Operations teams. Her strategic vision and leadership will be instrumental in Qonto's mission to make day-to-day business finance management easier for SMEs and freelancers across Europe.

Hugo Bongers

Partner Motive Partners

Hugo Bongers joined Motive Partners in 2023 and is a Partner on the Venture Investment team.

At Motive, he is responsible for sourcing and executing investment opportunities, leveraging his deep experience in financial services and venture capital to identify trends and drive growth for Motive’s portfolio companies.

Prior to joining Motive, Hugo was a Managing Director and Head of ABN AMRO Ventures, where he built and led the fund, scaling it from €10 million to €150 million AUM. Under his leadership, the fund invested in 25 fintech companies and successfully exited ten investments. Hugo currently serves on the Board of Directors of Threat Fabric and Hadrian.

Earlier in his career, Hugo spent six years at Rabobank in its leveraged finance team, structuring and financing private equity-backed transactions in the TMT sector. He also spent six years at a single-family office, contributing to the buy-and-build strategy of Total Specific Solutions (TSS) — a vertical market software leader that grew from inception to over €200 million in revenue and 2,000+ employees before becoming part of Constellation Software.

Hugo holds an MSc in Economics and an LL.M. in Law from Utrecht University.

Indrek Reimand

Head of Digital Channels & Design Coop Pank

Estonia has become a global reference point for what “digital by default” truly means. In this environment, digital services are not layered on top of institutions – they are the institutions. Indrek Reimand has spent most of his career inside this system, first helping build Estonia’s public-sector digital ecosystem and later bringing those principles into private banking as Head of

Digital Channels and Design at Coop Pank. Now I lead digital channels and design at Coop Pank, one of Estonia's fastest-growing banks. My team owns mobile banking, internet banking, public web, and digital onboarding, and we're focused on turning those touchpoints into something customers actually want to use.

My ambition is straightforward and radical at the same time: to build the world’s best local bank. In a country of just over a million people, that statement only makes sense when “local” is understood not as small or limited, but as deeply human, highly responsive, and structurally advanced.

Jenny Edwards

Head of Venture Banking NatWest

Jenny Edwards is the Head of NatWest Venture Banking, responsible for leading the bank’s strategy to accelerate support for the UK’s most innovative and fast‑scaling businesses. With over a decade of experience at J.P. Morgan, Jenny brings deep expertise in building and scaling sector‑focused banking propositions, particularly across healthcare, life sciences, and technology.

Joining NatWest after successfully developing and leading J.P. Morgan’s healthcare and life sciences business across the Western United States, Jenny supported clients ranging from early‑stage start-ups to IPO‑ready companies, providing comprehensive cash management and funding solutions tailored to their growth trajectories.

At NatWest, Jenny plays a central role in advancing the bank’s commitment to the UK’s Innovation Economy, a strategic focus area comprising sectors such as fintech, life sciences, and other technology‑driven fields. She leads a future‑focused team dedicated to supporting businesses that have raised institutional investment, offering tailored banking solutions for companies and venture capital firms while strengthening NatWest’s ecosystem-wide support.

Jenny works closely with NatWest’s Accelerators, Innovation & Partnerships teams, and Coutts to ensure founders and high-growth firms receive fully integrated support throughout their journey, from ideation and investment to scaling and exit planning

Jessica Holzbach

Partner & CEO Germany 0TO9 - Bank of Entrepreneurship

Jessica Holzbach is a German serial fintech entrepreneur, investor, and supervisory board member, driving Europe’s next wave of financial innovation. As Partner & CEO Germany at Swedish venture builder 0TO9, she is building the Bank of Entrepreneurship—combining a venture lab and licensed financial institution to empower founders to launch faster, scale smarter, and build financial services that last.

Previously, she co-founded Penta, leading it to Germany’s largest fintech exit through its acquisition by Qonto, and founded and exited Pile Capital, a treasury platform for digital businesses. Across her ventures, she raised over €85 million and built financial infrastructure used by thousands of companies across Europe.

Jessica also serves as the youngest female member of the Supervisory Board of Fürstlich Castell’sche Bank and has been widely recognized by Forbes' "30 under 30," Capital’s "Top 40 under 40," and the German Startup Awards.

In her current role, Jessica channels all her experience and energy into one mission: giving back by building the infrastructure, networks, and support founders need to succeed.

Kaushal Shukla

VP Payments Moniepoint

Kaushal Shukla is VP of Payments at Moniepoint, where he leads the development of payment infrastructure that powers businesses across Africa. With a career spanning fintech, ecommerce, and public health, he has built products that operate at scale and create real-world impact — from savings and transaction banking products at Klarna to platforms for high-growth startups. He has also built award-winning public health products in collaboration with Governments and UN agencies, supporting the response for millions of people during COVID-19.

At the core of his work is a deep belief in building products that make financial access simpler and more human — especially for the people and markets that need it most.

Kayode Odeleye

Managing Partner 23mile Capital

Kayode is Managing Partner of 23mile Capital, a London-based venture special situations fund. 23mile acquires revenue generating software companies that have fallen off the hypergrowth path.

He hosts the 23mile podcast, a show focused on scaling, exits, and the highs and lows of building successful startups. Kayode also founded Caena, a financial literacy and fundraising automation platform for startups and investors.

Kayode previously spent 13 years at Standard Chartered Bank, where he was a Director in Leveraged Finance. In this role, he executed over $5 billion in complex transactions spanning mergers and acquisitions, private equity financing, and major capital projects.

He holds an MSc International Management from the University of Liverpool, an Advanced Executive Certificate from MIT Sloan, and an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria.

Outside work, Kayode enjoys endurance sports and has raced up to marathon distance.

Keith Grose

UK CEO Coinbase

Keith is the UK CEO at Coinbase, based in London, leading product and business strategy in one of the world’s most dynamic fintech markets. A seasoned executive with a passion for building financial infrastructure, prior to joining Coinbase Keith led the establishment of Plaid’s UK and European operations, driving its growth as one of the largest private fintech companies globally, and served as COO of SequenceHQ, focusing on B2B payments. Keith began his career in Silicon Valley as a consultant at Bain & Company before spending many years at Google, where he played a key role in scaling the payments and mobile hardware divisions. As an investor, Keith supports ambitious founders driving financial freedom through technology with a focus on fintech & crypto startups.

Kimberly Waldron

Founder Started PR

An award-winning advisor and entrepreneur, with over 15 years in the financial services and tech industry. Kimberley hosts the popular Get Started podcast, chairs the Manchester Fintech committee and is a long-term mentor for fintech founders via programs like Rise by Barclays and Fintech Circle. A regular on stage at events like Web Summit, Money2020, Money Live, Fintech Fringe and IFGS, Kimberley’s insight also features in publications such as Fintech Magazine, Payments Expert, Entrepreneur and The Fintech Power50 journal. Kimberley was recently named in both the Fintech Power50 most influential list 2025 and the Innovate Finance Women in Fintech Powerlist 2025. She is also board advisor to several exciting Fintech start-ups.

Manuel Costescu

Managing Director JP Morgan

Mr. Costescu is based in London and leads the global JPMorgan Fintech franchise for the corporate bank. Until recently, he led the New Economy team, helping EMEA’s fastest growing Fintechs, SAAS, and e-commerce companies scale internationally.

Previously, Mr. Costescu served as Member of the Romanian Parliament and State Secretary for Trade and Investment. During his tenure, he reformed Romania’s Investment Agency and acted as investment and economic advisor to the Prime Minister during international diplomatic missions.

Throughout his career, Mr. Costescu served in various corporate and financial leadership positions managing an investment portfolio in Emerging Markets, running an equity raising platform for start-ups in London, and setting the European expansion strategy for a UK based Credit fund.

Mr. Costescu started his career spending more than a decade as a strategy consultant for McKinsey and Company in NY and a banker for JPMorgan, covering European Public Sector clients.

Mr. Costescu is a trustee of the 5Rights Foundation which safeguards child online safety.

Mariana Henriques

Managing Director The Fintech House

Mariana Gorjão Henriques is the Managing Director of Fintech House, Portugal's leading fintech hub managed by Portugal Fintech. In this role, she leads the hub's strategy, operations, and ecosystem partnerships, bridging startups, financial institutions, investors, and regulators across the Portuguese fintech landscape and beyond.

Since joining Portugal Fintech, Mariana has grown the Fintech House community by 50% and built a portfolio of 100+ fintech ventures. Before moving into ecosystem building, she ran innovation programs for banking and financial services clients, supporting the execution of PoCs from ideation to scale. Her background spans fintech, retail, and regulated environments across Portugal, Brazil, and São Tomé and Príncipe.

Michael Cherepnin

Partner EJF Ventures

Michael is based in London, where he co-leads the EJF Ventures team and is responsible for identifying, structuring and executing early-stage investment opportunities in the financial technology sector. Prior to joining EJF, he was a Vice President at Evercore, having worked in both their London and New York offices, where he advised financial technology and software clients on M&A and capital markets transactions. He started his career in 2011 as an Investment Banker covering the Central and European regions first at Renaissance Capital and later at Altius Capital. Michael holds a BSc. in Economic Cybernetics from the National Technical University of Ukraine and an MBA from Cornell University.

EJF Ventures is a venture capital firm backing fintech innovators modernizing the legacy financial system. We invest in early-stage B2B fintech with a focus on bank technology, wealth technology, blockchain infrastructure, and other mission-critical enterprise-grade financial services software. As financial institutions undergo rapid transformation, we partner with founders rethinking the workflows, infrastructure, and operating models that will define the future of modern finance. EJF Ventures operates within EJF Capital, a global alternative asset manager focused on financial services with over $5.4B in AUM. Founded in 2005, EJF has spent more than two decades building relationships with thousands of banks and financial institutions, giving our portfolio companies access to an unmatched strategic network. EJF Ventures' investors include community and regional banks that share our commitment to advancing innovation across financial services.

Michael Hurup Andersen

Founder & CEO kompasbank

Michael Hurup Andersen is the Founder & CEO of kompasbank, a cloud-native financial operating platform for the European SME sector. Combining a full EU banking license with state-of-the-art technology, Michael has pioneered a new model for business banking that replaces fragmented point solutions with an integrated suite of credit, payment, and data-driven operating tools.

Michael has more than 20 years of experience from the financial industry. He has previously worked at Saxo Bank in Denmark, before moving to London in 2013 where he joined Deloitte, and later switched to the international consulting company Alvarez & Marsal as Senior Director of Financial Industry Advisory Services.

Recognizing how data and technology would change the future of business banking, Michael returned to Denmark in 2017 and founded kompasbank as the first true end-to-end cloud-based banking platform in Denmark. Today, the company serves SMEs across Denmark, Germany, and Spain, focusing on empowering the real economy through scalable financial infrastructure.

Miguel Angel Alcala

Managing Director, Head of Europe BBVA Spark

With over 25 years of experience in financial services, Miguel Alcalá has developed his professional career in the areas of equity and debt investments, strategy, and operations. Since 2025, he has been Head of BBVA Spark in Europe. His career at BBVA began in 2006 and has spanned various positions, including his role as Head of the Financial Sector in the Equity Research team at Global Markets, Deputy Director in the Office of the Chairman (2011-2017), and Executive Director in Client Solutions (2017-2022). Before joining BBVA, Miguel worked in Corporate Finance, M&A, and Audit. His experience also includes more than a decade as a member of the board of directors in companies within the technology sector as well as the real economy.

Natasha Lapierre

Global Head of Strategy and Innovation Bottomline

Natasha is a proud member of ‘Women in Collaboration’ a global network of women’s groups that combine their voices to raise the profile of women and build a level playing field for future generations.

In her day job, Natasha drives platform strategy and innovation at Bottomline across financial messaging and payment connectivity, interoperability, and the adoption of new technologies including API enablement, AI and digital assets.

Previously at Swift, she led the Product Management and Go-to-Market strategy for the network’s fraud and anomaly detection initiative from inception and convened the Anomaly Detection Working Group across 17 major financial institutions globally validating use cases with banks, digital-first payment service providers, and fintech partners. At Sibos 2025 she moderated a cross-industry panel on AI for detecting payment fraud in an interoperable way across schemes, bringing together Nasdaq Verafin, ANZ, EBA Clearing, Memo Bank, and Finologee.

Océane Codjia

Head of EMEA GTM for Payments & Stablecoin Infrastructure Coinbase

Océane Codjia is Head of EMEA GTM for Payments & Stablecoin Infrastructure at Coinbase, where she leads go-to-market strategy across stablecoin payments, embedded wallets, treasury infrastructure and programmable money movement for banks, fintechs, payment providers and global enterprises.

With close to a decade of experience in crypto and fintech, Océane has built her career at the intersection of digital assets, financial markets and financial infrastructure. Prior to leading payments and stablecoin initiatives, she spent several years within Coinbase Institutional focused on Crypto-as-a-Service partnerships and Sales across EMEA, helping banks, fintechs, asset managers and crypto-native companies access trading, custody, staking, financing and onchain infrastructure through Coinbase’s Institutional platform.

Rik Coeckelbergs

Founder and CEO The Banking Scene

Rik Coeckelbergs is the Founder and Managing Director of The Banking Scene, a network organisation for bankers and is passionate about building communities and conceptualising ideas, enabling sustainable business models.

Over the years, the community has grown to 5 inspirational events in Luxembourg, Amsterdam and Brussels, the biggest for 400-500 attendees.

He advises financial services firms on their strategic challenges and is a frequent moderator and speaker at industry events. Since 2025, Rik is also a renowned book author, of the bestseller “A New Ethos in Banking – Embracing Values and Ethics for a Meaningful Transformation”.

Before his entrepreneurial journey, Rik was a Payments and Management Consultant at Clear2Pay (now FIS), Business Controller at Colruyt and Senior Product Manager Daily Banking at bpost bank. In 2009, he created a LinkedIn community called “Innovation In Payments”, which today has +140,000 active global members.

This unique mix of multi-year experiences in Finance, Strategy and Marketing within Financial Services and Retail has given Rik a holistic view of today’s challenging financial services market. At the same time, he has this hands-on approach that allows him to tackle critical challenges and put dilemmas into the right context.

Available for speaking engagements, workshops and advisory services on the future of banking, payments, financial wellbeing and the emotional relationship people have with money.

Sandra Flavia Fenstereifer

Cluster Lead & Managing Director CommerzBank

Sandra Flavia Fensterseifer is Managing Director of the Innovation Lab at Commerzbank AG, where she leads the development of strategic innovation topics with a strong focus on emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Distributed-Ledger Technologies.

Her career at Commerzbank is defined by the intersection of technology, product development, and tangible customer value. She has driven the creation of digital banking products and successfully launched an AI-powered banking avatar, demonstrating how cutting‑edge technology can become real, scalable solutions.

In her role, she transforms ideas into impactful products, and shapes the future of digital banking through pragmatic execution and technological vision.

Theodora Lau

Industry Expert Unconventional Ventures

Theodora Lau is the founder of Unconventional Ventures, a public speaker, and an advisor. She is the author of Banking on (Artificial) Intelligence (2025), the co-author of The Metaverse Economy (2023) and Beyond Good (2021), and host of One Vision, a podcast on fintech and innovation. Her monthly column on FinTech Futures explores the intersection of financial services, tech, and humanity. She is named one of American Banker’s Most Influential Women in FinTech in 2023. She is a contributor and commentator for top industry events and publications, including Finovate, American Banker, BBC News, Fintech Times, and The Power 50. Her work has also been published by the Journal of Digital Banking, The Banker, Forbes Technology Councils, MIT Tech Review, and Harvard Business Review.

Thorsten Seeger

Member of the Board SME Bank

Thorsten Seeger is a management board member at SME Bank, where he leads the bank’s international expansion across Europe.
He brings over two decades of experience in SME finance, fintech, and commercial banking, having held senior leadership roles across the UK and continental Europe.
Before joining SME Bank, Thorsten served as Group COO and Head of Lending at October, where he was responsible for loan origination across five European countries. Prior to that, he was the Managing Director of Funding Circle Germany, where he built a market-leading small business lending proposition.
Earlier in his career, Thorsten spent 10 years in commercial banking in the UK. At Barclays, he held several senior front-office roles, including Head of Relationship Banking for London and Commercial Director for SME Banking. At Lloyds Banking Group, he was responsible for the distribution of financial markets products to SME clients.
He holds an MBA from the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Shanghai and currently lives in Munich with his family.

Tim Chong

Founder & CEO Yonder

Tim is the co-founder and CEO of Yonder. After working in management consulting and as Head of Product at ClearScore, Tim spotted a gap in the UK credit-card market.

Frustrated by the “old and stuffy” card offers and being held back by lack of UK credit history, he set out in 2021 (launched 2022) to build a modern rewards credit card experience for young professionals and city explorers.

Under his leadership, Yonder has grown rapidly, raising major funding, expanding across the UK, and gearing up for European expansion.

Tim’s passion is building products that combine smart fintech, seamless UX, and real-world experiences that pay off, not just in points, but in life.

An Aussie expat who swapped surf breaks for city escapes, Tim’s happiest exploring new corners of the world with his family, whether that’s hiking, trying new local eats, or chasing a bit of sun and mountains wherever he goes.

Tom Easterby

Head of Fintech HSBC UK Innovation Bank

Tom is Head of FinTech at HSBC Innovation Banking. As the partner to the innovation economy, HSBC Innovation Banking offer more than commercial banking services. They have the expertise, agility and connections that high-growth FinTech businesses need to accelerate growth. Tom leads a team of experienced bankers providing banking and funding to VC backed companies across the FinTech sector from Seed through to pre-IPO, with deep sector expertise across the full scope of FinTech.

Prior to HSBC, Tom was part of the Banking team at Silicon Valley Bank UK supporting high growth businesses with venture debt funding and banking. Earlier in his career Tom spent a number of years at Barclays, enjoying a variety of debt finance related roles including establishing the growth of the Barclays high growth lending proposition in partnership with the European Investment Fund.

Tom Schapira

CEO & Founder Imagine Capital Group

Tom Schapira is Founder and CEO of Imagine Capital Group, a merchant bank focused on investing, cross-border M&A, and growth capital for fintech, payments, wealthtech, insurance, and financial services businesses.

He works with fintech scale-ups, founders, boards, and investors on M&A, strategic growth capital, and strategic investment, helping companies sharpen their positioning, articulate a credible equity story, and engage the right sponsors and counterparties across Europe, the UK, and North America through its investment banking partnership with Wellesley Hills Financial.

Tom has spent more than two decades advising businesses across financial services and fintech, with earlier roles at FIS, SunGard, A.T. Kearney, and Accenture. His background combines investment banking, strategic advisory, and operating experience, particularly where growth, capital, and strategic transactions intersect.

He speaks regularly on fintech scaling, valuation, M&A, and growth capital, with a practical focus on how ambitious companies prepare for institutional capital and strategic transactions.

Tristan Kirchner

EU CEO ClearBank Europe

Tristan Kirchner is CEO for ClearBank Europe, where he leads the bank’s European operations and long‑term growth strategy. Based in Amsterdam, he is responsible for scaling ClearBank’s cloud‑native clearing and embedded banking capabilities across the continent.
Tristan brings more than 25 years of payments and financial services experience, having held senior leadership roles at Uber, Barclays, Visa and American Express, with deep expertise in European payments infrastructure and regulation.
Prior to joining ClearBank, Tristan served as CEO of Uber Payments B.V., where he led a regulated European payments entity and worked at Board level to align commercial growth with regulatory requirements.

Ugne Buraciene

CEO payabl

Ugne Buraciene is Group CEO of payabl., a European financial technology provider helping businesses take control of their money flow. Since joining in 2020, Ugnė has led the company through a period of rapid growth, expanding its reach across Europe and broadening its product suite with payabl.one, the unified financial platform that brings acquiring, business accounts, and card issuing together in one connected view.

With almost 20 years of leadership experience in fintech and banking, Ugnė has built her career on navigating complex regulatory environments and scaling cross-border operations.

Beyond payabl., Ugne actively champions the growth and innovation of the payments industry. She serves as a board member of TechIsland and CYENS Centre of Excellence, an advisor to Bivial AG, the Cyprus Country Ambassador for the European Women Payments Network, and a Money20/20 Europe RiseUp mentor.

Valerie Kontor

Founder Black in Fintech

Valerie Kontor is an ecosystem builder and product specialist, and the Founder of Black in Fintech, a network championing inclusion and innovation for Black and underrepresented communities across the global fintech ecosystem.

She brings experience across banking, fintech scale-ups, and startup advisory, with a career rooted in product management and lending innovation. Valerie has worked on building and scaling credit products designed to improve access, usability, and financial outcomes for underserved customers.

Her work sits at the intersection of product and inclusion, driven by a core belief that meaningful innovation happens when inclusion is embedded at the foundation, and that’s where underserved communities are truly served.

Through both her professional work and community building, Valerie is committed to challenging traditional financial systems and shaping a more inclusive, globally relevant future of finance.

alerie Kontor is an ecosystem builder and product specialist, and the Founder of Black in Fintech, a network championing inclusion and innovation for Black and underrepresented communities across the global fintech ecosystem.

She brings experience across banking, fintech scale-ups, and startup advisory, with a career rooted in product management and lending innovation. Valerie has worked on building and scaling credit products designed to improve access, usability, and financial outcomes for underserved customers.

Her work sits at the intersection of product and inclusion, driven by a core belief that meaningful innovation happens when inclusion is embedded at the foundation, and that’s where underserved communities are truly served.

Through both her professional work and community building, Valerie is committed to challenging traditional financial systems and shaping a more inclusive, globally relevant future of finance.

Veronica Glab

Industry Speaker

Veronica Glab is a FinTech strategist with over a decade of experience across the UK and EMEA, designing market entry, partnerships, and communications strategies that help startups scale across borders.

She previously served as Head of Partnerships at Innovate Finance, the UK’s fintech industry association, and has led partnership strategy at JUICE Ventures.

She is the author of FinTech Wrapped, an annual report analysing global fintech VC trends, and is a frequent international speaker and writer on fintech investment and the evolution of financial ecosystems.

Veronica is a strong advocate for democratised access to financial services and financial literacy and the role of technology in expanding financial inclusion. She works between London and Portugal and speaks Spanish, Polish, and Portuguese.

Yorick Naeff

CIO ABN AMRO

Yorick Naeff is a Dutch fintech leader best known as CEO and co-founder of BUX, the European mobile-investing platform serving over half a million clients. With a background at ING in strategy and innovation, he helped scale BUX across multiple markets and eventually sold BUX to ABN AMRO and Coinbase.

Following BUX’s acquisition, Yorick recently stepped into the role of Chief Innovation at ABN AMRO Bank, where he’s driving breakthroughs in AI, digital assets, and next-generation financial services. He is also an entrepreneur in residence at Techleap, he serves in the ETF advisory board of JPM’s Asset Management division, and he's a member of the International Advisory Board of the VU University in Amsterdam.

Speakers

2026 Speaker lineup

Agenda Name, Sessions

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