xCEEd 2017

Pierre created and developed retail banking businesses in various geographies including Romania and India. He is currently leading the digital transformation of Societe Generale Bank in Serbia. He is passionate about freeing up people’s creative power and energy. Under his leadership, Societe Generale Serbia is at the forefront of re-inventing digitally enabled banking relationship, re-discovering the role of branches and developing an entrepreneurial culture inside the bank and in the country at large.

Andrew joined JCB in 2016. As Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing, he leads the issuing, acquiring, marketing and communications team for JCBIE in Europe. He represents JCBIE at EMVCo and The European Card Stakeholders Group and leads JCBIE’s vendor management.

He started his career working for the global energy giant Chevron. Over the next two decades, Andrew held numerous positions in London, New York, San Francisco and Singapore culminating in him leading the global card marketing and sales and loyalty team.

In 2005 he joined Visa International as Senior Business Leader and head of retailing – working with global merchants to drive acceptance and acquiring across the CEMEA region. In 2009 he joined Visa Europe as Vice President of merchant acceptance and Visa acquiring services. He played a key role in deployment of contactless payments in support of London 2012 and led the drive to transform Poland’s contactless adoption – making it Visa’s highest contactless penetration market.

Prior to joining JCBIE, Andrew established Flotta Consulting Limited – a bespoke consulting practice, working with global merchants, card schemes, acquirers, fintech start-ups and banks in strategy development and execution, product design and deployment.

Andrew is a Fellow of The Chartered Management Institute and amongst other professional qualifications, holds a post graduate Diploma in Management Studies. He is based in JCB’s European HQ in London.

Anna is in charge of Yandex.Money’s international business development, in particular expansion into foreign markets. Having worked for some of Russia’s largest e-commerce companies, including Mail.ru Group and Xsolla, she has a strong expertise in online payments for digital goods, retail, and gaming.

Anna frequently delivers talks at e-commerce events worldwide, shaping global awareness of current trends in e-commerce and payments. She is often asked to contribute to Russian and foreign e-commerce research reports. Anna is particularly knowledgeable about the Russian-Chinese cross-border market; she is both a Chinese-speaking expert, as well as a hands-on manager who has been building bridges between the two e-commerce markets for over a decade.

Dr. Xiaolong Li, Director of Engineering in AI department of Ant Financial Group, obtained his PhD in Computer Science majoring in Speech Recognition from University of Missouri-Columbia in 2005. He also holds a B.S. degree from University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in Electrical Engineer (1998), and a M.S. degree from Peking University in Information and Signal Processing (2001). He previously worked in Microsoft headquarter in Seattle, USA for almost 9 years, with different teams including Incubation team, Microsoft Research and finally Bing Search, and was a Principal Research Software Development Engineer Lead (Principal RSDE Lead) in Bing’s Query Understanding team, Core Relevance Group. After joining the institute of Data Science and Technology (iDST) of Alibaba in 2014, he led a multi-national group from Seattle, Silicon Valley, Beijing and Hangzhou, and built a large scale distributed machine learning system called Parameter Server, which won the first place of Alibaba’s Best Algorithm Platform Awards in 2015. Alibaba’s Parameter Server, which supports up to 100 billion samples and 10 billion features, as well as a series of algorithms from LR, FTRL, LDA, FM, GBDT to deep learning (W2V/CNN/DNN/DSSM/etc.) for data modeling, has become the largest machine learning platform inside Alibaba and its extended companies, and has been deployed into more than 100 important scenarios including Alimama (online adverting), TMall.com (B2C), Taobao.com (C2C), B2B, Alibaba Digital Entertainments, Alibaba Mobile, Cainiao Logistics, and Ant Financial Group. He joined the AI department of Ant Financial in March 2016, and now he is in charge of the R&D on intelligent customer services, chatbots, and large scale distributed machine learning algorithms. Recently his team has helped Ant Financial to improve the efficiency of customer services by more than 40 times with recommendations and chatbot-based technologies, and also his team has significantly improved the effect of anti-fraud for Alipay transactions with deep learning. He is reporting to Dr. Alan Qi, the Vice President and Chief Data Scientist of Ant Financial Group.

I have spent several years working in the Banking Software Industry, first for a software supplier (Fidelity Information Services), then moving on to a Financial Services service supplier (VocaLink Ltd). I have now moved on to contract work.

I started my career as a developer, moved on to Software Architecture, project management and now Programme Management.

Specialties: Retail/Business/Commercial/Corporate Banking Change Programmes t include Business & IT Change. Current focus is Mandatory Payments Programmes.

Petar Stefanović is the Executive Director for Retail Banking and New Banking Technologies in Komercijalna banka AD Beograd. He has gained his work experience in banks that underwent organisation changes, modernisation of operations and digitalisation.

Having worked on different projects in systems undergoing major changes, he garnered a reputation of a daring innovator and a change management expert.  He has built his career in four international banking groups, working in three countries and always covering those aspect of banking that focus on customers and satisfying their needs.

He joined Komercijalna banka in order to lead the digital transformation process in the bank. 

In only a couple of months the Bank became one of the digitalisation leaders in the Serbian banking market and Stefanović, on top of the position of the Executive Director for New Banking Technologies and Strategic Development, also took on retail banking as well.

Petar Stefanović obtained his specialist and academic titles in universities in Paris, London and Belgrade.

He has a lot of volunteering experience under his belt, primarily the work done to the benefit of the local community and for animal welfare. 

He speaks four languages. He is married and currently resides in Belgrade.

Ghela Boskovich is active in the fintech industry, having spent the last ten years focused on business development for core insurance and banking system solutions, the last half of which has centered on financial services pricing governance functionality, which has leveraged her background in regulatory economics, cost modeling and rate of regulation pricing models. Ghela also founded FemTechGlobal to bridge the gender gap in fintech and the financial services industry. The network is built on the premise that diverse teams create better solutions, and embracing differences fosters creativity. Active in London, New York, Sydney and Singapore, FemTech partners with industry organizations to promote diversity and inclusion, and is a connecting platform for innovators and entrepreneurs. Boskovich is a regular contributor to fintech publications and discussions, specializing in new business paradigms and customer centricity. Ghela was named one of Brummell Magazine’s 2016 ‘30 Inspirational Women Innovators’, and included in Innovate Finance’s Women in Fintech Powerlist 2016. She also sits on the Banking Technology Awards judging panel, and sponsors the Banking Technology Women In Technology (W.I.T.) Award, as well as the board of the Financial Inclusion Institute. Ghela works with Streets Consulting, and is also Head of Fintech & Regtech Partnerships at Rainmaking, home of StartupBootCamp.

Svetlana is a seasoned and internationally experienced manager whose 17 years of professional tenure spans across pharmaceutical, environment protection and financial service industry. Currently deploying her expertise and knowledge on an interim basis – helping existing and emerging financial services providers take the next steps in digital evolution.

In her career she successfully led teams through complex, disruptive and innovative product designs, business and technology changes, turning ideas into deliverables by applying an adaptive and customer focused approach and high business ethics. Svetlana creates and delivers solutions for banks, payment networks and start-ups in today’s digital world. She is responsible for the successful launch of the first Vodafone mobile wallet, the IPS payment platform and various financial products and services. Svetlana is passionate about all digital and in constant lookout for a problem to solve. She enjoys challenging programmes that bring positive change to organizations as well as launching new and innovative products and services to the market and always strives to achieve maximum value for clients and a positive user experience for customer.

Svetlana is an active Emerging Payment Association (EPA) ambassador and a member of the EPA Annual Award judging panel. In addition Svetlana works as a coach specialising in Personal Development and Business & Executive coaching.

She enjoys capturing the moment with her camera above and under the water and cares deeply about animal welfare and protecting the environment.

Natasha is the Group Head of Digital Banking & Innovation at Hellenic Bank accountable for digital banking business across all segments (retail, corporate, international, insurance, shipping).  She is currently a key change agent at Hellenic Bank driving the customer-facing digital agenda; and responsible for the definition and delivery of all digital propositions across all touch points of the bank. Natasha is also an internationally recognized digital expert, board advisor, keynote speaker and FinTech thought leader with 17+ years of experience within the banking industry, focused on leading digital strategy and digital transformation journeys. As an innovative intrapreneur, obsessed by customer design with an unusually strong passion for the application of digital technology in a financial services environment, she achieves challenging goals with a track record of empowering teams to deliver top rated results.

She has taken part in a multitude of significant international conferences as a speaker with the who’s who of FinTech and Banking.
Personal achievements include being profiled for the FemTech Leaders series and becoming part of the global movement, getting listed on Kurtosys: Women in Finance Power 100 and Innovate Finance: Women in FinTech 2016 Powerlist.  She has also been short-listed twice by the prestigious Banking Technology magazine for the award “Outstanding Contribution by a Female in Financial Technology” in 2012 and “Woman In Technology (W.I.T)” award in 2016.

Mr. Lučić is executive director for M:TEL Montenegro, subsidiary company of Telekom Srbija.  By vocation he is an electrical engineer with MBA degree gained by the program of the University Institute Kurt Bosch (Switzerland). Mr. Lučić has been part of Telekom Serbija since its founding in 1997 and he actively participated in the construction and commercial commissioning of the operator in Montenegro when, in a record time of only 77 working days, mobile network m: tel began to work. He has inspired and lead numerous projects in transforming M:TEL towards modern and strong telecom operator, with the recent one MPay becoming the first telecom operator in Montenegro who offers payment services in numerous locations only through mobile phone.

Gary is a globally recognised retail payments expert with specific focus on digital transactions from the point of sale & mobile and services perspective.  He leads Consult Hyperion’s POS practice, advising clients such as mastercard, eftpos, Worldpay, American Express and Visa on the commercial and technical requirements for enabling secure digital payment solutions.  He often works on the specification, design and implementation of state of the art payments technologies which challenge the current models.

Prior to joining Consult Hyperion Gary led Gemalto’s POS Division in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, prior to and during its acquisition by VeriFone. He has 28 years’ experience in electronic payments, with over 13 years’ experience of tailoring point of sale solutions to meet the specific requirements of the larger UK Acquirers, including Worldpay and HSBC Merchant Services.

Gary holds a BSc (Hons) in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Strathclyde.

Sławomir Szepietowski is a legal expert with nearly 20 years of experience in the financial sector, appreciated for his solution-driven and customer-focused approach.

Sławomir is the Co-Head of Bird & Bird’s Warsaw office. He also heads the Banking and Finance practice in Poland.

He has worked in banks and international law firms since 1998, specialising in banking and finance. He has vast experience in providing legal services to financial institutions, including public companies and investment funds, corporate governance and regulatory matters.

Sławomir has worked on various transactions encompassing lending debt, securities issue, derivatives, and private equity. He is an experienced coordinator of teams of lawyers leading specific business lines and projects.

He has assisted several international start-up businesses, particularly with the entry of new financial institutions into the Polish market (cross-border activity, establishing branches of foreign entrepreneurs, opening new business lines).

Sławomir also works with a large number of FinTech companies, helping them introduce new products and solutions into the market, such as social lending and crowdfunding platforms, paperless banking, introducing new payment methods for the e-commerce sector, advising new entities on providing online payments services and designing new models of granting consumer credit via the Internet.

As a recognised expert in applying new technologies in the financial sector, Sławomir has contributed to preparing a report pinpointing the regulatory challenges for FinTech in Poland. He also serves as a legal partner of a new international technology hub in Poland, advising on matching start-ups with corporate clients.

Sławomir serves as an appointed legal expert of the Polish Chamber of Commerce. He also served as a recommended arbitrator of the Arbitration Court at the Polish Bank Association. He has been recognised by the Polish Bank Association for his contribution to the development of Polish banking law and practice.

He is a frequent speaker at Polish and international conferences relating to banking and financial sector and an author of numerous publications in this field.

Sławomir works in Polish and English.

Accountable for global commercial performance and P&L success for AliExpress.com
Responsible for sales, business development, country strategy, mobile marketing, product management, CRM, services and logistics departments

Business leader with a track record of building disruptive financial services businesses into profitable, industry leading growth.

Has led 4 successful Financial Institutions under license from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority.

Achieved second place in 2013 Payments Power 10

Specialties: Strategy, Innovation, Business Development, Leadership, Regulatory Advantage

Miloš Kilibarda is head of Security and business continuity management department of Banca Intesa Beograd and has many years of experience working for BIB in relation to the development and implementation of ICT and security solutions. Responsible for corporate security including fraud prevention, BCM, information security and privacy protection for BIB and its affiliates. His background consists of both technical and managerial experience. He is chairman of Security board of Serbian banking association on a mission to raise awareness on cyber security matters throughout Serbian financial market and society.

Daniel is an experienced technology advisor and seasoned program manager with a proven track record of delivering results on business and technology transformation initiatives. He has direct experience in developing Digital & IT strategies for financial services institutions, including banking, insurance and automotive finance, performing software selection and managing large scale technology-enabled transformation projects. He has successfully managed technology landscape transformation programs, established and operated Project Management Offices (PMOs), set up IT investment prioritisation and portfolio management frameworks, established IT organization, change management and governance structures and implemented technology solutions, performed business process improvements and conducted people and organizational change management.

Monica Sasso is an internationally recognised and seasoned change leader within financial services industry. Monica has held several global roles which have allowed her to work around the world. As an expert in MiFID II, PSD II, GDPR, FTR regulations and robo-advice, Monica is currently overseeing a portfolio of global change programmes at Deutsche Bank Wealth Management encompassing the Payments, ePrivacy and Data Protection areas.

Monica is an avid runner and cyclist and loves photography and travel.

A committed expert that simplifies the world of payments with over 14 years of experience in developing products and services that focus on the customer’s current and future needs, with a deep understanding of customer behavior.

Solution driven Innovator who turns payments into a source of competitive advantage, with a proven track record of results in card issuance starting from acquiring the very first customer to having hundreds of thousands within a very short period.

Building and developing an award winning brand from concept to International roll-out, considering how the brand will be accepted and viewed with an international audience.

A substantial understanding of card issuance, throughout its complete value chain with strategic knowledge on what works and does not work in various international markets.

Recently placed No. 4 in the 2015 Payments Power 10 rankings, which recognises the top
influencers in the payments industry through independent votes from the international payments community

As a member of the UK Contactless Advisory Committee, Suresh worked with TFL to pilot some of the first contactless form factors on the London transport network. In 2011, Suresh launched the first ever contactless wristwatch in the UK. This is in addition to being responsible for launching the first App controlled NFC solution for i-phone in Europe. At the end of 2014 Suresh was elected to join as Advisory Board member for the Emerging Payments Association. .

Specialties: Card Processing for Prepaid, Credit & Debit, Pre Paid Card issuance ,Host Cloud Emulation, Digital Enablement Service (MDES), Remote Secure Element, E Wallets, E Commerce Payments, Closed Loop/Open Loop products, Private Label Cards, NFC Form factors, Micro SD NFC – Mobile payments, OTA provisioning, TSM, Agency Banking, Card manufacturing/designing, Marketing (Online/offline). Transport and ticketing, BIN Sponsorship. Private Label Cards, Card Data Mining.

I’m passionate about emerging payments and how it can transform lives around the world. My community, the Emerging Payments Association, is here to advance payments innovation. Our goal is to make London the global hotspot for innovation in payments

My personal role is to inspire, challenge and enable people to go way further than they currently believe is possible.

My business bibles? The Catalyst Code by David Evans and Richard Schmalensee. And Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman.

I’ve spoken at conferences all over the world, including South Africa, Germany, USA, India, UK, Singapore, Italy, Turkey, France, Netherlands, Sweden, UAE and Spain.

The only place I stop enthusing about payments is when I’m climbing a serious hill on my road bike. I sometimes speak at schools about what it takes to be an entrepreneur (“It’s the future for the UK”). Sundays are spent coaching and refereeing children’s rugby.

Proud parent of three future entrepreneurs. Fan of travelling on business and pleasure. And adoring husband of the long-suffering Tory.

Specialties: Being a catalyst for breakthroughs. Innovating. Inspiring. Creating. Shaping. Delivering. Selling. Keeping young thugs at bay on the rugby pitch. And grinding my bike up mountains in spite of it all.

Laura Joseph is Director of Digital Products for Barclays Business Banking, where she is leading the development of a transformational customer experience for SME customers across online and mobile, and spear-heading the multi-channel customer engagement strategy for Business Banking.  Laura is passionate about the power of insight and personalisation to enable enterprises to connect to customers and drive meaningful engagement across digital channels, and a firm believer in the potential for great customer experience to differentiate services in commoditised markets.   Previous to joining Barclays, Laura spent 16 years in the telecoms sector developing a variety of innovative and disruptive technologies, ranging from Broadband to IP Voice and SaaS for consumer, business and wholesale markets.   She has a Masters in Classics from St John’s College, Oxford and a M.Sc. in Computer Science from Liverpool University.  In her free time, Laura is a mentor and speaker on St John’s College ‘Springboard’ programme, Chair of the ONLS Stem committee and a trustee of the Kessler Foundation. A born-and-bred Londoner, Laura has 3 children, 1 husband, recently took up horse-riding and loves good coffee.

Mike is intrinsic in Currencycloud’s endeavor to deliver transparent, low-cost and accessible money conversion and payments to the global business industry. Mike demonstrates his strategic know-how over and over again; his experience gives him a real understanding of how to build a successful business. He nurtures his team to deliver their best and is an inspiration through his own work ethic. Mike has worked in Financial Services for nearly 20 years. He has successfully led a multitude of FinTech firms as either CEO or Chairman for the past 15 years. These have included Infinity Financial Technology, Iris Financial (Front/Middle office trading & risk management platform and applications) and FRS Global (compliance and risk management solutions).

Before he joined Tatra banka in February 2010 as a member of the managing board and CIO, Mr. Vladimír Matouš worked for T-Systems Czech Republic as a senior vice president of the ICT operations division. From 1995, he worked in various managerial positions, starting at Digital Equipment as a project manager and then at Motorola as a head of GSM services. He eventually moved to T-Mobile Czech Republic as a vice president of technology operations where he led the IT operations outsourcing project, among other duties.

Deepak Sharma heads Kotak Mahindra Bank’s digital initiatives, and is responsible for digital transformation and digital-led businesses of the bank. He is also responsible for digital initiatives across lending, payments, investments, insurance, SME & Institutional banking segments along with website, social and digital banking channels. Deepak also leads Innovation Lab, Fintech partnerships and new product development.

Under his leadership, Kotak launched several innovative and global first products like Jifi, Hashtag banking, Bharat Banking, M-Store & Kaypay. Deepak believes in constant innovation and focuses on building business models which are customer centric and disruptive.

Deepak has worked across various international markets and brings global perspective to his business. Prior to this, he was responsible for setting up the Bank’s highly successful Non Resident Indian (NRI) & International Remittance business. Deepak also played a key role in launching the Bank’s affluent banking programme – Privy League.

With over 22 years of experience, Deepak’s professional tenure spans across the banking, telecom and service verticals. Prior to joining Kotak, he was part of the leadership team of Consumer Banking at Standard Chartered bank from 2003 to 2008. As National Head for Corporate Business, he was responsible for building the corporate payroll and Wealth Management business.

Deepak has completed an advanced programme in Strategy from IIM Calcutta & Lead Certified in Corporate Innovation from Stanford GSB. He is also part of various trade and business committees and writes on subjects related to business.