Speakers

Aarti Mohapatra

Loan Syndication, Sales & DistributionMashreq

Aarti has around 17 years of experience in FI trade Distribution and FI Trade Origination handling top managerial assignments with globally reputed organizations in the areas of FI trade, loans market, trade products solutions both in primary/secondary market in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.

Proficient in establishing appropriate policies and procedures and achieving aggressive growth in volumes, revenues and profitability of bank-to-bank Loans, GTB products and FI Sales.

Aarti has worked with ABN AMRO and Royal Bank of Scotland on initial days of her carrier switching to, National Bank of Abu Dhabi prior to joining Mashreq in 2018.

Aarti has done bachelor’s degree from Sambalpur University in India with Executive MBA from IIM Indore.

Ailsa McNeil

DirectorTexel

Ailsa is a Director at Texel and specialises in CPRI for a variety of clients with a particular focus on leading European FIs across a broad scope of asset classes, finding both single risk and portfolio solutions for her clients. She began her career in underwriting at Liberty in 2010 before joining WTW’s Financial Solutions team in 2013 where she led a combination of FI, ECA and trader clients as an Executive Director before joining Texel. Ailsa has also had the opportunity to support her clients in-house as a secondee in SMBC’s insurance team in New York and ABN AMRO’s syndication team in Amsterdam, providing in-depth insight into the client’s perspective and available solutions using CPRI as an insurance distribution tool.

Anastasia McAlpine

Head of Product Management, Trade & Supply Chain FinanceFinastra

Anastasia heads Product Management for Trade and Supply Chain Finance solutions at Finastra, and has over 15 years of experience in the industry. Recognized by Trade Finance Global as a leading woman in Tradetech, she oversees Finastra’s strategy and roadmap for Trade and Supply Chain Finance. She actively contributed to the ICC Working Group for URDTT and is the Finastra Lead for the Trade Inclusion working group with the World Trade Board.

Anastasia joined Finastra from Santander where, as a Senior Product Manager for the Supply Chain Finance, she supported Santander’s global investment-grade clients in Industrial, Telecom and Energy sectors. Previously, she worked at Barclays Bank and a UK based commodity trader focusing on areas of cash flow improvement and optimization of supply chain. Anastasia holds a Master’s degree in Finance and Banking from the University of Leicester.

André Casterman

Board Member and Chair, FinTech Committee, ITFA & Founder and Managing DirectorCasterman Advisory

André Casterman is a Fintech consultant, advising clients on payments, trade finance, and capital markets. André spent 20+ years at SWIFT, leading various technology innovations in inter-bank payments, corporate payments, corporate treasury, and trade finance. During that time, he established an institutional partnership between SWIFT and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and created the first digital trade settlement instrument.

André chairs the Fintech Committee of the International Trade and Forfaiting Association (ITFA) with a focus on helping banks establish trade finance as an investable asset class through use of data and artificial intelligence technologies.

André was elected to the ITFA Board in September 2018 at the ITFA AGM in Cape Town. Andre is responsible for all ITFA Fintech activities.

Anthony Wadsworth-Hill

Co-founder, Chief Business Officer & Deputy CEOMercore

Anthony Wadsworth-Hill is Co-founder, Chief Business Officer and Deputy CEO of Mercore Group, where he leads the firm’s commercial strategy and oversees the development of its trade finance business and digital platform.

Mercore Group operates across two complementary business lines. Through Mercore Capital, the firm provides structured working capital solutions – including trade, receivables and supply chain finance – to SMEs and corporates, with a focus on cross-border transactions and emerging markets. Alongside this, Mercore Digital delivers MLETR-aligned digital trade solutions, enabling the execution and management of digital negotiable instruments to support faster, more efficient global trade. Mercore has been recognised with multiple industry awards, including Global Trade Review’s Best Fintech Newcomer and Deal of the Year.

Prior to Mercore, Anthony spent 18 years at Bank ABC in London, where he held senior roles across trade finance and syndications.

Antonio Garrocho Giráldez

Associate Director – Lenders Solutions Team EuropeWTW

Antonio is part of Lenders Solutions Team at Willis, where he focuses on supporting banks and lenders in their distribution strategy in the insurance market across a wide range of products.

In this role, he has been instrumental in delivering innovative Trade Credit Insurance (TCI) solutions for both A/R & A/P financing structures. His knowledge in Non-payment Insurance (NPI) and Master Risk Participation Agreements (MRPA) products have served to support Financial Institutions to increase their business in the areas of Trade Finance, Corporate Lending and Structured Finance, among others.

Antonio holds a double degree in Law and Business Administration from Pablo de Olavide University (Seville), further honing his specialization in the financial institution sector with a Master’s degree in Corporate Finance and Investment Banking from the business school, Instituto de Estudios Bursátiles (IEB) (Madrid). 

Education and Credentials

• Universidad Pablo de Olavide (September 2013- June 2019) – Dual Degree in Law and Business Administration.
• Instituto de Estudios Bursátiles (January 2020-  June 2021) – Master’s Degree in Corporate Finance & Investment Banking.

Arnaud Levasseur

Executive Vice President, Trade Finance, CIBMCB Group

Arnaud Levasseur serves as Executive Vice President, Trade Finance at MCB and Director of MCB Trade Finance Service S.A., bringing deep expertise in international trade, Structured Trade Finance, Supply Chain Finance and almost 20 years of experience within the bank. He holds a Master’s degree in Finance from La Sorbonne Business School and is a Certified Trade Finance Professional accredited by the International Chamber of Commerce, as well as a CDCS advocate with extensive international exposure. In his current role, Arnaud leads Trade Finance at MCB, driving the development of advanced Supply Chain Finance solutions that support clients’ strategic growth objectives and promote long‑term business sustainability for the African continent. He actively represents the bank on the BAFT Africa Council, ITFA Africa Council, and ICC UK.

Boris Jaquet

Global Head Distribution, Corporate Bank, Trade Finance & LendingDeutsche Bank

Based in Frankfurt, Boris is the Global Head of Distribution within the Corporate Bank at Deutsche Bank, responsible for a team of more than 15 specialists in the syndication and distribution of loans and trade assets across the globe.

With more than 25 years’ experience, Boris has been leading several landmark transactions, with a specific focus on Trade Flow and EM loans.

Prior to joining Deutsche Bank 20 years ago in London, Boris was part of the loan syndicate team of Société Générale in Paris.

Carter Hoffman

Deputy EditorTrade Treasury Payments (TTP)

Carter Hoffman is the Deputy Editor at Trade Treasury Payments. His research and writing focus on trade and cross-border finance, often drawing on history, policy, and market structure to explain how today’s financial systems evolved and where they are heading.

He holds international business degrees from the University of Queensland, Queen’s University, the European Business School, and Brock University. Carter’s work has been featured in publications by the International Finance Corporation, the World Trade Organization, and the International Chamber of Commerce.

Carter is a graduate of the Trade Accelerator Program (TAP) through the Toronto Board of Trade and the head of international business development at the Canadian-based building supply exporting firm, The Great Egress Co. He is also a Certified International Trade Professional (CITP) and was a member of the exam development panel for the Forum for International Trade Training (FITT).

Charlie O’Mulloy

Chair Emerging Leader Committee, ITFA, Associate BankerEBRD Trade Facilitation Programme

Charlie O’Mulloy is an Associate Banker at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), where he works within the Trade Facilitation Programme supporting partner banks across emerging markets in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. Prior to his current coverage, Charlie covered EBRD’s trade portfolio in Central Asia & Mongolia and recently completed a secondment in EBRD’s Risk Management team covering European FIs. Charlie also serves as Chair of the ITFA Emerging Leaders Committee, championing mentorship and knowledge-sharing across the next generation of trade finance professionals.

Charlotte Hampshire

DirectorBPL

Charlotte Hampshire began her career in the insurance industry in 2011, working in carrier management and operations at Willis Towers Watson. In 2013, she moved into the specialist field of credit and political risk insurance (CPRI).

Since 2016, Charlotte has been with BPL, the world’s leading broker dedicated to CPRI, serving multinational corporations, financial institutions, global investors and public sector agencies. Her role focuses on supporting the strategic utilisation of CPRI for a major European bank, promoting adoption of the product across a broad range of business sectors. She also has responsibility for relationships with development finance institutions working to expand funding and access to capital in emerging markets, alongside prior experience in political risk and investment insurance solutions for corporate clients.

Clarissa Dann

Editorial DirectorDeutsche Bank AG

Clarissa Dann is Editorial Director of Marketing at Deutsche Bank Corporate Bank where she leads the bank’s content strategy across its Trade Finance, Cash Management, Securities Services, Trust and Agency Services businesses. She will have retired from the bank in June 2026, continuing as a freelance specialist banking writer.

She formally presented Trade Finance TV; a broadcast channel launched in 2019 supported by Deutsche Bank’s flow and has moderated various financial services and fintech panels. She has also co-written and edited Deutsche Bank’s Guide to Trade Finance (now in its Second Edition).

Before joining Deutsche Bank in 2017 Clarissa was Editor-in-Chief at the former Trade & Forfaiting Review, a role she took up after a career in legal and regulatory publishing at Thomson Reuters and LexisNexis.

Clarissa holds an MBA from Cass Business School in London.

Duarte Pedreira

Global Head of Trade, Working Capital and Structured Credit Solutions, Crown Agents Bank and Board Member – Head of Institutional Relations and Chair of TF COPITFA

Duarte Pedreira is an experienced banker who has held multiple senior roles within trade finance, transactional banking, credit and political risk insurance and advisory with a special focus on Africa.

Prior to Crown Agents Bank, Duarte worked at Standard Bank Group (both in Angola and South Africa), Caspian Sea Capital and AIG. Duarte is a Board Member of ITFA and Chair of the Trade Finance Conference of Parties (TFCOP). He also lectures at Bayes Business School in London.

Frederick Rugginz

Global Head of Financial Institutions Trade SalesJ.P. Morgan

Freddie has recently been appointed Global Head of FI Trade Sales at J.P. Morgan, having joined the firm four years ago. He previously managed the Supply Chain Finance book as Head of SCF Programme Management for EMEA & APAC, and also led the Research & Analytics team, responsible for advising clients on working capital optimisation and macro trends.

Prior to J.P. Morgan, Freddie held various coverage and trade finance positions at HSBC and NatWest, including Head of Western Europe & U.S. Trade Sales at NatWest.

General Sir Patrick Sanders

Strategic Defence AdvisorBanco Santander

Geoffrey Wynne

PartnerSullivan & Worcester LLP

Geoffrey Wynne is a partner and head of Sullivan & Worcester’s London office and its award-winning Trade and Export Finance Group.

A leading trade finance lawyer, he specialises in trade, structured trade and commodity finance, advising banks, non-bank financial institutions and multilaterals on emerging market transactions. His expertise includes warehouse financing, collateral management, ownership structures and receivables financing.

Geoff works with BAFT, ITFA and the ICC, providing guidance on trade finance documentation and rules. He recently advised BAFT and ITFA on the updated CRR legal opinions covering the suite of English and New York law MPAs.

He is top ranked by Chambers UK – being named the only ‘Star Individual’ for Commodities: Trade Finance (UK-wide) for 2026 – and the Legal 500 UK. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from RFIx in 2024. He edits The Practitioner’s Guide to Trade and Commodity Finance and A Guide to Receivables Finance.

Hesham Zakai

Managing DirectorExile Group (TXF, Proximo & Uxolo)

Joel Palmer

Trade Finance LeaderAON Credit Solutions

Joel Palmer is an experienced Trade Finance leader with over 15 years of expertise across working capital optimisation and trade finance structures. He has held senior roles at major international financial institutions, combining deep technical product knowledge with commercial leadership.

Joel currently leads AON’s global Trade Finance proposition within the Credit Solutions practise, driving structuring, advisory and insurer engagements for Financial Institutions clients. Prior to joining AON, he served as Head of Trade Finance for the UK and EMEA at AIG, where he led a senior underwriting team across the region.

Before AIG, Joel spent seven years at HSBC in a series of senior Trade Finance roles across the UK and Continental Europe.

Khilola Turaeva

Head of Trade Risk Distribution, EMEABank of America

Khilola Turaeva is EMEA Head of Trade Risk Distribution at Bank of America, based in London. She has nearly three decades of experience in trade finance and transaction banking, having started her career at Asaka Bank in Uzbekistan, where she held several senior leadership roles. In 2006, she relocated to London to join ABN AMRO/RBS Trade Asset Management. In 2011, Khilola joined Bank of America and established the EMEA Trade Risk Distribution desk, now a key player in the global secondary market. She oversees the distribution of corporate and financial institution trade assets to a global investor base.

Liana Keserić

CEORaiffeisenbank Croatia

Liana Keserić began her career at Raiffeisen Bank in the then Transaction Services Sector. She soon took on her first managerial position as Head of the Client Relations Department for Transaction Services, and in 2015, she joined the RBA Management Board as the person responsible for IT, Security, Operational Services, Process and Project Management, as well as Procurement and General Affairs. When she was elected President of the RBA Management Board in 2020, Liana Keserić became the first woman to hold that position in one of the major banks in Croatia. Her third term, which began in 2024, only confirms Liana’s success at the helm of Raiffeisen Bank, during which she led the bank through its largest project in history – the transition to the euro. The focus of this term remains on customer satisfaction and employee care, which are at the core of Raiffeisen Bank’s operations in Croatia.

Natasha Condon

Global Head of Trade SalesJ.P. Morgan

Natasha has 20 years of experience in trade finance and working capital solutions for corporates and financial institutions. As the Global Head of Trade Sales and EMEA Trade Region Head within Payments at JPMorgan Chase, her team provides strategic working capital advisory, risk mitigation, sales growth, and digital efficiencies for leading multinationals worldwide.

She was recognized for her ESG advisory work in trade finance in the Women in Fintech Powerlist 2021 and received the 2022 Social Impact Award from Women in Payments. Natasha recently served as Co-Chair of the Bi+ Council, a global JPMorgan employee organization, and is active in business resource groups supporting women and underrepresented minorities.

Previously, she was Global Head of Core Trade at JPMorgan, leading documentary trade products. She also served as Board Observer on fintech Taulia’s board from 2020 to 2022. Before joining JPMorgan, Natasha was Global Trade Sales Head at Citi and a member of its Global Trade Management Committee.

Nishit Kumar

Head of Loan Syndication, Sales & Distribution, Investment BankingMashreq

Nishit has around 23 years of experience in banking and financial services across MENA, India, North America, Europe & Africa, with a primary focus on loan syndication, structured & acquisition finance and trade assets distribution. Nishit has worked in multiple markets including India, Middle East & USA. Prior to joining Mashreq in 2015, he has handled senior level roles in Standard Chartered and ICICI Bank. He has closed numerous transactions for clients, raising over USD 100bn in the public and private markets, across multiple sectors, including Sovereigns, Oil & Gas, Manufacturing, Shipping, Trading, GREs amongst others

Nishit is a mechanical engineer from IIT Kharagpur, India, and an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad, India.

Olivier David

Head of Financial Institutions SolutionsCartan Trade

With 30 years of experience in the CPRI market — including 25 years in London and two decades with a leading global credit insurer — Olivier has developed deep expertise across underwriting, broker relationships, and structured credit solutions. He now heads the Financial Institutions solutions unit at Cartan Trade, Intact’s short‑term trade credit insurance platform in the EU and the UK. Olivier plays an active role in promoting best practices and innovation within the industry and is committed to strengthening collaboration between insurers, banks, and brokers across the trade finance ecosystem.

Paul Coles

Board Member – Head of Market Practice, ITFA & Managing Director – Funding RelationsOrbian Management Ltd.

Paul Coles has a specific focus on managing, developing and adding to Orbian’s funding relationships for its supply chain finance programmes.

Prior to joining Orbian, Paul was responsible for overseeing the transactional distribution activity that supported HSBC’s Global Trade and Receivables Finance business. He has also been the global coordinator and EMEA head for trade risk distribution at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and previously the trade asset management regional head at RBS NV (part of the legacy ABN AMRO network, where he was in the London-based trade credit distribution team). He started his career in trade finance over 25 years ago at London Forfaiting Company, where he held a variety of roles.

Paul has a BSc in Management Studies from Royal Holloway, University of London and is a member of the Board of the International Trade and Forfaiting Association (ITFA), where he currently chairs the Market Practice Committee.

Ramadurai Krishnan

CEOGlobal Credit Data Consortium (GCD)

Krishnan is currently CEO of the Global Credit Data Consortium, where he is recognised as a thought leader in risk and strategy, with a focus on board-level governance and regulatory advocacy. He has a proven track record in board-level governance, strategic transformation, and regulatory advocacy. A recognised thought leader who has shaped industry standards and influenced global regulatory frameworks, particularly in capital management and trade finance.

He has successfully steered organisations through complex challenges, ensuring compliance while strengthening capital resilience. With a  track record that includes influencing global regulatory frameworks, he recently advocated for substantial amendments to Basel 3.1 Final Rules, ensuring alignment between regulation and business practices.

Rebecca Harding

CEOCentre for Economic Security

Dr. Rebecca Harding is CEO of the Centre for Economic Security and a leading authority on international trade and geoeconomics. She serves in strategic advisory roles including as Chief Economic Adviser to the Defence Security and Resilience Bank Development Group and Head of Investor Relations at Sovereign Resilience Finance.

Harding has built three data businesses in trade, sustainability and economic security. Her career includes positions as Senior Research Fellow at the British Foreign Policy Group, Head of Corporate Research at Deloitte, and Senior Fellow at London Business School. She served as Chief Economist at UK Finance and has advised the UK’s Treasury Select Committee.

She authored “The World at Economic War: How to Rebuild Security in a Weaponized Global Economy” (2025),recommend by the FT’s Martin Wolf as one of the top books of 2025, and co-authored several books on trade and geostrategy, including “The Weaponization of Trade: the Great Unbalancing of Politics and Economics” (2017).

Sean Edwards

ChairmanITFA

Sean Edwards is Head of Legal at SMBC Bank International plc, part of the Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group. He is a Special Adviser to the Trade Finance Department of the bank and in the Trade Innovation Unit.

Sean is Chairman of the International Trade Forfaiting Association (ITFA). He helped draft the Uniform Rules for Forfaiting (URF) and the Standard Definitions for Techniques of Supply Chain Finance published by ITFA, ICC, FCI, BAFT and the EBA.

He is a former member of the Executive Committee of the ICC Banking Commission and the ICC Working Group on Digitalisation in Trade Finance.

Sean is a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Trade Finance Expert Group and he is a non-executive director of KomGo S.A.

Sean has written for all the major trade finance magazines and is on the editorial board of Global Trade Review (GTR). He has presented at many conferences.

Sebastian Erich

CEO, Erste Group’s Factoring & Supply Chain Finance subsidiaryIntermarket Bank AG

Sebastian Erich started his corporate banking career in 1990 at CREDITANSTALT in Austria. He worked in sales and risk management in Vienna before moving to Paris, France in 1998 – running corporate business for HVB France. After 2 years in Private Equity he moved back to Austria in 2007 joining Erste Group – as corporate Banker covering various B-1 positions in Corporate Banking. Since 2013 Sebastian is CEO of Erste Group’s Factoring & Supply Chain Finance subsidiary, Intermarket Bank AG.

Sheleena Govind

Financial Institutions, Trade Corridors and Distribution, Trade & Working CapitalRand Merchant Bank

Sheleena Govind leads the Financial Institutions Sector within RMB’s Trade and Working Capital Team. In this role, Sheleena is responsible for the origination and structuring of short-term debt, liquidity, and trade solutions for financial institutions. Additionally, Sheleena oversees trade finance distribution and manages the Group’s key financial institution trade corridors.

With extensive experience in corporate and investment banking at regional banks, Sheleena is adept in both the institutional and corporate sectors across various industries. Her primary focus areas include lending, loan syndications and distribution, trade finance, and working capital solutions across Africa and international jurisdictions.

Simon Cook

Board Member – Head of Education, ITFA & PartnerSullivan & Worcester UK LLP

Simon Cook has over 20 years’ experience as an English lawyer in the trade finance market. He started his career at Dentons and after 17 years he moved to Sullivan where he helped establish the London office in November 2013. Simon has worked in a wide variety of banking and finance transactions, including in relation to structured trade finance, trade finance, receivables finance, project finance, invoice discounting facilities and borrowing-base facilities in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the CIS. His work in the structured trade area has involved acting for both lenders and borrowers notably in oil, telecoms, soft commodities and metals sectors with particular experience in Africa and the Middle East where he has worked and travelled extensively. Simon also spent four years living and working in Dubai.

Simon is included for Trade finance in the list of Leading Individuals in the UK Legal 500, 2021 and the list of Ranked Lawyers for Chambers 2021 and recently authored a chapter on Trade Finance in Globe Law and Business’ new book entitled Oil and Gas Trading and various chapters in Thomson & Reuter’s second edition of a book entitled A Practitioner’s Guide to Trade and Commodity Finance. He has also participated in a number of structured trade finance, receivables finance and project finance conferences and seminars throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa over many years.

Simon’s links with ITFA go back many years, including being involved in producing ITFA’s Secondary Market Guidelines and Primary Market Guide. More latterly, he was involved with ITFA’s mentoring programme to try to help those looking to join the trade finance market and was a founding member of ITFA’s Africa Regional Committee in 2017, to which he was re-elected In November 2019. More recently still in October 2021, Simon was delighted to be elected to join the main ITFA board with responsibility for education.

Sofia Spiers

Head of GTB DistributionBBVA

Sofia is a Credit Distribution specialist with over 15 years of experience in banking, specialising in insurance and risk distribution. At BBVA, she develops and enhances distribution capabilities within Global Transaction Banking and partners with the wider lending business to deliver insurance-backed credit solutions, supporting risk distribution and capital optimisation.

Her experience includes roles in Capital and Portfolio Management, Credit Risk Insurance, Insurance Advisory, and Corporate Finance across several international banks, with a focus on structuring and distributing risk in complex credit transactions.

Surath Sengupta

Head of Transaction Banking ProductsLloyds Bank

Surath is a strategic banking leader with vast and diverse experience in senior positions across the globe, most notably in India, Hong Kong, and the UK. Surath currently leads the Transaction Banking Products team in Lloyds CIB, covering a range of products in Payments, Cash Management, Trade Finance and Working Capital, with a focus on growth through innovation. Prior to this, Surath was on the global board of HSBC’s Trade and Receivables Finance business.

Surath is a board member of the International Chamber of Commerce UK, and the Vice-Chair of the International Chambers of Commerce, Global Banking Commission.

Thomas Dunn

ChairmanOrbian Management Ltd.

Thomas Dunn has been Chairman of Orbian since 2006. A graduate of Cambridge University, he spent 16 years at J.P. Morgan in London, Melbourne, Sydney and Tokyo. As Managing Director, he led the bank’s credit activities across the Asia Pacific region. In addition to his role at Orbian, Tom is Chairman of Raglan Capital Limited, an investment company with holdings in financial services, commodities, advanced materials and technology.

William Whittington

Global Head, Specialty Credit & Mid TermAllianz Trade

I am the Global Head of the Allianz Trade Specialty Credit & Mid Term Line of Business (CPRI equivalent). We have teams across US, UK, France, Italy, Germany, Benelux and Singapore providing a full suite of CPRI products to Banks, Corporates, Traders, MDBs and ECAs, from trade finance, project finance, asset backed finance and leasing solutions.

Zubin Bagwadia

Global Head of Institutional Clients & Asset Distribution, Global Trade SolutionsHSBC

Zubin Bagwadia is the Global Head of Institutional Clients and Asset Distribution for Global Trade Solutions at HSBC. Based in London, he leads a global team of sector experts in sales and distribution to deliver trade finance solutions and facilitate commerce for their clients. Prior to this he was Head of Commercial Banking Sales. Zubin has 25+ years of experience in various leadership roles in Trade Finance, Metals Trading, Retail Banking and Wealth Management, across India, Indonesia and the UK. He has a degree in Political Science and Sociology. Zubin lives with his wife, son and daughter in London and is passionate about cooking and tennis.