Events

Stephen Alsace has over 20 years’ experience providing advice on financial crime, AML and sanctions issues. He recently assumed the role of Global Head of Sanctions at RBC in May of last year. Prior to joining RBC, Stephen was a Director in the Global Investigations and Compliance practice of Guidehouse consulting since 2018. While at Guidehouse, Stephen led projects relating to AML and sanctions gap assessments for global financial services and digital asset clients, and was embedded as a Senior Leader on the Compliance Team for a global payments service provider. Stephen also spent over 18 years at CIBC, starting in the Legal Department as the lead lawyer on AML and Sanctions, then as the Global Head of Sanctions and Terrorist Financing. Stephen has spoken at numerous conferences in Canada, the US and UK on sanctions matters, provided sanctions and terrorist financing instruction to the RCMP, FBI and MI-5, and has testified as an industry expert on sanctions matters Canadian Parliamentary and Senate Subcommittees in 2017 and 2022. Stephen has law degrees from the University of Windsor and University of Detroit Mercy and a Master’s degree on European Integration from the University of Strasbourg.

Michael Evan Avidon is a partner in Moses & Singer LLP, a NYC law firm, where he Co-Chairs its Banking & Finance Practice Group. He is widely recognized for his knowledge of letters of credit (LCs), lending, and secured transactions. Mike’s practice emphasizes: secured and unsecured lending; trade finance; supply chain finance; discounting; LC reimbursement agreements; participation agreements; receivables purchase and payables agreements; electronic contracting; outsourcing and white label agreements; and LC disputes and litigation. His work involves standby, direct pay, and commercial LCs, and demand guarantees. His clients include money center banks and other financial institutions.

Buddy Baker is entering his 47th year of working with letters of credit and with people who work with letters of credit.  This time has mainly been spent in employment with banks that actively finance international trade, like ABN AMRO, The First National Bank of Chicago, and 5 more banks that no longer exist, but he also spent 3 years with Atradius Trade Credit Insurance, and a couple of years working as a freelance consultant to banks and exporters.  In late 2016, he returned to banking to join Goldman Sachs, where he serves as an internal expert on deals and problems involving letters of credit, based in Chicago. Mr. Baker has written numerous magazine articles and several books on how letters of credit work, including the Users’ Handbook to Documentary Credits under UCP600 (ICC Publication No.694); designed online training and certification programs for credit managers and bankers, including the standby letter of credit modules for the ICC Academy; and frequently speaks at national meetings of bankers, credit managers, and lawyers, like this one. He also serves as US delegate to the ICC Banking Commission.

Pirjo Blå has 37 seven years of trade finance experience in banking industry. She has worked for Nordea Bank Abp both in Finland and Sweden until 2010 when she joined SEB. First years she spent with documentary credits and passed CDCS exam year 2000. Thereafter she has concentrated in bank guarantees and SBLCs. She is a member of ICC Banking Commission, ICC Guarantee Task Force and BAFT SBLC and guarantee committee. Pirjo works as a Global Guarantee Specialist and in her role speaks in the customer events in Finland, Sweden and Germany.

Eddie is responsible for covering regional banks and FinTech’s in the North American market at Swift. He leads a team that covers over 800 diverse institutions across the NAM region. Eddie has been working with the regional bank community in both the United States and Canada for over 4 years on a wide range of topics, from ISO 20022 to Payment Innovation, to Financial Crime & Compliance to Trade. Before joining Swift, Eddie worked at Payoneer, a payments fintech specializing in cross-border payments, where he managed key banking and corporate relationships globally.

Rajasekharan Chandrasekharan is part of the TD bank Global Trade Finance operations located in Toronto, Canada. I'm a seasoned trade finance specialist with expertise in Letters of credit (LCs) including Document checking, Document Preparation, LC Issuance, LC Advising, LC Confirmations, Documentary Collections and Commodity Structure LC's. I have an overall banking experience of 17 Years in the Trade Finance domain and have worked with various MNC banks ie BNP Paribas, Deutsche bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland etc. With a keen understanding of financial instruments like Letters of credit, documentary collection and structured trade finance deals, I navigate the complexities of international trade transactions with precision and expertise. My passion lies in facilitating seamless cross-border trade, empowering business to expand their horizons and thrive in the ever-evolving landscape of global markets. I'm also a Certified Document Credit Specialist (CDCS), Trade Finance Skill Assessment (TSA), and have certification in trade finance training.

Jonathan Conley serves as Vice President in CoBank’s Trade Services Operations Division. In this role, he manages Documentary Services (Letters of Credit and Collections), Accounts Receivable Purchasing and SWIFT within the Trade Services Division and is responsible for processing of all aspects of Trade products. He has over 41 years of experience in the letter of credit business, including nine years managing the Trade Services team at CoBank. Prior to joining CoBank Jon served as Vice President, Manager at Wells Fargo, in the Standby Letter of Credit operations for eight years. He also served as Vice President – Letters of Credit at SunTrust Bank (in Atlanta), Bank One/Banc One International (in Ohio and Texas) and Harper Group/Circle Airfreight Freight Forwarding for over thirty-two years, combined.

David David provider of international air and ocean cargo shipping as well as domestic FTL and LTL trucking and other services, including US Customs Entry Filing, Importer Security Filing & Satellite Warehousing. ARC specializes in China to USA air freight ocean freight handling and customs and door delivery. ARC and overseas partners sign contracts with shipping lines and airlines. Arc maintains at least 3 freight forwarder counterparts to ensure price competitiveness and accessibility to more space.

Merlin Dowse is an Executive Director and a Global Product Manager within the Core Product team. In this capacity, Merlin leads a global team responsible for the management of digital solutions and innovation available to the clients of J.P. Morgan across the globe. Merlin previously held the position of Global Product Manager for the Portfolio Management Group within Global Trade at J.P. Morgan. In this role he led the digitization efforts of both the internal and external processes supporting the distribution of all trade finance assets. Prior to this, while based in London, he was managing the EMEA Trade product set for the Corporate client segment, where he worked on various initiatives such as the Bank Payment Obligation, SWIFT for Corporates whilst also helping expand J.P. Morgan’s global footprint. Prior to joining J.P. Morgan, Merlin worked in various capacities in the Trade Services department at Rabobank in the Netherlands. Merlin has been involved in numerous industry-wide initiatives and was recently appointed as Vice-Chair to the International Chamber of Commerce’s (ICC) Banking Commission and he is also the Sponsor of the Commercialisation Working Group under the auspices of the ICC Digital Standards Initiative (DSI).

Mr. Frank Fortes is the Senior Trade Finance Expert, responsible to provide legal advice on complex trade finance transactions and training on Trade-based money laundering & sanctions. Mr. Fortes has 14 years of extensive experience in the Trade Finance industry that has been predominantly acquired during his tenure in France and Canada within the HSBC Group. Prior to joining the Toronto-Dominion Bank, he held various senior positions as Legal Counsel at HSBC France or Manager of the International Guarantees Unit of HSBC Canada. He holds a Master's Degree in International Business Law and is also CITF (Certificate in International Trade and Finance) and CSDG (Certificate for Specialists in Demand Guarantees) certified.

Normand Girard is Director, Global Trade Operations for BMO. He is responsible for the Bank’s processing of all trade finance products in North America and Europe as well as process oversight in Asia. Mr. Girard has 35 years of experience in Global Trade Operations at BMO. During his career with the Bank, he has covered every role in Import, Export, Standby Letters of Credit and Collections as well as integral operations leadership roles throughout the evolution of BMO’s trade finance business. He has been Chair of the BAFT Southeast Committee from 2011 to 2017. He is a Certified Documentary Credit Specialist and currently Chair of the BAFT National Commercial Letter of Credit Committee since 2017.

Melissa Luster is the VP of International Operations at BOKF, NA, Melissa has been a member of the BAFT Southeast LC Subcommittee since 2012 which she currently sits as Secretary. She provides leadership and training to her Trade Operations Team at BOKF, NA working directly with the team members providing services for products such as participations, documentary collections and letters of credit both standby and commercial. Melissa also supports the back office system as well as font end trade platform, onboarding customers and provides training. Her career with BOKF,NA began in April of 2007 and she earned her CDCS certificate in 2013.

Alexander R. Malaket, CITP, is the President of OPUS Advisory Services International Inc., in Canada, and Founder and Managing Director of Trade Finance Associates Pte in Singapore. Mr. Malaket is recognized internationally as a specialist and senior consultant in international trade and trade finance, having advised top-tier financial services, corporate, government and international institution clients across the globe, and having developed and delivered a variety of training seminars on an international basis. Mr. Malaket serves as a member of the Executive Committee and Technical Advisor to the ICC Banking Commission in Paris, as Secretary/Treasurer of the World Trade Centre in Winnipeg and is a long-time member of the Toronto Regional Board of Trade/World Trade Centre, as well as a member of the SWIFT/ICC Industry Education Group on the Bank Payment Obligation. Alexander is a member of the Board of Directors of the Forum for International Trade Training, Ottawa, Canada. Alexander is the author of “Financing Trade and International Supply Chains”, published by Gower/Ashgate UK.

Agnes Martinez is an accomplished professional currently serving as the Capital Markets - Trade Finance Operations Manager at City National Bank. She efficiently oversees the processing of trade finance products, including Letters of Credit, Documentary Collections, and Supply Chain Finance. Before joining City National Bank, Agnes made significant contributions to JPMorgan Chase bank as the Manager for their Global Trade Finance West Coast division. Her expertise and leadership skills played a pivotal role in driving the division's success. Agnes's exceptional abilities and dedication to the field have earned her recognition in the banking industry. She had the honor of chairing the BAFT (Bankers Association for Finance and Trade) West Coast region and now holds the position of Co-Chair of the BAFT Regional Committee. Agnes contributes to advancing and collaborating within the trade finance community through active involvement in these esteemed committees.

Ellen Muench is a Vice President and Trade Capital Markets Back Office Team Lead at Associated Bank with more than 25 years of banking experience, including Supervisory experience, System Administration, and 15 years in Trade Services. During her time supporting back-office operations, in addition to delivery of Letter of Credit, Documentary Collection and Capital Markets products her areas of expertise have included process review and refinement for efficiency and risk reduction, planning, testing and implementation of system integrations and upgrades, and preparing and conducting product education and group training sessions across lines of business. She is a Certified Documentary Credit Specialist and a member of the BAFT Southeast and Central Regional Subcommittees.

Ukamaka Okpara is a Trade Finance Practitioner with over thirteen years of expertise in Trade Finance Operations. Her experience in this market includes product coverage on Documentary Collections, Export Letters of Credit, and has honed her skillset to become a subject matter expert (SME) on Standby Letters of Credit and Guarantees. Ukamaka has attained the following accreditations: Certified Anti Money Laundering Specialist, Certified Documentary Credit Specialist, Certified Specialist in Demand Guarantee and most recently a Certificate in Risk Management from York University, Toronto, Canada.

Fiore (Frank) Petrassi is Global Product Manager for Standby Letters of Credit and Guarantees with JPMorgan Chase responsible managing and growing the global Standby Letter of Credit and Guarantee offering to the JPMorgan client base for all lines of business. Frank is a long standing member of the BAFT Trade Finance Committee and current Chair of the BAFT National Standby Letter of Credit/Guarantee Committee. He was former Chair of the BAFT North Central Standby Letter of Credit Committee and Co-chair of the IIBLP Government Mandated Letter of Credit Committee.

Andy currently serves as the Vice President International Policy for the Bankers Association for Finance and Trade where he engages in advocacy on behalf of international transaction bankers across the industry before the various international standard setting bodies such as the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, Financial Stability Board, the Financial Action Task Force, and others. Andy combines years of diverse experience in the financial services having served as the Sr. VP of Advocacy/General Counsel for the World Council of Credit Unions working on international regulations and consulting with various countries on regulatory frameworks. He served as General Counsel for First Commerce Credit Union, engaged in advocacy and lobbying at the state and federal level at the Credit Union National Association and the League of Southeastern Credit Unions, and worked for the prudential bank, credit union, and finance regulator in the State of Florida (Office of Financial Regulation) where he also served as a Cabinet Aide to Comptroller General Robert F. Milligan.

Glenn Ransier is the SVP Head of Documentary Trade and SBLCs with Wells Fargo Bank. He is currently a Technical Advisor assisting the production of official Banking Commission Opinions for the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris, France. He also has delegation experience at the ICC and at the International Organization for Standardization. Mr. Ransier has been an involved member of BAFT for decades and was most recently the Chair of the Oil and Commodity LC Working Group in 2015.

Courtney Rowlands has 12 years of trade finance experience with Lloyds Banking Group, having joined their guarantees operations team in 2012 before moving to the trade product team as the Guarantees Product Development Manager in 2023. She became CSDG accredited in 2014 and CITF accredited in 2016. Courtney is a member of the BAFT SBLC and Guarantee Committee.

May Serageldin is a member of the AML Compliance advisory team supporting the Global Trade Finance business at RBC Royal Bank of Canada. Prior to that, she was a Compliance Manager at HSBC Bank Canada providing advisory guidance and support on regulatory compliance, financial crime and governance queries related to Global Trade & Receivables Finance. She has over 15 years of experience in trade finance including trade operations, implementation, compliance and operational risk. She is a member of the BAFT Trade Finance Compliance committee and has contributed significantly to the development of the Trade Finance and Trade-Based Money Laundering course for ACAMS by serving as a subject matter expert on content source and technical reviews. May is a Certified Documentary Credit Specialist (CDCS) and Certified Trade Finance Compliance specialist (CTFC).

Ms. Kristine Siebel retired in 2022 after 45 years in the Letter of Credit world. At retirement she was a Vice President at Societe Generale in their Trade Finance Group, previously she had been a Senior Credit Officer for Royal Bank of Canada responsible for their Captive Reinsurance Business in New York. Prior to joining RBC, Ms. Siebel was Assistant Vice President and Standby Letter of Credit Risk Officer for JPMorgan Chase Bank in New York. Ms. Siebel began her career in Trade Services with JPMorgan Chase’s predecessor bank Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company. Ms. Siebel has extensive experience in both the issuance and the risk aspects of Standby Letters of Credit. She has been a member of the BAFT North American Standby Letter of Credit Committee since its inception in 1994 and was the Chair of the committee until her retirement. At this time she is also an Honorary Member of BAFT.

An esteemed Trade Finance professional with over 19 years of expertise which Seun has honed in Nigeria and Canada. In his previous roles in Nigeria, he held progressive leadership positions in Trade Finance, wherein oversight was provided for Trade Credit facilities with numerous Correspondent Banks in Europe and Asia. He collaborated with lending teams to structure complex Trade Finance transactions and the development of training programs. In his current role at CIBC, he is responsible for Export Letters of Credit, Documentary Collections, Clean Payment, and the Sundry Functions which are the mainstay for the day-to-day operational processing and support. With his client centric approach to the Trade Finance business he excels at providing advisory services to the Clients and Business Partners. His notable achievements include providing guidance on structuring and financing of infrastructure projects, automating transaction reporting and metrics. Seun holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from The University of Ibadan and is a CDCS candidate.

Ms. Marilyn Williams is a graduate of Concordia University, Montreal, QC. with a Bachelor of Arts Degree, Graduates Studies in Instructional Administration and a Fellow of the Institute of Canadian Bankers. She has over 26 years of experience with Trade Finance Operations in a number of Leadership roles. During her tenure with the organization she has worked as a Business Consultant, accountable for business controls and compliance related activities. She has also supported Operational Risk Management for Business Banking. With her passion coupled with her dedication for Trade, she has held the position of Senior Manager Trade Finance Operations; providing leadership for the Division. She is currently working on Special Projects/training supporting Trade Finance. Marilyn is a member of the BAFT South East/West Workshop Planning Group and BAFT South East Letter of Credit Committee.