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Seasoned Payments Strategy Professional with 14+ years of functional experience in Fintech, Money Movement, Stablecoins, Digital Wallets, & Real Time Payments. Currently at Visa, he leads the Strategy, Pricing and M&A efforts for Commercial & Money Movement Solutions across Central Europe, Middle East, and Africa region (CEMEA) to drive revenue across the Visa Direct, FX, Business, Corporate, and Government Solutions business lines. He has also worked extensively in the Strategy Consulting industry in areas of Digital Payments, Blockchain Technologies, Customer Experience, KYC & Operational Streamling, and Product Monetization. More recently, his efforts have been focused on building stablecoin initiatives for the region and articulating Visa’s role in the digital asset ecosystem.

Sally is the Head of Transaction Banking at Arab Bank, overseeing key markets across the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, and Asia. She leads the strategic, enterprise-wide transformation of the bank's transaction banking services. Her strategic focus encompasses defining the next generation digital channels, enhancing liquidity management protocols, streamlining payments and receivables, and innovating trade services and finance offerings, while concurrently optimizing the entire client experience and service delivery model. Known for her robust expertise in strategic planning, management, and business development, she leverages 25 years of extensive prior leadership experience gained across various senior roles within the Middle East and North Africa regions to consistently deliver high-impact solutions and drive sustainable growth for the institution. She started her career at Citi building the transaction banking business in the Levant and was responsible for the product roadmap from initial conceptualization to successful market-entry and large-scale commercialization. Sally has a BS in Mechanical Engineering with Honors Magna Cum Laude from the University of Massachusetts and a MS in Engineering Management and Computer Information Systems with Honors Phi Kappa Phi from Northeastern University.

Mr. Mohamed currently serves as Group Head of Financial Institutions & Transaction Banking Sales at the National Bank of Bahrain (NBB), where he spearheads client strategy, product innovation, and business development across regional and international markets. In his role at NBB, he is responsible for managing strategic client relationships, driving performance across key product lines, and leading cross functional initiatives within the Financial Institutions and Transaction Banking segments. Mr. Mohamed brings nearly two decades of banking experience, with a significant portion of his career spent at Citi in senior leadership roles across the Middle East and GCC. He led Financial Institutions Sales for the Middle East and Pakistan, headed Treasury & Trade Solutions for Corporate, Commercial, and Public Sector clients in Bahrain. During his tenure, he also served as Interim CEO of Islamic Banking, where he provided strategic leadership and oversight for the bank’s Islamic finance operations. Across these roles, he played a central role in expanding Citi’s institutional client base, strengthening relationships with central banks, and delivering innovative transaction banking solutions tailored to complex regional markets. His experience reflects a deep understanding of cross-border banking, strategic client engagement, and product driven growth across diverse financial landscapes. Mohamed holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Information Systems from the University of Bahrain and an MBA in Finance from the University of Technology Bahrain.

H.E. Raja Al Mazrouei, an accomplished leader in the world of finance and technology, serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI), where her visionary leadership has been instrumental in reshaping the landscape of trade credit insurance and bolstering the UAE's position as a global trading powerhouse. Since her appointment in late 2022, Raja has reinvigorated ECI with a fresh perspective. Her astute understanding of advanced technology has enabled her to craft innovative strategies that have become the driving force behind ECI's transformative goals. These initiatives not only support exporters and national development but also fortify the UAE's stature as a dynamic global trading hub. Under Raja's stewardship, ECI is embracing innovation and excellence as its guiding principles. She places strong emphasis on the acceleration of digitization in trade credit insurance and financing. As the federal export credit company, ECI maintains a resolute commitment to sustainable trade, emphasizing diversification strategies and catalyzing SME growth to bolster the UAE's economic contribution. Raja's illustrious career spans executive roles at renowned, multi-sector organizations, including Higher Colleges of Technology, Dubai Holding, National Bonds Corporation, and Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). Her tenure as the Executive Vice President of DIFC FinTech Hive is particularly noteworthy, as she played a pivotal role in establishing the region's most successful and innovative FinTech ecosystem. Educated with an MBA in Global Leadership and Management from the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU), Raja stands as one of the pioneering Emirati women who embraced technology early in her career. Her quest for knowledge has taken her to renowned institutions such as Harvard Business School, London Business School, University of California at Berkeley, Singularity University, and Hawkamah Institute for Corporate Governance. Beyond her role at ECI, Raja serves on the boards of several prestigious organizations, including Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government, Al Ansari Financial Services, Zand Digital Bank, Al Masraf Bank, and Ittihad International Investments. She is also appointed as the Chair for Harvard Business School Middle East and North Africa Advisory Board (MENAAB). Her exceptional leadership has garnered her recognition as one of the “Top 100 CEOs in the Middle East” (2023) and “100 Most Powerful Businesswomen” (2023) by Forbes Middle East, “50 Inspiring Business Leaders” (2023), and “Women of Influence in the Arab World” (2021) by Arabian Business, along with the honor of being named among the “50 Most Influential Women in Middle East Finance” (2019) by Dow Jones. More recently, Raja was recognised as one of the “100 Most Powerful Businesswomen” (2025) by Forbes Middle East for her remarkable leadership and exceptional contributions to the business world. She also received the “Woman of the Year (Leadership) Gold Award” at “Citywealth Powerwomen Awards International” (2025). This prestigious accolade emphasizes her remarkable achievements and influential role in reinforcing women’s participation in the financing and trade sectors. Adding to her list of achievements, Raja was recognized among LinkedIn’s top creators in the Insurance & Insurtech category in the UAE by Favikon (2024). She was ranked 52nd among Top 200 Creators nationwide, indicating her visionary leadership and impactful contributions to the industry. With a relentless pursuit of excellence, Raja Al Mazrouei continues to shape the future of trade credit insurance, technology, and sustainable trade. ‌

A veteran of the financial markets, with over 25yrs of market experience, Simon joined First Abu Dhabi Bank as its Macro Strategist in January 2018. Over his career, Simon has built up a wealth of multi-asset, global macro investment strategy knowledge, working in both London and New York. Simon worked previously for BNP Paribas, RBC and National Australia Bank in London, and for Bear Stearns in London and New York. Bi-lingual in French, his primary focus within the Market Insights & Strategy team at First Abu Dhabi Bank is on global macro issues and in particular how these are relevant to investment strategies within the MENA/GCC region.

Osama began his career in 1996 at the Saudi American Bank (SAMBA), a Citibank affiliate, during the early stages of digital finance. With a degree in Computer Science from King Saud University, he played a role in developing digital banking solutions. Osama worked at several banks, including Banque Saudi Fransi, Arab National Bank, and National Commercial Bank (now SNB). He contributed to the development of Transaction Banking in the banking industry in Saudi Arabia. He was behind Saudi Arabia’s first corporate online banking systems, the first national corporate collection platform, the first Host-to-Host (H2H) banking integration, and the first eWallet for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in partnership with a leading Saudi bank. These milestones weren’t incremental improvements, they were industry defining moments that laid the foundation for the Kingdom’s modern financial ecosystem.

Tod Burwell is the President and Chief Executive Officer of BAFT. Prior to being promoted to CEO, he served as the Senior Vice President of Trade Products with oversight of all trade-related initiatives including the Global Trade Industry Council, Trade Committees, and other strategic initiatives of the organization. Mr. Burwell has over 25 years of trade, supply chain and cash management experience as a banking practitioner, as well as serving as a consultant to global corporations and suppliers of strategically integrated trade solutions. Prior to joining BAFT, Mr. Burwell was a Managing Director at JPMorgan Chase and held senior global management roles responsible for trade operations, launching the logistics business and managing global product sales for trade finance and logistics management.

As the VP of Technology of CargoX Bojan Čekrlić oversaw day-to-day operations and was in charge of strategic planning. In his previous position of CTO he created the development roadmap, led the development team and launched the implementation of the ISO 27001:2002 standard. Before becoming the COO at CargoX, Mr Čekrlić was also the CTO of the blockchain-based online gaming tournament platform FirstBlood. After graduating from the University of Ljubljana’s School of Economics and Business, he worked in various IT companies, including Parsek, where he first rose to the rank of CTO. His wealth of experience across various industries will help him steer the company into the future and boldly face fierce competition.

Isha Chander is the Chief Administrative Officer for CEEMEA at J.P. Morgan Payments, leading strategic initiatives that align global goals with regional needs. With experience across markets in consulting, fintech, banking, technology, and legal sectors, she excels in scaling teams, securing funding, and driving innovation. Isha is known for commercializing investments, streamlining operations, and enhancing franchise performance. She is committed to both maintaining current operations and driving transformative change, focusing on agile, compliant strategies that deliver lasting impact in high-growth markets. Isha holds an MBA from Melbourne Business School, Australia.

Bertrand Chen is the CEO of Global Shipping Business Network (GSBN), a neutral, not-for-profit blockchain consortium building a paperless, accessible and sustainable trade ecosystem. Its members include shipping lines, terminal operators, banks, insurers and solution providers. One specific area of focus for GSBN is ensuring that the adoption of electronic Bill of Lading (eBL) can power further trade growth through the tokenization of trade flows. As part of HKMA's Project Ensemble, GSBN collaborates with Ant Digital Technologies to tokenize eBLs, enabling atomic settlement via stablecoins. Under another pilot with Banco Central Brasil and HKMA GSBN demonstrated that combining eBL with tokenized deposits can reduce transaction risks and operational friction while creating new value across supply chains.

Tom has been at Ebury for close to 12 years. Throughout his tenure he has held various leadership roles most recently in Switzerland and the UK & Ireland where he was Country Manager and responsible for all commercial activity. He was made a Partner in 2014. As part of his new role, Tom will re-locate to Ebury’s office in the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC), the leading and comprehensive financial ecosystem in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region.

Anne-Fleur FELISSENT is Global Head of Sales for Correspondent Banking - Cash & Trade since September 2025. She joined Societe Generale in 2006 in the International Audit Division, where she held different positions, before moving to Global Transaction Banking in 2012. As Corporate Cash Management Global Sales, she was in charge of Large Corporates for Media & Telco, and Insurance. In 2018, she joined the Cash Clearing business line, first as deputy Head of sales for Western Europe, with a focus on French-based banks, then as Head of Sales for Western Europe and Americas in 2019 and finally Global Head of Sales for Cash Clearing in 2022.

A veteran in the industry, Mr. Fonseka, is a Fellow of the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka and holds an MBA from the Postgraduate Institute of Management at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. He has been awarded a Distinction for the ACI Dealing Certificate and has accumulated over 29 years of experience in the field of Treasury Management. Furthermore, he is a Certified Member (CMA) of the Institute of Certified Management Accountants of Australia. n 2002, Mr. Fonseka commenced his tenure at People’s Bank, and since November 2011, he has been a member of the Bank’s Senior Corporate Management team as Deputy General Manager. In this role, he oversaw the Foreign Exchange operations, activities of the Primary Dealer Unit, Investment Banking Unit, and USD and LKR Money Market operations, in addition to managing relationships with local and foreign commercial banks and financial institutions. Prior to joining People’s Bank, he held senior positions at American Express Bank and Standard Chartered Bank. Mr. Fonseka was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer/General Manager of People’s Bank with effect from 1st of August 2023.

Nassib Ghobril has been the head of economic research and analysis at Byblos Bank in Beirut since March 2006. From 1997 until 2002, he was the head of research at Lebanon Invest. Ghobril then joined Sarader Investment House, the investment banking arm of Groupe Saradar. When Beirut’s Bank Audi acquired Saradar in 2004, he became the head of research and played a major role in expanding the scope of research conducted at the bank. Ghobril has a bachelor’s degree in political studies from the American University in Beirut and a master’s degree in international relations from the American University in the US. He also has a master’s degree in international management from the American Graduate School of International Management in the US. In 2009, Ghobril was recognised as the best economist in Lebanon and its diaspora by the World Lebanese League.

Omar Hafeez is Group Head of International Banking at First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), where he leads the bank’s international franchise across key markets in the Middle East, Americas, Europe, Asia and beyond. Omar is responsible for expanding FAB’s international footprint as the UAE’s global bank, driving strategic expansion and fostering alignment across the bank’s key business lines. During his career Omar has worked in various countries including Pakistan, Tanzania, Nigeria, USA, Japan and the UAE in high-impact executive roles. His appointment strengthens FAB’s leadership team further with solid banking expertise and enhances the bank’s capabilities to serve clients across multiple diverse markets. Prior to joining FAB, Omar held several senior leadership roles at Citibank over a career spanning nearly three decades focused on both emerging and developing markets. Most recently, he served as Citibank’s CEO and Banking Head for the North Africa, Levant, and Central Asia cluster, overseeing operations in 9 countries including Egypt, Turkey, and Kazakhstan.

Akbarkhon Ibrokhimov is responsible for mobilizing international funding and structuring complex cross-border financings for corporate and infrastructure projects in Uzbekistan. He specializes in project and structured finance supported by leading Export Credit Agencies, including Euler Hermes, SERV, Credendo, Finnvera, OeKB, and Sinosure, and has extensive experience in trade finance, syndicated and bilateral lending, and capital markets transactions. His work also includes close cooperation with international financial institutions such as ADB, IFC, and EBRD, as well as with leading GCC and global commercial banks, to deliver tailored financing solutions. Akbarkhon has been actively involved in debt capital markets (DCM) transactions, including bond issuances and private placements, and plays a key role in expanding SQB’s international investor base, strengthening relationships with foreign financial institutions, and supporting strategic initiatives in infrastructure, industrial development, energy transition, and sustainable finance.

Ali Imran is the Chief Operating Officer at Commercial Bank of Dubai and is a member of the Bank’s Executive Committee. He is responsible for designing and delivering digital capabilities, technological innovation, operational efficiencies and strategic change within the bank. Previously, Ali has held various leadership roles at ABN AMRO and the Royal Bank of Scotland. Most recently, he was a Partner at PwC, leading the customer advisory practice for Middle East Region. In addition, Ali has driven the evolution and establishment of greenfield transformation programs, developing digital delivery capabilities and fintech partnerships that connect CBD to the emerging technology ecosystem and innovation for clients.

Naman Kapoor as the Head of Payments for the Middle East & Africa (MEA) region, where he drives payments strategy across 29 countries. In this expanded role, Naman will focus on enhancing digital payments, liquidity management, and financial innovation to strengthen Citi’s presence in the MEA market. With over 18 years of experience, Naman continues to serve as Managing Director at Citi, a position he has held since January 2024. Previously, he led Payments and Liquidity for the India Subcontinent, overseeing cash management, receivables, and fintech partnerships. His global career spans leadership roles in India, Malaysia, Korea, and now MEA, making him a key driver of Citi’s digital banking and payments transformation. As he takes on this new responsibility, his focus will be on scaling Citi’s payment infrastructure, driving innovation, and delivering seamless financial solutions in the region.

As Head of Visa Commercial Solutions (VCS) for CEMEA, I am excited to drive Visa’s regional strategy to bring B2B solutions to large and mid-market corporates, small businesses and government organizations. My team works closely with our stakeholders to develop and bring new and innovative solutions to market, while overseeing initiatives that expand the distribution of Visa’s existing capabilities. Prior to joining Visa, I have enjoyed being a Banker for nearly three decades, amassing extensive experience in corporate and institutional banking segments including client coverage, transaction banking, client servicing, product management, and digital transformation. Leading large P&L businesses alongside diverse teams around the CEMEA region gives me an opportunity to learn and grow everyday. I am a proud advocate of Diversity & Inclusion and hold my values & strong work ethics dear. I want to be a lifetime learner and enjoy challenging status quo.

Mr. Faisal Lalani joined the Bank on March 1, 2018, as Head of International Banking. He possesses over-all banking experience of over 20 years both at domestic and international locations. He started his career at JP Morgan Chase and had also been associated with ABN Amro Banki, Royal Bank of Scotland, Mashreq Bank-UAE and Emirates NBD Bank-UAE where he held senior positions. His past position at Emirates NBD Bank, UAE was head of Institutional and International Banking. During his career, he has worked in Singapore, Amsterdam, London and UAE. He also had short term assignments in New York And Hong Kong.

Pamela Mar is the Managing Director of the Digital Standards Initiative (DSI) of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), based in Singapore. The DSI is a public private partnership backed by the ICC, Asian Development Bank, World Trade Organization, World Customs Organization and the Singapore government, that aims to digitalise global trade by harmonising and digitalising supply chain standards, and by building digital readiness across the global trade ecosystem. She was previously the Executive Vice President – Knowledge and Applications at the Fung Group, a Hong Kong based multinational supply chain manager. She brings over 20 years of experience working across global supply chains and industry on sustainability, technology, and global policy issues — having held roles based in Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Geneva. Ms Mar was named in the Eco-Business Sustainability A-List in 2019 and has published and spoken widely on corporate sustainability and supply-chain issues.

Anirudha Panse (Ani) is the MD & Head of GTB Trade Finance Product Innovation (TPI) at First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB). The TPI team is responsible for launching innovative, and digitized Trade products and solutions globally for FAB across the traditional trade products and open account solutions. Ani’s maintains oversight on the team responsible for structuring and commercializing the complex trade solutions in the trade and commodity finance domain. Risk Management forms a critical part of Ani’s domain wherein the Trade Risk Distribution as well as the Trade Business Risk functions form part of Ani’s responsibilities. During this career, Ani has successfully launched several innovating and complex solutions in the Supply Chain Finance (SCF) / Receivables Finance / Inventory Financing space and commercialized them into multi-million $ businesses. Ani was part of the founding team that launched industry wide initiatives like UAE Trade Connect, a blockchain based AI/ML driven solution for reducing frauds in Trade, and in the past has represented his bank in national FATF assessments with Central Banks and also through Steering Groups related to SCF with No 10 Downing Street, and the NHS.

Yogesh is the Head of Enterprise Platforms & Structured Trade Finance at CredAble. A seasoned banker and trade finance expert, he oversees key markets across the Middle East, Europe, and Asia, driving the development and deployment of scalable supply chain finance platforms and structured trade solutions for large enterprises. With close to 18 years of experience, Yogesh brings deep expertise in corporate banking, supply chain finance and complex structured trade transactions, including the execution of cross-border structures and leadership of global teams. Yogesh began his career at Citi and has since held senior corporate banking positions in Deutsche Bank and HSBC, managing large corporate and multinationals client portfolio across India and heading EMEA corridor origination. At CredAble, he combines his strong banker’s lens with fintech-led innovation, working closely with banks and corporates to modernise trade finance infrastructure at scale. He is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management (Bangalore) and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

Nick Philpott is a seasoned market structure specialist with over 15 years of experience in both the Traditional Finance (TradFi) and Digital Asset sectors. As the Co-Founder and Head of Partnerships of Zodia Markets, one of the pioneering bank-backed crypto asset brokerage businesses globally, Nick plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of this emerging market. He joined Standard Chartered’s graduate programme in 2006 after a short career in the British Army. He followed that with roles in Financial Markets Sales in Lagos, Nigeria, and COO positions across FX, Rates, Credit and Repo trading in both London and Singapore. Notably, Nick led the establishment of the bank as a Designated Dealer for the Libra project (Facebook’s Diem digital currency). He joined the Financial Markets e-Trading team in 2015 where was the Head of Market Structure, moving to the Bank’s SC Ventures arm in 2020 to co-found Zodia Markets.

Alfred Quertier is the Global Head of Sales Engineering at Azentio, where he leads strategic front-end engagements across product, technical, and solutions architecture for mission-critical BFSI software. Based in Dubai, Alfred has played a pivotal role in Azentio's transformation into a SaaS-driven leader, with his work impacting hundreds of millions of end users across Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. With a background spanning cloud engineering, infrastructure strategy, and enterprise architecture particularly in AWS environments he has overseen large-scale cloud migrations and built robust SaaS platforms. Prior to Azentio, Alfred held roles in system engineering, project management, and technical operations across sectors and geographies, from Indonesia to New Zealand. His passion for innovation and continuous improvement is matched by his belief in designing solutions built to last a generation. Alfred is AWS and Oracle certified and brings multilingual capability and global insight to his leadership.

With a remarkable career spanning more than three decades in the banking industry, Mr. Mohammad Mamdudur Rashid has joined United Commercial Bank PLC as Managing Director & CEO. During his tenure at NCC Bank PLC, where he most recently assumed the role of Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Rashid played a pivotal role in expanding the bank's international trade portfolio and enhancing its standing in the banking market, thereby contributing to its growth. Notable achievements under his leadership include NCC Bank's recognition as Bangladesh Bank's Best Primary Dealer and Global Brand Magazine's recognition as the fastest-growing brand in 2023. With his guidance, NCC Bank was able to successfully implement Islamic banking. Mr. Rashid entered the banking industry in 1995 with Citibank-Bangladesh and has held various leadership positions in Bangladesh, India, and Australia since then. His extensive knowledge spans several departments, including HR, General Services, Risk, Operations, Compliance, Business and Credit. Prior to this, Mr. Rashid was a prominent figure in the Banking industry, having held roles such as Chief Financial Officer, Strategic Head for the SME business, and Additional Managing Director at United Commercial Bank PLC (UCB) and BRAC Bank, respectively. During his fifteen years at Citibank, Bangladesh, Mr. Rashid held several roles, including COO of Citibank-Bangladesh and Head of Strategic Planning for Citibank's institutional banking in New Zealand and Australia. At BRAC and BRAC International, he was also the group chief financial officer.

Trailblazing business development in digital payments Aniruddha Sane, a seasoned entrepreneur, is a founding member of TerraPay. With over 20 years of experience in global business development for electronic payments and services, Ani, as he is more popularly known, also holds the position of Chief Business Development Officer at the company, playing a critical role in establishing TerraPay as a leader in global money movement. Ani made his entrepreneurial debut in 2015 by co-founding Rêv Worldwide, a leading payment products and service provider. Before Rêv, Ani was Director of Sales at Fidelity Information Services (FIS), where he oversaw the financial payment products and services business in the Indian market.

Oscar Sanz-Paris is CQUR Bank Deputy CEO and Chief Commercial Officer. He joined the bank in May 22 and has lead the bank’s digital and commercial transformation as part of a management buy-out restructure. CQUR Bank is a leading commercial bank based in Doha, Qatar, which provides comprehensive financial solutions required to thrive in the global marketplace. As a leading financial institution, CQUS possesses a deep understanding of global markets, including navigating the complexities of foreign exchange and the specific dynamics of the GCC region. Leveraging our expertise, we assist our clients in optimizing their financial operations with our advanced foreign exchange and currency management solutions, payment services, hedging and risk management solutions. Prior to CQUR, Oscar spent two decades in senior positions running credit and derivative desks in Investment Banks in London. He holds an MSc in Engineering from Spanish and French Universities.

Vivek Shah leads Corporate and Institutional Banking at Emirates Islamic Bank. He is responsible for driving profitable growth by deepening and expanding relationships with large local and international corporates, financial institutions, and sovereigns. His mandate includes managing portfolio returns and wallet share, enhancing the product suite, and ensuring disciplined risk and balance sheet management. He is also a member of the Bank’s Executive Committee and the Wholesale Banking Islamic Sustainable Finance Committee. Vivek is a competent professional with expertise in financial management, corporate and institutional banking, loan syndications and debt capital markets. He has established track record of driving performance in leadership roles. With over 23 years of experience in banking and corporate finance, Vivek has spent 16 years within Emirates NBD Group in leadership roles, including Regional Head of Institutional and International Banking & Debt Capital Markets at Emirates NBD Bank and Head of Loan Syndications at Emirates NBD Capital. He previously served as Group CFO for Emerald Palace Group in the UAE. Vivek has an MBA in Finance and Marketing from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), India. He is also a qualified Chartered Accountant and Company Secretary.

Omar is Head of Corporate Banking Middle East, where he is responsible for developing and strengthening the core proposition of Barclays’ corporate clients in the region. Omar sits on the Asia Pacific Corporate Banking Management Committee and the Middle East and North Africa Management Committee. Omar joined Barclays in 2008 in Abu Dhabi and has since been the team leader for Global Corporates for the Middle East and Head of Global Corporates Outbound, Middle East. Omar has over 23 years of Corporate Banking experience covering clients across Middle East, Africa & Pakistan. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Political Science from the University of McGill in Montreal, Canada. Before joining Barclays, he held several positions in financial institutions including United Bank Limited and Askari Commercial Bank Limited.

A strategic, accomplished, results oriented transaction banking and fintech leader with three decades of experience in running and scaling global, regional, and country businesses across multiple geographies. With deep expertise in the area of transaction banking and in particular, in trade and supply chain finance. And driven the execution of global agendas, both at Standard Chartered (as global head of trade finance ) and in a fintech (in DLT Ledgers ,Singapore where I was the CEO ). Farooq is passionate about people and culture, with a focus on career development and nurturing of future talent.

Deepa Sinha is the Senior Vice President of Payments and Financial Crime at BAFT, and will work to advance the goals of the payments and cash management industry through standardization, defining best practices and developing usable industry data. She will also be responsible for formulating policy recommendations and educating industry stakeholders including practitioners, regulators, policymakers and the broader business community. Prior to joining BAFT, Sinha accumulated more than 25 years of treasury and cash management experience at both corporations and banks. She formerly served as Treasurer at Caliburn International, now Acuity International, where she oversaw cash forecasting, working capital and debt management, and implemented policies and banking technology to support all core treasury functions. As the Associate Vice President of Banking Operations and Relationships at the Carlyle Group, she developed the cash management, FX and banking platforms, and built and managed the infrastructure for multicurrency cash management across 5,000+ bank accounts at more than 100 global banks. She also served on both the JPMorgan Chase Treasury and Wells Fargo Treasury Advisory Councils.

Luke Spires manages financial institution relationships at StoneX, focusing on the delivery of frontier and emerging market FX payout solutions across the EMEA region. Prior to joining StoneX, he held roles in correspondent banking and FX sales at J.P. Morgan, with a strong emphasis on building and managing relationships with banks across the GCC and wider MEA region.