GTR advisory board
This is some text to feature the GTR advisory board.
Meet the advisory board
Sian Aspinall
Managing Director, BPL Global
Sian Aspinall has over 25 years of experience in the CPRI market, having previously been Senior Vice President, Trade Credit and Political Risk at Zurich. Having started her career at BPL Global, Sian rejoined in 2014.
“[NEED UPDATE] I get to work with an extremely accomplished designers all with a unique mix of talent and we get to tackle some fantastic projects together.”
Steven Beck
Head of Trade & Supply Chain Finance, Asian Development Bank
Steven Beck is the head of trade finance at the Asian Development Bank (ADB). In his nine years at the ADB, he has managed exponential growth of the bank’s trade finance program and implemented its first supply-chain finance business.
“[NEED UPDATE]Being a member of such a talented team is constantly inspiring. We each bring our passion to the studio to make our company a very special creative hive.”
Robert Besseling
Founder and CEO, Pangea-Risk
Founder and chief executive at PANGEA-RISK, a specialist intelligence company that provides analysis and forecasts on political, security, and economic risk in Africa and the Middle East.
“[NEED UPDATE] Being a member of such a talented team is constantly inspiring. We each bring our passion to the studio to make our company a very special creative hive.”
Maninder Bhandari
Director, Derby Group
A career banker with 29 years’ experience with HSBC, ABN Amro Bank, Emirates NBD and The Bank of New York Mellon in Asia/Pacific (Hong Kong, Singapore & India), Latin America & Caribbean/North America (Sao Paulo & Miami), Middle East & Africa (Dubai). Specialization was in multiple aspects of banking especially Transaction Banking/Trade. Mr. Bhandari is a founding partner of the Encore Group (a private equity fund) and Director/Partner in the Derby Group (provider of back office services). He has remained as an advisor to banks and has been on the project team establishing the Emirates Trade Bank.
“[NEED UPDATE] Being a member of such a talented team is constantly inspiring. We each bring our passion to the studio to make our company a very special creative hive.”
Mencía Bobo
Global Head of Trade Working Capital Solutions, Santander
Bobo joined Banco Santander in 2006 and since 2014 has been its head of receivables and structured trade, responsible for product development, structuring and execution within the global trade and working capital solutions group.
“[NEED UPDATE] I get to work with an extremely accomplished designers all with a unique mix of talent and we get to tackle some fantastic projects together.”
Geoffrey Brady
Head of Global Trade & Supply Chain, Bank of America
Managing director and head of Global Trade and Supply Chain Finance in Global Transaction Services (GTS) at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Geoffrey oversees management of the origination and delivery of supply chain, receivables and trade finance products that provide liquidity, risk mitigation, and working capital optimization for the bank’s Corporate, Commercial and Business Banking clients. He is based in New York. Prior to joining the bank in August 2018, Mr. Brady was the Americas region executive for JP Morgan’s Global Trade & Loan Products business. He has more than 20 years of experience in banking and has held management roles in a variety of businesses including Portfolio Management and Payments in addition to Trade Finance
“[NEED UPDATE] I get to work with an extremely accomplished designers all with a unique mix of talent and we get to tackle some fantastic projects together.”
Daniel Cotti
MD CoE Banking and Trade, Marco Polo Network, TradeIX
Dani has over 30 years of experience in Global Trade Finance, Transaction Services, Banking and Technology. Dani was the European Trade Finance Head at Citibank and Global Head of Trade Finance and Transaction Products at ABN AMRO/RBS. Subsequently, he managed and build out the Global Trade Finance and Loans business at JP Morgan. In 2015, he founded Cotti Trade & Treasury, a consultancy firm for global trade finance. Dani is a Trade Finance industry expert and had industry wide, global engagements with SWIFT, BAFT, ICC and WTO organizations and is currently the non-Executive Chairman of the Board of Bolero Intl. Ltd.
“[NEED UPDATE] I get to work with an extremely accomplished designers all with a unique mix of talent and we get to tackle some fantastic projects together.”
Alisa DiCaprio
Head of Trade and Supply Chain, R3
Alisa DiCaprio is a Research Economist at ADB Institute in Tokyo. She is currently on secondment from Asian Development Bank. Her research explores ways to make trade a more effective development tool. She has led institutional initiatives on digital trade, e-commerce, trade finance, urbanization, and technology and innovation. Beyond ADB, she has worked with the public and private sector on trade, export promotion, and labor issues. Her PhD is from MIT, and she holds a BA and MA from Johns Hopkins University.
“[NEED UPDATE] I get to work with an extremely accomplished designers all with a unique mix of talent and we get to tackle some fantastic projects together.”
Sean Edwards
Head of Legal EMEA at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking
Corporation Chairman, International Trade & Forfaiting Association
Corporation Chairman, International Trade & Forfaiting Association
Sean Edwards is an English lawyer, formerly with Clifford Chance, and is now Head of Legal and Special Adviser to the Trade Finance Department at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe Limited. He is Chairman of ITFA and is one of the principal draftsmen of the Uniform Rules for Forfaiting (URF) (ICC Publication no. 800), a joint initiative of the ITFA and ICC and published by the ICC. He was also a member of the drafting group for the Standard Definitions for Techniques of Supply Chain Finance published by ICC, ITFA and a number of other international trade finance organisations.
“[NEED UPDATE] I get to work with an extremely accomplished designers all with a unique mix of talent and we get to tackle some fantastic projects together.”
Kai Fehr
Global Head of Trade, Standard Chartered Bank
Fehr joins Standard Chartered from Wells Fargo, where he was global head of international trade services. Before joining Wells Fargo in 2014 – initially as head of international trade services sales in Asia – he led trade finance and working capital teams in Asia Pacific for Barclays, UniCredit, and DZ Bank.
“[NEED UPDATE] I get to work with an extremely accomplished designers all with a unique mix of talent and we get to tackle some fantastic projects together.”
Rebecca Harding
CEO, Coriolis Technologies
Dr. Rebecca Harding is an independent economist specialising in trade and trade finance and is CEO of Coriolis Technologies, providing data as a service to the trade finance and banking sectors.
She is the co-author of the acclaimed “The Weaponization of Trade: the Great Unbalancing of Policy and Economics." She frequently appears on The Ian King Show, Sky News, BBC World and BBC Radio 5 live, Newsnight and Radio 4. She is frequently cited in the Broadsheet press, including recent articles in the Financial Times, Telegraph and CityAM.
“[NEED UPDATE] I get to work with an extremely accomplished designers all with a unique mix of talent and we get to tackle some fantastic projects together.”
Ian Henderson
Chairman of the Board and CIO, Artis Finance
Ian has been involved in all aspects of international finance for over 30 years including banking, corporate finance, insurance and asset management. Ian has covered global and emerging markets in origination, structured trade & commodity finance, syndications, asset management & portfolio management, credit risk, asset valuation and asset recovery/ restructuring across all commodity groups, financial institutions and industrial sectors. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa and the Islamic Finance Qualification.
“[NEED UPDATE] I get to work with an extremely accomplished designers all with a unique mix of talent and we get to tackle some fantastic projects together.”
Inwha Huh
Partner, Banking & Financial Markets, IBM Global Business Services
With 20+ years of experience in the trade finance market, Inwha joined HSBC from GE Capital, where she was head of global business development and capital markets of Working Capital Solutions. Prior to that, she was head of structured trade finance and distribution-Americas, at Deutsche Bank. She held a variety of roles in syndicated loans and trade finance in the U.S., UK and Asia.
“[NEED UPDATE] I get to work with an extremely accomplished designers all with a unique mix of talent and we get to tackle some fantastic projects together.”
Jonathan Joseph-Horne
Managing Director, Global Trade Finance Department, SMBCE
Jonathan Joseph-Horne is Managing Director for Global Trade Finance Department at SMBC Europe.
Previously Horne was executive director at RBS debt capital markets, where he was responsible for the bank’s commodity monetisation product. Before this, he worked within RBS’s structured trade finance team within project and export finance.
“[NEED UPDATE] I get to work with an extremely accomplished designers all with a unique mix of talent and we get to tackle some fantastic projects together.”
Vinod Madhavan
Group Head of Trade, Standard Bank
With more than 20 years’ experience in commercial banking, Madhavan has worked with corporations and financial institutions to address their transaction banking and working capital financing needs in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Before joining Standard Bank, he worked for Standard Chartered, Citibank and Deutsche Bank. Madhavan’s career has spanned roles in operations, product management and sales positions operating from Singapore, India and South Africa.
“[NEED UPDATE] I get to work with an extremely accomplished designers all with a unique mix of talent and we get to tackle some fantastic projects together.”
Lisa McAuley
CEO, Global Trade Professionals Alliance (GTPA)
Lisa has worked in international trade for over ten years, most recently as CEO of the ECA has seen the organisation focus on ground-breaking research and advocacy projects that promote and enhance the global competitiveness of SMEs. Lisa lends her passion for international trade and her respected voice in the industry to various initiatives, from an advisory role on the AmCham Trade Advisory Group, to the board of CargoHound and the Executive Director of the Global Trade Professionals Alliance (GTPA).
“[NEED UPDATE] I get to work with an extremely accomplished designers all with a unique mix of talent and we get to tackle some fantastic projects together.”
Vinay Mendonca
Global Head of Product & Propositions Management, HSBC
Vinay is the Global Head of Product and Proposition for HSBC's Trade and Receivables Finance business. He is responsible for setting the strategic direction for the Group's Trade and Receivable Finance products, working with industry forums and consortiums on global growth programmes, strategic partnerships, and adoption of new digital technologies for Trade.
“[NEED UPDATE] I get to work with an extremely accomplished designers all with a unique mix of talent and we get to tackle some fantastic projects together.”
Sekete Mokgehle
Head of Export Credit Finance, Nedbank
Sekete has over 18 years investment banking experience with nine of those years dedicated to project finance transactions, initially with the South Africa Infrastructure Fund where he led a team in carrying out due diligence for equity investments in infrastructure projects in sub-Saharan Africa. He then spent two years with Deutsche Bank South Africa advising on infrastructure and energy project finance transactions before joining, in July 2001, Nedbank’s Infrastructure Project Finance team as senior transactor focussing on lending activities particularly in infrastructure public private partnerships until his appointment in May 2008 as Head of the Global Commodity Finance. His investment banking experience spans across internal audit, corporate banking, infrastructure equity investments, project finance advisory / arranging / underwriting / lending and now in trade and commodity finance.
“[NEED UPDATE] I get to work with an extremely accomplished designers all with a unique mix of talent and we get to tackle some fantastic projects together.”
Vincent O’Brien
Member, Executive Committee, ICC Banking Commission
Associate Director, Institute of International Banking Law and Practice (IIBLP), Washington DC, providing direction in application of ICC rules and practice. Trade Facilitation Technical Consultant delivering technical trade finance assistance in more than 100 countries for major banks, development institutions and governmental organisations.
Advisor on Innovation and Market Intelligence at China Systems Corporation, the leading global trade and supply chain finance solutions provider.
Engaged as expert witness in international trade related dispute resolution exercises and legal cases.
“[NEED UPDATE] I get to work with an extremely accomplished designers all with a unique mix of talent and we get to tackle some fantastic projects together.”
Benedict Oramah
President, African Export- Import Bank (Afreximbank)
Benedict Okey Oramah assumed the position of President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the African Export–Import Bank (Afreximbank) on 21 September 2015. He was previously the Executive Vice President in charge of Business Development and Corporate Banking from October 2008.
“[NEED UPDATE] I get to work with an extremely accomplished designers all with a unique mix of talent and we get to tackle some fantastic projects together.”
Ebru Pakcan
Global Head of Trade, Citi
Pakcan joined Citi in 1997 as a project manager in the technology team in Turkey. Since then, she has held numerous roles within the bank, including a stint as global head of payments and receivables and most recently as head of TTS for Emea since 2016.
“[NEED UPDATE] I get to work with an extremely accomplished designers all with a unique mix of talent and we get to tackle some fantastic projects together.”
Robert Parson
Partner, Clyde & Co
Robert is London based partner in international law firm Clyde & Co specializing in commodity and trade finance law, structuring deals and complex cross-border financing arrangements for many of the world’s major banks, traders, exporters and other participants in west Africa and across the global trade market.
“[NEED UPDATE] I get to work with an extremely accomplished designers all with a unique mix of talent and we get to tackle some fantastic projects together.”
Sandra Primiero
Global Head of Structured Commodity Trade Finance, Deutsche Bank
Primiero has been with Deutsche Bank for over 26 years, and before her current roles was regional head of the workout and recovery management Emea team (excluding Germany and the Netherlands), which she started to build in 2011, and which involved the management of debt restructurings for corporates and financial institutions.
“[NEED UPDATE] I get to work with an extremely accomplished designers all with a unique mix of talent and we get to tackle some fantastic projects together.”
Matt Strong
CEO, Credit Specialties, UK & Ireland, Marsh JLT Specialty
Before joining JLT Specialty USA, Strong was responsible for the global business development for CPS, working with JLT’s CPS clients and international network of specialists in 10 financial centres. Before this, Strong served as managing director for the JLT CPS business in Asia for five years, based in Singapore. He has more than 19 years of experience in the insurance broking sector and for the last 16 years has specialised within the credit, political and security risk insurance market.
“[NEED UPDATE] I get to work with an extremely accomplished designers all with a unique mix of talent and we get to tackle some fantastic projects together.”
Claire Thompson
Executive Vice-President, Enterprise Partnerships, Mastercard
Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments industry. Our mission is to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart and accessible. Using secure data and networks, partnerships and passion, our innovations and solutions help individuals, financial institutions, governments and businesses realise their greatest potential. With connections across more than 210 countries and territories, we are building a sustainable world that unlocks priceless possibilities for all.
"Mastercard has long pioneered the power of partnership and collaboration, believing that no one player has the answers and that existing approach meant that we were already firmly by our partners side as they navigated through the fresh challenges they faced."
Michael Vrontamitis
ICC Advisory Board member and Co-Chair of ICC Trade Digitisation Working Group
Michael is responsible for Standard Chartered’s trade finance business with European and American headquartered companies as well as the business across sales, product, service and implementation in Europe and the Americas. He joined Standard Chartered in 1995 and has worked in Hong Kong, London and Singapore. Michael’s experience spans both wholesale and retail clients as well as Investor Relations.
"Mastercard has long pioneered the power of partnership and collaboration, believing that no one player has the answers and that existing approach meant that we were already firmly by our partners side as they navigated through the fresh challenges they faced."
Geoffrey Wynne
Partner, Sullivan
Geoffrey Wynne is head of Sullivan & Worcester’s London office and also head of its Trade & Export Finance Group. He has extensive experience in banking and finance, specifically trade and structured trade and commodity finance, receivable financings, corporate and international finance, asset and project finance, syndicated lending, equipment leasing and workouts and restructurings.
"Mastercard has long pioneered the power of partnership and collaboration, believing that no one player has the answers and that existing approach meant that we were already firmly by our partners side as they navigated through the fresh challenges they faced."
