Trade finance tech firm Conpend has made two senior hires from Commerzbank and Credit Suisse, as it looks to ramp up growth in line with the industry’s rapid adoption of digital technology. 

René Klose joins as vice-president focusing on Conpend’s business growth strategy, after nearly 13 years at Commerzbank across two spells, most recently as head of product management. He was also a project manager for trade finance at the Frankfurt-based lender. 

Arne Wolframm has been hired as project manager, with a focus on scaling the company’s operations. He spent nearly nine years at Credit Suisse, most recently as business analyst, and also had a five-year stint at Switzerland’s Migros Bank. 

Conpend says the appointments are intended to bolster its senior team’s banking credentials to keep up with growing demand for digital solutions in the trade finance sector. 

“We are experiencing strong growth as the trade industry increasingly seeks to harness technology to enhance existing processes,” says chief executive Torben Sauer. “Banks are becoming increasingly informed of the benefits that AI and other digital solutions can bring to their business.” 

In Klose’s case, while at Commerzbank, he was responsible for implementing Conpend’s Trade AI product – a tool for automating manual processes in documentary trade finance. 

Klose says that with an increasing number of banks seeking to digitise documents and processes, the trade finance industry faces growing challenges around implementation. By bridging the gap between banking and technology, the trade finance industry is “enhancing its processing capabilities”, he says. 

Wolfgramm is tasked with strengthening client relations and “supporting their trade finance digitisation journeys”, Conpend says.