The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has appointed six influential figures in trade finance to its advisory board, adding three technical advisors to its Trade Registry simultaneously.

The following individuals join the board as part of the ICC’s efforts to continue its growth and influence:

• Global head of trade and asset solutions in global banking and markets at Banco Santander, Alberto Amo, whose 17-year career at the bank has seen him work across trade finance and corporate banking.
• Global head of structured export finance at ING Bank, Eric de Jonge, who brings 20 years’ experience in finance and currently leads a global team of around 40 individuals.
• Global head of trade and banking flow at BNP Paribas, Olivier Paul, who is an incumbent member of the Business Finance Committee of the European Banking Federation. His 30-year career in finance spans corporate banking and export finance roles.
• Deputy director for financial institutions at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Rudolf Putz, who has been developing EBRD’s trade facilitation programme since 2000 and has more than 30 years of trade finance experience.
• Global head of trade and receivables finance at HSBC, Stuart Tait, who has worked for the bank for nearly 30 years and has an extensive working knowledge of trade following time spent in Asia, North America, the Middle East and Europe with the bank.
• Global head of trade products at UniCredit, Markus Wohlgeschaffen, whose responsibilities include managing the innovation and implementation of the bank’s commercial trade finance products. He brings over 30 years’ trade finance experience to the role.

The three appointed technical advisors to the ICC’s Trade Registry, who’ll work closely with the project’s chair, Alexander Malaket, are:

• Export, trade and project finance service expert advisor Henri d’Ambrieres, who has held senior roles in corporate banking, project and export finance, and who has been advising corporates, banks and ECAs since joining HAD Conseil in 2013.
• Head of product returns and capital optimisation at HSBC, Krishnan Ramadurai, who has extensive banking and risk management experience and is an expert on Basel II, Basel III and capital requirements.
• Senior product manager in trade finance services at ING, Hugo Verschoren, who has held senior European positions across all areas of trade finance during his 36-year career with the Dutch lender. Verschoren is currently chair of the banking commission of ICC Netherlands.

Commenting on the appointments and the growth aspirations of the ICC, banking commission chair Tan Kah Chye says: “As the leading global voice for policy-making in the financing of trade, we must ensure that our knowledge base is both comprehensive and up-to-date enough to be continuously relevant.”

“Shifts in the rapidly changing global economy and banking increasingly requires new rule-writing, policy and standardisation mandates. The ICC must evolve in parallel with market needs, utilising the right experts to retain our position as the most authoritative voice in trade finance,” adds senior policy manager at the commission, Thierry Senechal.