Transcript
Aashish Pitale
Essar Group
Aashish Pitale is Group Treasurer for the Essar Group of Companies managing Currency, Interest Rates,
Commodities and Liquidity Risk. Aashish has been associated with Financial Markets for 20 years with
experience spanning across Fixed Income, Institutional Sales and Derivatives Structuring. Prior to
joining Essar, Aashish as Managing Director with Standard Chartered Bank was responsible for the
FICC Structuring business across South Asia and Middle East. He has held senior level positions with
JPMorgan driving their Relative Value strategy in the AEJ region based out of Singapore and with ICICI,
heading their Fixed Income and Economic Research team. Aashish was instrumental in developing
Government Bond Indices for Singapore, India, South Korea as part of JP Morgan’s GBI Broad. Essar is
a multinational corporation with investments in the sectors of Steel, Energy (Oil & Gas and Power),
Infrastructure (Ports & Projects) and Services (Shipping, Telecom, Realty and Outsourcing Technology
Solutions). With operations in more than 25 countries across five continents, Essar employs over
73,000 people and had revenues of US$ 39 billion in 2013.
Alejandro Estevez‐Breton
Santander
Mr. Estevez‐Breton joined Santander Global Banking and Markets (GBM) in 2007 and is responsible
for the firm’s Latin America Macro, Rates & FX strategy departments. He manages the macro research
teams located in Buenos Aires, México DF, Santiago & Sao Paulo as well as the FX & Rates Strategy
teams based in New York and London. He also coordinates with other macro and strategy teams in
London, Madrid and Warsaw as part of the research product offering. Prior to assuming the role of
Chief LatAm Economist & Head, Rates & FX Strategy in 2013, Mr. Estevez‐Breton was the head
strategist for Latin American local markets. Previously, Mr. Estevez‐Breton spent over six years at
Citigroup at the Markets and Banking division, both in Bogota and New York, first as an economist and
strategist covering Andean economies, and later as a LatAm Treasury Analyst. In his last two years at
Citigroup, he researched and analyzed GTS Treasury’s fixed income hedge portfolios consisting of
LatAm Treasury bonds, Central Bank bonds, money markets, foreign exchange and interest rate swaps
linked to LatAm and US rates. Mr. Estevez‐Breton is a graduate of Universidad de los Andes in Bogota
with a degree in Economics and a major in History. He also received a diploma as Specialist in
International Business with a Major in Capital Markets from Universidad Externado & Columbia
University, and holds an MIA (Master of International Affairs) with a major in International Finance
from Columbia University. More recently he finished the Executive Education Program on
International Finance in Emerging Markets, from the Inter‐American Development Bank (IDB) and
Columbia University.
Alan Kuek
MRI Trading
CEO, Commodity Marketing, CWT Group since May 2013 and heads up MRI Group. As the commodity
marketing business arm of the CWT Group, the division is actively marketing physical non‐ferrous
metals, bulk minerals and gas oil. Background in origination and structured financing in banks and
commodity traders since 1997. Joined MRI in February 2012 as Global Head of Structured Commodity
Finance and Origination and is instrumental in developing the oil trading business based in Singapore.
Prior to joining MRI, he held senior positions with Trafigura and BNP Paribas Singapore, where one of
his transactions was awarded Deal of the Year by Trade and Forfaiting Review in 2008. A graduate of
National University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Social Science (Hons) in Economics.
Alby Lee
Santander
Ms. Alby Lee joins Banco Santander Hong Kong with over 18 years of experience in the banking
industry. As Managing Director, Head of Global Transaction Banking Asia Pacific, she manages the
transaction banking business in 7 countries covering Trade finance, Supply Chain Finance and Cash
Management from Sales, Product Management, Channel Management to Implementation. Prior to
joining Banco Santander, Alby worked at Standard Chartered Bank for 16 years in both Wholesale Bank
and Consumer Bank at various Asia locations such as Shanghai, Taiwan, Korea and Singapore. Her last
appointment in Standard Chartered Bank was Global Head of Employee Banking based in Singapore.
Alby has a Master of Business Administration from University of British Columba, Vancouver, Canada
and a Bachelor of Arts from University of Hong Kong. Alby is married with 2 boys of 3 and 6 years old.
Ali Ansari
HSBC
Amol Lara
Citi
Amol Lara Director, Head of Trade for ASEAN Treasury and Trade Solutions Amol Lara is Director,
Head of Trade for ASEAN, for Treasury & Trade Solutions, a business unit of Citi’s Institutional Clients
Group. Based in Singapore, Amol is responsible for growing Citi’s Trade business in the ASEAN market,
encompassing Trade Services, Trade Finance, Supply Chain Financing, Commodity Trade Financing and
Export & Agency Financing. Amol has been with Citi since 1994. Prior to the current role, Amol was
responsible for Export & Agency Finance for the ASEAN region for over 5 years based in Singapore,
which involved the origination, structuring and execution of official agency transactions for clients.
Prior to this, he has held various relationship management and team head positions within Citi’s Global
Subsidiaries Group and Financial Institutions Group across Singapore and India. Amol holds a
Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce from Osmania University at Hyderabad, India and is qualified as a
Chartered Accountant from India.
Anne‐Marie Woolley
Nedbank Capital
Anne‐Marie Woolley is Head of Energy & Metals for Global Commodity Finance at Nedbank Capital.
Based in London she has been involved in corporate and international banking for over 33 years, and
has gained solid practical business experience though dealing with a diverse client base, ranging from
large multi‐national corporations, commodity traders and private companies, to state owned entities.
Her clients, both importers and exporters, require innovative solutions for their working capital needs,
both in the short and medium term. Anne‐Marie’s work experience includes Barclays where she held
several positions including Director of Global Structured Trade Finance and, more recently, Head of
Trade Finance & Services for the Barclays Africa business. This encompassed the responsibilities for
trade in 14 countries. After her time at Barclays she joined Standard Chartered where she was a
Director of Structured Trade Finance. Anne‐Marie’s work experience includes a 2½ year sabbatical
where she spent time in freelance consultancy, working with EADB and DFCU in Uganda and the Banks
of Bahrain and Kuwait. Her most recent role prior to joining Nedbank was as the Head of Structured
Trade & Commodity Finance for Africa at Standard Bank, a position she held for 7 years. Anne‐Marie
has established a high external profile through speaking engagements at substantive conferences and
articles in various publications. Nedbank has Global Commodity Finance teams based in Johannesburg
and London.
Andrew Beechey
Liberty Insurance Limited
Andrew Beechey : Head of Global Financial Risks ‐ Asia pacific Liberty Specialty Markets Andrew joined
Liberty in March 2014 to head up the Asia Pacific region for the Global Financial Risks team. His role
involves overseeing the development of the political risk, contract frustration and trade credit
underwriting for the region. Initially based in the London office, Andrew will be moving to Singapore
at the end of August to take up his new role. Prior to joining Liberty Andrew spent nine years at Zurich,
where he was deputy head of the London Credit and Political Risk team and had primary responsibility
for new client development and overseeing the day to day underwriting within the team. Before
embarking on his underwriting career Andrew spent nine years as a broker for Marsh, working in both
the London and US markets. Andrew has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and is ACII qualified.
Aneish Kumar
BNY Mellon
Angela Wei
Bank of China
Angela Wei has over 20 years experience in banks and commodity trading companies. She held senior
roles with Commerzbank in London for over 12 years and ANZ Bank before moving to Cargill Singapore
as the Director of Asia Structuring for its Trade and Structured Finance business. She joined Bank of
China earlier this year as Head of the Commodity Business Unit. Angela has an MBA from Imperial
College and a degree in Economics & Law.
Anthony Palmer
BPL Global
Anthony Palmer has worked in London, Paris and Singapore as a credit and political risk insurance
broker since 1975. He co‐founded Berry Palmer & Lyle Ltd (BPL Global) in 1983. BPL Global specialises
in emerging market risk. Most of its clients are major multinational corporations and financial
institutions. It has offices in London, Paris, Singapore and Hong Kong, and affiliated offices in Boston,
Dallas, Los Angeles, Milan, New York, Sao Paulo and Shanghai. Currently BPL Global holds the following
awards: Best Insurance Broker in Trade (Euromoney Trade Finance magazine), Best Trade Credit and
Political Risk Insurance Broker (Global Trade Review) and Best Trade Credit Broker (Trade & Forfaiting
Review). Anthony is a regular speaker and writer on credit and political risk insurance. A graduate in
Modern History from Oxford University, he has an MBA from INSEAD. He is a Chartered Insurance
Broker and an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute. In July 2012 he set up BPL Global’s Asia
Pacific head office in Singapore.
Asmitha Jamkhandikar
J.P. Morgan
Asmita Jamkhandikar ‐ Compliance Director, Corporate and Investment Bank, J.P. Morgan Asmita is a
Compliance Officer with J.P. Morgan’s Corporate and Investment Bank, responsible for reviewing and
monitoring the Global Trade & Loans portfolio and new product rollout in Asia‐Pacific from a
compliance perspective. Asmita has more than 15 years’ banking experience and has previously
worked for Citigroup. Asmita has a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from University of London. She is CDCS
certified and holds a Masters in Financial Management from Mumbai University.
Axel Bommersheim
Commerzbank
Axel Nikolaus Bommersheim Director Regional Head CIS, Baltic Countries, Mongolia Financial
Institutions Department Commerzbank AG Head Office Frankfurt / Main, Germany Since 1998, I have
been employed with Commerzbank AG, Head Office in Frankfurt / Main, Germany as Regional Head
and Director in charge for the financial institutions business with the CIS countries, Baltic countries
and Mongolia. From 1982 to 1998, I worked for Deutsche Bank in corporate banking and financial
institutions coverage positions and challenged the foundation of a Representative Office in Georgia,
Caucasus, in the nineties of the last century. During the financial crisis a couple of years ago, I was a
member of several international steering committees for debt restructuring. I am a graduate of the
Bankakademie/Frankfurt School of Finance and Management. I was born in Bremen, Germany in 1963.
I am married with one son. Strong interests in history, music, astronomy, biking and photography. I
am an alumni of the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt.
Bartholomeus Ras
HSBC
Bartholomeus Ras Global Head of Business Development; Global Trade & Receivables Finance
Bartholomeus Ras is the Global Head Business Development, Global Trade & Receivables Finance at
HSBC. Bart has been with HSBC Bank since October 2013. Prior to joining HSBC, he was the Head of
Trade Supply Chain Finance EMEA at Citi Bank. Before then Bart also worked at the Head Quarters of
Philips International in various functions; including Corporate Treasury and Senior Finance function
within the group’s Procurement and Supply Chain organisation (CFO Philips supply management). Bart
started his career at ING Bank, where he became the Senior Derivative Trader. He is married and has
three children, he lives in Oxted, Surrey, UK.
Bhavesh Patel
Marsh
Bhavesh Patel is a Senior Vice President with Marsh India Insurance Brokers which is India ‘s premier
MNC broker providing Insurance Broking and Risk management solutions to over 3000 corporates
across 12 offices and placing over INR 25 Billion premium in the Indian Insurance market. At Marsh
India , Bhavesh has management responsibility of the Specialty Practices of FINPRO , Crisis and
Casualty , Trade Credit & Political Risks and Financial Institutions solutions including Surety &
Structured Credit. Prior to joining Marsh India , Bhavesh has worked with ICICI Lombard General
Insurance , India’s largest private Insurer , in various capacities which primarily involved Heading
Reinsurance operations and thereafter leading the Specialty businesses of Liabilities , Aviation and
Trade Credit & Political Risks. Bhavesh started his career as a multi‐specialty lines broker with the
Johnson & Higgins affiliate in India , as part of the UNISON Network serving Fortune 500 MNC’s
operating in India , and has 27 years experience in Non Life Insurance across various lines , both
Broking and Underwriting. Bhavesh is a Commerce Graduate with Honours in Finance & Accounts , an
Associate of the Insurance Institute of India and has a Post Graduate Certification in General
Management from Indian Institute of Management, Indore.
Brahim Zerouki
PetroIndo Utama
Brahim Zerouki, senior commodity and energy derivatives professional with 15 year experience in
Europe and South East Asia. Brahim has been working in energy companies in Europe such as EON
trading European Power , Gas, Coal, and Carbon. For the last 4 years, Brahim has been working in
Singapore and Indonesia, more focused on Coal and Nickel trading. Brahim Zerouki earned a master
degree from engineering school 'Esme Sudria' in Paris.
Bruce Alter
HSBC
Bruce Alter is Head of Global Trade and Receivables Finance of HSBC Bank (China) Company Limited.
Mr Alter joined HSBC in January 2010, assuming responsibility for building and managing HSBC’s trade
business in mainland China’s fast‐growing market. Mr Alter has accumulated solid knowledge of trade
practices in Asia with over 20 years of experience in transaction banking, having held leading roles at
Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, Wachovia Bank and ANZ. Since 1993, he has worked in Beijing and across
Asia, including Taiwan, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Singapore. Mr Alter, who is fluent in Mandarin,
holds a master’s degree in Advanced Mandarin and International Economics from Columbia
University.
Casei Ang
National Australia Bank
Casei Ang is a two‐decade career professional who has lead managed transactions across the energy,
hard and soft commodity segments, and beyond that transactions involving the engineering, transport
and telco sectors. He is based in Singapore, where he presently heads the Trade Finance business for
the National Australia Bank. The commercial emphasis in his current role is to pursue synergistic
institutional trade relationships between Asia and Australia. Prior to that he had been in the
relationship and trade management roles in the trade and commodity finance divisions of the
Australia & New Zealand Bank (“ANZ”), Credit Agricole and United Overseas Bank. Having witnessed
how trade in Singapore survived ‐ and thrived ‐ through various market undulations such as the Asian
Financial Crisis, Rise of the BRICS, Global Financial Crisis and over the recent years the re‐orientation
of the BRICs economies, he is keen observer the central question of how trade will evolve in Singapore
over the next five decades.
Caspar Jonk
National Australia Bank
Caspar is a senior Structured Trade and Commodity Finance professional with over 20 years experience. He has held various Europe and Asia based roles in both traditional and structured commodity trade finance. In December 2013 Caspar joined National Australia Bank as Head of Trade for South and South East Asia, based in Singapore. Caspar joined NAB from GE Capital's Artesia Bank in Amsterdam, where he helped reposition them as a Trade & Commodity Finance boutique. Before that he worked 5 years for Deutsche Bank Singapore as Head of Structured Trade & Export Finance where he was responsible for building their Asian Structured Trade & Commodity Business. During his international career he has been involved in structuring and closing a wide array of traditional and structured commodity finance transactions for Traders, Producers and End Users across various commodities and jurisdictions including Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America and Africa.
Catherine Aubert
Societe Generale
Catherine Aubert Catherine Aubert has worked in the banking sector for most of her professional life.
Prior to this, she spent 10 years with group Paribas in the International Division and then in the
Strategy & Development Department. She then worked for three years as a Financial Institutions
Development manager within Sedgwick France (now Marsh McLennan). In 1999, she joined Société
Générale as Head of Trade Credit & Political Risks Insurance. Catherine graduated from EDHEC
Management School and has a Masters in Communication from Paris Sorbonne University.
Cathrin Karpinski
Commerzbank
Cathrin Karpinski – Commerzbank AG Cathrin Karpinski is Senior Vice President and Head of
International Markets in Export Finance of Commerzbank´s Head Office in Frankfurt/Main, Germany.
She started working in Commerzbank in 1987 and has since then covered various fields in International
Finance. Cathrin graduated from Justus‐Liebig‐University, greater Frankfurt/Main area, in 1986 in
Economics and Languages and spent a semester abroad in Edinburgh/Scotland and in St.
Gallen/Switzerland. In more than 25 years in Export Finance she dedicated some time to establish and
work on Aircraft Finance in Commerzbank. Her further focus has been on activities in Central Asia and
Switzerland. Besides, Cathrin introduced several European ECA systems in Commerzbank like Coface,
Delcredre Ducroire (ONDD), SERV (ERG), OeKB, Atradius (NCM), UK EF (ECGD) and the Scandinavian
systems, but also K‐Sure, KEXIM and JBIC/Nexi. In the Czech Republic she was directly advising EGAP
from its beginning. Since 2003 Cathrin Karpinski is heading a sales team of export finance specialists
in Frankfurt/Main and overseas. She takes the responsibility together with her team for Latin America,
Africa and Asia.
Cecilia Lim
Amcor Singapore
Cecilia is currently the AsiaTreasury Director at Amcor Ltd based in Singapore, leading the
implementation of working capital programs and risk management strategies, providing treasury
consult in M&A activities in Asia and promoting a culture of sound financial practice.
Prior to Amcor, Cecilia had held key roles in regional leadership teams in Swiss and American MNCs
and was responsible for relationship management of regulatory bodies to support and advise on
business structures in the region, established treasury policies and had oversight of hedge accounting
process.
Cheng Ye
Wells Fargo
Cheng Ye is a Senior Vice President and Head of Trade Sales, China, of Wells Fargo International Trade Services. Based in Shanghai, Cheng focuses on growing the international trade business throughout the country as Wells Fargo expands its international services for U.S.‐based commercial and corporate customers doing trade business in China, and financial institutional clients around the world handling trade flows from and to China. Before joining Wells Fargo eight and half years ago, Cheng held a variety of positions in Bank of Nova Scotia, China Everbright Bank and China Construction Bank, mainly focusing on trade finance, financial institution and corporate lending. Cheng received his MBA degree from Simon Fraser University of Canada. He has a 20‐month old son.
Chris Pardey
RCMA Commodities Asia
Chris Pardey is CEO of RCMA group and Managing Director of Tong Teik pte ltd , based in singapore.
RCMA Group is a leading player in global trading and supply chain management of natural rubber,
synthetic rubber, coffee, cotton, sugar and fertiliser with 10 offices globally. Chris joined RCMA Group
in 2010 from Barclays Capital where he had been global trading head of agricultural products, coal,
freight and iron ore for 2 years. Chris started his commodity career in 1985 with Cargill in the uk,
trading grains and oilseeds. For 20 years he assumed various trading and asset management roles in
uk, Germany and Switzerland. He was global head of Cargill vegetable oil trading between 1999 and
2005. He moved to asia in 2005 as Noble group head of asia and middle east agriculture business.
From 2006 to 2008 chris was director with Merrill lynch commodities trading coal and freight. RCMA
group is currently active in Indonesia trading rubber, coffee, cotton and sugar. In his previous roles
chris has traded coal , palmoil , soyabeans and grains with Indonesia.
Christina Li
Wells Fargo
Christina Li is a Senior Vice President and the Head of Trade Sales for Hong Kong, and also the Asia Head of Strategic Trade Solutions for Wells Fargo International Trade Services. Based in Hong Kong, she manages and leads a marketing team in delivering full range of trade products and services to corporate and financial institutional customers including trade payables finance programs and vendor onboarding activities for the regions. Christina has more than 20 years of banking industry experience in Hong Kong and the U.S., covering the Asia, Europe and U.S. markets. She has extensive expertise in international trade finance‐from operations to sales and market to product and development. Prior to joining legacy Wachovia Bank in 2006, Christina held various positions in different banks in cash management and international trade finance for corporate and financial institutions. She worked with Calyon as Trade Finance Sales Manager covering Asia Pacific region. She held positions with Chase Manhattan in Hong Kong as Trade Finance Sales, and Product Manager for Cash Management and Trade, and in New York as Global Trade Product Manager overseeing product development and sales for the regions, and with Citibank focused largely on the corporate market.
Christopher Emslie
ABB
Christopher Emslie, Country Treasurer, ABB Pte. Ltd. Chris has held various financial positions in South
Africa since 1997 after having completed his articles at a small audit and accounting firm in
Johannesburg. He has been involved in various companies in the financial sphere including Transport
& Freight, Security and IT. He joined ABB in 2008 first as a SAP consultant for their ERP implementation,
then as their Country Credit Manager and then finally as their first Country Treasurer looking after
South Africa as well as Southern Africa with all their treasury concerns and establishing the first ABB
treasury operation in Southern Africa. He has most recently moved to Singapore with ABB to be there
Country Treasurer looking after all Treasury functions for the business. He holds a B Compt Honours
degree in Accounting Science from the University of South Africa.
Christopher Bozek
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Chris Bozek is managing director and head of Global Trade and Supply Chain Products in Global
Transaction Services at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. In this position, Bozek leads the Global Trade
and Supply Chain product team that is focused on delivering processing and financing solutions that
improves a client’s end‐to‐end global supply chain, while optimizing working capital. During his career,
Bozek has led treasury and trade product teams to successfully build out e‐invoicing, global trade, and
procure‐to‐pay product offerings targeted to middle‐market and global corporates. Prior to joining
Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Bozek held global product management, general management, and
business development positions with Fortune 500 companies, leading‐edge start‐up businesses, and
global financial institutions. With this experience, Bozek provides a unique, practical perspective on
the market dynamics and critical success factors. He is frequently interviewed for industry
publications, and is a regular presenter at industry conferences. Bozek has a Bachelor’s Degree in
Economics from Rutgers University, and a Masters Degree in Finance from the Rutgers Graduate
School of Management.
Deep Roy
Economic Laws Practice
Deep Roy is an Associate Partner in the Banking and Finance practice of Economic Laws Practice
(“ELP”). He graduated from the Symbiosis Law School. Deep's experience includes structured finance,
acquisition finance, asset finance project finance, restructuring and other syndicated lending
transactions. Such debt transactions include cross border structures including matters dealing with
external commercial borrowing regulations, overseas direct investment regulations and their
respective security and contractual comforts. He has also been providing regulatory advice to clients
on exchange control regulations in India. Over the years his portfolio of financing transaction have
included several trade finance transactions, advice on trade finance products and advising on trade
financing structures. Deep has extensive experience in rendering corporate and transactional advisory
services. He regularly advises banks, corporates (including private equity participants) and non‐
banking financial companies with regard to the India legal aspects of debt transactions. Prior to ELP,
Deep was part of the corporate legal team at ICICI Bank Limited. He was initially part of the structured
finance team and subsequently part of strategic investment team at ICICI corporate legal department.
Deep has featured in the RSG India Report 2015 as “one of the best in the business of client service
through his understanding of client’s needs.”
Fabrice Desnos
Euler Hermes
Fabrice Desnos, French, 45, is the Head of the Asia Pacific Region for Euler Hermes, based in Hong
Kong. A graduate from Ecole Centrale in Lyon and from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Paris, Fabrice
joined Euler Hermes SA in 1996, where he held various financial positions within Euler Hermes France
before being appointed as Group Financial Controller of Euler Hermes SA in 2000. In 2003, he became
Financial Director of Euler Hermes UK, before being appointed from 1 January 2008, Chief Executive
Officer of Euler Hermes UK, in charge of the group operations in the UK and Ireland. He then moved
to Hong Kong to take his current position from 1 March 2012.
Finbarr Bermingham
Global Trade Review
Finbarr Bermingham is the Asia Editor of GTR and is responsible for all Asia coverage in the magazine
and its supplements. He regularly speaks at events around the region. An experienced journalist,
Finbarr was previously the Trade Correspondent for the International Business Times in London,
reporting most regularly on international trade and development, trade sanctions, free trade
agreements and commodities fraud. His work has also appeared in publications such as the Times of
London, the Asia Times and the Irish News.
Francois Dotta
EFA Group
FRANCOIS DOTTA PARTNER, Head of EFA Merchant Finance Francois is a Partner of EuroFin Asia Group
and the Head of EFA Merchant Finance where he oversees origination and portfolio management
activities. Francois has close to 10 years of experience in trade and commodity finance in Asia. Prior
to EFA Francois was an auditor for Pricewaterhouse Coopers in France. Francois has a Master in
Management from Skema Business School in France and a Master of Business and Administration from
the Asian Institute of Technology.
Frank Wu
Deutsche Bank
Frank Wu Appointed Regional Head of Structured Commodity Trade Finance, Asia Pacific by Deutsche
Bank in January 2013, Frank Wu leads a team across Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai which
specializes in providing a wide range of innovative structured trade finance solutions to clients in the
commodity sectors including metals & mining, energy and agriculture. Prior to this appointment, he
was the Head of Trade Finance & Cash Management Corporates, Greater China from 2011 to 2012
and Head of Structured Trade & Export Finance, China from 2008 to 2011. Before joining Deutsche
Bank, Frank was the Head of Metals & Mining, Origination & Client Relationships at Standard
Chartered Bank with pan‐China coverage responsibilities for miners, producers and traders in the
metals sector. Prior to Standard Chartered, Frank worked for 12 years at HSBC covering a variety of
corporate banking roles in Hong Kong and mainland China. Frank holds an MBA degree from China
Europe International Business School and a B.Eng in Computer Science from Shanghai Jiao Tong
University.
George Fong
J.P. Morgan
George Fong Regional Head of Trade Product Management and FI Advisory, Asia Pacific Global Trade
& Loan Products; J.P. Morgan George Fong is a Managing Director and the Regional Head of Trade
Product Management and FI Advisory in Asia Pacific for the Global Trade & Loan Products business in
J.P. Morgan. Based in Hong Kong, George and his team are responsible for the development and
management of trade and supply chain products in the region. A trade finance professional for 22
years, George has been part of J.P. Morgan’s Global Trade & Loan Products team for 12 years. Prior to
joining J.P. Morgan, George has worked for Citibank, GE Capital, Deutsche Bank and Bank of East Asia
in Singapore, Germany and Hong Kong. George graduated from Aberdeen University with a M.A.
(Hons) in Accounting and Economics. He also holds a M.Sc degree in Accounting and Finance from the
London School of Economics, UK.
Gary Kucher
Mongolia Holdings
Mr. Kucher was appointed to the Board of Directors of Mongolia Holdings, Inc. on April 1, 2010, was
elected President on April 7, 2010 and promoted to CEO during the first quarter of 2011. Mr. Kucher
is a seasoned executive with numerous appointments, directorships and consulting roles with both
public and private companies in a variety of industries and business sectors. Mr. Kucher has a strong
background in investment banking; having held securities licenses, Series 7 and Series 24. He has
provided consulting for business acquisitions and other commercial finance transactions to financial
and strategic buyers, stock offerings, spin‐offs, leveraged buy‐outs and joint‐venture arrangements.
Mr. Kucher has sourced and executed M&A deals for leading technology companies and selected
venture investments. He has also advised banking, insurance, finance and investment banking
companies on M&A and equity deals. Mr. Kucher is co‐founder of the Mongolia Fund and serves as its
Senior Managing Director. From 2008 to 2012, Mr. Kucher has served as Managing Director of MB&A
Capital, Beverly Hills, California, an international business advisory. Between 2006 and 2008 Mr.
Kucher was CEO of Branded Media Corporation, a New York City based media and advertising holding
Company and Chairman of the Board of its wholly owned subsidiary Executive Media Network, which
sells advertising to “Fortune 500” clients deploying ads in airport executive lounges throughout the
U.S. and Europe. In 2005, Mr. Kucher co‐founded Genius Interactive, a social network development
company focused on providing rich online environments that encouraged achievement and
accomplishment. From 2000 to 2004, Mr. Kucher was CEO and Chairman of the Board of Manex
Entertainment with facilities in Hollywood and Alameda, California and over 300 employees. The
Company provided production services, facilities and equipment to over 50 film and television
productions.
Gopul Shah
Golden Agri Resources
Guillaume Servajean
GDF Suez
Guillaume has been in the commodities structuring space for 10 years. He has spent most of his career in the banking industry with BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank, and more recently moved to the trading industry by joining GDF Suez trading in early 2014.�Guillaume started his career with BNP Paribas in New York in the commodity structured finance team covering Latin America. He then spent 6 years in the Paris‐based reserve‐based‐lending team where he had the opportunity to work on large syndicated deal as well as more bespoke bilateral transactions in upstream upstream space mainly in Western Africa and North Sea. Guillaume moved to Singapore in 2012 to focus on the APAC region in the oil & gas structured finance team, arranging asset‐based & structured trade transactions in the upstream and downstream space. He then briefly joined Deutsche Bank as a director in the commodities structuring team before moving to GDF Suez Trading last year.�
Ian Kerr
Bolero International Ltd
Ian Kerr was appointed CEO of Bolero in May 2014. He has over 25 years’ experience in financial
technology in a range of organisations including NCR and IBM and has been based in the US and
Singapore during his career. More recently Ian was the CEO of Level Four Software who were acquired
by Clear2Pay in 2011 with Ian leading the integration with two other companies to form a specialist
payments testing business unit. Ian joined Bolero from Creditcall, a growing PSP gateway and payment
technology company, where he was COO. Ian has the responsibility to lead Bolero through the next
phases of global growth through the development of the company’s electronic trade document
processing solutions. Ian holds a BSc from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and
Technology and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
Ivan Leung
Santander
Ivan joined Banco Santander in late 2013 and is now based in Hong Kong heading up the Corporate
Sales (North Asia) and Export & Agency Finance (Asia) business in the Global Transaction Banking
team. Ivan has more than 15 years of banking experience covering various roles in trade finance and
client coverage business at HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank in Hong Kong. Prior to joining Banco
Santander, Ivan was the Segment Head of Transaction Banking for the commodities client sector at
Standard Chartered Bank. Ivan is graduated from University of Melbourne in Australia with a degree
majoring in accounting and finance.
Ivone Hodiny
DBS Bank
Ivone Hodiny Ivone joined DBS Bank in 2010 and currently heads the Structured Commodity and Trade
Finance team under Global Transaction Services, based in Singapore. She is responsible for the
development and growth of the Bank’s commodity and trade financing portfolio working hand in hand
with the various business units within the Bank as well as in the region. Prior to DBS, Ivone has 18
years of extensive trade experience which include responsibility in managing the trade business in
Singapore and the region with focus in origination, structuring and execution of trade transactions
across Asia. She spent a total of 11 years in ANZ, of which a number of this was to head its trade
business in Singapore and the region with primary focus on commodity trade flows ranging from oil/
energy to metals and agri commodities. In the latter years in ANZ, Ivone was also responsible for the
bank’s Trade and Supply Chain business in Singapore. Ivone has also worked in UFJ and ABN Amro
with responsibility in structured trade financing. Ivone holds an MBA in International Management
from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), Australia and Bachelor of Science from the
University of Leeds, UK. She is fluent in Bahasa Indonesia (including reading and writing).
Jacqueline Chang
ABN AMRO Bank
Jacqueline has more than 20 years of specialised experience in Commodity Financing in both Credit
Analysis and Commercial functions, and held the position of Head of Trade and Commodity Finance in
Rabobank Singapore during the 1990’s; and thereafter as Head of Commodities Singapore at Fortis
Bank S.A / N.V between 2003 and 2008. Since the acquisition of the latter by BNP Paribas, she moved
to Fortis Bank Nederland. After the amalgamation between Fortis Nederland and ABN AMRO Bank
in 2010, she continues her function as Managing Director Commodities Singapore in ABN AMRO,
overseeing the market sectors of Agri, Energy & Metals Commodities, as well as both the Mid & Back
offices. Since Apr 2014, Jacqueline was promoted to Regional Head of Commodities Clients Asia.
She is also a member of the Singapore Branch Management Team; a member of the International
Clients Asia Management Team, as well as a member of the Bank’s Asset & Liability Management
team. She also serves as a Council Member of the Advisory Committee of the Singapore
Management University “International Trading Institute” since 2011. Jacqueline holds a Bachelor of
Arts degree from the National University of Singapore with majors in Economics & Statistics.
Jayant Parande
Olam
Jayant S. Parande Jayant Parande is the Senior Vice President & Group Treasurer at Olam International
Limited (a globally integrated supply chain manager of agricultural products and food ingredients),
and heads the Corporate Treasury function for the Olam Group globally. Mr Parande joined the Group
in Nigeria in 1995, and was in charge of the Finance & Accounts function of Olam Nigeria as Financial
Controller. He was transferred to the Corporate Headquarters at Singapore in 1998 as Senior Financial
Controller handling Management Accounting for a group of products, and took over his current
treasury responsibility in April 2001. Prior to joining Olam, Mr Parande worked for an edible oils &
consumer goods company in Mumbai, India from 1990 to 1995 in the Corporate Finance & Treasury
departments. Mr Parande obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce & Economics from the
University of Bombay, India in 1987 and is a qualified Chartered Accountant. Further to his Finance &
Treasury roles, Mr Parande is also a member of Olam’s Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability (CRS)
Executive Committee.
Jean Craven
Export Trading Group
Jean Craven is an executive director and shareholder of a Singapore‐based emerging market
agricultural supply chain company, Export Trading. Jean also sits on the investment committee and
board of Barak Fund Management, advising one of Africa’s largest agricultural and trade finance funds.
He commenced his career in the commodities market in South Africa after completing his accounting
degree at the University of Stellenbosch in 1995. He acquired one of the first agricultural seats on the
South African futures’ exchange in 1998. His company was bought by a listed South African financial
services company in 1999. Initially establishing himself as a soft commodity trader on the futures’
exchange, he later incorporated debt solutions in the agricultural sector, in combination with
derivative products. In 2001, he was offered a position at a leading South African merchant bank, Rand
Merchant Bank, to head up the Soft Commodities desk, where he and his team completed the first
grain securitisation in the world. His team also set up Africa’s third largest crop insurer. Prior to joining
Export Trading in 2008 he was appointed to head Standard Bank of South Africa’s agricultural desk,
managing both the agricultural derivatives trading business as well as the bank’s trade finance treasury
division.
Jean‐Francois Lambert
HSBC
Jean‐François Lambert is the Managing Director and Global Head of Commodity and Structured Trade
Finance for the HSBC Group. He is leading the bank’s commodity and structured trade finance
expansion, fulfilling enhanced customer requirements through full service along the entire supply
chain. Jean‐François is a seasoned international banker with over 30 years of recognised industry
expertise in commodities and in trade. In previous roles with HSBC, Jean‐François has served as the
Global Head of Trade and Supply Chain Business Development and Head of Eurozone Trade Services,
with responsibility for leading and developing traditional trade services, supply chain and structured
trade businesses. Jean‐François has also held a number of senior positions in Crédit Commercial de
France’s (CCF), including heading the short‐term international activities of the Bank, General Manager
of CCFs Hong Kong Branch and Senior Manager in Greece. Jean‐François has a Bachelor’s degree in
Finance from the Université Paris IX Dauphine and is an active member of the Trade Export panel of
the World Trade Organisation. He is also a reputed Basel 2&3 expert and key industry voice on
regulatory impact on Trade.
Jenny Lee
Wells Fargo
Jenny Lee is a Senior Vice President and Head of Product Strategy and Business Development for International Trade Services at Wells Fargo. Jenny’s career at Wells Fargo has spanned significant management roles in operational design, trade system implementation and sales. She is currently holding a dual role leading the Asia Pacific trade business development and managing global Financial Institutions partnership insourcing product strategy. Prior to joining Wells Fargo, Jenny was the Head of Norms and Procedures for Transactional Banking of BNP Paribas in Hong Kong.
Jayant Menon
Asian Development Bank
Jayant Menon, Ph.D is Lead Economist in the Office for Regional Economic Integration at ADB, where
he works on trade, international finance and development issues. Prior to joining ADB, he worked as
an academic in Australia for more than a decade, spending most of his time as Senior Research Fellow
at the Centre of Policy Studies at Monash University in Melbourne. He has also worked at the
University of Melbourne, Victoria University, and the American University in Washington, DC, and
holds adjunct appointments with the Australian National University, University of Nottingham, UK and
Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace. He serves on the Advisory Board of the University of
Nottingham Campus in Malaysia, and is a former Board Director of the Cambodia Development
Resource Institute. He is co‐editor of the Journal of Southeast Asian Economies and serves on the
editorial board of several academic journals. He is the author or co‐author of more than one hundred
academic publications, mostly on trade and development, and particularly as they relate to Asia.
Joan Lee
Swift
Joan Lee is the Director of SWIFT’s Corporate Markets in Asia Pacific, based in Singapore. She is
responsible for marketing activities and campaigns, new products positioning, as well as industry
engagements to support the fast‐growing Asia Pacific corporate segments joining the SWIFT
community. With more than 20 years’ experience in regional business marketing, Joan has held
various senior roles in the banking industry, including business planning and development, marketing
and product management for commercial, corporate and retail banking at HSBC and CITI. Prior to
joining SWIFT, Joan spent 12 years at HSBC Singapore and was Senior Vice President, Head of
Corporate Marketing and Customer Proposition for Wealth Management. She led the team to develop
business strategic plan, identify business acquisition and portfolio cross‐sell opportunities, and
implement value‐proposition and marketing initiatives to drive the aggressive business revenue and
acquisition targets for the bank. At HSBC Joan has also supported different business divisions,
including Global Banking, Commercial Banking, Treasury, Cash Management, Trade Services and
Supply Chain, Retail Banking and Wealth Management, to enhance corporate customers’ operational
efficiency, reduce risk exposure and improve liquidity management. Previously, she worked at CITI’s
Global Transactional Banking division. Joan holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from
University of Bradford, U.K. She is Singaporean.
John Reeve
AgRee Commodities
John has been involved in Agribusiness all his life and holds under‐graduate and post‐graduate
qualifications in Agricultural Economics and Food Business Management. His international
professional career has ranged from physical commodity marketing, risk management advisory, sales,
trading and financing for top tier global banks, including Rabobank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia
and J Aron (Goldman Sachs). Having recently returned to Australia following eight years in senior
commodity banking roles in Singapore, he is now engaged in agri consulting, venture capital, funds
management and physical agri commodity trading.
Jonathan Jiang
Deutsche Bank
Jonathan Jiang joined Deutsche Bank Hong Kong Branch in July 2014 as Head of Trade Finance and
Cash Management Corporate. He leads a team of transaction banking product advisors to focus on
providing end‐‐‐to‐‐‐end working capital management solutions for corporate clients.In addition, he
also has responsibility to lead Global Network Banking team to provide relationship coverage for
inbound clients operating in Hong Kong Before joining Deutsche Bank, Jonathan was Head of
Transaction Services for RBS China and Senior Vice President of Bank of America Merrill Lynch heading
up the Corporate Treasury Sales Team in China. Jonathan started his banking career with HSBC
Management Trainee Program in 1998 and assumed various roles in cash management and corporate
banking. Prior to that, Jonathan served in PRC government.
Joseph Sum
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Joseph Sum joined Bank of America Merrill Lynch in October 2010 and is currently leading a team
based in Hong Kong for Corporate Trade Product Management in Asia Pacific. With more than 20 years
experience in the banking industrial, Joseph has in‐depth product knowledge of Supply Chain Solutions
for both Cash Management and Trade Finance. Before joining Bank of America Merrill Lynch, he was
the Senior Local Product Manager in Royal Bank of Scotland of Hong Kong and deputized the Global
Transaction Services country head in managing the cash and trade business. Prior to that, he worked
in BNP Paribas and Citi. Joseph received his Master Degree in the Chinese University of Hong Kong
after his first degree from the City University of Hong Kong.
Kevin Lee
Integra
Kevin’s background comes from a combination of banking and commodity trading houses. He spent
8.5 years with BNP Paribas, Singapore branch, as a commodities banker on both the trade finance and
structured finance desks. Kevin then spent 2.5 years with Mercuria Energy Group as the Senior Credit
Manager – Asia before assuming his current role as CFO of Integra.
Kah Chye Tan
J.P. Morgan
Kah Chye serves as an independent advisor for a select number of global organisations such as
International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and financial institutions such as Commonwealth Bank of
Australia and Markham Rae. Most recently, Kah Chye was the Chairman of the ICC Banking
Commission, the leading industry body for the establishment of Trade Finance standards and policies.
Under Kah Chye’s leadership, ICC introduced the ICC Trade Finance Register to assist the industry in
formulating the right Basel III capital adequacy policy. Kah Chye also co‐founded the ICC Academy to
provide industry leading business education. This is achieved through the ICC Academy leveraging on
the ICC global network of 6.5 million businesses across 130 countries. Kah Chye was also a member of
various global organisations such as WTO Trade Expert Group and Swift Trade Services Advisory Board.
In his banking career, Kah Chye was also the Managing Director at JPM Chase, the Vice Chairman of
Barclays Corporate Banking and the Global Head of Corporate Cash and Trade for Standard Chartered
Bank. During his banking career, he helped one of the banks to quadruple its income; led the world’s
first synthetic Trade securitization; developed working capital linkages across Trade, Supply Chain
Finance, Cash Management and Foreign Exchange businesses; and established a centralised operation
in Chennai. Kah Chye holds an undergraduate degree and an MBA from Dalhousie University in Canada
and is married with two sons.
Kai Fehr
Wells Fargo
Kai S Fehr Based in Singapore and as Head of Sales Kai Fehr leads International Trade Service to further
build Wells Fargo’s trade business for Financial Institutions and Corporate Clients in Asia Pacific. Kai
joined Wells Fargo from Barclays Bank in Singapore as Managing Director and Head of Trade &
Working Capital for APAC, leading trade sales, trade product and trade asset distribution. Prior to
Barclays, Kai was with UniCredit Markets and Investment Bank in Singapore where he had various
roles leading a distressed debt special situation fund in the Philippines as well as being responsible for
structured trade facilities, commodity finance for Asian clients. Kai has also been the Chair of the
Banking Environmental Initiative (BEI) sustainable shipment working group to achieve zero net
deforestation through innovation in the trade finance supply chain. Kai was born in Germany, and has
a Master degree in Law from the University of Munich (LMU) and a Bachelor degree in Economics
from the University of Bayreuth.
Ken Stratton
The Bank of Tokyo‐Mitsubishi UFJ
Ken Stratton General Manager and Regional Head of Transaction Banking Sales Transaction Banking
Office for Asia & Oceania The Bank of Tokyo‐Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. Mr. Ken Stratton has more than 30
years of experience in financial services and has worked in both cash and trade positions in global
banks across Asia‐Pacific and the US. In his current role with The Bank of Tokyo‐Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd.
(BTMU), Mr Stratton is responsible for co‐leading the bank’s transaction banking business, including
cash management and trade finance across 12 markets within the Asia and Oceania region. Prior to
joining BTMU, Mr. Stratton was managing his own consulting company that provided transaction
banking and relationship management training across Asia. Between 2010 and 2013, Mr. Stratton was
Global Head of Sales for Global Transaction Services and Managing Director of DBS Bank Ltd. where
he was responsible for all cash management, trade finance and supply chain finance sales. Mr Stratton
has previously held leadership positions in various global banks including JP Morgan, Standard
Chartered Bank and Citibank. Mr. Stratton has completed graduate studies in Business and Finance at
the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia.
Kaushik Mukherjee
Wells Fargo
Kaushik Mukherjee is a Senior Vice President and Head of Trade Sales of South Asia for International
Trade Services at Wells Fargo. Kaushik joined Wells Fargo Hong Kong in 2011, from Axis Bank where
he spent 14 years within Trade Operations, International Banking, Corporate Trade & Cash
Management, Credit and Treasury in Mumbai and Hong Kong. With Wells Fargo, Kaushik managed the
trade business for India subcontinent and Hong Kong for first two years and then moved to Singapore
to oversee trade for India sub‐continent, South‐east Asia and Australia. Currently he is designated as
Head of Trade for South Asia (which includes Indian sub‐continent, South‐east Asia and Australia). He
and his team manage both corporate and FI trade in the region, promoting trade business of the bank
to both FI as well as corporate clients of the bank.
KK Tay
UniCredit SpA
Kok‐Keong (KK) Tay joined UniCredit Bank effective July 2011 as Head of Global Transaction Banking
for the Asia Pacific Region. Based out of Hong Kong initially, KK’s responsibilities include cash
management, trade finance, cash & clearing, and setting and executing the overall transaction banking
growth strategy in this region. KK is a permanent member of the Asia executive committee as well as
the transaction banking global executive committee. Before joining UniCredit, KK was with Deutsche
Bank in Singapore from 2001 to 2011. As regional head of GTB product management, he was
responsible for the introduction of new products and services across 17 markets in the Asia Pacific
Region. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank, KK spent 15 years with Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore
and served in a number of roles across both the consumer banking and wholesale banking divisions.
KK Tay earned a degree in Economics from the University of Windsor in Canada.
Lamin Sanneh
Commodity Connect
Executive Director‐ Business Development and Marketing ‐April 2015‐Present Responsible for
implementing CCDMCC’s strategies for market penetration, expansion and deal origination in the
designated regional market. My role is to manage client relationships first hand and oversee the end
to end implementation of the marketing strategy. This includes identifying prospective clients,
evaluating their associated risks and structuring deals for trade finance products. Escalating client
needs and ensuring seamless transitions between deals and client, providing advisory services on both
Islamic and Conventional banking. My core responsibilities are as follows, * Developing in depth
understanding of the regional market and sectors which serve as focus areas for STCF financing
products. Gaining insight on the economic, political, social and regulatory factors impacting the ease
of facilitating international trade across the target markets. * Developing market intelligence to build
an understanding of the predominant players In the Trade Finance space, and their offering across
target markets assigned within the designated sectors. * Providing input to Business Development and
Marketing strategy for each target market for effective penetration. Identifying target sectors and
clientele, and working with the regional heads to strategize on the way forward. * Originating leads
for CCDMCC’s product offering from existing as well as new clientele in the target markets by initiating
discussions around their needs and requirements. * Conducting due diligence on prospective deals by
evaluating the associated risks in a robust manner. Conducting and coordinating (in case of Clean and
Structured Financing) field visits to validate key aspects of the concerned clientele, as required.
Conducting thorough reviews of client profiles, related documentation and financials and in order to
validate the client’s financial standing and risk exposure.
Lionel Taylor
Trade Advisory Network
Lionel Taylor Biography Lionel Taylor is a founder and Managing Director of Trade Advisory Network
which is an advisory network specializing in delivering success to the global supply chain, trade and
invoice finance sector. He is recognised as a receivables finance, international trade and supply chain
finance business leader and has been at the forefront of the development of financial supply chain
thinking. He has spearheaded the development of supplier finance platforms and programs at major
Financial Institutions and has also initiated supply chain finance programs promoting trade between
China and the West. He has also spent time assisting the fledgling factoring industry develop in China
and currently facilitates on the ground supplier on‐boarding for a number of financial institutions
looking to extend their respective supply chain finance programs into China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
He continues to be engaged in advising a number of financial institutions and alternative financiers on
the development of their trade and supply chain finance businesses and is frequently invited to
comment and write for specialist international trade publications as well as chairing and speaking at
international events.
RJ Liow
AYS Group
Mr. R J Liow is the Founder & CEO of AYS Sdn Bhd. He holds a Master of Science Degree (MSc) in
International Marketing from the UK, and he is a recipient of a number of prestigious awards such as
“Knowledge Management Leadership Award 2014”, "Asia’s Thought Leader Award: Manufacturing
2012”, and “Outstanding Chinese Business Leader Award 2010”. RJ. Liow's areas of expertise include:
• A specialist on Asia ‐ An Asian, speaks Asian, understands Asia. • More than 20 years of top
management hands on experience in creating successes, applying learning and overcoming
challenges. • Proven track record in initiating & executing MBO & M&As to fast track return on
investment. • One‐stop expert advice on international market entry & development, supply chain,
sales & marketing and general management. RJ. Liow has been featured in numerous top main stream
media where he shared his views on SME Capacity Building, Halal New Economy and
Entrepreneurship. He speaks in international conferences, and is a panel speaker for Asia Productivity
Organization Japan (APO). AYS Sdn Bhd, his company is the investment arm of the AYS Group,
constantly seeking for equity investment in the FMCG industry. AYS provides specialist advisory,
handholding and training services to organizations in the areas of International Market Entry and
Development, Business Advisory leading to sales and profit improvement and Global Halal
Entrepreneurship Programs. AYS’s subsidiary company, AYS Lifestyle, is a specialized MICE producer,
managing strong conference brands such as “Marketing Halal Conference & Fund Solutions”. RJ. Liow
understands, and knows what it takes to make a SME competitive and innovative. He is a Certified
Assessor for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) by The Great Britain College Consortium. His signature
book, “Marketing Halal: Creating New Economy. New Wealth,” is a business best seller.
Michal Ron
SACE
With extensive experience in Structured Finance and Export Credit, Michal Ron is currently SACE’s
Managing Director Head of International Business overseeing the Group’s international network and
Berne Union’s Vice President. Her responsibilities include all International aspects including business
origination/underwriting generated by SACE’s international network (10 overseas offices), and
Political Credit Recovery. She manages all activities related to the Paris Club and other political
recoveries with a track history of € 9Bn in sovereign recoveries over the past years. Michal
concurrently manages International Relations, including SACE’s role within the OECD and EU,
Reinsurance Agreements and the overall relationship with other Export Credit Agencies. In October
2014 Michal was elected for the role of Vice President of the Berne Union as well as Chairman of the
Outreach Working Group between the Berne Union and the World Bank. Michal has over the past 6
years expanded SACE’s international network through offices abroad. SACE currently has an
international presence in Bucharest, Dubai, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Johannesburg, Mexico City, Moscow,
Mumbai , Nairobi, Sao Paulo. Prior to working at SACE, she spent 10 years at MCC SpA (Head of Oil,
Gas and Petrochemicals, Structured Finance) and 7 years with HSBC (London, Madrid, Milan). With a
Business Studies, Risk Management and Finance BSc Honors degree from City University Business
School (London) ‐ renamed CAAS, Michal has worked in investment banking in several European
countries and has been invited to speak in numerous business conferences worldwide. She is based in
Rome, Italy (SACE’s Headquarters).
Miguel Albero
Santander
Marco Scherber
Commerzbank
Over 18 years of work experience in banking with profound knowledge in risk management, corporate
finance as well as export and structured commodity trade finance. Currently responsible for the
management of the Structured Export & Trade Finance team in Singapore covering especially
multinational commodity trade finance clients in the enery, metals and agri space as well as importers
showing interest in medium to long‐term financing solutions (e.g. ECA covered) within ASEAN.
Previously part of the corporate risk management team for small‐ and medium size enterprises (risk
assessment and evaluation) followed by corporate finance team responsible for consulting and
structuring of corporate finance solutions such as acquisition finance, working capital / CAPEX
financing, restructuring, syndication, asset basel lending (Borrowing Base, accounts receivable
financing), Cross‐Border Financing. Certificate in Banking by Frankfurt School of Finance &
Management along with Diploma in Management Studies of European College of Business &
Management as well as Master of Business Administration in Internal Business with University of East
London.
Mark Houghton
XL Catlin
Mark is currently the Asia Pacific Regional Manager for XL Catlin’s Political Risk & Trade Credit business
based in Singapore focusing on cross border trade and investment into emerging markets. Having
spent 15 years in banking including roles in origination and client coverage, project and export finance,
syndications, securitization, portfolio management and alternative risk distribution before joining XL
Catlin in June 2012. Starting his career with the National Australia Bank, he moved to London where
he worked for Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC). Mark established SMBC’s global
insurance distribution function as an alternative risk management tool to supplement other non‐
functioning markets. In this role he coordinated the purchase of political risk and trade credit
insurance globally for SMBC. Returning to Asia Mark joined Standard Chartered where he was
responsible for managing the political and credit risk insurance requirements for Transaction Banking
on a global basis. Having worked intimately with the insurance market from a client perspective, Mark
brings to XL Catlin a unique understanding of a client’s need for, and perspective of, political risk and
trade credit insurance.
Mark Sachs
Thomas Cooper
Mark Sachs Mark opened Thomas Cooper’s Singapore office in 1996. Mark studied in China and was
one of the first foreign maritime lawyers to work in China in the late 1980s. He is a fluent Mandarin
(Guo yu) speaker and is adept at working with Chinese evidence, both oral and written. He has
considerable experience in advising clients and assisting in dispute resolution involving China and
Chinese parties, in respect of trade finance, shipping and trade, marine casualties and in broader
shipping‐related matters relating to charterparty and commodity disputes. Mark is also experienced
in commodity trading law including oil and gas and soft commodities including grain and has handled
claims around the region in this field. He has acted for Canadian grain traders in a variety of cases. He
has developed an expertise in commodity futures and derivatives and forward freight swap
agreements. He handled one of the leading English law cases dealing with commodity futures: CR
Sugar Trading Ltd. v. China National Sugar & Alcohol Group Corp [2003] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 279. Mark was
called to the Canadian bar in 1986, where he also practices as a solicitor, and was admitted as a
solicitor in England & Wales in 1998. Mark has represented clients in a number of international
arbitration forums including London, Stockholm, Beijing and Singapore.
Mark Wong
JLT Specialty Limited
Mark Wong Mark Wong is Managing Director of Credit, Political & Security Risks for Jardine Lloyd
Thompson (“JLT”) in Asia and is based in Singapore. Mark has over thirteen years of broking and
advisory experience in the credit, political risk and surety market. Mark currently works extensively
with banks, ECAs, multinational companies and commodity traders addressing their credit, political
risk and surety requirements. Prior to JLT, Mark worked for another leading insurance broking firm
and was head of their credit, political risk and surety team in Singapore. Over his tenure, Mark
predominantly focused on clients in Asia and assisted them in managing their regional and global
credit and political risk exposure.
Matthew Ekberg
BAFT
Matthew L. Ekberg Vice President, International Policy Matthew L. Ekberg serves as the Vice President
for International Policy at the Bankers Association for Finance and Trade (BAFT), an international
financial services association headquartered in Washington, DC. Mr. Ekberg is responsible for leading
the public policy and government advocacy initiatives of the organization globally. Mr. Ekberg
previously served as a Consultant to Blake‐Turner and Co. (London). While in London, he advised on
international trade, investment, competition and corporate finance matters for numerous
multinational corporations based in Europe. Mr. Ekberg has also served in the Majority Leader’s Office
in the US House of Representatives and with the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR). While
at USTR, he assisted in policy coordination for negotiations of the Central American Free Trade
Agreement (CAFTA‐DR) and was responsible for matters relating to World Trade Organization (WTO)
compliance in Europe and Asia. Mr. Ekberg holds a B.A. in International Relations from The George
Washington University in Washington, DC and a Joint M.A. LL.B and LL.M in International Business and
Trade Law from the University of London and The George Washington University Law School. Mr.
Ekberg is a member of the Bretton Woods Committee and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) Working Group on Trade and Supply Chain Finance.
Matt Goddard
Trade Finance Partners
Matthew JP Goddard FLD Corporate Finance professional, with over 25 years working in the Trade &
Export Finance; Asset Finance & Asset Based Lending sectors. Co‐Founding MD of GMAC (UK) Asset
Finance and Landsbanki Equipment Finance, currently Head of Global Sales at Trade Finance Partners
Ltd. Experience of International Asset Finance & Asset Based Lending funding Corporate assets;
Structured & Leverage Finance; Trade & Export Finance facilities; Restructure Finance; Corporate
Auctioneering; Valuation & Asset Disposals. Specialisation in the establishment and managing of
finance businesses and building their sales portfolios through transacting in the UK, US, EMEA and Far
Eastern regions, with extensive senior level relationships in the banking and industrial sectors. Track
record of sales & management positions within respected global banks, financial institutions and
industrial groups in the UK, Europe, US and Australia. Member of the Turnaround Management
Association and R3 Business Recovery Professionals. Member of the board of Accu Holding AG, Swiss
listed industrial conglomerate. Finance & Leasing Degree, London City University.
Miguel Chanco
Economist Intelligence Unit
Miguel Chanco is an editor/economist in the EIU’s Asia country analysis team, focusing on the member
states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). More specifically, he oversees the EIU’s
daily analysis of current affairs in Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam, as well as the publication of their
respective monthly reports. Miguel also works closely with the EIU’s custom research team in Asia.
Based out of Singapore, he regularly meets with the EIU’s clients and prospects around the region to
discuss and debate developments in ASEAN. His experience in analyzing economic and political affairs
extends outside his current portfolio of ASEAN states. Before joining the EIU, Miguel worked as the
principal India economist for independent macroeconomic research company, Capital Economics, and
as the main South Asia country risk analyst for Fitch Group's, BMI Research. Miguel holds a Master
degree in International Political Economy from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in
Singapore and a Bachelors degree in Economics and Finance from the Royal Melbourne Institute of
Techology.
Moekti P. Soejachmoen
Bank Mandiri
Education 2008 – 2012 PhD in Economics Dissertation entitled “Why is Indonesia Left Behind in Global
Production Networks” The Arndt‐Corden Department of Economics Crawford School of Economics
and Government College of Asia and Pacific, the Australian National University Canberra, Australia
1996 – 1998 Master of Arts Department of Economics, University of California Davis 1987‐1992
Bachelor Degree Faculty of Economics, University of Indonesia Working Experiences Head 1 April 2014
– present Mandiri Institute – Bank Mandiri ‐ Jakarta Economic Research Management Specialist
October 2013 – TNP2K – National Team for the Acceleration of Poverty March 2014 ReductionOffice
of the Vice President Republic of Indonesia, Jakarta Senior Economist May 2012 – SEADI, USAID
project, Jakarta September 2013 Researcher June 2005 – Centre for Strategic and International Studies
(CSIS) December 2007 Jakarta Program Development Specialist March 2001 – May United Stated
Agency for International Development (USAID) 2005 American Embassy, Jakarta Project Assistant July
1999 ‐ June 2000 Harvard Institute for International Development (HIID)/ Economy Analysis Project
(EAP) Associate Researcher Nov 1993 ‐ June 1996 Center of Policy Implementation and Studies (CPIS)
assigned to Coordinating Ministry for Economic, Finance and Development Supervision Research
Assistant Aug 1992 – Oct 1993 Harvard Institute for International Development (HIID)/ Program for
Financial Policy Studies and Training (PFPST) Lecturer 1998 – present Faculty of Economics, University
of Indonesia (Bachelor and Master Degree Program) Subjects: ‐ International Trade ‐ Monetary Theory
‐ Advance Microeconomics ‐ Operation Research ‐ Statistics ‐ Industrial Organization Research
Interests 1. Financial Sector 2. International Trade and Investment 3. Industrial Economy 4. Poverty
Namasiku Birk
PTA Bank
Namasiku is a Senior Officer in the Structured Trade and Commodity Finance Division at PTA Bank, a
multilateral development finance institution covering 18 countries in eastern and southern Africa. PTA
Bank’s mandate is to finance and foster trade, socio‐economic development and regional economic
integration across its 18 Member States. The Bank won the GTR best trade finance bank accolade in
Zambia and Zimbabwe in 2012. Namasiku has over 10 years’ experience working in trade finance
covering both eastern and southern Africa in the petroleum, agribusiness and financial services
sectors. In this region, she works with both private sector and sovereigns in structured trade and
commodity financing. She also pioneered implementation and rollout of forfaiting in the Bank.
Namasiku holds a Master’s degree in Economics and Finance from the University of Bristol.
David Neckar
Willis
David Neckar is the Product Development Director for Willis Financial Solutions, which is the global business division of the Willis group, led from London, specialising in political and credit risks, with dedicated teams in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Sao Paolo, Singapore, Hong Kong and Melbourne. His responsibilities include strategic development, Basel III issues, and managing relationships with key clients and export credit agencies. He has over thirty years of specialist financial risk experience which includes senior positions in both underwriting and broking (including reinsurance as well as direct insurance). His early career was spent in the Lloyd’s insurance market, as a lead underwriter of political risk, pioneering expropriation and contract frustration coverage. This was followed by senior underwriting and management positions in the Euler Hermes Group and the Royal & Sun Alliance Group. David has a degree from Oxford University, and an MBA from INSEAD. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
Ojas Doshi
Rhodium Resources
Mr Ojas Doshi, a Singaporean aged 41, brings with him more than 18 years of maritime and trading
experience. He holds a Masters degree in Shipping, Trade & Finance from City University, London and
a Bachelors degree in Economics and International Relations from Warwick University. Ojas started
his career trading dry bulk commodities mainly between Asia and Africa and apart from 4 years in
Banking his work has been focused on the trading and maritime sectors. He has worked for trading
houses in Singapore, Geneva, Mumbai and New York and is presently Group COO and Director at an
international trading company called Rhodium Resources Pte Ltd in Singapore which has an annual
turnover of USD330million. Rhodium trades in coal, ferrous metals, edible oils and rice. Ojas speaks 5
languages including Malay, French, Hindi, Gujarati and English and his sporting interests include golf
and tennis. He is married with 2 daughters.
Olivier David
Atradius
A native from the Loire valley in France, Olivier started his career as a political broker in Paris 20 years ago. He then moved to London to work as a political risk underwriter in Lloyd’s. He joined Atradius Credit Insurance in 2005 to participate to the creation of the Special Products Unit, which he has been heading for the past 6 years. This unit manages the political risk and structured trade credit solutions offered by the Atradius group.
Patrick Welch
UniCredit SpA
Patrick Welch Pat is a banking and finance professional with over 28 years in the industry For the past
15 years he has specialised in the Natural Resources industry, both as a Relationship Manager and as
a Trade Finance Product Specialist He has significant experience dealing with clients in the Mining &
Metals, Oil & Gas, and Commodity Trading sectors. Over his career, Pat has been involved in many
transactions, including Project Finance, Structured Asset Finance, Corporate Finance and Commodity
Trade Finance. Work History: Based in Singapore, Pat joined UniCredit Bank AG in January 2012 as
Head of Commodity Trade Finance, Asia Pacific. His mandate is to develop the commodity trade
finance business with clients across the Asia Pacific region, particular where there is a link to
UniCredit’s core markets in Europe. During 2010‐11 he worked at National Australia Bank to establish
their trade finance business in Japan and during 2006‐09 to develop their Natural Resources business
in Australia. From 1986 to 2005 Pat worked at ANZ Bank in Melbourne and Adelaide. Education: Pat
has a Bachelor of Arts in Accountancy (University of South Australia), a Masters Degree in Business
Administration (Mt Eliza Business School) and is a member of CPA Australia.
Peter Gilbert
BPL Global
Peter Gilbert is Chief Executive of specialist credit and political risk insurance broker BPL Global's
subsidiary in Singapore. Peter began his career in London in 1988 and has spent the last 18 years in
the Asia‐Pacific region working in the Sydney, Hong Kong and Singapore markets. Peter joined BPL
Global in 2011 and opened its Hong Kong branch before moving back to Singapore in 2014.
Paul Gardner
Westpac Banking Corporation
Paul Gardner ‐ Global Head of Structured Commodity Finance Westpac Banking Corporation. Paul has
over 25 years experience in cross border structured finance. Paul started his career with Lloyds Bank
in London before moving to New York and San Francisco with Bank of America in their structured trade
and project finance groups. In 2001 Paul co‐founded a boutique investment bank in Denver Colorado
specializing in distressed debt and work out situations, before moving to Asia as the Head of Project,
Commodity and Export Finance for ABN AMRO and subsequently RBS. In January 2010, Paul joined
Deutsche Bank as Managing Director, Head of Structured Trade and Export Finance and Structured
Commodity Trade Finance, Asia . Most recently Paul has taken up the position of Global Head of
Structured Commodity Finance with Westpac Banking Corporation and is based in Singapore.
Philip Michell
Westpac Banking Corporation
Philip Michell Head of Trade Sales, South Asia Global Transactional Services Philip manages the Trade
Sales team for Westpac Banking Corporation in Asia from the Singapore regional office, for Singapore
and India. He commenced his banking career with the English Scottish and Australia Bank in 1970,
which later merged with ANZ Bank, to become ANZ Banking Group Limited. While there, Philip held a
number of senior management and executive roles within the group including Director and Country
Head of ANZ India, General Manager and Country Head of ANZ Korea, Chief Representative of ANZ
Beijing and Chief Representative of ANZ Jakarta. Following which, Philip joined Westpac Banking
Corporation in 2008 as Director for Corporate & Institutional Banking, Asia, and was promoted to his
current role in 2010 to establish Westpac Banking Corporation as a significant Trade Finance Bank in
Asia. Philip attended the Australia Institute of Bankers attaining a Diploma. He is married with three
sons ‐ Brett, Grant, are based in Australia and Craig is working in Saudi Arabia.
Randolph Koppa
Trade & Development Bank of Mongolia
Randolph Koppa Mr.Koppa is President of TDB and since March 2011 has served as President of TDB
Capital LLC as well. He came to Mongolia in 2004 as part of the management and technical assistance
program provided to TDB by ING Bank. Mr.Koppa also serves as Vice Chairman of the Board of
Directors of the Business Council of Mongolia and is on the Board of Directors of the Association of
Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP). In May 2011, Mr. Koppa received
the Polar Star Award from President Elbegdorj in recognition to his contribution to developing the
banking and finance sector in Mongolia. In 2007, Mr. Koppa was honored by the Mongolian National
Chamber of Commerce and Industry with its SILK ROAD AWARD for his contribution to sustainable
growth in the local financial sector. Mongolia represents Mr. Koppa’s twelfth country in his 44 year
international banking career. He is a graduate in International Relations from the University of
Winsconsin.
Rahul Agarwal
Matrix Bharat
Rahul Agarwal is Head of Risk & Finance for Matrix Bharat Pte Ltd (MXB), a joint venture of Bharat
Petroleum Corporation Ltd, India and Germany's Mabanaft Group. MXB is a Bunkering and Oil Trading
company focussed in East of Suez with Head Office in Singapore. Rahul has been with MXB for last
three years representing the parent company Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. In his current role
he manages commodity risk reporting & compliance, trade financing, credit management amongst
other activities. His previous experience of more than 15 years include stints in International Trading
& Commodity Risk Management, Corporate Treasury, Retail Strategy and Internal Audit at Bharat
Petroleum Corporation Ltd. Rahul is a Commerce graduate from University of Delhi and Chartered
Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
Rahul Jain
SRF Limited
Rahul Jain is currently working as Senior Vice President, Corporate Controller & Treasurer at SRF
Limited. He is responsible for management of SRF’s global treasury operations across its 4 key
locations. Rahul is also the Corporate Controller and is responsible for administration and
management of the group’s Accounting Policy, Board Responsibilities and Insurance Risk
management. Rahul is a Chartered Accountant by profession and has diverse functional experience of
more than 15 years. His experience ranges from Mergers & Acquisitions, Treasury & Cash
management, Offshore Fund Raising, Private Equity, Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds, etc. Prior to
joining the SRF in Dec 2008, Rahul worked with Jubilant Organosys Limited.
SRF
SRF with a turnover of $700 million is a multi‐business entity engaged in the manufacture of chemical
based industrial intermediates. Its business portfolio covers Technical Textiles, Fluorochemicals,
Specialty Chemicals, Packaging Films and Engineering Plastics. With headquarters in Gurgaon, India,
the 5500‐strong global workforce company has operations in two more countries, Thailand and South
Africa. SRF is the market leaders in most of its businesses in India and also enjoys significant global
presence in some of its businesses. A winner of the prestigious Deming Prize for two of its businesses,
tyre cord business in 2004 and Chemicals Business in 2012, SRF adopts TQM as a management way.
Rajiv Biswas
IHS
Rajiv Biswas Senior Director and Asia‐Pacific Chief Economist IHS Global Insight Rajiv Biswas is Senior
Director and Asia‐Pacific Chief Economist at IHS Global Insight. Rajiv previously worked as Director for
South‐East Asia for The Economist Group. Prior to this, he worked for UBS as Executive Director for
Asia‐Pacific Country Risk. His experience has also included working for an international organization,
the Commonwealth Secretariat, as a senior economist in the International Capital Markets
Department. He has also worked as an international economist for the Royal Bank of Scotland. Rajiv’s
experience also includes working as a consultant for the United Nations. Rajiv is a graduate of the
London School of Economics, for the B.Sc.Econ.Hons. in Economics, and received his M.Sc. and D.I.C.
from Imperial College at London University. Rajiv has published widely on a range of economic, trade
and investment related topics, with over 100 published articles. He frequently speaks at international
conferences on the global and Asia‐Pacific economies, including at the World Economic Forum and
Euromoney conference events. He also regularly appears on international TV programs, including for
the BBC, CNBC, Bloomberg, Channel News Asia, CNN and Al Jazeera TV. He is the author of a book
entitled “Future Asia”, published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2013.
Raoul Gufflet
MCB
Raoul Gufflet currently heads the International Division of The Mauritius Commercial Bank Ltd., and is
a member of its Management Committee. As Head of the International Division, Raoul shoulders
various responsibilities inter alia, the oversight of the MCB Group foreign subsidiaries in Madagascar,
Seychelles, Mozambique and Maldives, the management of all the structured project finance and
structured trade and commodities finance activities and the coordination of the correspondent
banking activity of The MCB. Raoul also sits on the Board of all the foreign banking subsidiaries of
MCB Group, and is an active member of the Investment committee of the MUR 2 billion captive Private
Equity Fund of the Group, MCB Equity Fund and a Board member of its investment company, MCB
Capital Partners. Prior to joining The MCB in April 2004, Raoul spent eleven years with
PricewaterhouseCoopers as an auditor, corporate finance advisor and management consultant. In
those capacities, he has been exposed to financial institutions in both developed and transitional
economies, and has benefited from an extensive experience of working with central and commercial
banks. He has been involved in several World Bank and EBRD diagnostic studies involving portfolio
valuations, credit policy and process reviews, preparation of International Financial Reporting
Standards (IFRS/IAS) and US GAAP financial statements, strategic planning, operational effectiveness
reviews and institutional strengthening. Raoul also worked with blue‐chip retail and investment banks
in France and with troubled commercial banks undergoing transition in Central and Eastern Europe,
CIS countries, Asia and Eastern Africa and has accumulated extensive experience in working with
multi‐cultural teams across a variety of financial institutions worldwide.
Richard Wulff
QBE
Mr Wulff was appointed Group General Manager of QBE’s Credit, Surety and Political Risk in October
2009. Prior to commencing at QBE, Richard did a brief stint in India as Chief Underwriting Officer,
writing all major non‐life lines of business. Richard received his business degree in his native country
of Holland. After spending a decade with NCM in Amsterdam and Dublin in direct underwriting and
reinsurance, Richard moved onto Munich Re. In his role, he led various groups in the credit, surety
and political risk reinsurance area.
Andrew Rothery
Independent Consultant
Sammy Lee
BNY Mellon
Sammy has over 30 years of experience in trade finance operations, marketing, insourcing and trade
product management. His current assignment is to head the trade product management in Asia Pacific
as well as trade insourcing activities. As the regional manager in Asia Pacific, Sammy leads the trade
product development initiatives in the region covering branch locations in Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul,
Taipei, Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Melbourne and Sydney as well as all bank‐to‐bank insourcing
programs in Asia Pacific. Sammy has been working for BNY Mellon for more than 28 years and he is
now based in Hong Kong. Prior to joining BNY Mellon, Sammy worked for HSBC , Deutsche Bank and
a local bank in Hong Kong.
Samuel Ang
Shell
Samuel has been with Shell Group for nearly 9 years and is responsible for credit and trade finance
matters for Shell Trading and Supply in the EMEA region and has global responsibilities for credit
relating to the LNG business. He leads a team of 12 in Singapore that oversees credit relating to the
trading of crude, oil products, LNG, emissions and petrochemicals as well as providing trade solutions.
He has amassed experience in the various trade finance and trade mitigation instruments. He was
previously from the banking industry with almost 13 years of experience in various Credit and Trade
Finance roles.
Sean Norris
Accuity
Sean comes with 12 years of experience in data and intelligence for financial services with a keen focus
on the Governance, Risk & Compliance segment. He is a Certified Anti Money Laundering Specialist
and has been involved in implementation and process improvement projects involving watch list
compliance with organisations in EMEA and APAC. As the Head of Asia Pacific at Accuity, Sean
oversees teams located in Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Mumbai and Sydney and is responsible for
the overall strategy and direction.
Rob Nijhout
ICISA
Robert Nijhout Robert Nijhout (1955) had 20 years of experience in the international trade credit
insurance industry, before joining ICISA as its executive director in 2001. After obtaining his law degree
he joined NCM (now Atradius) were he fulfilled several international management positions. His
successive responsibilities varied from the implementation of the regional expansion of NCM,
managing the strategic partnerships in Central Europe and Latin America, managing the London City
office and finally heading the product development team. As executive director of ICISA Robert
Nijhout is a frequent guest speaker at international conferences were he shares his views on current
and future developments within the industry and regulatory and supervisory issues affecting the
industry. ICISA The International Credit Insurance & Surety Association (ICISA) brings together the
world's leading companies that provide credit insurance and/or surety bonds. Founded in 1928 as the
first credit insurance association, the current members account for 95% of the world's private credit
insurance business. Today, with almost USD 3 trillion in trade receivables insured and billions of dollars
worth of construction, services and infrastructure guaranteed, ICISA members play a central role in
facilitating trade and economic development on all five continents and practically every country in the
world.
S G Murali
TVS Motor Company
Sanman Shetty
The Bank of Tokyo‐Mitsubishi UFJ
Sanman is a part of the regional Transaction Banking Office for Asia & Oceania serving the bank's
customers in the region. Prior to joining BTMU, Sanman was with Standard Chartered in India, serving
as a business development manager for large corporate segment covering the western India region.
He has over 10 years of experience in Transaction Banking which includes providing Cash management
and Trade finance solutions for Local and Multinational clients. He has served customers for a broad
spectrum of industries and multiple client segments across the region.Sanman is a part of the regional
Transaction Banking Office for Asia & Oceania serving the bank's customers in the region. Prior to
joining BTMU, Sanman was with Standard Chartered in India, serving as a business development
manager for large corporate segment covering the western India region. He has over 10 years of
experience in Transaction Banking which includes providing Cash management and Trade finance
solutions for Local and Multinational clients. He has served customers for a broad spectrum of
industries and multiple client segments across the region.
Shivkumar Seerapu
Deutsche Bank
Based in Singapore, Shivkumar Seerapu is currently the Regional Head for Deutsche Bank’s trade
finance business in the Asia Pacific with responsibility for business strategy, product P&L and sales.
Prior to this, Shivkumar assumed dual roles, where he was the Global Product Head for Financial
Supply Chain Solutions and was responsible for developing the bank’s global supply chain finance
product capabilities. He was also the Regional Product Head for Trade Finance in Asia, where he
oversaw the development and execution of Trade Finance product strategy for Asia including
development and enhancement of new products and business opportunities. In this role, he focused
on the building and enhancing of the Bank’s trade finance product capabilities in Asia with a special
emphasis on open account financing solutions across the corporate supply chain. Shivkumar has more
than 18 years of experience in trade finance. Prior to Deutsche Bank, he was with Standard Chartered
Bank for 10 years where he held various roles in trade finance. Mr. Seerapu holds a Bachelors degree
in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, India. He
enjoys golf, cricket and travelling.
Siew Meng Tan
HSBC
Tan Siew Meng Regional Head of Global Trade and Receivables Finance HSBC Asia Pacific Tan Siew
Meng is the Regional Head of Global Trade & Receivables Finance for HSBC in Asia Pacific. In her role,
Ms Tan is responsible for managing and growing the Bank’s trade and supply chain franchise across
Asia Pacific, as well as driving HSBC’s Regional Receivables Finance & Commodity and Structured Trade
Finance ("CSTF") businesses. Prior to this role, Ms Tan was CEO of HSBC Thailand, a role she took up
in January 2013. Ms Tan joined HSBC Singapore in April 2004 as Director, Corporate and Investment
Banking, Singapore. She was promoted to Head of Commercial Banking for Singapore in 2006. In 2011,
she became the Chief Executive Officer of HSBC Mauritius. Prior to joining HSBC, Ms Tan spent over
five years with Citibank, N.A. as a senior transactor responsible for leading a team that is collectively
responsible for managing a portfolio of mostly government‐linked companies and other top‐tier local
corporates in Singapore. She has also worked for Barclays de Zoete Wedd, where she was responsible
for business origination in Investment Banking and with DBS Bank in Credit and Marketing and in
Corporate Finance handling debt and equity capital market transactions and undertaking M&A
advisory work. She has over 25 years of banking experience. Ms Tan graduated with a Bachelor’s
degree in Business Administration from the National University of Singapore in 1985.
Santosh Pokharel
Asian Development Bank
Mr. Pokharel joined as a relationship manager with Asian Development Bank's Trade Finance Program
(TFP) in October, 2014. As a RM for TFP program, her covers Bhutan, Indonesia, Mongolia and
Vietnam. Prior to joining ADB, Mr. Pokharel was with International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of
the World Bank Group. Mr. Pokharel has over eight years of experience working with financial
institutions in South Asia and South East Asia. Mr. Pokharel has a Masters degree in Economics from
University of Virginia. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder.
Stephen Capon
ACE Global Markets
Stephen C. Capon Steve joined ACE in February 2002 as Head of Country & Credit Risk Management
within Political Risks & Credit. As of the 1st June 2014 he has become Regional Manager, Asia Pacific,
Political Risks & Credit based in Singapore. He has 12 years experience as a banker having worked for
Lloyds Bank Plc, The United Bank of Kuwait Plc (now Ahli United Bank (UK) Plc) and latterly for
Sumitomo Bank Ltd (now SMBC). Prior to joining ACE Steve was Assistant General Manager, Trade,
Structured Trade and Commodity Finance at Sumitomo Bank in London. Steve has experience of
working with corporates from a wide variety of industry sectors and ‘hands on’ experience of not only
treasury functions and general corporate finance but aircraft finance, commercial property lending,
high yield bonds and investmenst, project finance and all aspects of trade finance. He has also held
positions on investment advisory panels for equity funds. He has a Masters in Modern History with
Middle Eastern Politics from St Andrews University, Scotland and is an Associate of the Chartered
Institute of Bankers.
Teo Eng Cheong
IE Singapore
Mr. Teo Eng Cheong is the Chief Executive Officer of International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, a
government agency spearheading the overseas growth of Singapore‐based companies and promoting
international trade. Prior to joining IE Singapore, Mr. Teo was the Chief Executive of the Competition
Commission of Singapore from 2008 to 2010 and the Director‐General of Singapore Customs from
2004 to 2007. Mr Teo is Deputy Chairman of Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) and he sits on
the boards of IE Singapore, IE Singapore Holdings Pte Ltd, Ascendas Funds Management (S) Limited,
ASEAN Infrastructure Fund (AIF) and Council for Private Education. He also sits on the Advisory Board
of Singapore Management University’s Lee Kong Chian School of Business and Advisory Council of NUS
Business School’s China Business Centre. Mr. Teo holds a Bachelor of Science (Economics) from the
National University of Singapore and a Master of Science (Economics) from the London School of
Economics and Political Science.
Tim Warren
Zurich Insurance Company
Tim is the regional head of Zurich’s credit & political risk insurance operation in Asia Pacific. Zurich is
one of the largest global providers of credit & political risk insurance and holds a leadership position
in the Berne Union, the club of export credit agencies and major private international credit insurers.
Tim has been with Zurich for eight years underwriting the full spectrum of short/medium term credit,
sovereign debt and political risk insurance products. He transferred to Singapore from Zurich’s London
office at the start of 2010 to assist in establishing their Singapore office and Asia Pacific regional hub.
He has worked extensively with banks, corporates, export credit agencies and insurance brokers based
throughout the region and currently manages underwriters in Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing, Tokyo
and Sydney. Prior to joining Zurich Tim worked with Ace Global Markets in the Lloyd’s of London
marine insurance market. Tim is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Insurers and holds an
economics degree from the University of Birmingham (UK).
Tan Tzu Ping
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Tan Tzu Ping is head of Asia Pacific FICC Corporate Origination at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and
is responsible for the origination of currency, interest rate, and other global markets solutions for the
firm’s corporate clients in the region across its universal banking platform. He is a member of the
firm’s Asia Pacific Global Markets Management Committee and a Board Member of the Asia Securities
Industry & Financial Markets Association. Prior to taking this position, Ping spent three years as Chief
Operating Officer of Asia Pacific Global Markets. In this role, he was responsible for driving cross‐asset
initiatives including product development, client experience, control environment, regulatory reform
and location strategy for the firm’s FICC and Equities businesses which span twelve jurisdictions in Asia
Pacific. Ping has over fifteen years of financial industry experience, of which 10 years were focused on
fixed income, structuring and origination. He joined Merrill Lynch in 2007 with responsibility for its
Asia Pacific high yield and South East Asia origination business. He specialized in Asia high yield debt
capital markets and was appointed Co‐Head of Asia Debt Capital Markets at Credit Suisse, where he
worked from 2003 ‐ 2007. From 2009 ‐ 2010, Ping worked at American International Assurance
Company in Hong Kong, where he was a member of the IPO team and Finance team with responsibility
for capital management and financial strength. Ping began his career as an economist with J.P. Morgan
in Singapore. Ping holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and a Bachelor of Arts degree in
History from Yale College.
Vivek Ramachandran
HSBC
Vivek Ramachandran is the Global Head of Product and Propositions for HSBC's Trade and Receivables
Finance business. Prior to joining HSBC, Vivek was co‐founder and CEO of VTA, a boutique advisory
firms working with banks across Europe and Asia. Vivek was previously Managing Director of
International Product at Barclays responsible for the full suite of Corporate Banking products outside
the UK. He was responsible for integrating and growing the Corporate Banking business across 14
markets in Africa, establishing new operations in Asia and the US, and restructuring the legacy
portfolios across Europe and the Middle East. Vivek joined Barclays in 2008 to run the UK Cash and
Trade business. His role was later extended to cover both the Global Cash and Trade businesses, where
he led the build out of Barclays’ Transaction Banking platforms globally. Vivek joined Barclays from
Lloyds Banking Group, where he held various senior management positions including Head of Group
Strategy and Chief Operating Officer for the Corporate Markets business. He began his career as a
management consultant with Marakon Associates, covering Financial Services clients across Europe,
Asia and the US. Vivek has a Ph.D in Economics from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh USA where
he received the University’s highest recognition awards for his teaching and research
accomplishments.
Vivek Sharma
Noble Agri
Vivek Sharma Vivek is Head of Treasury – Asia Pacific for Noble Agri responsible for managing FX,
Interest rates, Funding, Cash Management, Trade Finance and other Financing activities in the region
based out of Singapore. Noble Agri has operations and Treasury Centres across Asia including India,
China, Indonesia and Singapore etc. Vivek has been with Noble for past four years. Prior to joining
Noble, Vivek has been with Cargill in the Trade and Structured Finance division. Vivek has also worked
with ICICI and Essar Group in his initial years of his career. Vivek is graduate in engineering and a post
graduate in Finance. Noble Agri is a joint venture between Noble Group and a consortium consisting
of COFCO Corporation, HOPU Investment and other international financial investors. Noble Agri
engages in agricultural trading and processing businesses which it originates from low‐cost producing
regions such as South America, South Africa, East Europe, India, and Australia, to supply regions with
high demand, such as Asia and the Middle East. Noble Agri owns and operates logistics and processing
assets in strategic locations within key global trade flows.
Vincent O'Brien
ICC
Vincent O’Brien, Chair of the ICC Banking Commission, Market Intelligence Group (MIG). He has delivered technical trade finance assistance in more than 70 countries for major banks and development institutions. He is regularly involved as an expert witness in arbitration and legal cases. Vin is highly regarded for speaking his mind and his ability to explain complex situations and structures in a clear and straightforward manner. He was recently appointed as member of the Executive Committee of the ICC Banking Commission. He is a Director of the Institute of International Banking Law and Practice providing direction in application of ICC rules and practice. Vincent is Technical Trade Advisor to China Systems Corporation.
William Shaw
Texel Finance
William is Managing Director at Texel Asia Pte Limited, having been with the Texel Group for 12 years, now based in Singapore. William has 25 years of commodity trading, commodity finance and risk mitigation experience. Prior to joining Texel, William spent 5 years at WestLB as a Director of the Global Commodity Finance team, in Düsseldorf and in London. He also spent 9 years as Head of Finance at a global steel trading company. Through its insurance brokerage business, the Texel Group serves institutions that need to insure trade credit and political risk, through Texel Finance Limited, regulated by the FSA, as well as Texel Asia Pte Limited, regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. All Senior Texel employees have had extensive experience as Commodity Finance bankers or at Commodity Trading companies or as Insurance Underwriters. This level of experience is unique in the insurance broking community and allows the Group to truly understand the needs of its clients, to represent them fully and to develop bespoke, creative solutions.
Xavier Farcot
Coface
Xavier Farcot (方邇國) Executive Vice President, Regional Risk Underwriting Director of Coface Global
Solutions, Asia Pacific Region Xavier Farcot is responsible for risk underwriting of CGS in Asia Pacific,
managing a team of risk specialists located in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Singa‐pore,
Taiwan and Thailand. He managed a team of professionals in business infor‐mation, buyer’s
assessment, claims and debt collection in the past few years. He has been with Coface since 1981, and
stationed in Hong Kong since 2001. Over his years with Coface, Xavier has worked in a number of
positions within various de‐partments including market survey insurance, human resources, finance
and admin‐istration, and subsequently the short‐term risks underwriting department. Prior to joining
Coface, he worked for Renault in the UK in their Management Control Office. Xavier graduated from
the European Business School in 1981 after studying in Paris, Frankfurt and London, with a Diploma in
Finance.
Yongmei Cai
Simmons & Simmons
Yongmei is a financing partner in the financial markets group in Asia based in Beijing. Qualified in both
England and PRC, Yongmei has practiced extensively both English and PRC laws and is experienced in
PRC banking and trade & commodity finance matter. Her team has won top team reputation in
advising clients on China related cross‐border transactions by combing its experience on international
structured trade commodity finance business standards with PRC local laws and regulations. She also
has been actively involved in RMB internationalization development. Before she joined Simmons &
Simmons, she had practiced first as a finance lawyer in London at top international law firms for many
years before joining a leading Chinese firm as a partner in their banking and finance group.
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