Best Startup
At Best Startup UK we track over 130,000 UK startups and over 500,000 people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top United Kingdom based COO’ operating in the Finance space. If you think a COO’ is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on editor@beststartup.co.uk.
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Companies House UK, Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Ian Woods
General Counsel and COO of Virgin Group
Ian is the General Counsel and COO at Virgin Group. Ian has been with Virgin since 2005 and has responsibility for various functions within Virgin Management including Legal, People, Company Secretarial, Facilities and IT as well as for advising Virgin companies on a broad spectrum of legal issues across different business sectors and jurisdictions. Ian sits on the Board of various Group companies including Virgin Management, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Limited Edition and Virgin Enterprises. Ian previously worked for leading international law firm Slaughter and May and holds an LLB from Sheffield University.
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About Virgin Group: Virgin Group is an investment company focused on leisure, travel, tourism, mobile, broadband, TV, radio, music, finance, and health sectors.
Jonathan Biggs
COO & CFO — London of Accel
Jon Biggs joined Accel in 2001 and is Accel London’s chief operating officer. Jon runs the operations of the London office. He sits on the judging panel of the UK Private Business Awards and was instrumental in working with NACUE in its efforts to champion employment in early stage companies for new graduates. Prior to Accel, Jon worked at AXA Investment Managers, and before that worked at Deutsche Bank and Mirabaud & Cie in London. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant at PWC. Jon is from the South of England and graduated from the University of Bristol.
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About Accel: Accel is an early and growth-stage venture capital firm that helps a global community of entrepreneurs.
Ruwan Weerasekera
Managing Partner, COO of SoftBank Vision Fund
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About SoftBank Vision Fund: SoftBank Vision Fund specializes in growth capital and social impact investments.
Oke Eleazu
Chief Operating Officer of Bought By Many
Oke is Bought by Many’s COO. He’s an expert in creating customer-centric services and is proud to be able to build insurance products that really work for people. When he’s not at work, he loves listening to good music and spending time with his family and friends.
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About Bought By Many: Bought By Many is a pet InsurTech company that provides insurance products and a streamlined customer experience.
Jackson Hull
Chief Operating and Technology Officer of Gocompare.com
Jackson is currently COO and CTO at Gocompare.com. Jackson previously was CTO at Student.com, the leading global student accommodation marketplace, and CTO at onefinestay (acquired by Accor Hotels), the upmarket Airbnb. Before that, he was CTO at Plum District (acquired by nCrowd), the leading daily deal company for moms, based in San Francisco. Previously, he co-founded Chatterfly, a mobile loyalty application startup, which sold to Plum District. Jackson was CTO and VP Product Development at venture-backed Sitoa, the largest US SAAS drop-ship platform provider. Jackson has a degree in Mechanical and Material Science Engineering from the University of California, Davis earned with honors and a Masters in Information Systems from the University of California, Berkeley, with honorable mention.
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About Gocompare.com: Gocompare.com is a British financial services comparison website provides comparison details for vehicle, home and pet insurance.
Michael Odai
Chief Operating Officer / General Counsel of Mosaic
Michael Odai joined Virgin Green Fund in 2006. As General Counsel, Michael advises on all legal aspects concerning VGF, its business and investments, and works closely with the investment team evaluating opportunities and overseeing investments, from term sheet negotiation to deal execution and exits. As Chief Operating Officer, Michael leads VGF’s administrative and operational efforts including finance, investor relations, information technology and human resources. Prior to VGF, Michael was General Counsel of Virgin Money Australia, where he led that company’s joint venture transaction with Macquarie Bank and subsequent launch of co-managed investment products. Prior to joining Virgin, Michael was Assistant General Counsel of Credigy Solutions Inc. and General Counsel of Franklin Square Technologies Inc., a software company which he co-founded. Michael began his legal career in New York City as a Corporate Associate with Battle Fowler and then Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, where he spent over six years focusing his practice on mergers, acquisitions and private equity transactions in a wide-range of industries. Michael has a BA in Economics from the University of Rochester and a JD from Albany Law School of Union University, New York.
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About Mosaic: We back founders who are reimagining the world. We invest $1-10m early, in those building daring adventures across Europe.
Filippo Cardini
Managing Director, COO and General Counsel of TowerBrook Capital Partners
Filippo Cardini is COO, General Counsel and a Managing Director of TowerBrook. He is a member of the Management Committee as well as being responsible for investor relations for the firm. He was previously a Partner, COO and General Counsel at Soros Private Equity. He focuses on the Italian market and is extensively involved in structuring and executing all of TowerBrook’s transactions. Previously, he was a senior solicitor at the London-based law firm, Ashursts, in the Private Equity Group in London and Milan. He earned his LLB from Brunel University and completed his Law Society Finals at the College of Law in London. He holds the Series 7, 24, 63, 79 and 99 licenses.
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About TowerBrook Capital Partners: TowerBrook Capital Partners is a London-based investment management firm that funds European and North American companies.
Scott Collins
Managing Director and COO of Summit Partners
Scott Collins is the Managing Director at Summit Partners. Scott joined Summit Partners in 1996. Scott manages the firm’s London office, which he founded in 2001. Scott is active in Summit’s investment activities in North America, Europe and Asia. During his 17 years with Summit Partners, Scott has served on the board of directors of more than 25 companies. Currently he is a director of 360T Group, Acturis Limited, AVAST Software, Bigpoint, vente-privee.com and Welltec International. His prior directorships include Dorn Technology Group (acquired by Policy Management Systems Corporation), Elumen Solutions (acquired by Computer Task Group), Hittite Microwave Corporation (NASDAQ: HITT), Jamba! AG (acquired by VeriSign), Ogone (acquired by Ingenico), SafeBoot Holdings (acquired by McAfee) and Web Reservations International (acquired by Hellman & Friedman). Prior to Summit, Scott worked as a Strategy Consultant with McKinsey & Company in the financial institutions group. Scott also served in a variety of U.S. federal government positions, including at the White House and Department of Justice. Scott holds an A.B. degree in Economics, magna cum laude, from Harvard University and a J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School. While at Harvard, Scott was captain of the varsity football team and later served as managing editor of the Harvard Law Review. Scott is a former director of the Harvard Alumni Association and remains active in Harvard-related activities. Scott was a founding Trustee of the Private Equity Foundation, a leading venture philanthropy in the U.K. dedicated to improving the lives of underprivileged youth and he served on the board from 2007 to 2012. Scott holds British and U.S. dual citizenship. Scott’s personal interests include sport and fitness, the arts, and spending time with his children.
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About Summit Partners: Summit Partners is an investment firm that is currently investing in to growth equity, fixed income, and public equity opportunities.
Stuart Chapman
COO & Managing Partner of Molten Ventures
Prior to joining Esprit in Febuary 2005 Stuart was a Partner of 3i Ventures. He was also a founding partner of 3i US, based in Menlo Park, CA. Stuart had 13 years of venture capital experience with 3i in Europe and the USA. While he was at 3i US he was responsible for 3i’s investments in Still Secure, CollegeNet and Appshop. Following his return from the US in October 2003 he was responsible for 3i’s investments in The Cloud, Telecity and Searchspace, the IPO of Pixology and the sale of Magic 4 to Openwave. Stuart is a member of the British Venture Capital Association Council. Prior to 3i, Stuart was involved in software and systems implementations in the Banking sector. He is a graduate of Loughborough University.
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About Molten Ventures: Molten Ventures is Europe’s largest listed tech VC firm. We inject the most visionary companies with energy to help them transform and grow.
Mark Dennis
COO & CEO of Munich Reinsurance
Mark Dennis is Global COO and European CEO of Munich Re Digital Partners, with specific responsibility for the European business. He joined Munich Re in 2009, leading a global business change unit until May 2016 when he took up his current role. Digital Partners is a global business working with, and investing in, start-ups, digital verticals and the sharing economy, with the ambition of building a more engaging proposition for insurance customers. Prior to joining Munich Re, Mark held various interim roles in leading insurance businesses.
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About Munich Reinsurance: Munich Reinsurance is a risk management group that offers insurance and reinsurance.
Mark McDonald
COO of Concentric
Mark M. McDonald is the Financial Director of TLcom and joined the firm in January 2002. Prior to TLcom, Mark was the Finance Director at Digital Networks Global Ventures Limited, an early stage Pan-European technology venture capital firm based in London. Before joining Digital Networks, Mark was a Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers for six years, in the London and Toronto offices, where he served as a statutory and regulatory (FSA) consultant specialising in private equity. Mark qualified with Ernst & Young, Montreal, Canada. Mark is a qualified Chartered Accountant and has a Graduate Diploma in Chartered Accountancy from McGill University and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Finance from the University of Western Ontario.
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About Concentric: Concentric invests in software technology business in the financial services, mobility, real estate, industrial, and logistics sectors.
Peter Harris
Partner & COO of Generation Investment Management
Peter is a Founding Partner and Chief Operating Officer of Generation Investment Management. Previously, Peter was part of Goldman Sachs Global Operations Division, where he was responsible for global operations infrastructure projects, and management of the North American operations and latterly international operations for Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Prior to that, Peter established the Marketable Securities Division Operations Department at CIN Management Ltd, before it was acquired by Goldman Sachs in 1996.Peter is qualified as a Chartered Certified Accountant.
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About Generation Investment Management: Generation Investment Management is a private equity firm focused on integrated sustainability research and client alignment.
Jonathan Kestenbaum
Chief Operating Officer of RIT Capital Partners
Jonathan Kestenbaum is the Chief Operating officer. Until 2011 he was Chief Executive of Five Arrows Limited. He is also an adviser to the philanthropic foundations connected to Lord Rothschild. He was previously Chief Executive of NESTA (the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts). Prior to this he was Chief of Staff to the Chairman of Apax, Sir Ronald Cohen. In January 2011, Jonathan Kestenbaum was appointed to the House of Lords and became Lord Kestenbaum of Foxcote.
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About RIT Capital Partners: RIT Capital Partners plc is an investment trust listed on the London Stock Exchange with net assets of some £1.9 billion.
Venancio Gallego
COO of Ebury
Venancio Gallego Vindel is COO at Ebury Partners.
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About Ebury: Ebury is a financial services company designed to empower small and medium-sized businesses that want to trade internationally.
Per Polland
Chief Operating Officer of Habito
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About Habito: Habito is a digital mortgage brokerage services company that offers a personal and modernized approach to the home buying experience.
Matthew Reed
Chief Operating Officer of Business Growth Fund
Matthew Reed joined the Business Growth Fund in March 2011 and is responsible for BGF’s regulatory, finance and operational functions. Matthew’s role will also encompass risk and corporate governance oversight. Matthew Reed was educated in Australia where he obtained his Chartered Accountant qualification. Matthew has held a number of Chief Financial Officer roles with private equity firms including, CCMP Capital Partners UK, Trilantic Capital Partners and Santander Infrastructure Capital. Prior to commencing his Private Equity roles, Matthew worked for JP Morgan Chase for six years, performing numerous roles during that time including Financial Controller positions in both Luxembourg and London, and later as a Global Product Controller in the bank’s Worldwide Security Services business.
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About Business Growth Fund: Business Growth Fund is an influential investor in small and mid-sized businesses.
Monica Pinto
Managing Director, CFO / COO of Apis Partners
Monica has over 20 years of experience in direct investing, management and strategy consulting, primarily in Growth Markets. Prior to Apis, she was a Director at Banco Efisa. She was the head of the business unit focused on private equity investments, debt financing and corporate finance in international markets (Africa, India, Middle East, Eastern Europe and Brazil). She was responsible for all aspects ofmanagement including P&L, capital allocation, investment criteria, origination, end to end execution of transactions and management of the team. Monica was also a strategy consultant for Marakon Associates in London, where she led teams in Europe and Brazil for global banks in a variety of strategic issues. At Procter & Gamble, she worked in Europe, Latin America and South East Asia setting up new companies. She is passionate about history, arts, adventurous travelling off the beaten track (over 55 countries and counting, lived in three continents) and trekking, and dedicates her free time in honing her Ikebana skills or sailing in the Atlantic, off the coast of her native Lisbon.
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About Apis Partners: Apis Partners is a private equity asset manager focused on Financial Services in Growth Markets.
Tony Lissaman
Chief Operating Officer Private Equity of 3i Group
Tony Lissaman In his role as Chief Operation Officer (COO), Tony is responsible for the operational running of 3i’s international Private Equity business. His responsibilities include the strategic development of the business, financial planning and reporting, business processes and systems, resource management, portfolio monitoring and valuations. Having previously qualified as a chartered accountant with KPMG, Tony joined 3i in 1998 initially working in 3i’s Group Finance team. Over his career at 3i, Tony has been involved in the reshaping of 3i’s Private Equity business, including its international development and integration. Tony has a Geography degree from Loughborough University and is a qualified chartered accountant.
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About 3i Group: 3i is an international investment manager focused on mid-market Private Equity, Infrastructure & Debt Management.
Angelika Burawska
COO of SFC Capital
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About SFC Capital: Early-stage investor combining its own angel syndicate & seed funds to provide investors with diversified exposure to SEIS/EIS businesses.
Simon Brown
Chief Operating Officer of Lion Capital
Simon Brown is Lion Capital’s Chief Operating Officer. Prior to joining Lion Capital, Simon was Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at private equity firms Equistone and Cognetas. Previously Simon was Chief Operating Officer of Lord Rothschild’s family office and Finance Director of Lawrence Graham. Simon received his BA in French and Spanish from Exeter University, he is also a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.
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About Lion Capital: Lion Capital is a consumer-focused investor passionate about investing in brands about which people are passionate.
Paolo Tonucci
Chief Operating Officer of Marex Spectron
Paolo Tonucci joined Marex Spectron in March 2018 as Chief Operating Officer. He was previously at Commonwealth Bank of Australia (Commbank) based in Sydney, where he was Group Treasurer, with responsibility for funding, capital and balance sheet management. Before Commbank, he was Head of Funding and Liquidity at Barclays Bank in London. Prior to Barclays, Paolo spent 12 years at Lehman Brothers in London and New York, latterly as Global Treasurer where he managed a team of 220. Paolo is a Chartered Accountant and has an MA in Economics from the University of Cambridge.
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About Marex Spectron: Marex Spectron is a broker offering unrivalled breadth of commodity market.
Ameerul Miah
Partner and COO of MMC Ventures
Ameerul joined MMC in 2014. He is responsible for finance and operations and supervises MMC’s fund structures. Before joining MMC, Ameerul worked as the overseas entity controller for the Ashmore Group and James Caird Asset Management where he was responsible for finance, tax and regulatory reporting for both onshore and offshore entities. Ameerul qualified as an accountant with Ernst and Young and graduated from University College London with a BSc in Economics.
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About MMC Ventures: MMC Ventures is an investment firm that invests in technology companies at Seed and Series A.
Henry Obi
COO, Partner, Public & Regulatory Affairs, Member of Investment Committee of Helios Investment Partners
Mr Obi has 21 years of relevant professional experience, and is head of Public & Regulatory Affairs. He was previously the firm’s COO. Prior to joining Helios in September 2006, Mr Obi was a Partner and Investment Committee member at Aureos Capital Partners Ltd., a manager of private equity funds in Africa and other emerging markets. At Aureos, he was responsible for monitoring the performance of the firm’s funds in Africa and Central America and their compliance with investment policy. Prior to Aureos, he was a Senior Investment Executive in the Assets Group at Actis, before which he was an Investment Executive in that firm’s Infrastructure Group. He started his investment career in the power investment team at CDC Group, the UK’s Development Finance Institution, and also worked at Dynegy, a US energy trader. Mr Obi serves on the Board of Directors of Eland Oil & Gas, and has also served on the Boards of Directors of Zambia Capital Partners, Central America Investment Managers (Mauritius) and Zuami Limited (Kenya). He is a member of the Emerging Market Private Equity Association’s Africa Council, a board member of the African Private Equity & Venture Capital Association, a board member of Advanced American Style, Inc., and sits on the Advisory Board of Maris Capital. Mr Obi, a Nigerian and Irish national, received a BS and MS in Architecture from the University of Nigeria, a BArch from University of Nottingham and an MBA in Finance from the London Business School. He is a fluent Igbo speaker.
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About Helios Investment Partners: Helios Investment Partners is a private equity and venture capital firm that focuses on African companies.
Christina Drews
Partner, Chief Operating Officer, Member of Executive Committee of Helios Investment Partners
Ms Drews has 27 years of professional experience; and has overall responsibility for the operations of the firm, including oversight of finance, administration, human resources and compliance, as well as development and implementation of the firm’s agreed strategy. Prior to joining Helios in October 2018, she spent 25 years at Goldman Sachs, most recently as a Managing Director and Global CAO for the Investment Banking Division (IBD), spending two years in the New York office, as well as COO and CFO for IBD in EMEA. She worked in M&A in London for seven years, after which she moved to the Executive Office as Chief of Staff to the co-heads of EMEA, before returning to IBD. She began her career as a management trainee at Bayer AG. Ms Drews holds an MA in Social & Political Sciences from the University of Cambridge and speaks German and French.
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About Helios Investment Partners: Helios Investment Partners is a private equity and venture capital firm that focuses on African companies.
Steven Batchelor
COO and Partner of Hg
Steven Batchelor is a Partner at Hg. He is the Partnership’s COO and a member of Hg’s Operating and Realisation Committees, with oversight of Client Services and other non-investment related functions. Steven is also a member of the Hg board. Steven joined Hg in 2003, having previously worked at Morgan Stanley, where he was involved in a number of M&A and capital market related transactions. His current responsibilities at Hg include managing the day to day activities of the partnership, firm strategy, fundraising, co-investments and ongoing investor coverage. He also sits on the firm’s Valuation Committee. Steven holds a degree in History from the University of Bristol.
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About Hg: Hg is a private equity firm that invests in software and services, focused on backing businesses.
Andy Tomlinson
Chief Operating Officer of Cuvva
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About Cuvva: Radically better insurance, fit for the future.
Stephen Leggett
Chief Operating Officer of Calastone
Steve Leggett joined Calastone in 2008. Steve was one of the original members of the Calastone team who as Global Head of Operations, established the operational functions that underpin Calastone’s global network. Appointed as Chief Operating Officer in 2018, Steve leads Calastone’s UK and European business, as well as managing global operational functions including product development and service delivery. Prior to joining Calastone, Steve has held senior project management and operational positions at firms including Reuters, Lloyds TSB and digital brokerage Instinet giving him over 25 years experience of program, operational management and business transformation.
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About Calastone: Calastone is a global transaction network for the mutual fund industry.
Bob Adams
Chief Operating Officer of Embark Group
Bob is a specialist in infrastructure and large-scale technology and global operations environments. Over his 25-year career, he has worked across asset management and banking sectors and has particular expertise in the deployment of complex front-to-back technology solutions. Before joining in 2013, Bob was Managing Director & Global Chief Information Officer at UBS Global Asset Management.
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About Embark Group: Embark Group provides retirement and financial services.
Stephen Doherty
Co-Founder & COO of Nude
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About Nude: The new way to save for and purchase your first home.
Kathy Samii
Chief Operating Officer of Parkwalk Advisors
Before joining Parkwalk in 2016, Kathy held COO, CFO and Compliance roles at a large event-driven hedge fund. Kathy previously worked at Schroder Salomon Smith Barney / Citigroup and Merrill Lynch.
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About Parkwalk Advisors: Parkwalk is an investment management firm focused on UK-based technology companies that are spun out of UK university and research centres.
Parag Gandesha
COO of Kreos Capital
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About Kreos Capital: Kreos Capital is a growth debt firm that provides financing solutions for high-growth companies across Europe and Israel.
Parag Gandesha
COO of Kreos Capital
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About Kreos Capital: Kreos Capital is a growth debt firm that provides financing solutions for high-growth companies across Europe and Israel.
Adrian Toner
Chief Operating Officer of First Derivatives
Adrian initially joined the Board of First Derivatives plc in September 2005 as a Non-Executive Director. In July 2010 he joined the Executive Team as Chief Operations Officer and has responsibility for the Group’s Human Resources, Facilities Management and Corporate IT functions. Prior to joining First Derivatives plc, Adrian spent eighteen years with Allianz in London and Ireland where he became of Head of Allianz in Northern Ireland and Associate Commercial Director-Allianz Ireland plc. During his career he has developed expertise in directing and controlling organisational operations in accordance with the company’s strategy and growth objectives.
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About First Derivatives: First Derivatives is a provider of products and consulting services to the largest finance, technology and energy institutions.
Alexander Dunaev
Co-Founder & COO of ID Finance
In 2007, Alexander Dunaev graduated with honors bachelor degree from the University of Warwick with a degree in economics. In 2008, he received a master’s degree from the Imperial College London with a degree in mathematical finance. Alexander Dunaev is the Co-Founder of IDF Eurasia. In 2012, Alexander Dunaev left post occupied at Deutsche Bank and launched online lending service MoneyMan, and a year later he has founded fintech company ID Finance. Alexander is a Certified Financial Analyst (CFA).
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About ID Finance, IDF Eurasia: ID Finance is a FinTech company specializing in online lending in emerging and growing markets.
Uzair Bawany
Chief Operating Officer & Co-Founder of Traydstream
Founder of a boutique search firm, Fairway Search Partners which predominantly focuses on retained mandates in the front office within three distinct areas. They are Global Transaction Banking, Private Wealth / Asset Management and Equities Capital Markets – Sales & Sales Trading. Chairman of the Contact Recruitment Group. In Jan 2003, he initiated an MBO and acquired the company and then sold this business in November 2011. He was Vice Chair of an industry trade body which is the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo). APSCo provides a powerful unified voice for the Professional Recruitment market and is proud to represent, promote and support such vibrant and innovative sectors of the recruitment industry. Board Director of the National Advisory Board and Chair the London Regional Group of Mosaic which is a Prince’s trust Charity. It focuses on mentoring and developing under privileged school children.
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About Traydstream: Traydstream automates the most critical aspects of converting, checking and managing trade finance documents.
Simone Maini
Chief Operating Officer of Elliptic
Simone Maini is the chief operating officer at Elliptic. Simone brings extensive expertise in strategy and operations to the Elliptic team, along with experience working on complex financial crime investigations. As COO, she oversees operations, finance, marketing and sales for the company. She holds a BA in History from the University of Cambridge.
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About Elliptic: Elliptic makes cryptocurrency transaction activity more transparent and accountable.
Sarah Harvey
Chief Operating Officer of Prodigy Finance
Sarah is an experienced leader who is passionate about growing innovative businesses. Recently the Head of UK at fast-growing fintech Square, and previously the COO of Tough Mudder, Sarah has worked across 22 countries and is no stranger to international landscapes. Sarah started her career with large company experience at Diageo and Bain & Company, and at not-for-profit organisations in Africa where she worked on projects ranging from supply chain management for a medical charity in the DRC to advising on public health financing facilities for the Gates Foundation in Tanzania, Nigeria and Senegal. Sarah is also a board member for Securities Trust of Scotland Plc. Outside of work Sarah loves to read as many novels as possible whilst travelling, watch England play rugby and improve her boxing skills. MA Hons, University of Cambridge.
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About Prodigy Finance: Prodigy Finance provides postgraduate student loans to international students to attend a top school.
John Marsland
COO, Investments of Schroders
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About Schroders: Schroders is an asset management company.
Simon Hopkins
Co-founder & COO of Angel Academe
Co-founder & COO at Angel Academe.
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About Angel Academe: Angel Academe helps engage female founders and co-founders with their tech startup to a unique pool of, mainly female angel investors.
Steve Morrison
Partner and Chief Operating Officer of Bridges Fund Management
Steve is a Partner & Chief Operating Officer at Bridges Ventures, having joined in 2013. Prior to his current role, Steve had a successful 25 years in banking where he spent 14 years in Leveraged Finance with Bank of Scotland, culminating in leading this business as Head of Structured Finance. Other Key Executive roles included Strategy & Planning for Private Equity/Investing, Credit Risk and more recently as Head of Credit Risk for Lloyds Banking Group’s Business Support Unit where he supported corporate restructures in the UK, Europe and the Middle East. He has a wide range of experience across industries and supports the various funds within Bridges. Steve is a Non-Executive Director of Charity Bank and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland. He was also a founding member of the Board at Big Society Capital, where he stepped down in 2013. In 2009 Steve attended the INSEAD Social Entrepreneurs Programme (ISEP) and supports a number of charities and social enterprises on a pro-bono basis.
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About Bridges Fund Management, CredentialEnvironmental: Bridges Fund Management is a specialist fund manager dedicated to sustainable and impact investment.
Colin Buckley
Chief Operating Officer of CDC Group
Colin’s background is in international development and corporate finance. Prior to joining CDC, Colin held senior positions at the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, the Millennium Challenge Corporation and the International Finance Corporation. After the Russo-Georgian war of 2008, he advised the Prime Minister of Georgia on the country’s economic reconstruction. Prior to his work in international development, Colin practiced as a US attorney and a UK solicitor in Boston and London.
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About CDC Group: CDC is the UK’s development finance institution.
Warwick Hunt
Managing Partner and Chief Operating Officer of PwC
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About PwC: PricewaterhouseCoopers is an accounting firm that provides tax, HR, transactions, performance improvement, and crisis management services.
Nick Parker
COO of Equitix
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About Equitix: Equitix is a company established to deliver and manage infrastructure projects from bidding and closing through to construction.
Gary Fraser
Chief Operating Officer of Foresight Group
Chief Operating Officer at Foresight Group LLP.
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About Foresight Group: Foresight is an infrastructure and private equity investment manager that manages funds on behalf of institutions and retail clients.
Craig Vickery
Partner and COO of Exponent Private Equity
Craig Vickery joined Exponent in January 2005. He is the firm’s Chief Operating Officer and is ultimately responsible for all financial and operational matters. Craig previously worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers. Originally from Edinburgh, Craig has an MA in Management Studies from the University of Glasgow and is a qualified chartered accountant (ACA).
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About Exponent Private Equity: Exponent is a private equity firm that believes that greater understanding to greater transformation.
Matt Gatrell
COO and Board Executive Director of Nutmeg
Matt joined Nutmeg in April 2018 bringing over 20 years of financial services technology experience with him. As Nutmeg’s CTO, Matt ensures our technology strategy matches our business strategy. Prior to joining Nutmeg, Matt held the position of Chief Technical Officer at both Neilson Financial Services and MarketInvoice. His experience has been rounded out by 13 years at BancTec, a global top 100 financial services technology provider, where he held a number of roles, including R&D Director. Matt holds a PhD in Software Engineering from Brunel University.
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About Nutmeg: Nutmeg is an online investment service that specializes in investments, ISAs and pensions.
Andy Wicken
Chief Operating Officer of Together Money
Andy Wicken is the Chief Operating Officer of Together. He has a bachelor’s degree in Business Studies at Coventry University.
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About Together Money: Together is a specialist lender, offering short-term finance, auction finance, personal, commercial.
Paul Henry
COO of Funding Xchange
Paul Henry is the Chief Operating Officer at Funding Xchange. He is a former Managing Director of Experian pH and Director of Client Services at The pH Group. Mr. Henry graduated from the University of Oxford with a master of arts in Chemistry.
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About Funding Xchange: Funding Xchange is transforming and connecting the SME funding eco-system through digital eligibility and affordability assessment tools.
Veronique Merriam Barbosa
Co-Founder, COO of Flux Systems
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About Flux Systems: Flux Systems develops software platform that keeps a track of payment receipts by automatically linking them to payment cards.
Thomas Salter
Founder & COO of Netwealth
Over 15 years’ experience in financial services. Managing Director and global head of equity and multi-asset quantitative investment strategies at JPMorgan.
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About Netwealth: Netwealth is an online wealth management service that brings together an experienced team, user-friendly technology and lower fees.
Manish Mittal
Partner and COO of Mid Europa Partners
Manish Mittal is the Chief Financial Officer and Compliance Chief at Mid Europa Partners LLP since September 10, 2012. Previously, Manish Mittal served as the Finance Director at Kennet Partners Limited. He was responsible for finance, administration, and investor relations. Previously, Manish Mittal served as the Financial Controller at Advent Venture Partners where he was primarily responsible for the accounting and administration of two private equity funds and two venture capital trusts listed on the London Stock Exchange. Prior to that, he spent three years at PricewaterhouseCoopers in the business assurance practice. Manish Mittal is a qualified Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Advisor. Manish Mittal holds an M.Sc. in Finance from the University of Leicester and a B.Sc. in Mathematics and Chemistry from the University of Sheffield.
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About Mid Europa Partners: Mid Europa Partners is a private equity firm specializing in private buyouts.
Dora Ziambra
COO of Azimo
Dora is responsible for Azimo’s business development, fundraising, strategic partnerships and international expansion. She holds an MBA from INSEAD and joined in Azimo in 2014.
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About Azimo: Azimo is an online money transfer company that provides a fast, secure, and low-cost alternative to legacy high street remittance services.
James Deal
Co-founder & COO of PrimaryBid
James Deal is a Co-founder and COO at PrimaryBid.
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About PrimaryBid: PrimaryBid is a technology platform that allows everyday investors fair & equal access to investing in public companies raising capital.
Samuele Pinta
Founder and COO of Satispay
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About Satispay: Satispay is a fintech company that provides a bank account enabled mobile payment platform.
Steve Maddock
Chief Operating Officer of Direct Line Insurance
Steve joined the Group in 2010 and is Chief Operating Officer. Steve has nearly 30 years’ experience of the insurance industry. He is responsible for leading the Group’s Claims, Information Technology (“IT”), Information Security, Procurement and Business Services functions. Under Steve’s leadership, the Group has realised significant benefits and efficiencies through delivering the claims transformation programme, rationalising the Group’s property footprint, enhancing the procurement and contract management processes, and implementing the IT transformation programmes. Steve’s previous roles include Director of Strategic and Technical Claims at RSA, Director of Claims and Customer Service at Capita, and Director of Operations at AMP. Steve is also Chairman of the Motor Insurers’ Bureau.
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About Direct Line Insurance: Direct Line Group is an organization with a clear mission: to make insurance much easier and better value for customers.
Heloise Aboulker
COO of InMotion Ventures
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About InMotion Ventures: InMotion Ventures invests in the future of transport and travel.
Vivek Ahuja
Group CFO and COO of Terra Firma
Vivek is a senior finance leader with three decades’ experience in global finance and over 20 years in senior CFO roles. He has led successful business and functional transformations and has worked across Asia, the Middle East and Europe with major global financial institutions. Prior to joining Terra Firma in January 2018, Vivek spent 17 years with Standard Chartered Bank where he was Deputy Group CFO, and prior to that he was Group CFO – Wholesale Banking and Regional CFO – Middle East and South Asia. Prior to Standard Chartered Bank, he worked for HSBC and ANZ in a variety of roles spanning finance, strategy, and corporate and institutional banking. Vivek is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW) and was a Council member from 2013-2015 and a member of the Financial Services Faculty Board. He is a graduate of Mumbai University in India. Vivek is responsible for the overall financial management of the firm at a Group level and for its Portfolio companies, and oversees the firm’s IT, facilities, legal and HR teams. Vivek also supports the firm on the financial aspects of acquiring and selling businesses to ensure the delivery of maximum returns toinvestors.
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About Terra Firma: Terra Firma is a private equity firm based in London, United Kingdom.
Richard Butler
Partner & COO of ESO Capital Group
Richard is a Partner at ESO. Richard has principal responsibility for set up and structuring of all investment funds, ongoing tax structuring at a fund and deal level, FX hedging and day to day operations of the firm. Richard sits on the boards of both regulated and unregulated ESO Funds in Luxembourg. Prior to joining ESO, Richard was Financial Controller at Bank of America with responsibility for European domiciled Special Purpose Vehicles. Previously he served as Financial Controller at Lehman Brothers with responsibility for real estate and non-performing loans. A chartered accountant, Richard was also previously with Moore Stephens as a Senior Auditor. He is fluent in French and Spanish. BA (Hons) Law, University of Nottingham; FCA, ICAEW.
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About ESO Capital Group: ESO Capital Group is a European special situations investment management group.
Jon Treadway
Chief Operating Officer of Digital Science
Jon is Chief Operating Officer at Digital Science. Prior to this, he spent five years across the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group companies in a variety of roles and previously worked for the Arts Council and KPMG. Jon is unashamedly Transpontine, a folkie at heart and re-reads Hogfather at least once a year.
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About Digital Science: Digital Science is a scientific research software technology company.
Marina Comninos
COO of essDOCS
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About essDOCS: essDOCS enables paperless trade; focusing on digitizing paper-heavy shipping, trade and logistic processes.
George Evans
Chief Operating Officer of Leumi UK
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About Leumi UK: Leumi UK is a financial service provider company.
Robin Bailey
Chief Operating Officer of Pantheon Ventures
Robin is a Partner and Pantheon’s Chief Financial Officer. Before joining Pantheon, Robin worked in the Investment team of Ipex Capital and for the Corporate Finance Advisory practice of Deloitte. Robin qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Andersen and holds a BSc in Economics from Warwick University.
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About Pantheon Ventures: Pantheon is a leading global private equity fund investor. We manage regional primary investments, global secondary and infrastructure
George Efthimiou
Global Chief Operating Officer of HSBC Asset Management
Global Chief Operating Officer at HSBC Asset Management
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About HSBC Asset Management: HSBC Global Asset Management provides a comprehensive range of investment management solutions .
Graham Hutchins
Chief Operating Officer of NCL Technology Ventures
Graham joined the Technology Strategy Board in 2007 and is responsible for its financial and operational management. He is an experienced commercial director with UK and international experience, including roles with FirstPoint Healthcare Ltd, Vodafone and FedEx.
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About NCL Technology Ventures: NCL Technology Ventures invests transformational equity capital in entrepreneurs who have truly innovative technologies in healthcare
David Summers
Chief Operating Officer of Simply Business
David helps the business innovate and grow through data-driven decision making, maintaining a culture of empowerment and learning throughout the business. With customer insight at the core, David’s responsible for our product development and operations, amongst other things, utilising our tech and data capabilities to drive the business forward. David joined Simply Business in 2006 from Accenture, where he was a Management Consultant. Before stepping into his role as Chief Operating Officer, David oversaw our Northampton contact centre, whilst working on a number of growth-accelerating projects and partnerships.
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About Simply Business, Simply Business, Simply Business: Simply Business is a business insurance broker that offers tailored business insurance quotes to its clients.
Adam Shepherd
COO & Investor of TempoCap
Adam joined TempoCap from early-stage venture firm Notion Capital, where he focused on direct investments in B2B software companies. Prior to joining Notion, Adam helped fintech business CurrencyCloud raise a series C financing round, and worked with a number of other early-stage businesses – as well as establishing a successful Mexican street food business in his spare time. Adam started his career at BP, negotiating financing and structuring M&A transactions, as well as working for several years as a global macro trader and strategist in financial markets. Adam holds a BSc honours in Politics & Philosophy from the University of Bristol.
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About TempoCap: TempoCap is a growth and secondary direct venture investment firm.
Alex Marples
Chief Operating Officer of Crowdfunder
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About Crowdfunder: Crowdfunding is an alternative way of raising money for great ideas from the people happen all over the UK and beyond.
Lee Everett
Chief Operating Officer of Radius Payment Solutions
Lee joined the Group in 2010, leading the development of the Group’s European fuel card business. In 2014 Lee was appointed as Managing Director of our UK and Ireland businesses. As Chief Operating Officer, Lee now holds overall responsibility for the Group’s global fuel card business which provides market leading Oil company and Own Brand fuel card solutions to over 1.2m cardholders, spanning Europe, South-East Asia and the U.S. Lee has a BA (Hons) degree in Business and Finance and more than 20 years’ experience in the fuel card and payment industry.
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About Radius Payment Solutions: Radius Payment Solutions operates as a service provider to the fleet and logistics market.
Marc Harris
Group COO of ThinCats
Inspired by the entrepreneurial drive of SMEs and their amazing contribution to the UK economy, Marc is passionate about being a catalyst for growth through the provision of finance to SMEs. As the COO, Marc effectively manages different strategic and tactical challenges across the business. Marc best describes his day as juggling many rubber balls and a few crystal balls; making sure that the crystal balls are always caught, and if the occasional rubber ball drops, it is encouraged to bounce back up!
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About ThinCats: ThinCats is an alternative finance provider dedicated to funding growing and ambitious mid-sized SMEs across the UK.
Julian Cork
Chief Operating Officer of LANDBAY
Julian joined Landbay in 2015 and is COO and board member of Landbay. He is also a non-executive director of Bud Financial and member of various advisory boards in the wider Fintech space. Julian is a strong supporter of innovation in financial services with over 25 years’ experience in the sector. Prior to Landbay, Julian held executive/MD level roles at JPMorgan and Macquarie Group in New York, London, Tokyo and Sydney.
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About LANDBAY: Landbay is a specialist Buy to Let mortgage lender using peer-to-peer technology to fund its loans.
Ben Davies
Co-Founder and COO of Hugo Save
Ben Davies is the Co-Founder and COO at Hugo Save.
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About Hugo Save: Hugo is a digital account that helps you spend, save and invest, starting with gold.
Scott Haughton
COO/ Co-founder of Envestors
Since co-founding Envestors in 2004, Scott has led investments totalling over £50m in over 100 high growth companies. Having gained his degree in Economics and Business and consequently an MBA, Scott spent 16 years working in senior sales and marketing roles for multi-national blue chip FMCG corporations, including Mars Confectionery and GlaxoSmithKline. Scott then left big corporate life to set up a unique, premium quality family leisure concept, personally securing funding totalling £680,000, which included venture capital backing, business angel investment and a DTI Small Firms loan. Outside of work, he now spends most of his time either skiing in France, playing club cricket or actively watching Saracens Rugby Club.
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About Envestors: Envestors digital platform connects entrepreneurs and investors
Chris Jones
COO of Blue Motor Finance
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About Blue Motor Finance: Blue is one of the UK’s premier consumer motor finance companies, lending over £750m to over 80,000 customers.
Nikolai Hack
COO of Nucoro
Nikolai comes from a consultancy background with extensive experience across European bluechip clients in various sectors for BearingPoint (former KPMG). Nikolai has spent the majority of his career focused on operational excellence and process consulting projects as well as roles globally in business and policy. Nikolai has an MSc in Political Economy from LSE.
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About Nucoro: Nucoro enables financial institutions to build digital savings, investment and wealth management propositions at speed and scale.
Clive Boddington
Chief Operating Officer of Oxygen Finance
Clive joined Oxygen in 2011 with responsibility for developing Oxygen’s delivery methodology and all supporting assets. Clive has led the delivery of all of Oxygen’s client implementations. Prior to Oxygen, Clive worked for 14 years at Accenture where he specialised in large scale multi-country Supply Chain and Finance transformations. Since leaving Accenture in 2004 he has held senior management positions at Cable & Wireless, Royal Mail and was a COO & CTO at a Telco start-up. During his career Clive has won numerous industry awards for delivery and solution excellence.
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About Oxygen Finance: Oxygen Finance brings innovation to early payment solutions, generating a new source of income for companies
Paul Hanratty
Chief Operating Officer of Old Mutual
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About Old Mutual: Old Mutual Group is an international investment, savings, insurance, and banking group.
Liliya Simova
Chief Operating Officer of C6 Intelligence
Liliya is the Chief Operating Officer, with overall responsibility for managing C6′s global, multilingual research team and enhanced due diligence strategy. Over the last six years she has gained in-depth knowledge and robust experience in the field of compliance risk analysis, related to AML, CFT, ABC and adverse media checks on high risk individuals and organisations. She joined C6 in 2008 and was initially responsible for creating and maintaining a vast database of Europe-based individuals and businesses with focus on PEPs, HNWIs and sanctions targets, as well as various research strategies, including risk-based EDD investigations. Before becoming COO, Liliya was also managing C6’s largest regional research team, covering Europe, Middle East, Africa and Central Asia, and took the lead in various in-house product development projects. She holds a bachelor’s degree in European Studies; a joint master’s degree in EU Law from Sofia University and the University of Nancy, France; and the ICA certificate in AML. Liliya speaks English, German, French, Bulgarian, Russian, Macedonian and Serbian.
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About C6 Intelligence: Pinpointing Risk – Know Your Customer, KYC, Anti-Money Laundering, AML, Enhanced Due Dilligence, EDD, Sanctions Screening
Adrian Shedden
Co-Founder and COO of Lumio Technologies
Adrian Shedden is the Co-founder and COO at Lumio Technologies.
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About Lumio Technologies: Lumio is you Intelligent wealth mentor. With the simple aim to maximize your money around your lifestyle
Dominic Cura
Chief Operating Officer of BrickVest
Dominic Cura is the Chief Operating Officer at BrickVest.
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About BrickVest: BrickVest is an online real estate investment platform.
William Lorenz
COO of Kwanji
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About Kwanji: Online FX Comparison Platform Bridging Emerging & Traditional Markets
Carolina Larramendy
COO of Nous
Carolina is a seasoned professional and entrepreneur with a wide range of international experience in expansion, legal & commercial matters, project management, operations, partnerships, and customer relationship management.
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About Nous: Nous designs and develops virtual trading platform for financial market.
Emma Nicol
Chief Operating Officer of Kin and Carta
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About Kin and Carta: Kin + Carta is a global digital transformation business that advises, creates, and connects marketing and customer experience.
Sally Burton-Graham
COO of Crowd.Science
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About Crowd.Science: Crowd.Science is a crowdfunding platform that supports scientists build a community of funders for their research.
Ian McWilliams
COO & Co-founder of Inzura
Ian McWilliams is a seasoned senior executive with over 30 years experience in the Telecoms and IT market covering both the Enterprise market and Mobile Network Operators. A business developer and leader for major business divisions in global vendors such as Motorola, Lucent Technologies & Cap Gemini Ernst & Young. Ian brings a wealth of maturity and experience in managing strategic relationships and running large internationally diverse teams across EMEA, AsiaPac and the Americas. Ian also has extensive experience in multiple start-up companies, covering Sales & Marketing, Business Development, Product Management, Application Development and Customer Support.
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About Inzura: Inzura’s customer engagement Apps and cloud-based services cover the major personal insurance lines.
Steven Marconi
COO of CloudMargin
Steven is a Chartered Accountant and has worked in global investment and retail banks, and also a FTSE 100 company. He is responsible for enabling CloudMargin’s strategy through financial discipline, efficient operations and strong governance, to give our clients the best collateral management experience.
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About CloudMargin: CloudMarginwas is the cloud-based collateral management solution.
Jonathan Littlewood
Chief Operating Officer of Crowdstacker
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About Crowdstacker: Crowdstacker is a curated debt based investment platform.
Robbie Lambert
CIO and COO of Bumper
Robbie Lambert is the CIO and COO at Bumper.
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About Bumper: Bumper is a payment platform for car dealerships.
Rhian Hughes
Chief Operating Officer of HelloSoda
Rhian focuses on the commercial strategy and corporate management of the group with emphasis on our continuing global expansion. A corporate lawyer by trade and adding ex-military officer and weapons instructor to her background, Rhian is highly experienced in plate spinning and cracking a three-line whip. Of course, being a lawyer, Rhian pretends to play golf, and has a shiny set of clubs to prove it.
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About HelloSoda: HelloSoda is Designed To Predict Your Credit Rating And Potential For Fraud.
Olgert Koxha
Director & COO of Cashbook Finance
Mr. Koxha is an experienced Business Development Manager with a strong demonstrated history of working in the banking and financial services industry. Skilled in Trading, Management Consulting, Strategic Planning, Business Development, Business Strategy, and Project Management.
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About Cashbook Finance: FCA registered company offering Invoice Finance & Factoring services in the UK.
Roger Rutherford
Chief Operating Officer of ParFX
Chief Operating Officer Roger Rutherford is responsible for the strategic running of ParFX and overseeing the platform’s long-term development plans. Based in London, Roger plays a vital role in the implementation of ParFX’s vision to create a fair and transparent FX market by ensuring a level playing field for all participants, regardless of financial strength or technological sophistication. He brings his extensive knowledge and track record of success to ParFX and is well-positioned to assess the needs of the market. Prior to joining in June 2012, Roger held a number of senior positions within the foreign exchange industry, including more than 10 years at ICAP-owned EBS, where he was Senior Product Manager and Head of EMEA Sales. Roger was also Head of Product Management at CLS, the largest multi-currency cash settlement system to mitigate settlement risk for FX transactions globally. More recently, he was Global Head of FX Futures and Options at CME Group. Roger is also a member of the ACI FX Committee, the organisation that represents over 12,000 individual market participants across the industry.
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About ParFX: ParFX is a new wholesale electronic trading platform designed to bring renewed transparency and equality to global spot FX.
James Mackonochie
COO & Co-Founder of OFF3R
James is the co-founder and COO at OFF3R. He has over 10 years of experience working at leading Management Consultancy firm Deloitte. James has a Business and Management degree from Manchester University and holds a number of professional qualifications in the field of technology delivery.
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About OFF3R: OFF3R helps you to learn how to invest and to compare investments from some of the best investment companies in the UK.
Jonathan Dominey
Chief Operating Officer, Founder of Flying Colours Finance
Jonathan is a fully qualified financial adviser with more than 7 years’ experience in financial services. He specialises in cashflow planning and is responsible for developing our advice software.
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About Flying Colours Finance: Flying Colours Finance offers financial planning and investment advice in the UK.
Scott Smith
Chief Operating Officer & Executive Vice President of Vantis Life Insurance
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About Vantis Life Insurance: Vantis Life Insurance provides families affordable life insurance and annuity products.
