Fintech Finance Presents: Swashbucklers 2020

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2020_SWASHBUCKLERS

Header xxxx 2020

meet the team

Hello Namexxx

5 Humanitarian Hero, Sofie Blakstad 7 Rockstar Rebel, Liz Lumley 8 Banking Buccaneer, Dr. Ruth Wandhöfer atural Navigator, Samantha Seaton Te sa dellabo reperunda cus archil vsla.online has to be up there, which is our 9 NIt’s an exciting time for Blakstad and we expel ipis idunt, quam, cusdam African-focused community finance app for wish her all the best of good luck.

In the Climate-Conscious CEO, Alison Rose 10 meantime, aboreiciur apicae ipis eatibus il is savings groups, built on blockchain. It we asked her to share her most Altruistic Adviser, miliciis etur adite nos maios sim qui overcomes many of the challenges in rural 11 brutal advice for theFlora nextColeman fintech trailblazers. aborum re vendest ut rest abo.

Africa, being multilingual, designed for low “If you have a great idea andFrean a passion, do Powerful Publicist, Alexandra Quisi sum dusamus aut ullent literacy users, very low data use, very tolerant 12 it, but talk to a LOT of customers first, listen to Scale-Up Helene What aquassitiis year 2020 has These are extraordinary times.and works on any explique lictat a been. incienda of dropped signal they Sorceress, say and learn fromPanzarino them”, she 13 what While it’s largely been a dark and gloomy twelve months, pa simus ellesto volore am browser-enabled device”.

Could she even be confides.

“You will work incredibly hard, and Cutting-Edge Creative, Katie Rosseau we’ve seen also some bright sparks in our industry. We’ve 15 not elenderia aut nonsequis adpeople ut dedicating any better? get paid, nobody is as interested in your seenque creative and proactive their time to Realas Revolution-Starter, Smriti helpingillorrum others. There have been life-changing business inveles et utem simosanis you are and nothing willTomar come for free.

16 idea loans, from the likes of Starling Bank, Kabbage and more. erum nonseque eum des id WXXXXXXXXX Ask for help wherever you can and Social Spellbinder, Theodora Lau don’t be Spectacular virtual events which add a sparkle to our 17 too molupis voluptat. she’sinnovative not busy saving the world, proud to ask for advice. Find a place mundane work-from-home days. And When ever-more Marketing Musketeer, April Rudin solutions to fix ongoing problems like Blakstad financial literacy or can be found writing books. Her where you can be part of a community, I 18 access to banks. We’ve seen a lot of excellent work.

UXXXXXXXX second title “Fintech Revolution”, co-authored don’t thinkDr. we’d still be around if it Valiant Visionary, Leda Glyptis 19 honestly who arefor these Well, to my with mind,Rob theyAllen, are heroes.

We first noticedSo, Blakstad herpeople? “seriously was named one of the top wasn’t for the Copenhagen Fintech Lab.” aring Developer, Nina Mohanty Except, not quite as perfect as a hero. They are ordinary humans bad-ass” (quote from Ali, our editor in chief) fintech books of all time. Yeah. She just if not humble. Sofie Blakstad, 20 DNothing who have pushed the boundaries of fintech with bravery, public speaking, where she stole the show at casually dropped that in the conversation, what a legend.

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M aster of Must-See Events, Tracey Davies creativity and style. Many of them are fun, flamboyant characters, 21 the Paris Fintech Forum. weThey scrambled around to pick up our not afraid to Since cause athen, scenewe or ruffle a fewwhile feathers. are haven’t been Swashbucklers. able to tear away from her jaws off the floor.

22 Legendary Leader, Joanne Dewar incredible, life-changing work. Not Oh, andofasour a side note … she also advises I’d like to welcome youalltoheroes read more about some 23 Warrior for Women, Dr Vanise Zimmer favourite Swashbucklers year. Hop aboard our ship and meet wear capes, but Blakstad’s so good, this we think the (deep breath now…) UN’s Digital Finance the crew.

24 Stop-Press Swashbuckler, Valentina Kristensen she should start.

Task Force, Network for Greening the Blakstad describes her career as,Guest “Unlikely, Hannah Duncan, Editor Financial System (Central Banks), G20 and the 25 Inspirational Innovator, Charlotte Crosswell Interesting and Pioneering”. And we couldn’t G7 on innovation and blockchain for Shining Strategist, Birte Quitt agree more! Beginning with nearly thirty sustainable finance. Uh huh. Pretty serious 26 years of building and transforming banks, she stuff there.

27 Blockchain Badass, Diana Biggs threw a curveball in 2016. Leaving it all Over the coming months, Hiveonline has Cool Consultant, Sharon O’Dea behind, she founded Hiveonline. some humongous humanitarian plans in the 28 Hiveonline is on a mission to help pipeline. Watch this space. They’re providing 30 Wonderous Wordsmith, Isabel Woodford underserved communities by bringing access the Red Cross with some much-needed 31 Small Biz Saviour, Kathryn Petralia to capital, credit and markets. In their own research, which will hopefully facilitate a words, it’s “Blockchain without the bullsh*t”.

Distributed Ledger Technology solution to 34 Captain of the Ship … Who do you think it is?

Ahoy there!

As CEO and founder, Blakstad runs the ship. help NGOs to make more impact. This The company empowers entire communities blockchain business will also be expanding to to jump-start their local economies and Mozambique and taking on the challenges of participate in the market. conflict, and climate changeIMAGES in BY ART DIRECTOR SWASHBUCKLERS 2020colonialism CONTACT US EXECUTIVE EDITOR Harry is published by www.istock.com Ali Paterson We asked aboutShane her greatest achievement, Nigeria, Kenya andwww.Fintech.Finance Zambia, among others. news@fintech.finance EDITOR COVER DESIGN ADVERTAINMENT MEDIA LTD. www.stock.adobe.com and she pinged back with, “I guess launching Team Hiveonline!

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Humanitarian Hero: Sofie Blakstad Some people in the world are simply good people. Sofie Blakstad is one of those. She’s used her fintech powers to bring a better life to those in the far corners of the world who need it most.

USING BLOCK CHAIN TO OPEN THE MARKETS FOR EVERYONE We first noticed Blakstad for her “seriously bad-ass” (quote from Ali, our editor in chief) public speaking, where she stole the show at the Paris Fintech Forum. Since then, we haven’t been able to tear away from her incredible, life-changing work. Not all heroes wear capes, but Blakstad’s so good, we think she should start.

Blakstad describes her career as, “Unlikely, Interesting and Pioneering”.

And we couldn’t agree more! Beginning with nearly thirty years of building and transforming banks, she threw a curveball in 2016. Leaving it all behind, she founded Hiveonline.

Hiveonline is on a mission to help underserved communities by bringing access to capital, credit and markets. In their own words, it’s “Blockchain without the bullsh*t”. As CEO and founder, Blakstad runs the ship. The company empowers entire communities to jump-start their local economies and participate in the market.

We asked about her greatest achievement, and she pinged back with, “I

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guess launching vsla.online has to be up there, which is our African-focused community finance app for savings groups, built on blockchain. It overcomes many of the challenges in rural Africa, being multilingual, designed for low literacy users, very low data use, very tolerant of dropped signal and works on any browser-enabled device”. Could she even be any better?

WHAT ELSE CAN WE EXPECT TO SEE FROM BLAKSTAD? When she’s not busy saving the world, Blakstad can be found writing books. Her second title “Fintech Revolution”, co-authored with Rob Allen, was named one of the top fintech books of all time. Yeah. She just casually dropped that in the conversation, while we scrambled around to pick up our jaws off the floor.

Oh, and as a side note … she also advises the (deep breath now…) UN’s Digital Finance Task Force, Network for Greening the Financial System (Central Banks), G20 and the G7 on innovation and blockchain for sustainable finance. Uh huh. Pretty serious stuff there.

Community economics is the future, and I believe the foundations of the distributed economy are being laid right now Over the coming months, Hiveonline has some humongous humanitarian plans in the pipeline. Watch this space. They’re providing the Red Cross with some much-needed research, which will hopefully facilitate a Distributed Ledger Technology solution to help NGOs to make more impact. This blockchain business will also be expanding to Mozambique and taking on the challenges of conflict, colonialism and climate change in Nigeria, Kenya and Zambia, among others.

Team Hiveonline!

It’s an exciting time for Blakstad and we wish her all the best of good luck. In the meantime, we asked her to share her most brutal advice for the next fintech trailblazers.

“If you have a great idea and a passion, do it, but talk to a LOT of customers first, listen to what they say and learn from them”, she confides. “You will work incredibly hard, and not get paid, nobody is as interested in your idea as you are and nothing will come for free. Ask for help wherever you can and don’t be too proud to ask for advice. Find a place where you can be part of a community, I honestly don’t think we’d still be around if it wasn’t for the Copenhagen Fintech Lab.” Nothing if not humble.

Sofie Blakstad, what a legend. ■

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Rockstar

Rebel: Ever done something just for the sheer hell of it? Liz Lumley has.

From breaching milk-carton protocol to fighting fiercely for fintech over the past 25 years …

Lumley kicks conventional thinking right in the balls. Onstage at the very first Innovate Finance Global Summit she coined the phrase, “This industry loves disruption. Well, there is nothing more disruptive than a female voice in FinTech”. And we’ve been loving her ever since.

FinTech’s answer to Joan Jett, we’re proud to award Liz Lumley as our next 2020 Swashbuckler.

WARRIOR FOR WOMEN People like Lumley shine a spotlight on the unseen potential of women. We need more like her. Because let’s be honest, finance is a man’s world and these baby steps towards gender balance are not cutting it. Lumley talked to us about one of the most meaningful moments of her career. “I was the only female judge at a start-up competition in Abu Dhabi”, she explains. “We picked two winners. On stage, one of the co-founders ran up to me and said: ‘When I saw you on stage, I knew we had a chance!” You can guess, this co-founder was a woman… I had no idea I had voted (and I had fought in the judging room for this team) that this start-up

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Liz Lumley

had a female co-founder. But the point is She. Saw. Me. That’s when it really hit home that representation matters. It really does”.

If women have any chance of leading the future of finance (which is obvs fintech), there need to be more faces on stages. “I often get queues of female founders lining up to meet me, to ask for help, to hand me their business cards when I speak at events”, Lumley elaborates. “All the while hearing from male VCs and ‘start-up bros’ that female founders do not exist. And even being told by one that women ‘shouldn’t be trusted to found companies’. Representations matters”. Can we get an amen in here?

SUBSTANCE AND SPARKLE Lumley adds just as much sparkle to events as she does substance. Twalking like a true New Ywalker, she explains, “I’m just an old broad who’s managed to eke out a living in

Pay attention to the unsexy stuff.

Solid foundations allow all the cool stuff to happen. this industry we now call FinTech for over 25 years. But if my fat ass on a stage (or on a virtual event screen) gives someone out there just a little bit of hope … then it’s worth it”.

This Rockstar Rebel encourages new arrivals to, “Be the person in the room who gives a s*** – who thinks ‘What more can I do?’ and ‘How can I make this better next time”. And to, “Have the audacity to blow your own trumpet (and ignore the boos – they always come from the cheap seats)”. Yes Lumley!

CONTINUING TO FIGHT FOR FINTECH So, what can we look forward to for the future? As well as being an all-round legde, Lumley is the Director of Product Strategy at the well-loved VC Innovations. And ongoing judge and mentor for the Saïd Business School at Oxford University. Bam! We’ve got just two words for this serious swashbuckler – You Rock! ■

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Banking

Buccaneer: How many degrees is super impressive? One? Two? How about FIVE? Our next crafty crew mate is none other than brainiac Dr. Ruth Wandhöfer, who’s probably forgotten more about banking regulations than we’ll ever know.

She’s collaborated on laws, authored books, and sits on no less than four strategic boards. Look lively! Our Banking Buccaneer has arrived!

Payment Services Directives (PSD) 1 and 2.

These PSDs were game-changing for fintechs, as they allowed non-banks to carry out financial transactions. A big deal.

Let’s all give the wonderful Wandhöfer a virtual high five for that … or as swashbucklers prefer to do, slosh a bottle of rum and shout Arghhhh! Your choice really.

As if that wasn’t enough, Wandhöfer has also authored two books on banking regulations. She speaks at universities; she

Dr. Ruth Wandhöfer STAYING GROUNDED We couldn’t resist the chance to ask Wandhöfer if she has any words of encouragement or advice for the next trailblazer. She revealed, “Be super curious, ready to learn a lot and keep making friends along the way”. We like that a lot.

Wandhöfer has a very pragmatic view of working. She feels that it’s the team, not the tech which

I stay true to my values, have very high technical standards and thus manage to succeed, even if against the odds.

OPENING LEGAL AVENUES FOR FINTECH To say that Wandhöfer is into her topic would be one hell of an understatement. She is truly, madly, deeply at the epicentre of progressing the potential of banking. In her own words, “My style is very personal and energetic. I love to build relationships and make friends on my journey, not separating work from my private life”.

This swashbuckler has worked closely with other experts to cleverly design and negotiate fintech-boosting legislation.

Wandhöfer was a pivotal member of the team behind the European Commission

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teaches and she mentors… well you get the picture. Basically, she’s too impressive to be real. “I love inspiring people and taking them with me”, she explains. “My door is always open, and I support people where I can, sharing my knowledge and experience and most importantly making it fun working together, which means getting the best out of everybody”. We love Wandhöfer’s inclusive approach to banking. She’s proof that anyone, even those at the very top of their field, can reach out and help others.

Wandhöfer is also a fierce advocate of diversity and inclusion, could she even get any better?

FintechFinancePresents_Swashbucklers 2020

makes or breaks a successful product. “No matter how great the idea and underlying tech”, she explains. “It is vital that the team is mature enough to successfully execute.

Honesty, transparency and an understanding of what needs to change are as important as tech magic”.

WHAT’S NEXT? Of course, we had asking this Banking Buccaneer what fresh adventures lie ahead.

New laws coming in? New books coming out? Any strategic board chat that we can get in on? We received an intriguing response. “I am involved in several interesting fintech projects, which have the potential to be ground-breaking – so stay tuned!”. We certainly will! ■ www.fintech.finance

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Living in the present, learning from the past and looking forward to the future is my motto. Using technology to improve all that we do, and in particular the environment we live in and the planet we live on, is what motivates me most about the future. As a result, I am even more excited about the next decade of innovation than I am about the one we are just finishing in 2020.

Samantha Seaton Samantha Seaton needs no introduction! But we’ll do it anyway. She’s the trailblazing, equestrian-loving, CEO of Moneyhub. We love her down-toearth attitude and sky-high ambitions. Go on Seaton! This swashbuckler has a good eye for capturing future trends in fintech.

She’s strategic, self-starting and all-round spectacular.

In our ship, we see her plotting the map and charting the course for the bounties ahead.

LEADING THE WAY FOR OPEN BANKING

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Who hasn’t heard of open banking? Well… a special moment for Seaton. “Dan Scholey probably most people, but in our industry it’s (Moneyhub’s COO) and I showed the first live, a huge, deal. Getting bigger every day. 73% real Open Banking payment (PIS) at the first of UK financial institutions are interested in Open Banking Excellence meet-up in the movement, compared to just 48% this London”, she explained. “And much to time last year. And who was everyone else’s amazement, it there when this momentous actually worked. That was the IIIII IIIII IIIII III II I IIIII III movement was first conjured? moment I knew the world of financial None other than our services had changed and Natural Navigator, changed forever”. It had indeed!

Samantha Seaton. We asked about her favourite achievements, and A TRUE ADVENTURER like a shot she pinged back Throughout this magazine we’ve with, “Being at the very heart of the created analogies between fintech and the creation of the Open Banking APIs (special theme of swashbucklers (not sure if anyone shout-out to Dave Tonge, our CTO) from the noticed…?). But with Seaton, we can give our very beginning way back in 2014”. creative brains a rest as she really is a Unveiling the powers of open banking was legend on

horseback. This Swashbuckler has been galloping to the rescue even before she was involved in fintech, and it’s still one of her main passions. We couldn’t resist asking about her proudest moments. “Competing internationally in my highly addictive equestrian sport of three-day eventing”, she revealed. “Particularly at Badminton (jumping the infamous Vicarage V), and Burghley (jumping the largest open ditch and hedge in the world) here in the UK”. We love that! No long faces here!

But that’s not Samantha Seaton’s only extra-curricular activity. Just when you thought she was a bit too impressive to be real, she whips this comment out of the bag, “I'm so excited to be at the forefront of Open Finance: releasing the world’s first Charitable Donation with Gift Aid built-in via Open Banking, and driving people to understand their Retirement options with the world’s first lifestyle-focussed pension modeller and dashboard powered by Open Banking”. Wow. Just wow. We love Seaton’s impeccable sense of direction, so it’s no wonder she’s the navigator of our ship.

WHERE’S NEXT ON THE MAP? So where is this Natural Navigator cantering off to next? We asked Seaton more. “There is just too much I want to do and nowhere near enough time to do it all!”, Seaton explained. “I really want to automate money management and make sure every penny works as hard as it can for each and every one of us with as little effort as possible!”. We hear you Seaton.

We hear you. ■

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The Natural Navigator:

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SWASHBUCKLERS_2020

ClimateConscious CEO: Our next esteemed Swashbuckler is none other than NatWest Group’s CEO, Alison Rose. Rose has been steering the bank since 2019, and we can decidedly agree that we like her style. A lot. Welcome aboard Rose!

BROADENING HORIZONS FOR FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS There are two main reasons why we like Rose.

The first is that she is a powerful advocate for women in finance. In 2019, she put together the government-backed Rose Review to assess what needs to be done to help get more women in powerful positions. According to her research, boosting female entrepreneurship isn’t just good for our general morals as a nation, it could add an extra £250 billion to the economy.

Rose fights for positive change in a way which uses her banking skills to show the financial advantage. She speaks the right language, and she uses her powers for good.

The way that Rose has taken such a hands-on role in trying to level out the playing field deserves recognition. Since she’s taken over NatWest Group (formerly RBS), the bank has ring-fenced £1 billion of debt funding for female-led enterprises. So, Rose puts her money where her mouth is (literally!).

PUTTING A (BIT OF A) STOP OF FOSSIL FUEL FINANCING So, what’s the second reason? The follow-up

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hit? Well, it’s a story with a few ups and downs. Here goes! Before Rose was in power, NatWest Group was notoriously one of the worst banks in the world for contributing to the climate crisis. It even named itself as the “Bank for Oil and Gas” back in 2007. Yikes. In 2018, it was the third worst bank in the UK, after Barclays and HSBC for financing fossil fuels, and in the worst 33 of the entire world. Eeech.

But since taking over, Rose is making a real effort to do a 180, and steer things in a better direction. And we feel that deserves recognition. It takes balls to stand up in the old-school banking industry and do the right thing. We think Rose has more balls than all the previous CEOs put together. There we said it.

Rose announced that NatWest Group will stop offering and lending underwriting services to oil and gas producers who do not have credible transition plans in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. The group will also phase out coal financing by 2030. The group is sponsoring UN Climate talks in Glasgow, and recently appointed Lord Stern as a Climate Advisor in July.

There are a few loopholes here, and NatWest Group is certainly not out of the woods yet (if there are any woods left!). They have a long, long, long way to go before they themselves become carbon-neutral. But it’s a promising start. And we think it’s down to

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Alison Rose

Rose. We hope that Rose’s leadership will be a beacon for the other incumbent banks to get their act together and stop funding fossil fuel companies. We’re counting on you Alison Rose! Keep going! ■

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The

Altruistic

Adviser:

What’s not to love about TransferWise? And what’s not to love about their Global Head of Government Relations Flora Coleman? She’s not just a campaigning, legislationchanging fintech bad ass, she’s also a famously nice person. A political adviser like no other.

Coleman’s no stranger to being recognised either. She’s been nominated a bunch of times for her inspirational work in public affairs, policy and more. And quite right too!

She’s even talked on stage with President of France, Emmanuel Macron. That’s one for the CV!

She’s powerful, influential, and jolly good at her job. Of course, we’re adding the legend that is Flora Coleman to our merry, swashbuckling crew!

A FIERCE POLITICAL FORCE We were blown away by Coleman’s work in delivering the EU’s Cross-Border Payments Regulation in 2019. The regulation makes a world of difference in the world of fintech, bringing more power to consumers. We caught up with her to find out more, “It’s the most incredible thing to secure legislation that delivers real impact for consumers, by requiring banks and brokers to tell the truth about what they are charging”, Coleman explains. “To do that across the EU, one of the world’s largest political regions, and against so much opposition, makes me so proud of my amazing team and our campaigners”. www.fintech.finance

USING HER POWERS FOR GOOD

Over the past year, Coleman also spearheaded a way for people to donate to COVID-19 research, using a TransferWise platform. And, as if that wasn’t enough, she’s a strong mentor and advisor, encouraging more people to join fintech. “I love to support my industry to be better ethically through my involvement in our standards bodies, and through mentoring and advising people (particularly from underrepresented minorities) to enter and grow in public affairs.

We also try to support candidate growth at TransferWise, mentoring and helping up-and-coming employees. I love growing talent and widening the pool in my field”.

Team Coleman!

Something we can’t get over is Coleman’s niceness. We asked her about her management style and we weren’t expecting such a lovely answer. “I recently got a puppy and was talking to my team about how I’m caring for her”, she explains. “I like to research things. I’ve read so many books, listened to podcasts, and watched so many videos…I want to bring her up to be a good, kind, and happy dog. I believe kindness is key. She has to be kind and thoughtful and I’m watching for that. When I explained this to my

Flora Coleman colleague she laughed heartily….. OF COURSE this is your approach. So, I think it illustrates my whole approach to business”.

Totally not the answer we were expecting, but probably one of the best ones we’ve ever heard. Anyone else want to cuddle a puppy now?

A MISSION TO HELP OTHERS But it’s not just in the workplace that Coleman uses her skills for good. “In my personal life I run a volunteer political group”, she explains.

“We’re making changes for people and providing a home for our community”. Lost for words? Us too. We love Coleman.

For protecting consumers and using her powers for good, we’re proud to add Flora Coleman to our league of sensational swashbucklers. ■

I want to be the person you come to if you are being given a hard time, as you know I will make sure that the right outcome is delivered. I want to be the person who delivers positive legislative change for all consumers, despite entrenched interests.

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Alexandra Frean It took us three attempts to convince the noble Alexandra Frean that she was, indeed, one of our Swashbucklers for 2020. That’s one of the refreshing things about Frean.

She’s modest and she questions decisions. We didn’t expect to have to hold ourselves to account, but we loved it. But best of all, Frean is devastatingly good at what she does. As Head of Corporate Affairs for Starling Bank, longstanding

journalist and all-round legend, we’re delighted to name Alexandra Frean as our next brave and adventurous Swashbuckler.

BEING A BAD-ASS JOURNALIST AND A FINTECH SUPERSTAR Frean’s career has been nothing short of dazzling. Working as a journalist for The Times, she’s held seriously important roles in Washington, New York and London. After 25 years, she jumped ship and joined the exciting world of fintech. Yay for us! In 2018, she hopped aboard Starling Bank, and we can’t help but notice how much the brand has grown since then. The blogs, the campaigns,

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Be nice to your enemies, especially enemies who work in the media, and don’t be surprised when journalists write negative things about your company. It’s not their job to promote your brand. Their job is to hold you to account.… Also, never lie to journalists. Oh and, never put fish in the office microwave. that tear-jerker of a shed advert… we can’t get enough.

When we caught up with Frean, she listed this dual-career among her top achievements.

Quite right! We asked about her other top achievements too. “Interviewing Dolly Parton and David Bowie (not at the same time, sadly)”, she pinged back. “[And] bringing up two sons who constantly surprise me with the things they teach me about life”. Solid answers

this, communicate it to the world and get it endorsed by the Royal Voluntary Society for use by NHS Volunteers”.

Frean’s not new to volunteering. In the US and UK, she’s done a lot of work to help refugees get back on their feet. “In the UK, I am a volunteer host with Refugees at Home, aims to put a roof over the heads of asylum seekers and

there. Is anyone else now imaging how a Parton-Bowie collab would go? We’re getting psychedelic space cowboy vibes. Nice.

refugees”, she explains. We’re going to level with you here, she’s done a hell of a lot more than that, but we just don’t have the word count.

The Powerfull Publicist:

USING HER SKILLS FOR GOOD We asked Frean about her proudest moment in fintech to date. True to form, she highlighted the customer-centric work Starling has done in the pandemic. And she didn’t take the credit. There’s being good at your job, and then there’s Alexandra Frean.

“Top of this list for me would be the Starling’s Connected Card”, she explains. “When the first lockdown happened … we thought about what we could do at Starling to be relevant and useful during the crisis. So we developed the Connected Card for people who were self-isolating…It was a team effort to build

FintechFinancePresents_Swashbucklers 2020

WHAT’S NEXT? We asked this powerful publicist what’s next on the horizon. Not one to disappoint, Frean fired back with this gem, “I joined Starling after more than 30 years in journalism and did the big pivot into PR in my mid-50s, so I’m living proof that it’s never too late to embark on a new adventure. I’m sure there’ll be plenty more life and career projects coming up, I’m just not sure what they are - pastry chef? cabinet maker? novelist? I’m only at the beginning” … Did anyone else get shivers then? Welcome to the crew Frean! ■ www.fintech.finance

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Scale-Up

Sorceress: Sorceress Is there anything Helene hasn’t done? From writing two SME business books, to setting up accredited fintech degrees, we can hardly keep up with her drive to accelerate our industry into the mainstream.

This CEO, MD, Media Guest, Event Speaker, Author, Serial Entrepreneur is multilingual, multi-cultural … and seriously multi-talented.

Researching her achievements was more exhausting than running a marathon, which she’s also done. Twice.

PUTTING THE FUN IN FUNDING Over the past two decades, Panzarino has helped more than 20,000 SMEs on their funding journeys. And created the world’s first Fintech Scale – Tier 1 accelerator programme. Since she launched, there have even been a few sly copycat

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initiatives, which she brushes aside in seven mike-dropping words, “Imitation is the best form of flattery”. And that’s why we love her.

Here at Fintech Finance, we’re not the first to notice Panzarino. Far from it. This GermanItalian superstar has swept up more than eight honours for her work. She frequents the award sections of magazines more often than most of us frequent our local pub. Ambitious, authentic and ahead of her time, Panzarino truly adds new possibilities to our landscape.

We reached out to the woman herself, to find out the most valuable lesson she’s learned so far on her fintech journey. “Ignore the hype”, she reveals. “Be able to see beyond the headlines to what is happening now and coming in the future. And do your due diligence on everyone. Twitter is not enough.”

On her approach to work, “I am what I would call ‘organised chaos’, which reflects both my German and Italian heritage. I am also an

Helene Panzarino information junkie… I have a reputation for being the woman you turn to when you have a blank piece of paper that needs writing on”.

I couldn’t agree more - her vibrant and jam-packed career certainly helped fill up this word count!

WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FOR THE FUTURE? For the future, Panzarino intends to put her feet up and watch the world go by. Not really.

Her third book, “Reinventing Banking and Finance: Frameworks to Navigate Global FinTech Innovation” will be available to buy in November this year. And it promises to be a page-turner.

Panzarino disclosed to us that she’ll also be taking on an additional new role as the Chief Ecosystem Officer … at a mystery company … to be revealed later this year. Detective hats and magnifying glasses to the ready… something’s afoot.

We don’t know too much about it yet, except that she’ll be building up a new neo bank ecosystem, with a focus on underserved LGBTQIA+ customers in the U.S… Watch this space!

And she’ll be rocketing ahead in her role as the Associate Director at the London Institute of Banking and Finance. Panzarino will be working on launching a new centre, with more accredited educational courses. Go on Panzarino! ■

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2020_SWASHBUCKLERS

The Cutting-

Edge Creative: Katie Rosseau Fresh, sharp and brave – that’s Katie Rosseau. Less than two years ago she strolled into the world of fintech and gave it the make-over of a lifetime. We’re so impressed with the way Rosseau’s taken Curve’s brand and transformed it into something that’s so cool, it rivals even world-famous designers. This fierce fintecher is fairly new to the industry, but she’s already whipped up a storm and set one hell of a new standard. For raising the bar and exceeding all expectations, we had to include the graphics guru that is Kate Rosseau in our top 25 fintech swashbucklers… How could we not?

FOR SAYING NO TO ALL THINGS BORING Rosseau has ripped away so much of the tired fintech branding and replaced it with something so much better. We asked her more about her approach, and how she manages to pull so much creativity out of the sector. “Years ago I worked at JP Morgan Chase”, Rosseau explains.

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“When I left to enter the agency world, I swore I would never work in finance again. It was boring, rigid, and had very little room for creative thinking. Fintech is everything but.

Fulfilling Curve’s mission means that I get to challenge everything I hated about traditional banking on a daily basis. I love that”. We love that too!

Getting the branding right isn’t just a matter of nice-to-have stuff… that’s the incumbent way of thinking. It’s essential for people to understand how the fintech works, and how it can help them. Without the catchy taglines and memorable communication, customers will be stuck in the sad dark ages with dinosaur institutions which don’t improve their lives. Boo! It’s with amazing ads and impactful interfaces that fintech gets ahead. So, we’re raising a glass to the wonderful marketers, copywriters, graphic designers, email marketing guys and more who help to bring the tech to the eyes of customers. You guys make the world of difference and we love you!

We especially love trailblazer Rosseau, who has absolutely

smashed it with her creative edginess. Go on Rosseau!!

FOR EMBRACING ALL THE DIFFERENT SKILLS AND MINDSETS IN FINTECH We couldn’t resist the chance to ask Rosseau her top tips for newbies into the industry, and she pinged back these wonderful words of wisdom; “Own and leverage what makes you different. Fight the urge to conform and find people who do the same. Diversity fuels creativity, bold thinking, and success”. We think it fuels kick-ass awesomeness too!

Fintech is for everyone, by everyone, and there’s always room for fresh thinking.

WHAT’S NEXT? So where is this stylistic swashbuckler headed to next? We managed to get the latest on what Rosseau’s up to, and it looks like she’s planning to stick with Curve.

“Evolving Curve’s brand as we continue to grow globally”, she explains.

Rosseau’s strategy is to keep smashing it even harder, but this time over the pond.

“I'm especially excited about Curve’s US expansion. No, really, I got chills typing that”, she reveals. “I have so many ideas about how this will look like stateside. We’re all excited about the challenge of ‘making it in the US’.

Bring it on. Americans desperately need a Curve. Trust me, I am one”.

Bring it on indeed! ■

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SWASHBUCKLERS_2020

A Real

Revolution-Starter: Revolution -Starter: Smriti Tomar What did you do when you were 23? Party all night, then crawl to some lame admin job all day? Yeah, us too. But Smriti Tomar? She founded a fintech. Bam. Founded.

A. Fintech. At 23. WTF. Smriti Tomar is so wildly successful that you kind of want to hate her, but you can’t because she’s so genuinely lovely too.

Gaaaahhh. She’s just one of those people.

Most 23-year olds on the street will have a good knowledge of Tinder and a well-used overdraft. Tomar’s won a founder’s award on Tinder and created her own financial service.

How could we not include the trailblazing Smriti Tomar on our 2020 Swashbucklers crew?

BRINGING FINANCIAL LITERACY TO INDIA Tomar’s app, Stack Finance is a one-stop-shop to help India’s 440 million Millennials manage all their finances neatly and smoothly. At the moment, India is officially (sorry India) one of the worst rated countries in terms of financial literacy. Just 24% of the adult

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population is financially literate, compared to 67% in the UK. And Tomar is just not feeling it.

No siree. Her and her team are cooking up some real change, which has the potential to transform the lives of millions. Team Stack!

“We aim to reimagine personal finance in India- the land of millennials”, she tells us.

Tomar was first inspired to help people make the most of their finances back when she was a student. Like a couple of years ago(!). And then she just went for it. It’s that simple. This is why we love her. We all have ideas and big ambitions, right? We want to write a book, or start a school, or plant more trees, or open a snake sanctuary… Maybe not the last one. Eeechh. But how many of us actually DO it? How many of us shift our bums into gear and make it happen? Smriti Tomar saw an opportunity and now she’s developed an award-winning fintech to help the masses. Just like that. What a massive legend.

BRINGING FINTECH INTO THE FUTURE And you know something else, Tomar’s really insightful. We asked her about the best things she’s learned on her journey so far. She pinged back with this gem, “No matter what the situation is, even if it’s an economic or social or political crisis, fintech keeps thriving… And

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It’s important that the generation that’s going to define the future of India, is financially literate and takes smart decisions. We are on exactly this mission to automate and simplify personal finance not just that, fintech never saturates in terms of innovation”.

It’s like talking to a wise old owl. Except Tomar is a vibrant and charismatic Generation Z. It’s a mind-bender!

For the future, Smriti and her strapping Stack Finance team plan to carry on smashing it. They’ll be expanding the app and continuing their mission to make India’s millennials financially fabulous. We’re excited to see how Stack Finance turns out. If the app really can transform the finances of India’s largest generation, it could be a serious game-changer for the economy. We’re not messing around, when we say that Tomar is a revolution-starter. ■

www.fintech.finance

2020_SWASHBUCKLERS Here’s the thing about Theodora Lau. It was hard to find her main strength. Because … well, she has so many. Lau wears a lot of hats in our world. Start-up advisor, founder, public speaker, prolific tweeter, writer, podcaster... But in the end, we had to concur that it’s her magical ability to weave social webs and form new connections that wins the crown. Oh. And the fact that she’s also a Swashbuckling badass, disrupting the fintech space like it’s nobody’s business.

That too.

Theodora Lau network and consultancy service, Unconventional Ventures. Lau has created a space for all the different finance and tech people to congregate and reimagine finance.

“I like to joke that I ‘collect’ people along the way”, Lau explains her unique approach to working. “And as long as I am doing something meaningful with people that I respect, on things that I believe are important, then it’s work worth doing”.

Unconventional Ventures has racked up a network of more than 100,000 participants and is renowned for it’s industry insights.

Lau is well known for her role as start-up advisor, helping young companies fulfil their dreams.

We’re proud to reveal that our next rip-roaring Swashbuckler is the legendary Theodora Lau.

CREATING FINTECH COMMUNITIES You know that person who walks into a room knowing nobody, but leaves with a million new best friends, thousands of business opportunities and probably a marriage proposal? That’s Theodora Lau. She’s good with people. She brings them together. Lau’s so good at bringing people together that she even founded a thriving

FINTECH FOR EVERYONE

Social

Something else we love about Lau is how she’s dedicated her career to inclusive fintech. She uses her powers for good. Lau promotes technology which helps an aging population, not just the young and tech-savvy. Grandmas, not just instagrammers! Oohh… we went too far there.

“I believe in the power of diversity”,

Lau elaborates. “And I am super proud that through our work (our podcast, our events, and our writings), we have been able to amplify different voices in our ecosystem, and shine light on the needs of the forgotten demographics”.

WRITING UP A STORM As well as founding a successful company, Lau is also a go-to news source. She’s on top of everything. Word has it that this blazing bookworm gets through at least three newspapers a day. Which may explain why her Twitter feed is always so on fleek. Nice!

She’s a powerful writer and tweeter in our community, unafraid to stand up to THE MAN and tell him where to stick it. We like that. You tell him Lau! She fights for gender equality and promotes diversity with the kind of passion and bravery that you’d only find in a true Swashbuckler!

So, what does the future look like for this fantastic founder? Well, she’s writing a book!

In her own words, “I’m finishing up writing my first book with my partner-in-crime Bradley Leimer. Details to be shared later”.

So, we can add author to that long list too.

Lordy.

Welcome to the 2020 Swashbuckling crew Theodora Lau, you’ve more than earned it! ■

Spellbinder: Having a voice is a privilege. If my thoughts and my actions can inspire 10 people to think differently, and they in turn inspire others to do the same, then I’d like to think that I’ve done something right www.fintech.finance

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SWASHBUCKLERS_2020

Marketing

Musketeer:

April Rudin

As founder of The Rudin Group, and number one online influencer for Wealth Management (according to Onalytica), April Rudin is one hell of a marketer. She’s been pushing the boundaries and livening up drab campaigns since 1983. We love her.

Rudin practically wrote the rules on Millennial Marketing in our industry, and even co-authored the WealthTECH book in 2018. From strategy to social posts, Rudin is a one-stop-shop of marketing marvels. This year she’s continued to push the boat out with ballsy campaigns and social prowess.

We’re delighted to welcome April Rudin to our savvy ship of 2020 Swashbucklers, as our esteemed Marketing Musketeer.

ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR MARKETING! We picture Rudin leaping through windows, swinging off chandeliers, landing on a horse, saving the day and galloping off to the next adventure… all while singing a cheerful shanty. She loves to plunge into the unknown and rescue floundering projects with style. “My favourite David Bowie quote is, ‘I don't know where I'm going from here, but I promise it won't be boring’”, Rudin reveals. “The work that we do is truly differentiated from other

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marketing firms. We ALWAYS add a new twist to what our clients are thinking about for campaigns or brands. It is that type of "different" thinking and approach that makes it come out differently and more engaging. It is quite different from what internal marketing teams might do (lather, rinse and repeat messaging and campaigns)”. We hear you Rudin, we want to end the lather, rinse, repeat cycle too.

How would I describe my career in three words?

Fire. Ready. Aim. Rudin is a breath of fresh air in our industry, she adds that little pop of magic that we need to keep going.

Like a morning coffee or surprise five pound note crunched up in the pocket, she invigorates wealth.

TARGETING MILLENNIALS “My top three achievements”, begins Rudin; “Are the births of my two millennials sons and, then, my global financial services/ fintech/ wealthtech marketing firm.

The first two births opened my eyes to opportunity in financial services marketing as firms

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especially in wealth had old, dusty cliched brands with run-of-the-mill marketing tactics”. Well, this Marketing Musketeer went straight into that mill, fired away at every cog and blew up a few sacks of flour too.

Rudin has set out to make marketing memorable in a distinctly Millennial way.

She’s been hugely inspired and motivated by her two sons on this journey. “My most impressive non-business accomplishment is raising my two handsome, smart sons - one of whom works for a traditional financial services firm but interned at a few fintechs.

He will be back!”. We couldn’t agree morecome back Rudin junior!

WHAT’S NEXT? So what’s the next adventure for this swashbuckling musketeer? Well, according to Rudin, there’s plenty to look forward to.

“We have so many amazing projects that we are planning for 2021. Wealth Management has seen that the pandemic has forced a permanent shift to digital and created a "marketing moment" with clients!”.

So, grab your ear muffs and stay away from mills, Rudin is out on a mission. ■

www.fintech.finance

2020_SWASHBUCKLERS

Valiant

Visionary: Our next esteemed Swashbuckler is none other than the valiant visionary, Leda Glyptis. Glyptis is known across the fintech world for her impassioned leadership style. And we mean IMPASSIONED, she’s a really strong speaker. Glyptis can get even the driest of rooms fired up about fintech and excited for the future. As one of our 25 Swashbucklers it’s hard not to imagine her at the helm of a pirate ship, navigating the stormy seas and inspiring the crew.

PEOPLE BEFORE PROFIT Glyptis’ on-stage speaking will go down in the fintech history e-books. She’s charismatic, forward-looking and she even earned a fist-bump from Will.I.Am. Boom Boom Pow. But what really stands her out is her people-first approach. Glyptis’ teams and customers mean everything to her. This Swashbuckler always positions people before profit, which we think is pretty awesome. “I really deeply care about the humans in my care”, Glyptis explains. “My team, my clients, the end users of what we build. The lives we touch and hope to improve in our own small ways”.

“Oh. And I don’t believe in ‘yes but’”, Glyptis adds, “Your principles and values need to apply always. As Josh Winterson told me: the way you do anything is the way you do everything”.

Nicely said!

www.fintech.finance

HARD WORK + VISION = LEDA GLYPTIS When she’s not busy saving the world, Glyptis is nothing if not hardworking, and throughout her career, she’s worked like a trooper to get to the position she’s in today.

This Cambridge and LSE graduate earned a bachelors, masters, and PhD. She’s also climbed her way up the greasy financial career ladder with purpose and drive. She started at the bottom, worked, worked and worked some more before reaching CEO, Chairperson and board member levels. Go Glyptis! We’re so impressed at how insanely hard working she is. In her own words, “The hard yards are not optional and depth can’t be faked. So don’t rush. Learn. Do the work”.

Underpinning all this hard work is Glyptis’ strong sense of direction. She has a vision for our industry and strives to keep moving forwards. People are always at the centre of her ideas.

Dr Leda Glyptis Today, she’s driving fintech into the future as a strategic board member, leading innovative new tech solutions and being an all-round general legend.

Ever the inspirer, Glyptis exclaims, “We are part of a singularly transformative moment in human history and what we do matters. It’s a burden. But also, what an opportunity!”.

WHAT’S NEXT ON THE HORIZON? We’d like to congratulate Glyptis on becoming a board member for SimplyPayMe recently. She’ll be helping the company achieve its next phase of growth and we wish her all the very best of luck!

At the same time, this busy bee will continue as Chairman of the Board for Findexable, a global fintech index. While, smashing out her weekly #LedaWrites blog - which has been highly acclaimed across the industry. From one fintech writer to another, we salute you Glyptis!

We’ve also seen this driven doctor pop up on a few virtual events, doing her thing and delivering first class talks on our industry.

Vision, morals and bloody hard work makes Leda Glyptis one of our 25 fintech Swashbucklers. Never stop Glyptis!

We love you! ■

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SWASHBUCKLERS_2020

The Daring

v o l e D e per: Nina Mohanty Strategist. Business Developer.

Public Speaker. Podcast Host. 2018 Payments Race Winner (whoop whoop!). And now guest editor of our Fintech Finance magazine. We just can’t get enough of Nina Mohanty’s go-getting spirit. From Starling to Klarna she’s got a finger in every fintech pie you can imagine. And she’s absolutely smashing it. We love her, and we couldn’t have our swashbuckling ship hitting the open waves without Mohanty in.

STRATEGICALLY EXPANDING FINTECHS Mohanty’s covered a lot of ground already, and we only have around 500 words.

We asked her to name her top achievement.

“Helping Starling Bank launch the current account in the months coming out of beta”, she pinged back. “It was such a crazy fun time and I learned so much working closely with the incredible team there. I also made lifelong friends during my time at Starling so I’m always grateful for that”. Well Mohanty’s in good company, with two fellow Starlings onboard! She also spoke about how she first got started in the world of fintech. “While at Bud, I had the chance to take on the planning of our payments infrastructure”, she explains. “It was

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daunting, and I really didn’t know where to start so I turned to our wonderful Fintech community. I learned a massive amount in the short course of several months speaking to experts, vendors, and more. It was definitely one of the crowning moments of my time there”. We couldn’t agree more, the fintech community are amazing. Well, mostly.

We love you guys!

ALWAYS PUTTING THE CUSTOMER FIRST For Mohanty, that initial dip into fintech sparked a vibrant career. Her approach is warm and refreshing, and that’s exactly what we need more of in this industry. “Everything I do, I do with my heart, and as much as I can give”, she reveals. “My mother has always told me from a young age, “You must have a good heart.” That is my North Star”. Mohanty’s style of strategy is strikingly customer-centric. And that, we suspect, might be the key to her success as a business developer. “We, in Fintech, often forget our end customers and how we have to make things work for them, not just for ourselves”, Mohanty elaborates. “All the coolest payment technology is of no use if

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people don’t understand it or can’t use it”.

Well said Mohanty!

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD? For the future, Mohanty’s going to continue branching out with new projects, all of which have her signature people-first approach written all over them. “Something I am trying to do is work with more charities... I’ve been approached about becoming a NED (Non-executive director) for a few businesses and that has been both flattering but entirely new to me. I hope to take on a NED role in the near future! And finally, I’ve been building a side project this past year around financial inclusion. Who knows if it’ll ever become a proper business! But for now, it brings me a lot of joy to work on something that is all mine”. We think Mohanty is the one to watch.

The dark horse. We suspect we’ll be seeing a lot more of Mohanty in the coming years as she continues to accelerate growth for fintechs. Go Mohanty! ■

If the customer doesn’t understand, you are in the wrong.

www.fintech.finance

2020_SWASHBUCKLERS

Master of

Must-See Events:

Tracey Davies

What’s fintech without its festivals, talks and panels? The pitching opportunities, keynote speakers and networking forums – they’re such an essential part of our world. It’s how new ideas get sparked and magical partnerships are first conjured-up.

Someone who’s been at the very heart of such initiatives is the esteemed Tracey Davies, President of Money2020.

Think of her as the circus master within our midst. The brains behind the stage curtains. The great events organiser. As we shortlisted the most promising swashbucklers for our ship, we couldn’t dream of missing out Tracey Davies.

HELPING FINTECHS GROW Tracey Davies… Where to begin? She grabbed a-hold of financial events back in 2016 and worked away at them like a rough puff pastry chef, transforming them into something spectacular. Her events are polished, finessed and with all the wonderful razzle dazzle you could dream of. Davies made Money2020 global, which she told us was one of her greatest achievements so far. We were touched by what drives her to keep making it better. “I love hearing about companies that

If you want to run a global events business be aware that it’s 1/10th glamour at most, events are a great leveller and you do what you have to do, no matter who you are, to get a show delivered www.fintech.finance

started at Money20/20”, Davies reveals.

“Maybe in the Pitch competition or in our Start Up City who go onto to huge success.

Airwallex started on Start Up Row Vegas, Plaid spoke on one of the smallest Europe stages only 3 years ago etc etc. I love that we have been at the start of so many Companies journeys”. We did a little snooping off the back of this. Turns out unicorn Airwallex, which was listed last year as one of KPMG’s top 40 fintechs in the world, is now a regular at Money2020. And open-banking integrations giant Plaid is now a Money2020 sponsor! Nice one Davies!

EVENTS WHICH EMPOWER WOMEN Davies is no stranger to the live events scene; she’s got a background of organising award-winning functions in retail. And this, we think, is why she’s so good. But what we especially love is her focus on advancing the careers of women. It’s a toughie for women in finance, and things need to improve. In 2018, she founded an initiative to do something about it, Rise Up. She explained more, “The Money20/20 programme to campaign for and empower the next generation of leaders has been a key personal achievement for me”. A quick search online and you can see that she means business, last year she unveiled a five-point plan

to help women specifically in the Asian region, as Rise Up expanded globally.

This Swashbuckler created Rise Up to give women the tools needed to grow in the industry and inspire others. Working with partners such as EWPN and WNET, Davies creates cutting-edge events with a purpose. Davies, you legend.

WHAT’S NEXT? So, what’s the future of events? We went straight in with the question, and expected to hear something about the power of virtual. And we were totally wrong.

Well that showed us! Davies predicts that live events will be making a bigger and better comeback once the pandemic clears. “The future looks like live events”, she elaborates.

“Digital has been exciting and it will leave a strong legacy for live events for extending shows, warming up for shows, connecting ahead of shows- but you simply can’t replace the power and magic of live - business events, theatre or music- so my amazing project coming up is Money20/20 coming back in 2021”. We can’t wait for the next Money2020 and Rise Up events. Save us a seat, Davies? ■

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SWASHBUCKLERS_2020 In just seven years, Joanne Dewar went from Head of Implementation of Global Processing Services (GPS) to CEO. Bam. In that time, she took it from a founder-owned start-up to a private-equity backed scale-up. Today it’s a payment processing giant, teaming up with the likes of Revolut, Starling Bank and Curve.

Dewar has proved to the world that she can carry a fintech to dizzying new heights. We love her, and we need more like her. So, next to join our brave band of swashbucklers is none other than the incredible Joanne Dewar!

EXPANDING GPS’ HORIZONS Let’s be honest. Dewar is a bit of a ledge. So, we were interested to find out more about what she considered to be her best career highlights, her greatest hits. She didn’t disappoint. “One of my greatest achievements is working in an industry that is in an incredible position to change the world for the better by providing solutions and products to help solve the problem of financial exclusion across the globe”, Dewar

Agility is key and you should choose a partner that is willing to evolve with you, the industry, and the wider world. explains. She told us about how, under her leadership, GPS has been expanding, reaching across the globe to exciting new regions.

“Another key achievement is GPS’ global expansion programme over the last 18 months, where we replicated our European success in the APAC region and opened offices in Singapore and Australia”, Dewar elaborates. “We have already delivered successful programmes including Xinja, a new digital banking experience in Australia and WeLab Bank, the first virtual bank and only domestic neo bank in Hong Kong”. Lordy. Is there no stopping GPS these days? Dewar is a driven leader and that’s why we like her. She knows where she’s going, and she knows how to get there. Go on Dewar!

PRIORITISING PARTNERSHIPS It's not every day that you get to speak to heavy-duty CEOs like this, so we took the opportunity to ask Dewar about the best lesson she’d ever learnt in fintech. Felt rude

Legendary

Leader:

not to. “Choose your partners carefully”, Dewar reveals. “Make sure you listen to their experience, and fully understand how that will help navigate where you want to get to”.

Now that she’s mentioned it, we’ve noticed that GPS does indeed attract some impressive partners. Visa, sync, Modulr, Revolut, Starling Bank, Razer Fintech, IDEMIA, Currensea… A nice-looking bunch there. And all seemingly future-proof.

Recently GPS has teamed-up with London-based Millennial and Gen-Z disrupter Lanistar – one to keep an eye on!

WHAT CAN WE LOOK FORWARD TO? So, what’s next for this legendary leader?

“We’ve got lots of exciting plans in the pipeline in terms of our global expansion plans”, Dewar comments. “And [we’re] continuing to provide hyper-personalised user experiences for our customers. Our ability to launch products to any market, with ongoing agility to evolve with the payments landscape, will become more prevalent, and ultimately, there is no limit to what we will be able to do”. Woah. Strong statement there! We love it. Keep a-hold of that strapping confidence Dewar and hop aboard our ship, you’ll fit right in.

We’re proud to name the legend that is Joanne Dewar as one of our fierce swashbucklers for 2020.

Keep on smashing it Dewar! ■

Joanne Dewar

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www.fintech.finance

2020_SWASHBUCKLERS Our next swashbuckler is nothing short of legendary. Dr Vanise Zimmer is not only a neo-bank founder, she’s also a life saver. With her app, Elas, Zimmer has been powerfully using fintech to transform the lives of women in Brazil, empowering them to make independent decisions with their money.

For levelling the playing field and improving the lives of many, we had to include the wonderful Dr Vanise Zimmer in our incredibly brave crew of Swashbucklers.

EMPOWERING VULNERABLE WOMEN Around the world, a staggering 42% of women have zero access to a bank. Zimmer has seen first-hand how damaging this can be. “I grew up in a very needy region in the interior of Brazil, and it was a great struggle to be able to study and become a qualified professional”, she explains. “Where and when I was raised, many women lived in a situation of violence because they depended economically on their husbands, partners and family to survive”.

When women don’t have access to banks, it’s dangerous. It prevents them from asserting their independence or having the option to leave abusive partners. The problem affected Zimmer profoundly. “This situation impacted me, mainly in the way of understanding the functioning of society, and thinking about gender relations”, she elaborates. “Now I always look at women's

Warrior for

W men: perceived that financial independency is an important corner stone”, Zimmer explains.

Dr Vanise Zimmer

WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FOR THE FUTURE?

lives and I think that few changes could make big differences, that if we think about how to create equity and promote services focused on their needs, we could make women's lives much better”.

After dedicating years to studying, Zimmer founded a challenger bank, Elas.

It’s a bank for women, by women. Of course, men are welcome to join. But (for once!) the product has not been built around them and their needs.

Elas gives women a way to deposit their cash into an account locally, guides them with their spending goals and encourages financial literacy. It’s been built entirely around the needs and lifestyles of its users.

“Elasbank was not born with the objective of being a neobank – to be honest, we did not even have this in mind originally. We started with the idea of an ecosystem of solutions for women, and eventually started with the neobank when we

Zimmer is far from done on her gallant quest to rescue the financial livelihoods of women. She’s homed in on how her customers generate and spend money and is building more tools to help them out.

The app is evolving to help these women earn more money, into a kind of marketplace. “ElasBank’s clients can sell and buy products from other clients for very low costs compared to general marketplaces”, Zimmer explained to us.

“Steadily, we want to add more and more services for women. And, of course, we are preparing to extend our network of women beyond the virtual environment and create a foundation that promotes gender-based digital and financial inclusion through teaching and learning”. We’re so excited about this!

We love Zimmer’s strength and commitment to others. A modern-day Swashbuckler on a noble mission, Zimmer for president! ■

Nobody is different from anyone; nobody is special at all. What makes you special is the way they see you. And this depends on the value you add to the life of each one of the people with whom you live, interact and, mainly, help.

www.fintech.finance

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St p-Press

Swashbuckler: Valentina Kristensen We’ve all heard of OakNorth, right?

And why is that? Well… chances are, it’s because of Valentina Kristensen. Kristensen was just 25 years old when she built OakNorth’s press office from scratch. And she’s done a first-class job of it. We love Valentina Kristensen for her up-beat, highenergy approach to fintech. Hop aboard Kristensen, we need you on the crew!

MEDIA, MAGAZINES, AND MENTORSHIP Over the years, we’ve been keeping a close eye on Kristensen’s work, and we’re really impressed with the regular high-quality press releases. Someone’s got an excellent sense of strategy here and we think it’s her. We asked her more about her journey. “I was 25 when the opportunity to join OakNorth presented itself”, Kristensen elaborates. “So, I still had a lot more learning to do and had never established a press office before. However, I had belief in myself that I could do it and five years on, I’m so glad I took the chance as I now have an amazing team and have had the opportunity to work on some fascinating projects”.

Away from the office, this Stop-Press Swashbuckler has gone on to co-found and chair the acclaimed publication, Influence Magazine. “This is the Chartered Institute of Public Relations’ member magazine which we launched in 2016”, Kristensen explains. “Launching a print magazine was a risky move given how much media has moved online, but it’s been a huge success, winning several awards and being cited numerous times as one of the key

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reasons members renew their membership”. Nice one Kristensen!

Kristensen has also taken on an ambassador role in mentorship scheme, ElevatHer. “ElevatHer’s mission is to empower women in the fintech and financial services industries one connection at a time”, Kristensen explains. “This mission really resonates with me as I have benefitted throughout my career from having some amazing role models and mentors (both men and women), so I want to help (…) bring this to more people”.

years back. “I visited 13 countries across three continents in 12 days, seeing first-hand how important cash is for so many people around the world – particularly the unbanked”, Kristensen recalls. “This experience really made me appreciate just how important it is for financial services businesses to build diverse teams as this is the only way they can develop products and services that cater to the needs of a diverse range of customers”.

A GO-GETTING ATTITUDE

So, what’s next for this fun-loving Swashbuckler? We dived right in and asked about future. “It’s been a really exciting year at OakNorth – on the bank side, we’ve continued to support businesses throughout this year, approving over £1.4bn in new loans since March, including c.£500m via CBILS and CLBILS”, Kristensen reveals. “On the enterprise software side, we’ve announced partnerships with several banks, including SMBC, PNC and Customers, and there are more to come, so watch this space!”. We certainly will! ■

Something we love about Kristensen is her wonderfully sunny outlook. And why not?

Why be miserable all the time when you can be happy? Quite right Kristensen. Quite right.

“I’d say my super-power is the ability to always see the silver lining”, Kristensen elaborates. “I actually won an award when I was younger for being the most positive kid in school!” We’re not even a bit surprised! We first noticed her go-getting attitude when she took part in the Payments Race some

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WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?

www.fintech.finance

2020_SWASHBUCKLERS

Charlotte Crosswell As we began researching the spectacular career of Charlotte Croswell, CEO of Innovate Finance, we found ourselves getting lost in the powerful content she’s been a part of. Several hours later when we re-emerged, we continued our research and fell even more in love with Crosswell. Under her leadership, Innovate Finance has become more inclusive. The content and programmes are for everyone.

Not just stuffy, old, white guys with Rolexes and nose hair (sorry old guys). There’s even engaging material for school kids. Get in! We love Crosswell so much, we might get t-shirts. Of course, she makes it onto our ship of savvy Swashbucklers.

TAKING INNOVATE FINANCE TO THE NEXT LEVEL Where to begin? Well… Innovate Finance’s Fintech for Schools is a good start. It’s a gamechanger. It levels the playfield for entry and

encourages people from all backgrounds to take part. “We’re really keen to leverage technology to inspire our next generation of Fintech entrepreneurs”, elaborates Crosswell. “And at the same time encourage financial wellbeing for kids at school”.

Bringing a diverse range of people into the boardroom is important to Crosswell. It comes across time and time again in her work. When we asked her more about her future plans, finding new ways to fix the issue topped the list. “We want to continue work on inspiring people of all backgrounds to come into the sector”, Crosswell explains. “To move the dialogue forward on diversity and inclusion, and work on an inclusive culture across the sector”. Innovate Finance has several initiatives aimed at helping more people access finance and fintech. A quick count-up shows that there are at least three ongoing programmes designed to help with this. Since it’s her passion, we suspect that Crosswell has been a strong advocate for the movements. Nice one Crosswell!

Never stop learning. Be curious, and never stop remembering the direction of travel.

FOCUS ON MAKING A DIFFERENCE So how does a Swashbuckler go from being a French graduate to a wildly successful CEO in finance? We asked Crosswell more about her journey. “I’ve had the opportunity to meet the most fascinating people around the world as part of my career”, she reveals. “I always try to push myself to take on roles that challenge me and try not to be deterred by what I don’t know. [And I] focus on making a difference in every role I’ve done. I want to look back and be able to point to real tangible things I have done”. Take note young Swashbucklers, take note.

When it comes to advice for others, Crosswell had this gem to impart, “Don’t think a lack of experience should stop you. There are so many ways to come into the sector, and you can re-skill to move into new areas”.

For making a difference, levelling the playing field and bringing Innovate Finance smack-bang into addressing the issues of the day; we’re proud to name Charlotte Crosswell our Inspirational Innovator for 2020. Go on Crosswell! ■

Inspirational

Innovator:: Innovator www.fintech.finance

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Strategist: Birte Quitt has headed Erste Group’s retail banking strategy for more than four years now, and we think she’s pretty fierce at it. She’s driving her bank ever closer towards fintech, and positioning Erste for the future. We’re proud to recognise Quitt as our swashbuckling Shining Strategist.

A FINTECH WAY OF THINKING We like Quitt, she’s cool. Some of us here at Fintech Finance have interviewed her in the past, and we like how she’s so open to learning more from fabulous fintechs. That might sound a bit obvious to us, but for many incumbents, it’s a real sticking point. A lot of banks do not really like change and come to the party late. Quitt, on the other hand, is taking a driving seat towards banking digitalisation and we’re cheerleading her every step of the way We asked Quitt more about her

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Birte Quitt favourite fintech lesson so far. “What I’ve found particularly impressive on the part of Fintechs is how they manage to engage clients”, Quitt explains. “That’s where they definitely provide a great learning opportunity for us banks”. We couldn’t agree more!

Quitt’s open-mindedness carries through into her management style, which we like a lot. “I thrive on having a very collaborative way of working that actively involves the entire team -- usually virtually these days”, she elaborates. “I’m always open to new ideas and innovations and aim for us to be early adopters of new practices that are both promising and proven. For me, it’s not about simply being happy with the first best solution that pops up – instead, my team and I strive for excellence, even

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though that usually means going the extra mile (or two, or two hundred)".

WHAT’S NEXT? Over the past year, Erste caught our eye. The Austrian banking group teamed up with Global Payments to help business owners make online payments easier during the pandemic. We liked that; it was a nice touch and a good partnership. So, of course, we asked more about what to expect in the future.

“We’re pursuing a number of concrete projects in the retail space across our banking markets in the CEE [Central and Eastern Europe] region”, Quitt answers. For the future, they have their sights set on offering more financial advice to more people, to help improve general financial health. We wish them the best of luck! ■

There are usually no pre-defined paths to achieving that excellence, which is why it’s so important to gather different views and, as a team, to define new paths.

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Blockchain Badass: Diana Biggs Diana Biggs is certainly no stranger to winning awards. Whether its City AM’s Top 25 UK Fintech Influencers or Blockchain News’ Top 100, Biggs has seen more listings than a public stock exchange. And yes, we did decide to keep that lame joke in there. Biggs has a magical skillset, which we’ve always been quite intrigued by. She’s a blockchain whizz, and marketing maestro. She’ll help you build your product, and then help you scale the hell out of it. Nice. It’s a clever combination, which stands her apart from the crowds. We love reading her blogs and hearing her speak too. Welcome aboard Diana Biggs!

lead the way and be different. “I suppose my proudest moments are when the “crazy” new idea I’ve been working to help others see the potential of - finally isn’t considered crazy anymore and is just the new normal”, she tells us.

Biggs has a very proactive style and enjoys creating new things in our industry. “I’m a builder, so I’m my happiest when I’m bringing something new to life – whether a product, partnership or a venture – and ideally something that’s never been done”, she elaborates. “My academic background is in both arts and science, so I enjoy creative strategy as well as the technical aspects of my work”. Bingo. We think that’s the key to her unique skillset. Take note everyone, take note.

WHAT’S NEXT? Well, we have a bit of an exclusive for you here… Sort of… We couldn’t help but notice that Biggs left her position as HSBC’s Head of Innovation for Private Banking in November 2020, so we had to ask about what’s next. “I am incredibly excited to

be announcing a new role in a new venture soon!”, Biggs exclaims. Yayy!!

We’re excited too! But despite our best prying, we couldn’t get any further juicy details. Sorry guys.

But Biggs did reveal some clues about what to expect. “What I can share now is that it is a FinTech, focused on making investing in disruptive innovation simply and accessible for both retail and institutional investors”, she elaborates. “And I’m thrilled to have just been made an Associate Fellow with Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, within the FAME (Finance, Accounting, and Management Economics) academic area. So, it’s going to be an exciting 2021!”. Exciting indeed! We’re delighted to have the legend that is Diana Biggs on our Swashbuckling ship. ■

CRAZY AND CREATIVE We like our Swashbucklers to be unconventional.

After all, they’ll be venturing into unknown territories, encountering strange new creatures (probably incumbent bankers) and choppy waters. They’ll need to be brave! Biggs is exactly that, she’s not afraid to

www.fintech.finance

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Cool

Consultant: Sharon O’Dea We adore Sharon O’Dea’s approach to work. She’s a swashbuckling serial founder with a healthy amount of swagger and heart of gold. Best of all, she has a special jumper which says, “F**k You, Pay Me”, which she wears for her badly behaved clients. We love that. And uhh… Where we can we buy one…?

O’Dea’s refreshingly honest. She’s also next-level cool, living in Amsterdam with two robo-dogs (!!!) and her husband. Oh and did we mention, she’s jaw-droppingly brilliant at Pokémon Go, a level 40 player!

O’Dea, we chose you! Best of all, she’s unbelievably good at what she does, as an edgy consultant for digital marketing.

Jump aboard our swashbuckling ship O’Dea! Oh, and bring the jumper, robo-dogs and Pokémon Go skills with you. We’ll definitely need them.

PUBLISHING, POLITICS, PHILANTHROPY AND MORE…

You need a good bulls**t filter to see through the spin and hot air and understand what's making an impact in the real world. and dives. She’s weaved through publishing, politics, councils, charities, and banks. A merry-go-round of awesomeness. Luckily, she was able to sum it up for us in three words, “Chronically lacking focus”. See what we mean? Funny and refreshing. Today she’s an advisor to the Cabinet Office, as well as being a panel member on the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices and a consultant.

We specifically picked her to be our Swashbuckler because we’re impressed with two main organisations she’s founded. Lithos Partners, which is a digital communication consultancy. And 300 Seconds, an event series designed to

O’Dea’s wonderous career… We don’t know where to start. There are some fantastic dips

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help women and other underrepresented groups find their voice. Both have picked up a lot of traction, making waves in the industry.

We asked O’Dea more about her unique approach. “My superpower is understanding how things work inside large and complex organisations and how to make stuff happen inside them”, she explains. “It's all well and good turning up and telling bankers they're doing everything wrong, but if you want to help them change you need to understand why things currently operate as they do”. We couldn’t agree more!

WHAT’S NEXT ON THE HORIZON? We like to keep track of where our Swashbucklers are heading next, so we couldn’t resist asking O’Dea to fill us in. “This is a really interesting and fun time for me”, she reveals. “With the sudden switch to home working this year all the work I've done on internal comms and collaboration for the last decade is very much in vogue. I've just wrapped up a big transformation programme for a global bank. Over the next few months, I'm working with a handful of organisations on how they find the right mix of tools, channels and capabilities to turn their short-term WFH (work from home) changes into a coherent comms approach for hybrid working”.

We have a feeling we’ll be hearing a lot more from O’Dea in the future. One to watch! ■

www.fintech.finance

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Wonderous

Wordsmith: Isabel Woodford If there’s one thing we’re impartial to, it’s a good old fintech article. We can’t get enough of them! Now, we know we’re not the only fintech magazine out there. Of course, we look at our competitors’ content.

And every so often we say to ourselves, “You know what? That was brilliant”. Our swashbuckling ship would not be complete without some of the outstanding journalists out there. One of our very favourites is relative newcomer, Isabel Woodford, who writes for Sifted, The Financial Times’ sister publication. We love

her insightful and articulate approach. Nice one Sifted!

UNIQUE AND ENGAGING CONTENT Woodford began writing for Sifted in September 2019, and we’ve been impressed by her articles ever since. She has a knack for leaving no stone unturned and finding interesting angles which are sure to keep readers hooked. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get a quote. But we nevertheless take our hats off to this exciting swashbuckler, who is no doubt scribbling away some wonderous news as we write.

ONE TO WATCH! Woodford has already made a serious name for herself, and her articles have featured in The Guardian, Reuters, The New York Times and more. We’re sure that we’ll be seeing more of this Swashbuckler in the years to follow. Good luck Woodford!

We’re delighted to name exciting new journalist, Isabel Woodford as our next 2020 Swashbuckler. ■

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2020_SWASHBUCKLERS

Well, we’ve just been scrolling through Kathryn Petralia’s LinkedIn, and now we need a lie down. This Swashbuckler is full-on!

She’s not just the co-founder or “Kabbagehead” (we love that!) of financial services giant Kabbage.

She’s also setting up, or on the board of no less than six organisations. Phew! Coffee break anyone? This year Petralia and her 300-strong team at Kabbage exceeded all expectations and really stood up for business owners. We think that deserves a hearty handshake (or ecstatic elbow bump) of recognition.

HELPING VULNERABLE BUSINESSES DURING THE PANDEMIC $7 billion. It’s a lot of money. It’s more than the entire GDP of Monaco. It’s also the amount that Kabbage processed in Paycheck Protection Payment (PPP) to help businesses stay afloat over the past months. “In the end, we became the nation’s second-largest PPP lender by application volume, outpacing Wells Fargo and even Chase”, Petralia explains.

“We helped nearly 300,000 small business access over $7 billion, preserving 945,000 U.S. jobs! It was the most difficult, yet most rewarding challenge I have ever faced in my career”. Over the past year, many struggling businesses couldn’t access help from the

www.fintech.finance

Biz Savi ur: Small

Kathryn Petralia

DRIVING FINTECH FORWARD

overwhelmed incumbent banks. Kabbage was one of the first fintechs to throw out lifelines. The team enabled business owners to get the help they needed to survive. Go on Petralia! What an absolute ledge.

“The most rewarding surprise about Kabbage has consistently been our opportunity to support the most important members of our economy, small businesses”, Petralia elaborates. “They are responsible for two thirds of all new jobs and 50% of our non-farm GDP and remain an afterthought for many banks”. We love how Kabbage puts normal people first. After all, isn’t that what fintech is all about?

Petralia is well known in the fintech industry for her pioneering spirit. She’s one of life’s go-getters. “My mother calls me a “rower”. No matter how much water is in the boat I just keep rowing”, Petralia revealed to us. This is excellent news for us and our ship. We’ll put Petralia in charge of training up the jolly boat crew. “She also says I try to put 10 pounds of, er, $hit in a 5-pound bag”. Also useful! Nice packing stills Petralia!

We need more people like Petralia leading our industry. She doesn’t hesitate to tackle problems and find solutions for the people who need it most. “I’ve always been a champion of the underdog”, she explains.

“And I am proud to have been part of the fintech revolution that has democratized access to capital and changed the way small businesses and consumers manage their finances”. And that, in a nutshell, is why we love her. Welcome aboard Petralia! ■

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3words SWASHBUCKLERS_2020

little

Fire.

Ready.

Aim

Always on call

The Powerful Publicist, ALEXANDRA FREAN Learning, Rollercoaster , Fun

We asked each of our Swashbucklers to describe their careers in just three words. They did not disappoint!

Hilarious, helpful, and refreshingly honest, here’s what they came back with:

Never ever boring!

Marketing Musketeer, APRIL RUDIN

Banking Buccaneer, DR RUTH WANDHÖFER

Interdisciplinarity, Gender-focused, Humanistic

Discovery, Passion and Drive

Blockchain Badass, DIANA BIGGS Unlikely, interesting, pioneering

Oppor tun rewar istic , educa ding, tiona l

Warrior for Women, DR VANISE ZIMMER

Natural Navigator, SAMANTHA SEATON

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Small Biz Saviour, KATHRYN PETRALIA

Humanitarian Hero, SOFIE BLAKSTAD www.fintech.finance

2020_SWASHBUCKLERS g, engin Chall ational , n inter filling ful

Diverse, multicultural, fascinating

Ahead of its time

Altruistic Advisor, FLORA COLEMAN

Inspirational Innovator, CHARLOTTE CROSSWELL Just. . g Gettined. t r a St

Scale-up Sorceress, HELEN PANZARINO

Fairy er oth godm tech n i F of An ongoing adventure!

Win or Learn

Cutting-edge Creative, KATIE ROSSEAU

Daring Developer, NINA MOHANTY ably Unimagin g challengin g & rewardin

Chronically lacking focus.

Rockstar Rebel, LIZ LUMLEY

Stop-Press Swashbuckler, VALENTINA KRISTENSEN

Fun, unpredictable, rewarding

Twists and Turns

Social Spellbinder, THEODORA LAU

Real Revolution-Starter, SMRITI TOMAR Cool Consultant, SHARON O’DEA www.fintech.finance

Master of Must-See Events, TRACEY DAVIES FintechFinancePresents_Swashbucklers 2020

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SWASHBUCKLERS_2020

of

Captain the ship:

Anne Boden

Obviously. And if you ask why… well this is the wrong magazine for you. All hail Anne Boden.

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FintechFinancePresents_Swashbucklers 2020

■

www.fintech.finance

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