speakers
Our speakers bring expertise, insight, and bold perspectives to the stage, shaping the industry’s most important conversations.
Chair of Practice in Finance and FinTech at Birmingham University
Professor Karen Elliott is Chair of Practice in Finance and FinTech at Birmingham University Business School and Co-Director of the FinTech MSc.
She has been named as ‘Standout #35 Women in FinTech Powerlist' in 2019, 2020 and 2021.Karen co-leads FinTrust, Agency, UKFin Network+, INFINITY, and Trustworthy AI projects (£12m EPSRC/UKRI/Research England), optimising trustworthy AI, ethical AI, and inclusion.
An Advisory Board member to Incuto, We are Group and Saible, championing access to fair and affordable finance.Plus, the Prime Minister’s Champions Group for Dementia, CDR.net, IEEE Planet Positive and an Ambassador for the Digital Poverty Alliance. Karen creates a fusion between academic/practical ethical/governance considerations at the individual/societal level.
- Corporate Digital Responsibility (see CDR.net for info)
- Trustworthy AI
- Digital/Data Ethics
- Financial Inclusion
- Credit Scoring using ML/AI
- Karen is available for opportunities where her diary allows
- She is based in the UK and is best contacted on k.elliott@bham.ac.uk
Founder of Fintech is Femme
Nicole Casperson is a journalist, podcast host, and the founder of Fintech Is Femme, leading the charge to create an equitable and diverse industry. With over 60,000 industry professionals subscribing to her podcast and newsletter, Nicole is a trusted source of news, insights, and analysis.
Before Fintech Is Femme, Nicole was a finance reporter, covering different B2B niches, from housing and mortgages to auto finance and financial advice. In 2022, Nicole was named a Top Inspiring Female in Fintech by the group NYC Fintech Women. She’s also a finalist for Fintech Nexus Industry Awards as a 2023 DEI Trailblazer.
Nicole has been named a Top Influencer in Financial Twitter by ETFtrends.com and featured in the LA Times and Nasdaq Trade Talks. She often speaks at events including Money 20/20, Empire Startups, Fintech Nexus, Fintech Meet Up, and Future Proof Festival.
Nicole is also a regular contributor to Forbes.com, writing about topics that intersect gender equity, finance, and technology.
- Fintech (news and trends)
- Cryptocurrency and bitcoin
- Decentralised finance (DeFi), Web3 Embedded finance, and BaaS
- Fintech investment
- Talent, and the human side of financial services
- DEI, and the impact women have on financial technology
- Financial inclusion
- Community building
- Storytelling, and content creation
- Nicole is based in New York with a demanding diary, however she is always open to hearing about relevant opportunities. As much notice as possible is preferable.
- She can best be reached directly via email nicole@fintechisfemme.co or via our contact form.
Founder at Capitalixe
Lissele Pratt, a young entrepreneur and fintech trailblazer, co-founded and scaled Capitalixe into a seven-figure consultancy in less than 3 years.
Acclaimed on Forbes 30 Under 30 and Tech Round Under 29 lists, she's a UK Fintech Awards Rising Star and a force on the Women in Fintech Powerlist.
An official member of the Forbes Business Council, Lissele is a prolific contributor to multiple prestigious publications and a sought-after guest in podcasts, also hosting her own “Success Secrets” series.Lissele is a celebrated speaker, mentor to women in fintech, and an influential figure for diversity and inclusion within the industry.
- Fintech news and trends
- International payments and currency exchange
- Future of payments
- Financial inclusion
- Entrepreneurship, and women in business
- Thriving as a young entrepreneur
- Equality, diversity & inclusion
- Leadership and building your personal brand
- Sales & business development
- Lissele is based in London and is available for in-person and virtual opportunities. She can be flexible for the right opportunity.
- She is best contacted on leeann@capitalixe.com.
Director of Emerging Tech and Innovation at Prudential Financial
Ashlyn Lackey sits on the Emerging Technology Team at Prudential. In her role, she surfaces pertinent trends for senior leaders and introduces relevant startups.
Prior to Prudential, she was on the fintech partnerships team at Citi and the Business Development team at New York Life Ventures.
Outside of work, she volunteers with New York Women in Fintech, Women in Banking, Finance, and Fintech, and RevTech Labs.
- Social Media and FinFluencers
- Financial Advice / Guidance
- Corporate <> Startup Partnerships
- Corporate Innovation
- Insurtech
- Ashlyn is based in Palo Alto (California), and typically needs ~1 month notice for corporate approval unless it is a small regional event.
- She is best contacted on Ashlyn.lackey@prudential.com or ashlynlackey15@gmail.com
Founder of Firebrand Research
Virginie O’Shea is a capital markets fintech research specialist, with more than two decades of experience in tracking financial technology developments in the sector, with a particular focus on regulatory developments, data and standards.
She is the founder of Firebrand Research, a research and advisory firm focused on providing capital markets technology and operations insights for the digital age.
Ms. O’Shea has spoken at industry conferences including Sibos, TradeTech, InvestOps, FISD events, and The Network Forum, and is actively engaged in a number of post-trade industry standards groups.
Prior to this, she was a director with Aite Group, heading up the Institutional Securities & Investments practice and covering data management, collateral management, legal entity onboarding, and post-trade technology.
- ESG, with a particular focus on corporate governance in practice
- Capital markets regulation developments
- Operational strategy and innovation at capital markets firms
- Post-trade market infrastructure
- Data management, analytics and governance strategy
- Standards developments in capital markets
- Tokenisation and digital assets, especially regulatory requirements
- Cybersecurity and operational resilience
- Virginie is based in London, and can be available for a range of opportunities depending on other commitments.
- She's best contacted on press@fintechfirebrand.com or contact@fintechfirebrand.com
Fintech Consultant
Meaghan Johnson is a seasoned fintech consultant with over 10 years of expertise in product development, digital transformation, strategic research, customer experience strategy, and partnership scouting.Throughout her career, she has collaborated with over 50 banks, fintechs, and tech firms, including ING, UBS, Solarisbank, Spotify and Tink.
Meaghan holds esteemed positions as a Senior Lecturer at CFTE and a Subject Matter Expert at Manchester Business School. She also co-founded both 11FS and Digital Magss Consulting.A recognized thought leader, Meaghan has been published twice in the Journal of Digital Banking and is co-authoring a book on Financial Inclusion.
Additionally, she leads workshops and keynotes on customer experience, open banking, data and personalization, and fintech and bank partnerships
- Customer experience
- Open Banking
- Fintech
- Financial Inclusion
- Bank and fintech partnership
- Bank as a Service
- Embedded Finance
- Meaghan is willing and available for as many opportunities as possible - but tries to limit trips abroad to 2 per month
- She is based in Central Portugal, and is best contacted via our contact form
Co-Founder of Crypto Girls Club
Zoe is a pioneering web3 marketer and co-founder of crypto girls club. With six years in the crypto industry, Zoe previously fronted communications at SMART VALOR, a Swiss-based digital asset exchange.
Zoe was also in charge of marketing strategy at German crypto bank Nuri (formerly Bitwala) and Fidor Bank, one of the first fintechs in Europe to offer bitcoin onramp.Through founding crypto girls club in 2021, Zoe is a prominent figure in Germany's vibrant Web3 scene. Her mission is to help women propel their careers in Web3 by hosting over 50 educational and networking events to over 2000+ women.
From this, Zoe recently led and launched the crypto girls club NFT membership collection on Polygon, which unlocks real-life perks such as co-working spaces, mentorship and conferences.She is currently building a recruitment tool to encourage diversity in Web3 and sits on the advisory board of Soonami, a venture-fund for DeFi, Web3 & Metaverse.
Zoe has spoken at conferences across the world (NFT NYC, Zebu London, DMEXCO) on the topic of NFTs, community and diversity in the web3 space.
- The essence of strong community building
- The use cases of NFTs
- Diversity and inclusion in crypto and fintech
- Making the web3 space more equitable and equal
- What the fintech can industry can learn from the web3 industry
- Available and based in Berlin (& London), can travel further with expenses paid for.
- You can find Zoe on LinkedIn, or via our contact form.
Founder of Hoops Finance
Funmi is the founder of financial education provider, Hoops Finance, which delivers workshops aimed at simplifying money topics and breaking the money taboo.
Starting her career as a lawyer in London before moving to work in the legal team of several financial services organisations, her most senior roles were as the Legal Representative on the Executive Committee of a UK bank and as Head of Legal & Compliance at a fintech start-up.
Outside of the workshops, Funmi writes and speaks about money. She has been a guest on several podcasts, a speaker at events such as the Black Girl Finance Festival 2023 and she is the Host of the monthly roundtables for the Institute for Financial Wellbeing.
- Financial education and literacy
- Financial wellbeing
- Personal finance in general e.g. money management, saving, pensions, mortgages, credit and tax
- Gender inequalities in finance
- Funmi is based in London and is happy to travel. She is available for both remote and in person events.
- She is best contacted directly on hello@hoopsfinance.com or via our contact form.
Chief of Staff at Sidekick Money
Christine is Chief of Staff at Sidekick Money Ltd, a new digital private bank, looking to democratise the wealth industry. Prior to joining Sidekick she built her career as a practitioner in the wealth management industry and as a management consultant.
In industry, she specialised in financial planning, working for the likes of SJP and Rathbones, supporting clients to achieve their financial goals. As a consultant, she also worked with some of the largest wealth managers and banks in the UK, using her specialist knowledge and experience to help deliver strategic change and high value outcomes for senior executives.
- Wealth management
- Wealth/ investing fintech
- Financial Planning
- DEI in financial services
- Christine is based in the UK. She's available with a minimum of 2 weeks notice. Preference for evenings, however if given enough notice can be available during the day.
- She can be contacted directly on christine.edwards@sidekickmoney.com.
People Operations Associate at Yonder
Smitha is currently working in People Operations at Yonder, having first started in human resources almost a decade ago.
Her current role spans resourcing, onboarding, establishing Yonder's workplace guidelines, benchmarking compensation and developing a positive working culture for the growing team. She was previously working in a similar role at health tech start-up Thriva.
Smitha also has an MSc in Human Resource Management and is CIPD qualified.
- Finding and sourcing new talent
- Onboarding strategy and processes
- Setting employee guidelines
- Compensation
- Establishing a strong working culture
- Smitha lives in London and can be flexible for the right opportunities.
- She can be contacted on smitha_sanjeev@icloud.com
Head of Marketing for Financial Messaging at Bottomline
Zhenya has more than 24 years of experience in the Financial Services sector, specialising in payments over the last 10+ years.Her key focus areas within payments include; messaging, connectivity (including real-time domestic & cross-border payments & ISO 20022).
Zhenya is also an ambassador for the award-winning Women of Fintech community and is listed in the Women in Fintech Powerlist 2022.
She is currently Head of Marketing for Financial Messaging at Bottomline with responsibility for the GTM strategy. She has previously worked in senior roles at ACI Worldwide, UKASH, and Equifax. She is a regular contributor to industry publications and a moderator and panellist at events such as Sibos.
- Marketing
- Transitioning from on-premise to SaaS
- Real-time domestic & cross border payments
- ISO 20022
- DE&I
- Zhenya is based in London and is available for various opportunities ideally with 1 week+ notice
- She can be contacted via our ‘contact us’ form, or directly on Zhenyaw@hotmail.com
Managing Director of Mint Studios
Araminta is the Founder and Managing Director at Mint Studios, a content marketing agency that helps fintech companies turn their website blog into a customer acquisition channel.
The Mint Studios team has helped fintech companies including Modulr, Zai, Confused.com and Jeeves use content to bring in $100k+ worth of customers.She also manages the 1,500+ person Fintech Marketing Slack group and conference, is the host of the Market Like a Fintech podcast and Edinburgh's Fintech Mixer events.
She talks regularly at events hosted by Finovate Europe, Fintech Talents and BrightonSEO.
- Fintech marketing & content marketing
- Payments marketing
- Fintech growth
- Content writing
- Building a writing culture in-house
- Building and running an agency
- Financial education and inclusion
- Araminta is based in Edinburgh, Scotland. She is very flexible with opportunities and open to speaking both virtually and in person
- She is best contacted either using the ‘contact us’ form, or directly on araminta@mintcopywritingstudios.com
Founder and CEO of Blackbullion
Vivi Friedgut is a tech innovator and founder/CEO of Blackbullion, the financial wellbeing solution equipping young people with money skills for life.
Blackbullion’s award-winning platform can be accessed by over 1.2 million students at partner institutions worldwide. The Blackbullion ecosystem empowers students to develop financial knowledge and confidence, be guided by their goals towards better money management and habits using the app as well as access university funding and corporate scholarships through the nation’s largest funding hub.
Vivi is a former wealth manager, a regular public speaker and author, and was recently named FinTech Magazine’s Top100 Women.
- Financial education
- Financial inclusion
- The startup journey
- Fintech news and trends
- Vivi is based in London, but travels often. She is available for both in person and virtual events with enough notice
- She is best contacted using the contact us form
Founder of All Things Money
Ola is the Founder of All Things Money, an online platform designed to provide young adults with some of the financial tools needed to help navigate the adulting world.
All Things Money offers a wide range of personal finance tips and information from topics such as budgeting and saving to investing and mortgages both online and on the All Things Money Podcast.
Since All Things Money was founded in 2020, Ola has hosted over 100 personal finance talks and workshops to the All Things Money community, Universities, and to corporate organisations such as Accenture, NatWest and Estée Lauder.
She has also featured in a number of newspaper articles including The Financial Times, The Guardian, Elle Magazine and more.
- Personal finance (eg: budgeting and saving, investing, mortgages, credit cards,debt etc)
- Financial wellbeing
- The importance of financial literacy
- Ola is based in London but available for both in person and virtual events across the UK
- She is best contacted either using the ‘contact us’ form, or directly on ola@allthingsmoney.com
Founder of This Girl Talks Money
Ellie Austin-Williams is a writer, speaker and founder of This Girl Talks Money, a financial education platform and community of over 30,000 people.
As the author of the upcoming financial wellbeing book, Money Talks (Jan 2024), Ellie delivers relatable insights & practical knowledge to help people gain confidence and ownership of their finances.
Alongside building the community of financially empowered women, Ellie has worked with brands from Glamour to American Express, as well as providing financial expertise for Refinery29, Stylist, BBC News & more. Ellie is also the co-host of the podcast Money Unfiltered.
- Financial wellbeing
- Financial literacy
- Gender inequality in finance
- Managing & building wealth
- Ellie can be flexible for both remote and in-person events. She can usually accommodate requests within a 3-4 week turnaround. She is based in London and happy to travel
- She is best contacted directly on hello@thisgirltalksmoney.com, or via our contact form
Independent Fintech Marketing Advisor
Smita is a global marketing advisor, influential thought leader, keynote speaker and pioneering advocate for diversity and inclusion in the technology industry.
She has delivered high-impact global marketing transformations for some of the world’s best-known SaaS, fintech, telco and cloud technology companies.
She now founder and CEO of the Smita Gupta Advisory, where she advises early- to late-stage scale ups and PE-backed tech firms in fintech, crypto and SaaS spaces.
- Open banking
- Innovation in fintech
- Digital transformation
- Transformational leadership and growth mindset
- Data driven customer-first culture
- Diversity and inclusion
- Fintech collaboration
- Smita is based in London and is open to various in person and online opportunities when she can be available
- She is best contacted on LinkedIn
and PR Consultant
at Stripe
Belgium
at Lightyear
Crypto at Onafriq
and PR Consultant
at Stripe
Belgium
at Lightyear
Before The Heard, I never saw myself as a speaker—I thought public speaking was for ‘other people.’ The training gave me the confidence to own my expertise, and now I’ve spoken on fintech panels alongside industry leaders. The Heard didn’t just amplify my voice; it changed my career.
