speakers

Shakeela Williamson is an award-winning marketing leader and Interim / Fractional CMO with 25 years’ experience across fintech, wealth management, payments, banking and insurance.

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She is recognised for transforming marketing functions into high-performing growth engines, strengthening brand strategy, leading digital transformation and building teams that deliver measurable business impact. Her leadership spans both global enterprises and PE-backed scale-ups, with senior roles at Citi, Moneycorp and Domestic & General.

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A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Shakeela combines strategic vision with hands-on delivery. She specialises in customer-focused B2C/D2C growth, while also bringing B2B and B2B2C expertise. Alongside her executive roles, she advises founders and scale-ups on brand and growth strategy, mentors emerging leaders, speaks on marketing effectiveness and leadership and serves as a judge for leading industry marketing awards.

Vix Leyton is a financial services professional, broadcaster and writer with specialist expertise in consumer rights and communications.

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Openly queer, she has held senior PR roles in fintech and price comparison, earning recognition at the prestigious Headlinemoney Awards for her work in financial comms. She co-hosts the Spendology Podcast, which explores the psychology of spending and money management in a relatable, engaging way.

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A trusted media commentator, Vix appears regularly on shows like Steph’s Packed Lunch (Channel 4), BBC Morning Live, and You and Yours (Radio 4), where her clear, authoritative insight is paired with warmth and humour.

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Alongside her career in financial services, she pursues comedy as a side hustle, hosting the award-nominated panel show Comedy Arcade, which has toured nationally and run at the Edinburgh Fringe. Her mix of credibility, wit and lived experience makes her a distinctive and authentic voice.

Sarah was General Manager for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa at PayPal, the world’s largest on-line payments provider. She later launched and ran the European operations of 2 venture-backed businesses – LootCrate and Clearco – delivering double digit revenue growth.

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She has also held a variety of commercial positions with Barclays Bank, the Virgin Group, Sainsbury’s and British Airways.

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She is currently Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Investment Committee at Gresham House Income and Growth 2 VCT plc, which is listed on the LSE, and a member of the Supervisory Board of VeloBank S.A., a challenger bank in Poland owned by Cerberus.

Sejal partners with founders, senior executives, and Boards to identify and secure leadership talent for C-suite and key management roles.

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Before joining Odgers, Sejal spent over a decade in management consulting, beginning her career at McKinsey & Company and later specialising in financial services and strategy at PA Consulting.

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Her work spanned the UK, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. She went on to hold leadership roles at HSBC and FinTech scale-up Fluidly, where she drove digital innovation through partnerships between banks, FinTechs, and the wider digital ecosystem.

Chiara is a Forbes-featured founder originally from the Caribbean, now based in Rotterdam. With a background in growth marketing and fintech, she co-founded Finuprise, and is currently building Monytri - a platform making finance radically more accessible for underrepresented communities.

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She's led growth at VC-backed startups, mentored impact-driven companies through programs like Grow AI, and she regularly speaks on topics including inclusive finance, startup growth, and ethical tech.

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She brings a blend of strategic clarity and real-world scrappiness, and loves demystifying money, especially for underrepresented communities in finance.

Dani Palmer is Chief Marketing Officer at Loqbox, a financial wellbeing business helping everyone access a richer life and enjoy a happier, healthier relationship with money.

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She has built and led marketing functions across startups and scale-ups, always designing marketing as a growth engine. A firm believer that business can be a force for good, Dani speaks regularly on marketing effectiveness, brand strategy, and financial inclusion with a sharp eye for commercial impact and a deep commitment to purpose-driven growth.

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For Dani, the best marketing connects us, teaches us, and grows with us; driven by curiosity, tested through experimentation, and grounded in what makes us human.

As COO, Marca plays a crucial role in ZBD’s mission to revolutionise payments for the interactive entertainment industry, enabling better user experiences and new commercial models for studios and publishers.

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Marca brings her impressive fintech leadership experience to ZBD having previously held the roles of Managing Director, Europe and Chair of the Management Board at Modulr Europe regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland and De Nederlandsche Bank. She was also Interim Chief Marketing Officer at Modulr and is a Supervisory Board Member for Brex Europe.

Ellie Duncan is an experienced author, editor, panel moderator, speaker and podcast host. She has spent 15+ years covering financial services, with a focus on open banking and open finance, payments and financial inclusion.

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She continues to work with Open Banking Expo on a freelance basis, writing about the latest developments in global Open Banking, Open Finance and payments, and hosting the Open Banking Expo Unplugged podcast.

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Ellie is the author of 'Open Banking and Financial Inclusion: Creating a Financial System That Provides Security and Equity', published by Kogan Page. She has previously worked at the Financial Times Group.

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Nitika is the co-founder of Aila Money, a fintech company that acts as a Money PT, empowering women to achieve their life goals with financial confidence.

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With 16 years of experience in finance, she has worked across investment banks and hedge funds in roles spanning trading and COO positions. A CFA charterholder, Nitika’s passion for helping others also led her to pursue a counseling qualification and volunteer with mental health charities.

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Coming from a low-income, migrant background, she has firsthand experience navigating personal finance challenges. This drives her commitment to making financial confidence accessible for all.

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A seasoned speaker and panelist, she is passionate about leveraging technology to improve financial well-being while addressing the emotional aspects of money management.

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She proudly sits on the Innovate Finance Women in FinTech Power List.

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Tracy Doree is Venture Partner at Augmentum. She joined the company in her 16th year as a venture investor having been an angel, and founding partner of Kindred Capital, investor at MMC Ventures and Tiny Supercomputer, venture partner at Entrepreneur First, and LPAC member at Common Magic.

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Her entrepreneurial experience includes founding Llustre, which was acquired by Fab.com, where she went on to lead the European team.

Tracy began her career at NM Rothschild and Accenture after studying at Oxford University (Maths, First Class). Outside of work, Tracy enjoys practising yoga and functional fitness training.

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Kimberley is an award-winning marketer, entrepreneur, and strategic advisor with over 15 years of experience spanning the financial services, technology, retail, mobile, and banking sectors. She co-founded SkyParlour, a global communications agency, in 2009, which has successfully served Fintech clients across the world. As the Managing Director of Started, she leads a PR and marketing program focused on empowering innovative technology startups.
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A recognised leader in the Fintech space, Kimberley serves as co-chair of the pro-manchester Fintech committee and is an industry advisor for the University of Salford’s Fintech MSc program. She is passionate about mentoring and is a long-term mentor for Rise by Barclays, Fintech Alliance, and Fintech Circle. Kimberley also contributes to youth education through the Founders for Schools initiative.
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As the host of the popular Get Started podcast, Kimberley hosts industry leaders and founders to discuss the evolving landscape of financial technology. She has also hosted the Future of Banking podcast and regularly shares her insights at key events like Web Summit, Fintech Week London, Fintech Fringe, Finance Magnates, and Fintech North. Kimberley's thought leadership is featured in prominent publications such as Fintech Magazine, Payments Expert, Verdict, and The Fintech Power50 journal.

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She is also a board advisor to several exciting Fintech start-ups, including ekko and Lemon, with more to be announced soon.

Joanna is an international financial services leader with 20 year of experience in banking and fintech driving growth and transforming teams.She is known as an energetic leader who has built high performing teams in China, SE Asia, UK and Middle East delivering corporate finance advisory, digital transformation and operational excellence. She creates an environment for innovation, both internally and externally.

She built her career in Corporate Banking and Capital Markets with HSBC before switching to fintech.She was Head of Strategy for Commercial Banking globally for HSBC as well as COO for HSBC Commercial Banking in China. More recently she was COO for Globacap, a b2b SaaS business digitising private capital markets, launching the US business and scaling the team.Joanna is also an ICF accredited leadership coach.

She built her business to support ambitious individuals to succeed in their leadership role and/or grow their business. She coaches across a range of industries in Asia, Europe, Middle East and Latam. She regularly provides practical tips for leaders in blogs and podcasts.

Ren Yi Hooi is the Founder and CEO of Lightning Reach, an award-winning Fintech for good startup which streamlines access to financial support. Passionate about using technology to drive social impact and financial inclusion, she was previously the Product Director at FinTech scaleup Railsr.

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She also led and worked in international teams supporting financially underserved communities across Asia and Africa.

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Ren was recognised as one of TechRound's Top 50 Women in Tech, Women in FinTech Powerlist and Big Issue 100 Changemakers.She has spoken at events in multiple countries and served as a mentor for the FCA's Financial Inclusion Techsprint. A recipient of the Tech Nation Global Talent Visa, Ren holds an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. from UC Berkeley.

A seasoned strategic communications and marketing expert with over 20 years’ experience working with B2B and B2C organisations. Vivienne has a broad range of sector experience including healthcare, FMCG, automotive, energy, technology, fintech and financial and professional services.

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She is a strategic leader who has worked extensively with PE, VC and in growth equity for high profile scale-ups and portfolio companies to raise capital, scale for long-term value and build market profile through her sector knowledge, network and advisory expertise.

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Recognised as a one of the top 100 most influential women in the start-ups and VC space, she is a frequent speaker on key topics: finance, fintech, investing, emerging technologies, marketing ,communications and DE&I.

Ingrid is an accomplished leader with over 20 years of global marketing experience, specialising in B2B and B2C strategies. She has a strong track record of driving revenue growth and enhancing lifetime customer value for global organisations.

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With her visionary leadership style, Ingrid has excelled in building and nurturing high-performing marketing functions by fostering a culture of empowerment and trust. Her extensive skill set includes expertise in brand strategy, customer lifecycle management, digital marketing, sales enablement, and data analytics, among others.

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Ingrid's most recent role as the VP of Global Marketing with Finfare has seen her play an instrumental part in establishing and leading a 20-member team in California, focusing on brand positioning, product marketing, and user experience to solidify Finfare's standing as a leading fintech and rewards provider.In addition to her professional achievements, Ingrid is actively engaged in mentoring programs.

Kathryn Strachan is an award-winning fractional CMO, strategic advisor, and expert keynote speaker with a proven track record of driving business growth. As the former founder and CEO of CopyHouse, she built the content marketing agency into a market leader, growing it to a team of 32 and achieving a $1.5 million turnover.

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Kathryn’s expertise has attracted top global tech companies, and she now serves as a non-executive director and advisor to various organisations. She also hosts the podcast Tech Marketers Uncorked and recently released a B2B Content Marketing course with Semrush.

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A sought-after guest lecturer at NYU, Kathryn’s first book, Scaling Success: Building Brands that Break Barriers, is set for release in fall 2024. Her achievements have earned recognition from the CMA, The Drum, and IoD, including Young Director of the Year and Content Marketing Person of the Year awards.