The Top 25 Women Leaders In Financial Technology Of Europe For 2021

The Financial Technology Report is pleased to announce The Top 25 Women Leaders in Financial Technology of Europe for 2021. Europe has seen impressive growth within the financial technology sector over the past year, with the companies represented on this year’s list at the forefront. The 2021 awardees have helped lead their organizations amidst rapid digitalization of the financial industry, an increasingly complex regulatory landscape, rising global competition, and increased consumer demand for digital financial products. They have fully leveraged their expertise across product strategy, marketing, talent acquisition, risk management, business development, and other areas to drive growth for their companies as they bring some of the most innovative financial products to market.

Out of hundreds of nominations, this exceptional group of women leaders was selected based on their career track record and professional achievements as well as their depth of specialized expertise. Many came from prior experience in traditional financial companies, or software and information technology, bringing to bear a valuable combination of insights and competencies that have led to more profound technological development. Moreover, they have aided their companies in developing solutions and services that promote financial inclusivity, ensuring that all have access to more efficient, convenient, and secure alternatives for managing their finances. Please join us in celebrating the achievements of The Top 25 Women Leaders in Financial Technology of Europe for 2021.

 

1. June Felix
Company: IG Group
Title: Chief Executive Officer
Location: United Kingdom

June Felix is a proven global leader and is currently the Chief Executive Officer at IG Group U.K. IG is a global leader in online trading with multiple award-winning platforms and apps providing fast and flexible access to over 17,000 financial markets which include indices, shares, forex, and commodities. First established in 1974 as the world’s first financial spread betting firm, the company is today the world’s No. 1 provider of CFDs and spread betting, and a global leader in forex. Felix brings to IG a legacy of successful leadership at financial and technology industry leaders and has combined the rigor of strategy consulting with disciplined execution of innovative new products, services, alliances, and acquisitions at each of the roles she has held.

Prior to IG, Felix was the president of Verifone Europe, where she was responsible for the company’s second-largest region in the world. She took on that role after almost four years as managing director of global enterprise payments for Citi in New York. She also served as the global general manager of banking and financial markets for IBM, was the chairman and CEO of CertCo, and was a senior vice president at JP Morgan Chase for ten years. Her extensive leadership experience also includes being vice president at Deutsche Bank and a senior associate at Booz & Company. For her achievements, she was awarded the Edison Award for Innovation and later was selected into the Most Influential Women in PaymentSource and SourceMedia. Felix received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh.

 

2. Elona Ruka-Wright
Company: Finastra
Title: Chief Risk Officer and Chief Audit Executive
Location: United Kingdom

Elona Ruka-Wright recently joined the CEO Office, where she heads up Finastra's global risk management and governance practices and is the company's key liaison with regulatory bodies and auditors. She is accountable for Finastra's Enterprise Risk Management framework, strategy, and governance, as well as regulatory compliance, enterprise policy governance, client and third-party due diligence, business resilience, crisis management, and internal audit.

As Finastra’s Chief Risk Officer, Ruka-Wright has played a pivotal role in safeguarding the company’s employees, clients, and operations, particularly through changes related to COVID-19. She believes that a culture of openness and awareness is the foundation for balanced risk-taking and strong governance.
Before joining Finastra in March 2018, she spent over 15 years building and transforming risk management, compliance, security, and governance programs for financial institutions and technology firms. Her certifications span CISA, CISM, CGEIT, CRISC, CIPM, and CDPSE, and she serves on the Advisory Board for NC State’s Poole School of Management ERM Initiative, which provides advice on ERM curriculum, emerging trends, and best practices related to ERM. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in international relations and a Master of Business Administration degree in finance and strategic management from the University of MN, Carlson School of Management.

 

3. Virginie Degeorgis
Company: Tessi
Title: Chief Executive Officer, Tessi France
Location: France

Virginie Degeorgis is the Chief Executive Officer of Tessi France and has been with the company for 17 years. Tessi is a business process services partner that enables companies to improve their performance by optimizing their business processes and their management of the customer experience, thanks to a unique alliance between human expertise and technology. The company offers solutions across digitization of documentary processes, business back office, customer relationship and marketing, consulting and integration, software publishing, and data center services and cloud computing. Among other sectors, Tessi provides its technology services to banks and financial institutions and provides its Tessi Digital Banking platform for front-to-back digitalization of banking services.

Having worked for Tessi for most of her career, Degeorgis utilizes her extensive leadership experience to further develop Tessi’s services in France, notably merging Tessi Province and Tessi Paris into a single Tessi France department. She is an expert in information processing and business process outsourcing and is a graduate of ENSI Paris SupMeca.

 

4. Myriam Moufakkir
Company: SCOR
Title: Chief Business Transformation Officer
Location: France

Myriam Moufakkir is the Chief Business Transformation Officer at SCOR Global. Paris-based SCOR is one of the world’s largest reinsurers, providing clients with a diversified and innovative range of solutions to control and manage risk. SCOR provides cutting-edge financial solutions, analytics tools, and services in all areas related to risk. In her role, Moufakkir is responsible for driving key operational aspects of the P&C business, with a focus on digital and data strategies, business process transformation, group projects, and resource and budget management.

Before her appointment at SCOR, Moufakkir was at AXA for 15 years helming multiple leadership roles including transformation director, program director, regional CIO, and most recently regional COO. At AXA, she worked globally across Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, and Latin America, as well as Asia. Her other senior leadership positions include head of client interface at Aviva, partner and director for financial services at Atlantic IT consulting, and program manager at Banque Paribas. She was also the founder and CEO of consulting company M.L. Conseil. Moufakkir received a degree in engineering from Ecole Centrale Paris.

 

5. Dylani Herath
Company: FIS
Title: Director of Engineering
Region: Global

Dylani Herath is a fintech leader and is currently the Director of Engineering at FIS, a role she has helmed for an impressive 11 years. FIS is the largest Financial processing and payments company in the world. Today the company has over 55,000 employees. Annually, FIS facilitates the movement of roughly $9 trillion through the processing of approximately 75 billion transactions in service to more than 20,000 clients around the globe.

At FIS, Herath leads the global engineering team for FIS enterprise application modernization across banking platforms. She leads clients through their transformation journey with her expertise in building global engineering teams to deliver high quality omni channel-Digital banking products.

A life-long learner, Herath has gained her work experience from three key roles. Her previous roles were at Virtusa where she spent just shy of four years as a lead consultant and the practice head of client quality engineering. Before that, she was a lead engineering consultant at Pearson Vue. She got her start as a software development engineer for Informatics Ltd., where she worked for four years under a college scholarship. She is a volunteer at MACC Fund, a mentor for i.c.stars, and sits on the Board of Directors for Education for Good. Herath received her Bachelor of Science degree in information systems from the Manchester Metropolitan University.

 

6. Julia Bogatcheva
Company: QIWI
Title: Chief Data and Analytics Officer
Location: Russia

Julia Bogatcheva is the Chief Data and Analytics Officer for QIWI in Moscow. QIWI is a leading provider of next-generation payment and financial services in Russia and the CIS with an integrated proprietary network that enables payment services across online, mobile, and physical channels. It has deployed over 21.5 million virtual wallets, over 141,000 kiosks and terminals, and enabled merchants and customers to accept and transfer over RUB 101 billion in cash and electronic payments monthly. Bogatcheva brings to QIWI extensive experience as a data and technology manager with subject matter expertise in the financial industry and a proven track record of successful projects.

Before QIWI, Bogatcheva spent over four years as the chief data officer of Sherbank and MTS Bank. She was also previously the director of business architecture for Home Credit Bank, the CIO for HSBC bank, and the deputy COO for ING Bank Eurasia. Bogatcheva earned her degree from the Moscow Power Engineering Institute and is a Certified Project Management Professional.

 

7. Simone Wittstruck
Company: DOCOMO Digital
Title: Chief Financial Officer
Location: United Kingdom

Simone Wittstruck is the Chief Financial Officer at DOCOMO Digital, the international payments subsidiary of NTT DOCOMO, the leading global telecom brand. Simone joined net mobile AG in 2009, a leading payments business that was acquired by DOCOMO Digital. Simone has held a variety of leadership roles during this time and has been instrumental in driving the company through transformation and corporate restructuring. Simone role-modelled the focus on business strategy and profitability within the finance function and pioneered the adoption of technology in every aspect.

Simone brings a deep understanding of the evolution in regulation across the EU as also globally for both the telecom and the financial services industries. With her background in audit and tax consulting before joining DOCOMO Digital, Simone was able to drive the company’s inorganic growth initiatives from the front. Simone served as the CFO for the GSA (Germany, Switzerland, Austria) region and steered the business through the transition from a technology company to becoming a financial services one. Simone is passionate about driving innovation in the mobile payments space, as a way to serve the underbanked communities around the world and catalyse growth for DOCOMO Digital’s clients.

 

8. Stina Granberg
Company: Bambora
Title: Chief Operating Officer
Location: Sweden

Stina Granberg is the Chief Operating Officer at Bambora, the financial services company that helps businesses grow. Founded in 2015, Bambora is a collection of companies with decades of experience in the payments industry with products designed to simplify the payment experience. Today, the company has gained a global presence, with over 700 employees in 65 markets, processing €55 billion per year. As COO, Granberg is part of the global management team responsible for defining and executing the operating model and strategy for risk and operation, focusing on new business and collaborative synergies. She has been with the company for three years.

Prior to her role at Bambora, Granberg spent almost four years at fellow fintech giant Klarna, as director of process and solutions development. She joined Klarna after six years at Oriflame Cosmetics, where she was integral in developing a new business unit with a focus on optimizing profit and loss while meeting customer needs. Granberg first gained leadership experience at PUMA as a product manager. Granberg earned her undergraduate degree in psychology at the University of Gothenburg before earning a Master of Science degree in industrial engineering and management from Linkoping University, and a second Master of Science degree in computer science from Universitat Karlsruhe.

 

9. Christine Mullin
Company: Dext
Title: Chief Financial and Operating Officer
Location: United Kingdom

Christine Mullin is a leadership veteran and is currently the Chief Financial and Operating Officer at Dext. Formerly known as Receipt Bank, Dext is a financial service covering accounting, bookkeeping, and consulting that places powerful tools at the fingertips of users to gain real-time insights that help them shape up their businesses for productivity and profitability. The company’s accountants and bookkeepers also advise businesses through data and insights using machine learning to boost productivity for 300,000 accounting businesses and customers in 80 countries. Mullin brings to Dext extensive management experience predominantly in online businesses and drives growth by developing and aligning strategy and operations, identifying new revenue opportunities, and optimizing resources.

Prior to her current role, Mullin was also the chief financial officer at MetaPack Group (sold to Stamps.com), Bookatable (sold to Michelin), and UK VOD. She also previously worked at Microsoft for over three years as a director of strategy, business development, and operations and as COO of the advertising and online division. She was formerly a director at AOL Europe and deputy managing director and finance director at Kodak. An avid volunteer as well, she is also a Treasurer and Trustee at ADVANCE Charity, an organization that aims to save and change the lives of women and girls experiencing domestic abuse and those caught in the criminal justice system. Mullin received a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from Trinity College.

 

10. Helena Stolpe
Company: Pagero
Title: Chief Delivery Officer
Location: Sweden

Helena Stolpe is the Chief Delivery Officer at Pagero, a company she has worked at for almost two decades. Pagero is an information technology company that provides E-invoicing, E-banking, and compliance offerings, among other services. The company offers data accuracy and security, transparency, and real-time visibility through a single connection. A leader with extensive internal and external experience, Stolpe brings to her role a deep knowledge of the company as well as an agile approach to driving the company toward its directives. With a growth-oriented mindset, she encourages team members to take the initiative to jointly improve within their roles.

Throughout her career, Stolpe has gained detailed expertise in e-invoicing, e-order, and EDI. She first joined the company as a project manager where she led successful e-invoice implementation in Sweden, Finland, Germany, and Spain. She was then promoted to vice president of production and support and vice president of delivery. She was previously a solution integrator at Ericsson, overseeing the company’s global services. Stolpe received degrees in mathematics and logic at the University of Gothenburg.

 

11. Amy Fisher
Company: Zopa
Title: Chief Risk Officer
Location: United Kingdom

Amy Fisher is the Chief Risk Officer at Zopa. Touted as ‘The Feel Good Money’ company, Zopa is the first-ever peer-to-peer lending company to give people access to simpler, better-value loans and investments. Launched 15 years ago, Zopa today has helped hundreds of thousands of customers take the stress out of money with its unique banking service. Fisher brings over two decades of financial experience to her role, and first joined the company as chief credit officer before taking on her current role three years later. Now as CRO, she is responsible for developing Zopa’s approach to risk management and leads the control functions that comprise Zopa’s second line of defense.

Before Zopa, Fisher was at Capital One for 17 years, working across the company in various leadership roles and departments, most recently as a senior director and the head of collections and recoveries. In that role, she notably led a cross-functional team of 45 professionals in Capital One’s credit analysis, operations, vendor management, and risk management functions. She was also previously responsible for developing Capital One’s strategy for expansion outside of credit cards as well as its strategy for responding to the regulatory agenda. Fisher received a Bachelor of Science degree in natural sciences from the University of Cambridge.

 

12. Kate Scarles
Company: FE fundinfo
Title: Chief People Officer
Location: United Kingdom

A transformational HR leader, Kate Scarles is the Chief People Officer at FE fundinfo. FE fundinfo is a global fund data and technology leader that supports more efficient investing through trusted information. Since launching discretionary managed portfolios in 2015, FE Investments has become a multi-award-winning discretionary fund manager (DFM), named as one of the fastest-growing DFMs with over £3 billion in assets under management. At FE, Scarles leverages her expertise in organizational effectiveness to identify and grow high-potential talent to create efficient leadership teams. She is responsible for all aspects of the talent strategy for FE fundinfo across 14 international locations and is a member of the Executive Committee.

Before FE fundinfo, Scarles was the senior HR director at Standard & Poor’s for nearly 20 years, where she was responsible for S&P Ratings in the EMEA region. There, her strong business orientation drove strategy and programs that supported business goals. She was also an HR business partner at Credit Suisse and the HR manager of Barclays Investment Bank for four years.

 

13. Leda Glyptis
Company: 10x Future Technologies
Title: Chief Client Officer
Location: United Kingdom

Leda Glyptis is the Chief Client Officer at 10x Future Technologies the transformative bank leading change with a next-generation cloud-native technology platform. With the aim to transform banking, 10x Future Technologies utilizes its 10x SuperCore to enable client banks to engage with their customers in a more timely, relevant, and personalized manner. Glyptis has been with the company for only five months in her current role, but she brings with her extensive experience in the industry. She focuses on driving success for new and existing 10x clients and is currently the Chairman of the Board for GeoPhy, the Non-Executive Director of SimplyPayMe, and the Chairman of the Board for findexable.

Before joining 10x Future Technologies, Glyptis was the chief executive officer at 11:FS Foundry where she led the growth of its modular core digital banking offering. She joined 11:FS after almost two years as chief innovation officer at Qatar National Bank where she was responsible for employee-driven and market-led innovation strategy and execution. She was also formerly a director at Sapient, EMEA Innovation Center head at BNY Mellon, and the head of services development at Great East London Software. Glyptis received a Bachelor of Arts degree in social and political science from King’s College Cambridge, and a Master of Science degree and PhD from the London School of Economics.

 

14. Chiara Gelmini
Company: Appway
Title: Senior WM Industry Marketing Manager
Location: Switzerland

Chiara joined Appway 8 years ago in the role of Business Consultant for the Professional Service team.  Since then she has risen through five additional positions each of increasing responsibility and oversight. At inception, she was a one-person department working closely with customers’ technology and business people, bridging the gap between business lingo and developers. In parallel, she built Appway's global Business Consultants team from scratch, establishing a structured and thorough consultancy methodology in line with the Appway Solutions strategy and GTM.

Previously, Chiara worked in wealth management for T&F Asset Management.  During her time with Appway she has collaborated extensively with the marketing team, defining the company's Solutions GTM while contributing to thought leadership pieces and speaking on stage at events. Now as Senior Wealth Management Industry Marketing Manager, Chiara drives all aspects of marketing and communications for Appway’s wealth management offering which covers the full client lifecycle.

 

15. Alyona Andronikova
Company: Moneyveo
Title: Chief Executive Officer
Location: Ukraine

Alyona Andronikova is the Group Chief Executive Officer of Moneyveo. Moneyveo was launched in 2013, and since then has been a leader in instant, online non-bank lending in Ukraine. The company provides end-to-end automated lending and the highest service speed. It makes payday loans accessible, fast, easy, and transparent whenever customers need them, with no need to visit office or waste time for qualifying. Today, over 1 million people use Moneyveo, enjoying the benefit of one-minute loan approval, less than one minute application process for regular customers, and six minutes application for new customers. Ms. Andronikova was initially the Chief Operating Officer at Moneyveo, before taking the CEO position in 2018. As transformational leader and expert in rearrangement of process according to Lean-concept, Ms. Andronikova has developed an innovative strategy that resulted in proven business growth, improvement, and efficiency.

Prior to joining Moneyveo, Ms. Andronikova gained 20 years of experience in the industry, including 10 years in business management. She is also a certified expert in Six Sigma Methodology and ACCA DipIFR. Now, under Ms. Andronikova’s leadership, Moneyveo has entered the international market, developed new services, and received a number of prestigious national and international awards.

 

16. Joanne Dewar
Company: Global Processing Services
Title: Chief Executive Officer
Location: United Kingdom

An industry powerhouse, Joanne Dewar is the current Chief Executive Officer at Global Processing Services (GPS). Founded in 2007, Global Processing Services is the trusted and proven go-to payments processing partner for today’s leading challenger brands, including Revolut, Starling Bank, and Curve. The company’s highly flexible and configurable platform places the control firmly in the hands of global fintechs, digital banks, and e-wallets. Today the Mastercard- and Visa-certified company operates programs for 180+ customers in 60 countries, using over 150 currencies. Since joining in 2013, Dewar has been credited as a significant contributor to the overall success of the business. She led the transformation from founder-owned startup to private equity-backed scaleup.

Prior to GPS, Dewar led a successful career in management consulting, specializing in complex multinational transformation programs for FTSE 100 companies. Her previous experience includes being a branch chair at NCT Charity, project manager at BP, and project and program manager for Aviva. She was also notably a principal consultant at PwC for almost seven years. Now with GPS, she has successfully reinforced the company’s people, processes, and technology to support sustained rapid growth. Dewar received her Master of Arts degree in geography from the University of Oxford.

 

17. Tania Calvo
Company: RavenPack
Title: Chief Operating Officer
Location: Spain

Tania Calvo is the Chief Operating Officer at RavenPack, a fintech company that transforms unstructured big data sets into structured granular data and indicators to help financial services firms improve performance. Financial services rely on RavenPack for speed and accuracy in analyzing large amounts of unstructured content and the company’s clients include the most successful hedge funds, banks, and asset managers in the world. Calvo has been with RavenPack for an impressive 17 years. In her role, she is responsible for RavenPack's financial, legal, tax, human resource, and administrative functions, and is known for being a multi-talented and versatile leader who develops and further strengthens the companies she serves.

Calvo first joined the company as senior vice president and director of administration, a role she held for 13 years before becoming the Chief Operating Officer. Before RavenPack, Calvo gained extensive experience in the legal, healthcare, and service sectors. In both her former and current positions, she has acted as a proactive, driven, and motivational leader whose versatility of skill and knowledge has enabled companies to go from startup to large, privately held names with a global presence.

 

18. Amber Skinner-Jozefson
Company: Oakam
Title: Chief Executive and Managing Director
Location: United Kingdom

Amber Skinner-Jozefson is the Chief Executive and Managing Director at Oakam, the disruptive fintech leader using innovative technology to extend credit to the financially neglected and underbanked. This digital micro-lender operates on the belief that the credit industry is broken for the growing number of people seeking access to vital funds that can help them improve or establish their credit score. Skinner-Jozefson brings to the company just shy of 20 years of experience, ascending to the top role after only a year as the chief product and marketing officer. In addition to her current position, Skinner-Jozefson is also a Board Trustee for Action West London and is an Advisor to ePOP AI.

Before joining Oakam, Skinner-Jozefson gained extensive marketing and management experience. Most recently, she was the international marketing director for Axioma Inc. Prior to that, she was the group head of marketing and communications at Panalux, corporate manager of external communications at Arkadin, and PR and communications manager for MoMac. She has also been an online communications and marketing officer for Express Conseil, editor for PRWeb, and reporter for CrossRoadsNews, Inc. Skinner-Jozefson received her Bachelor of Arts degree in print journalism from Howard University and her Master of Business Administration degree from the Imperial College Business School.

 

19. Natalie Levine
Company: Wealth Dynamix
Title: Chief Technology Officer
Location: United Kingdom

Natalie Levine is the Chief Technology Officer of Wealth Dynamix, a client lifecycle management solutions company for wealth and asset managers and private banks. Wealth Dynamix provides a multi-award-winning, fully-integrated, end-to-end digital client lifecycle management solution that addresses complex requirements for wealth and asset managers and private banks. Established in 2012, the company is headquartered in London with offices in New York, Geneva, Zurich, Vilnius, and Singapore. Levine brings with her over 25 years in delivering large-scale technology projects to the wealth management sector.

Prior to Wealth Dynamix, Levine spent just under three years as the head of technology at Bridgepoint, a British private equity investor focused on acquiring middle-market businesses valued up to €1 billion. Before that, she spent almost two decades at Quilter Cheviot Ltd as head of software development and head of technology. Levine received a Bachelor of Arts degree in computer systems analysis from Bournemouth University.

 

20. Yasamin Karimi
Company: Codat
Title: Head of Product
Location: United Kingdom

Yasamin Karimi is an experienced product leader who is currently the Head of Product at Codat - a company that offers a seamless connection into small business financial software. Yasamin has built the product team at Codat into a customer focused, problem solving function that has enabled substantial growth for the company. As a previous small business owner herself, Yasamin felt compelled to focus on solving the huge administrative burden that small businesses seek to alleviate by using products, built by financial service providers. She is a firm believer in the potential of small business data and believes access to this data can transform the way in which SMBs use and receive products. Yasamin brings to her role at Codat a demonstrated history of launching large scale fintech products to market. Always focused on the future, she provides the vision, strategy, and positioning of Codat’s product to ensure it aligns with the largest developments in open finance, particularly on how open finance can be used for the greater good. She firmly believes that product teams should be positioned as an ally to all members of an organisation and has been instrumental in providing this team structure to many companies.

Yasamin has worked in financial technology since the beginning of her career and has extensive experience with API-based products. Prior to Codat, she was the Head of Product at Starling Bank, and spent a number of years at Mastercard and a large payment infrastructure provider, in numerous roles where she grew into product leadership on a number of payment platforms deployed and used globally by the world's largest financial institutions. Yasamin received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Computing from the University of Kent. Yasamin also started a small business herself in recent years, where she successfully distributed her healthy food brand into work based cafes across London before deciding to purely focus on pursuing fintech product leadership.

 

21. Carlotta Mondino
Company: finleap connect
Title: Head of Business Unit
Location: Germany

Carlotta Mondino is the Head of Business Unit at finleap connect, a subsidiary of finleap. Finleap connect addresses the fragmented open banking landscape with a “full-stack platform” that enables partners to access financial transactions and to enrich those transactions with data and analytics. Finleap connect is part of the leading European fintech ecosystem, a group with 1,300 employees from over 80 countries. Mondino first joined finleap connect as the business development manager and was previously the principal business development manager before her current role.

Before this, Mondino was with parent company finleap for just over three years in various roles, most recently as the business development manager. Having spent her entire professional career within finleap and its subsidiaries, Mondino is well-placed to lead the company’s business unit with her wealth of internal experience. Mondino is an active volunteer as well and spent a year as project lead for Impact Career and two years as the co-founder and head of communication and internal relations for Social Business Club while earning her degrees. Mondino acquired a Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration from the University of St. Gallen, which included a one-year exchange at Hanyang University in Seoul, South Korea.

 

22. Trudy Ross
Company: Quantile Technologies
Title: Chief Operating Officer
Location: United Kingdom

Trudy Ross is the Chief Operating Officer at Quantile Technologies. Quantile, formed in 2015, is focused on making the markets for financial derivatives run more effectively. Since launching its first live products in 2017, the company has significantly reduced risk in financial markets, delivering advanced strategies that rebalance portfolios of transactions between market participants, increasing the efficiency and liquidity of markets, improving returns for clients and making the financial system safer. Today, its clients include all of the top-tier global banks, together with regional banks and other large institutional market participants. The company serves these clients from offices in London and New York.

In 2016, Ross was the third employee to join Quantile and has seen the company grow substantially. Quantile now has 70 employees and has won awards from Risk Magazine, Global Capital and the Futures Industry Association. Having been interested in business from a young age, Ross spent 16 years at Deutsche Bank before joining Quantile. At Deutsche she worked as global business manager for money market derivative trading and rates trading. She later became the COO for Derivatives Clearing Sales and also served as an executive committee member while on the board of OTCDeriv Ltd. A strong advocate for women in business, she encourages women to seek out companies that have a similar culture of inclusivity. Trudy received her master’s degree from the University of Auckland.

 

23. Julia Markiewicz
Company: Silent Eight
Title: Co-Founder, Chief Operating Officer
Region: Global

A proven entrepreneur and leader, Julia Markiewicz is the Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Silent Eight. A regtech firm, Silent Eight is a technology company that leverages AI to create custom compliance models for the world’s leading financial institutions. The company’s mission is to empower clients in their fight to eliminate financial crime. Today, the company is headquartered in Singapore, with s global offices in New York, London, and Warsaw and its product is deployed in over 150 markets. Markiewicz co-founded the company just shy of eight years ago. Under her leadership, Silent Eight continues to pioneer a groundbreaking solution for customer screening and payment screening powered by machine learning and natural language processing.

Prior to Silent Eight, Markiewicz was also the founder and CEO of Fabryka Kadr Sp., a startup in Warsaw. She led this company for five years and oversaw operational improvement across all areas of the company, created a long term strategic and financial plan, and managed business partnerships and opportunities for growth. Markiewicz is also active in her community. She has been a volunteer for the Singapore Art Museum for the last seven years, as well as a Docent at Wildlife Reserves Singapore. She also volunteers at the Little Brothers of the Poor Association in Poland. Julia is a member of 100Women in Fintech Directory, the UK’s RegTech Women, and has been listed among the Financial Technology Report’s “Top 25 Women Leaders in Financial Technology of 2020.” Markiewicz received a master’s degree in social policy at the University of Warsaw.

 

24. Sasha Mazhar
Company: Yobota
Title: Head of People
Location: United Kingdom

Sasha Mazhar is currently the Head of People at Yobota, where she informs the business on key people decisions and focuses on building an HR and L&D function that nurtures growth across a rapidly scaling fintech business. Yobota has created a cloud-based operating platform that provides core banking as a service to financial institutions. Yobota has won a number of reputable awards and recognitions including the 2019 UK Business Tech award for “Fintech Innovator of the Year” and the 2019 FinTech Futures “Best Core Banking Solution Provider” award. As part of the senior management team, Mazhar works closely with the CEO and works to implement people strategy and enhance operational processes, and oversees talent, culture, engagement, and performance management across the business to deliver a positive employee experience.

In March 2020, Mazhar led the company’s transition into remote working in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. This resulted in Yobota continuing to successfully scale as a fully remote business, increasing its workforce headcount by 66% and securing its second client in the process. Before joining Yobota, Mazhar worked in the media, creative, and PR industries, having worked for large-scale international businesses where she managed the growth of HR functions across the EMEA market and supported business leaders on business strategy. Mazhar received her master’s degree in HRM & international business from Edinburgh Napier University and graduated with Joint Honors from the University of Strathclyde in law and human resource management. She frequently contributes advice and insight on key HR topics across various platforms.

 

25. Katarzyna Moszko-Stachowska
Company: Currency One
Title: Public Relations and Marketing
Location: Poland

An experienced Public Relations and Marketing Manager, Katarzyna Moszko-Stachowska is the PR Manager for Currency One SA. Currency One is one of the the biggest online currency exchange market in Poland. Established as a result of merging the first currency peer-to-peer platform with the first online currency exchange bureau, Currency One enables users to exchange currencies swiftly and securely. Over 700,000 users have already trusted Currency One, exchanging tens of millions currencies on a monthly basis. Moszko-Stachowska has been with Currency One in her current position for nine years. She brings to the role extensive experience from having run her own PR agency, gaining competencies in influencer marketing, social media marketing, and employer branding.

Before joining her current role, Moszko-Stachowska gained a decade of experience in PR and marketing. Her most recent role was as the marketing and PR manager for Solo PR, a role she held for three years. She preceded this with a stint as a PR manager at Passion PR and as a PR team manager at ARW Image Public Relations. She was also previously a journalist at Polska Press Group and Gazeta Wyborcza, and a reporter at TVP Polish Television. Moszko-Stachowska received her Master of Arts degree in politics at Adam Mickiewicz University and her postgraduate degree from the Poznań University of Economics and Business.