Confirmed Speakers
Speakers
Listed alphabetically by first name. Tap any speaker to read their full bio.
Ann Cairns
Chair, CAB Payments PLC
Independent Non-Executive Chair of CAB Payments Holdings plc. Former Executive Vice Chair of Mastercard and former CEO of Transaction Banking at ABN AMRO. Chair of the Financial Alliance for Women, a global network spanning 135+ countries, and a board member of London Business School.
Charles McManus
Co-Founder & Board Director, ClearBank; Founder, Freedom; Chair & Adviser to several Fintechs; Co-Chair, Innovate Finance's Unicorn Council
Co-founder of ClearBank and its CEO from 2015 until stepping back in March 2025, growing the business to 250+ customers across the UK and Europe and leading it to profitability; now a Non-Executive Director on the ClearBank board. Founder of Freedom, and Chair and Adviser to several fintechs. Over 30 years in global investment banking, wealth management and retail banking, including as Group CFO of RBS Ulster Bank. Co-Chair of Innovate Finance's Unicorn Council for UK Fintech.
Deborah Cooper
Partner, Head of Board Practice, Miles Advisory
Partner and Head of the Board Services and Financial Services practices at Miles Advisory since 2019, advising boards on Non-Executive, Chair and Chair of Risk/Audit appointments. Previously with Heidrick & Struggles, Norman Broadbent, The Miles Partnership and Warren Partners. Ambassador for Women on Boards.
Graham Durgan
Chair, NED Association and Audeliss
Chair of the Non-Executive Directors' Association (NEDA) and Chair of Audeliss. Also Chair of Emile Woolf International and Emile Woolf (Holdings), senior adviser to Mazars, and an ICAEW Council Member since 1995, representing Thames Valley.
Hayley Thompson
Financial Services M&A & UK Head of Fintech, Deloitte
Partner in Deloitte's Financial Services M&A Transaction Services team, with over 16 years' experience across buy-side and sell-side diligence and IPO reporting-accountant roles, with a particular focus on payments. Lead author of Deloitte's Future of Money research.
Jessica Winter
Chief Legal Officer, Wise
Jessica Winter is the Chief Legal Officer of Wise. As a member of Wise's senior leadership team, she plays a crucial role in guiding a company of over 8,000 employees. Jessica is the primary advisor to the majority independent board of Wise plc, ensuring appropriate governance and oversight to deliver for shareholders and customers. She also chairs the Group's Disclosure Committee, overseeing accurate and timely public disclosures at Wise. Jessica leads Wise's global Legal function, comprising Legal, Privacy and Company Secretarial teams across six countries. Before joining Wise, Jessica was a senior lawyer at Herbert Smith Freehills LLP and Prudential UK. Jessica holds a BA in Ethics, Politics & Economics and International Studies from Yale University, an MSt from the University of Oxford and a Juris Doctorate from Stanford Law School.
Julia Fearn
Senior Partner, Warren Partners
Managing Partner and Board Director at Warren Partners, which she joined in 2014; her search work has included the appointment of two female FTSE 250 Chairs. Interview coach for Smart Works, the UK charity supporting women into employment.
Kate Grussing CBE
Managing Director, Sapphire Partners
Founder and Managing Director of Sapphire Partners, the board and executive search firm she launched in 2005 after a career in corporate finance at Morgan Stanley. A leading advocate for board diversity in UK executive search; awarded a CBE in 2022 for services to business. Board member of the Chartered Management Institute.
Khurram Hussain
Partner, Warren Partners
Specialises in Chair, NED, CEO and ExCo appointments across FTSE and AIM-listed, private equity-backed and privately owned businesses. Closely involved in the Warren Partners Board Fellowship Programme. Deputy Chair of the NWBLT Diversity Drivers group.
Dr Leda Glyptis
Chair, Bourn
External adviser to boards and leadership teams; Visiting Professor of Practice at Loughborough London and a board member of Flagstone IM. Former Chief Client Officer of 10x Banking, founding CEO of 11:FS Foundry, and Chief Innovation Officer of Qatar National Bank. Author of "Beyond Resilience" and "Bankers Like Us." PhD, London School of Economics.
Lisa Mazza
Senior Managing Director, Financial Services | Board Practice, Teneo
Senior Managing Director in Teneo's People Advisory practice, leading chief executive, Chair and Non-Executive Director appointments across banking, market infrastructure and asset management since joining the firm in 2018.
Mike Walters
Co-Founder & CEO, Form3
Mike was appointed CEO in October 2023, having joined Form3 as CPO and co-founder in 2016. During his roles as CPO he was responsible for strategy, product development, product management as well as strategic initiatives, playing a key role in the business' funding activities and key client relationships. Prior to Form3, Mike held senior Product roles within Barclays: as Product Director for Barclaycard Payment Acceptance (card acquiring) he was a member of the Executive Committee and responsible for P&L, product management, strategy development, vendor selection and management, digital transformation and M&A. As Head of UK Corporate Payments for Barclays Corporate Bank, Mike held product management responsibility for all payment, receipting and reporting products delivered to Barclays corporate clients – this included defining the Barclays Corporate Bank mobile payments strategy and initiating, building and scaling multi-award winning mobile payment solutions. Earlier in his career he managed client relationship teams responsible globally for the North American Financial Institutions and FTSE 250 sectors providing him with significant product and enterprise client experience domestically and internationally.
Patrick Dunne OBE
Founder and Author of "Boards," BoardDelta
Author of the award-winning book Boards, now in its third edition. Experienced Chair and board adviser; former member of the Higgs Review; Visiting Professor at Cranfield School of Management and Associate Fellow at Warwick Business School.
Richard Davies
CEO, Allica Bank
CEO of Allica Bank. Before joining Allica, Richard was Group COO at digital bank Revolut. Prior to that he was CEO of OakNorth and held leadership roles at TSB and HSBC.
Richard Edmondson
Partner - Technology Practice Lead, Norman Broadbent Plc
I partner with payments and fintech organisations at pivotal moments in their growth. Expansion into new markets, platform transformation, regulatory change, product innovation and operational scale all place new demands on leadership teams.
Simon Rabin
Founder & CEO, Chip
Chip is your wealth app - providing market leading cash savings, an Investment Fund ISA offering Blackrock, Vanguard & Invesco funds and a bunch of great tools that make it easier to save, invest and build long-term wealth.
Susanne Chishti
Chair, FINTECH Circle
Founder and Chair of FINTECH Circle, the UK's leading global fintech network. Investor, FTSE board member, Non-Executive Director, and bestselling editor of The FINTECH Book Series (Wiley), translated into 10 languages and sold in 107 countries. 15+ years' senior experience at Deutsche Bank, Lloyds Banking Group, Morgan Stanley and Accenture in London and Hong Kong. Leads a global fintech community of 260,000+ professionals.
Tory Hyndman
Partner, Sainty Hird & Partners
Partner in Sainty Hird & Partners' Asset and Wealth Management Practice, with over 20 years in executive search. Previously Partner at Charta Partners and David Barrett Partners, and in Heidrick & Struggles' Global Asset & Wealth Management Practice. Ambassador for the Diversity Project and Governor of James Allen's Girls' School.
