Karl Rieder

Director, R&D Group, GFT Technologies

Biography



Karl Rieder is a Director in GFT’s R&D group, Applied Technologies and as such helps clients in the UK with the challenges of business innovation, defining technology strategy and delivering multi-channel applications for retail and investement banking. He acts as the bridge between clients that want to understand how new technologies can help them and the self confessed “geeks” who work their magic to create engaging apps.

Karl has previously worked as a senior project manager and lead technical architect through which he has gained excellent banking industry knowledge and more that 15 years IT management experience. His mobility blog on Finextra has been visited more than 11,000 times – not all by himself.

With a first degree in Engineering and a PhD in Oceanography from the University of California, San Diego, Karl brings a relaxed Californian beach mentality to the complexity of IT.

Aman Narain

Global Head, Internet & Mobile Banking, Standard Chartered

Biography

Aman Narain is the Global Head of Remote Banking (Online & Mobile) for Standard Chartered’s Consumer Bank.

In his role as Head of Remote Banking he is responsible for the operational management and strategic development of the transactional online and mobile offering serving customers in 29 countries across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. He is also responsible for the public online presence of Standard Chartered with global governance over country and business websites.

Aman began his career with Standard Chartered in Corporate Banking in London and has held roles in Investor Relations, Strategy, Acquisition and Business Development.

Aman has an MBA from Insead in France and a BA in International Relations from Ohio Wesleyan University. He is based in Singapore.

Aman Narain

Global Head, Internet & Mobile Banking, Standard Chartered

Biography

Aman Narain is the Global Head of Remote Banking (Online & Mobile) for Standard Chartered’s Consumer Bank.

In his role as Head of Remote Banking he is responsible for the operational management and strategic development of the transactional online and mobile offering serving customers in 29 countries across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. He is also responsible for the public online presence of Standard Chartered with global governance over country and business websites.

Aman began his career with Standard Chartered in Corporate Banking in London and has held roles in Investor Relations, Strategy, Acquisition and Business Development.

Aman has an MBA from Insead in France and a BA in International Relations from Ohio Wesleyan University. He is based in Singapore.

Thomas Kragh

Associate Director, Digital Channels, Nykredit

Biography

Thomas Kragh has worked for several years with internet and mobile technologies, and Is now Senior Vice President, and Head of Digital Channels in Nykredit, Denmark. Nykredit is leading mortgage company and the 5^th largest bank in Denmark, with a heavy focus on multichannel distribution. Its website, homebank and mobile solutions are considered leading in its market, and has earned several prices and awards the last 3 years. Thomas Kragh heads up a little department with 12 specialists in Nykredit with responsibility for design, user-interface, online marketing and social media initiatives, with projects within design of Homebanking solutions, PFM-tools, webdesign, mobileapps, online marketing etc.

Adam Kennedy

Product Director, VocaLink

Biography

Adam joined VocaLink in 2006 and was an integral member of the management team responsible for the delivery of the award-winning Bacs technology renewal programme and the revolutionary Faster Payments Service.   In his current role he has been responsible for the launch of the VocaLink real-time payments platform, Immediate Payments, and spear-headed VocaLink's mobile payments strategy, including the successful bid to deliver the UK's Mobile Payments Common Infrastructure Platform. 

Pol Navarro

Head of Direct Channels & Innovation, Banco Sabadell

Biography

Pol Navarro received a graduate degree in Computer Science at Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, an MBA at Universitat Oberta de Cataluña and Harvard School, and executive degree at IESE Business School. Actually is Head of Direct Channels and Innovation at Banco Sabadell, one of Spain’s biggest banking groups, where he leads all the activity related to new channel development, new customer services and innovation. During the last years, he has been responsible of e-banking and direct channels at Banco Sabadell, where he lead the bank’s on-line offering transformation and evolution.

Pol is highly qualified digital business, customer service and ecommerce strategist, and recognized thought leader who has done speaking internationally on several Banking, Mobile and Internet conferences.

Thomas Kragh

Associate Director, Digital Channels, Nykredit

Biography

Thomas Kragh has worked for several years with internet and mobile technologies, and Is now Senior Vice President, and Head of Digital Channels in Nykredit, Denmark. Nykredit is leading mortgage company and the 5^th largest bank in Denmark, with a heavy focus on multichannel distribution. Its website, homebank and mobile solutions are considered leading in its market, and has earned several prices and awards the last 3 years. Thomas Kragh heads up a little department with 12 specialists in Nykredit with responsibility for design, user-interface, online marketing and social media initiatives, with projects within design of Homebanking solutions, PFM-tools, webdesign, mobileapps, online marketing etc.

Ruairidh Roberts

Industry Manager, Finance, Google UK

Biography

Ruairidh is a graduate of English Literature and American Studies from Brunel University, after which he joined the media industry via Haymarket Publishing. After a year of consumer and trade magazines in the auto sector, he made the move to international media with the International Herald Tribune and (following a buyout) the New York Times.

Ten years at the New York Times Global gave Ruairidh a strong sense of brand versus platform where the New York Times is at the forefront of digital innovation and adoption in the face of a challenging print industry.

Moving through several internal roles, Ruairidh left the company as Advertising Sales Director, Finance (& regional sales director, India); joining Google during the summer of 2011, where he works in the finance team, specifically as Industry Manager in the banking team.

Challenging as it is to keep abreast of technology updates in mobile and other digital platforms, Ruairidh's greatest difficulty is keeping charge of his household of three young children, who at 4, 2 and 6 months are already showing signs of humiliating their dad with technical knowhow.

Bill Brown

Worldwide Product Marketing Director, Adeptra

Biography

Bill Brown spent the past twenty years defining and managing the customer experience for some of the largest companies in the world. Bill's experience in card operations includes MBNA America and Providian Financial where his roles have taken him through the entire card lifecycle. While at Providian, Bill ran Risk Management for the sub-prime portfolio as well as the Consolidated Disputes Group supporting both the prime and sub-prime portfolios. Bill also worked with Chordiant Software to support their unified Customer Experience lifecycle by defining, developing and consulting on their vertical business applications. The vertical applications provide systemic solutions for the card market including core servicing capabilities, Disputes Manager, Fraud Manager and Collections Manager. Bill's background also includes the use of real time predictive and adaptive analytics within the customer conversation to differentiate the customer experience and improve the success of the interaction. Bill is currently responsible for defining Worldwide Product Marketing for Adeptra.

John Lunn

EMEA Director of Innovation, PayPal

Biography

John has been building payments and anti-fraud systems on the internet for over 15 years and has advised many of the successful and less successful start-ups on their payment strategies. Originally a java certified developer and now an all-purpose hacker, John works developing future tech and Innovation for Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Tom Gregory

Head of Digital Payments, Barclaycard

Biography

Tom Gregory is responsible for the digital payments strategy at Barclaycard UK, including NFC / mobile payments, online payments, and adjacent areas in the payments cycle. He was previously head of change at the card company, tasked with overhauling the merchant acquiring, commercial and international lending and issuing business, which included integrating 1.5 million Goldfish card customers into Barclaycard's operations. Prior to joining the firm he worked at FirstCaribbean Bank in 2003 where he oversaw the merger of Barclays Caribbean and CIBC to create the new entity.

Tom Gregory

Head of Digital Payments, Barclaycard

Biography

Tom Gregory is responsible for the digital payments strategy at Barclaycard UK, including NFC / mobile payments, online payments, and adjacent areas in the payments cycle. He was previously head of change at the card company, tasked with overhauling the merchant acquiring, commercial and international lending and issuing business, which included integrating 1.5 million Goldfish card customers into Barclaycard's operations. Prior to joining the firm he worked at FirstCaribbean Bank in 2003 where he oversaw the merger of Barclays Caribbean and CIBC to create the new entity.

John Lunn

EMEA Director of Innovation, PayPal

Biography

John has been building payments and anti-fraud systems on the internet for over 15 years and has advised many of the successful and less successful start-ups on their payment strategies. Originally a java certified developer and now an all-purpose hacker, John works developing future tech and Innovation for Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Sean Gilchrist

Managing Director, Digital Banking, Barclays Bank

Biography

Sean Gilchrist is the Managing Director of Digital Banking for Barclays UK Retail Bank.

Digital Banking includes Internet, Mobile and Self-Service Banking and drives the commercial and operational channel performance and development of the services offered. As well as the sales, customer experience and growth, Sean is responsible for the operation of the services and development of the channels and their functionality.

Recognising the greater role digital banking has to play in Barclays multi-channel offering Sean has driven an agenda of growth and change. Results have already been seen with the introduction of improved online security measures making Barclays one of the safest places to bank online. At the same time Sean has doubled the Digital Banking top line and driven the development of Barclays mobile banking service.

Sean has been with Barclays since 2002, initially with Barclays Wealth where he established the Online Banking team driving the commercial performance and development of the Barclays International Online Banking offering. Prior to that he worked across a rang of "blue chip" financial services companies where he specialised in sales and distribution, e-services and transformational change management.

Following University, Lloyds Bank is where Sean started his career in Finance in 1986 completing their Management Development Programme. He is married with three children.