Advisors

Tony founded, manages and consults for The Trade Advisory, leveraging deep expertise in receivables, payables, inventory and trade finance garnered over 30 years.
For 10 years, his firm, The Trade Advisory, has pivoted traders, banks, fintechs, investors and commercial lenders into new products, growth markets, and bottom line results.
Tony has held executive management positions in trade finance businesses for companies like Maersk, Bibby, Delta, GMAC – and historically for major banking groups and asset-based lenders.

John Bugeja is a highly experienced trade, supply chain and invoice finance specialist with more than 40 years’ experience in senior leadership roles with HSBC, NatWest, RBS, Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group. In 2015 John co-founded Trade Advisory Network which specialises in the strategic development of global supply chain, trade and invoice finance with a client base of banks, non-bank finance providers, fintechs, technology service providers and government agencies. John is passionate about promoting the development of supply chain finance in all its forms and is a member of the ICC’s Banking Commission and actively involved in the trade digitisation workstream. John is co-author of the ICC Academy’s Advanced Supply Chain Finance online course and also of the London Institute of Banking and Finance’s Certificate in Supply Chain Finance professional qualification.

Andre Casterman is an independent consultant, advising fintechs and financial institutions on data management and trade finance technologies. Andre spent 20+ years at SWIFT, leading global innovations in the inter-bank payments, corporate treasury, and trade finance markets. During that time, he established an institutional partnership between SWIFT and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and created the first natively digital trade settlement instrument based on ICC rules and smart contract technology before blockchain was even available. Andre leads the “Alternative Finance” learning lab of the World of Open Account (WOA) and is a non-executive director at Tradeteq, the industry’s most advanced trade distribution platform. Andre also chairs the ITFA’s Fintech Committee which gathers 31 fintechs active in trade-related technologies and that help originators automate trade finance processes and attract institutional investors to the asset class.

Retired General Manager and co-founder at Dutch Finance Lab, Impact Factoring and ImFact Kenya. Greenfield factoring operations. Co founder and shareholder of Ubunteq Financial Services Ltd In Zambia..

Margrith has worked in Trade Finance with a special focus on Forfaiting and Factoring for most of her professional life. Margrith joined FIMBank on 1st April 2003 as Executive Vice President, responsible for Business Development and was appointed to President on 1st September 2004. She retired as President on 31st December 2014, after more than a decade as President to become an Advisor to the industry under the trademark Quarterback. Margrith was educated in Switzerland and was a member of the board of the Swiss Association of Forfaiters in 1983, and also founding Chairman of the Association of Forfaiters in the Americas in 1995. In 1999, Mrs. Lütschg-Emmenegger co-founded the International Forfaiting Association (IFA) were she served as the Deputy Chairman until September 2003. In October 2013, Margrith was elected as Chairman of International Factors Group (IFG) where she served as a Board Member since 2011. Margrith now serves on the Advisory Board of Octet plc Group, Trade Finance Market, Visolent Pvt. Ltd. India, GTRV, Singapore as well as on the Editorial Board of TRFNews.

Alexander R. Malaket, CITP, CTFP, GTP-E, is President of Canadian consultancy OPUS Advisory Services International Inc., established in 2001, focusing on international business, trade and investment with a specialism in trade finance/supply chain finance. Alexander has researched and authored thought leadership reports, program assessments and reviews, public and international policy reports and has participated in or chaired numerous international initiatives for industry bodies and other institutions.

Mr. Malaket is the author of the book “Financing Trade and International Supply Chains” (Taylor & Francis, UK, 2014) and serves on several boards and advisory bodies, including as Deputy Head of the Executive Committee, International Chamber of Commerce Banking Commission where he led the multi-association drafting effort for the “Standard Definitions for Supply Chain Finance” (2016).

Factoring expert for Central East Europe.

Deepesh Patel is Director of Partnerships & Marketing at Trade Finance Global (TFG). In this role, Deepesh leads efforts in developing TFG’s brand, relationships and strategic direction in key markets, including the UK, US, Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong. This includes TFG’s fintech platform and blockchain projects. Deepesh regularly speaks at industry events including The Telegraph’s Future of Trade & Export, BCR Consortia, Excred Commodities and FCI’s Annual Conference.
Prior to TFG, Deepesh worked at Travelex where he was responsible for the cards business and the Travelex Money app in Europe, NAM, UK and Brazil.
Deepesh has a Bachelor’s Degree in Natural Sciences from Durham University and is a Fellow of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust. He is a regular contributor to publications including Business Insider, Finextra, International Trade Magazine and Cryptocoinsnews.
Deepesh is a co-opted Local Authority Governor of the Wyvern Federation, which has responsibility for 5 primary schools in South London.

António has over 30 years in banking and financial services, most of the time in the factoring and supply chain finance businesses, where he held several senior roles within industry reference groups such as Heller International, Crédit Agricole and FIMBank. With a much-diversified experience and exposure across multiple products, countries and markets, he has a holistic understanding of the business, expertise he currently shares as a business facilitator and independent consultant.

Business finance senior expert with over 25 years of experience to build teams and deliver results.
Proven track record of ground-breaking business finance solutions in several countries.
Diverse background in management, business development, product innovation, and enhancing organizational performance with a focus to drive business growth, fostering synergies, and be successful.
Talent for building and maintaining relationships with clients, stakeholders, and internal teams.
Experienced trainer and speaker at events and workshops hosted or sponsored by international business associations (e.g. FCI, IFG, and SCF Community) or development institutions (e.g. IFC, EBRD, and Afrexim Bank) focused on capacity building, raising awareness on global industry standards, and drive sustainable business growth through mastery of excellence.
Serving for many decades on technical committees and working groups within industry business associations with a specific focus on business & trade finance.
I lived and worked in several cultures and I traveled the world, which strengthen my abilities to adapt and excel in diverse environments with a wide perspective on work and life facets.
Seeking senior or board-level role to deliver business success.

Christophe is a repeat entrepreneur and intrapreneur, with deep experience in tradetech, insuretech and payments. He is the founder of Alpine Style, a tradetech venture builder in partnership with forward-looking financial services leaders. Alpine Style shapes bold long-term visions, and builds amazing teams to turn them into new growth engines in B2B trade, commercial insurance and supply chain finance.

Lionel Taylor is a trade, supply chain and invoice finance business leader and consultant who has previously held senior management and director positions with major financial institutions and with non-bank independents.

Now Managing Director of Trade Advisory Network Limited, which specialises in the strategic development of global supply chain, trade and invoice finance with a client base of banks, independent finance providers, fintechs, technology providers, and government agencies.

He is the co-author of the professional qualifications in supply chain finance for both the International Chambers of Commerce Academy and the London Institute of Banking and Finance.

In addition to his work in Trade Advisory Network, he is a Non-Executive Director of a growing UK based fintech, sits as the independent credit committee member for another non-bank finance provider and is frequently invited to comment and write for specialist international trade publications as well as chairing and speaking at international events.

Mr. Trojan, Senior Advisor at NatLaw, is an international commercial lending and disruptive technology expert, thought leader and speaker. He is Founder and CEO of Token Insights, his advisory firm that specializes in global strategy, FinTech, RegTech, and regulatory/legislative affairs. He is a Mentor with the FinTech71 and The Venture Center accelerators and the IconiqLab blockchain accelerator. From 2012-2017, Mr. Trojan was the CEO of the Commercial Finance Association (CFA), the global trade organization representing 250+ banks and finance companies in the asset based lending, supply chain finance, trade finance, and factoring business. CFA members represented approximately $600 Billion in this type of financing each year.

Mr. Trojan also serves as official Observer on three UN Working Groups (Secured Transactions, MSME Finance, and Insolvency), was appointed to advise the US Secretary of Commerce on its Trade Finance Advisory Council, and engages regularly with the international community including the World Bank and APEC, among others.

Steven is the founder and CEO of Capital Chains (2015), a Dutch company specializing in consultancy and training on end-to-end working capital optimization and financial supply chain management issues. Steven has been involved in the setup and roll out of working capital projects for both banks and large corporates around the world and has a strong focus on SCF program design and implementation.

He gained his experience in financial supply chain management through (consulting) roles at ING, Capgemini Consulting and Inchainge, and holds a master’s degree in International Economics and Finance from Tilburg University (NL). His main area of interest is the interaction between the physical and the financial supply chain, as well as the required change processes for the organization from a client/supplier and employee perspective. The ultimate objective for Capital Chains’ is to turn Financial Supply Chains into value creators as they are “financial game changers”.