Judging & Feedback - Growth Finance Awards

Our two-stage judging process increases robustness, ensures credibility and enhances prestige for all those recognised by the Growth Finance Awards.

Open to any growth finance solution providers and forward thinking UK SMEs that have scaled to impressive heights using growth finance. The awards are judged on information supplied in an online entry form, with questions specific to each category.

Guided by an advisory board, Intelligent Partnership’s research team conducts an initial shortlist of all entries* to identify finalists, who are announced in June. Finalist entries in each category then go to a second round of judging by, at least, three people drawn from an independent panel of over 30 judges** to provide a diverse mix of qualified perspectives. All of the judges’ scores are collated to determine the winner and to generate a personalised feedback & benchmarking report, so all finalists receive insight on areas of improvement. The judges’ decision is final.

*Please note that all information supplied in your entry is completely confidential and will not be published or shared with third parties.

**To avoid any conflict of interest, sponsors are not invited to judge, entrants cannot be sponsors and sponsors cannot enter the awards.

JUDGING PANEL

Drawn from within the alternative finance industry and wider business community, our panel of independent judges bring a range of perspectives to level the playing field, increase robustness and credibility, and enhance the prestige of each award presented.

The independent judging panel for our last ceremony included:

Tanya AndreasyanFinTech Futures

Thorsten BeckCass Business School

Adam BlaskeyThe Clubhouse

Mark BrownridgeEISA

Mike BuddPhilip Hare & Associates

Maria CarapetoThe London Institute of Banking and Finance

Reece ChowdhryFounder of RLC Ventures

Andy DavisAlternative Funding Network

Annabel DenhamThe Entrepreneurs Network

James DevlinNottingham University Business School

Neil EdwardsThe Marketing Eye

Elenora FerreroMind the Bridge

Jack HurdidgeELITE – London Stock Exchange Group

Stephen JonesClear Solutions

Simon KevanLaws of Attraction

Dan KiernanHenley Business School

Bobby LaneBlick Rothenberg

Simon Ling-LockeThe London Institute of Banking and Finance

Michael Llewelyn-JonesThe London Institute of Banking and Finance

Lisa MoyleVC Innovations

Tim NyeTrowers & Hamlin

Donna O’TooleCEO of August - The Awards Consultancy

Osmond PlummerThe London Institute of Banking and Finance

Gillian Roche-SaundersBWB Compliance, Bates Wells Braithwaite

Asif SadiqThe Telegraph

Lucio SarnoCass Business School

Edward SloanRooney Nimmo

Martin SpillerSystemagic Limited

Francesc Rodriguez TousCass Business School

Ruth WandhoferCoinfirm

Chris WhitneyEnnes Global Mortgages

Henry WhorwoodBeauhurst

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Tanya Andreasyan

FinTech Futures

Tanya is MD and Editor-in-Chief of FinTech Futures. She oversees the its digital and print publishing operations and strategy. She has extensive understanding and knowledge of the banking/financial services technology industry and its participants, including vendors, financial institutions, consultants and other third parties, on global, regional and domestic levels. She specialises in covering banking tech, fintech, paytech and regtech markets.

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Thorsten Beck

Cass Business School

Thorsten Beck is professor of banking and finance at Cass Business School in London. He is also a research fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) and the CESifo. He was professor of economics from 2008 to 2014 at Tilburg University and the founding chair of the European Banking Center from 2008 to 2013. Previously he worked in the research department of the World Bank and has also worked as consultant for – among others – the European Central Bank, the Bank of England, the BIS, the IMF, the European Commission, and the German Development Corporation. His research, academic publications and operational work have focused on two major questions: What is the relationship between finance and economic development? What policies are needed to build a sound and effective financial system? Recently, he has concentrated on access to financial services, including SME finance, as well as on the design of regulatory and bank resolution frameworks. In addition to numerous academic publications in leading economics and finance journals, he has co-authored several policy reports on access to finance, financial systems in Africa and cross-border banking. His country experience, both in operational and research work, includes Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Egypt, Mexico, Russia and several countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. In addition to presentation at numerous academic conferences, including several keynote addresses, he is invited regularly to policy panels across Europe. He holds a PhD from the University of Virginia and an MA from the University of Tübingen in Germany.

I am also Managing (Co)editor of Economic Policy and member of the Advisory Scientific Committee of the European Systemic Risk Board

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Adam Blaskey

The Clubhouse

Adam is the CEO & Founder of The Clubhouse. Adam founded The Clubhouse in 2012 after becoming frustrated with meeting important clients in uninspiring, unproductive places around London. This ignited the idea to create a better way to do business and to fill the gap between a serviced office and meeting in hotel lobbies or coffee shops.

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Mark Brownridge

EISA

Mark has over twenty years experience in Financial services and prior to being appointed Director General at the EIS Association, he was Head of Research and Development at Mazars, a leading UK financial planning firm. Mark is highly qualified being a Certified Financial Planner, Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and Fellow of the Personal Finance Society and also sits on the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investments Accredited firms committee and TISA’s Distribution Policy Council.

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Mike Budd

Philip Hare & Associates

Mike qualified as a Chartered Tax Adviser in 2003 and has over 20 years’ experience advising on aspects of tax and structured investments.
Following his training with Smith & Williamson, Mike spent 4 years working in The Specialist Tax Group at HSBC Private Bank (UK) Limited advising ultra high net worth and high profile clients on a variety of matters, both in the UK and internationally. In 2011, Mike set up his own consultancy practice focused on both the practical and technical aspects of HMRC’s Venture Capital Schemes, an area he had gained a vast amount of experience in whilst working in his previous commercial and technical roles. Mike has a particular interest in start-ups and is a member of The Chartered Institute of Taxation and the Association of Taxation Technicians.
Mike works part time for Philip Hare & Associates, a leading tax consultancy business which specialises in providing EIS, SEIS, VCT and SITR tax advice.

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Maria Carapeto

The London Institute of Banking and Finance

Maria is Head of Faculty and Associate Professor at The London Institute of Banking & Finance, and Academic Community Representative on the Board. She holds a PhD in Finance from the London Business School, an MBA in International Management and a BA in Economics (equivalent to MSc) from the Portuguese Catholic University; and a Postgraduate Diploma, Applied Mathematics in Economics & Management – Econometrics & Statistics, from the Lisbon School of Economics & Management.

Maria is an experienced lecturer with a 30-year career in Portugal and the UK, in ten HE Institutions and 60 different modules, ranging from Finance & Economics and Statistics & Econometrics to Research Methods and Work-based Learning, at undergraduate, MSc, MBA, and PhD levels.

Maria is also an accomplished researcher in Insolvency, Mergers & Acquisitions, Banking, Corporate Finance & Governance, and Quantitative Methods, with 13 publications in highly-rated journals, including the Journal of Financial Stability, Financial Management and the Journal of Corporate Finance, contributing chapters in two books on International Banking and Mergers & Acquisitions, and presentations at numerous national and international conferences. Her work has been internationally recognised, with several citations in top journals, namely The Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Banking and Finance, Journal of Financial Services Research, Journal of Financial Stability, Financial Management, Journal of Corporate Finance, and Corporate Governance: An International Review.

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Reece Chowdhry

Founder of RLC Ventures

Reece is the Founder and CEO of RLC Ventures and is an award-winning venture capitalist. He is an ex EY Management Consultant. Reece has been featured in the media frequently, including on The Sunday Times and Channel 4.

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Andy Davis

Alternative Funding Network

Andy has a longstanding interest in the business finance market, previously as Editor of FT Weekend and more recently as a researcher, commentator and advisor on the game-changing developments unfolding in the SME funding market. In 2012 he published the first comprehensive research on the emergence of Alternative Funding Platforms in the UK.

The AFN provides a much needed forum for harnessing and sharing market intelligence and thought leadership on the issues that matter in SME finance.

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Annabel Denham

The Entrepreneurs Network

Annabel Denham is Associate Director at The Entrepreneurs Network and Head of the Female Founders Forum. She joined from City A.M., where she was Entrepreneurs Editor and Deputy Business Features Editor. Interviewing a different entrepreneur each week for the paper, Annabel quickly came to realise that too many remain unfamiliar with government schemes designed to help them. And while many were keen to link up with other entrepreneurs, share experiences or offer advice, they lacked the platform to do so.

At The Entrepreneurs Network, Annabel is responsible for media outreach, edits research and runs our Female Founders Forum project. She has a particular interest in female entrepreneurship and the gig economy. Annabel writes regularly for the Telegraph, City A.M. and The Yorkshire Post.

Prior to City A.M., Annabel was a researcher for former Member of Parliament Peter Lilley and worked for the Conservative Press Office in the run up to the 2010 general election.

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James Devlin

Nottingham University Business School

James Devlin is Professor of Financial Services Marketing and Consumption at Nottingham University Business School and he recently completed a period as Dean of the School. Prior to joining academia in 1991, he worked for 6 years in the retail financial services industry. He has also worked at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (2000-2003) and the Cass Business School (1997-2000). From 2010 to 2019 he was on the Senior Executive Board of Nottingham University Business School, serving as Deputy Dean and Associate Dean (International Relations). He also served on the Board of Governors of the London Institute of Banking and Finance (formally ifs University College) from 2012 to 2018. James has authored almost 100 journal articles and conference papers covering consumer decision making and behaviour in financial services, policy issues in financial services and marketing financial services and other marketing issues. He has also contributed to three books and has edited several journal special issues. James has managed or been involved in numerous research projects and has worked with HM Treasury, the Thoresen Review (on behalf of HM Treasury), Financial Services Authority and the Office of Fair Trading on a number of policy related issues, both in a consultative capacity and as a member of expert panels. James is a member of the Chartered Institiute for Securities and Investment. In August 2019 James will join the University of Leicester School of Business as Dean.

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Neil Edwards

The Marketing Eye

Neil is the founder and CEO of The Marketing Eye, a marketing agency that specialises in demand generation strategies for financial services and technology businesses. The Marketing Eye is one of the longest established names in fintech and counts many of the best known brands amongst its clients. Professionally qualified, Neil is a Chartered Marketer and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

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Elenora Ferrero

Mind the Bridge

Passionate about tech, startups and innovation, Eleonora runs projects to support the development of an ecosystem where companies can grow. She is the Director of European Operations at Mind the Bridge, an innovation advisory firm that enables corporate and startup collaboration headquartered in Silicon Valley, which she launched in the UK in 2014. Experienced strategy and innovation, Eleonora has a background as a management consultant. Qualified business coach, she has supported organizations to reach their goals, define disruptive business models and work on their pitching, fundraising and go-to-market strategy. She is a mentor at SeedCamp, 01Ventures, MTS, Invest Horizon and the European Commission. Eleonora is also Teacher Assistant in Strategy and Economics at HULT International Business School.

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Jack Hurdidge

ELITE – London Stock Exchange Group

Jack is a Relationship Manager at ELITE, the London Stock Exchange Group’s membership platform for the world’s best private companies. He focuses on UK based member corporates, supporting management teams to execute their strategy, connect with capital and achieve their ambitions. Prior to joining London Stock Exchange Group Jack has worked for an executive search practice.

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Stephen Jones

Clear Solutions

Stephen has decades of experience as a Financial Planner and has built up a vast knowledge of tax planning practices and tools and has appeared regularly on BBC radio and television.

Previously an assessor of professional practice standards on behalf of the Personal Finance Society, a Past President of the Professional Institutes Network West Midlands (PINWM) – and currently a Main Board Director of the Enterprise Investment Schemes Association (EISA). He also continues a long-standing relationship with the Citizens Advice Bureau as a specialist financial services volunteer. In 2018 he was delighted to win the Growth Investor Award.

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Simon Kevan

Laws of Attraction

After completing a degree in psychology and management (2001), Simon (MBPsS) has worked in the design, communications and technology industries for the last 20 years. During this time he has created his own ‘Laws of Attraction’ – a detailed framework of how relationships form, are maintained and breakdown. This knowledge and insight have been developed into a sophisticated business technology called Vibe.

Mental health is an issue close to Simon’s heart. He has since made it a priority to increase awareness of mental health by helping break down the taboos surrounding it by supporting several front line charities, which you can read about on the charity page of this website.

In his spare time, Simon enjoys cooking and travelling. However, it is his love of anthropology and human development that interests him the most.

Simon is a member of The British Psychological Society.

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Dan Kiernan

Henley Business School

Dan Kiernan is a careers consultant at Henley Business School, looking after students studying finance at the ICMA Centre. He coaches them on their career choices, helps them prepare job
applications and tries to teach them some of the skills they’re going to need in the workplace (although to be candid, he learns as much from the students as they learn from him!) He also organises the Industry Insights programme of talks, where industry thought leaders from the world
of finance come it to share insights and debate with students.

Prior to working at Henley, Dan spent six years at Intelligent Partnership, a small business that is the UK’s leading provider of education and insights on alternative investments. He headed up the team that produced Intelligent Partnership’s award winning reports on the UK’s tax-advantaged venture
capital schemes, curated and presented the CII accredited adviser education programme and pounded the pavement as a conference speaker.

For the first ten years of his career, Dan worked in performance and risk analytics for an organisation that (after four or five take-overs and mergers) became part of BNY Mellon. He rose from a lowly investment performance analyst to be a VP and operations manager and was responsible for teams in Leeds, London, Edinburgh and India.

Dan’s a qualified Discretionary Investment Manager and has had his work published in titles including FTAdviser, Money Marketing, Professional Adviser, Fundweb, Moneyfacts, The Investor’s
Chronicle and Investment Life.

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Bobby Lane

Blick Rothenberg

A chartered accountant with over 20 years’ experience in professional practice, Bobby trained and qualified with BDO. He then spent five years gaining valuable commercial experience as a finance director for multinational organisations in the PR and Marketing sector. He was the driving force behind the development and growth of the first award-winning UK-focused owner managed business outsourcing team at Shelley Stock Hutter before their Acquisition by Blick Rothenberg in December 2017 where he is currently a partner.

Bobby provides consultancy for fast-growing businesses, assisting with start-ups and helping to get struggling companies back on track. He was voted No. 1 in the Top 50 most influential sources of finance news and information on social media by Economia in 2016 and 24th in the SAGE top 100 global business influencers for 2017.

Bobby is a regular speaker at conferences and a contributor to many trade and national media titles including The Mirror, The Times and Economia, and previously BBC Radio London’s Business agony uncle. He is a regular judge on the Drapers Independents Awards and The Footwear Awards.

Bobby has a large international network and was formerly a member of the Global Advisory Board of Abacus Worldwide. He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. Bobby was also formerly a trustee and the treasurer of The Patients Association and is currently a trustee of Grief Encounter.

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Simon Ling-Locke

The London Institute of Banking and Finance

Simon Ling-Locke was the head of the European leverage finance and corporate teams at UFJ Bank. Overall he has in excess of 30 years banking experience in the international
markets and has spent 25 years working in the syndicated loan market gaining a wide range of experience across risk management, particularly credit risk and distressed debt in
major banking organisations including Barclays, Tokai and UFJ banks.

Before embarking on his career as a full time trainer, lecturer and consultant, Simon headed up and developed the training activities at the Loan Market Association (the
association for the syndicated loan market for the European and Middle East regions with membership from all the main banks, law firms and institutional investors of the world)
providing courses and lectures across Europe, Middle East, Russia and USA to bankers, institutional investors and lawyers.

Simon has a long experience of dealing with risk management across borders and has covered various business sectors including chemicals, construction, food, hotels,
manufacturing, retail, power and project financing.

In addition to his financial expertise, he has extensive experience lecturing at a number of high ranking universities and professionally on public and private courses around the world. For the past 20 years he has and continues to teach on Master level courses on strategic finance, corporate finance and risk subjects for the Open University Business School. At the London Institute of Banking and Finance he is a senior lecturer on credit, risk, corporate finance and international trade finance subjects. Furthermore, Simon is a guest professor at Fordham University.

Professionally, Simon is an active trainer and consultant on risk management, credit risk, credit portfolio management and debt restructuring subjects around the world. His style of teaching is known for his direct speaking on financial subjects and the impact it has on risk
Perceptions.

He has undertaken research and written articles for various publications including Financier Worldwide, International Finance, Financial world and the Turnaround Management Association and written material for a Derivatives and Risk Management
programme for the Open University.

Simon holds a Masters of Business Administration, obtained post graduate qualifications in banking and finance and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers. He also holds a
Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education.

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Michael Llewelyn-Jones

The London Institute of Banking and Finance

Michael had a long, distinguished career in the banking industry, most recently as a Vice Chairman of Corporate & Investment Banking at a leading international bank. He is the author of the Institute’s online course on Commercial & Corporate Lending. Michael currently lectures on corporate & commercial banking.

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Lisa Moyle

VC Innovations

Lisa Moyle is a co-founder and director of strategy and partnerships at VC Innovations.

She is also a regular contributor to the Banking Technology magazine and a commentator on the UK fintech sector. She also sits on the judging panels for the Banking Technology and PayTech Awards. She is a co-founder of the Fintech Cocktail Club and sits on the Staffing Committee for Fair Finance.

Previously, she was director of strategy, fintech, at Informa where she established and led a portfolio of global fintech events and activity. She also worked at techUK, where she was head of the Financial Services and Payments programme and contributed to a broad range of policy initiatives in support of financial services Innovation.

Prior to that, she was programme director at the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation, a leading financial services think tank.

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Tim Nye

Trowers & Hamlin

Tim is a Partner in Trowers & Hamlins’ Corporate Department. He advises on all aspects of growth capital private equity transactions including real estate private equity and investment, buy outs, seed investment transactions, divestments and disposals and management incentive packages. Tim works with investee companies whilst under private equity ownership advising on, amongst other things, group restructurings, refinancings, strategic sales, bolt on acquisitions and organic growth. He also developed the model “Outsourcing the Company Secretary” by which investee companies take advantage of Trowers’ full suite of legal services for ad hoc and day to day matters, allowing Trowers to track trends within the organisation and build up a corporate history on behalf of the company and its investors.

The wider corporate team work with UK SME’s and mid-market corporates, owner-managed / family businesses, growth capital and private equity fund managers, startup / scale up businesses / entrepreneurs in business. We help businesses operate, grow and succeed at every stage of their life cycle. Trowers & Hamlins’ is a full service global law firm have with over 150 partners with more than 900 people located across the UK, Middle East and Asia.

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Donna O’Toole

CEO of August - The Awards Consultancy

Donna O’Toole, CEO of August – The Awards Consultancy, has helped hundreds of businesses, brands, entrepreneurs, and leaders across the globe to raise their profile by achieving valuable awards for their work and achievements.

Donna is a national awards judge for multiple industry awards and she supports awards organisers to ensure their awards programmes are robust, fair, and highly successful. Her knowledge and experience has led to an outstanding success rate in the most prestigious industry awards competitions in the world including the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, and her work has resulted in some of the most accomplished entrepreneurs, business leaders, VIPs, and community champions receiving personal recognition (MBE to knighthood) from Her Majesty The Queen.

Using her exclusive awards insights, Donna has now developed a unique awards training programme to help businesses and individuals win the awards they deserve.

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Osmond Plummer

The London Institute of Banking and Finance

Osmond is a Senior Lecturer in Finance at the London Institute of Banking & Finance. He is also a Visiting Professor of Finance at the EU Business School in Geneva and Montreux. Osmond has worked in the banking industry for over 20 years in a range of international postings.

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Gillian Roche-Saunders

BWB Compliance, Bates Wells Braithwaite

Gillian advises financial services firms on the regulatory issues affecting them and runs the award-winning consultancy, Bates Wells Compliance, which she founded in 2016.

Gillian’s compliance experience spans a wide range of financial sectors but she has a particular affinity for SMEs which led her to specialise in working with firms who finance businesses through lending and investing. She is particularly well known in the EIS, crowdfunding and P2P lending industries for being the go-to consultant for regulatory support. The advice Gillian provides covers all areas of regulation that affect UK financial services companies including the FCA rules and regulation from Europe such as AIFMD, MiFID and PSD2. Her advice is both technical and commercial, with clients are particularly keen to involve her in their regulatory strategy discussions, such as when they are structuring new products and services.

Gillian’s support to the industry doesn’t stop with her client work. She is a Director of the EIS Association, a member of the BVCA’s Venture Capital committee and provides support to the UK Crowdfunding Association and the Finance Innovation Lab.

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Asif Sadiq

The Telegraph

Asif is Head of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging for The Telegraph. He was formerly the Head of Diversity and Inclusiveness for EY Financial Services and was also previously the Head of the Equality, Diversity and Human Rights Unit for the City of London Police. He has Delivered the strategic plans to drive a co-ordinated approach across various businesses to focus both investment and intent on the broader inclusion agenda. He is a Multi-Award Winning Diversity and Inclusion expert with a proven track record in achieving operational and strategic targets, managing quality, performance, risk and change through promoting equal opportunities and diverse cultures.

He is a passionate and inspirational global leader with the ability to empower individuals and create a truly inclusive environment for all. Asif is key in implementing D&I activities and programmes as well as connecting with stakeholders at all levels to build strong and influential relationships with business leaders and influencers. Asif acts as a role model, providing governance across the business on D&I and cultural change and is committed to creating a strong sense of belonging for all.

Asif has received a number of accolades for his professional and volunteering work that include the Mosaic (Prince’s Trust) Award for mentoring and NAMP Multi Faith Award, Police Officer of the Year Award, the Civil Servant of the Year Award, the prestigious Asian Professional Award and the highly commended Head of Diversity Award at the European Diversity Awards. Asif was honoured in 2017 in the Queen’s birthday honours list with an MBE for his services to Policing and the Communities and is a member of the HR Guild and is a Freeman of the City.

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Lucio Sarno

Cass Business School

Lucio Sarno is Professor of Finance at Cass Business School, City, University of London, and a Research Fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR). He previously held teaching and research positions at the University of Warwick, the University of Oxford and Columbia University.

Lucio’s main research and teaching interests are in international finance, empirical asset pricing, and asset management. He also has broad interests in macroeconomics and its interaction with financial markets, especially the effects of monetary and exchange rate policy. He is the author over 80 articles, published in top finance journals such as the Journal of Finance, the Journal of Financial Economics and Review of Financial Studies, as well as general and top field journals in economics. He has authored and edited several books, including the Handbook of Exchange Rates (Wiley, 2012) and the graduate textbook The Economics of Exchange Rates (Cambridge University Press, 2003). His work is often featured or quoted in the press, including the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times.

Lucio’s research has received funding from several agencies, including three ESRC grants and three INQUIRE grants, and has been awarded the Best Paper Prize for Investments by the Western Finance Association in 2013, Best Paper Prizes by INQUIRE both in 2010 and 2011, the 2007 CEPR Prize for the Best Central Bank Research Paper, the 2017 CFA Institute Best Paper Prize at the FIRN Annual Conference, and the 2017 Runner-up Prize by WINNER (Wealth Innovation, Neuro- and Entrepreneurial Results). In 2011, he was chosen by Poets & Quants to be among their “40 under 40”, a listing of the best 40 business schools professors under the age of 40.

In addition to teaching and doing research, Lucio has been involved in policy advice, training, research and consulting projects for a number of institutions, including the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank, the Federal Reserve Banks of New York and St. Louis, the Bank of Canada, the Central Bank of Norway, the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance, the World Bank, and the European Commission. He has wide-ranging consulting experience (over 15 years), involving some of the world’s leading asset management firms, hedge funds, sovereign wealth funds, investment banks, and their research units, and has held senior positions outside academia, including as Director of Currency Research at AXA Investment Managers. He is currently a member of the Senior Advisory Board (“Consiglio degli Esperti”) of the Department of the Treasury of Italy.

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Edward Sloan

Rooney Nimmo

Edward advises on a broad range of corporate, commercial and financial services issues. Edward has acted on fund raisings and reorganizations for both companies and investors, including transatlantic funding rounds, and has experience of dealing with various complex EIS matters and US regulatory rules for UK companies raising funds in the US. Edward also deals with a range of finance and investment related work including various aspects of financial regulation and compliance with FCA rules.

Edward has extensive experience of acting for companies from start-ups through to publicly traded entities, handling both strategic and day-to-day matters they may have, including contracts, data protection, and share schemes, and also co-ordinating legal matters for clients across the firm’s international offices. Edward also oversees the firm’s EU data protection practice.

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Martin Spiller

Systemagic Limited

Martin is Chairman of Systemagic Limited and serial non-executive director with wide ranging skillset, being both a chartered accountant and barrister-at-law, with significant experience developing high growth businesses. He has co-founded, grown and advised business of all types across a range of sectors from start-up through to successful exit. He is also a visiting fellow and lecturer at the Bettany Centre of Entrepreneurship within Cranfield University’s School of Management.

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Francesc Rodriguez Tous

Cass Business School

Francesc is a Lecturer in Banking at Cass Business School. He received his PhD in Economics from the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, in Barcelona. He has previously worked at the Bank of England, Deutsche Bundesbank, and Banco de España. Francesc’s research is about banking, with a particular focus on banking regulation and systemic risk, and has been published in leading journals such as the Journal of Financial Economics.

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Ruth Wandhofer

Coinfirm

Dr. Ruth Wandhöfer is an expert in the field of banking and one of the foremost authorities
on transaction banking regulatory and innovation in financial technology matters. After a
distinguished career of over a decade with Citi, Ruth is now an i-NED on the boards of the
London Stock Exchange Group, Permanent TSB and Pendo Systems Inc. She is also a
Partner at Gauss Ventures, Senior Adviser at KPMG’s UK Banking Practice and Adviser at
Coinfirm.

She continues to focus on her passion of bringing the financial industry and the emerging
financial digital ecosystem together.

Ruth was named as one of 2010s ‘Rising Stars’ by Financial News; named in Management
Today’s 2011 ‘35 Women under 35’ list of women to watch and identified as one of the 100
Most Influential People in Finance 2012 by the Treasury Risk Magazine. She received the
‘Women in Banking and Finance Award for Achievement’ in 2015 and in 2016, 2017 and
2018 she was named on the global ‘Women in Fintech Powerlist’ of Innovate Finance. In
2018 she became one of the Top 10 Global Fintech Influencers (Fintech Power 50).
She speaks five languages, has completed studies in Financial Economics (MA, UK),
International Politics (MA, FR), an LLM in International Economic Law (UK) and a PhD in
Finance (UK/NL). She published two books: “EU Payments Integration” (2010) and
“Transaction Banking and the Impact of Regulatory Change” (2014), is an Honorary
Professor at the London Institute of Banking and Finance and also lectures at Queen Mary
London School of Law.

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Chris Whitney

Ennes Global Mortgages

Chris is a beloved member of the Enness team, and an unrivalled figure in the industry. As the head and shoulders of the well-respected Commercial Finance department, Chris has 25 years’ worth of experience in the industry and an envied list of professional contacts to prove it, working mainly with real estate professionals and SME’s.

Chris has a deep understanding of all areas of commercial with a portfolio of transactions covering everything from property development funding to complex bridging finance. He is ACIB qualified and specialises in financing hotels, major property portfolios and difficult assets.

His achievements don’t stop there; he has won numerous industry-specific awards throughout the years, and in his spare time, he is a qualified British Cycling Coach.

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Henry Whorwood

Beauhurst

Henry leads Beauhurst’s Research & Consultancy team. He is an expert on business finance and has worked on briefs for clients including the British Business Bank, Penningtons Manches, Syndicate Room, and Innovate UK. Henry regularly gives presentations on market trends at events around the country. He studied Classics at the University of Oxford.