Carmelle M. Cadet is the Founder and CEO of EMTECH, a
technology company working with central banks around the
world to make their financial infrastructures inclusive and resilient
by design. At EMTECH, Carmelle leads the vision of developing
the next generation central banking infrastructure to drive
financial inclusion, economic development and modernization of
regulatory environments. From Digital Regulatory Sandbox to
Digital Cash Platform (Central Bank Digital Currency), Carmelle
and her highly experienced team of former regulators and
experienced engineers, present groundbreaking and actionable
tech solutions to solve current economic challenges.

A thought leader and public speaker in fintech and regulatory innovation, Carmelle also advises
other women, minority fintech entrepreneurs. She has won and has been nominated for several
awards for her leadership and trailblazing work.

In her previous life, Carmelle was the Deputy CFO for IBM Blockchain where she spearheaded
the global product commercialization and financial management strategy. With clients like
Walmart, JPM Chase, Softbank, Carmelle oversaw the launch of several groundbreaking
technologies that drove better food safety, strong cybersecurity and supply chain digitization.
She joined the company as a Financial Analyst, and when Carmelle took over as Product CFO
she helped lead a highly successful product launch that created 200+ jobs while driving strong
revenue growth to over $100M in 3 years.

Carmelle earned her Executive .M.B.A. from the New York University Stern School of Business
with specializations in Leadership and Global Business, and her B.A. from Florida Atlantic
University. She is originally from Haiti, but now lives in NYC with her husband and son.

Ali is the Founder & Editor-in-Chief at FF News | Fintech Finance and creator of “The Payments Race.”
Since inception Ali has managed to grow Advertainment Media from a bootstrapped startup to a profitable company with turnover in the millions, while retaining 100% equity.
As well as shepherding bespoke video and media assets, he runs the content for Fintech Finance, interviewing some of the best and brightest representatives across the financial services landscape.

Peter Renton is the chairman and co-founder of Fintech Nexus (formerly known as
LendIt Fintech), a diversified media company providing essential knowledge,
connections and inspiration to the entire financial services industry. Our community
of 225,000+ banking, fintech and investment executives enjoy our diverse portfolio
of original news, newsletters, podcasts, webinars, research, credentialed education
courses, and more. Fintech Nexus is also home to the Fintech Blueprint brand.
Peter has been writing about fintech since 2010, over 2,500 articles, and he is the
author and creator of the Fintech One-on-One Podcast, the first and longest running
fintech interview series.
Peter has been interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, The New York
Times, CNBC, CNN, Fortune, NPR, Fox Business News, the Financial Times and
dozens of other publications.

Sanjib has built and launched over 20 products and businesses in his career. He is Founder & CEO of Guppy, a fintech startup focused on self-sovereign credit data.

He was the Wizard and former Chief Marketing Officer at Money20/20, a fintech conference he helped grow from startup to exit. He worked for Citi, managing the world’s largest credit card portfolios, Google, creating partnerships for Google Wallet, and Intel, launching their graphics chip business.

Sanjib has an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management as well as Bachelors and Masters degrees in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University.

Theodora (Theo) Lau is the founder of Unconventional Ventures, a public speaker, and an advisor. She is the co-author of Beyond Good: How Technology is Leading a Purpose-driven Business Revolution, and host of One Vision, a podcast on fintech and innovation. Her monthly column on FinTech Futures explores the intersection of financial services, tech, and humanity. She is named one of American Banker’s Most Influential Women in FinTech in 2023. She is also a regular contributor and commentator for top industry events and publications, including BBC News, Finovate, American Banker, and Journal of Digital Banking. Her latest book, the Metaverse Economy, co-authored with Arun Krishnakumar, offers a balanced insight into the complex world of the Metaverse, and demystifies the technology and economic paradigms that have triggered the rise of the metaverse.

Dr Terri-Karelle Reid, is a human ethernet – connector of people and dots!
She has built a brand that is synonymous with the word excellence in the
world of Event and TV Hosting, Speaking, Content Curation, Online
Branding and Storytelling. Terri-Karelle is also the author of “My Brand
Compass, The 13 Cs to Building Your Personal Brand.”

Dave Dowrich is Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer of TIAA, where he has responsibility for TIAA’s financial
management and planning, actuarial, tax, accounting and financial
reporting functions for the organization.

Dave joined TIAA from Prudential where he held a similar role for
Prudential Financial’s International Businesses, based in Tokyo, Japan.
Prior to Prudential, he worked at AIG as Chief Executive Officer,
International Life and Retirement, with oversight of AIG Life (UK), Laya
Healthcare (Ireland) and leading the Life and Retirement division’s
international strategy and growth. He previously served as CFO of AIG
Japan and Asia Pacific and as CFO and Chief Financial Actuary of
Institutional Markets in the USA. Prior to joining AIG, Dave held senior
roles in investment banking at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse, as
well as reinsurance and transaction structuring roles at Swiss Re and
Canada Life Reinsurance. Dave began his career as a pension
consulting actuary in Toronto, Ontario.

Dave earned an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School of the
University of Pennsylvania and a BSc in Actuarial Science and Applied
Statistics from the University of Toronto. He is a Fellow of the Society of
Actuaries, an Associate of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and a
Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. Dave is on the board of
Scotiabank, Vantage Group Holdings Ltd, has served on several
insurance and non-insurance operating and holding company boards,
and currently serves on the boards of non-profit and academic
organizations.

In July 2022, Dave was named one of the “2022 Most Influential Black
Executives in Corporate America”
(http://savoynetwork.com/features/dave-dowrich/).

The Hon. Jason Hayward JP, MP currently serves as the Minister of Economy and Labour in the Bermuda Government. In this role, he is primarily responsible for the economic growth, development and the expansion of jobs in Bermuda. His portfolio oversees the island’s immigration, workforce development, labour relations, financial assistance, international business, statistics and economic development.

Minister Hayward was first elected as a Member of Parliament in 2019, and was later appointed as the Minister of Labour in 2020. Before becoming a Member of Parliament, he was appointed to the Bermuda Government Senate in 2017, and served as Junior Minister of Education, Health, Labour, Community Affairs and Sports. Mr. Hayward is a former Chairman of the National Training Board and chaired the Working Group which produced Bermuda’s first National Workforce Development Plan.

Prior to entering the political arena, Min. Hayward worked in the Economic and National Accounts Division of the Department of Statistics. Min. Hayward also served as the first elected full-time President of the Bermuda Public Services Union (BPSU), President of the Bermuda Trade Union Congress, and Director and Treasurer of the Bermuda Credit Union.

Min. Hayward is an alumnus of the Canada – Caribbean Emerging Leaders Dialogue (a Commonwealth leadership development program), an alumnus of the US Department of States’ International Visitor Leadership Program, and holds a Chartered Manager Designation from the Chartered Management Institute.

Minister Hayward holds a MBA in Finance from Nova Southeastern University, a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Mount Saint Vincent University and an Associate’s degree in Arts and Science from the Bermuda College

Forbes “International Speaker” and Inc.’s “Billionaire Networker” Christopher Kai is a 7X author, founder of GPS, a speaker training program and founder of GifterX Talks, the world’s leading speaker community for entrepreneurs which has been called the “TED Talks for Entrepreneurs.” He is a former American Express business strategist. He teaches entrepreneurs how to build a global personal brand, master networking, and become a professional speaker. Christopher has helped his clients in 120 cities and 30 countries generate $200 million. He is the author of “Wizard of Words: The 7 Magical Words for Success,” “Story-based Leadership: How 2 Rise 2 the Top with Your Story” and “Big Game Hunting: Networking with Billionaires, Executives and Celebrities” which is a #1 international bestseller. Outside of his business, he created Mondays at the Mission, the only homeless youth program of its kind in the world. Elon Musk once exclaimed in an interview, “Wow! You really know a lot!

Peter Hazlehurst, CEO and co-founder of Synctera, is a global FinTech entrepreneur and philanthropist with nearly 30 years of experience creating financial products for banks, FinTechs, and large tech companies. 

In 1993 he built core banking technology for Phoenix, which still powers companies today. More recently, Peter served as Head of Uber Money, Chief Operating Officer at Postmates, Senior Director of Product Management at Google, CEO and Board Member of Google Payments Corporation, and Chief Product Officer at Yodlee. 

Peter also led Product at Nokia for Enterprise Mobility and Mobile email and has served as a CTO and consultant at several startups.

Kadeen Mairs is a Jamaican businessman, investor and philanthropist. He is currently CEO and Founder of Dequity Capital, a privately held investment Company with Assets under management exceeding J$3 billion. Dequity owns a collection of businesses in different industries including financial services, healthcare, technology and Real estate. Kadeen is widely regarded as a visionary entrepreneur and strategist whose philosophy of “solving problems and creating businesses with the solutions” has resulted in extraordinary business success and becoming one of Jamaica’s youngest self-made billionaires. Kadeen has over 16 years of experience in the financial sector, starting at 18 working within Credit Unions, Commercial Banks, Investment Banks, Venture Capital Companies and the Founding of Micro Finance Company Dolla Financial Services and listing it on the Jamaica stock exchange with one of the largest oversubscriptions in the history of the Junior Market. Among his many personal accomplishments, Kadeen holds a BSc in Business Administration. He is also a Certified Expert in Micro Finance from Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, Germany and holds an Executive Certificate in Private Equity and Venture Capital from Harvard Business School. Kadeen is a member of the Forbes Business Council and was awarded Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2022 by the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce. In 2023 Kadeen Adopted the Grange Hill Health Centre in his hometown and donated $5 million.

Rohan Marley is an entrepreneur and former football player for the University of Miami Hurricanes and Canadian Professional Football League. He is the son of reggae legend and humanitarian, Bob Marley.

Rohan founded Marley Coffee, an organic coffee plantation and sustainable farming business sourced from Jamaica’s Blue Mountains and Ethiopia with coffee shops in operation worldwide. Later he founded House of Marley, an eco-friendly headphones and speakers electronics company. The brand can be found worldwide throughout all major electronic stores.

Rohan helps run his family’s charitable organization 1Love, as well as, Tuff Gong Clothing company.

Another venture by Rohan is the RoMarley Beach House in Puerto Morales, which opened in July 2020 in partnership with The Fives Oceanfront, a luxury boutique hotel.

In 2022, Rohan launched Lion Order, a Rastafari cannabis and hemp lifestyle brand. Lion Order is currently sold in Michigan with plans for expansion throughout all U.S. and international recreational and medical markets.

Paolo Narciso, an accomplished author and social entrepreneur, is renowned for his contributions to the non-profit and technology sectors. He is the author of “NFTs for Business: A Practical Guide for Harnessing Digital Assets,” a pivotal work that explores the use of digital assets in contemporary business practices, available on Amazon and SpringerLink. 

As the Vice President of New Program Development and Program Optimization at AARP Foundation, Paolo is pivotal in developing solutions to improve the lives of vulnerable older adults. He oversees initiatives that create new economic opportunities, financial inclusion and foster social connections. The solutions he deployed integrated disruptive technologies like Web3, and VoiceAi into the products used by older adults living with low income. 

His entrepreneurial journey includes co-founding CloudHealth Asia (now Global Medical Technologies), providing critical primary care access in Southeast Asia. A serial tech entrepreneur, Paolo has led multiple startups to successful exits and demonstrates a profound commitment to leveraging technology for social good.

Paolo holds a Doctorate from Creighton University, awarded in 2016, underlining his interest in research and academia alongside his practical achievements in technology and social entrepreneurship. 

Paul is the CEO of TCI Finance, working with the Government and Private Sector to promote the Financial Services industry in TCI. With an honours degree in Law and a Masters in Corporate Finance, Paul has over 20 years’ experience in Investment Banking and Consultancy.

Before joining TCI Finance, Paul was a Director at JP Morgan leading their Digital Asset strategy across Trading Services, and prior to that led transformational projects around the globe for PWC´s Advisory group. Paul is a keen believer in an “Innovative and Agile approach to change”.

Originally from the UK, Paul has spent most of his career overseas in Luxembourg, South Africa, Canada, Singapore, and the United States.

Richard Powell’s story is an inspiration. Born in Spanish Town, Jamaica, he excelled as a teenager in both academics and athletics. After playing soccer for Jamaica at the U17 and U20 level, and considering an opportunity to play professionally in Europe, Richard ultimately decided to study economics at Harvard University, where he represented the school in soccer and track & field, and founded his first company while still an undergraduate.

Now, with over two decades of experience in corporate finance, governance, business development, and principal investing in private and public companies, Richard is a seasoned entrepreneur and investor who has co-founded and led multiple successful ventures. Two of these were scaled to billion-dollar enterprises, these were: Zerochaos,  a global HR BPO that grew to 12,000 employees globally and $1.2 billion in revenues at exit, and most recently Project Black at Ariel Alternatives, a $1.4 billion private equity platform that aims to create the next generation of large, global, diverse suppliers to the Fortune 500. 

Richard is currently the Chairman of Sequential Technologies International, a global BPO headquartered in the USA, APC Holdings, a 20-year-old investment firm that partners with institutional investors and business owners to build lasting companies with measurable social impact, and The RMP Group, his family office. He is a YPO member and a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum. Perhaps most timely, he is currently putting together an innovative vehicle to invest over $2.0 billion of capital, with the flexibility to deploy in the US and Caribbean region, to address the demand in private equity, private credit, real estate and infrastructure assets.

Nicholas Rees is a two-time Olympian, FinTech visionary, and entrepreneur born on the Island of Grand Bahama. Nicholas serves as Chairman and Co-founder of Kanoo Pays (“Kanoo”), the World’s First licensed Payment Institution to achieve integration, interoperability, and processing of secure Central Bank Digital Currency (“CBDC”) payments. 

Kanoo has now grown to become the Caribbean’s leading “Super App,” offering an integrated digital marketplace and wallet experience. Nicholas’ vision for Kanoo is to provide true financial inclusion and empowerment by connecting the people and businesses of the Caribbean through technology. 

Nicholas believes in a humanistic, people-first approach to deploying technology solutions and aims to empower people to prosper. Nicholas is committed to delivering on the Kanoo promise of Security, Prosperity, Empowerment, and Convenience. 

Nicholas is a Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA) with a Master of Business Administration from The University of Miami. Nicholas is also an alumnus of The Ohio State University, having graduated in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in Financial Management and a Minor in Economics.

Matteo Rizzi is an unconventional entrepreneur with two decades of experience in Financial Services, constantly referred amongst the top executives in the industry.

He spent 13 years at SWIFT – where he co-founded Innotribe, the innovation arm of the cooperative, launching the first global startup challenge. Since 2013, he has a FinTech Investor and/or Venture Partner role with global VCs and CVCs (20+ deals, 5 exits). In 2015, he co-founded FinTechStage (now FTSGroup.eu) – a platform for Investors and Innovators to boost FinTech innovation globally. In 2019, Matteo founded Timepledge.org, a global initiative to foster financial inclusion and entrepreneurship. The same year he launched Breaking Banks Europe (as the Executive Producer).

He is the author of “The FinTech Revolution” and “Talents & Rebels” and is fluent in 5 languages.

Hon. E. Jay Saunders is the Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance, Investment & Trade of the Turks & Caicos Islands (TCI). Since becoming the Minister of Finance, the TCI has seen a significant uptick in annual revenues, reaching a record US$413.2M in FY2022/23.

Hon. Saunders’ impact has also been felt in the health sector. From February to July 2021, he served as the Ministry of Health & Human Services. His leadership was instrumental in reducing the islands’ active COVID-19 cases from approximately 400 to 0.

Hon. Saunders is a member of the National Security Council, contributing to vital decisions on external affairs, defense, and internal security.

Outside of politics, Hon. Saunders founded DSS, the maker of the award-winning SafetyNet.ai, which aids financial organizations in complying with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Client (KYC) rules and regulations. Hon. Saunders also co-founded Digicel TCI where he served as CEO from 2006-2014.

Diego Szteinhendler is Senior Vice President of Fintechs, Enablers and Crypto for Latin America and the Caribbean. In this role, he and his team are responsible for the strategy, relationship, and growth of the fintech ecosystem in the region.

Diego joined Mastercard in 2008, and since then, has held roles in different areas of the organization and geographies. In his most recent role, he led business development for Mastercard’s fast growing Cyber & Intelligence business in North America, where he partnered with established companies and startups to improve and optimize their fraud, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, authentication, biometrics, chargebacks, crypto AML and other key operational functions.

Throughout his career, Diego also led product management and business development at industry leading companies like Discover and PayPal as well as in start-ups including, Transpay and CheckWow.

Diego holds an M.B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin and is a graduate of the Digital Transformation program at Columbia.

He is an avid traveler having visited 75 countries.

Mikel is a 3x Olympian from Trinidad and Tobago, the first athlete from the region to qualify for both the Summer (110m hurdles; Beijing 08, London 12, Rio 16) and Winter Olympics (2 man Bobsleigh-Beijing 2022). 

With an impressive track record of driving innovation and execution within large global organizations, his skills have consistently enhanced the performance of the teams he’s worked with. 

Currently, Mikel supports Visa’s Global & North American Fintech Partnerships driving growth and development of fintech wealth management platforms, as well as Visa’s Inclusive Client Partnerships focused on innovating relationships and amplifying impact of underrepresented founders (Black, Brown, Latinx, LGBTQ, Indigenous and women founders) within the fintech space in North America. 

Prior to joining Visa, an experienced storyteller and marketer, Mikel worked with brands like Airbnb, Brooks and JBL, to global organization like the International Testing Agency(ITA) and the International Olympic Committee(IOC). 

Mikel has also spent time serving his community as a former Firefighter/EMT in Atlanta metro area in Clayton County. 

He gained his Master’s degree in Sport Management and Technology from the International Academy of Sport Science and Technology (AISTS) in Lausanne, Switzerland, Bachelors in Kinesiology from the University of Kentucky.

Carol spearheads global payments, partnerships and commerce innovation, holding executive roles at Citi, Northwestern Mutual, Ant Group, and Google. Integral in developing super apps and unified commerce, she excels in emerging markets and the US-Asia tech sector.

Driven by a passion for fintech and social impact, Carol leads advancements in AI, commerce, and payment technologies. She is a vocal advocate for women in business and dedicates herself to community development. As a TeamUnity board member, Carol focuses on enhancing social health factors in Harlem, NY.