Archives: Speakers

Charlotte Pallua is Co-Founder and CEO of topi, a fintech startup headquartered in Berlin that is building the underlying technology enabling the B2B subscription economy. The digital platform and new payment solution allow retailers and manufacturers to offer hardware products as a monthly subscription. Prior to starting topi, Charlotte was leading a global team focusing on hardware subscriptions at Apple in California, where she saw the market need for a fully digital leasing solution first-hand. Charlotte started her career at the Boston Consulting Group in Munich and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

As experienced leader in the asset finance industry, Thorsten Arp has been with Société Générale Equipment Finance (SGEF) since 2005. With over 15 years of expertise in the leasing industry, he currently serves as Vendor Relationship Director, overseeing SGEF’s Healthcare & Green Energy sector and driving sustainability initiatives. In 2019, Thorsten was appointed to lead SGEF’s global Sustainability community. He successfully established the company’s sustainability strategy, “Care & Dare about the Future,” aligning it with SGEF’s mission to support sustainable business development alongside vendors, clients, and local sales teams.

Before joining SGEF in 2005, Thorsten Arp built a strong foundation in the healthcare sector, working as a consultant and held project leadership roles for Philips Healthcare Consulting. In this role, he focused on providing management consultancy services to healthcare organizations, helping them improve operational efficiency, implement technology solutions, and optimize financial strategies. With a degree in industrial engineering, Thorsten Arp brings a unique blend of technical expertise and strategic business insight to his role as Vendor Relationship Director. This background equips him with analytical skills necessary to deeply understand customer needs, allowing him to craft innovative and tailored solutions that benefit both SGEF and its clients.

SGEF is a leading provider of leasing and finance solutions to vendors, dealers, and corporate clients across four key sectors: Transport, Industrial Equipment, Technology, and Healthcare & Green Energy. SGEF continuously focuses on innovation in line with its company vision of being: “The worldwide partner for integrated equipment solutions creating sustainable and positive impact for the planet”.

Jeffrey Lezinski serves as Senior Vice President of Solution Architecture for Odessa, a global provider of software solutions for the Equipment Finance Industry. Mr. Lezinski is responsible for ongoing management of Odessa’s core product, LeaseWave.

Prior to joining Odessa in 2004, Mr. Lezinski served as a Senior Associate for PricewaterhouseCoopers. He participated in and managed various engagements from a consulting and an audit perspective for a variety of industries, including financial services, pharmaceutical, and telecommunications.

At Odessa, Mr. Lezinski’s focus is on product management, ensuring that LeaseWave is continuously enhanced for industry, technology and regulatory changes. Mr. Lezinski serves as chair of the Lease Accounting Committee at Odessa, is the liaison to Odessa’s Customer Advisory Board for the Lease Accounting Convergence Project, and a current member of the ELFA Financial Accounting Committee. He has also participated in discussions with the FASB regarding the Lease Accounting Convergence Project and its impact from a service provider perspective. Mr. Lezinski has served on panels at numerous ELFA conferences, with topics ranging from business process improvement through technology to specific technical accounting issues. He received his B.A. from Haverford College in Economics.

With a career deeply rooted in the finance and banking sector, my focus has been on driving strategic client growth and spearheading technology and operational improvements. At Odessa, my mission is to expand our influence within the industry, harnessing my expertise in asset finance.

Our team’s success at Odessa is founded on cultivating robust partnerships and executing transformative projects that bolster both efficiency and profitability. Embodying a commitment to innovation and customer value, I thrive on fostering collaborative environments that propel organizations forward.

Wafaa Hassan, MSc, is a Senior Pharma Analyst within the Strategic Intelligence team at GlobalData’s London office.

She specializes in delivering insights and writing reports on digital strategies across various disease areas and channels. Before joining the digital team, Wafaa worked in GlobalData’s Technology Strategic Intelligence team, where she contributed to both quantitative and qualitative analysis of disruptive trends and technologies, with a particular focus on the pharmaceutical, healthcare, and medical devices sectors. She holds an MSc in Healthcare Management from City, University of London.

Dr. Vasee Moorthy is Senior Advisor, Research for Health Department, WHO Science Division, Geneva, Switzerland. Since 2008, he has held progressively senior roles at WHO in malaria vaccine policy development, Ebola vaccine phase 1-2 trials, global norms in sharing research data and results during public health emergencies, WHO R&D Blueprint for action to prevent epidemics, global consensus on clinical trials policy norms, WHO COVID-19 Research & Innovation Roadmap and the WHO Solidarity Trial of therapeutics supporting clinical trials networks in over 40 Member States in all WHO regions, and most recently, the adoption of resolution (WHA75.8) on clinical trials. Prior to joining WHO, Dr. Moorthy worked as a medical researcher at the University of Oxford, UK (2005-2008); with an NGO, PATH, in USA (2003-2005); running a clinical trials programme at MRC Laboratories in The Gambia (1999-2003), and as a government medical officer in Kwazulu/Natal, South Africa (1996-1997). He received a B.A. and M.A. from the University of Cambridge in Natural Sciences, a B.M.B.Ch medical degree and a Ph.D in malaria immunology and clinical trials both from the University of Oxford.

In 2001, Deborah Castignani completed her studies in South Africa at the Hydro International College, graduating with a Diploma in Massage & Beauty Therapy. Following her studies, Deborah headed to Dubai where she began her career with Starwood at Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina. A 5-star resort where she was involved in the opening of the hotels’ Sole Senses by Clarins Spa. Deborah spent three years working as Spa Therapist before moving over to The Westin Heavenly Spa in May 2008. She was part of the pre-opening team and assisted with set up of the spa, including SOP’s and training. Deborah was promoted to Assistant Spa Manager and at the end of 2009 became the Spa Manager for the extensive product and offering.