Verónica Martínez is an independent Fintech and Insurtech adviser who also serves as Transformation and Product Director at a Private Bank, where she plays a pivotal role in driving innovation and enhancing product offerings. With a background in project management and transformation gained at Amazon before joining the Wealth Management industry, Verónica brings a wealth of experience to her current position. Prior to her current role, she contributed significantly to product development at Lombard International Assurance, Luxembourg’s leading life insurance company.
Verónica is deeply engaged in the Swiss Fintech ecosystem, serving as an independent advisor for The Insurance Academy. Additionally, she is a member of the ABBL (Association des Banques et Banquiers Luxembourg) Fintech and Innovation Committee, where she actively contributes to shaping the future of financial services in Luxembourg. Her engagement in these capacities underscores her commitment to advancing industry standards and fostering collaboration within the financial sector.
Verónica’s academic credentials include an MBA and LL.M from Rey Juan Carlos University, complemented by international studies in China and France. Additionally, she is a registered attorney in Spain and has pursued specialized training in blockchain technologies through programs at INSEAD and MIT. Verónica Martínez’s multifaceted expertise and dedication to driving transformational change position her as a respected leader within the wealth management industry, reflecting her unwavering commitment to innovation and excellence.
Gareth C is a seasoned leader in Technology, Operations and Change Management. With two decades of experience, Gareth has dedicated his career to shaping and implementing technology, data, and operational strategies for investment organisations. He has successfully executed transformative programs across various aspects of the investment management operating model.
Starting in management consultancy, Gareth focused on front-office system strategy and operating model design for leading investment and wealth management organisations. Transitioning into senior leadership roles within the industry, he oversaw both operational and change-based functions. In Technology, Gareth led the design and implementation of technology infrastructure and application landscapes, managing major transformative projects. As an experienced Business Change practitioner, he established Change Management practices, delivery methodologies, and reporting frameworks. Gareth has consistently delivered large transformative business change, built high-performing teams and emphasised collaboration with suppliers for mutual success.
Kate is currently Head of Product globally for the Alternatives business of HSBC Asset Management. Based in London, she is responsible for the team which develops, launches and maintains investment products across renewables, venture capital, infrastructure debt, private credit, real estate, private equite and hedge fund of funds asset classes. Prior to taking over the Head of Product role, Kate worked as Real Assets Governance Lead, providing business management and governance support to the global real estate, infrastructure equity and renewables business. She originally joined HSBC Alternatives in 2019 as Senior Legal Counsel, supporting the UK-based Alternatives team.
Kate has over a decade’s experience supporting Alternative asset managers. She started her career in the investment funds team at Herbert Smith Freehills, primarily focusing on listed funds as well as private equity firms. From 2014 to 2019, Kate worked as Legal Counsel for the Alternatives team at DWS (formerly Deutsche Asset Management), helping them structure and run real estate, infrastructure and sustainable products, as well as advising the AIFM boards on legal risk.
Kate has a seven year old son, and two horses, and so spends a lot of her time outside of work covered in either stickers or mud.
Milan is a domain specialist with 15 years experience, covering solutions across; Portfolio, Order & Execution Management, Risk & Analytics, Trading, Accounting & IBOR. Milan leads the sales engineering team at FA, who are responsible for engaging our prospective clients and providing advisory on the best practice for their business. Milan has previously driven sales engineering at SS&C, BlackRock Solutions and Finastra prior to leading the team at FA Solutions.
Harlin Singh, global head of sustainable investing at Citi Global Wealth. Harlin works across Citi’s investment divisions to develop and embed a global framework along the full spectrum of sustainability to ensure its alignment with Citi’s best thinking on portfolio management, research and asset allocation. This includes environmental, social and governance (ESG) integration, socially responsible, thematic and impact investments.
Harlin is an observing member of the Global Investment Committee and oversees Investing with Purpose, our sustainable investing platform. She is also a representative on Citi’s Net Zero Task Force, entrusted with the group’s goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050.
Prior to joining Citi in 2017, she served as Associate Director of innovative finance at the Milken Institute. Before that, Harlin spent over a decade as a capital markets and foreign exchange specialist, advising ultra-high net worth individuals and family offices at Deutsche Bank and Citi, having begun her career at Lehman Brothers.
Philippe Gijsels is an enthusiastic investment professional, a rare exception who managed to turn his hobby into a profession. He studied economics and financial analysis, read tons of books on investing and many other topics and has now been working for the Fortis ‘family’, which was renamed BNP Paribas Fortis, for almost 20 years. The integration of the bank into the BNP Paribas group opened up a whole new world of contacts and information for him.
Sonia Lwoff has a BsC degree in Chemistry from the Autonoma University in Madrid and a master’s degree in clinical trials by Pharmaceutical Association in Madrid. She has over 19 years of experience in research. Sonia has developed her career in Clinical Operations, from the CRA level through various management positions to leading global Clinical Operations teams in several regions. Sonia’s therapeutic area expertise includes Oncology, Neurology and Psychiatry, Rare Diseases, Gastroenterology, and Immunology (PID) among others. She is currently the Director of Clinical Operations in EU, working on timely and high-quality delivery in projects, process improvement, and expanding Rho’s footprint in EU.
Maris Veldre earned his BSC and PT degrees from the Medical Academy of Latvia and later studied for an international MPH at University of Kuopio, Finland. He has over 24 years of experience in the industry, both at CRO and Pharma companies holding regional and global management positions in clinical operations and strategic sourcing. Prior to his tenure at Rho, Maris managed clinical operations at Dokumeds, a mid-sized European CRO, operating in over 30 countries. Under his leadership, the company expanded into new geographic regions both within and outside Europe, thus significantly increasing capabilities and the company’s strategic footprint. Currently, Maris serves as a strategic partner to Rho operations, overseeing project delivery in Europe and helping Rho deliver high-quality global programs.
Myriam Golembo is VP Regulatory Affairs at BiomX, a microbiome drug discovery company developing customized phage therapies that seek and destroy harmful bacteria in chronic diseases. Myriam holds a PhD in Molecular and Developmental Genetics from the Weizmann Institute and has over 20 years’ experience in the biotech industry. Prior to BiomX, she was VP Regulatory and Clinical Operations at a company developing immunotherapy for cancer and viral disease, and VP Product Development at a company developing new formulated antibiotics for ear, nose and throat. Previous to these, she served as Director of Products Development at Protalix, a company developing and marketing FDA approved recombinant therapeutic proteins with clinically improved profiles produced in a plant cell-based protein expression platform, where she focused in regulatory and clinical development of products targeting orphan indications, for USA and EU.
