Have you ever considered doing business in London, one of the biggest fintech ecosystems in the world? Hear from the experts themselves on how fintech is thriving in London and why the city is the perfect place to expand your business, with one of the most digitally-adoptive populations on the planet, the frameworks to test your product before it goes to market and the support systems to ensure you thrive.

Hosted by London & Partners, this is the first of a two part event series. We will be joined by high-profile guests including the Lord Mayor of London, Innovate Finance, investors and more high profile panellists from London's fintech ecosystem to be confirmed.

Moderated by Anton Ruddenklau, Head of Digital and Innovation in Financial Services from KPMG, we’ll be asking questions like:

- What financial tech is being adopted by the big banks right now?

- How do I access customers in London?

- How easy is it to find talent in London to support my expansion?

- What support systems are in place to ensure I hit the ground running in London?

- How easy is it for me to access investors and clients?

- Why is London a fantastic location to act as a bridge to explore other new markets?

- Why is London a good place to move to right now in this current climate?

Let us know if you have specific questions that you’d like to ask the panel upon registration.

Opening remarks from Alderman William Russell, Lord Mayor of London.

Alderman William Russell took office as the 692nd Lord Mayor of the City of London on 8th November 2019. He served as a Sheriff of the City of London in 2016-17 and, in that capacity, supported the then Lord Mayor, undertaking numerous visits and official functions.

His mayoral theme for the year is Global UK: Trade, Innovation and Culture, aiming to grow global trade, champion innovation and promote a rich and vibrant cultural and creative economy.

William has over thirty years’ experience in the financial and business City including holding senior positions in the national and international Banking sector.

Panellists

- Charlotte Crosswell, CEO, Innovate Finance

Charlotte Crosswell is the CEO of Innovate Finance, the industry body representing the UK FinTech sector. Prior to joining Innovate Finance, she spent the majority of her financial services career in market infrastructure roles. Charlotte has held a number of management positions at Nasdaq and London Stock Exchange across international capital markets, equities, fixed income, OTC derivatives trading and clearing. In addition to her work with Innovate Finance, Charlotte is on the board of UK Finance, and also advises and sits on the boards of Government FinTech advisory groups, technology companies and FinTech startups.

- Priya Guha, Venture Partner at Merian Ventures & Member of the Innovate UK Council.

Priya is a Venture Partner at Merian Ventures, investing in women-led innovation, a member of the Innovate UK Council, NED at the Digital Catapult and Adjunct Faculty at the Ashridge Hult Business School. She was previously G M for RocketSpace, launching their UK operations. Priya used to be a career diplomat, most recently as British Consul General to San Francisco and previously in India and Spain. She is on the Althea Foundation Board, the Tech London Advocates Advisory Board and London Tech Week Advisory committee. She also Chairs the Board of Trustees of Modern Muse and is an Advisor to The Youth Group. Priya was named in the 2019 Top 50 Most Influential Women in Technology and Top 5 Asian Investors in UK Tech.

- Anton Ruddenklau, Head of Digital & Innovation, Financial Services at KPMG

Anton specialises in Business, Corporate, Institutional Banking and market infrastructure providers. Anton has led or worked on over 150 growth projects across Corporates and Financial Institutions with the highlights being sales transformation, digital & innovation, strategy development, client strategy and regulation.

- Cormac Sullivan, Senior Fintech Specialist, Fintech Hub, Bank of England

Cormac Sullivan is a senior fintech specialist in the Bank of England’s Fintech Hub, where he leads on international issues and engagement. In this role he is responsible for work on a wide range of areas where innovation and technology can support more effective cross-border financial services. Prior to joining the Bank of England, Cormac worked for the Asia-Pacific Department of the International Monetary Fund where his work focused on forecasting, economic research and policy analysis. His recent published research work covers a range of topics including financial inclusion, machine learning and fintech.

- Brian McKenney, Chief Innovation Officer and Head of Strategic Initiatives, HSBC

Brian is CIO and Head of Strategic Initiatives at HSBC in the Global Liquidity and Cash Management area of the business. In this role, Brian is responsible for defining, designing and driving the bank’s strategic responses to the emerging trends, customer changes and commercial opportunities across payments and cash management for Commercial Banking and Global Banking . He leads HSBC’s digital innovation and partnership agenda for wholesale payments and cash management globally, exploring and pursuing new strategic opportunities in financial technology, banking-as-a-service, digital ledger technology, wallets and merchant solutions. Prior to this role, Brian created and led HSBC’s first fintech unit, PayMe from HSBC, scaling the product to become the leading social payments platform in Hong Kong.

Join the second in our two-part event series exploring London's fintech scene here: https://bit.ly/3mHyze2

This event is hosted by London & Partners, the official trade, investment and promotion agency for London. We help international businesses set up in London with the help of our expert team across the world. Free of charge, bespoke and confidential services include:

• Building the business case for London.

• Sector-specific information, contacts and event calendars.

• Access to high-quality banking, accounting, legal and immigration advice through our accredited professional service providers.

• Finding the best property in the right locations.

• Advice on relocation and discounted desk hire.

• Help finding the best people from London's huge pool of talent and skills.

• Connecting companies to London's business networks.

• Information on living in London and making the most of the city.

Unlocking London’s fintech scene: accessing clients, customers and capital