Archives: team-member

Namitha Janardhan, a dedicated professional based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, boasts a diverse background encompassing finance, impact investing, and ESG. With over nine years of experience in the financial sector, Namitha has honed her skills in fund raising, fund structuring, and impact investing, positioning herself as a prominent figure in the industry. Namitha’s journey in the finance realm began at Infosys as a Senior Associate Consultant, where she laid the foundation for her career. She then transitioned to Northern Arc Investments, holding pivotal roles such as Associate Vice President, Associate Director, and ultimately Director & Head of Products. Her expertise in these positions shines through, showcasing her proficiency in strategic decision-making and leadership. Not only is Namitha an accomplished professional, but she is also a doting mother to a toddler. Her dedication to both her career and her family is evident in her recent role as a full-time parent, where she devotes her time to nurturing her young child. Namitha’s academic background is equally impressive, having obtained a Master of Business Administration with a specialization in Development and Sustainable Finance from IFMR Graduate School of Business – Krea University. Prior to this, she completed her Bachelor of Commerce at Stella Maris College, laying a solid educational foundation for her future endeavors. In addition to her professional and academic achievements, Namitha is known for her thought leadership and commitment to driving positive change through impact investing and ESG initiatives. Her contributions to the field have not gone unnoticed, with a substantial following on social media and a vast network of professional connections. With a track record of success in finance, a strong educational background, and a passion for impact-driven work, Namitha Janardhan continues to make waves in the industry. Her story is one of dedication, resilience, and a drive to create a more sustainable and inclusive financial landscape for future generations.

Mario Aquino is the founder & Managing Partner of FutureLabs Ventures – a tech VC and Venture Builder focused on long-term digital mega-trends that are reshaping the world — with specific emphasis on big data & advanced analytics.

Prior to FutureLabs, Mario was a Partner of McKinsey & Company where he co-founded McKinsey Solutions and led the broader McKinsey New Ventures in Asia-Pacific (McKinsey’s innovation & corporate venture capital group). As leader of McKinsey New Ventures, Mario identified distinctive B2B start-ups and helped them collaborate with large corporate organizations to capture real economic value from innovation. During his tenure at McKinsey, he scaled the New Ventures team to over 500 professionals in the region and 40+ distinctive data & analytics portfolio companies that have become global innovators in their fields

Smriti has 13 years of experience in entrepreneurship, management, and finance. She is currently the CFO of Neuron Mobility Pte Ltd, Asia’s largest e-scooter sharing company. Previously she was the Regional VP of Finance for Tickled Media where she oversaw finance and fundraising for the group. Prior to Tickled Media, she was Co-Founder of Catalyst Partners, a boutique advisory firm that worked with leading venture capital firms and startups on finance, operations, strategy, and fundraising. She has also worked as an Operations Partner with Vinod Khosla’s VC; and with Actis, the leading emerging market private equity player where she invested in consumer and retail companies in the South Asia region. Smriti began her career as an investment banker with Goldman Sachs in New York.

Smriti has an MBA from INSEAD and is based in Singapore. She also serves on the Board of the Insead Alumni Association (India) and is VP of the INSEAD Alumni Entrepreneurship Club (Singapore).

Session: The Trend of P2P Crowdfunding in Emerging Markets.

Date: April 26, 2019, at 9:30 AM

Umar Munshi is a social entrepreneur from Singapore who started his first business at the age of 18. His entrepreneurship journey includes stints in Singapore, Jakarta, Jeddah and Kuala Lumpur, spanning various sectors including healthcare, education, Islamic finance and real estate. Umar is the founder of Malaysia-based Ethis Ventures, an Islamic Fintech Venture Builder. Flagship platform GlobalSadaqah.com, an Islamic Social Finance crowdfunding marketplace was launched in early 2018.

Munshi is also the Managing Director of Singapore-based EthisCrowd.com, an award-winning pioneer Real Estate Islamic Crowdfunding platform that brings together retail crowd-investors, larger private investors and Islamic Banks to fund Social Housing developmentsin Indonesia. The 30,000 strong EthisCrowd has invested in projects to build more than 5,000 social houses for needy families. EthisCrowd is also currently processing licenses to setup in Indonesia, Brunei and Dubai. Munshi is passionate about spreading the appreciation of Islamic Fintech as a means to create socio-economic benefit, and he enjoys speaking at events and webinars. Umar is an Islamica500 Islamic Economy influencer and the Chairman of the IslamicFintechAlliance.com.

Sagar is Head of Regulatory Relations for APAC and the Middle East at Ripple, a payment technology company named one of the 50 Smartest Companies by MIT and the recipient of the World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneer Award. Sagar manages Ripple’s relations with central banks and policymakers across APAC and the Middle East, focusing on payment innovation and virtual currency policy. Prior to Ripple, Sagar spent 9+ years in the banking industry across multiple functions including technology, strategy, risk, and government affairs. Sagar holds an MBA from INSEAD Business School, where he founded and presided over the INSEAD Fintech Club. He was recognized as one of India’s top young business leaders by The Economic Times, India’s largest selling financial daily.

Graham Brown is a public speaker, podcast host, and entrepreneur. He is a published author on the subject of marketing and innovation, works including “The Mobile Youth: Voices of the Connected Generation” which documented the rise of mobile culture in the early 2000s in Japan, China, Africa and India, and The Asia Matters Report, the story of innovation and The Asian Century. Graham is the founder of Pitch Media Asia – Asia’s largest Podcast Media House, where he also hosts the Asia Tech Podcast, The Podcast Show and Pitchdeck Asia shows in total producing 500 episodes till date.

Sonny has been working in the crypto and blockchain space for over a two year now. She has a technical background with a degree in computer science from London and has many years of experience working in Fintech.

Session: Fintech & Banking – Bridging the Divide
Fintechs and Banks; Friends or Foe? In this session, Joe will explore the varied approaches being adopted around the world between banks and FinTech companies.

Date: April 25th, Thursday at 9.00 AM

Joe McGuire is the Founder and CEO of emerging Malaysian Fintech MyMy. This is Joe’s second FinTech after being Global Head of Partnerships/Sales at Airwallex, a Sequoia and Tencent backed business who recently raised a B round of US$80 million. A recognized leader with 10 years of experience in the financial sector, he has developed a broad set of skills across sales leadership, capital raising and financial regulation. Prior to joining Airwallex, Joe was the youngest State Manager for Australia’s largest bank CBA, an area covering roughly 30% of Australia’s population. Outside of his core role, he is the head of FinTech mentoring at Australia’s YBF incubator and a regular commentator on all things Fintech.

Panel: Panel Discussion: Entrepreneurship in Finance: an Investor’s Perspective

Date: April 25th at 10.00 AM

Zennon is the Founder and Director of Kapronasia, one of Asia’s leading providers of consulting services focusing on the FinTech industry. Zennon has been involved in financial technology for over 20 years and covers all topics FinTech and blockchain. Before Kapronasia, Zennon was the Global Banking Industry Manager for Intel-based out of Shanghai, China and, prior to Intel, was the CIO for Citigroup Portugal. Zennon has testified in front of the U.S. Congress on issues of China FinTech and is the author of ‘Chomping at the Bitcoin: The History and Future of Bitcoin in China’ published by Penguin. He holds a B.S. in Computer Science from Syracuse University and an MBA from INSEAD.

Rakesh is an experienced banker with over 26 years of experience with HSBC – across Asia, UK and the Middle East, followed by a stint as the CEO of an independent Private Bank in India. Having done a variety of global, regional and country roles, his knowledge of the financial services industry ranges from Commercial & Corporate Banking, Trade & Receivables Finance, Investment banking and FinTech in recent years. With his background as an International Manager at one of the most global organizations in the world, he has understood and assimilated different cultures.

For the past three years, Rakesh has traveled extensively across Silicon Valley, New York, London, Hong Kong, Barcelona, etc to interact, learn and gain insights into the trends and growth of FinTech, on its new business models, delivery modes, analytics, data usage, and customer engagement merger and evolution. As a traditional banker, he is aware of the magnitude of disruption caused by new technologies, and understand the significance of a merger between traditional and new businesses to build a powerful hybrid of a future financial company.