Archives: team-member

Adnan Ali is a passionate entrepreneur and the driving force behind Avanza Premier Payment Services and its flagship payment gateway; “Payfast”. He is working enthusiastically to accelerate Pakistan’s digital payments industry. Adnan has over 18 years of diversified experience in leveraging innovation and technology within the banking & financial sector. He holds a Masters Degree in Banking and Finance and has many accolades to his name, such as launching Pakistan’s first Co-Branded loyalty card with the largest Retail Shopping mall, envisaged the first real-time mutual funds redemption Visa debit card in Pakistan, launched First SMS Banking services in Pakistan, worked closely with Government of Pakistan, Regulators and World Bank to conceive G2P program and set a road map for the Digital journey for the commercials Banks in Pakistan.

Irina Samoylova Kunces, CAMS is a Risk, Control and Compliance SME with over 15 years of global Risk, Control, and Financial Crime Compliance experience in Corporate and Institutional Banking, and Retail and Mortgage industry with Standard Chartered, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Santander. Prior to arriving to Australia, Irina was a Regional Head of Financial Markets, Corporate Finance and Client Segments within Financial Crime Advisory with Standard Chartered Bank.

Background

Abhishek is a Partner and CEO of AJMS International Management Consultancy.
Abhishek has extensive international professional experience in Risk Management and related regulations
Prior to joining AJMS, Abhishek was a Partner & Executive Director in a niche consulting firm. Prior to that, he worked as a Risk Manager in ABK, focusing on Regulatory reform within the Banking Industry including corporate governance standards, BASEL II & III guidelines, CAMEL-BCOM Model, etc.
He has also served various leading Banks & Investment Companies in the region and around the world including Ahli Unit Bank, Kuwait International Bank, Boubyan Bank, Bank of Baroda, Genpact, etc.
Over the last few years, Abhishek has gained expertise in Risk-Based Auditing & Supervision including CAMEL BCOM, Corporate Governance standards, BASEL II/III, ICAAP & Stress testing exercise, Risk Policy & Procedures/ Framework

Nikhil Gandesha is the Managing Director of Finomni, a consulting firm specializing firm in financial crime compliance.

Nikhil has undertaken several roles covering AML, CTF, CPF and Sanctions in the UK, UAE and Hong Kong. His work included leading investigations, developing intelligence-led solutions to manage and mitigate financial crime risk as well as implementing effective strategies to meet clients’ risk appetite needs. Prior to joining Finomni, Nikhil worked for 2 global banks as well as a big 4 consultancy and has experience partnering with law enforcement, government agencies and international bodies such as the UN.

Suresh Lalwani is an expert in SME and Commercial Banking space. He has over 19 years of banking experience in UAE with Citibank, HSBC, and RAKBANK and he currently heads the Business Banking Division in Commercial Bank of Dubai, UAE. SMEs are an integral part of the economy and they contribute substantially to the GDP and workforce of the country. Suresh has expertise in lending to SMEs, developing Cash Management, Trade Finance, and Forex products for the SMEs.

Amnah Ajmal is the Executive Vice President, Market Development, MEA for Mastercard. In this role, she is responsible for acceptance, acquiring, merchants, digital partnerships, strategy and M&A for the region. Prior to this role, she led the North America product organization, based out of the US, responsible for the development and management of consumer and small business payment solutions, including credit, debit, prepaid, small business and acceptance solutions, with a focus on creating sustainable competitive differentiation for Mastercard and its customers.

Peter is part of the founding strategic management team at Beehive where he is the Group COO and CFO. Beehive is the GCC’s first digital lending marketplace for SMEs that connects creditworthy businesses with smart investors. It was the first regulated P2P platform in MENA (regulated by the DFSA and the CBB). Beehive has written over AED0.5bn of financing across the platform and has over 10,000 registered investors since it launched in November 2014. Peter is focused on regional expansion and strategic partnerships.

Pavithra Balaji is the Operational Controller & Tax Leader for the Middle East, Turkey & Africa region for General Electric- Global Operations. In this role, she leads GE’s statutory financial and tax compliance function for the META region, including statutory accounting and audits, tax operations and controllership. Pavithra joined GE in 2010 and has held diverse functional and leadership roles within the GE group in financial systems, taxation, and controllership. Notable is her 3 years as ERP Tax Leader for GE Power, providing tax and accounting expertise in implementing an Oracle-based ERP system across the Middle East and Africa.

As a former executive director at Goldman Sachs and now at the vanguard of FinTech, Daniel Gould brings a multifaceted perspective on digital banking transformation along with hands-on experience in launching and managing digital initiatives to drive growth.

21+ years of Senior Management experience in high – growth Domestic & International market of GCC, Asia and America’s. P&L management in the high-tech IT industry with solid strategic and tactical expertise in global operations, fiscal management, sales, marketing, new product development, and Financial Modeling.