Judges

Ben is chief executive officer of The Payments Association, a leading trade body, exclusively serving the payments industry. It helps to connect the ecosystem, encourages innovation and collaboration, and runs over 50 events each year. Through insights and connections, The Payments Association is at the heart of the payments sector and supports the interest of its members; developing their reputation, enhancing their network and providing new opportunities to partner and do business.

Ben is passionate about supporting the payments industry and ensuring it is open to all, to truly realise the positive impact of technology and services on how we pay and get paid.

An experienced leader and business transformation specialist, he has held senior positions at Clarion Events, Informa and Datacenter Dynamics. He has more than 15 years of experience in leading businesses within financial services, telecoms and media, and defence and security.

Chantal has worked in fintech and financial services PR for almost a decade, with her most recent role at Wise (formerly TransferWise) working on a range of projects from product launches to the company’s rebrand and listing on the LSE in 2021. She currently runs The Heard, an award winning platform to get more women and non-binary people in fintech and financial services into public speaking. She has also been acknowledged by the Fintech Marketing Hub as one of fintech’s most influential marketers for 2024.

As head of strategic partnerships and fintech lead, Chelsea bridges the world of business and academia to find opportunities to co-create innovative solutions. She actively engages with the innovation ecosystem, understanding business needs and interpreting them into the skills and expertise of the University. She is passionate about translating complex ideas into actionable strategy and has mentored numerous start-ups on their journey from initial idea to product delivery.  

As fintech lead, Chelsea is passionate about building and supporting the region’s fintech ecosystem. In her work, she’s building an ecosystem of fintech businesses at Nexus, the University’s innovation hub; identifying opportunities for fintech activity and promoting the North’s fintech potential. Chelsea sits on the advisory board for FinTech North. Before joining Nexus, Chelsea was a part of J.P. Morgan’s fintech team, driving strategic change with a focus on harnessing the potential of emerging technologies. 

Deborah is a fintech expert with 17 years of experience in technology and finance. She has worked across the private sector for Citi, MoneySuperMarket.com, Dixons Carphone,  lastminute.com and Zuto. Deborah also launched a startup telco and finance company.

Deborah is a regular face in the national press, providing expert comment for The Times, Express and Independent, among others. She has also produced thought leadership features on personal finance topics, including women in finance, Brexit, budgeting and energy prices.

Currently a NED and involved in various Fintech projects as he is a firm believer in the power of Open Banking and digital tools to help businesses. Formerly Guy was Co-Founder and CEO of Finpoint, a successful finance platform, and championed “access to finance” for SMEs. Working in partnership with the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) he delivered the FSB Funding Platform for their members and a similar service for UK Finance.

Prior to Finpoint he held various senior positions at a number of leading financial institutions, including RBS, BNP Paribas and HSBC before moving into the fintech world.

Janine Hirt is the chief executive officer of Innovate Finance (IF), the industry body representing the world-leading UK fintech sector. Having joined the founding IF leadership team in 2015, first as head of membership, then ecosystem director, she moved into the chief operating officer role in 2017, before stepping up to lead the organisation in 2021.

Janine is passionate about driving transformation to create a more democratic, transparent and inclusive financial services sector for all. Her professional career has been marked by roles that sit at the intersection of policy, international relations and industry. Including senior positions at Chatham House, (the Royal Institution of International Affairs) and the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce.

Janthana Kaenprakhamroy is the chief executive officer and founder of Tapoly, winner of Innovator of the Year at UK FinTech Awards 2023 and winner of Technological Development at the European Business Awards 2021.

Tapoly is a digital managing general agent providing tailored commercial lines insurance to micro SMEs and freelancers. Tapoly also works globally, building end-to-end white labelled SaaS solutions that utilise emerging technologies to connect insurers with their distribution partners across the world.

Janthana was named Insurance Woman of the Year at the Women in Finance Awards 2021, was listed by Forbes as number 6 of the Top 100 Women Founders to watch and was named in the Insurance Business UK’s Elite Women List 2021 and 2022. Janthana is a chartered accountant and former internal audit director at top-tier investment banks.

Jordan Dargue is a founder, senior executive, investor, NED and seasoned investment expert. Her boundless passion for innovation, coupled with a remarkable track record of achievements, positions her within the realms of growth and investment.

Jordan’s transformative influence is evident through her leadership in orchestrating multi-million equity-based investment rounds, cultivating award-winning investor networks, and offering unwavering support to thousands of SMEs on their journey toward expansion and investment. Jordan is co-founder of Lifted Ventures. Lifted exists to increase the flow of early stage capital to female founders and promote the significant business benefits of backing women. The Lifted Ventures flywheel has an angel network at its core, alongside education, community and consultancy.

Previously Jordan was co-leader and board director of multi award winning NorthInvest, and in 2020 she co-founded Fund Her North and Women Angels of the North, a collective of women in VCs and Angel investors who support female founders to get equal access to finance.

Since qualifying as a chartered accountant in 1981, Malcolm has held numerous senior financial management positions with private or smaller AIM companies, taking many of them to market. Industries have included leisure, property, childcare, hotels, telecoms, public relations and mineral investment. Partly retired since the COVID pandemic, he now mainly lectures on management skills with a particular emphasis on business ethics.

Malcolm has been extensively involved in ICAEW affairs since he was a student. He has been a main committee member of the London Society of Chartered Accountants since 1986, serving as chairman of the society in 1993/94 and president in 2017/18, and a Council member of ICAEW since 2005.

He has also served on several other ICAEW committees and national and local government panels and committees and is currently a member of HMRC’s Administrative Burdens Advisory Board.

Malcolm is also an officer of several educational charities and chairs a local conservation and historical group. He is a Chevalier of the Ordre des Chevaliers Bretvins, Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Freeman of the City of London, and Liveryman and Court Assistant of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

He is married with two children and lives in South London.

Malcolm will serve as ICAEW President from June 2024 to June 2025.

Megan is founder and chief executive officer of Caywood, a new WealthTech startup based in London. She moved to the UK from San Francisco in 2016 when she was awarded an Exceptional Talent Visa for her work in fintech to move to the UK to help start Starling Bank as chief platform officer, where she was subsequently awarded Forbes 30 under 30 in recognition of her work.

She was headhunted to Barclays in 2019 to serve as head of digital strategy, and then was promoted to chief product officer for Barclays UK. She also served as chairman of the Digital, Tech, and Cyber Board at UK Finance, before now starting her newest venture.

Roisin is Fintech Trade and Investment Manager at the UK Department for Business and Trade, supporting UK fintechs to expand both domestically and internationally and driving inward investment.

Prior to this, Roisin was a Free Trade Agreement negotiator for the United Kingdom, specialising in international trade policy. Before joining the Department for Business and Trade, Roisin held a number of private sector roles across UK and global business development, supporting a range of businesses from SMEs through to multinational corporations on their growth journeys.

Theo has 12+ years of experience in growth investing and financial services. Before joining FinTech Growth Fund, Theo was a partner at Mouro Capital, a $400m fintech fund backed by Santander Bank. He previously worked at Target Global, a pan-European technology investment firm with more than €3bn in assets under management.

Theo started his career in investment banking, working at Macquarie and the Royal Bank of Canada. He holds an MBA from London Business School and he received a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Commerce, with First Class Honours, from the University of Western Australia.

Alderman Vincent Keaveny was Lord Mayor of the City of London in 2021/22, having served as Sheriff of the City of London for the year 2018/19.  

Vincent is a partner in the international business law firm, DLA Piper, where he advises on finance and debt capital markets transactions in the UK and Europe. Until 2019 he was International Co-Chair of the Financial Services Sector at DLA Piper. In 2014/15 he served as President of the City of London Law Society.  

Since his election to the City of London Corporation in 2013 he has served on a number of City of London Committees, including the Policy & Resources, Committee. He is currently the Chair of the Samuel Wilson’s Loan Trust and a Governor of the City of London School.  He also chairs Progress Together, the financial services membership body promoting greater socio-economic diversity in the financial services industry. 

Vincent was awarded a CBE in June 2023.