speakers
Our speakers bring expertise, insight, and bold perspectives to the stage, shaping the industry’s most important conversations.
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Co-Founder of The GTM Loop and Midwest Fintech
Holly Glowaty is Co-Founder of The GTM Loop and Midwest Fintech. She is a serial entrepreneur and go-to-market strategist with 13+ years of experience building revenue-generating products, partnerships, and brands across fintech, payments, loyalty, and rewards.
A pioneer in closed-loop payments and a leading voice in redefining gift cards as revenue-driving “branded currency”, Holly has launched and scaled multiple ventures, including: Prizeout, the Flourish Conference & Media Network, K+H Connection and the Women in Incentives Network.
Her unique ability to fuse brand strategy, market readiness and business development, makes her a trusted partner to startups, financial institutions and ecosystem builders alike.
- B2B2C Marketing and communications
- Building loyalty programs
- Innovation in gift cards and prepaid products
- Effective networking
- How community drives business development and partnership sales
- Go-to-Market Sales and Marketing Strategy
- Holly is based in Chicago, IL, but open to travel globally for the right opportunity
- She is best reached via the contact form
Consultant and Fractional CMO
Anouschka is a senior marketing and growth leader who bridges institutional finance and fintech. She currently works as a fractional CMO with digital asset infrastructure firms, helping them position tokenization and network-based financial technology for institutional buyers.
Before moving into fintech, she spent over two decades in corporate and investment banking followed by senior marketing leadership in asset and wealth management, including Global Head of Marketing roles at Goldman Sachs Asset Management and UBS Asset Management.
Across both worlds, she has partnered with business and distribution leaders to drive growth, launch new capabilities, and modernise client engagement.
A CFA Charterholder and Chartered Marketer, she moves fluently between investment, commercial, and brand conversations. She has been twice recognised in Marketing Week's Top 100 Most Effective Marketers and serves on the board of RNIB.
- Selling infrastructure vs products
- Influencing institutional buyers
- Custody, settlement & tokenisation go-to-market
- Fintech and financial services marketing (and the importance of early investment)
- Building credibility in digital assets
- TradFi vs fintech marketing playbooks
- The difference between marketing in an established bank vs a startup
- Anoushka is based in London and is willing to travel for the right opportunities.
- She's best contacted directly on LinkedIn

Coach for Tech Professionals
Molly was part of a founding team of a hospitality tech start up where she trained in hardcore door to door sales.
This start up was acquired by fintech giant, Dojo for £20m and her role expanded to heading up Dojo's entire commercial strategy for their new consumer product.
After 4.5 years with Dojo she joined the global tech company, Lightspeed as Director of Business Transformation which she then left to set up her own business specialising in supporting women in tech develop their personal and professional skills.
She is now on a mission to build the Sofar sounds of personal development.
- Commercial strategy
- Team building
- Personal development of teams
- Coaching,
- Incentivisation structures
- Molly is based in central London and is flexible on speaking opportunities
- She is best contacted via our contact form, or directly on LinkedIn
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Founder of Lexo
Tasha is the Founder of Lexo, a financial education and fundraising platform built for female founders.
As a qualified UK/US tax advisor who spent over a decade working at EY, ASOS, and Cerberus, Tasha brings rare institutional depth to the gender funding gap, an issue she knows both professionally and personally.
Her transition from advisor to founder gives her a distinctive dual perspective: she understands the financial and legal complexities facing early-stage founders, and has navigated the fundraising landscape from the inside out.
Since founding Lexo, she has secured a strategic partnership with Tide and is keen to engage with more partners.
- Fundraising strategy and storytelling for early-stage founders
- UK taxation considerations for startups
- Legal and financial foundations for new businesses
- Strategic partnerships and community building
- Business transformation through technology
- The gender funding gap: why it exists and how to close it
- Tasha is based in London, UK and is open to all speaking opportunities (in-person and virtual) and can travel with sufficient notice.
- She is best reached directly on natasha@lexo-app.com.

Growth Marketer at GoCardless and Founder of GrowthXsplendid
Splendid Uchechukwu is a strategic growth marketing leader currently at GoCardless, where she specializes in data-driven experimentation to drive global revenue growth and LTV.
With a track record of delivering measurable impact, including initiatives generating up to 210% ROI. She excels at bridging the gap between complex fintech products and consumer activation and retention.
Beyond her corporate role, Splendid is the founder of GrowthXsplendid, a women-led community that has mentored aspiring marketers entering the tech sector.
A passionate advocate for skills-based education, she also serves as a mentor at Birmingham City University, dedicated to building a more inclusive and data-literate future for growth marketing.
- Fintech Growth Strategy: Data-driven experimentation and scaling acquisition.
- Lifecycle Optimisation: Mastering retention and deep-funnel analysis.
- Community Building: Creating impactful spaces for women in tech.
- Mentorship & Social Mobility: Closing the skills gap for aspiring marketers.
- Retention Strategy
- Splendid is based in England, United Kingdom, and is open to all speaking opportunities
subject to availability. She is available to travel with sufficient notice. - She is best reached directly at growthxsplendid@gmail.com
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Founder of UnDEBTfeated
Bri is a US-based financial wellness expert and socioeconomic justice crusader redefining wealth building for the next generation.
The founder of UnDEBTfeated, she is proudly leading the charge for collective liberation by helping communities avoid and recover from the impacts of predatory lending.
Her work has been spotlighted in 25+ outlets including Forbes, BuzzFeed, Katie Couric Media and NPR, and honored with top-tier recognition such as the 2023 SXSW Innovation Award for Social Impact, the Visionary Women Foundation’s Rising Visionary Award, and Goldman Sachs’ One Million Black Women Initiative.
- Financial wellness/trauma recovery
- Debt constraint prevention
- Entrepreneurship, particularly as a first-gen & formerly resource constrained founder
- Briana is based in the USA (Atlanta, GA) and is available Evenings, Fridays and weekends for opportunities
- She is best contacted directly on bbf@undebtfeated.com

Commercial Director for Northern Europe at Tribe Payments
Ruta Kairyte is a fintech commercial leader and payments insider with 15+ years of hands-on experience building and scaling payment infrastructure across Europe.
As Commercial Director for Northern Europe at Tribe Payments, she works directly with fintechs, banks and crypto platforms navigating issuing, acquiring and the realities behind card scheme strategy.
Having started in product delivery, Ruta brings an execution-first voice to an industry often dominated by buzzwords.
She is also the Lithuania Country Ambassador for EWPN (European Women Payments Network), advocating for more honest leadership conversations and stronger representation in fintech.
Known for her direct and pragmatic perspective, Ruta challenges industry narratives and focuses on what truly drives growth in modern payments.
- Payments without the hype. What actually works in issuing and acquiring
- Card schemes, SME opportunity
- Fintech growth across Baltics and Northern Europe
- Leadership visibility and inclusion beyond corporate statements
- Scaling fintechs from product delivery into commercial maturity
- Partnerships as the real growth engine in payments
- Ruta is based in Vilnius, Lithuania, ans is active across Northern Europe.
- She isoOpen to panels, moderation, media commentary, podcasts and roundtables.
- She is best contacted directly on ruta.kairyte@gmail.com

CEO and Founder of Knova
Natalya Thakur is the Founder and CEO of Knova, B2B infrastructure that unifies traditional and tokenized assets into a single operating layer. She has held roles across leading financial and technology organizations, including BlackRock, GoogleX, Celo, IDEO CoLab, Morgan Stanley, and the Hoover Institution under Dr. Condoleezza Rice.
She also co-founded Stanford’s Future of Digital Currency Initiative, a partnership with the United Nations, and serves in leadership at the Bretton Woods Committee, helping advance its digital asset and future-of-finance agenda.
A frequent public speaker and active angel investor/LP, her work has been featured in Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, American Banker, NYSE Floor Talk, and CoinDesk.
She was recently named a finalist for the 2025 UBS Female Founders Award, and was featured in the 2024 Women in Fintech Powerlist, Standout 45 for Senior Leaders.
Thakur holds a BA (Honors) in International Relations from Stanford University, an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School, and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.
- Digital assets and tokenization (Web3, crypto, stablecoins, tokenized funds)
- Intersection of financial services adoption of digital assets
- Financial operations
- B2B payments
- Interoperability
- Start-up building
- Financial literacy
- Investing
- Natalya is based out of NYC and available for in-person and virtual opportunities within the US and globally.
- She can be contacted via LinkedIn (by referencing ‘The Heard’ in your outreach message) or via our contact form.

Founder and CEO of Maven Advisory
Angi Milano is a fintech GTM strategist and the Founder of Maven Advisory, with deep experience helping fintech teams scale and navigate growth.
She has worked across multiple high growth companies and has been directly involved in six successful acquisitions, giving her a grounded perspective on how positioning, timing, and execution drive outcomes.
Angi also brings experience from major financial institutions, including HSBC, Capital One, Citigroup, BCU, and Alliant, which informs her practical approach to message market fit and sales strategy.
She is the co-founder of The GTM Loop & Midwest Fintech and advises founders through RevTech Labs and 1871.
- Leadership lessons from women in fintech
- The realities of go-to-market leadership as a woman
- Building a voice as a Latina in fintech
- Mentoring and creating opportunities for underrepresented talent in tech
- Breaking through in regulated financial institutions
- Selling to banks and credit unions
- Navigating complex fintech sales cycles
- Common go-to-market mistakes in fintech
- Messaging that resonates with credit unions
- Starting in mid to end of March 2026, Angi is available for speaking engagements
- Based in Chicago and born in Buenos Aires, she is fluent in English and Spanish
- She is best contacted via the contact form

Director at BeyondFS
Clarinda is a financial crime compliance consultant with 12+ years' experience in her field.
She brings deep expertise in the payments/emoney sector, having advised clients such as American Express, Paysafe and BVNK. She specialises in supporting firms to build out structured and sustainable financial crime frameworks as we as helping firms navigate regulatory-driven challenges (such as FCA-imposed restrictions or mandatory compliance reviews).
She also brings wider experience of supporting clients with regulatory challenges in the retail banking sector, building societies, betting and gaming, legal and professional services, crypto, the art market and real estate sectors.
Clarinda is an advocate for both women in financial crime and women in the payments/fintech space. Outside of her formal role at BeyondFS, Clarinda volunteers a Mentor for 'Women 4 Women' and was selected to be a participant in the Global Gaming Women 'Lean In Circles' initiative in 2025
- Anti-Money Laundering
- UK and EU financial crime legislation
- Payments and fintech
- Regulator engagement
- Mentoring
- Clarinda can make time for appropriate opportunities, but ideally 2-3 weeks’ notice is preferred
- She is based in London, and best contacted via our contact form

Senior VP of Product at Chip
Nicole is an SVP of Product at a leading UK FinTech, where she leads product strategy across a digital wealth management app.
She specialises in building and scaling B2C products in high growth start-ups and scale-ups, with a focus on operational excellence, working in a regulated sector and driving customer centric innovation. Passionate about developing high-performing teams and Nicole is known for combining clear strategy with strong execution.
She cares deeply about mentorship and growing brilliant product leaders who have a strong impact. Before moving into FinTech, she also built and scaled products in the travel industry, where she learned how to deliver seamless consumer experiences while balancing commercial performance and operational complexity.
A soon to be first-time mum, she brings empathy, resilience, and perspective to both leadership and product management, and believes the best products are built by teams that feel trusted, challenged, and supported.
- B2C in a Regulated Environment (including Consumer Duty)
- Scale up and Start up environments
- Managing companies in high-growth periods
- Cross functional leadership
- Mentorship (both in and out of organisations)
- Team Development and Growth
- Women in FinTech, Product, Tech, Finance
- Based in Surrey (just outside London). Available for speaking engagements in London and the surrounding areas, with a minimum of one week’s notice preferred.
- Nicole is expecting her first child in late July 2026, so is likely unavailable from July to November 2026, however she will have some limited availability during maternity leave.
- She is best reached via our contact form

Growth Director at Seccl
Kristina is Growth Director at Seccl, where she leads strategic partnerships and revenue growth across the UK wealth and fintech landscape.
She works with neobanks, consumer fintechs, and digital platforms to bring investing products to market. Previously, Kristina held senior commercial and strategy roles across fintech and cybersecurity, including GoCardless and Darktrace.
She managed enterprise relationships in complex stakeholder environments and delivered growth across large portfolios and strategic initiatives.
- Embedded investing
- Direct Debit and Open Banking
- Go-to-market strategy in regulated environments
- Commercial modelling
- Customer experience and operational readiness for launches
- UK fintech market dynamics
- Kristina is based in London and open to speaking opportunities subject to schedule.
- She is best contacted via LinkedIn

Deputy News Editor at FT Adviser, and Author
Sonia Rach is Deputy News Editor at FTAdviser and is currently sitting exams towards the CII’s Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning. Since joining the world of financial journalism in 2017, Sonia has worked at trade press titles Portfolio Adviser and Money Marketing.
Prior to this, she spent three years in HR journalism where her interest in finance first sparked after she began writing about pensions and auto-enrolment.
Sonia’s career in journalism commenced after she completed an undergraduate degree in English Literature with Journalism from the University of Hertfordshire and an exchange programme at Stony Brook University in Long Island, New York.
In October 2023, she also published a children's book called Loose Change: Tina Learns to Save. Written for 6- to 11-year-olds, it aims to introduce the concept of saving and earning interest at an early age.
- Financial education and literacy
- Personal finances
- Side hustles
- Women's wealth/pension gap & childcare
- Financial inclusion
- Sonia is open to all types of speaking/comment opportunities
- She is based in London and open to travel
- She's best contacted on sonia.rach@ft.com or directly on LinkedIn

VP Communications at Earlybird VC
Elisheva Marcus is a long-time supporter of startup storytelling and an advocate for communications professionals.
She joined European VC Earlybird in 2020 and serves as VP Communications, where she spars with portfolio companies and partners with investors on best practices for funding announcements, communications strategy, and media engagement.
With an MSc in Biomedical Communication from the University of Toronto, Elisheva brings experience from the San Jose Mercury News, Pearson Education, Ada Health, and Bayer to support venture communication.
She is an active member of the European tech ecosystem, a podcast enthusiast, and a fan of journalists, dedicated to bridging the gap between founders, investors, and storytellers.
- Building effective comms strategies for startups and VCs
- Best practices for funding announcements & media relations
- Evolving role of communications in venture capital
- Authentic storytelling and narrative design in tech
- Supporting founders through strategic comms and positioning
- The power of narrative in shaping Europe’s innovation ecosystem
- Elisheva is based in Berlin, and needs 1-2 weeks' notice for engagements
- Some European/UK travel is doable, but local is preferred
- She can be reached at elisheva@earlybird.com

Vice President of Business Strategy at BNY Treasury Services
Sophie Wadsworth is a Vice President in the Business Strategy team at BNY Treasury Services, where she helps shape the growth agenda in an evolving payments landscape.
She brings broad expertise in fintech strategy, innovation, and leadership, built through roles in traditional finance (J.P. Morgan), fintech (start-up ALT21), and the British Army, where she served as an Officer in the Royal Engineers.
A committed advocate for diversity, Sophie champions women’s representation in fintech and works to make financial services more inclusive for veterans.
- The future of payments and treasury: key trends shaping corporates and fintechs
- Bridging traditional finance and fintech
- Scaling innovation and balancing transformation and resilience
- Championing diversity and practical steps to bring more women into fintech
- Driving growth through partnerships
- Building resilient fintechs by managing risk, regulation, and trust
- Leadership lessons from the Army
- Supporting veterans, and why inclusion matters in financial services

Chief Revenue Officer at Paymentology
Anna spearheads global growth initiatives, overseeing sales, marketing, partnerships, and client success. With nearly two decades of experience in the finance industry, Anna brings deep expertise in card payments, honed through key roles at leading organisations such as Soldo, Marqeta, and Barclaycard.
Anna's extensive background covers all aspects of card programme management, including work across banking, issuer processing, and fintech sectors, which uniquely positions her to drive revenue growth and operational efficiency at Paymentology.
- Revenue growth
- Global strategies
- Localisation
- Payments
- Card innovation
- Scaling
- Inclusion
Anna is based in London and open to speaking as often as her diary allows. She is best contacted via our contact form.

and PR Consultant

at Stripe

Belgium

at Lightyear




Crypto at Onafriq

and PR Consultant

at Stripe

Belgium

at Lightyear




Before The Heard, I never saw myself as a speaker—I thought public speaking was for ‘other people.’ The training gave me the confidence to own my expertise, and now I’ve spoken on fintech panels alongside industry leaders. The Heard didn’t just amplify my voice; it changed my career.
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As a media booker, working with Chantal is an absolute delight! She is super responsive and always willing to help; she also knows her client base inside out so can always suggest fantastic speakers for the topics who are all excellent subject matter experts, which enriches our content, and helps us to showcase brilliant ladies we may not have otherwise found. I can’t recommend The Heard enough.
