Advisory Committee

Arjun Vir Singh

Brief Profile: Arjun is a Partner with Arthur D. Little’s  Financial Services Practice and the  Podcast Host of Couchonomics with Arjun

Company: Arthur D.Little

Years in UAE: 14

Years in Fintech: 20+

Grant Niven

Brief Profile: Grant is the founder & partner of  Mingzulu – focussed on Digital / Tech.  enabled finance – Fintech | Banking l  WAM | VC sectors. Also board member  of several growth stage Fintechs. Prior to Mingzulu, Grant was Head of Group Digital at Banque Saudi Fransi, and an EY partner

Company: Mingzulu

Years in UAE: 10

Years in Fintech: 20+

Hemant Patel

Brief Profile: Hemant is a progressive transaction banking business specialist across payments,  collections, acquiring, trade and supply  chain, and building & transforming businesses with over 30 years experience in various aspects within Global Corporate Banking, with an earlier stint in Telcos.

Company: Mingzulu

Years in UAE: 28

Years in Fintech: 20+

Marwan Nader

Brief Profile: Marwan is a Director at Payermax, a leading cross-border payment provider. He has over 14 years of experience in consulting, transformation, BNPL and digital payments where he focused on leveraging emerging technologies for growth and efficiency, implementing digital payment systems, and fostering partnerships across MENA in his various roles in consulting, at Tabby and Al-Futtaim Group.

Company: Payermax

Years in UAE: 10

Years in Fintech: 5+

Raffy Karamanian

Brief Profile: Raffy is the Head of Fintech at Majid Al Futtaim, where he leads the group’s fintech strategy, product lab, innovation, and operations – to deliver value & shape the future of retail commerce.

Company: Majid Al Futtaim

Years in UAE: 3

Years in Fintech: 20

Bicky Carlra

Brief Profile: Bicky is a serial entrepreneur & advisor  on multiple start-up boards – He has  almost four decades of work experience  within Multinational’s & the Consulting  domain, overseeing eight businesses on  strategies for driving growth, developing  partnerships to expand their footprint to  create value & plan exists. He is invested in the FinTech, MarTech, HealthTech, RewardTech, MediaTech,  EduTech & PropTech domains

Company: WeValue /Multiple

Years in UAE: 32

Years in Fintech: 5+

Alper Celen

Brief Profile: Alper is the founder of Enhance Ventures, the pioneer venture studio in  the MENAPT region building ventures for the future of finance and commerce. Previously, Alper was a consultant at McKinsey & Company, strategy manager  at Nokia, and an engineer at IBM, Ansys,  and NASA subcontractor Millitech. Alper  is a Global Startup Studio Network board member and DIFC Innovation Panel  member.

Company: Enhance Ventures

Years in UAE: 14

Years in Fintech: 9

Olivia Bellingham

Brief Profile:Olivia is an experienced financial services professional, with a background across sales, strategy, M&A, pricing and analytics. Olivia has spent the last decade in the payments industry, and most recently is Senior Vice President of Account Management for Mastercard Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa.

Company: Mastercard

Years in UAE: 17

Years in Fintech: 19

Renjit Philip

Brief Profile: Renjit is a Partner at Start2Scale  consulting that specializes in M&A,  funding, and startup growth. Diverse  background/ geographies: Tech consulting, financial services, and insurtech. I also host a podcast www.FSBrew.co (insurance and insurtech). •Mentor / session leader at  Accelerators: Founder Institute (GCC  Silicon Valley)| NSRCEL, IIMB, Bangalore|  Loyal VC, Canada. Ex-founder /Angel  Investor. •Advisory Experience in  inclusive finance, Fintech, Insurtech,  Web3, CleanTech, HealthTech and  eCommerce 2.0 startups

Company: Start2Scale Consulting/ FutureU  Web3 Edtech/ FS Brew Podcast/ Advisory Board of multiple startups

Years in UAE: 17

Years in Fintech: 20+

Shradha Chopra

Brief Profile: Shradha is the founder of 237 Talent,  offering leadership coaching and  development to startups, fintechs, and large corporations. Shradha is a Certified Professional Coach (CPC, ICF ACC); and a coach partner with ExecOnline, EZRA Coaching, Center for Creative Leadership, and SHL. Previously, Shradha worked at BNP  Paribas as VP, heading Leadership Development, Talent Management, and  D&I across APAC. Shradha has also  served as Head, Human Resources Practice, Asia for Gartner.

Company: 237 Ventures

Years in UAE: 4

Years in Fintech: 5

Amna Usman Chaudhry

Brief Profile: Amna is a financial economist and strategist for emerging tech including blockchain, metaverse and Web 3.0, working with organizations such as the UN. She is a graduate-level lecturer with teaching experience in London and Dubai. She is an advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion. Amna has been listed on the Women in Fintech Powerlist as the Standout 45, is winner of the Global Woman in Web 3.0 Award and also recognized as one of the Top 100 Women of the Future.

Company: Various

Years in UAE: 5+

Years in Fintech: 5+

Gavin Payne

Brief Profile: Gavin heads up Emerging Technology at  Amazon Payments Services. Leading  teams to solve critical problems through  new technology and design, with a focus  on FinTech & Open Banking, Artificial  Intelligence, and Web 3.0 related  innovation. An accomplished entrepreneur and former “Irish Young  Entrepreneur of the Year”. Gavin specialises in enterprise creativity and  innovation over two decades, having had leadership positions at Visa, IBM, Finastra and CGI  (Logica). He is a frequent speaker at  events on open banking, future of  payments and CBDC/crypto and  frequently publish thought leadership  articles.

Company: Amazon Payment Services

Years in UAE: 12

Years in Fintech: 10

Gabrielle Inzirillo

Brief Profile: Gabrielle is a financial regulator focused  on delivering new frameworks that  promote innovation and economic  growth. She oversees the Ecosystem  Development function within the  Financial Services Regulatory Authority  of Abu Dhabi Global Market, informing  its fintech and digital asset strategy  through industry engagements and  public consultations. Gabrielle previously managed venture  capital firm Plug And Play’s EMEA  fintech division, investing in early stage  startups and leading portfolio value  creation. Prior to this she executed on  the fintech strategy at Citi and built new  financial models at Bloomberg. 

Company: Financial Services  Regulatory Authority,  Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM)

Years in UAE: 3

Years in Fintech: 8