Finance & Banking

Experienced individuals involved in financial services, including banking, investment, insurance, and real estate

Shashank Akinapalli

Shashank Akinapalli

Senior Data Engineering and Enterprise Data Architecture professional with 14+ years of experience designing, modernizing, and optimizing large-scale data integration platforms across financial services, insurance, healthcare, and retail industries. Specialized in cloud data modernization, AI-enabled data engineering, enterprise ETL architecture, and data product development using AWS, Snowflake, DBT, IBM DataStage, Informatica, Teradata, Netezza, and other enterprise technologies.

Currently focused on enterprise data migration and modernization initiatives, enabling organizations to transform legacy on-premises ecosystems into scalable cloud-native architectures. Proven expertise in data modeling, source-to-target mapping, ETL framework design, data governance, automation, performance optimization, and enterprise analytics.

As a Technology leader, I actively contribute to advancing the fields of Data Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Data Platforms, and Enterprise Analytics through research, technical publications, and industry thought leadership. Passionate about building intelligent data ecosystems that drive innovation, operational excellence, and business transformation at scale.

Senior Data Engineering and Enterprise Data Architecture professional with 14+ years of experience designing, modernizing, and optimizing large-scale data integration platforms across financial services, insurance, healthcare, and retail industries. ... Show more

Juan Ribes

Juan Ribes

Trabajando para un banco inglés durante los últimos 10 años, y en ENCAMINA los 13 anteriores, llevo media vida implantando CRMs en lugares que varían desde una empresa funeraria con una sola usuaria (la hija de la dueña) hasta una red de banca minorista con treinta mil usuarios.

Y me lo sigo pasando en grande!

Trabajando para un banco inglés durante los últimos 10 años, y en ENCAMINA los 13 anteriores, llevo media vida implantando CRMs en lugares que varían desde una empresa funeraria con una sola usuaria (la hija de la dueña) hasta una red de banca minori... Show more

Michael Chen

Michael Chen

Staff Engineer at E.SUN Bank and a Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA). Dedicated to managing hybrid Kubernetes platforms and advancing the frontier of Sustainable Cloud-Native Infrastructure. Focusing on the integration of GreenOps and FinOps into modern engineering practices, ensuring that platform optimization drives both business value and environmental sustainability.

Staff Engineer at E.SUN Bank and a Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA). Dedicated to managing hybrid Kubernetes platforms and advancing the frontier of Sustainable Cloud-Native Infrastructure. Focusing on the integration of GreenOps and FinOps i... Show more

Promise Mmanta

Promise Mmanta

Promise Mmanta is a Product Manager with over 4 years of experience building payment, logistics, and fulfillment systems that power real-world operations. She has led the design of platforms spanning driver apps, partner onboarding and KYC workflows, warehousing and fulfillment systems, and transaction and settlement flows.

Her work centers on translating complex operational and financial processes into structured, scalable systems. She has driven improvements in partner activation, automated key workflows, and contributed to revenue growth through the relaunch of a warehousing and fulfillment business line.

More recently, her focus has expanded into API design, payments infrastructure, and AI-driven systems, with a particular interest in how autonomous agents interact with APIs, exposing hidden assumptions in authorization, data governance, and system control.

Promise Mmanta is a Product Manager with over 4 years of experience building payment, logistics, and fulfillment systems that power real-world operations. She has led the design of platforms spanning driver apps, partner onboarding and KYC workflows,... Show more

Emmanuella Ubokabasi Etop Essien

Emmanuella Ubokabasi Etop Essien

I am on a mission to help developers build the future of finance.

I’m a Developer Relations Engineer at Blnk Finance, where I create technical content, sample projects, workshops, and talks that support the developer ecosystem in leveraging open-source ledger tools to ensure financial data integrity.

I have cultivated expertise in full-stack development, cross-platform mobile development, and modern web technologies. Through my YouTube platform, I have created a thriving technical education community, producing high-retention videos. I have spoken at conferences like Google I/O and GDG events amongst other events. I am dedicated to simplifying technical concepts for developers worldwide.

I'm passionate about inclusive developer education and building tools that help people ship. Open to speaking, workshops, and collaborations focused on developer experience (DX) and community growth.

I am on a mission to help developers build the future of finance. I’m a Developer Relations Engineer at Blnk Finance, where I create technical content, sample projects, workshops, and talks that support the developer ecosystem in leveraging open-... Show more

Jan-Christoph Schlieker

Jan-Christoph Schlieker

JC Schlieker beschäftigt sich im Schwerpunkt mit Softwarearchitekturen / Softwareframeworks und ist seit 2017 für die Finanz Informatik tätig. JC ist Lösungsfinder und Projekt-Enabler, schafft Voraussetzungen, konzipiert Strategien, steckt Themen in organisatorische Rahmen oder ist einfach Sparringspartner für das Team. Darüber hinaus ist JC überall dort zu finden wo Prozesse optimiert und automatisiert werden können. Klarer Fokus von ihm ist die Skalierung. Privat widmet er sich seiner Familie, Hardware-Schrauberei und Gaming.

JC Schlieker beschäftigt sich im Schwerpunkt mit Softwarearchitekturen / Softwareframeworks und ist seit 2017 für die Finanz Informatik tätig. JC ist Lösungsfinder und Projekt-Enabler, schafft Voraussetzungen, konzipiert Strategien, steckt Themen in ... Show more

Sri Hari Deep Kolagani

Sri Hari Deep Kolagani

Sri Kolagani is a Director of CRM Engineering at Elastic. He leads engineering teams and supports Sales, Service, Marketing, and Partner Operations, focusing on enabling internal stakeholders through the adoption of new technologies, including generative AI. He is responsible for shaping the application ecosystem by introducing innovative capabilities and delivering solutions that advance both productivity and operational effectiveness. Prior to joining Elastic, Kolagani held senior leadership positions across financial services, payments, healthcare, and cloud computing.

Sri Kolagani is a Director of CRM Engineering at Elastic. He leads engineering teams and supports Sales, Service, Marketing, and Partner Operations, focusing on enabling internal stakeholders through the adoption of new technologies, including genera... Show more

Santosh Durgam

Santosh Durgam

Santosh Durgam is a data engineering & analytics leader with 20+ years building governed, high-scale data platforms across retirement/401(k), broader financial services, and healthcare. He leads cross-functional teams that deliver production-grade data lakes, lineage-aware pipelines, and ML-enabled analytics on cloud—translating governance into measurable business outcomes.

Recent speaking includes SQL Saturday Minnesota 2025, where he presented “From Ingestion to Insights: Building Robust Data Pipelines in AWS” to an in-person community audience. He has also contributed to international research forums and science conferences, and is invited to speak at ICDPN-2025 (International Conference on Data Processing & Networking), engaging practitioners and scholars on data engineering, governance, and analytics at scale. Santosh actively publishes/curates work via Google Scholar and shares practical playbooks for data quality, metadata/lineage, and operating models that connect data platforms to financial decisioning.

Beyond delivery, Santosh serves the community as a peer reviewer of scholarly work on data/ML methodologies and as a judge/mentor for select industry and academic competitions, reinforcing peer validation and public recognition. He champions modern data culture—mentoring engineers and product leaders, and advocating automation (incl. AI agents) to elevate reliability, speed, and auditability in regulated environments. Santosh recently completed his Executive MBA, sharpening strategy and value-creation at the intersection of data, risk, and growth

Santosh Durgam is a data engineering & analytics leader with 20+ years building governed, high-scale data platforms across retirement/401(k), broader financial services, and healthcare. He leads cross-functional teams that deliver production-grade da... Show more

Jochen Setz

Jochen Setz

2013 - today: Developer and Manager at Solactive AG

2013 - today: Developer and Manager at Solactive AG Show more

Maurice Sardison

Maurice Sardison

Maurice Sardison is a highly experienced Business and Finance Consultant, entrepreneur, and founder of Sardison, with over 20 years of experience supporting ambitious start-ups, high-growth SMEs, technology-led companies, property investors, and scale-up businesses across the UK.

With a strong background in financial services, strategic business development, marketing, commercial consultancy, and investor readiness, Maurice has built his career around helping businesses become more fundable, investable, and positioned for sustainable growth. He works closely with entrepreneurs and business owners to help them understand their funding options, strengthen their commercial proposition, and prepare the right documents, strategy, and positioning needed to access finance.

Through Sardison, Maurice has supported UK-based businesses in raising over £300 million in funding. His work spans debt finance, equity investment, grants, property finance, business loans, growth capital, and strategic partnerships. He has also advised on enterprise programmes and government-backed initiatives designed to help domestic and international businesses grow, expand, and succeed in the UK market.

Maurice specialises in helping early-stage and growth-focused businesses develop clear funding strategies, compelling business plans, financial projections, pitch decks, executive summaries, and investor-ready propositions. His sector experience includes technology, property, construction, entertainment, media, consumer products, professional services, and innovation-led businesses.

Known for his positive, proactive, and commercially focused approach, Maurice combines financial expertise with strong communication, strategic thinking, and a powerful ability to connect people, opportunities, and capital. His extensive network across the private and public finance sectors enables him to bridge the gap between entrepreneurs, lenders, investors, funders, and strategic partners.

Beyond consultancy, Maurice is also a speaker, mentor, interviewer, event host, and business connector. Through his events, training programmes, pitch panels, masterclasses, and founder conversations, he is building a trusted platform that helps entrepreneurs gain clarity, confidence, and access to the right funding opportunities.

Maurice’s mission is simple: to help ambitious businesses become finance and investment ready, secure the right funding, and scale with confidence, credibility, and long-term commercial success.

Maurice Sardison is a highly experienced Business and Finance Consultant, entrepreneur, and founder of Sardison, with over 20 years of experience supporting ambitious start-ups, high-growth SMEs, technology-led companies, property investors, and scal... Show more

Ursula Spencer

Ursula Spencer

Ursula Spencer is an eDiscovery and information governance SME with deep roots in enterprise Microsoft ecosystems. She pioneered and led the Federal Reserve System’s eDiscovery function following the 2008 financial crisis, designing defensible data collection and review workflows across 12 Reserve Banks. Her work supported Congressional investigations, regulatory audits, and high risk litigation, reducing manual processing by over 80 percent while maintaining NIST and FISMA aligned audit readiness. She has since led system wide migrations to Microsoft 365, designed governance ready collaboration environments, and advised public and private sector organizations on secure, people centered M365 adoption.

Today, Ursula designs secure, people centered adoption strategies for public sector, education, and enterprise organizations. She specializes in translating emerging technologies including AI, XR, VR, and AR into governed, scalable solutions that accelerate transformation while protecting data and compliance posture. Her approach blends deep technical expertise with change leadership, helping organizations safely navigate AI’s inflection point.

An award winning technologist, she has spoken at Politico LIVE, Microsoft Elevate and Innovate, BaddieCon, CIAA Tech Summit House, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture, where she shares practical frameworks for AI readiness, collaboration at scale, and career reinvention in emerging tech.

Ursula Spencer is an eDiscovery and information governance SME with deep roots in enterprise Microsoft ecosystems. She pioneered and led the Federal Reserve System’s eDiscovery function following the 2008 financial crisis, designing defensible data c... Show more

Koen van Gilst

Koen van Gilst

I work as a Principal Engineer at Rabobank, where I build AI solutions and help teams take them from early prototype to working software inside a large, regulated bank. My focus is the practical side of AI: what it actually takes to make things work, not just the promise.

My talks are technical but accessible, grounded in real examples rather than hype. I avoid standard slide decks where possible, using live prototypes, interactive demos, and audience participation to make the subject concrete and invite honest discussion.

I speak about how AI is changing engineering, what agentic AI looks like in practice, and how to assess whether a language model is actually good enough for your use case.

I work as a Principal Engineer at Rabobank, where I build AI solutions and help teams take them from early prototype to working software inside a large, regulated bank. My focus is the practical side of AI: what it actually takes to make things work,... Show more

Julio Reyes

Julio Reyes

Senior Cloud Security Engineer with a decade securing cloud environments at regulated financial institutions and international organizations. Currently based in Geneva. I have worked across Canadian banks and a UN agency where I kept encountering the same problem: when audits or incident reviews required proof of what governed a system at a specific past moment, no tool was designed to answer that question. I built APEX Verity to solve it, a governance infrastructure platform for regulated enterprises operating cloud and AI systems. I present complex security and governance concepts to audiences ranging from executive leadership to engineering teams.

Senior Cloud Security Engineer with a decade securing cloud environments at regulated financial institutions and international organizations. Currently based in Geneva. I have worked across Canadian banks and a UN agency where I kept encountering the... Show more

Artur Huk

Artur Huk

Artur is a systems architect and data engineer with over 20 years of experience in building end-to-end data platforms. As a Cloud Data Architect at Future Processing, he focuses on designing robust, scalable data ecosystems. He also engineers complex decision support systems and AI architectures for the London Insurance Market, bridging the gap between high-level business needs and production-grade execution environments.

Independently, he is the author and researcher behind the Decision Intelligence Runtime (DIR) and Responsibility-Oriented Agents (ROA) - architectural patterns that bridge probabilistic LLMs with the strict determinism required by critical business processes. His work on separating AI reasoning from execution has been featured on O'Reilly Radar.

To empirically validate these ideas, he built AIvestor, a research project operating on high-frequency financial data. Rather than just an investment tool, he uses live markets as a uniquely adversarial environment to stress-test real-time autonomy, state management, and decision integrity. Artur advocates for treating AI safety as a rigorous systems engineering challenge, not just a prompting exercise.

Artur is a systems architect and data engineer with over 20 years of experience in building end-to-end data platforms. As a Cloud Data Architect at Future Processing, he focuses on designing robust, scalable data ecosystems. He also engineers complex... Show more

Gagan Preet Singh

Gagan Preet Singh

Gagan Preet Singh is a Principal AI Architect at HP Inc., specializing in the engineering of automated AI workflows and agent-based systems for enterprise finance. With over 12 years of experience at the intersection of Data Science, Finance, and Computational Physics, Gagan designs and deploys autonomous decision-support engines that integrate large-scale data processing with specialized AI agents.

Previously, Gagan led global initiatives to standardize machine learning development, modular architecture, and deployment hygiene across international data science teams. His work focuses on transforming unstructured or noisy financial data into structured, actionable insights through the development of robust, auditable AI frameworks. An active member of the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society, Gagan holds an MS in Physics from IISER Mohali, with a research background in computational simulation and N-body modeling.

Gagan Preet Singh is a Principal AI Architect at HP Inc., specializing in the engineering of automated AI workflows and agent-based systems for enterprise finance. With over 12 years of experience at the intersection of Data Science, Finance, and Com... Show more

joyce Temilolu Daramola

joyce Temilolu Daramola

Joyce Temiloluwa Daramola, also known as Temilolu TTJ, is a Senior Product Manager with experience across fintech, SaaS, AI, and IoT products. With a unique background in law and technology, she brings a strategic and user-centered approach to building digital products that solve real business and customer problems.

She currently manages products within the fintech ecosystem, leading initiatives around payments, collections, disbursement systems, and digital platforms. Over the years, Joyce has worked with startups and established companies across Nigeria and the United Kingdom, contributing to products in payments, AI-generated media, device management, and crowdfunding.

Beyond product delivery, Joyce is passionate about mentoring and community building. She is the founder of ItXcellerate, a growing tech community focused on helping aspiring tech professionals learn, connect, and grow. She has also mentored upcoming product managers through programs such as Utiva Product School and Web3Ladies.

As a speaker, Joyce shares practical insights on product management, fintech innovation, career transitions into tech, building customer-centric products, and navigating growth in emerging markets. Her sessions combine real-world experience, honest lessons, and actionable strategies for professionals looking to build impactful digital products.

Joyce Temiloluwa Daramola, also known as Temilolu TTJ, is a Senior Product Manager with experience across fintech, SaaS, AI, and IoT products. With a unique background in law and technology, she brings a strategic and user-centered approach to buildi... Show more

Ricardo Maya

Ricardo Maya

Arquitecto de Soluciones con más de 6 años de experiencia impulsando la transformación digital en el sector financiero. Ha participado en iniciativas de alto impacto en organizaciones como Banco Pichincha y en proyectos internacionales con empresas en Miami, aportando en la construcción de soluciones modernas y escalables.

Actualmente colabora con una empresa de software con sede en Panamá, donde continúa desarrollando soluciones innovadoras y explorando el uso de inteligencia artificial en entornos reales. Su enfoque combina experiencia, visión estratégica y pasión por la tecnología para generar impacto a través de la innovación.

Arquitecto de Soluciones con más de 6 años de experiencia impulsando la transformación digital en el sector financiero. Ha participado en iniciativas de alto impacto en organizaciones como Banco Pichincha y en proyectos internacionales con empresas e... Show more

Massimo Forno

Massimo Forno

Massimo Forno is the Technical Founder & CEO of QuantikMind, a deep-tech startup pioneering intelligent chaos experiment and test selection for large-scale distributed systems. With 20+ years spanning QA, DevOps, SRE and Software Architecture, including leadership roles at major Swiss financial institutions, he has driven digital transformation programs focused on high-reliability engineering in regulated environments.

His expertise covers resilient architectures, observability-driven decision making and automated risk-based validation.
Massimo's research explores quantum-inspired logic, probabilistic modeling and ML-powered analysis to optimize failure-mode detection in microservice ecosystems.

He is passionate about translating advanced concepts into practical engineering tools that enable teams to validate system resilience more efficiently, intelligently and at scale.

Massimo Forno is the Technical Founder & CEO of QuantikMind, a deep-tech startup pioneering intelligent chaos experiment and test selection for large-scale distributed systems. With 20+ years spanning QA, DevOps, SRE and Software Architecture, includ... Show more

Fauwaz Hussain

Fauwaz Hussain

Fauwaz is the Sr. Director of B2B Strategy with 15 years of experience in electronic payment technology, specializing in ERP integration, payment security, and sales. He has a strong background in leading software sales teams at Nodus and EVO Payments, contributing significantly to strategic acquisitions. With expertise in various ERP systems like Microsoft Dynamics, Acumatica, Sage, and SAP, Fauwaz excels in driving partner success and customer satisfaction in the payment industry.

Fauwaz is the Sr. Director of B2B Strategy with 15 years of experience in electronic payment technology, specializing in ERP integration, payment security, and sales. He has a strong background in leading software sales teams at Nodus and EVO Payment... Show more

Ghassan Barakat

Ghassan Barakat

Ghassan Barakat has demonstrated a rare ability to move between sectors such as finance, law, technology, and philanthropy, applying strategy while keeping community needs at the forefront. Whether launching startups, growing multi-million-dollar platforms, or supporting charitable initiatives, he has always emphasized systems that strengthen people's lives and leave a lasting legacy.

In 2022, Jason founded Nolos Cabinet Multidisciplinaire Inc., serving as Founder & CEO. Nolos was created to integrate FinTech, InsurTech, and LegalTech under a single platform. This venture aims to democratize financial and legal services, particularly for middle-class families. The company combines a Quebec-based legal firm, a notarial study, and a national financial MGA distributing solutions from Canada's leading institutions. With his leadership, Nolos has expanded through acquisitions and new partnerships. Among these was the acquisition of Skylegal in 2022, followed by creating a charitable foundation in 2023 to help families access justice and financial protection during estate and legacy planning. More recently, Jason acquired a technology firm that builds software for public and private organizations, further enhancing the B2B reach of the Nolos platform.

Before establishing Nolos, Ghassan gained experience as a Strategic Senior Consultant, working with Chubb Insurance and other major industry players. From 2003 to 2021, he was President and Principal Officer with AMF of La Capitale Services Conseils, where he grew assets under management from $300 million to over $3 billion, serving public sector employees with specialized solutions. In 2017, he became President of La Capitale Financial Security, where he expanded national operations for disability and personal finance services, redesigned compensation structures, and created an inclusive and high-performance culture. He also served as President of SSQ Financial Group Distribution, where he modernized retirement planning, oversaw post-merger alignment, and improved client experience and compliance.

Philanthropy has been a central part of Jason Barakat's life for over two decades. He has supported the Guignolet de Saint-Vincent de Paul tradition and contributed to various charitable efforts connected to public institutions and retirement planning. In 2021, he partnered with Peartree Canada to advance philanthropic planning for organizations and families. He later launched the Nolos Foundation, which is dedicated to expanding access to Justice & Family Legacy Planning. Jason is also a volunteer leader for nonprofit boards and interfaith humanitarian initiatives.

Jason studied at Concordia University, John Molson School of Business, focusing on finance, business law, and theology. He has also completed studies in securities, investments, estate planning, insurance, venture capital, and strategic philanthropy, earning certifications in these areas.

Outside of his professional accomplishments, Ghassan Barakat is a devoted husband and father of two. His family provides daily motivation and guides his values of love, faith, and responsibility, shaping his personal and professional life. With empathy, service, and humility, he remains committed to leaving a legacy for his children, his community, and future generations.

Ghassan Barakat has demonstrated a rare ability to move between sectors such as finance, law, technology, and philanthropy, applying strategy while keeping community needs at the forefront. Whether launching startups, growing multi-million-dollar pla... Show more

Luuk de Vries

Luuk de Vries

I build web applications and write about what happens when AI meets fintech in production. My talks cover the practical side of integrating intelligent systems into financial products, from architecture decisions to compliance trade-offs that most tutorials skip over.

I build web applications and write about what happens when AI meets fintech in production. My talks cover the practical side of integrating intelligent systems into financial products, from architecture decisions to compliance trade-offs that most tu... Show more

Tanvi Mittal

Tanvi Mittal

Tanvi Mittal is an experienced QA professional with over 14 years in test automation, software quality, and DevOps practices. She has worked across enterprise and banking systems, solving complex testing challenges where reliability and compliance are critical. In recent years, Tanvi has focused on integrating AI into QA—pioneering self-healing frameworks, predictive defect analysis, and intelligent pipelines that reduce test maintenance and accelerate delivery. Beyond her technical expertise, she mentors professionals transitioning into AI-enabled QA careers and speaks about the evolving role of quality engineering. She is passionate about building resilient systems and empowering QA professionals to thrive in the AI era.

Tanvi Mittal is an experienced QA professional with over 14 years in test automation, software quality, and DevOps practices. She has worked across enterprise and banking systems, solving complex testing challenges where reliability and compliance ar... Show more

Abhinav Bharadwaj R

Abhinav Bharadwaj R

Technology professional with 6+ years of experience spanning enterprise networking and backend engineering across Banking and FinTech ecosystems.

Technology professional with 6+ years of experience spanning enterprise networking and backend engineering across Banking and FinTech ecosystems. Show more

Vishal Sharma

Vishal Sharma

As Software Engineering leader, I bring over 20 years of expertise in enterprise architecture and digital transformation. By leading cross-functional teams, I enable the delivery of secure, scalable solutions that optimize operations and enhance client engagement. My efforts focus on integrating innovative technologies to align with strategic business goals, resulting in measurable outcomes for stakeholders.

With a strong foundation in business architecture and fintech innovation, I excel in modernizing platforms to meet evolving industry demands. Equipped with certifications such as TOGAF, I prioritize seamless system integration, cost efficiency, and regulatory alignment to drive long-term value for organizations. Passionate about solving complex challenges, I work collaboratively to empower teams and achieve sustainable success.

As Software Engineering leader, I bring over 20 years of expertise in enterprise architecture and digital transformation. By leading cross-functional teams, I enable the delivery of secure, scalable solutions that optimize operations and enhance clie... Show more

Suhuyini Frank Nnyayam Bukari

Suhuyini Frank Nnyayam Bukari

Suhuyini Frank Nnyayam Bukari is a Ghanaian individual known for his interest in education, communication, and social development. He is passionate about learning, personal growth, and contributing positively to society through knowledge-sharing and community engagement.

He demonstrates strong skills in written communication and critical thinking, with a keen interest in peacebuilding, leadership, and youth development initiatives. Suhuyini Frank Nnyayam Bukari is committed to self-improvement and values integrity, discipline, and service to humanity.

Through continuous learning and active participation in meaningful initiatives, he aspires to make a lasting impact in his community and beyond.

Suhuyini Frank Nnyayam Bukari is a Ghanaian individual known for his interest in education, communication, and social development. He is passionate about learning, personal growth, and contributing positively to society through knowledge-sharing and ... Show more

Dave Coles

Dave Coles

Dave Coles brings more than 20 years of hands-on experience in IT, security, and managed services, working everywhere from small nonprofits to heavily regulated financial firms. As the Managing Partner in charge of Technical Services at Castle Rock Sky and creator of Zero Trust for Humans™, he focuses on the real front line of modern security: the people who move money, approve changes, and answer “just one quick question” in the middle of a busy day.

His work sits at the intersection of identity, fraud, and human behavior. Dave helps organizations—especially RIAs, financial services firms, and MSPs—design verification workflows that assume every request is fake until it proves itself real, without turning staff into robots or killing productivity. He takes concepts like Zero Trust, SEC/HIPAA/industry compliance, and wire-fraud risk and translates them into clear language, simple rules, and repeatable processes that real people can follow.

Dave also cares deeply about the humans doing the work. Through talks like Zen and the Art of IT Support, he addresses burnout, emotional load, and how support and security teams can stay grounded while living in always-on, high-stakes environments. His sessions are candid, practical, and built from real incidents and real tickets—not theory.

Whether he’s speaking to financial executives, compliance teams, or front-line MSP techs, Dave’s goal is the same: help humans stay human while making it brutally hard for attackers to win.

Dave Coles brings more than 20 years of hands-on experience in IT, security, and managed services, working everywhere from small nonprofits to heavily regulated financial firms. As the Managing Partner in charge of Technical Services at Castle Rock S... Show more

Venkateshwaran Kumarasamy

Venkateshwaran Kumarasamy

Venkateshwaran is a Java developer/Solution Architect based in The Netherlands. Passionate about learning new things in Java, AI, Automation, Robotics & Data Distribution systems

Venkateshwaran is a Java developer/Solution Architect based in The Netherlands. Passionate about learning new things in Java, AI, Automation, Robotics & Data Distribution systems Show more

Jay Manley

Jay Manley

When he’s not helping finance teams untangle their payments messes, Jay is usually strapped into something loud, fast, or airborne—sometimes all three in the same week.

In the office, he’s a visionary and a natural leader for Accounts Payable teams: the kind of operator who doesn’t just “optimize a process,” but rethinks how AP should work end-to-end—simplifying the chaos, modernizing the tech stack, and rallying teams around a clear path from manual grind to automated control.

He’s also a multi-rated pilot (powered, glider, and unmanned—rotor and fixed-wing) who puts those skills to work with the Civil Air Patrol on search-and-rescue missions, logging real cockpit time when it actually counts.

Back on the ground, he’s a lifelong motorsports addict: a season points champion who’s finished 3rd out of 330 cars in divisional competition—and then decided that wasn’t chaotic enough, so he went all-in on the art (and smoke) of drift driving.

And when things “slow down,” it’s only by Jay’s standards: playing guitar in a band, disappearing off-grid in the mountains, or sending a snowmobile through deep powder like it personally offended him. If it runs on fuel, flies, or makes your heart rate question your life choices, there’s a decent chance Jay’s either done it… or is already planning the next stunt.

When he’s not helping finance teams untangle their payments messes, Jay is usually strapped into something loud, fast, or airborne—sometimes all three in the same week. In the office, he’s a visionary and a natural leader for Accounts Payable team... Show more

William Timlen

William Timlen

William Timlen, CPA, has three decades of experience in tax, accounting, and management. He focuses on partnership taxation and passive activity loss rules, with solid experience in profit-and-loss allocations and distributions. He advises borrowers on the tax implications of debt restructurings and distressed real estate transactions, including foreclosures, deeds-in-lieu, and bankruptcy. He also works with real estate owners and developers on tax planning. He provides advisory support to high-net-worth individuals and families, including guidance during complex federal and state tax examinations.

He joined a New York-based firm in 2016 as a Tax Partner in its Real Estate Group, part of a top-15 international tax advisory firm. Over the past 10 years, William has generated more than $2 million in new business, including $1 million in 2018, while working with major participants in the NYC real estate market. He strengthened the group by recruiting experienced professionals across tax and audit practices. As a member of the leadership committee, he helps guide the real estate practice's direction, including thought leadership, business development, education, and branding. He is also a member of a national accounting organization.

He began his career in 1993 at a CPA firm in Princeton, New Jersey, where he worked for four years. He prepared tax workpapers and federal and state tax returns for partnerships, individuals, corporations, and trusts. He also reviewed financial statements, researched tax matters, and supported client communication. In 1998, Timlen joined a global firm as a Supervising Senior, where he prepared audit workpapers for Fortune 100 companies in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries.

He later founded his own accounting firm in Princeton, New Jersey, focusing on tax consulting for high-net-worth individuals, real estate partnerships, and corporations. Within the first three years, he built a business generating more than $600K annually. After 10 years, he joined a New York firm as a Tax Manager, where he reviewed complex returns, advised on like-kind exchanges, and represented clients before tax authorities. William then served for seven years as a Tax Principal at another firm, managing client relationships, leading engagements, and supporting business development and operational improvements.

He earned a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy from a college in Rhode Island, where he played Division 1 baseball for four years. He attended high school in New Jersey and was an All-State baseball player for two years.

William Timlen was born and raised in New Jersey and lives in New Canaan, Connecticut, with his family. He is married and has two sons in college. One is a senior at a university in Connecticut, and the other is a junior at a university in Miami. He enjoys golf, is a member of a country club in Greenwich, and likes traveling across the U.S. and abroad. He will be celebrating his 55th birthday this May.

William Timlen, CPA, has three decades of experience in tax, accounting, and management. He focuses on partnership taxation and passive activity loss rules, with solid experience in profit-and-loss allocations and distributions. He advises borrowers ... Show more

Maria Carrasco

Maria Carrasco

María Carrasco es doctora en Big Data y Finanzas Cuantitativas, con una sólida trayectoria en el análisis de datos financieros, estructuras algorítmicas y modelos predictivos aplicados a mercados reales. Su investigación doctoral se enfocó en el estudio empírico de las sonrisas de volatilidad en el mercado de opciones alemán (DAX) entre 2017 y 2022, utilizando herramientas como Python, Spyder y modelos de machine learning para el análisis de series temporales de alta frecuencia.

Ha trabajado integrando enfoques estructurados de datos con tecnologías modernas de inteligencia artificial y herramientas en la nube. Además, participa activamente en comunidades tecnológicas vinculadas al ecosistema cripto, blockchain y DeFi, y colabora en proyectos de innovación con impacto social en América Latina, promoviendo la participación de mujeres en STEM y liderando iniciativas de inclusión digital. Destaca su rol en COINTER, la primera cooperativa digital en blockchain, donde apoyó programas de mentoría y capacitación enfocados en la inclusión de mujeres en finanzas y tecnología.

Apasionada por traducir conceptos complejos en soluciones aplicadas, María combina la solidez académica con una visión práctica del uso de AI en entornos financieros y de datos masivos.

Cuenta también con experiencia en evaluación, sistematización y transversalización de género, apoyando procesos de capacitación, diseño de herramientas institucionales y consultorías orientadas a promover la igualdad y la equidad en políticas públicas y proyectos de desarrollo.

Reconocimientos y Distinciones

•Capacitación para gerentes de cooperativas sobre Big Data y su impacto en la toma de decisiones en el sector financiero – Enfoque en cooperativas, 2025 | FACACH
•1er lugar en SpaceApps Challenge, 2025 | NASA
•1er lugar en programa de mentoría a Cooperativa Digital Cointer, 2025 | Impact Hub
•Facilitadora de capacitación en Seguridad Básica en Bitcoin, 2025 | La Bitcoinera
•Facilitadora de capacitación en Aplicaciones Reales de Bitcoin en Honduras, 2025 | La Bitcoinera
•Facilitadora de capacitación en Introducción a Bitcoin y su importancia, 2025 | La Bitcoinera
•Ambassador’s Distinguished Appreciation Award, 2008 | Embajada de Estados Unidos en Tegucigalpa

María Carrasco es doctora en Big Data y Finanzas Cuantitativas, con una sólida trayectoria en el análisis de datos financieros, estructuras algorítmicas y modelos predictivos aplicados a mercados reales. Su investigación doctoral se enfocó en el estu... Show more

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