Sarit Daniel

Sarit Daniel leads Strategic Banking engagements at Fireblocks, advancing digital asset infrastructure across the world’s largest financial institutions. Her focus is bridging the expertise gap between traditional banking and blockchain-enabled settlement systems, helping tier-one banks build strategies for distributed ledger technology in regulated environments. With over 15 years of experience spanning banking, payments, and fintech innovation, Sarit brings a grounded perspective on how legacy financial systems and emerging digital assets coexist. Previously at Royal Bank of Canada, Sarit drove key transformational initiatives, including the development of dynamic limit capabilities, instant card issuance, foreign currency accounts, a Pay-By-Bank debit solution, Canada’s Real-Time Rail modernization, and Swift modernization efforts. Active in advancing industry standards, she serves on the Women in Payments Advisory Board and has served on the Interac eTransfer and KONEK Advisory Committees. Sarit holds an MBA in Strategy and Finance from the Rotman School of Management, as well as a MASc in Electrical/Biomedical Engineering and a BASc in Engineering Science (EngSci) from the University of Toronto.

Gharsa Amin

Gharsa Amin is the Founder of Kavodax, a compliance-first fintech redefining how enterprises and financial institutions move money across borders. By fusing stablecoin settlement infrastructure with institutional-grade AML rigor, Kavodax delivers what legacy payment rails cannot: near-instant global settlement at under 1% cost, without compromising regulatory integrity. Gharsa's path to founding Kavodax is unusual by design. A software engineer by training and a financial crime specialist by expertise, she holds a Master's in Public Administration specializing in financial crime management, a background that positions her at the rare intersection of code, capital, and compliance. Her experience spans AML and financial crime management across startup ecosystems in Canada, the U.S., and Asia, giving her firsthand insight into both the technical and regulatory demands of building trusted financial infrastructure at scale. Under her leadership, Kavodax has moved from concept to credible contender at remarkable speed. The company has: Won the CodeLaunch Canada 2025 National Championship Secured the TechTuesday Pitchfest $10K Prize Taken the African Trade Summit Pitch Contest Earned a place in the RBC FinSec Incubator Raised $300,000 in non-dilutive funding Gharsa's leadership has earned recognition beyond the company itself: she was named one of Spark Centre's Top 10 Women to Watch 2026 and is a nominee for the RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Award. She is building Kavodax on a simple conviction, that global commerce should move as fast as information does, and that trust and speed are not tradeoffs but design requirements.

Teresa Lesyk

Teresa Lesyk is Director & Head of Cash Management, Ontario, at the National Bank of Canada. With more than 25 years of experience in treasury management, cash management, and payments, she leads a team dedicated to helping commercial clients optimize liquidity, payments, and working capital strategies. Teresa is passionate about innovation in payments and the evolving intersection of traditional and emerging payment networks. A proud Métis leader and advocate for diversity and inclusion, she is committed to advancing women in financial services and fostering inclusive leadership across the banking industry.

Liz Samson

Liz Samson leads Industry Relations and Operations at Block Canada, where she leads industry and network partnerships, operational and payments strategy, and a global AI-first operational automation program. A builder with over 20 years in financial services and technology, Liz has worked on both sides of the industry — from traditional banking to fintech — standing up new capabilities and scaling the operations that sustain them. She is Vice-Chair of the Payments Canada Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC). Before Block, Liz led Platform and Brokerage Operations at Wealthsimple, where she automated and scaled operations through a period of rapid growth. As Chair of the CIRO Transfers Working Team, she brought regulators and competing institutions together to modernize Canada's institutional account transfers infrastructure. Liz has also held roles in payments, cards, banking, partnerships, procurement and management consulting. Liz lives in Toronto with her family.

Adriana Vega

Adriana is the Executive Director of Fintechs Canada. Having spent most of her career in the financial services space, she is an accomplished public affairs professional, specializing in government and stakeholder relations, public policy, advocacy, and strategic communications. Before joining Fintechs Canada, she led government relations for Canada’s private capital industry at the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association and earlier worked at Scotiabank and at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. With more than 15 years of experience across the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors, Adriana is a trusted voice shaping the future of Canada’s fintech ecosystem.

Monica Eaton

Monica Eaton is the CEO, owner and founder of Chargebacks911, the first global company dedicated to preventing chargeback fraud and safeguarding the “eCommerce experience” for merchants, e-stores and consumers. Chargebacks911 has successfully protected over 15 billion online transactions for clients in 87 countries, and has recovered more than $1.2 billion in disputed and/or stolen revenue. Under Monica’s leadership, Chargebacks911 has emerged as trailblazers in the eCommerce industry.

Jona Georgiou

Jona Georgiou is a payments and fintech executive with nearly 20 years of experience scaling embedded financial services within vertical SaaS. As EVP & GM at Lightspeed Commerce, she built a global payments platform that grew transaction-based revenue to over 65% of company topline and led integrations across 11 acquisitions worldwide. An expert negotiator, she has secured transformative payment partnerships and advised fintechs, SaaS companies, and investors across health, dental, legal, fitness, retail, and hospitality. As CEO of Maven Strategy, she now works with payments and fintech leaders on growth, partnerships, and building high-performance teams.

Jung Lee

Jung Lee is GM & Country Manager for Remitly Canada, where she leads the Canadian business with responsibility for P&L, strategy, product, customer experience, and operational execution. She drives growth, strengthens market leadership, and delivers trusted digital financial services to millions of Canadians. As a commercial operator and innovation leader, Jung has built and scaled businesses across technology and regulated industries. Throughout her career, she has led cross-functional teams to launch and grow AI, cloud, voice, drone delivery, and digital payment solutions, delivering revenue growth, operational excellence, and customer impact. Prior to Remitly, Jung held leadership roles at Alphabet’s Wing, Amazon, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Visa. She is known for building high-performing teams and turning innovative technologies into scalable businesses. Jung holds an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Bachelor of Science from the University of British Columbia.

Emma Ballantyne

Emma Ballantyne is Vice President, Digital Sales at RBC, where she leads the strategy and delivery of digital client growth across retail banking. She is responsible for accelerating digital acquisition, optimizing omnichannel customer journeys, and delivering seamless experiences that connect digital, mobile, contact centre, and branch channels. With more than 15 years of experience in digital transformation, product management, and customer growth, Emma has been instrumental in modernizing how RBC delivers value to clients. She established the bank’s Digital Product Management Practice, helping shift the organization from traditional project delivery to a product-led operating model supported by agile ways of working. Throughout her career, she has built and scaled high-performing cross-functional teams, embedded customer-centric decision-making, and fostered a culture of continuous learning, experimentation, and measurable outcomes. Emma’s leadership has contributed to significant growth in digital adoption and client acquisition, earning industry recognition including Digital Banker’s Best Omni-Channel Client Experience and Celent’s Best Client Onboarding. She is also an Executive Sponsor for Women in Digital and the Social Impact Leadership Program, where she is passionate about developing future leaders and advancing inclusive leadership across the organization.

Catalina Lopez

Catalina Lopez is the Senior Vice President, Revenue and Customer Marketing at FreshBooks, where she drives revenue across the business through strategic marketing, with a focus on scale and exceptional customer experience. She previously served as Vice President & General Manager of the Subscription Business at FreshBooks. A seasoned marketing and business leader, she brings 15 years of experience across SaaS, telecom, and CPG, including launching Public Mobile, leading multicultural marketing at TELUS, and holding brand roles at Johnson & Johnson.

Laura McKay

Laura McKay is the Co-Founder and COO of PolicyMe, Canada's fastest-growing digital insurance company. She co-founded PolicyMe in 2018 to bring modern technology to a traditionally slow-moving industry, modernizing the life insurance buying experience along the way. Laura has been named one of Insurance Business Canada's Elite Women of 2026 and Bay Street Bull's Women of the Year (2021), and under her leadership, PolicyMe ranked #14 on Canada's Top Growing Women-Led Companies (2026). Before co-founding PolicyMe, Laura spent five years at Oliver Wyman in New York, where she worked with Fortune 500 life insurance companies to develop growth strategies and solve operational and regulatory challenges. She holds a Bachelor of Mathematics in Actuarial Science from the University of Waterloo and began her career at Manulife and Munich Re.

Shruti Awasthi

Shruti Awasthi is Vice President, Payments Product at Element Fleet Management, where she leads the strategy and development of commercial payments solutions. With over 15 years of global experience across North America, Europe, and Asia, she has led transformative payments, open banking, and digital product initiatives. Shruti is a recognized thought leader on the future of payments, embedded finance, and financial innovation.

Bernice Cheung

Bernice Cheung brings over 20 years of experience in marketing research and management consulting, with a proven track record across financial services, consumer goods, retail, and healthcare. Since 2018, she has led Environics Research’s Canadian FinTech Study, which explores consumer attitudes toward financial technology, open banking, and innovation. Her research provides insights into the perceptions of Canadians—empowering fintechs, investors, and policymakers to better serve their clients

Bhavna Kaushal

Bhavna is a banking and fintech executive turned strategic advisor who helps senior leaders and teams navigate market, regulatory, and technology shifts to drive growth. She has built a career defined by reinvention, innovation, and leading through complexity spanning Fortune 100 companies, global banks, and high-growth fintechs across 25+ international markets. A frequent contributor and thought leader at industry forums, Bhavna is recognized for delivering market-shaping innovations in Canada and the U.S. She holds an MBA from the Schulich School of Business and was honored with the 2023 Women in Payments Social Impact and Sustainability award.

Dr. Amita Oppal Gill

Dr. Amita Oppal Gill is a Markets Leader at Cognizant and a global business transformation executive specializing in AI, operations, and financial services. She advises leading organizations on AI-driven transformation, operational modernization, and growth strategies, and is also a professor, author, board member, and sought-after speaker on the future of work and intelligent enterprises. With deep experience helping financial institutions navigate digital and AI transformation, Dr. Gill brings a global perspective on the convergence of AI, automation, governance, and financial services. Her insights focus on how organizations can responsibly scale innovation while balancing trust, accountability, and human oversight in an increasingly autonomous economy.

Meg Berry

Meg Berry is the Global Head of Commercial Growth & Execution for Global Payments & Trade at BNY, where she leads the commercial strategy, sales execution, and transformation agenda for one of the firm's largest global businesses. She partners closely with senior executives across the organization to accelerate growth, strengthen client engagement, and build a more connected, data-driven commercial organization. With nearly two decades of experience spanning investment banking, commercial banking, treasury services, and payments, Meg has built a reputation for turning strategy into execution. She has led large-scale commercial transformation initiatives, advanced AI and data-driven sales capabilities, optimized global operating models, and helped organizations navigate growth through periods of significant industry change. Her work sits at the intersection of commercial strategy, client experience, innovation, and organizational effectiveness. Prior to joining BNY, Meg held several leadership roles at JPMorgan Chase, most recently serving as General Manager of Cash Management for Business Banking. Throughout her career, she has been passionate about developing talent, fostering collaboration, and building high-performing teams that deliver meaningful outcomes for clients and the business. A recognized leader in commercial transformation and the future of payments, Meg is a strong advocate for mentorship and believes that lasting success is built on trusted relationships, authentic leadership, and the ability to connect people, ideas, and opportunities across organizations. She frequently speaks on leadership, innovation, AI, and the evolving payments landscape. Meg holds an MBA from Cornell University and a BA from the University of Virginia.

Stephanie Marentette

As the NBFI Head for Canada within J.P. Morgan Payments, Stephanie Marentette oversees Sales activity with Asset Managers, Broker Dealers, Insurers, Fintechs and beyond. Stephanie has 15+ years of Payments experience, including roles at Visa, Citi and TD.

Alyssa Notta

Alyssa Notta is Director and Head of Market Management for Transaction Banking at TD, with more than 15 years of banking experience across operations, sales, and product. She leads the team that shapes Transaction Banking’s market presence, both internally and externally, through strategic initiatives, client engagement, conferences and sponsorships, and thought leadership. Alyssa holds a BSc in Forestry from UBC and an MBA from Dalhousie University. She is passionate about thoughtful storytelling, elevating voices that deserve to be heard, and building communities that help people do their best work.

Sharlene McDevitt

Sharlene McDevitt is an Executive Director of Payment Sales in the Global Corporate Bank. She joined JP Morgan in January 2015. With over 30 years of industry experience, Sharlene has a proven ability to quickly understand and address the unique business challenges organizations face, employing practical and cost-effective strategies.

Laura Watson

Laura Watson is Vice President, Premium Cards at RBC, where she leads one of Canada’s largest premium credit card businesses. She oversees the strategy, performance and evolution of the portfolio and its strategic partnerships, working across the enterprise to deliver profitable growth and differentiated client value. Laura is a strategic business leader with more than 25 years of experience across financial services, consumer markets and consulting. Throughout her career, she has led transformational initiatives, shaped growth strategies, launched innovative products and built high performing businesses by bringing together cross functional teams to solve complex challenges. Known for combining strategic vision with disciplined execution, she has a strong track record of delivering commercial results while creating exceptional client experiences. She is passionate about developing people and building collaborative, high performing teams, believing the best outcomes come from empowering diverse perspectives around a common vision. Laura holds an MBA from the Schulich School of Business and a BAH from Queen’s University. She lives in Toronto with her husband, three children and their West Highland Terrier.

Julia Streets

Julia Streets is a champion of fintech and entrepreneurship, innovation, diversity and inclusion.   In 2007, she founded Streets Consulting, the business development, marketing and communications consultancy. She and her team advise a wide range of international firms in the field of fintech, capital markets, investment management and payments innovation, as well as specialist offerings including NFTs, digital assets, tokenisation, blockchain, artificial intelligence and more.  Prior to becoming a founder & CEO, Julia was global head of communications at NYSE Technologies, serving on the Executive Committee and European head of marketing and sales development at Instinet Europe.  She was head of eCommerce for a City PR agency throughout the dotcom boom and over the past 30+ years she has advised hundreds of startups, scaleups and global banks and financial institutions.   A certified transformational leadership coach, she works with senior executives to help them build and lead high performing teams, develop proud and solid growth-minded cultures and outperform as enlightened leaders. Julia is the host of ‘DiverCity Podcast’ talking about diversity, equity and inclusion in financial services.  Now in its 15th series, DiverCity Podcast has listeners in >50 countries and is ranked one of the world’s top DE&I podcasts.  She is also the host of CityAM’s ESG show "Impact AM Live", Shell’s Energy Podcast and host of ‘Metaverse: What matters?”, recorded in the metaverse, available on You Tube to educate the world about the opportunities and risks as we navigate this multi-trillion dollar industry. She is an advisor, mentor and investor and is called upon to chair many of the world’s leading conferences drawing not only on her industry experience, but also on her skills as a speaker, host and sell-out stand up comedian. Julia had received many awards and accolades including being listed as one of Brummell Magazine’s 30 Women on Boards, 39 Female Entrepreneurs, and 30 Women of Influence.  She is one of the Global Diversity List’s 20 global champions and is regularly called out as a trailblazer and changemaker.  Julia is a founding member of the Power Women Network, a fellow of the British American Project and proud to serve as a board trustee of Street Child, a global education charity that believes that all children should be safe, in school and learning.

Iliana Oris Valiente

Iliana Oris Valiente, CPA, CA, is a corporate executive, emerging tech pioneer, board member, published author, and is regularly featured in the media from The Financial Times to Bloomberg. As the Managing Director and Head of North America Innovation Centres at Accenture, Iliana collaborates with senior executives and boards to drive strategic transformation. She leads multidisciplinary teams across design, data, and tech. Fun fact: Iliana is one of the first people in the world to have an AI digital human twin of herself built. Iliana also holds board positions at Sunnybrook Hospital and CPA Ontario and is active in the venture capital ecosystem as an investor. A trailblazer in blockchain, Iliana has advised corporations, government leaders, regulators, and startups, bridging the gap between web2 and web3 technologies. Her expertise now spans broader societal and tech trends, with a strong focus on AI, the future of work, and human-centered innovation. To that end, Iliana is the creator of the Potted Plant Theory (PPT) - helping individuals better understand their needs. Iliana is considered a citizen of the world, speaking four languages, and is passionate about building communities of like-minded people

Sarbani Biswas

Sarbani joined Scotiabank in September 2025 as Vice President, Global Transaction Banking Analytics, where she leads GTB’s global Data & Analytics function. She is responsible for setting the data strategy and embedding data‑driven decision‑making across sales, product, channels, and operations. Sarbani partners closely with Technology and Engineering to advance GTB’s destination‑state data platform, strengthen self‑service analytics, and establish governed data practices that unlock revenue and performance insights. With over 15 years of experience delivering enterprise‑grade data and analytics solutions, Sarbani has built and scaled capabilities across leading financial institutions including Scotiabank, RBC, and Manulife. Her background spans Retail and Commercial Banking, Group Risk Management, and Global Wealth Management. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and a Master’s degree in Software Engineering and is a strong advocate for mentorship and inclusion, serving as a mentor with TRIEC and Ascend Canada.

Maria Chavez

Maria Chavez is a seasoned Payments executive with 35+ years of extensive leadership, sales, client service and onboarding experience. As the Head of Core Payments for Commercial & Specialized Industries, Maria leads teams of Payments experts dedicated to delivering innovative working capital and cash management solutions to corporate clients. Maria's journey with Commercial Banking began in 2010, transitioning from Corporate & Investment Banking Treasury Sales. Her leadership was instrumental in various initiatives, most notably as the Head of Payments Sales for the Midwest & Canada. During her tenure, she spearheaded the development of the Corporate Actions and Treasury Consulting teams, offering specialized knowledge in treasury operations, industry trends, and best practices for complex, high-value relationships. Throughout her career, Maria has held pivotal leadership roles across Payments, including Client Service and Client Delivery, and has overseen the CB Payments Global Sales Associate program. Her commitment to excellence and innovation has made her a respected leader in the industry. Maria is actively involved in several leadership and diversity initiatives. She is a senior member of the Chicago Senior Leaders & Adelante. Additionally, she is an active member of Next Gen, and Pride, and Women on the Move – Illinois Chapter. Residing in Chicago with her husband, Maria is an avid boater and travel enthusiast, embracing new experiences and cultures. Her dedication to both her professional and personal pursuits exemplifies her dynamic and inspiring leadership style.

Christine Hunter

Christine Hunter is Head of Enterprise Payments and Open Banking at TD Bank Group. Her mandate includes identifying risks & opportunities and key investment roadmaps in Payments and Open Banking across all lines of business including North American Corporate, Business Banking, Wealth and Personal Banking segments while running Payments as an enterprise service and securing a foundation for third party data exchange. This role accelerates innovation and incubation of emerging concepts and includes significant industry engagement. Christine is a member of the TCH PayCo Board, the FDX Board and has served as the Chair of the Member Advisory Committee at Payments Canada for 2 terms (elected by 20 financial institutions). Christine started her career as a data scientist and has since held increasingly senior roles in Risk Management, Product P&L and Relationship Management including Personal & Indirect/Auto Lending and Credit Cards before venturing into the vast world of Payments driving transformation.

Kristy Duncan

Kristy Duncan is the founder and CEO of Women in Payments. This growing professional network unites women in payments from around the globe with a shared vision of gender parity. Women in Payments offers career development opportunities through conferences, recognition programs, leadership and mentorship programs, and by hosting a growing global online community.  Kristy is an avid supporter of her fellow female trailblazers, serving as an investor and advisor to a number of fintechs. As a respected leader in the field, she’s been invited to speak to audiences around the world, and act as a judge for accelerators, fintech contests, and awards programs.  Before founding Women in Payments, Kristy was a leading payments consultant to global financial institutions, payment networks, fintechs, and other industry leaders. Prior to that, she held leadership positions at a tier one Canadian bank. 

Sophie Forest

Motivated towards success and recognized for her talent in identifying promising entrepreneurs, Sophie brings over three decades of experience to the Canadian VC ecosystem. With a rare combination of skills allowing her to identify early stage opportunities, she also fosters their evolution into thriving enterprises, revealing potential often overlooked by others. Sophie has a strong track record in supporting startups' growth and exits. Her experience in adeptly identifying when to back or refrain from support companies as well as her ability to discern resilient entrepreneurs and their proficient teams, has significantly enhanced the firm's return on investment. She is highly regarded as a leader who excels in navigating the challenges of the most ambitious startups with remarkable competence. Her notable experiences encompass collaborations with Radian6 and Marcel Lebrun, along with her contributions to the impressive growth of Hopper alongside Fred Lalonde. Before assuming the role of managing partner at Brightspark, Sophie managed a large portfolio of venture capital investments internationally, valued at nearly one billion dollars, while working for the Caisse de Dépôts et Placements du Québec. She is also a Board member of Centech in Montreal and of l'ACET in Sherbrooke, as well as being an independent Board member for Interac Inc. Outside the firm, she is known as a connector and mentor in the industry, dedicating time to mentor tech startups led by young founders who are not in her portfolio. She fosters introductions between portfolio companies and investors, empowering founders to navigate their path to success. Sophie is a strong advocate for diversity and equal opportunities for women and is determined to actively engage in initiatives aimed at helping the betterment of her community.

Kristy Duncan

Kristy Duncan is the founder and CEO of Women in Payments. This growing professional network unites women in payments from around the globe with a shared vision of gender parity. Women in Payments offers career development opportunities through conferences, recognition programs, leadership and mentorship programs, and by hosting a growing global online community.  Kristy is an avid supporter of her fellow female trailblazers, serving as an investor and advisor to a number of fintechs. As a respected leader in the field, she’s been invited to speak to audiences around the world, and act as a judge for accelerators, fintech contests, and awards programs.  Before founding Women in Payments, Kristy was a leading payments consultant to global financial institutions, payment networks, fintechs, and other industry leaders. Prior to that, she held leadership positions at a tier one Canadian bank. 

Julia Streets

Julia Streets is a champion of fintech and entrepreneurship, innovation, diversity and inclusion.   In 2007, she founded Streets Consulting, the business development, marketing and communications consultancy. She and her team advise a wide range of international firms in the field of fintech, capital markets, investment management and payments innovation, as well as specialist offerings including NFTs, digital assets, tokenisation, blockchain, artificial intelligence and more.  Prior to becoming a founder & CEO, Julia was global head of communications at NYSE Technologies, serving on the Executive Committee and European head of marketing and sales development at Instinet Europe.  She was head of eCommerce for a City PR agency throughout the dotcom boom and over the past 30+ years she has advised hundreds of startups, scaleups and global banks and financial institutions.   A certified transformational leadership coach, she works with senior executives to help them build and lead high performing teams, develop proud and solid growth-minded cultures and outperform as enlightened leaders. Julia is the host of ‘DiverCity Podcast’ talking about diversity, equity and inclusion in financial services.  Now in its 15th series, DiverCity Podcast has listeners in >50 countries and is ranked one of the world’s top DE&I podcasts.  She is also the host of CityAM’s ESG show "Impact AM Live", Shell’s Energy Podcast and host of ‘Metaverse: What matters?”, recorded in the metaverse, available on You Tube to educate the world about the opportunities and risks as we navigate this multi-trillion dollar industry. She is an advisor, mentor and investor and is called upon to chair many of the world’s leading conferences drawing not only on her industry experience, but also on her skills as a speaker, host and sell-out stand up comedian. Julia had received many awards and accolades including being listed as one of Brummell Magazine’s 30 Women on Boards, 39 Female Entrepreneurs, and 30 Women of Influence.  She is one of the Global Diversity List’s 20 global champions and is regularly called out as a trailblazer and changemaker.  Julia is a founding member of the Power Women Network, a fellow of the British American Project and proud to serve as a board trustee of Street Child, a global education charity that believes that all children should be safe, in school and learning.

Sheereen Khan

Sheereen Khan is a regulatory compliance executive with more than 25 years of experience leading compliance and risk management across banking, payments, fintech, and emerging financial services, including digital assets and tokenization. Her expertise lies in solving complex regulatory challenges where business strategy, financial products, and regulatory obligations intersect. As the Founder and CEO of Regulativity, an AI powered regulatory technology company, Sheereen builds modern regulatory systems that help financial institutions navigate regulatory complexity with greater efficiency and confidence. She is a trusted advisor to boards and executive teams on regulatory strategy, governance, and transformation. Drawing on more than 25 years of experience across traditional and emerging financial services, Sheereen is helping shape modern regulatory thinking for an era defined by artificial intelligence, digital assets, and financial innovation.

Carlos Capistran

Carlos Capistran is a managing director and head of Latin America and Canada Economics Research for BofA Global Research. Based in New York, he oversees the Latin America and Canada Economics Research teams, coordinates regional economic forecasts and reports on the economic landscape. Capistran joined BofA Securities’ Global Research division in 2011 as chief Mexico economist. Recent rankings include #1 Latin America and Mexico economist by Extel (formerly Institutional Investor). Under his leadership, the BofA Global Research team placed #1 in Extel’s ranking for Latin America. Before joining Bank of America, Capistran was director of Macroeconomic Analysis at the Central Bank of Mexico and an economist at Mexico’s Ministry of Finance. Capistran holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from ITAM University and a Ph.D. in economics from University of California San Diego. He has taught economics at the undergraduate and graduate level, is published in academic journals and frequently cited in leading media outlets.

Elizebeth John

With a 25‑year career in banking, Liz has held leadership roles across Asia and EMEA, overseeing banking, sales, and product organizations. Prior to her current role, she was based in London, where she led the Deposits & Investments product organization across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific. She is a published author on liquidity management and a frequent speaker at Treasury conferences on global cash‑management trends. Throughout her career, Liz has driven several enterprise‑wide strategic initiatives. She led Citi’s Brexit Client Engagement and Communications program, established EMEA-wide balance‑sheet optimization initiatives, and launched Citi’s Client Liquidity Roundtable series across Europe. A strong advocate for sponsorship and career development, Liz also led TTS Inspire, Citi’s global mentorship program, and spearheaded the global launch of the Citi Women Client Network. Liz serves on the Board of Citibank Canada Cards Limited and represents Citi at the American Chamber of Commerce in Toronto. She holds an MBA and a degree in Chemical Engineering.

Nina Mapara

Nina Mapara is Senior Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at Mastercard in Canada. Prior to joining Mastercard in 2015, Nina held legal counsel positions at leading financial services companies and practiced as a senior associate at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP. Nina’s extensive experience covers regulatory, technology, employment law, M&A and securities practices. Nina holds a Master of Arts and a JD/BCL from McGill University. She has a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts from University of Waterloo.

Kristy Duncan

Kristy Duncan is the founder and CEO of Women in Payments. This growing professional network unites women in payments from around the globe with a shared vision of gender parity. Women in Payments offers career development opportunities through conferences, recognition programs, leadership and mentorship programs, and by hosting a growing global online community.  Kristy is an avid supporter of her fellow female trailblazers, serving as an investor and advisor to a number of fintechs. As a respected leader in the field, she’s been invited to speak to audiences around the world, and act as a judge for accelerators, fintech contests, and awards programs.  Before founding Women in Payments, Kristy was a leading payments consultant to global financial institutions, payment networks, fintechs, and other industry leaders. Prior to that, she held leadership positions at a tier one Canadian bank. 

David Hooper

David is an accomplished financial services executive with an in-depth knowledge acquired within the Canadian and Global banking landscape. He is a recognized industry expert in topics including payments and open banking aka ‘Consumer-Driven Banking’ – bringing industry insights and thought leadership covering the full spectrum from product innovation to clearing and settlement. David has partnered with FIs across North America, working across business, technology, and operational areas, facilitating their transformation by taking existing strategies and creating pragmatic, executable roadmaps to modernize operating models. Prior to joining CGI, David was the strategy & innovation executive at Everlink Payment Services, working with credit unions and tier II banks to launch new payment products and services. David has held senior positions at Visa Canada and at Moneris Solutions, working extensively with payments, payment networks and gateways. He started his career at Bank of Montreal amid the run-up to the launch of the first virtual bank in Canada.

Elizabeth St-Onge

Elizabeth has over 20 years in the industry with leadership roles in corporate banking, transaction banking, and capital markets. She has deep expertise in treasury, payments, FX, trade finance, lending and liquidity management. Elizabeth has held numerous senior roles in the industry leading strategy, transformation and product management.

Rebecca Walden

Rebecca Walden is a payments marketing executive currently serving in a go-to-market leadership role at Corvia. She brings more than a decade of experience working with fintechs, ISOs, ISVs, and financial institutions, with a focus on strategy, storytelling, and audience engagement. Prior to Corvia, Rebecca led enterprise-wide merchant services marketing at First American (Deluxe). She remains actively involved in the payments industry through conference programming and strategic advisory work. Rebecca is known for her thoughtful, conversational style on stage and her ability to guide discussions in a way that is both structured and accessible. She has served as a moderator and event host for numerous industry forums, including leadership summits and executive-level events within the payments ecosystem. A breast cancer survivor, Rebecca is also a passionate advocate for early detection and patient support, volunteering her time at the local, regional, and national levels. She lives in the Dallas–Fort Worth area with her family.

Cynthia Pacheco

In her current role as Director Retail Payments Operations and Services, Cynthia has oversight and shared accountability with the Fraud team leaders to manage the impact of fraud on the Canadian Retail Payments portfolio and its clients. Prior to that, Cynthia was responsible for developing and executing on fraud strategy in support of the Bank’s payment modernization capabilities, providing strategic direction and insight on fraud management With over 25 years of Banking experience and 12 years of direct Fraud Management experience, Cynthia has held progressively senior positions across different Financial Institutions. She has also led transformation efforts to enhance fraud management capabilities for several payment types, including cheque, wires, e-transfers and digital payments.

Teresa Cameron

Teresa Cameron is Group CEO of Clear Junction, where she leads the company’s next phase of international growth across payments infrastructure and digital asset capabilities. She brings more than 25 years of experience across trading, foreign exchange, treasury and financial operations, and previously served as Clear Junction’s Group CFO. Before joining Clear Junction, she held senior roles across financial services and technology, including leadership positions at PRS for Music and UNiDAYS. Teresa has played a central role in shaping Clear Junction’s strategy, strengthening governance and expanding its international footprint. She is a regular voice on cross-border payments, hybrid fiat and on-chain infrastructure, stablecoin adoption, safeguarding and treasury operations.

Lorna Godin

Lorna Godin is Senior Director, Everyday Payments at CIBC, where she has spent 37 years bringing people and process together to move payments forward. She has led teams through major transformations – earning a reputation as a collaborative problem solver who brings clarity to complexity with a well-rounded view. Lorna is a 2024 Women in Payments Distinguished Payments Professional Award winner and a 2019 CIBC Annual Achievers Award winner.

Darrell Jantzi

Darrell Jantzi is the Director of Fraud at Payments Canada, where he leads the development and execution of the organization's enterprise fraud strategy that ensures safety while enabling prosperity and productivity. Leading a specialized team of fraud experts, Darrell focuses on establishing national payment fraud services designed to mitigate risk in Canada’s rapidly evolving payments environment, including the forthcoming Real-Time Rail (RTR). Darrell champions industry-wide resilience by chairing and guiding fraud groups, fostering essential collaboration among stakeholders. Before taking on the challenge of securing national payment systems, Darrell spent 26 years with a major Canadian bank, rising to Director of Fraud Risk Management. In that senior role, he oversaw fraud governance, consulting, and portfolio management for the Enterprise Fraud Management team. His expertise lies in aligning complex fraud controls with organizational risk appetite while skillfully balancing robust client safeguarding with exceptional client experience.

Shenela Tavarayan

Shenela Tavarayan serves as the Group Product Manager, Merchant Solutions at Interac Corp., where she leads Konek, Canada's first bank-backed shared digital wallet, developed in partnership with seven major financial institutions and the Credit Union network (CUCC). She oversees a cross-functional organization spanning product, engineering, marketing, sales, and compliance, and holds governance responsibilities as the chair of the Konek Operations Committee. In this role, Shenela has been instrumental in advancing Konek's strategic direction, from shareholder engagement to multi-party contract negotiation across financial institutions and acquirers. Her work reflects a broader commitment to strengthening domestic payments infrastructure and advancing payment sovereignty within the Canadian financial ecosystem. Beyond her product leadership, Shenela is a dedicated advocate for women's advancement in the payments industry. She co-founded Interac's Women's Employee Resource Group, establishing a platform to support the professional development, network-building, and career advancement of women across the organization. She continues to mentor women in payments and product roles, drawing on her own experience navigating leadership in a complex, high-stakes industry. Shenela is a recognized voice in the Canadian payments space, having spoken at industry forums including MPE Berlin, Mobey Forum Toronto, Payments Canada Summit, and Toronto Tech Week.

Dayo Akinbiyi

Dayo Akinbiyi leads Insights & Intelligence for Mastercard Canada, driving the commercialization of Mastercard's data and analytics capabilities across financial institutions, lenders, and enterprise clients. In this role, she partners with clients to unlock the power of Mastercard's data assets — translating insights into informed business decisions and measurable growth. Since joining Mastercard four years ago, Dayo has built deep expertise across the organization, with roles spanning Advisors & Consulting Services and regional product leadership within the Business Intelligence and Merchant Intelligence portfolio. Her career at Mastercard has been defined by a consistent focus on go-to-market execution and connecting data-driven solutions to real client outcomes. Before Mastercard, Dayo brought a strong analytical and advisory foundation from roles in consulting, investment banking, and technology, including positions at IBM and PwC.

Rose Lu

Rose is Senior Director, Channel Strategy & Analytics at CIBC, with more than 20 years of banking experience across strategy, analytics, and transformation. She leads teams that leverage analytics, strategy, and technology solutions to improve business performance and inform strategic decision-making. Rose is passionate about turning data into actionable insights, solving complex business challenges, building strong teams, and delivering scalable, industry-leading analytical so

Niha Agha

Niha Agha is a treasury and payments leader with extensive experience delivering product strategy, payment modernization initiatives, and cash management solutions across global financial institutions. She specializes in translating complex industry, regulatory, and client challenges into scalable, client-centric solutions that drive business growth and operational efficiency. Throughout her career, Niha has led cross-functional teams, influenced industry change, and partnered with senior stakeholders to deliver strategic payment and treasury initiatives. Known for her collaborative leadership style and deep payments expertise, she excels at navigating complex environments, aligning diverse stakeholders, and driving innovation that enhances both client experience and business outcomes.

Kelly Wilson Pansy

Kelly Wilson Pansy is a financial services expert with over 25 years of experience in corporate lending, commercial payments, securitized finance and fixed income sales and trading.  She held a mix of roles in banking including corporate banking relationship management, asset backed origination, and a Global Banking COO role.  In the COO role, Kelly managed numerous regulatory and transformation projects on topics such as KYC/AML remediation, Dodd Frank, FATCA, and payments transformation to ensure regulatory compliance while minimizing disruption to clients and the business.  In her current role at Pegasystems, Kelly is responsible for go to market in financial services, focused on corporate and investment banking, payments, wealth and asset management. She helps Pega’s banking clients understand how they can automate and modernize their businesses and design solutions that augment their current technology to improve client experience and operational efficiency.  Kelly drives the marketing and strategy of Pega’s market-leading financial service payment exception technology, Smart Investigate, in partnership with both Swift and the transaction banking divisions of Pega’s banking clients.

Angela Gilson is Managing Director, Global Payment Operations and Head of U.S. Global Transaction Banking (GTB) Operations at Scotiabank. In this role, she leads the bank's global payment operations and oversees all GTB Operations in the United States, helping advance the bank's transaction banking strategy and the continued growth of its U.S. Cash Management business. She partners closely with global teams to strengthen operational oversight, deliver scalable solutions, and ensure a seamless client experience across markets. Angela brings extensive leadership experience across Capital Markets, wealth management, and transaction banking operations. During her eight years with Scotiabank, she has held senior operations roles in both the U.K. and the U.S., contributing to the development of operational capabilities that support the bank's strategic priorities.  Prior to joining Scotiabank, Angela held leadership positions with major U.S. and U.K. financial institutions. Her international career has spanned the U.S., U.K., and UAE, providing her with a global perspective on banking operations and transformation. Angela holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of San Diego.

Garima Chaudhary

Garima Chaudhary Bio: Garima Chaudhary is the VP, Financial Crime and Compliance AI of ThetaRay. She is a veteran financial crime compliance expert with more than 20 years of experience helping global financial institutions combat money laundering, fraud, sanctions violations, and human trafficking. At ThetaRay she helps shape the future of financial crime prevention by leveraging AI to transform how financial institutions manage risk, build trust, and drive growth. In her previous role, Garima served as Global Head of Financial Crimes & Compliance Management Solution Engineering at Oracle. Garima is particularly passionate about harnessing AI, data, and cloud innovation to help organizations stay ahead of financial crime risks and evolving regulatory demands, enabling solutions that are trusted, scalable, and future-ready.

Amrita Ghanekar

Rita Ghanekar is a Senior Director and Digital Product Leader in the Client Insights & Innovation team in Global Payments and Trade at BNY. She leads the strategy and development of data, analytics, and AI-powered products that help clients and business teams make smarter decisions. Her focus spans both client-facing and internal platforms, transforming complex payment, liquidity, and treasury data into actionable intelligence that drives growth, improves client engagement, and enhances decision-making. Rita is responsible for shaping the vision and roadmap for BNY's next generation of intelligence solutions, including AI-enabled insights, self-service analytics, and emerging agentic experiences. Her work sits at the intersection of data, product innovation, and digital transformation, helping organizations move from static reporting toward intelligent, context-aware decision support. A strong advocate for responsible AI, she is particularly passionate about making advanced analytics transparent, trusted, and accessible to business users. Rita brings over 20 years of experience in financial services, with leadership roles at Brown Brothers Harriman, Mercer, and BNY Mellon. She holds an MBA in Finance from Temple University and is a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. She is also an advocate for neurodiversity inclusion.

Liz Warner

Liz Warner is a Partner in the Financial Crime practice at PwC Canada, specializing in Financial Crime Technology & Analytics. Liz has over 15 years of experience advising on risk analytics, with a specialization in AML/ATF transaction monitoring, customer risk rating and watchlist screening system implementations, model validations, and model reviews/optimizations with the outcomes of increased efficiency and effectiveness. Liz has an M.Sc. in Mathematics with a specialization in Machine Learning and is passionate about helping her clients use data and analytics to not only make their program more efficient, but to uncover hidden patterns in data to detect illicit behaviour.

Sarah Gowdy

Sarah Gowdy is Vice President, Payments and Open Banking Products at Symcor. She leads the strategy and growth of Symcor’s payments and consumer-driven banking portfolios, including COR.CONNECT, helping financial institutions prepare for the future of open banking in Canada. With more than 20 years of experience across Equifax, Tangerine, and Scotiabank, Sarah has built and launched innovative payment, digital banking, and data-driven products, developed strategic partnerships, and led large-scale product portfolios. She is passionate about advancing innovation, trust, and collaboration across the financial ecosystem to unlock the full potential of consumer-driven banking and modern payments.

Michelle Winsor

Michelle Winsor is a banking and payments professional with a passion for the role of data as an enabler of a more open and connected financial ecosystem. She is particularly fascinated by the potential of open banking to break down barriers, foster collaboration, and create better outcomes for consumers, businesses, and communities. Known for her approachable style and practical insights, Michelle brings energy, curiosity, and optimism to conversations about the future of payments. Whether discussing emerging trends, industry transformation, or the human impact of technology, she encourages audiences to embrace the opportunities that arise when data is used not just as information, but as a catalyst for a more open, transparent, and customer-centric financial ecosystem.

Niha Agha

Niha Agha is a treasury and payments leader with extensive experience delivering product strategy, payment modernization initiatives, and cash management solutions across global financial institutions. She specializes in translating complex industry, regulatory, and client challenges into scalable, client-centric solutions that drive business growth and operational efficiency. Throughout her career, Niha has led cross-functional teams, influenced industry change, and partnered with senior stakeholders to deliver strategic payment and treasury initiatives. Known for her collaborative leadership style and deep payments expertise, she excels at navigating complex environments, aligning diverse stakeholders, and driving innovation that enhances both client experience and business outcomes.

Marie Houde

Marie Houde is SVP and Chief Compliance Officer at Peoples Group. She brings extensive experience leading enterprise compliance and risk programs. Based in Toronto, Marie is known for her pragmatic, inclusive leadership and for helping organizations navigate the complex payments / regulatory landscape while managing risk, compliance and enabling innovation. Marie holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (HEC), with a specialization in International Business and Finance. She is married with three children and resides in Oakville, Ontario.

Kellie Johnson

Kellie Johnson is a banking and payments leader with deep experience across treasury, cash management, and financial technology. She brings a strong blend of strategic thinking and hands-on execution, shaped by a career spanning financial institutions and fintech, with a focus on business development, product management, and client-centric innovation in payments. Known for making complex payment challenges clear and actionable, Kellie is passionate about advancing modern payment solutions and helping organizations navigate industry change.

Kristen Luedtke

Kristen Luedtke is a strategic operations and client experience leader at U.S. Bank, where she leads Digital Onboarding and client success initiatives supporting commercial card programs. With more than a decade of experience spanning financial services, technology, sales, and business operations, she specializes in strategic planning, cross-functional leadership, organizational development, and process transformation. Kristen is passionate about empowering teams, improving customer experiences, and leveraging innovation and AI to drive meaningful business outcomes. Outside of the office, Kristen has coached girls high school swimmers for 10 years supporting the next generation of athletes and hopefully the next women in payments.

Lolita Wang

Lolita Wang leads the North American Receivables Product Management team at BMO where she is known for combining disciplined product management. With a people‑first leadership approach, she enables teams to perform through complexity and change. Previously, Lolita led Core Cash Management Products at Bank of the West and a variety of products at Wells Fargo. Beyond banking, she has experience in small business ownership, health and wellness, e-commerce and startups.

Neha Gupta

Neha Gupta is a results-driven technology and consulting leader with extensive experience in financial services transformation. As Director of Fraud Technology at CGI, she leads large-scale fraud and financial crime mandates for banks and payment providers navigating a new reality: AI-powered fraudsters moving faster than legacy defenses. Her work sits at the center of the AI-vs-AI arms race deploying machine learning, real-time detection, and intelligent automation to counter deepfakes, synthetic identities, and AI-driven scams targeting payment ecosystems. She has led fraud technology transformations end to end, from strategy and business case through delivery, modernizing detection platforms, embedding AI into fraud operations, and helping institutions shift from reactive controls to predictive defense. Her MBA, PMP, and CBAP underpin a rare combination: deep fraud technology expertise paired with the executive fluency to align boards, regulators, and delivery teams around a common roadmap. A passionate advocate for women in payments and technology, Neha mentors emerging leaders and contributes regularly to industry thought leadership on fraud, payments, AI adoption, and digital trust.

Zoya Lieberman, CTP

Zoya Lieberman is a Certified Treasury Professional with over 20 years in the financial services industry, specializing in the commercial banking space — including payables, receivables, digital banking, and user experiences. Her career spans roles from an early start at Washington Mutual Bank through progressive leadership positions, including Co-Founder of Fintech Fight Club, CEO of The Lieberman Financial Group, and Banking Industry Principal Strategist. She holds a BS in Business and a BA in Languages from the University of Southern California, and an MBA from the Graziadio School of Business at Pepperdine University. She also completed Executive Education in Female Leadership & Strategy at Yale. Zoya is known for her ability to “connect the dots” in financial services — with a particular focus on understanding the why behind decisions, the role of AI in shaping the industry’s future, and the need for global perspectives on financial inclusion. She serves on the board of directors for the Southern California Association for Financial Professionals and holds the role of co-president for the organization. She is also a keynote speaker at major industry events including Money 20/20, NACHA Smarter Faster Payments, and Women in Payments.

Sundeep Bassi

Sundeep Bassi is Head of Global Product Partnerships for Payments and Financial Services at Shopify, where she leads strategic relationships across the global payments and financial ecosystem—including processors, networks, banks, lenders, and infrastructure partners—to help power how merchants get paid, manage cash flow, and access financial tools on the platform. Her work is closely tied to both Shopify Payments and Shopify’s broader financial services suite, supporting the partner infrastructure behind payments acceptance and payouts as well as merchant-focused financial products such as Shopify Capital, Shopify Credit, Shopify Balance, Bill Pay, and Tax. (ey.com) Before joining Shopify, Sundeep built her career across product, customer acquisition, engagement, loyalty, and partner marketing through roles at Scotiabank, and American Express. That background gives her a strong cross-functional perspective at the intersection of payments, lending, growth, and customer experience—bringing together deep financial services expertise with a partner-led approach to building products and ecosystems that create meaningful value for merchants.

Krista Broughton

Krista brings a passion for consumer engagement and data driven environments. With over a decade of experience in the emerging payment landscape, Krista has driven growth within in issuing, acquiring, tech incubator, start up and mobility spaces, working with organizations including Mastercard, Scotiabank, Moneris, ElementAI and Telus. Krista holds an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario

Archana Malhotra

Archana Malhotra leads core full-stack engineering at Google, where she powers the future of agentic commerce and builds the underlying infrastructure for global online payment systems. She has been instrumental in architecting the payments layer of the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), enabling trusted, autonomous transactions in an emerging AI-driven economy. Her teams focus on delivering simple, seamless, and secure payment experiences for users worldwide, ensuring high-velocity commerce and optimized conversions across all digital surfaces. Previously, as an Engineering Lead at Microsoft, she led the infrastructure teams responsible for migrating Viva (formerly Yammer) from self-managed data centers to the Azure cloud and establishing local data residency across the EU. Prior to Microsoft, she served as VP of Engineering at Advisor Software, where she drove engineering strategy and technical innovation, scaling SaaS solutions on AWS and expanding global business solutions in financial APIs. With over 20 years of experience, Archana has a proven track record of delivering complex new products and cultivating world-class technical talent. She holds both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Computer Science.

Manobi Kanayalkar

Manobi Kanayalkar is the Head of Trade & Working Capital Solutions (Canada) and the Global Trade Corridor Strategy Lead at Citi. Based in New York, she drives the strategic growth and P&L performance of Citi’s Canadian Trade franchise, while leading global corridor commercialization and strategic partnerships for Trade solutions. Over her 20-year career in the banking and finance industry, including 15 years at Citi, Manobi has held key leadership roles across global markets. She recently served as Chief of Staff to the Head of Services and previously held multiple leadership roles within Citi as the COO, Business Execution, and Risk & Control Head for Trade in Latin America, and Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) Lead for Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) across India, North America, and Latin America. A Chartered Accountant, Manobi is recognized for her strategic foresight, financial acumen, and a proven ability to lead global teams through complex business transformations.

Celeste James

Celeste is a Managing Director leading the Canada Banking, Capital Markets and Payments Practice for Accenture. A seasoned banker, she brings deep expertise in complex banking transformation programs for Tier 1 institutions worldwide, partnering with senior executives to drive the delivery and execution of their most critical strategic priorities.

Elena Litani

20+ year payments & fintech leader, Elena heads Real Time Payments & Open Banking at Visa Canada. She co-founded Pillar, launched credit-building at KOHO, led blockchain at TD, and drove global IT strategies for IBM. Women in Payments Innovation award recipient.

Dina Vardouniotis

Dina Vardouniotis founded Payments+Partnerships, a boutique consulting firm to drive value creation through collaboration with banks, credit union, fintechs and merchants across the payments value chain. Dina brings expertise in strategy product, marketing, P&L management with experience in roles at JPMorgan Chase, Citi, CIBC, and Alterna Savings and Bank. Dina champions women’s leadership and workplace neurodiversity.

Jacqueline Tsai

Jacqueline Tsai doesn't just advise on strategy — she shapes it. As Chief Legal Officer at Paybilt, she sits at the intersection of law, product, and growth, partnering with executive leadership to build the governance and legal infrastructure behind a company redefining payments. Before Paybilt, Jacqueline spent a decade at Interac architecting the legal product function that powered some of Canada's most consequential fintech moments — including the launch of Apple Pay and expansion of e-Transfer. She didn't inherit a machine; she built one. Her path to payments ran through litigation, insurance, and music IP — an unconventional route that sharpened her instincts and gave her a strategist's appetite for complexity. That foundation shaped a leadership philosophy built on practical lawyering, deep product partnership, and relationships that actually move the needle. She joined Paybilt for the same reason she thrives: the chance to build from scratch. Scaling a function at a high-growth company isn't maintenance work — it's architecture. Jacqueline brings the same energy to mentorship, investing in the next generation of payments professionals with the transparency and authenticity she also appreciates.

Susan LeBlanc

Susan LeBlanc is an ICF Certified Professional Coach (ACC) and Vice President of Marketing at Meridian Credit Union. Passionate about helping individuals and organizations reinvent themselves with intention, she specializes in leadership development, organizational transformation, and building high-performing teams that thrive through change. Over her 25-year career, Susan has led transformation initiatives across financial services, loyalty, healthcare, technology, and non-profit sectors. At Meridian, she leads member growth, retention and loyalty, product marketing, brand strategy, analytics, personalization, media, and marketing technology, helping position marketing as a strategic driver of business growth. Susan has relaunched iconic Canadian brands including Heart & Stroke and Scene+, built award-winning teams and programs, and been recognized in Maclean's Magazine and through more than 20 industry awards. Guided by a belief that meaningful growth happens just beyond our comfort zones, Susan is passionate about developing future leaders and helping people navigate growth, change, and reinvention.

Leila Weller

Leila Weller is Vice President of Partner Marketing at Chase Payment Solutions, where she leads strategic partnerships and marketing initiatives across financial institutions and ecosystem partners in Canada. She focuses on driving growth through partner-led channels and building scalable programs that accelerate merchant acquisition. With over a decade of experience in B2B marketing and partnerships, Leila has held leadership roles at Bell Canada and is known for turning complex business challenges into clear, actionable growth strategies. She is also a former board member of Lean In Canada, supporting initiatives that advance women in the workplace.

Carmen Chan

Carmen T. Chan is a senior leader with more than 15 years of experience driving digital strategy and transformation at the intersection of security, fraud prevention, and client experience. She currently serves as Senior Director, Client Authentication & Identity Management at CIBC, where she leads enterprise strategy, roadmap, and governance for authentication and identity capabilities that help protect clients while enabling scalable digital growth. Over the course of her career, Carmen has led major change initiatives across enterprise authentication, digital sales, and fraud management; most recently, shaping multi-phase authentication modernization. As a leader in security, she is passionate about building strong cross-functional partnerships to deliver measurable outcomes, supporting women in the field, and helping shape a more secure digital future.

Jennifer Nicol

Jennifer brings over two decades of experience within the financial software industry including selling payment, compliance, and fraud solutions to Tier 1 Financial Institutions in North America. Her career spans enterprise level solution consulting and pre sales leadership roles at industry leading firms including ACI Worldwide, BAE Systems Applied Intelligence, and most recently, NiCE Actimize. Jennifer excels at bridging the gap between complex client requirements and delivering business value and ROI.

Michele Poole

Michele Poole is the Founder of DeepPoole Advisory, a boutique advisory firm helping fintechs, PSPs, financial institutions and ecosystem participants navigate Canada’s evolving payments landscape with greater clarity, confidence and momentum. Michele brings more than 20 years of leadership experience across banking, fintech, payments, digital transformation and ecosystem modernization. Her career includes senior roles at Interac, financial institutions and PSPs, and her advisory clients have included Payments Canada, Interac, NBIN and multiple global PSPs assessing Canada as part of their growth strategy. She has contributed to important chapters in Canada’s payments evolution, including Canada’s Real-Time Rail, debit card capabilities for Canadians’ digital wallets, debit interchange modernization and industry collaboration on key ecosystem modernization initiatives. Michele is also Co-Founder of Finclusiv Edge, a women led initiative focused on financial inclusion, trust and responsible innovation. Known for her energy, generosity and ability to connect people and ideas, Michele is a trusted voice in the industry and is often someone people turn to when they need to make sense of complex payments change. Her work is grounded in a belief that payments innovation should be trusted, inclusive, useful and connected to real outcomes for people and businesses.

Carrie Forbes

Carrie Forbes is a visionary leader, creative strategist, and the driving force behind Rockstar Advisory. With past CEO and executive roles, she has successfully spearheaded major digital transformations, and guided organizations through significant changes, spanning diverse industries from fintech to cooperatives. Her deep background in learning and development, change management, and strategic execution has empowered people and businesses to change, innovate and grow. She has received numerous nominations and industry awards, including being the recipient of the 2024 International Woman of the Year award from Open Banking Expo in London, UK.

Tracy Lagasse

Tracy Lagasse, VP Sales & Customer Engagement, Dye & Durham works with Canada’s leading financial institutions bringing critical payments and lending solutions to Canadian customers. With a 20- year career in Financial Services, Tracy led Microsoft Canada’s Financial Services Industry Advisory; Innovation COE in one of Canada’s largest fintechs and co-founded a fintech Accelerator. Tracy is a frequent speaker and holds positions on advisory boards for payments and social impact initiatives.

Kristi Lewis

With over 15 years of leadership spanning agile startups and major financial institutions, Kristi Lewis operates at the strategic intersection of revenue growth and ecosystem evolution. As VP of Marketing & Industry Relations at Paramount Commerce, she built the marketing and product marketing functions from the ground up, fueling a 40% YoY growth trajectory and solidifying the company’s position as Canada’s leading pay by bank partner. Kristi is a specialist in navigating the underlying infrastructure of the Canadian payment landscape. She recently secured Paramount’s official Payments Canada membership. Her career includes leading multi-million dollar transformations at TD Bank and driving GTM strategy for a Series B fintech. A dedicated advocate for the industry, Kristi serves on the committee for Fintechs Canada and consults as an expert for Fintech Cadence.

Joanne Modugno

Joanne Modugno is a high-impact executive driving growth across the tech, payments, and financial services sectors. Currently the General Manager for North America at Dext Inc., she leverages her deep expertise in sales leadership to scale revenue, optimize go-to-market strategies, and accelerate AI-driven innovation in bookkeeping automation. With a proven history in SaaS, commercial card programs and expense management, Joanne excels at transforming complex market challenges into scalable value. A passionate connector and advocate for women in tech and sales, she actively contributes to communities through her memberships with CREW Executive and Partnership Leaders Inc.

Megan Henning

Megan Henning is Managing Director and Head of North American Receivables & Global Trade Finance Product within BMO's Treasury & Payment Solutions organization. With more than 20 years of experience in treasury management, she leads teams focused on helping businesses optimize working capital and simplify how they move money. Some of the most meaningful moments in Megan's career have come through mentorship—both being mentored by others and paying that support forward. She is passionate about helping people discover their strengths, grow their careers, and build meaningful connections. Megan serves on the Women in Payments Canada Advisory Board and Global Mentorship Council. Megan holds a Master's degree in Organizational Leadership, bachelor's degrees in Sociology and Spanish, and certifications as a Certified Scrum Product Owner and Accredited ACH Professional. Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Megan is a mom of three boys who enjoys hiking, biking, and gardening. She is active in her community, supporting homeless veterans and volunteering with youth scouting and robotics programs.

Katerina Goros

Katerina Goros is Chief Human Resources Officer at Peoples Group, where she shapes enterprise-wide talent strategy and leads culture transformation to accelerate long-term business and financial success. In addition to overseeing the People & Culture function, she drives change management and transformational initiatives that strengthen organizational agility and operational excellence. Her mandate includes aligning workforce capabilities with strategic priorities, optimizing performance to drive results, and enabling scalable growth. With over two decades of experience in financial services and technology, Katerina has held senior leadership roles at RBC and IBM across Human Resources, Transformation, Sales, and Consulting. She is passionate about building high-performing, collaborative teams and developing future leaders, a commitment rooted in her own career beginnings through internships and co-op programs.

Fatema Pirone

Senior executive with more than 20 years of experience leading digital transformation, digital identity, product innovation, and emerging technology initiatives across Canada's financial services sector.  She currently serves as Product Head of Verification at Interac, where she leads the organization's digital trust and verification portfolio, including identity, authentication, verification, and reusable credential services. Under her leadership, Interac has advanced its digital trust strategy and strengthened its role in Canada's evolving digital identity ecosystem. Prior to Interac, Fatema held executive leadership roles at CIBC, where she led enterprise digital strategy, innovation, and emerging technology initiatives that helped accelerate the bank's digital transformation journey. Fatema is recognized as a leader in digital trust, identity, and verification, working across financial institutions, governments, regulators, and industry partners to advance secure and trusted digital experiences for Canadians. She serves as Board Director of the Digital ID & Authentication Council of Canada (DIACC) and Board Vice Chair of Mobey Forum, a global industry association focused on digital financial services innovation. In 2020, she was recognized as one of WXN's Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada. Outside of work, Fatema is deeply committed to climate change advocacy and an avid traveler, she enjoys exploring the world with her family and seeking new adventures whenever possible.

Jyothi Visweswaran

Dynamic and results-oriented technology executive with 27 years of experience driving business growth, building high-performing teams, and delivering award-winning technology transformations. Proven success in accelerating sales, acquiring new business, strengthening strategic client relationships, and maximizing profitability through operational excellence across diverse geographic markets. Brings extensive cross-industry experience spanning Financial Services, Telecommunications, Energy, Manufacturing, Retail and Distribution, and the Public Sector. Recognized as a trusted executive advisor who builds enduring client partnerships, develops high-performing leaders, and provides strategic vision to help organizations achieve sustainable growth and innovation. Championing equity has been a longstanding commitment throughout my career, well before Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) became a mainstream focus. At CGI, I established and led the national DE&I governance framework in Canada while serving in leadership roles across several affinity groups, including the Black, Asian, and Indigenous Members (BAIM) network, Women in Tech, and the LGBTQIA2S+ community. At Accenture, I led the Employee Resource Group (ERG) dedicated to Indigenous engagement, advancing initiatives that fostered inclusion and meaningful collaboration. Beyond the workplace, I remain deeply committed to creating positive social impact by supporting grassroots initiatives in India that provide nutritious meals to children in underserved urban schools. These experiences reflect my enduring belief that advancing equity and inclusion extends beyond organizations and into the communities we serve. I believe mentoring is more than a formal program—it is a way of life. Every conversation and interaction is an opportunity to lead by example, share knowledge, and positively influence those around us. Effective mentoring is reflected not only in what we say, but in how we show up every day through our actions, values, and commitment to others' growth. Throughout my career, I have championed mentoring initiatives, including leading and promoting mentoring programs across CGI and actively participating in speed mentoring events. I am passionate about fostering a culture of continuous learning, where people feel supported, empowered, and inspired to reach their full potential

Mayuran Vallipuram

Mayuran Vallipuram is a senior financial services consulting leader with more than 15 years of experience helping organizations navigate disruption, modernize payments capabilities and deliver enterprise-wide transformation. He advises executives on translating complex technology change into clear business outcomes, with a focus on high-impact investments, scalable platforms and future-ready operating models. Mayuran works with leading banks, credit unions, payment networks and fintechs on complex programs across payments modernization, open banking, digital assets, issuer processing, real-time payments, card modernization, data architecture transformation and post-merger integration. His work helps clients improve customer experience, strengthen operational efficiency and unlock growth across an increasingly digital financial ecosystem. Bringing a practical perspective informed by industry developments, regulatory trends and global innovation, Mayuran helps clients assess emerging opportunities, prioritize transformation efforts and bridge the gap between business strategy and technology delivery.

Giorgia Anton

Giorgia Anton is Managing Director and Head, Payments. She has worked in Capital Markets for more than 24 years, over 18 of which have been with CIBC. She has gathered a broad range of experience, having worked extensively in both Canada and the U.S., previously holding the titles of Head, Equity Research, and Head, Institutional Equity Sales New York. Giorgia is a member of the CIBC Capital Markets Operating Committee, the CIBC Pension Benefits Management Committee, and a Board Director of CIBC World Markets Inc. Giorgia is a Chartered Professional Accountant and a Chartered Accountant.

Lucia Chung

Lucia is a risk management and compliance leader with close to 15 years of building and implementing regulatory frameworks that apply to market infrastructures, banks, and payment service providers. In her current role, she advises on policy and regulatory matters pertaining to the Bank of Canada’s new supervisory mandate under the Stablecoin Act, and supports the on-going work by the Department of Finance Canada who establishes the legal requirements for stablecoin issuers.

Jamie Lin

Jamie Lin is the Head of Digital Discovery for BMO.com Commercial Banking with an interest of providing clients with an optimal digital experience. Her experience includes leading the digital team to build a new online banking platform. She was recognized in the Bank of the West 2021 Presidents Club for her contributions. She is passionate about making the user experience easy and efficient. Jamie is on the lookout for in industries that provide simple experiences for day-to-day tasks.

Melanie Foster

Melanie Foster is a seasoned enterprise sales professional with 18 years sales experience and a former marketing professional based in Toronto.  She recently joined Thunes, filling the role of Director, Business Development for Canada.  Most recently Melanie departed Visa where she was NA Sales Director for Visa Acceptance solutions with a laser focus on Canada.  Melanie began her professional career in Marketing at BMO Bank of Montreal and continued her journey in banking, financial services and payments for over two decades. Melanie holds a BA from The University of Western Ontario in liberal arts but mostly honed in on her networking skills!  For fun Melanie tries to keep up with her three sons while golfing, skiing and playing tennis.

Jessica Doutre

Jessica Doutre is Director, Treasury Operations at Bell Canada, where she leads a national team responsible for treasury operations, payment strategy, banking relationships, cash management, and payment governance. With more than 15 years at Bell, she has led large-scale payment transformation initiatives and strategic programs that strengthen the company’s payment capabilities and banking ecosystem. Jessica partners closely with financial institutions, payment processors, technology providers, and business stakeholders to deliver secure, efficient, and scalable payment solutions. Her expertise spans treasury operations, payment modernization, governance, fraud risk management, banking strategy, and operational excellence. She holds an MBA from HEC Montréal and is passionate about building high-performing teams and fostering trusted partnerships. Jessica believes the best results come from combining a people-first leadership approach with accountability, collaboration, and a culture where teams can enjoy the journey while delivering meaningful outcomes. Outside of work, Jessica enjoys spending time near the water, has a lifelong love of animals, and is currently learning Portuguese—embracing new languages and cultures with the same curiosity she brings to her professional life.

Janet Lalonde

Janet Lalonde is Vice President, Business Program Delivery at Payments Canada, responsible for leading the development of the Real-Time Rail, the new, 24/7/365 payment system that will facilitate the real-time delivery of low-value payments. Janet has more than 20 years experience in the financial industry with a strong focus on the clearing and settlement of retail payments. Previous to her current role, Janet led the delivery of the AFT enhancements and industry adoption of ISO 20022 which are both important elements of Payment Canada’s modernization program. Prior to that, Janet led the Payments Canada initiative to create a framework of rules and standards for cheque image exchange between Canadian financial institutions.

Joy Lyons

Joy Lyons serves as SVP, Head of North America Operations and Global Front Office Service for Elavon, a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S. Bank. With 25 years of operations experience and a strong commitment to merchants, Joy is known for execution, innovation, operational transformation, and employee engagement. Leading teams across North America and Europe, she enjoys connecting with employees in person to gather ideas that enhance the customer journey. She values the urgency and accountability required in a global business while maintaining a focus on customer experience and operational efficiency. Prior to joining Elavon, Joy held progressively senior roles at Bank of America and Ally Bank. Joy graduated from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is a Six Sigma Black Belt, and remains an active alumna. In 2023, she received the Electronic Transactions Association’s Pay It Forward Star Award and has been a finalist for multiple Women in Payments awards in recent years. Outside of work, Joy enjoys traveling, attending concerts with her husband, visiting her children, and supporting University of Tennessee athletics. She also volunteers in the community, with a focus on services that support women and children.

Kristy Duncan

Kristy Duncan is the founder and CEO of Women in Payments. This growing professional network unites women in payments from around the globe with a shared vision of gender parity. Women in Payments offers career development opportunities through conferences, recognition programs, leadership and mentorship programs, and by hosting a growing global online community.  Kristy is an avid supporter of her fellow female trailblazers, serving as an investor and advisor to a number of fintechs. As a respected leader in the field, she’s been invited to speak to audiences around the world, and act as a judge for accelerators, fintech contests, and awards programs.  Before founding Women in Payments, Kristy was a leading payments consultant to global financial institutions, payment networks, fintechs, and other industry leaders. Prior to that, she held leadership positions at a tier one Canadian bank. 

Jody Urquhart

Jody Urquhart is an award-winning keynote speaker, former stand-up comedian, bestselling author, and creator of Quietly Disruptive Leadership™. For more than 27 years, she has helped leaders across North America improve communication, resilience, and workplace culture through her unique blend of humor and practical leadership insights. The author of All Work & No Say and BlissOut, Jody delivers interactive, comedy-infused keynotes that help audiences recognize the unconscious habits that shape how they lead, communicate, and connect. Her mission is simple: Disrupt autopilot. Lead human.

Julia Streets

Julia Streets is a champion of fintech and entrepreneurship, innovation, diversity and inclusion.   In 2007, she founded Streets Consulting, the business development, marketing and communications consultancy. She and her team advise a wide range of international firms in the field of fintech, capital markets, investment management and payments innovation, as well as specialist offerings including NFTs, digital assets, tokenisation, blockchain, artificial intelligence and more.  Prior to becoming a founder & CEO, Julia was global head of communications at NYSE Technologies, serving on the Executive Committee and European head of marketing and sales development at Instinet Europe.  She was head of eCommerce for a City PR agency throughout the dotcom boom and over the past 30+ years she has advised hundreds of startups, scaleups and global banks and financial institutions.   A certified transformational leadership coach, she works with senior executives to help them build and lead high performing teams, develop proud and solid growth-minded cultures and outperform as enlightened leaders. Julia is the host of ‘DiverCity Podcast’ talking about diversity, equity and inclusion in financial services.  Now in its 15th series, DiverCity Podcast has listeners in >50 countries and is ranked one of the world’s top DE&I podcasts.  She is also the host of CityAM’s ESG show "Impact AM Live", Shell’s Energy Podcast and host of ‘Metaverse: What matters?”, recorded in the metaverse, available on You Tube to educate the world about the opportunities and risks as we navigate this multi-trillion dollar industry. She is an advisor, mentor and investor and is called upon to chair many of the world’s leading conferences drawing not only on her industry experience, but also on her skills as a speaker, host and sell-out stand up comedian. Julia had received many awards and accolades including being listed as one of Brummell Magazine’s 30 Women on Boards, 39 Female Entrepreneurs, and 30 Women of Influence.  She is one of the Global Diversity List’s 20 global champions and is regularly called out as a trailblazer and changemaker.  Julia is a founding member of the Power Women Network, a fellow of the British American Project and proud to serve as a board trustee of Street Child, a global education charity that believes that all children should be safe, in school and learning.