Advisory Board

Originally a Commercial Banker, Helene is an Associate Director with the Centre for Digital Banking and Finance in LIBF, an experienced FinTech Programme Director, exited entrepreneur, educator and author. Her career boasts a number of ‘firsts’, including the creation of the FinTech Scale Colab Programme for Rainmaking, the Inaugural Programme of Education and Events for Innovate Finance, the FinTech on the Entrepreneurship Masters’ for UCL. Board and advisory roles include the Spanish digital identity scale up, Biid, the UK safeguarding RegTech, Kalgera, and the SME payments company, TomatoPay.  Helene was named on the Computer Weekly 100 Women in Tech Award, the Innovate Finance Women in FinTech Power List, and the Fintech Magazine 100 Women in Fintech list. She was also part of the FCA 2020 Data Sprint on SME Lending, and the recipient of the FT/Google Digital Pioneer Award. Her new book ‘Reinventing Banking & Finance: Frameworks to navigate global fintech innovation’ (Kogan) came out in November 2020, and was named the number one banking book for 2021 by Investopedia.

Ana Climente is the Head of Open Banking at BBVA Spain, where she spearheads efforts to integrate with new ecosystems, fostering partnerships with third parties, and pioneering innovative distribution methods for financial services through APIs. Before this role, Ana was the Head of Digital Transformation for Enterprise Clients at BBVA Spain. In this capacity, she led the creation of data-driven solutions aimed at empowering enterprise clients to make more informed financial decisions. Ana’s extensive experience at BBVA also includes her position as Vice President of Payments and Collections, where she played a pivotal role in the transition to SEPA and the development of advanced cash management solutions. Additionally, she has represented BBVA and the Spanish financial sector in various EBA and EPC working groups. Ana joined BBVA in 2005. Before, she worked as a strategy consultant at Accenture, specializing in B2B solutions across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. She also started up Adquira, a leading Spanish e-procurement company. Ana holds a double degree in International Business Administration from institutions in Spain and Germany.

Saira Khan is the Head of Innovation and Partnerships for First Direct Bank(HSBC), was recognised in Innovate Finance ‘Women in FinTech Powerlist 2023 & 2022’. Having led the creation of innovation teams and centres in the United Kingdom, Asia, and the United States, while building and testing data management and open banking through global hackathons, she has developed a unique vision and reputation for being a catalyst for transformation around the world on leading deliveries with commercial impact. She is known as a key connector and championing moves towards a digital-first culture, enabling greater collaboration and connectivity between startups and corporations with proven results. While her passion and advocacy for change sets her apart from her peers in the finance sector, it is her work mentoring and supporting global talent in Africa, Asia, and the United States that drives Saira as she focuses and champions efforts around diversity, inclusion, education, and sustainability.