Bio

Helene Panzarino is an experienced fintech executive, former banker, business advisor, and fintech professor and trainer. She specializes in fintech-corporate partnerships, banking for communities and SMBs. Helene is an active speaker, judge and mentor in the SME/B and fintech space, including at leading industry events, LendIt Fintech, Money2020, MoneyLive and MENA FinTech Association.

Her career boasts a number of ‘firsts’ including the first Fintech Scaleup-Corporate Program created during her time at Rainmaking Innovation, the first Fintech modules for UCL and for LIBF, and the first program of education and events for the UK Fintech Trade Body, Innovate Finance. Currently she is the Director at the LIBF Centre for Digital Banking and Finance, Lead Adjunct Fellow in FinTech at Imperial College Business School, and Subject Matter Expert in SMB and community digital banking for the global solutions house, Vacuumlabs.

On the Computer Weekly 100 Women in Tech List, the Innovate Finance Women in Fintech Power List, and the Fintech Magazine 100 Women in Fintech list, she participates in the FCA SME lending and vulnerable customer sandboxes, contributes to leading banking and policy reports on funding or female-led SMEs, such as the CEO of NatWest Rose Report, and is a member of the Cap Gemini Executive Steering Committee for their Global Fintech and Banking Reports. She is also a Board Member/Advisor for a digital banking platform in India and for a UK Regtech focused on safeguarding vulnerable customers for financial services customers.

A published author, her book Reinventing Banking & Finance: Frameworks to navigate global fintech innovation (Kogan), was the #1 banking book for 2021-22 by Investopedia. A podcast host, you can listen to Vacuumlabs ‘Banking on Air’ and LIBF’s ‘Dive into Fintech’ to hear more about her fascinating topics and guests.

Speaking Topics

How to Foster Successful Fintech/Corporate Partnerships

• To license or not to license, that is the question
• What communities should you engage with for success
• Strategies for branding and marketing
• What are the ingredients for the best partnerships
• What about apps?