Funding Options, the leading platform for business finance, has today launched the UK’s first Green Finance marketplace. 

With UK SMEs responsible for approximately 25 percent of the nation’s CO2 emissions, lenders including Swishfund and Cambridge & Counties Bank have joined the platform’s Green Lender panel to help businesses source the right funding to achieve their sustainability goals. This initiative reinforces Funding Options’ commitment to drive sustainability in the SME lending market by connecting businesses to the funding they need to help them reach net zero.

The Green Finance marketplace will help to bring greater transparency and awareness of the funding options available to support SMEs - with financial products increasingly rewarding businesses that consciously seek to reduce their carbon footprint. Representing 99 percent of all UK businesses, SMEs will play a critical role in meeting the country’s climate goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. 

Funding Options’ initiative, complements the UK Government’s Together for our Planet campaign which is urging SMEs to take small and practical steps to cut emissions in the run up to the UN Climate Summit COP26 in Glasgow this November. Accelerating the provision of green finance to SMEs will enable these small changes which are pivotal to supporting the delivery of the UK’s carbon targets and its clean growth, resilience and environmental ambitions. 

Companies will be able to access funding through the Green Finance marketplace to facilitate the purchase of ‘green assets’ - for example, solar panels or clean vehicles. Lenders will also be matched with ‘green businesses’ displaying strong environmental credentials, such as those participating in renewable, low/zero carbon or sustainable activities. Additionally, the platform will connect ‘green businesses’ - those providing verifiably sustainable products, services or working on a green project - with the right funding partner.

Simon Cureton, CEO of Funding Options, comments: “Funding Options sits at the heart of the SME lending ecosystem, giving us the power to ensure ‘green demand’ is met with ‘green supply’ through our data-driven Funding CloudTM platform. Data analytics and open banking APIs help to ensure that green borrowers are matched with the appropriate lenders, incentivising SMEs to focus on their environmental footprint. We are in agreement with the UK Government that small and medium-sized enterprises are the economic backbone of the UK and so providing access to the best funding options will greatly assist them to implement more sustainable processes, business models and consumption patterns, paving the way for a green future.”

ESG compliance is already a key component in asset and fund management decisions, which will almost certainly have a knock-on impact on the credit lines offered to alternative lenders. Non-financial disclosures are also becoming a standard obligation within corporate financial services. 

Partners have been certified in accordance with Funding Options’ green lender criteria, which includes having a specific green finance proposition or expressing a clear ethical commitment to the environment. 

Simon Cureton continues: “As the green finance market for SMEs matures, there will be greater opportunities to support a wider range of businesses by offering lower product pricing to ‘green’ SMEs in order to encourage them to become more sustainable. Our own wider sustainability policy and commitment is to play a leading role helping to drive environmental and social governance in the alternative lending market, while at the same time promoting a broader choice of competitive green finance options for our customers.”

Andrew Jackson, Managing Director at Swishfund comments: "We are delighted to be part of the new Green Marketplace. This is an important step in increasing awareness of environmental issues within the SME community.  Since people usually pay attention to only what is directly in front of them, it is incumbent on all businesses to keep green initiatives at a prominent place in their shopfronts, their offerings, and in their brands. Swishfund believes that commercial success and environmental responsibility can be happy bedfellows. We believe that within 20 years from now environmental and social responsibility will be a prerequisite for commercial success, and Funding Options will have been at the forefront of that trend."

Fintech scale-up Pleo, which offers a simplified expense management tool and smart company cards, has just raised its Series C round totalling $150m (USD). This is the all-time largest Series C raise in Danish history - and one of the biggest Series C rounds in European fintech - 

giving the company a Unicorn valuation of approximately $1.7bn. 

The investment round was co-led by Bain Capital Ventures and Thrive Capital, with contributions from investors who continue to support Pleo, including Creandum, Kinnevik, Founders, Stripes and Seedcamp. 

Keri Gohman, Partner at Bain Capital Ventures, will also join Pleo’s board of directors. With more than two decades of experience, Gohman has spent her entire career reinventing financial services and helping organisations solve global challenges. 

This Series C investment comes two years after Pleo’s Series B round, led by Stripes, which saw them raise $56m — previously the largest Series B round raised in Denmark to date. Prior to this, in 2018, Pleo raised its Series A round totalling $16m, which helped expand its solution across Europe. Today, Pleo operates in six markets across Denmark, UK, Ireland, Spain, Germany and Sweden.

Jeppe Rindom, Co-founder and CEO at Pleo, says: 

“We’re thrilled to be working alongside Bain and Thrive, and incredibly thankful to our other investors – Stripes, Kinnevik, Creandum, Founders and Seedcamp – who continue to support our journey. We’re confident the partnerships, new and ongoing, will help us achieve our life-long mission to transform how businesses handle their spending, all while making their people feel valued at work.

Our growth so far is a real testament to all our hard work, but also the 17,000+ customers who place trust in our product every day — it really shows we’re onto something here. Over the past six years, we’ve grown from an acorn of an idea to a growing team of over 330 people across six markets. The future is extremely bright as we gain our Unicorn status.” 

Keri Gohman, Partner at Bain Capital Ventures, says:

"The future of work empowers employees with the tools they need to be effective, productive, and successful. Pleo understands this critical shift for modern companies toward employee centricity—providing workers with a fun-to-use spend management app that automatically tracks their corporate spending and generates expense reports, paired with the powerful tools businesses need to create full visibility and management of every penny spent."

Merritt Hummer, Partner at Bain Capital Ventures, says:

"BCV invests in founders who aren't afraid to tackle big problems, and Jeppe and Nicco saw a big challenge that employers faced—tracking all corporate spending and reconciling expenses back to the general ledger—and solved it with elegant technology that both employers and employees love.”

"Pleo is well positioned to become the dominant player in small business spend management, an $80B+ opportunity in Europe alone, and will only grow more essential to businesses as the company expands into bill payments in the near future."

Bain Capital Ventures has recently invested in GoCardless. Last month, they also raised $1.3 billion to fund young startups and VC firms. 

Kareem Zaki, General Partner at Thrive Capital, says:

“Pleo has already transformed the way that over 17,000 companies think about managing their expenses, saving them time and lowering costs while increasing transparency.”

"We are excited to partner closely with the Pleo team to help drive their next phase of growth.”

Founded in 2009, Thrive Capital is a venture capital investment firm based in New York that builds and invests in internet, software, and technology-enabled companies.Thrive manages $9 billion in assets and its portfolio includes Gong, Trade Republic and Plaid.

What will Pleo do with this investment?

The funds raised will be used to continue growing Pleo’s already 17,000+ strong customer base as it aims to reach 1 million engaged users by the end of 2025. Pleo will also continue to invest in its team, which currently stands at 330 people, while iterating its product offering, to help both growing and established businesses manage their company spending in a simplified yet efficient way.

In the past year, Pleo has launched various significant product features, including Bills, an invoice management system that removes the hassle from paying invoices, and Reimbursements (as part of Pocket), a centralised hub to keep track of the money owed between employees and the company. 

This investment will see further developments on features such as these as well as deepening their market offerings. 

As a result of the pandemic, and the subsequent increase in remote working, more employees are looking to relocate, and, as a result, providing employers with the opportunity to tap into the wider talent pool. According to a PwC report released earlier this year, London’s population is expected to decline for the first time in the 21st century. To remain compliant while also addressing the shift in workforce, HR and payroll departments face increased workloads that require time-consuming and often manual actions.

“We're constantly looking at ways to simplify internal processes and remove manual tasks for SMEs. Processing payroll requires aggregating HR information on a monthly basis and I'm very excited to be partnering with Hibob, a leader in its field, to make the transfer of HR data more seamless than ever before,” commented Nick Miller, PayFit UK’s managing director.

Integrated (or ‘Holistic’) Surveillance has been a hot topic in the industry for several years because of the view that bringing together diverse data sets and analysing them holistically will lead to enhanced risk mitigation and business insights. 

Consequently, many larger firms, particularly on the sell-side, have started to invest in the area. However, due to the significant investment required to get it right, many smaller firms have not yet started to develop an integrated data programme for surveillance. Yet, in this digital world effortless access to information is key for agility as it allows firms to quickly identify opportunities. Scattered data on the other hand impacts the time it takes to respond to threats, market movements and regulatory changes.

To stay ahead of the curve, firms will have to start to seriously think about how to bring together data such as transactions details, communications, market data and more. It requires investment as there are no quick fixes, but when executed correctly, Integrated Surveillance is a great opportunity to establish a rich, value-adding data set that can power entire organisations.

As with almost all compliance requirements, it is all about data – and data is forever changing and growing. As such, Integrated Surveillance needs to be approached as a journey instead of a solution.

Investing intelligently in Integrated Surveillance

Integrated Surveillance has received increased attention over recent years, and we are seeing a clear desire among firms to become more holistic in their approach. However, unless firms can fundamentally combine infrastructure and data in a scalable manner, Integrated Surveillance has limited business value.

Because of the sheer volume and scale of data produced today, and the number of existing and new platforms and systems that process this data, a superficial, patchworked solution for managing different data sources is not sustainable. 

If Integrated Surveillance is approached purely for the purpose of improving risk detection – this does not justify the huge investment required to successfully integrate complex data sets. However, if firms think about how to build long term capabilities for combining data for the wider purpose of organising information – this has substantial value in terms of opening opportunities in other parts of the business.

Regulators favour integrated data

While regulators do not specify that surveillance needs to be carried out holistically, they are increasingly interested in seeing firms adopt a more integrated framework for dealing with data. This pressure will only increase as technology evolves and regulators themselves enhance their data management capabilities.

Firms need to think strategically about the data-driven technologies they require in order to combine vast volumes of information, so they can reap the long-term benefits of an integrated approach.

A successful programme needs to be scalable and embed the ability for firms to change, grow and ingest new data sources, platforms, and systems over time. Firms that have not started their journey to build out integrated capabilities should certainly start planning for this now. 

How to get Integrated Surveillance right

One of the most important aspects of getting an integrated programme right is figuring out how different data sets meet and interact. How do you overlay LEIs, with trader IDs, chat profiles and phone numbers so that a link can be established? This is an extensive data mapping exercise that many have tried and failed at.

Most traditional RegTech or surveillance vendors approach regulatory requirements from the perspective of the output – what firms need to report or store. As a result, many have devised prescriptive and inflexible data schemas that financial institution must meet before their data can be ingested, and a platform or tool used. This approach is expensive, resource intensive and makes it very difficult for firms to get a return on their investment.

With growing data volumes and varying formats, the key is to work with technology that can ingest data in any format, that can also capture new channels and sources quickly. Another key consideration as firms try to combine data that has a different format is how to ensure all the relevant meta data is captured and nothing missed. With a rigid data schema, it is nearly impossible integrate new formats that do not fit the prescribed template – or guarantee that everything is being captured. 

However, there are data-driven platforms that can automatically determine the common denominators and key differentiators between different data types, and then link data together using the commonalities while also bringing in the unique fields. The use of Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning can thereafter learn what a piece of data is meant to look like, so that flags can be raised when there is a change. 

Technology has a significant role to play in facilitating Integrated Surveillance and while many vendors still have some way to go in their ability to make sense of vast volumes of data, there are solutions and platforms that already enable firms to take a more futureproofed holistic approach.

Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown

‘’The WISE listing will be another test for London as a Fintech hub, as the UK grapples with its post-Brexit status in an era when it has struggled to attract fast growing companies looking to launch an IPO.

The cross-border payments firm, which began its journey in 2011 as Transfer Wise now boasts 10 million customers worldwide and has been profitable for the last four years. In 2021 alone the company processed £54 billion in payments, with users attracted by the low fee structure compared to other banking transfer services. It’s expanded from a personal peer-to-peer service to offer businesses faster payments solutions and that is an attractive feature of its growth prospects. 

But there are plenty of risks ahead: the company has rivals snapping at its heels in the revolutionary world of payments and to stay competitive it may be forced to cut fees faster than it can reduce costs. Excessive volatility in currency markets could also affect its profits.

Although the payments industry is in a state of flux, WISE is still confident that its strong brand recognition will mean demand for shares will be high when trading begins.

A direct listing system is viewed as cheaper and simpler than a traditional IPO where the whole process is managed by expensive investment banks which underwrite new shares and help find institutional and sometimes retail buyers for them.

Instead of new shares being listed, only existing ones held by early investors or the founders are traded on an exchange, so underwriters don’t have to be paid and shares aren’t diluted. However, the risk is that not as much interest is drummed up, and there is no guarantee for share sales as it relies purely on supply and demand.

By targeting existing customers and offering incentives including bonus shares, representing 5% the value of existing stakes, if customers keep onto their holdings for a year, WISE is hoping there will be a flurry of interest.  

Direct listings are more of a level playing field for institutional and retail investors who will be able to buy shares at the same time, when they begin trading on the London Stock Exchange. 

WISE has opted for a dual class structure though, which means under current rules it won’t be eligible for a premium listing, although under recommendations put forward in the UK government’s Hill listings review, that could soon change.  Clearly the founders still want to keep a strong arm on the tiller of the company as it launches into public waters.

Retail investors should be aware that under such a structure, they won’t have as many voting rights as they might do if they hold shares in other companies listed in London. This arrangement may also put off some institutional investors who are uneasy about the lower levels of corporate governance brought about by a dual class structure. 

As this is a direct listing, there will be a lengthy opening auction period from 7.50am to establish the opening share price. Trading is expected to commence just after 11.00am and we would expect it to be a volatile affair.’’

Insurance company RESO-Garantia, a partner of AXA Group in Russia, is digitalizing auto insurance using AI-driven OCR technologies developed by Smart Engines. The precise automatic scanning via Smart ID Engine is applied for processing insurance policies online. The software product captures data from ID, driver’s license and vehicle registration certificate to help the insurance company provide its customers with fast and secure remote onboarding.

To apply for insurance policy online the clients may sign up on the insurance company’s website by entering their personal data. To purchase a third party insurance or a comprehensive coverage it is also required to enter data about the insured and the object of insurance by uploading images of the relevant documents. It can be both scans and photos. 

Smart ID Engine ensures secure working with personal data. Scanning software is installed on-premise and processes photos without transferring images or data to any services. The high-performance solution detects the type of document and extracts all the necessary data. Then, the data is automatically entered in the corresponding fields of the quote that significantly reduces client service time. After registration, customers can buy or renew the insurance policies and download it easily from the website.

“In spite of the fact that such solutions for document recognition appeared a long time ago, they did not then fully meet the requirements of online procedures and business processes when working with document photos and recognition speed. For our customers, we chose a software product of Smart Engines, which enables us to extract data in less than 1 second and works with confidence with photos taken on a mobile phone,” said Dmitry Gorchilin, Chief of the Information Technology Department of RESO-Garantia.

“Remote customer service is crucial for a modern insurance company focused on car insurance business development/growth. We are glad that today our AI-powered proprietary technologies for document scanning enable millions of customers to effortlessly buy insurance policies online,” said Nikita Arlazarov, Chief Financial Officer of Smart Engines.

A research report from financial performance management and business intelligence consultancy, MHR Analytics shows that finance teams want to be in control of their own digital and data futures, rather than being led by IT or external consultants. This desire to boost digital literacy comes as the pandemic has highlighted the need for finance to be able to respond more quickly in a crisis to minimise business risk and make the most of new opportunities.

The research with senior finance professionals shows that 85% of respondents are keen to drive digital transformation and data literacy in their departments to help them successfully navigate business change with just over a quarter of respondents admitting they wouldn’t be able to respond quickly enough to a significant event. It also showed processes such as budgeting, planning, and forecasting, and accounts receivable were impacted the most by the pandemic for almost 70% of respondents, thereby shining a light on the need for agility and resilience when faced with a challenging business environment.

Respondents also acknowledged that reluctance or delays to embracing digital change may have a negative impact on the finance team, with strategic insight and productivity levels hindered the most. Reporting delays, data accuracy issues and not being able to retain and attract new talent were also cited as issues which will continue to cause problems for finance if it’s slow to adapt and drive forward digital transformation initiatives.

Nick Felton, Chief Sales Officer, MHR said: “The finance team has often been accused of lagging behind other business functions when it comes to digital transformation and identifying and quantifying the business case for change is no easy task. However, as our research shows, finance has acknowledged that standing still really isn’t an option.

“These research findings highlight finance’s ambition to own its own digital change and finance systems, including data analytics. Finance is best placed to lead the charge for transforming slow and laborious processes, as the events of the past 18 months have shown the importance of being able to make quick decisions, based on the availability of real time and accurate data.

“Adopting a digital first approach and learning new data and tools skills all take time, but it’s refreshing to see that finance is keen to progress change themselves, without relying on the support of IT or external third parties. It’s crucial that finance continues to progress its adoption of digital technologies and ensure it’s leveraging the full functionality of the tools it already uses, to achieve better business insights and to help the case for wider transformative technology adoption in the future.”

The research also reveals the technologies most widely adopted by finance to help them boost visibility on costs and business performance, including tools to support extended planning and analytics (xP&A) strategies and Business Intelligence/analytics software. Other growth areas include wider adoption of financial consolidation and financial close software as teams look to boost productivity. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) also continues to grow in popularity with finance, and this technology trend looks set to continue.

This research commissioned by MHR, comes from a quarterly annual survey of finance professionals, in association with GENCFO.

Gilded, a new-age wealth-tech app offering long-term savings through fractional investment was launched today. Gilded makes it easier for users to start small by purchasing as little as 1 gram of gold through the app. Gilded will offer its Indian customers savings of up to 7-10% when compared to published Indian gold prices, by cutting out the middlemen and sourcing gold directly from Swiss refineries and storing it in Swiss vaults. Gilded will be available to download for free in India, and is also being launched in the UAE, on both Android and iOS via Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

Gilded provides numerous benefits over other local gold investment options, such as the gold being fully insured, fractional ownership, ethical sourcing, easy 24/7 accessibility, convenience of sending the digital gold worldwide, low costs to sell, ease of receiving funds after a sale, proof of gold authenticity, exclusively Swiss refined and stored gold, and safety from financial system risk.

The Gilded app, previously known as Digital Swiss Gold (DSG), is updated and incorporates improvements based on thousands of users’ feedback over the past six months received via the Digital Swiss Gold app. As the Indian market becomes more comfortable with the benefits of digital gold, such as ease of use, savings, and security, Gilded will be able to cater to the millions of Indians who are interested in gold.

Gilded provides transparent pricing, safety, security, quality, and trust. Free storage is included for the Gilded gold consumer. All gold purchases are legally the property of the client, stored in fully insured vaults, independently audited, and recorded permanently on a private permissioned blockchain to establish immutable title. All clients are issued a proof of ownership in the form of a digital warehouse receipt, which contains vital information such as their gold holding’s account number, bar serial number, blockchain reference and vault location. A picture of the buyer’s gold bar and a certificate of authenticity is also provided on the app. All gold purchased through the Gilded app meets the highest standards, with the gold being Swiss refined and of 0.9999 fineness. All gold holdings are independently audited.

Ashraf Rizvi, Founder and CEO of Gilded and Digital Swiss Gold, said on the launch, “Indians have always had an affinity towards gold as an investment asset as it acts as a hedge against inflation. The need for wealth protecting investment assets has increased since the pandemic and investors are looking for options that are not only profitable in the long run but will also help safeguard their invested money. Digital gold has increasingly caught the eye of investors as it offers all the benefits of gold along with ease of trading and transactions in smaller denominations. With the launch of our new and improved Gilded app, we aim to leverage all our learnings from our Digital Swiss Gold app to provide Indian and UAE consumers a better way to access gold investment and all the benefits of gold ownership through today’s leading technologies.”

The new Gilded app, like the Digital Swiss Gold app, provides a convenient way to buy, sell and hold physical gold stored in fully insured non-bank vaults in Switzerland. Gilded will now allow users to send and receive digital gold as a gift to their loved ones through the mobile app. Users will have the option to choose from a variety of virtual gift wrappings and will be able to add personalized messages. With Gilded’s growing international presence, this is an innovative way of exchanging gifts on special occasions in different countries covered by Gilded and even for sending remittances in the form of digital gold without any additional charges.

A safer, more secure and private way to pay with iPhone and Apple Watch

Global payments service provider SumUp today brings its UK-based customers Apple Pay, a safer, more secure and private way to pay that helps SumUp merchants avoid handing their payment card to someone else, touching physical buttons or exchanging cash — and uses the power of iPhone to protect every transaction.

SumUp merchant card holders simply hold their iPhone or Apple Watch near a payment terminal to make a contactless payment. Every Apple Pay purchase is secure because it is authenticated with Face ID, Touch ID, or device passcode, as well as a one-time unique dynamic security code. Apple Pay is accepted in grocery stores, pharmacies, taxis, restaurants, coffee shops, retail stores, and many more places. 

SumUp merchant card holders can also use Apple Pay on iPhone, iPad, and Mac to make faster and more convenient purchases in apps or on the web in Safari without having to create accounts or repeatedly type in shipping and billing information. Apple Pay makes it easier to pay for food and grocery deliveries, online shopping, transportation, and parking, among other things. Apple Pay can also be used to make payments in apps on Apple Watch. 

Security and privacy are at the core of Apple Pay. When SumUp merchants use a SumUp Card with Apple Pay, the actual card numbers are not stored on the device, nor on Apple servers. Instead, a

unique Device Account Number is assigned, encrypted, and securely stored in the Secure Element,

an industry-standard, certified chip designed to store the payment information safely on the device.

Apple Pay is easy to set up. On iPhone, simply open the Wallet app, tap +, and follow the steps to

add the SumUp Card. Once a merchant adds a card to iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, and Mac, they can start using Apple Pay on that device right away. Merchant card holders will continue to receive all of the rewards and benefits offered by the SumUp Card.

For more information on Apple Pay, visit: http://www.apple.com/apple-pay/ 

For more information on SumUp, please visit https://sumup.co.uk/features/apple-pay/ 

Today every business must be a digital business.  The pandemic has accelerated technology investments as companies seek to find new ways to thrive in the digital economy, which now runs on personalised customer connections. 

To provide its executive customers with additional perspectives from industry leaders, Adobe launched its International Advisory Board earlier in 2021 and today announced its expansion with the appointment of Caroline Silver, an Advisory Partner at global independent investment bank, Moelis & Company.  The Adobe International Advisory Board brings together a team of highly respected and internationally focused leaders, with proven track-records in navigating disruption and leading digital transformation across the private and public sectors.

Chaired by Paul Robson, President International at Adobe, the International Advisory Board’s mission is to support the company’s customers as they develop and implement their own transformation strategies to succeed in the digital economy.

With more than 30 years’ experience in international investment banking, as well as extensive experience in advising clients and regulators across Europe, Caroline Silver brings a global perspective to help Adobe customers adapt and thrive in a digital-first world. Caroline previously served as Vice Chairman of EMEA Investment Banking at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and as Global Vice Chairman of Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley. She currently holds board positions at BUPA, PZ Cussons, Meggitt PLC and Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. where she is also director of the board of directors at its subsidiary, ICE Clear Europe.

Paul Robson, President International, Adobe commented: “Today’s most successful businesses are innovating with new partnerships and technologies, and they’re increasingly looking to their peers, new entrants and leaders from other industries for inspiration to drive meaningful and relevant customer connections. For those in financial services, they are rapidly evolving their digital strategies to deliver superior customer experiences, whilst having to comply with governance and regulatory requirements.  Caroline’s experience and reputation as an internationally renowned investment banker will prove hugely valuable for our customers in helping them lay the foundations for future business models.”

Adobe customers include some of the world’s largest companies, including leading financial institutions such as TSB, Santander, HSBC, NatWest, The Co-operative Bank, Legal & General, Banque Pictet, CaixaBank, Standard Chartered, CSS Versicherung, Westpac Bank, HESTA and Sony Bank.

Commenting on her appointment, Caroline said: “The past 12 months have brought the need for a long-term digital strategy into sharp focus for every business, none more so than financial services companies.  The expectations of customers are higher than ever, and innovative new entrants are raising the bar for digital experiences.  Adobe already provides the foundation for many of the world’s biggest banks and businesses and I’m looking forward to supporting them in devising strategies for growth and thriving in the digital economy.” 

The members of the Adobe International Advisory Board are:

• Barbara Kux, Member of the Supervisory Board at Henkel and Grosvenor Group, Vice-Chair of the Board at Firmenich. Former Member of the Managing Board of Siemens.
• Baudouin Prot, Chairman of the Board at BNP Paribas, Board Member of Kering, Finastra and Alstom. Senior Advisor to Boston Consulting Group.
• Caroline Silver, Advisory Partner at Moelis & Company, former Vice Chairman of EMEA Investment Banking at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Global Vice Chairman of Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley.
• Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of TUI AG, former Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars.
• Professor Heizo Takenaka, Economist and Professor at Keio University, Director of the Global Security Research Institute and Chairman of Pasona Group, Inc. Former Minister of Economic and Fiscal Policy for Japan.
• Nigel Hinshelwood, Senior Independent Director of Lloyds Bank Plc and Bank of Scotland Plc, Non-Executive Director of Nordea Bank and member of Lloyd’s of London Technology and Transformation Committee. Former Head of HSBC UK and Deputy CEO of HSBC Bank plc.
• Patrick Allaway, Chairman of the Bank of Queensland and Non-Executive Director of Dexus Funds Management Ltd and Allianz Australia.

The Adobe International Advisory Board launched in March 2021. More information can be found here.