Announcing the conference speakers, ESG panel, Bristol 2021

The ITFA board is pleased to announce one of the panel sessions taking place on Thursday 7th October at 10:30am in Bristol. We urge you to register at the earliest to avoid disappointment. The panel titled: Applying ESG to Trade Finance: Addressing the Complexities and Practical Considerations, will be moderated by Shannon Manders – GTR. The panelists include: Annabel Ross – University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, Matt Jolley – Barclays, Rebecca Harding – Coriolis Technologies and Shona Tatchell – Halotrade.

The need to embed ESG and sustainability practices and decision-making into business has never been more acute, and the trade finance community has an important role to play. This session will look to address what the rise of ESG means for trade finance, and how financiers can get ahead of the curve, honing in on issues such as the development of market standards; the need to move beyond financial subsidies; and the role of data and technology.

Dr. Rebecca Harding is CEO of Coriolis Technologies. She is an independent trade and trade finance economist. Her numerous roles have included senior positions at Deloitte, London Business School and the Work Foundation, and as Chief Economist of the British Bankers Association. She has been a Specialist Adviser to the Treasury Select Committee and worked with numerous regional & national governments on trade and SME, innovation and growth policy.

She is the co-author of “The Weaponization of Trade: the Great Unbalancing of Policy and Economics” and “Gaming Trade: Win-Win Strategies for the Digital Era.” She has authored 8 other books on the German economy, global innovation policy and SME financing. Her high media profile includes frequent appearances on Sky, CNBC, Times Radio and BBC television and radio. She has authored by-line articles for the Financial Times, the Times, City AM and the Telegraph and Coriolis data is frequently cited in the FT “Trade Secrets” newsletter.

Halotrade is a Fintech start-up building systems to incentive a sustainable future for global trade, by directly connecting intelligent preferential finance solutions with supply chain ESG performance.

Shona was formerly Head of Innovation for Trade & Working Capital and Global Head of FI Trade with Barclays, having joined from HSBC’s European Structured Trade and Advisory team. Prior to that she spent 13 years with The Chase Manhattan Bank working in London, the Middle East and Singapore.

Shannon Manders is the Editorial Director of GTR, the world’s leading international trade finance publication. She is also a freelance financial journalist, editor and editorial consultant with 12 years of experience reporting on and producing print and online publications for the global trade and trade finance sector.

Shannon has extensive experience in moderating discussions, both at GTR’s own conferences and at a range of other top industry events hosted by the likes of the ICC Banking Commission, the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation, SWIFT (Sibos) and the Commonwealth Business Forum. She regularly covers stories from international locations (when possible), and has hosted numerous roundtable discussions and webinars.

We do hope many of you will join us!