Our Authors

Dr. Ashish Kakar is Research Director for IDC Financial Insights in Asia/Pacific, where he is the lead analyst responsible for all aspects of banking and insurance research. Dr. Ashish’s own interest is in fraud and risk, resilience, customer centricity, AI/ML, retail banking, insurance, alternative investment management, cloud and infrastructure, and credit risk management. Before IDC, Dr. Ashish had over 16 years' experience in Citibank, 5 years’ experience with insurance companies, and has run his own asset management start-up for 2 years. In his last role in Citibank, Dr. Ashish managed processes across banking technology, servicing operations, and product.1 Articles

microLEAP is an Islamic fintech company with a strong focus on delivering measurable impact. Through its Peer-to-Peer (P2P)Financing platform, microLEAP has expanded its product suite to include micro-financing, term financing, purchase order (pre-sales)financing, and invoice (post-sales) financing — designed to address the diverse funding needs of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and Mid-Tier Companies (MTCs).1 Articles

Satoko is a perpetually curious journalist who currently focusses on the crossroads where business and technology meet. Since stumbling into journalism in 2011, she has yet to find a dull day at work. It's a bit hard to track her down as she tends to travel where the story is, but come say hi if you see this rogue journo in the wild.1 Articles

Izwan Zakaria is a lawyer at Izwan & Partners1 Articles

Mobilewalla is a global leader in consumer intelligence solutions leveraging the industry’s most robust data set and deep artificial intelligence expertise to better understand, model and predict consumer behavior.1 Articles

David Vergara is Senior Director of Security Product Marketing at OneSpan and has over 15 years of experience in cloud platforms/SaaS, predictive analytics, and advanced MFA technologies. His current role is focused on GTM strategy and execution across all authentication and risk analytics product   lines. Prior to OneSpan, he led product and GTM strategy for both early stage and blue chip tech companies; Including VP Marketing for Accertify (An American Express Company) leading marketing for their online fraud detection solutions and as Sr. Director Product Marketing at IBM championing development of their predictive analytics industry solutions portfolio.1 Articles

As the Country Manager of Luno Malaysia, Scarlett oversees Luno’s operations and growth plans in the market. She also leads a cross-functional team and is responsible for identifying and driving partnership opportunities, product roadmapping and implementation, growth strategies and stakeholder management. Scarlett joined Luno in 2019 as a Country Associate supporting business operations, then became a Partnerships Lead overseeing brand partnerships, and took on the Marketing Manager role in 2021. She has built Luno’s brand awareness and established various partnership programs during her time in leading Luno Malaysia’s marketing initiatives. Some of her key achievements include building Luno’s affiliates program, leading the development of Women-in-Crypto – a community for women to learn about crypto, and the most recent leading Luno’s largest integrated brand campaign, Move with Luno. Before joining Luno, Scarlett was with an online groceries platform where she led the digitisation projects and marketing initiatives for retail partners to boost online sales. Scarlett is passionate about empowering young women and believes that awareness and education in the fintech space among women is still nascent in Malaysia, and is on a mission to bridge the gap. Scarlett holds a Masters Degree in Petroleum Geology from the University of Malaya.1 Articles

Mr. Cao Chong is the President of Global Financial Services Business of Huawei Enterprise Business Group (EBG). He leads Huawei EBG’s business operations for the global financial services industry and is responsible for the management and development of global strategic clients. The Enterprise Business Group, one of Huawei’s three business groups, provides leading cloud services and ICT products and solutions to governments and industry markets around the world. Mr. Cao joined Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. in 2004, and has held a number of senior roles in many regions including China, Europe and Russia. His previous positions in Huawei included Director Assistant of the Deutsche Telekom Account Department, the Director of the UK EE Account Department and the President of the Russia Enterprise Business Department. Mr. Cao received his Master's Degree in Optics from Sichuan University.1 Articles

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Driving innovation and fostering connections, Johannes von Mulert specialize in crafting and leading knowledge-sharing and networking platforms that empower industry professionals to navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of new technologies and regulatory changes. The demand for such platforms has skyrocketed, underscoring the critical need for spaces where experts, practitioners, and thought leaders can converge to exchange ideas, insights, and strategies.1 Articles