Judging panel 2026

Jonathan Easton, Editor, FStech, Retail Systems and National Technology News

Simon Burrows, Payments Consultant and Director, Semper Advisory Limited
Robert Courtneidge, Independent Consultant
Alessandro Hatami, Managing Partner, Pacemakers.io
Steve Rackham, Founder, Consultant, 3Co Consulting
John Schratz, Managing Director, Eclipse Enterprise Consulting
David Parker, Chief Executive, Polymath Consulting
Dr. Ruth Wandhöfer, Speaker, Author, Adviser, Professor, Independent Non-Executive Director

Simon Burrows, Payments Consultant and Director of Semper Advisory Limited
Simon is an experienced Payments consultant and Director of Semper Advisory Limited, advising a range of large and small payments companies on numerous aspects of payments, particularly around technology, M&A and regulatory requirements.

Robert Courtneidge, Independent Consultant
Robert is a respected industry expert with a distinguished career in the card and payments industry. He has deep expertise in digital assets and e-money, and is highly skilled in all aspects of consumer finance issues, including banking regulation and compliance, consumer protection and AML/CTF. He was regularly named a key player in the Payments Power 10 (including #1 in 2015), a highly competitive ranking of the influential contributors in payments. Previously, Robert achieved success as a senior legal professional specialising in matters relating to cards and payments. He regularly speaks on issues facing the European Payments’ Industry including laws relating to Electronic Money, Payment Services, AML/CTF, Digital Assets and CBDCs.

Alessandro Hatami, Managing Partner, Pacemakers.io
Alessandro is a writer, strategist, and Non-Executive Director focused on how technology is reshaping money, trust, and inclusion. A former PayPal and Lloyds executive, he founded Pacemakers and has advised banks and fintechs globally for over a decade. He co-authored Investopedia’s Best Book on Banking (2022) and Inclusive Finance (2025) ● Twitter: @ahatami ● Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/aehatami/ ● Medium: https://medium.com/@a_hatami ● Web: www.pacemakers.io

David Parker, Chief Executive, Polymath Consulting
David is the founder and chief executive of Polymath Consulting, who work on projects and advises organisations across the cards and payments industry. He is also an active mentor, non-executive director and advisor to boards including: – KYP, Payoma Ireland, Swiipr, Hands In and WAC along with others. In consultancy he has worked across the complete value chain, helping banks with their overall e-money/prepaid and emerging payments strategy, right through to market entry analysis, as well as working with processors and programme managers on segment analysis, certification and membership applications. He has co-founded several companies including KYP that provides a real time risk orchestration monitoring platform and has been heavily involved in open banking.

John Schratz, Managing Director, Eclipse Enterprise Consulting
John is the founder and Managing Director of Eclipse Enterprise Consulting, a specialist payments consultancy practice providing strategic, interim management, consultancy and advisory support to companies engaged in banking, consumer lending and card payments. As a leading professional in the card and payments sectors, John brings a unique blend of technical expertise, industry knowledge, product innovation and international experience. A financial services practitioner with over 25 years of experience, he has worked with some of the world’s leading financial institutions, as well as established Fintech and start-ups, where he has gained an in-depth understanding of the complexities in delivering change initiatives across large-scale business, operational and regulated environments. John has recently joined the Board of Fast Track Money Transfer where he serves as Chief Risk Officer supporting the launch of its international payments business, Simple Transfer. He has also held non-executive positions with Visa and MasterCard in the UK, as well as advisory roles with start-ups, including Jaja Finance, where he supported the successful bid for the Bank of Ireland and Post office credit card back-book.

Steve Rackham, Founder, Consultant, 3Co Consulting
Steve has spent over two decades at the intersection of enterprise technology and financial services — an industry defined by its sophistication, its regulatory complexity, and its extremely high standards for the people and companies it works with.As former CTO for Financial Services at NetApp, Steve built a track record of enabling technology organisations to engage effectively with some of the most demanding and regulated buyers in the world. Steve has presented at events globally and know first-hand what it takes to communicate complex ideas with clarity and conviction — whether in a boardroom, on a conference stage, or inside a sales cycle.

Dr. Ruth Wandhöfer, Speaker, Author, Adviser, Professor, Independent Non-Executive Director
Dr. Ruth Wandhöfer’s career spans more than 23 years in financial services, covering innovation, regulation and strategy in banking, payments and investment as well as cybersecurity. She is currently an independent non-executive director (iNED) with Permanent TSB Bank and Aquis Exchange Group, Director European Markets with Cybersecurity Innovator Blackwired and Visiting Professor at Bayes Business School (formerly CASS) teaching Fintech in Banking and Finance. She also advises the British Standards Institute and the City of London Corporation in the context of innovation and growth.
She is well known in the banking industry and with regulators for her leadership and ability to build consensus across diverse stakeholder groups. Ruth unites an in-depth knowledge of the business, technology and the regulatory landscape with her strong relationships with regulators, central banks, governments, public sector and supranational institutions, financial market infrastructures, banks and corporates and FinTechs around the world. Over the last 20 years she has been deeply engaged in the topic of innovation in the FinTech and RegTech space and how this transforms the business model of financial market infrastructures and financial institutions.