The Class of 2021, comprised of 36 individuals from 26 countries, were recognized today during BAFT’s 2021 Virtual Global Annual Meeting.

WASHINGTON – BAFT, the leading global financial services association for international transaction banking, today announced the graduates of its Future Leaders Program class of 2021. The program – now completing its sixth year – recognizes upcoming leaders in the global transaction banking industry. The Future Leader graduates were honored during a virtual ceremony as a part of BAFT’s 2021 Annual Global Meeting.

Nominated by their respective institutions, the class of 2021 included 36 individuals from 21 countries across six continents representing a variety of disciplines within transaction banking. This year’s group was divided into five project teams to address current industry issues including transaction banking post COVID-19, commodity trade finance, sustainable finance, faster payments, and diversity, equity and inclusion.

Tod Burwell

“We are incredibly proud of this year’s graduates, which represent the largest and most geographically diverse Future Leaders class since the inception of the program,” said Tod Burwell, president and CEO, BAFT. “Despite the challenging circumstances, program participants were engaged and collaborative, and ultimately delivered projects that will enrich the transaction banking industry.”

The Future Leaders research papers are available for all BAFT members online here.

BAFT congratulates the following graduates from the Class of 2021.

Hanan Hassan Moalim Ali, International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation
Yaseen Alsharif, Arab Bank
Hanna G. Atallah, Housing Bank for Trade and Finance
Linda Bader, Wintrust Financial Corporation
Boris Bajic, Danske Bank
Thomas Banks, Lloyds Banking Group
Ahmed Bayoumi, Export Development Bank of Egypt (EBE)
Clement Berthou, Societe Generale
Caroline Brown, Wells Fargo Bank
Bruno Campos, Bank of America
Antonio Crespo, Nordea
Alexia Dackberg, Swedbank
Madlena Demirchian, Commerce Bank
Natalie Harold, NatWest
Christophe Hatt, BNP Paribas
Aaron Jennings, BNY Mellon
Elmira Jubanyshkaliyeva, Barclays
Mukuka Bwalya-Katowa, FNB Zambia
Zakir Khanmammadov, Kapital Bank
Rufus Kin Yan Lam, HSBC
Ryan Lastra, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Thao Hanh Le, ING Bank
Yvonne Lim, UBS
Aline Perico Lime, StoneX
Sepideh Malekpour, Surecomp
Jocelyn Tong-Palmer, ANZ Banking Group
Pauline Pang, MUFG Bank
Rachel Parks, Derivative Path, Inc.
Abir Paul, BMO Capital Markets
Sara Pianigiani, Standard Chartered
Grzegorz Pojnar, Santander Bank
Joshua Randolph, PNC Bank
Theresa Donnelly-Staerk, Deloitte
Xi-Ping Tan, Deutsche Bank
Ruben Valentino, Banorte
Mouli Vasan, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank