FINTEX SUMMIT 2023 - FINANCE AND TECHNOLOGIES EXPO

After graduating from the secondary school he was admitted to the department of “Accounting” at Azerbaijan State Economic University and completed the full course on the speciality of “Economist” in 1981. Zakir Nuriyev started his labour activity as Leading Accountant at the “Control and Inspection” department of the Ministry of Communications, Azerbaijan Republic in 1981.

 Zakir Nuriyev did his military service during 1981-1983. He worked in the capacity of Accountant – Inspector, Chief Inspector and Deputy Chief Accountant at the “Control and Inspection” department of the Ministry of Communications, Azerbaijan Republic from July, 1983 until January, 1989 after having served in the military.

 He was appointed to the post of Manager of the “Control and Accounting” division at “Regional Communication” Production Association of the Ministry of Communications, Azerbaijan Republic in 1989. Zakir Nuriyev worked in the capacity of Chairman of the Management Board at “Rabitabank” Joint-Stock Commercial Bank during 1993-1998 and has been acting as Chairman of the Supervisory Board at “Rabitabank” Open Joint-Stock Company since 1998 up to date. He was elected President of the Azerbaijan Banks Association in 1996 and worked in that capacity until 2006. He has been member of the Presidium at Azerbaijan Banks Association from 2006 till 2015. He was re-elected President of Azerbaijan Banks Association in 2015.

Graduated from Ankara University, Faculty of Political Sciences, and Department of Public Administration. In 1996, Çakar started to work as an Assistant Auditor in our Bank, served as Auditor and Department Manager and was appointed as Regional Director-in-chief in 2005.

Çakar, became the Head of Department in September 2007, served as Executive Vice President for Retail Banking, Executive Vice President for Operations, Executive Vice President for Consumer Banking and Executive Vice President for Retail Banking, he served as Executive Vice President for Distribution Channels Management between January 2016-July 2017, Executive Vice President for Payment Systems between July 2017-June 2018, Executive Vice President for Retail Banking-2 between June 2018-March 2021.

He served as member of the Board of Directors/member of the Audit Board of Ziraat Leasing, Bileşim Alternatif Dağıtım Kanalları Ödeme Sistemi A.Ş., Ziraat Life & Pension, Ziraat Insurance, Credit Registry Bureau, Ziraat Bank (Moscow) JSC, Turkmen Turkish Joint Stock Commercial Bank, Ziraat Technology, Interbank Card Center, Ziraat Gayrimenkul Yatırım Ortaklığı A.Ş. (Ziraat REIT), Ziraat Bank (Moscow) JSC, respectively, between the years of 2003-2019.

Çakar has been serving as the CEO and member of Board of Ziraat Bank since March 2021. He is the Chairman of the Credit Committee since March 2021. He has been the Chairman of The Banks Association of Türkiye since April 2021. He is member to the Board of Türkiye Wealth Fund since May, 2021. He has been carrying out the duty as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ziraat Participation Bank since February 2022.

Mr. Osmanov has about 20 years of experience in information technologies, implementing a number of digital transformation initiatives in banking sector. During his professional career, Mr. Osmanov focused on both adoption of information and payment systems, covering ever-changing business needs and business process optimization to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of business process management. Nowadays, his main strategic focus is to establish cashless economy and accelerate the creation of a digital ecosystem in Azerbaijan.

Mr. Osmanov holds MSc on information systems and management; and certified as ITSM expert, practitioner in project management and ISO/IEC 27001 information security standard implementer.

Born on April 7, 1975, in Imishli region of Azerbaijan Republic.

Education:

In 1992 he was admitted to the Azerbaijan State Economic University with the largest score and graduated from high school in 1997 and received his second higher education in the Journalism profession of the Georgian Institute of Public Relations in 2004. In 2009, he defended his PhD in economics and in 2017 he defended his doctorate in economics.

Prof. Dr. Vusal Gasimli was awarded a certificate of completion for the "Leading Economic Growth" Program, [February-May/2021], John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Executive Education.

In 2022-2023 Vusal Gasimli completed the University of Oxford's Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) in Strategy and Innovation.

In 2013 Vusal Gasimli was given the title of associate professor.

V.Gasimli was engaged in pedagogical activity in the UNEC Special Talented Group and MBA program in 2010-2014.

V.Gasimli read public lectures at Washington University, California University, Cairo University, Warsaw University, Seoul Hanyany and Hankuk University, and Rio de Janeiro University.

Vusal Gasimli got the award of Astana Economic Forum for outstanding research achievements in 2012.

Worked as a guest scientist at Korea International Economic Policy Institute in 2013.

He has 10 books and about 500 scientific and publicist articles in Azerbaijani, Russian, Korean and English.

Vusal Gasimli is professor at the Azerbaijan Public Administration Academy under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan since 2021.

Labor Activity:

During the 12.05.2000-06.12.2003, the economic consultant in Express newspaper edition,

15.02.2005-19.11.2005, Economic Reviewer at ANS-PRESS Publishing House LLC,

19.11.2005-30.04.2007, President of ANS-PRESS Publishing House LLC,

09.02.2009-11.05.2011, Deputy of head of the Department at Azerbaijan-Public-Political University,

In 2007-2011, he worked on projects implemented by the European Union, the World Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and several international organizations.

In 2011-2016, he worked as Head of the Department for Economic Analysis and Globalization of the Center for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

In 2015, he represented Azerbaijan at the T20 platform of brain centers of the G20.

From 10.05.2016 to present he is the executive director of theCenter for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communication of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

He was awarded the Progress Medal in 2018.

Vusal Gasimli was appointed Focal Point of UNESCAP in 2021.

Married, has three children.

Samir Rasulov was born in Baku in 1989. He received his higher education at the Azerbaijan State University of Economics in 2007-2011.

Samir Rasulov worked for more than 13 years in various management positions in the field of information security and cyber security in distinguished Banks, Telecommunications, and ICT companies. During his professional career, he has implemented large-scale projects to ensure information security and cyber security.

In May 2022, Samir Rasulov was assigned as the deputy head of the Electronic Security Service under the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport. Since February 2023, he has been appointed to the position of Acting Head of the Electronic Security Service.

He was born in April 23, 1993. He was graduated from the Department of International Trade and Business at Istanbul Bilgi University in 2016. In 2017, he completed his master’s degree in Marketing Communication at the same university.

Kaymak, who started his business life with entrepreneurial activities, held various positions in leading private sector institutions of our country. From the establishment of Finance Office of Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye to February 2022 he worked as a manager and now he has been working as the Vice President of the Finance Office. Kaymak also speaks English.

He graduated from the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan with Bachelor's degree (Public Administration) with honors (1998-2002) and received a Master's degree (Public Administration) with honors (2002-2004).

He received Ph.D. in Economics (oil/chemical industry economics, 2005 – 2009) from the Institute of Economics of the Azerbaijan National Academy of the Sciences, and got an MBA degree (2010 – 2011) from Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham, UK.

From 2002 to 2021, he held senior positions in various public and private institutions in the banking and financial sectors. He is currently the Chairman of the Board of the Azerbaijan Fintech Association.

He is married and has two children.

Cristina Doros is a Vice-President, Country Manager for Central Asia and Azerbaijan, based in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Cristina oversees growth of the electronic payments business in Azerbaijan and Central Asian countries – Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan – by enhancing the value Visa provides to banks, merchants, and cardholders

Since 2016, Cristina joined Visa to lead the regional Core Products team, and has been representing acting Vice-President, Head of Solutions, Visa CISSEE since 2019. Besides core Debit, Credit and Premium products, Cristina has also managed Loyalty solutions development and Commercial business that are critical to future payments growth. In 2019, Cristina Doros was appointed to the newly created role of Country Manager, Caucasus, CISSEE.

Leveraging her 20+ years of experience in retail banking, information technology, cards and mobile payments, Cristina joined Visa in 2016 to lead the regional Core Products team. Prior to her current role with Visa, she was Deputy CEO and Board Member of a leading Moldovan bank.

Cristina is one of the CISSEE representatives in CEMEA Women’s Leadership Network and key lead of regional diversity initiatives.

Cristina holds a Master’s Degree in Economics from IEDC-Bled School of Business, Slovenia.   

Namig Aliyev was born in 1977 in Baku. He is a graduate of Baku State University. During his student years, he worked on a number of periodical publications. In 1999-2000 he worked in the Republican Scientific and Technical Library and in 2001-2003 in the Main Department of Cultural Education of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan as a leading specialist. As of 2004, he worked as a correspondent, leading correspondent, assistant editor, editor at the Free Azerbaijan Broadcasting Company "Azad Azərbaycan".

He started working in the Communication Department of the Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan in May 2010. Since July 2011, he has been the Head of the Public Relations Division of aforementioned department. He is the presenter of "Economic News" program  at Azerbaijan Television and Radio Broadcasting Closed Joint-Stock Company (AZTV).

Zaur has a diverse track record and over 15 years of professional experience in entrepreneurship, innovation, fintech and conventional banking.

Currently leading open innovation initiatives of ABB Bank. He holds an MBA from the IMD Business School in Switzerland and bachelor degree in economics from the University of Economics of Azerbaijan.

Oleksandr Stelmakh is the Senior Director and Head of Digital Solutions team responsible for driving the innovations agenda for the 17 markets of CIS&SEE. His main areas of focus are Mobile Contactless & E-commerce Payments (based on Visa Token Service), Visa Tap to Phone and Digital Card Issuing. During 4 years at Visa Oleksandr launched numerous digital projects including Pay’s implementation on 9 new markets, Tap to phone project rollout on 8 markets and first globally Digital Skins project.

Oleksandr joined Visa in 2018 bringing to the team 15 years of experience in retail banking, payment cards and mobile network operations. Immediately before joining Visa, he was Deputy Head of Retail Department at Pivdennyi bank (Ukraine) responsible for acquiring, retail products, payment cards and digital channels development.

Oleksandr holds a master’s degree in Information Technologies from National Academy of Telecommunications (Ukraine).

Onur Kartal is a renowned figure in the field of sales and business development, with a career spanning over a decade in the industry. He has played a pivotal role in leading several groundbreaking projects that have set new standards for the sector.

Currently serving as the CCO of KOBIL, Onur is responsible for expanding the company's presence and driving its commercial activities in the MENA region. With his wealth of experience and expertise in the field, Onur is a sought-after speaker at industry events, where he shares his insights on the latest trends and best practices in the world of fintech.

Graduated from the Business and Technology Management Institute of the Belarusian State University with a degree in finance.

He has more than 10 years of experience in IT and finance. Dzmitry helps banks around the world develop their digital channels to build a better customer experience. Сurrently holds the position of Executive Director.

Of over 18 years of experience in information technology, he has spent 15 years at Creatio, advancing from a technical support specialist to a sales director. He is an expert in customer support for large-scale projects focused on implementating products for workflow automation.

Born in 1976 in Ankara. His grandfather is from Salyan Azerbaijan and he is very proud of his Azerbaijan roots. He graduated from T.E.D. Ankara College in 1994 and from Gazi University, Faculty of Economics, Department of Economics in 1999. He started his career at Şekerbank T.A.Ş. Board of Audit in 2000. Until 2010, he worked as Assistant Auditor, Authorized Assistant Auditor and Auditor respectively. During his tenure at the Board of Audit, he took part in many of the Bank's digital transformation projects both as a team member and team leader, and also led the Bank's Information Systems Audit team between 2006 and 2008.

Between 2010 and 2012, he worked at Şekerbank Software and Project Management Directorate with the title of Business Analyst Manager. In 2012, he started his career at Şeker Bilişim San. A.Ş. as Business Architecture Manager. Between 2015 and 2018, he worked as Business Architecture and Product Management Manager at Cybersoft. During his tenure at Cybersoft, he led the software transformation processes of an Azerbaijan-based bank.

In 2019, he participated in the reorganization of Türk Ticaret Bankası A.Ş. as the Head of the Audit Board and was promoted to the position of Assistant General Manager at the same Bank in 2021.

Since January 2022, he has been serving as a Board Member and General Manager at Yaz Bilişim Sistemleri ve Ticaret A.Ş., which a subsidiary of the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund of Türkiye.

George Taktakidze is a Business Development Manager at Andersen, a Software Development Company, headquartered in Warsaw, Poland.

Currently based out of Baku, Mr. Taktakidze supports traditional banks, leasing, insurance and fintech companies and their teams in addressing the digital transformation journey. He has over 15 years + experience working in business development roles within different companies.

Specialising in the delivery of enterprise level projects, across a variety of industries around the world. Mr. Taktakidze focuses on practical business-first approach combined with the highest effectiveness and excellent usability.

Customers, prospects and partners particularly appreciate his open ear, mind and solution-oriented approach. Additionally, he supports the product management and drives the further development implementation of the clients' software products.

George is passionate about exploring new business technologies and finding efficient and innovative ways to solve clients business problems.

Having spent much of his life in South-East Asia, Richard sees the world through a deeply multicultural lens and it is through this lens that he founded Tintra in 2006. The company has grown over subsequent years into a multi-family office servicing ruling and high net worth business families from across Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

Seeing increasing financial friction between the non-Western world and the Western world, Tintra spun out a bank in 2021 with the purpose of building an emerging market clearing infrastructure that uses culturally articulate AI to drive financial inclusion across Asia, Latin America and Africa.

Richard also leads the Tintra Foundation - a non-profit that provides support and connects indigenous communities across the world without prejudice or bias, and strives to collect, store and protect the knowledge of peoples that have lived the same way for many generations.

Tatyana is a Senior Presales Expert at Temenos, the world’s leader in banking software. Temenos offers cloud-native, cloud-agnostic and AI-driven front office, core banking, payments and fund administration software enabling banks to deliver frictionless, omnichannel customer experiences and gain operational excellence.

In her role Tatyana helps Temenos clients to select the most efficient and innovative solutions tailored for their operating model and business needs.

She has over 20 years of experience in IT industry and banking sectors across Europe, Russia, the CIS, and APAC. Tatyana's professional background includes digital channel solutions, onboarding and origination and back-office expertise, for both retail and corporate banking.

Tatyana holds a master’s degree in Finance and Credit from Volgograd State University, Russia.

Since 1999 working with customer within banking industry to keep their networks up and running.

Olga is Director of Governmental Relations in Russia and CIS for Binance. Until joining Binance in January she worked in the Central Bank of Russia as a Director of the Reports Processing Department, responsible for leading a number of digital transformation projects for the Russian market, including elaboration of fintech concept for all companies under supervision of Central Bank and reforming of Credit Bureaus focused on new approaches to credit ratings. In 2021, as representative from the Central bank of Russia she participated in BIS IH working groups related to Open APIs and CBDC’s. Olga was also a member of the Supervisory Board of XBRL International. Olga previously worked for UniCredit Bank and Ernst & Young.

Lars has spent over two decades in IT helping companies with the technical and human challenges of their IT projects. His particular interest in the nexus between business, psychology and technology illuminates the human obstacles to successful technology adoption so commonly forgotten in solution deployment.

Lars was raised in California but lives in Barcelona, Spain.

Bernardo has spent over 25 years guiding technology companies to expand their business internationally and revolutionize their operational and market approaches. With a wealth of experience in strategy development, process establishment, and system implementation, Bernardo has been instrumental in assisting numerous organizations in devising innovative methods to penetrate new markets and implement new technologies. With a diverse background spanning various industries such as software, telecommunications, medical technology, and biotechnology, Bernardo possesses a comprehensive understanding of the challenges faced by businesses in today's global landscape. Having lived in seven countries and successfully managed projects across over twenty nations, Bernardo brings an unparalleled international perspective to every endeavor.

Bernardo leads Nubessom’s consulting and sales practices and is based in Munich, Germany.

Aidos Zhumagulov, advisor to the chairman of the board of directors of Freedom Bank. Digital banking expert with 19 years’ experience in the financial sector. Graduated from T. Ryskulov University and City Business School, has an MBA degree. Worked as the head of the retail department at Caspian Bank JSC, the director of the retail department at Nurbank JSC and Alliance Bank JSC, the director of the directorate at Russian Slavic Bank JSC and the managing director, member of the board at Bank of Astana JSC. Responsible for strategy and transformation at Freedom Bank. Unique products that have no analogues in Kazakhstan were launched under his leadership – Digital Mortgage, Digital Car Loan and Digital Business Loan.

Mr. Ramil Mahmudov is a Chief of the National payment system development division at Central Bank of Azerbaijan Republic. He is responsible for development of cashless payments in Azerbaijan and for regulating its activities in accordance with the legislation. He is an experienced professional in payment systems, electronic banking, mobile banking, card business, e-money, e-payments and retail banking. As an co-author of several regulations and recommendations for banks and other stakeholders, he also familiar with regulations, recommendations and experience of ECB, EU, CIS, BIS about payments systems ecosystem and payment instruments and also with risk management, fraud management, chargeback procedures of Visa and Master Card.

Mr. Mahmudov holds Master’s degree in Banking and Finance from Luxembourg School of Finance, University of Luxembourg and Master’s degree in Finance from Azerbaijan State Economic University. He received Certificate on “Management Development Program” from Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy in 2014 and Executive education Certificate from New York University Stern School of Business in 2015. He received a numerous training certificates in the field of cashless payments and management in Europe and Asia.

More than 7 years of experience in fintech

The company is engaged in products in the field of fintech:

Card acquiring

Mobile payments

Online wallet

Anti-fraud and Anti Money Laundry systems

At the time of the company's foundation, the valuation from the MOST Ventures venture fund was $1,000,000

Current company valuation $125,000,000

The company is present in the following countries: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Spain

Company turnover over $100,000,000 monthly

Nurlan joined Visa in 2013 bringing 9 years of experience in banking, marketing, business development and payment cards to the team. Prior to joining Visa, he was Head of Payment Cards at DemirBank (Azerbaijan), responsible for acquiring payment products, payment card risk and digital channel development. Prior to joining DemirBank, Nurlan worked at UniBank, where he was in charge of marketing and business development.

Since 2022, Nurlan Hajiyev has been appointed to the position of Senior Director, Regional Manager in Azerbaijan, based in Baku.

In this role, Nurlan continued his work on business development in Azerbaijan, ensuring local team’s integration and alignment. With nine years’ experience at Visa, Nurlan initially joined as business development manager being a single representative of Visa in Azerbaijan for 6 years, contributing to the team's recent growth. Throughout this time, Nurlan has been a valuable member of the Visa CISSEE team, building strong client relationships, driving business development, strategy and its implementation in the market. Nurlan has greatly contributed to such milestones in the Azerbaijan market as implementation of VTS and launching Apple Pay, launching first in CEMEA B2B Connect along with other key achievements.

Doctorate of the Economic Reforms Research Institute under the the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan Rustamov Tamerlan has worked in the field of development and control of payment systems at the Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Financial Market Supervisory Authority in different years.

Currently, he is Deputy Director of Payment Systems Department of Bank of Baku OJSC. He is also the head of the Expert Group on Payment Systems and Digital Banking at the Azerbaijan Banks Association, and the project manager at the Azerbaijan Fintex Association.

During these years of career, he was closely involved in the formation of the digital payment ecosystem in the country, the creation of a regulatory legal framework in this area, the application of innovative payment tools and technologies.

He is the co-author of the "Digital Payments and Electronic Banking Services" textbook, published for the first time in the field of digital payments in the country. He is the author of more than 10 scientific articles and many publicist articles in the field of digital transformation and digital payments.

Alexander Mihailovski is an e-commerce professional with a proven track record in creating and managing online payment processing systems. He began his career in 2000, developing Internet payment acceptance systems for payment companies.

Alexander is a co-founder and Chief Product Officer at eComCharge UAB - the company, which develops white-label software for payment gateways and online payment processing systems, known as the beGateway White Label Solution.

The beGateway WLS was launched in 2013 and today it’s a major software package, which received all the functionality needed by the market. Since 2013, Alexander and his team have been involved in the launch of more than 50 payment processing services worldwide, including e-commerce projects for the banking sector. The eComCharge technical team under Alexander's leadership has grown significantly in servicing the PSPs and integrations development.

Alexander's goal is to provide PSPs and acquiring banks with comprehensive online payment processing software that looks, works, and perceives as their in-house solution, but has all the benefits and costs of SaaS without the need for internal IT teams.

Alexander has a wide range of contacts across the banking sector and electronic payments industry and is always open to new business connections. Contact him to find new business opportunities!

Rashad Gasimov is a leading member of the team responsible for the development of payment systems in Azerbaijan. He has played a key role in the implementation of numerous projects aimed at expanding cashless payments in the country. He has extensive experience in analyzing digital payments, developing of payment strategies and modernizing of the regulatory framework for implementation of innovative payment solutions.

Rashad holds a bachelor's degree in World Economy and a master's degree in International Economic Relations from Baku State University.

Mr. Namazov received his bachelor's degree in Finance from the Azerbaijan State University of Economics (UNEC) in 2005 and a master's degree in International economic relations from the same university in 2007. In 2021, he studied at the Kellog Business School's Organizational Leadership Program. Mr. Namazov holds Professional Project Manager (PMP) certificate from the Project Management Institute (PMI).

Starting from 2021, Vugar Namazov joined Unicapital Investment Company OJSC, one of the leading investment company in Azerbaijan, as an Advisor to the General Manager. Starting form 2023 Mr. Namazov holds a position of Chief Executive Officer.

He has huge expertise in finance and financial institutions, IT, trading infrastructure, project management, international relations and public administration. Mr. Namazov has held various senior positions at the Baku Stock Exchange for more than 13 years, including the Chairman of the Executive Board. Before joining the Unicapital team, he worked as an advisor to the Chairman of the Board at Agrarian Procurement and Supply OJSC under the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Azerbaijan. In parallel, Vugar Namazov holds a position of researcher at the UNEC Islamic Financial Center.

Mr. Namazov is the author of various articles and studies related with capital markets, digitalization, trading systems and infrastructure, alternative financing solutions, and more.

As Head of Russia CIS, Matthieu de Heering leads a team spread out across Swift’s HQ in Belgium, and other EU locations, covering 9 countries including Russia, Caucasus, and Central Asia.

Prior to his current assignment, de Heering was senior director in SWIFT’s Capital Markets Strategy team, engaging with the key clients, national user communities, and industry groups, on Swift’s long-term role in the tokenized assets space; and on extending our successful financial crime compliance portfolio to securities markets.

Between 2006 and 2020, de Heering held numerous responsibilities in SWIFT Standards, including Project Manager for Target2-Securities, representing SWIFT on ECB and 4CB working groups from 2010 to 2012. He joined SWIFT from the Bank of New York’s Global Custody hub in November 2006 where he was Head of Management Information and Statistics.

de Heering is holds a master’s degree in business and technology from the Institut Catholique des Hautes Etudes Commerciales in Brussels and has completed marketing and leadership modules at Wharton and IESE business schools. He is fluent in English, French, Russian, Italian, Spanish and Dutch. He is married and the father of two sons.

Experienced specialist with a demonstrated history of working in the banking industry. Skilled in Processing, Project Management, Risk Management, Customer Service, Banking, and Business Process Improvement.

Zakir is responsible for BirBank mobile application, including end-to-end management of digital products, service and support. He also plays a key role in the continued development of strategic relationships with International Payment Systems.

Executive Master's degree in Maastricht School of Business and Azerbaijan State Diplomatic Academy (2018), Master's degree in Economic Assessment of Investments at the Azerbaijan State Oil Academy (2012), Bachelor of Management at the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan (2008).

I am passionate about emerging technologies that disrupt traditional industries. I have experience working as a client facing business development and driving solutions based on AI, BigData, Machine learning and other edge technologies, building strategic partnerships in diverse industries such as public sector, finance industry and industrial enterprises.

I have been working in the IT industry since 1995 and have job experience at such companies as Cognitive Technologies, IBM, SAP.

Professional achievements:

• AML&Compliance projects for the financial institutions in Russia/CIS market;
• The first project in Russia/CIS market based on IBM Watson technology;
• Several projects for implementation of analytical systems for law enforcement entities in Eastern Europe;
• Project of automation of 112 emergency service.

I graduated from one of the leading Russian oil industry universities as a civil engineer and then got a lot of technology training at such companies as IBM, SAP and Eastnets for different industries.

• London Business School - Business Management.
• Eastnets Academia – Data analysis and machine learning.
• Eastnets Academia – AML/Compliance regulation.
• SAP Training center.
• IBM Top Gun - IBM Big Data and Analytics solutions.
• IBM Global Sales School - IBM solutions.
• Grozny state oil institute.

Cihat Altuntaş is a highly skilled technical leader and co-founder of SecHard, a cybersecurity company based in Istanbul, Turkey. With a global perspective and strong background in software development, Cihat has a deep understanding of customer needs and a proven track record of designing and implementing successful products and solutions.

As a co-founder of SecHard, Cihat has played a critical role in the design and implementation of a cutting-edge cybersecurity product. They have been responsible for detecting hardening and security flaws in various different IT resources.

Prior to founding SecHard, Cihat held different positions at different companies and had a chance to work abroad as Software Architect and Manager.

Cihat managed global teams and successfully led the modernization of telecom operator software systems. They played a key part in transforming complex systems into modern architectures, leveraging their extensive knowledge in areas such as software architecture, product design, and engineering practices.

With a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering, Cihat has a lifelong learning mindset and is deeply passinate about software development. He loves Open Source Software and exploring low level details of how computers and operating systems work.

Dr Davy Smith leads the R&D into Tintra’s mission to bring genuine financial and social inclusion to emerging market countries through the development and application of culturally informed artificial intelligence and decentralised technologies. Dr Smith is a researcher, designer, and strategist in the application of innovative future technologies to legacy systems. He holds a PhD in AI algorithm design from Queen Mary University of London and has been published numerous times in papers covering artificial intelligence, machine learning, and innovative technology applications, along with being a patent holder in web3 technologies. In industry, Davy has worked cross-sector alongside global industry leaders, including with BBC R&D to develop adaptive real-time data-driven technology, world-leading social media platforms along with the design and implementation of future-facing Augmented Reality technologies.

Expressbank, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board

Yevgen Lisnyak is Senior Director at Visa and the Head of Strategic Partnerships, Fintech & Ventures in Ukraine, CIS & South-East Europe (17 markets). His key responsibilities include identifying, support and development of the high potential partnerships for Visa in new robustly growing fintech business environment driving cashless economy.

Yevgen joined Visa in 2017 as Director, Head of Innovation Solutions. In this role Yevgen successfully managed and launched transit and smart city solutions in Ukraine and CIS countries. Now Yevgen focuses on support of neobanks, mobile finance services of MNOs, digital products of traditional banks, innovative disruptive fintech companies as well as fintech ecosystem development on 17 markets.

Yevgen has deep expertize in banking, payments and Fintech, he ensured support and built Visa strategic partnerships with wide range of fintech companies in Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and other countries.

Yevgen Lisnyak brings to Visa 15 years of international experience in IT and consulting gained with leading international companies. Mr. Lisnyak holds a Master’s Degree in Applied Physics and Mathematics from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT).

Khayaladdin Tagiyev studied bachelor degree during 2002-2006 at the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, master degree during 2007-2009 at Azerbaijan State University of Economics. He holds PhD in econometrics and economic statistics since 2018.

Khayaladdin Tagiyev is a senior specialist at the division of Development and oversight of the National Payment System of the department of Payment Systems and Settlements at the Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan. He worked as a leading specialist in 2008-2015 at the same division. Since 2014 he’s been teaching Business Statistics and Financial Risk Management on MBA program at Azerbaijan State University of Economics. He is a part-time associate professor at the Statistics and economics department of Azerbaijan Technical University since 2020.

Khayaladdin Tagiyev has more than 20 domestic and international scientific articles on payment systems. He is the author of three books on digital payments and electronic banking services that are taught at schools and universities. Also, he has participated on some international seminars and forums on payment systems and settlements.

Visal Ahmet Ozten has 20 years banking background before joining the ASEE group in different European and Turkish banks mainly in Payment Systems and Digital Channels. He has completed master’s studies at Okan University Banking Department while he holds BA degree. He was a member of Security Council of BKM while he also was a representative in different work groups. He has led many projects in Payment Systems Operations, Project and Product Management Departments for many different banks.

Visal is leading solution sales in international market especially for Payment, Fraud and Security products. He is responsible for the business development in the markets for ASEE and Payten.

Eldar Jabrayilov is a Director of Project & Portfolio Management Department at “United Payment”.

He has global experience and expertise in various aspects of the banking and finance industry, including payments systems, online banking, e-commerce, project management and business development.

During his career, he implemented significant projects for development of the cashless payments.

Eldar Jabrayilov holds Master degree in International Business Administration from Dokuz Eylul University of Turkiye. Additionally, he has experience as an academic lecturer and business consultant.

Anuar Nurakhmetov is the Associate Director of Technology practice in KPMG Caucasus and Central Asia, where since 2016 he assists the companies in financial & banking, government and industrial sectors with implementing digital agenda in the areas like Enterprise Architecture and Digital Transformation, developing and implementing state digital products and enterprise level information systems, as well as performing digital maturity assessment, complex IT audit and IT due diligence in Caspian region countries. His most recent experience includes development of IT strategy and providing ICT assessment for top 5 banks and payment technology companies in Uzbekistan. Currently Anuar is focused on technology services development in Azerbaijan.

Before joining KPMG, he worked on implementation of applications and fintech start-ups, development of innovative state programs, developing and managing state regional programs, driving industrial and innovative technologies at the Governmental agencies of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Anuar is a member of Presidential Youth Talent Pool of Kazakhstan since 2019. He holds MSc in Computer Science from the University of Birmingham (UK) and BSc in Computing systems and software from Kazakh-British Technical University (Kazakhstan). He is a certified enterprise architecture specialist (TOGAF, Oracle IT Architecture SOA Certified).

For the period of 2006 – 2013 he has been working as Senior IT Auditor and Head IT Audit division at Central Bank of Azerbaijan Republic. From 2013 to 2017 he worked for Group of Companies as Head of Management Assurance and Director of Information Security divisions. From 2017 to 2021 Ilgar held CIO position for Port of Baku. Now he is founder and CEO of BISA LLC (Business Information Security Assurance). Currently he is Deputy Chair of ABA IT and Information Security Committee. He supervised and implemented number of audits and consulting projects for Central and Commercial Banks, telecommunication, energy, and manufacturing companies. Ilgar has wide experience on Digital transformation, information security design and implementation, internal control system and cyber-security improvement, operational risk management and assessment. He is member of International ISACA association since 2007. Member of PECB as international certified trainer since 2018.

Elvin Shahverdiyev is Head of Information and cyber security division at the Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Mr. Shahverdiyev has over 15 years of experience working in Information Technology and Information Security. He conducts the creation of an information security management system at the Central Bank and manages in accordance with advanced standards and information security policies.

Competencies: Strategic Thinking, Security and Privacy Management, Technical Competencies.

Starting my professional career in 2007, I had the opportunity to work in different positions in many fields. I gained experience on both the end user, partner, and distributor side, and I have both technical and sales certificates in many subjects, and I also worked as a trainer. I have always enjoyed learning new solutions. I also love working in a team and collaborating with others, and I have done this throughout my professional career. Now I work for SOCRadar as a Regional Pre-Sales Technical Manager.

Other experiences

General Manager / Denetik Certification Ltd. (2009-2022)

General Manager / Digisis Informatic & Telecommunication Ltd. (1999-2009)

Lecturer / Gebze High Technology Institute (2007-2008)

Lecturer / Mimar Sinan Fine Art University (2004-2018)

General Manager / Akıl Küpü Informatic Ltd. (2004-2007)

Lecturer - Advisor / SME Scaled Industry Development & Support Agency (KOSGEB) (2004-2006)

Methods Engineer / Nortel Networks - Netaş (1992-2002)

Expert / Turkish Standards Institute (TSE) (1991-1992)

Education

Business Administration PHD / Gebze Technic University / On going

Statistics / Master of Science / Mimar Sinan Fine Art University / 2016

Mechanical Engineering /License / Istanbul Technical University /1992

Korhan Sen is the Chief Informaiton Security Offier  (CISO) of The Yapi Kredi Bank Azerbaijan. He is also Subsidiaries Security Coordinations and Governance Manager of The Yapi Kredi Bank Turkey

In 2013 He started to work for Yapi Kredi Bank which is the one of the biggest bank of Turkey. He has been worked for Yapi Kredi Bank in various IT Security Departments,. He specializes in network security, cryptology, and data security. He has carried out many successful projects in the fields of cryptology and data Security.

Educated at Istanbul Kultur University with BSc at Electrical Electronics Engineering and Bahcesehir University for Master of Sience program in Business Administration. His thesis in the master's program was published at The 1st International Conference on Air – Land – Sea Interaction held in Baku, Azerbaijan in April 2019.

Steven joined the SWIFT Education department in 1994. Till the end of 1997 he has been giving training to customers in Europe, Middle East and Africa, with a main focus on Russia and the CIS.  From 1997 to 1999 he handled relationship management with banking software vendors. From 1999 he was Regional Manager for the Gulf region and then from 2000, Steven started the management of the region Russia, CIS and Mongolia. He was responsible for the relationships with the Central Bank of Russia, the Russian regulator (Federal Financial Markets Service), the main commercial banks and the Market infrastructures and top players of the Securities Markets in the whole region.

Steven has been Head of Russia, CIS and Mongolia and Head of the Moscow SWIFT office till the end of 2013.

In 2014 his focus was on promoting and positioning the portfolio of services that SWIFT is offering in the area of Compliance.

Since 2015 Steven has taken up the role of Senior Commercial Manager SWIFTRef for EMEA. In this role Steven developed the SWIFTRef business (payments reference data) and Business Intelligence tools through Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Since 2022 Steven is Senior Expert for the Financial Crime and Compliance Portfolio (focusing on transaction screening, anti-fraud solutions and compliance intelligence tools), covering the Europe, Russia, Caucasus and Central Asia.

Samir Nuriyev is an IT and Telecom professional with 25+ years’ experience working for global technology companies and Service providers. Currently Samir Nuriyev is a Country Manager of Bulutistan Azerbaijan and Caspian region. He has a vast experience in the filed of ICT consulting, Cyber security, cloud and digital transformation.

“Shafiq Amiri is the founder and chief execute officer of Carbon Sarhat, an end-to-end digital market infrastructure for green finance. Mr. Amiri also serves as the lead blockchain consultant of FARI Solutions where he leads the firm’s special digital transformation projects, serving government and enterprise clients. Mr. Amiri represents his affiliated organizations as a speaker in global finance and technology conferences. He is a CBDC expert with the Digital Euro Association (DEA) and a researcher of blockchain utility for enterprise. He holds advisory and board positions for multiple finance and technology start-ups. Mr. Amiri is an active angel investor and has keen interests in renewable energy and project finance.”

Samra is a Senior economist and Project manager of Sustainable finance project at the Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan and has 7 years of work experience in financial markets.

Her professional career has a blend from both private financial market institutions and financial markets regulatory authority. Areas she has gained experience encompass sustainable finance, macroprudential policy, financial strabilty, economic analysis and risk management aspects.  

Samra also pursues academic career and she is Adjunct instructor the Business School of ADA University delivering finance and economics related courses.

Ms Talishinskaya-Abbasova holds MSc in Finance from Warwick Business School, the UK and BSc in Finance from Qafqaz University, Azerbaijan.

Samra co-authored a paper “Impact of financial development on carbon dioxide emissions: empirical evidence from Azerbaijan, Russia, and Kazakhstan” which she presented at 44th IAEE Annual International Conference organized by King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center  and the Saudi Association for Energy Economics held in 04-09 February 2023, Riyadh Saudi Arabia. She co-authored "The role of social and physical infrastructure spending in tradable and non-tradable growth" which was published Journal of Contemporary Economics indexed by SCOPUS.

Ivana has been leading the IFC work in the South Caucasus since June 2021. She has more than 20 years of experience in international finance in various positions, including with EBRD and with Citigroup. During her career Ivana has been focusing on the areas of private infrastructure development and financing as well as across the sectors country management. Prior to development finance she worked in investment banking with expertise in project finance and emerging markets. Ivana started her career in the Office of the Prime Minister of Slovakia.

In the current role, Ivana is focusing on further enhancing IFC business delivery in the Caucasus with special emphasis on sustainable inclusive growth and climate change, digitalization and capital markets development, as well as developing the IFC Upstream activities in the region.

Ivana holds an MBA degree from IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain, and a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Economics in Slovakia. Ivana has been a CFA Charterholder since 2008. She is fluent in several languages, including Spanish, Slovak, and Czech, as well as conversational Russian, Portuguese, and French.

Served in executive roles for 15 years, Mr. Samir Mammadov holds dual profile in commercial roles at corporations as well as leadership in multinational development organizations. Coupled with his experience as a successful entrepreneur, Mr. Mammadov’s profile in private sector and socio-economic development, equips him with unique multi-dimensional view and insights of developmental issues and the role of business, and vice versa.

Samir Mammadov worked for Vodafone-Azerfon, Nar and Azertelecom in various roles including Business Development and Future Labs Director, Head of Corporate and Chief Sales Officer delivering record-braking results in market penetration and customer acquisition. In international development, Mr. Mammadov worked for World Vision International, SC Netherlands and Save the Children Federation as Azerbaijan Country Director with various assignments in Georgia, Egypt and Lebanon.  Returning to development after his successful tenure in private sector and as an entrepreneur, Mr. Samir Mammadov is now Azerbaijan Country Representative for the United Nations Global Compact, world’s largest corporate sustainibility network hosting over 20,000 businesses committed to a better global future. He is a prominent believer, practitioner and advocate of diligent business practices and corporate sustainibility that impacts a business commercially.

 Mr. Mammadov studied International Economic Relations at the Georgia State Agricultural University, holds a Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics from Lancaster University and read Human Services course at the College of Southern Idaho. He is a Britain’s John Smith and US Donald Rumsfeld Fellow administered by the American Foreign Policy Council, Ashton Horny Scholar and Future Leaders Exchange alumnus in his secondary school years.

Fidan Sadikhli is a manager leading Climate Change and Sustainability Services (CCaSS) practice at EY Azerbaijan and has 8 years of related experience working with multiple companies from diverse industries, such as banking/finance, energy/O&G, mining, cement, telecommunications, agriculture, waste management in Azerbaijan and other CIS countries.

For the past 8 years Fidan has been engaged in the ESG reporting, assurance, and advisory services, development of ESG strategies, policies, guidelines, carbon footprint assessment, assessment of the social return on investment, and sustainable finance. Fidan also contributed to the development of EY’s guidelines on integration of UN’s Sustainable Development Goals into businesses covering major economic sectors in Azerbaijan, including energy/O&G, agriculture, finance, tourism, transportation.

Fidan holds MSc degree in Management for Business Excellence from University of Warwick, UK and Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Azerbaijan State University of Oil and Industry.

Fidan authored a research paper on “HSE Management and Management of Change in Oil and Gas Sector of Azerbaijan” and published expert views and perspectives on business sustainability in the finance/banking sector in Azerbaijan’s leading business articles.