Estelle Métayer is one of the world's leading experts on competitive and strategic intelligence, helping leaders build and improve their strategic decision-making, corporate governance and competitive intelligence processes to avoid blind spots and navigate periods of rapid change. A former McKinsey consultant, Métayer brings deep, worldwide experiences across banking, corporate strategy and board leadership, specializing in simplifying complex business ideas and actionable strategies for a wide range of audiences.

Ramy Nassar helps leaders stop reacting to disruption and start designing the future. As the former Head of Innovation for Mattel, he brings a builder’s mindset to AI and emerging technology, drawing on 25+ years of experience with over 250 global organizations to guide AI adoption, innovation and future thinking. Nassar combines technical expertise with strategic insight, offering practical frameworks on business transformation, risk and responsible AI.

Barclay Hancock joined Central 1 in 2025 as Chief Payments Officer and was appointed Interim President & CEO in September 2026. With more than 25 years of leadership experience across Canadian and international payments and financial services, Barclay has built a reputation for driving large-scale transformation, innovation, and growth.

Prior to joining Central 1, Barclay served as Chief Payments Officer at Metrolinx, where he led the modernization of fare payment systems across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area and Ottawa region. Earlier, he held a series of executive leadership roles at TD Bank, including Vice President and Head of Product, Canadian Credit Cards, where he led the largest product and loyalty transformation in the bank’s history. Before TD, Barclay spent 13 years at American Express, leading end-to-end payments businesses and managing some of the company’s largest global partnerships.

Barclay is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario and holds a Masters of Business Administration from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.

Randall Bartlett is the Deputy Chief Economist with Desjardins Group. Based in Toronto, he leads a team covering the Canadian and provincial economies & housing markets outside of Quebec, as well as government budgets & fiscal policy. Before coming to Desjardins, Mr. Bartlett was the Director of Economic Research on OMERS' Total Portfolio Management Team, where he was responsible for global economic research and forecasting. Prior to that, he was the Chief Economist at the Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy, where he published Canadian economic, fiscal, and policy analysis. He has also held positions at PSP Investments, TD Economics, the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer and the federal Department of Finance.

Mike Bushore is a seasoned executive with over 30 years of global experience in banking, finance, and algorithmic trading. He holds a B.Sc. from Southern Methodist University, an M.Sc. from the London School of Economics, and is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Wharton Business School.

Mike has held leadership roles in Canada and the UK, specializing in derivatives, capital markets, electronic trading, and machine learning. He’s known for pioneering initiatives such as Coast Capital’s Free Chequing and Aperio Branch Design, and Tyler Capital’s OPUS trading system and Omega Trade Platform.

Since joining Kootenay Savings in 2022, Mike has led enterprise resiliency, sustainable growth, and organizational integrity. Mike’s work has been featured in journals including Technology in Society, Economy and Society, Social Studies of Science, and Big Data and Society. He has contributed to the Canadian Credit Union’s Case for Progress initiative and the UK FCA’s Innovation Forum on AI.

Outside of work, Mike enjoys reading, music, swimming, and morning meditation. A former collegiate swimmer, he lives in Trail with his wife, Andrea, and they have two adult daughters.

Avinash Chidambaram is a founder and fintech executive with more than 25 years of experience building products used by hundreds of millions globally at organizations like Interac and BlackBerry. He then founded Ario, an embedded SMB lending platform leveraging AI underwriting to extend hundreds of millions in credit (that exited to Thinking Capital in 2020). Now, as Co-Founder of Cybrid, Avinash is bringing the power of stablecoin technology to the market, enabling fintechs, payment platforms, and financial institutions to move money faster, cheaper, and compliantly across borders.

Mary Gillett (FCPA, CPA, MBA) is a seasoned financial executive, educator, and governance leader with extensive experience in financial management, auditing, strategic planning, and board governance. Throughout her distinguished career, she has held several leadership roles at Western University's Ivey Business School, including Faculty Director of the Executive MBA Program, the Graduate Diploma in Accounting, and the Honors Business Administration Program.

An active member of Mainstreet Credit Union, Mary has served on the Board of Directors for over a year and currently chairs the Audit & Risk Committee. She is committed to strong financial stewardship, effective risk oversight, and supporting Mainstreet's long-term success for the benefit of its members and communities.

Wellington Holbrook is the President and CEO of Vancity, Canada’s largest community credit union. With a 30-year career in Canada’s financial services industry, Wellington has focused his career on cooperatives and banking institutions with missions that extend beyond profits.

Prior to becoming CEO of Vancity, Wellington held progressively senior roles at financial institutions across Canada. At connectFirst Credit Union, Wellington served as Chief Operating Officer before taking on the role of CEO, leading the credit union through mergers and the integration of several credit unions under a new brand. At ATB Financial, he led their retail, business and agriculture banking lines of business and, as Chief Transformation and Technology Officer, he led an ambitious digital, business and cultural transformation at the largest Alberta-based financial institution. Serving as the Senior Vice-President of Operations at the Business Development Bank of Canada, Wellington played a pivotal role in leading and shaping the bank’s business across Western Canada.

Fluent in French and English, Wellington holds a B. Comm from the University of Manitoba and an MBA with distinction from the University of Oxford. In 2008, he was invited by the Clerk of the Privy Council of Canada to partake in a year-long program focused on foreign diplomacy, where he honed his leadership skills.

Wellington has served on several boards, and currently is Chair of the Calgary Telus Convention Centre. He is an avid music fan and amateur musician. He and his wife have two adult children.

Vanessa Iafolla is a consultant and counselling therapist in Halifax, Nova Scotia. As a consultant, she offers expert opinions for litigation and coaching for family members, and in her counselling practice she works with victims of financial crime. She has offered testimony to the House of Commons for its statutory review of Canada’s PCMLTFA, provided training for industry and community groups on matters related to financial crime victimization and financial literacy, and been interviewed for various national and international media on matters of financial crime control and regulation. She holds a doctorate from the University of Toronto in Criminology and Sociolegal Studies, a Master of Education (Counselling) from Acadia University, and a Master of Fine Arts from NSCAD University.

Chris Inniss is the President & CEO of Mainstreet Credit Union, where he is focused on building a stronger financial future for members, employees, and communities. Since joining Mainstreet in 2021, he has championed a people-first approach grounded in purpose, trust, and community impact. An Executive MBA (Ivey Scholar), Chris received the 2018 Canadian Credit Union Association Young Leaders Award and was named one of The Peak's Emerging Leaders in 2025. He also serves the broader credit union system as former Chair of the Ontario Credit Union Foundation and Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee at Ficanex Services.

Chris is recognized for his approachable leadership style, commitment to mentorship, and belief that transparency and collaboration are key to meaningful change. Whether supporting community initiatives, developing future leaders, or advancing innovation, he is passionate about helping people succeed.

Edwin Isted is the Payments Lead for KPMG Canada, where he advises financial institutions, market infrastructures, fintechs, and regulators on large-scale payments modernization and regulatory transformation programs. He specializes in bridging strategy, technology, and regulation in complex, high-stakes environments where execution certainty and risk management are critical.

Over the past several years, Edwin has built and scaled KPMG’s national payments practice into a multi-client platform supporting financial institutions, payments infrastructures, and emerging PSPs across initiatives such as Real-Time Rail (RTR), ISO 20022 migration, RPAA readiness, and enterprise payments modernization. His work spans strategy through execution, including operating model design, delivery assurance, industry testing, and risk oversight.

Edwin is recognized for helping organizations reposition payments from back-office infrastructure to a strategic capability—unlocking value through real-time processing, richer data, and API-enabled ecosystems. He brings deep expertise across high-value payments, retail and real-time payments, cross-border flows, and open banking, with a strong focus on how emerging technologies such as AI can be applied responsibly within regulated environments.

He is a regular advisor to senior executives and has worked closely with organizations including national operators, major banks, credit unions, and leading fintechs to navigate modernization challenges and deliver measurable outcomes. Edwin has also contributed to industry thought leadership on payments modernization and has moderated panels featuring global and Canadian payments leaders.

At Momentum 2026, Edwin will share practical perspectives on how organizations can prepare for the next wave of payments innovation—including Real-Time Rail, open banking, and AI—while maintaining trust, resilience, and operational control.

Dan Iwachiw is the Vice President and Head of Product at Visa Canada. Dan leads the Consumer Payments and Value-Added Services for Canada. Dan is responsible for the overall strategy, transformation, and delivery of core consumer products including credit, debit, prepaid and platform benefits, as well as an ever-expanding array of Value-Added Services from digital, risk & identity, and acceptance solutions. During his 12 years at Visa Canada, Dan has held various leadership positions in Visa Consulting and Analytics, Strategy and Business Development, and Financial Institution Partnerships.

Prior to joining Visa, Dan spent over 10 years in leadership positions at American Express in the Canadian Card business. Dan holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the Smith School of Business at Queen's University.

Abdallah Kanaan is the Founder and CEO of AMLOK. He is a technology entrepreneur, multi-startup founder and innovation strategist with extensive experience across fintech, digital assets, emerging technologies, and venture development.

Prior to founding AMLOK, Abdallah served as the founding Program Manager of the Dubai Future Accelerators (DFA), the world's first government-backed accelerator programs. In this role, he worked with startups, scaleups, government entities, and enterprise leaders to accelerate the adoption of transformative technologies and solve complex industry challenges.

Throughout his career, Abdallah has helped build innovation ecosystems and advance the adoption of emerging technologies across both public and private sectors. His work has given him firsthand insight into the challenges businesses face accessing capital, scaling operations, and navigating fragmented systems.

Under his leadership, AMLOK is building a platform that combines open banking, predictive intelligence, and capital orchestration capabilities to help businesses improve funding readiness while enabling lenders to make faster, more informed financing decisions.

Anurag is responsible for money movement products such as Interac e-Transfer, Batch Payables & Receivables and International Remittances. His focus is on the day-to-day management activities for the products and the execution of the product strategy through new product development. Anurag has 15 years of experience in the payments industry, with a speciality in money movement. Prior to joining the organization, Anurag worked in Retail Banking, within the payments space. He has a passion for bringing solutions to market that simplifies the day-to-day payment interactions for individuals.

Bhavna provides boutique advisory services to banks, credit unions, and fintechs, drawing on two decades of leadership across Banking, Payments, Loyalty, and Fintech. She helps senior leaders and teams navigate market, regulatory, and technology shifts by diagnosing portfolio challenges, strengthening economics, and shaping partnership and product strategies that drive measurable growth.

Her career includes executive roles at Scotiabank, where she transformed Partnerships, Payments, and Loyalty across 25+ Latin American and Caribbean markets. Previously, she delivered multiple industry firsts in Canada and the U.S. including Chip & PIN, multicurrency FX, and instant issuance prepaid with American Express and Berkeley Payments.

Known for her collaborative approach, Bhavna bridges strategy and execution to help organizations deliver with clarity, discipline, and speed. She holds an MBA from the Schulich School of Business and is a recognized voice in the Canadian financial services and fintech ecosystem.

Dwayne King is an internationally recognized anti-money laundering expert and the Director of Compliance and CAMLO at WFCU in Canada. His fight against dirty money began long before banking, with more than three decades of investigative and compliance experience across law enforcement, financial institutions and forensic advisory.

Dwayne has led major financial crime investigations, including serving as Lead Financial Crimes Investigator for the Mass Casualty Commission, Canada’s largest public inquiry into mass violence. He holds multiple industry certifications, including CAMS FCI, CFCS and CBP, and has been recognized in court as an expert in money laundering. 

Today, Dwayne brings front line investigative experience into the boardroom, helping organizations strengthen AML controls, manage risk and protect the financial system from abuse. He has also trained law enforcement and regulators internationally, including through volunteer AML and crypto crime programs in Tajikistan and South Africa. 

Mathieu Laberge leads a team of experts in housing economics and insights whose work informs Canada’s efforts to address key housing issues including housing affordability.

Mathieu joins CMHC after working at senior executive levels for global consulting firms, advising federal, provincial, Indigenous and municipal governments on economic analysis and modeling, macroeconomic forecasting and social policymaking.

Prior to consulting, Mathieu served as a senior executive in a Canadian cabinet minister’s office, where he provided strategic advice on housing and social policy development. Before that, he worked at CMHC, in the former Market Analysis Centre, and in the Insurance sector, where he oversaw econometric and financial model development and the publication of market analysis studies and reports. Mathieu also worked at the Centre for Interuniversity Research and Analysis on Organizations where he focused on housing, public finance (health and education), infrastructure and natural resources.

Through the years, Mathieu has regularly commented on housing, economic and social policy topics in the media, as a spokesperson for various organizations including CMHC, and as a columnist for La Presse. Until recently, he was a member of the Québec Minister of Social Solidarity’s Comité Consultatif sur la Lutte contre la Pauvreté et l’Exclusion Sociale.

Mathieu is a graduate of the University of Nottingham with a Master of Science in Econometrics and International Economics. He also holds an MBA from Cornell University and Queen’s University and a B.Sc. Economics from the University of Montreal.

Wendy MacKinnon is the Founder and CEO of Twinvocate, the Canadian platform building the consumer-loyal AI agent: the agent that works for the consumer rather than the platform. She is the architect of the Twinvocate Verification Framework, a multi-stakeholder standards regime designed to define what it means for financial institutions, settlement infrastructure, and AI agents to act in genuine alignment with consumer interest. The Framework positions Canadian credit unions as natural co-architects. Their cooperative, member-owned governance is the only institutional structure in Canadian banking already aligned with the fiduciary standard that agentic commerce will require.

Wendy previously founded and led SelfPay by Digital Retail Apps, a VC-backed mobile payments company built around an in-store mobile self-checkout model. She holds multiple US patents in mobile commerce and co-founded Paytechs Canada in 2019, now FinTechs Canada. She holds an LLM from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, where her academic work focused on competition law, consumer rights, and the regulatory architecture of AI-mediated transactions, along with an MBA from Ivey and an undergraduate degree in economics. She is based in Toronto.

Mark McLoughlin was appointed President & CEO of Kootenay Savings Credit Union (KSCU) on August 15th, 2022. With over fifteen years in the financial sector, both at the governance and executive management level within the credit union systems in Alberta and British Columbia, Mark’s leadership has been key in supporting the future direction for KSCU which, for over 55 years, has served many communities in the Northern Western and Eastern regions of the Kootenays. Currently, KSCU operates 12 branches, and serves over 38,000 members.

Prior to joining KSCU, Mark was appointed Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Environment for the Government of Saskatchewan in January 2022. Previous to that, he was the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Advanced Education.

Mark enjoyed a very successful 17-year career as a player in the Canadian Football League (CFL), winning 3 Grey Cup Championships and twice being the recipient of the CFL's “Man of the Year” award for dedication on and off the football field.

Mark established numerous records while playing for the Calgary Stampeders including being the all-time leading scorer in Stampeder Football history and the all-time leader in games played. Mark currently ranks 3rd in the CFL for most points scored in a career.

Mark holds an MBA in Leadership and Management from York St. John University in York, England, and a B.Ed. Kinesiology from the University of South Dakota where he was inducted to their Hall of Fame in 2005. Mark possesses strong Board Governance and Policy setting skills through his work with various boards including First Calgary Savings and Credit Union, an organization where he served six years as a director and three years as the Chairman of the Board.

An executive risk management professional with over 25 years of experience, Sandra is currently the Chief Risk Officer at Innovation Federal Credit Union.

Sandra has built a successful track record of developing strategies and leading major shifts in how risk management supports business strategy in complex and ambiguous environments. She is known for her business-oriented approach to building new capabilities, leading collaborative and motivated cross-functional teams, and bridging stakeholder requirements to drive transformational change. Throughout her career, Sandra has served as the executive lead on several large-scale technology initiaitves that have strengthened risk management frameworks and supported regulatory compliance.

Sandra holds an HBA and MBA from Ivey School of Business at Western University, as well as her ICD.D designation.

Sandra lives in Toronto with her husband and enjoys gardening, cooking, golfing, kayaking, and traveling.

Alexei is a Global Digital Asset Strategy Manager and leads Accenture’s Digital Assets practice in Canada. He works with leading banks and financial institutions globally on stablecoins, tokenized money, digital asset platforms, and the modernization of financial infrastructure. His experience spans strategy, business model design, operating models, and execution, helping senior leaders translate emerging digital asset capabilities into scalable commercial opportunities and long-term strategic priorities.

Jeremy Nicholls leads WFCU’s Fraud, AML, and Physical Security programs, overseeing enterprise-wide strategies to protect members, staff, and assets. With over 34 years’ experience in fraud prevention and investigation, including 20 years as a Detective in the British Police, Jeremy has held senior investigative roles in both government and the financial sector across Canada. His leadership integrates fraud management, AML compliance, and physical security resilience, ensuring strong regulatory alignment and measurable loss reduction across WFCU’s operations.

Felipe Priuli is Program Director at Tetra Digital Group, where he leads the strategy and development of CAD Digital (CADD), Canada’s first regulated Canadian-dollar stablecoin issued by a financial institution. He has extensive experience building digital asset products in regulated markets, having previously held leadership roles at Kraken, RBCx, and RBC Global Asset Management. Felipe specializes in bridging product, compliance, and strategy to bring institutional digital asset solutions to market and support the broader adoption of digital finance.

Jon Purther is the Director of Research at Payments Canada. Jon’s career encompasses more than 25 years of senior management experience in forensic research and strategic marketing management, including domestic and international assignments. At Payments Canada, Jon leads a team involved in strategic foresights, product research and market insights.

Prior to joining Payments Canada, Jon was Chief Operating Officer at CorbinPartners Inc. There he successfully led numerous integrated market research engagements, provided affidavit evidence and report submissions and appeared as an expert witness in matters before regulators and the court. Jon has also consulted on international expansion efforts and held senior management roles with reputable financial institutions, notably leading the team that set up and managed the online financial services of Ameritrade in Canada and the UK. Jon was also an executive with the brokerage arm of Canada Trust, and performed product development and management roles for the investment division of TD Bank.

His educational background includes an MBA from York University (now the Schulich School of Business) and a bachelor degree in Economics from the University of Michigan.

Todd leads Deloitte’s Market Infrastructure Cluster and Payments Practice. He is responsible for leading Deloitte’s efforts across a range of financial services institutions, exchanges, networks, processors, service providers and regulators. Todd’s team delivers market leading advice, delivery, and on-going operational support on a wide range of mandates including technology enabled transformation, payments systems modernization, M&A advisory and process optimization. Todd is an active advisor to senior financial services executives, Boards, private equity investors and regulators.

Prior to joining Deloitte, Todd was the Senior Vice President of Enterprise Payments and Innovation at CIBC. Prior to CIBC, Todd led the Corporate Strategy Practice at Deloitte and the North American Financial Services sector at Monitor Company. Todd has served on the Boards of various payments companies and industry stakeholder groups.

Micheline is AVP, Fraud & Corporate Security at Laurentian Bank, with more than 20 years of experience in financial services. She leads the bank’s fraud management, investigations, and physical security functions, with expertise in fraud prevention, scams, account takeover, and emerging fraud risks. Micheline is passionate about strengthening organisational resilience, protecting clients and employees, and staying ahead of the evolving threat landscape.

Iain Scott brings a 25+ year track record of leadership in financial services, technology sales, and business transformation. His career includes senior roles at IBM, Microsoft, and Central 1 Credit Union, with direct experience leading digital platform strategy, core banking systems, and fintech partnerships. Iain has built and managed national sales teams, led multi-million-dollar transformation initiatives, and driven complex enterprise sales across credit unions and financial institutions in Canada. He leads client engagements and strategic planning initiatives.  

Founder of Payments and Partnerships, a boutique consulting firm, Dina brings deep financial services and payments expertise to banks, credit unions and fintechs, from building product value proposition and go-to-market strategies to loyalty, platform and innovative partnerships. Dina was formally a CMO at Alterna Savings/Bank, General Manager of Partnerships at JPMC and Citi, and headed retail and small business product and marketing at CIBC. She is committed to women in leadership and promoting neurodiversity in the workplace.

Adriana is the Executive Director of Fintechs Canada. Having spent most of her career in the financial services space, she is an accomplished public affairs professional, specializing in government and stakeholder relations, public policy, advocacy, and strategic communications.

Before joining Fintechs Canada, she led government relations for Canada's private capital industry at the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association and earlier worked at Scotiabank and at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. With more than 15 years of experience across the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors, Adriana is a trusted voice shaping the future of Canada's fintech ecosystem.

John is a Partner at Deloitte Canada specializing in banking innovation, digital transformation, and core banking modernization. He advises banks, credit unions, fintechs, and investors on growth, modernization, and regulatory change, and has led major transformation programs and digital bank launches across North America and globally.

Stephanie Zee is a seasoned financial services executive with more than 20 years of experience in the Canadian payments ecosystem. She leads enterprise-wide product strategy, representing Payments Canada with members, regulators, the Bank of Canada and industry stakeholders.

Throughout her career, Stephanie has held senior leadership roles planning strategy, product innovation, risk management, fraud, financial crimes, and data protection. She served on the Payments Canada Board of Directors from 2013 to 2016 and has been a frequent speaker at various industry forums including The Summit. Stephanie also brings extensive governance experience, having served on numerous industry, community and healthcare boards.

Stephanie holds a Bachelor of Science, Master of Business Administration and Master of Laws, along with certifications in cyber risk management and information security management, and has earned the ICD.D desgination.

Julie joined Central 1 in 2016, assuming her current role in 2023 after holding progressively senior positions in client experience and member relations. Prior to Central 1, Julie held key positions at the Canadian Co-operative Association and the Co-operative Development Foundation of Canada, building strong relationships with credit union leaders and supporting global co-operative development. Julie is a graduate of the University of Guelph and holds a postgraduate certificate in leadership from Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business.

Carol Ann is Central 1's Chief Risk Officer, responsible for risk management, compliance, regulatory and government affairs. She previously served as Chief Risk Officer for both the Bank of Canada and Payments Canada, where she led enterprise, operational and financial risk functions. Carol Ann also held senior roles at the Bank of Canada focused on financial stability and oversight of systemically important financial market infrastructures. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Science and a Master’s in Financial Economics from the University of Toronto, and a Master’s Certificate in Enterprise Risk Management from York University.

Dan joined Central 1 in 2025 as Chief Technology & Operations Officer, bringing more than 20 years of financial services technology experience. He previously held executive roles at ATB Financial, including Chief Data and AI Officer and Head of Banking, where he led large-scale digital and data transformation initiatives. Dan’s focus has consistently been on aligning enterprise technology strategy to business outcomes, delivering results through long-term, scalable innovation. He also serves as Chair of the Board for MindFuel, supporting access to STEM education for underrepresented youth.

Sunny is currently Interim Head of Payments at Central 1. He joined in September 2025 as VP, Payments Product, with more than 15 years of experience driving innovation across banking, fintech and e-commerce. Prior to Central 1, he led Tangerine’s payments portfolio, overseeing Interac e-Transfer^®, EFT, Visa Debit, Cheques and digital wallets, while shaping strategic roadmaps for Real-Time Rail and Open Banking. Sunny has also held senior roles at Wayfair, Scotiabank and CIBC, where he advanced global supplier financing, international money transfers and mobile wallet integrations.

He holds a Master of Business Administration from the Richard Ivey School of Business and a Bachelor of Commerce from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, as well as executive leadership certification in AI from the Harvard Business School.

Lise Godbout is a senior payments leader at Central 1, where she supports strategic initiatives that help credit unions navigate Canada’s evolving payments landscape. She brings deep expertise in payments modernization, financial market infrastructures, settlement, credit and liquidity risk management, ecosystem collaboration, and regulatory policy. Known for her practical and strategic perspective, Lise helps connect industry developments such as the Real-Time Rail to the broader implications for financial institutions, their operations, and the members they serve.

Brian Raine is Vice President, Treasury & Portfolio Management at Central 1, where he oversees funding, liquidity management, credit union lending, capital markets trading, and portfolio strategy. With more than 25 years of experience across global investment banking and the Canadian credit union system, Brian brings deep expertise in fixed income, derivatives, foreign exchange, securitization, and balance sheet risk management. He also serves as an Institutional Portfolio Manager with Aviso Wealth and is active in governance and strategic ventures. Brian is recognized for his steady leadership, disciplined judgment, and forward-looking approach to navigating complex financial markets.

Stephen joined Central 1 in 2009 with more than 25 years’ experience in operational leadership and client experience across multiple sectors. Since joining us in 2009, he has led major transformation initiatives, including the merger of Credit Union Central of Ontario and the British Columbia Central Credit Union and key payment systems modernization. He has led and supported numerous important advancements for Central 1 and its members, including real-time payments, cheque image capture and fraud detection controls. As a strong client advocate, Stephen is also accountable for operational excellence across Payments Operations, Support, Product Compliance, Design and Delivery.

Kristen Wilson is Vice President, Business Development and Strategic Partnerships at Central 1. With more than 25 years of experience across financial services, payments and technology, she has built a career connecting organizations, partners and clients to drive innovation and growth. Prior to joining Central 1, Kristen held senior roles at Celero Solutions and IBM, leading enterprise growth, client success and strategic partnerships across cards, payments and managed services. A recognized leader in Canada's payments ecosystem, she is a founding board member of Fintechs Canada and holds ICD.D and GCB.D designations.

Ron has more more than 30 years of experience spanning credit, collections, fraud, data privacy and product management. He leads the Fraud and Compliance Products and Services team at Central 1, delivering fraud prevention, Anti-Money Laundering and compliance solutions to clients across Canada. Ron brings a global perspective and has worked in a number of international markets across Europe, Australia and South America. He is a champion for innovative technologies that protect over 5 million Canadians daily. Ron holds a BA in Legal Studies from Carleton University, along with certifications in product management and strategy.

Bryan is Central 1's Chief Economist, leading a team focused on macroeconomic and regional analysis for Central 1 and clients across the financial sector. He authors key economic and housing outlooks, provides frequent media commentary and speaks regularly at industry events. Within Central 1, Bryan contributes to risk and treasury committees and leads Central 1's IFRS9 National Platform business. Prior to Central 1, he held economist roles with the BC Real Estate Association, CMHC, and in academic research. Bryan holds an MA in Economics from Simon Fraser University and a BA from the University of Manitoba.

Alex is Director, Payments Platform, at Central 1, where he leads the development of the Payments Integration Platform and self-service developer ecosystem. Since transitioning from Digital in late 2023, he has led the build-out of key platform capabilities, including the developer centre, onboarding experience, and self-serve tooling that simplify integration with Central 1's payments services. Prior to this role, Alex held product leadership positions across Central 1's Public Website and Digital Banking Modernization initiatives.

Before moving to Canada, he began his career in London, working in management consulting with banking, insurance, and payments clients. Alex brings experience spanning consulting, product management, and platform strategy, with a focus on building scalable solutions that enhance client and developer experiences.

Scott is the Product Director, Payment Applications. He has over 25 years of experience with Central 1 beginning with traditional paper-based processing through the transition to image-based processing, centralized cheque returns, and image exchange. Today, Scott is responsible for product management of core payments including Interac e-Transfer, bill payments, and report and file exchange. As part of the journey towards Payments Modernization, Scott is a member of Payment Canada’s Real-Time-Rail (RTR) Working Group and leads Central 1's initiatives for RTR including Interac e-Transfer for Business moving to the Payments Canada RTR Exchange Clearing & Settlement.

Mrigank Katyal is Senior Manager, Fraud Analytics at Central 1, where he leads fraud strategy, analytics and financial crime initiatives, including oversight of AML analytics programs. A Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS), he brings more than 12 years of experience in fraud risk management, financial crime prevention and advanced analytics across the banking, payments and financial services sectors. He has helped organizations strengthen their fraud detection and risk management capabilities through data-driven strategies and innovative analytics. Mrigank has held leadership and specialist roles at Central 1, CIBC, Meridian Credit Union, Moneris and American Express, and is passionate about leveraging analytics, technology and industry collaboration to address evolving fraud and financial crime risks.

Karen Wong is Central 1’s Senior Product Manager, IFRS 9, responsible for leading the organization’s IFRS 9 offering and helping clients navigate an evolving risk and regulatory environment. Since joining Central 1 in 2017, she has worked closely with clients, economists and modelling specialists to enhance the platform’s forward-looking capabilities, support expected credit loss (ECL) planning, and continuously improve IFRS 9 models and methodologies.

Prior to Central 1, Karen spent 11 years at Fiserv, where she held finance, accounting and project management roles supporting ERP transformations, financial planning solutions, and technology implementations for banking and credit union clients. She brings deep expertise in financial systems, data-driven planning and client engagement within the Canadian financial services sector.