President of EUSIPA. Member of the Management Board of Zertifikate Forum Austria

Heike Arbter (56) has been with RCB (since 12/22 RBI) for over 20 years and has built the structured products business from the ground up. She has developed retail structured products across asset classes into a relevant investment offering and also earnings driver within Raiffeisen Banking Group and made Raiffeisen Certificates a key player in the entire CEE region. As a member of the Managing Team of RBI`s Corporate and Investment Banking Area, she will ensure that Raiffeisen Certificates' leading position will be strengthened.

She also holds a seat on the supervisory board of the Stuttgart Stock Exchange and is a member of the arbitration board of the Vienna Stock Exchange.

Since May 2016, Heike Arbter has also been President of EUSIPA, the European association of certificates issuers. Arbter has been a member of the Management Board of Zertifikate Forum Austria since its foundation in 2006 and joined the Supervisory Board in April 2019.

Head of Marex Financial Products, Marex Solutions

Joost joined Marex Solutions in 2019 to set up the team specialised in the issuance and sale of structured investment products. Joost brings with him 20 years experience in the Financial Services Industry.

Joost started his career at EY in Luxembourg as a consultant, prior to spending 13 years at Commerzbank where he had several positions in London and New York, most recently as a MD heading the 25 people strong Private Banks Sales team with a global focus.

Joost has a Master's degree from EDHEC Business School and is fluent in four languages.

Head of BG Certificates Hub, Banca Generali

Graduated in Economics and Financial Markets from Bocconi University, Melania began her career with a brief experience in business consulting.

After two years at Credit Agricole CIB, she joined Exane Group in 2007, where she was responsible for developing the markets for structured products and mutual funds in Ticino, Switzerland. Following significant success in the Swiss market, Melania was appointed Head of the sales and distribution team focused on cross-asset solutions in Italy and Ticino in 2013. She worked on implementing new platforms and procedures to enhance product commercialization, gaining market share in the Italian certificates market.

In 2019, Melania joined Banca Generali as Head of BG Certificates Hub, a new division dedicated to developing the investment certificates and structured note business within Banca Generali. Since 2022, she have embarked on a new path in her career as Head of Assets Under Administration, aiming to drive all administered savings projects within Banca Generali.

Since 2024, she has also been involved in the BG International project.

Global Co-Head of Cross Asset Distribution and Equity Solutions Sales, Credit Agricole CIB

Jean-Victor has over 15 years of experience in financial markets and equity derivatives.

Jean-Victor joined Credit Agricole CIB in December 2019, initially serving as Head of Cross Asset Distribution and Equity Solutions Sales for EMEA ex France before assuming his current global position. Prior to his tenure at Credit Agricole CIB, he held various sales management and sales positions at Natixis and HSBC in London.

Jean-Victor holds a Master degree in Management from ESSEC Business School.

Global Co-Head of Equity Sales. Global Head of Securities Financing Sales, HSBC

Eric was appointed Global Head of Securities Finance & Co-Head of Equity Sales in 2020, before that he ran the Global Non-Cash Equity Sales Team since 2016.

Previously, Eric was MD at Nomura (London based) as European head of Equity Derivatives and Equity Sales from 2014 until 2016, where he led and managed the Equity Franchise for EMEA across Instos. HFs and Banks.

Between 2012 – 2014, Eric was MD at Bank of America Merrill Lynch (New York based), Head of the Americas Equity Derivatives and Delta One Sales Team and Head of Structuring. Between 2003 – 2017 he was MD & Head of the EMEA EQD Sales Team where he led and managed the Equity Derivs franchise across Instos. HFs and Banks, PEF, FO.

Eric has worked in the Equities Market Industry for 23 years, including 2 years in New York.

Eric received a Bsc Economics from the University of Warwick, UK.

Head of Data & Platform, WSD

With an impressive track record of over 15 years in the realm of structured products, derivatives, and investments, Tiago Fernandes stands as a seasoned financial industry luminary dedicated to propelling the sector to new heights. As the Head of Data and Platform at WSD, Tiago is at the helm of client development, laser-focused on advancing structured product technology.

As the Co-founder of Structured Products Intelligence (SPi), Tiago has been instrumental in birthing a revolutionary platform that empowers clients to adeptly manage intricate portfolios. Prior to this, he wielded influential leadership roles at Euromoney Institutional Investor and SRP, masterminding business growth while deftly overseeing teams of adept data analysts. His sphere of influence spanned the delivery of research and training services to financial institutions across the global spectrum.

Notably, Tiago played a pivotal role in constructing and sustaining the largest structured product issuance within the Portuguese banking sector over four years. Earlier in his illustrious journey, he honed his expertise in a cash account management position at BNP Paribas.

An impassioned advocate for structured products, Tiago has personally trained over 500 financial professionals, cementing his legacy as a true industry catalyst.

Group Investment Strategy - Chief Investment Office, UniCredit. Chairman at ACEPI

After graduating from Bocconi University in Milan, Nicola gained extensive experience in the investment products business from 2000. Between 2004 and 2014, he worked as the Head of ABN AMRO Italian Private Investor Products and Head of RBS European Listed Products. In 2015, he joined UniCredit with increasing responsibilities within the Private Investor Products team, ultimately as Co-Head of the European PIP Distribution and Brokerage Sales team. He moved to UniCredit's Group Investment Strategy team in 2023, with focus on investment strategies, portfolio management and advisory for the HNI.

Nicola was one of the founding members of ACEPI in 2006 and served on the Board of Directors until 2014. Currently, he holds the position of Chairman of the Board in ACEPI and is a member of the Board of Directors of EUSIPA, since 2019.

Managing Director - Global Head of Equity Exotics and Hybrids Structuring, Barclays

Arnaud Heckenroth is a Managing Director and Global Head of Equity Exotics and Hybrids Structuring at Barclays, based in London.

Arnaud is driving globally the delivery of structured products to our partners. He is coordinating product innovation for wealth managers and distribution channels, the development investment and hedging solutions to institutional clients, the hybrid product offering for the bank. His team also promotes Alternative Risk Transfer opportunities to sophisticated counterparties.

As part of his role, Arnaud is also the Managing Director accountable for the Global Platform and Issuance Development Team in charge of the automated trading platform and product governance framework, as well as the Global Marketing Team delivering dedicated product content and market intelligence for structured products and systematic strategies.

Prior to assuming his current role in January 2024, Arnaud was Head of Equities Structuring EMEA, a role he assumed in early 2021. Prior to joining Barclays in 2013, Arnaud was Head of the Equity Exotics Stucturing team for EMEA at Nomura in London. Arnaud started his career in 2004 in the Equity Structuring team at Lehman Brothers in London.

Arnaud holds a MSc in Telecom Engineering (Diplome d’Ingenieur) from the French Grande Ecole Telecom Paris and a MSc in Probability & Finance from Sorbonne University in Paris.

Head of E-Connectivity Sales, BBVA

Daniel is responsible for the Global Digital x-asset Investment Business in BBVA.

With more than 15 years in the industry, having previously worked in similar positions at Commerzbank and Societe Generale, Daniel and his team are responsible for the definition, implementation and promotion of the x-asset Digital Solutions for Investment Products at BBVA globally, focusing in particular with the end to end automation of the Structured Products investor workflow.

Previously, he was the Global Head of Commodity Derivative Sales and prior to that in charge of Structured Products Distribution in Latam for Commerzbank.

CEO and founder, Marex Solutions

Nilesh has served as Chief Executive Officer and founder of Marex Solutions, a division of Marex since March 2017 and brings more than 24 years of experience of building customised derivatives trading businesses. He has held leadership roles in all aspects of the business including Trading, Sales, Treasury, Structuring and Quantitative Analytics. Nilesh is on the Board Executive of the Marex Group.

Nilesh spent the beginning of his career at Lehman Brothers, leading the Single Stock Exotics Trading in EMEA at the investment bank. From 2008 to 2016, Nilesh held multiple leadership roles at Leonteq Securities AG, a FinTech structured products issuer, with a successful IPO in the role of Head of the Markets Engine Division. Nilesh earned his Master of Arts degree in Mathematics from the University of Cambridge.

Nilesh has served on several Boards including as Trustee of Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice. He is also an active angel investor supporting business in a wide variety of industries.

Partner & Head of the Global Financial Services Regulatory practice across Europe, Asia & the Middle East, Simmons + Simmons

Penny is a partner at Simmons + Simmons and Head of the Global Financial Services Regulatory practice across Europe, Asia and the Middle East bringing together a global team to clients, advising on the synergies and divergences between different jurisdictions with a team of over 200 lawyers.

Penny specialises in a wide range of UK and EU regulatory matters including advising a significant number of firms on the implementation and ongoing compliance and enforcement issues relating to the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR), managing related governance, conduct risk and culture issues and the Consumer Duty. Penny is part of a group of partners who advise in a joined up way across practice areas on all aspects of corporate governance, culture, remuneration and risk. Penny regularly advises the C suite including Boards and Senior Managers on critical strategic issues and FCA engagement and has a real trusted adviser status with some of the world’s largest and most significant institutions.

Penny has advised extensively on the FCA Consumer Duty and the forthcoming European retail investment strategy and its impact across investment bank and asset manager manufacturers, to private bank and wealth distributors and mass retail facing organisations.  She is now focussing on the UK CCI regime which replaces the PRIIPS Regulation and is of significant relevance to investment bank and asset manager clients in terms of changes to UCITS KIIDs and PRIIPs KIDs for, amongst other products, structured products and derivatives. Simmons + Simmons have held the pen on the responses of the UK Structured Products Association and AFME on their responses to the CCI Consultation Paper.

Head of Structured Solution Team, Fineco Asset Management

With over 16 years of industry experience, Brunilda Peculi currently leads the Structured Solution Department at Fineco Asset Management in Dublin.

During the last 3 years, she has focused on developing structured solutions, specializing in capital-protected strategies and target payout ideas designed for retail clients. Her expertise and collaborative approach has helped strengthen the firm's position in structured solutions.
She heads a dynamic team of professionals, focusing on fund structuring and origination while fostering strong relationships with multiple counterparties across the industry.

Prior to her current role, she held key front office positions at Banca Akros and Banca Aletti , where she gained extensive experience in derivatives trading and structured product development. 

Brunilda is multilingual, speaking Albanian, Italian, and English fluently, and brings a global perspective to financial product development and team management.

European Head of Fixed Income FI Structuring, Credit Agricole CIB

Nicolas has 15 years of experience in financial markets and Fixed Income.

Nicolas started his career at Société Générale, first in the risk department before joining the Interest Rates Structuring team. He joined CACIB in 2018 as part of the Financial Institutions Structuring team before assuming his current European role.

Nicolas holds a Master degree in Quantitative Finance from ENPC Engineering School and a Master degree in Computer Science from ENSIIE Engineering School.

Chief Executive Officer, WSD

Mathias has practiced law for more than 20 years and has worked in the legal tech world for over ten years. He has broad legal experience and is a recognized expert in derivatives law and automation, having founded WallStreetDocs, RegXchange, PRIIP Cloud and Scissero.

Mathias holds an LL.M. from Harvard Law School, and a Mag.Jur and Dr.Jur in law from the University of Vienna.

Chief Revenue Officer, WSD

Frances brings a wealth of experience to WSD, with a successful track record in the finance and technology sectors. Prior to joining WSD, she served as an independent M&A advisor in technology and Wealth Management, representing owners and investors. She also held the position of Managing Director for Econocom North America, UK & IRL.

She has led the EMEA Advisory Council to the Board of 100 Women in Finance and the French Chamber of Commerce, showcasing her commitment to driving positive change within the industry.

Secretary General, EUSIPA - European Structured Investment Products Association

Thomas is the Secretary General of EUSIPA the European association for the issuers of structured investment products, a role he covers since 2012.

He is also a member of the board in the Towards Sustainability Central Labelling Agency, the Belgian financial sector ESG label awarding institution and general manager of BELSIPA, the Belgian issuer association of our industry. Thomas, a lawyer by training, headed the Western European Business development function of major global law firm Linklaters before taking his current role. He is married with two children and lives in Brussels.