MONTREAL - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Chief Customer Officer
- Director
- Chief Customer Officer at the British Business Bank
Angelene Woodland is the Chief Customer Officer at the British Business Bank, having joined in April 2019. She is responsible for creating and delivering the Bank's market engagement strategy and is responsible for Brand Marketing, Communications, Digital & Direct Marketing, Sustainability, Partnership Marketing, Public Affairs, and the regionally based UK Network team. She is focused on delivering the Bank's mission for its customers, to drive sustainable growth and prosperity across the UK, and to enable the transition to a net zero economy, by improving access to finance for smaller businesses. Angelene is dedicated to driving and evidencing positive impact and outcomes for the Bank and its customers. Her passion lies in driving change to instigate transformative shifts in behaviour and culture that will benefit her colleagues and the bank's customers and sustainability goals. With an extensive career spanning over 25 years in the field of marketing, Angelene has brought a wealth of expertise to the Bank.
Mrs. Woodland is Director at The Montreal Group.
Jane Preteroti is an Advisor for The Montreal Group, as of March 2023. She holds a Bachelor's degree from Université de Montréal and a Master's degree in International Law and Politics from the University of Sherbrooke. She previously completed an internship with the United Nations Office at Geneva at the Office of the Director-General with the NGO Liaison Unit and works as a Research Assistant for the royal Military College of Canada.
Job Titles:
- Head of Operations
- Program Manager
Juan Dávila is the Program Manager and Head of Operations for The Montreal Group and also acts as Manager, International Relations for the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC). Before taking on his current role, Juan held roles of increased responsibility at BDC. When he joined BDC in 2015, he supported The Montreal Group on a part-time basis. This experience sparked his interest for one day coming back to the organization.
Most recently, he was Manager for National Partnerships. In this role, he managed BDC's key national partnerships with a particular focus on underserved entrepreneurs. Juan holds a Bachelor of Commerce with a major in International Business from Concordia University, Montreal, Canada. He has worked in Canada, Uruguay, and Egypt and speaks three languages: English, French and Spanish.
Karen Kastner was appointed Secretary-General of The Montreal Group in April 2023. She is Vice President, Strategy and Government Relations at BDC since June 2022. In the latter role, she is responsible for corporate strategy development, BDC's relationship with its sole shareholder, the Government of Canada, and for international relations. Ms. Kastner began her career with the federal Department of Justice where she worked on the implementation of new domestic legislation. She then became involved in international treaty negotiations, providing policy advice and representing Canada at the United Nations, G8, European Commission and Organization of American States. Ms. Kastner also worked at the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority which she joined to build its corporate planning and government relations functions. Ms. Kastner holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from Concordia University and an LL.B from the University of Ottawa. She has published articles in the United Nations Publications and the International Institute of Security Studies.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Executive Committee
- Vice - Chair of the Executive Committee
- Executive Committee Member and CEO Advisor
- Vice - Chair / Advisor to CEO
Abdulaziz Al Zaid, Executive Committee Member and CEO Advisor represents the CEO of SIDF in several committees within the industrial ecosystem. He also represents SIDF in relevant international coordinating councils and manages SIDF memberships in international organizations and global development banks. Al Zaid's experience extends to over 16 years. Most of his industrial experience in APICORP was in petrochemicals, refining, shipping, offshore oil services, upstream/field development, LNG liquefaction, fertilizers, crude oil refined products. He also led the efforts of SIDF to join and chair the D20 and obtain membership in the World Economic Forum. He joined SIDF in 2018 and was an important member in the transformation journey of the fund since then.
Job Titles:
- Director General
- Director General of Tamwilcom
Hicham Zanati Serghini is Director General of Tamwilcom (previously the CCG). Before being appointed Director General at the head of CCG in 2014, Hicham had been the Secretary-General since 2007. Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Public-Private Investment Fund SME Growth, Vice President of the Professional Association of Guarantee Institutions of Africa (APIGA), Hicham Zanati Serghini is also a member of the High-Level Committee on Guarantee Systems in the countries around the Mediterranean. Prior to joining the CGC, Hicham Serghini began his career with the Treasury and External Finance Branch at the Department of Finance, where he worked on various government files and programs: Supporting Young Promoters, Mutual Fund Legislation in capital, financing the upgrading of industrial enterprises as well as the overhaul of the national guarantee system.
Mr. Zanati is Director at The Montreal Group.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Director / Director, International Financial Institutions
- Director, International Financial Institutions at NAFIN
Iván Cornejo is Director, International Financial Institutions at NAFIN. He previously worked as at NAFIN. He joined the Institution in 2008, and has worked at the Direction of International Financial Institutions since 2010 occupying different positions. Before becoming Director, Ivan was in charge of implementing priority programmes and projects that are in line with NAFIN's mission, as well as identifying technical assistance needs that allow the exchange and adoption of international best practices among development banks.
He has experience in negotiating long-term credit lines with international institutions, and his work on the past years has been mainly focused on funding for renewable energy, energy efficiency, cogeneration and geothermal energy programmes.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Executive Committee
- Co - Chair of the Executive Committee
- Co - Chair of the Montreal Group Board of Directors
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Executive Committee of Wallonie Entreprendre
Jean-Pierre Di Bartolomeo is a member of the executive committee of Wallonie Entreprendre, BVA Board Member since 2005 and BVA Chairman during 2013-2014. His activities on behalf of the Walloon Government (e.g. he is in charge of the Guarantee Fund for the Walloon Region) contribute to his expertise in the field of SMEs' financing solutions. Mr. Di Bartolomeo's professional background includes management and financial consulting (DELOITTE & TOUCH - PRICE WATERHOUSE COOPERS), loan activities at the FWPMI (SRIW Group), creation and management of the SIAW (loans to SMEs in the Agricultural-and-Food Industry), management of holding companies at the SOCIETE EUROPEENNE DE BANQUE (COMIT Group, Luxembourg). Mr. Di Bartolomeo graduated from the University of Liège (Finance) and holds a master's degree in SME financing (DURHAM UNIVERSITY Business School, UK). He was appointed co-chair of The Montreal Group in 2022.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Executive Vice President
- Director / Executive Vice President, SME Financing
Juuso Heinilä is Executive Vice President, SME Financing at Finnvera. Previously, he was Regional Director of Northern Finland for Finnvera. He has more than 15 years of experience from management, financing and investments. In 2000-2004 he worked in several positions at Nokia Networks. After Nokia, Juuso worked for OP Financial Group for over ten years. He worked as Sales Director from 2005 to 2010 and then as Director of Sales and Customer Relations in 2010-2016. Juuso joined Finnvera as Regional Director in 2016. Juuso graduated from the University of Oulu and received his M.Sc. degree in Industrial Engineering in 2003 and M.Sc. in Economics in 2005.
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Treasurer of the Executive Committee
- Treasurer / Executive Vice President, BDC Capital
Jérôme Nycz was appointed Executive Vice President, BDC Capital, the investment arm of the bank that offers venture capital and growth equity to Canadian businesses, in 2013. In this role, he oversees the deployment of the Venture Capital Action Plan and the Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative and he is responsible for driving strategies and initiatives forward to enhance Canada's venture capital and start-up community. Mr. Nycz has more than 20 years of experience in the financial and public sectors. Before joining BDC in 2002, Mr. Nycz began his career with the federal government. He is a board member of Finance Montreal and Fondation de l'ICM. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science from Concordia University, an IMBA from Hartford University and the Corporate Director (ICD.D) designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.
Mr. Nycz is Treasurer of The Montreal Group.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Managing Director
- Director
Shri Sudatta Mandal was appointed in May 2021 as the Deputy Managing Director of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), the principal financial institution engaged in the promotion, financing and development of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The appointment is for a period of 3 years. Prior to this, Shri Mandal was the Chief General Manager of EXIM Bank.
Shri Mandal has professional experience of more than 25 years in international trade and investment finance, project finance, structured lending, Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) lending including cluster financing, and trade finance. He is a B-Tech. in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, and holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Management with specialisation in Finance from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta.
M. Mandal is Director at The Montreal Group.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Director
- Managing Director
- Managing Director / CEO of Development Bank of Nigeria Plc
Mr. Tony Okpanachi was appointed Managing Director/CEO of Development Bank of Nigeria Plc (DBN) in January 2017. He is a seasoned banker with over 30 years' experience. Before his appointment as Managing Director/CEO of DBN, he was the Deputy Managing Director of Ecobank Nigeria Limited since April 2013. Prior to that, he was the Managing Director, Ecobank Kenya and Cluster Managing Director for East Africa (comprising Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan and Ethiopia). He was also at various times Managing Director of Ecobank Malawi and Regional Coordinator for Lagos and South West of Ecobank Nigeria. Earlier in his professional career, he managed various portfolios including Treasury Management, Retail Business Development, Corporate Finance, Corporate Services, Branch Management and Relationship Management. Tony Okpanachi holds a Master degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Manchester Business School UK, a Master of Science degree in Economics from University of Lagos and a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria. He has attended several Executive Management Development Programmes on Leadership, Corporate Governance, Credit and Risk-Management in leading institutions.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Executive Committee
- Co - Chair of the Executive Committee
- Co - Chair / Director of International and European Affairs
- Is Director of International
Isabelle Bébéar is Director of International and European Affairs at Bpifrance since 2001. She oversees the relations with European and international institutions and the partnerships with sovereign wealth funds and long-term investors. Ms. Bébéar accompanies foreign governments in the development of their entrepreneurial ecosystems and connects innovative companies with business opportunities and international investors. She also manages Averroès Africa, a fund of funds dedicated to investing in African companies. She is a director of Proparco (Agence Française de Développement Group) and a member of its Audit and Risk Committee. She is also Vice President of the Board of Directors of HDBI, the Hellenic Development Bank for Investments, President of the Board of Directors of the Euromed Capital association, and a director of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds
Sara Shafiei joined The Montreal Group in January 2024 as the Marketing Coordinator. She holds a bachelors degree in Marketing from John Molson School of Business. As of November 2023, she graduated from her Masters of Science in Marketing. Her previous experiences includes internships at MEGA Brands and Ubisoft as a digital marketing intern and a CRM assistant. Sara also worked as part of the marketing subscription team at Ubisoft following her bachelors.