Neil Burton has been involved in payments solutions and offerings for over 20 years.

Neil directs Earthport’s product, service and sales strategy. Earthport provides international payments and collections services on an on-demand, white labelled basis to banks and corporates. Earthport offers a cost effective and efficient alternative to traditional payments services including correspondent banking and credit card payments, covering open account trade payments, bulk payments such as pensions and dividends, and expatriate and foreign worker transfers.

Neil is also a founder director of Money Transfers International Association. MTIA is a trade association focussing on remittances.

Prior to joining Earthport in August 2008, Neil was Global Payments Solutions Executive in IBM’s Global Banking Solutions team.

Prior to joining IBM in July 1995, Neil worked in the international banking and finance group at Logica; and prior to that, at Braid.

Neil holds a BA in Physics from the University of Oxford, and an MBA from Kingston University.

PIETER HEYN
GLOBAL FINANCIAL SERVICES MANAGER. EMERGING MARKETS
pieter.heyn@moneytransferinternational.org

Pieter Heyn set up the UK Banking Business Unit in 1995, transferring to the Global Industry Group in June 2000.

He has worked in a number of roles in Sun's Global Finacial Services Group, including EMEA Retail banking, Global Banking Strategy and most recently, Emerging Markets Strategy and Sales with focus on Microfinance, Payment Systems, and Mobile Banking.

He works closely with Industry organisations such as SWIFT, European Bankers Association and is a member of the Board of Directors of the IFX Interactive Financial eXchange (sic) Forum.

In December 2008 he joined the board of directors of the newly formed MTI.

MARTIN WILSON
Former CCO Vocalink

Martin Wilson is the CEO of Castle Rock Consultancy. He is an experienced board level director with a demonstrable track record of delivering business growth through turnaround and transformation, improving operational performance and simply getting things done with clarity, certainty and speed. He has a proven ability to develop coherent strategies and an expert in stakeholder management.

Martin was formerly Executive Director and Chief Commercial Officer at VocaLink, one of the world’s largest providers of payment services to the Financial Services Industry. In this time Martin led the company from a domestic not-for-profit utility to become a successful international commercial and profitable enterprise. He successfully doubled revenues and delivered an ambitious global strategy for growth and commercial development.

Martin has worked in the international payments industry for over 12 years with experience of E- and M-commerce across the UK, Europe, Asia Pacific and Africa. He is regularly invited to speak at payment conferences and contribute to industry press and media coverage.

Having spent 25 years in the financial services industry, Mark is an expert in the retailing and wholesaling of travel related financial services. His consultancy approach to relationship management has helped many organisations improve their customer loyalty and profitability through creative solutions.

Mark has worked in senior management roles for Thomas Cook, Lunn Poly (TUI UK) and is now working for Travelex as Regional Divisional Director, Emerging Markets.

During his time with Thomas Cook he was instrumental in turning around the European retail businesses. He was also responsible for setting up a retail bureaux de change network for TUI UK. Within 2 years this business had established itself as one of the UK’s leading provider of foreign exchange.

Mark was educated at The King’s School in Peterborough and gained his MBA from the Open University Business School. Mark is based in Travelex’s Peterborough offices.

East Africa

AMOOTI BINAISA
MTI Director East Africa

Amooti Binaisa is a seasoned marketing and communications professional. As Managing Director of Cape to Cairo a boutique marketing consultancy, she has worked for a variety of Institutional clients in Africa as well as Europe. Prior to founding Cape to Cairo Amooti worked in the corporate world for 20 years and was appointed Africa Campaign Manager at Virgin Unite, the charitable arm of the Virgin Group and as a marketing manager for Motorola EMEA.

As a daughter of the late Ugandan President Godfrey Binaisa QC, Amooti is committed to championing social and economic transformation using technology. She has done this in a number of ways from successfully lobbying for wireless internet technology to be installed in the first Millennium Village in Kenya to founding a charity that identified organisations to team with educating girl children. Dynamic, creative and tenacious in her approach, she is passionate about enabling others and being a conduit for change.

West Africa

CHRISTIAN UDECHEKWU
MTI Director West Africa

Christian Chukwudozie Udechukwu is a Humanities graduate of the University of Nigeria with postgraduate degree from the Institute of Advanced International Studies, University of Leeds where he was a Guinness Scholar; and an MBA from the Middlesex University Business School, London and Corporate Finance from the London Business School (LBS), London. He is a Chief Executive Officer, BusinessinNigeria Events Ltd (BINEL) BusinessinAfrica Events UK Ltd (BIAE) that are leading corporate communications companies. His clients include the Central Bank of Nigeria, Travelex, United Bank for Africa Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, Oceanic Bank Plc, Finbank Plc, Union Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, First Bank Plc, Nigerian Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Virgin Nigeria Airways, to mention but a few.

Christian Chukwudozie Udechukwu is also a Director of Proshare Nigeria Limited and Director of the West Africa Business Association (WABA), an organisation for over 161 United Kingdom multinational companies doing business in 22 West African countries. He also serves as Executive Vice Chairman, Imperial Leadership Academy, a risk management and financial services training company. Furthermore, he is a consultant and global media commentator on African Affairs for the BBC, African Business, African Banker, FT Banker, Euromoney and more. Christian has had previous professional work experience with blue chip organisations namely Guinness Brewing Worldwide, London; Office of Fair Trading, London; and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD, Paris. MTI West Africa.