Stella Emseis | Associate Director, Senior Corporate Events Manager | RBC BlueBay Asset Management
Stella Emseis joined RBC BlueBay Asset Management in 2023 as Associate Director, Senior Events Manager, and runs all client facing EMEA and APAC events for the organisation.
Prior to this, Stella worked in event manager roles at Open Exchange, an organisation that provides virtual events technology, as well as several financial institutions including London Stock Exchange Group and State Street Global Advisors. Stella started her career agency side, organising events for clients across the globe before moving inhouse. She holds an MA in Web Design and Animation.
Swarnika Agrawal | Associate | Nomura International PLC
Swarnika joined Nomura in 2019 after graduating from BITS Pilani with a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering and a Master’s degree in Economics.
Starting as an intern in the Mumbai office, her enthusiasm, strong work ethic, and thirst for knowledge quickly earned her a permanent role in the Risk Management division. Her exceptional performance in the Risk Methodology Operations team gained her recognition beyond her immediate team and region and in 2022, she was offered a role in the London Risk team. Travelling outside of India for the first time, Swarnika soon settled into the new environment, building a strong network of colleagues and mentors. Swarnika has played a key role in several high-impact initiatives, including the migration of a complex and sensitive calibration process from spreadsheets to a strategic system — requiring close collaboration across Technology, Methodology, and Change Control teams. More recently, she has been instrumental in the delivery of the FRTB-IMA under Basel 3 — a critical regulatory project for the bank — where she also helped demonstrate Nomura’s compliance to the Japanese regulator. Outside her core role, Swarnika is passionate about advancing gender equity in Financial Services. She co-chairs Nomura EMEA’s Women in Risk (WiR) network and serves as a regional facilitator for the New York-based Women in Financial Markets (WIFM) network, organising events to foster networking and address challenges faced by women in the industry. Swarnika’s commitment to professional excellence, collaborative leadership, and driving positive change makes her a rising star in her field.
Lauren Cassells | Design Lead | Financial Conduct Authority
Lauren Cassells is leading research & innovation programmes at FinTech Scotland, where she leads initiatives aimed at advancing beneficial and responsible adoption of emerging technology and innovations through research and collaboration with industry stakeholders.
Additionally, she is the Design Lead for the Innovation Lab at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), focusing on designing and delivering the Digital Sandbox and TechSprint programs — regulatory product development hackathons that tackle challenges within the financial services sector leveraging innovative technologies such as tokenisation, quantum computing and artificial intelligence. As co-chair of the Women in Banking and Finance UK Shadow Board, she champions women’s voices in finance while also participating in the City of London Women Pivoting to Digital Taskforce and mentoring for Women’s World Banking’s Inclusive Tech programme, showcasing her dedication to empowering those around her and advancing gender diversity in the sector. With a strong background in fintech, Lauren’s expertise lies in bridging the gap between regulation, innovation and driving impactful adoption, ensuring that new solutions meet both market needs and regulatory standards. Her dual roles, along with her commitment to supporting women’s representation in finance, highlight her dedication to fostering a culture of innovation while promoting sustainable growth in the payments industry and beyond.
Laura Scott | Vice President, Business Management | Royal Bank of Canada
I studied Economics at Queen’s University (Kingston, Ontario) and first joined RBC as a summer student working in Business and Client Services, returning year after year.
After graduating, I joined the Equity Order Management team in Capital Markets on the trading floor, supporting institutional and retail equities traders. I then transitioned to a business analyst / project management role in Portfolio and Change Management for rates derivatives projects, where I was promoted to senior business analyst in 2021. After developing an interest in business management, I joined Global Credit as an associate on the Business Management team in 2022, and was promoted to business manager for all of Global Credit at the beginning of 2024. An opportunity to take a business management secondment in London came up in summer 2024, and I was lucky enough to start the international chapter of my career in September 2024. I am currently working as a business manager for Global Markets Flow Sales in Europe and enjoying exploring London. I have been a lifelong RBCer and look forward to seeing where my career takes me next. Outside of work, I’m usually trying out different restaurants, planning my next trip, or going for a run!
Joy Moir | Investment Manager Assistant Director | RBC Brewin Dolphin
Joy is a Chartered Investment Manager having worked in the financial services industry for over a decade, first starting off in banking before moving into a career in investments.
Throughout her career, Joy has worked closely with independent financial advisers, direct clients and charities to manage their investments and help them to meet their individual goals through tailored investment strategies. This has led to long lasting, genuine relationships with her clients and companies. Joy is a frequent speaker at various industry events, including Women in Business conferences, Investment Seminars and National/Network events for financial advisers. Through such platforms Joy offers unique insights into investment strategies, shares her expertise and promotes knowledge sharing and inclusive discussion. Joy works as a corporate responsibility ambassador for her company, arranging corporate volunteering and fundraising activities for worthy causes. Joy also holds an ESG (Ethical, Sustainable and Governance) qualification to support sustainable finance and a honours degree in Philosophy, bringing a unique perspective to work and problem solving. Whilst enjoying the ambition of business development, growth and strategy. Joy is passionate about supporting clients, colleagues and her networks in their professional journeys through support and guidance. Joy is a believer in collaboration to empower one another to succeed. Joy actively seeks new opportunities for learning from others, whilst also supporting others through mentorship, training and guidance.
Dr Cristina-Steliana Mihailovici | Social entrepreneur | Little Globy
Dr. Cristina-Steliana Mihailovici is a distinguished expert in Nautical Science and Engineering, an accomplished lecturer, researcher, writer, and STEM Ambassador, and a passionate advocate for sustainability, education, and equality.
Recognized as one of the Top 50 Women in Engineering, she has dedicated her career to shaping the future of the maritime industry while actively promoting inclusivity, climate action, and cultural awareness. Her extensive research spans over 30 internationally published academic papers, focusing on maritime sustainability, safety, human factors, seafarers rights, and well-being. Beyond academia, Dr. Mihailovici is a prolific writer with a lifelong dedication to literature. She began publishing poems and essays at the age of 12 and, in recent years, has embarked on a meaningful educational project for children, having as co author her wonderful daughter, Nicole Noelia. Their series of educational storybooks, featuring their original character Little Globy (our planet), aims to promote positive values, cultural awareness, and a love for learning among young readers. As a Sustainability Ambassador, Dr. Mihailovici continues to advocate for education, climate change action, cultural enrichment, and equality for all. She is deeply committed to empowering communities, inspiring the next generation, and making a lasting, positive impact across maritime, STEM, and social innovation sectors.
Aarthi Ilangovan | Business Intelligence Engineer | Amazon UK Services Ltd
I am a Business Intelligence Engineer at Amazon UK, with over a decade of experience spanning software engineering, data science, and business intelligence across India, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
My career journey began as a Software Engineer Intern at HCLTech, followed by four enriching years at Tata Consultancy Services, where I progressed from a Software Engineer to a Data Analyst, earning technical excellence awards for my contributions. Pursuing my passion for data science, I moved to Germany for my Master's in Data Science, where my thesis was nominated among the best submissions of the year. During this time, I worked as a Data Scientist at the Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, developing sophisticated solutions for patient data analysis using Python for pathological classifications. I further enhanced my expertise at HRS Group in Cologne, where I spent over two years implementing machine learning models for online marketing and collaborating with partners like Google and Microsoft to drive data-driven marketing strategies. Currently at Amazon, I leverage my diverse technical background to deliver impactful business intelligence solutions. I recently received the Innovation Maven award for developing a machine learning model that optimised delivery station forecasting, generating $0.5MM in annual savings. My technical expertise spans multiple programming languages and platforms, including Python, R, SQL, Java, and various cloud technologies. Beyond my professional work, I serve as a school governor for two primary schools in London and actively mentor underprivileged girls from my hometown in India, helping create pathways for the next generation in technology.
Caitlin Rozario | Founder and facilitator | interlude
Caitlin Rozario is on a mission to make work better. As the founder of interlude and Head of Brand and Culture at tech startup Metrikus, she's passionate about creating healthier, more sustainable ways of working that help people do remarkable things - without chronic stress, burnout and overwhelm.
Her workshops with interlude are industry agnostic, and have helped teams across industries build sustainable productivity practices that enhance both performance and wellbeing. Caitlin is a regular speaker at conferences like WORKTECH and Earthfest, and her insights have been featured in publications like Startups Magazine and Workplace Wellbeing Professional. Caitlin's squiggly career has spanned starting the first ever D&I network at marketing rocketship Brainlabs, to ideating award-nominated campaigns at Metrikus (and even a stint at Buckingham Palace). Caitlin is a voracious learner, with degrees from Cambridge and UCL, as well as a recent MBA from Quantic. She puts that appetite to use by learning as much as she can about timeless insights and modern research into better, healthier work. Inspired by her own experience overcoming a life-changing health challenge, Caitlin is determined to change workplace culture for the better one workshop, team, and conversation at a time.
Carmen Macri | Principal Mechanical Engineer | WSP
With over a decade of industry experience, my expertise lies in delivering sustainable and energy-efficient solutions into diverse building sectors, including office, education, commercial, industrial, and residential spaces.
As a dedicated professional, my drive is to contribute to a sustainable built environment through collaborative engineering practices, innovation and the implementation of BIM Modeling. My commitment is to project excellence, ensuring timely and budget-conscious delivery, all while fostering a collaborative and proactive work environment.
Daniella Alves de Sousa Reis | Senior Engineer Building Systems | Heathrow Airport
Daniella is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers with over 15 years of professional experience.
She currently works as a Senior Mechanical Engineer at Heathrow Airport, providing technical leadership in Heathrow's decarbonisation of heat and heating and cooling assets. Daniella began her career in Brazil, working in engineering consultancy across various industries for more than 10 years, especially leading mechanical teams in projects in energy generation. She joined Heathrow in 2019 through the Career Returners Programme, overcoming the challenges many women face when re-entering the workforce but persevered, demonstrating her expertise and knowledge. Beyond her technical role, Daniella mentors graduate engineers and supports their professional development. She is a STEM ambassador and passionate about inspiring the younger generations and championing women working in Engineering and Baggage. Daniella's commitment to technical excellence, leadership, and fostering diversity makes her a standout figure in engineering, inspiring others and contributing greatly to both her team and the wider profession.