OMFIF Team

John Orchard is Chief Executive Officer of OMFIF, taking over on 1 January 2020.  He chairs OMFIF’s executive committee and is a member of the OMFIF board.

Up to November 2019 John was a member of Euromoney’s management board, having started with the London stock market-quoted global information business in 1994. John oversaw all aspects of Euromoney’s £65m turnover finance and banking division, comprising Euromoney, the publishing and events business, GlobalCapital, the primary capital markets news, data and events service, and IMN, the New York-based securitisation and real estate events business. He presided over events and publications to mark Euromoney’s 50th anniversary, including the organisation’s celebratory dinner on 10 July 2019 at the London Hilton with 500 senior bankers and their teams.

Orchard has a double honours degree in German language and European history from the University of East Anglia, where he studied under the tutorship of the writer W.G. Sebald.

Clive Horwood is Managing Editor and Deputy Chief Executive of OMFIF, where he is responsible for all content and helps set the strategic direction of the company. He joined in November 2020.

Prior to this, he spent 15 years as Editor of Euromoney, the leading publication for the global banking industry and capital markets, where he became the title’s longest-serving editor. During this time he interviewed and formed close relationships with many of the leading bankers and policy-makers globally, pioneering coverage on ESG issues from early in his tenure and making Euromoney the benchmark accreditor for financial institutions globally.

Clive started his career as a financial journalist as a reporter on Euromoney in 1993. He was Deputy Editor of Euroweek, the capital markets newspaper. He successfully launched Credit magazine in 2000, and was editor of Risk, the leading title for the global derivatives industry, from 2003 to 2005.

Sarah Holmes is Chief Operating Officer. She is responsible for ensuring implementation of the company’s strategy across a wide range of fields, including meetings, report production, and marketing and communications. Holmes develops relationships with public and private sector institutions across the world, including central banks, sovereign funds, public pension funds, hedge funds and asset managers.

Holmes was previously Operations Director for a business media company, based in New York. She was responsible for creating strategy and implementing processes to improve business efficiency and profitability. Designing, executing and managing the operational and financial planning for large-scale meetings, Holmes has worked extensively across North, South and Central America, and throughout Europe.

Sofia Melis is Chief Revenue Officer. Melis ensures alignment of performance and strategy of OMFIF's revenue-generating activities by maximizing reach and efficiency across institutes. She is responsible for the development of existing and new strategic partnership with public and private institutions globally.

Prior to joining at OMFIF as a Relationship Manager, Melis was Member Journey Manager for The Chartered Quality Institute, where she was responsible for retention of 20,000 members.

Sofia holds a BA in Politics and International Relations from the University of Cagliari in Italy and a postgraduate diploma in International Management from the University of London.

Afroditi Argyropoulou is Human Resources Manager at OMFIF.

Previously, she worked in education and as a research assistant. Before that, she interned at Reload Greece, where she supported the directors in communicating the aims of the charity, edited content and worked on the website. She was also responsible for reaching out to potential stakeholders for donations and events.

Afroditi holds a BSc degree in Psychology from the University of Kent and an MSc in Organisational and Social Psychology from the London School of Economics. She is fluent in Greek.

Emma Jones is Executive Assistant at OMFIF.

Previously, she worked at Lidl head office and as an English language assistant in Austria where she became fluent in German. She is also fluent in French.

Emma holds a BA in Modern Languages from University College London (UCL).

 

Simon Hadley is Director, Production at OMFIF. He is responsible for the design and production of OMFIF’s publications, including liaising with suppliers such as printers, paper merchants and illustrators on a daily basis to ensure timely production of our titles.

His previous roles have resulted in more than 30 years’ experience in the publishing industry including stints on daily newspapers and financial b2b magazines such as Money Marketing and Fund Strategy for Centaur Media.

An experienced, prize-winning photographer, he also contributes pictures to OMFIF publications.

Will Coningsby-Brown is Production Manager at OMFIF. His responsibilities include assisting with the production of a portfolio of print and digital products. He has a specialist knowledge in trade book publishing, having played a key role in publishing recent titles for OMFIF Press.

Prior to joining OMFIF, he was an Editorial Assistant at a sports newspaper, where he was responsible for the transition to, and effective running of, its new website. He has also undertaken various internships in the book publishing industry.

He holds a BA in Politics from Keele University.

Sarah is Chief Subeditor at OMFIF. She is responsible for editing the wide range of OMFIF content and publications, including reports, journals and commentaries, as well as managing the Editorial team.

She joined OMFIF from Argus Media, an energy price reporting company, where she was a production editor. Prior to this she spent three years as editor with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors where she was responsible for editing, typesetting and proofing a wide range of technical and legal material.

Sarah has a BA in English Literature and American Studies and an MA in Modern Literature, both from the University of Leicester.

 

Ben Rands is Director of Events and Marketing at OMFIF, responsible for organising a range of meetings across Europe and wider areas.

He undertook a year’s industry placement at OMFIF and, in recognition of his successes, was invited back to join the team permanently. Prior to joining OMFIF, his experience included organising and managing charity events across Lincolnshire, as well as working at a historic venue in Eastbourne in an event management role.

He holds a BA in International Event Management from the University of Brighton.

James Fitzgerald is Deputy Head of Events and Marketing at OMFIF. He is responsible for developing, implementing and optimising company’s marketing and communications activities.

James worked in marketing for Bauer Media prior to joining OMFIF. His major focus was on marketing to both mass consumer markets and helping to preserve newsagencies by helping them to market Bauer's magazine range across both traditional print and digital platforms.

James holds a BA in Political Economy and Management from the University of Sydney.

Maya Turnbull is an Events and Marketing Coordinator at OMFIF.

She is responsible for organising and marketing a range of meetings for the Digital Monetary and Sovereign Debt institutes. Her previous roles included assisting in organising corporate and private events while building client relationships and sourcing new opportunities.

Maya has a BSc (Hons) in International Event Management from the University of Brighton.

Amy Holder is an Events and Marketing Coordinator at OMFIF. She is responsible for organising meetings and events for OMFIF’s Economic and Monetary Policy Institute.

In previous roles she has developed health and wellbeing initiatives, coordinated internal and external events across the UK and implemented marketing strategies to increase and build client relationships. She is also a member of the Great Britain athletics team.

Amy holds a BSc in sports, health and exercise science from Brunel University and a MSc in sports management from the University of East London.

Jessica is an Events and Marketing Coordinator at OMFIF. She is responsible for organising meetings and events for OMFIF’s Sustainable Policy Institute and Sovereign Debt Institute.

Prior to working at OMFIF Jessica worked as a studio and events manager for a performing arts institution. Her career started in the arts as a theatrical agent, since then she has found an interest in event management working on a variety of different in-person events whilst also managing event spaces and helping to run a dance school.

Jessica holds a first-class Ba(Hons) degree in Musical Theatre from the University of Chichester and an associate’s diploma in Theatre Performance with London College of Music.

 

Jessica Bird is an Events and Marketing Coordinator at OMFIF. She is responsible for organising meetings and events working across all of OMFIF’s Institutes.

Jessica has experience in a number of sectors in the events industry primarily based in the marketing and operations teams for companies such as Closerstill Media, Admirable Crichton and Royal Ascot. Prior to her exposure to the industry, Jessica had a huge passion for dance whilst attending The Brit School for Performing Arts for four years and received a distinction* Extended Diploma.

She also holds a BA Honours Degree in Events Management from the University of Greenwich.

Ophelia is a Marketing Coordinator at OMFIF. She is responsible for developing, implementing and optimising company’s marketing and communications activities.

Prior to working at OMFIF Ophelia was a marketing assistant at a central London estate agency where she created online and offline marketing material for both buyers and sellers.

She also holds a first-class Ba(Hons) degree in Music Business from the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance.

Nikhil is Managing Director, Research at OMFIF. He leads the organisation’s research operations, including global surveys of central banks, regulators and market participants. Nikhil also provides technical and editorial guidance to reports and publications released under OMFIF’s five institutes, covering a wide range of topics including public investment, economic policy, capital market development, sustainable finance and digital money.

Previously, Nikhil was an Emerging Markets Economist at Capital Economics, a macroeconomic research company, where he led the coverage of Latin America. He has previous experience working with the UK civil service and Credit Suisse.

Nikhil holds a Masters’ degree in Economic History from the London School of Economics, where he specialised in Latin American economic development. He holds an undergraduate degree in Economics, Politics and International Studies from the University of Warwick, which included an exchange year at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Nikhil speaks and reads Spanish.

Arunima Sharan is Senior Research Analyst at OMFIF. She is responsible for research and drafting of the organisation’s reports and publications, covering topics relevant to OMFIF’s five institutes. 

Her previous research work at the Institute of Development Studies focused on public accountability structures, taxation policy and gender equality. Arunima has a background in the development sector having worked for development consulting firms in Canada and India and has also interned at national and international organisations including NITI Aayog, Government of India and the United Nations World Food Programme.  

She holds a MA in Governance, Development and Public Policy from the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex, and a BA in Economics and International Development from McGill University. She is fluent in Hindi and French. 

Edward Maling is Research Analyst at OMFIF. He conducts qualitative and quantitative research for the organisation’s reports and publications, covering a wide range of topics relevant to OMFIF’s five institutes. His specialist research interests include development economics and econometrics.

He holds an MSc in Economics from Queen Mary, University of London and a BSc in Economics from the University of Kent.

Julian Jacobs is Senior Economist at OMFIF. He writes and undertakes research for the organisation’s reports and publications, covering a wide range of topics relevant to OMFIF’s five institutes. His research at University College London and The Brookings Institution has focused on inequality, voter behaviour, economic power, debt and technological change. In the past, he has worked in President Barack Obama’s personal office, the World Policy Institute and the Center for International Policy. He is also the co-founder of a non-profit organisation dedicated to eliminating inequality in the higher education application process. His work on digitalisation has been featured in TED, Jacobin and the Wall Street Journal.

He holds an MSc in Political Economy from the London School of Economics and a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Brown University. As a Fulbright Scholar, he studied the relationship between technological automation, artificial intelligence and political radicalism.

Katerina Liu is a Research Assistant at OMFIF. She is responsible for supporting qualitative and quantitative research for OMFIF’s reports and publications across its five institutes.

Prior to OMFIF, she served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kyrgyzstan where she provided capacity building and development assistance for English teaching at a local school in the Toktogul region.

She holds an MA in Governance, Development and Public Policy from the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex and a BA in International Relations from Boston University. She is fluent in Spanish.

 

Ellie is Managing Director of the Economic and Monetary Policy Institute at OMFIF. She is responsible for researching trends, developing relationships and hosting meetings with finance ministries and central banks on monetary policy, economic and fiscal developments and regulatory standards across the globe, including discussions on political economy. She has overall responsibility for the institute and working closely with the advisory board and chairman sets the strategic agenda for the team.

Prior to joining OMFIF she worked at Chatham House, designing and managing a busy events calendar covering all aspects of foreign affairs. Before this she worked in the UK Parliament as a researcher for a shadow minister covering justice policy and has worked for a non-governmental organisation in Botswana.

She has a BSc in Politics from the University of Bristol.

Jamie Bulgin is Relationship Director, Economic and Monetary Policy Institute, with overall responsibility for relations with all financial institutions worldwide, ranging from central banks and sovereign wealth funds to debt management offices and treasuries.

Bulgin re-joined OMFIF in February 2014, having been involved in its inception in 2009/10. In the intervening period he spent four years at OMFIF’s sister company Lafferty Group, including a spell managing operations at the International Academy of Retail Banking – a new academy launched to improve standards in retail banking.

Bulgin is fluent in German, and holds a BA in German from the University of Sheffield and specialises in German-British cultural relations. He has built strong relations with London-based German bodies, including the Embassy of Germany and the German-British Chamber of Commerce.

Avnish Patel is Senior Programmes Manager, Economic and Monetary Policy Institute at OMFIF. He is responsible for developing relationships, creating programmes and hosting meetings with central banks, finance ministries and other public institutions on monetary and fiscal policy and macroeconomic developments.

Prior to joining OMFIF, he worked at the British Academy managing events on the humanities and social sciences. Prior to this he led the events programme at the Political Studies Association and worked at the defence and security think tank, the Royal United Services Institute.

Avnish has a BSc in Politics from the University of Bristol and an MA in International Relations from the University of Warwick.

Mitchell Hoverd is Commercial Executive at OMFIF, responsible for managing and developing relationships with central banks and public institutions.

Prior to joining OMFIF, Mitchell worked for Buckinghamshire council in a business support role. He has also worked for extended periods of time in the US, as a sports coach and tutor.

He holds a BA in Intercultural Communication and Business Management from the University of East Anglia.

Taylor Pearce is a Senior Economist at the OMFIF Economic and Monetary Policy Institute. She contributes to a range of research, reports and commentaries on monetary and macroeconomic themes.

Taylor joined OMFIF with a background primarily in the public sector. She participated in the International Parliamentary Scholarship programme at the German parliament, during which she interned for the chairman of the EU Affairs Committee. She also interned at the US Mission to the UN in New York City working on social issues and economic affairs.

Taylor holds a BA in international relations from Brown University and an MSc in international political economy from the London School of Economics, where she specialised in Eastern European economic development. She is fluent in German.

Katie-Ann Wilson is Managing Director, Digital Monetary Institute at OMFIF. She is responsible for leading and managing the team to deliver the institute’s overall business objectives through a pipeline of publications and events. Katie-Ann develops the editorial scope across these projects and supports senior engagement with central banks, regulators, financial services, and technology providers. She also contributes to the corporate leadership of the entire business.

Prior to joining OMFIF, she worked at King’s College London, supporting the social science and public policy faculty on research submissions to higher education funding bodies. Before this, she worked as a grant writer for a non-governmental organisation in Israel.

Katie-Ann holds an MA in International Political Economy (distinction) from King’s College London and a BA (Hons) in International Relations from the University of Leeds.

Folusho Olutosin is Commercial Director, Digital Monetary Institute at OMFIF. Her responsibilities include recognising new partnership opportunities and developing and maintaining relationships with global public and private financial institutions.

Prior to joining OMFIF, Folusho spent two years in the US, developing and overseeing the sales execution for the North American conference division at Marcus Evans.

Folusho holds an LLB (Hons) in Law from Nottingham Law School and an LLM in Professional Legal Practice from the University of Law.

Lewis is Editor of the Digital Monetary Institute. He is responsible for content, including reports, podcasts and commentaries.

Before joining OMFIF, he spent six years at GlobalCapital, a capital markets newspaper and part of Euromoney Institutional Investor. There, he covered debt capital markets, breaking news and developing themes in public sector bond markets, emerging markets, ESG and digitalisation. He formed relationships with senior bankers and key borrowers.

He holds an MA in Linguistics from the University of Edinburgh.

 

Sinan is Account and Content Manager, DMI at OMFIF. He is responsible for supporting coordination between OMFIF, central banks and private sector entities for the Digital Monetary Institute’s forthcoming research papers, panel events and podcasts.

Previously, he worked as a commercial executive for a payment solutions company, later becoming their relationship manager for over 100 businesses.

Sinan holds a BSc in Economics from the University of Essex.

David is Programmes Assistant for the Digital Monetary Institute at OMFIF. He is responsible for identifying market participants which stand to benefit from OMFIF’s research and reports.

Before, joining OMFIF, David worked in professional client facing roles: as a paralegal at a law firm, then as a commercial client liaison and credit controller at a renowned international apprenticeship provider for several years.

David holds an LLB (Hons) in Law from Brunel University London.

Max Steadman is Programmes Manager of the Digital Monetary Institute at OMFIF. He is responsible for maintaining relationships between OMFIF and global public institutions, researching central bank digital currency trends and creating meeting pipelines to explore policy and best practice in the digital economy.

Before joining OMFIF, Max worked at a UK-based cryptocurrency brokerage, responding to operational requests and leading the client journey. Prior to this, he lived and worked in Thailand, teaching English at a private school.

Max holds a BA in Creative Writing and English from the University of Hull.

Emma is Head of the Sustainable Policy Institute. She is responsible for leading and managing the team to deliver the institute’s overall business objectives through a pipeline of reports, journal publications and events. Emma develops the strategy and editorial scope across these projects and supports senior engagement with central banks, regulators, financial services across the sustainable finance space.

Prior to joining OMFIF, Emma worked for several years as a conference producer, developing and running international conferences in the tech, legal and finance sectors, leading on content, research and building key industry relationships. Before this, she was a team leader for a local community development project based in Kenya.

Emma has a MSc in International Development from the University of Amsterdam, and a BSc in History and American Studies from Sussex University.

Katerina Atkins is Programme Coordinator at OMFIF. She is responsible for supporting coordination between OMFIF, financial institutions and private sector entities for the Sustainable Policy Institute’s research papers, journals, events and podcasts, for programming, and contributing to commentaries. She also leads the Secretariat of the Future of Sustainable Data Alliance (FoSDA).

Prior to joining OMFIF, she worked as a Policy Officer at the Trade and Economic Section of the Delegation of the European Union to the Russian Federation. Before this, she gained 4 years of experience in internationalisation of SMEs by establishing relationships with foreign business chambers, organising events and trade missions, providing research and analysis on trade and economic matters. She also worked in an international consulting company Oliver Wyman.

She holds two Master’s Degrees in International Relations and Diplomatic Affairs from the University of Bologna and in Public Policy and Political Analysis from the Higher School of Economics. She volunteered at the International Conference on Public Policy (ICPP). Her Bachelor’s is in Asian and African Studies.

Edoardo Barbi is a Commercial Executive at the Sustainable Policy initiative (SPI) at OMFIF.

His responsibilities include building and promoting strong, long-lasting relationships with corporates and financial institutions.

Prior to joining OMFIF, Edoardo has had commercial roles with a ESG consultancy for corporates and for a leading tech-based SaaS travel management organisation.

Edoardo holds a Masters in Forensic Psychology from the University of Sheffield Hallam.

Melissa Roache is Managing Director, Sovereign Debt Institute at OMFIF. She is responsible for managing and developing relationships with the most influential stakeholders of the international capital markets, including debt management offices, central banks, investors, ratings agencies and investment banks from around the world.

Prior to joining OMFIF, she spent nine years with Euromoney, the leading publication for the global banking industry and capital markets. She started her career at the magazine as an Associate Publisher, responsible for advertising and special reports from Central and Eastern Europe and Russia. She developed business relationships from an excellent network of financial institutions and government authorities. Her projects covered foreign direct investment, capital markets, private banking, cash management and environmental, social and governance themes. She later became publisher of the Global Markets Newspaper (Global Capital) and head of sponsorship for Euromoney’s flagship Central & Eastern European Forum.

Melissa holds a BA in Russian Studies from the University of Nottingham.

 

Burhan is Head of Content at the Sovereign Debt Institute (SDI), where he is responsible for leading the content for the SDI, including commentaries, research reports, podcasts, as well as the agenda for events.

Before joining OMFIF, Burhan was Europe Editor at The Banker. He also has extensive experience covering the sovereign, supranational and agency bond market from his time at GlobalCapital.

Burhan holds a BA in Classical Studies from the University of Manchester and an MA in Financial Journalism from City, University of London.

 

Vivian Grossi is Programmes Manager at OMFIF Sovereign Debt Institute, she is responsible for developing and maintaining relationships between debt management offices, supranational agencies, public investors and capital market banks through events, panel discussions, interviews, off-the-record roundtables, educational workshops.

Prior to joining OMFIF, she worked as a Survey Engagement Manager at Euromoney.

She holds a BSc in Marketing from the Iberoamerica University in Mexico.

She is fluent in Spanish and Italian.

 

Mark Sobel is US Chairman at OMFIF. Mark is a veteran US Treasury official, who was at the forefront of international financial diplomacy for two decades.

Mark, who represented the US on the International Monetary Fund executive board up to April 2018, has had a 40-year Treasury career with extensive around-the-world engagement.

He works with OMFIF in dealings with private and public sector organisations, speak regularly on international and US policy, and provide OMFIF members with insight and analysis.

Mark was Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary for international monetary and financial policy between 2000 and early 2015. He helped lead Treasury preparations for G7 and G20 finance minister and central bank governor meetings, formulated US positions at the IMF, and coordinated Treasury and regulatory agencies’ work in the Financial Stability Board.

Mark founded the US/EU Financial Market Regulatory Dialogue and chaired an international group of private and official sovereign debt experts that developed enhanced collective action clauses for sovereign debt restructuring. He managed the $100bn-plus Treasury Exchange Stabilization Fund and played a key role in US foreign exchange policy including coordinating the Treasury’s semi-annual foreign exchange report on China and other countries.

Patricia Haas Cleveland is US President of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF). She joined OMFIF in 2018 to develop its US business following the company’s expansion in Europe and Asia as the leading independent think tank and forum for dialogue between the central banking and global public investor community and the financial industry.

After starting her career as an economist at the US Treasury in Washington DC, where she helped established the US-China Joint Economic Committee, she joined the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in London, heading Budget, Financial Policy and Strategic Planning, and serving on the President’s Task Force under Jacques de Larosiere.

Patricia later joined Lehman Brothers in London as head of European Corporate Advisory, and in New York established Lehman’s Strategic Advisory Group for hedge fund clients which won industry awards. Patricia later consulted on cross-border Chinese investment, before joining Citigroup as a managing director in the Institutional Clients Group. She subsequently served as Financial Adviser to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Beijing, and as a guest faculty lecturer at the IE business school in Madrid. She received her MA from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.