Oracle Financial Services Summit Featured Speakers

David McWilliams

Economist

As one of the few economists ever to speak on the official TED stage, David’s 2023 TED Talk, The Power of Unconventional Thinking, has surpassed 1.2 million views worldwide - highlighting his ability to captivate and inspire through fresh perspectives.

His show, The David McWilliams Podcast, has reached over 35 million downloads, making it one of the world’s most successful economics podcasts.

He’s also the founder of the world’s only economics and stand-up comedy festival, Kilkenomics-described by the Financial Times as “simply, the best economics conference in the world.”

Kevin Brown

Chairman, Bank Aston

Kevin is Chair of Bank Aston, Guernsey’s first locally licensed bank in nearly 30 years, established to serve offshore trustees, investment funds and family offices.

With more than 35 years’ experience in banking and financial services, he also holds independent regulatory roles with the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR). In addition, Kevin is Chair of One Group Solutions (London) Ltd, a non-executive director of a digital identity company, and has a number of angel investment interests.

Previously, Kevin served as Senior Independent Director and a member of the Risk Committee on the Bank of England’s RTGS/CHAPS Board. He has also served as Chair of Audit, Risk & Governance for a UK telecommunications regulator, Global Advisor to KPMG on payments matters working across Europe, Australia, the USA and Canada, and Chairman of a Luxembourg-based fund management company.

Peter Horton

Chief Executive Officer, Gibraltar International Bank

Peter began his career with Barclays in the UK in 1984 undertaking a variety of roles including specialisations in Risk, Project Management, and Corporate Relationship Management. In 1999 he moved to Botswana with Barclays Africa as Risk Director, to subsequently establish and run the Barclays pan-African Corporate Turnaround function based in Kenya. Leaving Barclays in 2004, Peter subsequently assumed the role of Director of Corporate Banking with First Caribbean International Bank with responsibility for Bahamas and Turks and Caicos.

Peter has undertaken CEO roles both internationally and in the UK, initially with the Bank of Maldives followed by Bermuda Commercial Bank, returning to the UK to lead Diamond Bank (UK) and then Al Rayan Bank PLC. He has gained considerable leadership experience delivering organisational and strategic change.

Peter holds a First-Class Honours Degree in Financial Services from UMIST and is an Associate of the Institute of Financial Services (formerly the Chartered Institute of Bankers).

Sovan Shatpathy

SVP, Product Management & Development, Financial Services, Oracle

Sovan Shatpathy serves as the head of product strategy, management, and development for Oracle Financial Services. In this capacity, he provides strategic oversight for Oracle’s global product portfolio, driving innovation and growth across various sectors, including retail and corporate banking, capital markets, enterprise payments, insurance, and revenue management and billing

Previously, Sovan was the CTO at Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU), where he led the Enterprise Technology Services division. There, he delivered transformative solutions that redefined member experiences through an integrated omnichannel approach. Under his leadership, NFCU advanced its real-time money movement and money management capabilities, empowering members with greater financial control and flexibility. He also spearheaded digital engagement strategies and executed a comprehensive workforce digitization initiative to enhance employee productivity and collaboration.

Before his time at NFCU, Sovan served as CTO at Amtrak. Earlier in his career, he spent over a decade at Cisco in senior leadership roles spanning Cisco Services and IT. He also held senior leadership positions at Fortune 500 organizations such as Fujitsu and Cognizant.

Sovan holds a bachelor's degree in electrical and electronics engineering from Manipal Institute of Technology in India and an MBA from Symbiosis International University, also in India.

Barry Hurley

Vice President Sales UK&I Financial Services, Oracle

Barry Hurley is a sales leader with over 30 years’ experience in the technology and IT services sector. Currently serving as an Oracle Applications Vice President, Barry is responsible for leading Oracle’s UK Financial Services business and serves as the country leader for Ireland. In his role, he drives strategic initiatives, helping organisations realise their growth ambitions.

Before joining Oracle, Barry spent six years at Amazon Web Services (AWS), where he led the Enterprise business. His key areas of responsibility included driving growth, spearheading AI adoption, and leading client acquisition strategies for large-scale enterprise customers.

Sarah Henry

Vice President Industry Leader EMEA, Oracle

Sarah is VP, Industry Leader EMEA at Oracle. With over 25 years’ experience in technology and financial services Sarah has a broad expertise across strategy development & execution, business transformation, investment case creation, solutions implementation, business architecture, solution design and development and even a spell as a COO.

Sarah has been at Oracle for 13 years and before that worked for RBS, now NatWest. She has a depth of experience in both Fusion Cloud, industry solutions and previously PeopleSoft and has worked with many organisations supporting the delivery of business transformation programmes enabled by technology solutions.

Paul Gorman

CEO, Bank Aston

Paul Gorman is the CEO and co-founder of Bank Aston, a newly-licensed bank that is building on Oracle Banking Cloud Solution.

Paul worked in large banks for over 20 years before transitioning into fintech and neo-banking. He worked in front office investment banking at Barclays Capital across capital markets and derivatives for 13 years. He then crossed to Corporate and institutional banking in Santander UK where, for 7 years, he built and ran FX and international cash management solutions. Paul was a Royal Naval Engineering Officer for 6 years before transitioning into the banking sector.