From Open Finance to intelligent finance: Why the next innovation wave is about outcomes, not products
A conversation with both data experts (from Deutsche Bank, Raidiam), and governance and customer experience experts about the future of customer journeys in financial services in an AI driven world.
Nicola Breyer
Nicola Breyer
Open Finance Advisor & ExpertNicola is a seasoned executive over 25years of experience in building, transforming, and growing organisations, particularly in the tech sector. Currently, she advises banks on open finance strategy, AI implementation and transformation. She is a Senior Advisor and SME for Roland Berger’s global AI Lab and FS practice.
Early in her career, she established three financial services businesses during the emerging internet age and became MDof her first company at 26. Her venture capital experience sparked a passion for working with portfolio companies. She also gained extensive operational expertise in the global FMCG sector, Since 2016, Nicola has held Managing Director and C-level roles in financial services and tech companies, including a leadership position at PayPal. Recently, she has served as CEO and Managing Director in BaFin-licensed businesses, focusing on international strategy, business transformation, fundraising, regulation, organizational set-up, product strategy, marketing, sales, HR, and C-level team leadership.
Nicola is also an active angel investor and serves as a Board Director for three fintech companies. She also serves on the Strategy Board of House of Finance & Tech in Berlin and on the board of FRIDA – Open Insurance.
She is an internationally recognized expert in open finance and AI in wealth management, frequently speaking and publishing on the topic. Nicola collaborates with industry bodies, banks, insurers, and regulators to shape the future open data economy and is a co.founder of the German Open Finance Charta.
Joanna Michalska
Ethica Group
Joanna Michalska
Founder & Chief Executive Officer Ethica GroupDr Joanna Michalska is Founder of Ethica Group Ltd, an independent strategic advisory firm focused on executive authority under automation. She advises boards and named accountable executives in regulated industries, financial services, insurance, healthcare, pharma, and critical infrastructure, who are caught between tightening regulatory demand and the competitive imperative to scale AI. Ethica gives them what they need to defend AI to a regulator and scale it safely: independently verifiable evidence that AI systems can be intervened in, in time. Ethica’s methodology is jurisdiction-agnostic, mapping to the EU AI Act, FCA, PRA, DORA, FINMA and equivalent frameworks. Jo holds a PhD in Enterprise Risk Management and brings two decades of senior leadership in global financial services, including JPMorgan and HSBC. Her expertise spans enterprise risk, AI governance architecture, and decision authority under automation, with direct regulator and cross-jurisdictional engagement.
Joris Hensen
Deutsche Bank
Joris Hensen
Open Finance Lead Deutsche BankJoris Hensen is responsible for the client facing business of the Deutsche Bank API Program, which he co-founded in 2015. With more than 50 partnerships and a company-wide coverage of data-based products, Deutsche Bank is now one of the world’s leading open banking players. The Developer Portal of Deutsche Bank gives partners quick and easy access to more than 40 API products, enabling them to connect personalized apps and services and thus open up new areas of value creation.
Joris’ work includes brand and partnership development in the area of open banking as well as the expansion of internal processes and structures to accelerate the bank’s digital transformation.
In his more than ten years at Deutsche Bank, Joris Hensen has worked as a project manager on various international projects. He became enthusiastic about innovations and trends early on and set up a corporate foresight program in which he developed future scenarios and innovation strategies for Deutsche Bank. He now regularly writes and publishes on the topics of foresight, innovation, and APIs.
In his spare time, Joris is committed to supporting entrepreneurial school and financial education as well as social entrepreneurship for more than 400,000 young students in India (www.karmaheld.de).
Marie Walker
Raidiam
Marie Walker
Open Futurist RaidiamMarie is Raidiam’s resident Open Futurist, using her exceptional insight to help countries and businesses create opportunities in the emerging data economy. Marie is interested in the possibilities that Open Data ecosystems like Open Finance can deliver – and how we can get there. Since 2016 she has been bringing together the best people and ideas in Open Banking, Open Finance and Open X: highlighting progress, analysing the impact of new possibilities, and helping people to have the necessary conversations.
Marie was previously the founder of market intelligence platform, Open Future World. Marie also runs open-conversations.org where she curates a daily list of the most interesting news headlines and insights. This is an independent and free source of discerning information on progress in Open Banking, Open Finance, and Open X.