Innov8rs London

Steve Suarez and Rita Martins will offer an overview of HSBC's approach to innovation. This cover a broad range of topics from the innovation horizons we look at, to our upskilling and education programmes, and our approach to crowdsourcing ideas. Following this, we will offer a more in-depth synopsis of our FinTech strategy, including: how we engage with FInTechs; conducting PoCs with FinTechs; and how onboard them. The key takeaway is to understand how HSBC fits in with the wider fintech ecosystem.

Steve is the Global Head of Innovation, Global Functions at HSBC, leading an innovation ecosystem to shape and deliver better ways of serving our customers through innovative solutions. Steve is an accomplished transformation expert with 28 years of experience in consulting, telecommunications and financial services, guiding geographically diverse teams and driving large scale complex strategic initiatives across multiple organisations. Steve establishes strong connections with executive stakeholders and corporate partners alike sharing his expertise through multiple channels including non- executive board participation and keynote engagements. His passion for innovation and the growth mind-set drives his continuous learning, the most recent of which is the Innovation and Leadership program at MIT where he has become an MIT Sloan Alumnus. Rita Martins is the Head of FinTech Partnerships, for Global Functions, at HSBC. Building and managing relationships with high-potential startups and driving collaboration between FinTechs and traditional financial services. Rita worked previously at Ernst and Young and Accenture, advising C-Suite on the applicability of RPA and AI tools in finance and driving large scale transformation projects, gaining deep insight on best practices across the industry. A recognised FinTech expert, Rita was included in the Top50 Inspiring Women in UK Tech (InspiringFiFty 2021) by AccelerateHer and Women in FinTech Powerlist 2020 by Innovate Finance. She is a regular speaker at Financial Industry events panels and a judge at FinTech innovation awards. Rita advises a number of technology startups, is a mentor at several accelerator programmes such as Techstars Web3 Accelerator and Outlier Ventures.