Entry & Judging

• LinkedIn

Louise Brett, Chair 

(Ex) Deloitte Vice Chair. UK & Europe FinTech & Financial Services Innovation Lead Partner

Louise was until 2023, Vice Chair at Deloitte and Head of FinTech and Financial Services Innovation for Deloitte Europe, working across the ecosystem with Financial Services clients, government bodies, regulators, advisors, VCs and the broader FinTech community.

A natural innovator and practical strategist, Louise previously led Deloitte’s Strategy practice and has been at the forefront of shaping Deloitte’s response to FinTech for the benefit of our clients, the FinTechs, and the wider ecosystem. She is relentless about the power of Fintech collaboration to drive financial inclusion and financial literacy and collaborated with Innovate Finance on the Fintech for Schools initiative. Sponsoring recent research
into Female Financial Equality, Louise is convening cross-industry engagement and action to accelerating female focused communications and solutions.

She co-led the National Connectivity chapter of the HMT FinTech Strategic Review, ‘Kalifa Review’ and works with clients to partner and scale FinTechs in answer to business challenges. Louise chairs TheCityUK Technology and Innovation Group, represents Deloitte on the UK’s FinTech Strategy Group, is an active Board member of The ScaleUp Institute and is proud to champion Women in VC Europe as a founding sponsor.

Louise was delighted to be recognised again this year on the IF Women in FinTech Powerlist, is active in seeking out best practice from across the globe and applying disruptive innovation principles to client challenges and consumer and SME outcomes. Formerly a banker, she sponsors Deloitte’s focus on Women in Leadership and is passionate
about innovation and the potency of inclusive leadership and diversity of thought to drive superior long term commercial success. She holds an MBA from Warwick Business School, ACIB, and DipFS.

Andrew Probert | Judge & Co-Chair

Co founder Admiral insurance and Confused.com

A qualified chartered accountant, having trained with KPMG. Held significant posts with a number of insurance and financial services companies until becoming a founder director of the Admiral Group plc on it’s start up in 1992. 

Retired  from the Admiral Group in September 2006  but retains membership of a number of subsidiary group boards. Until 2016 was  chairman of the largest insurance company within the group based in Gibraltar, and now primarily involved in the group’s European and US expansion on a part time basis. 

His career has entailed significant time spent appraising new business ideas and investments and involvement in start-ups. 

He manages his own portfolio of private investments and acts as a business angel on a small number of mostly South Wales based SMEs, as well as being a backer, along with Welsh Government and others of the Alacrity Foundation based in Newport, which takes post graduate  students into focused groups, to educate them and help launch start-up businesses and fund their ideas.

• LinkedIn

Mark Evans

Chief Information Officer, SMS PLC

Mark has over 25 years’ experience in architecture, IT operations, software engineering and enterprise transformation, including large scale Digital Transformation, through to contemporary cloud-based and open-sourced architectures and software engineering practices. Experience has been gained across a number of sectors, including Financial Services, Public Sector, Sales & Distribution.

Recently Mark spent 5 years as CTO defining and then delivering the digital strategy at Hodge Bank and has recently joined SMS-Plc as CIO, where is focus is on leveraging technology to help SMS in decarbonising the UK economy.

• LinkedIn

Mark Walker

CEO & Editorial Director, The Fintech Times
& CEO, Disrupts

An experienced technologist, my early corporate successes led me to form my own enterprise software company, producing and selling to Universities and institutions. A hands-on role, I executed this idea from concept to maturity, while also leading the international sales for an advanced engineering company before its M&A.

I’m a former Senior Adviser at UK trade & investment, where I used my time to build contacts in technology, IoT and Smart cities sectors, as well as the investment and accelerator environment. Managing a team of seven, my role facilitated a good understanding of the London technology environment. I then continued my passion for supporting Start-up and Scale-up organisations by joining London & Partners as the Head of Financial, Business Services and Technology sector and the tech & urban specialist on the Mayor’s international business programme. Helping London companies internationalise.

I’ve now stepped out of the public sector, to continue supporting ideas, Start-ups and Scale-ups with several of my ventures, including a new style of an award programme Fintech Awards London. I am also owner of Disrupts Media, whos focus is the support of companies with brands such as The Fintech Times, a Global multimedia news company centred around the world’s first fintech newspaper

• LinkedIn

Steve Dukes

CEO, Confused.com

As CEO I’m focused on growing and evolving both Confused.com and the group we have been a part of since our acquisition in 2021, RVU.

My passion is in synchronising marketing, product, data and technology to deliver growth and change.