8 Women transforming the World of Finance

This month of May, we invite you to discover the profiles of 8 women who are actively involved in Fintech, Insurtech and Regtech! They are entrepreneurs, experts, investors, or partners of the LeSwave innovation platform -- all bring to the ecosystem their rich experience and innovative approaches to revolutionize tech use and integrate technical progress coherently to build tomorrow’s finance!

1.Jihan Khouzaimi is an information and communication technologies engineer who graduated from Télécom Paris, with a specialization in Digital at HEC Paris. During her 5 years at the French Insurance Federation’s Innovation Department, Jihan had the opportunity to lead the Digital Commission (a committee of French insurance companies’ and mutuals’ CDOs, CMOs and CIOs) and to manage “The Hub”, the Insurtech start-up and scale-up accelerator. She is currently managing the "Insurance" vertical within Qarnot Computing. Jihan is an expert on insurance and the sector's innovation challenges, and regularly helps Swavestartups effectively navigate the ecosystem.

Discover Jihane Khouzaimi on Linkedin

2. Charlotte Gaudin is the founder and CEO of Conformément Votre and AMLFActory, the Regtech that helps fight money laundering and terrorist financing. Driven by the idea of a fairer and safer world, Charlotte began her studies in criminal law and specialized in the fight against money laundering and terrorism. For the past 15 years, she has been providing her expertise to regulated companies and in 2019, founded AML Factory, incubated at Swave. Her vocation? To simplify regulatory constraints for regulated entities! Accompanying Swave startups since 2018, Charlotte Gaudin puts her solid expertise in compliance, internal control and regulator relations at the service of her peers.

Discover Charlotte Gaudin on Linkedin

3. Caroline Lamaud Dupont is the co-founder of Anaxago and a member of  France FinTech’s board. Originally from Limousin, Caroline studied finance at Paris Dauphine. There she discovered the world of entrepreneurship, including programming! In 2012, at 22 years old, she co-founded Anaxago, with her classmates Joachim Dupont and François Carbone. A great story, as 9 years later Anaxago has invested 283 million euros in 230 companies! Caroline, currently the 4th most influential French personality in the Tech sector, is also a Director of France Fintech and a lecturer in the Finance Technology Data master's program, both partners of Swave.

Discover Caroline Lamaud Dupont on Linkedin and twitter

4. Gimena Diaz is the Vice President of Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa for identity verification and online authentication specialist Onfido. Originally from Argentina, Gimena moved to France to study at Sciences Po-Paris and then at the University of Paris-Dauphine, where she obtained a master's degree in Telecommunications-Audiovisual-Internet. In the early 2000's, Gimena developed her experience in the digital and new technologies sector. She joined Paypal in 2007 and became its General Manager in 2012. After leaving her position, she invested in entrepreneurs by financing high-potential projects within the Paris Business Angels network. In 2019, she joined the Onfido project, incubated at Swave and ranked 1st among The FinTech50 2019. Finally, Gimena is also working toward gender equality as a board member within UN Women France.

Discover Gimena Diaz on Linkedin and twitter

5. Gabriela Paciu is the co-founder of B4finance, a Swave – incubated startup providing wealth management industry compliance solutions through Blockchain and machine learning. Passionate about the finance industry, Gabriela has worked in technology and financial services for asset managers, large banks (HSBC and JPMorgan Chase), and software companies for 17 years. In 2017, drawing on her expertise to contribute to the transformation of the market, she founded B4finance to help asset and wealth managers digitally transform their client and investment journey.

Discover Gabriela Paciu on Linkedin and twitter

6. Marion Deshoulières has just joined the ranks of Checkout.com, a Fintech whose success is evident through its international growth.

Always eager to develop her expertise in the payment industry, from BNP Paribas, to Limonetik, then Mastercard, a Swave partner, she is currently Financial Partnerships Manager for the e-commerce payment unicorn. Enthusiastic and curious by nature, her young career is filled with encounters, learning and changes. Encounters, because without the men and women who mentored her throughout her early professional experiences, she wouldn't have the confidence she does today. Above all, the ability to maintain perspective fuels her deep optimism about the future, regardless of the difficulties. For her, self-confidence and the alignment of her values, personality and choices have been acquired over time thanks to people who have cared, shared and questioned.

Today, her aim is to pass on this knowledge and her working methods to young people in priority areas via the Proxité association. The road is long: here again, she has the feeling that she never stops learning, whatever the age, personal history or aspirations of these young people. Her main drivers? To make an impact, to cultivate lifelong growth, and to share what she has discovered in turn. Her secret dream?  Why not teach one day!

Discover Marion Deshoulières on Linkedin

7. Kristen Charvin is the General Delegate of France FinTech,  Swave's professional association partner that represents French Fintech, Insurtech and Regtech to all ecosystem players and makes them visible through meetings, publications and events. Kristen didn't just "fall into” Fintech as a child! After studying management and communication, she spent 4 years at a PR agency specialized in promoting "tech" products and services, at a time when the "cloud" didn’t yet mean much to anyone. She was soon given major BtoB accounts to manage, such as Eutelsat Communications, Isilon Systems-EMC, Carbonite Inc. and a financial start-up, Advize. The founders offered her the CMO position one year later in 2012!

It wasn't until 2015 that the term fintech came into its own. France FinTech was created by some thirty players, including Advize! Kristen is heavily involved in organizing Fintech R:Evolution, the association's annual event, and in promoting women within the sector via Women in FinTech, an initiative created with Léa Véran and Astrid Cousin. Kristen finally joined the association in 2017 to ensure its development. France FinTech now has over 220 members, nearly 80 partners and has contributed to the creation of several major initiatives such as EDFA and French Fintech Week. Kristen continues, of course, to bring the themes of gender diversity and plural pathways to the ecosystem, particularly through FintecHER.

The latest operations:  the Startup for Kids sponsorship program called Change Mak'Her and this week’s launch of the new barometer dedicated to this subject!

Discover Kristen Charvin on Linkedin and twitter

8. Elea Hernandez is a graduate of McGill and HEC Montreal in International Finance. After a stint at the UN in the environmental program (UNEP), she joined the Technology Pioneers team of the World Economic Forum to further the international recognition and development of technological innovation. She works alongside renowned scale-ups such as Transferwise, Onfido, IZettle, Sigfox, Slack, Palantir Technologies. Fascinated by the technological innovation sector, she decided to return to France to promote FrenchTech’s development and influence. It was therefore natural for her to join Le Swave, whose objective is to promote French finance in Europe and around the world to support Fintech companies.

As a specialist in developmental challenges of start-ups at any stage of maturity, she has managed the support of Swave startups since 2019, overseeing their evolution within the ecosystem while working closely with the various stakeholders (Large Groups, Startups and Institutions).

Discover Elea Hernandez on Linkedin

Look at the previous monthly list of inspiring women's careers:

Women and entrepreneurs: inspiring stories

Inspiring Women: 8 Women's Journeys That Boost Foodtech!