Envoy Group has appointed three new advisors to its team as it approaches the pilot phase of its trade finance platform and the launch of the NVOY token. Each advisor comes from the world of commercial banking or a Fortune 100 company, bringing valuable experience and energy with them.
Arzu Toren is a global banking and blockchain transition professional. She is the founder of Aren Strategy Ltd, a management strategy firm based in London. Prior to founding her business, she has carried out positions in international and Turkish commercial banks for 20 years where she executed trade finance products, asset management, debt instruments and business development with progressive growth and profitability. She provides strategic solutions for the blockchain eco-system by combining her expertise and experiences in banking with her academic studies on blockchain.
Thomas Reeves brings to the team over 25 years’ experience of risk and business management in financial markets. He has held senior risk management roles at Citi and Lloyds, and been responsible for many major risk, regulatory and governance projects. As Head of Credit Risk for Citi’s Global FX and Local Markets Business, he was responsible for developing and managing the real time credit risk management and margin trading platforms. He has overseen trading and sales businesses and both 1st and 2nd Lines of Defence, providing direction across market, credit, conduct, operational and regulatory risk.
Jimmy Chang has worked with Fortune 100 companies and brings extensive alternative finance experience with him, as well as a background spanning 15 years in the corporate finance sector. Since then, he has had multiple successes helping start-ups with financial modelling and risk. He will be advising on Envoy’s operations as it targets business in Latin America, North America, Africa and Europe.
These advisers join Envoy’s team of trade and finance experts while the company moves towards pilot phase in which several shipping companies and large financial institutions will finance and execute trades through Envoy’s platform. Following the finalisation of technical partnerships, the Envoy pilot phase will be officially announced with the launch of its NVOY token, which will enable a cross-border payment solution and act as a key driver of trade on its trade finance platform.
Envoy plans to use blockchain technologies to bring massive efficiencies to global supply chain and trade finance. Built on enterprise software firm R3’s Corda blockchain platform, Envoy’s trade finance platform will accelerate the $17 trillion annual global trade flows into the digital age by eradicating archaic practices and injecting vital and once-unobtainable liquidity into the system.
Lee Tarone, Founder & CEO of Envoy, has commented: “Arzu, Tom, and Jimmy are joining us at an exciting point in Envoy’s journey. We have a growing team made up of trade and finance experts; each new advisor is an excellent addition and asset for supporting us as we move the business towards its next phase.
“Global trade is in very troubled waters. Covid-19 has broken trade finance processes which were already inefficient, and banks are becoming increasingly risk averse. Unfortunately, it’s the SMEs who don’t have the balance sheets to survive which are hit the hardest. We are coming to market with an effective solution which will connect alternative finance sources to these businesses, while digitising a lot of the processes currently dominated by paper and rubber stamps.
“By de-risking trades and connecting them to finance, the global economy will begin to recover - and in time, thrive.”
Arzu Toren, commented: “This is a unique opportunity - not just for me, but for the myriad of underserved SMEs who are currently being locked out of the trade finance circle. This reimagining of trade finance will not only make the process faster, but provide excellent investment opportunities for financiers.”
Thomas Reeves, commented: Trade finance and risk have been synonymous for a long time. This has been due to archaic and manual processes creating ample opportunity for fraud. On top of that, the compliance knowledge needed to deal in global trade is huge. However, Envoy have created a platform which not only significantly reduces the risk of fraud, but automates compliance processes and tracks the movement of money and goods in an effective and transparent manner - an ideal solution for a digital world especially now we are dealing with a pandemic and social distancing.”
Jimmy Chang, has commented: “From my time at both small and large firms, one thing that remains constant is they all have been affected by Covid-19 in some way. Economic uncertainty has left many businesses financially stranded and closed off from the finance they so desperately need. I firmly believe Envoy are well-positioned to help the global economy take the all-important first steps toward recovery. I am very excited to play a part in this project.”