Karina Montanaro

Developed in partnership with DOES and sponsored by Morgan Stanley, the Black Business Residency (formerly known as the Black Business Incubator) at Somerset House aims to help early-stage Black entrepreneurs unlock their full potential and allow their creative enterprises to thrive. This year our programme is also supported by M&C Saatchi Group. The hybrid (in-person and virtual) programme provides participants with monthly expert-led masterclasses, mentorship from industry specialists, free access to a co-working space, as well as a variety of community events. to find out more: https://www.somersethouse.org.uk/black-business-residency

Financial Awareness and Wellbeing. Financial literary app for Gen Z. to find out more: https://fawb.co.uk/ Volunteer Advisory.

LSE Generate supports the School’s students and alumni to develop entrepreneurial skills as they build businesses and innovate in the UK and around the world. Took part in the summer mentoring round. Advised Money and Markets illustrated educational book series.

Capitalized on a fantastic secondment opportunity in the HQ by driving Global Strategic Partnerships with Core Banking Solution providers and Product partners to help company's customers accelerate their digital transformation, diversify into broader embedded finance space and achieve sustainable business growth. -Developed market insights, built a strong pipeline and collaborated with the best-in-class Core Banking platforms for win-win partnerships that helped unlock new commercial horizons -Defined strategies, structured business cases, and prioritized API-integration opportunities to create value for Thredd by expanding Partner Ecosystem globally -Scaled portfolio of existing and new channel partners globally to amplify business objectives -Developed, enabled and monetized a set of ecosystem product partners complimenting the APEX platform proposition -Defined joint selling and marketing strategies to drive new revenue streams and customer acquisition

Thredd, the leading global provider of next-generation payment processing solutions. Thredd's world-class technology and people expertise equip companies to build the future of finance as it revolutionises the payments ecosystem. Many of Thredd's customers are now considered unicorns. The scale-up challenges the status quo and powers many of today’s leading fintechs, digital banks, crypto exchanges and embedded finance providers. Thredd is behind card issuing processing and card management for Revolut, Starling Bank, Curve, WeLab Bank, Zilch, Railsr, Currensea, Paidy, Shaype. Led the partnership function across the Asia Pacific region. Drove market activation and implemented robust GTM strategies of new priority geos within APAC by developing and setting up key partnerships across the board - Issuing BIN Sponsors, Card Schemes (Visa, MA), Card Manufacturers, Consultancies, SIs, Tech partners. -Established a solid network of pan APAC based BIN Sponsor partners who supported Thredd's global customer base expansion plans and regional prospects to realize their Issuing ambitions -Put on the right track critical relationships with card schemes' stakeholders which resulted in mutually beneficial business flow -Identified and drove strategic partnerships with Fintechs who fitted within the Value Added Services segment and enabled the broader referral ecosystem to produce incremental revenue opportunities -Developed best practices and championed processes for a streamlined partner onboarding journey from fronting the contract negotiation through to commercialization of embedded solutions -Acted in an advisory role and thoroughly guided Self-Issuers who were new to BIN Sponsorship model by taking them E2E through the cycle

-Launched two markets (UAE & Russia) from the ground up for Acquiring business -Executed Go-to-Market strategies from country regulatory / licencing environment and prospective partnership identification to ultimate partner tech / process integration and successful market launch sign-off (Go live) -Built cooperation models with partners in payments and digital ecosystems – Acquiring and Issuing BIN Sponsors (Financial Institutions), Payment Networks, Processors, APMs (Alipay / Wechat) and Fintechs -Overlooked and delivered projects for E-com, POS and APMs -Provided project management cross-functional support -Drove alliances that would create value for the company -Negotiated and secured Commercial and Legal agreements with Financial Institutions and Card Schemes

- showcased an entrepreneurial mindset in delivering cross-functional improvement change - improved effectiveness in CDD case submissions which resulted in higher client retention rates - balanced commercial objectives with legal, regulatory and ethical considerations - drove process simplification, efficiency and usability - provided AML / CFT compliance advice / knowledge sharing / training to Business units with respect to due diligence / KYC standards as well as on applicable internal policies / local regulations

Retail Priority Banking. International - Offshore client segment (Expats / Asia) - proactively managed book of clients by offering tailor-made diversified investment solutions - managed long-term client relationships by providing seamless client services and advising on wealth accumulation and preservation based on identified objectives, risk / return characteristics - maintained a firm grasp of financial markets and regulatory frameworks - provided clients with a clear and coherent market update in line with financial market situation and bank's house-view

Private Banking. International Markets (Russia / CIS) - transaction processing, execution of client related trading and investment activities - support in review of client portfolios to actively identify solutions and/or alternatives - preparation of research, investment proposals for clients - full cycle of client onboarding for private individuals and complex legal entities - practical knowledge of relevant AML/CFT laws and guidelines

Castlewood Group is committed to building high quality properties in key destinations. The flagship luxury hotel development Dream Phuket Hotel & Spa which opened in November 2015, follows the success of several projects across Asia, including Dubai and Singapore. Reporting on daily bank positions; audit schedules; bank reconciliation and general ledger transactions

MoVoLo - an innovative search algorithm startup which crawls proprietary databases, providing door-to-door online travel booking. Summer Internship. Performed analysis of online users' behavior with Google Analytics tool during a soft launch of a search engine product. Translated derived data outcomes into website experience improvement.

Responsible for budgeting; forecasting; cost control and variance analysis; accounts payable and receivable; general ledger transactions; preparation of deferrals and accruals, and related journals; etc.

Psychology of Economic Life, Quantitative Analysis, Qualitative Research, Wellbeing for Policy, Corporate Communication, French Level 1. Audited: Public Economics for Public Policy, Health Economics, Foundations in Behavioral Science Philosophy for Public Policy, Political Psychology.

Introduction to Psychological Research, The Evolution of Psychology, Psychology of Resilience and Success, Understanding Human Behaviour, Psychology in a Changing Society, Applying Psychology

Top grade 10/10 (with distinction) for the final thesis "The Application of E-commerce Principles to a Sample of European Online Travel Agencies"