Fintech
EXCLUSIVE: “The Conference that Listens”
Money20/20 Gina Clarke, Head of Content for Europe, tells Tim Goodfellow how the main event remains relevant by constantly updating the feedback loop
There are numerous industry conferences with slightly different focuses, but not many can claim to have royalty and whistleblowers on the same bill. It’s the kind of bold content we’ve come to expect from Money20/20 Europe, and this year it more than lives up to its reputation.
To maintain its status as a mecca for fintech and financial innovators, there is a lot of creativity behind the scenes, and former financial journalist, now Money20/20 Europe content director, Gina Clarke, has a big hand in this.
“It’s like putting together a story,” he says. “I am contacting all the key players and finding the background in a lot of research. But instead of writing the story, I see it acting on stage.”
The European iteration of the Money20/20 event, taking place in Amsterdam, has a broad regional focus and, as a result, satisfying various jurisdictions and stakeholders can be a challenge. What apparently isn’t, is the organizers’ propensity for surprises
Think flash-mob brass bands and an inland beach this year. This certainly shakes up the internet. The show invited Prince Constantine of the Netherlands, a vocal supporter of the local startup sector, to open the 2024 event and take part in the first discussion, while the keynote speaker, former French President François Hollande, reflected the growing position of France in the technology sector, especially AI.
Then we come to that whistleblower: a one-on-one meeting billed as “What the Wirecard Whistleblower Did Next: Pav Gill’s Confidence” with the man who uncovered one of the most significant financial scandals in European history and went on to found one own boot to avoid another. Confide makes it easier for employees to report corporate mistakes and for companies to take action before a story reaches the media.
Speaking of fraud, this year an advance signed copy of journalist Geoff White’s new book Rinsed (out June 13) about money laundering in the modern age was included with the price of admission – a healthy indication of the organizers’ desire to welcome all parts of the world. the ecosystem.
CONTENT FOR EVERYONE
If you’ve never been to Money20/20 Europe, the US or Asia, it’s difficult to put into words the scale of these events. The RAI convention center in Amsterdam is full of colorful stands, booths and stages. Plus there are many other mini-events going on around it. There is a bit of spectacle in all this, clearly, but the content itself is fundamental.
“Every year we get out our crystal ball and try to predict what trends are emerging,” Clarke says. “I think we did a great job this year.”
For Clarke and his team, feedback from previous year’s attendees plays an important role in the decisions they make in organizing the next event.
“We listened and what they said is that they want to reserve their time for the content. So we have chosen five major themes for 2024, scheduled one after the other.”
The clear structure allowed people to make the most of the amazing networking opportunity offered by Money20/20.
“We always think ‘how did we get through last year?’. For me it was about finding a place for everyone”
“We always think, how do we top last year? For me it was about finding a place for everyone,” says Clarke. “We know that networking is high on people’s priorities, so we thought we’d add it to the content, which we did with Singularity Stage.”
These “first-come, first-served” insights into particular topics offer networking opportunities around a single topic: “listen to fabulous content and meet
people who are interested in the same content as you,” as Clarke explains.
With any Money20/20 there is also content that is not listed on the programme, including closed-door events that aim to “attract retailers, insurers, wealthtech players”. All this in the service of finding “something for everyone”, which is a difficult task when you have 100 countries represented, 8,500 participants and 2,300 exhibitors. It’s something Clarke has been willing to accept, though.
“The difficulty of being such a major European event is that there are different regulatory practices to think about and different organizations with different needs,” he says.
“Obviously there is harmony in regulation in Europe, but from an implementation point of view, the UK is very different. And then add what’s happening in LATAM, Canada or Australia. We’re trying to tell the whole story as a kind of journey.”
Money20/20 Europe’s position helps, Clarke says. “Amsterdam is a truly vibrant city and banking hub in Europe, being within reach of many high-profile European banks.” And it’s not just the established players, many of whom have speaking rights at the conference, but also the challengers who, in her opinion, are no longer really challengers, but an established part of the ecosystem.
Regardless of the number of countries represented in total, it is notable that Clarke admits: “When we look at the breakdown of our audience, the majority are still from the UK.”
Of course, proximity helps, but their presence en masse is perhaps indicative of the UK sector’s desperate need to stay on the European circuit. This is especially true when you have the European equivalent of Open AI – Mistral AI – being developed in France and the upcoming, world-first EU AI Act is being introduced.
THE AI REVOLUTION
And this brings us to the overall theme at the heart of the 2024 conference, Human X Machine. Clarke says AI entered into the planning of every aspect of the show this year, but it was handled thoughtfully, attempting to bring clarity and provide attendees with some clarity on the technology.
Among the five subthemes, Signal vs. Noise is designed to help them “choose which path to follow” and provide useful case studies, Clarke explains. Meanwhile, after a year in which venture capital was anything but adventurous, The Business Of Money subtheme was designed to address “the whole conversation between profits and growth” and another, The Customer Universe Of One , placed emphasis on customer centricity. .
There’s obviously a deep awareness of the things that really matter, and Clarke also talks about the balance the show strikes between deep dives and something higher level. As she says: “It’s fine to hear CEOs on stage giving headlines and getting a sense of where the industry is going, but if you’re already involved in this, you really want tangible results.”
This is where insights come in, talking about the slightly less glamorous (but no less talked about) topics of digital identity, regulatory compliance and cybersecurity. What stands out is that the team really builds the show around their customers, practicing what should be an industry standard. So if you want a lecture that you listen to, this might be the one for you.
This article was published in The Fintech Magazine, issue 32, page 4-5