The world currently is reeling under the pressure of an unrelenting pandemic which is caused by COVID 19, the impact of this is already being felt across all sectors and has resulted in Global Lockdowns, increased joblessness and downward revised growth projections for countries globally.

The way credit is managed across the Order-to-Cash process needs to be reconsidered. Should we emphasize more on in-depth financial analysis or stress more on customers’ relations and management? The staff capability will be the main enabler for organisations to successfully navigate the challenges ahead. Is that an opportunity for people development? What risk factors should be taken into account when granting credit?

Eva van der Grijn, Solution Architect, Serrala

Danny Kaltenborn, President, Association of Credit Management Switzerland

Michal Cuprik, Relationship Manager at Bureau van Dijk (Moody´s Analytics Company)

Simon Rockett, Head of Risk Services, Atradius UK, United Kingdom

Johanne Cox, Partner, Shoosmiths LLP, United Kingdom

Ed Speijer, STS Trade Solutions, VVCM, Netherlands

Nick Neal, International Trade Adviser, Department for International Trade, UK

Ludo Theunissen, FECMA President, President of the Instituut voor Kredietmanagement (IvKM), Belgium

Ludo Theunissen holds degrees in engineering (Ghent University) and Management (Vlerick Business School). In his career he combined academic and business assignments. He has worked for large multinational organizations (Volkswagen, Unisys) as well as for SME’s in Belgium and abroad. He is founder and president of the Instituut voor Kredietmanagement, the Belgian Association for Credit Managers, and an active member of the FECMA Council. He has been active as a professor at Ghent University and at Vlerick Business School, Antwerp Management School and the Belgian Royal Military Academy. He is active as a consultant and lecturer in different countries on topics such as Financial Statement Analysis, Credit Management, Investment Analysis.

Cees Jansen, Nederlandse Vereniging voor Credit Management (VVCM), Netherlands

Cees Jansen has over 25 years experience in Credit Management in a variety of forms ranging from factoring to credit insurance to BPO and E-Commerce. He has designed specialized solutions focusing on receivables including captive credit insurance, securitization and stand-by servicing programs and financial demand generation tools. Cees has developed Operating models for the O2C operations of global companies in Retail, Consumer Goods and Logistics which combined protecting good customer relations with the need to operate an effective and efficient delivery team. Prior to his involvement in Credit Management, Cees has worked in Banking and Finance as a Credit Officer.

Andreas Schmitt, BvCM, Head of Group Credit Management, Rational AG, Germany

Graduated in business administration at the University of Applied Sciences in Worms/Germany, Andreas Schmitt worked for 15 years in the "credit insurance" industry – first in sales, then as head of product development and finally as key account manager. During this time, he also qualified as a certified rating analyst. Since October 2007, Andreas Schmitt has been in charge of all Credit Management activities at Rational AG, the world market leader in the field of combi steaming / professional cooking devices. He developed the so called “process oriented” CM approach, implemented it in the entire RATIONAL group of companies and has been achieving outstanding and sustainable results over more than one decade.

Dr. Thomas Voller, EuroCollectNet

Thomas is as a lawyer admitted to the courts in Frankfurt am Main since 1982. He worked for large law firms in Frankfurt before establishing his own practice in 1987. He represents domestic and foreign companies both in and out of court in all areas of business law including international debt collection. He has his focus on national and international commercial and corporate law including the respective training as special attorney for these areas of law. In recent years the professional activity has been focused increasingly on the credit management of his clients. This includes the membership in “Bundesverband Kreditmanagement e.V. (Federal Association of Credit management). He is editor of publications as “Outlines of Debt Collection in Europe” or “Creditmanagement: Securities in Europe”. Thomas is the founder of EuroCollectNet, a European lawyer’s network for debt collection with worldwide connections.

Chantal Joosse, Business Development Director, Strategic Partnerships - Stenn International Ltd.

Chantal Joosse is Business Development Director, Strategic Partnerships at Stenn International, a UK-based based provider of innovative cross-border trade finance solutions. Chantal has 20 years of experience in helping companies grow and protect their international business. She previously held senior management roles in both Europe and the United States at global trade credit insurers Atradius and Coface. At Stenn, Chantal’s main focus is developing relationships within the global trade finance community to bring Stenn’s trade finance solutions to companies of all sizes. Chantal is based in Amsterdam.

Glen Bullivant, FCICM, UK

Ludo Theunissen, President of the Instituut voor Kredietmanagement (IvKM), Belgium

Ludo Theunissen holds degrees in engineering (Ghent University) and Management (Vlerick Business School). In his career he combined academic and business assignments. He has worked for large multinational organizations (Volkswagen, Unisys) as well as for SME’s in Belgium and abroad. He is founder and president of the Instituut voor Kredietmanagement, the Belgian association for Credit managers, and an active member of the FECMA council. He is professor at Ghent University and has also been active as a professor at Vlerick Business School, Antwerp Management School and the Belgian Royal Military Academy. He is active as a consultant and lecturer in different countries on topics such as Financial Statement Analysis, Credit Management, Investment analysis.

Josef Busuttil, FECMA President, MBA (Henley), Dip. M MCIM, FCICM, Malta

Josef was involved in the setting up of the Malta Association of Credit Management (MACM – www.macm.org.mt) and is the Director of MACM. He has been a member of the Council of FECMA since May 2003. After twelve years occupying the role of FECMA Vice President, Josef was elected President of FECMA in November 2016. Josef is an intuitive lecturer and speaker, specialising in trade credit management strategies that enable the credit function to gain and sustain competitive advantage in the market, whilst ensuring sound cash flow and long-term profit. He delivers in-house training and lectures for organised groups. Josef contributed to a number of training programmes and seminars organised by highly reputable international organisations and institutions, such as The European Commission, in a number of countries, including Antwerp, Berlin, Bucharest, Dubai, Dublin, Johannesburg, Kuala Lumpur, London, Madrid, Malta, Mexico City, Moscow, Paris, and Vilnius. Josef is a regular contributor of business articles to the international business press.

Andreas Tesch, Chief Market Officer, Atradius

Andreas Tesch was appointed Member of the Management Board and Chief Market Officer (CMO) in October 2011. As CMO he is responsible for Atradius Credit Insurance worldwide (excluding Spain, Portugal, and Brazil), and for the units Atradius Dutch State Business, Global, Special Products, and Group Communications & Commercial Development. Andreas became Director of Global, Oceania and New Markets of Atradius in 2007 following six years in other director roles with the company, spanning Risk Services for Central and Eastern Europe and Corporate Development & Communications. Prior to joining Atradius, Andreas was Director of Simon Kucher & Partners, where he advised clients on strategy and mergers & acquisitions.

When not working Andreas enjoys spending his time with his family, travelling and cooking. He also likes to stay active with running and tennis.