Our Speakers
Imogen Bachra
Managing Director, Head of Economics & Markets Strategy
Imogen Bachra
Imogen leads the Economics & Markets Strategy Team, where she helps develop, package and deliver our global macro cross-asset strategy to our internal and external clients.
She is the lead coverage for UK rates, working closely with Chief UK Economist Ross Walker to provide UK economics and market analysis. She hosts the weekly Bondcast – NatWest’s fixed income focussed podcast.
Robert Begbie
CEO, Commercial & Institutional
Robert Begbie
The Commercial & Institutional franchise supports customers ranging from entrepreneurs and start-ups through to multi-nationals and financial institutions.
Robert has been with the Group for over 40 years and has extensive experience in treasury and capital markets. During his career, he has built successful capital markets businesses across fixed income, derivatives, asset management and cash markets and led teams in the UK, Europe, Asia and the US.
After spending 20 years in our Markets business, Robert joined Treasury in 2009 where he was instrumental in transforming the Group’s balance sheet. In 2017 Robert was appointed as Group Treasurer with responsibilities for all aspects of Treasury and the management of the bank’s balance sheet. Robert was appointed as CEO of NatWest Markets in 2019, which he led until October 2024
He holds an MBA from CASS Business School and is a former president of The Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland (London Branch).
Kevin Cummins
Chief US Economist, NatWest Markets
Kevin Cummins
Kevin forecasts and analyses economic data. He writes about the US economy, monetary and fiscal policy, and provides NatWest Markets sales and trading desks with updates on economic reports, news, and market developments. Kevin meets frequently with clients to discuss economic trends.
Prior to joining NatWest Markets, Kevin served 12 years as a Senior Economist at UBS. Before that, he was a member of the US Economics team at RBS Greenwich Capital. Kevin began his career at Federal Reserve Bank of New York, where he covered a range of disciplines, including Monetary Projections, Government Securities and FX and Money Markets.
Kevin has a MA in Economics (2000), and BS in Economics (1995). He joined the company in 2015
Brian Daingerfield
Head of G10 FX Strategy, US Economics & Markets Strategy, NatWest
Brian Dangerfield
Brian is the US head of G10 FX Strategy for NatWest Group, the largest business and commercial bank in the UK. He contributes to the formulation of the bank’s view on G10 foreign exchange and on US Treasury markets.
Brian brings 15 years of cross asset experience having previously spent time as a Macro and FX Strategist where he covered Global Macro, US Treasury Markets, Foreign Exchange, US Politics, Trade Policy and Oil Markets.
He is also a frequent contributor to NatWest’s Global FX Themes, the Currency Exchange and Bondcast podcasts, and varying publications.
Brian holds BS from in Foreign Service from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. He resides in New York City.
Michelle Girard
Managing Director
Head of US, NatWest
CEO of NatWest Markets Securities Inc.
Michelle Girard
Michelle works closely with other senior leaders across NatWest to identify and advance business growth opportunities in the US that align to the bank’s strategic goals. She is responsible for setting, implementing, and monitoring regional priorities and maintaining a culture that embodies the values of NatWest.
Michelle is also CEO of NatWest Markets Securities Inc., a subsidiary of NatWest Markets Plc, which provides financing, risk management and trading solutions for the bank’s customers. She has local regulatory responsibility for US Trading, Sales and Capital Markets, and provides end-to-end supervision of the US Broker-Dealer.
Prior to her current role at NatWest, Michelle was Co-Head of Global Economics, where she led a team of economists across the US, China and India, responsible for forecasting growth, inflation, monetary and fiscal policy, and interest rates for developed and emerging market economies. She also served as Head of US Strategic Coordination and Business Operations, supervising US technology, operational, and business risk and control functions.
Michelle is a member of several Boards and Professional Associations. She is a regular commentator on the economic outlook for various news media including CNBC, Fox Business, Bloomberg TV & Radio, and Yahoo! Finance. She also takes an active role in NatWest’s initiatives focused on diversity and inclusion, employee engagement, talent development, well-being and sustainability.
Michelle resides in Rye, NY and holds MA & BS degrees in Economics.
Caroline Haas
Managing Director
Head of C&I Sustainable Finance & Advisory
NatWest Commercial & Institutional
Caroline Haas
Caroline joined NatWest in February 2019 as Managing Director. She works closely with origination teams across NatWest’s Commercial & Institutional (C&I) franchise focusing on a holistic approach to sustainability, working with customers across products and markets, as well as providing ESG rating, regulatory and disclosure insights. In addition to the financing dialogue, Caroline engages with institutional investors globally to understand their responsible investing objectives and develop products to meet their needs.
As of April 2026, Caroline’s role has expanded to include UK corporates – large and small, alongside her previous remit focusing European customers, as well as Financial Institutions and SSAs in the Capital Markets. This entails NatWest’s full product suite, including corporate lending and asset finance, as it pertains to the corporate, institutional and the commercial mid-market customer base across C&I.
Caroline leads C&I’s climate change programme across entities that is building the underlying tooling and integrating the learnings into decision-making processes. She has worked extensively with AFME and the UK’s Transition Finance Council to support industry-wide solutions and shape sustainable finance as it evolves. She is also Chair of the ESG Standing Committee at the Financial Markets Standards Board.
Given this dynamic area, Caroline is involved in embedding sustainability throughout NatWest’s C&I franchise, including product governance, marketing and communications. Caroline is a member of the Corporate and Institutional Banking (CIB) and Commercial Mid-Market Management Teams. She also sits on NatWest Group’s Climate Risk Oversight Forum and Climate Opportunities Group. Caroline reports to Isabelle Girolami, Head of CIB and Andy Gray, Head of Mid-Market Corporates.
Matthew Harvey
Head of Digital Solutions, NatWest Markets
Matthew Harvey
Mathew joined NatWest Markets in 2017. He serves as Managing Director and Head of Digital Solutions for NatWest Markets
Matt joined the Fixed Income trading team in 2017, overseeing client and sales automation strategy and delivery. Matt later moved to lead global eCommerce sales and product development for FIC which is focused on both client facing sales, but also uses his passion and industry expertise to drive both near term and strategic product development of NatWest Markets platform solutions for clients as eCommerce market structure continues to evolve across Rates, Credit and FX markets.
He recently extended his role to encompass all digital solutions and services to both clients and colleagues, including FX and cash management, AI and Digital Assets.
Matt originally started out as an equities trader at one of the world’s largest retail stockbrokers in 1995 during the explosion of retail ecommerce and equities automation. In 2001, he moved to Deutsche Bank on Wall Street during a time of unprecedented dealing floor automation before being recruited by e.ON energy trading to lead the re-location of process and systems of numerous trading businesses in overlapping asset classes to a single European dealing floor.
In 2010, Matt re-joined Deutsche Bank where he led the product development of the Autobahn platform globally across Fixed Income and Currencies with a focus on e trading and pricing and execution platforms
Rick Haythornthwaite
Chair
Rick Haythornthwaite
During his tenure as Chair of Mastercard Inc the company was transformed from a credit card company to a global technology company and its market capitalisation increased from $5 billion to over $350 billion. He also chaired Arc International Holdings, Centrica plc and Network Rail Limited, and was a partner at Star Capital. Rick’s past non-executive directorships include Globant S.A, Cookson plc, Lafarge S.A., Land Securities plc and ICI plc. Rick also led the Haythornthwaite Review of UK Armed Forces Incentivisation.
Rick has been responsible for several high-profile business transformations and rescues, including Invensys, then one of the world’s leading industrial controls companies, as CEO.
Colin Jackson
British Athletics Legend
Colin Jackson
After retiring from competitive athletics, his impressive medal collection and infectious personality led him to become a natural choice for the BBC’s athletics commentary team. For the past two decades, he has been an integral part of the team, covering major events like the 2004 Athens Olympics and subsequent Olympic Games, including London in 2012, Rio de Janeiro in 2016, and most recently, Tokyo in 2020. Colin Jackson is truly a British icon in the world of athletics and beyond.
David Jevons
Partner Oxera
David Jevons
David is a technology economist advising firms, courts and regulators on the impact of technology on society. He has 19 years’ experience across a wide range of sectors including energy, water, healthcare and financial services as well as digital markets. He provides expert advice on privacy, liability, fairness and competition in digital markets. This includes product design, investments, mergers and public policy choices. David delivers insights from data using econometrics and data science tools, and behavioural insights using experiments and simulation tools. He has advised companies such as Facebook, Amazon, Google, Liberty Global and ASML, as well as regulators and consumer bodies.
Scott Livingstone
International Advisor, NatWest
Scott Livingstone
Phil Lloyd
Managing Director and Development Director at NatWest Markets
Phil Lloyd
Phil currently serves as Development Director at NatWest Markets, an external facing senior strategic position focused on growth, partnerships, and the continued evolution of the NatWest Markets proposition. Particular focus on the impact of politics and government policy on financial services and sub sectors. He plays a central role in shaping and enhancing product delivery for corporate and institutional clients across the bank’s investment banking business.
With more than 20 years of experience in investment banking, Phil previously led coverage for Non Bank Financial Institutions, driving strategy, risk appetite, resource allocation and product deployment across this rapidly-evolving client segment.
Phil’s background spans corporate finance strategy, sales and trading strategy, regulatory transformation, balance sheet management and performance optimisation; during which he has overseen major front to back change initiatives, including multi million pound board-sponsored programmes.
Additional leadership positions include executive advisory on the strategy and realisation of post-GFC market reforms, including EMIR, MiFID, DFA, BREXIT and the global transition to a post-LIBOR world, having played a leading role with the Bank of England.
A frequent and active participant in industry forums, Phil often represents NatWest in discussions with AFME, FMSB, IOSCO, UK Finance and the Bank of England. His extensive market and regulatory relationships help ensure NatWest is strongly positioned with clients and across the broader financial ecosystem.
Phil holds a master’s degree in economics from the University of Nottingham, following an undergraduate degree in economic analysis. He joined the bank as a graduate in October 2002 and has served in his current role since September 2025.
Lee McNabb
Payment and Digital Asset Lead, Natwest Group
Lee McNabb
Lee leads Payment and Digital Asset Strategy and delivery for NatWest Group. Defining / aligning the strategy and direction of the Group’s payment and Digital Asset capabilities across the different franchises and functions.
A broad role that focusses on all key market drivers – from customer needs and competitive threat to technology developments and the regulatory and market landscape.
Lee leads NatWest’s participation in key domestic and international payment and digital asset initiatives such as RLN / GBTD, project Agora and the Swift Digital Concept.
Lee has led fintech investment and sits as a board observer for Icon Solutions. He also sits on the Payments Association Advisory Board and chairs the UK finance CBDC working group.
Lee joined NatWest in 2018 after 13 years at the Co-operative Bank where he held senior leadership roles within product and payments. Looking after product / P&L, risk and strategy setting. Latterly owning the payment strategy together with responsibility for regulatory change and key payment scheme relationships.
Married with a daughter and son, Lee is a keen footballer and captains his local side. He is an ardent supporter of Liverpool FC and has followed them all over Europe.
Scott Marcar
Group Chief Information Officer
Scott Marcar
Prior to joining the Group Scott spent eight years at Deutsche Bank where he held a number of roles including CIO for the Corporate and Investment Bank, Head of Technology for Financial Crime, CIO for the UK and Group CTO. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank, Scott was CIO for RBS Markets, driving the technology strategy and innovation agenda. He started his career as a graduate at JP Morgan where he held a number of leadership roles in both London and New York.
Scott graduated from Warwick University, having received a First Class Honours in Chemistry and is a keen sportsman, he enjoys cricket and golf and has completed a number of Ironman triathlons. Scott is married with two children.
Benjamin Mosk
Senior Financial Sector Expert, International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Benjamin Mosk
Jared Noering
Head of Fixed Income Trading, NatWest Markets
Jared Noering
He is responsible for driving the growth of our global Fixed Income business which remains a cornerstone of our Commercial and Institutional franchise.
In April 2024, Jared became a member of the ISDA Board. In March 2025, Jared joined the ISDA Board Management Committee. In April 2025, Jared was elected as a Member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Over his 27-year career, Jared has led trading teams covering the full suite of the fixed income product range – EGBs, Gilts, US Treasuries, SSAs, Cross Currency, Sterling and Euro Inflation, Options and Interest Rate Swaps and has worked in Tokyo, London, Paris and New York.
He joins us from BAML where he was Co-Head of EMEA Rates Trading and was hired to rebuild their European Rates and International Dollar trading team. Before BAML, he spent five years at Deutsche Bank Securities where he was Head of International Dollar Rates and SSA Trading in Tokyo and London.
Jared has an MBA from NYU, Stern School of Business and a BA in History and Asian Studies.
Jonathan Peberdy
CEO, NatWest Markets
Jonathan Peberdy
In July 2024, Jonathan was appointed CEO of NatWest Markets having formerly held the position of interim Deputy CEO of NatWest Markets since August 2023. This is in addition to his role as Head of Capital Markets, which he has held since 2020.
NatWest Markets – part of the Commercial & Institutional franchise – supports our corporate and institutional customers, helping them to manage their risk and access international capital markets. Jonathan joined NatWest as a graduate and spent the first part of his career on the Bond Syndicate and EMTN desks. He moved to UK Flow Credit Sales in 2009 and, in October 2013, was appointed Head of Credit & Asset Backed Sales for EMEA, responsible for distributing all credit and asset backed products in the region. Jonathan became Global Head of Syndicate in 2015, responsible for all syndicate activities from commercial paper to bonds and loans and across the entire credit spectrum. Jonathan has a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Economics from Nottingham University.
Oriane Parmentier
European Rates Strategist at NatWest Markets
Oriane Parmentier
With over a decade of experience at NatWest Markets spanning both strategy and trading, Oriane brings a distinctive perspective to the rates market. She spent more than two years as an inflation trader, market-making cash and derivatives products across European markets and the UK, before returning to her strategy roots.
She holds a bachelor’s in Economics and a master’s degree in Banking and Finance from Université Paris II Panthéon-Assas.
Paul Robson
Head of G10 FX Strategy, EMEA
Paul Robson
Paul is a London-based director and senior currency strategist covering G10 currencies, specialising in the major European currencies.
He has more than 20 years of experience covering a wide range of economies and financial markets, and specialises in sterling, the Euro and Nordic currencies.
As Head of G10 FX Strategy, Paul is the senior strategist for the major industrial currencies across the globe. He is also responsible for formulating the NatWest Markets sterling currency view and inputs into the organisation’s global macro view.
He is editor of NWM Global FX Themes publication and supervises the team’s modelling work on Short-term and Long-term Valuations.
Barak Seener
Founder of Strategic Intelligentia
Barak Seener
Barak published a book in 2018 entitled, ‘Commercial Risks Entering the Iranian Market: Why sanctions make investment in the Islamic Republic of Iran a high-risk proposition.’
Barak has published and provided analysis and expert commentary for a range of international broadcasters, including Al-Jazeera, BBC, CNN, Chinese CCTV, Fox News, Sky News, Voice of America, and news outlets such as Bloomberg, Reuters, Associated Press, the Evening Standard, Jerusalem Post, and Xinhua.
Barak has published in publications including Newsweek, the National Interest, the American Interest, Jane’s Intelligence Review and Jane’s Islamic Affairs Analyst on counter-terrorism, US-China dynamics, risks to supply chains, globalization and the end of the liberal international order, transatlantic relations, universal jurisdiction, nuclear proliferation and Middle East issues including the Arab Spring, tensions in Libya, Egypt and Syria, strategic and security dynamic between Iran and the Gulf, and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Ross Walker
Chief UK Economist & Head of Global Economics, NatWest
Ross Walker
Ross joined NatWest Markets on the graduate training programme in 1998, and has been in his current position since July 2016. Prior to joining NatWest in 1998, Ross worked as a Researcher for the President of the Board of Trade.
Giovanni Zanni
Chief Euro Area Economist
Giovanni Zanni
Giovanni has over 20 years of experience in European economics.
Giovanni began his career in 1997 at Morgan Stanley focusing on Southern European countries. He then worked for 18 years at Credit Suisse, in London and Paris, in charge of the macro forecasting of several countries in the euro area, while taking the role of inflation strategist for a period and with a stint at the IMF in Washington DC as visiting scholar in their fiscal affairs department.
In the most recent years, he was Credit Suisse European economics team’s deputy head, responsible in particular for the fiscal and political coverage and jointly responsible for the ECB call.