Speaker Bios

Omar Aghzinnay, European Investment Bank

Omar Aghzinnay, Head of Cash and Collateral Network Services Division, European Investment Bank

Omar Aghzinnay currently serves as the Head of the Cash and Collateral Network Services Division at the European Investment Bank (EIB). With over 16 years of experience in the Treasury sector, Omar is responsible for liquidity planning, collateral management, payment functions, and network management at the EIB. Prior to his current role, Omar began his career in Treasury at Euroclear Bank in Brussels before joining Nomura Bank in the area of collateral management. He holds a degree in Economics from Université libre de Bruxelles.

Nicola Danese, Managing Director, Co-Head of International Developed Markets, Tradeweb

Nicola Danese is Co-Head of International Developed Markets, focused on helping drive product growth and development across the firm’s rates International business. Nicola brings to his role a rare combination of in-depth knowledge of fixed income, money markets and Central Bank operations, as well as a detailed understanding of accounting, regulatory, operational, legal, credit and risk management aspects of the securities business. Before Tradeweb, Nicola worked at J.P. Morgan for over 24 years; in his most recent role he headed the EMEA Fixed Income Financing business and was also a member of the European Management Committee. Nicola holds a degree in Business and Economics from Università Cattolica in Milan.

Laura Klimpel, Managing Director, Head of Fixed Income and Financing Solutions, DTCC

Laura Klimpel serves as Managing Director and Head of DTCC’s Fixed Income and Financing Solutions within the firm’s Clearing & Securities Services businesses. In her role, Laura oversees the firm’s Treasury, Mortgage-Backed Securities and Secured Funding products and services. Prior to her current role, Laura has held various business and legal positions within the DTCC complex, including acting as General Counsel for New York Portfolio Clearing, LLC (NYPC). Before that, Laura spent three years at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, focusing primarily on US commodities and derivatives regulation. Laura received her B.A. degree, summa cum laude, from Truman State University in 1999 and her J.D. degree, cum laude, from Cornell University in 2007. She is a member of the New York Bar. Laura is also a member of the Treasury Market Practices Group (TPMG).

Cassandra Jones, Managing Director, EMEA Head of Financing Solutions Client Management, State Street

Cassandra Jones is a Managing Director serving as EMEA Head of Financing Solutions Client Management. Her role includes oversight of the EMEA business development team, aiding product development and originating new business for State Street’s repo and collateral products. Cassandra is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charterholder. Cassandra has been with the Funding and Collateral team at State Street for over 6 years where she has helped establish the analytics team, supported balance sheet optimization efforts and led business development to establish new client relationships. Cassandra earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance from Hofstra University.

Olivier Nin, Head of Product & Head of First Line Risk, RepoClear, LCH SA, LSEG Post Trade

Olivier Nin is Head of Product & Head of First Line Risk, RepoClear, LCH SA, LSEG Post Trade, where he is responsible for developing the Repo product offering across both CCPs as well as managing the risk department of the euro-denominated repo clearing service, which provides members with access to the world’s largest pool of euro liquidity. Gaining expertise in a range of trading and clearing roles, Olivier has over 20 years’ experience across the repo and credit market landscape. Before joining LCH in 2013, he was a trader at Cohen & Company, focusing on asset-backed securities (ABSs), collateralized synthetic obligations (CSOs) and collateral loan obligations (CLOs). Prior to this, he was a trader in the credit derivatives market at Natixis. Olivier holds a master’s degree in engineering mathematics from Grenoble ENSIMAG.

Katja Renner, Fixed Income Sales – Derivatives, Funding and Financing, Eurex

Katja joined the Eurex FIC Derivatives & Repo Sales team at the beginning of 2019 with focus on Repo. She has more than 20 years of experience in the finance industry where she started life as a FI repo trader before moving into the Equity finance & funding world at Citigroup London. With joining Eurex she has played an important role in developing market share in UK, Spain and Portugal. Most recently she has taken over the lead to build out the buy side business.

James Tabacchi, President & Chief Executive Officer, South Street Securities Holdings Inc.

As president and CEO of South Street Securities Holdings Inc., Mr. Tabacchi directly oversees all aspects of the business, including strategy, credit, market and liquidity risk, infrastructure, technology and clearing, compliance, finance, accounting, and controls. In 2000, he raised the venture capital and founded South Street as an independent repo broker dealer and began building and expanding the franchise of products. Today, South Street remains one of the largest independent repo dealers and has added asset management of an Agency Mortgage REIT, an MBS TBA derivative dealer franchise, a fintech fixed income processing company, and last year, an equity sec lending business. In 2018, he also invested in and continues to mentor a Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (DVOSB) and minority owned broker dealer called AmeriVet, which underwrites and distributes corporate debt and equity. He continues to look for opportunities to expand the South Street franchise in the mid-market dealer community. Prior to founding South Street, Mr. Tabacchi joined Citicorp/Citibank in 1980. Over a period of 20 years he worked in various customer interface and business head positions within the Investment, Corporate, and Consumer Banking Divisions. In 1987 Mr. Tabacchi became the regional business manager for the Northeast Division of Citicorp Mortgage, Inc. In 1989 he was a Division Financial controller in Citicorp’s North American Investment Bank. During 1990, Mr. Tabacchi was asked to manage the day-to-day operations of Citibank’s Municipal Trust business. He revamped the product lines and packaged the business for sale, which was completed in 1992. He then joined the Finance Desk and was named Treasurer of Citicorp Securities in 1995, adding co-head responsibilities of the Primary Dealer Desk a short time later. In addition to his Board responsibilities at South Street, Kayenta, Digital Prime and AmeriVet, Mr. Tabacchi is Chairman of the Board of the Independent Dealer and Trader Association (IDTA) and is a member of BNYM’s GSS Industry Advisory Council. In 2021, Mr. Tabacchi was elected to the DTCC Board of Directors. Outside the office, he is Vice Chair of the Borough of Demarest Planning Board, and a Trustee of the St. Joseph’s Catholic School Endowment Fund, as well as a youth hockey coach for the Englewood Field Club’s ‘Learn to Play Hockey’ program. Mr. Tabacchi graduated from Iona College with a BBA in Accounting in 1977, and the John G. Hagen School of Business with an MBA in 1981. Mr. Tabacchi’s FINRA certifications include Series 7, 63, 27 and 24.

Josh Galper, Managing Principal, Finadium

Josh Galper is the lead for Finadium’s research and consulting practice with an expertise in institutional investments, treasury and financing. Josh has conducted numerous consulting assignments for banks, asset holders, CCPs and technology companies, and is the author of over 60 industry reports as part of the Finadium research subscription. He also writes for Finadium’s online and hard copy magazine, Securities Finance Monitor. Josh has been quoted in most industry publications covering hedge funds, securities finance, collateral management and financial markets. He holds an MBA in Financial Engineering from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Michel Semaan, Global Head of LCH RepoClear, LSEG Post Trade

Michel Semaan oversees clearing for both the euro and sterling repo markets. With more than 25 years of financial markets experience, Michel held leadership roles in several financial entities. Responsible for trading as well as the implementation of regulatory and legal issues. Michel had several trading and managerial roles in the market making divisions of Nomura International Plc and Crédit Agricole CIB and BBVA across products. Closely involved in securities financing trading, collateral management and risk management issues across the spectrum, including regulatory interface and oversight, liquidity policy and implementation, and industry systemic issues. Michel built and expanded business lines with core trading expertise in close liaison with sales, coverage, and other functions such as risk, compliance, legal, fiscal, and infrastructure. He represented Nomura, CACIB and BBVA at the ERCC and was elected to ICMA’s board for the year 2019. Michel is a finance graduate from Université Paris-Dauphine PSL.

Andy Turvey, Director of Sales EMEA, GLMX

Andy Turvey is the Director of Sales EMEA for GLMX. In this role, Andy is responsible for broadening the profile of the Sec Financing business within both the buy and sell-side communities, and for partnering with his colleagues to expand GLMX’s footprint into adjacent front-end products. Prior to GLMX, Andy has more than two decades of experience within the repo markets, and has amassed comprehensive knowledge of all aspects of the securities financing business. His responsibilities have variously included managing a team of dedicated financing salespeople, implementing liquidity discipline, navigating interest rate and credit risks, and complying with the constantly evolving regulatory landscape. He most recently ran the EMEA Financing Sales business at JPM in London.

Darren Wilson, Vice President, Head of Sales UK and Middle East for Financing Solutions, State Street

Darren Wilson is Head of Sales for UK and Middle East for Financing Solutions, focusing on Agency Lending, Prime Services and Repo solutions. He has been in treasury since 2008 and joined the team from State Street Global Advisors where he held a sales and relationship management role for the cash business. Prior to joining State Street, Darren most recently worked for Bupa Insurance as Head of Asset Management, responsible for investment governance and performance, trade execution and liquidity management. Darren holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Management from the University of Leeds. He earned the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA’s) ACMA designation and is a member of the Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT).

Nate Wuerffel, Head of Market Structure, BNY Mellon

Nate Wuerffel is the Head of Market Structure at BNY Mellon. In this role, he is responsible for BNY Mellon’s continued leadership in all aspects of market structure, including public-private efforts to improve financial market resiliency, navigating market structure changes, and working with central counterparty clearinghouses. Nate was previously the Head of Domestic Markets at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York where he was responsible for carrying out monetary policy operations in the Treasury, agency MBS and money markets, including the implementation of a range of large-scale asset purchase programs, repo operations and balance sheet actions aimed at fostering U.S. economic growth and financial market functioning. Mr. Wuerffel has led a variety of efforts to strengthen the U.S. Treasury market, developed the NY Fed’s annual conference on the evolution of the market, and oversaw the Treasury Market Practices Group (TMPG). Mr. Wuerffel led the New York Fed’s efforts to support the transition away from USD LIBOR and was responsible for the Alternative Reference Rate Committee (ARRC), sponsored by the Federal Reserve. His public remarks cover topics such as government securities market structure and the LIBOR transition. Mr. Wuerffel holds a bachelor’s degree from Valparaiso University and a master’s degree from University of Chicago.