Luca Gelsomino is an Assistant Professor at the University of Groningen and the Academic Director of the SCF Community. In this role, he oversees the Community’s research projects, international network and publication strategy.

His teaching interests include supply chain management, financial analysis and Supply Chain Finance. He holds a Ph.D. with merit from the School of Management of Politecnico di Milano (Italy), on the topic of measuring the financial performance of supply chains. While working for the School of Management, he directed the School’s permanent research program on Supply Chain Finance. His research focuses on the relationship between physical and financial supply chains.

Lingli Zhou is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Earth Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Lingli’s fascinating work explores the intersection of geology and society offering valuable insights into how geological factors impact our world. She has worked with mining companies to develop geochemical vectoring tools and genetic models of mineral deposits to aid exploration. She also collaborated with engineering and coating industry partners to develop sustainable mineral coatings, which were applied at an industrial scale. Her current work focuses on understanding the formation of critical mineral deposits and the potential of reprocessing mining wastes for critical metals, using knowledge of mineralogy, geochemistry, and petrology.

Christiaan de Goeij is a Research Project Manager in Supply Chain Finance at Windesheim University of Applied Sciences. With a PhD in Supply Chain Finance and notable acknowledgements, including winning the IPSERA 2022 award for best doctoral thesis in Purchasing & Supply Management, Christiaan is a recognized industry expert. Christiaan de Goeij will also unveil the findings of a comprehensive Order-To-Cash survey, providing state-of-the-art insights into lead times, working capital implications, payment methods, and optimal terms.

Gregory Cronie is a researcher in Financial Supply Chain and Fintech at Windesheim University of Applied Sciences. His research focuses on how SMEs can improve liquidity by optimising their Order-to-Cash and Purchase-to-Pay processes through Fintech solutions. As an Independent Payments and Fintech Consultant, Gregory works with startups and SMEs to enhance their payment and Financial Supply Chain processes, or collaborates with Financial Solution Providers to improve their propositions in the SME Order-to-Cash or Purchase-to-Pay domain.

Francesco Sardaro has broad-based experience (12 years) in both the financial and the oil and gas sectors, where he has held a variety of positions in the Finance function. Today, as Trade & Export Finance Officer in – MAIRE S.p.A. – Milan, he is involved both in trade and export finance with focus on managing working capital, supply chain finance and bank guarantees. Referring to his academic background, Francesco holds a master’s degree in Economics & Business and an executive master’s in Finance & Markets from Luiss Guido Carli (Italy). He has recently obtained the “Trade Finance Professional” certification issued by the ICC Academy.

Ronald Kleverlaan is the chairman of Stichting MKB Financiering, the alternative finance association in The Netherlands, and the director of the European Centre forAlternative Finance at Utrecht University. With over 15 years of experience, Ronald has led research, education, and advocacy on alternative finance, crowdfunding, and community ownership in Europe. He holds a master’sdegree in Business Information Systems from the University of Amsterdam and has been honored for his contributions to the field. As the founder and senior partner of CrowdfundingHub and a senior advisor to the European Commission, Ronald is dedicated to advancingfinancial inclusion and innovation in the alternative finance ecosystem.

Michael manages BT Sourced’s Professional Services Team and drives the adoption of emerging, AI-based technologies to boost the effectiveness of BT’s procurement processes. He is at the forefront of implementing BT’s supply chain financing program and building an ecosystem around it. 

Michiel Steeman was selected in 2013 as the inaugural holder of the Supply Chain Finance Professorship at the Windesheim University of Applied Sciences in The Netherlands. He is also the founder and former chairman of the Supply Chain Finance Community that has already brought together over 30 leading business schools from more than 20 countries around the world who actively collaborate with companies, banks and governments in the developing field of Supply Chain Finance.  

Stefan Waelde is Head of Business Development B2B at AirPlus International and responsible for B2B procure-to-pay solutions and their commercial development globally. He joined AirPlus in 2000 as Business Development Manager Web Solutions and soon after led an innovation project around financial supply chain management and e-invoicing. He then worked as Program Director on the market launch of a payment solution for the European region and its according implementation of a payment processing platform. He then took on the role of Director Products and Innovation in charge of the entire product suite of AirPlus International. He has been decisive in various strategic projects in the context of increasing financial regulation and related product developments. Before joining AirPlus, he worked as a consultant in the IT industry and as a research assistant at university.

CFO and part-time Research Fellow, Bart Ras combines over 20 years of global experience with a passion for working capital and innovation. He specializes in attracting capital markets to working capital assets, bringing entrepreneurial thinking and non-traditional solutions to the marketplace. Bart has held senior roles at leading organizations like HSBC, Citi Bank, Philips NV, ING Bank, and Pemberton Asset Management, where he drove strategic global initiatives and business development.

Maxime is a PhD candidate at the university of Groningen and a researcher & teacher at the university of applied sciences of Windesheim. He specializes in supply chain sustainability and incentive structures. With experiences spanning from supply chain & process improvement in the automotive sector at Faurecia to driving social impact initiatives in Amsterdam, Maxime brings a comprehensive understanding of sustainability challenges in diverse industries. His current research focuses on how SMEs can integrate sustainable practices into their supply chains while navigating complex supply networks, regulatory frameworks, and incentive structures. Maxime is passionate about fostering positive environmental and social impacts through business transformation, with a particular interest in the intersection of sustainability, supply chain management, and transition management. His work contributes to the broader goal of redefining the way businesses approach sustainability, aiming to align business objectives with long-term societal benefits.

Tim joined BT Sourced in July 2024 from Virgin Media Ireland where he held the role of Director of Procurement and Supply Chain since 2019. From 2010 to 2019, Tim held a number of procurement and commercial roles in Vodafone, working in Luxembourg, the UK and Ireland. Prior to this he held various sales and business development roles in BT Group, originally joining BT’s Aeronautical and Maritime division as a graduate.