Meet our Festival of Finance speakers: John Davies, Executive Chairman of Just Cashflow

With the AltFi Festival of Finance 2021 just a week away, we’re sitting down with some of the speakers to find out which themes and trends are on their minds.

Across our 3-day festival next week, you’ll get to hear from 50 of fintech and alternative lending’s best and brightest minds.

Throughout some 35+ sessions they’ll be discussing everything from the post-pandemic recovery, neo-banking around the world, crypto’s rise, buy-now-pay-later, and so much more.

First up, let’s meet John Davies, executive chairman of Just Cashflow and headline sponsor of this year’s festival.

Oliver Smith: John, when it comes to finance, which future technology are you most excited about and why?

John Davies: I see Robotic Process Automation combined with Machine Learning as having huge potential for the financial services world we operate in. 

The ability to handle repetitive, rule-based digital tasks such as filling in the same information in multiple places coupled with systems learning from the data with minimal human intervention has the potential to be a game-changer.

Organisations will be able to achieve cost efficiencies by streamlining processes and enhancing accuracy and compliance. Importantly it will enable humans to focus on work that requires judgement, creativity and interpersonal skills rather than routine processes.

I also like the fact it will boost scalability opportunities.

OS: Which region of the world will be most interesting for finance over the next decade, and why?

JD: Geographical areas are going to become less and less important because businesses in all regions will want to bring their businesses online and successfully compete in an online world. 

The ability to finance revenue-based online models will determine a business’s success and drive significant growth. However, this will mean businesses throughout the world will find they are increasingly in competition with the existing big hitters such as Apple, Amazon and eBay.

OS: And finally, are you upbeat or downbeat about the future of virtual events?

JD: Virtual events, like the Festival of Finance, have shown just how adaptable, creative and interactive organisations can be. 

The technologies developed and used during Covid-19 lockdowns will forever change the format and international reach of events. I believe they will now always have a virtual element.

However, they will never replace live events for impact, face to face relationship building opportunities and the sheer joy of being together.

OS: Thanks John!

And there you have it, our first speaker sit-down ahead of the Festival of Finance on 22 - 24 June.

Don’t have your ticket yet? What are you waiting for: