Nelson Machado, CEO, ActivoBank

The Portuguese economy has suffered in recent years, but Nelson Machado argues that progress over the last 18 months has been much better than expected. He outlines how ActivoBank’s core values of simplicity and innovation have seen its customer base grow more than 40 percent in one year.

José Morgado, CEO, Inapa Group

Inapa is a specialist in paper, packaging and visual communication, based in Portugal but with most of its sales coming from the rest of Europe. As such it has been particularly at risk from ongoing austerity and the eurocrisis – but with José Morgado’s leadership it has successfully developed its client relationships, improved efficiency and tightened its resource management to beat the downturn.

Rui Cartaxo, CEO and Chairman, REN

Energy security is one of the hot-button issues for countries around the world – and with Europe committed to a significant shift to renewables over the next decade it is a big concern across the continent. REN’s activities in the transportation of natural gas gives it a reliable source of electricity to supplement the less consistent contribution of wind power. Rui Cartaxo discusses the state of the European energy market and REN’s expansion plans.

Artem Konstandyan, President, Promsvyazbank

Many Russian businesses were taken by surprise by the financial crisis and the country’s interconnection with the global economy. However, as Promsvyazbank’s Artem Konstandyan points out, Russia has weathered the crisis well and has huge potential for growth, with just 24 percent of the population estimated to have bank accounts, a rising per capita income, and increasing demand for financial products. He describes PSB’s plans to expand its retail services alongside its historic strengths.

Jeff Holland, Partner, Brown Brothers Harriman

Considerable regulatory and cost pressures have forced private banks to adopt new business models and distinguish clearly between their client segments. Brown Brothers Harriman has identified one emerging trend caused by this perfect storm: ‘multi-convergence’, where universal banks, private banks and asset managers are consolidating their businesses. Jeff Holland explains the changing landscape.

Paul Patterson, Head of Global Trust, RBC Wealth Management

In recent years, the Channel Islands have implemented higher standards of regulation. Combined with their natural strengths of political stability, tax neutrality and a large pool of wealth management talent, they have become recognised as high-standard financial centres. Paul Patterson outlines how RBC Wealth Management’s Canadian heritage, strong capital base, and uniquely integrated delivery put it ahead of its competitors in private banking, and describes some of the future opportunities that will arise from operating in the Channel Islands.