I hope to see some friendly faces at the Stanford GSB's upcoming Palo Alto event on the future of money. Get beyond
the hype and learn what's really happening in the world of mobile
payments. We have a great panel representing both
entrepreneurial new business technology and one of the world's most
innovative banks. Some of the questions I plan to pose include
the following:
- What do consumers want?
- What can the US learn from the rest of the world?
- What are the unique opportunities for mobile payment to help with
both real and digital transactions? - What should businesses be doing to be ready?
- What should consumers know?
- What are key things to think about when thinking of using mobile
as a delivery channel? - What realistic and reasonable things can you do on the mobile
devices versus other channels?
As always, we will keep the discussion open and informal, and
encourage networking.
Current Speakers
- Wences Casares, Co-CEO, Bling Nation
- Bill Gajda, Global Head, VISA Mobile
- David Marcus, Founder and CEO, Zong
- Secil Watson, Senior VP Wells Fargo Internet and Mobile Banking
Cost/Event Registration
This event costs $25 per person, which covers a full hot breakfast
and the presentation. Guests are welcome. Register by May 12.
![[icon - registration]](https://alumni.gsb.stanford.edu/images/button-registration.gif){kind=small}
Note: GSB alumni must enter their own
registrations and will use the GSB's event registration system. If you
need an alumni username/password, use the "Register" link on bottom of
the event registration log-in screen.
Questions?
Contact Alyssa
Morrison in the GSB Alumni Office at +1-650-724-5612.
Speaker Bios
Wences Casares, Co-CEO, Bling Nation
Wences Casares is co-CEO of Palo Alto, Calif-based Bling Nation, a
payments network provider for community banks nationwide. Casares is
also a founding partner of Santiago, Chile0based MECK, Ltd., a private
investment firm. In 1994, he launched Argentina's first Internet Service
Provider (ISP), Internet Argentina S.A., and later founded online
brokerage Patagon, Latin America's first comprehensive Internet
financial services portal. Casares founded Banco Lemon, a Brazilian
retail bank serving the underbanked population, which today is the
largest private microfinance and payment institution in Brazil.
Bill Gajda, Global Head, VISA Mobile
Bill Gajda is the Global Head of VISA Mobile, responsible for
VISA’s mobile product and commercial strategies and activities. Prior to
joining VISA, he was Chief Commercial Officer for the GSMA. In this
role he was responsible for business development, as well as led the
GSMA’s Mobile Money, Mobile Innovation, Mobile Advertising and
Strategic Partner Programs. Bill was previously Chief Marketing
Officer at the GSMA, where he was responsible for the global marketing,
communications and member services strategies and activities. Before
the GSMA, Bill was the Global Director, Brand and Marketing
Communications for Ericsson in Stockholm. He has held other executive
positions elsewhere in the telecom sector, including Vice President,
Corporate and Marketing Communications for TELUS Corporation, Canada's
second largest telecom operator, and Vice President, Communications for
Bell Canada International, an international wireless investor and
operator. His first career was in the Canadian public service, where he
directed communications on constitutional and international trade
issues. Bill obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of
Alberta, and an MBA from the University of Chicago.
David Marcus, Founder and CEO, Zong
David Marcus is the founder and CEO of Zong, the leading mobile
payment service used by online gaming and social networking web sites.
Zong is featured in hundreds of top applications on popular social
networks like Facebook and MySpace as well as leading virtual worlds and
other online gaming sites, such as Gaia Online, IMVU and Outspark. An
experienced entrepreneur, David has created a number of successful
venture-backed businesses, including the first alternative telecom
carrier in Switzerland, GTN telecom, which he launched in 1996. Under
David's leadership, GTN became one of the top three alternative carriers
in Switzerland and was acquired by World Access in 2000. In 2003, David
co-founded VOX telecom, a leading VoIP and wholesale carrier which
services over 60% of the largest incumbent carriers globally. David also
spearheaded the creation of echo6 in 2006, now one of the most
successful mobile entertainment companies in France. In March 2008,
David co-founded Twitterfone, the popular and free service that converts
a voice message into Twitter updates from any mobile phone.
Secil Watson, Senior VP Wells Fargo Internet and Mobile Banking
Secil Tabli Watson is a Senior Vice President in Wells Fargo
Internet and Mobile Banking, responsible for Customer Experience, Money
Movement and Retail Mobile Banking. Her product management teams manage
Bill Pay, transfers and all other online payments products, and all
mobile banking services including text (to 93557) and mobile web banking
(wf.com) for consumers and small businesses. In December 2009, she was
named the #1 Bank Innovator of the Year by Bank Technology News
magazine. Watson was recognized for her leadership in person-to-person
mobile payments, advances in online and mobile banking and research into
next-generation customer experience.
Secil has an MBA from Wharton in Finance and a BA from Cornell
University in Government and Economics. Secil joined Wells Fargo in
2002. Prior to that, she was a management consultant for Fortune 500
companies in telecom, banking and healthcare. She has also managed the
financial services vertical of a leading company in the e-learning
industry.
