GFTN Strengthens Global Leadership Team with Anthony Thomas as Chief Strategy & Growth Officer and Maha El Dimachki as CEO of GFTN Advisory

The Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN) announced the appointment of Anthony Thomas as Chief Strategy & Growth Officer, who joined in October 2025 and Maha El Dimachki as Chief Executive Officer of GFTN Advisory, who will join effective February 2026. 

Thomas will lead GFTN’s global strategy and growth agenda, expanding the network’s presence across new markets and initiatives. El Dimachki will head GFTN Advisory, the organisation’s advisory and capacity-building arm that works with governments, regulators, and institutions to design and implement digital finance strategies globally. Both will be based in Singapore and will play pivotal roles in driving GFTN’s mission to build a more efficient, inclusive and resilient financial ecosystem worldwide.

With more than 27 years of leadership experience across banking and FinTech, Anthony Thomas has built and scaled some of the most successful digital finance platforms in Asia and beyond. Before joining GFTN, he served as Global Managing Director for FinTech at Berlin-based Delivery Hero, overseeing payments and embedded financial services across 70 markets. A recognised FinTech leader in Southeast Asia, he is Chairman of MoMo, Vietnam’s leading financial services super app, and previously led GCash in the Philippines as Chief Executive Officer. Earlier in his career, he spent 17 years with Citibank, working across seven markets in Asia, the United States, and Latin America. 

El Dimachki brings over 25 years of leadership experience spanning regulation, payments, and institutional finance. She joins GFTN from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), where she serves as Centre Head of the BIS Innovation Hub, Singapore, playing a leading role in advancing global central bank innovation, including through Project Nexus, a first structure of its kind which links instant payment systems across borders on a multilateral basis. A former senior executive at the UK Financial Conduct Authority, she designed the Regulatory Nursery and Scalebox, now Early and High Growth Oversight, and as Chief Payments Officer at Pay.UK, oversaw interbank systems processing over seven billion transactions a year worth £9.5 trillion.

Sopnendu Mohanty, Group Chief Executive Officer, GFTN: “Anthony brings a rare combination of global strategic experience, entrepreneurial drive and deep domain knowledge. He has helped build and scale some of the most successful digital finance platforms in Asia. His leadership experience across finance and technology will be invaluable as GFTN deepens its work with governments, industry and innovators across emerging markets.”

Anthony Thomas, Chief Strategy & Growth Officer, GFTN: “I’m thrilled to join GFTN at this pivotal moment as it expands its mandate globally. Having seen firsthand how digital innovation can expand access and opportunity, I look forward to building new bridges between institutions, innovators and ecosystems, creating growth corridors and scaling financial inclusion through collaboration and technology.”

Sopnendu Mohanty, Group Chief Executive Officer of GFTN: “Maha brings deep regulatory expertise, institutional insight, and a proven record of building frameworks that enable innovation responsibly. She has shaped policy and payments at a global level and understands how to translate vision into delivery. Her leadership will enable GFTN Advisory to translate innovation into impactful policy and practice through guiding government and industry in building inclusive, technology-enabled financial systems that drive sustainable growth.

Maha El Dimachki, Incoming Chief Executive Officer, GFTN Advisory: “I’m honoured to join GFTN at a time when collaboration between innovators, regulators, and institutions is more critical than ever. GFTN’s mission to build trust, inclusion, and resilience through technology deeply resonates with my own journey. I look forward to working with partners worldwide to turn that vision into practical impact.”