With 25 years of experience across Airline, Travel, and Payment industries, Thomas Helldorff currently leads the vertical growth strategy for Airlines, Travel & Hospitality at Worldpay from FIS. He oversees a portfolio of 130+ airlines in addition to several thousand travel, cruise, ground transportation, and hospitality merchants worldwide.

Before joining Worldpay, he previously worked as the Head of Strategy and Innovation at Datacash. He also served as Senior Product Manager for payment services and passenger mobile apps at SITA, where he led the development of a central payment platform for the air transport industry that linked airline distribution apps with the payment world.

Thomas has authored the published ‘Airline Payments Handbook’, a complete guide to payments in the air transport industry, offering insights for readers new to airline payments as well as more advanced practitioners
(www.payments.aero).

He obtained a master’s degree in International Economics and Business Studies at the University of Innsbruck with an exchange year at the University of Hong Kong. Thomas also holds Yachtmaster certification and is a passionate photographer in his spare time.

For over a decade I have been on the leading edge of airline, mass transit and hotel payment and distribution initiatives, particularly from a go-to-market perspective. My aviation journey started in 2006 and I have been involved across many layers of the airline and travel industry, right from the operational level to regional leadership of a global travel company. In total, I have worked across six countries throughout my career, which helps me take a more holistic perspective to solving complex commercial problems.

I have expertise in maximizing commercial performance in travel, through optimizing distribution costs, enhancing customer payment experiences and supporting hotel and travel companies establish more ancillary revenue opportunities underpinned by more efficient payment touchpoints. Through the years, I have worked across three major legacy airline brands, fintech and consultancy organizations to champion efficiencies and integrity in payment infrastructure for the hotel and travel industry.

I now serve as Associate Director for Airlines, Travel and Mass Transportation with Worldpay and I am responsible for our global strategy, financial performance, client satisfaction, large enterprise scoping and business development

Anke Hsu brings over 25 years of leadership experience in the travel industry, having held key positions at Lufthansa Group, flights.com, Sabre Corporation, FTI Group, and InteRES GmbH (a TUI subsidiary). Her career has spanned multiple continents, with professional roles in Germany, France, Switzerland, the USA, and Brazil, reflecting her global expertise.

In addition to her industry achievements, Anke contributed to blockchain innovation as an external doctoral researcher at the University of Zurich, a world-renowned leader in blockchain research. Her unique blend of travel industry leadership and cutting-edge blockchain knowledge positions her as a pioneer at the intersection of technology and global travel.

As Chief Economist, Europe, Natalia’s responsibilities include development and delivery of differentiated economic, financial, policy and market thought leadership for customers, Mastercard and public policy makers. Natalia came to Mastercard with over 20 years of experience in economic research and analysis. Prior to joining Mastercard, Natalia was the Head of Sovereign and Economic Risk for Europe, Middle East & Africa at Goldman Sachs in London, where she was responsible for the analysis of macroeconomic, financial, geopolitical and social dynamics in countries in the region, as well as short-term and long term trends and scenarios for the global economy.

Prior to Goldman Sachs, Natalia was a Senior Economist at Standard Chartered Bank where she focused on country risk in emerging markets and thematic thought leadership research. Natalia spent several years as a Senior Consultant at NERA Economic Consulting in New York where she provided economic advice to companies on issues arising from regulation, public policy and litigation. Natalia started her career at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris, representing interests of the member countries´ business communities to the organization. Natalia holds a BA in International Economics and International Affairs from the American University of Paris, MSc from London School of Economics and Political Science and MBA from INSEAD.

Benoît Chantoin is an experienced French European affairs professional with a strong focus on consumer protection and legal matters. Over the past 17 years, Benoît has built a robust track record in advancing consumer protection, contributing his skills to NGOs, consultancies, and leading industry organizations. Since 2012, he has held the position of Director for Legal and Consumer Affairs at ECTAA (European Travel Agents' and Tour Operators' Association), representing 70,000 travel intermediaries, mostly SMEs, and playing a pivotal role in shaping policy for both online and offline businesses. His 13-year engagement with the Package Travel Directive underscores his depth of knowledge and commitment to enhancing travel consumer rights in Europe. In January 2024, Benoît further expanded his leadership responsibilities as Secretary General of EGFATT (European Guarantee Fund Association for Travel and Tourism).

Ralf Pastleitner, an Austrian national, holds a doctorate in law from Karl-Franzens University Graz and an Executive MBA from Maastricht University, where he remains a guest lecturer on sustainability in the travel sector. After starting his career in law and the steel industry, he served as a political advisor to an Austrian MEP in Brussels and held senior corporate policy roles in the energy sector.

Since 2017, Ralf has led TUI Group’s public policy activities across key markets, overseeing regulatory and government affairs with a focus on mobility, sustainability and tourism policy. He also heads TUI Group’s EU Corporate Office in Brussels, representing the company to European institutions, associations, and Member States. Ralf is a member of the Executive Committee at Airlines for Europe (A4E) and chairs a European Commission expert group on the green transition in travel and tourism.

Mark Bowmer has over 30 years of experience in the travel industry. Most of his career has been spent specialising in the areas of airline distribution, travel payments, and travel agency and airline technology.  

Mark has held several senior executive positions, including the roles of Head of Strategy and Business Projects for Sabre Pacific, an executive manager within Qantas Airways' Distribution Team, Global Head of Product for eNett International, and, most recently, Senior Director Partnerships and Market Enablement for WEX.  Mark holds a Master of Business Administration

Javier Casas is a seasoned fintech and travel expert with over 15 years of experience in travel technology and payments. As the Director of Travel Solutions at Checkout.com, he shapes the company’s travel strategy, driving innovation and delivering solutions that power seamless payment experiences for millions of users annually. Throughout his career, Javier has held leadership roles at leading organizations both in the travel and payments industries, where he managed complex and large-scale sales, redefined product positioning, and spearheaded market expansion initiatives. His expertise lies at the intersection of business development, strategy, and operational excellence, with a proven track record of accelerating adoption and achieving impactful results.

Emily Clearwater is a Strategy Manager at Worldpay with global experience spanning Asia Pacific and the United Kingdom. Drawing from her background in airlines and professional services, Emily specialises in business transformation, customer experience, and payments. Her tenure at Singapore Airlines combined with consulting experience at KPMG has given her deep insights into aviation, business operations and financial services. She brings valuable perspective on how digital transformation and evolving payment technologies are reshaping the airline, travel agency and hotel sectors. Emily obtained a Master of Business Management from the University of Canterbury.

Nicolas Ortiz Luengo is Senior Director of Payments Product and Merchant Partnerships at Sabre, leading the development of a comprehensive payments platform for the travel industry. With over 20 years of experience in technology and finance including 11+ years in travel payments he has worked extensively in product and presales, helping airlines, hotels, and travel agencies optimize payment acceptance and payouts. Nicolas has played a key role in launching innovative payment solutions that drive efficiency and revenue growth across the travel ecosystem.