Richard has a 30-year career embracing international relations, consulting, and academia. In working to help shape policy reform, he is a passionate advocate for the data sharing economy's inherent capacity to deliver economic empowerment and social good across multiple sectors, including financial services, healthcare, energy (as a key component of climate), and agriculture. His areas of domain expertise include fintech, regulatory frameworks, and international market landscape research. He has a history of engagement with key industry and government entities around the world as a former member of the policy team at Kabbage Inc., a former strategic advisor to the U.K.'s Smart Data Foundry, and through his successive roles at the Financial Data and Technology Association (FDATA). Based out of Atlanta, as FDATA Global's CEO, Richard oversees and supports policy campaigns led by FDATA's regional teams in Europe, North America, LATAM, and Australasia, with additional advisory engagement in Southeast Asia, Africa and the Middle East. FDATA is one of the world's largest not-for-profit trade associations representing Fintechs operating in Open Banking, and more broadly, Open Finance. In leading the campaign for Open Finance, FDATA works with government, policymakers, regulatory authorities and industry to implement a fair and ethical market landscape promoting healthy competition, innovation, and improved customer outcomes. FDATA advocates for the adoption of a customer data right as the foundation to building a competitive financial services ecosystem, establishing operations where markets signal an appetite and ambition for Open Banking or Open Finance.FDATA’s members provides innovative financial applications and services that empower customers to make improved financial decisions, and take fuller control of their financial lives. From technical standardization, to access to data, to fair processes that encourage innovation and customer choice, FDATA is committed to promoting customer-centric regulation built on fair and ethical Open Finance, for both the consumer and those organizations delivering financial services. With an overarching mission for delivery of an interoperable global Open Finance ecosystem, FDATA represents and advocates for members’ interests, providing a powerful collective voice in the market. In doing so, FDATA increases the share of voice for members in front of policymakers, regulators, and key stakeholders.