Efi Pylarinou
Founder of Efi Pylarinou Advisory
I am a Global Fintech Influencer (No.1 Global Woman Influencer in Finance & the Dataconversation by Refinitiv 2019 & 2020) and a seasoned Wall Street professional with a Ph.D. in Finance. I run an advisory and B2B influencer marketing business that focuses on innovation topics in AI, Big Data, Blockhain, and Impact on the ecology and the economy. I have worked on Wall Street at Salomon Brothers, Bankers Trust and SG in fixed income structured products and Emerging markets. I have also worked in the hedge fund industry and also taught at McGill University. I have published several books.
How did you get to become an expert in your key topics?
With 20yrs working experience in financial markets, I decided to focus on financial innovation in 2015. Since then I have been dedicated to global fintech trends. Writing a weekly blog and publishing content has been core to growing my following and my network.
I am also a contributing author to the upcoming book, 2021 Theories of Change, by Springer, the 2019 4IR AI Blockchain Fintech IOT book and the 2018 WealthTech book by Wiley. In addition to two books on Emerging Markets Fixed income co-published with Frank Fabozzi, Wiley.
I am included in several other rankings: 2020 Onalytica Top 100 Fintech Influencers & the 2019 Onalytica Top 100 Wealth Management Influencer list & 2019 Onalytica Top Women in Finance list & 2019 Onalytica Top Ten Social Amplifiers in Regtech & 2019 Onalytica Top 100 Gender Equality and Diversity Influencers & 2019 Onalytica Top 100 Finserv Environmental Sustainability Influencers, 2016 & 2017 Innovate Finance Women in Fintech Powerlist, Women in Fintech DACH social ranking.
What topic areas are you most passionate about?
Digitalization in Capital Markets, Wealth Management, Blockchain4Finance, AI in Finance, Finance & Technology, Embedded Finance, Techfin, IOT, Digital Trust. I work at the intersections of Business development, Marketing and PR for Brands involved in Digital transformation in various industries. Financial services is the sector of my domain expertise; Blockchain and Artificial intelligence are two main disruptive technologies that I focus on. My global audience (c. 200,000 across all platforms) values my multimedia daily curation. I am a prolific writer, a host of weekly audio-video content, a creator of weekly visual content, and a passionate speaker. My passion is creating content that supports my clients in their strategic business goals. Communication has changed and is evolving. Information needs curation and continuing innovation. Earning media for your brand in collaboration with influencers whose independent voice is heard, is the new way.
Which influencers influence you within those key topics?
I follow several influencers, for example Ronald Van Loon, Spiros Margaris and Helen Li. I read Lex Sokolin, Theodora Lau, Ron Shevlin and Jim Marous, from those publishing consistenly. April Rudin, Simon Taylor, Matt Levine, Axios writings are regulars too. Chris Skinner, Daily Fintech, and Bernard Marr, also.
Outside of key topics, who else influences you?
Thomas Power, Dr. Joe Dispenza, and other spiritual leaders.
How would you describe your offline influence?
Creating innovative content with my clients is core to my services. I am at my best speaking in small or large groups and interacting with Q&A. I am passionate about jointly designing thought leadership campaigns with businesses that are either directly in financial services or tech businesses that power up embedded finance, e-commerce and innovations.
What’s your best source of information for getting ahead of a story? What resource do you use to stay ahead of the trend?
Over the past 6 years that I am dedicated in innovation, I have several sources of information. These include various online media sites that aggregate articles, subscriptions to specialty newsletters, podcasts, webinars etc. I use technology to curate specific sub topics of interest, I engage in conversations on social media and I use my network to reach out directly to experts and discuss in person.
If a brand wanted to work with you, which activities would you be most interested in collaborating on?
What brands have you worked with?
Oracle, Salesforce, ANT, Finastra, Swissquote Bank, Seba Bank, Thomson Reuters, The Wealth Mosaic, Tifin Group.
Which non-paid activities would you be keen to take part in if the opportunity raised your profile or delivered value to your audience?
I am keen to be interviewed in a podcast or be a panelist in a webinar.
What are your passions outside of work?
I am a Kundalini yoga Level I teacher and I practice for my own personal development. I love cooking and entertaining. I love reading books and playing board games.
What would be the best way for a brand to contact you?
Via email.