The BETTER FINANCE team
As an association of national member organisations, BETTER FINANCE is supported by a small professional Brussels-based team and our friends on Facebook and LinkedIn. New members and supporters are always welcome to get involved.
Our team consists of finance professionals, lobbyists and communication specialists who carry out the core activities of BETTER FINANCE.
Managing Director,
Aleksandra Mączyńska
Aleksandra Mączyńska is coming from Warsaw, Poland, where she was the Deputy Director of the International Relations and Communication Department of the Polish consumer and competition watchdog.
She studied at the Faculty of Management at the Poznan University of Economics and at the Warsaw School of Economics. She has also a vast experience in management of international projects, e.g. EU funded capacity building projects. As a Fellow of the Robert Bosch Foundation Programme for the Young Executives from the Public Sector, she worked at the Division for World Bank International Monetary Fund, Debt Issues and International Finance Structure at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. She was an expert at various EU Council’s Working Parties such as the WP on Financial Services and WP on Competitiveness and Growth, as well as European Commission’s Working Groups and Advisory Committees. One of her task was also external representation and managing professional networks such as Consumer Policy Network (CPN), International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN), European Competition Network (ECN) and OECD Competition Committee.
EU expert groups: Member of the Directorate-General for the Environment on the European Commission Eco-labelling Board, Member of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) Occupational pensions Stakeholder Group (OPSG), Member of the United Nations Civil Society Advisory Body of the Principles for Responsible Banking (UNEPFI).
Executive Director,
Matis Joab
Matis Joab joined BETTER FINANCE at the beginning of 2020 as Finance and Administration Officer, before being promoted to Executive Director in July 2023. Since joining, he has been in charge of finances, administration and member relations, as well as representing BETTER FINANCE at the European Financial Reporting Expert Group and contributing to BETTER FINANCE’s research work in relation to pension savings and investor rights.
He has a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Economics and a Master’s degree in Management from Tallinn University of Technology. After working 6 years in the private sector in Estonia, mostly in the commercial real estate sector, he moved to Brussels to become the Financial Director of the European Students’ Forum (AEGEE).
In addition to his knowledge of finance and economics, Matis has a deep interest in geopolitics. He is bilingual in Estonian and English and has a decent grasp of both French and German.
Director of Communication
Arnaud Houdmont
Arnaud Houdmont joined the team at BETTER FINANCE following a varied and multi-facetted career in the world of communication, press relations and research at the heart of Europe. During this time he worked closely with policy makers from the European Commission, the European Parliament and private sector stakeholders on topics such as youth employment, entrepreneurship, health policy, sustainability and innovation. Prior to this he earned a master’s degree in Global Communication from Goldsmith’s College (University of London) and a bachelor’s degree in International relations from Sussex University.
His studies and career have given him a critical and analytical insight in a range of issues, as well as a profound knowledge of the political economy, media and the European institutions. On a personal level Arnaud is fascinated by all aspects relating to sustainable development and political economy.
At BETTER FINANCE, Arnaud is responsible for all communications activities and the continued development of an inclusive communication strategy aimed at reaching all interested parties and stakeholders. He speaks fluent Dutch, English and French and has a very good working level of Spanish.
Project Manager,
Anaïs Baudrier
Anaïs Baudrier joined Better Finance on February 2021 as a Project Manager to deal, amongst other things, with H2020 project LEVEL EEI (GA894345).
Since her graduation with a Master’s degree as Expert in European Project Management from the University of Caen Basse Normandie in France, she has cumulated 8 years of experience in project and proposal management for French, European and International funders.
On the Innovation side, she has worked in different consulting companies in France and Belgium on FP7 and H2020 projects related to many different topics with a focus on Energy.
On the International development side, she was working for the prestigious Institut Pasteur in Paris and for the Brussels office of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
Research & Policy Officer,
Sébastien Commain
Sébastien Commain is Research and Policy Officer at BETTER FINANCE. He specialises in Financial Services Regulation and Capital Markets Research.
Sébastien holds a Masters’ degree in European affairs from Sciences Po Paris and a Ph.D. in political science from the Université du Luxembourg. Before joining BETTER FINANCE, Sébastien worked as an interest representative, a role in which he initially developed a strong taste for financial regulation issues as well as advocacy and policy analysis skills. He then turned to academia, working at the College of Europe for several years, before undertaking a Ph.D. on the influence of financial interest groups in EU and international policy making and the reform of bank capital requirements.
Research & Outreach Officer,
Martin Molko
Martin Molko is Research and Outreach Officer at BETTER FINANCE, where he supports the research team, monitors policy issues and carries out dissemination tasks for our activities. He works on various policy areas, with a focus on Digital Finance (FinTech trends, Data-access, AI), Shareholder Rights, Financial Literacy and Inclusion. Within the BETTER FINANCE team, he is also involved in several topics related to the EU Capital Markets Union (CMU) such as MiFID/R II market structure and listing rules.
Martin obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Information and Communication from the University of Nice and pursued a specialised Master’s Degree in European Studies at the Free University of Brussels (ULB). He has also participated in summer university programmes related to European multilateralism and economic development. As part of his past professional experience, he has consolidated his communication and reporting skills, including within a European news agency, where he developed a strong interest in finance. He has lived in Belgium, France and Germany, where he gained experience in consulting and held project management and editorial positions in the academic field
Research & Policy Officer,
Mariyan Nikolov
Mariyan Nikolov is a Research & Policy Officer at Better Finance, where he specializes in the areas of Sustainable and Digital Finance, Financial Reporting and Corporate Governance. He is also involved with the coordination of relevant policy developments with member organizations and leads on consultation responses to the EU on broader sustainability dossiers.
In his previous roles – with government representation, EU institutions and the private sector – he led on multiple research projects encompassing sustainable finance initiatives and comparative regulatory developments, carbon pricing and trading, as well as consultations with international financial institutions.
Mariyan has an integrated MSci in International Relations and Global Issues from the University of Nottingham, UK whereby he also completed various study and volunteering projects across China, India and Malaysia in the fields of sustainability. He is a native Bulgarian, Turkish, English speaker and has some understanding of other languages including Russian, French and Dutch.
Senior Advisor,
Guillaume Prache
Guillaume Prache is Senior Advisor of BETTER FINANCE. Following nearly 15 years creating and then developing BETTER FINANCE as Managing Director up to June 2023, he focusses on policy and research in his new role as Senior Advisor. He is also one of the experts representing financial services users at EU-level, notably before the European Commission (lastly as a member of the HLF CMU – High-Level Forum on Capital Markets Union), before the European Securities & Markets Authority as a member and former chair of the ESMA Securities & Markets Stakeholder Group, and before the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority as a member of the EIOPA IRSG – Insurance and Reinsurance Stakeholder Group (and formerly as a member of the EIOPA Occupational Pensions Stakeholder Group and of the EBA Banking Stakeholder Group). He is also an expert for the French financial regulator AMF. And he is the President of FAIDER, the largest individual investor organization in France, and a member of BETTER FINANCE.
He started as a magistrate at the French Court of Auditors and has an extended and international experience in financial matters, notably as Chief Financial Officer of US-based Rhône-Poulenc Rorer, Inc., a “Fortune 500” publicly listed pharmaceutical company (today Sanofi) from 1997 to 2000, and then as Managing Director of the European subsidiary of the Vanguard Group, Inc., a global leader in asset management, from 2000 to 2006.
He has taught asset management for the CIWM (Certified International Wealth Manager) program and wrote two books and various articles on economics and finance.
Communications Assistant,
Vincentas Steponkus
Vincentas Steponkus is a Communications Assistant at BETTER FINANCE. He has obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Politics at Newcastle University and is currently pursuing his Master’s in International Political Economy at the University of Groningen.
As part of his professional experience, Vincentas has worked at one of the BETTER FINANCE national member organizations, Lithuanian Investors’ Association.
Finance and Policy Assistant,
Carla Navarro i Triola
Carla Navarro is a Finance and Policy Assistant at BETTER FINANCE. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Ramon Llull-Blanquerna University in Barcelona, with a specialization in international economics and development.
In recent years, Carla has worked in the public sector in Barcelona, where she collaborated on European funding projects and also cooperated with various entities at regional and international levels. Additionally, Carla has worked as a legal and financial assistant at the legal-economic consultancy Garreta-Such, providing advice to clients in their commercial, fiscal, and legal relations.