GDS International's Eighth Financial Services Summit Gathers Interest as October's Event Brings in an Unprecedented Delegation of Thought Leaders

DUBLIN, June 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Organisations must change the way they work in order to fully leverage business, and in today's unforgiving economic climate, only the most agile, ICT savvy corporations will flourish. The 9-11 October will see Europe's biggest players from across the financial services industry convene over two days, for what promises to be the best-attended and most disruptive event of the year - GDS International's eighth Financial Services Technology summit (http://www.fsteuropesummit.com) - to be held at the Killashee House Hotel and Spa, Dublin.

There will be a number of leading executives in attendance, including Jack Scard-Morgan, Group CIO Infrastructure IT for ICAP; Scott Brown, Global Head of IT Architecture for HSBC; Javier Viñuales, CTO for BBVA; Marc Earl, Managing Director, Global Head of GT Production Management for Deutsche Bank; and Mark Diamond, CIO Business Services for RBS.

Mark Diamond attended the most recent FST event, and was the recipient of GDS International's inaugural 'CIO of the Year' Award for his large-scale virtualisation of RBS' desktop platform. With a budget of £240 million, he has spent the last 12 months creating a desktop revolution. From articulating the benefits of the project to its stakeholders and winning acceptance from users within RBS, to re-using pre-existing desktops within the company, Mark's employment of Fujitsu and Citrix has demonstrated the importance of shared objectives, scalability, flexibility, automation and structure.

With this in mind, GDS International's Financial Services Technology Summit will address the importance of organisational agility. A series of highly interactive workshops and roundtable discussions will lead to closed-door meetings and intimate one-to-one meetings as more specific shared objectives are established. Incorporating working lunches and keynote discussions, attendees will be given every opportunity to strategically network on a variety of levels, and establish shared objectives for the year ahead and beyond.

As with the most recent event, there will be an award ceremony, with three specific accolades to be handed out to those who, like Mark, have made a real impact on the financial industry in Europe. Awards at this year's event include 'FST Retail Banking Executive of the Year', 'FST Investment Executive of the Year' and the 'FST Innovation Award', with results being announced on the day.

Ian Cassley, Summit Director for the FST Europe event said: "This summit will, without a doubt, surpass everyone's expectations. Set at the fantastic Killashee House Hotel and Spa in Dublin the eighth FST Europe summit provides the perfect setting for C-suite executives to engage in focused dialogue, interactive workshops, and plan their investment strategies for the year ahead. In addition to IBM Tivoli, InterCall and Hitachi Data Systems, the summit will also provide an excellent platform for smaller companies that don't normally show up on the radar to accelerate their sales cycle by having a voice at the top table. I'm also really looking forward to the awards ceremonies - it's going to be fascinating to see who'll take the honours."

For more information, visit: http://www.fsteuropesummit.com

About GDS International

GDS International is one of the most innovative events and media companies worldwide - and a globally renowned producer of business-to-business summits, conferences, online information and advisory group gatherings. Founded in 1993, GDS International specialises in meeting the B2B marketing needs of our clients. Having a strong presence in mature industrial sectors but a finger on the pulse of emerging markets - as well as up-and-coming B2B business verticals - means we are perfectly placed to capitalise on the exciting developments brought about by the advent of a globalised economy. Our value proposition is simple: we deliver tangible business results from world-class events.

http://www.gdsinternational.com/

Contact: Rachel Sandeman
rachel.sandeman@gdsinternational.com
+44-1179-261-421