Menekse Gencer founded mPay Connect, a consulting service for clients seeking to launch mobile payments. Her consulting service advises banks, mobile network operators, governments, development agencies, and third parties on regulations, go-to-market-strategy, product design, business case, and business development. She is also a Managing Partner at Arc Spring Group which advises clients in industries such as Healthcare, Agriculture, and Clean Technology on how to leverage Mobile Financial Services to improve their outcomes. Her market expertise extends from North America to emerging markets such as Jamaica, Bangladesh and sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to founding mPay Connect, Menekse led PayPal Mobile’s Business Development efforts in North America for two years during which time she closed PayPal’s first mobile network operator deal to launch PayPal Send Money on Sprint. Menekse has an MBA from Wharton and a BA in Macroeconomics from Harvard University and was previously featured on the cover of Fortune Small Business Magazine for her innovative startup in emerging technology. She is the founder of the Mobile Payments Series(TM) initiative which hosts panel discussions and networking events for professionals in the mobile money industry and has over 570 members in her LinkedIn Group: Mobile Payments Series – mPay Connect. She is a recognized expert in the mobile money field and has lectured on mobile money at events for The State Department, Harvard Business School, Wharton MBA, Haas, and Columbia University and is a frequent guest speaker at mobile money conferences globally. Menekse is an Open Council Advisor to IntraHealth and a board advisor to several startups in this space. She advises angel investors, venture capitalists, and hedge funds on the mobile money industry and has 17 years of experience as a consultant and industry leader in high tech, mobile, and financial services. Her most recent publication on the intersections between mHealth and Mobile Financial Services will be published by The World Economic Forum for the Davos Global Summit in January 2011.