Maria Varela Apraiz

Maria Varela Apraiz has had a long and varied career in business development and financial services. Maria began their career in 2005 as an Associate in Foreign Exchange at Merrill Lynch, where they specialized in structured product solutions for Spanish and Portuguese institutional clients. In 2008, they moved to Deutsche Bank as an Associate in Foreign Exchange, where they structured solutions in Currencies and Commodities for Spanish mid-cap clients. In 2009, they joined Morgan Stanley as a Vice President in Foreign Exchange, where they specialized in Corporate FX Sales for Iberian and Scandinavian institutional clients. In 2013, Maria moved to aBoatTime & BoatGrid as Business Development & Strategy, where they managed project management, marketplaces, business analysis, strategy and operations. In 2016, they joined Curve Capital Partners as Chief Operating Officer. Most recently, in 2019, Maria joined Spotahome as Head of Corporate Business Development, Partnerships Spain, where they are responsible for creating an online booking platform for home rentals. In 2021, Maria began working at Suade Labs as Business Development EMEA, where they are helping to reduce the reporting burden on financial service firms.

Maria Varela Apraiz attended St. Mary's School Ascot from 1996 to 2001, where they obtained their GCSEs and A-levels. Maria then went on to attend UCL from 2001 to 2004, where they earned a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Economics. In 2016, Maria obtained a Masters Program (Master) Website Design and Development from CICE Escuela Profesional de Nuevas Tecnologías. In 2021, they obtained two additional certifications: Global Trends for Business and Society from Wharton Online, and Global Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility: Be Sustainable from Macquarie University.