Next Money CLT, a group of banking, payment and other financial-technology professionals, recognized four individuals from the local fintech scene Wednesday night.
Next Money said its first awards ceremony was a chance to recognize people or companies with a Charlotte presence for their achievements in the fintech sector. The local fintech scene has been put in the spotlight for several months now that the city’s government and large companies here are paying attention to the fast-growing space.
The group presented four awards Wednesday: Best Community Organizer, to honor a person who has helped build the local fintech community; Risk Taker, to honor a person or company that has taken a risk on a new idea, even if it failed; Change Champion, to honor a person or company that has tried to drive drastic change in the industry; and Best Innovation, to honor the person or company that has launched an innovative product or service.
Chris Elmore from AvidXchange took home the Change Champion award for his work in the payment-automation space. Elmore has previously told the Charlotte Business Journal he considers himself a teacher. He doesn’t have a title at the company, but he is a subject-matter expert who shares his knowledge with new employees and conference attendees. He also teaches entrepreneurship at UNC Charlotte.
Andy Moose, vice president at The North Highland Co., won the Community Organizer award. Tariq Bokhari, head of innovation and investments for Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE: FIS), won the Risk Taker award.
And Anthony Serdula, founder and president of A. Anthony Corp., won the Best Innovation award. His company manages over 400 million square feet in more than 20,000 facilities for some of the largest companies in North America.
The event took place at HQ Charlotte in Packard Place uptown.
Next Money, previously called Next Bank, is an international organization that aims to create change in the financial services industry. The group entered the Charlotte market in June by hosting an all-day fintech conference at the AvidXchange Music Factory.
The organization’s local chapter, Next Money CLT, hosts events and meetings to boost the local financial-technology scene. Aubrey Hawes, senior director at Oracle in Charlotte, leads the 250-person chapter here.