About Us
Who We Are
Cogent is a Fintech business in the FX space offering FSPs, TOCs and Wealth Managers a support Team of Experts and a Technology Platform that aggregates multi-bank pricing, streamlines deal execution, improves compliance and enhances client experience.
Cogent is a BEE-rated Company, and as such helps you fulfil your incoming Transformation obligations as set out by the Financial Sector Transformation Council.
Our Team
We have a dedicated and hardworking team.
Steve Panos
CEO
Thagaran Govender
CTO
Steve brings over 40 years of expertise in Forex and Interest Rate markets, starting his career in 1982 at Nedbank’s treasury. From there, he developed his proficiency through pivotal roles at Citi Bank, Firstcorp Merchant Bank, Investec, and most recently Mercantile/Capitec. In his previous role as Head of Treasury at Mercantile/Capitec, Steve was instrumental in establishing relationships with TOC’s and clients. His client centric views and attention to detail pushed him to develop systems and processes to simplify and enhance TOC services. During his time at Mercantile/Capitec, Steve actively managed and facilitated interactions with TOC’s, gaining invaluable insights into their needs and challenges. Steve’s dedication to crafting meaningful solutions tailored to meet the unique needs of each client and his wealth of experience in treasury operations sets him apart as a trusted advisor in the financial industry and the TOC industry.
Thagaran commenced his professional journey at State Street Global Advisors in Boston, MA, where he acquired invaluable expertise in technology within the financial services sector. Over the past 25 years, he has distinguished himself as a highly regarded Chief Information Officer (CIO) through his tenure at Icasa, Transnet, LandBank, Mercantile Bank, and most recently at Capitec Business. Thagaran’s technological implementations to enhance client experience and process simplification significantly contributed to Mercantile’ s 15% year on year growth from 2014 to 2020. Notably, he played a pivotal role in simplifying forex processes for TOCs by building systems at the bank specifically aimed at streamlining their operations. The inception of Cogent signifies Thagaran’s endeavor to merge business acumen with technological prowess, aiming to introduce a cutting-edge international payments platform.
Erna Marx
Head of Operations
Chris LeClezio
Product Owner
With over three decades of hands-on experience in Forex and Operations, Erna brings a wealth of knowledge and skills to the Cogent team. Throughout Erna’s career she has been exposed to the Exchange Control environment where she has gained a deep understanding of its complex rulings and processes as applied to the FX market. This makes her perfectly suited to heading up the compliance functions of Cogent. Erna being solution driven coupled with her vast operational experience is key in being able to work with our partners to deliver an exceptional client experience.
Chris brings six years of dedicated experience in the FX intermediary space, fostering strong client relationships and demonstrating a keen interest in enhancing the overall client experience. At Cogent, he serves as the Product Owner, leveraging his expertise to drive technological advancements, automated solutions, and a passion for improving end to end flows for our partners and their end clients.
Our Team
Steve Panos
CEO
Steve brings over 40 years of expertise in Forex and Interest Rate markets, starting his career in 1982 at Nedbank’s treasury. From there, he developed his proficiency through pivotal roles at Citi Bank, Firstcorp Merchant Bank, Investec, and most recently Mercantile/Capitec. In his previous role as Head of Treasury at Mercantile/Capitec, Steve was instrumental in establishing relationships with TOC’s and clients. His client centric views and attention to detail pushed him to develop systems and processes to simplify and enhance TOC services. During his time at Mercantile/Capitec, Steve actively managed and facilitated interactions with TOC’s, gaining invaluable insights into their needs and challenges. Steve’s dedication to crafting meaningful solutions tailored to meet the unique needs of each client and his wealth of experience in treasury operations sets him apart as a trusted advisor in the financial industry and the TOC industry.
Thagaran Govender
CTO
Thagaran commenced his professional journey at State Street Global Advisors in Boston, MA, where he acquired invaluable expertise in technology within the financial services sector. Over the past 25 years, he has distinguished himself as a highly regarded Chief Information Officer (CIO) through his tenure at Icasa, Transnet, LandBank, Mercantile Bank, and most recently at Capitec Business. Thagaran’s technological implementations to enhance client experience and process simplification significantly contributed to Mercantile’ s 15% year on year growth from 2014 to 2020. Notably, he played a pivotal role in simplifying forex processes for TOCs by building systems at the bank specifically aimed at streamlining their operations. The inception of Cogent signifies Thagaran’s endeavor to merge business acumen with technological prowess, aiming to introduce a cutting-edge international payments platform.
Erna Marx
Head of Operations
With over three decades of hands-on experience in Forex and Operations, Erna brings a wealth of knowledge and skills to the Cogent team. Throughout Erna’s career she has been exposed to the Exchange Control environment where she has gained a deep understanding of its complex rulings and processes as applied to the FX market. This makes her perfectly suited to heading up the compliance functions of Cogent. Erna being solution driven coupled with her vast operational experience is key in being able to work with our partners to deliver an exceptional client experience.
Chris LeClezio
Product Owner
Chris brings six years of dedicated experience in the FX intermediary space, fostering strong client relationships and demonstrating a keen interest in enhancing the overall client experience. At Cogent, he serves as the Product Owner, leveraging his expertise to drive technological advancements, automated solutions, and a passion for improving end to end flows for our partners and their end clients.
Our Vision
Be the chosen strategic partner of businesses operating in the cross-border payments landscape. By giving partners access to technical innovation, volume aggregation and a dedicated compliance team ¬ we want to mitigate risks for all stakeholders in the FX intermediary market to ensure regulatory requirements are met while enhancing end-user experience.
Our Mission
Enabling global payments,
Ensuring regulatory compliance, and Optimizing the client experience
Client Testimonials
See what our happy customers have to say.