Alan is a Mastercard Fellow, a recognised industry expert and representative of the company with the private and public sectors in cross-border and domestic payments, particularly P2P payments, disbursements, business payments and account-to-account transfers. He previously led Transfer Solutions, the Mastercard business unit responsible for disbursements and remittances (Mastercard Move), B2B cross-border payments and consumer bill payments.

Previously, Alan was Chief Business Development Officer of CLS, the systemically important global foreign exchange settlement utility.

Prior to these roles, he had a distinguished legal career as General Counsel of CLS and Barclays Africa Corporate and Investment Banking and as Global Head of Transaction Legal at Dresdner Kleinwort.

Dr. Alessandro Curioni is an IBM Fellow and Vice President of Europe & Africa, IBM Research - he is based in Zurich, Switzerland. In addition he is also responsible for the global research strategies for Security and the Future of Computing.

Dr. Curioni is a world recognized leader in the area of high performance computing and computational science where his innovative thinking and seminal contributions have helped solve some of the most complex scientific and technological problems in healthcare, aerospace, consumer goods and electronics. He was a member of the winning team recognized with the prestigious Gordon Bell Prize in 2013 and 2015.

Dr. Curioni received his undergraduate degree in Theoretical Chemistry and his PhD from Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, Italy. He started at IBM Research in Zurich as a PhD student in 1993 before officially joining as a research staff member in 1998.

Andréa M Maechler became Deputy General Manager of the BIS on 1 September 2023.

Ms Maechler was a member of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) from 2015 until 2023. At the SNB, she was responsible for the Money Market and Foreign Exchange, Asset Management, Banking Operations and Information Technology portfolios.

Prior to joining the SNB, she was Deputy Division Chief in the Global Markets Analysis Division of the International Monetary Fund. She has worked at other international organisations, including the European Systemic Risk Board and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

She was Chair of the Global Foreign Exchange Committee of central banks from December 2021 to June 2023. Ms Maechler has a PhD and a master's degree in International Economics from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a Diploma of Higher Studies (DES) in International Relations from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland.

Antonio is responsible for leading worldwide regulatory compliance across Crypto.com's entire product ecosystem. His compliance background expands across payments, remittances and cryptocurrency offerings. Prior to joining Crypto.com, Antonio led a successful Anti-Money Laundering (AML) program that was deployed across European and Asian markets at Coinbase. Antonio also served as senior business leader at Visa and has held senior roles at a number of other payments companies including Western Union. During a 13-year tenure at American Express, Antonio was responsible for leading the business transformation and compliance governance programs across multiple business lines and geographies.

Ari Redbord is the Global Head of Policy at TRM Labs, the blockchain intelligence company.

Prior to joining TRM, Ari was the Senior Advisor to the Deputy Secretary and the Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the United States Treasury. In that position, Ari worked with teams from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), and other Treasury components to use sanctions and other regulatory tools effectively to safeguard the financial system from illicit use by terrorist financiers, weapons of mass destruction proliferators, drug kingpins, and other rogue actors, including Iran, Syria, North Korea and Venezuela. In addition, Ari worked closely with regulators, the Hill and the interagency on issues related to the Bank Secrecy Act, cryptocurrency, and anti-money laundering strategies. Prior to Treasury, Ari was an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia for eleven years where he investigated and prosecuted terrorism, espionage, threat finance, cryptocurrency, export control, child exploitation and human trafficking cases.

Audrey Metzger is the Director of Innovation and Financial Markets Infrastructures Directorate. Previously, she was Director of the Strategy Directorate at Banque de France.
She joined Banque de France in 2003 after being graduated from EDHEC business school and receiving a master in civil law from Paris Descartes University. After several positions in financial markets law and implementation of monetary policy fields, she has worked intensively during more than 8 years in oversight of financial markets infrastructures and in developing a strategic understanding and vision of those infrastructures.

Professor Dr. Axel A. Weber is President of the Center for Financial Studies. Dr Weber is also the Chair of the Visa Economic Empowerment Institute’s Advisory Council and Chairman of the Advisory Council of CVC Capital Partners. He previously was a board member and Chairman of the board of UBS Group AG.

From 2004 to 2011 Weber was President of the Deutsche Bundesbank and a member of the governing council of the European Central Bank. In recent years he has also acted as a member of the steering committee of the European Systemic Risk Board and as a member of the steering committee of the Financial Stability Board. Dr. Weber served as German Governor at the International Monetary Fund. He was a member of the German Council of Economic Experts (2002-2004), of the expert advisory panel to the Deutsche Bundesbank, of the Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements, of the G7 and the G20 Ministers and Governors, and a member on the Grant Commissioning Panel of the Economic and Social Science Research Council of the United Kingdom.

Caesar Sengupta is the CEO and co-founder of Arta Finance. Arta is a digital wealth platform for the savvy. Available globally to accredited investors, Arta is democratizing private banking by combining access to exclusive investment opportunities with powerful AI to give millions more access to financial superpowers that have been the preserve of the ultrawealthy till now. Arta was founded by ex-Google executives and is backed by Peak XV, Ribbit Capital, Coatue, EDBI and over 140 luminaries in tech and finance including Ralph Hamers, Eric Schmidt, Sundar Pichai & Michael Miebach.

This is a continuation of Caesar's passion for using technology to bring greater access. In his last role at Google as VP & GM of Payments & the Next Billion Users initiative, he led Google Pay, which went from 0 to 200M+ users in ~5 years. Prior to that, he started and led Chromebooks to become the #1 device used in education and #2 overall and helped drive strategic investments for Google into Asian unicorns like GoTo (Indonesia), Reliance Digital (India), Glance (India) etc. Caesar previously worked as an engineer at Encentuate (acq. IBM) and HP Labs.

Caesar has an MBA from Wharton, an MS in CS from Stanford, and holds 16 patents in operating systems design. He and his wife are members of the UNICEF International Council and Founding Philanthropists of The/Nudge Foundation. He is based in Singapore. To see his LinkedIn profile, please visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caesar-sengupta/

Carmen Hett is UNHCR’s Corporate Treasurer and a seasoned corporate finance professional with over 25 years of experience across blue-chip companies and public sector organizations. She leads global financial delivery of aid, advancing direct access to financial ecosystems for recipients. A champion of financial transformation technologies, she drives scalable digital payments to enhance emergency preparedness and promote economic and financial inclusion for all.

Catrin Hinkel serves as CEO of Microsoft Switzerland. She assumed the role in May 2021. Having spent more than 25 years in the tech industry across a variety of organizations and diverse cultures, Hinkel champions technology development as a solution to many challenges in the world, innovation as well as sustainability. Prior to joining Microsoft, Hinkel held notable roles at Accenture, most recently as Senior Managing Director, Europe Cloud First Strategy & Consulting Lead.

With her team at Microsoft, she is driven by staying on the cutting edge of new trends, ideas and themes to further impactful digital (cloud) transformation strategies and partnerships for customers in Switzerland and beyond needed to get the job done. She is a strong believer that technology enables organizations to solve their biggest challenges, drive sustainable growth and create new business models that improve the way we live and work.

Hinkel is a member of the Executive Committee of Digital Switzerland, the ASUT Industry Association Board and the Supervisory Board of the CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security. Alongside these roles, she is also a spokesperson for the Board of “Generation CEO”, a non-profit association and established network for women leaders in German-speaking countries.

Hinkel holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Reutlingen (European Business School Reutlingen and London). She is also recognized for her commitment to digital innovation, including being named one of Switzerland’s Digital Shapers 2022 by Swiss Bilanz magazine and as one of the Top 100 by Women in Business magazine.

Cecilia Skingsley became Head of the BIS Innovation Hub in September 2022. She is a member of the BIS's Executive Committee. Previously, she held the position of First Deputy Governor of the Riksbank since November 2019.
Most recently she chaired the BIS's Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures Future of Payments Working Group, was the Governor of the Riksbank’s alternate on the General Council of the ECB and member of the Advisory Technical Committee (ATC) of the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB).
Prior to holding the position of Deputy Governor of the Riksbank from May 2013 to November 2019, Ms Skingsley held various roles including Head of FX and Fixed Income Research and Chief Economist at Swedbank (2007-2013); financial journalist and Head of Financial Market Section at Dagens Industri (2000-2007); Macro Analyst, ABN Amro Bank (1998-2000).

Ms Skingsley holds a degree in economics and political science from Stockholm University. She received a financial analyst degree from SSE Executive Education at Stockholm School of Economics (formerly IFL at Stockholm School of Economics) and studied journalism at Poppius School of Journalism in Stockholm.

Yam Ki Chan is Vice President at Circle, responsible for overseeing partnerships, policy, and market expansion across Asia. Since joining Circle, he has led the team in first-of-kind partnerships and advised regulatory and business stakeholders on how stablecoins unlock economic opportunities for individuals and businesses.

Prior to Circle, Yam Ki held strategy and public policy roles at Google Payments and Google Cloud, where he worked on partnership strategy, market launches, and government affairs.

Before Google, Yam Ki served as the Director for Global and Asia Economics at the White House National Security Council in the Obama Administration, where he coordinated the interagency process on US economic strategy in Asia and was a member of the U.S. sherpa negotiations team for the G-20 and the G-7. Before joining the National Security Council staff, Yam Ki was with the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue and Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. Earlier in his career, Yam Ki worked in technology investment banking at Jefferies in Silicon Valley.

He earned a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University - School of International and Public Affairs and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Carleton College.

Chris Brummer is the Agnes Williams Sesquicentennial Professor of Financial Technology at Georgetown University Law Center and founder of Bluprynt, the crypto disclosure company. He is also the founder of DC Fintech Week, the leading fintech policy conference in the United States.

As a professor, advisor, board member and advocate, Professor Brummer has lent his expertise to policymakers, founders, startups, and nonprofits around the world grappling with some of the most challenging puzzles facing innovation, regulation, and inclusion. His work has been featured in The New York Times, CNN, Marketwatch, Fast Company, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Yahoo Money, Roll Call, Cointelegraph, and Coin Desk, among others.

He serves on the boards of directors of Fannie Mae, PayPal Digital, and K2 Integrity.

Christian Kettel Thomsen took office as Governor by Royal Appointment and Chairman of Board of Governors of Danmarks Nationalbank as of 1 February 2023.

Christian Kettel Thomsen has an MSc in Economics from Copenhagen University. He has amongst others served as Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Finance (2005-2010) at the Prime Minister’s Office, and Council of State Secretary (2010-2020), and most recently as Vice-President at the European Investment Bank (2020-2023).

Christian has extensive experience within economics and in his capacity of Governor of Danmarks Nationalbank and Chairman of the Systemic Risk Council he monitors that Danmarks Nationalbank meets its three main objectives: Stable prices, safe payments and a stable financial system.

David is the CEO of 11:FS and since his dream of being a sportsperson was crushed (along with the ligaments in his knee!) and he had to get a proper job, he has worked in pretty much every angle of the financial services industry never losing that competitive desire to drive forwards and win.Having pitched, established and run billion-pound transformations for some of the biggest FS companies on the planet the realisation that Digital Financials Services Is Only 1% Finished has spurred his desire to establish an organisation that can actually support the industry through its greatest challenge.

David founded R3 in 2015 and in his role of Chief Executive Officer is responsible for the strategic direction of R3. With 40 years of experience leading some of Wall Street’s top institutions, David is a longtime creative thought leader in financial markets and innovation and has played a significant role in the adoption of electronic trading in the global OTC derivatives industry.

Dr. Dirk Klee, Designated Country Manager BlackRock Switzerland and Senior Advisor to the BlackRock EMEA Wealth business, has established himself as an experienced, innovative leader who is passionate about building and leading client-focused businesses. Throughout his 25+ year career, he has held key leadership positions at some of the world's leading financial institutions. Most recently, he was Board Member at VP Bank and CEO of Bitcoin Suisse. Prior to that, he ran Barclays’ Wealth Management & Investments business as CEO and served as COO for International Wealth Management at UBS. Before his previous tenure at BlackRock, as Country Head for Germany from 2008 to 2013, Dirk led PIMCO’s business development in Germany for a decade. Dirk is a lawyer, holds a Master of Law from the London School of Economics (LSE) and graduated Dr. jur. from the University of Mainz.

Mr. Douglas Feagin serves as President of Ant International and Corporate Senior Vice President of Ant Group.

He joined Ant Group in June 2016 to spearhead the company's globalization strategy, Alipay's global business development, operations and marketing activities. Prior to joining Ant Group, Mr. Feagin worked at Goldman Sachs from August 1994 to May 2016 and served as a Managing Director from 2004 through 2016.

At Goldman Sachs he maintained a broad set of client relationships across sectors including banks, specialty finance, FinTech and insurance in the U.S., Latin America and Asia.

He graduated from the University of Virginia with a Bachelor's Degree in Economics in June 1988, and he received an MBA from Harvard Business School in June 1994.

Elise is the Executive Director of Global Digital Finance (GDF), board member, and also board advisor to several start-ups on policy & regulatory issues.

Previously, she was at the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME), leading Digital Assets and Data Strategy work, and prior to that she worked at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), across both their Technology, Resilience and Cyber Division. and International Division.

Named ‘Next Generation Leader of the Year’ at the 2022 Women in Finance Awards UK, and part of the Innovate Finance Standout 45 on the Women in Fintech Powerlist 2024 as a Regulatory and Policy Expert, Elise’s dual public and private sector experience positions her to lead both regulatory advocacy and contribute technical knowledge to support the growth of the digital assets ecosystem.

Emma is responsible for developing domestic and international policy in relation to traditional payment systems as well as more innovative forms of payment and settlement, including the Digital Securities Sandbox and stablecoins.

Emma has 20 years of experience across a wide range of policy roles at the Bank of England. Prior to her current role, Emma worked in the Bank of England's financial stability area and supported the establishment of the Bank's Financial Policy Committee.

Emma holds undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in economics from Durham University and University College London.

Faryar Shirzad is Chief Policy Officer at Coinbase, where he leads the company’s engagement with policymakers around the world and has become a trusted source for thought leadership in the global crypto policy space. Under Shirzad’s leadership, Coinbase has become a driver of crypto-regulation discourse in the U.S. He oversaw the creation of Coinbase’s Digital Asset Policy Proposal (or dApp), which laid out a fit-for-purpose regulatory framework for the rapidly-emerging industry and was recognized as “a dramatic shift from current policy in the United States”, sparking an ongoing conversation on how crypto should be regulated while safeguarding American innovation. Before joining Coinbase, Shirzad was Global Co-Head of Government Affairs at Goldman Sachs.
 
Shirzad has served as counsel to the highest levels of the U.S. government, including as deputy national security advisor for international economic affairs for President George W. Bush. In that role, he served as The President’s personal representative to the G-8 (the “G-8 Sherpa”). Prior to his time in the White House, Shirzad was assistant secretary for import administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce and international trade counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance. Earlier in his career, he practiced law in Washington, DC. Faryar earned a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law, a MPP from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and a BS from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Frederik Gregaard is CEO of the Cardano Foundation, the Swiss-based not-for-profit organization which exists to ensure the advancement of the Cardano protocol, while also contributing to the positive advancement of blockchain as a world-changing technology. A leader in fintech and blockchain, Gregaard previously served as Director and Head of Digital in PwC's Financial Services Advisory practice and as Director and Head of Institutional Business at Saxo Bank Switzerland. Whilst at the Cardano Foundation, Gregaard has overseen the advanced integration of state-of-the-art blockchain technology in a variety of fields that address real-world problems through collaborations with Switzerland for UNHCR, veritree, University of Zurich and Georgia’s National Wine Agency, among others.

Dr. Friederike Lange is Head of Digital Finance, Payment Services and Cybersecurity at the German Federal Ministry of Finance, Berlin. Before stepping into her current position, she headed Financial Market Regulation Strategy and Capital Markets Union at the Ministry. She has a background in public law: Prior to joining the Ministry, she worked as an Administrative Court Judge, as a Law Clerk to the former President of the German Federal Constitutional Court, and as a researcher on comparative Constitutional Law.

Gregor Kaelin leads the Financial Services Enterprise sector at Google Cloud Switzerland, supporting the biggest banks and insurance companies in Switzerland with their digital transformation.
Before joining Google Cloud, Gregor worked at Salesforce in the Financial Services sector driving some of the most innovative transformation projects within the Swiss banking industry. He holds an Executive Masters degree from University of Zurich.

Political activities
2021: President of the Swiss Confederation
9 December 2015: Elected to the Federal Council
2003–2015: Member of the National Council
2000–2004: President of the Swiss People’s Party (“SVP”) in the Canton of Vaud
1994–2003: Member of the Cantonal Parliament of the Canton of Vaud
1993–1999 President of the Municipality of Bursins

Hans Koning is Senior Digital Transformation Officer and the former Global Chief Industry Specialist Digital Finance at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group. IFC is the largest global development institution and aims to grow the private sector in developing countries by providing lending facilities, equity investments and advisory services. IFC’s investment commitments were US$56 billion in fiscal year 2024.

Hans is a Dutch executive with 30 years of experience in global strategy, banking, private equity, wealth management, and international project finance. He holds a degree in Business Economics from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and attended Executive Programs at business schools INSEAD (Paris, Abu Dhabi) and IMD (Lausanne). He is based out of Washington, DC and regularly meets with private and public sector stakeholders in Asia, Latin America, and Africa.

Holger Neuhaus is Head of the European Central Bank's (ECB's) Market Innovation and Integration Division in the Directorate General Market Infrastructure and Payments.

His Division develops the ECB/Eurosystem’s approach in relation to innovation and integration in the field of payments and post-trade services. In this context he coordinates the Eurosystem internal work on an integrated long-term solution for settling DLT-based transactions in central bank money and chairs a market contact group on this topic.

Johann Kerbrat is the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Robinhood Crypto. He oversees and leads strategy for the crypto business. Johann joined Robinhood to support the company in its mission to democratize finance for all and open up access to crypto to everyday investors. Prior to joining Robinhood, he held engineering roles at Airbnb, privacy-focused cryptocurrency startup Iron Fish, and founded an e-commerce and payments platform company. Johann grew up in Nice, France and holds an MSc in Software Engineering from Oxford Brookes University.

As co-founder of Banking Circle SA, and with almost two decades experience in the banking and financial services markets, Laust Bertelsen has an innate understanding of the challenges that have existed in the cross-border payments space. Utilising his experience in the application of technological innovation, combined with his knowledge of the FX and currency markets, he has driven the development of Banking Circle’s propositions to ensure payments are more accessible, faster and more secure regardless of geography or currency.

Mr Leong Sing Chiong was appointed as Deputy Managing Director for Markets and Development on 1 February 2021. He oversees the Markets & Investment, Development & International, FinTech & Innovation, as well as Sustainability Groups. Prior to this, Mr Leong served as Assistant Managing Director overseeing the Monetary & Domestic Markets Management Department and the Reserves Management Department since June 2018. He also served as Assistant Managing Director of the Development and International Group from 2013-2018.

Mr Leong began his MAS career with the Reserves Management Department in 1993 and served as Staff Assistant to the Managing Director from 1997-1998. In 1999, he joined the Monetary Management Division and was responsible for the implementation of MAS’ monetary policy and money market operations. Thereafter, Mr Leong was appointed Chief Representative of MAS’ London Representative Office from 2002-2004. Mr Leong spent six years with the International Department from 2004-2010 and was appointed as the Executive Director of Financial Centre Development Department from 2010-2013.

Mr Leong is a recipient of the Public Administration Medal (Silver). He holds a B.Sc Economics (Monetary Economics) from the London School of Economics and is married with two children.

Liz Oakes is an external member of the Financial Policy Committee at the Bank of England. Liz also serves as an independent non-executive director on the boards of Mangopay S.A. and Advent International Stargate in Luxembourg.

Previously, Liz was Executive Vice President at Mastercard from 2018-2023, where she served in a number of global roles in board governance and risk management, operations, strategy, market and product development. She was a senior payments expert at KPMG (2012-2016) and McKinsey (2016-2018) providing strategic advice and advisory services to central bank and financial institutions, focusing in particular on cross-border payments, real-time payments, the development of open banking and embedded payments. Prior to consulting, she worked at VocaLink (2006-2012) in a variety of roles on the development of national payment systems and faster/realtime payments.

Maha is Centre Head, BIS Innovation Hub Singapore.

Having been newly appointed, most recently Maha was Head of Department for Early and High Growth Oversight leading the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) response to the Kalifa review of Fintech. A Senior Leadership Team member, she is setting up this new department from the ground up as part of the FCA’s strategy.

Prior to this, Maha served as Chief Payments Officer at Pay.UK on secondment from the FCA, responsible for running the payments operations of BACS, Faster Payments, Image Clearing Services and related managed services.

Maha joined the FCA in 2017 to set up the first Payments Department and was responsible for crafting and implementing the FCA supervisory strategy for the UK Payments Sector. This included leading the implementation of the Second Payments Services Directive (PSD2) and Open Banking.

Maha has a keen interest in observing and participating in the many exciting changes that are unfolding in the financial services, innovation and fintech environment. She recently sat on the SteerCo developing the strategy and blueprint for the UK’s newly created Centre for Finance Innovation and Technology.

She has a Degree in Commerce from Macquarie University and a Masters in Public Administration from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Dr Modise is a deputy governor of the SARB and a member of the Monetary Policy Committee. She oversees the Financial Stability Cluster, which includes the Corporation for Deposit Insurance (CODI), the Economic Statistics Department, the Risk Management and Compliance Department, and the Fintech Unit.
Before joining the SARB, she was the Deputy Director-General of Public Finance at National Treasury, responsible for fiscal and financing monitoring and evaluating policy proposals across national departments. She was also responsible for assessing the performance and overseeing public and state-owned entities. Formerly a chief director for strategy and risk management at National Treasury’s Asset and Liability Management Division, she was responsible for implementing a strategy and risk management framework and managed the government’s relationships with global rating agencies. Deputy Governor Modise is the Chair of the CODI board and oversaw the successful launch, and continuous public engagement of the Corporation for Deposit Insurance.

Marco is Head of International at iCapital and a member of the Firm's Executive Committee. In this role, he is responsible for the global expansion and overall development of the Firm's business outside the United States with a focus on EMEA, APAC and LATAM markets.

Marco has more than 25 years of international experience in the financial industry and has held senior executive positions in global organizations in wealth management and private equity. He joined iCapital from UniCredit, where he was CEO of Group Wealth Management and a member of the Group Executive Management Committee. Previously, Marco was with Deutsche Bank for 14 years, including nine years as Head of Wealth Management EMEA and CEO of Deutsche Bank Switzerland and, prior to this, as Global Head of Private Equity for the Wealth Management division. Before joining Deutsche Bank, Marco was Head of Private Equity Secondary Investments at LGT Capital Partners. He started his career with UBS where he held various roles in investment banking and private equity in Zurich, London, and New York.

He received a Master of Arts (lic. oec. HSG) from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, and has served on the boards of the Swiss Bankers Association, the Association of Foreign Banks in Switzerland, and the Swiss Finance Institute. He is currently a member of the Advisory Committee of Elevandi, an organization set up by the Monetary Authority of Singapore to foster an open dialogue between the public and private sectors to advance fintech in the digital economy.

Ms. Bechara is a Senior Counsel in the Fiscal and Financial Law Division of the IMF’s Legal Department. She currently co-supervises the Fintech work of the legal department under the guidance of the deputy general counsel. She provides legal advice on legal reforms related to Fintech, central banking, regulation of financial and banking institutions as well as payments and payment systems. Ms. Bechara contributed to many publications analyzing the intersection of the law and Fintech. She is an attorney admitted to practice law in New York, U.S.

Martin Schlegel is Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank (SNB). He graduated in economics from the University of Zurich in 2003 and received his doctorate from the University of Basel in 2009. Since joining the SNB in 2003 he has held multiple positions, including Head of Foreign Exchange and Gold. The Federal Council appointed him Member of the SNB’s Governing Board in 2018, Vice Chairman in 2022, and Chairman of the Governing Board in 2024. He is Governor of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for Switzerland and a member of the Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in Basel. He represents Switzerland in the Plenary and the Steering Committee of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), and is Chair of the FSB’s Standing Committee on Budget and Resources (SCBR). In 2024, Martin Schlegel was elected Chairman of the Foundation Board of the International Center for Monetary and Banking Studies (ICMB) in Geneva.

Michael O. Hengartner served as President of the University of Zurich (UZH) from 2014 to 2020, and President of swissuniversities from 2016 to 2020. He has dual Swiss and Canadian citizenship and grew up in Quebec City where he studied biochemistry at the Université Laval. In 1994, Michael O. Hengartner was awarded his doctorate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technol­ogy in the laboratory of Nobel Laureate H. Robert Horvitz. He then headed a research group at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, USA. After that, he was appointed Professor at the Institute of Molecular Biology in 2001 and Dean of the Faculty of Science at UZH from 2009 to 2014. Michael O. Hengartner has an Executive MBA at IMD Lausanne and a number of awards for his research and teaching skills.

Mike Dargan was appointed Group Chief Operations and Technology Officer in May 2023, and is responsible for delivering digital platforms, technology services, infrastructure, and operations, including cyber and information security. Previously, he was Group Chief Digital and Information Officer (CDIO), after leading our Group Technology function since joining UBS in 2016. In addition to this remit, he was also GEB sponsor for our digital assets' strategy and a sponsor of artificial intelligence and our agile transformation, which have been integrated into his area of responsibility in 2023. Prior to joining UBS, he held various senior roles in technology, corporate strategy and investment banking at Standard Chartered Bank, Merrill Lynch, and Oliver Wyman

Naoto Shimoda is a Deputy Director-General in Payment and Settlement Systems Department of Bank of Japan. He leads initiatives of modernizing payments using new technologies and exploring policy implications of AI in finance. He represents the Bank in various international fora, including the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures, BIS and central banks CBDC coalition, FSB financial innovation network. Since he joined the Bank in 1992, he has also served as Head of Division for Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, Chief Representative for APAC region, and a Director for International Financial Affairs at Japan’s Ministry of Finance. He studied law at Hitotsubashi University and computer science at Harvard University.

Having joined Julius Baer in 2004, Nic Dreckmann performed a number of senior positions before being appointed as Chief Operating Officer and a Member of the Executive Board in 2017. In addition to these responsibilities, he managed the global Intermediaries business from 2020 to 2024. In 2024, he assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer ad interim for the Julius Baer Group. Before joining Julius Baer, he worked as a management consultant for Accenture. Nic Dreckmann graduated with a Master's degree in Business Administration and Corporate Finance and he completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. He is a certified risk manager (FRM) and assumes various roles in financial services industry bodies.

Dr. Nicola Jentzsch is the newly appointed Head of Innovation at the Deutsche Bundesbank, where she leads the InnoWerk within the Department of Strategy and Innovation. Before joining the Deutsche Bundesbank, she was the first appointed Chief Data Scientist at the BMBF, Germany's Ministry of Education and Research. Nicola also worked at the Federal Chancellory in particular on Germany's Data Strategy. She is an economist with more than 25 years of work experience and research in digital innovations and digital markets, data analytics and depersonalization. She holds a doctorate in Economics from the Freie Universität Berlin and was a Research Fellow at Yale University and Georgetown University. Dr Jentzsch has also served as adviser to the European Commission, the World Bank, CGAP and GIZ and various Central Banks in Africa and Asia. Just recently she was reappointed to the Board of Trustees of Fraunhofer ISST.

Peter advises on Technological Innovation, Digital Transformation and Cybersecurity at the European Commission’s financial services department. He has lead work on the European Commission’s Fintech Action Plan and Digital Finance Strategy and co-chaired the European Commission’s Fintech Taskforce. Peter is often referred to as the father of Mica (the EU Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation) and Dora (the EU Digital Operational Resilience Act).

Peter has extensive experience in EU policy and regulation in a wide variety of fields, including single market, financial services, digitalisation, security, foreign policy sanctions, consumer protection as well as health and food safety. Earlier in his career, Peter was Finance Counsellor at the EU Embassy in Washington DC. He has also been a member of the private offices of the commissioner for the internal market and services and the commissioner for health and consumer protection. Before joining the European Commission, Peter advised major corporations on EU policy and regulatory affairs.

He is a Dutch national and holds double magna cum laude master degrees in European affairs and political science from the College of Europe in Bruges and the University of Leuven, Belgium. He is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Vanderbilt University Law School and a consummate public speaker.

Petra Tschudin is a Member of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank and Head of Department III, overseeing Money Market and Foreign Exchange, Asset Management, Banking Operations, Information Technology, and the Singapore branch office. She was appointed to this role by the Swiss Federal Council, effective 1 October 2024.

Previously, she served as an Alternate Member of the Governing Board (2022–2024) and held various positions at the SNB, including Deputy Head of the Economic Affairs division and Head of the Monetary Policy Analysis unit.

She earned a Doctorate in Economics from the University of Basel in 2002, where she also lectured and completed her post-doctoral studies (Habilitation) in 2007. She worked as an economist at the Bank for International Settlements (2009–2011) and later conducted research in Dublin as an Associate Research Professor at the Economic and Social Research Institute while teaching at Trinity College (2011–2014).

Pradyumna Agrawal (Prady) is a Managing Director at Temasek and a member of Temasek’s management committees. Prady is responsible for Temasek’s blockchain investments and broader venture building efforts. Prady has additional responsibilities in the financial services sector with a focus on asset management (Seviora Group), non-banking financial services (Fullerton Financial Holdings) and insurance.

Prady represents Temasek on the Boards of LemmaTree, Affinidi, Trustana, Marketnode, Partior, Menyala, Seviora (observer) and Fullerton Financial Holdings (observer). He is also a Committee Member of the Digital Trust Centre (Trust Tech Steering Committee), a national centre supported by NTU, IMDA and NRF and leading Singapore’s research and development efforts in trust technologies. He was previously on the Boards of C2FO, GoodWorker, GoJek, Pine Labs and Superscrypt, and Council Member of Diem.

Prady joined Temasek in 2013 and before his current role, he was involved in global financial services investing at Temasek, including the Americas, Southeast Asia, India, Middle East and Africa.

Prior to joining Temasek, Prady was with Morgan Stanley as Vice President, Investment Banking. He started his career as an Analyst with Sharad Dalal & Co and has worked at Arthur Andersen and Ernst & Young.

Prady graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from University of Mumbai, is a qualified Chartered Accountant from India and holds a Master of Business Administration from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Prajit Nanu is the co-founder and CEO of Nium, a leader in real-time global money movement. Nium provides payments and card issuance services that redefine how businesses around the world pay and get paid. As CEO, he leads the company’s corporate and product strategy as Nium moves toward a vision of frictionless global commerce.

Based in the company’s co-headquarters in San Francisco, Prajit is currently focused on expanding the breadth, depth, speed, and reach of the Nium platform, creating more ways for money to move fast, safe, and easy. Today, Nium operates in 20 countries, providing the ability for businesses to send money to more than 190 countries – 100 of which in real-time, receive money in 35 countries, and issue cards in 35 markets.

Under his leadership, Nium has won several accolades, including being named thrice to the CB insights Fintech 250, twice to the Forbes Fintech 50, and annually to the Financial Times list of High-Growth Companies. Nium’s first service was its business-to-consumer service, Instarem. Instarem has grown to be a world leader, currently helping consumers and small businesses move billions of dollars around the world. Prajit was responsible for setting up Nium operations in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Prior to co-founding Nium, Prajit held leadership positions in various global organizations. He was the Global Sales Director at TMF Group, a multinational professional services firm headquartered in Amsterdam, and was the Vice President of Sales and Account Management at WNS Global Services, a business process management company.Prajit holds a Bachelor’s in Commerce & Economics from the University of Mumbai.

René Michau is a visionary leader in digital finance, serving as the Global Head of Digital Assets at Standard Chartered Bank, where he spearheads the bank’s innovation and delivery of secure digital asset solutions for institutional clients. Based in Singapore, René plays a key role in shaping the future of finance by integrating cryptocurrencies, tokenization, and stablecoins into the bank’s ecosystem.

Since joining Standard Chartered in 2016, René has held several influential positions, including Head of Fintech Client Advisory where he established the Fintech Banking business within CIB.

His expertise in fintech, crypto and digital payments is backed by an extensive career across major banks, including HSBC, ANZ, and National Australia Bank, where he led groundbreaking projects such as the launch of a cloud-based merchant platform and the development of a carbon trading capability.

René’s leadership extends beyond banking, as he is deeply embedded in the global fintech and crypto communities. He co-chairs the Global Digital Finance (GDF) Financial Institutions Crypto Working Group and the Institute of International Finance (IIF) Digital Assets Forum, driving industry-wide conversations on the future of digital assets. He is also an active member of the Digital Asset Markets sub-committee within the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Global Markets Advisory Committee, influencing regulatory discussions at the highest level.

A former officer in the Australian Army, René brings a disciplined and strategic approach to leadership. His passion for fintech goes beyond innovation—he is a strong advocate for empowering women in crypto and fintech, actively championing diversity and inclusion in the industry.

René is not only shaping Standard Chartered’s digital asset strategy—he is helping define the future of digital finance globally.

Richard Teng is an experienced executive with over three decades of financial services and regulatory experience. Richard has been the CEO of Binance since his appointment in November 2023. By working closely with various stakeholders including regulators, policymakers, industry players and users, Richard is furthering the growth of Binance in a compliant and sustainable manner. Prior to this role, Richard held various senior leadership roles within the company since joining in August 2021.

Before joining Binance, Richard was CEO of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), where he showcased his capabilities as one of the world’s foremost innovative regulators. Richard’s vast experience also includes being the Chief Regulatory Officer of the Singapore Exchange (SGX) and the Director of Corporate Finance in the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Richard received his Masters in Applied Finance from the University of Western Australia.

Ross Buckley is a Scientia Professor and Laureate Fellow at UNSW Sydney. His research on FinTech is world-leading. He is a board member of Australia’s central bank and chairs the Digital Finance Advisory Panel of Australia’s securities regulator. He has twice been a Fulbright Scholar, at Yale & Duke.

Sam is Head of International Public Policy at Stripe, the financial infrastructure platform for businesses. Millions of companies — from the world’s largest enterprises to the most ambitious startups — use Stripe to accept payments, grow their revenue, and accelerate new business opportunities. Sam leads a team of policy professionals across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and the Asia-Pacific Region, who work to ensure that the needs of the online economy are reflected in public policy developments. He is a policy professional with 25 years experience across the financial services and retail sectors. Prior to joining Stripe in 2019, he held senior roles at one of Europe’s largest banks and an Asia-based investment bank. Sam is a member of the Payments Board of UK Finance, and the Financial Stability Board’s Legal, Regulatory & Supervisory Taskforce. He previously served on the European Central Bank’s Market Advisory Group on a Digital Euro.

Sarah Breeden became Deputy Governor for Financial Stability on 1 November 2023. She is a member of the Monetary Policy Committee, Financial Policy Committee, Prudential Regulation Committee and the Bank’s Court of Directors. She has specific responsibility within the Bank for financial stability, the supervision of financial market infrastructures, international issues, central bank digital currency and fintech.

Sarah also leads the Bank of England’s work on climate change, domestically and internationally, a role she has held since 2016. She has been a Steering Group member of the international central bank and supervisors’ Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) since its inception in 2017, and chaired its macrofinancial workstream from 2018 until early 2022.

Sarah joined the Bank in 1991. Prior to her current role, Sarah was the Executive Director for Financial Stability Strategy and Risk and a member of the Financial Policy Committee (2021-2023). Previously, she was the Executive Director for UK Deposit Takers Supervision (2019-2021), responsible for the supervision of the UK’s banks, building societies and credit unions, and Executive Director for International Banks Supervision (2015-2021), responsible for supervision of the UK operations of

international banks. Before that, Sarah held a variety of roles, including leading the design and risk management of financial market operations undertaken by the Bank during the financial crisis, and then leading the Bank’s work to support the transition of prudential regulation of banks and insurers from the Financial Services Authority to the Bank.

Sarah has an MA in Economics from Cambridge University and an MSc in Finance from the London Business School.

She is a trustee of the Education Endowment Foundation.

Sasha Rubel is Head of Public Policy for Generative AI at Amazon Web Services (AWS) for Europe, Middle East, and Africa. She previously led UNESCO’s work on AI and digital innovation for over 12 years, including as representative to the European Commission, G7, OECD, African Union, Economic Commission for Africa, and Sahel on these matters. Sasha is involved in international AI governance initiatives as a founding member of the Global Partnership on AI, member of the OECD AI Network of Experts, and member of Ireland’s AI Advisory Council. A former student of the Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris, Sasha received the Public Diplomacy Innovation Prize from the White House under President Obama, and undertook a PHD on responsible AI and the social impact of new technologies.

Simon is one of fintech's most respected voices, providing unparalleled insights from over 20 years driving innovation. His popular Fintech Brainfood blog boasts 40k+ subscribers including top CEOs and VCs.

As a sought-after keynote speaker and advisor, Simon leverages his experience pioneering mobile banking apps and leading digital transformation for global banks.Simon is a a regular industry commentator for media like BBC, CNBC and the financial times

Trusted by the industry's biggest names, he provides guidance to regulators, financial institutions, and tech companies on strategically capitalizing on emerging trends in fintech, open finance, and AI.

Sopnendu Mohanty is the Co-Founder and Group CEO of the Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN), a global advisory and investment firm. At GFTN, he leads innovative strategies that drive development and transformation in the financial sector through four operating arms: Forums, Advisory, Platform, and Capital.

He served at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) as its first Chief Fintech Officer for nearly a decade, establishing Singapore on the global map as a leading center for innovation in the financial sector and a dynamic hub for fintech development. He continues to advise MAS on technology and innovation.

He currently serves on several boards, including the board of A*STAR, Singapore’s leading public sector agency dedicated to advancing scientific discovery and technological innovation. Before his leadership role in the public sector, he spent nearly two decades at Citigroup. He is credited with developing many public goods, including the notable PayNow, Singapore’s digital public infrastructure for payments. He conceptualized the globally well-known Singapore Fintech Festival and its global network of forums; today, the GFTN forum is the world’s largest convenor of tech, policymakers, and the financial sector community. Mr. Mohanty has co-authored several patented works in digital finance and received numerous industry accolades. He advises governments and various institutions on policies and implementation strategies for innovation, infrastructure, and ecosystem development in the financial sector.

Stuart Alderoty is the Chief Legal Officer at Ripple, overseeing the legal, compliance and regulation departments. Stuart brings more than 30 years of legal experience to the role with expertise in financial services and regulatory affairs. He’s been General Counsel and part of the executive leadership teams at CIT Group and HSBC North America Holdings. Stuart also was Managing Counsel at American Express where he served on the leadership team of the President and CEO of American Express’ Consumer Card Business. Stuart began his career in private practice and was a partner with the international law firm of LeBouef, Lamb, Greene and MacRae where he specialized in complex litigation.

As Head of the Visa Institute for Global Policy, Todd partners with public authorities, financial institutions, and the research community to solve complex problems at the intersection of regulation, innovation, and international development. In 2020, Todd founded the Visa Economic Empowerment Institute, an applied research center focused on the future of money movement. An active participant in efforts to expand financial access and enhance cross-border payments, Todd represents Visa on various councils and committees, including the Financial Stability Board Legal, Regulatory, and Supervisory Taskforce.

Prior to joining Visa, Todd held several positions at the United States Department of Commerce, including Regional Manager for China in the Trade Advocacy Center, a role that entailed inter-agency coordination on strategic technology exports and outbound investment. Todd also served as an advisor in the office of the U.S. Executive Director at the Inter-American Development Bank. He was a Senior Advisor for External Affairs at Rio Tinto, a global natural resources company with extensive operations in developing countries.

Todd studied at Le Moyne College, McGill University, and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. In 2001, he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship.

Tom is the Director responsible for Fintech and Central Bank Digital Currency at the Bank of England.

His previous roles at the Bank include Head of International Policy & Strategy, Head of Division in Prudential Policy and time as a Senior Manager responsible for the supervision of major international firms.

He was educated at the London School of Economics.

Varun Paul is Senior Director Financial Markets at Fireblocks, a digital asset infrastructure provider. He studied Economics at the University of Cambridge and gained a Masters in Economics from University College London, before joining the Bank of England in 2008. Over 14 years there, Varun supported decisions on interest rates, managed risks to financial stability and delivered a landmark review on the future of finance. Most recently, he was head of the Bank’s Fintech Hub, where he focused on the future of money and the digital economy. Today, Varun supports central banks and FMIs all over the world in their digital asset journey.

Walter Hessert is an experienced entrepreneur and strategist, with a decade building software businesses in highly regulated industries. As Head of Strategy at Paxos, Walter leads Corporate Development and Growth functions. Walter has served as the primary architect of Paxos’ most complex and large-scale digital asset partnerships, including PayPal, Mastercard and Interactive Brokers. His agility and innovative approach to building long-term enterprise agreements has allowed Paxos to distinguish itself as the trusted, regulated infrastructure provider to multinational tech and financial brands. Additionally, he led the fundraising efforts for the Company’s Series C ($145 million) and Series D ($300 million) investment rounds.

Before joining Paxos, he was co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Derby Games, a leading regulated gaming company based in NYC. Walter worked closely with regulators to get licenses to operate in 37 states and multiple international jurisdictions, led negotiations with operators globally to gain access to live racing content from over 200 race tracks around the world and worked with top tech companies such as Facebook and PayPal as a launch partner for their expansion in to serving real money gaming. After Derby Games, Walter built a software development studio based in Yerevan, Armenia. Walter holds a BA in Political Science from Notre Dame.

Wolfram Seidemann has been Chief Executive Officer of Giesecke+Devrient Currency Technology since July 2017. As an Executive Committee member of the Giesecke+Devrient Group, he holds the responsibility for overseeing the Public Currency activities, which encompasses the Physical Banknote business as well as the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) business of Giesecke+Devrient advance52.

Prior to this, Wolfram held a number of executive management positions as Group Executive Banknote at Giesecke+Devrient, Chairman of the Management Board of Papierfabrik Louisenthal, and Head of Sales and Marketing of Banknote Processing Systems worldwide.

Wolfram joined Giesecke+Devrient as Head of International Research and Development Chipcard in 1999 and has served since in various management positions in Munich, Singapore, Taiwan, and New Delhi.

His background is in Electrical Engineering and Business Administration. He holds a PhD in Innovation Management from the Technical University of Munich, where he began his career as Head of R&D and Innovation Management of the Economics Department, later working as an industry consultant in the field.
Since November 2022, Wolfram has been serving as a Board Member of the International Currency Association (ICA), an organization dedicated to promoting and representing the perspectives of the currency industry. Prior to his current role, he held the position of Chairman from 2018 to 2022.