Balancing on the Edge: Harnessing Technological Promise in the Shadow of Global Risks
1 - 3 July 2024 | Zurich, Switzerland
This Annual Forum convenes 2,000 central bankers, regulators, policymakers, industry leaders, technologists and investors to address the latest developments in financial technology and the future of finance.
2024 Thematic Focus
This year's forum dialogues and discussions are grounded in real-world research and fresh insights, sparking authentic conversations about pressing issues. We're delving into current problem statements, charting potential roadmaps, and exploring the untapped opportunities they offer.
Forming Frontier Tech: AI & Quantum Computing
The emergence of GenAI in recent years marks a profound shift in the realm of Artificial Intelligence. But was GenAI achieved overnight, or has it been the culmination of years and decades of development?
Following early pilots and experiments, industries are now focusing on two critical elements to shape the future of AI:
- Creating guardrails to ensure responsible usage of AI and Quantum Computing
- Enabling deep and pervasive implementation across industries, such as financial services, by providing organisations with blueprints to harness the true power of AI
Decoding Digital Money and Payments
In today's hyper-connected era, cross-border remittance costs remain significant, averaging over 6% and reaching as high as 52% in certain global corridors.
With the G20 prioritising faster, cheaper, and more transparent payments, there's a push to integrate new functionalities like programmability and tokenisation into digital forms of money. What lies ahead, and what roles will both current and emerging players play in constructing and operating within an open and interoperable infrastructure?
Programme Overview
2024 Featured Speakers
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Alessandra Perrazzelli
Deputy Governor, Bank of Italy
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Cecilia Skingsley
Head of BIS Innovation Hub, Bank for International Settlements
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Dante Disparte
Chief Strategy Officer & Head of Global Policy, Circle
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Dr Jochen Papenbrock
Head of Financial Technology EMEA, NVIDIA
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Fernando Luis Vazquez Cao
Chief Executive Officer, SBI Digital Asset Holdings
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Jos Dijsselhof
Chief Executive Officer, SIX
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Lauren Belive
Head of Public Policy US, Ripple
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Marco Bizzozero
Head of International & Member of the Executive Committee, iCapital
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Pablo Hernández de Cos
Governor, Banco de España
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Professor Marta Kightley
First Deputy Governor, Narodowy Bank Polski
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Ravi Menon
Singapore's Ambassador for Climate Action and Senior Adviser, National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS)
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Sarah Breeden
Deputy Governor Financial Stability, Bank of England
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Sharon Donnery
Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Ireland
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Umar Farooq
Co-Head of Global Payment Sales, J.P. Morgan & Chief Executive Officer,, Onyx by J.P. Morgan
Alessandra Perrazzelli
Deputy Governor
Bank of Italy
Deputy Governor of the Bank of Italy and Member of the Supervisory Board of the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) of the European Central Bank. Since 2021: Member of the Board of Directors of the Bambino Gesù children’s hospital in Rome; Visiting Professor at the Polytechnic University of Milan. Previously: Italy Country Manager for Barclays Bank and on the Boards of Directors of Monte Titoli SpA, A2A and ATM (Azienda Trasporti Milanese); Head of International Regulatory & Antitrust Affairs in Intesa Sanpaolo and CEO of Intesa Sanpaolo Eurodesk. Earlier career as a lawyer at leading law firms in New York and Brussels, specializing in the fields of banking law, financial services and public utilities. Member of the New York State Bar. Founder of Valore D, an association that aims to help propel talented women to corporate management roles. Widespread recognition and awards for her work on diversity and inclusion, and for the promotion of technological innovation in the financial industry. Honours law degree from the University of Genoa and Master of Laws from the New York University School of Law. Alumna of the University of Stanford Business School since 2018. Knight in the Order of the Merit of the Italian Republic.
Cecilia Skingsley
Head of BIS Innovation Hub
Bank for International Settlements
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.
Dante Disparte
Chief Strategy Officer & Head of Global Policy
Circle
Dante Disparte is Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Global Policy at Circle, responsible for overseeing company strategy, communications, policy and public affairs. Since joining Circle in 2021, his leadership in driving market expansion, regulatory engagement, and more have been integral in furthering the company’s mission to raise global economic prosperity through the frictionless exchange of financial value.
Prior to joining Circle, Dante served as a founding executive of the Diem Association, leading policy, communications, membership and social impact. He also brings two decades of experience as an entrepreneur, business leader and global risk expert, most recently as founder and CEO of Risk Cooperative. He also served as an appointee on the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) National Advisory Council. Currently, he is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Digital Currency Governance Consortium and a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Additionally, he is co-author of “Global Risk Agility and Decision Making” (Macmillan 2016).
He earned a bachelor’s degree from Goucher College, is a PLD graduate of Harvard Business School, and has an MSc in risk management from NYU Stern School of Business. Outside of work, Dante enjoys speaking and commentating, such as in media outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fortune, BBC, Forbes and Diplomatic Courier.
Dr Jochen Papenbrock
Head of Financial Technology EMEA
NVIDIA
Jochen is Head of Financial Technology EMEA at NVIDIA, the globally leading accelerated computing platform company. He has spent the last 25 years in various roles on the topic of AI and Advanced Analytics in financial services, as a thought leader, implementer, researcher, and ecosystem shaper. He works with executives, data scientists, developers, partners, and communities in the global NVIDIA ecosystem. He also leads up the topics Trustworthy AI, ESG, and Climate Risk in financial services. Jochen is a financial data scientist and received his degree and Ph.D. from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Before NVIDIA he worked as a consultant, entrepreneur, and researcher with asset managers, banks, insurance companies, and central banks.
Fernando Luis Vazquez Cao
Chief Executive Officer
SBI Digital Asset Holdings
Fernando is the CEO of SBI Digital Asset Holdings, a company that oversees and operates digital asset-related businesses, under the SBI Holdings umbrella. SBI Digital Asset Holdings aims to transform capital markets and banking value chains to create end-to-end digital asset solutions for financial institutions. Fernando is an open-source software industry veteran with over 20 years of experience across technology innovation and governance, capital markets and digital assets. He holds unparalleled knowledge of the Asian financial services sector from both a business and technical perspective. Fernando started his career in academia where he became deeply involved with the Linux community. This led him to the corporate world with several roles at the Japanese NTT Group. Fernando has held different roles at SBI Group, including Director of SBI VC Trade, CTO of Japannext, CEO of SBI DigiTrust and CEO of SBI Security Solutions.
Jos Dijsselhof
Chief Executive Officer
SIX
Jos Dijsselhof joined SIX in January 2018 as CEO. He holds degrees in computer science and business administration, and has a long track record in international management in the financial sector. He has previously held positions at ABN Amro Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland and ANZ Australia & New Zealand Banking Group in various countries including Hong Kong and Singapore. His most recent role was Chief Operating Officer (2014–June 2017) and CEO ad interim (2015) at Euronext in Amsterdam.
Lauren Belive
Head of Public Policy US
Ripple
Marco Bizzozero
Head of International & Member of the Executive Committee
iCapital
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
Pablo Hernández de Cos
Governor
Banco de España
Pablo Hernández de Cos is Governor of the Banco de España and member of the Governing and General Council of the ECB. He is Chair of the BCBS, of the Board of Governors of the CEMLA and of the Advisory Technical Committee of the ESRB. He is member of various European and International Committees including the ESRB, the FSB, the BIS Group of Governors and Heads of Supervision and the Advisory Board of the FSI. He is also Vice-Chairman of the Board of the Spanish Macroprudential Authority Financial Stability Board (AMCESFI).
He holds a PhD in Economics (Complutense University, Madrid), a degree in Economics and Business Studies (CUNEF) and a degree in Law (UNED).
Professor Marta Kightley
First Deputy Governor
Narodowy Bank Polski
Professor at the Department of Political Economy, Law and Economic Policy of the Warsaw School of Economics. In 2007–2010, she was a member of the diplomatic service. She headed the political and economic department of the Polish Embassy in the Republic of Korea. A long-time member of the NBP Education Council and of the Jury of the NBP Władysław Grabski Competition for Best Economic Journalist.
On 28 February 2020, President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda, at the request of the Governor of Narodowy Bank Polski, appointed Marta Kightley member of the NBP Management Board as of 8 March 2020.
Ravi Menon
Singapore's Ambassador for Climate Action and Senior Adviser
National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS)
Mr Ravi Menon served for 36 years in the Singapore Public Service.
Mr Menon was the longest serving Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Under his leadership, MAS implemented effective monetary and macroprudential policies, reformed the financial regulatory framework, strengthened skills development in the financial sector, and developed Singapore into a vibrant centre for green finance and a leading global FinTech hub. MAS was named Central Bank of the Year in 2019 by the UK-based publication Central Banking, which lauded MAS as a “pioneer in creating a framework to facilitate next-generation technological and financial innovation” and noted its coherent supervision as a financial regulator and enviable track record for monetary and financial stability.
As Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Trade & Industry, Mr Menon played a pivotal role in supporting the economy during the global financial crisis and enhancing Singapore’s access to external markets. As Deputy Secretary at the Ministry of Finance, he helped to formulate fiscal policies and a framework for spending the income from government reserves.
Mr Menon is currently Chairman of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) APAC Network Advisory Board and a member of the GFANZ Principals Group. He is also a Trustee of the Singapore Indian Development Association, a community self-help group.
Sarah Breeden
Deputy Governor Financial Stability
Bank of England
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.
Sharon Donnery
Deputy Governor
Central Bank of Ireland
Sharon Donnery was appointed Deputy Governor, Financial Regulation on 1 July 2022. She is an ex-officio Member of the Central Bank Commission and is a member of the Supervisory Board of the European Central Bank (ECB). As Deputy Governor, Financial Regulation, Sharon is responsible for leading credit institutions supervision; insurance supervision; policy and risk; and prudential analytics and inspections directorates.
Sharon was previously Deputy Governor, Central Banking from 1 March 2016 to 30 June 2022 and was the Governor's Alternate on the Governing Council of the ECB. She is also a member of the General Board of the European Systemic Risk Board having been appointed by the ECB Governing Council in December 2016. Sharon was appointed as co-chair of the Standing Committee on Supervisory and Regulatory Cooperation Open-ended Funds Working Group (OEFWG) in January 2023.
Sharon was Acting Governor from 1 June 2019 to 31 August 2019. She has chaired a number of European Committees including being Chair of the ECB Budget Committee (BuCom), Chair of the ECB High Level Group on Non-Performing Loans (NPLs), Chair of the European Banking Authority's (EBA) Consumer Protection Group and Vice-Chair of the EBA Standing Committee on Consumer Protection and Financial Innovation.
Sharon joined the Central Bank in 1996 as an Economist in the Monetary Policy Division and has held a range of senior positions. From February 2013 to August 2014, she held the statutory position of Registrar of Credit Unions and from April 2014 to May 2016 was Director of Credit Institutions. Prior to joining the Central Bank, Sharon lectured in economics at the National University of Ireland Maynooth.
Sharon holds a B.A. in Economics and Politics and a M.A. in Economics from University College Dublin and a Diploma in Company Direction from the Institute of Directors. In 2019, she was admitted to the Institute of Directors in London as a Chartered Director. In 2020, she was appointed as an Adjunct Professor of Economics at Trinity College Dublin.
Umar Farooq
Co-Head of Global Payment Sales, J.P. Morgan & Chief Executive Officer,
Onyx by J.P. Morgan
Umar Farooq is the Co-Head of Global Payments Sales and CEO of Onyx by J.P. Morgan. Onyx is a J.P. Morgan business unit that leverages cutting-edge technologies like Blockchain to develop innovative products, platforms and marketplaces. Prior to this Umar was the Global Head of Digital Wholesale Payments and Head of Blockchain for the Corporate and Investment Bank (CIB). Previously he was the CFO responsible for financial oversight and business management across CIB Technology, Operations, and Controls. Umar has also held leadership positions in Chase Bank in the past including Head of Small Business Segment and National Sales Manager for Chase Business Banking. Umar holds a B.S. in Computer Science, B.S. in Economics and M.Engg. in Computer Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Umar received his JD from Yale Law School.
Access insights and sessions on demand
Watch all Forum Stage sessions and download roundtable summaries, reports, and exclusive insights.
Stablecoins or Tokenised Deposits
This roundtable was hosted by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and the report is published by Elevandi, Circle and Onyx by J.P.Morgan.
The Great Debate: What is the Future of Money?
Andrea Maechler, Member of the Governing Board, Swiss National Bank; Dante Disparte, Chief Strategy Officer & Head of Global Policy, Circle; Professor Eswar Prasad, Professor,...
Data for Net Zero: Views from the Climate Data Steering Committee
Ashley Alder, Chair, Financial Conduct Authority; Daniela Stoffel, State Secretary, State Secretariat for International Finance (SIF); Mary Schapiro, Vice Chair for Global Public...
Multilateral Platforms: Opportunities and Challenges in Enhancing Cross-Border Payments
Produced by the Bank for International Settlements, in association with Elevandi and authored by Oliver Wyman and Baker McKenzie, this report is the result of a roundtable...