An insider's perspective from practitioners, policymakers and industry players.
The Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN) is a not-for-profit organisation established by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in 2024 to harness technology and foster innovation for more efficient, resilient, and inclusive financial ecosystems through global partnerships. GFTN organises convening forums, offers advisory services on innovation ecosystems, provides access to transformative digital platforms, and invests in technology startups with the potential for growth and positive social impact through its venture fund.
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Alan is the head of the Financial Infrastructure and Artificial Intelligence Office at the Monetary Authority of Singapore. He is responsible for developing Singapore’s digital financial infrastructure and strategies to foster responsive innovation in AI and digital asset. Prior to this, he held various leadership roles in the private sector including managing consulting and development teams across Asia Pacific.
}', 8='{type=list, value=[{id=39, name='Public-Private Roundtable', order=2, label='Public-Private Roundtable'}]}', 9='{type=number, value=0}', 11='{type=number, value=1}', 13='{type=string, value=Alan Lim Director & Head, Financial Infrastructure and Artificial Intelligence Office Monetary Authority of Singapore}', 14='{type=string, value=SPKR4687}', 15='{type=string, value=https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanlim/}', 18='{type=number, value=0}', 20='{type=list, value=[{id=1, name='Blueprint for Digital Assets', order=0, label='Blueprint for Digital Assets'}, {id=5, name='Roadmap for AI', order=4, label='Roadmap for AI'}]}'}Bryan is a Co-Founder and the Executive Director of the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School. He has a decade of experience in researching technology-enabled financial innovation and its interplay with regulation, supervision and policy nationally, regionally and globally.
Bryan has led and co-authored more than 60 reports on FinTech market trends, industry dynamics, regulatory changes and innovation as well as digital financial inclusion. The CCAF has collaborated with more than 5000 fintechs, 250 central banks and financial authorities, and directly trained 4400 policymakers, regulators and supervisors from 180 jurisdictions.
Bryan is a Non-Executive Director of the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), a member of Bank of England and HMT’s CBDC Engagement Forum, IMF's FAS Advisory Group, OECD's Steering Group on SME & Entrepreneurship Finance, Central Bank of UAE's Financial Inclusion and Literacy Advisory Group, DIFC's Innovation Panel and the Bretton Woods Committee. He co-chairs the Future of Global FinTech Initiative, a collaboration between CCAF and the World Economic Forum. Bryan is a Co-Founder and Director of Financial Innovation for Impact (Fii), a global not-for-profit dedicated to accelerating policy, regulatory, supervisory and infrastructure innovation.
Camilla Bullock is an entrepreneur, connector, and leader in the global payments industry. As the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of the Emerging Payments Association Asia (EPAA), she is dedicated to fostering synergies across the payments ecosystem. Since its founding in 2018, EPAA has rapidly become the voice of payments in the Asia-Pacific region and a key advocate on the global stage. EPAA is an active member of Financial Stability Board (FSB) task forces, contributing to the G20 agenda to enhance payments, drive innovation, and improve cross-border interoperability.
Camilla’s extensive career in financial technology began in the early 2000s in London, where she spent 14 years in various roles at Reuters, now part of the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG). Her work in the payments sector reflects her passion for shaping the future of financial services by uniting key industry players and accelerating innovation.
Beyond her role at EPAA, Camilla is the founder of the “Meet-Her She Knows Payments” initiative, which champions female thought leadership in the industry, reinforcing diversity as a key driver of innovation. She also serves on the board of the Swedish Australian Chamber of Commerce and actively mentors emerging talent, demonstrating her commitment to the next generation of payments leaders.
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.
}', 8='{type=list, value=[{id=39, name='Public-Private Roundtable', order=2, label='Public-Private Roundtable'}]}', 9='{type=number, value=0}', 11='{type=number, value=1}', 13='{type=string, value=Carmen Hett Corporate Treasurer UNHCR - the UN Refugee Agency}', 14='{type=string, value=SPKR6844}', 15='{type=string, value=https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmen-hett-7b94801/}', 18='{type=number, value=0}', 20='{type=list, value=[{id=7, name='Systemic Resilience & Quantum', order=6, label='Systemic Resilience & Quantum'}]}'}Drew Propson is the Head of Technology and Innovation in Financial Services at the World Economic Forum. She leads a portfolio of initiatives focused on advancing innovation while maintaining financial system stability. Current research areas include the deployment of AI and emerging technologies in financial services, technology-driven systemic risks, and fintech market trends. Drew has additionally presented and authored work on financial inclusion, regulatory dynamics, and entrepreneurship.
Drew holds MBAs from Columbia Business School and London Business School, a PhD in Spanish literature from UC Berkeley, and a BFA in Painting from the University of Washington. Her experience prior to joining the Forum includes private equity research, development finance, and international strategy and operations.
Elisabeth joined the DFSA in October 2014. Elisabeth leads the DFSA’s policy work on Innovation and was responsible for creating the DFSA's regulatory framework for Crowdfunding, the DFSA's Innovation Testing Licence - the DFSA’s regulatory sandbox and the regime for Crypto and Investment Tokens. Elisabeth also represents the DFSA on the Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN) co-ordination board, and is a member of IOSCO’s FinTech Taskforce working groups on Artificial Intelligence and Tokenisation.
Before joining the DFSA, Elisabeth led the Conduct Regulation team at the Association of British Insurers, where she managed a team of policy advisers responsible for influencing UK and EU conduct regulation of the insurance and pension markets.
A finance professional skilled in Financial Regulation, and Policy Analysis, Elisabeth holds a Bachelor of Laws and Arts from the University of Canterbury, and is admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor to the High Court of New Zealand.
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.
Georgina joined Accenture as a Management Consultant in 1993 and has spent most of her career running large and complex programmes of change. She joined the technology division and worked in a range of different industries before moving into the Financial Services sector in 1997 where she was part of the team who successfully implemented SETS (the London Stock Exchange Electronic Trading System).
Georgina joined HSBC in 2004 (as a consultant) and worked as part of the Global Markets Management Office for 4 years. She joined the Bank as a permanent member of staff in 2006. In July 2009 she became the Global Programme Director, Equity Prime Services leading the build out of this new business for the bank Globally. In March 2012 she took on the role of Global Head of Business Transformation, Global Banking and Markets leading the transformation of the business and its infrastructure front to back. In October 2015 she moved to take on the role of Head of Transformation, Global HR where she led two pioneering HR flagship programmes, building the HSBC University and leading “True North”, the wholesale transformation of the Bank’s HR function putting the platform into the cloud across 64 countries and 285,000 staff Globally. This was one of the biggest ever undertakings of its type, and certainly the only one ever delivered in the Financial Services industry at this scale. In September 2019 Georgina went on to lead the Transformation, Digital and Innovation team for the Group’s Private Banking business. The portfolio covered regulation, Business growth and cost reduction initiatives as well as the pivot to digitalisation.
In September 2022 Georgina began a new role as Managing Director, Head of FinTech and Digitalisation for ICMA, leading the development and implementation of the Association’s FinTech and Digitisation strategy, cross-cutting all fixed income market segments where ICMA has a presence. Encompassing all elements of market electronification, automation, standardisation and data management and commercialisation and actively leading the engagement with ICMA’s FinTech Advisory Committee (FinAC).
Georgina holds a BSc Honours degree in Ergonomics and an MSc in Information Technology. She is a fully qualified NED and has held several school Governor and trustee positions.
Hamish is CEO/co-founder of Transparently.AI, a RegTech/FinTech inventor, and data scientist. Hamish is also an advisor to fintechs and government entities and a technical expert in the application of the latest tools to financial technology problems, including machine learning/AI, NLP, unstructured datasets and data visualization systems. He has been an award-winning portfolio manager and lead strategy and quant teams at leading investment banks. Hamish has also been, for many years, an adjunct professor at SMU.
}', 8='{type=list, value=[{id=39, name='Public-Private Roundtable', order=2, label='Public-Private Roundtable'}]}', 9='{type=number, value=0}', 11='{type=number, value=1}', 13='{type=string, value=Dr. Hamish Macalister Founder & Chief Scientist Transparently Pte Ltd}', 14='{type=string, value=SPKR8451}', 15='{type=string, value=https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamish-macalister-phd-0b558bb/}', 18='{type=number, value=0}', 20='{type=list, value=[{id=5, name='Roadmap for AI', order=4, label='Roadmap for AI'}]}'}EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
With over two decades of experience in providing thought leadership, talent development, and performance management, successfully orchestrating large-scale digital transformation initiatives across various financial sectors, including the US, Canada, the Caribbean, the Middle East, and Asia. As a strategic leader, Herman is adept at driving Innovation within the Fintech Ecosystem and helping prepare the future of financial services infrastructure.
In his current role as Director, Innovation and Technology Risk – Supervision, he currently oversees the supervision of the Fintechs under the DFSA including Money Services, Crowdfunding and Digital Assets firms. As well, the team also manages Cybersecurity and Technology Risk of all Authorised Firms in the Dubai International Financial Center. A key remit is to drive the Innovation Strategy for the DFSA, including the adoption of digital assets within the center and support to the Fintech ecosystem in the DIFC. Prior to this, he was the Head of Digital Transformation at the Central Bank of the UAE, driving the implementation of key digital payments strategies. He oversaw the Digital Transformation team, which helped to develop detailed business requirements and spearhead initiatives in Open Finance, Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), and the creation of the Central Bank’s Innovation Hub. Prior to the UAE, Herman was at Standard Chartered Bank in Hong Kong and Singapore where he led the Digital Transformation & Innovation team HK, enhancing project management capabilities across Greater China and North Asia.
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.
He coordinates the Eurosystem's work aimed at developing a long-term, innovative ecosystem for DLT-based wholesale markets in Europe (Appia) to foster safer and more efficient financial markets, also through continued use of central bank money.
Hugo Coelho coordinates research on digital financial policy and regulation and delivery of technical assistance programmes. Previously, he worked as political advisor to the President of the Eurogroup (Council of the EU), as partner at political research firm Forefront, and as director of EU policy at cryptoasset exchange Binance. He started his career as a political journalist and authored several books, chapters and op-ed, news articles. He holds a Masters in European and Comparative Social Policy from the London School of Economics.
}', 8='{type=list, value=[{id=39, name='Public-Private Roundtable', order=2, label='Public-Private Roundtable'}]}', 9='{type=number, value=0}', 11='{type=number, value=1}', 13='{type=string, value=Hugo Coelho Head of Digital Policy and Regulation Financial Innovation for Impact (FII) & Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, Cambridge Judge Business School}', 14='{type=string, value=SPKR4021}', 15='{type=string, value=https://www.linkedin.com/in/hugo-coelho-3ab0a938/}', 18='{type=number, value=0}', 20='{type=list, value=[{id=1, name='Blueprint for Digital Assets', order=0, label='Blueprint for Digital Assets'}]}'}Isadora Arredondo is Global Policy Director at the Hedera Council, where she leads global engagement with regulators, policymakers, and industry stakeholders at the intersection of technology, finance, and public policy. She brings 10+ years of experience working in both the public and private sectors, more recently working as an advisor to leading financial institutions, investors, and tech companies on regulatory and policy issues across the EU and UK. Previously, she worked at the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, where she developed regulatory policy for investment, payments, and digital assets firms. Her early career included roles at the OECD’s Observatory for Public Sector Innovation, BCG, and the Economist Intelligence Unit, where she led policy-focused thought leadership across EMEA, US and Latam.
}', 8='{type=list, value=[{id=39, name='Public-Private Roundtable', order=2, label='Public-Private Roundtable'}]}', 9='{type=number, value=0}', 11='{type=number, value=1}', 13='{type=string, value=Isadora Arredondo Global Policy Director Hedera}', 14='{type=string, value=SPKR11262}', 15='{type=string, value=https://www.linkedin.com/in/isadora-arredondo-5946a627/}', 18='{type=number, value=0}', 20='{type=list, value=[{id=1, name='Blueprint for Digital Assets', order=0, label='Blueprint for Digital Assets'}]}'}Ivo Jeník currently leads CGAP’s work on regulatory architecture at the frontier, inclusive data ecosystems (open finance), and microfinance digitization. Previously he led work on regulatory innovation (crowdfunding, regulatory sandboxes), capacity building for policy makers (regulation and supervision of digital financial services) and emerging business models in banking across continents.
Ivo’s core expertise is in policy. Before joining CGAP, he worked in the Responsible Financial Access team at the World Bank, where he specialized in financial consumer protection and alternative dispute resolution. His professional experience spans across both the private and public sector, including serving as a compliance officer at an investment company and as Head of the Collective Investment Department at the Czech Financial Ombudsman.
Ivo has a Master’s degree in Law from Columbia Law School in New York and a Master’s degree in Law from Charles University in Prague.
As Senior Director, Consumer Protection & Strategic Industry Engagement, Jayshree leads the development and execution of the consumer protection research and influence strategy, contributing to CFI’s global portfolio. She also oversees the Responsible Finance Forum’s convening and influence model, building a community dedicated to addressing industry challenges in consumer protection and advancing the responsible finance agenda.
With two decades of experience spanning structured finance, innovative business models, consumer research, and policy influence, Jayshree has worked to advance financial inclusion and economic development globally. Before joining CFI, she spent nearly a decade as an independent consultant with institutions like CGAP, the World Bank, JICA, and ITAD, focusing on customer-centric business models and challenges faced by low-income consumers in accessing and using formal financial services. From 2009-2013, she was part of the founding team at IFMR (now Dvara Trust) in India where she led India’s first mezzanine fund for microfinance, which evolved into an alternate investment fund. Jayshree is also a senior policy fellow at the Leir Institute within the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and has served as adjunct faculty at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, teaching decision analysis for business.
Jayshree is a recipient of the Chevening fellowship for leadership from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, UK and completed the program at Kings College, London. She earned an MA in international relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, an MBA from Management Development Institute in Gurgaon, and an undergraduate degree in mathematics from Mumbai University.
Chief Executive Officer of Societe Generale-FORGE, Jean-Marc joined Societe Generale in 2000 as an analyst based in Frankfurt, Germany. In 2003 he started with 35 other employees Lyxor Asset Management, a specialized asset management company of the Equity Derivative division of the bank. He took responsibility for global portfolio management in 2005 and became Chief Investment Officer and member of the Executive committee in 2013.
Jean-Marc notably contributed to the development of Lyxor’s activities in Europe, the US, Japan and Middle East with major pension plans and sovereign wealth funds.
He left Lyxor in 2019, the company employing 600 staff world-wide and managing €137 billion at the time, to create Societe Generale-FORGE (SG-FORGE) and expand Societe Generale capabilities in digital capital markets.
Jean-Marc is graduated in mechanical engineering from the Arts et Métiers (ENSAM). He is an active member of the European blockchain ecosystem for many years.
Karthik is the Chief Operating Officer of Accion, a nonprofit with a mission is to create a fair and inclusive economy where underserved people have quality financial choices and opportunities to improve their economic well-being. He leads global operations and strategy for Accion. Previously with Bain & Company, he was a Partner in Bain’s Social Impact practice, where he focused on economic development and led the ‘Social’ aspect of the firm’s ESG offering.
With nearly twenty years of consulting experience globally, Karthik has lived and worked across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East prior to serving as a founding member of Bain’s Washington, DC office. He previously led Bain’s Travel & Leisure Practice and has worked on numerous large-scale global transformation efforts across financial services, retail, higher education and other industries and sectors. He also has experience providing portfolio support to investors through Bain’s Private Equity practice and deep expertise in organizational leadership and DE&I. Finally, and most importantly, Karthik is passionate about culture and teams and held many people-related roles within Bain, including leading Bain’s DE&I transformation; working as a leader in the firm’s Asian-American affinity group; and serving as HR Partner for the firm’s Washington office. Prior to Bain, Karthik worked in technology and HR consulting.
Outside of work, Karthik is deeply committed to youth empowerment. He serves on the board of Education for Employment—focusing on job training and placement across the MENA region—and also supports the Dudamel Foundation’s work to transform young people’s lives around the world, via access to music and the arts.
Karthik holds a graduate degree from Princeton University and post-graduate degrees from Johns Hopkins SAIS and The Wharton School, where he was a Palmer Scholar. He is the son of Indian immigrants and grew up outside Philadelphia.
Kate Jones is the Chief Executive Officer of the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum (www.drcf.org.uk). Kate leads this innovative team, working to increase and deepen coordination between regulators of online services and technology for the benefit of businesses and their customers.
Before joining the DRCF, Kate was an expert consultant and researcher on the governance of emerging technologies, with particular regard to human rights law, public international law and diplomacy. She was an Associate Fellow with the International Law Programme at Chatham House, Senior Associate with Oxford Information Labs, and member of the advisory board of an AI ethics company. She has published and spoken widely on aspects of national and international tech governance.
Kate is currently a trustee of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, reflecting her background as a public international lawyer. Prior to her work on tech governance, she had a varied career as a British diplomat, international and human rights lawyer, Oxford University academic and course director. Kate took her undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in law at the University of Oxford and qualified as a UK solicitor at Norton Rose.
Kieran Garvey leads AI research at the University of Cambridge's Centre for Alternative Finance, focusing on how AI is being adopted across financial authorities, industry and AI vendors worldwide. He has over 15 years’ experience in FinTech, AI, and regulatory innovation, building technical capabilities in 300+ financial authorities across 120+ countries and designing machine learning capacity building programmes for quant researchers and engineers. He led the creation of the UK's first Master Level AI Apprenticeship, as well as the BBC's Data Driven Journalism apprenticeship. He holds degrees from Imperial College London and the London School of Economics, and has published over 30 global reports on FinTech market development and regulation as well as on Agentic AI in finance.
}', 8='{type=list, value=[{id=39, name='Public-Private Roundtable', order=2, label='Public-Private Roundtable'}]}', 9='{type=number, value=0}', 11='{type=number, value=1}', 13='{type=string, value=Kieran Garvey AI Research Lead Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance}', 14='{type=string, value=SPKR12117}', 15='{type=string, value=https://www.linkedin.com/in/kierangarvey/}', 18='{type=number, value=0}', 20='{type=list, value=[{id=5, name='Roadmap for AI', order=4, label='Roadmap for AI'}]}'}Lotte provides strategic advisory and leadership in the finance sector, shaping policies, driving key initiatives, and developing impactful solutions. Her work spans emerging capital market issues, sustainable and digital finance innovations, upstream development, quality assurance, and learning and development.
Her previous roles include:
Asian Development Bank: Advisor, Finance Sector Group; Regional Director, Pacific Office; Chief, Finance Sector Group.
Swedish Ministry of Finance: Director for International Economic Policy.
Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority & Central Bank: Expert in financial supervision and regulation.
International Monetary Fund: Consultant.
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.
Marc Schluep is Head of Banking Operations at the Swiss National Bank. Prior to that, he spent ten years in various positions in the card payment business, including CEO of Worldline Switzerland and CEO of SIX Payment Services. He has extensive expertise in financial market infrastructures, having worked as Head Corporate Development for SIX Group and SWX Swiss Exchange. After studying business administration at the University of St. Gallen and the Stockholm School of Economics, he began his professional career in consulting.
}', 8='{type=list, value=[{id=39, name='Public-Private Roundtable', order=2, label='Public-Private Roundtable'}]}', 9='{type=number, value=0}', 11='{type=number, value=1}', 13='{type=string, value=Marc Schluep Head of Banking Operations Swiss National Bank}', 14='{type=string, value=SPKR10923}', 15='{type=string, value=https://www.linkedin.com/in/marc-schluep-240575/}', 18='{type=number, value=0}', 20='{type=list, value=[{id=1, name='Blueprint for Digital Assets', order=0, label='Blueprint for Digital Assets'}]}'}Neil has over 40 years’ experience in the financial services and credit information industries. For over 24 years he was with Equifax where for the last 12 years he was leading External Affairs and Communications which involved extensive customer, industry body and government liaison.
Neil was a member of the Executive Management Committee of ACCIS, from 2007 to 2018, holding the position of President from 2009.
He is a founding member of the International Committee on Credit Reporting (ICCR) that is hosted by the World Bank and was personally involved in the creation of the World Bank Principles of Credit Reporting, the recognised standards for the industry. He was elected Deputy Chair in November 2019.
He is the current convenor of the ICCR Asia Pacific Regional Consultative Group which involves 70 representatives from the information industry, central banks and regulators/supervisors involved in credit reporting and business information.
From 2015 Neil has been working as an independent consultant focusing primarily on credit reporting and business information in the Asia Pacific and has worked on a number of key World Bank/IFC credit information infrastructure projects in the region.
In 2018 he joined the management team of the Business Information Industry Association (BIIA), with responsibility for industry advocacy and assumed the role of Managing Director in 2023.
Nick is the Head of the Cambridge Regulatory Innovation Hub at the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance. Nick leads research programmes with domestic and international regulatory and policy making bodies in both emerging and developed markets. Prior to joining the Centre, Nick worked at the Financial Conduct Authority in London for over a decade, latterly heading up the FCA’s regulatory sandbox.
}', 8='{type=list, value=[{id=39, name='Public-Private Roundtable', order=2, label='Public-Private Roundtable'}]}', 9='{type=number, value=0}', 11='{type=number, value=1}', 13='{type=string, value=Nick Clark Head, Cambridge Regulatory Innovation Hub Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance}', 14='{type=string, value=SPKR7727}', 15='{type=string, value=https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-clark-02352799/}', 18='{type=number, value=0}', 20='{type=list, value=[{id=1, name='Blueprint for Digital Assets', order=0, label='Blueprint for Digital Assets'}]}'}Nobuyasu Sugimoto is a Deputy Division Chief of Financial Supervision and Regulation Division, Monetary & Capital Markets Department of the IMF. He joined the Fund from the Japan Financial Services Agency in October 2012, where his experience covers banks, insurance and securities. In the IMF, he has been involved in Financial Sector Assessment Programs and Technical Assistances. He also contributed to number of Global Financial Stability Reports and is one of the authors of Fintech Notes (Regulating the Crypto Ecosystem and BigTech in Financial Services). He holds a Master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University (MBA).
}', 8='{type=list, value=[]}', 9='{type=number, value=0}', 11='{type=number, value=1}', 13='{type=string, value=Nobuyasu Sugimoto Deputy Division Chief of Financial Supervision and Regulation International Monetary Fund}', 14='{type=string, value=SPKR6718}', 15='{type=string, value=https://www.linkedin.com/in/nobuyasu-sugimoto-b83b4450/}', 18='{type=number, value=0}', 20='{type=list, value=[]}'}With over 10 years in the financial services industry, Nolwazi Hlophe has been instrumental in shaping South African regulatory frameworks that promote innovation while ensuring consumer protection.
Her research includes AI in the financial sector, decentralised finance, the evolution of open finance, and suptech in South Africa.
Nolwazi is a member of the IAIS Fintech Forum, Co-lead of the IFWG’s Regulatory Guidance Unit and Deputy Chair of the Open Finance Integration Working Group (OPI WG).
She holds a Master’s Degree in Economics from the University of Pretoria and is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Financial Technology at the University of Cape Town.
Pat Patel is the business CEO driving GFTN’s growth in the USA, LATAM, Middle East and Africa and jointly leads on GFTN’s Forums around the world.
During his time at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) between 2019-2022, he led the spinout of Elevandi Ltd in 2021, the first iteration of GFTN, building the strategy, plan, team and securing the seed capital. At MAS he led the International FinTech Office, a team which was responsible for building relationships in different jurisdictions between the public and private sectors and driving both FinTech and investment growth. Pat serves on the board of Mojaloop, an open-source software project of the Mojaloop Foundation. It was created by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Level One Project in 2017.
Prior to MAS, Pat led the growth and launch of Money20/20 into Europe in 2015 to become the most the successful and profitable FinTech event in the region and subsequently led the product launch into Singapore and China. In his early career he worked at VocaLink on the world’s first national retail real-time payments system, the UK Faster Payments Service, and built the international strategy for the product and drove opportunities across Asia and Europe.
A seasoned international leader with experience of building products, teams and launches into new markets and leveraging networks to drive positive outcomes.
Pavle is Head of the Market & Infrastructure Observatory at the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, University of Cambridge, where he leads research on the convergence of digital finance and digital public infrastructure. He focuses on providing critical insights and empirical analysis on how technological innovations reshape the global financial services ecosystem.
Prior to CCAF, Pavle established the first Emerging Technologies Hub at the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), where he developed new approaches to technology research and regulation. As a thought leader in regulatory innovation, he has shaped global discourse on critical topics, including international approaches to quantum security resilience and the application of privacy enhancing technologies in financial crime prevention.
He holds a MSc in Information Systems and Digital Innovation from the London School of Economics and has co-authored over 25 publications, including papers for the Harvard Data Science Review and the Alan Turing Institute.
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 architect 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.
Ryan is based in London and heads up Digital Assets globally and Strategic Investments across Europe and Asia at Barclays. The DA team is responsible for digital asset strategy, governance and the establishment of new asset, money and tokenisation initiatives across the bank. The SI team is responsible for originating, executing and portfolio managing all strategic principal equity investments made by Barclays in external companies.
Ryan joined Barclays in 2011 as an M&A advisor in the investment bank and moved to the Strategy and Corporate Development team in 2013, where he acted as a principal in originating and executing M&A transactions.
Prior to Barclays, Ryan was at Nevsky Capital, a $7bn long/short equity asset manager, where he covered a range of sectors including oil & gas, chemicals and agriculture and before that worked at Deutsche Bank as a corporate finance advisor in the Industrials practice across Europe.
Ryan holds a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the University of Oxford and also holds an MA (Oxon) from the University of Oxford.
Dr. BEN is Professor & Dean ZIBS (International Business School) and Dean AIF (Academy of Internet Finance), Zhejiang University.
Prior to joining Zhejiang University as a Professor, Dr. Ben spent 20-years in China and abroad with ABN AMRO, HSBC, and lastly JP Morgan Chase, where he served as China CEO, JP Morgan Chase Bank.
Dr. Ben is founder and Director of International Monetary Institute, Renmin University of China. He is also founder and chairman of Zhejiang Association of Fintech. He serves as a Counselor to Zhejiang Provincial Government, a Standing Committee member of CPPCC Zhejiang and Vice Chairman of its Economic Commission.
Dr. Ben has a Bachelor’s degree in engineering from Tsinghua University, a Master’s degree in management from Renmin University of China, and Ph.D. in Economics from Purdue University, USA.
His research interests include: Global Financial System, Global Banking, Management of Financial Institutions, Internet Finance (FinTech), Entrepreneurial Finance, International Business.
Soulysak THAMNUVONG
Deputy Governor Bank of the Lao PDR
Education
• 2000 – Bachelor in Economics, Thammasat University, Thailand
• 2002 – Certified Public Accountant, Ministry of Finance, Lao PDR
• 2004 – Master in Economics (Economics Development), Williams College, USA
• 2006 – Diploma (Economics Development), Institute of Developing Economies, Japan
Work Experience
Soulysak THAMNUVONG, Deputy Governor, Bank of the Lao PDR (BOL), started his career as a technical official in Commercial Bank Supervision Department in 2000. Since then he had been working in several key departments in BOL, such as Division Chief in Monetary Policy Department (2004), Secretary of the Deputy Governor of BOL (2008- 2011), and Advisor to Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC (2011-2013). After that, he took his expertise from the international stage and returned to BOL, where he held leadership position of Deputy Secretary General of the Lao Securities Commission Office (2014), Deputy Director General of Commercial Bank Supervision Department (2016). From 2018 he served as Director General at Payment Systems Department, then move to Monetary Policy Department as Director General in 2023.
Currently, there are four departments under his direction, namely Monetary Policy Department, Payment Systems Department, Currency Issuing Department, and Banking Institute.
Driving strategic growth and regulatory clarity within the digital asset sector is the core focus of Steve Vallas, CEO of Blockchain APAC. With a background as a qualified lawyer and management strategist, Steve guides enterprises through the evolving blockchain landscape. His leadership extends to key roles as APAC Policy Advisor for the GBBC and Director at the Association for Women in Cryptocurrency, reflecting a commitment to global industry development.
Steve’s influence extends globally, with a proven track record of shaping policy and fostering robust regulatory frameworks across key international markets. In Australia, he engages with bodies such as ASIC, Treasury and the RBA, while internationally his work has included meetings, roundtables, events and speaking roles in the US, UK, Singapore, Hong Kong and the UAE. This involves direct engagement with leading international authorities and partnerships with diverse global organisations. His deep cross-jurisdictional experience is critical for navigating a rapidly changing global environment.
His unique perspective, cultivated through lifelong economic study and early adoption of emerging technologies, enables him to translate complex blockchain concepts into actionable strategies, ensuring innovation is responsibly integrated into the global economy. Steve remains dedicated to advancing a clear and sustainable future for digital assets.
Sungyong KANG, as a Republic of Korea government sponsored scholar, holds an S.J.D. which is equivalent to PhD in Law. He is an attorney at law licensed in New York.
Sungyong Kang is currently working as a Criminal Intelligence Officer at the INTERPOL Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre where his main duty is to coordinate the international cooperation to trace, freeze/seize the criminal proceeds. He has led the Operation HAECHI targeting Cyber-Enabled Financial Crime and worked as a co-lead for the Cyber-Enabled Financial Crime Project which INTERPOL is collaborating with FATF and Egmont Group. He pursues creative ways to overcome the legal, practical hurdles encountered by LEAs in investigating cross border financial crimes by closely strengthening the reciprocal feedback between operational bodies and policy making bodies and information sharing between public and private entities both at the global and domestic level.
Prior to joining the INTERPOL, he worked as a researcher and an adjunct professor at the KNPU focusing on the financial crime exploiting new technologies, such as Blockchain, AI and Metaverse, etc. Before then, he successfully investigated high profile financial crimes leading his team to be awarded as the best investigation team in Seoul.
He is also the prolific author of the papers published by renowned journals including International & Comparative Law Quarterly (Cambridge University Press), Michigan Journal of International Law (Michigan Law School), etc. He is also a frequent speaker at the conferences organized by respected international and domestic entities including FATF, UNODC, UNTOC, Egmont Group, Basel Institute on Governance, EUROPOL and INTERPOL, etc.
Teppei Terada is a Managing Director at the Digital Strategy Division in MUFG Bank, has responsibility for Digital Asset business development based in Tokyo, Japan. He has been involved in the bank’s technology area including Fintech, Digitalization and Blockchain, working abroad in Singapore. When blockchain gained attention, he led PoC experiment aiming to automate delivery and payment using blockchain. He holds a Master Degree in Robotics Engineering from Doshisha University, Kyoto.
}', 8='{type=list, value=[{id=39, name='Public-Private Roundtable', order=2, label='Public-Private Roundtable'}]}', 9='{type=number, value=0}', 11='{type=number, value=1}', 13='{type=string, value=Teppei Terada Managing Director MUFG Bank, Ltd.}', 14='{type=string, value=SPKR6753}', 15='{type=string, value=https://www.linkedin.com/in/teppei-terada-2840a2192?trk=contact-info}', 18='{type=number, value=0}', 20='{type=list, value=[{id=1, name='Blueprint for Digital Assets', order=0, label='Blueprint for Digital Assets'}]}'}Wee Kee is Executive Director and Global Head of Business Architecture for Kinexys Digital Payments at J.P. Morgan, where he is responsible for architecting business capabilities for digital payments, and developing strategies to address current needs and capture future opportunities. He works closely with the product team to develop product vision and strategies, and with the technology team on aligning technical solutions with business needs.
Prior to joining J.P. Morgan in 2022, Wee Kee was the Specialist Leader for Distributed Ledger Technology at the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and led Project Ubin, a collaborative industry project exploring the use of blockchain and DLT for clearing and settlement of payments and securities. He was also Advisor at the BIS Innovation Hub, where he led Project Dunbar with a vision of enabling interoperable CBDCs and connected multi-CBDC platforms.
Tao Zhang is the Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer (CPO) of Manus AI, the world’s first general AI agent bridging thought and action.
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