Agustín Carstens served as General Manager of the BIS from 1 December 2017 to 30 June 2025. Under his tenure, the BIS Innovation Hub was created.

Mr Carstens was Governor of the Bank of Mexico from 2010 to 2017. A member of the BIS Board from 2011 to 2017, he was chair of the Global Economy Meeting and the Economic Consultative Council from 2013 until 2017. He also chaired the International Monetary and Financial Committee, the IMF's policy advisory committee from 2015 to 2017.

Mr Carstens began his career in 1980 at the Bank of Mexico. From 1999 to 2000, he was Executive Director at the IMF. He later served as Mexico’s deputy finance minister (2000–03) and as Deputy Managing Director at the IMF (2003–06). He was Mexico's finance minister from 2006 to 2009.Mr Carstens was member of the Financial Stability Board from 2010 to 2025 .

Mr Carstens is a member of the Group of Thirty and recently joined the GFTN International Advisory Board.

Mr Carstens holds an MA and a PhD in economics from the University of Chicago.

Amitabh Kant is presently India’s G20 Sherpa. The G20 or the Group of Twenty is a forum where policymakers of industrialized and developing economies meet to discuss key issues in the global economy. The G20 countries account for 85% of global GDP, 75% of world trade and about two-thirds of the world’s population.

Amitabh Kant is a governance reformer and a public policy change agent for India, having driven key reforms and initiatives during his tenure as the Chief Executive Officer of the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) (2016-2022) and the Secretary of the Department for Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) (2014-2016), Government of India. He has been a key driver of flagship national initiatives such as Startup India, Make in India, Incredible India, Kerala: God’s Own Country and the Aspirational Districts Program. These initiatives have repositioned India and Kerala and have widely been recognized as transformational.

Prof. Dr. Axel A. Weber is President of the Center for Financial Studies, Goethe University Frankfurt. He is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of RAISIN SE, Chairman of the VISA Economic Empowerment Institute, Chairman of the Trilateral Commission Europe and a Member of the Group of Thirty. He also is a Member of the TEMASEK International Advisory Council and Senior Advisor to CVC Advisors Limited and Boston Consulting Group. He previously was Chairman of the Board of Directors 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.

Benjamin Fernandes is an award-winning Tanzanian speaker and entrepreneur. Benjamin grew up in Tanzania then earned scholarships that took him to America for the first time at the age of 17.

At age 21, Benjamin was the youngest African in history to ever be accepted into Stanford Graduate School of Business. He holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and an Exec Ed from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, being the first Tanzanian to attend both institutions.

Fernandes was previously a national television personality in Tanzania. After that, he worked at The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in the United States.

Fernandes founded NALA, a fintech startup that is on a mission to build payments for the next billion. NALA operates across 21 countries in Europe, the US and the UK with nearly 150 employees. NALA raised a total of $50m backed by leading US investors such as Y-Combinator, Accel, Acrew, Amplo and Bessemer Partners. NALA was listed under the Forbes Fintech 50 in 2025.


In 2020, Fernandes was listed as the 15th most influential Tanzanian. In 2022, Fernandes was listed in the inaugural ROW100 most influential technology leaders in the world. In 2023, Fernandes was listed on the Top 100 Changemakers list for Africa. In 2024, Forbes online featured Fernandes on their daily cover with a cover story.

Caesar Sengupta is the CEO and co-founder of Arta. 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/

Chang Yong Rhee has been the Governor of the Bank of Korea and Chairman of its Monetary Policy Board since 2022. He currently serves as Chair of the Committee on the Global Financial System and as a member of the Board of Directors at the Bank for International Settlements.

Between 2014 and 2022, he served as the Director of the Asia and Pacific Department at the International Monetary Fund. Prior to that, he was Chief Economist of the Asian Development Bank from 2011 to 2014, Secretary General and Sherpa of the Presidential Committee for the 2010 G-20 Seoul Summit from 2009 to 2011, and Vice Chairman of the Financial Services Commission from 2008 to 2009.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Rhee was a Professor of Economics at Seoul National University and an Assistant Professor at the University of Rochester. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University.

In 2011, he was awarded the Order of Civil Merit (Peony Medal) by the Government of the Republic of Korea.

Charles Cascarilla is the CEO and co-founder of Paxos, a regulated blockchain infrastructure platform that enables the movement of all assets in a trustworthy way. With more than 20 years of experience in financial services, Charles has a unique perspective on integrating blockchain technology with traditional systems. He co-founded institutional asset management complex Cedar Hill Capital Partners in 2005 and its venture capital subsidiary, Liberty City Ventures, in 2012.
 
Charles has been a leader in introducing regulatory frameworks to the blockchain industry by securing the first Trust charter for digital assets and by testifying to the US Senate and House of Representatives on the merits of this technology for the global economy. He was also a founding member of CoinCenter and the Association for Digital Asset Markets. Earlier in his career, Charles was a portfolio manager at Claiborne Capital and an analyst at both Bank of America Securities and Goldman Sachs. He serves on the board of several charities and private companies including Project ALS and The Centurion Foundation.  

Charles holds a B.B.A. in Finance from the University of Notre Dame and is a CFA charterholder.

Serey Chea is the Governor of National Bank of Cambodia. She is passionate about financial inclusion and women economic empowerment. Achievements under her leadership include the establishment of Credit Bureau Cambodia in 2012 that propelled Cambodia’s Ease of Access to Finance to number 7 worldwide in 2017 by the World Bank, the introduction of Bakong, a national backbone payment system using DLT allowing interoperability amongst all financial service providers making financial services more accessible and affordable, and the introduction of financial literacy into the general education program. Serey holds a PhD in economics and was internationally recognized as a Level A- Central Bank Governor by Global Finance in 2024 and 2025 for her leadership.

Mr. Eric Jing is the Chairman of Ant Group. He joined Alibaba Group in 2007 and was appointed President of Ant Group in June 2015. Eric served as the Chairman and CEO of Ant Group from April 2018 to February 2025.

Under his leadership, Ant Group has grown into a world-leading internet open platform that delivers inclusive digital financial products, lifestyle services, and technological solutions to billions of consumers and SMEs through constant innovation and strategic partnerships globally.

Mr. Jing serves as a senior advisor to the World Bank's Identification for Development (ID4D) Initiative and is a board member of the Young Global Leaders Foundation at the World Economic Forum. He has also served on various high-level advisory boards, including the UN Secretary-General’s Digital Taskforces and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Mr. Jing received his Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the College of Economics & Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 1994. In 2005, he obtained his Master's degree in Business Administration after completing the EMBA program at the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, U.S.

Hector Shibata is an experienced investment professional specializing in Venture Capital, Private Equity, and Corporate Investment Banking. He is the Chief of Global Digital Finance at the IFC in Washington DC, focusing on debt financing to fintechs, tech-enabled companies, and funds in emerging markets to promote financial inclusion, financial health, gender equality, and sustainability. Previously, Hector was a Venture Partner at Acacia Venture and led AC Ventures, a Corporate Venture Capital fund sponsored by a Coca Cola bottler, where he invested in global VC funds and startups. He also serves as board member and President of the Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Venture Capital Committee at the Mexican Institute of Finance Executives (IMEF)
and has been an adjunct professor, teaching Venture Capital and Entrepreneurial Finance at EGADE Tec de Monterrey.

Irene Arias Hofman is a founder, investor, and independent board member with over two decades of leadership in global development finance and innovation. From 2018 to 2025, she served as CEO of IDB Lab, the innovation and venture capital arm of the Inter-American Development Bank Group. Under her leadership, IDB Lab expanded its investments in venture capital funds, fintech companies and other startups generating market returns while keeping a focus on the development challenges across Latin America and the Caribbean.

Prior to IDB Lab, Irene spent 20 years at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, where she held senior executive roles and oversaw a $16 billion portfolio in the financial sector. Her career reflects a deep commitment to leveraging innovation, entrepreneurship, and capital markets to drive inclusive and sustainable growth.

Janet heads Group Channels & Digitalisation, Strategic Communications & Brand for UOB . She is responsible for delivery channels serving retail and business customers across branches, self service banking, websites and champions Fintech and ecosystem partnership initiatives across UOB. She also oversees brand management, communications, community stewardship teams across the group to build strong community relationships, deliver impact and achieve the ambition of being the most preferred bank in Asean.

Janet is a Board member of Singapore National Environment Agency (NEA), Singapore Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), Singapore National Council of Social Service (NCSS), and Innoven Capital, and serves on the Advisory Councils of Nanyang Business School, NTU Singapore.

She has more than 25 years of banking and corporate experience. Prior to joining UOB, she held senior roles at global banks and European MNC.

Jessica joined the FCA as Chief Data, Information and Intelligence Officer in June 2021.

As CDIIO, Jessica is leading the transformation of the FCA’s ability to analyse and use the data, intelligence and information we receive to effectively oversee the 50,000 firms we regulate. Jessica is building and evolving our relationship with big tech companies, fintechs and the wider data science community.

Jessica was the Chief Data Officer of Chetwood Financial limited, a digital native, start-up bank, where she spearheaded the use of machine learning. Before moving into fintech, Jessica was Senior Director of Finance & Analytics at eBay in Europe where she built out their advanced analytics and customer insight function.

She previously worked in credit analytics at Ford Motor Company and Stress Testing at GE Capital. Jessica has a degree from Penn State University in Management Science and Information Systems and an MBA from University of Michigan. More recently, she completed the Oxford Said Business School’s Artificial Intelligence programme.

Joachim Nagel has been President of the Deutsche Bundesbank since January 2022. Prior to this, he had already served in various management positions at the Bundesbank from 1999 to 2016, including as an Executive Board member from 2010 whose responsibilities included the Directorates General Markets, Controlling and IT. Between 2008 and 2016, he also headed up the Bundesbank’s financial crisis task force. Joachim Nagel worked for the KfW Group from 2016 to 2020, initially serving one year as General Manager before becoming a member of its Executive Board, in which capacity he oversaw foreign credit business and development cooperation. In 2020, he moved to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) where he became Deputy Head of the Banking Department. Joachim Nagel studied economics at the University of Karlsruhe from 1985 to 1991 and received a doctoral degree in 1997. He has been an honorary professor at the Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University (DHBW) since 2017. Alongside his role as President of the Bundesbank, Joachim Nagel serves as a member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank, a Governor at the International Monetary Fund and a member of the BIS Board of Directors.

Karmela Holtgreve was appointed Deputy Head of the BIS Innovation Hub and Head of Operations in July 2024.
Karmela had an early career in financial journalism before transitioning into public affairs then strategy and innovation. Before joining the BIS she was Director General Strategy and Innovation at Bundesbank where she was responsible for the overall transformation of the institution and for leading a team of 60 across three main departments: innovation, transformation and portfolio and strategy. She holds a diploma degree in political science at Goethe University Frankfurt and the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid with a focus on International Relations and European politics.

Kattiya Indaravijaya is the first non-family and one of the first female CEOs among top-tier banks in Southeast Asia. She began her career at KASIKORNBANK PCL (KBank) in 1987, later earned a KBank scholarship, and returned to continue serving the Bank ever since. Over more than three decades, she has accumulated diverse experience across corporate strategy, digital transformation, investment banking, retail banking, finance, marketing, and human resources.

Appointed CEO in 2020, she has led KBank through periods of economic uncertainty, including the COVID-19 crisis and rapid industry disruption, by harnessing advanced technology, AI, and human potential to achieve sustainable growth. Guided by KBank’s vision as a Bank of Sustainability, KBank strives to drive sustainable prosperity by elevating and unleashing the full potential of every life and business across Thailand and ASEAN+3 through trusted, innovative financial solutions

Under her leadership, KBank has solidified its No.1 position in Thailand in digital payments, mobile banking, and wealth management, while earning widespread domestic and global recognition. In 2024, she was recognized as one of the Top 30 in Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Asia, underscoring her influence in shaping the future of banking in the region.

Kenneth heads the FinTech and Innovation Group at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The Group is responsible for development strategies for technology and innovation, to strengthen competitiveness, manage risks and enhance the efficiency of the financial sector.

Kenneth’s recent prior experience focused on digital transformation, enterprise GenAI and data governance. He previously headed the Enterprise Knowledge Department at MAS. Besides formulating data and knowledge strategies and governance policies, the department also pursues data transformation by architecting and developing platforms and applications that improve outcomes for financial supervision, central banking and other use cases.

Kenneth also has experience in regulatory policy, having previously headed MAS’ Prudential Policy Department. The department develops capital and liquidity standards, including MAS’ approach on the implementation of Basel III as well as contributions to international policy forums. Prior to this, Kenneth headed the international financial relations and financial stability surveillance functions in MAS, and served in MAS’ reserves management and enforcement functions.

Kenneth holds a BA in Economics and MA in International Relations from the University of Chicago. He enjoys experimenting with technology at work, and as a pastime.

His Excellency Khalid Humaidan was appointed as Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) in February 2024.
Prior to his appointment as Governor, HE Mr. Humaidan served as Chief Executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), and Head of Global Markets MEA at BNP Paribas.
He has over 25 years of experience working in financial and capital markets, and currently serves as member on the boards of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), Gulf Payments and the Gulf Monetary Council.
HE Mr. Humaidan holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, United States.

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.

Livia Benisty is Chief Executive Affairs Officer at Banking Circle, leading public policy, regulatory and government affairs. Livia was Head of AML for Banking Circle having originally joined in 2019, leveraging her experience in building and managing large teams in highly regulated environments. Previously she was Head of AML advisory for Citi’s Trade and Treasury Solutions in EMEA, focused on Correspondent Banking and Digital Payments. Livia has also worked at BBVA’s Open Platform and ComplyAdvantage. She sit on the Board of Directors for a payments institute and advises related companies including remittance firms and Regtech solutions.

Lucy Rigby MP was appointed Parliamentary Secretary (Economic Secretary to the Treasury) at HM Treasury on 6 September 2025.

She was previously Solicitor General between 2 December 2024 and 6 September 2025.

She was elected as the MP for Northampton North in July 2024.

Chair of FINMA (Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority), Honorary Professor at the University of Bern, Senior Fellow at Harvard and a board member of IOSCO. Previously, she was Professor of Practice in Economics and Finance at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and acting as Co-Director of its FinTech Center. She co-edited the books “CBDC and Fintech in Asia” and “Handbook of Chinese Financial System”. At the BIS in Hong Kong she served as advisor to 11 leading Asian central banks and coordinated its Asian Bond Fund initiative (ABF). Marlene is a former Deputy Director and Head of Investment Strategy and Financial Market Analysis at the Swiss National Bank. Working at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York she developed their monthly published Fed NY underlying inflation gauge (UIG). Previous posts include quantitative research at Credit Suisse and Swiss Economic Institute/ETH Zurich. Marlene regularly holds visiting positions with central banks, the latest at the Bank of Japan. She received her master in economics from the University of Bern and her PhD in econometrics from University of St. Gallen.

Michael Schlein brings nearly 30 years of extensive international banking, management, and public service experience to his role as President and CEO of Accion. He is responsible for creating and implementing Accion’s strategy, managing its global team, and maintaining a high-performing organization.

Michael’s strategic leadership has built Accion into a leading early-stage investor in fintech for inclusion and an expert in the digital transformation of financial service providers. During his tenure, he has cultivated partnerships that strengthen Accion’s work to develop and scale cheaper, more accessible, and customer-friendly financial solutions for underserved people globally.

Michael joined Accion in 2007 as a member of its Board of Directors and in 2009, became Accion’s President and CEO. Prior to his employment at Accion, Michael served as President of Citigroup’s International Franchise Management, where he managed the bank’s network of 100 Chief Country Officers. Before that, he ran communications, philanthropy, government relations, branding, and human resources for Citigroup. He served as Chief of Staff at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in the Clinton Administration and in New York’s City Hall in the Dinkins and Koch Administrations. He began his career in investment banking.

From 2014 until Jan. 2021, Michael served as the Chairman of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, which encourages economic growth throughout New York City’s five boroughs and facilitates investments that build capacity, generate prosperity, and catalyze the economic vibrancy of city life as a whole. Michael has graduate and undergraduate degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa.

Monica Long is the President of Ripple where she leads the company’s Business, Product and Engineering teams, collectively working to make Ripple the one-stop shop to move, manage, hold and tokenize value. Since joining Ripple in 2013 as its first marketing and communications hire, Monica has played a pivotal role in shaping the company’s growth and driving innovation in financial services.

Monica serves as Executive Sponsor of the Women at Ripple Employee Resource Group. Recognized among the Bay Area’s Most Influential Women in Business in 2020, Monica has spent her career at the forefront of fintech, previously holding roles at Intuit and managing PR for groundbreaking startups like Prosper. She holds a BA from UC Berkeley.

Nandan Nilekani is the Co-Founder and Chairman of Infosys Technologies Limited. He was the Founding Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) in the rank of a Cabinet Minister from 2009- 2014. Nandan has co-founded and is the Chairman of EkStep Foundation, a not-for-profit effort to create a learner centric, technology based platform to improve basic literacy and numeracy for millions of children. In Jan 2023, he was appointed as the co- chair of the “ G20 Task Force on Digital Public Infrastructure for Economic Transformation, Financial Inclusion and Development”.

Born in Bengaluru, Nilekani received his Bachelor’s degree from IIT, Bombay. Fortune Magazine conferred him with “Asia’s Businessman of the year 2003”. In 2005 he received the prestigious Joseph Schumpeter prize for innovative services in economy, economic sciences and politics .In 2006, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan. He was also named Businessman of the year by Forbes Asia. Time magazine listed him as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2006 & 2009. Foreign Policy magazine listed him as one of the Top 100 Global thinkers in 2010. In 2014, He won The Economist Social & Economic Innovation Award for his leadership of India’s Unique Identification initiative (Aadhaar). In 2017, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from E & Y. CNBC- TV 18 conferred India Business leader award for outstanding contributor to the Indian Economy-2017 and he also received the 22nd Nikkei Asia Prize for Economic & Business Innovation 2017. He has been inducted as International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2019.Business Standard Annual awards 2022 conferred, “The Life Time Achievement Award”. TIME Magazine has featured him on 100 Most Influential People in AI- 2024.

Nandan Nilekani is the author of “Imagining India”, co- authored his second book with Viral Shah, “Rebooting India: Realizing a Billion Aspirations” and co-authored his third book with Tanuj Bhojwani, “ The Art of Bitfulness: Keeping calm in the digital world” released in Jan 2022.

Dr. Patrick Njoroge served as the ninth Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya from June 2015 to June 2023, after a 20-year career at the International Monetary Fund. He is currently a member of the Advisory Boards of the "Yale Program on Financial Stability" and the "Global Finance and Technology Network," chair of the "Africa Financial Industry Summit" (AFIS) Supervisory Council, and a member of the Africa Expert Panel for South Africa’s G20 Presidency. He has received several awards and recognitions, including four awards for Africa’s Central Banker of the Year, and recognition in 2023 as a Top 25 African Finance Leader. He holds a PhD in Economics from Yale University.

Paul Taylor is the founder and CEO of Thought Machine, the leading cloud-native core banking and payments technology provider. Thought Machine is present in 26 countries with a client list of more than a dozen Tier 1 banks worldwide.

Thought Machine is eradicating the outdated legacy technology prevalent in the banking industry. Its next-generation core platform enables banks to migrate away from old systems and launch highly differentiated, modern propositions.

Before founding Thought Machine, Paul successfully launched two companies, the second of which was acquired by Google in 2010. At Google, he led the text-to-speech team, which developed cutting-edge technology that is now found in all of Google's navigation and voice search products. Paul holds a PhD in AI and has held teaching positions at Edinburgh and Cambridge Universities.

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.

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.

Ralph Echemendia is a world-renowned cyber security expert, known internationally by his alter ego “The Ethical Hacker.” For over 25 years, Ralph has delivered training on hacking and other security information to corporations including the US Marine Corps, NASA, Google, Microsoft, Oracle, AMEX, Intel, Boeing, Symantec, and IBM.
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His portfolio of work and reputation as a leading professional across several industries has landed him the credibility to make appearances on CNN, Fox News, USA Today, and Forbes, to name a few. Ralph took his talents to Hollywood, California and has worked with award-winning Director Oliver Stone as a technical supervisor on films such as “Savages” and “Snowden” as well as as other projects such as the film “Nerve” and award-winning TV series Mr. Robot.
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He has now joined forces with some of the music industry and Hollywood’s most influential names to provide production content protection. Ralph has also been a featured speaker/panelist/keynote at events such as TEDxMiami, Money 20/20, DigitalK in Bulgaria, WoHiT in Barcelona, The Customer Contact Expo in London, Georgetown Law University Cyber Event, WHiNN in Denmark, Raytheon’s Public Sector Cybersecurity Summit in Washington, DC, Austin’s South by Southwest ® (SXSW ®), the LA Film Festival, the Tribeca Film Festival, Pioneers Festival 17 in Vienna and Web Summit to name a few.
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His jaw dropping “Hacking Hollywood” appearance has been presented at Creative Artists Agency, the Digital Entertainment World Expo, the Content Protection & Piracy Summit, as well as the Anti-Piracy and Content Protection Summit.

Mr Ravi Menon has a portfolio of work in sustainability, innovation, and inclusion.

Mr Menon is Singapore’s first Ambassador for Climate Action and Senior Adviser to the National Climate Change Secretariat at the Prime Minister’s Office. He plays a leading role in Singapore’s efforts to foster collective action internationally and transition planning locally towards a low-carbon future. He is also Chairman of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) Asia-Pacific Advisory Board and a member of the GFANZ Principals Group.

Mr Menon is Chairman of the Global Finance & Technology Network, which harnesses technology and fosters innovation for more efficient, resilient, and inclusive financial ecosystems globally. He is also a Trustee of the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Chairman of its Innovation and Enterprise Committee.

Mr Menon is Chairman of ImpactSG, a philanthropy which aims to grow a community of purposeful givers in Singapore and Asia. He is also a Board Member of The Majurity Trust, a charity which deploys cause-based funds for social needs; and a Trustee of the Singapore Indian Development Association, a community self-help group.

Prior to his current roles, Mr Menon served for 36 years in the Singapore Public Service.

As Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (2011-23), Mr Menon oversaw monetary and macroprudential policies, reformed the financial regulatory framework, and developed Singapore as a green finance centre and a global FinTech hub. On the international front, he served as Chairman of the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System and Chairman of the Financial Stability Board Standing Committee on Standards Implementation.

As Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Trade & Industry (2007-11), Mr Menon helped to steer the economy during the global financial crisis. As Deputy Secretary at the Ministry of Finance (2003-07), he oversaw fiscal policy and government reserves.

Mr Menon is a recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal from the Singapore Government, the Distinguished Alumni Award from NUS, and the Distinguished Leadership and Service Award from the Institute of International Finance in Washington.

Mr Menon holds a Master's in Public Administration from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Social Science (Honours) in Economics from NUS.

Ray Harishankar is an IBM Fellow in IBM Research focused on Quantum Safe. Ray is responsible for driving the overall strategy for IBM Quantum Safe, quantum safe products and product engineering. Ray leverages the deep technical expertise of IBM in security services, post quantum cryptography and pragmatically applies it at clients. He advocates IBM capabilities and leadership in Quantum Safe with clients.

Ray engages with customers across Insurance, Banking, Tele-Communications and Government and is on the technology advisory council for selected clients and universities.

Ray was nominated as an IBM Fellow in ’06, named an Asian American Engineer of the Year, a Distinguished Alumnus by the OSU College of Engineering and included in Marquis Who’s Who. He holds 25 patents.

[Education]
2016 MBA Columbia, London Business School, and HK University
1999 MA Master of Interpretation and Translation: Ewha Woman’s University 
1996 BS Bachelor of Computer Science and Engineering, 
      Minor in Business Administration: Sogang University

[Professional Experience]
2004~present Toss Bank, CEO
2023~2024 DGB Daegu Bank, CFO/CSO/CDO
2019~2023 HSBC, Korea & Regional CFO/Commercial Banking APAC 
2011~2019 Deutsche Bank, Korea CFO 
2007~2011 Standard Chartered Bank, Director of Strategy

[Qualifications]
2010 FRM (GARP)
2006 CFA (CFA Institute)
2002 US CPA (AICPA)

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.

Rich Verma is chief administrative officer for Mastercard, overseeing the company’s Law, Government Affairs and Policy, Franchise, Corporate Security, Community & Belonging and Global Entity Governance functions. He is a member of the company’s Executive Leadership Team and Management Committee.

Rich has a distinguished background as a public servant. He was deputy secretary of state for management and resources from 2023 to 2025, acting as chief operating officer for the State Department. He was also previously the U.S. ambassador to India and led one of the largest U.S. diplomatic missions championing historic progress in bilateral ties.

Rich also has extensive experience in the private sector. Prior to his State Department tenure, Rich was chief legal officer and head of global public policy at Mastercard. He is a former partner at Steptoe & Johnson and vice chairman of The Asia Group.

He is a U.S. Air Force veteran and the recipient of numerous military and civilian decorations. Rich is a board member of the Ford Foundation and the inaugural President’s Distinguished Fellow at Lehigh, where he earned his Bachelor of Science. Rich also holds post-graduate degrees from American University and Georgetown University, including a PhD in International Relations from Georgetown.

Roy T. Fielding, Senior Principal Scientist at Adobe, is known for his pioneering work on the World Wide Web, open source, and software architecture. He is a founder and former chairman of The Apache Software Foundation, author of the Apache License 2.0, and editor of the IETF standards for HTTP, URI, and URI Templates. Dr. Fielding defined the REST architectural style in his Ph.D. dissertation in Information and Computer Science at the University of California, Irvine.

Sunil Sabharwal is a highly successful, experienced fintech executive, and currently is Chairman of TookiTaki, an AI-native Compliance & AML solutions company headquartered in Singapore. He is an investor and on the boards of Thunes (Singapore), DTOne (UAE) and Finexio (USA). Mr Sabharwal was Chairman of Earthport, a regulated cross-border payments company, which he sold to Visa. He also served as the US board member at the IMF across two administrations, a position requiring Senate confirmation, and received US Treasury’s Distinguished Service Award. Mr Sabharwal was also Chairman of Ogone, a leading European payment services company, subsequently sold to Ingenico. Before setting up his own firm, he had a career with GE Capital, First Data Corporation, the EBRD, Coopers and Lybrand and GTE.
Mr Sabharwal has a long-standing engagement with the Olympic movement as a volunteer leader, including with an International Olympic Committee (IOC) commission, World Athletics, the International Fair Play Committee, and the International Fencing Federation (FIE).

Ms Tan Su Shan is the CEO and Director of DBS Group. DBS is the largest bank in Southeast Asia.

Su Shan was previously the Deputy CEO and Group Head of Institutional Banking, and before that, Group Head of Consumer Banking and Wealth Management for close to a decade. She was also the President Commissioner for PT Bank DBS Indonesia from 2014 to 2024.

Su Shan has over 35 years of experience in consumer banking, wealth management and institutional banking. Besides Singapore, she has experience in major financial centres such as Hong Kong, Tokyo and London. Before joining DBS, Su Shan was Morgan Stanley’s Head of Private Wealth Management for Southeast Asia. She has also worked at Citibank and prior to that at ING Barings.

She served as a Nominated Member of Parliament in Singapore from 2012 to 2014. In August 2025, Su Shan was also appointed by the Singapore Government to the Economic Strategic Review Committee on Global Competitiveness which seeks to strengthen Singapore’s economic standing and relevance to the world.

In 2025, Su Shan ranked 6th globally in Fortune’s Most Powerful Women in Business List, making her the only Singaporean to feature in the Top 10. In 2024, she was also featured on Forbes Asia’s Power Businesswomen List.

In 2019, The Asset named Su Shan as one of the six women in Asia who are likely to influence and feature prominently in shaping the banking and associated financial services industry in Asia.

In 2018, she was nominated by Forbes Magazine as a “Top 25 Emergent Asian Woman Business Leader”. In the same year, she was also named “Retail Banker of the Year”, by the Digital Banker in their inaugural Global Retail Banking Innovation Awards. She was awarded the “Lifetime Achievement” award at the WealthBriefingAsia 2018 Awards.

In October 2014, Su Shan became the first Singaporean to be recognised as the world’s “Best Leader in Private Banking” by PWM/The Banker, a wealth publication by the Financial Times Group.

Su Shan sits on the advisory board of Dyson’s family office, Weybourne Holdings, as well as on the boards of the Singapore Economic Development Board and Climate Impact X Pte Ltd. She was previously on the board of the Central Provident Fund of Singapore (CPF Board), MPACT Management Ltd. (the Manager of Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust), EvolutionX Debt Capital Pte. Ltd. (a fund focused on growth debt, founded jointly by Temasek and DBS), and The Singhealth Fund Limited, which provides financial support to needy patients.

Married with two children, Su Shan is actively involved in fund-raising efforts for various Singapore charities. She is a member of the International Women’s Foundation and the Young Presidents Organisation, as well as an advisor to Oxford University's Lincoln College. She is also the Founder President of the Financial Women’s Association in Singapore, a non-profit organisation she founded and pioneered in 2001 to help develop and mentor women in the financial industry.

Su Shan graduated with a Master of Arts from Lincoln College, Oxford University where she studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics. She has also completed executive leadership courses in Harvard Business School, Stanford Business School, and Singularity University.

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Chairman, MD, and CEO of One97 Communications

Vijay Shekhar Sharma is the founder of Paytm and an Indian technology innovator who has transformed the mobile payments and financial services distribution landscape in the country. He led India’s shift towards a mobile-first economy and pioneered innovations such as QR code-based payments, Soundbox, and card machines—redefining the way Indians transact.

A firm believer in the power of emerging technologies, Vijay has been at the forefront of India's Artificial Intelligence revolution, driving advancements that enhance financial inclusion, strengthen digital infrastructure, and drive innovation in the payments ecosystem.

He is also a prolific investor, supporting startups across fintech, e-commerce, and technology, shaping the future of India’s tech landscape and reinforcing the country’s position as a global leader in digital advancements.

Since joining SMBC in 1988, Yoshihiro (Hiro) Hyakutome has built extensive experience in corporate banking, structured finance and business development. From 1993 to 2011, he was based in New York, where he held managerial positions across departments including special credit, corporate finance, structured finance, and leasing finance. Between 2011 and 2017, he served in Tokyo as General Manager in various roles within the International Banking Unit and Emerging Markets Business Department. From April 2018 to March 2019, he was Deputy Head of the Asia Growing Markets Division, based in Jakarta. He became CEO of SMBC Americas Division and SMBC Americas Holdings, Inc. in April 2019 and served as Group Chief Compliance Officer from April 2022. Since April 1, 2024, Hiro has been leading SMBC’s global business as Co-Head of the Global Banking Unit, and he was appointed Deputy President Executive Officer on April 1, 2025.