The Global Gathering of Policy, Finance & Technology

Agustín Carstens became General Manager of the BIS on 1 December 2017.

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 has been a member of the Financial Stability Board since 2010 and is a member of the Group of Thirty.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Siddharth Warrier is a Mumbai – based doctor and neurologist. He completed his medical studies from Mumbai, India. And his masters in Neurology course from SGPGI Hospital, Lucknow. He has completed his MRCP UK degree from London.
He is a public speaker and teacher. On his YouTube channel, with more than half a million followers, he teaches neuroscience, mental health and spirituality. His videos explore themes of human behaviour, destigmatizing mental health and facilitating conversations on behaviour change, mindfulness and learning.