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Mahesh Uttamchandani
Regional Practice Director for Digital & AI, East Asia & Pacific and South Asia
World Bank
Mahesh Uttamchandani is the World Bank’s Regional Practice Director for Digital and AI in East Asia and Pacific (EAP) and South Asia (SAR) regions. In this capacity, he oversees the World Bank’s lending, advisory and knowledge programs in the area of digital transformation and artificial intelligence in all EAP and SAR countries and is a member of the Regional Leadership Teams for both EAP and SAR.
He joined the World Bank in April 2006, as Senior Counsel in the Legal Vice-Presidency. He has since held various positions in both the World Bank and International Finance Corporation, including Global Manager for Financial Inclusion & Infrastructure where he led the Bank's work on expanding access to finance through digital financial services and the financial sector aspects of digital ID and digital payments.
Prior to joining the Bank, Mahesh worked at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London, UK and as a commercial litigator at a leading law firm in Toronto, Canada. He has taught and lectured at universities around the world and has published extensively, including key World Bank publications on fintech and as an author in the World Bank’s flagship World Development Report, 2022.
Speaking at SFF 2026
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2:30–3:00pmThu 19 NovPolicy StageHall 3, Singapore EXPOOpen
Policy Rewiring
When Agents Direct Agents: Who Do You Actually Regulate?
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Claude MarxDirector GeneralLuxembourg Financial Services Regulator (CSSF)
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Daniela StoffelState SecretaryState Secretariat for International Finance (SIF)
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Mahesh UttamchandaniRegional Practice Director for Digital & AI, East Asia & Pacific and South AsiaWorld Bank
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Jonah CraneHead of Global Regulatory & Policy StrategyStripeModerator
About this session
Financial regulation has always assumed that decisions can be traced through a clear chain of human accountability. But as AI agents begin directing other agents, that assumption starts to break down. Agentic AI won't just automate tasks—it has the potential to reshape how financial institutions are organised. Decision-making may shift between people and AI systems, reporting lines become more fluid, and the traditional structures underpinning governance, accountability and supervision begin to evolve. In that world, who is ultimately responsible for a decision? What exactly is a regulator supervising?
Bringing together senior policymakers and regulators, this session explores how supervisory frameworks—from senior manager accountability regimes to board oversight and the three lines of defence—need to adapt for organisations where humans increasingly govern systems that, in turn, govern other systems. The discussion will examine how institutions can demonstrate accountability, maintain effective oversight, and provide regulators with meaningful traceability in increasingly agent-driven operating models. Rather than focusing on individual AI decisions, the panel asks a broader question: how should governance evolve when the organisation itself becomes dynamic? -
