SPEAKERS

Arfan Ali

President & Managing Director,
Bank Asia Ltd

Mr. Md. Arfan Ali has been the President & Managing Director of Bank Asia since 2016. Prior to this, he was the Additional Managing Director of Bank Asia Limited. A career banker, Mr. Md. Arfan Ali, is an MBA from the IBA, Dhaka University, having more than 30 years of diverse experience in banking profession to his credit. He started his career with Arab Bangladesh Bank Limited as a Probationary Officer in 1991. Later he joined Hanil Bank in 1996 and played key roles in setting up of its Dhaka Office. He joined Bank Asia in 1999 as Assistant Vice President before it started its operation and played vital role at the preoperational stage of launching formal operations of a newly established local bank. Mr. Md. Arfan Ali pioneered and championed Agent Banking operations in Bangladesh. Presently, He is the Chairperson of the SWIFT Member & User Group in Bangladesh. Recently, he has been appointed member of the Board of Directors of The World Savings and Retail Banking Institute (WSBI). He was also the Secretary General of Association of Bankers Bangladesh (ABB). He had worked as part time lecturer of Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Jahangirnagar University for 11 years. He is also current advisor to Bangladesh Money Market Dealers Association (BAMDA).

Burkhard Balz

Executive Board Member,
Bundesbank

Burkhard Balz joined  the board of Germany’s central bank, back in 2018. Prior to that, he served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Germany since 2009.

Between 2000 and 2009, Mr. Balz held various positions at Commerzbank in Hannover, Frankfurt am Main, Tokyo, London and Brussels.

As Member of the European Parliament, he was a member of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON), the Special Committee on the Financial, Economic and Social Crisis (CRIS) and the Parliament’s delegation for relations with the countries of Southeast Asia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).[2] In 2013, he served as the Parliament’s rapporteur on Latvia’s accession to the eurozone. He joined the Special Committee on Tax Rulings and Other Measures Similar in Nature or Effect in 2015 and the Committee of Inquiry into Money Laundering, Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion in 2016.

Shlomo
Ben-Ami

Vice President,
Toledo International Center for Peace

From 1987 until 1991, before he entered politics, he was the Israeli ambassador to Spain. In 1996 he was elected to the Knesset on Labour’s list.

When the One Israel-led government of Ehud Barak took office in July 1999, Ben-Ami became the Minister of Internal Security, responsible for the Israel Police. In August 2000, when David Levy resigned as Foreign Minister during talks with Palestinian leaders in the United States, Barak designated Ben-Ami to be the acting Foreign Minister and he was officially appointed to the role in November 2000.

He is currently Vice-President of the Toledo International Centre for Peace (TICpax), which, according to its mission statement, “seeks to contribute to the prevention and resolution of violent or potentially violent international or intranational conflicts and to the consolidation of peace, within a framework of respect and promotion of Human Rights and democratic values.” He is a regular contributor to Project Syndicate since 2006.

Monika Frech

Managing Director,
Yunus Social Business

Monika is passionate about corporate social innovation. She deeply believes in the power of co-creation to design and change systems that benefit communities and our shared ecosystem. With her team at Yunus Social Business, she empowers corporate leaders to turn their companies into a force for good.
Monika is the co-founder of Dark Horse, a Berlin-based innovation and transformation consultancy.
Together with her 29 co-founders, she developed a highly participatory and iterative organizational model for continuous change. She has taught at the HPI School of Design Thinking and co-authored „Thank god it’s Monday“, a book about Dark Horse’s human-centered way of working.
Monika has been recognized as „Top 40 under 40“ by the German business magazine Capital and „One of 25 woman who revolutionize our economy“ by EditionF, a German platform for female empowerment.

José Manuel Campa

Chairperson,
European Banking Authority

After studying law and economics at the University of Oviedo and earning his PhD in economics from Harvard University, Mr. Campa taught finance at New York University and the IESE Business School and consulted for a number of international organisations including the World Bank, the IMF, the Bank for International Settlements and the European Commission.

He then served as the 10th Secretary of State for Economy of the Spanish government and was most recently Director of Regulatory affairs of the Santander Bank.

Santiago Carbo

Director of Financial Research,
FUNCAS

Born in Gandía (Valencia) in 1966. BA in Economics (Universidad de Valencia), PhD in Economics (University of Wales, UK). Professor of Economics at the Universidad de Granada. Head of Financial Studies and Executive Director of the Observatory for Financial Digitalization at FUNCAS. Independent board member at Cecabank and the Instituto Valenciano de Finanzas. Consultant to the World Bank. Former Consultant at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and the European Central Bank. He has written over 300 scientific and technical articles. He appears in media and currently is a weekly columnist at El País.

Mukwandi Chibesakunda

Chief Executive Officer,
ZANACO, Zambia

She is a Past President of the Zambian Institute of Banking and Financial Services, and hails with wide experience in various Financial Service Industry roles. With a banking career spanning over 14 years, she served as first female Managing Director for Access Bank Zambia Ltd.

Prior to her appointment as Chief Executive Officer for Zanaco, she served as Managing Director National Savings and Credit Bank. She has also served in Executive capacities at Stanbic Bank Zambia as Head of Personal and Business Banking, and at Standard Chartered Bank Plc as Executive Director Consumer Banking. Mukwandi has been featured in various leading publications such as the Forbes Magazine and African Leadership Magazine, addressing subjects on leading transformational growth and supporting the growth of SME’s.

She has also been very instrumental and influential at The Africa List level and has earned various awards as a leader that drives performance. In February 2019, she was one of ten delegates from across the African continent conferred with a leadership award from the African Leadership Magazine, in recognition of her corporate governance leadership.

She holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA), a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Zambia and a postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration from Manchester Business School.

Isidro Fainé

President,
WSBI

Mr. Faine is currently the Chairman of the Spanish Confederation of Savings Banks (CECA) and the World Savings Banks Institute (WSBI) and Vice-Chairman of the European Savings Banks Group (ESBG).

Mr. Fainé is Chairman and member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees of Fundación Bancaria Caixa d’Estalvis i Pensions de Barcelona, “la Caixa”, and Chairman and member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of Criteria Caixa, S.A.U. He is also Honorary Chairman of Naturgy Energy Group, S.A., Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of Telefónica, S.A., and Special Advisor of the Board of The Bank of East Asia.

He  began his professional banking career as Director of Investment at Banco Atlántico in 1964 and was appointed Managing Director of Banco de Asunción in Paraguay in 1969. On his return to Barcelona, he held various management positions in financial institutions: Staff Director at Banca Riva y García (1973), Board Member and Managing Director of Banca Jover (1974) and Managing Director of Banco Unión (1978). In 1982, he joined ”la Caixa” as Deputy-General Director, subsequently taking on various positions of responsibility. In April 1991, he was appointed Assistant Executive Managing Director and in 1999, Managing Director of the entity, and assumed the Chair in June 2007 until June 2014. Mr. Fainé served as Chairman of CaixaBank, S.A. from 2011 until his resignation as a member of the Board of Directors in 2016 and as member of Suez, S.A. from October 2014 until October 2020.

He holds a Doctorate Degree in Economics Sciences from the University of Barcelona, an ISMP in Business Administration from Harvard University, and a post graduate degree in Senior Management at IESE.

Giuseppe Ghisolfi

Chairman International Relations Committee,
acri, italy

Beppe Ghisolfi is President of the “Accademia di educazione finanziaria” (Financial education Academy) and he is member of the Acri Banking Committee with responsibility of international relations affairs and member of the Board of Directors at the World Savings and Retail Banking Institute (WSBI)

He is the author of several financial literacy books: “Manuale di educazione finanziaria”; “Banchieri”; “Lessico finanziario”; “Visti da vicino”; “Le Fondazioni. Manuale di navigazione”; “Abbecedario. Le parole dell’economia” (all published by Aragno).

Dominique Goursolle-Nouhaud

President,
ESBG

President of the National Federation of French Savings Banks, she was elected to lead ESBG in December 2021, being the first woman ever to hold this post.  She succeeded  Helmut Schleweis, President of Deutscher Sparkassen– und Giroverband (the German Savings Banks Association).

Dr. Janine Händel

Chief Executive Officer,
Roger Federer Foundation

Dr. Janine Haendel joined the Roger Federer Foundation in 2010, seven years after its inception. She describes the Foundation as a learning organization, which is still only at the beginning of its journey. Through her leadership and professional approach, the Foundation has transformed itself from a straightforward donation charity to an ambitious impact oriented and professional and systemic operation close to its heart. She served for eight years as a Swiss diplomat with a focus on conflict transformation and human rights. Moreover, she was the head of philanthropy at the chairman’s office of a global company. and holds a doctor in law. She describes herself as a “naïve optimist”, believing that things can be changed for the better, and has devoted her professional life to humanitarian causes across the world. As a board member of and a philanthropy advisor to other foundations she combines her experience in strategic grant-making with her knowhow in good governance and community development.

Mary Huen

Chairwoman, HK Association of Banks
& CEO, Standard Chartered

Mary Huen was appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Hong Kong in March 2017, and took on an expanded role as Cluster CEO for Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau in January 2021.  She joined the Group’s Management Team in December 2021.  She sits on the board of Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited and is chairperson of Mox Bank Limited since its inception.

She has over 30 years of experience in business management and banking services. Since joining the bank in 1991, she has held various key positions across balance sheet product management, wealth management and distribution. Prior to her current role, Mary was Regional Head of Retail Banking, Greater China & North Asia, and the Head of Retail Banking, Hong Kong.

Mrs. Huen is the chairperson of the Hong Kong Association of Banks, a member of the Banking Advisory Committee of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Financial Infrastructure and Market Development Sub-Committee and the Currency Board Sub-Committee under the Exchange Fund Advisory Committee. She is also a representative of Hong Kong, China to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Advisory Council, the chairperson of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council Financial Services Advisory Committee and the Asian Financial Forum Steering Committee, a board member of the Hong Kong Tourism Board and Hospital Authority.

Sibel Kulaksiz

Senior Economist, South Asia Region,
World Bank Group

Sibel Kulaksiz is a Senior Economist with the World Bank Group South Asia Region, based in Washington, D.C. She also served as Country Economist for Middle East and Africa regions task-managing macroeconomic policy work with a focus on economic growth, financial sector, fiscal policy and management, and regional economic integration issues. Ms. Kulaksiz is the lead author of numerous World Bank publications including the “Over the Horizon: A New Levant,” a sub-regional economic integration vision which proposes comprehensive economic and social development reforms and multi-country investment projects. She has in-depth experience in leading analytical and operational work, including large budget support operations, while providing policy advice to governments in the areas of economic policy, banking, trade competitiveness, and public spending efficiency. Ms. Kulaksiz is experienced in crisis recovery and conflict stabilization operations with a focus on addressing economic impacts of shocks. She is currently the focal point for corporate priorities such as women’s empowerment and climate change. Ms. Kulaksiz holds a masters degree in Economics from Hacettepe University as well as a masters degree in International Development from the Johns Hopkins University. She completed the executive education program in Economic Growth at Harvard University Kennedy School Government.

Mairead McGuinness

Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union
European Commission

Mairead McGuinness is the European Commissioner for financial services, financial stability and Capital Markets Union.

The Commissioner’s vision for the portfolio is focused on ensuring the financial sector’s strength and stability, so that it can deliver for people, society and the environment.

Before joining the Commission in October 2020, Ms McGuinness was First Vice-President of the European Parliament from 2017. She served as an MEP from Ireland for 16 years, and was a Vice-President of the Parliament since 2014.

As Vice-President, she oversaw relations with national Parliaments, led the Parliament’s dialogue with religious and philosophical organisations, and had responsibility for the Parliament’s communication policy.

During her time in the Parliament, Ms McGuinness sat on a range of committees, covering agriculture, environment, public health, budgets, petitions and constitutional affairs. Her legislative work included leading for the EPP Group on the European Climate Law, the revision of medical devices legislation, and CAP reform post-2013. As an Irish MEP representing the border region, she was outspoken on Brexit and the consequences for the EU and Ireland.

In 2006-2007, Ms McGuinness chaired the Parliament’s investigation into the collapse of the Equitable Life assurance company which identified issues around weak financial regulation.

Prior to becoming an MEP, she was an award-winning journalist, broadcaster and commentator.

Francis Malige

Managing Director Financial Institutions,
EBRD

He leads the Bank’s investments in the financial sector, including banks as well as insurance companies, non-bank financial institutions and capital market infrastructure companies, across three continents. He took up his role in August 2018.

From 2014 to 2018, he served as Managing Director, Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, leading the Bank’s operations and policy initiatives in Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. In Ukraine, he led the EBRD through the difficult post-revolution period, to develop a number of initiatives blending investment and policy impact, including the Ukraine Reforms Architecture.

A French national, Mr Malige joined the EBRD in February 2010 as a Director in the Financial Institutions team, where he successfully developed the Bank’s business in the Western Balkans, Eastern Europe, Turkey and, later, the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean.

Before joining the EBRD, he was Managing Director for Corporate Development at BNP Paribas, focusing on bank acquisitions. His earlier career was in accounting and consulting, at Arthur Andersen and McKinsey & Company, where he served clients in industry, high tech and construction, as well as financial services.

José María Méndez

Director General,
Spanish Association of Savings Banks (CECA)

José María Méndez Álvarez-Cedrón is Director General of the Spanish Association of Savings Banks (CECA) and Chief Executive Officer of Cecabank, S.A. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the European Savings and Retail Banking Group (ESBG). Besides, he belongs to the Advisory Committee of the National Securities Markets Commission (CNMV) and to the Advisory Committee of the European Banking Institute (EBI).

He is part of the High Civil Administrators State Body and he obtained his Bachelor´s degree in Law from the University of Santiago de Compostela. He also holds a degree in Political and Administration Sciences from the University Autónoma of Madrid. Furthermore, he completed the Senior Management Program (PADE) at the IESE Business School.

Reinhold Messner

Mountaineer, Founder of messner mountain museum

Reinhold Messner was born at the small village of St. Peter, close to Brixen in South Tyrol and had his first climb above 3000 metres with his father at the age of 5. He turned out to become the first human to climb the 14 world peaks above 8.000 metres as well as the so-called “Seven Summits” (the highest points of each continent) without the use of oxygen. He also crossed alone the Antarctic, Greenland and the Gobi and Takla Makan deserts. After his mandate at the European Parliament with the Greens/EFA group, he concentrated his activities to his mountain museums in his homeland and his foundation, which aims to assist mountainous people around the world cope with the consequences of climate change and the negative impact of excessive tourism. He helps rebuilding hospitals and schools and supports students through grants and scholarships. Reinhold Messner is an active advocate of “pure alpinism” that would reduce the environmental impact of climbing activities.

Flore-Anne Messy

Head of Consumer Finance, Insurance and Pensions Division,
OECD

She is the Head of Consumer Finance, Insurance and Pensions Division of the OECD Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs, Secretary General of the International Organisation of Pension Supervisors (IOPS) and Executive Secretary of the OECD International Network on Financial Education (INFE).

She joined the OECD in June 2000 to develop the activities of the Insurance and Private Pensions Committee. After several years working on the development of pensions, insurance and financial market policy issues, she launched and steered the OECD work on financial literacy and consumer protection (including the OECD/INFE, PISA financial literacy exercises, the G20/OECD Task Force on Financial Consumer Protection and the secretariat of FinCoNet). From 2016, she headed successively the OECD Insurance Private Pensions and Financial Market Division and the Consumer Finance, Insurance and Pensions Division.

Prior to the OECD she worked as a consultant and auditor for banks and insurance companies at Deloitte Touche Tomatsu. She graduated from the Institute of Political Studies of Paris and received her thesis in international economics from University Pantheon-Sorbonne of Paris.

Laurent Mignon

Chief Executive Officer,
Groupe BPCE

Laurent Mignon has been the Chairman of the Management Board of Groupe BPCE since June 1st, 2018.

He is also Chairman of the Board of Directors of Crédit Foncier, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Natixis, Chairman of CE Holding Participations, a director of CNP Assurances, a director of Sopassure, the lead director of PJ Solomon in New York, a director of Arkema and a director of AROP (a not-for-profit association promoting the Paris National Opera).

After graduating from HEC in 1986 and the Stanford Executive Program, Laurent Mignon worked for Banque Indosuez for over 10 years, initially in capital markets, then in corporate & investment banking. In 1996, he joined Banque Schroders in London, then AGF (Assurances Générales de France) in 1997 as Chief Financial Officer. He was appointed to the AGF Executive Committee in 1998, then as Deputy Chief Executive Officer in charge of Banque AGF, AGF Asset Management and AGF Immobilier in 2002, then Chief Operating Officer in charge of life insurance & financial services and credit insurance in 2003. In 2006, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Executive Committee. From 2007 to 2009, he was managing partner at Oddo & Cie.

Sabasaba Moshinghi

Chief Executive Officer,
TPB Bank, Tanzania

Sabasaba Moshingi joined TPB Bank in 2011 as Chief Executive Officer. Prior to this Mr. Moshingi was Regional Head of Consumer Banking Operational Risk and Sales Governance in Northern Gulf, Levant and Oman based in the Kingdom of Bahrain for Standard Chartered Bank from 2007.

Mr. Moshingi, a seasoned banker is also a Board Member and Vice President – Presidents Committee of the World Savings and Retail Banking Institute (WSBI Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium), Governing Council Member and Representative in East African Community of the Tanzania Bankers Association, Governing Council Member and Chairman Education Committee of the Tanzania Institute of Bankers, Board Member of the Association of Savings Banks of East Africa, Board Member and Vice Chairman of the UmojaSwitch, Board Member Association of Tanzania Employers (ATE), an Advisory Board Member of AIESEC Tanzania and an Eisenhower Fellow.

Mr. Moshingi is a certified chartered banker with a Master of Business Administration (Finance) from the University of Dar-es-Salaam.

Rédouane Najm Eddine

President,
Al Barid Bank

Redouane Najm Eddine holds a PhD in Finance from Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne University; currently he is the director of the largest Moroccan public bank. And he has proven experience in project management and management, particularly in the services, strategy, finance and banking sectors.

With more than 26 years of experience, including 7 years as Chairman of the Management Board of Al Barid Bank, which he created in 2010. Mr. Redouane Najm Eddine has accumulated several management positions, notably as Director of the Finance Department of Crédit du Maroc group from 1989 to 2004 and then as Director in charge of planning and Group Control (merger / acquisition) Attijari Wafabank.

Roel Nozeman

Senior Advisor, Biodiversity,
ASN Bank

Roel Nozeman is the chair of PBAF (the Partnership for Biodiversity Accounting Financials) at ASN Bank.  He is responsible for the biodiversity strategy and activities of ASN Bank and the De Volksbank group. With a diverse background in both the financial and the environmental sector he strives to bring these different worlds together and contribute to a sustainable future.

Johanna Orth

Head of Group Regulatory Affairs,
Swedbank

Johanna Orth is Head of Group Regulatory Affairs at Swedbank since May 2016. She leads a team of senior regulatory experts responsible for Swedbank’s response to new regulatory reforms. In this role she advises the CEO, the CFO and other members of the Group Executive Committee on regulatory policy matters. Her team is dedicated to understanding the impact of legislative and regulatory developments on Swedbank’s customers and business. She actively participates in the debate on regulatory developments in the EU and in Swedbank’s home markets. Johanna also represents Swedbank in several committees of the European Savings and Retail Banking Group, the European Banking Federation and the Swedish Bankers’ Association.

Before joining Swedbank, Johanna worked for 5 years as a senior advisor for the Swedish Bankers’ Association, and for 12 years in the Swedish Government Offices, both in the Finance Ministry and in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. During this time, she was the Deputy Head of the Banking Division at the Swedish Ministry of Finance and Head of Delegation of Sweden to the Financial Action Task Force, FATF. She started her career in an investment bank after she absolved her Masters’ degree in Economics & Finance from Lund University and had studied finance at the University of Mannheim. Johanna is a Member of the EBA Banking Stakeholder Group since 2020. Her focus areas in the EBA BSG are financial stability (capital adequacy & resolution), AML, the digitalization of the financial sector and sustainable finance.

Franz-Karl Prüller

Senior Advisor,
Erste Foundation

Franz Karl Prüller currently serves as Senior Advisor to the Management Board of ERSTE Foundation and Savings Bank Group in Austria. Before this Franz Karl was a member of the Management Board of ERSTE Foundation where he also served as CEO and Chairman. He joined ERSTE Foundation in 2005 as Programme Director for Social Development building and directing support to social service CSOs in Central and South-Eastern Europe as well as developing the social business and impact investment activities of ERSTE Foundation.

Prior to 2005 he held various positions in Caritas Austria (1988-2005), where he last served as Secretary General in charge of International Programmes from 1996 to 2005.

He holds a BA in International Studies from Webster University, St. Louis/USA and a Master of Science degree in Development Management from the Open University in England.

He serves as Deputy-Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Zweite Sparkasse in Austria and on the Supervisory Board of Banca Comerciale Romania Social Finance, a microfinance institute in Romania, as well as in the Steering Committee of the European Fund for the Balkans. Franz Karl is Deputy Chairman of the Network of European Foundations (NEF) and from 2014 – 2020 represented ERSTE Foundation in the Governing Council of the European Foundation Centre.

Franz Karl also holds board positions at Katharina Turnauer Foundation as well as the Sinnbildungsstiftung, a foundation to promote innovation in education in Austria.

Ikromi Sirojiddin

Chairman of the Board,
SSB RT Amonatbonk, Tajikistan

Ikromi Sirojiddin is the Chairman of the Board of the SRB RT “Amonatbonk”. Between 1999 and 2005, he held various positions at SRB RT “Amonatbonk”. In 2015, he was appointed as Deputy Governor of the Board of the National Bank of Tajikistan.

Since January 2019, he is the Chairman of the Board of the State Savings Bank of the Republic of Tajikistan “Amonatbonk”.

Laurent Roubin

Vice President,
FNCE

Laurent Roubin is graduated from Centrale Paris School and Standford University (Executive Program). He also holds a MBA from Paris-Dauphine University. He starts his career in 1992 in the holding of Compagnie Bancaire Group and then leads the Risk department in CETELEM Spain (BNP PARIBAS Group). In 1996, he joins PriceWaterhouseCoopers in the Banking and Financial Institutions department. He is appointed in Caisse d’Epargne Pas-de-Calais’ management board in 2002, in charge of Finance and Risk.

In 2005, he enters Ixis Asset Management and takes the lead of Operations. He joins the Caisses d’Epargne National Federation in 2008 to lead the Business Development for the Caisses d’Epargne in BPCE. In 2011, he is appointed President of the board management of the Caisse d’Epargne in Picardie.

In 2016, he becomes a member of the board management of BPCE group, managing director of Retail Banking and Insurance. In 2018, he is appointed Chairman of the board at Caisse d’Epargne Hauts de France.

In 2021, he is appointed Co-Chairman of the Caisses d’Epargne National Federation and Natixis member of the Board.

Laurent Roubin is also the Chairman of the board of SIA and SIGH, real estate companies of social housing.

Almorò Rubin de Cervin

Acting Director, General Affairs,
DG FISMA, European Commission

Almorò Rubin de Cervin graduated in economics from the Bocconi University in Milan. Before joining the European Commission, he gained some experience as a journalist and politician in Italy. He has also worked as government official in Italy and at the OECD in Paris.He joined the European Commission in 2000. He has worked in DG Enterprise on industrial policies and SMEs and in DG Competition, in particular in the area of State aid control. Since 2010 he has been working on financial services policies. For a number of years he has been working on policy coordination and on international issues. In 2016 and 2017, he was Head of the Unit in charge of macro prudential policies. He has been coordinating the work on financial services in the context of Brexit. He is now Head of Unit for International Affairs in DG FISMA and is also acting Director of the General Affairs Directorate, which is in charge of the general coordination of all external and inter-institutional relations as well as steering FISMA’s general policy.

Helmut Schleweis

President,
German Savings Banks Association

Helmut Schleweis has been President of the German Savings Banks Association (DSGV) since January 2018. He is also Chairman of the Administrative Board of DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Berliner Sparkasse, Landesbank Berlin Holding AG and Berlin Hyp AG.  

Helmut Schleweis was a member of the Board of Directors of Sparkasse Heidelberg from 1988 to 2017, and Chairman of the Board since 2002. From 2010 to 2017, he was the Federal Chairman of the German Savings Banks.

Helmut Schleweis has been Vice President of the European Savings and Retail Banking Group (ESBG) since January 2022 and Vice President of the World Savings and Retail Banking Institute (WSBI) since 16 November 2018. From June 2018 until December 2021, he was President of the ESBG.

Peter Simon

Managing Director,
WSBI-ESBG

Peter Simon is Managing Director of WSBI-ESBG since 2021. Previously, he was representative of the German Savings Banks and Giro Association (DSGV) to the European Union.

He has been a member of the European Parliament for 10 years, from 2009 to 2019, where he served as Vice-Chair of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) and coordinator of the S&D group in the Committee of Inquiry to investigate alleged contraventions and maladministration in the application of Union law in relation to money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion (PANA).

From 2007 to 2009, he worked as Manager of Business Development at the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region. Before that, from 1999 to 2007, he was the Head of the Europe Office of the City of Mannheim.

Peter Simon has a background in Law.

Challa Sreenivasulu Setty

Managing Director
state bank of india

Challa Sreenivasulu Setty has taken charge as the Managing Director of State Bank of India with effect from January 20, 2020.

Prior to this role, he was designated as the Deputy Managing Director (DMD) at the bank responsible for resolving the stressed assets portfolio across the country in different sectors such as Oil, Power, Infra, Auto, and Telecom.

He joined as Probationary Officer in 1988 in SBI’s Ahmedabad Circle and went on to work in multiple geographies with specialized exposure in the area of Credit and Stressed Asset Management.

With over 3 decades of experience in various functional areas of Banking, he has held various positions at SBI such as VP & Head (syndications) in SBI, New York Branch, DGM in Commercial Branch, Indore, GM & RH, Corporate Account Group (CAG), Mumbai Branch, CGM, CAG and last assignment as DMD (SARG).

Meriem Bouamrane

Chief of Section, Man and the Biosphere Research & Policy, UNESCO

Meriam Bouamrane is an environmental economist and Head of the Biodiversity and Ecology Research and Policy Section in the Ecological and Earth Sciences Division of the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme. She has worked for the MAB programme since 2001. She is the coordinator of the EuroMAB network and is responsible for research and training programmes, in particular several large-scale projects for the resilience of socio-ecological systems. She is UNESCO’s focal point for cross-sectoral biodiversity strategy within UNESCO, including with CBD and IPBES and the UN Environmental Management Group. She is also a member of the IASC.

Tram Anh Nguyen

Co-Founder
Centre for Finance, Technology & Entrepreneurship (CFTE)

Tram Anh Nguyen is the co-founder of CFTE, based in the UK, setup in 2017, one of the fastest growing knowledge platforms in Fintech and Digital Finance with 100,000+ alumni around the world.

Tram Anh strongly believes that education and training are key to help individuals adapt to a fast changing world. This was the motivation that drove her to launch CFTE to help finance professionals up-skill, find more opportunities and build better finance. With CFTE, she works with governments, policy makers, industry experts and academia to push initiatives in financial education for Finance 2.0.

She serves as Board Advisor EDHEC, NED Passerelles Numeriques, Board Member for the Business France Frenchtech UK, Advisory Board Member of the Association of the Corporates Treasurers, Board Member with Global Impact FinTech (GIFT) Forum. She also co-authored the world’s first Fintech Job Report.

She is an Entrepreneurship Expert at Saïd Business School, Oxford and is an Industry Fellow of Imperial College.

From 2017 until today as Senior Leader Women in Fintech, International speaker at global events, mentor and judge for the industry.

Antoine Hobeiche

Financial expert
Canada

Mr. Hobeiche is the Special Consultant to the Union of Arab Banks, the largest global Arab banking consortium. His more than 25 year-experience is comprised of advising government agencies, banks and non-financial service providers.

Among his executive roles, he has lead the Strategy, Organization, IT, Administration, Purchasing, Operations and Project Management departments; enabling him to heighten the intricate relationships between strategies, processes, systems and business development. He is also the Managing Partner of React-Adapt-Lead Consulting, an advisory firm that has proven expertise in enhancing private & public sector organizations and is one of the founding members of the MENA Financial Crime and Compliance Group, an organization that unites 13 of the largest MENA banks.

On the regional and international front, he remains an active member within the regulatory and intelligence communities as an advisor, negotiator, speaker and writer, with a collaboration network that stems from various levels of liaison engagements. In recognition of his efforts, He was awarded the World Quality Award in Paris- France, the Global Crown Award in London- United Kingdom and was nominated for the Diamond Award New York-USA

Eszter Beretzky

SENIOR KNOWLEDGE EXPERT
McKinsey

Eszter is a member of McKinsey’s Travel, Logistics & Infrastructure Practice and leads the post and parcel-dedicated capability and insights team. With particular expertise in strategy and regulatory topics, she plays a core role in shaping McKinsey’s knowledge development and dissemination for post, parcel, and logistics organizations. She started her career at McKinsey in 2003 as a research analyst. She holds an MS in Finance at the Corvinus University in Budapest and then developed a CEMS MIM in International Management at the Université Catholique de Louvin.

Carme Artigas

State Secretary Digitalisation & Artificial Inteligence, government of spain

Carme Artigas is a Spanish entrepreneur and executive, mainly dedicated to the technology sector. Since 2020 she has been Secretary of State for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence, under the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation. She holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from the Institut Químic de Sarrià (Barcelona) and in Chemical Sciences from Ramon Llull University, as well as a degree in Executive Management in Venture Capital from the Haas School of Economics (Berkeley University) in California. She has been considered “one of the leading experts in the practical application of big data and artificial intelligence in Spain”. She is also an ambassador in Spain for the Women in data science conferences at Stanford University and a member of Columbia University’s Data innovation network.

Ibrahim
Al Rashid

Chief Executive Officer
Social Development Bank (SDB)

Ibrahim Al-Rashid is the chief executive officer and a board member of the Social Development Bank (SDB) in Saudi Arabia. He started at the SDB as vice president for micro and SME financing in 2017. He only held the post for four months before being promoted to director general.

During the pandemic the SDB has helped individuals with social loans to support struggling families as well as businesses ranging from start-ups and micro-businesses to well-established SMEs.

Between 1999 to 2002, Al-Rashid studied at Florida Institute of Technology from where he gained a master’s degree in computer sciences. From there he gained experience at management positions until in 2017 became the CEO of Rawafid, part of Takamol, and then moved to the SDB as vice president for micro and SME financing.

Michael
Atingi-Ego

Deputy Governor
Bank of Uganda

Mr. Michael Atingi-Ego serves as Deputy Governor of the Bank of Uganda since April 2020. Mr. Atingi-Ego, while on leave from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), was the Executive Director of the Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute of Eastern and Southern Africa (MEFMI) from September 2018. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy in economics from the University of Liverpool, Master of Arts in Economics from Cardiff Business School in UK and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Makerere University.  

Christian Castro

Head of Public Affairs
CaixaBank

Mr. Christian Castro is Head of Public Affairs in CaixaBank since 2021. Prior to that, he worked at the Banco de España at the Regulation Department as Head of Division. He developed part of his career at the Bank of England and the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, D.C. (selected as Young Professional). He has been member of more than 20 international Working Groups at the FSB, BCBS, ECB, ESRB and EBA, on macro and microprudential policy.

Roeland Monasch

Chief Executive Officer
Aflatoun International
Until June 2015 Roeland was the UNICEF Representative in Sierra Leone. He was responsible for the UNICEF response during the unprecedented Ebola outbreak in the country. In this capacity he also co-led with the Ministry of Education the reopening of all schools. He also worked as UNICEF Representative in Georgia (2009-2012). He served as UNICEF Representative in Zimbabwe during the Humanitarian Crisis (2008–2009). He joined that Country Office in 2004 as Programme Coordinator.

Previously, Roeland worked in the Strategic Information Unit in UNICEF/HQ on Monitoring the Situation of Children around the World (1998-2004). From 1993-1998 he worked for the World Health Organization. Before joining the UN he worked in Pakistan, Zambia and Bhutan.

Roeland holds a Masters’ degree in Sociology (University of Groningen) and has an additional degree in Development Economics. He has published extensively in the international scientific literature, especially on issues related to Orphans and other Vulnerable Children.