FINTECH: Building on the Momentum

Increasing role of Fintech in connecting the world
Shift from competition to collaboration through implementation of cross-border regulatory regimes
Role of fintech development in international trade and Instant Payments standardizations
Role of open banking and embedded finance in driving innovation and increasing access to financial instruments and financial inclusion within population
Cross country collaborations around issuing Stablecoins (Central Bank Digital Currencies – CBDC)
Role of blockchain and cryptocurrency in financial services – challenges of regulation against technological benefits

Aaron Heslehurst

Award Winning BBC World News TV Presenter

Aaron Heslehurst is one of the main faces on BBC World News TV. He’s been a high profile BBC business news presenter since February 2002. In May of 2017 he launched his own named show Talking Business with Aaron Heslehurst”. A daily half hour global show that's dynamic, exciting and very energized.

more
Papuna Lezhava

Deputy Governor and a Member of the Board of the National Bank of Georgia

Mr. Papuna Lezhava is a Deputy Governor and a Member of the Board of the National Bank of Georgia since December 2018.

more
Ronit Ghose

Global Head, Сiti

Ronit Ghose is the Global Head, Future of Finance, Citi’s think tank for the future of money and technology. Ronit’s current areas of focus include Digital Assets, the Metaverse, Web3, the applications of AI to Finance and other frontier topics. Previously, Ronit was Global Head of Banks and Fintech Research for Citi.

more
Salim Dhanani

CEO & Co-Founder of Pave

Salim Dhanani is CEO & Co-Founder of Pave, a digital solution built for a new financial world with programmable money and regulated digital assets. Prior to Pave, Salim co-founded and was the CEO of BigPay (acquired by klse:capitala), one of the largest Southeast Asian neobanks raising over US$165m in capital and with 1.3m users. He was responsible for the EMEA division of Carta Worldwide (acquired by nasdaq:mogo), a digital payments platform, and worked for the World Bank Group in South America.

more
James Wallis

Vice President, Ripple

James Wallis is the VP of Central Bank Engagements at Ripple, which is the leading blockchain based cross-border payments network, working with financial services companies to accelerate and globally scale adoption of blockchain based technology and digital assets.

more
Andreas Glarner

Legal Partner, MME

Dr. Andreas Glarner advises international technology and financial market companies with a focus on FinTech, Web3, DLT, Blockchain, Decentralized Finance (DeFi), NFT and Gaming.

more
Frederik Gregaard

CEO of the Cardano Foundation

Frederik Gregaard is CEO of the Cardano Foundation, an independent, Swiss-based not-for-profit organization tasked with advancing the public digital infrastructure Cardano, while also contributing to the positive advancement of blockchain as a world-changing technology. A leader in fintech and blockchain, Gregaard has a background in banking, wealth management, and asset management.
Pedro Vieira

Partner at 500 Global

Scientist, turned tech founder, turned investor. Pedro has deep experience on both sides of the table as operator and investor. He founded and sold GoodGuide, a digital health venture (backed by NEA & DFJ). Following that he founded West to West a US non-profit that helps Portuguese & EU entrepreneurs succeed in Silicon Valley (200+ portfolio).

more
Vlad Martynov

Head of the Ethereum Competence Center

Vlad is a seasoned entrepreneur, investor and visionary in the tech industry. He began his professional career in the late 90s as a senior manager at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). In 2017, Vlad launched Blockgeeks a blockchain education and media platform and became a member of the Advisory Board of the Ethereum Foundation. He continued his association with Ethereum in 2018 by establishing the Ethereum Competence Center. In 2018, Vlad co-founded the investment fund BR Capital, which focuses on blockchain-based startups in decentralized finance. Since 2021, Vlad has been an angel investor and advisor to numerous startups pioneering AI and blockchain technologies.

more