Sibos

Albion is a Senior Partner and leader in McKinsey's Global Payments and European Banking practices, where he leads McKinsey’s Payments Practice in Europe Since joining in 2011, Albion has worked with banks, payment specialists, financial technology providers and investors across strategy, M&A, commercial & productivity transformations and digital innovation topics Experience and expertise: - Deep strategy and commercial transformation experience across banking, fintech and payments - Led several company-wide productivity transformations with banks and payment specialists - Led growth acceleration efforts with several payment and embedded finance fintechs, incl. launch in new markets, new value propositions for new segments / verticals, new product build, review of operating model to scale up, etc. - Supported several European banks in setting digital strategy aspiration and developing bank-wide digitization roadmap, incl. digital agenda across retail and corporate bank, new customer-centric solutions, operating model of digital org - Multiple projects supporting banks in development of digital payment and lending solutions (that are live in the market today), covering solution design, growth strategy across consumer and business segments, product dev. roadmap, partner / vendor assessment (“build, buy, partner”), IT and platform requirements - Supported a global merchant services provider in definition of growth strategy across regions, review of operating model across lines of business and support functions, review of merchant offering and eCom acceleration growth strategy - Multiple efforts supporting banks and other players in carve out of payment activities and exit preparation efforts (incl. JV and sales processes), as well as post-merger integration efforts in payments - Reviewed retail payments and consumer finance strategy for a leading European bank, including ideation on new payment solutions, card portfolio optimization (incl. assessment of sourcing options) & sector agenda definition - Supported the creation and/or future development of payment utilities, with a focus on real-time payment systems, cross-border payments, fraud and transaction monitoring - Developed a growth strategy and transformation roadmap across Retail, Institutional and 3P-wholesale for a European Asset Manager - Defined growth strategy for entire Transaction Banking business of a leading European bank, including corporate lending, cash management, trade finance and securities services - Supported a fast-growing FinTech actor in its internationalization strategy by defining priority markets for expansion as well as distribution and pricing models across geographies and customer segments - Regularly leading McKinsey’s research in banking, payments, embedded finance and fintech

Head of Payments Simon joined NatWest in 1994 and brings a wealth of expertise, and end to end experience across payments, with a strong track record in strategic transformation, operations, and product management. As Head of Payments for NatWest Group, Simon is responsible for defining and delivering the bank’s core payments product, including schemes and operational strategy. Simon has led major customer centric innovation programmes, delivering enhancements across payment products to meet evolving customer needs and market demands. His leadership combines strategic vision with execution, ensuring the bank remains competitive in a rapidly changing payments ecosystem. Over the course of his career, Simon has held several senior leadership roles and successfully led large scale transformation initiatives to meet complex regulatory requirements. Simon is widely recognised across the industry, holding senior roles at various industry bodies including Swift UK, Pay.UK, P20 and Pennies, the charity that champions micro donations. Simon is an active contributor to key industry discussions that impact the payments eco-system, supporting collective industry objectives and public interest outcomes.

Lisa Vasic has had a career in banking and finance spanning over 25 years. The early part of her career was spent in Retail and Wealth followed by a move to the Institutional Bank in the mid 90’s across relationship and product roles. In the last 20 years, she has focused on specialising in Transaction Banking with management roles spanning emerging businesses, Business Development, Corporate and Institutional Banking. In 2015, Lisa’s role of managing the Non-Bank Financial Institutions was expanded to encompass Banks with responsibilities across eight geographies, three discreet product lines (Cash, Trade and Clearing) and four sub segments. 2018 saw Lisa take on responsibility for Transaction Banking’s largest geography; Australia and Papua New Guinea. In 2020 Lisa was appointed to lead ANZ’s Transaction Banking business globally with responsibility for distribution and product across Payments & Cash, Correspondent Banking and Trade & Supply Chain. Lisa is degree qualified holding a BA from the University of Sydney with majors in Economics and Economic History and has recently completed a Digital Transformation program at MIT, Cambridge. She is a member of BAFT Transaction Banking Global Leaders.

Hays Littlejohn is CEO of EBA CLEARING, the leading private-industry provider of pan-European infrastructure solutions for euro payments. Prior to that, he held managerial and executive positions in global transaction banking at UBS, covering the areas of product management, relationship management, sales, business development and market infrastructures. Hays also served on the Boards of CLS and EBA CLEARING.

Gayathri Vasudev is the Global Head of Core Payment Rails at J.P. Morgan. Responsible for setting the strategy and developing differentiated solutions to address market needs, Gayathri is focused on defining and building product solutions and the go-to-market strategy leveraging JPM's leadership in Global Clearing, Cross-Currency (FX), ACH and disbursements. She is also responsible for identifying and implementing business initiatives to maximize the P&L and managing overall risk to ensure business soundness. Gayathri has 20+ years of experience in financial services and technology, including almost 15+ years in a global career spanning roles in sales and product management in payments and treasury services. She has been a featured speaker/panelist in many industry forums such as Women in Payments, SIBOS, regional client conferences and NACHA. She represents J.P Morgan on the Payments Risk Committee, SWIFT U.S, National group and has in the past, represented J.P. Morgan on the U.S Renminbi working group, BAFT Global Payments Industry Council ("GPIC) and the Fed's Wholesale Payments Advisory Group. Gayathri has an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, and a Bachelor of Engineering (hons.) from BITS, Pilani.

Mr Stanley Chan is the Group Chief Executive Officer of CMU OmniClear Holdings Limited (CMU OmniClear Holdings) and the Chief Executive Officer of CMU OmniClear Limited (CMU OmniClear). CMU OmniClear is a wholly owned subsidiary of CMU OmniClear Holdings, with the Exchange Fund as the majority shareholder and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) as the minority shareholder. CMU OmniClear carries out the operations and business development activities of the CMU, a debt securities clearing and settlement system on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). Prior to joining CMU OmniClear, Mr Chan was the Division Head of Financial Market Infrastructure Service Division of the HKMA and the Chief Executive Officer of Hong Kong FMI Services Limited. He joined the HKMA in 1995 and served in various areas, including reserves management, financial infrastructure development, bank licensing, and clearing and settlement systems oversight. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and graduated from the University of Adelaide (Australia) with a Master of Business Administration.

Joseph Cox is a partner at Oliver Wyman’s DC office. He leads Oliver Wyman’s work on tokenized money globally, helping banks and other financial institutions with their strategy, product, and risk management for stablecoins and tokenized deposits. Drawing on his career as a central banker and bank regulator, Joe focuses at the intersection of innovation and risk management, leveraging a combination of regulatory insight and in-depth expertise at the frontier of fintech, digital assets, and AI-driven financial innovation. Joe brings long experience from the Federal Reserve, where he focused on the supervision and regulation of innovative new banking activities and the financial and payment system stability and efficiency implications

John Siena, based in London, is Associate General Counsel, Co-Head Regulatory Strategy, for Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. John chairs the Association of Global Custodians’ European Committee as well as the Association of Financial Markets for Europe’s Post-Trade Legal Committee. John sits on UK and EU accelerated settlement industry steering committees, on the ECB’s Advisory Committee for Market Infrastructure and Collateral and on other European and U.S. cross-sector committees with a post-trade focus. John has written books and publications focused mainly on securities custody and dispositions and digital assets and co-chaired the Legal/Regulatory workstreams of the 2023 GDF/ISSA Report, Digital Asset Custody Deciphered: A Primer to Navigating the Challenges of Safeguarding Digital Assets , as well as this year’s GDF/ISDA Report, Unlocking Capital with U.S. Tokenized Money Market Funds for Collateral Mobility. John has taught in Ireland’s Certified Investment Fund Director Institute as well as LL.M courses in financial services law at Leiden University, The Netherlands, King’s College, London, and in Chicago-Kent Law School. John is admitted to the Illinois Bar (1988).

Thilo Derenbach has over two decades of experience in the post-trade securities industry, currently serving as the Head of Business Development and Commercialisation for Digital Securities Services at Clearstream. His career with Deutsche Börse Group spans more than 25 years, the majority of which has been dedicated to various leadership roles within its post-trade business, Clearstream. In his current capacity, Derenbach is at the forefront of innovation, responsible for the business strategy, development, and commercialization of Clearstream's digital and traditional issuer services globally. This includes a focus on the burgeoning field of tokenized assets and digital securities. He is a vocal proponent of the evolution towards digital financial market infrastructure and sees the development of wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) as a key driver for this transformation. Previous roles included Client Relationship Responsibilities for the UK, Ireland and the Americas for Clearstream, running the London office of Clearstream for 7 years as well as several years as head of asset servicing product development.

Wayne Hughes is Head of Digital Assets at the Securities Services business of BNP Paribas. In his role, Wayne works closely with stakeholders from all domains, and with the CIB and Securities Services Digital teams, to collectively drive our strategy and client offering with regards to Digital Assets. Wayne was previously the Head of Data and Digital for Financial Intermediaries & Corporates of Securities Services, BNP Paribas, defining the short and long term roadmap of the bank's digital strategy. He also managed the bank’s digital initiatives from a product perspective, looking for opportunities to enhance service quality and develop new businesses leveraging digital. Wayne has more than 30 years of experience in the securities post-trade industry. He joined JP Morgan in 1994 within the IT department of their securities services business, and then transferred with this business to Paribas / BNP Paribas. He has held numerous management roles as Head of Product and Project teams in Spain, Head of Operations and IT in Spain, and Head of Retail Outsourcing.

Deepa Raja Carbon is the Managing Director of the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, one of the only purpose-built regulators globally dedicated solely to virtual assets. She brings a practical, first-hand perspective from a jurisdiction that has already built and implemented a full regulatory framework for the sector. She has worked directly on areas such as tokenisation, custody, and market conduct, and can speak to what is working in practice, where value is emerging, how institutions are approaching these use cases, and what continues to hold them back. She is also an experienced speaker at other high-level platforms similar to Sibos, and a clear communicator able to translate complex regulatory topics into practical insights for both industry and policy audiences. She can speak to how regulators are supporting scale and innovation without adding unnecessary complexity or reducing supervision. On tokenisation, she can draw on ongoing market activity and pilots across areas such as real estate and commodities, highlighting where traction is emerging and what is required to move from experimentation to scale. Dubai has, in just a few years, become one of the most active hubs for virtual assets and digital finance, offering a useful reference point for other jurisdictions. VARA’s approach, built on regulatory clarity, a principles-based and technology-agnostic framework, and close collaboration with industry, enables innovation while maintaining strong standards around market integrity and consumer protection

"Bhrigu joined HSBC in 2002 and is Chief Product Officer for the bank’s Global Trade Solutions business. He was previously Head of Trade Transformation – a strategic program for HSBC that seeks to transform and digitize trade finance in order to deliver better experiences for clients and colleagues. Prior to this he was responsible for Product Management for HSBC’s Documentary Trade products globally and before that he was responsible for Product Management of HSBC’s Trade and Receivables Finance products in the Asia Pacific region. Bhrigu started his career in India in 1991 and has worked in the HSBC Group, ANZ Grindlays and Standard Chartered Bank in a variety of roles spanning transaction banking, client coverage and investment banking. "

Sofia Hammoucha is the Global Head of Trade and Working Capital at Standard Chartered Bank, based in Singapore. She leads the bank’s global trade business, setting strategy and driving innovation and sustainable growth across trade and working capital solutions. In her role, she drives a strong client centric agenda across the business, ensuring solutions are aligned to clients’ evolving needs across markets. Sofia has over 25 years of experience in Transaction Banking, having held a wide range of senior roles across Europe and Asia Pacific. Her background spans risk management, internal audit, business development and strategy, as well as leadership and change management, giving her deep expertise across the trade and transaction banking value chain in diverse and multicultural environments. She has received multiple industry accolades, including being named Transaction Banker of the Year, in recognition of her leadership and client focused approach. Sofia is a frequent speaker at global trade and transaction banking forums and actively participates in panel discussions across sustainability, trade finance, and women’s leadership. She holds a Master’s degree in Finance from Sorbonne University in Paris, France

Robert is an Audit and Accounting Advisory Partner with over 15 years of experience in complex financial reporting, standard-setting, and emerging accounting issues. His industry experience is primarily in the banking, insurance, and digital asset sectors, having spent his career navigating intricate regulatory landscapes through roles at the SEC’s Office of the Chief Accountant, the FASB, and a global standards secondment with KPMG in London. His varied background across audit, advisory, and regulation gives him a uniquely balanced perspective, with a strong focus on cutting through the complexity of new financial reporting issues to guide leading crypto clients through evolving market standards.

Adolfo leads ServiceNow's Banking strategy, helping financial institutions accelerate AI-driven transformation across operational resilience, regulatory compliance, payments and operations. He brings over 30 years of financial services experience, having worked at five international banks, including Citi, HSBC, Santander, NatWest, and Lloyds Bank. He also worked at McKinsey & Company, Payment Practice, before moving into technology. This combination of frontline banking expertise, strategic consulting and technology gives him a distinctive perspective on what it takes to drive meaningful change inside complex financial institutions.

Dr. Stiene Riemer is a Managing Director & Partner at Boston Consulting Group, the firm's global lead for AI developments in financial institutions, and global chapter lead for Data Science at BCG X. A mathematician by training, with a PhD and Diploma in Mathematics (both with high distinction) from the University of Kiel, where she also held a post-doctoral position and lectureship, she brings a rare combination of technical depth and executive-level transformation experience to the question of how banks can actually build AI that works at enterprise scale. A founding member of BCG X's SmartBanking AI and a BCG Bruce Henderson Award recipient, Stiene has spent over a decade designing and implementing AI for financial institutions worldwide. Her work spans the use cases where data quality and data access matter most: KYC, AML, transaction monitoring, fraud and scam prevention, credit decisioning and monitoring, pricing, cross-sell and retention, and collections optimization. Across her recent BCG publications, a consistent thread runs through her thinking: the gap between banks that get value from AI and those that stay stuck in pilots is rarely about the models themselves. It's about the data foundations, the governance middleware, and the operating discipline that determine whether AI can scale safely inside regulated institutions. In BCG's joint work with OpenAI on agentic AI in retail banking, her recent piece on scaling GenAI in banking compliance, and the firm's research on KYC transformation, she has made the case that strong, connected data architecture (not more pilots) is what unlocks the next wave of impact. For the Sibos audience, Stiene will bring a practitioner's perspective on what it actually takes to move from siloed AI experiments to AI at scale: the data foundations, collaboration patterns, and operating model choices that separate the banks leading the shift from those falling behind.

Ying-Ying Tan is currently Global Head, Custody & Funds Product, Financing & Securities Services (FSS) and is based in Singapore with responsibility for Securities Services products across our global footprint. Ying Ying has been with Standard Chartered since late 2017, most recently as Chief Operating Officer (COO) for FSS where she led the charge for “Securities Services Transformation”, a multi-year initiative that aims to support the future operating model of securities services in light of changing business and operating models. Before being named COO in November 2020, she was the Head of Financing & Securities Services, ASEAN and South Asia for 3 years, where she successfully transformed the profile of Standard Chartered Securities Services in the region. Ying Ying has almost three decades of experience in banking, with a wealth of knowledge across products, geographies and client segments, plus a proven track record in driving business performance Prior to joining SCB in 2017, Ying-Ying was with Deutsche Bank as their Global Head of Product Management, and Regional Head of Securities Services, APAC for 3 years. She also had roles covering cash for both financial institutions and corporates, globally and regionally in her tenure with DB. Ying-Ying is a Singaporean, and holds a Bachelor degree in Computer Science and Information Systems from the University of Singapore.

Barnaby Nelson is CEO and Founder of the ValueExchange. The ValueExchange empowers changemakers in the capital markets, helping them to make better strategic decisions, through impartial and data-driven insights, backed by unique industry experience and engagement. Over 7 years of activity, the VX has produced more than 200 research projects across digital assets and DLT, settlement transformation, clearing and collateral, asset servicing, and investment management operations. Prior to establishing the ValueExchange, Barnaby worked for 15 years in the Asian banking sector. He launched and transformed some of Asia’s largest custody and cash businesses, becoming market leaders. Until 2018, he led Standard Chartered Bank’s custody business in Asia, and prior to that he launched BNP Paribas’ Asian custody business (where he worked for 8 years as Head of Client Development). Throughout Barney’s career, he has focused on market structure, connectivity, and better decision making as key themes. He has worked with regulators, global exchanges, clearing houses, brokers, and investors to ensure that new technologies (e.g. DLT, Al) and market changes (e.g. T+1) are both understood and deployed efficiently.

Head of Investor Services

Diana Rothfuss is Global Director of Solution and Innovation in Risk, Fraud and Compliance for Financial Services at SAS, where she shapes how banks design, govern, and scale decisioning across risk, fraud, and responsible AI. With more than 15 years of experience spanning banking and technology, Diana operates at the intersection of product strategy, innovation, and industry transformation. She works closely with financial services leaders to translate advanced analytics and AI into decisions that are faster, more transparent, and accountable—helping institutions manage fraud and financial crime while maintaining trust and regulatory confidence as decisioning becomes increasingly automated. A recognized thought leader, Diana regularly shares industry perspective through global forums, podcasts, and executive conversations focused on the realities of applying AI in banking. Most recently, she is the host of a new YouTube series centered on candid discussions with industry leaders about how AI is reshaping decision‑making, governance, and leadership in financial services.

Mike Stawchansky, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at Finastra, brings a uniquely comprehensive perspective to the discussion of digital ecosystems in finance. With over 25 years of experience building modern technology stacks and leading cloud transformations, Mike has witnessed firsthand the evolution of financial technology ecosystems from siloed systems to today's interconnected digital landscapes. What Mike will bring to the panel: • Practical and extensive cloud transformation experience – Mike has led major cloud migrations across diverse organizations including MuleSoft and WebMD, and has firsthand experience of the ‘slingshot effect’ in FS – initial resistance from institutions followed by rapid adoption • A balanced perspective on security and innovation – Mike offers a robust understanding of balancing innovation with security and compliance, and how to treat them as aligned as opposed to competing • Insights into open financial technology and API-led innovation – in particular how open APIs can create more resilient, flexible digital ecosystems – and his experience with standardized frameworks for cloud adoption is particularly aligned with building secure, compliant interconnected systems • A broad industry perspective – having worked across multiple sectors from healthcare to enterprise technology as well as FS, he brings valuable cross-industry insights and perspectives Mike is an entertaining and relaxed speaker, able to simplify the most complex of technical concepts and apply business context in an engaging and enjoyable way. He resonates with a broad spectrum of participants – from technical to business to executives.

S. Sundararajan is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of i-exceed technology solutions, the company behind Appzillon, a globally recognized digital banking platform and suite of solutions. With over three decades of experience at the intersection of banking and technology, he has been instrumental in transforming i-exceed into a trusted partner for financial institutions worldwide. Under his leadership, Appzillon today powers 125+ banks across 25 countries, enabling secure, scalable, and seamless digital experiences for millions of customers. Recognized by Gartner, Forrester, and IBS Intelligence for its innovation and leadership, Appzillon reflects Sundar’s vision of a modular, future-ready approach to digital transformation in banking. Before founding i-exceed in 2011, Sundararajan spent over 20 years at Oracle Financial Services Software (formerly i-flex solutions), where he was Senior Vice President of Global Customer Fulfilment for the flagship FLEXCUBE product. He played a pivotal role in its conceptualization, design, and delivery, managing a 2,300-member team, overseeing 500+ clients worldwide-including Citibank, Barclays, Credit Agricole, and UniCredit-and driving annual revenues of over USD 300 million. He has also served on the boards of Oracle Financial Services Software SA (Greece) and Login SA (France). A strong advocate of customer-centric innovation and flawless execution, Sundar has an impeccable project success track record throughout his career.

Kamlesh Harry currently serves as Principal Strategic Advisor of fraud solutions at Nasdaq Verafin, leading the global financial crime prevention strategy. During his career built at global Tier 1 banks across South Africa, U.S., and the U.K., he has helped financial institutions identify and mitigate financial crime risks, while advancing payment fraud risk management, cyber security, and business operations. A passionate advocate for raising awareness and education amongst students and vulnerable communities, Kamlesh invests personal time volunteering with the Sussex and Surrey Police in the fight against financial crime. He also actively promotes fraud, financial crime, and cyber risk awareness across markets, fostering skills to build a safer digital ecosystem. He is a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) as accredited by ISACA.

Naveen Mallela is the global head of Payments at Standard Chartered Bank where he leads all of the payments, clearing and collection products across the bank including emerging payments and digital money-based products. Prior to this, Naveen spent over a decade at J.P. Morgan with his last role being the global co-head of Kinexys, which is a division within J.P. Morgan focused on digital assets and digital currencies. He has been one of the founding members of Kinexys and builder of cornerstone products like Kinexys Digital Payments (formerly JPM Coin), JPM Deposit Token (JPMD) and Programmable Payments. And, prior to that Naveen had held several roles at J.P. Morgan including APAC Head of Digital, Payments. A recognised industry leader in digital currencies, Naveen has authored white papers on CBDCs, Shared Ledgers and Deposit Tokens and has been part of multiple industry initiatives shaping the landscape of digital money. Naveen is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore and a CFA Charterholder.

Marcos Cavagnoli is a senior executive with over 30 years of experience in Payments, Cross‑Border Solutions, Financial Services, and Digital Transformation. He currently serves as Director of Products at Bradesco, where he is responsible for the strategy, governance, and continuous evolution of mission‑critical payment platforms and financial products, with direct impact on both domestic and international markets. In his current role, Marcos leads strategic initiatives encompassing cross‑border payments, international remittances, foreign exchange operations linked to payment solutions, as well as PIX, Brazil’s instant payment system, globally recognized as a benchmark for scale, availability, and innovation. His scope of responsibility also includes current accounts, consumer credit, liquidity management, and Open Finance. His work spans from strategic definition to the integration of products, technology, risk, and governance, ensuring continuous evolution, security, and efficiency across solutions. Throughout his career, he has held leadership positions at globally recognized institutions such as Itaú, PayU (Naspers/Prosus), Citi, JPMorgan, DaimlerChrysler, and Alstom, with a strong focus on global financial infrastructure, market integration, and the modernization of payment platforms. He also brings extensive hands‑on experience in building and scaling fintech companies, including Koin and Adiq (Banco BS2), operating at the intersection of innovation, regulation, and business models. Marcos is an active contributor to Boards of Directors and Executive Committees, supporting strategic decision‑making and leading complex transformations in highly critical environments. With a solid background in multinational and multicultural settings, he has operated across Latin America, the United States, Europe, and Africa, combining deep regional expertise with a global perspective on interoperability, regulatory complexity, and the future of cross‑border and instant payments.

Tsvetanka Nankova is the Global Head of Sales for Institutional Cash & Trade Finance at Deutsche Bank (DB). Tsvetanka leads a global team of senior sales transaction bankers and oversees DB’s correspondent banking network and client relationships across the globe. Prior to this, Tsvetanka was Head of Corporate Development & the Corporate Bank’s Chief of Staff. She was responsible for a diverse set of teams including Strategy & Chief of Staff Office, Corporate Venture Capital & Strategic Investments, KYC Program & Business Execution. Tsvetanka has extensive industry experience having also managed Deutsche Bank’s Institutional Cash Management (ICM) business in Middle East & Africa as well as the Corporate Bank’s KYC remediation activities under specific regulatory frameworks. Tsvetanka joined Deutsche Bank in 2016 as a Client Manager for ICM covering Eastern Europe. Before joining Deutsche Bank, Tsvetanka worked at Wells Fargo where she spent nine years in various FI Sales roles. Tsvetanka holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Reed College in the United States and a Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Munich.

Steve Naudé is the Global Managing Director of Wise Platform, Wise’s global payments infrastructure powering fast, secure and cost-effective international payments for the world's leading financial institutions and enterprises. Under his leadership, Wise Platform has seen rapid growth, now supporting some of the world’s largest banks, including Morgan Stanley, Standard Chartered and Nubank. Steve has deep expertise in global payments expansion and scheme connectivity, having worked on direct integrations with networks such as UK Faster Payments and Swift. A leading voice in the industry, he is driving the conversation on why banks must modernise their payments to stay competitive in a rapidly evolving landscape and a strong advocate for transparency.

Zach has over 32 years of consulting experience and is Deloitte’s Global Consulting Services Leader for Financial Services. In his role, Zach is responsible for identifying strategies and trends affecting institutions in banking, capital markets, insurance, investment management, real estate and private equity; .and ensuring Deloitte provides a consistent suite of consulting solutions to support them. Prior to this role, Zach served as Deloitte’s Global and U.S. Banking & Capital Markets Payments Leader, specializing in providing business strategy, operations and technology solutions in the payments and banking industry. In addition to his industry leadership responsibilities, Zach manages Deloitte’s overall relationship with a global payments provider, a US based payments consortium and a US regional bank. Zach has been a guest speaker at numerous industry conferences in the United States and internationally, including Money2020, SWIFT, BAFT, PayThink, CIAO Febraban, American Banker and client board and advisory meetings in subjects ranging from payments trends, infrastructure modernization, merchant strategies and impact of social media and emerging technologies. Zach is frequently asked for comment for industry publications and podcasts. Zach has a B.A. in Political Science with a specialization in Business Administration from the University of California, Los Angeles. He serves on the Political Science Board of Advisers at UCLA.

Belén is a senior banking professional with over 20 years of experience across capital markets, digital assets, payments and innovation. She currently leads the Acceleration team in GTB Mexico at BBVA, driving transformation in corporate treasury solutions. Previously, she drove partnerships and digital assets tokenisation initiatives, shaping strategy and leading project execution. Prior to this, she built her career in Global Markets, holding various roles related to securities at BBVA and Santander Group..

Steve Cerveny is the CEO and co-founder of Kaleido. Steve has over fifteen years of experience in emerging technologies building, launching and growing enterprise products in a variety of business and technical roles. Prior to Kaleido, he led product teams at IBM, spearheading the creation of over a dozen cloud services and managed a strategic portfolio of software products. Steve launched the industry’s first blockchain managed service, developing new commercial approaches to meet the unique enterprise demands for privacy and scalability. Steve holds his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Engineering from Case Western and an MBA degree from Duke University.

Thomas Vlassopoulos is Director General for Market Infrastructure and Payments at the European Central Bank (ECB). The Directorate General Market Infrastructure and Payments (DG-MIP) coordinates and supports the operation and development of Eurosystem market infrastructures (TARGET Services), conducts oversight of payment, clearing and settlement systems, and acts as a catalyst for innovation in retail payments as well as exploring new technologies for wholesale central bank money settlement. It is also leading the digital euro project. In his role, Thomas is responsible for the strategic direction and management of DG-MIP, steering innovation, project workstreams and operational activities for TARGET Services, the digital euro project as well as retail and wholesale payments. Thomas Vlassopoulos was previously Deputy Director General Market Operations, a post he held since May 2021. He previously held leadership roles in the areas of Monetary Policy and Macroprudential Policy and Financial Stability at the ECB. He joined the ECB in 2008, from the Bank of Greece. Thomas holds a master’s degree in economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science and has published research on monetary policy, its transmission and implementation as well as its interaction with financial stability and with digital currencies.

She currently serves as the CEO of Global Blockchain Business Council (GBBC), the largest leading non-profit association for the blockchain, digital assets, and emerging technology community, with more than 500 institutional members across 100+ jurisdictions and industry sectors. In 2023, she was appointed to the CFTC Chair’s Global Markets Advisory Committee (GMAC), Digital Asset Market Subcommittee (DAMS) and cochairs the Taxonomy and Tokenization Infrastructure workstreams within the subcommittee. She also serves on the Japan Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Trade (METI) blockchain advisory group as well as the Ukraine Ministry of Digital Transformation blockchain research group and several other key committees and councils across AI and digital assets. Whilst at CME Group, she headed FX & Metals Research & Product Development and founded a new business unit, Digitization. Sandra and her team created the CME CF Bitcoin pricing index and reference rate, CME Bitcoin Futures, and post trade, clearing and settlement solutions as well as the first corporate digitized gold solution with UK’s HMT’s Royal Mint called RMT. She filed and received some of the earliest cryptocurrency and derivatives related patents. Previously, she was a London-based derivatives banker at Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank in the foreign exchange, interest rates, and equities markets. Sandra holds a M.B.A. in Finance and Accounting from London Business School, studied Computer Science at Columbia University, School of Continuing Studies and earned a double B.A. degree from Yale University.

Matt is a Distinguished Partner in his fourteenth year with McKinsey & Company’s Northeast Office, based in Boston. He is McKinsey’s Global Head of Web 3 (Blockchain and Digital Assets), leads Financial Risk in the Americas and the Firm’s expert knowledge in DeFi, Tokenization, Distributed Ledger Technology, Collections Operations and Payments Security. His focus is on capital markets, payments and banking, serving clients across the globe Examples of recent work: - Designing and building a new global B2B trade finance payment rail employing multi-currency stablecoins, smart contracts and automated lending - Designing, building and launching a digitally-native asset management platform for access to specialized cryptocurrency investment funds - Developing an enterprise-wide, global go to market product and service strategy for the world’s largest Web3 ecosystem-infrastructure player - Designing and building the national blockchain strategy for financial services in one of the most rapidly-emerging economies in SE Asia - Co-authoring a whitepaper describing the future use cases for Purpose Bound Money with the world’s second-largest e-commerce provider - Designing the future technology stack for Web3 services in N America for a top-3 technology and financial systems provider - Creating the strategic roadmap for the world’s first fully regulated digital asset exchange (based in Switzerland) - Designing pioneering new crypto data, analytics, news content and trading business for global social media and news platform - Designing new global marketing and sales growth strategy for industry-leading crypto custody & cold storage device manufacturer - Designing the transaction ecosystem for launching a fully-reserved stablecoin in LatAm for a consortium of regional banks - Conducting buy- and sell-side diligences on major players in digital assets (custody, exchanges, wallets), including NFTs, gaming and metaverse - Constructing the blueprint for launching a ‘crypto bank’ for a NA financial institution including multi-currency wallets, custody and cash management - Conducting an industry diligence for a large European energy provider interested in investing in bitcoin mining harnessing renewable power Before joining McKinsey, Matt worked as the National Business Unit Head for forensic testing of illicit drugs, toxicology and firearms at the UK’s largest privately-owned forensic science provider Matt holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Geography from the University of Oxford, a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Organic Chemistry from the University of Bristol, and a Master of Business Administration (with Distinction) from the University of Oxford

Ee Fong Soh leads DBS Bank's Global Transaction Services' Financial Institution, Securities and Fiduciary Services. Her role encompasses sales, client management, and product strategy across the entire transaction banking suite for financial institutions. This includes oversight of sales, marketing, and product management for securities and investor services, covering traditional and digital asset custody, as well as agency and trust services. A key contributor to the development of DBS' digital asset custody services, Ee Fong also manages the transaction banking needs of her clients through dedicated Client Management and Implementation teams. A DBS employee since 2009, Ee Fong was a member of the DBS Singapore Country Management Committee for ten years from 2015 to 2025. She is a Director of DBS Trustee Limited, DBS Nominees Pte Ltd and DBSN Pte Ltd. Previous roles within the Bank included the Deputy Group Head of Financial Institutions. Prior to joining DBS Bank, Ee Fong worked on various assignments at The Northern Trust, OCBC and Citigroup Singapore, where she was Country Manager for the securities business. Besides covering financial institutions, she had also managed sovereign wealth funds and corporate clients based in South East Asia, New Zealand and China. Her achievements include being named Custodian Banker of the Year, Singapore by The Asset in 2015, induction into Global Custodian's GC Legends in 2021 and Digital Custodian Banker of the Year APAC by The Asset in 2025.

Sunday is globally responsible for a portfolio of digital channel solutions that connect small businesses, medium and large companies, multinational corporates, and financial institutions to Standard Chartered Bank's suite of Transaction Banking and Markets products and services. A seasoned corporate banking executive based in Singapore with a proven track record of leading regional and global teams in product management to drive innovation and business growth. With deep expertise in developing market-leading digital and data solutions for corporate and institutional clients, Sunday is a recognized thought leader, delivering strategic vision and insights at industry conferences and high-level engagements. A committed champion of diversity and inclusion, she believes diverse teams are high-performing teams and critical to drive sustainable success in a rapidly evolving financial landscape.

Mike Reece is responsible for Market Liquidity in the Product & Innovation Division. Market Liquidity includes Settlement, Collateral, Financing & Banking Services. Mike joined Euroclear in 2023, to run the newly created Collateral Management Services Division in Euroclear Bank. Prior to joining Euroclear, he had a 28 year career with JPMorgan in a range of roles. Most recently Mike ran International Sales & Relationship Management for JPMorgan’s Trading Service business, which included Agency Lending & Financing, Collateral Management, and Tri Party Collateral. Mike studied Theology at the University of Manchester. He currently splits his time between Brussels & London.

Vijay Chandok is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL), assuming leadership in November 2024. A distinguished veteran of the Indian financial services industry, Mr. Chandok’s career is defined by over three decades of strategic leadership within the ICICI Group, where he most recently served as the MD & CEO of ICICI Securities Ltd (2019–2024). Prior to his tenure at ICICI Securities, Mr. Chandok served as an Executive Director on the Board of ICICI Bank, overseeing a diverse portfolio that included International Banking, Small and Medium Enterprises (SME), Global Markets, and Commercial Banking. His extensive governance experience includes board-level positions at ICICI Bank UK Plc, ICICI Bank Canada, and ICICI Bank (Eurasia) Limited, alongside his role as Chairman of ICICI Investment Management Company Limited. A key contributor to the evolution of India's capital markets, Mr. Chandok currently serves as the Co-Chair of the FICCI Capital Market Committee. He has been instrumental in regulatory advancements, having served on the advisory committees of the BSE, NSE, and NSDL, and participated in SEBI committees focused on the harmonisation of ICDR and LODR regulations to promote the ease of doing business. Mr. Chandok is a prominent thought leader on the intersection of Technology and Market Infrastructure. He is a vocal advocate for "Market Infrastructure 2.0," championing the transition toward T+0 and instant settlement through the integration of AI-enabled surveillance and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). His approach to innovation is rooted in institutional trust, maintaining that AI governance and data integrity must be board-level mandates rather than secondary IT functions. Furthermore, he views ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) as a strategic imperative, asserting that the long-term resilience of financial institutions depends on ethical conduct and transparent risk management. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, and a Master’s degree in Management Studies (MMS) from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Mumbai. In recognition of his professional contributions, he was conferred with the Distinguished Alumnus Award by NMIMS University in 2017.

Emma Johnson is Head of Industry Advocacy & Insight at The ValueExchange. She leads engagement and advocacy to support clients in an evolving securities industry. Emma is an experienced post-trade professional. She held a number of senior positions within product and operational teams in leading financial institutions over her 20+ year career in securities post-trade. In recent year's Emma's remit has been focused on European securities post trade market and regulatory advocacy, market infrastructure and industry developments which has seen her hold senior industry positions including co-chairing the ECB AMI-SeCo Securities Group (SEG), the AFME Transaction Clearing & Settlement Committee, the AFME Market Settlement Efficiency Taskforce, the AGC European Focus Committee and the ISSA Custody Risks Working Group. A leading figure in the European T+1 agenda Emma co-leads the EU T+1 Industry Committee's Settlements Technical Workstream as well as the SSI Taskforce, and co-leads the UK Accelerated Settlements Risk & Compliance Workstream.

Hannah Elson is a Managing Director and both the Global Head of Custody and EMEA Head of Securities Services at J.P. Morgan. She leads the product strategy and business delivery across the Global Custody franchise, including liquidity, FX and Exchange Traded Funds, and drives execution of the Securities Services regional strategy and growth plans in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Hannah has c30 years of Industry experience within J.P. Morgan across Securities Services, Markets and Wealth Management, based out of New York, London and Bournemouth. Prior to joining Securities Services in 2012, Hannah held roles within Fixed Income Markets and International Private Bank before relocating to New York to drive strategic business expansion in Credit Derivatives and Securitized Products.

Katia Lung is a senior compliance and ethics executive with more than 20 years of leadership experience in banking and financial services across the United States and Latin America. She currently serves as Chief Compliance Officer at Intercorp Financial Services and Interbank, where she leads enterprise-wide AML, regulatory compliance, ethics, and financial crime prevention programs across organizations serving more than seven million clients. Throughout her career, Katia has built and led high-performing compliance and enforcement teams, developed regulator-recognized AML risk assessment frameworks, and implemented large-scale compliance and ethics programs across the USA, Peru, Panama, and the Bahamas. Her expertise includes BSA, AML/CTF, anti-bribery and corruption, FATCA, insider trading, corporate governance, and complex financial crime investigations. Prior to her leadership roles in Peru, Katia held senior compliance and risk management positions in Miami at SunTrust Bank, BNP Paribas, and American Express, where she led strategic compliance transformations and strengthened KYC and BSA/AML frameworks. Katia brings a global perspective on financial integrity, with a strong focus on evolving risks in cross-border payments and financial market infrastructures. She is a Professor of Corporate Compliance, Ethics, and Leadership in the MBA program at Universidad del Pacifico, where she has been recognized as Best Professor of the Year for five consecutive years. She is dedicated to advancing ethical leadership across the financial industry.

He has currently the bank’s representative roles including Chairperson of SWIFT User Group (Japan), BIS/CPMI PIE Task Force (-March 2024), BAFT - Global Payment Industry Council Member, Japanese Bankers Association - Working Committee Member - Payment & Transaction Banking, - Security Settlement, Asia Bond Market Forum Member. He leads the initiatives of the bank to cope with G20 cross-boarder payment improvement target by collaborating with internal & external stakeholders including public sectors. Before assuming above his current role, he served as the Head of Cash Management Business within the Global Transaction Banking Department for the Americas. For a decade, primarily based in New York, he led the strategic direction and management of the business, focusing on multinational corporate customers across the Americas. Under his leadership, the teams—which included Solution Sales, Onboarding, Customer Support, and Product Development & Administration Management—assembled the foundation of Mizuho's transaction banking operations in the region. Notably, he spearheaded the development of several innovative products, such as Cross-Border Cash Pooling, Multibank Cash Concentration, and a CMS Portal for Local Payment & Collection, Direct Connection, and Commercial Credit Cards. Moreover, he expanded the Global CMS Portal's reach to Canada and Mexico, forging strategic alliances with local banks in the US, Canada, and Mexico. In addition to his accomplished career in the US, he possesses extensive experience in cash management within the Asia-Oceania region. From Singapore, he led Mizuho's global cash management business, extending its services to include countries like Australia. There, he not only introduced Mizuho's global products but also played a pivotal role in supporting local business development. His efforts encompassed enhancing local CMS product capabilities and solution sales proficiency. The solutions he proposed addressed customers' liquidity management and repatriation needs in highly regulated environments. Furthermore, he established new banking service partnerships with local banks in Vietnam, the Philippines, and Myanmar. His significant contributions also include the establishment of Mizuho's first Transaction Banking organization in Singapore, achieved by recruiting a substantial number of new staff during the initial year.

Carmen Rey is Chief Success Officer for SWIFT and International Payments at PagoNxt Payments, the global payments platform of Banco Santander. In this role, she is responsible for the delivery and evolution of international payment solutions across the Group, supporting both internal banking units and external clients, and contributing to the execution of Santander’s global payments strategy. Reporting to the Payments Hub CEO, Ms Rey oversees international payment flows and connectivity with global market infrastructures, while driving innovation, efficiency, and resilience across SWIFT and financial messaging services. Her remit spans Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) as well as open market services, requiring close coordination with business, operations, risk, and external stakeholders across multiple geographies. With over 25 years of experience in banking, financial services, and consulting, Ms Rey has built a strong track record in leading large-scale transformation initiatives and delivering complex payment and infrastructure programs in multinational environments. She brings deep expertise in SWIFT, international payments, operational governance, and data management, combined with a strong focus on technology and digital innovation. Prior to her current role, she served as SWIFT Global Product Owner at Banco Santander, where she was responsible for the end-to-end delivery of SWIFT services across the Group, including platform strategy, infrastructure, and cybersecurity standards. Earlier in her career, she held senior leadership positions in Global Operations, covering operational governance, data management, and transformation programs, including the integration of Santander’s UK acquisitions. Ms Rey began her career at Accenture, specializing in financial services, where she worked on international projects across Europe and Latin America. She later joined Barclays, where she held senior roles in business intelligence and information systems, leading regional initiatives across Western Europe. She holds an Executive MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and degrees in Business Administration and Economics from Universidad Complutense of Madrid and the University of Leeds

Mariella Santoro is the Head of Trade and Supply Chain Finance at Intesa Sanpaolo IMI Corporate and Investment Banking, where she oversees the activity with a global view. She is a finance professional with over 20 years of international experience spanning the Trade, Export, Corporate and Project Finance industries across the APAC, UK and Europe regions. Mariella holds an MBA from SDA Bocconi

Ashutosh Kumar, a distinguished leader in the banking industry, is the Managing Director and Head of Global Transaction Banking for Asia Pacific at Mizuho Bank, based in Singapore. With over 25 years of international experience, he has been instrumental in shaping and executing the bank's transaction banking strategy as well as driving its expansion across the region. A dynamic and visionary business leader, Ashutosh brings a deep understanding and extensive experience of the Asia Pacific region combined with a strong track record in the Global Transaction Banking business. His expertise in digital ecosystems and unwavering commitment to innovation have been key in transforming the numerous businesses he has led. Under his leadership, Mizuho has emerged as a leading institution in Transaction Banking across Asia Pacific. Ashutosh joined Mizuho from Standard Chartered Bank, where he held many senior leadership roles including Global Head of Working Capital and Global Head of Transaction Banking Sales, Commercial Banking. He also served as Regional Head of ASEAN & South Asia, Transaction Banking and Global Head of Banking the Ecosystem. Before joining Standard Chartered Bank in 2005, Ashutosh held various position in ABN AMRO’s Global Trade business in Asia Pacific region. His extensive experience and leadership have earned him a reputation as a trusted expert in Transaction Banking. In recognition of his contributions, Ashutosh was awarded the prestigious Transaction Finance Leader of the Year at The Asian Banker Transaction Finance Awards 2024, a testament to his transformative leadership in building Mizuho Bank as a top player in the Transaction Banking space in Asia Pacific. He holds notable industry roles, including the Co-Chair of Asia Council at BAFT and serves on the Board of BAFT. Previously he was the Chair of the Global Trade Industry Council (GTIC) at BAFT and served on the Advisory Board of the ICC Banking Commission. Ashutosh resides in Singapore with his wife, daughter and son.

Patricia Hines recently led Celent’s Banking, Payments, Wealth, and Risk practices, helping the global financial services industry reimagine transaction banking in an era of real‑time payments, platform ecosystems, and rising client expectations. At Sibos and beyond, Patricia is known for connecting the dots between market structure, technology innovation, and the strategic choices banks must make to stay competitive at scale. Drawing on more than 20 years across global banks, leading fintech and technology providers, and technology advisory, Patricia brings a rare blend of strategic vision and operating experience. Patricia advises senior executives in the banking ecosystem on the future of payments, treasury and cash management, bank connectivity, and commercial banking—turning industry disruption into actionable roadmaps for growth, resilience, and differentiation.

Akber Jaffer was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Smartstream Technologies Group in September 2023. He brings over 30 years of executive and operational experience working in the start-up and scaled software and technology businesses. He began his career as a management consultant, advising global software and technology companies primarily in the Financial Services sector. Part of Akber’s past experience includes his time working at Colt Technology in Europe. While there he launched and operated their Data Centre business. This was followed by a move to Asia, as a general manager, with a mandate to grow the region. Most recently Akber was part of the executive leadership at Finastra, leading strategy, transformation, M&A, and significant parts of the P&L for the group. Akber holds a B.Sc. in Economics and Technology as well as an MSc in Information Systems. Additionally, he attended the AMP program at HBS. Akber is based out of London and married with three children.

Agnel is the KPMG U.S. Consulting Industry Leader for Capital Markets. He has experience assisting leading Asset Management firms to successfully transform their enterprise across front, middle, and back office. He focuses on enabling digital and data driven insights to support strategic business growth initiatives and a connected enterprise. Agnel has breadth of experience from these initiatives along with broad-based skills in technology, data, and analytics which enables him to guide organizations to successfully align their transformation agenda to strategic business priorities. He is skilled at driving innovation and agility across a portfolio of services and is able to deliver these innovations to clients.

Gloria Lio serves as Managing Director, Head of Enterprise Services at DTCC where she is responsible for developing the organization’s strategy to serve as a proactive driver of value to the business and a strategic partner to the industry. Within this role, Gloria leads new opportunities to maximize the value of the firm’s shared services and functions, such as Enterprise Business and Client Operations, both internally and for the benefit of DTCC’s clients and the industry. Gloria recently introduced new functions within Enterprise Services as the organization takes on a broader role in elevating the firm, including Enterprise Data Solutions, the Enterprise Resiliency Office and Enterprise Digital Solutions. Gloria is also a member of the DTCC Executive Committee and the DTCC Political Action Committee Board. In addition, Gloria’s responsibilities include oversight of the DTCC Regional Administrative Management Group, which is comprised of regional leadership teams and provides consistent sharing of best practices across all offices globally. Additionally, she is actively engaged with DTCC’s Employee Resource Groups and is a strong advocate for mentorship, participating in both internal and external mentorship programs. Gloria’s work was recognized in 2025, when she received Ascend’s A-List Award for her impact within the industry as well as her commitment to the advancement of others. Gloria has over 25 years of experience in financial services, serving in several senior-level roles including at BNY Mellon, where she was Global Head of Custody and Middle Office Operations. Prior to that, Gloria spent 20 years at Goldman Sachs, where she held several global and regional operational-related leadership roles. Gloria earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Pace University.

Armando Benitez is the Chief Data & Analytics Officer (CDAO) and Head of AI at BMO Capital Markets. He leads a team of engineers, strategists, and AI professionals who create end-to-end solutions at the intersection of Finance and Technology. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/events/article-leading-with-ai-how-first-movers-transform-business/ As CDAO, Armando shapes the strategic vision for data and analytics, integrating AI into business processes to drive innovation and improve decision-making. His leadership promotes data-driven insights and aligns technological initiatives with business goals. Armando joined BMO's ETF desk in 2016 after working on data products for fraud detection and recommender systems at Paytm. With a background in High Energy Physics, he brings a unique perspective to the team.