Speakers
Dr Reena Aggarwal
Robert E. McDonough Professor of Finance, Georgetown University
Dr. Aggarwal specializes in domestic and global financial markets; market regulation, short term funding markets; equity and corporate bond markets; small business financing; capital raising; ETFs; corporate governance including proxy voting, executive compensation, and director elections; role of institutional investors; FinTech and financial inclusion; and ESG attributes of firms.
She combines rigorous data-driven scholarship with deep knowledge of the institutional workings and regulation of financial markets. She is a renowned scholar, her work is very well-cited, and has served on the editorial boards of several finance journals. Her research has received numerous awards.
Selected Appointments/Roles: Until recently, Dr. Aggarwal was the Vice Provost for Faculty at Georgetown University, responsible for building a diverse and world-class faculty. She managed all aspects of faculty affairs for 2000+ faculty. This included hiring, merit and compensation, promotion and tenure, faculty development, and fiscal planning. She deeply cares about diversity and inequity, and played a leading role on the Presidential Task Force on Gender Equity.
As the Interim Dean of the business school, she was responsible for the school’s strategy, fund raising, programs, budget, operations, and stakeholder engagement including faculty, staff, students, leadership of the university, board, alumni, and donors.
She has served on the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on the Future of Financing and Capital; Fulbright Scholar to Brazil; Distinguished Scholar at the Reserve Bank of India’s CAFRAL; Senior Research Scholar at the SEC; Visiting Scholar at the IMF; and Visiting Professor of Finance at MIT's Sloan School of Management.
Corporate Boards: Cohen & Steers (NYSE:CNS); New York Life Investment Management IndexIQ; Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending. These board positions at asset management firms give her real-time insights into the functioning of the markets in the areas of real assets, infrastructure, fixed income, equity, and ETFs.
Awards: Named among "Outstanding Faculty" in the Business Week Guide to the Best Business Schools, and voted an outstanding professor by students. Honored with the Allan N. Nash Distinguished Doctoral Graduate Award by University of Maryland, and the Distinguished Alumni Award, BITS Pilani, India.
Ph.D. in Finance, University of Maryland, 1985
M.M.S. (Master of Management Studies, 5-year) BITS Pilani, India, 1979
Jorge Alegria
Chief Executive Officer, Bolsa Mexicana de Valores
He has held various positions of high responsibility in the financial and markets sector, including Senior Director of CME Group (Chicago Mercantile Exchange), representative in Mexico and in charge of the development of markets, clients and derivative products for Latin America.
Previously he served as Managing Director of MexDer (Mexican Derivatives Market) and as Deputy Managing Director of the Mexican Stock Exchange, in charge of Market Operations and Data Services of the BMV Group. Prior to that, he was CEO of ABN AMRO Securities (Mexico) and Deputy Managing Director of Scotiabank Inverlat México.
He chaired the International Options Markets Association (IOMA) abroad for three years. Mr. Alegría graduated as a Public Accountant specialized in Finance from ITAM (Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México), where he has also been a part-time professor teaching the topic of Derivatives Markets in Mexico. He has taken and taught various advanced courses and seminars in Mexico and abroad, specialized in capital markets, FINTECH and financial derivatives.
YB Senator Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan
Finance Minister II, Ministry of Finance
Amir Hamzah Azizan was appointed as the Finance Minister II effective 11 December 2023. Prior to assuming the role of Finance Minister II, he had helmed the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) as Chief Executive Officer since March 2021.
With a corporate experience spanning more than 27 years, Amir Hamzah began his career with a decade-long tenure at the Shell Group of Companies. During this period, he held diverse roles in Malaysia, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. Subsequently, he joined MISC Berhad in 2000 and held several senior management portfolios before being appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer in January 2009.
Following his tenure at MISC Berhad, Amir Hamzah took on the role of Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of PETRONAS Dagangan Berhad in June 2010. In August 2012, Amir Hamzah joined PETRONAS Lubricants International as Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, concurrently serving as the Vice-President for Downstream Marketing, and subsequently as Vice-President of Lubricants for the PETRONAS Group.
In March 2016, Amir Hamzah joined Ekuiti Nasional Berhad (Ekuinas) to steer its investee company Icon Offshore Berhad as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. Subsequently, he took on the role of Group Chief Executive Officer at Themed Attractions Resorts and Hotel Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Khazanah Nasional Berhad. In April 2019, he further showcased his versatility across industries by taking on the role of President/Chief Executive Officer at Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB).
Amir Hamzah has also contributed to various organisations in non-executive capacities. He formerly served as the Non-Executive Chairman of Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad (MRCB) and held directorial positions on the boards of Sime Darby Plantation Berhad and Sime Darby Oils International Limited.
Amir Hamzah holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Management (majoring in Finance and Economics) from Syracuse University, New York. He has also attended the Stanford Executive Programme at Stanford University, and the Corporate Finance Evening Programme at London Business School.
Thomas Book
Member of the Executive Board, Deutsche Börse AG
Thomas Book is a member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Börse AG, responsible for Trading & Clearing. A pioneer in electronic trading, he joined Deutsche Börse Group in 1995 as a member of the team that rolled out Deutsche Terminbörse’s remote membership concept across Europe and the US, gaining deep insights into the impact of innovation and technology in the exchange industry. Book was also a member of the project team that built Eurex, the first cross-border exchange merger of its kind. In 2001, he rounded off his profound industry knowledge with his Ph. D. thesis Electronic Exchange Trading and Global Markets”. As a member of the Executive Board of Eurex and Eurex Clearing, Book subsequently shaped Deutsche Börse’s trading and clearing business for many years. From 2007 to 2016, he was responsible for the clearing business of Eurex, expanding the value proposition following the 2008 financial crisis. In 2016, he took responsibility for trading at Eurex as its CEO, before being appointed to the Executive Board of Deutsche Börse in 2018. He is responsible for the Trading & Clearing division, which includes Cash Market, Financial Derivatives, FX & Digital Assets, Commodities and Market Data.
Ashishkumar Chauhan
Managing Director & CEO, National Stock Exchange of India
Jos Dijsselhof
Chief Executive Officer, SIX Group
Jos Dijsselhof joined SIX in January 2018 as CEO. He holds degrees in computer science and business administration, and has a long track record in international management in the financial sector. He has previously held positions at ABN Amro Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland and ANZ Australia & New Zealand Banking Group in various countries including Hong Kong and Singapore. His most recent role was Chief Operating Officer (2014–June 2017) and CEO ad interim (2015) at Euronext in Amsterdam.
Other Activities and Mandates
Chairman of the Board of Directors Bolsas y Mercados Españoles (BME), Madrid
Background
Before his appointment as COO of Euronext, Dijsselhof was a general manager at Australia and New Zealand Bank in Singapore. He has over 20 years of experience in the financial industry and has worked in Europe and Asia institutions including Royal Bank of Scotland and ABN Amro Bank.
Education
Jos Dijsselhof earned a bachelor's degree in computer science from the Stenden University of Applied Sciences and an MSc in business administration from the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. He completed the Advanced Management Program at INSEAD.
Carmine Di Noia
Director for Financial and Enterprise Affairs, OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)
Previously, he was Commissioner of the Italian Securities and Exchange Commission (CONSOB), beginning in 2016. He was also alternate member of the Board of IOSCO and the Board of Supervisor at the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), Chair of the Committee of Economic and Markets Analysis (CEMA) and of the Post-Trading Standing Committee at ESMA, and Vice Chair of the Corporate Governance Committee at OECD.
He had been Deputy Director General at Assonime, member of the Board of the Italian Stock Exchange, Chairman of the Policy Committee of EuropeanIssuers and Head of the technical secretariat of the Italian Corporate Governance Committee.
He was a member of various working groups at the European Commission: European Securities Market Expert Group (ESME), Clearing and Settlement Advisory Monitoring Expert Group (CESAME), Forum Group on Auditors Liability, Securities Expert Group on FSAP.He is Full Professor of Financial Markets and Banking at the Business School of Luiss University in Rome.
He holds a Ph.D. in Economics at the University of Pennsylvania and a Doctorate in Economic Theory and Institutions at Tor Vergata University.
Dato’ Mohammad Faiz Azmi
Executive Chairman, Securities Commission Malaysia
Dato’ Faiz was appointed the Executive Chairman of the Securities Commission SC, the capital markets regulator of Malaysia, in June 2024 by the Malaysian Minister of Finance. He was previously a Board member on the SC since August 2023.
He was the Chairman of PwC Malaysia for 11 out of his 30 years with the firm. He has over 38 years of experience in the audit and business advisory services in Malaysia and the UK. He was the leader of PwC's Global Islamic Finance Team practice from 2007 to September 2012. He was also PwC's Malaysia's Financial Services Leader and joint Head of Audit and lead the ESG and Shariah Investing part of PwC's Sustainability and Climate Change practice in Malaysia. He retired as a partner and the Executive Chairman of PwC Malaysia in June 2023.
Much of his recent work has been with the Federal and State Governments involving work related to Accrual Accounting, acting as an Administrator for an airline and certain government entities and being part of the Federal Government National Covid vaccine rollout. He has also been involved in the financial restructuring of government agencies as well as investigations.
Dato’ Faiz is a member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants and a Fellow of ICAEW. He has held the post of President of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants, Chairman of the Malaysia Accounting Standards Board, President of the Kuala Lumpur Business Club and ICAEW City Group Chairman.
He was educated in Malaysia and UK and read law at the University of Durham before being called to the English Bar. He is an alumni of Lincoln's Inn and a member of the Inns of Court of Malaysia. He is a member of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Accountants England and Wales. He was conferred the Darjah Kebesaran Dato’, which carries the title Dato’ in 2013 by the Sultan of Selangor. He was conferred an Honorary Degree of Doctorate of Laws by the University of Nottingham in July 2016.
Dr. Jane Goodall
Founder, Jane Goodall Institute
YAB Dato' Seri Anwar Bin Ibrahim
Prime Minister of Malaysia
Ian Johnston
Chief Executive, Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA)
Ian Johnston was appointed Chief Executive of the DFSA in 2022, a position he previously held from 2012 to 2018.
From 2018 until his reappointment, Mr Johnston provided advice and consultancy to a number of regulatory bodies across the Middle East, Europe and Asia, including on projects funded by the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Originally a lawyer, Mr Johnston held a number of senior positions within the financial sector, including as CEO of one of Australia’s major trustee companies. In 1999, Mr Johnston moved into regulation joining the Australian Securities and Investments Commission as Executive Director, Financial Services Regulation, and spent several terms as an Acting Commissioner. He served as a Special Advisor with the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission from 2005.
Mr Johnston’s impact extends globally as he chaired the Joint Forum, which comprised representatives of major international regulatory standard-setters such as the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), and the Basel Committee.
Currently, Mr Johnston serves as Vice Chair of the IOSCO’s Africa and Middle East Regional Committee and as an IOSCO Board member. His wealth of experience and commitment to regulatory excellence positions him as a distinguished figure in the global financial landscape.
Mr Johnston is a Board member of two non-profit organisations, the Fred Hollows Foundation (HK) and Opera Scholars Australia.
Edward Knight
Executive Vice Chairman, Nasdaq
As Executive Vice Chairman, Edward Knight manages global government relations and serves as a senior advisor on public policy and litigation.
During his tenure as Nasdaq’s General Counsel from 2001 to 2019, Knight championed many causes for investors and public companies: proxy reform; corporate governance modernization, including the JOBS ACT passage in 2012; regulatory reform; immigration reform; and enhancing the self-regulatory organization model. He has worked tirelessly to ensure Nasdaq’s U.S. equity market maintains its position as the premier global marketplace for capital formation.
Knight currently serves as a member of the Advisory Board of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and is a member of the District of Columbia, Texas and Supreme Court Bars. He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and sits on its Committee on Corporate Affairs. Knight is Vice Chairman of the Board of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Chair of the U.S.-India Business Council. He is also chair of TechNet's Executive Council. He is a member of the Nasdaq Dubai Board and the Board of the World Federation of Exchanges. He is based in Nasdaq’s Washington, D.C., office.
Before serving as FINRA’s General Counsel from 1999-2001 and then NASDAQ’s General Counsel, Knight served as General Counsel of the U.S. Department of the Treasury from September 1994 to June 1999 — the longest tenure since the position was created in 1934. Upon his departure, he received the Alexander Hamilton Award, the Department's highest honor. He also received the Honor Award from the Secret Service. Before being named Treasury General Counsel, Knight served as Executive Secretary and Senior Advisor to Secretary of the Treasury Lloyd Bentsen. He also served as a member of the Obama Transition Team at the U.S. Treasury Department in 2008-2009.
Prior, he was a partner with the law firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer and Feld in Washington, D.C. A Texas native, Knight received his Bachelor of Arts, with honors, in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Texas School of Law.
Asadej Kongsiri
President , The Stock Exchange of Thailand
Boon Chye Loh
Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Exchange, & Chairman, The World Federation of Exchanges
Over the years, Mr Loh has played a key role in the development of Southeast Asia’s capital markets, having held a number of senior advisory positions. Apart from his directorship on the SGX Board from 2003 to 2012, he has been on the Boards of GIC Pte Ltd since November 2012, Economic Development Board Singapore since February 2017 and the World Federation of Exchanges since September 2017. He is also Chairman of the Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics Advisory Board and Co-Chair of the Council for Board Diversity.
With a career in the financial industry that spans three decades, Mr Loh was most recently Deputy President and Head of Asia Pacific Global Markets at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch from December 2012 to May 2015. He was also the bank’s Country Executive for Singapore and Southeast Asia and a member of its Asia Pacific Executive Committee. From 1995 to 2012, Mr Loh was with Deutsche Bank AG, where he held various leadership roles including Head of Corporate & Investment Banking for Asia Pacific and Head of Global Markets for Asia.
Mr Loh is a council member and Distinguished Fellow at the Institute of Banking & Finance Singapore and a council member at the Singapore Business Federation. He was also previously Chairman of the Singapore Foreign Exchange Market Committee, as well as Deputy President of ACI Singapore.
Mr Loh holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the National University of Singapore.
Astrid Ludin
Deputy Commissioner, Financial Sector Conduct Authority of South Africa
Astrid Ludin is a Deputy Commissioner at the Financial Sector Conduct Authority of South Africa since June 2021. Her responsibilities include oversight over financial market and retirement fund supervision. She has more than 25 years of experience in public policy and regulation, and led major law reforms, including the reform of company, consumer protection and credit legislation in South Africa between 2002 and 2007. In her capacity as Deputy Director-General at the dtic, she had policy responsibility for competition, company, intellectual property, consumer protection, credit, gambling, lotteries, and liquor legislation and exercised oversight over the associated regulatory agencies.
Astrid spent 3 years at the Competition Commission (1999 to 2002), responsible for stakeholder relations, communications, education and voluntary compliance, and was involved in a number of major mergers and investigations. She served as the first Commissioner of the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) between 2011 and 2015, where she oversaw the modernisation of the office and its transformation into a regulatory institution.
In various consulting capacities, Astrid has provided research and policy advice to the dtic, the National Treasury, the Prudential Authority, Strate, a range of South African financial services firms, and financial sector regulators in Africa. Her areas of expertise include consumer protection, market conduct and financial market regulation, financial inclusion, financial education and innovation.
John McKenzie
Chief Executive Officer, TMX Group, & Chair, WFE Working Committee
Mr. McKenzie is a member of the TMX Group Board of Directors and also a member of the Board of Directors of several TMX Group subsidiaries.
Mr. McKenzie has worked for TMX for over 20 years; prior to his appointment as CEO on August 17, 2020, he served as Chief Financial Officer and was responsible for corporate strategy, corporate development, investor relations and the financial management of the company as well as for the administrative oversight of TMX Group’s Capital Formation business. He has led various TMX acquisitions, including the Maple transaction, and the acquisitions of Montréal Exchange and Trayport.
From July 2015 to August 2016, Mr. McKenzie served as President of CDS, Canada’s equity and fixed income clearing house and a wholly-owned subsidiary of TMX Group. Prior to that he was the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and CFO of CDS.
Mr. McKenzie is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CMA) and has an MBA from Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University and an Honours BA from Wilfrid Laurier University. He has served on a number of boards, and is currently the Working Committee Chairman of the World Federation of Exchanges, and a Board Member and Treasurer for the Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation.
Ramon Monzon
President & Chief Executive Officer, The Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc.
David Ngai
Managing Director, Apac Head of Compliance, State Street Global Markets
David Ngai - David is currently the Managing Director of State Street Bank and Trust Company, responsible for the managing of the Compliance practice for Global Market’s businesses in Apac. David is also serving as the Alternate Chief Executive for our Hong Kong Branch. On top of governance, David is also responsible for the managing of the relationships with the Regulators and Central Banks in the region from Market Infrastructure, and Supervisory perspective.
Previously Managing director, Asia Pacific for Global Financial Markets Association’s Global FX Division, David had been working with a group of 25 major international banks engaged in the discussions with the Regulators and Central Banks in multiple jurisdictions around clearing, execution, trade reporting, Code of Conduct, and Business Practice Rules, and has been taking a proactive role in ensuring the industry meets enhanced transparency requirements driven by the G-20 from the FX perspective, including the FX Global Code.
David is accountant by profession graduated from the University of Birmingham with Master degree in Public Administration and Development, and qualified with Arthur Andersen. David had since then being a Regulator with the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission’s Enforcement Division, and followed by various regional compliance management positions with major financial institutions including Macquarie and J.P. Morgan.
Other than Compliance, David has also been advising Global Markets Business Units and participating in various committees with the Regulators, and Markets Associations in the region, including being the co-convenor of the conduct and disciplinary committee, and examinations committee for the Hong Kong regulatory body.
Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar
Chairman, Bursa Malaysia
Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar is currently the Chairman of Bursa Malaysia Berhad. He is regarded as one of the most accomplished corporate leaders in Malaysia having successfully led as CEO three major organisations in infrastructure development (UEM Group 2001 - 2004), telecommunications (Telekom Malaysia 2004 - 2008) and financial services (Maybank 2008 - 2013). He served as Group Chairman of Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) from August 2016 to June 2018 following completion of his term as a Senator and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Economic Planning from June 2013 to June 2016.
He also currently serves as the Chairman of WWF-Malaysia and MySDG Foundation, Professor of Practice at INCEIF University and as the Sultan bin Abdulaziz Visiting Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, UK. Tan Sri Abdul Wahid is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW) and the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA).
Iman Rachman
President Director, Indonesia Stock Exchange
Tarik Senhaji
Chief Executive Officer, Bourse de Casablanca
Mr. Tarik SENHAJI is the Chief Executive Officer of Bourse de Casablanca (Casablanca stock exchange). He graduated from Ecole Polytechnique de Paris and the National School of Statistics and Economic Administration (ENSAE) in Paris. He began his career as a Financial Officer at the International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group) in Washington DC, before moving to London where he held various management positions in capital markets at Société Générale, Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, Calyon CIB and Natixis CIB.
Mr. Tarik SENHAJI has accumulated over 25 years of experience in the financial sector on the Moroccan and international markets. Before his new position as CEO of Bourse de Casablanca, he was Managing Director of Ithmar Capital, the Moroccan strategic investment fund.
Nandini Sukumar
Chief Executive Officer, The World Federation of Exchanges
Nandini Sukumar is the Chief Executive Officer of the World Federation of Exchanges, the global association for exchanges and CCPs. The WFE represents more than 250 exchanges and clearing houses globally, educating stakeholders on the vital role played by market infrastructures in the real economy and as a standard setter, finding the consensus on issues among the global membership. Of its members, 35% are in Asia-Pacific, 45% in EMEA and 20% in the Americas. WFE exchanges are home to 47,919 listed companies, and the market capitalisation of these entities is over $109 trillion; around $137 trillion (EOB) in trading annually passes through WFE members (at end 2020). WFE’s 57 member CCPs collectively ensure that risk takers post some $800bn (equivalent) of resources to back their positions, in the form of initial margin and default fund requirements. Ms. Sukumar is Vice Chair of IOSCO’s Affiliate Members Consultative Committee and Chair of the AMCC’s Sustainability Taskforce.
Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift
Chief Executive Officer, Bursa Malaysia
Muhamad Umar Swift is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bursa Malaysia Berhad, a position he has held since 2019. He serves as the director of all subsidiary companies within the Bursa Malaysia Group and is the Chairman of Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Berhad and Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Clearing Berhad, Bursa Malaysia RAM Capital Sdn Bhd and Yayasan Bursa Malaysia. He is also the Chairman of the CEO Action Network (CAN).
As CEO of the Exchange, Umar aspires to play a catalytic role in the economy’s transition to green, as expressed in the Exchange’s vision to become “ASEAN’s leading, sustainable and globally-connected marketplace.” His approach to achieving this is underscored in the Exchange’s mission which is to create opportunities, grow value for stakeholders participating in the ecosystem while improving investability for issuers and investors.
Umar has more than 25 years of leadership experience across multiple industries. Prior to joining the Exchange, he was the CEO/ Group Managing Director of MAA Group Berhad.
Umar currently serves on the Boards of Securities Industry Development Corporation, Capital Development Market Fund and Malaysia Forest Fund. He is also the advisor for the UN Global Compact Network Malaysia and Brunei, as well as Councillor of the Overseas Regional Council of Malaysia, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand. Besides being a Chartered Accountant with the Malaysian Institute of Accountants, he also holds various fellowships and qualifications in accounting and finance, including Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and CPA Australia, to name a few.
