Challenges and Vision

Lord Chris Holmes
Member of UK House of Lords

Richard L. Sandor
Chairman of the Board and CEO, American Financial Exchange; Founder, Chicago Climate Exchange

Dr. Richard L. Sandor has been invited to share his views on carbon markets. Sandor is an entrepreneur and economist who invents markets. He is currently chairman of the board and CEO of the American Financial Exchange. He is also CEO of Environmental Financial Products LLC. Sandor founded Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) – the world's first exchange to facilitate the reduction and trading of all six greenhouse gases. In 2007, he was named the "father of carbon trading" by Time Magazine for his work in designing, developing and launching CCX and affiliated exchanges. He is widely recognised as the "father of financial futures" for his pioneering work in developing the first interest rate futures contract in the 1970s, when he served as chief economist and vice president of the Chicago Board of Trade.

Zhang Jun
Dean, School of Economics, Fudan University

Zhang Jun will share his views on China’s economy and financial services industry outlook amid uncertainty. He is a professor of economics and currently serves as dean of School of Economics at Fudan University. He is an expert in a vast array of topics including structural change and economic dynamics, the world economy, China economic review, and comparative economic studies. Zhang is the recipient of the Bergson Prize by the American Association for Comparative Economic Studies. For the past 25 years, he has authored or edited numerous books including Economic Transition with Chinese Characteristics: Thirty Years of Reform and Opening Up, Transformation of the Chinese Enterprises. He was also on the editorial board of about 40 academic journals both in Chinese and English. Zhang is also the founding director of the China Centre for Economic Studies.

Jin keyu
Associate Professor of Economics, the London School of Economics

Dr. Keyu Jin is an associate professor (with tenure) of Economics at the London school of Economics. She is from Beijing, China, and holds a B.A., M.A. and Phd from Harvard University.

Her research is on international economics--- such as why capital flows from poor to rich countries, how the global implications of U.S. monetary and fiscal policies have changed; as well as on how the rise of China impacts the global economy, from several perspectives ---trade, capital flows, global interest rates and saving, demographics, productivity and technology.

Leslie Maasdorp
Vice President, CFO, New Development Bank

Leslie Maasdorp is vice president and Chief Financial Officer of the New Development Bank. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing the bank's capital market operations, treasury, portfolio management, and accounting functions. Maasdorp is widely recognized as an opinion leader in ESG and green finance and played a pivotal role in the bank's inaugural Green Bond issuance in 2016. Prior to his current position, he served as the managing director and president of Bank of America Merrill Lynch for Southern Africa for a period of four years. Additionally, Maasdorp held a dual role as vice chairman of Barclays Capital and Absa Capital.

Hu Bofei
Deputy General Manager, International Business Department, China Construction Bank

Hu Bofei has been invited to share her view on China's financial markets opening-up and RMB internationalisation. She is currently the deputy general manager of international business department of China Construction Bank (CCB). Prior to this position, she worked in the custody services department over 20 years since she joined CCB in 1999, where she had accumulated rich experience in Chinese stock market infrastructure, mutual fund, and cross-border custody service, especially in the qualified foreign institutional investor (QFII) programme. She actively participated in the opening up of capital market to foreign institutional investors while she was sitting on the International Business Committee of the Asset Management Association of China.

Andy Mok
Senior Research Fellow, Center for China and Globalization (CCG)

Andy Mok is a senior research fellow at CCG, specializing in the study of technology and its impact on great power relations. His primary research focuses on understanding how technological advancements influence national sovereignty, including challenges related to cyber security threats, concentration of corporate power, norms regarding freedom of expression, and other issues relevant to developing effective digital governance policies at both national and supra-national levels. Furthermore, Mok has contributed to research and publication endeavors during his tenure at the RAND Corporation, notably working on the project titled "The United States and a Rising China: Strategic and Military Implications." He frequently provides commentary and analysis on platforms such as CGTN, Al Jazeera, BBC, and other notable media outlets.

John Gong
Vice President, Research and Strategy, University of International Business and Economics - Israel

John Gong currently is the vice president of research and strategy at University of International Business and Economics in Israel. He is also a professor, researcher and expert in the fields of finance, international trade, antitrust, patent dispute and competition policies. He serves as an expert consultant at the Ministry of Commerce’s Antitrust Bureau in China, and acted as the chief architect of the Bureau’s national competition database project. Meanwhile, he is serving as an academic affiliate with Global Economics Group, a leading global economics consulting firm based in the US. He is also the principal author for the China section of the policy position paper by the BRICS New World Bank’s steering committee during its foundation time. He is also a renowned op-ed columnist for several leading newspapers including the South China Morning Post, Global Times and China Global Television Network, on economic and political issues.

Theo Priestley
Author of “The Future Starts Now” and global Technology Futurist

Theo is a globally recognised and sought-after futurist and international speaker, author, and authority on the future of business, technology, and society focusing on the convergence of emerging trends, including Web3, Metaverse and Artificial Intelligence. He is widely known and sought after for his forthright views on the negative impacts of technology on society and currently works to inform political and business leaders of the risks and benefits of adoption.

Theo has been listed as a Top 100 global technology influencer and thought leader on the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Fintech multiple years in a row. He has worked with some of the biggest names in tech and business including SAP, Siemens, Bosch, Software AG, AON, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise - consulting, speaking for, and advising on strategic foresight, and emerging technologies. He has mentored a number of startup accelerators including the HTC ViveX VR incubator and Alchemist, one of Silicon Valley's Top 10.

He is the author of “The Future Starts Now”. He has published more than 300 articles on topics including Web3, Artificial Intelligence, Space, Blockchain, Metaverse, and Mixed Reality, for Forbes, the European, WIRED, Huffington Post, and more. He has also contributed op-eds to VentureBeat, GigaOM, and The Times Raconteur, and has been interviewed for radio and national television news on technology trends.

Peter D. Finn
Co-founder and CEO, Synectify

Peter Finn, PhD, National University of Singapore (NUS) and King’s College London (KCL) is a blockchain expert and early AI adopter with over twenty-five years of information technology experience. He has lectured on blockchain and business transformation at Singapore Management University (SMU) and developed IBF-accredited courses for industry professionals. His broad academic and industry experience covers both theoretical and technical disciplines ranging from political theory and classical philosophy to software development, decentralised finance, systems engineering, aviation, marine operations, and renewable energy. He is a serial entrepreneur, confident leader, passionate educator, and life-long learner.

Leanne (Si Ying) Zhang
Advisor, BIS Innovation Hub,
Hong Kong

Leanne is an Advisor at the BIS Innovation Hub Hong Kong Centre, where she works on wholesale and retail CBDC projects. Prior to joining the Hub, she was an Economist at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and has published academic papers on the equity pricing of climate risks and supply chain mapping and shock propagation. She holds an MPhil in Economics degree from the University of Oxford, where she was a Louis Dreyfus-Weidenfeld Scholar, and an undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Economics from McGill University.

Hu Jie
Professor of Practice, Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Hu Jie is currently the professor of practice at the Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF). His research interests cover fintech, financial institutions and financial markets. He is leading a project on the application of blockchain technology on supply chain finance. Professor Hu formerly worked at the US Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta as a senior financial economist, responsible for research into finance and economics as well as monetary policy analysis and recommendations. Thereafter, he worked in senior management roles in various FIs and technology companies, including Bankers Trust (Hong Kong), BankBoston, Precom and financial business branch of Xunlei.

Song Xiao
General Manager, Credit Products, MYbank

Song Xiao successively worked in Jinan Branch of Shenzhen Development Bank and Ping An Bank Head Office. From 2016 to 2021, he served as the head of the financing product team of the Product Innovation Department of MYbank. From 2021, he served as the general manager of the Credit Product Department of MYbank.

Alex Nascimento
Professor of Blockchain Business Applications and Security Tokens, UCLA

Alex Nascimento, MA, MBA is a best-selling author teaching Blockchain Business Applications and Security Tokens at UCLA and other Universities around the globe. In addition to his role of Managing Director of 7CC - Blockchain Investments, a company focused on supporting & fostering the Blockchain industry, Mr. Nascimento wrote the book; The STO FINANCIAL REVOLUTION uncovering regulated & compliant fundraising via Blockchain. Alex got his MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management and has developed training, marketing & blockchain strategies for companies in the United States, EU, Latin America, and Asia. Alex can be found at UCLA and speaking at main Global Blockchain conferences and Corporate events demystifying securities issuance, business applications, and investments in blockchain for corporate leaders, students and entrepreneurs.

Qiu Lin
Chief Scientist of Envision Intelligent Zero Carbon Products

Qiu Lin, Chief Scientist of Envision Intelligent Zero Carbon Products. He holds double bachelor's degree from Peking University, Ph.D. from University of Maryland, postdoctoral fellow from Yale University. Before joining Envision Technology Group, Qiu Lin served as director of Shanghai Office of IVL Swedish Institute of Environmental Sciences, and senior engineer of Shanghai Advanced Institute of Chinese Academy of Sciences. His work areas mainly include zero-carbon product design, renewable energy assessment, CCUS, carbon footprint assessment, product life cycle assessment (LCA/EPD), carbon neutral strategy, etc. He is also the author of the popular science book "I Am Carbon" and "Climate Change and Energy Low-Carbon Development". Among them, "I am Carbon" won honors such as "Top 100 Youth Publications of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television" and "Excellent Popular Science Books of the Chinese Academy of Sciences".

Jay Huang
Founding Partner, Jadestone Capital

Jay Huang is a Founding Partner at Jadestone Capital. Previously he was Managing Director at Intel China. Prior to joining Intel, Jay was Vice President of Nortel Greater China and then Vice President of Nortel Asia.

Jay Huang received his Ph.D. in Mathematics from Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, and his Master of Engineering and B. Sc. from Beijing University of Posts & Telecommunications, Beijing, China

Lord (Chris) Holmes
Member, House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee, UK

Lord Chris Holmes, a Member of the UK House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee, brings extensive expertise in digital technology. As a current member of the House of Lords and co-chair of influential All-Party Parliamentary Groups, including Assistive Technology, Fintech, Blockchain, AI, and the 4th Industrial Revolution. He is a passionate advocate for the potential of technology and the benefits of diversity and inclusion. His core policy focus is on digital technology for the public good with a particular interest in technologies such as AI and blockchain and areas of application such as fintech and trade.

Huo Xuewen
Secretary of Bank of Beijing Committee of the CPC and Chairman of Bank of Beijing

Huo Xuewen is Secretary of Bank of Beijing Committee of the CPC and Chairman of Bank of Beijing. Mr. Huo obtained a doctor’s degree in economics from Nankai University and a doctor’s degree in law from Renmin University of China. He is a researcher, senior political engineer, and associate professor.Mr. Huo has been serving as Party Secretary of the Bank since February 2022, and Chairman of the Bank since March 2022. From November 2018 to February 2022, he served as Secretary of the Leading Party Members’ Group and the Director General of the Beijing Local Financial Supervision and Administration (Beijing Municipal Bureau of Financial Work). From February 2009 to November 2018, he served as Secretary of the Leading Party Members’ Group, Deputy Director General, and Director General of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Financial Work.

Han Xu
Vice President and CRO of Bank of Beijing

Mr. Han graduated from University of International Business and Economics with a Master of Laws degree. He has been Vice President of Bank of Beijing since May 2023 and CRO of Bank of Beijing since June 2020. He served as Business Executive of Financial Market from July 2017 to June 2020, Party Secretary and General Manager of Nanjing Regional Branch from July 2016 to July 2017, and Deputy General Manager, Deputy General Manger (in charge) and General Manager of Legal & Compliance Department from December 2010 to July 2016.

Daniel J. Cowen
Deputy Director, Financial and Professional Services, Department for International Trade (DIT), British Embassy Beijing

Daniel is currently DIT’s Deputy Director for Financial and Professional Services based at the British Embassy Beijing. He has worked in the public and private sectors in both the UK and China, was previously the Foreign Office’s Head of Financial Policy and Programmes in China, and before joining government was the Deputy Director of the International Department at Tsinghua Holdings Capital, a leading Chinese private equity firm. Daniel has previously spent periods working in fixed income for an investment bank; and he started his career in capital markets advisory for reinsurance and catastrophe bond deal issuances at RMS. Daniel was appointed a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by Her Majesty The Queen in the 2021 New Year Honours List, in recognition of services to British foreign policy. Daniel holds a master’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Imperial College London, and a Global MBA from Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management, where he was a Chinese Government Scholar and a Tsinghua University Scholar as well as MBA Vice-President. Daniel was invited to the 2016 St. Gallen Symposium in Switzerland for his paper “Alternatives to Economic Growth”, and he has appeared as an expert in international political economy on the Phoenix TV show Tiger Talk.

Huang Yi
Professor, Fudan University, and Assistant Dean, Fanhai International School of Finance

Prof. Huang was Academic Director of the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) Program. Prior to joining Fudan in 2021, Professor Huang was Pictet Chair in Finance and Development and associate professor at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (Geneva, Switzerland) and a research affiliate at the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) , the Asian Bureau of Finance and Economic Research (ABFER) and Academic Fellow at the Luohan Academy.

Zhang Rongyan
General Risk Manager of BestPay

Zhang Rongyan, General Risk Manager of BestPay, also incumbent leader of BestPay's Auditing Office, Supervisor of Tianyi Credit Company and Supervisor of Tianyi Factoring Company. Consistent in the field of risk management and anti-money laundering for more than ten years, and devoted to researches into risk detection, compensation and solutions.

He Jianying
General Manager, Tech Innovation and Development, Mashang Consumer Finance

Mr. He Jianying is the General Manager of the Tech Innovation & Development Department of Mashang Consumer Finance Co. Ltd, fully responsible for technology strategic planning and tech ecosystem  cooperation. Mr. He has more than 15 years of experience in government affairs, technology strategy planning , tech ecosystem cooperation in high-tech and Internet industries. Prior Mashang, Mr.He has successively served CCID under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, SAP, Ant Group, and Meituan. His professional fields cover public policy making, technology strategy planning, technological influence and government affairs.

Mr.He holds a doctorate in Computer Science from Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He was named “Distinguished Information Industry Expert” by Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and served as the chairman of Cybersecurity Working Group of EUCCC, vice chairman of ICT Working Group under USITO.

Liu Wei
Deputy General Manager of Personal Banking Department of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China

Liu Wei, Deputy General Manager of Personal Banking Department of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Co-Chairman of Fund Sales Business Committee of Asset Management Association of China. After joining Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in 1997, he worked in Shandong Jinan Branch, Hong Kong Branch, ICBC Europe and other domestic and overseas branches, as well as the head office's bank card business department, personal banking business department and other head office departments. At present, he is mainly responsible for promoting the construction of ICBC's large wealth management business system, and is committed to providing 720 million individual customers with accessible and reliable wealth management services.

Foo Boon Ping
President and Managing Editor,
The Asian Banker

Foo Boon Ping is the President and Managing Editor of The Asian Banker, where he manages its publishing and research business in Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. He regularly engages the financial services community on transformational issues shaping the industry; speaking at and chairing many of the Asian Banker's as well as partners events. He has more than 25 years' experience in strategic brand management, corporate & marketing communication and research & consulting, covering: retail, corporate and transaction banking, financial markets, risk management, compliance and financial technology. He had previously served in senior management positions at UOB and DBS Bank. He was also formerly a senior consulting manager at Ernst and Young and started his career as a financial journalist.

Christian Kapfer
Director of Research, TABInsights

Christian Kapfer is Research Director, managing TABInsights, leading research and consulting engagement with top-tier financial institutions in benchmarking business and strategic capabilities across leadership, commercial, retail and transaction finance, financial markets, risk management, financial technology, and wealth management. Kapfer joined The Asian Banker in 2014 and was responsible for starting many of the company's research programmes, such as Excellence in Retail Financial Services, AB 500 Strongest Banks Ranking and Working Groups.