Agenda

Here's what's scheduled for the event. All times are in BST.

Monday, May 20, 2024
8:30 AM
Registration, networking and morning coffee
 
Registration, networking and morning coffee
 
8:55 AM
Conference introduction

Maurice Button, CEO, City Week, and CEO, City & Financial Global

9:00 AM
Chair’s opening remarks

Emma Harvey-Smith, Chief of Staff, Green Finance Institute

Chair’s opening remarks

William Wright, Founder and Managing Director, New Financial

9:05 AM
Keynote address - Realising the benefits of economic sovereignty to reinforce the UK’s capital markets

Bim Afolami MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister, UK Government

Keynote address – The role of green finance in catalysing the transition to net zero

The Rt Hon. The Lord Mayor, Alderman Professor Michael Mainelli

9:15 AM
Keynote address – Investment opportunities in the UK’s renewable energy and climtech sectors

Lord Dominic Johnson of Lainston CBE, Minister of State (Minister for Investment), Department for Business and Trade

9:20 AM
Keynote address - The work of the Capital Markets Industry Taskforce

Julia Hoggett, CEO, London Stock Exchange plc

9:35 AM
Keynote address – The net zero agenda in the U.S.

The Hon. Sarah Bloom Raskin, Co-Chair of the UN Net Zero and Accountability Framework Review, Former Deputy Treasury Secretary and currently Distinguished Professor of Law at Duke University

Keynote address - The role of regulation in creating efficient capital markets

Sarah Pritchard, Executive Director, Markets, and Executive Director, International, Financial Conduct Authority

9:50 AM
What are the most important regulatory issues for issuers and investors?

Impact of the FCA’s reform of the listing rules, including the prospectus regime. Reform of MiFID and MiFIR. Shortening the settlement cycle. Market integrity and greenwashing risks in sustainable finance. Green bonds – where next?  

Moderator:

Tom Ahern, Global Head of Client Coverage, Corporate Trust, BNY Mellon

Panel:

Claire Suddens-Spiers, Co-Head of Equity Markets Solutions, Rothschild & Co

Mark Austin CBE, Partner, Latham & Watkins LLP

Sandy Boss, Senior Managing Director and Chair, BlackRock UK

Clare Cole, Director of Market Oversight, Financial Conduct Authority

Setting the context: growth prospects for sustainable finance and investment in the run-up to COP 29

Building from COP 28 to COP 29. The implications for sustainable finance. How can the financial services industry best facilitate energy transition? Accelerating investment in renewable energy and climate tech. What does it take to make projects investable?

Moderator:

Emma Harvey-Smith, Chief of Staff, Green Finance Institute

Panel:

Sonja Laud, Chief Investment Officer, Legal & General Investment Management

Claire Coustar, Global Head of ESG & Sustainable Finance, Deutsche Bank AG

Stephanie Maier, Global Chief Sustainability Officer, GAM

10:30 AM
Networking and morning coffee
 
Networking and morning coffee
 
11:00 AM
Latest developments in the international capital markets

Prospects for new issuance in global markets. Impact of fintech innovations on ECM and DCM. Shortening of the settlement cycle. Sustainable finance. Green and sustainability-linked bonds. Digitalisation of the markets. Tokenisation and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). Current Legal and regulatory issues.

Henrik Johnsson, Co-Head of Investment Bank EMEA & Co-Head of Global Capital Markets, Deutsche Bank

Charlie Lytle, Chairman of Corporate Broking, Goldman Sachs

Amanda Thomas, Partner, Head of International DCM, Derivatives and Securitization Know-How & Training, A&O Shearman

International financial regulation on climate and biodiversity: towards convergence or divergence?

How effectively are national regulators coordinating their policy initiatives in this area? Which are the most challenging issues? Progress towards global consistency to avoid regulatory arbitrage.

Moderator:

Chris Hall, Co-Founder, ESG Investor

Panel:

Taylor Francis, Co-founder, Watershed

Sacha Sadan, Director of Environment, Social and Governance, Financial Conduct Authority

Christy Goldsmith Romero, Commissioner, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)

11:40 AM
Climate change acceleration: implications for climate adaptation, best practice transition plans and risk management

2023 was the hottest year on record and suffered the most serious adverse weather events. What’s next? Can we adapt fast enough? How to manage the risks. Challenges for transition planning.

Moderator:

Maurice Button, CEO, City Week, and CEO, City & Financial Global

Panel:

Bruce Carnegie-Brown, Chairman, Lloyd’s of London

The Baroness Vere of Norbiton, Treasury Lords Minister, HM Treasury

Julie Page, EMEA CEO, Aon    

The Baroness Brown of Cambridge DBE FREng FRS FMed Sci, Chair of Adaptation Committee, UK Climate Change Committee

Unlocking pension fund and insurance company investment into the UK capital markets

How to reverse the decline of investment into UK equities. Legal, tax and accounting incentives and disincentives. Risk culture and skills, particularly among pension fund trustees. Consolidation of pension funds. Solvency 2. Retail investment.

Moderator:

Caroline Kurup, Partner, CMS UK

Panel:

Doug Brown, CEO, Insurance, Wealth & Retirement, Aviva

John Chilman, Chief Executive, Railpen

Gavin Lewis, Managing Director, Head of UK Institutional Client Business, BlackRock

Mike Eakins, Chief Investment Officer, Phoenix Group

12:20 PM
Investor stewardship and portfolio diversification: recognising the interdependencies between climate change and biodiversity

Climate and nature are two sides of the same coin. Decisions about one affect the other, making portfolio diversification more complex. How asset managers can meet the challenge.

Moderator:

Emma Harvey-Smith, Chief of Staff, Green Finance Institute

Panel:

Karen Ellis, Chief Economist, WWF UK

Jason Mitchell, Head of Responsible Investment Research, Man Group plc

Stephanie Maier, Global Chief Sustainability Officer, GAM

Public versus private markets: bridging the gap

Is there an intermediate gap between venture capital and an IPO for fast-growing companies? Would the UK proposals for an ‘Intermittent Trading Venue’ provide the necessary bridge and prevent companies being sold too early? Liquidity and trading advantages. Corporate governance and legal issues.

Moderator:

Katharine Braddick, Group Head of Strategic Policy, Barclays

Panel:

Greg Smith, CEO, IP Group

Charlie Walker, Deputy CEO, London Stock Exchange plc

Alex Barr, Partner and Head of Sarasin Bread Street

Nick Kirrage, Co-Head, Schroder Value Team

1:00 PM
Networking and lunch
 
Networking and lunch
 
1:55 PM
Keynote address – Effective corporate governance and shareholder engagement

Sir Jonathan Symonds CBE, Chair, GSK plc

2:00 PM
Fireside chat - Bending the emissions curve - Transition finance focused on emissions reductions

Host: Maurice Button, CEO, City Week, and CEO, City & Financial Global 

In conversation with:

Vanessa Havard-Williams, Chair, UK Transition Finance Market Review Lead

2:10 PM
Keynote address – A Sovereign Wealth Fund perspective on global asset allocation
 
2:25 PM
Fireside chat - Qatar‘s Emerging Capital Market & Digital Asset Journey

In conversation with:

Yousuf Mohamed Al-Jaida, Board Member and Chief Executive Officer, Qatar Financial Centre (QFC)

2:30 PM
Fireside chat

In conversation with:

Emma Howard Boyd CBE, Chair, Green Finance Institute, Global Ambassador, Race to Resilience & Race to Zero

2:45 PM
Corporate governance, stewardship and proxies

How has the relationship between the boards of listed companies and their shareholders changed? The impact of increased use of third-party proxy voting agencies. What has been the impact of ESG ratings and the proliferation of regulation? Is there too much box-ticking? How to get back on track. 

Moderator:

Julie Shacklady, Director, Primary Markets, UK Finance

Panel:

Kate O’Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement & Corporate Affairs, The Financial Reporting Council

Jenn-Hui Tan, Chief Sustainability Officer, Fidelity International

Michael Marks, Head of Investment Stewardship and Responsible Investment Integration, Legal & General Investment Management

Corporate reporting and disclosure – will the new ISSB Sustainable Standards lead to an integrated TCFD/TNFD model?

What are the differences and implementation challenges of TCFD and TNFD reporting? Can they be integrated? Will the ISSB’s coming work on nature-related standards provide the solution? How does all this fit with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards? The challenge of reporting on Scope 3 (supply chain) emissions. The future for ESG ratings providers. Data – the latest initiatives.

Moderator:

Gill Lofts, EY Global Financial Services Sustainable Finance Leader

Panel:

Alan Vallance, CEO, ICAEW

David Craig, Co-Chair, Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures

Sue Lloyd, Vice-Chair, International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) 

Paul Simpson OBE, Partner, Climate Change & Sustainability, ERM

3:20 PM
Creating a positive ecosystem for scaling companies

The role of government policy. Proportionate regulation and tax incentives. ‘Smarter’ UK domestic capital – need to foster companies not just invest. Founder remuneration and control issues. Risk culture of investors and their understanding of technology. Depth of liquidity in market, valuations, research coverage to sustain secondary market interest.

Moderator:

Katie Ramsey, Head of Fintech, Department for Business and Trade 

Panel:

Charlotte Crosswell OBE, Chair, The Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology

Janine Hirt, CEO, Innovate Finance

Nigel Toon, CEO, Graphcore.ai

Tim Levene, CEO, Augmentum Fintech 

3:25 PM
Networking and afternoon tea
 
International carbon markets – the evolving relationship between voluntary and compliance markets

Effective carbon pricing is essential for the energy transition. Is a revised, high integrity VCM the solution? Will governments opt for more compliance markets? Is there scope for interplay between the two? Is ‘Carbon Insetting’ the next major development? Impact of EU, UK and potentially other countries’ carbon border adjustment mechanism taxes.

Moderator:

Marisa Buchanan, Senior Vice President, Low Carbon Solutions, Trading & Shipping, BP

Panel:

Annette L. Nazareth, Chair of the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market

Dr Allister Furey, CEO and Co-Founder, Sylvera

Dharshan Wignarajah, UK & Europe Director, Climate Policy Initiative

3:55 PM
Chair’s closing remarks

William Wright, Founder and Managing Director, New Financial

4:00 PM
Networking drinks reception and close of proceedings
 
4:05 PM
Chair’s closing remarks

Emma Harvey-Smith, Chief of Staff, Green Finance Institute

4:10 PM
Networking drinks reception and close of proceedings
 
Tuesday, May 21, 2024
8:30 AM
Registration, networking and morning coffee
 
Registration, networking and morning coffee
 
8:55 AM
Chair’s opening remarks

Emma Joyce, Senior Managing Director and Head of EMEA, Global Blockchain Business Council (GBBC)

9:00 AM
Fireside chat - Invested in making the UK a web3 centre

Andreessen Horowitz’s expansion to London and vision to help make the UK a web3 centre. The discussion will focus on how the UK can stand apart from Europe and the U.S. to attract and keep top technical talent while building a sensible regulatory regime for blockchain technology that protects consumers while fostering innovation.

Host:

Tim Bradshaw, Global Technology Correspondent, Financial Times

In conversation with:

Sriram Krishnan, General Partner, Andreessen Horowitz Crypto

Conference introduction

Maurice Button, CEO, City Week, and CEO, City & Financial Global

9:05 AM
Chair’s opening remarks

Julian David, CEO, techUK

9:10 AM
Keynote address - AI for Innovation

Chris Hayward, Chairman of Policy and Resources, City of London Corporation

9:20 AM
Fireside chat - Future of Money

Host:

Faryar Shirzad, Chief Policy Officer, Coinbase

Keynote address – Balancing the productivity opportunities of financial technology and AI against the potential risks

Randall Kroszner, Member of the Financial Policy Committee, Bank of England

9:35 AM
Keynote address

Saqib Bhatti MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Institutional requirements for digital asset derivatives: Regulation, technology, risk management and capital

Making the UK a hub for Digital Asset Derivatives trading. How easy is it to get regulated in the UK? What it takes to attract and maintain large financial institutions' participation in digital asset derivatives. Overcoming challenges such as technology and operational risk, and the benefits of central counterparty clearing (CCP)

Moderator

Emma Joyce, Senior Managing Director and Head of EMEA, Global Blockchain Business Council (GBBC)

Speakers

Arnab Sen, Co-Founder and CEO, GFO-X

Marcus Robinson, Head of Strategy, LSEG Post Trade

Jeremy Punnett, Portfolio Director, Crossover Investments, M&G

9:45 AM
Keynote address
 
9:55 AM
International regulation: balancing innovation with investor protection

Regulators across the globe have taken different approaches to the way they address, define and enforce crypto rules and regulations. What can regulators and policymakers learn from each other? How can they work towards achieving a unified approach? How will incoming regulation impact the institutional adoption of digital assets? Where is the world’s next global hub for digital assets?

Moderator:

Ian Taylor, Head of Crypto and Digital Assets, KPMG UK and Board Advisor, CryptoUK

Panel:

Dr Lisa Cameron MP, Chair, Crypto and Digital Assets All Party Parliamentary Group, UK Parliament

Muna Dandan, General Counsel & Head of Legal, Secretary To The Board, Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) 

Melvin Deng, CEO, QCP Capital

Tom Duff Gordon, VP, International Policy, Coinbase

Setting the context: the potential for generative AI to transform the financial services industry

How should boards incorporate generative AI into their strategy?  How to manage the risks of unfair bias, opaque automated decision-making, misinformation and fraud. Ethics and corporate governance.

Moderator:

Lucy McNulty, Editor, Following the Rules

Panel:

Jamie Ovenden, CTO, Schroders

Professor Carsten Maple, Turing Fellow, The Alan Turing Institute; Professor of Cyber Systems Engineering, University of Warwick's Cyber Security Centre (CSC); Principal Investigator, NCSC-EPSRC Academic Centre of Excellence, Cyber Security Research

Sarah Gadd, Chief Data Officer and Head of Data & Process Automation, Julius Baer

Jan Putnis, Head of Financial Regulation Group and co-Head of Financial Institutions Group, Slaughter and May

10:35 AM
Networking and Morning Coffee
 
Networking and morning coffee
 
11:00 AM
Fireside chat - The CFTC’s role in regulating Digital Assets

Host:

Adam Jackson, Director of Policy, Innovate Finance

In conversation with:

The Honorable Caroline D. Pham, Commissioner, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)

11:05 AM
Where next for UK, EU and U.S. regulation of AI?

How has the approach to AI regulation evolved in the UK, Europe and U.S.? To the extent that they differ, what are the implications for AI in cross-border financial services? Will there be a global regulator? The plans for an AI Safety Institute.

Moderator:

Julian David, CEO, techUK

Panel:

Nicole Sandler, Head of Digital Policy, Barclays

Jenny Cieplak, Partner, Latham & Watkins

Euan MacMillan, Director, Digital Markets Unit, Competition and Markets Authority

Kai Zenner, Head of Office and Digital Policy Advisor for MEP Axel Voss (EPP Group), European Parliament

11:15 AM
Digital assets and investment funds

Investment funds provide a pathway for investors to gain exposure to a variety of asset types and they are increasingly being constructed of digital assets and becoming digital assets themselves. Funds of all varieties and in some cases ETFs offer an effective way of accessing alternative asset classes - what is the future of investment funds in the new digital marketplace?  Will more financial institutions look to offer digital asset funds to their clients? Can funds offer managed diversification opportunities for investors? Are funds a safer investment vehicle for investors than holding cryptoassets in their own digital wallets?

Moderator:

John Allan, Head of Innovation & Operations Unit, The Investment Association 

Panel:

Katey Neate, Chief Operating Officer, Digital Assets, BNY Mellon

Christopher Mellor, Head of EMEA Equity and Commodity ETF Product Management, Invesco

Sandy Kaul, Senior Vice President, Head of Digital Asset and Industry Advisory Services, Franklin Templeton

11:45 AM
Use cases of AI in financial services to date

Which have been the most promising use cases so far? Using AI to re-engineer existing business models and internal processes. Implications for product design and customer engagement. What are the integration challenges?

Moderator

James Longster, Partner, Technology & Commercial Transactions, Travers Smith

Panellists

Emily Prince, Group Head of Analytics, London Stock Exchange Group

Dr Jochen Papenbrock, Head of Financial Technology (EMEA), NVIDIA

Leigh Bates, Partner, Data & Analytics Lead, PwC UK

Dr Dara Sosulski, Head of AI and Model Management for Markets and Securities Services, HSBC 

11:50 AM
Tokenisation I: governance, standards and legal clarity

Creating a legal and regulatory framework which enables innovation and experimentation. Key legal issues needing clarification that were identified by the UK Law Commission report on digital assets. How can we make progress on interoperability between private chains? Scope for voluntary standards for industry. How would voluntary standards fit with the regulatory framework?

Moderator:

Mike Ringer, Partner, Co-Lead of Crypto & Digital Assets Group, CMS UK

Panel:

Peter Hilborne, Chief Operating Officer, Operations, Schroders Investment Management

Kevin Gaffney, Director Secondary Markets and Post‑Trade Policy, UK Finance

Sandy Kaul, Senior Vice President, Head of Digital Asset and Industry Advisory Services, Franklin Templeton

12:25 PM
The rapidly developing digital payments landscape

Open banking and the development of digital currencies in the UK and elsewhere has unleashed a wave of innovation that has transformed the payments landscape. However, digital currencies and financial crime pose a continuing threat to payment providers. Can AI help to provide a solution? What are the key challenges for cross-border payments? What is being done internationally to improve cross-border payments? What are we doing to help tackle the frictions in cross-border payments?

Moderator

Natalie Lewis, Partner and Head of Fintech, Market Infrastructure and Payments (FMIP), Travers Smith

Panel:

Victoria Cleland, Executive Director, Payments, Bank of England

Tony McLaughlin, Managing Director, Emerging Payments and Business Development, Treasury and Trade Solutions, Citi

Xiaonan Zou, Head of Innovation and Digital Assets, UBS Group Treasury

Mandy Lamb, Managing Director, UK & Ireland, Visa

12:30 PM
Tokenisation II: a solution for illiquid assets?

Private equity, venture capital, private debt, real estate and commodities remain largely illiquid. Tokenising such assets could provide greater accessibility to investors. How much appetite is there from investors to hold tokenised assets in their portfolios? What are the most essential considerations for fund managers exploring tokenisation? What are the benefits and challenges for banks and investors using tokenisation? What are the risks of using this technology? How best do we solve for the challenge of on chain-cash for settlement of tokenized asset transactions?

Moderator:

Tanvi Singh, Board Director, Global Blockchain Business Council (GBBC)

Panel:

Amar Amlani, Executive Director, Head of EMEA Digital Assets, Goldman Sachs

Zahid Mustafa, Managing Director I Head of Digital Asset Custody, State Street Digital

Xiao-Xiao Zhu, Digital Operating Partner, KKR

Nikhil Sharma, Executive Director, Head of Growth, Onyx Digital Assets, Onyx by JP Morgan 

1:05 PM
Networking and lunch
 
1:10 PM
Keynote address - The UK’s Digital Securities Sandbox

Sasha Mills, Executive Director, Financial Market Infrastructure, Bank of England

1:25 PM
Networking and Lunch
 
2:00 PM
Chair’s welcome remarks

Emma Reynolds, Managing Director, Public Affairs, Policy & Research, TheCityUK

2:05 PM
Keynote address – Forward-looking cooperation between two leading global financial centres on the basis of the innovative CH-UK Berne Financial Services Agreement

Daniela Stoffel, Vice-Minister, State Secretariat for International Finance, Federal Department of Finance, Switzerland

2:20 PM
Chair’s welcome remarks

Lawrence Wintermeyer, Executive Co-Chair, Global Digital Finance (GDF)

2:25 PM
Fireside chat - The UAE’s strategy as a regional AI hub and the opportunities for foreign companies
 
Latest developments in custody services for digital assets

Recent market developments have underscored the importance of custody and demand for custody services has therefore surged. What factors should institutions consider when selecting a custody provider? How do custody services differ between providers? What are the latest innovations in the digital asset custody landscape? What are the challenges digital asset custodians facing - striking the correct balance between greater operational efficiency and safety?

Moderator:

James Delaney, Managing Director, Asset Management Regulation, Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA)

Panel:

Sabih Behzad, Head of Digital Assets and Currencies Transformation, Deutsche Bank

Dmitry Tokarev, Chief Executive Officer, Copper

Laurent Kssis, Board Member, Issuance.Swiss

Katrin Koller, Head of Custody Product, Ripple

2:45 PM
Fireside Chat – How will AI reshape investment banking?
 
3:05 PM
Market infrastructure, interoperability and scaling

As more financial institutions prepare to enter the world of digital assets, the need for institutional-quality infrastructure is increasing. How are financial institutions adapting to and preparing for the coming changes? How will incoming regulation impact the development of market infrastructure?

Moderator:

Lawrence Wintermeyer, Executive Co-Chair, Global Digital Finance (GDF)

Panel:

John O'Neill, Managing Director, Global Head of Digital Assets Strategy, HSBC

Emma Lovett, Executive Director, Markets DLT, Credit Lead, JP Morgan

Ami Ben-David, Co-Founder and CEO, Ownera

Arnab Sen, Co-Founder and CEO, GFO-X

Fireside Chat - The evolving nature of the cyber threat to the financial services industry
 
3:25 PM
The criticality of data in financial services: opportunities and challenges

Data is at the heart of all the key developments in financial services, including sourcing data for machine learning and AI, climate and nature reporting, open data, blockchain technology and payments. Key issues include international data transfers, data privacy and synthetic data. What are the latest developments?

Moderator:

Emma Reynolds, Managing Director, Public Affairs, Policy & Research, TheCityUK

Panel:

Ezechi Britton MBE, CEO, The Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology

Philippe Laurensy, Managing Director and Head of Product Strategy & Innovation, Euroclear Group

3:45 PM
Stablecoins and CBDCs: coexistence and interplay

Can stablecoins be integrated into the existing payments infrastructure? How will CBDCs work at the cross-border level and interlink with existing infrastructure? How CBDCs could function in reality and when are they going to move out of the experimental stages?

Moderator:

Joshua de Vos, Research Lead, CCData

Panel:

Alexander Bechtel, Head of Digital Strategy, DWS Investments UK Limited

Previn Singh, IB Principal Investments & Strategic Ventures, Digital Assets, UBS Investment Bank

Adeline Bachellerie, Deputy Director Infrastructures, Innovation and Payments, Banque de France

Philipp Müller, CFA, Senior Economist, Swiss National Bank

4:05 PM
What will the next generation of AI models offer to the financial services industry?

Will the response to managing the current risks posed by generative AI be sufficient for next generation models? How will functionality be enhanced? Potential implications for different industries, financial markets and the workforce

Moderator:

Justin Cash, Online Editor, Financial News

Panel:

Vishal Marria, CEO and Founder, Quantexa

Prashant Jajodia, Managing Client Partner, Financial Services Sector Leader - UK & Ireland, IBM Consulting

Dr Marc Warner, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Faculty 

Sonya Iovieno, Head of Venture & Growth, HSBC Innovation Banking UK

4:20 PM
The global Web3 investment landscape

The latest trends and new use cases – the importance of a clear regulatory regime that fosters innovation. Which technologies will prevail in the third iteration of the web? Digital payments a prerequisite for Web3? Security and privacy issues. Implications of AI and outlook for metaverse technologies.

Moderator:

Eric Van der Kleij, Partner, TechNation, Level39, Edenbase.com

Panel:

Brian Quintenz, Global Head of Policy, Andreessen Horowitz Crypto

Vanessa Grellet, Managing Partner, Arche Capital and Board Member, Ethereum Enterprise Alliance (EEA)

Jamie Burke, Founder & Chairman, Outlier Ventures

Richard Muirhead, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Fabric Ventures

4:45 PM
Chair’s closing remarks

Emma Reynolds, Managing Director, Public Affairs, Policy & Research, TheCityUK

4:50 PM
Networking drinks reception and close of proceedings
 
4:55 PM
Chair’s closing remarks

Lawrence Wintermeyer, Executive Co-Chair, Global Digital Finance (GDF)

5:00 PM
Networking drinks reception and close of proceedings