Agenda

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

Monday, June 30, 2025
8:30 AM
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

Dr Rhian-Mari Thomas OBE, CEO, GFI

9:05 AM
Opening Keynote

Alastair King, the Lord Mayor of the City of London

9:15 AM
Keynote fireside chat

Harnessing innovation in the UK’s financial services sector to drive the UK’s growth strategy

Host

Dr Rhian-Mari Thomas OBE, CEO, GFI 

In conversation with

Emma Reynolds MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister, HM Treasury

9:35 AM
Keynote Address

The Industrial Strategy as a catalyst for achieving net zero

The Rt Hon Jonathan Reynolds MP, Secretary of State for Business and Trade 

9:50 AM
The role of the international capital markets in financing the energy transition

Moderator

Simon Hunt, City Editor, City AM

Panellists

Claire Dorrian, Head of Sustainable Finance, LSEG

Eric Bramoullé, CEO, Amundi UK

Sandra Boss, UK Chair, Blackrock

10:40 AM
Networking and morning coffee
 
11:10 AM
Redefining ESG – do we need to develop a new paradigm for responsible sustainable investment?

Moderator

Sonali Siriwardena, Partner and Global Head of ESG, Simmons & Simmons

Panellists

Sir Douglas Flint CBE, Chair, Aberdeen Group plc

The Rt Hon the Baroness Morgan of Cotes, Senior Independent Non-Executive Director, Santander UK

Ruth Leas, CEO, Investec

Cathy Shepherd, Global Head of Clean Energy Transition and UK Head of Natural Resources, Citi Bank

11:50 AM
Unlocking investment into new technologies for the energy transition

Session chair:

Tom Williams, Partner and Head of Energy & Infrastructure, Downing 

A series of keynote presentations

Financing the future - how the National Wealth Fund will catalyse sustainable growth

John Flint, CEO, National Wealth Fund

Identifying the key technologies of the future – what should the priorities be?

Juergen Maier, Chair, Great British Energy

Catalysing investment in cleantech – how can government policy support private sector investment?

Julia Reinaud, Senior Director, Breakthrough Energy Europe

12:35 PM
How can better corporate disclosure and data boost sustainable investment?

Moderator

Sarah-Jayne Dominic, Head of Policy Programmes and Strategy (Regulatory Standards) and Head of UK Sustainability Disclosure TAC Secretariat, Financial Reporting Council (FRC)

Panellists

Anna Dunn, UK CEO & EMEA CFO, JP Morgan

Alan Vallance, CEO, ICAEW

Fiona Bassett, CEO, FTSE Russell

Emily McKenzie, Technical Director, Taskforce on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures 

1:15 PM
Networking and lunch
 
2:25 PM
Keynote Address

Accelerating climate action across the economy

Emma Pinchbeck, Chief Executive, The Climate Change Committee

2:40 PM
Keynote address from the Chinese Ambassador

H.E. Zheng Zeguang, Ambassador from the People’s Republic of China to the United Kingdom

2:55 PM
Developing the global market for transition finance: opportunities and the challenges

Keynote Address 

The Rt Hon Lord Alok Sharma KCMG, Chair, The Transition Finance Council, President of COP 26 and Former Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Panel discussion

Moderator

Rachel Barrett, Partner, Linklaters  

Panellists  

Rain Newton-Smith, Chief Executive, CBI

Tim Adams, President and CEO, The Institute of International Finance  

Dr Tony Rooke, Executive Director, Climate Risk and Resilience, Howden

Gillian Tan, Chief Sustainability Officer, Assistant Managing Director (Development and International), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) 

3:45 PM
Networking and afternoon tea
 
4:15 PM
The opportunity for financial institutions to drive the development of the international carbon markets

Moderator

Simon Puleston Jones, Founder and MD, Emral Carbon

Panellists

Brett Orlando, Global Head of Commodity Transition, Bank of America

Doris Honold, Board Member, ICVCM

Gianpiero Nacci, Managing Director of Climate Strategy and Delivery, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

Bilal Hussain, Co-founder and CEO, Artio 

4:55 PM
Nature as an investment opportunity: natural capital strategies, AI and new technologies

Moderator

Dr Rhian-Mari Thomas OBE, CEO, GFI 

Panellists

Mary Creagh CBE MP, Minister for Nature, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity

Dr Tony Juniper CBE, Chair, Natural England

5:35 PM
Chair’s closing remarks

Dr Rhian-Mari Thomas OBE, CEO, GFI

5:40 PM
Networking drinks reception and close of proceedings
 
Tuesday, July 1, 2025
8:30 AM
Registration, networking and morning coffee
 
9:10 AM
Conference introduction

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

9:15 AM
Chair’s opening remarks

Julian David OBE, CEO, techUK

9:20 AM
Keynote address

Harnessing AI and technology to deliver the FCA’s 2025 strategic priorities

Jessica Rusu, Chief Data, Information and Intelligence Officer, FCA

9:35 AM
From LLMs and GenAI to Agentic AI: real-world applications for financial services

Moderator

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

Panellists

Jamie Ovenden, CTO, Schroders

Gary Collier, CTO, Man Group

Aidan Gomez, CEO, Cohere

10:15 AM
Networking and morning coffee
 
10:45 AM
The AI leaders’ perspective: realising the full potential of AI

Moderator

Tim Hickman, Partner, White & Case LLP 

Panellists

Darren Hardman, CEO, Microsoft UK

Leon Butler, General Manager, UK and Ireland, IBM

Vishal Marria, CEO and Founder, Quantexa

Esther Wong, Founder and CEO, 3C AGI Partners, Hong Kong; Panel Representative, Financial Services Development Council 

Zahra Bahrololoumi CBE, CEO, Salesforce UK and Ireland

11:35 AM
Keynote address

Implementation of the new AI Opportunities Action Plan

The Rt Hon Peter Kyle MP, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology

11:50 AM
The future of AI regulation: convergence or divergence?

Moderator

Gareth Stokes, Partner, Global Co-Chair, Technology, DLA Piper 

Panellists

Emmanuel Givanakis, CEO - FSRA, ADGM

Tom Mutton, Director of Central Bank Digital Currency, Bank of England

Morten Bech, Head of the BIS Innovation Hub Switzerland

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

12:30 PM
The acceleration of digitisation, automation & AI and the impact on financial markets

Moderator

Aman Luther, Head of AI, AFME

Panellists

Charlotte Wood, Global Head of Innovation, Fintech and AI Strategy, Schroders

Olga Pirog, Global Head of Data and AI Transformation, IG Group

Aman Thind, Executive Vice President, Global Chief Architect, State Street

1:10 PM
Networking and lunch
 
2:10 PM
Afternoon chair’s welcome remarks

James Challinor, Head of Financial Services, techUK

2:15 PM
Keynote address

Global developments in AI and their implications for the UK

Jean Innes, CEO, The Alan Turing Institute

2:35 PM
Delivering the required data centres and other AI infrastructure to underpin the UK’s AI ambitions

Moderator

Luisa Cardani, Head of Data Centres Programme, techUK

Panellists 

David Howson, President EMEA, Vantage Data Centres

Karl Havard, Chief Commercial Officer, Nscale

Ismail Amla, Global Consult Leader, Kyndryl

Julian David OBE, CEO of techUK 

3:15 PM
Navigating data issues in AI and machine learning

Moderator:

Bob Wigley, Chairman, UK Finance

Panellists

Lyndon Subroyen, Group Chief Technology Officer, Investec

Dr Paul Dongha, Head of Responsible AI & AI Strategy, NatWest Group

Kirsten Mycroft, Chief Privacy & Data Ethics Officer, BNY 

3:55 PM
Networking and afternoon tea
 
4:25 PM
Keynote address

Synchronisation and Beyond: enabling the next wave of financial innovation 

Victoria Cleland, Executive Director, Payments, Bank of England

Innovation in payments systems – impact of AI and emerging technologies

Moderator

Tony Craddock, Director General and Founder, The Payments Association

Panellists

Alan Lim, Director and Head of Financial Infrastructure and Artificial Intelligence Office, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) 

Mette Grolleman, Senior Vice President, Government Engagement, Europe, Visa 

Sam Hinton-Smith, Head of International Public Policy, Stripe

Akshat Mittal, General Manager and Head of Product, Core Payments, Revolut 

5:20 PM
Chair’s closing remarks

James Challinor, Head of Financial Services, techUK

5:25 PM
Networking drinks reception and close of proceedings
 
Wednesday, July 2, 2025
8:30 AM
Registration, networking and morning coffee
 
9:00 AM
Conference introduction

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

9:05 AM
Chair’s opening remarks

Emma Joyce, Chief Revenue Officer, Global Blockchain Business Council (GBBC)  

9:10 AM
Keynote address

The Bank of England’s approach to innovation in digital assets and payments

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

9:25 AM
Keynote address

Digital Assets: the legislation, their regulation, innovation, investment- the UK opportunity

The Lord Holmes of Richmond MBE

9:45 AM
Examining global regulatory approaches - international regulators on their individual approaches to domestic and cross border regulations

Moderator

Jonathan Herbst, Partner and Global Head of Financial Services Regulation, Norton Rose Fulbright

Panellists

Sarah Pritchard, Deputy Chief Executive, Financial Conduct Authority

Morten Bech, Head of the BIS Innovation Hub Switzerland

Dr. Max Bernt, Managing Director for Europe, TaxBit

Elizabeth Wong, Director of Intermediaries and Head of Fintech Unit, Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC)

10:30 AM
Asset allocation - Digital asset strategies in 2025 and beyond: the future of institutional adoption

Moderator

Luke Mizzi, Lead Associate, Camilleri Preziosi Advocates; Member, FinanceMalta 

Panellists

Bradley Duke, Head of Europe, Bitwise Asset Management 

Scott Lucas, Head of Markets Digital Assets, J.P. Morgan

Rahul Bhushan, Managing Director, ARK Invest Europe

11:10 AM
Fireside chat

Breaking Down the Wall: The Integration of Decentralized and Traditional Finance

Host

Emma Joyce, Chief Revenue Officer, Global Blockchain Business Council (GBBC) 

In conversation with

Marco Santori, General Partner, Pantera Capital  

11:25 AM
Networking and morning coffee
 
11:55 AM
Overview of use cases in tokenisation - the need to prioritise commercial value over just technological allure - aiming to accelerate institutional adoption and scalability

Moderator

Grace Wyatt, Partner, Addleshaw Goddard LLP

Panellists

Robert Crossley, Vice President of Industry Advisory Services EMEA & APAC, Franklin Templeton

King Leung, Global Head of Financial Services, Fintech, and Sustainability, Invest Hong Kong

Rowan Varrall, Regulatory Affairs Director, Digital Token Identifier Foundation (DTIF)

Sam Mudie, Founder & CEO, Savea

Kate Lowe, Head of Product Strategy, Euroclear UK and International 

12:40 PM
Tokenizing the $10T+ private markets - money market funds, real estate and private equity

Moderator

Anna Tutova, CEO, Coinstelegram

Panellists

Edouard Legrand, Chief Digital and Data Officer, BNP Paribas Asset Management

Satjeet Sahota, General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer, Fasanara Capital

Lim Say Cheong, CEO, Saudi Venture Capital

1:20 PM
Networking and lunch
 
2:20 PM
Chair’s welcome remarks

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

2:25 PM
Fireside chat

US’s new digital asset framework

Hester Peirce, Commissioner, US Securities and Exchange Commission

2:40 PM
Fireside chat

A view from over the pond: the CFTC’s role in regulating digital assets

Host

Rosali Pretorius, Partner, Financial Markets, Simmons & Simmons LLP

In conversation with:  

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

2:55 PM
Tokenising collateral – achieving enhanced liquidity, operational efficiency, transparency and flexibility

Moderator

Elise Soucie Watts, Executive Director, Global Digital Finance (GDF)

Panellists

Shannon Kurtas, Head of Exchange, Kraken 

Joy Adams, COO for Digital Assets, Deutsche Bank 

Aman Thind, Executive Vice President, Global Chief Architect, State Steet

3:35 PM
Networking and afternoon tea
 
4:00 PM
Market liquidity, interoperability and resilient, institutional-grade market infrastructure as the catalyst for scaling

Moderator

Stephan Dreyer, Managing Director, ANNA – Association of National Numbering Agencies BV/SRL

Panellists

David Durouchoux, Deputy CEO, Societe Generale-FORGE

Ryan Hayward, Head of Digital Assets and Strategic Investments, Barclays

Andrea Vianelli, COO, Asset Management & Structuring Advisory, Laser Digital Holdings AG

Jonathan Patterson, COO, Komainu 

4:40 PM
The future of financial transactions? Crypto payments, stablecoins, CBDCs

Moderator

Diego Ballon Ossio, Partner, Clifford Chance

Panellists

Basak Toprak, EMEA Head of Kinexys Digital Payments, Kinexys by J.P. Morgan

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

Dr Robert Oleschak, Advisor and Member of the Management Board, Swiss National Bank

Alan Lim, Director and Head of Financial Infrastructure and Artificial Intelligence Office, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) 

5:20 PM
Keynote address

Economic security and national prosperity

Chris Hayward, Policy Chairman, City of London Corporation

5:35 PM
Chair’s closing remarks

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

5:40 PM
Networking drinks reception and close of proceedings