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A graduate of the Paris Institut d’Études Politiques and the Ecole Nationale d’Administration, as well as an alumnus of the Master in Politics at New York University, Marie-Anne BarbatLayani has served as a senior civil servant for more than 20 years. She began her career in 1993 at the French Treasury as Deputy to the Secretary General of the Club de Paris and later Deputy to the Head of the Energy, Mines and Telecoms Office of the State Investments Department. In 1997, she joined the French Permanent Representation to the European Union in Brussels as Financial Attaché in charge of competition, state aid and financial services. Three years later, she joined the cabinet of the Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industry as a technical advisor in charge of European Affairs. From 2000 to 2007, she worked at the Treasury, first as Head of the Office of Credit Institutions and Investment Firms and Secretary General of the National Euro Committee, in the Financial Sector Department. She was later appointed Deputy Director of Banks and General Interest Financing. In 2007, Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani became Deputy CEO of the National Federation of the Crédit Agricole. In 2010, she joined the Office of the Prime Minister as Deputy Chief of Staff. From 2012 to 2014, she was an Inspector General of Finance and from 2014 to 2019, became Chief Executive Officer of the French Banking Federation and the Association of French Banks. In 2019, she was appointed General Secretary of the Ministry of the Economy and Finance, where she also served as Senior Defence and Security Official. On 26th October 2022, Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani was appointed Chair of the Autorité des Marchés Financiers. Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani chairs the Investor Protection Standing Committee (IPSC) of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), and co-chairs, with Nikhil Rathi, CEO of the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Financial Stability Engagement Group (FSEG) of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani is Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur and Officier of the Ordre National du Mérite.
Oliver Bilal is Head of EMEA at Invesco. In this role, he leads the distribution business in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Mr. Bilal joined Invesco in 2022. Prior to joining the firm, he was head of international sales and marketing at Natixis Investment Managers, where he was responsible for institutional and retail clients in EMEA, APAC (Asia-Pacific), Latin America, and US Offshore. Before that, Mr. Bilal was head of EMEA at UBS Asset Management, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Baroda Pioneer Asset Management Company in India, and head of sales and marketing at Pioneer Investments (now Amundi) in Germany. He has been in the financial services industry since 1999. Mr. Bilal earned an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a master’s in banking and insurance administration from the University of Applied Sciences Braunschweig-WF. He is a Certified European Financial Analyst® (CEFA).
Hélène Bussières is Head of the Asset Management Unit in the Directorate General on Financial Markets, Financial Stability and Capital Markets Union (FISMA) in the European Commission. She was previously deputy Head of the Asset Management Unit and deputy Head of the Securities Market Unit, working on MiFID, MAR and the Prospectus Regulation.
Prior to joining the European Commission, Hélène spent 10 years working in different capacities in the private sector, in particular on M&A projects, deal structuring and financing and companies’ listings. She graduated from Sciences Po Paris with a major in economics and finance.
Matthew H. Malloy, Managing Director, joined the firm in 2015. Matt is the Head of the Global Institutional Client Group, Head of EMEA and CEO of Neuberger Berman Europe Ltd. Additionally, Matt oversees the Insurance Solutions business and is a member of the firm’s Partnership Committee. Before joining the firm, Matt was Global Head of the Institutional Solutions Group at J.P. Morgan Asset Management and built and led the firm’s Global Insurance Solutions business. Prior to J.P. Morgan Asset Management, Matt was a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs Asset Management; and worked for several years as a Managing Director in Financial Institutions Investment Banking with UBS Investment Bank and Merrill Lynch. Matt serves on the board of Brick Education Network in Newark, NJ. He holds a BA from Washington & Lee University and an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University.
Christian W. Röhl is Chief Economist at Scalable Capital, a leading bank that empowers people in Europe to shape their own finances. Since 2024, he has served in this role and as the host of the weekly podcast format “Asset Class.” With over 25 years of experience, he is one of Germany’s most prominent advocates for investment culture, acting as an entrepreneur, portfolio manager, and content creator at the intersection of financial markets and media.
His career began alongside his studies in business administration, which he started in 1997, co-founding a print magazine for IPOs in 1998. He subsequently served as an authorized signatory at a publicly listed securities bank, advising growth companies on going public. In 2001, he founded a media and consulting firm for structured securities, developing it into an interactive community, managing advisory mandates for international investment banks exceeding 400 million euros, and supporting the start-up of a now globally operating index provider. Following the sale of this business in 2007, he went on to launch the YouTube channel echtgeld.tv in 2017, focusing on long-term investing. Since 2023, he has also co-hosted the WirtschaftsWoche wealth podcast.
Claudio Tognella is Director of Sales & Business Development at Seturion/BX Digital, part of Boerse Stuttgart Group, and operator of Switzerland’s first DLT exchange for tokenized assets. He works with financial institutions to accelerate their transition to digital capital markets.
With more than 20 years of experience in financial services and eight years specializing in tokenization, Claudio combines deep expertise in capital markets with hands-on experience in digital assets. He holds a Master’s degree in Finance from the University of St. Gallen (HSG) and is an active member of the Swiss Blockchain Federation, where he contributes to advancing Switzerland’s digital financial ecosystem.
Christoph Hock is the Head of Tokenisation & Digital Assets and DLT Transformation Lead at Union Investment, where he is part of the team driving the strategic development of blockchain-based investment solutions across the value chain. A well-known advocate for digital transformation, Christoph combines a deep institutional background with the conviction that the industry is currently reshaping financial market infrastructure. His work ensures that innovation translates into measurable value and optimal outcomes for investors.
Reporting to one of the Executive Board members, Christoph defines a strategy that views the integration of assets on chain and cash on chain as the mandatory foundation for the next generation of financial markets. By matching tokenised securities with programmable payment mechanisms, he is building a scalable, future-ready infrastructure. Within this scope, he views digital transformation as a holistic evolution – leveraging the convergence of blockchain, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and data – to redefine the boundaries of financial markets.
Christoph is a prominent voice in Europe, contributing expertise through several high-level mandates. He serves as Chair of the EFAMA Tokenisation Taskforce and is a member of the ECB Pontes Market Contact Group. Furthermore, he holds a seat on the ICMA Board, where he also chairs the DLT Bonds Working Group, and acts as Co-Chair of the Eurex Exchange Council. He is a vocal proponent of the principle that active collaboration between public and private sectors is the essential path to ensuring Europe remains at the forefront of financial innovation.
Christoph’s expertise is built on 25+ years of international experience across the buy- and sell-side. Previously, he served as Head of Multi-Asset Trading at Union Investment. His career includes leadership roles as Head of Execution Sales at Barclays Bank and Founder/Co-CEO of Tungsten Capital Management. He gained extensive experience in complex market structures as Head of the Proprietary Equity Derivatives Desk at J.P. Morgan.
Christoph holds a bachelor’s degree in Banking and an MBA from St. Galler Business School. His mission is to actively shape the digital transformation of the industry, translating emerging technologies into compliant, high-performance, and commercially viable solutions for the global financial ecosystem.
Overview of memberships in management or supervisory bodies:
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Contact Group
Daniele in UniCredit is Head of Investment Product Offer for the Italian Network.
In particular, he covers advisory models, investment services and processes, product offer for all segments of customers, involving funds, private markets, investment certificates, securities, bancassurance and pension.
Prior to this role, in UniCredit was head of Investment Products and Advisory for Private Banking and Wealth Management Division, Head of Product Development for funds and discretionary mandates, Head of Life Bancassurance.
Furthermore, he has a long experience as Board member in bancassurance companies and was, from 2022 to 2025, President of “Financial Services” Commission in AIPB, the Italian Private Banking Association.
In his role at DTCC, Val is responsible for The Depository Trust Company (DTC), the central securities depository that completes the transfer of securities and funds between trading counterparties, and the National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC), which clears equity trades executed across major U.S. exchanges and other equity trading venues, and DTCC’s newly launched business line Digital Assets Solutions (DAS), which sits within the organization’s Equities portfolio. Val develops and leads DTCC’s strategy to tokenize DTC custodied assets and create a wide range of innovative solutions that are connected to existing DTCC assets and services. Val also leads the firm’s global middle office trade processing capabilities, including TradeSuite ID®, CTM® and the ALERT® settlement instructions database.
In close collaboration with his global teams, clients and industry partners, Val focuses on defining and executing strategy, advancing new capabilities, and delivering complex, high impact transformation initiatives. His work is centered on creating measurable client value – helping firms improve capital and settlement efficiency, reduce operating costs and mitigate risk – while supporting evolving market demands such as accelerated settlement (T+1) and extended trading hours (24×5).
Val has extensive experience leading global organizations, driving large scale change and modernizing market infrastructure. Throughout his career, he has been closely involved with industry associations, building trusted partnerships and contributing to the development of market wide strategy, operational standards and best practice. He has served on numerous boards and committees, including SIFMA’s Operations & Technology Committee, the LCH SwapClear Board, and ISDA’s Market Infrastructure & Technology Committee.
Val also serves as Regional Administrative Manager for DTCC EMEA, Chairman of the DTCC EMEA Operating Committee, and a voting member of the DTCC ITP LLC Board. Prior to his current role, Val was Managing Director of Product Development and Strategy for Repository and Derivatives Services at DTCC, where he oversaw the Global Trade Repository (GTR), Trade Information Warehouse (TIW) and Report Hub services.
Before joining DTCC, Val was Managing Director and Head of Global Markets Post Trade Services, Network Management and EMEA Markets Operations at Barclays, where he led the implementation of a strategic global operating model and the design and delivery of strategic architecture to improve automation, process efficiency and risk management. Earlier in his career, he held several senior leadership roles at Citigroup.
Val holds a Bachelor of Law (with French) degree from Nottingham Trent University.
Steven Billiet is armed with considerable experience in the asset management and financial services industry, and his career spans over 30 years, of which 18 years are Chief Executive Officer roles at business entities of global organizations in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Singapore and Taiwan.
Since joining BNP Paribas Asset Management (BNPP AM) in 2020 as Chief
Executive Officer Asia Pacific and Head of Distribution Asia Pacific, Steven has successfully refocused the firm’s Asia Pacific business by accelerating commercial traction within wholesale distribution in the region; and contributed to expanding the strategy in China, which will remain a key growth area for the business.
As the Head of Global Client Group, he is instrumental in spearheading the firm’s business development strategy to become a leading provider of quality investment solutions for individual, corporate and institutional investors; while
maintaining focus on delivering sustainable returns for clients in line with BNPP AM’s core values and culture.
Steven joined BNPP AM from J.P. Morgan Asset Management, where he spent six years as CEO for Singapore. Prior to this, he worked at ING Investment Management, as CEO of Taiwan, then Australia and subsequently Singapore. He joined ING Investment Management from ING Vysya Bank where he was Head of Private Banking and Bancassurance, having previously been ING Investment Management’s Head of Product Development and Sales for Belgium. Steven
has a Master’s Degree in Economics from the University of Ghent, Belgium, and a Master’s Degree in Financial Management from the Vlerick Business School, also in Ghent.
Chris co-heads the Impax Sustainability Centre and is the Global Head of Policy & Advocacy at Impax Asset Management, a specialist investor focused on opportunities arising from the transition to a sustainable economy. Chris advises Impax’s investment teams on the impacts of public policy and leads the firm’s work to support the development of new policies to accelerate a net-zero, nature-positive transition.
Prior to joining Impax in 2019, Chris played pivotal role in the UK Government’s climate policy efforts. He led the UK implementation of the European carbon trading system and the UK delegation to the international climate negotiations. Chris’s extensive experience also includes supporting over 15 countries in developing their national climate commitments under the Paris Agreement during his tenure as Director of Climate Change at Ricardo Energy and Environment.
Chris is an active member of the policy committees and advisory councils of industry associations including UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF) and Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), as well as co-chairing working groups of the Transition Plan Taskforce and the Investor Policy Dialogue on Deforestation.
Chris has an MA from the University of Cambridge and an LLM in Environmental Law from University College London.
Monica is the General Counsel of CaixaBank Asset Management since October 2013, Member of the Management Body of the company since 2006. Board member of the subsidiary asset management companies BPI Gestão de Ativos in Portugal and CaixaBank Asset Management Luxembourg in Luxembourg, as well as FOGAIN in Spain.
Her current responsibilities cover management of Legal and Non-Financial Risks departments (including Reputational, Technological and Operational Risks), matters related to the Board of Directors as well as Compliance of CaixaBank AM and the coordination of the same functions at its subsidiaries.
Active member of several groups at the Asset Management industry (eg. Women in Finance Group and the Advocacy Group at CFA Society Spain), as well as mentor at different organizations and teacher in several programs. Her financial academic background includes a Master Degree in Banking Law and Financial Markets and Institutions, Master degree in Financial Analysis and Asset Management, while her university background is Telecommunications engineering. Has obtained the CFA, FRM, CDPP, CESCOM and ICCP certifications, among others
As head of the conduct of business department, William Vidonja contributes to the global and European debates on legal and consumer protection issues, including insurance distribution, data protection, differentiation, contract law, competition issues and financial education. William is also part of the employers’ delegation of the Insurance Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee (ISSDC), the only forum at European level in which insurance employer and employee representatives discuss topics of common interest with the support of the European Commission. He joined Insurance Europe as a trainee in 2002. After his traineeship he was hired as deputy manager of the insurance of the person department before moving to the conduct of business department. William is a French national and holds a law degree from the University of Paris XII.
Stefan Ruenzi is a Professor of Finance at the University of Mannheim since 2009. Before, he studied Economics at the University of Konstanz, got his PhD in finance from the University of Cologne and was a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Austin.
Professor Ruenzi’s research areas are broad and cover empirical capital markets research, asset management, gender and diversity, sustainable finance, and financial advice. Methodologically, he mainly focuses on empirical research and machine learning applications.
He regularly publishes in the top finance journals (Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies) and presents at the leading conferences in his field. He received various prizes for his research (e.g. the German Finance Association Best Paper Award and the Engelbert Dockner Memorial Award) and his results are regularly covered in the international public press (e.g., New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, NZZ, FAZ).
Professor Ruenzi teaches in the Bachelor, Master, and PhD program as well as in MBA programs in German and English.
Tanya Panova is the Head of the Securities Markets Unit in DG FISMA. Previously, she has been developing the capital markets strategy as the Head of the Capital Markets Union Unit and served in the private office of Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis where she was responsible for Capital Markets Union, securities markets, asset management, insurance, free movement of capital and competition. In her previous job, Tanya worked on aviation antitrust cases in DG COMP. Tanya is a trained economist with specialisation in financial services.
Tanguy van de Werve is the Director General of the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA), the trade body representing the European investment management industry. In that capacity, he leads in the formulation of industry positions on the main policy developments and engage with relevant EU and international authorities.
Prior to joining EFAMA, he was Head of the Brussels office of AFME (European investment banking industry – 2015-2018), Director General of Leaseurope and Eurofinas (European leasing and consumer credit industries – 2006-2015) and Head of Banking Supervision and Capital Markets at the European Banking Federation (2001-2006). Other relevant roles include positions at Euroclear and Dexia as well as non-Executive Director of Belgium-domiciled UCITS (2006- 2018).
He holds a degree in law from the University of Louvain-la-Neuve (BE) as well as a diploma in Political Sciences & International Relations and a certificate of specialised studies (DES) in Financial Risks Management.
Micaela Forelli is CEO Europe at M&G Investments, where she leads the firm’s European operations across Distribution, Investments, and Corporate Functions from its Luxembourg hub, overseeing a team of over 200 professionals.
With over two decades of experience in financial markets, Micaela has held senior leadership roles across Europe, including Managing Director of Luxembourg, Managing Director of Switzerland, Head of Global Banks and Sales Director for Italy.
In June 2025, she was appointed vice-President at EFAMA, the European Funds and Asset Management Association. She is a CSSF Authorized Conducting Officer, a FINMA-approved Chairwoman, and an active contributor to industry associations and high-profile financial forums. Micaela holds degrees from Bocconi University and INSEAD.
Dr Harald Glander is a Partner in the Financial Markets practice at Simmons & Simmons. He advises asset managers and financial institutions on investment funds, cross-border distribution and financial services regulation across Europe. A recognised investment funds specialist and regular industry speaker, Harald advises on the regulatory and commercial developments shaping the future of asset management and fund distribution.
Dr Harald Glander is a Partner in the Financial Markets practice at Simmons & Simmons. He advises asset managers and financial institutions on investment funds, cross-border distribution and financial services regulation across Europe. A recognised investment funds specialist and regular industry speaker, Harald advises on the regulatory and commercial developments shaping the future of asset management and fund distribution.
Dr Harald Glander is a Partner in the Financial Markets practice at Simmons & Simmons. He advises asset managers and financial institutions on investment funds, cross-border distribution and financial services regulation across Europe. A recognised investment funds specialist and regular industry speaker, Harald advises on the regulatory and commercial developments shaping the future of asset management and fund distribution.
Christophe Gloser, Head of European Distribution, Fidelity International
Aldo Romani, Head of Sustainable Finance, European Investment Bank