Dr. Markus Ampenberger is a Managing Director and Partner at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in Munich. With 15 years of experience in consulting, he leads BCG’s Payments & FinTech team in the DACH-region. Markus advises banks, payment providers and FinTechs across Europe. Focus of his project work is on strategy, (digital) transformation, and M&A-related topics. Markus is frequently engaged as an expert, author and speaker on innovative topics in the payments industry. Before joining BCG, Markus gained practical experience in banking and academia. He holds a degree in Business Administration from LMU Munich, an MBA from Colorado State University, and a doctorate in economics from TU Munich. In addition, he has been a Visiting Fellow at Harvard University.

Duc has over 16 years of working experience in banking and finance. Besides, he is Lecturer at the FOM University of Applied Sciences for Economics and Management. His professional focus lies on the exploration of blockchain applications in TradFi. As Head of Innovation Lab at WM Datenservice, Duc and his team is currently exploring the opportunites of Offchain-Data for the Onchain-World with regards to tokenization of RWA.

Mandya Aziz is a fintech professional specializing in embedded lending for SMEs. As Chief Commercial Officer at Banxware, he has over four years of experience leading strategy, partnerships, and product development. He focuses on creating tailored financial solutions for SMEs, which are integrated into digital platforms and licensed to banks and financial institutions.

Burkhard Balz, born in 1969, has served on the Bundesbank’s Executive Board since Septem-ber 2018 and is responsible for the Directorates General Payments and Settlement Systems, Cash Management, Digital Euro and International Central Bank Dialogue. He is a member of the Eurosystem High-Level Task Force on central bank digital currency. Mr Balz is also a Member of the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures of the Bank for Internation-al Settlements. Since January 2024 he is alternate member of the Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlement. From 2009 up until joining the Deutsche Bundesbank, Mr Balz was a Member of the European Parliament, where he sat on the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and served as the financial policy spokesman of the European People’s Party (EPP) between 2014 and 2018. In his role as a European Parliament rapporteur, Mr Balz presented reports on, inter alia, Lat-via’s accession to the euro area, the Solvency II Directive and regulations pertaining to the European Supervisory Authorities and the ECB Banking Supervision. Between 2014 and 2018, he was a member of the EPP Group Bureau. Mr Balz was Chair of the European Parliamen-tary Financial Services Forum from 2014 to 2018, which is composed of financial market stakeholders and high-level representatives of the EU Institutions. Prior to his membership of the European Parliament, Mr Balz held various positions at Com-merzbank AG in Brussels and Hanover, where he most recently headed the department for institutional clients. Mr Balz studied law at the University of Göttingen, Germany, and com-pleted a bank apprenticeship.

Sebastian is a partner at the early stage investor Redalpine, where he is in charge of the Berlin office. He began his investing career at Project A Ventures in Berlin, and previously worked at startup incubator Rocket Internet in global venture development. Sebastian has a background in business, having studied at both St. Gallen and Stanford University. He is passionate about technology and startups, and believes in their potential to solve some of the world's most pressing problems.

Uwe Becker, born 31.07.1969, Roman Catholic, is married and a father of twins. He graduated from the “Ziehenschule” in Frankfurt in 1989. After completing his basic military service, he trained as a banker at Frankfurter Sparkasse, where he worked as a human ressources specialist until 2004. In 1995 he successfully ran for the city parliament in Frankfurt’s City hall Römer. From 2001 until 2006 he was chairman of the parliamentary group CDU and from 2004 also managing director until July 2006. In the CDU Uwe Becker is on the Board of CDU Frankfurt and honorary chairman of the municipal association (KPV) Hesse. He has been a member of the City Government of Frankfurt am Main (Magistrat) from 2006 until 2021, initially until July 2007 as Head of Social Affairs, Youth and Sports. In April 2007 he was appointed city treasurer and re-elected in 2012. From July 2016 until September 2021, he has been Mayor. At the same time, as city treasurer, he continued to be responsible for the city’s finances, municipal holdings and church affairs until September 2021. Since 2011, Uwe Becker also serves as District Councilor at the Regional Authority FrankfurtRheinMain until today. In April 2019, in addition Uwe Becker was appointed Commissioner of the Hesse State Government for Jewish Life and the Fight against Antisemitism, a position, that he still holds today. Uwe Becker was appointed as State Secretary of Hesse for European Affairs in February 2022 and in January 2024 he became State Secretary of Hesse for Finance. Uwe Becker is President of the Friends of Tel Aviv University (TAU) in Germany and Governor on the Board of Governors of the TAU. In addition, he is Honorary President of the German-French Society in Frankfurt, a Member of the Executive Board of the German-American Steuben-Schurz Society, a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Praunheimer Werkstätten Foundation and the Lebenshilfe Frankfurt Foundation, as well as a member of numerous other social, sporting and social associations, foundations and institutions.

Nicola Beer Vice-President European Investment Bank Nicola Beer is Vice President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) in Luxembourg. From 2019 to 2023 she was Vice President and Member of the European Parliament with a focus on the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, the Industry and Research Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee. She was Member of the German Federal Parliament, Bundestag from 2017 to 2019. Previously, Mrs. Beer was 1999 to 2009 and 2014 to 2017 Member of the Hessian state parliament, serving 2012 to 2014 as Hessian Minister for Education and 2009 to 2012 Hessian State Secretary for European Affairs. Her political career started as city councilor in her hometown Frankfurt am Main, where she also worked as a self-employed lawyer, except during the time as a member of the Hessian state government. Before studying law at the University of Frankfurt, she completed training as a bank clerk after graduating from high school with a bilingual German-French diploma. Mrs. Beer was Secretary General of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) from 2013 to 2019, and was deputy federal chairwoman 2019 to 2023.

Partner at Redstone and one of the most active Fintech early-stage investors in Europe.

As the Managing Director leading the Banking practice for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland at Accenture, I am privileged to work at the forefront of a rapidly evolving financial services landscape. I have dedicated my career to guiding banks through digital transformation, regulatory shifts, and increasing customer demands. The Financial Services Sector in Europe must seize this moment to advance at the right speed and make the necessary investments to thrive.

Dr. Christian Brauckmann Member of the Board of Managing Directors of DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral-Genossenschaftsbank, Frankfurt Personal data Date of Birth 13 January 1968 Place of birth Münster/Westphalia Career As per 1 August 2016 DZ BANK, Member of the Board of Managing Directors 2010 – 2016 WGZ BANK, Member of the Board of Managing Directors 2003 – 2010 WGZ BANK, Düsseldorf, Head of Division Board Staff, General Manager (2009-2010) 2000 – 2003 WGZ BANK, Personal Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer 2000 WGZ BANK, Project Head in Organisational Consulting 1996 – 2000 Research Assistant at the Department of Business Administration with focus on Organisation and Human Resources at the University of Passau 1990 – 1995 Completion of Degree Course in Business Administration at the University of Passau 1988 – 1990 Vocational training in banking at WGZ-Bank, Muenster Responsibilities Divisions: IT; Organization Region: Responsible for the local cooperative banks in North Rhine-Westphalia and Weser-Ems and for Sparda Banken Appointments - Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Deutsche WertpapierService Bank AG, Frankfurt am Main - Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board, DZ PRIVATBANK S.A., Strassen, Luxemburg - Member of the Supervisory Board, Atruvia AG, Frankfurt am Main - Member of the Supervisory Board, VR-NetWorld GmbH, Bon

Norbert is responsible for developing the strategy of DZ BANK Group for the upcoming FIDA regulation. He has been with DZ BANK since 2024. Before that he has worked for IT management and strategy consultancies in Germany, Austria and the USA as well as for a subsidiary of DZ BANK.

Robert Bueninck is Chief Executive Officer of Unzer, a company providing payment and commerce solutions to more than 85,000 European merchants. Before joining Unzer, Robert worked for Klarna as Managing Director for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, leading this region into becoming Klarna’s largest market and key revenue driver. In this role he also functioned as Branch manager of Klarna Bank’s German branch and as Managing Director of Billpay and Sofort. He is a renowned speaker with profound knowledge of the payment sector and strategic business development.

Piero Cipollone has been a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank since 1 November 2023. He is responsible for the Directorate Banknotes, the Directorate General International and European Relations and the Directorate General Market Infrastructure and Payments. Before joining the ECB, Mr Cipollone was Deputy Governor of the Banca d’Italia and a member of the Board of the Italian Institute for the Supervision of Insurance. He also served as a member of the Coordination Group for the Cross-border payments programme at the Bank for International Settlements. He previously served as an Executive Director on the Board of the World Bank Group. Mr Cipollone graduated with honours in economics from the Sapienza University of Rome. He holds a Master of Arts in economics from Stanford University and was a visiting scholar at the economics department of the University of California, Berkeley.

Passionate and expert professional with a strong background in Anti-Financial Crime (AFC) matters, recognized for a targeted hard skills, positive mindset and exceptional soft skills. Throughout my career, I have focused on consulting for international Clients in the banking and insurance sectors, significantly enhancing their compliance and risk management frameworks. Since January 2023, I have been leading the Processes & Operations Unit at Generali Group, where I guide the harmonized application of AML, CTF, and IS regulatory requirements across the organization. In this capacity, I design and implement innovative IT solutions to streamline and improve AML/CTF processes and controls. Additionally, I oversee a dedicated team responsible for applying Advanced Technology to AFC controls, including the design of underlying models and the development of the related logic.

With over 20 years of experience in the banking sector, Maite Cordon Ucar has built a robust career in financial advisory and lending products. Starting at Citigroup in London in M&A, Maite transitioned to Santander, specializing in Structured Finance and leading Syndicated Loans. In 2020, Maite led the Multilaterals team, securing funding and guarantees during the COVID pandemic, achieving a #1 market share in Spain. Since 2023, Maite has headed Santander Growth, focusing on financial solutions for Startups and SMEs, and sustainable finance. In this role, Maite also drives public-private collaboration to promote digitalization and sustainability in SMEs and foster innovation and growth. At the Frankfurt Digital Finance Conference 2025, Maite will be discussing the future of finance and public-private collaboration alongside top executives, entrepreneurs, and policy makers.

Dorette Daume started her career at KPMG Financial Services in Frankfurt and spent ten years at KPMG, working for global Banking clients in Frankfurt and Zurich. Afterwards Dorette joined the Zurich based FinTech start-up neon as first employee in the role of CFO and Compliance Officer - promoting an easy to use Banking app and credit card in Switzerland. She then moved to Standard Chartered Bank in Frankfurt in the Finance function, before joining Cashlink as COO CFO in 2020. The FinTech and now financial institution Cashlink, based in Frankfurt, offers Europe's leading infrastructure for the tokenization of assets. As the German market leader, Cashlink enables the issuance of digital securities according to the eWpG in the form of bearer bonds, funds, bonds, shares or certificates. In June 2024, the company received the full BaFin license to operate a crypto-securities register. Cashlink thus covers the entire value chain for the tokenization of electronic securities. Renowned financial institutions, experienced issuers and innovative FinTechs benefit from the new possibilities of tokenization and at the same time realize efficiency gains in securities settlement. Dorette also is a member of the Digital Finance Forum of the German Federal Ministry of Finance.

Augustin de Romanet, born on 2 April 1961, is a graduate of the Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Paris and of the Ecole Nationale d’Administration. Augustin de Romanet, appointed Chairman and CEO of Aéroports de Paris by decree dated 29 November 2012, had his mandate renewed by the decrees date 24 July 2014 and 29 May 2019. Previously Chief Executive OffiCer of Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations between March 2007 and March 2012, Augustin de Romanet also chaired the Strategic Investment Fund between 2009 and 2012. Priori to this, he was Deputy Chief Financial Officer of Crédit Agricole SA and a member of the Executive Committee. From June 2005 to October 2006, he was Deputy Secretary General to the Presidency of the Republic and held senior positions in various ministries. Augustin de Romanet is an Officer of the Légion of Honour, and has been awarded the French National Defence Medal.

Reggie is a Principal at Augmentum Fintech. He started his career in private equity at Cobepa. He later went on to explore entrepreneurship through founding a software company focusing on document security for large organisations. Off the back of both experiences, VC was a natural evolution and Reggie joined ABN AMRO Ventures, the venture capital arm of the Dutch bank, and relocated to Amsterdam. This first VC position introduced him to the world of fintech. Reggie joined Augmentum in 2021 and is now a Principal on the investment team. He sits on the board of several Augmentum portfolio companies such as Baobab and Artificial, and is a board observer for Wematch.live. Outside of Augmentum, Reggie is founding member of Syndicate One, an angel syndicate investing in Belgian founders and Belgium based companies.

Manuel is a Partner at EY with over 24 years of experience in consultancy services. He is the EY Global and EMEIA FSO Financial Crime solution leader and provides more than 15 years of experience in the prevention of Financial Crime including Sanctions & PEP Screening, Know Your Customer, Transaction Monitoring, and Regulatory Reporting for several countries including Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, UK, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Malta, US, Brazil, Mexico and APAC, among others. He leads multidisciplinary international teams by building trusted relationships with senior client stakeholders. Manuel holds a degree in Computer Sciences and Engineering and is passionate about applying technology and innovation to solve present and future clients’ and social needs. He actively contributes to building a better working world and promoting social value. By working closely with EY clients, he assists them in fulfilling their crucial role in combatting financial crime across various types. Leveraging innovative technologies and global solutions that adhere to regulatory requirements and industry best practices, he strives to stay at the forefront of this ongoing challenge.

Thilo has been with the German Stock Exchange group since 24 years, the last 18 years at the post-trade infrastructure Clearstream, primarily in commercialisation and product roles. In his current role, Thilo is responsible for Business Strategy, Business Development und Commerecialisation for the digitale products at Clearstream.

Jörg is the Chief Sustainability Officer of Deutsche Bank. In this capacity, he is the Vice-Chair of the Sustainability Committee chaired by the CEO and Chairman of the Sustainability Strategy Steering Committee. He joined Deutsche Bank in 2016 as Global Head of Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility, which included the responsibility for sustainability. Since then, he has been instrumental in shaping the bank's environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy. In September 2022, he handed over his function as Global Head of Communications to solely focus on ESG as first Chief Sustainability Officer in the history of the bank, reporting into the CEO. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank, Jörg was member of the Editorial Board and Chief Investigative Reporter of the media group WELT since 2010. Before, and held several senior positions as Economic and Financial Editor of the Welt group in Frankfurt and Berlin. In the 1990s, Jörg reported from Moscow as a business correspondent for the German weekly DIE ZEIT for six years. Jörg attended the Cologne School of Journalism and subsequently attained a Master of Economics at the University of Cologne. He has received several renowned journalism awards and was elected "Business Journalist of the Year" in Germany in 2012.

Hélène Falchier has served as Partner, Portage Ventures at Portage since 2019. As a member of Portage, Hélène invests in early-stage and growth-stage opportunities globally. Within the investment portfolio, Hélène is a board director at Hellas Direct, Pledg, Acheel, Listo, Tuum and Getquin. She is based in Paris, France. Prior to Portage, Hélène founded and served as CEO of Open CNP, the corporate venture program of CNP Assurances (“CNP”). During this period, Open CNP supported startups such as Lydia, October and Alan. Hélène was also CNP’s Head of Private Equity, managing a €7.5bn AUM portfolio with investments in Europe and the US. Before joining CNP, she served as the Head of Investments in real estate, private equity and stocks for Ecureuil Vie. Hélène was the Chairwoman of the AFIC LPs club (French Association for Investors for Growth) and is part of Level 20, a not-for-profit organization founded to improve gender diversity in the private equity industry. Hélène holds a Master’s degree in economics and an Executive MBA from HEC Paris.

Dr. Detlef Fechtner, long-serving editor-in-chief of the Börsen-Zeitung, will take over the position of chief political correspondent for Börsen-Zeitung at the start of 2024. This role includes the reporting for Börsen-Zeitung as correspondent from Brussels as well as co-ordinating and moderating events in Frankfurt, Brussels and Berlin. Detlef studied political science, economics, history and European studies in Frankfurt and Brussels. He began his career at the news agency vwd. He then worked for various regional newspapers.

Andy was partner and Head of Algorithmic Trading at Swiss hedge fund Linard Capital, where he oversaw the quantitative trading strategy lifecycle. Before Linard, he served as senior project manager and software architect at Siemens Switzerland. Amongst others, he led projects at the Swiss intelligence Agency and various major banks and insurance companies. Andy holds a master's degree in Industrial Management and Manufacturing Engineering from ETH Zurich and an Executive MBA from HSG St. Gallen.

Peter Fricke ist Associate Director bei EY im Bereich Strategy & Transactions (Financial Services) am Standort Frankfurt mit Fokus auf Banken und Finanztechnologieunternehmen​ · Peter hat 14 Jahre Berufserfahrung am Finanz- und Kapitalmarkt mit den Schwerpunkten Strategie, Vertrieb und Entwicklung neuer Geschäftsfelder​ · Vor seiner Tätigkeit bei EY war er mehr als 13 Jahren in verschiedenen Führungsrollen bei der Deutschen Börse im In- und Ausland tätig, und hat zuletzt ein Startup und Investorennetzwerk sowie das Pre-IPO-Geschäft verantwortet.

Dr. Tamaz Georgadze is CEO and co-founder of Raisin. He has led the start-up since its foundation and is therefore largely responsible for its success. Today, Raisin operates its platform in the EU, the UK and the US. As a marketplace, the Berlin-based company connects banks with savers and has become one of the most relevant European fintechs in just a few years. At the beginning of 2024, the fintech also announced an important milestone with its profitability. Georgadze previously worked at McKinsey & Company for almost 10 years - most recently as a Partner. There he advised leading banks and was responsible for the areas of deposit and investment products in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Tamaz Georgadze holds a doctorate in economics. He studied economics and law at the Universities of Tbilisi (Georgia) and Giessen (Germany). He advises the German Federal Ministry of Finance in the Digital Finance Forum (DFF) and is involved in the fintech and start-up scene, particularly in the areas of open banking, digitalization and regulation.

As a venture capitalist, Sarah Gottwald is the managing director of Blockchain Founders Group and her experience also includes working at Vanagon Ventures, a firm specializing in web3/blockchain startups. Prior to her venture capital career, she spent nine years at BMW in the financial and strategy departments, where she focused on fully autonomous driving and successfully negotiated collaborations and closed multiple M&A deals. In addition to her professional achievements, she also participates in the Frankfurt School Blockchain Center’s Web3 Talents programs, hosts a podcast, and serves on the executive board of ITSA.

Stefan Grasmann is a blockchain visionary with more than 30 years experience in the tech sector. He is adept at identifying and exploiting business opportunities in the decentralized technology field. Stefan boasts years of experience in fostering tech innovation, developing businesses in challenging new markets and leading intercultural teams.

As Market Head for Germany at additiv, a leading Swiss-based Finance-as-a-Service platform provider, Alexander is responsible for all local client accounts and market propositions. With over seven years at additiv, he has spearheaded key strategic initiatives, delivering innovative digital investment and wealth management solutions in Germany. Prior to joining additiv, Alexander led the German risk management consulting team at FIS Global. He is also an alumnus of the University of St. Gallen (HSG).

Lena Hackelöer is the Founder and CEO of Brite Payments, a Stockholm-headquartered fintech that utilises the open banking framework to offer instant payments and payouts across 27 European markets. Brite's proprietary instant payments network connects more than 3,800 banks and allows consumers to quickly and securely pay directly from their bank account with only top-of-mind information. Lena is a distinguished fintech leader, having received numerous accolades including 'Director of the Year' at the Europe Fintech Awards, 'Founder of the Year' at Startup Magazine's Hustle Awards, the ‘Inspiration Award’ at the Women in Payments EMEA Awards, and has been recognised by Forbes Magazine as one of the top ten women in European fintech. Lena is passionate about building the next generation of instant bank payments with Brite Payments.

Prof. Dr. Christian Heinrich is the Co-Founder and CEO of carbmee, a company specializing in carbon emission management solutions. He earned his PhD in Supply Chain Management in collaboration with BASF. Prior to founding carbmee in 2020, he co-founded the AI startup scoutbee. Additionally, he serves as a Professor for Digital Business Transformation at Quadriga University of Applied Sciences in Berlin.

Sebastian is a leading expert in Data & AI with over a decade of experience in the industry. He is the founder and CEO of statworx, one of the top-tier Data & AI consultancies in the DACH region, as well as the AI Hub Frankfurt, the leading AI ecosystem in the Frankfurt Rhine-Main region. Sebastian is a pioneer in the AI industry and has actively shaped the German AI landscape. He is not only a successful entrepreneur, but also an active business angel and early-stage investor in AI startups. With the AI Hub Frankfurt and his role as Co-CEO at AI Frankfurt Rhein-Main e.V., he supports the AI transformation of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main region and Germany. He is also board member of the newly founded IHK Frankfurt Start-up committee. Besides his passion for Data & AI, Sebastian loves to cook as an ambitious hobby chef while enjoying a glass of excellent wine.

Ingrid Hengster is the CEO for Barclays Germany and co-leads the Global Chairman Group within the Corporate & Investment Bank. As the CEO of Barclays Germany, she is the franchise leader with responsibility over key decision making and accountability for business strategy and results. She is also responsible for enhancing Barclays’ profile locally with priority clients, regulators, governments and the business community.

Dr Caroline Herkströter is an investment and banking regulatory lawyer based in Frankfurt. Her main focus is on securities, banking regulation as well as the regulation of investment funds. Having a particular focus on ESG related issues, Caroline is recognised as one of the leading experts in Germany with regard to ESG. Caroline advises credit institutions and financial services providers, including investment and universal banks, AIF and UCITS management companies and securities trading companies on all aspects of German, European and international investment, banking, and capital markets law. In particular, she focuses on the cross-border distribution of financial products, and issues related to clearing, settlement and global custody and depositary services. Caroline advises on the establishment and distribution of open- and closed-ended investment funds, particularly securities and real estate funds within Germany. Her experience also includes prime brokerage, securities lending, international securities custody, collateral management, and investment advisor liability. Additionally, Caroline advises on the establishment and acquisition of German credit institutions, joint ventures, the extension of banking licences and global outsourcing projects as well as on the listing of funds on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Caroline also advises on FinTech regulatory matters and she has developed particular knowledge of blockchain and cryptocurrencies including crypto-custody, and advises start-ups, payments providers and financial institutions on the regulatory issues related to the deployment of these technologies. She heads the European practice as Head of Financial Services Regulatory. PRESENTATIONS AND SEMINARS • MiCAR und FinmadiG – kein Nischenthema! Die neue Regulierung im Fokus, 14 December 2023 • Unlocking Opportunities: Navigating the Versatility of ELTIF, 06 December 2023 PRIOR EXPERIENCE • Before joining DLA Piper in 2023, Dr Caroline Herkströter worked for leading international law firms in Frankfurt.

Michael Hock joined Motive Partners in 2023 as a Partner and Head of Portfolio Management for the Ventures team, based out of the Berlin office. Michael’s responsibility includes new venture investments, tracking of performance across portfolio companies, as well as value creation and exit strategies for the active portfolio. Prior to joining Motive, Michael co-founded embedded/capital, a Berlin based early-stage financial technology investment firm, which was acquired by Motive Partners in February 2023, to form the early-stage arm of the Motive Partners platform. Since 2017, Michael was Managing Director at finleap and incharge of steering portfolio growth and professionalizing group operations. Michael led the exits of finleap portfolio companies including the majority acquisition of PAIR Finance by PollenStreet Capital and the sale of Penta to the European market leader Qonto. Prior to this, Michael was Managing Director at Holtzbrinck Digital and Digital Science. He started his career at Siemens in 2000 gaining investment and M&A expertise on a global scale incl. Siemens Venture Capital, Siemens Mobile and Corporate Finance.

Christoph Hock, Head of Multi-Asset Trading, Union Investment Christoph Hock is a managing director and Head of Multi-Asset Trading at Union Investment. He joined Union in 2014 and, with his team, is responsible for all trading activities associated with portfolio management of cash equities, fixed income, foreign exchange, listed and OTC derivatives, fund and ETF business and securities lending. Recently, Christoph has established an organizational structure with high touch trading, electronic solutions & technology and trading- & regulatory services as the groups within his team. Christoph graduated with a bachelor’s degree in banking and obtained an MBA degree from St Galler Business School in 2022. He has more than 25 years of international investment banking, trading and management experience, having worked for companies on the sell- and buy-side. Christoph was head of Execution Sales at Barclays Bank. He was founder, partner and co-CEO/Head of Portfolio Management and Trading at Tungsten Capital Management, a hedge fund company. Prior to this, Christoph was Head of Proprietary Equity Derivatives Desk at J.P. Morgan.

Reinhard Höll is a partner at McKinsey & Co, Germany. He focuses on financial services supporting payments specialists, fintechs, banks and private equity players across strategy, digital and organizational issues. He is a leader of McKinsey Payments & FinTech practice and has published across a number of banking and payment topics, incl. German banking, value creation in payments and PSD 2. Reinhard is a CFA Charterholder and worked previously at Commerzbank, Lehman Brothers and Standard Bank.

Thomas is Deputy Head of Europe and Products at Investitionsbank Berlin (IBB), the regional development bank of the Land Berlin. He is responsible for new product development and European Affairs, notably innovation and cohesion policy. Thomas has been key to the implementation of various financial instruments for SME and Start-up finance combining European, regional public and private funds.

Moritz Karge Managing Director, Co-Head Brokerage flatexDEGIRO AG Since January 2024, Moritz Karge has been responsible for the Brokerage division at flatexDEGIRO, including Trading, Lending, and Exchange Infrastructure. Before joining flatexDEGIRO as Managing Director in August 2023, Moritz gained extensive capital markets and securities expertise during his more than 15 years at Morgan Stanley Europe SE, where he last served as Group Head Legal.

Dr. Rainer Knippschild is the Head of GRC Insurance at Sopra Financial Technology GmbH in Frankfurt am Main. Previously, he worked as an IT Governance Manager/Director at various companies in the financial sector on an international level. In these roles, he served as a Global IT Risk Manager and Head of IT Compliance. Additionally, he has extensive and deep experience and knowledge as a Lead Auditor for IT Services. Dr. Knippschild has a technical background and is well-versed in operational and procedural topics. He also served as an officer in the German Air Force, where he was active in various NATO countries. Dr. Knippschild brings comprehensive experience in IT governance, risk and compliance management, and IT security strategies. He is known for his ability to lead complex IT projects.

Hans’ expertise is built on his first multiyear working experience with McKinsey (Direct Banking, Post merger Integration, IT-Strategy…). Followed by holding several senior and executive roles within Deutsche Bank (DB) in following positions within the IT & Transaction banking division (Global Head of Strategy), within DB’s Private & Commercial Client division (Lead Banking Products, Lead Personal Banking, Lead Service Units, launch CEO of norisbank after its acquisition by DB and with DB Asset & Wealth Management (COO Wealth Management). As a top management advisor, over a decade now, serving range of TierI/II predominantly financial institutions in Germany, UK, Nordics, Italy, Switzerland, India, … helping the top management to shape and successfully execute major transformation in business, functions and IT.

Dr. Mekala Krishnan is a partner at the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), McKinsey & Company’s business and economics research arm, based in Boston, MA. Her research focuses on various topics related to sustainable and inclusive growth, including the economics of climate change, globalization, productivity growth, and gender economics. Her most recent research focuses on the net-zero transition, adaptation and physical climate risk across sectors and geographies, including its implications for companies and countries. Her latest McKinsey Global Institute publications include: The hard stuff: Navigating the physical realities of the energy transition; An affordable, reliable, competitive path to net-zero; The net-zero transition: What it would cost, what it would bring, From poverty to empowerment: Raising the bar for sustainable and inclusive growth, and Climate risk and response: Physical hazards and socioeconomic impacts. Mekala is a frequent speaker on these topics at global conferences as well as with executives at Fortune 500 companies. She has authored numerous articles and her work has been cited in leading business publications, including The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, and Harvard Business Review. Mekala serves on a Bretton Woods Committee working group on climate finance and on advisory boards for the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and the Sibley School of Mechanical Engineering at Cornell University. She is also on the board of the Global Fund for Women, a leading public foundation dedicated to improving global gender equality. She was previously a member of a task force at the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at Brookings focused on improving productivity measurement. Mekala received her Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University in 2011. Prior to Cornell, she received a Bachelor of Technology degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2006 from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi.

Matthias Lais is Managing Director of neosfer. He heads Team Invest, which acts as the early-stage investor of the Commerzbank group and offers strategic corporate venture capital to early-stage start-ups in order to promote and drive forward the digital and sustainable transformation of financial services. Matthias Lais worked as an investment manager and authorized signatory when neosfer was founded under the name main incubator. Independent and responsible work with the mindset of an entrepreneur is his guiding principle.

Nino Landerer is Deputy Director General Strategy & Innovation at the Deutsche Bundesbank. Prior to joining Bundesbank in 2023, Landerer worked for the Swiss Ministry of Finance and the Swiss National Bank, where he led regulatory and innovation projects in the area of capital markets, stock exchange and financial market infrastructure. Landerer holds a PhD from the University of Geneva (2014) and an MSc from the London School of Economics (2010).

Joerg Landsch serves as Head of Central Corporate Venture Capital for Deutsche Bank overseeing presences in New York and Berlin. He invests in companies focusing on Enterprise Tech & FinTech from Seed to Series B stage. Joerg worked in Germany, Asia, London & New York and is an alumni from university of St. Gallen and Harvard University. Additionally, he holds several startup board positions. Additionally he is Board member at German Private Equity & Venture Capital Association representing VC & CVCs and holds board positions in startups.

Jonathan Larsen is now Chief Innovation Officer of Ping An Group and Chairman and CEO of the Ping An Global Voyager Fund. Jonathan spent 18 years at Citigroup where he was most recently Global Head of the firm’s Retail Banking and Mortgage businesses, generating ~$12Bn in Revenues and spanning 19 countries. He has been at the leading edge of the financial services industry for the last 34 years across the Asia Pacific region and globally. He brings a unique blend of strategic vision, operational depth, and understanding of the new technology landscape. He has led multiple large-scale, successful businesses across a wide range of markets and has extensive experience in negotiating and managing partnerships and M&A transactions. Prior to Citi, Jonathan was a Principal in the Financial Services Practice of global management consulting firm, Booz Allen & Hamilton where he spent eight years advising large banks and other financial institutions across Asia, Australia and New Zealand and in the United States and Europe. Jonathan is a Distinguished Fellow of the Institute of Banking and Finance, Singapore and was named Retail Banker of the Year in 2011 by Asian Banker magazine. He has been widely quoted in major business publications including the Financial Times, Bloomberg, Reuters, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, the Economist as well as local media throughout Asia Pacific. Jonathan holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) from the University of Melbourne.

Partner at Truffle Capital, a leading European VC fund dedicated to Fintech. Experienced Board Member, Co-Founder (3 companies) and former Chief Innovation Officer at ODDO BHF with 20 years in the tech industry.

Pierre Legrand is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal’s Financial Services Industry in London. He leads the firm’s Digital Financial services practice, working with clients to drive ambitious digital and customer transformations, predominantly across the consumer banking, insurance and wealth management sectors. Mr. Legrand and his teams also support non-financial services clients seeking to deploy financial services solutions to their customers. With more than 25 years of banking, consulting and technology leadership experience, Mr. Legrand has worked in the U.K., Middle East, Europe, Asia, Australia and North America. He has worked with clients across a range of industries, including financial services, telecommunications, mining and energy, transportation, media, retail and food and beverage. Prior to joining A&M, Mr. Legrand spent two years leading the Global Consulting and Services arm of 11:FS as Chief Executive Officer, working with clients across the U.K., Europe, Asia and the Middle East, advising on, and sometimes leading the implementation of, new digital banking propositions or specific projects driving new product deployment into market. Additionally, Mr. Legrand spent 10 years with PwC as a Managing Partner, leading the Asia Pacific Experience Consulting business as well as Technology Consulting across Asia, covering data, cyber, cloud and digital. Before that, he spent eight years at Barclays, where he latterly served as Head of Infrastructure and Service Delivery for Western Europe. Mr. Legrand earned a bachelor’s degree in international business from Hofstra University. A dual U.K. and Australian citizen, he is fluent in English and French.

Jan Marco Leimeister is Chair Professor for Information Systems and Managing Director of the Institute of Information Systems and Digital Business (IWI HSG) at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland. He is furthermore a Director at the Research Center for IS Design at the University of Kassel, Germany. In addition to his academic roles, Jan Marco is an entrepreneur, senior advisor, board member, and keynote speaker for national and international organizations.

Passionate about the legal and Compliance world in banking professional with over 35 years of industry experience seeking advanced leadership and management roles. Since 1990 my professional experience has always alternated between the legal and compliance world: Legal Counsel in Gesmadrid, S.A, Corporación Financiera Caja de Madrid, S.A and Citigroup Spain. In 2002 I began my career in the world of Compliance, first at Citibank Spain and later at Citibank International. In 2011 joined the current entity Caixabank, first in Corporate Legal Department to 2015. Currently as Global Chief Compliance Officer at CaixaBank (From September 2020 to december 2021 Chief Compliance Officer at BANCO BPI)

Diego Lucero is Head of Unit for Alternative Lenders, Fintech, and Skills & Education Guarantee Schemes at the European Investment Fund (EIF) in Luxembourg. In this role, he oversees guarantee and risk transfer programs designed to reduce risk and capital consumption in SME portfolios. Prior to joining the EIF, Diego held senior positions in major international banks, including Santander—where he directed Structured Trade and Commodity Finance, Structured Credit Sales, and served as Senior Manager in Project Finance—and BBVA, where he managed Global Trade Finance in Tokyo. His extensive background in debt and capital markets spans Europe and Asia, encompassing origination, structuring, and sales of diverse financing solutions.

Olivier Martinon is the Vice President of Sales for North and Central Europe at Thales Payment Services, where he leads business development and client relations across the region. With a strong background in sales and marketing, Olivier began his career at Gemplus, where he held various roles in the telecom sector across Europe and Africa. Over the years, he has become a trusted advisor to major banks and financial issuers, helping them implement cutting-edge payment strategies. Olivier’s expertise spans both innovative physical card solutions and digital services, enabling organizations to stay ahead in the rapidly evolving payment industry.

Dr. Sabine Mauderer is the First Deputy Governor of the Deutsche Bundesbank and respon-sible for Markets, Sustainability, as well as Controlling, Accounting and Organisation. Sabine Mauderer is the alternate to the President of the Bundesbank on the ECB’s Governing Coun-cil and the Bundesbank’s deputy in the G20 and G7 and at the IMF. In addition, she is Chair of the “Central banks and Supervisors Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS)” and a member of the Exchange Experts Commission. Prior to becoming First Deputy Governor in September 2024, she had already been a mem-ber of Deutsche Bundesbank’s Executive Board since September 2018. Previously, she also held several senior positions at the KfW Banking group, and worked as a senior adviser at the Federal Ministry of Finance and at the German Embassy in Washington. Sabine Mauderer was born in Schleswig in 1970. She studied law in Germany and Spain, holds a PhD from Osnabrück University and an Executive MBA from ESSEC & Mannheim Business School.

Eric Menges was born on April 6, 1967 in Frankfurt am Main. He studied Business Administration at Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main and graduated with distinction. Eric Menges has worked for Banque Transatlantique in Paris, France and Transfield Construction in Sydney and Perth, Australia. In 1996 he joined the Government of Victoria, Australia as a Trade Development Manager. He was subsequently promoted to implement and run Victorias investment promotion strategy across Europe as Executive Director of the Frankfurt, Germany based business office of the State of Victoria. In 2009 he joined FrankfurtRheinMain GmbH, International Marketing of the Region (FRM GmbH) -the official Investment Promotion Agency of the Greater Frankfurt area- as Executive Vice President. In 2015 and after having conducted a shareholder induced major strategic reorientation of FRM GmbH, he was promoted to the CEO role. FRM GmbH has since substantially grown its regional shareholder base (now operating across three federal German States) and has been one of the major contributors to facilitating the substantial growth of the Frankfurt Financial services cluster after the UKs Brexit decision. FRM GmbH maintains operations in China, USA, Japan, India, Vietnam, Taiwan, Australia, Singapore and the UK. Eric Menges is married and has two children. His main interests are sports (Surfing, Skiing) and playing the drums in a rock band.

Helge Michael is the CEO and Co-Founder of Lissi GmbH, a company dedicated to developing software for interacting with EU Digital Identity Wallets (EUDI-Wallets) in compliance with eIDAS 2.0 regulations (e.g. KYC and SCA). Since 2017, Helge has been deeply involved in the field of digital identities, significantly influencing the development of ID-Wallets across Europe. Until the end of 2024, he led the IDunion research project, which contributed to the creation of numerous standards for EUDI-Wallets. Prior to his current role, Helge held various positions at Commerzbank AG, gaining extensive experience in the financial sector. Helge is a visionary leader in digital identity innovation, driving advancements in secure and interoperable identity solutions.

As Chief Customer Officer of the Heidelberg AI startup Aleph Alpha, Ramin Mirza has the global responsibility for the Customer Journey. His mission is to help customers and partners around the world to harness the full power of AI in order to achieve sustainably transformative results and competitive advantages. Prior to his time at Aleph Alpha, Mr. Mirza held international leadership roles at renowned companies such as Google, SAP, and IBM.

Arnaud Misset joined CACEIS in 2011 as the Group’s Head of Products. In March 2018, he was appointed Chief Digital Officer. Before joining CACEIS, Arnaud was a director at PwC and Eurogroup Consulting. Specialising in the banking sector, he worked on numerous projects ranging from IT projects to strategic development issues for both securities and retail banks. Arnaud holds a Master’s degree in Risk Management from the HEC Business School in Paris as well as a Master’s degree in International Business Law from Paris V University

Paul Morgenthaler is a Managing Partner with CommerzVentures. He works with portfolio companies including Afilio, Carbmee, Cledara, ClimateView, Climate X, Doconomy, ManyPets, and omni:us. Paul is looking to partner with founders who through their foresight, energy and passion, draw exceptional talent and emerge as the new leaders in their industry. In his former life, Paul provided online financial advisory to millions of consumers every month, as Chief Scientific Officer at Finanztip. He co-founded and successfully exited a credit rating startup, and advised banks and insurers with Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Paul graduated with an MBA degree from Harvard, where he received the Satchu Burgstone Prize for Entrepreneurship.

Philippe Noeltner is a capital markets lawyer with a distinctive expertise in debt securities issuance, fintech and market infrastructure topics. He notably advises financial institutions and fintechs on (i) the structuring and issuance of debt and digital securities and (ii) the regulatory impacts when entering into derivatives contracts. Philippe was the lead associate on award-winning and innovative multi-dealer digital bond issuances in Europe registered on Blockchain networks. Philippe plays an active role in the Luxembourg capital markets legal community by (i) taking part in several working groups at the ABBL and the LuxCMA associations and (ii) regularly publishing articles and speaking at conferences focused on his practice areas. Philippe also teaches courses on capital markets and fintech at the Sciences Po Law School and the University of Luxembourg. Philippe holds law degrees from the Sciences Po Law School, Sorbonne University and Columbia Law School and a business degree from the John Molson School of Business in Montreal. He is admitted to practice in Luxembourg.

Philippe Oddo is Managing Partner of ODDO BHF SCA and Chairman of the Management Board of ODDO BHF SE. Born on 26 September 1959 in Paris, Philippe Oddo is a graduate of the Paris business school HEC. He also studied at the Paris IX-Dauphine University, New York University and the University of Cologne. Philippe Oddo joined the family business, the fifth generation of his family to do so, in 1984 and became a partner in 1987. In addition to his executive role at ODDO BHF, he has been a member of the board of directors of several organizations on the Paris financial center: “Conseil des marchés à terme”, Euronext, ANSA (Association Nationale des Sociétés par Actions) and METI (Mouvement pour les Entreprises de taille Intermediaire). He is treasurer of the Bettencourt-Schueller Foundation and is involved in medical research foundations. In 2020 the German Chamber of Commerce awarded Philippe Oddo for the first time the prize for Franco-German personality of the year.

Serge Arjen Offers studied business administration, economics, and accounting at the University of Amsterdam. He began his career at ING in 2006 as part of a finance traineeship. After working in Group Finance at ING, he became Head of Regulatory Reporting in 2014 and Head of External Reporting in 2016. In 2018 he became CFO of ING Romania. Before joining ING in Germany, Serge Arjen Offers served as Head of Business Banking and Deputy CEO of ING Romania since 2022. In October 2024, he moved to ING Germany as the new Head of Business Banking and General Manager.

Helge is the leading Partner for Risk/Anti Financial Crime and Compliance/ Accounting & reporting for EY Germany with over 20 years auditing and advising Banks/ Financial Services organization on regulatory requirements with focus on Anti financial crime/ Compliance. She led global regulatory advisory projects as well as audit/ quality assurance for global banks and other FS clients. Helge joined EY in January 2020 (prior PwC) and she is a German Certified Public Accountant [Wirtschaftsprüferin]. Special focus on AFC and Compliance as well as Accounting, Risk and Regulatory requirements... Regulatory Compliance and Prevention of Financial Crime focusing 1) Anti-Money Laundering 2) Sanctions and PEP Screening; Payments Screening 3) Know Your Customers / Customer Due Diligence 4) Transaction Monitoring 5) Regulatory Reporting Compliance program/framework including MiFiD implementation/ market abuse including: 1) Process Analysis 2) Compliance Management and extensive knowledge in the areas of consolidated accounting, IFRS and German GAAP.

Julian is a Managing Partner and Board Member of Drake Star and is also co-heading the German operations. As a seasoned tech and fintech investment banker, Julian has been specializing in structuring and executing M&A transactions and raising capital for over 20 years. Julian has been awarded ‘Investment Banker of the Year’ (Finance Monthly) and ‘Europe Deal of the Year’ (The M&A Advisor). Julian focuses on FinTech and covers verticals like payments, WealthTech, InsurTech, BaaS, Open Banking, Trading, Tending, RegTech, LegalTech, Blockchain, and Crypto. He also publishes research and articles on current fintech market trends and developments and is a speaker and contributor to fintech industry events. Julian started his career at Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt and London as an M&A and Equity Capital Markets banker. Afterward, he worked as Vice President with marketing responsibility in the technology team of the successor of the SG Cowen operations in Germany before co-founding Drake Star. Julian holds a Diplom-Kaufmann from Heinrich Heine Universität Düsseldorf and studied at Universidad de Salamanca and Universitat d’Alacant (Erasmus scholarship).

Rafael Otero is a seasoned entrepreneur and business expert with an extensive global background in technology, most recently with a focus on payment products. Rafael joined DWS in March 2024 as Chief Operating Officer and Head of COO Division. He got appointed as member of the executive board, effective October 1st 2024, with the responsibilities of Chief Operating and Chief Technology Officer for DWS. He joined DWS from Deutsche Bank where he most recently held the positions of Chief Information Officer and Chief Product Officer for the Corporate Bank since 2020. Prior to Deutsche Bank, Rafael (co-)founded many successful companies including Payleven, a mobile payment company. Early in his career, Rafael worked for several large global organizations in technology roles.

Stephan A. Paxmann is Head of Digitalisation and Innovation at Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW). He has been responsible for the bank's strategic digitalisation and innovation activities and projects since 2022. Together with his team, he steers innovation and trend management, analyses and tests new business ideas with digital solutions using the LBBW incubator, develops the digital roadmap for the relevant digitalisation initiatives and supports the banking group in the transfer of new innovative business models with digital solutions into everyday corporate life. Before joining LBBW, he held management positions at Deutsche Bank AG in Frankfurt am Main and New York and at IMG in St. Gallen as head of the German-speaking consulting business. From 2007 to 2010, he was Director International Banking at Allianz SE in Munich and Paris and Group Strategist at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt am Main. In 2010, he founded TME AG, a consulting boutique for the digital transformation of banks and insurance companies in Frankfurt am Main, where he was CEO until 2022.

Thomas is working in the financial service industry since 1998, starting at companies like IBM moving over to Credit Suisse and thereafter serving the industry from the vendor side. Digital Banking and Blockchain always have been in the center of activities, as with companies like synpulse, Crealogix, Metaco and Ripple. Now Thomas is working at Bitpanda Technology Solutions as Senior Manager Strategic Partnerships.

Fabian Platzen is General Manager Germany at the German-British SME financier iwoca. He has over 20 years of experience in banking and fintech. Before joining iwoca, Fabian Platzen was Managing Director of the digital receivables management and collection company PAIR Finance. For the Berlin-based fintech, he was responsible for finance and operations as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operations Officer since 2018 and accompanied the company's development into profitability until its exit at the end of 2022. For the Dutch NIBC Bank, he built up the Fintechs and Financial Services team and successfully established the bank in this segment as a provider of financing solutions for companies. Fabian Platzen started his career at Commerzbank AG and advised medium-sized companies on refinancing solutions as Local Head Financial Engineering.

Alexandre Prot is the co-founder and CEO of Qonto –  the leading European business finance solution. After graduating from HEC and INSEAD, Alexandre started his career with Goldman Sachs and McKinsey & Company. In 2013, he founded Smok.io with Steve Anavi, the first connected electronic cigarette, and experienced the frustrations of business banking. His banking experience was time-consuming and complex. Therefore they decided to found Qonto, the business finance solution energizing SMEs and freelancers, simplifying everything from everyday banking and financing to bookkeeping, invoicing and spend management. Qonto has raised €622 million from the world's largest investors. The company now serves 500,000 clients in 8 countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands and Portugal) and has over 1,600 employees.

Christoph brings over 20 years of experience in technology and banking. Since 2019, he has served as Chief Strategy Officer and Managing Director at Deutsche Bank, working closely with Management Board Member Bernd Leukert to shape the bank’s Technology, Data, and Innovation division. He drives the division’s vision and strategy, focusing on transformative initiatives like the bank-wide AI program and oversees the bank’s Corporate Venture Capital activities. Prior to this, Christoph held senior leadership roles at Deutsche Bank, including responsibility for the Office of the Chairman. He began his career at the bank in 2007 in its Investment Bank, advising financial services clients on M&A, IPOs, and capital market transactions. Earlier in his career, Christoph founded a software company specializing in customer-centric web solutions. He is an alumnus of the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland), the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Columbia University (New York).

Christiana joined Santander in 2023 as Regional Head of North America, with responsibility for all Santander businesses in Mexico and the United States. She is a member of the Santander Holdings USA, Inc (SHUSA), Santander Bank, N.A. (SBNA) and Corporate and Investment Banking New York Boards. In addition, Christiana is a member of the SHUSA and SBNA Compensation and Talent Management Committees. Christiana is also a member of the PagoNxt Board, a leading payment solution provider for merchants, international corporates, SMEs, and consumers, fully owned by Santander. Prior to joining Santander, Christiana spent 17 years at Deutsche Bank, where she was a member of the Management Board and held several leadership positions in both Europe and the Americas, including CFO and COO of the Corporate and Investment Bank, and CEO of the Americas. She also chaired the Audit Committee at Deutsche Post, enabling its integration into Deutsche Bank AG in 2019. Christiana is an active member of the wider civic and business community and has held various active Trustee positions including The Clearing House, the Institute of International Bankers, London Business School, the Partnership for New York City and the Arthur F. Burns Fellowship. Christiana graduated cum laude from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Arts in Romance Languages, Literatures and Linguistics and holds an MBA from the London Business School.

Verena has significant experience across the full spectrum of German and Europe financial regulation. In addition to German and internationally active banks and financial services companies, she also advises payment and e-money institutions as well as companies and IT service providers seeking to gain a foothold in the regulated financial market. She also has experience in advising capital management companies and foreign fund managers. VC companies that want to invest in regulated financial entities in Germany and Europe also seek advice from Verena. She is specialised in licensing requirements, organizational requirements and compliance, implementing new regulation (such as DORA, ESG, FIDA, MiCAR, PSR/PSD3), dealing with BaFin, and structuring business models of FinTechs.

European Central Bank | Advisor to the Digital € November 2021 — November 2023 Bizum | Business Development Director January 2017 - Present Identification of new business models, development of business plans towards new sources of income Participation in payments initiatives as an industry expert: European Payments Council and European Payments Initiative Coordination with shareholders, decision making proposals, successful business goals achievements year by year (users, trx.) Research of trendsetter ideas, industry and related events, papers and announcements Analysis of market strategies, coordination of marketing initiatives, enhancement of brand image Lecturer, speaker and panelist in industry conferences Accenture Strategy | Business Consultant February 2011 — December 2016 - Advised clients in their Operations & Digital Strategy journeys (operating model transformation, data & analytics strategy, workplace strategy…) for Retail, Energy and Financial Services

Ignacio is the Chief Financial Officer at Bcas, a fintech company providing sustainable student financing solutions that tear down socioeconomic barriers to education. Bcas specialises in originating Income Sharing Agreements (ISAs), a "Study Now, Pay Later" financing model that allows students to focus on their studies and begin repayment only after graduation and securing a quality job. Prior to joining Bcas Ignacio worked at Citi's Technology Investment Banking and Financial Institutions Debt Capital Markets divisions in London.

Dr. Osman Sacarcelik is Global Head of Global Standards & Advisory AML at Commerzbank AG. Prior to his current role, he was Head of Supervisory Law at DekaBank and worked as Banking and Regulatory Lawyer at international law firms.

Sarah Schmidtke is the managing director at Bankenverband Mitte. It represents the interests of more than 100 private banks in Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, which employ around 40,000 employees. Prior to this, Sarah was responsible for managing the Frankfurt office of the European Banking Federation (EBF), focussing on banking regulation & supervision. Before, she worked as Financial Attaché at the British Embassy in Berlin. Prior to joining the diplomatic service, Sarah spent 13 years working for capital markets departments of Commerzbank and Natixis in Frankfurt, London and Paris. Sarah studied at the Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University. She chairs the advisory board of the European Banking Institute (EBI) and is an advisory board member at the Center for Financial Studies (CFS).

1993 - today Deutsche Bank >22 years in capital markets / equity derivatives 2018 - today: ExpeditionFinance - sharing financial knowledge, insights into trends and topics. Easy access to financial literacy.

Partner at HTGF, one of the leading and most active early-stage investors in Germany and Europe.

Christian read Oriental Studies at Oxford before founding his first company, the Oxford Business Group—a publisher of economic intelligence on emerging markets. Today, the company operates in over 30 countries, with offices in the UK, the UAE, and Turkey. After completing his MBA at Harvard, Christian built his career in the financial and media industries. He worked at Goldman and later served as COO of FremantleMedia, one of the world’s leading content producers (American Idol, Got Talent, X-Factor). At Fremantle, he led the expansion of its international business and digital initiatives. Following a period running his own boutique investment bank, Christian returned to Germany in 2012 to join Bertelsmann as a divisional board member, where he assisted on the company’s digital transformation. In 2016, he founded LIQID to provide discerning private clients access to the investment opportunities, strategies, and conditions typically reserved for institutional investors.

Stefan Schütze studied law at Martin Luther University in Halle Wittenberg. He was admitted to the bar in 2001 and completed his Master of Laws in "Mergers & Acquisitions" at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster from 2003 to 2004. Stefan Schütze started his professional career in the legal department of the listed investment company bmp AG from 2000 to 2004. Afterwards, he was General Counsel at Altira Group AG, a listed asset manager, from 2004 to 2013. Subsequently, he was a member of the Executive Board of FinLab AG, a listed company builder and investor in financial services technology (FinTech), from May 2013 to April 2021, and responsible for investments, strategy, compliance, legal matters and human resources. In addition, he held management positions as part of his work, including at the listed investment company Heliad Equity Partners GmbH & Co. KGaA, where he also worked until April 2021. He has more than 15 years of experience as board member in publicly listed companies.

Dominik Schütz is the Head of the Innovation Lab at Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW). Since 2023, he has been in charge of Market Screening & Foresight, Incubation, and establishing the new Venture Client Team. His main goal is to leverage digital trends to create innovative impulses, test new business models with LBBW’s departments, and implement them, while also forming strategic partnerships with fintechs and other startups. The top priority is to develop advanced digital solutions that provide real benefits to LBBW and its customers. Before joining LBBW, Dominik Schütz was the Director of Stuttgart Financial and held various positions at the W&W Group and SV Sparkassenversicherung. From 2021 to 2022, he was the spokesperson for the financial center initiative Germany Finance. During his time at Stuttgart Financial, Dominik Schütz founded the FinTech Accelerator fintogether in 2021.

Charmian Simmons is a Financial Crime and Compliance Expert covering Financial Services at SymphonyAI. She has over 20 years of experience in the financial sector across risk management, financial crime, internal controls and IT advisory. She is a technology evangelist specialising in AI innovations and transformation. Charmian is responsible for providing practitioner expertise, thought leadership and analysing key policy, regulatory and technology drivers transforming the compliance market. Charmian is CAMS, CDPSE, CRMA and CISA certified.

Stefanie Söhnchen, Vice President Strategy / Lead Digital at PIABO Communications, has been an expert in digital communication strategies for over 10 years. From corporate ambassador concepts to social media strategies, newsletters, app and website design and content, SEO and storytelling - everything that involves strategic communication on the web crosses her desk at PIABO. As a trained multimedia journalist, she is adept at both creating and marketing targeted content. During her career, she has successfully advised the insurance and financial sector, the automotive industry, energy companies, airlines, household appliance manufacturers, beauty groups, technology companies and healthcare providers on their brand positioning on the internet, giving her a broad insight into German and international success factors for digital corporate communications. Outside digital strategy, Stefanie is a Food saver and an active advocate for sustainability, equality and diversity at work and in her free time.

Sascha Steffen is a Professor and the DWS Senior Chair in Finance at the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management. He is an expert in banks, debt capital markets, corporate finance, and the use of artificial intelligence in finance. His work has been published in major academic journals and received numerous prizes and awards. His research has also been featured in a variety of public media, including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Sascha is the founder and academic director of the Centre for European Transformation to foster a robust financial framework that anticipates, adapts, and innovatively responds to the Europe’s dynamic transformation. He brings together academic researchers and practitioners to advance and promote research and teaching on private capital markets as well as the role of AI in shaping the future financial landscape. He teaches corporate finance and debt capital markets at the master's, PhD and the executive level. Sascha is involved in educating business leaders on raising capital, debt markets, private debt and equity, AI in finance and financing transformation. He frequently leads executive workshops and gives keynote speeches on these topics. He also has been consulting global companies and investors. He also serves as an expert witness in litigation matters.

Christian is Linklaters’ Global Co-Head of Innovation and Global Head of Capital Markets. In this function, in addition to his own internal innovation projects, he focusses on digitisation projects for clients. As an experienced partner in our capital markets practice he has working knowledge in the field of digitisation of financial products and Fintech solutions. In Germany, he is leading the Digital Economy Group, with the intend of uniformly overseeing digitisation projects and combining the expertise across different practice groups. Christian is involved in the global artificial intelligence activities of Linklaters and their use of in our projects. His expertise in crypto assets, crypto currency, blockchain, electronic securities and smart contracts provides him with a competitive advantage as well.

Niclas Storz founded Tidely beginning of 2021 to solve one of the most critical challenges that companies face: Cashflow Management. Tidely is a cloud-based SaaS solution enabling corporate clients to plan, steer and actively manage their liquidity. With Tidely corporate clients gain transparency on their financials in real-time, are able to forecast expected future developments, can compare various scenarios and last but not least inform various stakeholders with standardized reports. Tidely’s Go-To-Market builds upon 2 major pillars: (1) Direct sales to corporates and (2) Whitel-label integrations into banks’ online banking. Prior to founding Tidely Niclas Storz spent nearly 25 years in management consulting - lastly as Senior Partner and Managing Director of BCG. At BCG he was running Transaction Banking & Payments and Technology & Operations in Banking. He studied Industrial Engineering and Business Administration and conduced a 2 year banking traineeship at Deutsche Bank.

Alexander has been working in various Position at KfW group since 1996, having held senior positions since 2002. He has business policy and operational experience in SME finance as well as in structured finance activities. Together with Jörg Goschin, he set-up and manages KfW Capital since its start in 2018. Alexander Thees is Member of the Management Board at KfW Capital.

Tuomas Toivonen, Co-founder and CEO at Holvi, has over 15 years of experience advising governments and global mobile operators on payment systems. Tuomas saw the need for a better banking solution for small businesses in Europe. This drove him to create Holvi – a banking-service designed to meet the unique needs of SMEs.

Szabolcs Tóth is an economist with extensive experience in European economic affairs. After completing his university studies, he held positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary and the Central Bank of Hungary. Since 2020, he has served as a financial services attaché for Hungary, focusing on banking, digital finance, insurance, sustainable finance, and financial infrastructure-related matters. During the Hungarian Presidency of the EU, he chaired the FIDA negotiations, achieving the Council negotiating mandate on the file.

During his 12-year tenure at Deutsche Bank, Hubertus Väth held the positions of Analyst, Head of Communications and Chief Economist for Asia and Global Head of Marketing for Wealth Management at offices in Frankfurt, Hamburg and Singapore. He is the Founder of the NewMark Group and CEO of NewMark Finanzkommunikation GmbH, established in 1997 and specialized in market research, business consulting and financial communication. In 2008, Väth was appointed Managing Director of Frankfurt Main Finance, the Financial Centre initiative for Frankfurt and the leading Financial Centre in Germany and the Euro Zone. In 2018, he was appointed to the Board of Directors of the World Alliance of International Financial Centers (WAIFC), which was created to facilitate cooperation and exchange of best practices among international financial centres and to foster greater exchange with international public authorities. In 2025, he became the Vice Chair of WAIFC. Väth regularly speaks at international financial conferences on Brexit, FinTechs and Financial Centre Development; Euro Clearing and Green Finance. Väth is a Special Fellow of the Financial Think Tank of AFCA and publishes regularly in this capacity. He is a member of Rotary Club and has a Diploma in Economics from the University Mainz, Germany. Väth is an occasional lecturer at Universities and Business Schools.

Andrea joined tradias, a leading cryptocurrency trading house and specialist in digital assets, in November 2024 as General Counsel with responsibility for Legal, Compliance, AML/CFT and Data Protection. Her focus is to develop robust solutions that will enable tradias to grow in a dynamic market environment and develop innovative products, in line with an ever-evolving regulatory landscape. Prior to joining tradias, Andrea spent over 9 years with Fidelity International, leading the German Legal team and serving as a member of the German Management Committee. She started her career at AXA Investment Managers where she has been Head of Legal Germany from 2006 to 2015. Andrea has been a member of the Legal Committee of the BVI Bundesverband Investment und Asset Management e.V. and member of the Donor’s Committee of the Institute for Law & Finance, Frankfurt Goethe University. Andrea is a German qualified lawyer with an admission as an attorney-at-law (Rechtsanwältin).

Rama Variankaval is the global head of Corporate Advisory which encompasses Corporate Finance Advisory ("CFA"), M&A Structuring, Center for Carbon Transition (“CCT”), Sustainable Solutions, and Infrastructure Finance Advisory (“IFA”) teams at J.P. Morgan. CFA advises clients across industries on capital allocation, shareholder value creation strategies, capital structure optimization, and other corporate and structured finance issues. M&A Structuring team helps clients structure transactions to achieve optimal economic outcomes. CCT is leading the firm’s efforts in developing and implementing its climate strategy pertaining to its client facing businesses. CCT and Sustainable Solutions teams also advise clients on transitioning to a low-carbon future and navigating the various Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) considerations faced by companies today. IFA helps structure and execute on infrastructure projects globally. Rama sits on the Investment Bank’s management committee. In addition to these responsibilities, Rama leads the Corporate and Investment Bank’s ESG forum, and serves on the Firmwide Environmental Committee. Rama holds a BS in Civil Engineering from the National Institute of Technology in India, an MS in Structural Engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign and an MS in Statistics and Operations Research from New York University. Rama started his career at J.P. Morgan in 2003.

Eric Viohl is an accomplished professional with an educational background in banking and finance. With over a decade of experience in financial markets, he has honed his expertise at Deutsche Börse Group, a global leader in financial market infrastructure. Eric's areas of expertise include market microstructure, digital business models, trading models and exchange operations, with a keen interest and knowledge of digital assets. He has held key roles at Deutsche Börse Group, including Vice President of Business Development and Head of Crypto Strategy for Deutsche Börse’s Cash Market. Currently, as Managing Director of Crypto Finance Germany, part of Deutsche Börse Group, Eric is focused on building the MiCa hub for Crypto Finance, obtaining BaFin licences and pioneering initiatives to integrate traditional markets with digital assets. He is committed to navigating the intersection of established financial systems and digital innovation, facilitating seamless integration and growth opportunities.

Jürgen von der Lehr ist Head of Strategy and Sustainability Business Development der ING. In dieser Funktion ist er für die Strategie-, M&A-, Innovations- und Nachhaltigkeitsaktivitäten von ING verantwortlich. Jürgen verfügt über 20 Jahre Erfahrung in der Finanzdienstleistungsbranche und verfügt über umfangreiche digitale Kompetenzen sowie strategische und operative Expertise im Retail- und Corporate Experience Banking. Vor seiner Tätigkeit bei ING war Jürgen Head of Digital Innovation und Head of Online Brokerage bei der Deutschen Bank sowie Partner bei Oliver Wyman. Er hat einen Abschluss als Diplom-Kaufmann der Universität Mannheim.

Amadeus von Kummer is a fintech expert with a strong focus on scaling businesses and driving digital innovation. As Chief Market Officer at Teylor AG, the leading European SME lending player, he drives the growth of "Teylor Technologies," the company's SaaS division that provides innovative lending infrastructure to banks and financial institutions. Prior to joining Teylor, Amadeus held leadership roles at prominent financial technology firms and was deeply involved in supporting and contributing to two successful exits. At Tink, a leading open-banking provider, he managed banking operations in the DACH region following Tink's acquisition of FinTecSystems, where he served as Vice President of Banking & Finance. In these roles, he was instrumental in integrating open-banking solutions into financial institutions, modernizing traditional banking processes. Amadeus is passionate about leveraging technology to reshape financial services, focusing on smarter, faster, and more inclusive credit solutions for SMEs and financial institutions.

I am an expert in the field of digitalization at financial institutions, currently focusing on wealth management, and I am employed as the Head of Digital Office at ABN AMRO Germany/Bethmann Bank. In this role, I concentrate on enhancing the digital customer experience, including the use of AI solutions. Previously, I worked as an in-house consultant and management trainee at ABN AMRO/Bethmann Bank. I hold a Master's degree in Finance from the University of Mainz and am a certified banker.

Martina Weimert is the CEO of EPI Company, since the early days of the initiative established in December 2020. Martina has been supporting and guiding European banks and acquirers to build the foundation of the EPI Company, aiming to build an independent European solution and connecting Europe’s payment industry. With 20 years of experience in international consulting, she has in-depth experience in payments and payment solution set-up, fintech, blockchain and retail banking in Europe, the Americas and the Middle East. Prior to joining EPI, she was a partner in the Financial Services Practice of the consultancy Oliver Wyman in Paris, leading the European payments practice, previously holding the positions of Senior VP at Capgemini Consulting, and Marketing & Sales Director for Deutsche Bank in France. Martina graduated from the Institute of Political Science Paris in European business development and holds a Master degree in International Administration (DESS) from Sorbonne University, and studied before Political Science at the University of Bonn.

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As Managing Director and founder of Ratepay and Banxware, Miriam Wohlfarth is one of the first female Fintech founders in Germany, with over 24 years of experience in the digital economy. In 2009, she founded the payment service provider Ratepay, which today employs over 300 people. With Ratepay, she actively shaped the developments in the payment industry. With her second company, Banxware, she has been revolutionizing the lending sector since 2020, enabling platforms to offer embedded Finance products. In Germany, she is doing pioneering work in the financial sector. As Co-Founder and Co-CEO, she is responsible for sales and marketing at Banxware. Miriam is a member of the Digital Finance Forum of the Federal Ministry of Finance, a shareholder at Startup Teens, a supervisory board member at Talentsconnect AG, Mercedes-Benz Mobility AG, and Freenet AG, and also a partner and co-shareholder of Payment & Banking, a leading Fintech blog in Germany.

Dr. Joachim Wuermeling is a Professor at the ESMT in Berlin and an attorney at A&O Shearman in Frankfurt. Until recently he used to be a member of the Deutsche Bundesbank’s Executive Board (2016 – 2023). His responsibilities covered banking supervision, controlling, accounting and organisation, information technology, data and statistics as well as risk control. He sat on the Supervisory Board of the Single Supervisory Mechanism at the ECB , the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and of the German Financial Stability Committee (AFS). His previous positions include serving as Member of the European Parliament, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Technology, member of the Executive Board of the German Insurance Association, and Chairman of the Association of Sparda-Banken. Dr Wuermeling is a lawyer by education, holds degrees of the University of Bayreuth and the Eu-ropean University Institute in Florence and was a lecturer at the Universities of Bayreuth and Potsdam.

Sina is CDO and Head Financial Services at Unique AG – a European startup providing an AI-driven conversational platform to better understand customers and build more meaningful client relationships. Unique has already implemented several use cases based on GPT-technology for their Financial Services Clients as one of the first European startups (powered by Microsoft Azure). Sina is a proven data specialist for financial applications with over 15 years of experience. Prior to joining Unique, Sina led various projects in the area of data strategy and applications in a major international bank in Switzerland (Credit Suisse AG). Previously, she worked as a consultant for a large management consulting firm in Germany and the USA (Accenture AG). In addition, Sina appears as a regular speaker and lecturer for Conversational AI, Ecosystem Technology and Data Protection. She serves as an advisor and mentor to emerging Gen AI startups (HEC Paris) and functions as a subject matter expert for the Swiss Financial Innovation Desk within the Secretariat for International Finance. Sina holds a PhD in Financial Modeling from the University of St. Gallen (HSG, Switzerland) and a Diploma in Economics from the University of Mannheim (Germany).

Experienced professional with a strong background in finance, strategy, and leadership. Currently serving as Chief of Staff at planqc, a pioneering quantum computing startup, leading strategic management, business development, and fundraising efforts. Previously held multiple leadership roles at JPMorgan Chase, including Vice President, Business Manager to Asia CEO, where I drove regional strategy, built partnerships and improved efficiency. A CFA charterholder and Executive MBA candidate (2025) at TU Munich and HSG St. Gallen, with additional expertise in fintech.