About GDF

Michael is a global lawyer with nearly 20 years of practice specialising in digital assets, blockchain and policy dual admitted in Australia and the Cayman Islands. As a former tech entrepreneur, Michael has the technical knowledge needed to match up the legal and policy challenges facing digital assets.  Michael has been a Sessional Academic at Charles Sturt University and a guest lecturer at leading Australian universities.  He served on the Digital Economy Council of Australia (formerly Blockchain Australia) as Director from 2020-2024 and as Chair from 2022-2024. He also served on the Canadian Australian Chamber of Commerce from 2015 – 2024, including as Director and Company Secretary. Michael was named a Key Contributor to the Australian Government’s Blockchain Roadmap, testified to the Australian Senate on several occasions on digital asset regulation and was part of the NSW Law Society’s Artificial Intelligence Taskforce in 2024 and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology’s Digital3 Advisory Board from 2023 – 2024.  He has authored and edited over 1,250 posts on his blog, www.BitsofBlocks.io, is co-author of an upcoming textbook published by LexisNexis on the regulation of digital assets and is a frequent speaker at conferences around the world.

Abdul is a Board Member and CFO of Global Digital Finance (GDF), a not-for-profit membership association that promotes fair and transparent markets for crypto and digital assets. He is also a Co-Founder and Principal of Elipses, an advisory and investment firm focused on digital disruption in the finance sector. He is the former CFO of Innovate Finance, a not-for-profit FinTech members association that played a key role in establishing the UK as the premier FinTech Hub globally. He also previously served as Chair of Yielders, an Islamic FinTech marketplace for alternative asset classes.

Prior to this, Abdul spent a decade working for tier 1 banks, including Credit Suisse and ​​BNY Mellon. He is a qualified management accountant and holds an MBA (with distinction) from Imperial College Business School.

Abdul was selected as a top 100 BAME leader in UK Tech 2018.

Melissa is Director of Member Services and Events at Global Digital Finance (GDF).  With over 20 years of experience operating in 20 countries, Melissa held positions at Citi, Taylor Wessing & EY. She managed event teams to deliver successful, on-budget events inline with business goals and objectives. At Citi, she led events for the CEO Executive Committee & International Advisory Board.  Most recently, Melissa has been lecturing in Event Management in the Australian tertiary education sector.

Richard Crook leads teams focused on delivering client-centric solutions through emerging technologies, with a particular emphasis on crypto and digital assets. With over 25 years of experience in investment banking technology, Richard has a proven track record of solving complex challenges for major financial institutions. His distinguished career includes leadership roles at UBS, RBS, LAB577 and BCB Group, where he honed his expertise in enhancing client experience and optimizing service delivery. Richard’s deep knowledge of the financial services sector positions him as a leader in driving innovation and transformation within the industry.

Adriana specialises in financial regulatory policy issues covering all Digital and Innovation topics, focusing on Crypto, Digital Assets, AI Data and Tokenisation. Prior to joining Credit Suisse, Adriana was a Repo trader and Global Product Manager for Merrill Lynch, Tradition Government Securities and Goldman Sachs in Asia, London and New York. Additionally, she ran various private ventures in Asia and London.

Adriana holds a BS in Management and Finance from New York University and an MBA from Fordham School of Business Management. She’s recognized for her contributions to fintech and finance and is dedicated to promoting gender diversity in technology and reforming education to make tech education inclusive.

Adriana has been honored with the Women in Fintech Power list award several years and is the recipient of the Women in Finance Returner of the year award. Her career combines financial expertise with a passion for transforming TradeFi to a DeFi future with freedom of money at its core.  Her passion makes her as a significant influencer in finance and technology.

Polina is a regulatory affairs expert with over a decade of experience in the banking sector. She previously worked as a market advocacy expert and then served as Head of Regulatory Strategy (Digital) at Global Transaction Bank, Deutsche Bank, leading the development and implementation of regulatory strategies related to open banking, payments, custody services, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and cryptoassets.

Polina has been an active member of regulatory committees at the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) and UK Finance, contributing to policy development and industry advocacy. She is the founder and principal author of the CryptoReg Insights blog and podcast, providing expert thought leadership and analysis on emerging regulations in crypto assets, artificial intelligence, and other catalysts for banking innovation.

With her extensive experience in regulatory strategy and market advocacy, Polina is well-positioned to support GDF’s mission to advocate for regulatory frameworks that promote innovation in the digital assets ecosystem.

Kene is Chief Blockchain Officer at Ubyx, a global stablecoin clearing and settlement network, and founder of Millicent Labs, a digital assets consultancy and development firm. Specialising in product design and strategy, he focuses on bridging public blockchain technology and traditional financial systems. He has led numerous engagements with major public and private institutions on digital currency innovation, earning recognition and awards including top honours in the BIS/G20 TechSprint on cross-border payments and FX solutions for emerging markets and developing economies. A former member of the Bank of England’s CBDC Technology Forum, he contributes regularly to the public discourse on digital finance, with publications through the Digital Pound Foundation, Digital Euro Association, and the Qatar Centre for Global Banking and Finance at King’s College London. His commentary has also appeared in Forbes, The Washington Post, and other major outlets.

Glen Fernandes is the Head of Digital Business Design across the Euroclear Group Strategy and Products. He is responsible for helping shape the transition of Euroclear’s business into a future model powered by digital and data. Mr Fernandes has previously held senior roles in the Euroclear’s Strategy and Product management where he was responsible for heading the Fixed Income Primary markets business and leading strategic business development and fintech investment opportunities, to help shape Euroclear’s overall strategic and innovation direction.

Mr Fernandes also chairs an international group of Central Securities Depositories (CSDs), Custodian banks & Fintechs under the International Securities Services Association (ISSA) to help create a common market understanding for the adoption of Digital Assets and Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) in capital markets. Mr Fernandes has over 20 years of experience in capital markets and financial technology across America, Europe and Asia Pacific. He joined Euroclear in 2014 having earlier worked for investment banking and securities services business lines at JP Morgan, Nomura, and Lehman Brothers where his work spanned key product and technology roles. Mr Fernandes holds a Masters in Business Administration from Vlerick Business School Belgium, in addition to Bachelors studies in Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering.”

Arushi Goel was most recently Head of Policy for the Middle East, Africa, Central and South Asia at Chainalysis, based in Dubai, and is now an advisor to the company. She works closely with the public and private sectors on digital assets policy, market development, and stakeholder engagement across the region, while serving as a strategic advisor to central banks, regulators, and leading financial institutions.
Previously, Arushi led data policy and blockchain at the World Economic Forum. Her work focused on data governance and digital assets regulation, including through the Digital Currency Governance Consortium. She began her career in law, serving as a Judge in India before moving into the technology sector, where she worked across India and the GCC.

Heather Goldman has a more than 25 year career as a global capital markets and technology senior executive. She has consistently operated at the intersection of financial services and web-based technologies to deliver high-quality products and services for both retail and institutional clients. Heather currently serves as an independent director and trustee for global fund complexes managed by leading industry investment managers Brookfield Asset Management and Oaktree Capital Management. Heather is a Web3 fintech advisor with a focus on innovation in traditional finance and the adoption of emerging DeFi solutions.

Daniel Gorfine subject-matter expertise in fintech innovation, AI, payments, cloud, digital assets, and modern financial markets & services. Experienced regulatory, public policy, strategic communications, and business executive with substantial in-house, government, and think tank experience across the technology and financial sectors. Co-founder of the Digital Dollar Project and helped launch the Financial Technology Association (FTA) and Cloud Service Providers-Advisory Board (CSP-AB). Fintech angel investor, Board Director, and Adjunct Professor at Georgetown Law. Former chief innovation officer at the U.S. CFTC.

Pascal has a 25-year successful track record in financial services with a focus on Global Markets and Risk Management. Throughout his career, he has held multiple international roles in Front Office, Risk functions, and Consulting.
The breadth and depth of roles undertaken have helped him grow into a Risk Executive with a well-rounded profile combining leadership and strong expertise across markets, financial and non-financial risk management, regulation & compliance, and transformation.
In his current role at Lloyds Banking Corporate Markets, he covers all key components of the risk management framework and supports the CRO, CFO, CEO, and Board by providing an overarching view across all risk types. As an executive leader, he also plays an influential role in transforming the organization and positioning it for future success by engaging in critical topics such as Digital Assets, Distributed Ledger Technology, and AI.

Lauren is Chief of Staff at Terminal 3, a data privacy and security company combining decentralized and privacy-preserving technologies for an equitable digital future.

Based in Hong Kong, she manages strategy, regulation, and reputation across the organization, working closely with governments and enterprises to redesign identity across the digital landscape.

Prior to Terminal 3, Lauren sat on the strategy and product teams at the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong’s newspaper of record.

Carole House is experienced cybersecurity and risk management professional with a demonstrated background in U.S. military intelligence and the Federal executive and legislative branches of government who is committed to protecting people. Skilled in cybersecurity and emerging technology policy, security operations and risk management, unconventional warfare, and strategic and operational planning. Strong research professional with a Master of Arts (M.A.) focused in Security Studies from Georgetown University.

Khalid Howladar is the Founder and Managing Partner of Acreditus, a Dubai-based MEA advisory firm that specializes in an eclectic mix of credit, Islamic finance and digital assets advisory for institutional and sovereign clients. He is also an active Angel investor and serves as a Board Advisor to a large portfolio of EMEA fintech, blockchain and AI startups. He gained regional prominence from his 16 years at Moody’s in London (structured credit) and Dubai (banks, securitisation) culminating as both the Head / GCC Banks and Global Head / Islamic Finance. An engaging orator he has spoken at events ranging from crypto to credit and regularly lectures a several European B-schools. Lastly, he is passionate about tech as an enabler for inclusion and empowerment.

Brad is a COO, President, CRO, CEO and Strategic Accounts Leader with a track record of achievement within Digital Assets, Tokenization, FinTech, Asset Management, and Investment Banking.
Entrepreneurial and commercially astute with extensive, transferable cross-industry experience, I am significantly skilled at leading bold initiatives and creating alignment to develop new businesses, and reinvigorating under performing operations to accelerate exceptional financial results.
As a dynamic, motivated, and composed change agent, Brad is highly adept at utilizing AI, ML, SaaS, blockchain, algorithmic decision making, analytics, and business intelligence to drive growth, reduce costs, and improve decisions.
Brad is a interdisciplinary leader and thrive in fast-paced, growth-orientated environments, and possess a demonstrated ability to rapidly grow the customer base and generate recurring revenues by building holistic products and services.

Elissa McCarter LaBorde is a three-time Chief Executive Officer with 25 years of leadership across the global financial services, fintech, and impact investment sectors. She most recently served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), the global trade association representing financial cooperatives in 100 countries, where she led a successful institutional transformation that expanded the organization’s revenue, reach, and global impact.
Previously, she founded and served as Chief Executive Officer of Vitas Group, a network of small business lenders across the Middle East and Europe, where she drove digital innovation and early-stage fintech investments.
A practitioner at heart, Ms. LaBorde began her career in microfinance, launching financial institutions first in Armenia and Turkey and advising programs in Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East. She has held numerous governance roles, including board chair and director positions with regulated financial institutions and privately held companies across multiple markets, bringing extensive expertise in risk, governance, and investment strategy.
An engaging speaker, author, and educator, Ms. LaBorde serves as adjunct faculty at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C. A strong advocate for “AI for good” and inclusive finance, she is passionate about democratizing access to opportunity and advancing more equitable and sustainable financial systems worldwide.

Renee is a senior financial services executive with over 20 years of experience across tax law, securities finance, and high-profile regulatory programs.  She spent the majority of her career at Morgan Stanley, where she held senior roles delivering large-scale strategic initiatives and leading complex cross-functional regulatory programs.

Her work has focused on shaping priorities, driving execution, and implementing new operating models in highly regulated markets.  Based in London, she brings an institutional perspective and deep implementation experience, with a particular interest in market infrastructure, governance frameworks, and the application of regulatory and operational expertise to the evolving digital finance landscape.  She holds a B.A. from Tufts University, a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, and an LL.M. in Tax from New York University.

James has been a longstanding advocate for decentralized technologies, having testified on the NY Privacy Act and before Congress on stablecoin technology as a blockchain expert. He helped map standards for digital identity and has been deeply involved in self-custody tools and digital asset infrastructure companies since 2018.
He currently acts as GTM Director at Formation, a frontier technology lab working at the intersection of artificial intelligence and automation technologies. Previously, he founded a renowned fitness facility in Manhattan and was a trader at a boutique investment bank.
He lives between St. Petersburg, Florida and Copenhagen while spending as much time as he can in his hometown of New York City. James graduated from the Villanova University School of Business.

Caroline is an experienced policy and strategy professional, having worked for governments as well as in the private sector in roles including building the Policy function globally as Vice President at Chainalysis. Recently a Policy & Practice Visitor at the Institute for Ethics in AI at Oxford University, Caroline also teaches on AI and finance, and is currently writing a chapter of a book on international cooperation in the world of digital finance. 

A tax lawyer by training, after working in her native Australia, Caroline joined the OECD where she was part of the founding team for the Global Forum on tax transparency. She went on to establish Tax Inspectors Without Borders, including the establishment of a successful partnership between the OECD and UNDP with a x100 return on costs. 

Caroline’s interest in the world of technology began in earnest with a focus on the new business models enabled by emerging technologies, such as the platform economy. In this work, she represented the OECD at the G20 Deputy Finance Ministers meeting on tax matters and delivered the 2018 Report to the G20 on the tax challenges arising from digitalisation.

Before joining Chainalysis, as founding Head of the Global Blockchain Policy Centre, Caroline led a team assessing the implications of DLT on finance, cybersecurity, data privacy, supply chain due diligence and anti-trust policy. She also co-chaired the 2019 work of the Financial Stability Board on decentralised fintech and has been a judge in the G20 hackathons.

Greg Medcraft is Co-Chair and Board Member at Global Digital Finance (GDF).

Greg Medcraft is the former Director of the OECD Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs and was responsible for contributing guidance, strategy and support for the Directorate’s policy and standard-setting work in a number of areas including Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT); digital assets, tokenization, and securitization: and, ESG reporting. Greg was responsible for the creation of the OECD’s Blockchain Policy Forum, the preeminent global policy maker forum for blockchain policy and governments.”

Greg has extensive financial markets experience in both the private and public sectors. Medcraft began his career with accounting firm KPMG before moving to Société Générale where he became Deputy Global Head of Financial Engineering, finishing his tenure as Managing Director and Global Head of Securitisation. Greg was also CEO of the Australian Securitisation Forum and co-founded the American Securitization Forum where he was Chairman for several years.

From 2009 to 2017 Greg served first as Commissioner and then as Chairman of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), Australia’s corporate, markets, financial services and credit regulator. He was the Chair of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) Board and a member of the Financial Stability Board from 2013 to 2016. IOSCO is the leading international policy forum and global standard setter for securities regulation.

Based in London, Andrew leads S&P Global’s research on digital assets and their potential impact on financial markets. He began focusing on crypto and DeFi-related risks in early 2022, with an emphasis on understanding their potential impact on ratings and on financial markets more broadly. Examples of his research work include a deep-dive into the risk dependencies in public blockchains and the drivers of the failures of centralized crypto-related entities in 2022. He also participated in the development of S&P Global Ratings’ Stablecoin Stability Assessments launched in Nov. 2023.

He joined S&P in 2009 as an analyst in covered bond ratings before taking on a role in the development of rating methodologies, primarily for Structured Finance ratings. Before joining S&P Global Ratings, Andrew worked as an analyst in Investment Banking, Acquisition and Leveraged Finance at J.P. Morgan.

Andrew holds the CFA charter and a Masters degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Bath.

Jannah is the founder of Markets Evolution, a consultancy specialising in financial markets innovation and strategy in both traditional financial and digital asset markets. She specialises in helping firms to define, develop and execute innovative commercial strategies in a highly regulated environment. Her current focus areas include the development of digital asset markets and new forms of digital money, and the transition to a sustainable financial system. Jannah has been active in building and developing a number of the organisations that are helping to drive the regulatory agenda, both in the UK and globally, with respect to digital money and assets, including the Digital Pound Foundation, Global Blockchain Convergence, the Whitechapel Think Tank and London Blockchain Foundation. She is also an Affiliate Member of the Qatar Centre for Global Banking and Finance at Kings College London.

Will is the Global Public Policy Lead for Payments, Hardware, and Small Business at Block, a global technology company focusing on financial services. Based in New York, he develops and advances product-led policy strategies at a state, federal, and international level, including for the Square, CashApp, Bitkey, and Proto Mining businesses. Will has experience working at the intersection of trade, technology, economic, and innovation policy, joining Block from HM Treasury in the UK.

Armin Peter is a seasoned Investment Banking professional with over 25 years of experience in Capital Markets and Banking. As a former GFMA Board member and Chair of the ICMA FinTech Advisory Committee, he has been at the forefront of the sector’s digital transformation. Armin played a crucial role in developing the ICMA Bond Data Taxonomy, which was successfully implemented in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s multi-currency Digital Green Bond transaction in 2024.

His expertise lies in leveraging technology to drive business transformation and create value across Capital Markets. As the former Global Head of Debt Syndicate and Sustainable Banking EMEA at UBS, Armin led global debt issuance and spearheaded the bank’s DCM Tech Agenda, including Digital Bond issuance and Primary Bond Market infrastructure. He was instrumental in establishing UBS’s Sustainable Finance business and helped developing the bank’s Green Bond Funding Framework.

Armin’s strategic thinking and collaborative skills make him a global facilitator in driving the industry towards a more digitalized and sustainable future.

Anthony is a payments and financial infrastructure expert with over 20 years’ experience connecting global banks, non-banking financial institutions, and corporates to banking infrastructure, with the last 8+ years focused on blockchain and DLT.
He led the Product team at Ripple for the launch of their USD-backed stablecoin (RLUSD) and drove the strategy for the Ripple CBDC Platform, collaborating with central banks, monetary authorities, and banks to develop requirements and implement tokenized money projects. Anthony was also the author of the RippleNet Rulebook, establishing a standardized framework for cross-border payments.
Now an independent consultant and advisor, he joins Global Digital Finance as an Executive in Residence to leverage his extensive background in stablecoins, CBDCs, and the integration of digital assets into the global financial ecosystem.

John is the Head of the Hogan Lovells Blockchain and Cryptocurrency practice, John is a highly experienced technology lawyer with a market leading reputation in the financial services sector. John advises clients across the industry on their strategic technology projects and the implementation of innovative blockchain solutions whilst managing legal and regulatory risk.

John has a successful track record of advising major banks and start-ups on complex commercial technology and regulatory matters in this area. He spends a great deal of time educating regulators, policy makers and clients in the area of blockchain and crypto and has spoken to the European Parliament, IOSCO, OECD and many governments and regulators on this topic.

Widely recognised for his involvement in cutting-edge developments across the sector, John is ranked as a leading lawyer in FinTech by the industry’s leading publications and directories.

Representative experience

• Advising a leading digital assets platform in regulatory and commercial matters relating to its expansion into the UK market
• Advising multiple cryptoassets business in relation to their compliance with regulatory regimes in various jurisdictions
• Advising a blockchain developer on its public procurement technology arrangements with a local authority in Africa to provide a blockchain land register repository

Nicole is a digital policy expert and was the Head of Digital Policy at Barclays. She drives policy engagement on digital regulation and initiatives including AI and DLT use cases (eg tokenisation of assets, CBDC and generative AI), and regularly engages with policymakers globally. Further, she participates in various regulatory and policy forums and industry groups. For example, Nicole is on the European Commission’s Expert Group on Regulatory Obstacles to Financial Innovation and was the former chair of the UK Finance New Forms of Digital Money SteerCo and was the co-chair of the UK Finance AI Policy Committee in addition to having sat on the UK Finance Digital, Technology and Cyber Product and Services Board. In addition, she presented on AI at the EC FinTech Lab and participated in both the Crypto-asset and Blockchain roundtable and Digital Identity roundtable at the European Parliament.

Nicole regularly speaks on panels, presents at conferences and universities, has articles published and focuses on upskilling and diversity initiatives.  She was named in the Financial News ‘Top 20 Most Influential Women in Digital Assets 2023’, FinTech Magazine ‘Top 100 Women in FinTech 2022’, the City Am Crypto Am ‘Industry Personality of the Year 2022’, Re.Work ‘Top 30 Women in Fintech’ 2021, the ‘Influencer of the Year’ at the NY Finovate Awards 2019 and the ‘Most Influential Women in FinTech Regulation – UK’ at the Wealth and Finance Awards 2019.

Diane Sherman is a market infrastructure executive focused on the evolution of tokenization, trading platforms, and collateral optimization across capital markets.
With over 20 years of experience in asset management, trading, risk management, and regulatory strategy, she brings deep expertise at the intersection of traditional financial markets and emerging digital infrastructure. Her work centers on how tokenized money market funds, real-world assets (RWA), and modern clearing systems can reshape liquidity, collateral mobility, and operational efficiency across exchanges and broker-dealers.
During her tenure as a Managing Director at Bank of America, Diane built and scaled a Collateral Management trading desk from the ground up. She conceptualized and implemented a centralized balance sheet program that ultimately generated 40–50% of F&O business revenue, driving capital efficiency while strengthening risk governance and compliance oversight.
Her background in futures markets and trading systems uniquely positions her to advise on the next phase of financial infrastructure development, particularly where SEC and CFTC regulatory frameworks intersect with tokenized asset innovation.
Diane is particularly interested in the modernization of market infrastructure, including exchange platforms such as NYSE, NASDAQ, and OTC markets, as well as clearing mechanisms and digital asset integration. She focuses on the practical execution required to move traditional financial processes on-chain while maintaining regulatory rigor.
She remains committed to mentoring emerging leaders, particularly women and minorities entering financial markets and fintech, and welcomes conversations on the future of tokenization, market structure, and capital efficiency.

Previn Singh has been a driver in the Digital Assets space for over 8 years. He has operated in the intersection between Banking and Blockchain during this time. As Head of the Digital Assets & Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Centre of Competency at Credit Suisse he focused on partnerships with peer banks, fintechs and regulators. His areas of focus are tokenization, CBDCs, Digital Payments and the development of industry wide Digital Financial Market Infrastructure (dFMI).

He has over 30 years change, transformation & innovation management experience. Prior to his efforts in Digital Assets he was responsible for transformation work at Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. He has worked as a global change Programme Director across various functions such as Trading, Risk, Finance, Liquidity Management, Operations and Trade Management. During his time in these roles he drove the transformation of these functions in line with their bank’s strategic objectives.

Previn has a First Class degree in Civil Engineering from Queen Mary College, University of London and an MSc in Engineering gained with Distinction from Imperial College. He also holds an MBA from Imperial College Business School.

Elise is the Executive Director of Global Digital Finance (GDF), Policy & Regulation & Board Member. 

Elise was formerly an Associate Director at the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) where she lead the division’s Digital Assets and Data Strategy work, with a focus on emerging regulation such as the Market in Crypto Assets (MiCA) legislation and the European Commission’s targeted consultation on open finance and data sharing in the financial sector. Furthermore, she also worked closely with global standard setters, driving and guiding engagement between the capital markets industry and bodies such as the FSB and IOSCO.

Prior to her work at AFME, Elise was in the public sector, working at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in both their Technology, Resilience and Cyber Division and International Division. Notably she pioneered the FCA’s International Digital Assets strategy in 2022 and led technical policy dialogue on DLT, Consumer Risks, Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC’s), and Decentralised Finance (DeFi), among other topics.

Elise was named ‘Next Generation Leader of the Year’ at the 2022 Women in Finance Awards UK.

Elise’s experience with both the public and private sector enables her to support members in their engagement with policy makers around the globe. She has experience in both drafting and advocating for regulatory outcomes that will support the development of the digital assets ecosystem, and her technical understanding of the industry makes her well suited to represent the membership of Global Digital Finance.

Simon is a Non-Executive Director at Global Digital Finance (GDF). Previously, Simon was a Head of Blockchain R+D for Barclays and a Co-Founder of 11:FS, a challenger consultancy. Simon has a career history spanning payments, transaction banking and delivery of digital financial services. Today, Simon is relied on by Tier 1 financial institutions, regulators and policymakers for insights into Digital and Blockchain.

Lavan is a Non-Executive Director of Global Digital Finance (GDF). He leads our efforts in representing the view of the industry to policy makers and regulators and distilling and disseminating information that has come out of them back to the industry. A thought leader in the field, Lavan has spoken at a number of public events including the World Government Summit, EuroFi, Digital Assets Week, London FinTech Week and many more.

Lavan was a former UK advisor at the European Parliament with a focus on Economic and Monetary Affairs within which he specialised in emerging technologies advising on a number of FinTech, Cryptoasset and DLT files. Most notably, he advised the rapporteur of the EU Crowdfunding Service Providers Regulation and the Comprehensive European Industrial Policy on Artificial Intelligence and Robotics.

Lavan is a director at Thasa Consulting, which he advises firms, trade associations and supranational organisations on matters pertaining to emerging tech policy. Notably he authored the Commonwealth Secretariat Regulatory Guidance on Virtual Currencies in 2019 and the UK FinTech Strategic Review in 2021.

Lavan is also a Consultant at Hogan Lovells, where he works within the Digital Assets and Blockchain Practice.

Lavan’s ability to navigate the EU and UK legislative process enables him to help members understand the incoming regulatory requirements that will impact them. His experience in drafting legislation, policy recommendations and a strong understanding of the industry leaves him well placed to represent our members.

Liz Towler is a global executive with more than twenty years of experience driving commercial growth strategies across financial markets, technology and innovation. Her career spans traditional capital markets, blockchain and emerging technologies with some of the largest brands leading the industry. Having worked in global and regional leadership roles across New York, London and Sydney, she brings a truly international perspective to financial services transformation.

Most recently, as Chief Marketing Officer at Digital Asset, Liz launched and scaled the groundbreaking Canton Network to over 400 ecosystem participants processing $4 trillion in tokenized assets and $2 trillion in monthly transaction volume. Under her leadership, Canton Network became the world’s largest privacy-enabled blockchain for institutional finance. Launched in May 2023, the public infrastructure is governed by the Global Synchronizer Foundation, managed by the Linux Foundation. As Chair of the Marketing Committee, Liz orchestrated go-to-market strategies across finance, technology and market infrastructure organizations, ensuring organizational neutrality while fostering unprecedented innovation across the ecosystem.

Prior to Digital Asset, Liz built and led transformational marketing functions at major financial institutions. At the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), she spearheaded a $15 million digital transformation serving 2+ million customers, modernizing how Australia’s primary exchange engaged with market participants. At Citigroup’s $10 billion Transaction Services business, she developed and executed global marketing strategies across 98 countries, managing relationships with 65,000+ multinational clients and positioning Citi as the leading provider of cash management and trade finance solutions. At Deloitte Digital, she pioneered B2B digital engagement strategies for financial services clients, helping traditional institutions navigate digital disruption.

A recognized thought leader in financial services marketing, Liz is a frequent speaker at premier industry events including the World Economic Forum at Davos, Bloomberg Live CMO Roundtable and Financial Times events. Her insights on bridging traditional finance with emerging digital innovation have positioned her as a sought-after voice on the future of financial services.

What sets Liz apart is her unique combination of deep capital markets expertise and cutting-edge blockchain technology knowledge. This dual perspective gives her unparalleled insight into how financial infrastructure works today and how emerging technology can transform it for institutional adoption. She has a proven track record of building marketing functions that drive measurable business growth during periods of significant industry change, with particular expertise in institutional audience engagement and complex technology adoption.

Liz holds a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) from the University of Newcastle and is based in London.

Fabienne is a Graduate Analyst at Global Digital Finance. She supports programs at the intersection of digital finance, policy, and technology, translating complex developments into clear and practical insights for members. Previously, she assumed leadership of Blue Oceans, a financial technology firm serving capital markets clients, where she managed the transition of leadership, maintained client relationships, and oversaw operations. She also founded an AI driven product venture and guided it from idea to early pilots. Earlier in her career, Fabienne worked in regulatory research at Hogan Lovells in Paris, which strengthened her understanding of European financial frameworks and emerging technologies. Trained in analytics and data science, she enjoys bridging technical detail with strategic outcomes. Fabienne holds a BA from Vanderbilt University and is finishing up an MSc in Business Analytics at Imperial College London.

Andrew is a policy and regulatory expert specialising in financial technology. He is the founder of Global Policy LTD, Visiting Fellow at the European University Institute in Florence, and an Adjunct Professor at IE University in Madrid. Andrew brings in-house policy director expertise from crypto, payments and fintech companies like Ripple and Curve, with a particular focus on the UK, EU and Middle East. Previously he served as an official at the Bank of England, developing its policy for fintech, stablecoins, CBDCs and crypto. He researches and teaches on the international political economy of financial innovation. He holds a PhD from the Johns Hopkins University SAIS in Washington, DC and is the author of Regulating banks: the politics of instability and How to understand MiCA: a policy guide.

Lawrence is the Chair of Global Digital Finance (GDF), a global not for-profit promoting fair and transparent markets for digital assets and has held several member association roles including CEO of Innovate Finance UK, board member of the UK personal investment management trade association PIMFA, and a member of the OECD Blockchain Expert Policy Advisory Board. Lawrence is the CEO of Avrio, a US-based digital financial market infrastructure firm and has held roles chairing and managing alternative investment funds following a career in advisory services with PwC, Deloitte, and EY. Lawrence has an MBA, is a regular Forbes and Fintech.TV contributor, and promotes ethical and sustainable finance policies for a transparent, secure, and quality digital future for everyone.

Malcolm Wright is Deputy Chief Compliance Officer at OKX. He is a recognized global authority on virtual asset regulation and compliance, with notable roles including as senior director at Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), and as the former CCO guiding BitMEX through their US regulatory interactions. Malcolm has held leadership roles at Thomson Reuters (now Refinitiv/LSEG) where he oversaw the delivery of World-Check One to market, as well as overseeing product and technology for the world’s first KYC utility. He is noted as a key player in championing key virtual asset dialogues with the FATF, INTERPOL, and regulators, and as co-creator of the globally-accepted IVMS101 FATF Travel Rule data standard. Malcolm also speaks and trains on crypto compliance and regulatory topics to both crypto and banking audiences as well as governments.

Alex leads policy engagement and strategy at the Stellar Development Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding equitable access to the global financial system through blockchain technology. He also focuses on strategic initiatives.

He previously served at the Federal Reserve, where he contributed to its research on digital dollars and payments. He began his career at Société Générale, working on structured financial products. Alex holds a bachelor’s degree from New York University and a master’s degree from the University of Chicago.