Challenges for cryptocurrency adoption

Mariana Gospodinova

General Manager, Europe

crypto.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/marianagospodinova/

In her previous role as COO of Binance Europe, she headed the operations in Malta and looked after the successful launch of the crypto to fiat exchange and other local initiatives. Mariana has solid experience in the payment industry in Europe, with leadership roles in operations at companies including Paysafe and SysPay.

Neha Mehta

Founder

FemTech Partners

https://www.linkedin.com/in/neha-mehta-fintech/

Neha is founder of FemTech Partners, which enables Fintech start-ups to access and expand their market-reach and supports programs and initiatives for women in Fintech, on a pro-bono basis. Neha is a recipient of the Nav Shakti Award for her contribution to women empowerment conferred by the Indo European Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises (IECSME). Neha is featured in FinTech 50, 2019 and 2020, Asia's 50 Most Influential Women in Renewable Energy, 2020, and "Global Future Fintech Leader" Award at the Fintech Festival Abu Dhabi 2020. Neha is a legal and finance professional with 12 years of experience in Asia and Europe. She holds a double-degree in Law and Commerce from the University of Delhi and attended King’s College, London on Chevening Fellowship. Over the years, Neha’s work has centered on liaising with the financial regulators across ASEAN region. As the Vice-President of Indian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (IVCA), she actively worked with regulators such as Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Ministry of Finance (MOF), and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). As the Country Head for Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA), Singapore she worked closely with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on the Registered Fund Management Companies (RFMC) regime. Neha facilitated the market entry for Eurex Frankfurt AG, Deutsche Boerse Group in the Indian market. Neha graduated in Business Management and also holds a Masters in Business Journalism. Neha is an Al Gore Certified Climate Change Trainer and is passionate about environment protection, issues relating to health and education of children belonging to poor families. Her day starts with yoga and meditation. Neha is a regular contributor to fintech discussions, especially to bridge the gender gap in fintech and the financial services industry.

Miguel Antón

Associate Professor

IESE (moderator)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/miguelanton/

Miguel Antón is Associate Professor in the Department of Financial Management at IESE Business School. He received his undergraduate and master’s degrees in economics from the University of Navarra. He holds an MSc in finance and economics from CEMFI, a research institution created by the Bank of Spain. He received his Ph.D. degree in finance from The London School of Economics, and is currently a research affiliate of the Financial Markets Group. Prof. Antón received the Award of the Best Student in the Bachelor’s Degree at the Universidad de Navarra, and the Graduate Teaching Assistant Price in the Department of Finance at the LSE. He was invited to participate with a full scholarship at the Yale Summer School in Behavioral Finance. He is a former Fundación Ramón Areces and Asociación de Amigos de la Universidad de Navarra scholar. Prof. Antón’s principal areas of academic and research activity include empirical asset pricing, the impact of institutional trading in asset prices, mutual fund performance, contagion in credit markets, and determinants of systemic risk. Prof. Antón has been a visiting fellow at Harvard University, and has presented at international conferences such as the Western Finance Association meetings, the Whitebox Student Conference in Yale University, the Finance Forum in Spain, and the Royal Economic Society Ph.D. Conference in London. He has also given seminars in more than a dozen institutions, including Harvard Business School, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Rotman School of Management in Toronto, HEC Paris, Instituto de Empresa in Madrid, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, and others. He is also a research consultant to private institutions. Prior to his academic career, Prof. Antón worked for The Bank of New York, and for BBVA in the research department.

Lawrence Tilli

Managing Director

Net Zero Capital

Lawrence is a crypto angel and VC investor, and has been an early supporter to more than 30 projects in the blockchain ecosystem since 2017. He is Managing Director of NetZero Capital, a UK based private investment firm funding emerging projects in the fields of distributed ledger technologies and decentralised finance. He is also Commercial Advisor to Nayms, a UK based insurtech building a smart contract-driven marketplace for the placement of digital asset risk. Prior to this, Lawrence co-founded Fortitude Circle, a digital asset index fund tracking a proprietary index methodology, and also worked on a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot initiative with Financial Technology company Bitt in Barbados. Lawrence holds a BA (Honours) degree in Business Studies from the University of Manchester, and an MSc in Economics & Strategy for Business from Imperial College London.