2024 Speakers

We are honoured to be joined on stage by our keynote panel of global thought leaders representing a spectrum of views from across the industry.

Raman Rai

Managing Partner, Financial Services, Deloitte

Raman is responsible for Deloitte’s four financial services sectors – Banking and Capital Markets, Insurance, Investment Management and Real-Estate. Working alongside preeminent leaders, Raman sets the overall strategic direction and go-to-market strategy for the practice. She also serves as the Global Lead Partner for one of Deloitte's key global banking clients and co-leads the Global Commercial Banking segment. Prior to Deloitte, Raman spent over 17 years with the HSBC Group, working in over 20 countries, igniting her passion for entrepreneurship and global businesses. Throughout her tenure, she held various leadership positions in Commercial Banking, including Global Head of Business Banking, Senior Vice-President & Head of Global Liquidity and Cash Management, and European Regional Head of Commercial Insurance. These experiences deepened her conviction in the transformative power of financial services to drive purposeful growth and innovation on a global scale. Raman is a strong advocate for diversity and inclusivity. Having worked across the globe, she brings a unique perspective to her role and thrives in culturally complex environments. She actively seeks opportunities to mentor others and promote inclusive leadership.

Kofi Adjepong-Boateng

former Vice Chairman, Standard Chartered Bank Group and Research Associate, Centre for Financial History, Cambridge University. Former Chair, Policy Committee, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford

Kofi Adjepong-Boateng is based at King’s College, University of Cambridge. He is a Research Associate at the Centre for Financial History at Cambridge. He is also a Trustee of the UK’s Royal Economic Society, a learned society founded in 1890 to promote the study of economics. Kofi also serves as a Trustee of the Council of Management of the UK’s National Institute of Economic and Social Research (“NIESR”). Previously, Kofi held visiting positions at St. Antony's College (2008-2010), and Blavatnik School of Government (2016-2018), both of which are part of the University of Oxford. He is a past Trustee of the School of African and Oriental Studies (SOAS), University of London (2015-2020). He is a merchant banker by background. and co-founded the First Africa Group in 1995 as a joint venture with S.G. Warburg Co. Between 2006 and 2009, the Standard Chartered Bank Group built a shareholding in First Africa and eventually acquired the firm. Thereafter, Kofi joined Standard Chartered as a Vice Chairman. He stepped down from Standard Chartered in 2012. In addition to his academic interests, Kofi serves on the boards of Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Managers, based in Stellenbosch; and Helios Fairfax Partners Corporation, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. He is a past chair of the investment committee of Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF), (2018-2023). SEDF is a global firm which invests in the United States, Europe, Africa, and other markets. In October 2020, Kofi was recognized in the Queen Elizabeth II's birthday honours and awarded a CBE for his contribution to philanthropy.

Jeremy Wilmot

President & Chief Executive Officer, Interac Corp.

Jeremy Wilmot is the President and CEO of Interac Corp. A seasoned leader in payments, real-time solutions and growth strategies, Jeremy joined Interac in August 2023. He leverages his more than 30 years of global experience to drive Interac growth and deliver shared value for its Canadian Financial Institution customers and for the millions of Canadians using its debit, money movement and verification services.

Jordan Jacobs

Managing Partner & Co-Founder, Radical Ventures. Co-Founder of Layer 6 and the Vector Institute for AI; Director CIFAR; founding investor and board director of Cohere

Jordan Jacobs is Managing Partner and co-founder of Radical Ventures. Before Radical, Jordan co-founded Layer 6 AI and was co-CEO prior to its acquisition by TD Bank Group where he joined as Chief AI Officer (Business & Strategy). Jordan is also a founder of the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Toronto, a concept he devised with Radical Ventures and Layer 6 co-founder Tomi Poutanen and Professor Geoffrey Hinton. Jordan is a Director of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), which administers on behalf of the Government of Canada the world’s first national AI strategy, which Jordan helped author. Jordan is also a member of the University of Waterloo President’s International Advisory Board, a Director of Tennis Canada, and has been selected as one of Toronto’s 50 Most Influential People. Jordan previously co-founded Milq, a cultural content discovery platform and early adopter of machine learning for personalization. He also founded SpyBox Media, through which he developed and partnered with Elton John’s Rocket Pictures to executive produce the Emmy-nominated music TV series Spectacle, hosted by Elvis Costello. Jordan started his career as a technology and entertainment lawyer,and received his JD from Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto where he was admitted at age 19.

Nicole Foster

Global Head of AI Public Policy, Amazon

Nicole Foster is Director of AWS Global AI/ML and Canada Public Policy at Amazon, where she leads the direction and strategy of artificial intelligence public policy for Amazon Web Services (AWS) around the world as well as the company’s public policy efforts in support of the AWS business in Canada. In this role, she focuses on issues related to emerging technology, digital modernization, cloud computing, cyber security, data protection and privacy, government procurement, economic development, skilled immigration, workforce development, and renewable energy policy. Prior to joining Amazon in 2018, Nicole led the Toronto office for Global Public Affairs, providing senior public affairs counsel to clients. Before joining Global in 2004, Nicole worked for a number of years in political roles in Ottawa. Nicole is the immediate Past National Chair of Equal Voice, a multi-partisan group dedicated to raising the issue of women’s under-representation in Canadian legislatures.

Dr. Ernest Addison

Board Chair & Governor, Bank of Ghana

Dr. Ernest Kwamina Addison was appointed Governor of the Bank of Ghana by the President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in April 2017. Under his leadership, the Bank of Ghana has undertaken broad reforms to safeguard the stability of the financial system and the Ghanaian economy. Dr. Addison is currently the Co-chair, of the Economic Policy Coordination Committee for Ghana; the Chairman, Committee of Governors of West African Monetary Zones; the Co-chair FSB Regional Consultative Group for Sub-Saharan Africa; and the Chairman, Ghana International Bank (GHIB) London; Chairman, Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GHIPSS) Board; and Member, Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) Board. Dr. Addison holds a PhD with a specialization in monetary economics and economic development from McGill University in Canada, a master’s degree in economics and politics from the University of Cambridge, and a degree in economics from the University of Ghana.

Mathew Mehrota

Chief Digital Officer & Head of Canadian Products, BMO

As Chief Digital Officer and Head of Canadian Products at BMO Financial Group, Mat is responsible for driving BMO’s digital transformation while overseeing the bank’s retail deposit, investing, unsecured lending and home financing businesses in Canada. Mat joined BMO in 2010, where he has held progressively senior roles in the Corporate Strategy, Digital and Personal and Business Banking areas. He holds an Honours Business Administration degree from the Richard Ivey School of Business. On February 8, 2024, Interac Corp. announced that Mat has joined its Interac Board of Directors. Mat also serves on the Board of Directors of Good Shepherd Ministries in Toronto, which provides over 450,000 meals and shelters over 1,500 people annually. In addition to sponsorship and advocacy, he is passionate about helping the organization leverage digital to drive more significant, sustainable, and consistent donations.

Faryar Shirzad

Chief Policy Officer, Coinbase

Faryar Shirzad is Chief Policy Officer at Coinbase, where he leads the company’s engagement with policymakers around the world and has become a trusted source for thought leadership in the global crypto policy space. Under Shirzad’s leadership, Coinbase has become a driver of crypto-regulation discourse in the U.S. He oversaw the creation of Coinbase’s Digital Asset Policy Proposal (or dApp), which laid out a fit-for-purpose regulatory framework for the rapidly-emerging industry and was recognized as “a dramatic shift from current policy in the United States”, sparking an ongoing conversation on how crypto should be regulated while safeguarding American innovation. Before joining Coinbase, Shirzad was Global Co-Head of Government Affairs at Goldman Sachs. Shirzad has served as counsel to the highest levels of the U.S. government, including as deputy national security advisor for international economic affairs for President George W. Bush. In that role, he served as The President’s personal representative to the G-8 (the “G-8 Sherpa”). Prior to his time in the White House, Shirzad was assistant secretary for import administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce and international trade counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance. Earlier in his career, he practiced law in Washington, DC. Faryar earned a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law, a MPP from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and a BS from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Francisco Rivadeneyra

Director, CBDC, FinTech Policy & Research, Bank of Canada

Francisco Rivadeneyra is the Director for CBDC & FinTech Policy and Research at the Bank of Canada. In this role he leads a team developing policy advice in areas of central bank digital currency, electronic money and payments, and the implications for central banks of broader financial innovations. He also is an active researcher working in the intersection of technology, payments infrastructures and finance. His current research studies the security and convenience trade-off of digital currencies and the use of artificial intelligence in the liquidity management problem of commercial banks. His previous work has been on the management of domestic debt and foreign reserves for the Government of Canada. Mr. Rivadeneyra holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Chicago.

Miguel Diaz

Head of the BIS Innovation Hub, Bank for International Settlements – Basel, Switzerland

Head of the Toronto Innovation Hub Centre within the Bank for International settlements, his role is to contribute to the creation of digital financial public goods such as settlement systems, identity solutions and open finance environments. Before this position he was the head of Payment Systems and Financial Market infrastructures at the central Bank of Mexico where he guided the development, operation, analysis, and regulation of financial market infrastructures. He oversaw the modernization of the payment systems in Mexico, directed the creation of a fast payment system denominated in dollars, and was deeply involved in the development of the operational and regulatory strategy of the Central Bank regarding financial market infrastructures, including CBDC and the inclusion of new market participants in the ecosystem and the opening of the market to open finance solutions. In his previous roles he directed strategic planning and managed macro-financial analysis for the Bank of Mexico, and he is an Economist with a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.

Daniel Eberhard

Founder and CEO, KOHO

Daniel Eberhard is a Co-Founder of Koho Financial Inc. and serves as its Chief Executive Officer. Daniel Eberhard served as Vice-President of Business Development at Kineticor Renewables Inc. acquired by Algonquin Power. He previously worked as a Business Transition Consultant for De Regenboog and was the recipient of the H.G. Schippel Junior Consultant of the Year award. Daniel Eberhard holds two degrees, Bachelor of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Applied Business and Entrepreneurship -International Business. Daniel Eberhard also holds a Consulting Diploma from Hoegenschool De Zeeland, Netherlands.

José Manuel Marques

Director Financial Innovation & Market Infastructures, Banco de España

José Manuel Marqués is Head the Financial Innovation and Market Infrastructures Department Bank of Spain (Banco de España). In this position, he coordinates the contribution from Bank of Spain to Infrastructures captured under the TARGET Services (Target 2 Securities and Eurosystem Collateral Management System) and Market Activities Processing System. He also coordinates the analysis of the main trends transforming the financial system: Big tech and Fintech, Cryptocurrencies, CBDC, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Blockchain and DLT. Marqués has joined Bank of Spain in 1996 and has written a number of articles on financial markets and is chair of the Working Group of Green Finance in the BIS Innovation Network and represent Bank of Spain on the High Level Taskforce on the digital euro, the CEMLA Foro Fintech. He has a BA in Economics and Business from University of Zaragoza, and an MSc from University Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona.

Alex Tapscott

Author, Web3. Co-Founder, Blockchain Research Institute. Managing Director, Ninepoint Partners

Mr. Tapscott is an entrepreneur, author and seasoned capital markets professional focused on the impact of Bitcoin, blockchain and other digital assets on business and financial markets. Mr. Tapscott is the co-author of the critically acclaimed non-fiction best-seller, Blockchain Revolution, which has been translated into more than 15 languages and has sold more than 500,000 copies worldwide. He is also the Editor and Co-author of Financial Services Revolution (January 2020). Mr. Tapscott is sought after world-wide for his expertise by business and government audiences. He has delivered over 200 lectures and executive briefings at firms like Goldman Sachs (Talks at GS), Google, Allianz, IBM, Microsoft and Accenture. His TedX talk, “Blockchain is Eating Wall Street” has been viewed over 700,000 times. Mr. Tapscott has also written for The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, The Globe and Mail, National Post and many other publications. In 2017, Mr. Tapscott co-founded the Blockchain Research Institute (BRI), a global think-tank investigating blockchain strategies, opportunities and use-cases. Previously, Mr. Tapscott was Director of institutional equity sales at Canaccord Genuity. Mr. Tapscott is a graduate of Amherst College (Cum Laude) and is a CFA Charterholder.

Peter Loewen

Director, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Professor Peter Loewen is the Director of the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. He is cross-appointed to the Munk School and the Department of Political Science. For 2020-2022, he is a Distinguished Visitor at the Institute for Advanced Study at Tel Aviv University. Professor Loewen received his B.A. from Mount Allison University (2002) and his PhD from l’Université de Montréal (2008). He held postdoctoral fellowships at the University of British Columbia and the University of California at San Diego. Since joining the University of Toronto he has held visiting positions including the Center for the Study of Democratic Politics at Princeton University, and the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University.

2022 Speakers

Neil McLaughlin

Group Head, Personal & Commercial Banking, Royal Bank of Canada

As Group Head, Personal & Commercial Banking, Neil McLaughlin is responsible for RBC’s banking businesses in Canada, the Caribbean and the US, including personal and commercial financial services, credit cards and payments, and digital solutions, as well as RBC’s sales and branch distribution, operations and advice centres. He is also responsible for RBC Ventures, the innovation and development group focused on re-imagining the role RBC plays in clients’ lives now and for the future, and is a member of RBC Group Executive. Neil joined RBC in 1998 and has held a wide range of senior management and executive positions in Canadian Banking. In 2020, Neil was appointed Chair of the Executive Council of the Canadian Bankers Association and currently serves on the national board of Make-a-Wish Canada and the Sunnybrook Foundation Board of Directors. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree and an MBA, and lives in Toronto with his wife and their two children.

Jaime Leverton

CEO, Hut 8

As CEO of Hut 8, Jaime sets the strategic direction for the company that is defining the digital asset revolution. Jaime is passionate about advancing high-growth and future-forward technology companies, most recently serving as the Chief Commercial Officer at eStruxture Data Centers. Her 20-plus years of leadership experience also includes driving revenue programs as General Manager of Canada and APAC, with data center and cloud provider Cogeco Peer 1 (now Aptum). Previously, she held leadership roles with National Bank, BlackBerry, Bell Canada and IBM Canada. She sits on the boards of the Stratford Festival, Technation and ComKids, and serves as the Chair of IMWomen Canada.

Max Bardon

Head of Worldwide Payments, Amazon

Max Bardon leads Amazon's global payments organization, which is responsible for accepting and disbursing funds across Amazon's worldwide footprint of countries and businesses. This includes overseeing the customer experience, cost management, industry partnerships, and security measures for this critical function of the company. He is also responsible for Amazon's multitude of financial products and services including Amazon's many co-brand and private label credit cards, business and consumer installment lending, gift cards, prepaid stored value, Amazon's customer and seller currency conversion business, and the company's Shop with Points program. Prior to Amazon, Max spent 10+ years in growth-stage companies including eight years as CEO of WhitePages.com as well as co-founded GiftCertificates.com

Edward Kholodenko

CEO & Founder, Questrade

Edward Kholodenko is President and CEO of Questrade Financial Group, an independent multi-service financial group that delivers unparalleled value to its clients. Under Edward’s leadership, Questrade has become a trailblazer in Canada’s financial services industry, spearheading a growing shift to financial technology. Questrade has been awarded Canada’s Most Admired Cultures (2018), Canada’ Top Small and Medium Employers (2018) and in 2014, Dalbar awarded the firm its highest honour, a seal of excellence for client account reporting. In 2018, Questrade was the recipient of the Dalbar Service Award, which symbolizes the achievement of the highest tier of service to customers within the financial services industry.

Tamara Haasen

President, Input Output Global (Cardano)

Tamara Haasen is the President of Input Output Global, a decentralized technology company with the mission to improve the systems of the world for everyone, everywhere. Input Output Global is the driving force behind the decentralized and smart contract platform, Cardano (ADA). Tamara’s educational background includes a specialist degree in Political Science from the University of Toronto as well as a Juris Doctorate from Bond University. Alongside her duties as President of IOG she is co-designing a product management specialist masters program with Carnegie Melon University where she hopes to catalyze the work of emerging blockchain entrepreneurs and product managers.

Lawrence Truong

CEO, Binance Canada

Lawrence Truong is the CEO for Binance Canada and UDP for Binance Canada Capital Markets Inc. He holds CFA and CAMS designations as well as MBAs from Queen's University and Cornell University and has over 25 years of experience in financial markets across front and middle office roles with financial institutions, hedge funds, and large corporations. In the capital markets, he traded billions of dollars in spot fx, fixed income and derivatives. Lawrence began his journey on a boat out of Vietnam with his family escaping the crisis in the country as a refugee to Canada in 1979. In the late 90's armed with a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) from the University of Calgary, he headed to Bay Street where he traded billions of dollars a day as a spot Canada trader at TD Bank. Having spent the last decade in regulatory compliance roles, Lawrence appreciates and values the part regulators and government play in fintech and innovation.

Anthony Di Iorio

Founder & CEO, Decentral Inc. & Jaxx / Co-Founder Ethereum

In late 2013 Anthony funded & co-founded Ethereum, the decentralized smart contract platform that recently reached a market cap of over $400 billion. Currently, he is the CEO of Decentral; a Toronto-based software development company focused on decentralized technologies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Founded in 2014, Decentral is the maker of Jaxx Liberty. This digital asset platform has empowered millions of users worldwide with the tools they need to navigate the blockchain ecosystem and be in control of their digital identity, money, and communications. Since 2012, Anthony was a lecturer at the University of Nicosia's Master's program in Digital Currencies and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. Anthony distinguished himself as the winner of the EY Emerging Entrepreneur Of The Year Award, a winner of the FinTech Leader of the Year Award, earned a spot on Toronto Life's list of the 50 Most Influential people and was the (part-time) inaugural Chief Digital Officer for the TMX Group, the parent company of The Toronto Stock Exchange.

Peter Loewen

Director, Munk School - Panel Moderator