Business programme

The financial and investment markets have undergone profound changes over the past decade. These have included a new regulatory landscape in the wake of the 2007–2008 crisis, rapid digitalization, the creation of a new class of green assets, the development of new investment models, and of course, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest global challenge – the transition to a low-carbon economy – has already been included in many governments’ post-pandemic green recovery strategies. The decarbonization agenda has placed completely new requirements on economic agents, be they investors or business operators. This is affecting how investment projects are structured, financial instruments are selected, and how the entire investment and production chain is monitored. And financial institutions, investment agencies, investment funds, and global corporations are not the only key players in these processes – civil society and non commercial actors are also strong advocates. As economic models are being rethought, how should investment mechanisms be adjusted, and how should institutions, financial instruments, and business models be transformed to align with sustainable development policies and the ESG agenda? What is the role of financial centres in this process, and how might they contend with the challenge of developing new practices and skills needed for a low-carbon economy? What steps should finance centres take to become efficient distributors of capital based on sustainable development principles at a national and global level?

Moderator
Maria Gordon, Senior Independent Director, Polyus; Senior Independent Director, ALROSA; Chairman of the Board of Directors, Independent Director, Detsky Mir; Independent Director, Moscow Exchange

Maria Gordon

Senior Independent Director, Polyus; Senior Independent Director, ALROSA; Chairman of the Board of Directors, Independent Director, Detsky Mir; Independent Director, Moscow Exchange

Masha Gordon is an experienced board executive, an avid
alpinist, and a mother-of-two. She started her career as a
journalist for the Washington Post in Moscow and later
studied in the United States; gaining a BA in political
science from the University of Wisconsin and MALD from
the Fletcher School at Tufts University.
Masha spent the next 16 years of her career working in
finance. She spent 12 years at Goldman Sachs where she was
a Managing Director in the Investment Management
Division and most recently led the emerging markets
portfolio management team at PIMCO.
She moved to a portfolio career of non-executive board roles
in 2014 and currently serves as a Chairwoman of the board
of directors of Detsky Mir, Russia’s largest retail chain of
children’s goods, an independent director of Alrosa, world’s
largest diamond company, Moscow Stock Exchange, Tinkoff
Credit Services and Polyus Gold. Her portfolio of non-profit
roles includes being a member of the Board of Advisors for
the Fletcher School at Tufts University and a trustee of the
Girls Day School Trust, UK’s largest network of private girlsonly
schools.
In October 2015, Masha embarked on a journey to set a
women’s world record in Explorers Grand Slam, an
endurance challenge that features climbing highest peaks on
every continent, including Everest and skiing to the North
and South Poles. On June 11, 2016 she set a new Guinness
record at 7 months and 19 days. She has since climbed
Makalu and Lhotse, world’s 3 and 5th highest peaks. Masha
is a founder of GRIT&ROCK, a charity that administers a
largest pool of expedition grants focused exclusively on
women.

Panellists
Jochen Biedermann, Managing Director, World Association of International Financial Centers (WAIFC)
Alexander Voloshin, Chairman of the Board, Analytical Center "Forum"
Oleg Vyugin, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Moscow Exchange PJSC
Hubertus Vaeth, Managing Director, Frankfurt Main Finance e.V.
Kairat Kelimbetov, Governor, Astana International Financial Center
Anna Kuznetsova, Deputy Chairman of the Board, Russian Agricultural Bank
Lamia Merzouki, Deputy General Manager, Casablanca Finance City; Co-Chair, Financial Centers For Sustainability Network (online)
Oleg Sysuev, President, First Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors, Alfa-Bank
Henk Jan Hoogendoorn, Managing Director of Financial Sector Office, Qatar Financial Centre
Sergey Shvetsov, First Deputy Governor, Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia)

Jochen Biedermann

Managing Director, World Association of International Financial Centers (WAIFC)

Jochen Biedermann serves as Managing Director of the World Alliance of International Financial Centers (WAIFC), an international non-profit association registered in Brussels. WAIFC represents 19 leading international financial centers across four continents.
Also, Jochen is the CEO of Blockchain Asia Ltd., a Blockchain company founded in Hong Kong in 2016.
He serves as an expert to the Sino-German Center for Finance and Economics in Frankfurt, backed by the central banks, government institutions, and leading universities in China and Germany. He is also a Fellow of the Think Tank of the Asian Financial Cooperation Association, based in Beijing.
Jochen is Senior Advisor at Frankfurt Main Finance, the Frankfurt financial center initiative, where he takes care of development and implementing partnerships between Frankfurt and other international financial centers.
Furthermore, he serves as the FinTech coordinator for the EU Financial Centre Roundtable. He is a member of the Advisory Council on FinTech of Astana International Financial Centre and a mentor at the Qatar FinTech Hub, OneEleven in Toronto, the Plug and Play Tech Center, and the Accelerator Frankfurt.
From 1999 to 2013, Jochen worked for Deutsche Boerse Group. As SVP for International Affairs, he oversaw its business in emerging markets.
Jochen holds a diploma in mathematics & computer science

Alexander Voloshin

Chairman of the Board, Analytical Center "Forum"

Chairman of the Board, Forum Analytical Center, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO
2010-2018: Head of Moscow International Financial Center Taskforce, a driving force in Russian financial market reforms, including regulation, infrastructure, and corporate governance.
1999-2003: Head of the Presidential Executive Office
1999-2008: Chairman of the Board of Directors, RAO UES
2008-2010: Chairman of the Board of Directors, Norilsk Nickel
2010-2014: Chairman of the Board of Directors, Uralkaliy
Board member in JSC Freight One, Yandex N.V., Russian Post, AKRA Rating Agency, Genotek
Member of the Board of Directors at the World Alliance of International Financial Centers (WAIFC).
Member of the Board of Trustees, Yeltsin Presidential Center Fund.
Member of the Board of Trustees, Egor Gaidar Foundation.
Deputy Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Polytechnic Museum.
Member of the Board, Higher School of Economics National Research University.
Member of the Board of Trustees, Downside Up Foundation.
Member of the Social Council, Ministry of Economic Development.
Member of the Social Council, Ministry of Energy.

Oleg Vyugin

Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Moscow Exchange PJSC

Oleg Vyugin was born in the city of Ufa on July 29, 1952. He graduated from the faculty of mechanics and mathematics of the Moscow Lomonosov State University and holds a PhD degree in physics and mathematics. Mr Vyugin authored over 20 science research papers and publications on the probability theory and macroeconomic modeling. Oleg Vyugin holds the honorary title of the Distinguished Economist of the Russian Federation.
Currently, Mr Vyugin is the member of the Board of Directors, independent director, Chairman of Strategic Planning Committee PJSC Rosneft Oil Company, professor of the Economics Department at the National Research University – Higher School of Economics. He also sits on the boards of other institutions: Russian National Association of Securities Market Participants NAUFOR (Chairman), the National Settlement Depository (Vice-Chairman of the Supervisory Board), Moscow Exchange (member of the Council), Skolkovo Ventures LLC (member of the Board of Directors), Fund «Center for strategic research» (member of the Board), National Council for Corporate Governance (Presidium member).
Mr Vyugin is the Member of Economic Council of the President of the Russian Federation, a member of the Expert Board of the Russian Federation Government, member of the Chairman’s Advisory Board of the Bank of Russia, member of the Public Council of the Russian Finance Ministry.
In different periods, Mr Vyugin held the posts of the First Deputy Finance Minister of the Russian Federation, First Vice-Chairman of the Bank of Russia, Head of Federal Service for Financial Markets, Extraordinary Advisor of the Russian Federation Prime Minister, Executive Vice-President of Troika-Dialog Investment Company, Senior Advisor for Russia and CIS of Morgan Stanley Bank LLC, Chairman of the MDM Bank Board of Directors

Hubertus Vaeth

Managing Director, Frankfurt Main Finance e.V.

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 and CEO of the NewMark Group, 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. Most recently, 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. Väth regularly speaks at international financial conferences on Brexit, FinTechs and Financial Centre Development; Euro Clearing and Green Finance. Väth is a Partner 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.

Kairat Kelimbetov

Governor, Astana International Financial Center

Kairat Kelimbetov was born in Almaty in 1969. He graduated from Moscow State University and High Academy of Governance under the President of Kazakhstan.
Kairat Kelimbetov was appointed Manager of the ‘Astana’ International Financial Centre by the order of President of the Kazakhstan on 24 December 2015.
Between 2013 and 2015, Kairat Kelimbetov was Chairman of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, and from 2012 to 2013, he took the position of Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan overseeing macroeconomics, budget policy, state asset and financial sector management, tax and customs policy; he was also Chair of the Eurasian Economic Committee Council on behalf of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
In 2011, Kairat Kelimbetov held the position of Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Kazakhstan; from 2008 to 2011, he headed the National Welfare Fund ‘Samruk-Kazyna’ which pooled all the state assets of the country.
Earlier, he took positions such as Head of the Presidential Administration of Kazakhstan, Chief Executive of the ‘Kazyna’ Sustainable Development Fund, and Minister of Economy and Budget Planning. He was also a member of Supreme Economic Council under the President of Kazakhstan, worked as Chairman of the Agency for Strategic Planning, and as First Vice Minister of Finance of Kazakhstan.

Anna Kuznetsova

Deputy Chairman of the Board, Russian Agricultural Bank

Oleg Sysuev

President, First Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors, Alfa-Bank

He is responsible for the bank’s regional branch network and banking in the regions.
Mr. Sysuev is a member of the Board of Directors at JSC AlfaStrakhovanie and a member of the Board of Directors at Rosvodokanal. He is the Chairman of the Council of Life-Line Charity Foundation.
Prior to joining Alfa-Bank in 1999, has served as First Deputy Head of Russian President Administration (1998-1999), Vice Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Government, Minister of Labor and Social Development of the Russian Federation (1997-1998). Within 5 years he was the mayor of Samara. He was a permanent representative of Russia in the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the European Council.
Mr. Sysuev graduated from Samara Aerospace University. He has published numerous articles on the structures of post-Soviet Russia.

Henk Jan Hoogendoorn

Managing Director of Financial Sector Office, Qatar Financial Centre

Henk Jan Hoogendoorn is the Managing Director, Financial Sector Office at QFC, where he is responsible for delivering on QFC's mission of attracting financial and regulated businesses to Qatar through the QFC platform, in line with the Second Financial Strategy and Qatar National Vision 2030.

He has extensive experience in international finance, management, and transforming and building businesses in the financial sector. Henk has held senior management roles at ABN AMRO Bank and Deutsche Bank in the Netherlands and the Middle East and has a solid track record of implementing businesses in the financial sector.

Prior to joining QFC, Henk served as Mashreq Qatar's Country CEO and Managing Director of Deutsche Bank, Head Non-Bank Financial Institutions, where he was responsible for insurers, pension funds, fintech, and implementing strategic and business plans across Europe.

He holds a Master’s degree in Law from the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands and has participated in executive education at the London Business School and INSEAD.

Sergey Shvetsov

First Deputy Governor, Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia)

Professional experience

1988–1993: student of the M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University.
1993–1996: economist of the 2nd category, senior economist, chief of the section with the International Finance Division of the Bank of Russia Foreign Operations Department.
1996–2001: deputy head, head of the Ost-West Handelsbank AG representative office, Moscow.
2001–2003: director of the Bank of Russia Open Market Operations Department.
2003–2011: director of the Bank of Russia Market Operations Department.
2011–2013: Deputy Governor of the Bank of Russia.
From September 1, 2013 to March 2, 2014: First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Russia — Head of the Bank of Russia Financial Markets Service.
From March 3, 2014: First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Russia.
Member of the Bank of Russia Board of Directors (since 18 October 2013).

Education

1993: Graduated from the M.V.Lomonosov Moscow State University (economics-mathematics).

Front row participant
Anatoly Valetov, Acting General Director, Moscow Innovation Cluster