José Manuel Barroso is the Former President of the European Commission and the Former Prime Minister of Portugal.

In 1999, Barroso was elected president of the Portugese Social Democratic Party and became the leader of the opposition. In 2002, he was elected Prime Minister of Portugal and in 2004 he was nominated as President of the European Commission. Barroso remained in the Presidency for two five-year terms where he played an influential role in the passing of the Treaty of Lisbon, responding to the financial crisis and incorporating new members in the European Union, as the EU went from 15 to 28 countries between 2004 and 2014.

On behalf of the EU, José Manuel Barroso received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012 and gave the acceptance speech together with the President of the European Council.

Since 2016 he is Non-Executive Chairman of Goldman Sachs International and Advisor to Goldman Sachs and since 2021 José Manuel Barroso is Chair of the Board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Gavi is a public–private global health partnership with the goal of increasing access to immunization in poor countries, supporting the immunization of almost half the world’s children.

Barroso’s academic positions included visiting professor at Georgetown University. Most recently, he was visiting professor of International Economic Policy and a policy fellow at the Woodrow Wilson School, at Princeton University.

Kirsty leads the EMEA & APAC Treasury Operations for General Mills, Inc. (GMI), a global manufacturer and marketer of branded consumer foods sold through retail stores which portfolio includes Cheerios, Betty Crocker & Häagen-Dazs. A Fortune 500 company, GMI is headquartered in Minneapolis, USA and is listed on the NYSE.

Kirsty’s scope covers Cash & liquidity, In-House Banking, Foreign Exchange hedging, SCF & Bank Account management topics. She is also involved in M&A & Treasury optimization initiatives.

Kirsty is based in Nyon, Switzerland. Prior to this role, she worked on Foreign Exchange Hedging topics at EATON, in Switzerland and in India.

Garima Thakur is a seasoned Senior Treasury and Finance Executive with extensive expertise in global treasury management, capital markets, corporate finance and risk management. With a distinguished career spanning multiple industries, she has consistently delivered strategic leadership and financial acumen at the highest levels. Garima’s illustrious career includes pivotal roles such as Global Treasurer for TaylorMade Golf Company, a prominent multinational in the sporting goods sector, where she orchestrated comprehensive treasury initiatives. She also served as Assistant Global Treasurer and Executive Director at Ingram Micro, a publicly traded global leader in technology and supply chain services, where her financial stewardship contributed significantly to the company’s growth and success. Currently holding the esteemed position of Global Treasurer and Risk Leader at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), one of the foremost entertainment and sports agencies globally, Garima spearheads financial, capital and risk strategies to support the agency’s growing global operations. Throughout her career journey, Garima has held key treasury management positions at esteemed organizations including Western Union, United Online, and LPL Financial. Her areas of expertise encompass cash management, global payments, working capital optimization, corporate finance, capital markets, insurance, AI, crypto, foreign exchange risk management, hedge accounting, supply chain finance, treasury technology implementations, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate development. Garima Thakur’s track record of excellence, coupled with her relentless pursuit of innovation, underscores her status as a preeminent leader in the field of global finance and treasury management.

Mark Williams is Chief Asia Economist at Capital Economics, leading a team of analysts based in Singapore and London. He has three decades of experience covering the region, with a particular focus on China’s economy and financial markets. Mark’s work is regularly cited in the Economist, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal and New York Times.

Mark and his team have developed a reputation for building innovative indicators to track important trends, including their China Activity Proxy, which has become widely followed since it was first published in 2009; more recently a gauge of tariff re-routing activity; and their Global Fracturing database that tracks how geopolitical shifts are affecting global trade and financial flows. Capital Economics is a global consultancy that provides macroeconomic insight, analysis and data to help clients make better investment decisions.

Before joining Capital Economics, Mark was at HM Treasury in London. He has degrees in Chinese and Economics from the universities of Edinburgh and Oxford.

Kortam is the Regional Treasurer for Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, one of Lesaffre’s largest, encompassing over 70 countries, 14 entities, 8 production sites, 7 Baking Centers and 7 Baking Ingredient Units, in key countries like UAE, Egypt, Turkey, South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Ivory Coast, Zimbabwe, and KenyaKortam has led several financing solutions for Africa businesses including Syndicated loans, ECA facilities, discounting facilities, supply chain financing facilities and bilateral facilities. In addition to formulating strategies and building business custom models to manage Liquidity, FX exposure and finance charges associated risks.Kortam is a Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) and a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), with over a decade of diversified finance experience in the areas of corporate finance, working capital management and financial risk management across various industries including Heavy machinery, FMCG and Pharma focusing on the region of Africa and the Middle East.

A 40-year career with The Economist embracing numerous senior roles, most recently focusing on the United States.

Dr Janka Oertel is director of the Asia programme and senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. She has worked at various think tanks, including the Berlin office of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP Berlin) and the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Dr Oertel’s research covers topics related to EU-China relations, US-China relations, security in the Asia-Pacific region, Chinese foreign policy, 5G and emerging technologies, as well as climate cooperation. In August 2023, she published her book “End of the China Illusion. How we must deal with Beijing’s claim to power” by Piper in Germany.

Suhail Osman is the Vice President – Group Treasury for the Emirates Group (Emirates Airlines and dnata) and is responsible for managing the Group liquidity, banking services and hedging its currency, fuel and interest rate exposures.Suhail has been associated with the Emirates Group since 2002 with senior roles in Financing, Treasury Risk and Internal Audit. Prior to Emirates Group, Suhail worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers and ING Group in the United States based out of Atlanta.

Roger joined Kuehne + Nagel, a global logistics company, in 2011 as Head Treasury and Working Capital. In this role he oversees the global treasury and working capital activities of the Group. He started his career at an international bank and thereafter worked in other finance functions for large multinationals.

Antti Kyyrö is a treasury, banking and corporate finance specialist with 15 years of experience in building and leading both global and regional treasury functions for large multinational corporations such as Nokia, Nokia Siemens Networks and Bio-Rad Laboratories. In addition to his corporate treasury experience, he has worked in banking at Standard Chartered Bank, advising financial institutions and MNCs in their treasury strategy and operations development. During the past 20 years Antti has worked and studied in various countries in Europe and Asia including Finland, the UK, the Netherlands and Singapore. Currently he and his family are based in Zurich, Switzerland. Antti holds an M. Sc. in Financial Economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam and a B. Sc. in Economics from the University of Kent.

Dimitrios Siokis is Group Treasurer at Coca Cola Hellenic. Dimitrios has strong background in Emerging Markets, Corporate Treasury, Risk/Portfolio Management & Structuring after spending 25 years in Buy/Sell side Banking and Advisory roles in UK, Luxembourg and Greece. Dimitrios is a Board Member for Hellenic Association of Treasurers (HAT).