The Malta Financial Services Authority will host a high-level conference bringing together international regulators, policymakers, and market leaders to discuss the evolving dynamics of global finance, capital markets, and technological innovation shaping the future of the financial ecosystem.
The full-day programme will feature keynote addresses and panel discussions by distinguished speakers from leading financial institutions, international organisations, and academia. Topics will include emerging market opportunities, the global economic outlook, capital market development, regulatory innovation in crypto-assets, and the growing impact of quantum computing and artificial intelligence on financial supervision.
Agenda
| 08:30H | Registration & Welcome Coffee | |
| 09:00H | Welcome Address | |
| 09:05H | Key Developments with Respect to Malta’s Economy
Hon. Clyde Caruana - Minister for Finance and Employment |
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| 09:15H | Emerging Markets: Opportunities, Threats and New Trends in a Challenging Global Landscape
Mohamed Farid Saleh - Chairman of the Financial Regulatory Authority, Egypt and Chair of the Growth and Emerging Markets Committee of IOSCO |
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| 09:30H | Navigating the Global Economic Landscape
David Wright - President, EUROFI |
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| 09:45H | Panel Discussion: How Should Financial Institutions Navigate a Fragmented World?
Ryan Borg - Deputy Counsel, EU & International Affairs, MFSA (Moderator) Rodrigo Buenaventura - IOSCO Secretary General |
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| 10:45H | Coffee Break | |
| 11:15H | Strengthening Capital Markets Across the Globe
Nandini Sukumar - CEO, World Federation of Exchanges |
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| 11:30H | Panel Discussion: Navigating in an Evolving Capital Market
Fabio Axisa - Partner, PWC (Moderator) Michele Siri - Professor of Corporate Law and Financial Markets Regulation, University of Genoa |
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| 12:30H | The Path Towards a Pragmatic Capital Market and Resilient Economy
Carsten Offermann - Co-Director General, International Policy, Sustainability, Risk, Innovation, BaFin |
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| 12:45H | Lunch | |
| 14:00H | Malta's Journey in Crypto-Asset Regulation
Christopher P Buttigieg - Chief Officer Supervision, MFSA |
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| 14:15H | Quantum Computing and It’s Potential Impact on Security
Andre Xuereb - Head of the Department of Physics at the University of Malta and Malta's Ambassador for Digital Affairs |
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| 14:30H | Panel Session: Building a Compliant Crypto Future and Regulating the Financial Sector in the Context of AI
Ian Gauci - Managing Partner at GTG and Chairperson, AI Working Group, MFSAC (Moderator) Camille Pepos - Head of FinTech Supervision, MFSA |
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| 15:30H | Coffee Break | |
| 15:45H | Building an Efficient and Integrated Market for Payment Services
Mette Grolleman - Senior Vice President, Government Engagement Europe, Visa |
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| 16:00H | Panel Discussion: Prioritising Cross-Border Payments that are Fast, Cost-Effective and Safer
Fiorentina D'Amore - Chairperson, Financial Institutions Malta Association (FIMA) Malta (Moderator) Tobias Thygesen - Director of Fintech, Crypto, Crowdfunding and Payments, Financial Supervisory Authority, Denmark |
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| 17:00H | Closing Remarks | |
| 17:15H | Networking | |
Registrations
The Authority encourages interested participants to register here by not later than Friday 14 November 2025. Registration is on a first come, first served basis.
Photos and videos will be taken during the event with the intent to publish this material on social media channels and website.
By registering, one would be granting consent to the data being used.
Speakers
Director of FinTech, Crypto, Crowdfunding and Payments, Financial Supervisory Authority, Denmark
Tobias Thygesen
Tobias is Director of the Fintech, Crypto, Crowfunding and Payments Division of the Danish FSA which, inter alia, houses the FSA’s innovation lab and sandbox and supervises payment institutions pursuant to PSD2. He was previously Deputy Director in the Anti-money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism Division. Before joining the FSA, he spent 5 years at the Danish Bankers Association as Head of Payments Infrastructure. Previous employments include the markets areas of a couple of Denmark’s largest banks, Danmarks Nationalbank and the Bank of England. Tobias has a Masters degrees in economics from the University of Copenhagen and Bristol University.
Director, Helsinki Geoeconomics School
Jens Hillebrand Pohl
Jens Hillebrand Pohl is a legal practitioner-scholar and geoeconomist whose ideas on economic lawfare, geolegal power, and the power–utility synthesis have helped catalyze a new discourse on global economic governance. His work examines how legal and regulatory architectures are deployed not only to manage economic flows, but to assert strategic control and reconfigure the distribution of global power. He is the founding Secretary-General of the Helsinki Geoeconomics Society and Director of the Helsinki Geoeconomics School. Together, these institutions comprise the Helsinki Geoeconomics consortium, dedicated to advancing education, research, and convening at the intersection of law, capital, and strategy. He also holds several editorial leadership roles, including as Editor-in-Chief of the Helsinki Geoeconomics Monitor and Springer Studies in Law & Geoeconomics. Prior to founding the Helsinki Geoeconomics consortium, Dr. Pohl served as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, where he contributed to national-level research on geoeconomic investment risk, economic security, and international governance. He taught international economic law and supervised graduate research at Maastricht University, lectured on global governance at United Nations University–MERIT, and held visiting research appointments at the World Trade Institute, the Max Planck Institute for Procedural Law, and other leading institutions. Earlier in his career, he practiced law before U.S. federal courts and the European Court of Justice, advising on cross-border restructuring, institutional design, and regulatory strategy. His legal work included roles at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP in New York and the European Stability Mechanism in Luxembourg. Dr. Pohl is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, reflecting his commitment to spatially grounded power analysis, and is affiliated with a number of leading legal and international economic associations. He holds degrees from Harvard Law School, Maastricht University, and the Stockholm School of Economics, and as a legal practitioner he is admitted to practice in New York, England and Wales, and Ireland.
Head of the Department of Physics at the University of Malta and Malta's Ambassador for Digital Affairs
André Xuereb
André Xuereb is founder of Merqury Cybersecurity, an innovative company that operates in between quantum technologies and cybersecurity; a full professor and researcher of quantum physics at the University of Malta; and Malta’s Ambassador for Digital Affairs. He holds degrees from the University of Malta and the University of Southampton.
Chairperson, Financial Institutions Malta Association (FIMA) Malta
Fiorentina D'Amore
Fiorentina is a seasoned fintech leader with over 25 years’ experience spanning Malta’s largest banks, top fintech startups, and global crypto businesses. She has held senior roles at industry leaders including eToro and Bitpanda, and today serves as CEO of Blockchain. com in Malta, leading their European operations. Fiorentina also chairs FIMA (the Financial Institutions Malta Association). Specializing in innovation, operational risk, compliance, and strategy, she combines regulatory expertise with a drive for growth. A frequent speaker, she champions best practices in fintech and the role of governance in scaling the industry. Fiorentina holds a Master’s in Technology and Innovation Management, with published research on knowledge dissemination in digital industries.
Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Malta
Alexander Demarco
Alexander Demarco occupies the role of Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Malta since 1 January 2014, initially responsible for Financial Stability and since August 2017 responsible for Monetary Policy. He was appointed Acting Governor between 1 August 2024 and 31 July 2025. Mr Demarco was a member on the Board of Supervisors of the European Banking Authority and Supervisory Board of the European Central Bank until July 2017. Prior to his appointment of Deputy Governor, he held the post of Head, Financial Stability Department of the Bank. He joined the Bank in 1984 and for most of his career worked in the Bank's Economic Research Department as a senior economist and subsequently was appointed Head of the EU and International Relations Department. He graduated B.A. (Hons) in Economics from the University of Malta and read his MSc in Economics at the University of Warwick, UK.
Managing Partner at GTG and Chairperson, AI Working Group, MFSAC
Ian Gauci
Dr Ian Gauci is the Managing Partner at GTG and a technology and commercial lawyer with over 25 years of experience in advising governments, authorities, and private clients in the evolving technology and cybersecurity landscape. In addition to the legal practice, Dr Gauci actively contributes to the sector as an academic, director, author, lecturer, and international speaker. This allows him to bring both depth and perspective to the intersection of law, innovation, and digital transformation. Dr Gauci is also contributing to the MFSAC Strategy for Financial Services, where he chairs the AI in Fintech working group.
Head of Unit, Regulation, Enforcement, International UCI department, CSSF Luxembourg, and Chair of the IOSCO Assessment Committee
Laurent van Burik
Laurent van Burik is head of unit legal/international/enforcement and ESG of the CSSF Collective Investment Schemes division. He is with the CSSF since 2010. Prior to that, Laurent had spent 15 years as legal counsel with asset service providers (ICSD/global custodian/Big Four) in Luxembourg, London and Frankfurt. He represents the CSSF in various committees, including at international level the ESMA Investment Management Standing Committee and is currently the Chair of the IOSCO Assessment Committee. Laurent holds a Master II Degree in International Tax Law from University Paris XI-HEC Paris and was admitted to bar in 2001. He is a native German and French speaker and is fluent in English.
Chairman, Bank of Valletta, Malta
Gordon Cordina
Dr Gordon Cordina is a leading economist in the Maltese islands. He has professional experience spanning 25 years, covering banking, policy-making, academia and private sector consultancy. Dr Cordina is a graduate of the University of Cambridge and the University of Malta. His main area of academic interest is the growth and macroeconomic dynamics facing economies that are prone to heightened risks. Dr Cordina has several years of Board and Risk Committee experience in major financial institutions in Malta, amongst which at Bank of Valletta p.l.c., served as Manager of the Research Department of the Central Bank of Malta, Director General of the National Statistics Office of Malta, Head of the Economics Department of the University of Malta and Economic Advisor to the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development. Through the private consultancy firm he co-founded in 2006, he is involved in a number of local and international research projects and consultancy assignments with institutions including the EU Commission, NGOs and private sector entities. Dr Cordina is also a visiting senior lecturer at the University of Malta. Dr Cordina was appointed Chairman of the Bank of Valletta p.l.c. in October 2020, of MAPFRE MSV Life in September 2021 and director of MAPFRE Middlesea in September 2022.
Senior Vice President, Head of Europe Government Affairs, Visa Inc.
Mette Toftdal Grolleman
Mette is responsible for Visa’s Government Affairs strategy in 37 countries in Europe. Before joining Visa, she was the General Manager of Fleishman Hillard’s Brussels office. Before joining the private sector, Mette was in the European Commission, including as an advisor on financial services to Vice-President Dombrovskis and as an advisor to the Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union Jonathan Hill. Prior to joining the Commission, Mette worked as a Financial Counsellor at the Danish Permanent Representation to the EU, responsible for financial services. She holds a Master of Law from the University of Copenhagen. Mette lives in Brussels with her husband and two daughters.
Head of Government Affairs Europe - Revolut
Mathilde Clauser
Mathilde Clauser joined Revolut in 2024. She leads the company’s government affairs across the European region, with a mission to strengthen Revolut’s engagement with institutional decision-makers and regulatory authorities. Prior to her current role, Mathilde held several positions in government and public affairs with leading organizations. From 2022 to 2023, she led Government Affairs for the Turkish technology company Getir in France, where she managed engagement with policymakers and local authorities. Between 2017 and 2022, she headed Public Affairs at the American Chamber of Commerce in France (AmCham France), overseeing advocacy initiatives on digital policy, sustainability, and economic competitiveness. Earlier, she worked at Philip Morris International as a Public Affairs and Communications Specialist. Mathilde began her career at the French Embassy in the United Kingdom, before joining the French National Assembly as a parliamentary assistant. She holds a Master’s degree in Strategic Communication from Columbia University, a Master’s in Public Policy from King’s College London, and a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations.
President, EUROFI
David Wright
David Wright worked for 34 years in the European Commission in Brussels. He was a member of President Delors' advisory group and a member of both Lord Brittans' and President Santers' cabinets in the 1990s covering financial services, industry, energy and sustainable development issues. From 2000 he played a major role in integrating European capital markets becoming Deputy-Director General for financial policy and markets and acting as rapporteur on both the Lamfalussy and De LaRosière Committees. From 2012-March 2016 he was the Secretary General of IOSCO based in Madrid. David worked to make IOSCO stronger and more influential globally. He launched a number of important initiatives on global financial policy, training and education for securities regulators as well as deepening work with emerging market countries. He represented IOSCO in the Financial Stability Board. He is currently a senior adviser to Flint-Global, former Board member of the Bombay Stock Exchange and is the current Chairman of EUROFI. David is a graduate of Worcester College, Oxford and he has lectured on financial services policy all over the world including at Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Sciences-Po, ESADE and Bocconi.
