Xenia Seabright is a doctoral candidate at the University of Vienna, Faculty of Law. Her research focuses on international financial regulation, global financial governance, OTC derivatives markets, and post-crisis regulatory reform. She holds an MSc in Law and Finance from the University of Oxford and a Mag. iur. from the University of Vienna. She has professional experience in derivatives, financial regulation, and legal practice, having worked at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and PwC.

Dr George Vital Zammit is a Senior lecturer at the Department of Policy, Politics and Governance within the Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy (FEMA), University of Malta. He read for Degrees in Business and Computing, Management, Masters in Diplomatic Studies and PhD in Politics at the University of Sheffield with a thesis on the international dimension of political groups within the European Parliament. Dr Zammit served in a number of roles within the Government of Malta and after joining academia, he served as Head of Department (2013-2017) and Deputy Dean of FEMA (2016-2018).

Between 2020-2024 he chaired the Faculty Research Ethics Committee within FEMA. Amongst his teaching portfolio are study units on Comparative Government, Good Governance and Leadership, Parliament and Legislation, and Regulatory Policy. Dr Zammit is an alumnus of the Salzburg Global Seminar (2015) and a Fulbright Scholar (2019) at the School for Public Affairs and Administration, Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA. In June 2026, he was elected Member of Parliament on behalf of Partit Nazzjonalista, where he is Spokesperson for Research and Innovation. He is a Member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence Affairs.

Jörg Bibow is a professor of economics at Skidmore College. As a monetary macroeconomist, his main research areas are international finance and European integration, as well as international trade and development and the history of economic thought. A particular research focus is central banking and financial systems and the effects of monetary policy on economic performance. This work builds on his earlier research on the monetary thought of John Maynard Keynes. Prior to joining Skidmore College in 2006, Bibow held teaching positions at the University of Cambridge (UK), University of Hamburg (Germany), and Franklin University (Switzerland).

He was a visiting scholar and is a research associate at the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College. He was a research fellow at the Hamburg Institute for Advanced Study. And he was a consultant at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. He received a bachelor’s degree with honors in economics from the University of the Witwatersrand (Republic of South Africa), a diplom-volkswirt from the University of Hamburg (Germany), MA and Ph.D. degrees in economics from the University of Cambridge (UK), and Habilitation (post-doc) from the University of Hamburg (Germany).

Alexandru Petrescu in this role, he represents A.S.F. as a member of the Boards of Supervisors of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). Previously, he was a member of the Romanian Government, holding successive portfolios as Minister of Economy, Minister for Business Environment, Trade and Entrepreneurship, and Minister of Communications and Information Society.

During his last ministerial mandate, he coordinated the European Digital Single Market agenda as President of the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy (TTE) Council during Romania’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union. He holds a UK BSc in Business Administration and has extensive senior executive experience in banking and financial services across the UK, Denmark, and Romania, including investment banking, payments, cybersecurity, and complex ICT infrastructures.

Marius Acatrinei conducts econometric research on financial stability and systemic risk. He holds PhD degree from Romanian Academy. His research focuses on network-based approaches to financial contagion and the application of quantitative methods to macroprudential surveillance.

Silviu Nistor monitors market developments, assesses financial stability, and identifies systemic risks in the non-bank financial sector. He holds a BA in International Relations and European Studies and an MSc in Business Intelligence. His research interests include financial stability, fintech regulation and the geopolitical drivers shaping global financial systems.

Iris H-Y Chiu is Professor of Corporate Law and Financial Regulation at the Faculty of Laws, University College London. She joined the Faculty in 2009. She is an academic member of the Centre for Ethics and Law and advances public and stakeholder engagement under the Centre’s umbrella in relation to the law and regulation of the banking, financial and fintech sectors, the crypto economy and governance of business generally.

She has published extensively in the areas of corporate governance and financial regulation,  fintech and crypto regulation,  and the law and policy for business and finance generally. She is a Research Member of the European Corporate Governance Institute, and in 2020, a Senior Scholar at the European Central Bank’s Legal Research Programme.

Av. Marica Ciantar is a Public Prosecutor within the Office of the Attorney General in Malta specialising in financial crime and computer misuse prosecutions. After obtaining her warrant to practice law in 2023, she pursued a Master of Science in Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies at the University of Malta.

Av. Ciantar continues to contribute to research in criminal law and technology, both independently and through her work with the Office of the Attorney General. Her academic interests include cybercrime and the intersection of emerging technologies with criminal justice.

Dr. Franklin Cachia is the Chief Legal and Compliance Officer at MiFinity, where he oversees legal, regulatory, and compliance functions across multiple jurisdictions. He has over 15 years of experience in financial services law, regulatory compliance, and tax advisory, with particular expertise in payments, electronic money, fintech, iGaming, and crypto‑asset regulation.

Franklin has held senior leadership roles advising regulated financial institutions on EU and UK regulatory frameworks, including PSD2, MiCA, AML/CFT, GDPR, FCA and MFSA requirements, as well as governance, risk management, and regulatory engagement. He is deeply involved in board‑level governance, licensing projects, and complex cross‑border regulatory matters.

He holds a Doctorate in Law (LL.D.) from the University of Malta, and is currently a PhD Candidate specialising in International and EU Tax Law, with Maastricht University, and combines strong academic grounding with extensive hands‑on industry experience. Franklin is regularly involved in regulatory strategy, policy development, and stakeholder engagement within the European financial services ecosystem.

Prof. Buttigieg has over 25 years of experience in financial regulation and supervision. He is the Chief Officer Supervision at the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), where he oversees the Authority’s supervisory and regulatory strategy across all sectors. He chairs the MFSA’s Regulatory and AML/CFT Committees and is a member of its Executive and Risk Committees. Between 2020 and 2021, he served as the MFSA’s Interim CEO.

At the European level, Prof. Buttigieg sits on the Boards of Supervisors of both ESMA and the EBA. He previously chaired ESMA’s Data Standing Committee and currently chairs the Proportionality and Coordination Committee.

He holds multiple degrees in commerce, accountancy, law, and EU studies, including a PhD in law from the University of Sussex. He is an Associate Professor at the University of Malta and a visiting lecturer at the Academy of European Law (ERA), where he also serves on the Board of Trustees. An active researcher, he has published widely in leading journals. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Financial Supervisors Academy (JFSA).

Benjamin Ellul is an Economics and Policy graduate from the University of Malta and holds a Master of Science in Finance and Economics from the University of London. Benjamin is a Senior Analyst within the Office of the Chief Officer Supervision at the Malta Financial Services Authority. He assists the Chief Officer Supervision in the oversight and coordination of the Supervisory Directorate, mainly by ensuring supervisory effectiveness through the effective management of supervisory interactions data. He also works in close collaboration with the Supervisory Directorate to deliver some of the MFSA’s milestone projects and yearly publications. In addition, Benjamin also holds the role of secretary in the Risk-Based Supervision Forum and is a member of the internal Sustainable Finance Working Group. Benjamin is a member on the Board of Studies of the Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Regulation and Compliance, launched by the MFSA and the University of Malta. He is also the Managing Editor (Editorial Strategy) of the MFSA’s Journal of Financial Supervisors Academy.

Stavros Pantos is a PhD researcher in banking law and financial regulation from the School of Law, at the University of Reading. His research interests lie in financial regulation and risk management, especially about scenario analysis where he has published prior studies on fintech, climate change, operational risk scenarios, and regulatory stress testing.

He is also a risk management practitioner having worked in risk within the UK financial services and consulting sector for the past decade. He has focused on prudential risk management, leading work on stress testing and the Solvency II Own Risk & Solvency Assessment within general insurance.

Daphne Micallef is a Senior Manager within the Insurance and Pensions Supervision Function at the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). With over 19 years of experience in the financial services industry, she specialises in the prudential supervision of the insurance sector. Daphne joined the MFSA in 2015, following a career that began after she earned her Honours degree in Banking and Finance from the University of Malta in 2006. Committed to professional excellence, she furthered her expertise in 2016 by obtaining an ICA International Diploma in Governance, Risk, and Compliance, which she was awarded with distinction.

James Monaghan has been working at ESMA since 2023. He is a Seconded National Expert from the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) and works in the Supervisory Convergence Team, a transversal ESMA function responsible for promoting supervisory convergence across NCAs. Before joining ESMA, James held a number of senior supervisory and risk analysis positions in the CBI and prior to that he held front office roles (trading & portfolio management) in an Irish investment firm. James holds a degree is Finance & Accounting and is also a Certified Financial Planner (CFP).

Cristina Iudice has been working at ESMA since 2011. She is the Team Leader of the Supervisory Convergence Team which is the transversal ESMA function responsible for promoting supervisory convergence across NCAs. She is the rapporteur of ESMA’s Senior Supervisors Forum in its three configurations on Investment Management, Investment Services and Market. Previously, Cristina was part of ESMA’s Investigation Unit and contributed to setting up ESMA’s direct supervision since the establishment of the Authority. Before ESMA, Cristina has worked for the European Central Bank (Risk Management Directorate), the Irish Stock Exchange and Borsa Italiana & EuroTLX (Italian Stock Exchange and MTF). Cristina holds a Degree in Economics for Financial Markets from Bocconi University and is a Certified Fraud Examiner from ACFE.

Dounia Shita has been working at ESMA since 2023. She is a Senior Officer in the Supervisory Convergence Team which is the transversal ESMA function responsible for promoting supervisory convergence across NCAs. Before joining ESMA, Dounia held several positions in Legal, Policy and International relations at the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) and also built expertise by working at consultancy and law firms. Dounia holds a law degree and is a qualified lawyer admitted to the Brussels Bar (non-practising).

Vassiliki Lazarakou is Chair of the Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC) since September 2019. She is also a Member of the Board of Supervisors of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), and she has been a Member of the Management Board of ESMA for two terms, from 2020 to 2025. Until December 2024, she was chairing the European Supervisory Authorities’ Joint Committee Securitisation Committee (JCSC).

Vassiliki Lazarakou is a member of the Board of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) since October 2022 (term until May 2026), as a representative of the European Regional Committee (ERC) to the IOSCO Board. She is also chairing the newly established (2024) Diversity Network of IOSCO. She is a member of the Bureau of the Corporate Governance Committee of the OECD since November 2022. Vassiliki was also elected as the Vice Chair of the Mediterranean Partnership of Securities Regulators for 2025 and 2026. She is a Member of Women Climate Leaders Network (WCLN) of the European Investment Bank Group (EIB Group).

Dr. Lazarakou has a Doctorate in Law (JSD) from New York University School of Law, New York, U.S.A. and an LLM in International Legal Studies from the same University as well as a Bachelor in Law from the Athens University, School of Law. She is a lawyer admitted at both the Athens Bar and the New York Bar Association with expertise on capital markets, M&As, privatizations, corporate and commercial law and other similar issues. She has worked for more than 20 years as a Partner at several law firms and for more than 10 years she was heading the relevant Banking, Capital Markets and Finance Department of such Firms.  From 2012 -2015 she was also a First Vice-Chair of the HCMC.

Professor Zetzsche is Professor of Financial Law at the University of Luxembourg where he holds the ADA Chair in Financial Law (inclusive finance) since March 2016 and co-leads the Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance’s House of Sustainable Governance & Markets as well as Luxembourg’s National Centre of Excellence in Research on Financial Technologies (“FT-NCER”).

Prof. Zetzsche is the author of more than 400 publications, including some globally leading articles and treatises on FinTech/RegTech, corporate governance, sustainable finance as well as collective and alternative investment law and regulation. Prof. Zetzsche is a Director of the Society of Investment Law (Chicago, Illinois), a member of the consultative working group of ESMA’s Investment Management Standing Committee (IMSC) and a member of the Financial Access Survey expert group of the International Monetary Fund. He also functions as independent director of financial institutions.

Christopher P. Buttigieg is the Chief Officer responsible for Supervision at the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), a member of the Board of Supervisors of the European Banking Authority and European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), was the Chair of the ESMA Data Standing Committee (until December 2022) and is currently the Chair of the ESMA Proportionality and Coordination Committee. He is an Associate Professor in the Banking and Finance Department of the University of Malta and has a PhD in Law Studies focusing on financial regulation from the University of Sussex (UK).

Samantha Cuyle previously served as a Manager specialising in policy within a fintech supervision function. She holds an M.A. in Financial Services from the University of Malta.

Christos is an Assistant Director within the Financial Technology (‘FinTech’) Department at the Bermuda Monetary Authority (‘BMA’). Christos is responsible for regulation, licensing, and supervision of the FinTech sector, particularly digital asset businesses and issuers. He is directly involved in developing, implementing, and administering the legislative and regulatory frameworks under the Digital Asset Business Act 2018 (‘DABA’) and the Digital Asset Issuance Act 2020 (‘DAIA’). He is a legal professional with more than twelve years of experience in the financial services industry, focusing on FinTech for the past nine years, including five years at the BMA. Prior to joining the BMA, Christos worked at the Malta Financial Services Authority (‘MFSA’), where he was heavily involved in developing and implementing Malta’s legislative and regulatory Virtual Financial Assets (‘VFA’) framework. He was, inter alia, responsible for regulating, licensing and supervising VFA Agents, VFA Issuers and VFA Service Providers. During his tenure, Christos represented the MFSA at various European fora, including the European Banking Authority’s taskforce on crypto assets.

Alessandro Spellanzon is a FinTech specialist at the BMA, where he licenses and supervises a variety of firms, evaluates business-impacting requests, and ensures compliance with regulatory norms. He is instrumental in driving the strategic development initiatives in the arena of digital payments and investments, crucial for spurring sector growth and efficiency. Prior to the BMA, Alessandro held significant roles at prominent firms such as National Australia Bank, KPMG, Barclays, and Checkout.com, advising on prudential regulatory measures, capital management, and conducting industry analysis and research on banking regulations.

Aleksandra Dimitrova is the Managing Editor (Strategy & Outreach) of the Journal of Financial Supervisors Academy (JFSA), having previously served as Journal Coordinator and overseen the publication of its inaugural volume. She is the Deputy Head of the Financial Supervisors Academy (FSA), the training and educational arm of the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), following her previous role as Senior Academy Manager. In her current role, she contributes to the strategic development of the Academy and leads capacity-building, learning, and academic initiatives for financial supervisors and industry professionals.

Aleksandra brings experience across education, research, marketing, and programme design. She is a member of the Board of Studies for the postgraduate programme in Financial Services Regulation and Compliance and serves on the Institute of Directors’ Chapter Council, contributing to initiatives aimed at strengthening governance and professional development within the financial services sector.

Benjamin Ellul is an Economics and Policy graduate from the University of Malta and holds a Master of Science in Finance and Economics from the University of London. Benjamin is a Senior Analyst within the Office of the Chief Officer Supervision at the Malta Financial Services Authority. He assists the Chief Officer Supervision in the oversight and coordination of the Supervisory Directorate, mainly by ensuring supervisory effectiveness through the effective management of supervisory interactions data. He also works in close collaboration with the Supervisory Directorate to deliver some of the MFSA’s milestone projects and yearly publications. In addition, Benjamin also holds the role of secretary in the Risk-Based Supervision Forum and is a member of the internal Sustainable Finance Working Group. Benjamin is a member on the Board of Studies of the Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Regulation and Compliance, launched by the MFSA and the University of Malta. He is also the Managing Editor (Editorial Strategy) of the MFSA’s Journal of Financial Supervisors Academy.

Filippo Annunziata is Associate Professor of Financial Markets Law and Institutions at Bocconi University (Milan). He is a Fellow Academic Board Member at the European Banking Institute (Frankfurt), Professor of International Financial Regulation at Cà Foscari University, Venice, and Guest Professor at KU Leuven.

With more than 20 years of experience in Financial Markets, Regulation and Innovation, Nicolas is currently Director at IBM Promontory. His teams accompany large financial institutions in solving complex strategic regulatory challenges: assessing impact and defining strategies to implement new regulations, balancing innovation and risks, enhancing programs for regulatory, compliance and conduct risk, and fighting financial crime and fraud. Before joining IBM Promontory, Nicolas spent 11 years as Chief Operations Officer (COO) of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). He was part of the founding executive team of ESMA – in charge of Information Technology, Human Resources, Finance and Procurement, and Facility Management. As part of the Executive Committee of ESMA, he participated in the setup of all regulatory developments led by ESMA (MiFIR, EMIR, AIFMD & SFTR, etc.). In his position, Nicolas led the setup of all operational matters of the new Authority (including Security, Risk and Compliance), and its growth from 30 to 350 staff members. Prior to his experience at ESMA, Nicolas was the IT Director of the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR), where he set up the first pan-European IT system exchanging all transactions executed in Europe across its 28 financial regulators.

Richard Gigax is a seasoned consultant with over six years of experience in Governance, Risk, and Compliance advisory-consulting for financial institutions, focusing on Technology Risk and Anti-Financial Crimes. His expertise spans AML Transaction Monitoring and CDD, AI Control Framework, DORA, and Risk Assessment, including Integrity Risk Analysis and SIRA. Starting as an AML Analyst at Promontory Risk Review, Richard honed his skills in monitoring alerts and cases, conducting CDD reviews, and training analysts. After two years as an AML Analyst, he transitioned to Promontory Financial Group, where he excelled in third-party assessments and strategic remediation program improvements. With proven project management and governance skills, Richard has provided comprehensive support to financial institutions, ensuring robust compliance with AML/CTF regulations and enhancing operational resilience. His experience in municipal bond finance further enriches his understanding of the financial environment.

Thanh Tran Tien is currently a Product Manager at Banque de France. He previously worked as a consultant at IBM Promontory, contributing to regulatory assessments and AI compliance analyses for major European banks. Thanh holds a Master’s in Consulting and Management from CELSA – Sorbonne University, and has legal training from Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas. His expertise bridges regulatory strategy, financial law, and digital transformation in the banking sector.

Sipke Hiemstra, after having been responsible for the regulatory compliance of the financing company of IBM in France, is now a consultant in banking regulations at IBM Promontory. He started his career in IT analytics (programming and data) and then continued in internal audit and internal controls.

Pierre-Henri Conac is Professor of Financial Markets Law at the University of Luxembourg. He is also Max Planck Fellow at the MPI Hamburg. He is the author of The regulation of securities markets by the French Commission des opérations de bourse (COB) and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He has written numerous articles on corporate and securities law and co-edited several books. He has been involved in policy making in financial law, banking law and company law at EU and national level. He participates regularly at conferences and seminars on such topics in Europe and internationally. He is also the chair of the European Model Company Act (EMCA) Group. He is managing editor of the Revue des Sociétés (Dalloz) and co-chief managing editor of the European Company and Financial Law Review (De Gruyter).

Joe Heavey is a Senior Officer for International and Institutional Affairs at the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), covering international cooperation and relations with EU institutions. Before joining ESMA, he held various regulatory policy and supervisory roles in the Central Bank of Ireland. He holds a Master’s degree in Law, specialising in Corporate Governance and Public Policy from Queen’s University Belfast and a Bachelor of Commerce degree, focusing on Law and Economics, from University College Cork.

Richard Metcalfe is Head of Regulatory Affairs at the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE). As Head of Regulatory Affairs for the WFE – the global trade association for CCPs and stock and derivatives exchanges – Mr Metcalfe drives policy and regulatory engagement on a range of topics, emphasising the unique role that ‘market infrastructure’ plays in furthering social welfare, by creating positive externalities and supporting stability while maintaining an impartial role relative to market participants. He has previously worked in policy roles at ISDA and the Investment Association and with BNY Mellon, having graduated from Oxford University (MA in languages). He also spent some years as a journalist, covering the emergence of derivatives and the development of financial risk management.

Nathalie Piscione is a Senior Legal Officer at the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) since 2011. She currently works on Supervisory Convergence matters in the Conduct, Supervision and Convergence department. She focuses on topics such as Supervisory Independence, Outsourcing, and Peer Reviews. Nathalie previously held senior positions as Legal Counsel, Cooperation Officer, and Policy Officer at ESMA. Prior to this, Nathalie was Head of Legal in international financial institutions and firms.

Emanuel Said is the Rector’s Delegate at the Adjunct Office to IPS Rectorate and Associate Professor at the Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy. He holds a PhD from Cranfield University and an MBA from Henley Business School. Prior to his academic career, Emanuel was a consultant in marketing and marketing research to several public and private organizations in a diversity of industries, ranging from pharmaceuticals to financial services. Emanuel’s research focuses on consumer behaviour (with specific areas like gamification and service automation) as well as the generation and use of customer insight by organizations to inform marketing decisions. He has published in several high impact journals locally and overseas.