Laura Cha

Member of the Executive Council, Government of Hong Kong
Chairman, Financial Services Development Council
Non-Executive Deputy Chairman, HSBC Asia Pacific

Laura Cha is a Member of the Executive Council of the Government of Hong Kong and Chairman of the Government’s Financial Services Development Council. Mrs Cha is Non-Executive Deputy Chairman of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, the Asia Pacific subsidiary of HSBC Holdings plc, of which she is a Non-Executive Director. She is also an Independent Non-Executive Director of China Telecom Corporation Ltd and Unilever plc.  In 2001, Mrs Cha was appointed by the Chinese Government as Vice Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), and served in such capacity until 2004. She was the first person outside Mainland China to join the Central Government at the vice-ministerial rank. Prior to her post at the CSRC, Mrs Cha was Deputy Chairman of the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong where she worked from 1991 to 2000. Mrs Cha is also a Hong Kong Delegate to the 12th National People’s Congress of China, Vice Chairman of the International Advisory Council of the CSRC,  and a Member of the International Advisory Council of China Banking Regulatory Commission. Mrs Cha obtained a BA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a JD from Santa Clara University Law School. She practiced law in the 1980s in San Francisco and Hong Kong, and is a former member of the Committee of 100 in the US.

 

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Geoff Cook

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Victor Fung

Group Chairman
Fung Group

Victor K Fung is Group Chairman of the Fung Group, a Hong Kong-based multinational which comprises major subsidiaries in trading, logistics, distribution and retailing. He holds independent non-executive Directorships with China Petrochemical Corporation (People’s Republic of China), Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Limited (Hong Kong) and Koc Holding A. S. (Turkey). He is also Chairman of the Asia Advisory Board of Prudential Financial, Inc (USA).   Through the philanthropic Victor and William Fung Foundation, Dr Fung is Founding Chairman of the Fung Global Institute, an independent, non-profit think-tank based in Hong Kong.  Dr Fung is a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the Hong Kong Government’s Economic Development Commission and Vice-Chairman of the China Centre for International Economic Exchanges, among other public service and academic appointments. Internationally, Dr Fung has played a leadership role since 2007 in the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce, of which he was Chairman from 2009 to 2011.  He is a member of  ICC’s G20 Advisory Group and chairs its World Trade Agenda Initiative.  From 2012 until April this year, he was a member of the World Trade Organisation’s Panel On Defining The Future of Trade.

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Simon Galpin

Director-General of Investment Promotion
Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK)

Simon Galpin joined InvestHK, the government department responsible for attracting and facilitating foreign direct investment into Hong Kong, as Associate Director-General in 2001. With senior management experience in private and public sectors, Mr Galpin’s work experience combines international marketing, economic development and investment promotion. Prior to joining InvestHK, he spent 10 years as the Head of Asia Pacific with Scottish Enterprise. He was initially posted to Hong Kong in 1992 but also worked in Glasgow, Taipei, Sydney and London.  Mr Galpin holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Sheffield University Management School, a Master of Science degree from the University of Glasgow and a Master of Law (International Business Law) degree from the University of London.

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Roy Halliday

Chief Executive
Standard Life Hong Kong

Roy Halliday is Chief Executive at Standard Life Hong Kong and responsible for leading and developing the business growth of Standard Life in Hong Kong and North East Asia through effective utilisation of the Asia and Emerging Markets operating model and ensuring alignment with the wider International and Group business strategy.  He is an Executive Director on the Standard Life Asia Board and a member of the Standard Life Asia and Emerging Markets Leadership team.  Mr Halliday joined Standard Life in 1987 in UK. In his 26 years with the company, he has held numerous management positions in the UK, Canada and Hong Kong in areas including Operations, Change and Programme Management, Finance, Strategy, Business Development, Distribution and is a qualified Management Accountant.  From 2004 to 2006 he led senior Strategic Management teams to implement solutions to transform both the Canadian and UK businesses.  In 2007, he was appointed the Chief Operating Officer for Hong Kong and subsequently appointed to the position of Chief Distribution Officer for Hong Kong and the wider regions development in 2009.  He was appointed to the role as Chief Executive for Hong Kong in October 2010.  He was also appointed as the Head of Business Development and Head of Marketing Communication and Services for Asia and Emerging Markets in June 2013.

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Carmen Ling

Managing Director, Global Head RMB Solutions for Client Coverage, Wholesale Banking
Standard Chartered Bank

Carmen Ling is Managing Director, Global Head RMB Solutions for Client Coverage, Wholesale Banking of Standard Chartered Bank. She has over 18 years banking experience, all with Citi prior to joining SCB.  She has extensive experience across client coverage, transaction banking, RMB and network strategy. Ms. Ling held a variety of key client facing roles at Citi including Head, Corporate Client Coverage for Global Transaction Services and Real Estate Head for Citi HK.  She was also a Senior Credit Officer of Citi. Prior to joining the banking industry, Ms. Ling has a number of years of hotel development experience covering PRC, Taiwan and Japan for a US hotel management company. She holds a MBA degree in Finance from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Social Science degree from the University of Hong Kong.

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Keith Noyes

Regional Director, Asia Pacific
International Swaps and Derivatives Association Inc.

Keith Noyes is the Regional Director, Asia-Pacific at the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc.  Mr Noyes is based in Hong Kong and heads the offices in Hong Kong and Singapore.  His focus is on strengthening ISDA’s relationships in the Asia Pacific region.  Mr Noyes serves as an invited industry consultant in the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission’s Product Advisory Committee and an invited external consultant reviewing the OTC Clearing Syllabus for the Hong Kong Securities Institute.  He is also co-chair of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority/Treasury Markets Association working group on Hong Kong’s CCP for OTC derivatives. Mr Noyes joined ISDA in October 2007.  He is fluent in Mandarin and English.  He is a pioneer in Asian derivatives markets, setting up Merrill Lynch’s equity derivatives desk in Hong Kong in 1992.  Over the past two decades, he has also worked in Asia for such firms as Taiwan Securities (HK) Co., Bear Stearns Asia Limited, and S.G. Warburg. Mr Noyes holds an MBA degree from University of California, Los Angeles and an AB from Dartmouth College and spent a year studying economics at Beijing University.

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Silvia Pavoni

Economics Editor
The Banker

Silvia Pavoni is the Economics Editor of The Banker, for which she oversees the coverage of international financial centres and wealth management, as well as writing on Latin America.
Ms Pavoni represents The Banker at various international events, including the annual meetings of the IMF/World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank. She regularly conducts high-level interviews with finance ministers, central bank governors and senior bankers for the magazine as well as filmed and audio pieces for thebanker.com. She has chaired numerous conferences and panel discussions on banking, regulation, trade and investment in both developed and emerging economies. Previously, Ms Pavoni was online editor of Public Private Finance, a news and data service for the UK public private partnerships community. She has also written reports for organisations such as the Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the UK and the Italian Trade Commission.

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Robert Petty

Managing Partner and Co-Founder
Clearwater Capital Partners

Robert Petty is Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Clearwater Capital Partners and is a member of the firm's Investment and Management Committees. Over his nearly 30-year career, Mr. Petty has focused on investing in Asia-dedicated special situations and credit investments, including turnarounds, restructurings, stressed credits and distressed-for-control transactions.  Mr Petty’s principal responsibilities encompass portfolio management, origination and overall management of the firm.  Prior to founding Clearwater in 2001, Mr Petty held senior positions at Amroc Investments LLC, Peregrine Fixed Income Ltd. and was with Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. for thirteen years.  Mr Petty sits on the Board of four Clearwater portfolio companies and also serves on the Boards of two non-profit organisations, The Emerging Markets Private Equity Association (EMPEA) and EngenderHealth.

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Rt Hon Alex Salmond MP MSP

First Minister for Scotland

As First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond is the head of the Scottish Government and is responsible for the development, implementation and presentation of government policy, constitutional affairs and promoting and representing Scotland.
Mr Salmond became the first ever SNP First Minister of Scotland on May 16, 2007. On May 5, 2011, the SNP won a majority of seats of in the Scottish Parliament and MSPs re-elected him unopposed for a second term as First Minister.
Mr Salmond was first elected to the House of Commons in London as the Member of Parliament for Banff and Buchan in 1987. Three years later he was elected to the position of National Convener for the Scottish National Party (SNP).
In 1978 Mr Salmond entered the Government Economic Service as an assistant economist in the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland. In 1980 he joined the Royal Bank of Scotland where he worked for seven years: first as an assistant economist before being appointed energy economist in 1982 and, from 1984, Royal Bank economist. Mr Salmond is now a visiting Professor of Economics at Strathclyde University.   He graduated from St. Andrews University with a joint honours MA in Economics and History.

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Paul Smith

Managing Director, Asia Pacific
CFA Institute

Paul Smith leads CFA Institute in Asia Pacific. With more than 30 years of experience in various aspects of the international investment industry — over half of it spent in Asia — Mr Smith brings a global perspective to discussions on the issues facing the industry today.  He joined the CFA Institute in 2012 and oversees the organization’s expansion into China and India. He also leads engagement with regulators, industry participants, and other stakeholders to advance the organization’s mission across the region.  He has played an active role in advancing the interests of Asia’s investment community as a council member and board member of the Alternative Investment Management Association.  Mr Smith began his career at Pricewaterhouse in London, where he earned his chartered accountancy qualification. He then worked in the back office of Ermitage International Ltd., an alternative funds management company, and became Managing Director from 1984 to 1995.  He joined Bank of Bermuda in Hong Kong as Asia Head of Securities Services in 1996. After HSBC’s acquisition of the bank in 2004, he served as Global Head of Securities Services and Global Head of Alternative Funds Administration based in New York, where he was responsible for the delivery of services to 2,000 investment funds with over US$250 billion of assets. Before joining CFA Institute, he was Chairman and CEO of Asia Alternative Asset Partners.  Mr Smith holds a master’s degree in modern history from Oxford University.

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Julian Taylor

Executive Director - Asia Pacific
Scottish Enterprise - Scottish Development International

As a member of Scottish Enterprise's Executive Leadership Team, Julian Taylor has full operational responsibility for Scottish Development International's delivery throughout the Asia Pacific region. This includes both trade and investment responsibilities, assisting Scottish businesses secure trade deals and become established in Asia and helping companies throughout Asia make strategic investment decisions in Scotland.  He is based in Shanghai, with team members in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Perth, Sydney, Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Beijing. Mr Taylor has over 20 years experience in international economic development, having held a variety of roles in Scottish Enterprise and other organisations. Most recently, this included the role of Executive Director for Strategy as Economics. He is a member of Glasgow University’s Adam Smith Business School Strategic Advisory Board.

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Con Tzatzakis

Managing Director, Head of Compliance, Asia Pacific
BlackRock

Con Tzatzakis is BlackRock’s Head of Compliance for the Asia Pacific region based in Hong Kong. Prior to assuming his current role in 2012, Mr Tzatzakis was General Counsel for BlackRock Australia since 2007.  Since joining BlackRock in 2000, he has worked as Legal Counsel both in Australia and in the U.K.  Before BlackRock, he held a number of legal and compliance roles with HSBC Asset Management, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and has also worked in private legal practice in Australia. Mr Tzatzakis holds a Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Laws and a Master of Laws from the University of Melbourne and was admitted to practice as a Barrister and Solicitor in the Supreme Court of Victoria in 1993.

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Boyd Winton

Director of Financial Services
Bahrain Economic Development Board

As Director of Financial Services at the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB)Boyd Winton works closely with the Central Bank of Bahrain, government entities and the private sector to ensure the development of Bahrain’s financial services industry.  With over 25 years of academic and work experience in Financial Markets and Economics he brings a wide-ranging, yet specific, range of experience to this role. This includes over 20 years of experience across a broad range of Senior Wholesale Banking roles in Treasury, Capital Markets and Investment Banking. These roles have been based with both global and regional banks in Asia, Australia and Europe.  Prior to working at the EDB Mr Winton travelled extensively around the GCC, as part of his first Bahrain based role where he was responsible for establishing a startup Capital Markets business with Arab Banking Corporation. Immediately prior to joining ABC he was Global Head of Capital Markets for National Australia Bank where he was responsible for all trading and origination of Capital Markets products covering Australia, New Zealand, Western Europe, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo and North America.  Mr Winton holds degrees in both Economics and Commerce (Accounting & Finance).