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Mohamed Assem Country Manager, Mastercard Egypt Mohamed Assem serves as Country Manager for Egypt at Mastercard, and is responsible for driving business growth, commercializing emerging opportunities in payments technology, and strengthening alliances with key partners and stakeholders. An industry veteran with more than 18 years of international experience in the information technology and service sectors, Mohamed joined Mastercard in 2009. Since then, his expertise has helped steer the company's strategy to drive financial inclusion and expand electronic payments in Egypt. With extensive knowledge in requirements analysis, payment systems, cards, and mobile payments, Mohamed is also a highly skilled business development and product management professional. Prior to working with Mastercard, he led the technology team at Giesecke & Devrient's Middle East and North Africa division. A native Arabic speaker, Mohamed is also fluent in German and English, and holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering from Cairo University.
Kwame Baah-Acheamfuor Chairman, ITU-T SG 12, National Communications Authority, Ghana Kwame is the current Chairman of International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Study Group responsible for Performance, Quality of Service and Quality of Experience in his second term of office. He was the Chairman of the Committee for Work programme and Organisation of the ITU Telecom Standardization sector at the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly in 2016. He has been involved in the development and approvals of over fifty global telecommunications standards. He has represented Ghana at ITU Council, Conferences, Assemblies and has also been an invited speaker at several ITU Workshops. Kwame Baah-Acheamfuor is an experienced telecommunication engineer for 17 years and has been involved in multi discipline communication services licensing, telecommunication networks planning, operations and maintenance. He joined the National Communications Authority (NCA) of Ghana in 2006 and has been responsible for technical regulations planning, monitoring and compliance. Kwame Baah-Acheamfuor holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in Project Management from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) and a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering (Majors in Telecommunications and Electronics) from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
Wolfgang Balzer Managing Director, Focus InFocom Wolfgang Balzer studied Physics in Darmstadt, followed by an Assistant professor position during doctorate study, with post-doctorate work on Neural Networks at Mitsubishi Electric Central Research Lab in Osaka. Thereafter, he co-founded Focus Optik, specializing in industrial measurement technologies. In 1993, he co-founded the follow-up company Focus Infocom where he works as Managing Director to date. After heading the software development for several years, his role today is business development which also includes innovation and key project management. His professional field of expertise is testing system design and architecture, testing strategies, and quality metrics. Focus Infocom (member of ETSI and Associate Member of ITU-T SG12) specializes in testing systems and solutions. Beyond serving the primary industry in this field, i.e. network operators and their ecosystem as well as regulators, it also addresses pan-industry stakeholders with business models requiring expertise on mobile network services and technologies. Recent examples were large-scale measurements of in-train network performance, and development of novel, holistic methodologies for QoE on board of trains. In standardization, Dr. Balzer started in the GSMA IREG group (later transformed into ETSI STQ MOBILE). Today, work includes other ETSI TC’s (INT and STQ) as well as in ITU SG12 and FIGI.
Jeremy Grant Managing Director, Technology Business Strategy, Venable & member, FIDO Alliance Jeremy Grant brings more than 20 years' experience at the intersection of identity, privacy, and cybersecurity, having served in a range of leadership positions spanning government and industry. He serves as Venable's Managing Director of Technology Business Strategy and is a member of the firm's eCommerce, Privacy, and Cybersecurity Group. Jeremy previously established and led the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC), housed in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST); NSTIC was the first new cybersecurity program launched by the Obama administration. There he led activities across private and public sectors to drive a marketplace of more secure, privacy-enhancing identity solutions for online services. He also served as NIST’s Senior Executive Advisor for Identity Management. Before leading NSTIC, Jeremy spent three years with as a market analyst focused on identity and cybersecurity. Earlier, he led the Security and Identity Management practice at a systems integrator. Jeremy began his career as a legislative aide in the U.S. Senate, drafting legislation laying the groundwork for U.S. government smart card and PKI efforts. Jeremy also serves as Coordinator of the Better Identity Coalition, an organization focused on developing and advancing consensus-driven, cross-sector policy solutions that promote better solutions for identity verification and authentication.
Khaled Hegazy Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Etisalat Misr, Egypt Khaled is the Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Etisalat Misr, managing the Corporate Strategy & Operational Excellence, Legal Affairs, Government Relations, International Operations & Carriers Business and the External and Internal Communications Departments, which includes Public & Media Relations, CSR & Etisalat Foundation. Prior to that, Khaled was the External Affairs and Legal Director for Vodafone Egypt. His scope included Media and Public Relations, Corporate Social Responsibility and the Vodafone Foundation, Regulatory Affairs, Government Relations, Legal Affairs, Wholesale Roaming, Carrier Relations, Sponsorship, Activation and Events and Corporate Security. Before Vodafone, Khaled was the External Relations Department Head of P&G Near East, where his scope included Corporate Communications, Consumer Relations, Regulatory Affairs, Government Relations and Brand PR. Prior to P&G, Mr. Hegazy was the Vice President of PITO, a prominent commercial representation company for industrial firms from Europe, Asia and USA, responsible for sales, customer relations, suppliers’ coordination, strategy and daily management of the establishment. Khaled holds an MBA degree in Marketing & International Business and a B.Sc. degree in Mechanical Engineering, both from the American University in Cairo. Khaled is very active in the Egyptian Business Community: Member of Egypt's International Economic Forum. He is a member of the Egyptian American Chamber of Commerce, the Egyptian Junior Businessmen Association and the Canadian Egyptian Business Council. He held the position of Chairman of the Detergents Committee in the Exporters Association of the Egyptian Federation of the Chambers of Commerce, was the Chairman of the Egyptian Brand Protection Association and a Board Member of the Egyptian–Lebanese Businessmen Association. He is a member in the Nile University board of trustees, member of the AIESEC Advisory Board, as well as being a member in the Egyptian Council for Sustainable Development. He was appointed in the Telecom Industry Modernization Committee by a ministerial decree from the Minister of Communication and Information Technology and member of the Egyptian Paralympics Committee by a ministerial decree from the Minister of Youth & Sports.
Marc Hollanders Special Adviser, Committee for Payments and Market Infrastructures, BIS Marc Hollanders is Special Adviser on Financial Infrastructure at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in Basel, Switzerland. He contributes to the BIS work in the financial stability and markets areas. He supports the work of the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI), which is based at the BIS, in particular on issues relating to financial inclusion. Currently he is co-chairing the CPMI-World Bank task force which published the report Payment aspects of financial inclusion in April 2016 and recently started follow-up work to its report. Previously Marc was Head of the Secretariat of the CPMI. He was co-chair of the task force which prepared the General principles for international remittance services which were published in 2007.
Andrew Hughes Digital Identity Strategist, In Turn Information Management Consulting Andrew Hughes CISM CISSP is a digital identity strategist and international standards expert. He works with international associations and standards bodies as an independent analyst developing standards and related conformity assessment materials. He is a member of the Kantara Initiative and contributes to industry evolution by volunteering extensively at Kantara, W3C, ISO, ITU-T, Rebooting Web of Trust and IDPro. He serves as Chair of the Kantara Initiative Leadership Council, setting the work programme for this global consortium which advances innovation and standardization of trustworthy use of identity and personal data. He is deeply engaged in the ‘missing model’ of identity verification; data processing authorization and consent; and W3C Verifiable Credentials evolution. He has been Editor for several standards at OASIS and ITU-T and has launched and Chaired several work groups at industry consortia. Andrew is an active national expert on the Standards Canada delegation to ISO SC 27.
Barbara Iyayi Chief Growth Officer, Element, Inc. Barbara Iyayi is the Chief Growth Officer and Managing Director for Africa for Element, Inc. Element is a pioneer of mobile deep learning and deploys AI-powered mobile biometrics software to scale and secure digital platforms. Element’s end-to-end solutions are being used globally to identify large populations and drive financial services, digital payments, and healthcare services, amongst others. Barbara also serves in an advisory board and investor capacity within the venture capital and tech ecosystem in Africa. Barbara was part of the founding team of Atlas Mara, an LSE listed financial services company focused on Sub-Saharan Africa, co-founded by Bob Diamond, ex-CEO of Barclays Bank. She led the company’s investments and entry into 7 countries in Africa. Barbara also led the company’s fintech and digital banking strategy, that included partnering with fintech companies. Prior to Atlas Mara, she worked on global transactions of over $15bn at various financial institutions. She worked in investment banking as a Vice President at JPMorgan and had prior roles in principal investments at Centerboard Group, at UBS Investment Bank and JPMorgan Private Bank. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Columbia University; and an MBA at Harvard Business School.
Bilel Jamoussi Chief, Study Groups Department, ITU Tunisian born, Dr. Bilel Jamoussi is Chief of the Study Groups Department of ITU Standardization Bureau in Geneva Switzerland. Since 2010, he has been leading the bureau’s standards making activities into a new era characterized by rapid convergence and the need for increased collaboration with vertical sectors and partnership between developed and developing countries. Prior to 2010, Jamoussi worked for a Telecommunication equipment and solutions provider for 15 years in Canada and then in the United States where he held several leadership positions and was granted 22 US patents in diverse areas including packet, optical, wireless, and quality of service. He holds a BSc, MSc and PhD degrees in Computer Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University, USA. He is fluent in Arabic, French, and English and speaks some Spanish and German.
Ivo Jenik Financial Specialist, CCGAP Ivo Jenik is a financial sector specialist at CGAP. He has 10 years of experience in finance, primarily in retail financial services regulation. He has led CGAP’s work on regulatory innovation (crowdfunding, regulatory sandboxes) and capacity building for policy makers (regulation and supervision of digital financial services) across continents. Before joining CGAP, Mr. Jenik worked in the Responsible Financial Access team at the World Bank, where he specialized in financial consumer protection and alternative dispute resolution. His professional experience spans across both the private and public sector, including serving as a compliance officer at an investment company and as head of the Collective Investment Department at the Czech Financial Ombudsman. Mr. Jenik has a Master’s degree in Law from Columbia Law School in New York and a Master’s degree in Law from Charles University in Prague.
Gamal Khalifa Head of Microfinance, Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) Wide experience more than 28 years in investment management. Head of Microfinance at the Financial Regulatory Authority FRA. Former Executive Director of the Institute of Directors EIoD, Advisor to FRA Chairman, and Executive Director of the Financial Services Institute. Previously held positions: Chairman and Managing Director of Edge Portfolio Management, Head of Financial Planning Services of HSBC Bank Egypt, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Investor Relations Egypt, Managing Director of H.C. Securities & Investment, and Assistant Secretary General of the Egyptian Businessmen’s Association.
Phindu Lipenga Principal Examiner, ICT, Reserve Bank of Malawi I have worked as Principal Examiner, ICT for Reserve Bank of Malawi since 2010 and hold a Master’s Degree from Leeds University(UK) in Computing and Management and a Bachelor of Science from University if Malawi. I am a 2018 Fletcher Leadership Program in Financial Inclusion fellow, Tufts University (USA).I have experience in assessing ICT risk for banks, developing regulations, guidelines and other relevant regulatory tools in the areas of ICT, Operational Risk and Stress Testing. I have been involved in AML/CFT examinations in checking adequacy of KYC documentation including identification requirements. I represented Reserve Bank of Malawi at the ID for Africa conference in 2017 and have worked with banks and other financial institutions to advance the adoption of the Malawi National Identification as the primary identification document in Banks. As part of the Fletcher fellowship I published a policy memo entitled Microfinance Borrowing: Enablement through data submission by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to Credit Reference Bureau, which is highly dependent on the National ID in Malawi becoming the primary identification document for MNOs.
Hongwei Luo Senior Standardization Expert, Ant Financial Services Group Hongwei Luo is the senior standardization expert in Ant Financial Services Group. He received his B.Sc. and M.A.Sc degrees from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications (BUPT), China, in 1998 and 2003, respectively. He has been a visiting scholar in University of Waterloo from 2011 to 2012. He is dedicated to standardization ecosystem in order for the development of Internet finance. Meanwhile, he is strengthen the application of relevant standards to satisfy compliance requirements of services. Currently, he is a member of biometrics subcommittee of national information technology standardization technical committee (NITS), a member of technology management committee of China Communications Standards Association (CCSA) and a delegate to ISO TC60 and ISO / IEC JTC 1 SC 27 / SC 37. He has also been a rapporteur in ITU-T and the chairman of terminal group in CCSA.
Rory Macmillan Digital Services Lawyer, Macmillan and Keck Partners Rory Macmillan is a digital services lawyer with strong expertise in digital financial services, data protection, privacy, digital identification, telecommunications and competition. Rory has led numerous regulatory projects in digital financial services for regulators, service providers and international organisations in Europe, Africa and Asia. These include advising on payments, remittances, banking, leasing and other financial services, access to the telecommunications infrastructure across which digital services are provided, and regulatory and competition issues in these various markets. He authored Regulating for Financial Inclusion, which he presented to the ITU’s Global Dialogue on Digital Financial Inclusion in 2016. A native of Scotland, he is admitted to practice law in New York. Rory is a founding partner of Macmillan Keck Attorneys & Solicitors, and heads the firm’s Geneva office (though he is at present temporarily based in Washington DC). Rory received his LLM from the Yale Law School in the USA in 1994, where he was a Fulbright Scholar and Rotary Scholar. He was awarded his LLB with First Class Honours from the University of Edinburgh in the UK in 1992. He has authored numerous articles and speaks regularly at conferences. Rory is fluent in French.
Vijay Mauree Programme coordinator , TSB, ITU Vijay Mauree joined the ITU headquarters in Geneva, in 2010. He is currently the main focal point for Digital Financial Services at the Standardization Bureau in ITU. He has coordinated the work of the ITU-T Focus Group Digital Financial Services, which completed in December 2016 and published 28 reports and some 84 policy recommendations. He is currently coordinating the work of the ITU-T Focus Group on Digital Currency including Digital Fiat Currency and the Financial Inclusion Global Initiative (FIGI) which is a joint programme of the ITU, World Bank, Bank for International Settlements and the Gates Foundation. He was previously responsible for the implementation of projects under Bridging the Standardization Gap programme and undertaking research for production of Technology Watch reports. He published four Technology Watch reports on Optical networks, Smart Water Management, Privacy in the Cloud and Mobile Money. Vijay received his first degree in Computer Science with Electronic Engineering from University College London, UK and obtained his Masters degree in Information Technology from Imperial College, Science and Technology, UK. He also holds an MBA from Cranfield School of Management in UK.
João Cadete de Matos Chairman, Board of Directors, Autoridade de Comunicações (ANACOM) Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (ANACOM), the national regulatory authority in Portugal for communications. Chairman of the European Group for Postal Services (ERGP) and member of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC). Until August 2017: Director of Statistics of the Portuguese central bank and Invited Professor at NOVA Information Management School of Universidade Nova de Lisboa.
Patricia Adusei-Poku Executive Director, Data Protection Commissioner, Ghana Patricia Adusei-Poku, the Executive Director of the Ghana Data Protection Commission; She is a seasoned privacy practitioner in the public, private and non-profit sectors globally. Some of her recent appointments include the Head of Data Protection at the London 2012 Olympic Games and Global Director for Data Protection & Privacy at World Vision International. Patricia holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA - Project Management & Consultancy), BSc (Hons) Computing Science, A Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM) issued by the globally recognized International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), Certified Practitioner in European Union General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR). She enjoys reading, travelling and charity work.
Jean Pesme Practice Manager, World Bank Group Jean Pesme is a practice manager in the World Bank Group, Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation Global Practice. This practice is an integral part of the World Bank Group’s on-going global and country based efforts on private and financial sector development, provided a range of services (analytical work, technical assistance and lending). Since January 2016, Jean’s work is focused on these issues in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Prior to joining the World Bank in 2003, Jean already worked at the French Treasury. Jean is a French citizen and resides in Washington DC.
Oscar Rubio Deputy Manager, Payment Systems Policy and Oversight department, Mexican Central Bank. Oscar Rubio is Deputy Manager of the Payment Systems Policy and Oversight department at the Mexican Central Bank. An economist trained at the University of Chicago, he has developed in his professional career in different areas of Bank of Mexico. Mr. Rubio worked in the economic research department, on subjects related to macro-financial analysis and financial stability, and later in the Bank’s strategic planning department. In his current role he is focused on policy related to financial market infrastructures, including cross-border payments and correspondent banking, the financial technology sector, as well as know-your-customer registries and digital identity.
Caro Robson Senior Counsel, Director, Privacy & Data Protection, Middle East & Africa With 12 years’ experience, Caro currently leads Privacy & Data Protection in the Middle East & Africa for financial technology giant Mastercard. Responsible for data privacy across MEA’s 69 countries and for instituting its regional privacy programme, she also supports financial inclusion initiatives and new technologies globally, with a particular interest in artificial intelligence and advanced analytics. Caro works with legislators and regulators across the region as a subject expert, including in drafting new legislation. Caro joined Mastercard from the Etihad Aviation Group, where she was responsible for establishing and managing the international group’s Global Privacy Programme. Prior to Etihad, Caro worked as Senior Legal Advisor for the British Embassy in Afghanistan, combining legal advice on data issues with a mentoring role, responsible for transformation in a national Afghan prosecution directorate. Previously, she advised the UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency on all aspects of privacy, intelligence and cyber law, providing advice to Ministers and one Prime Minister. Caro is a barrister of England and Wales, graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge and holds a Masters of Law degree in Computer & Communications Law. She is a Fellow of Information Privacy at the International Association of Privacy Professionals, and is currently studying an Executive Masters of Business Administration at Oxford University, alongside her role at Mastercard.
Essam El Saghir Chairman, Egypt Post Essam El Saghir considered one of the prominent experts in the Middle East and North Africa region for developing and automating postal and logistical services and related operational processes. In 2015, he was appointed as the Chairman of Egypt Post, where he is responsible for the major ambitious transformation program of Egypt Post. El Saghir is known for his visionary strategy for developing the organization as he leads many development projects that have increased the business revenues in the past two years intensively from loss of 450 million EGP to net profit of 4 billion EGP. His mandate also included transferring the automated services and processes into advanced e-services provided by smart governments with the highest level of quality and control standards and major reduction in operational costs. El Saghir participated in several strategic projects for developing postal systems in many countries worldwide, such as Japan, Germany, Switzerland, England, Ireland, India and Denmark.
Aly El Shalakany Senior Partner, Shalkany Aly El Shalakany is the Chairman of the Cairo Angels, one of the leading angel investor networks that invests in and supports start-ups and early stage high growth businesses across the Middle East and Africa. Aly is also the President of the Middle East Angel Investment Network (MAIN), an alliance of the leading angel investors, networks and funds operating in the MENA region. Aly has invested, mentored and coached various startups globally across a number of different sectors.
Nghiem Thanh Son Deputy Director General, Payment Systems Department, State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Mr. Nghiem Thanh Son is Deputy Director General of Payment Systems Department of State Bank of Vietnam (SBV). He took his post as payment systems expert in 2005 and involved in preparing Vietnam’s payment systems development strategy. He is now in charge of payment systems oversight activities and development of national payment systems. He is the member of the International Task Force on Payment Aspects of Financial Inclusion (PAFI) co-chaired by the WBG and BIS-CPMI. Mr. Son was appointed as the standing vice chairman of the SBV’s Fintech Steering Committee which was formed in March 2017 and led by a Deputy Governor. His duty is to improve the Vietnam’s fintech ecosystem including the regulatory framework and to promote fintech sector for broader financial inclusion in Vietnam. Mr. Son has been working for the SBV since 1997 and prior to working at the Payment Systems Department, he was the money market expert in the Credit Department. He also took the post as a personal assistant to the Governor for several years. He graduated from the Foreign Trade University in 1996 and got his Master Degree in Public Policy from Graduate Institute for Policy Study (GRIPS) in Tokyo, Japan in 2004.
Xi Sun Senior Standardization Expert, Ant Financial Services Group Dr. Sun is a senior standardization expert in Ant Financial Services Group, responsible for the standardization work for financial technology related enterprise standards and international standards. Prior to this, he had worked in Apple and UnionPay for Mobile Payment standards and products. Dr. Sun holds a doctorate degree in pattern recognition and intelligent system from University of Science and Technology of China, and he has extensive expertise in biometrics, security and financial payments fields.
Pia Bernadette Roman Tayag Managing Director, Center for Learning and Inclusion Advocacy Bangko Sentral ng Pilipin Ms. Roman Tayag, heads the principal advocacy office for financial inclusion, financial education and consumer protection under the Office of the Governor. Ms. Roman Tayag graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from the University of the Philippines and a master’s degree in International Affairs focused on Economic Development from Columbia University. She is also a Fellow in the Fletcher School Leadership Program for Financial Inclusion at Tufts University. Ms. Roman Tayag is also active in global discussions on financial inclusion as a member of the relevant working groups in the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion, Alliance for Financial Inclusion, Islamic Financial Services Board and the Fintech Group of the UNSGSA. She was also was a member of the Policy Advisory Group of the Innovations for Poverty Action Research Fund, Better than Cash Alliance Editorial and Publications Committee, and Smart Campaign Steering Committee.
Camilo Tellez-Merchan Head of Research and Innovation, Better Than Cash Alliance Camilo Tellez-Merchan is the Head of Research and Innovation for the Better than Cash Alliance where he leads the team supporting research and implementation across BTCA membership. Prior to joining BTCA, he worked at CGAP and the World Bank in Washington and the GSM Association in London where he supported providers in the area of digital financial services. He has also worked at the UN Economic Commission for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok, and at the Microsoft Labs in Bangalore where he conducted ICT4D research in the technology for emerging markets team. He holds an MA in international relations and Latin American studies from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies SAIS, an MSc in information systems and economic development from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a Diplome International from the Institut d’etudes politiques de Paris -Sciences Po.
Yiannis Theodorou Director of Policy and Advocacy, GSMA Yiannis is the Acting Head of the GSMA’s Digital Identity programme and leads the development of several policy and advocacy initiatives in Development and Humanitarian contexts. He is currently exploring the role of mobile and government policy in accelerating digital identity ecosystems to support the digital and financial inclusion of underserved populations. He has been researching and advising Governments and Mobile Operators on Mobile SIM registration and Know-Your-Customer (KYC) regulations across Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. Yiannis also delivers several regulatory training courses and represents the GSMA at various public fora globally, closely engaging with key partners such as the World Bank and UN bodies. He previously led the GSMA’s public policy work on Big Data for Social Good and the Internet-of-Things, focusing on consumer data protection and Privacy-by-Design. He authored a number of reports and policy recommendations on these topics. Prior to the GSMA, Yiannis was a Strategy Associate at the UK regulator Ofcom, focusing on strategy and regulatory policy across the Internet, TV, and telecommunications sectors. Yiannis holds a MSc. in Management from Cass Business School and a Law Degree from UCL (London).