Wim Mijs (1964) was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the European Banking Federation in 2014.

Between 2007 and 2014 Wim served as CEO of the Dutch banking association NVB. During this tenure he transformed the NVB into a modern industry association, positioning it as the key representative of the banking sector in the wake of the financial crisis.

Wim studied law at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, specialising in European and International law. After his studies he worked at the International Court of Arbitration at the Peace Palace in The Hague. In 1993 he joined ABN AMRO in Amsterdam before moving to Brussels to head up the bank’s EU liaison office. Wim moved back to The Hague in 2002 where he became the Head of Government Affairs for ABN AMRO.

Wim is a member of the Advisory Board of the BBVA Center for Financial Education and Capability, the Industry Chair of the European Parliamentary Financial Services Forum and member of the Advisory board of Leiden Law School.

Between 2011 and 2018, Wim held various institutional roles within the international and European financial/banking community: chairman of the International Banking Federation; chairman of the Executive Committee of the EBF; and chairman of the Board of Euribor, now known as the European Money Market Institute.

Wim is married and has two children.

Ms Botín joined Banco Santander after working at JP Morgan (New York, 1980-1988). In 1992 she was appointed senior executive vice president. Between 1992 and 1998 she led the expansion of Santander in Latin America.

From 2002 to 2010 she was executive chairman of Banesto, such entity being commended as the Best Bank in Spain by Euromoney for three consecutive years during that period. From 2010-2014 she was CEO of Santander UK and she has been non-executive director until April 2021. During her role as CEO of Santander UK, she led the transformation of three former building societies into one of Britain’s most innovative banks. In 2019, she was appointed as a non-executive director of Santander Holdings USA, Inc. and of Santander Bank, N.A. and in 2020 as the chairman of PagoNxt, S.L.

Since 2014 she has led a cultural, commercial and technological transformation of the Group, focused on boosting customer trust and loyalty. Under her leadership, Santander has established a clear purpose: to help people and businesses prosper in a way that is simple, personal and fair. The Group is committed to acting responsibly on behalf of its employees, customers, shareholders and the communities where it operates.

Her commitment to sustainable and inclusive growth is reflected in her philanthropic activities. She is the founder and Chair of CyD Foundation, which supports and promotes the contribution made by Spanish universities to economic and social development in the country, and Empieza por Educar Foundation, the Spanish subsidiary of the international NGO Teach for All which trains talented young graduates to be teachers. She is also chairman of Universia Holding, S.L. and of Universia España Red de Universidades, S.A., which is considered one of the largest university co-operation networks focused in Latin America, comprising over a thousand universities.

Ms Botín is a member of the board of directors of The Coca-Cola Company and she sits on the advisory board of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In February 2021, she was appointed president of the European Banking Federation.

Mairead McGuinness is the European Commissioner for financial services, financial stability and Capital Markets Union.

The Commissioner’s vision for the portfolio is focused on ensuring the financial sector’s strength and stability, so that it can deliver for people, society and the environment.

Before joining the Commission in October 2020, Ms McGuinness was First Vice-President of the European Parliament from 2017. She served as an MEP from Ireland for 16 years, and was a Vice-President of the Parliament since 2014.

As Vice-President, she oversaw relations with national Parliaments, led the Parliament’s dialogue with religious and philosophical organisations, and had responsibility for the Parliament’s communication policy.

During her time in the Parliament, Ms McGuinness sat on a range of committees, covering agriculture, environment, public health, budgets, petitions and constitutional affairs. Her legislative work included leading for the EPP Group on the European Climate Law, the revision of medical devices legislation, and CAP reform post-2013. As an Irish MEP representing the border region, she was outspoken on Brexit and the consequences for the EU and Ireland.

In 2006-2007, Ms McGuinness chaired the Parliament’s investigation into the collapse of the Equitable Life assurance company which identified issues around weak financial regulation.

Prior to becoming an MEP, she was an award-winning journalist, broadcaster and commentator.

Christian Ossig is Chief Executive and Member of the Board of Directors of the Association of German Banks and a former investment banker.

He is, among other mandates, chairman of the Executive Committee of the European Banking Federation (EBF), a member of the Administrative Council and Advisory Board of the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) and a member of the board of the International Banking Federation (IBFed). He heads the German private banks’ deposit insurance scheme and, in this role, serves on the supervisory board of the EIS Einlagensicherungsbank GmbH.

Christian Ossig started his career in investment banking at JPMorgan in London and worked as a financial institutions expert at NM Rothschild. He then became Managing Director and Member of the Management Board at Bank of America and The Royal Bank of Scotland in Frankfurt. Before joining the Association of German Banks, he worked at the Institute of International Finance (IIF) in Washington, DC.

He studied for his undergraduate degree in Business and International Economics at the European Partnership of Business Schools in Germany and France; for his Master’s degree and PhD at the College of Europe in Belgium and Cambridge University in the UK.

John Berrigan is the Director General in DG FISMA (Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union) of the European Commission. 

DG FISMA is responsible for EU-level legislation for the financial sector; in this context, John represents the EU Commission on the Economic and Financial Committee, the Financial Services Committee and the Single Resolution Board.

John has been a Commission official since the mid-1980s and has spent much of this time working on financial-sector issues – first in DG ECFIN, where he contributed to financial-sector aspects of the assistance programmes for other Member States, and now in DG FISMA.

Earlier on, he also worked on monetary policy and exchange-rate analysis in the context of preparations for the introduction of the euro in 1999. 

In the mid-1990s, he worked for several years with the International Monetary Fund. 

John has a master degree in economics from University College Dublin. He is married with two children.

Dr. ir. Lars Machenil is CFO at BNP Paribas.

He was previously CFO at BNP Paribas Fortis. Since 2003 he held several Board and Executive roles for Finance in the Benelux, Turkey and Poland. These roles covered functions such as accounting, Performance management, M&A and structuring.

Before, Lars worked for 3 years with McKinsey in Venezuela, Italy and Brussels mainly focusing on Banking and Wireless Communications.

Lars started his professional career with Procter & Gamble among others focusing on supply chain management.

Lars holds a PhD in nuclear science and an engineering degree in electrotechnics.

Kerstin af Jochnick has been an ECB representative to the Supervisory Board since 1 October 2019.

Prior to this she was First Deputy Governor of Sveriges Riksbank, a position she had held since 2012. In that role, she was also an alternate member of the General Council of the European Central Bank from 2015 to 2019. She was also a member of the European Systemic Risk Board from 2015 to 2018.

From 2009 to 2011 Ms af Jochnick was Managing Director of the Swedish Bankers’ Association and from 2008 to 2009 she was Chair of the Committee of European Banking Supervisors.

From 1995 to 2007 she was Head of Banking Supervision at Finansinspektionen, the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, where she had also worked as a financial analyst from 1991 to 1995.

Her other past roles have included Member of the Board of the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (2014-18), Member of the IIF Advisory Group on Supervision (2010-11) and Member of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (2003-09 and 2013-19).

Stuart founded Autonomous Research, a specialist global financials research firm, in 2009.  He was its CEO from 2009-2017, building a business with over 80 staff in Europe, the US and Asia.

Prior to founding Autonomous Research, Stuart was the head of European banks equity research at Merrill Lynch. He was the number 1 ranked European bank analyst for six consecutive years. Before joining Merrill Lynch in 2002, Stuart worked at JPMorgan and HSBC (both in banks equity research). He began his career at the Bank of England in 1988 in the Banking Supervision Department. Stuart holds an MA in modern history from Cambridge University.

Paolo Gentiloni is the European Commissioner for Economy since December 2019.

He served as Prime Minister of Italy (2016- 2018), Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (2014-2016), Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (2013-2014) and Minister of Communications (2006-2008).

Previously he was Spokesperson for the Margherita Party (2002-2007), Chairman of the Broadcasting Services Watchdog Committee (2005-2006), Spokesperson for the Mayor of Rome and Commissioner in the City of Rome (1993-2000). Previously he worked as a professional journalist.

Born in 1954, Gentiloni graduated in Political Sciences from La Sapienza, Rome.

His last book is “La sfida impopulista” (the (Un)populist challenge).

Antoni Ballabriga is Global Head of Responsible Business at BBVA. He reports directly to the Board of Directors. His mission is to ensure that people are systematically placed at the decision-making processes.

Co-chair of the Global Steering Committee at UNEP FI (United Nations Environmental Program for Financial Institutions) and European banks’ representative.

Chair of the Sustainable Finance Expert Group at EBF (European Banking Federation).

Moreover, he is professor at ESADE Business School. Former President of DIRSE, Spanish Association of CSR Professionals and Former President of SpainSIF, Spanish Forum for Socially Responsible Investment. Antoni holds a Degree in Business Sciences and MBA from ESADE Business School. He has studied at Harvard Business School and is First Mover Fellow at The Aspen Institute.

Wim Mijs (1964) was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the European Banking Federation in 2014.

Between 2007 and 2014 Wim served as CEO of the Dutch banking association NVB. During this tenure he transformed the NVB into a modern industry association, positioning it as the key representative of the banking sector in the wake of the financial crisis.

Wim studied law at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, specialising in European and International law. After his studies he worked at the International Court of Arbitration at the Peace Palace in The Hague. In 1993 he joined ABN AMRO in Amsterdam before moving to Brussels to head up the bank’s EU liaison office. Wim moved back to The Hague in 2002 where he became the Head of Government Affairs for ABN AMRO.

Wim is a member of the Advisory Board of the BBVA Center for Financial Education and Capability, the Industry Chair of the European Parliamentary Financial Services Forum and member of the Advisory board of Leiden Law School.

Between 2011 and 2018, Wim held various institutional roles within the international and European financial/banking community: chairman of the International Banking Federation; chairman of the Executive Committee of the EBF; and chairman of the Board of Euribor, now known as the European Money Market Institute.

Wim is married and has two children.

Roberta Marracino began her career at McKinsey & Company in 1994, where she worked for nearly 5 years as a banking analyst and then as Head of the Research & Information Department. She went on to mature strategic analysis experience in Capgemini and BNL Gruppo BNP Paribas before returning to McKinsey & Company in 2003 as the Director of Research and Communication for the Mediterranean area (Italy, Iberia, Greece and Turkey). During this period, she was also founder and board member for Valore D.

In 2014, Roberta joined SACE (Gruppo CDP) as the Executive Director of Research, Communication, Corporate Social Value and Export Competence Training.

In 2018, she was appointed Head of Business Innovation & Market Management for Italy in Zurich Insurance plc.

From 2017 and June 2020, she also served as Board Member of BPER Banca, where she was also member of the Risks, Remuneration and Nomination Committees.
On 1st July 2020, Roberta was appointed Head of Group ESG Strategy & Impact Banking.

Viktoriya has been Head of Group Sustainability at Deutsche Bank since November 2016. She joined the bank in 2010 and Group Sustainability in 2012.

Viktoriya is the Deutsche Bank representative for various international initiatives on Sustainability, including the Banking Environment Initiative convened by the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership and the Sustainable Business Roundtable at the European School of Management & Technology.

Before joining Deutsche Bank, Viktoriya was a Senior Advisor in the Financial Services Risk Management division at Ernst & Young. There, she worked with clients in the financial sector on the implementation of capital requirements under Solvency Regulation and Minimum Requirements for Risk Management.

Viktoriya holds a Master’s degree in Economics, with a minor in Finance, from Goethe-University in Frankfurt, Germany, as well as a Master’s degree in French, German and English from the State Linguistic Institute, Ukraine.

Laurence Pessez has been leading the Corporate Social Responsibility of BNP Paribas since 2010. Under her leadership, the bank became in 2017 the n°1 bank in Europe for its sustainability performance, according to the extra‐financial analysis V.E (formerly Vigeo‐Eiris). In 2019, she contributed to obtaining the “World’s Best Bank for Corporate Responsibility” award by Euromoney and to positioning the bank as the n°1 bank in Europe and n°3 worldwide in Corporate Knights’ “Global 100 most sustainable corporations in the World” ranking. In 2021, she contributed to the decision of BNP Paribas to be among the first signatories of the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) and to take at this occasion a “net zero” commitment by 2050.

Prior to her current role, she occupied a variety of positions in Communications, Marketing, and HR in several other corporations. Laurence graduated from Sciences Po Paris. She is a Board member of both the French think tank Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI) and ‘Finance for Tomorrow’, the Sustainable Finance arm of the French financial hub.

Mr Masamichi Kono was appointed Deputy Secretary- General in August 2017. His portfolio includes the strategic direction of the OECD policy on Environment, Financial and Enterprise Affairs, Tax, Trade and Agriculture. He oversaw the horizontal project on Sustainable Infrastructure Investment and currently oversees the horizontal project on Climate and Economic Resilience. He also represents the OECD at the Financial Stability Board.

Mr Kono has had a long career in financial supervision and the regulation of financial services, in Japan and globally. He was Vice Minister for International Affairs of the Japanese Financial Services Agency (JFSA) prior to his appointment at the OECD. He served as Chairman of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) Technical Committee (April 2011-May 2012), and thereafter as Chairman of the IOSCO Board (until March 2013). He was also the Co-chair of the Financial Stability Board Regional Consultative Group for Asia (July 2013-June 2015), and Chairman of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation Monitoring Board (February 2013-June 2016). Previously, he was Secretary to the World Trade Organization’s Trade in Financial Services Committee (1995-99).

Gerard de Graaf is Director for Digital Transformation in Directorate-General “Communications Networks, Content & Technology” (DG CONNECT). In this capacity, he is responsible for a number of policies and instruments, which are key to the development of the digital economy in Europe. In addition to overall preparation of the EU’s digital strategies, and links between Digital and the Green Deal, his Directorate is inter alia responsible for the coordination of the digital components of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), digital platforms policy (including the Digital Services and Digital Markets Acts), e-commerce and geoblocking, blockchain,  standardisation, innovation and start-up policy, access to finance, digital skills, and competition aspects and economic analysis of the digital economy (through the Digital Economy and Society Index – DESI).

He has held important positions with the Intesa Sanpaolo Banking Group, where he worked from 1981 to 2013.

After having held office as General Manager of Banco di Napoli S.p.A. (2009–2013), covering the position of Regional Director, in July 2012 he took over the management of IntesaSanPaolo Group’s domestic commercial banking division and in December 2012 he was appointed General Manager of Intesa Sanpaolo Group, retaining his responsibility for the domestic commercial banking division as well as taking on the role of interim General Manager of Banco di Napoli.

After having resigned from Intesa Sanpaolo Group in June 2013, Giuseppe Castagna was appointed as chairman of Italian Private Debt Initiative of Muzinich & Co. He was Board Member in banks and other financial intermediaries.

From 2014 to December 2016 he was General Manager and CEO at Banca Popolare di Milano and since January 2017 he has been CEO of the new Group Banco BPM.

In 2020, Giuseppe Castagna is awarded the title of Cavaliere del Lavoro by the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella

Ondřej is Member of the European Parliament representing Renew Europe. He is a member of the ECON Committee, the Chairman of the Working Group for Access to Finance for SMEs. His work therefore encompasses a wide variety of topics and focuses not only within Europe, but also beyond our borders to build relations with some of our closest allies. From transport and tourism, to border management, research and the practical use of new technologies, for example those based on Artificial intelligence and broader access to digital finance 

Ondřej is currently working across his three committees on amending the Commission’s proposal for a Digital Markets Act, and is the Renew Europe spokesperson and lead negotiator on the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation. 

In terms of legislation, His current principal area of focus is in Digital Finance, and the increasing digitalisation of the economy, particularly in the wake of the Covid pandemic. Last year he was Rapporteur on the Parliament’s legislative initiative report giving Recommendations to the Commission on Digital Finance: emerging risks in crypto-assets – regulatory and supervisory challenges in the area of financial services, institutions and markets. He has also been involved in a number of pieces of legislation as part of building up Europe’s Capital Markets. He led the Parliament’s work on a number of tax-related files, including elements, such as e-Commerce, of the new EU VAT regime that has just come into force. 

Wim Mijs (1964) was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the European Banking Federation in 2014.

Between 2007 and 2014 Wim served as CEO of the Dutch banking association NVB. During this tenure he transformed the NVB into a modern industry association, positioning it as the key representative of the banking sector in the wake of the financial crisis.

Wim studied law at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, specialising in European and International law. After his studies he worked at the International Court of Arbitration at the Peace Palace in The Hague. In 1993 he joined ABN AMRO in Amsterdam before moving to Brussels to head up the bank’s EU liaison office. Wim moved back to The Hague in 2002 where he became the Head of Government Affairs for ABN AMRO.

Wim is a member of the Advisory Board of the BBVA Center for Financial Education and Capability, the Industry Chair of the European Parliamentary Financial Services Forum and member of the Advisory board of Leiden Law School.

Between 2011 and 2018, Wim held various institutional roles within the international and European financial/banking community: chairman of the International Banking Federation; chairman of the Executive Committee of the EBF; and chairman of the Board of Euribor, now known as the European Money Market Institute.

Wim is married and has two children.