Rakan AlSheikh

Deputy Minister
Ministry of Economy and Planning, Saudi Arabia

Rakan is a Deputy Minister for Policies and Economic Planning at the Saudi Ministry of Economy and Planning. He oversees functions that include applied research and analysis of several initiatives and reforms that are currently underway in the Kingdom, spanning fiscal, structural, and distributional policies and programs. His responsibilities also involve active participation and policy design of several economic and social programs. Rakan also worked for the Ministry of Labour and Social Development as an economic advisor on policies, trends, and initiatives that are impacting the Saudi labor market. Rakan's previous work experience also includes economic consulting for the World Bank's transport sector (MENA region) in Washington, DC, and economic research at Jadwa Investment, with 70+ published reports covering key macroeconomic topics related to Saudi Arabia and regional economies.

Rakan holds a master’s degree in international economic policy analysis from Brandeis University.

Rakan's fields of interest include macroeconomic policy, development economics, and labor economics.

Dr. Ammr Kurdi

Assistant Governor of Financial Sustainability and Risk Management
The General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI)

Dr. Ammr K. Kurdi holds more than 20 years of professional and executive experience in accounting, finance, and auditing with a proven track record of success in business strategy setting, leading complex organizational roles, and analysis. He is currently the Assistant Governor for Financial Sustainability and Risk Management (FSRM) in General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI), and a member of multiple boards and audit committees, and investment committees for various organizations, such as the National Development Fund, the Insurance Authority (IA), Saudi National Bank (SNB), Saudi Telecom Co. (STC), Saudi Electricity Co. (SEC), and The Company for Cooperative Insurance (Tawuniya), among others. Dr. Kurdi also held multiple positions previously as Chief Financial Officer, Chief Audit Executive, and Chief Corporate Services Officer for publicly listed, privately-held, and government organizations. These included The Company for Cooperative Insurance (Tawuniya), the Saudi Arabian Industrial Investments Company (Dussur) (PIF, Aramco, and SABIC joint venture), and King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM). Dr. Kurdi earned his Ph.D. in Accounting from the University of North Texas, USA, a Masters’ degree in Accounting from the University of Arizona, and Bachelors’ degree in Accounting from KFUPM. He is also a Certified Management Accountant (CMA).

Adena Friedman

Chair & Chief Executive Officer
Nasdaq

Adena Friedman has been the Chief Executive Officer of Nasdaq since January 1, 2017 and was appointed Chair of the Board of Directors on January 1, 2023. She brings more than 20 years of industry leadership and expertise, and is credited with significantly shaping Nasdaq’s transformation into a leading global exchange and technology company serving the financial industry.

Prior to her current role as Chair and CEO, Adena held several senior leadership roles at Nasdaq including President and COO where she was responsible for the operations of the company’s business segments with a focus on driving efficiency, product development, growth and expansion.

She rejoined Nasdaq in 2014, after serving as Chief Financial Officer and Managing Director of The Carlyle Group from March 2011 to June 2014 and playing a critical role in taking the company public in May 2012.

Before Carlyle, Adena was a key member of Nasdaq's management team for over a decade, serving in a variety of roles, including head of the company's data products business, head of corporate strategy and Chief Financial Officer. She played an instrumental role in Nasdaq’s acquisition strategy, overseeing the acquisitions of INET, OMX, and the Philadelphia and Boston Exchanges. She originally joined Nasdaq in 1993 as an intern.

Since December 2018, Adena has served as a Class B director to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In January 2024, Adena was elected to the Business Roundtable (BRT) Board of Directors and currently serves as the Chair of the BRT's Technology Committee.

In July 2020, Adena began her term as a member of the Vanderbilt University Board of Trust. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Williams College in Massachusetts and a Master of Business Administration from Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management. 

Eng. Khalid AlHussan

Chief Executive Officer
Saudi Tadawul Group

Eng. Khalid Abdullah Alhussan is a Board member and the Chief Executive Officer of Saudi Tadawul Group. He also serves as the Chairman of the Saudi Exchange, the Securities Depository Center Company (Edaa), the Securities Clearing Center Company (Muqassa), Wamid, an applied technology services business and the innovation arm of Saudi Tadawul Group.  Additionally, Al Hussan is a board member in the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) and Tadawul Real Estate Company, and E-Finance for Digital and Financial Investments (S.A.E).

Alhussan has more than 16 years of capital market and financial sector experience and possesses a wide range of expertise from business development and corporate planning to strategy and operations. Preceding his appointment as CEO of the Group, Eng. Khalid was the CEO of The Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) - now known as the Saudi Exchange - for more than 5 years. 

Throughout his tenure at the Exchange, Khalid has overseen the introduction and implementation of several key development programs, including the Qualified Foreign Investor (QFI) framework, the inclusion of Tadawul in the emerging markets’ indices, the launch of Nomu and the derivative markets, the development of the fixed income market and the record-setting IPO of Saudi Aramco. Notably and most recently, led the transformation into the Saudi Tadawul Group. 

Prior to joining the Exchange, Eng. Khalid worked in the insurance sector, managing areas of business product development and strategy.

Khalid is an engineer and holds an MBA from the University of Colorado, where he is also a certified entrepreneur.

Tal Cohen

President
Nasdaq

Tal Cohen is President of Nasdaq, leading Nasdaq's Market Services and Financial Technology divisions. In this capacity, he is responsible for Nasdaq’s North American and European Market Services businesses as well as the company’s portfolio of marketplace technology, surveillance, risk management and regulatory reporting solutions.

Prior to joining Nasdaq in April 2016 as the Senior Vice President of North American Equities, Tal was the Chief Executive Officer of Chi‐X Global Holdings, LLC from 2010 to 2016. From 2008 to 2010, he served as CEO of Chi‐X Americas.

Before joining Chi-X, Tal held several senior leadership roles at INSTINET, including Senior Vice President of Business Development and Product Strategy and Co‐head of electronic trading for North America, from 1999-2008. Before joining Instinet, he served as M&A Manager at American Express, building out its strategic investment portfolio. Tal started his career at Arthur Andersen as an Auditor and Senior Business Advisor focused on the Financial Services and Telecom industries.

From 2009-2016, Tal served as a Director on the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) Board. He additionally served as a Director on the Canadian Depository for Securities (CDS) Board from 2013-2016.

Tal holds a B.A. from SUNY Albany, an M.B.A. from New York University’s Stern School of Business, and is a Certified Public Accountant. He also holds FINRA Series 24, 7 and 63 licenses, the CSI Partners, Directors, and Senior Officers Designation (PDO).

Christina Qi

Chief Executive Officer
Databento

Christina Qi is the CEO of Databento, one of the fastest-growing market data providers in the world. She formerly founded Domeyard LP, a hedge fund focused on high frequency trading (HFT) that traded up to $7.1 billion USD per day. Christina is a member of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Board of Trustees and the Duke University Pratt School of Engineering Advisory Board. She was Co-Chair of the Board of Invest in Girls and served on the Boards of Forbes Under 30, The Financial Executives Alliance (FEA) Hedge Fund Group, the MIT Sloan Boston Alumni Association, and the U.S. Non-Profit Boards Committee of 100 Women in Finance. Christina earned a Bachelor of Science in Management Science from MIT in 2013 and earned her CAIA designation in 2015. She lives in her home state Utah with 10 chickens, 2 turtles, and a 15-year-old dog.

Yazeed AlDomaiji

Chief Executive Officer
Wamid

Yazeed AlDomaiji is the Chief Executive Officer of Wamid, Saudi Tadawul Group's innovation-focused company, driving technological advancement to boost economic growth across Saudi Arabia’s financial ecosystem. He has over 17 years of experience working in capital markets, corporate finance, fintech, strategy, and project management.

Before joining Wamid, he served as the Strategy, Research & International Relations Deputy at the Capital Market Authority, leading the development and implementation of the CMA’s strategic plan. Over his career, he also served as the Deputy Assistant of Strategy, Research & International Relations, Manager of Market Surveillance & Analysis, he started his career in corporate banking.

In recent years, AlDomaiji has been part of number of national finance committees. He was the vice chairman of Fintech Saudi Supervisory Committee, and the Secretary of Sukuk Market and Debt Instruments Development Committee in FSDP.

Mr. Yazeed holds a Master of Science in Finance from Texas A&M University and a BSc in Business Administration from King Saud University. He completed an executive education program at Columbia Business School and has multiple professional certificates in financial management.

Oliver Albers

Chief Product Officer, Capital Access Platforms
Nasdaq

Oliver Albers is the Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer for Nasdaq’s Capital Access Platforms (CAP) division, where he leads the strategic direction, development and execution of Nasdaq’s Data, Index and Workflow & Insights businesses that serve 10,000+ corporate clients, 5000+ investor clients. Nasdaq’s innovative products increase transparency between corporates and investors and empower them to effectively navigate the capital markets, accelerate their sustainability goals and drive governance excellence.

A veteran of Nasdaq for more than two decades, Oliver has developed a deep understanding and expertise from various leadership roles across research, product management, sales, and operations. Previously, Oliver served as Executive Vice President and Head of Nasdaq Investment Intelligence and prior to that, he was Senior Vice President and Global Head of Data. He has launched numerous innovative, client-centric solutions and expanded the business through several key acquisitions that continue to shape the team today. Additionally, Oliver has been an instrumental driver in the launch of various industry-shifting milestones such as the Nasdaq Closing Cross, Net Order Imbalance Information, Nasdaq Basic, Nasdaq Last Sale, Asset Owner Peer Benchmarking, and alternative data products.

Oliver earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and International Business from Ohio University and an MBA from George Washington University.

Mohammed AlShammasi

Chief Executive Officer
Derayah Financial

The CEO of Derayah where he is responsible for the company’s strategy and overall business and commercial activities. Mohammed has more than 20 years of experience in the areas of financial services, financial markets, corporate strategy and investment management and advisory. Previously Mohammed was Chief Investment Officer for Derayah since 2014. He was responsible for the overall investment activities covering multiple asset classes. Before that he was Head of Investment Management at a leading bank affiliated investment company where he managed multiple teams with more SAR 30 billion of assets under management. Prior to that, he was a Portfolio Manager at leading local bank. Mohammed has a successful track record of generating superior investment results, building investment processes and teams and providing professional advice. Mohammed structured award winning investment products and strategies. Mohammed graduated with honors from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals. He attended several management and leadership programs at Stanford University, Harvard Business School, Duke University and INSEAD Business School.

Ashok Krishnan

Head of Platforms
Bank of America

Ashok Krishnan is head of Platforms at Bank of America, where he leads strategic initiatives to simplify and modernize infrastructure, enhance automation and improve operational efficiency across business lines and support functions. In this role, he partners with leaders across the company to drive enterprise-wide transformation. Under his leadership, the firm has advanced innovation and industry-leading change, including the rollout of generative AI tools and specialized solutions.

Krishnan also is responsible for all electronic trading globally within Global Markets, including direct market access and algorithmic trading, and leads market structure strategy for the business. Additionally, he manages the Global Markets platform function, covering technology prioritization and strategy, and oversees the Quantitative Strategies and Data group.

Krishnan joined Bank of America in 2005 from Lehman Brothers where he served as vice president of EMEA Electronic Product Development, responsible for developing Lehman’s electronic trading platform in Europe. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics and Telecommunications and an MBA from London Business School.

Belinda Neal

Chief Operating Officer of Core Engineering
Goldman Sachs

Belinda is chief operating officer of Core Engineering, head of Product Management and head of Engineering Partnerships. In this role, she works to advance Core Engineering strategy to ensure that the firm continues to develop and deliver scalable, innovative and impactful solutions for clients, and leads efforts to drive engineering engagement to enhance strategic client and vendor relationships. Belinda is a member of the firmwide Artificial Intelligence steering group, serves as a Goldman Sachs Global Institute fellow and an operating advisor as part of the GS Value Accelerator within Asset & Wealth Management.

Previously, she worked in the Office of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and served as chief of staff to the CIO. Prior to that, Belinda was head of program management for Global Markets Digital Strategy and chief operating officer for Marquee. Earlier in her career, she worked in Global Investment Research in London. Belinda joined Goldman Sachs in 2010 as analyst and was named managing director in 2021.

Prior to joining the firm, Belinda worked at a biotech company in Sydney, Australia.

Belinda is member of the advisory board for Tech:NYC.

Belinda earned a BSc, with honors, in Chemistry from Macquarie University and an MBA from London Business School, with distinction.

Ahmad Kordi

Head of Investment Research & Decision Support, MENA Investments Division
Public Investment Fund (PIF)

Ahmad is a distinguished investment professional, currently serving as the Head of Investment Research & Decision Support at the Public Investment Fund (PIF), with over a decade of experience in fundamental analysis research and investment management.

At PIF since April 2019, Ahmad has played a pivotal role in establishing and leading a world-class buy-side research team covering MENA markets. Ahmad's leadership extends to performance analytics and business support functions, where he has successfully implemented advanced analytics tools including artificial intelligence applications to enhance the investment decision-making processes. Moreover, Ahmad represents the Public Investment Fund on a number of boards and committees.

Prior to his tenure at PIF, Ahmad was a Senior Investment Manager at GIB Capital, and a founding member of their asset management capabilities in Saudi Arabia. His earlier experience includes serving as an Equity Research Analyst at HSBC Saudi Arabia.

Ahmad is an Executive MBA candidate at HEC Paris and holds an Msc in Financial Analysis and Fund Management from the University of Exeter. He earned his Bachelor's degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Aberdeen. Moreover, Ahmad is a CFA Charterholder, and served multiple positions including the chairmanship of CFA Society Saudi Arabia.

David Wu

Head of Firmwide AI Product and Architecture Strategy
Morgan Stanley

David Wu is Head of Firmwide AI Product & Architecture Strategy where he is responsible for Morgan Stanley’s GenAI platforms. In this capacity, he works closely with Technology to establish the technical solutions and framework that will support current and future use cases, inclusive of build and buy strategies. David also partners with business areas to develop and source AI solutions, execute a rigorous evaluation process, and drive towards deployment.

Previously, he was Head of Wealth Management Generative AI & Knowledge Management , where he was responsible for the deployment of Generative AI capabilities across the broader WM organization. In this capacity, David was responsible for building technologies that utilize Generative AI, partnering closely with control partners to ensure appropriate approvals / oversight, and scaling the launch of use cases through ongoing training and enablement support of different business units as they execute on their respective use cases. In 2023, David and his team were the first in financial services to fully deploy a Generative AI solution to employees, the AI@MS Assistant, which provided answers to questions on internal content. In 2024, he oversaw the deployment of AI@MS Debrief to Financial Advisors, which enabled summaries and emails from client meetings, a first of its kind for WM.

Nayef Alathel

Group Chief Sales & Marketing Officer
Saudi Tadawul Group

Nayef Al-Athel is the Group Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at Saudi Tadawul Group (STG). With a proven track record in the global financial industry, he oversees Group-wide sales, the commercialization of STG’s subsidiaries and the development of the Group’s customer-centric strategies across marketing, branding and communication. Additionally, his role encompasses the management of the Group’s international corporate partnerships and CSR initiatives. Al-Athel also spearheaded the establishment of the Capital Markets Forum (CMF) as one of the world’s largest capital markets event platforms.

Before assuming his current role within the Group, Al Athel served as Chief of Listing at the Saudi Exchange, he was instrumental in launching Single Stock Options (SSOs) on the Saudi Exchange and facilitating the first international cross-listing.

Prior to joining Saudi Tadawul Group, Nayef held leadership positions at Morgan Stanley, and started his career at Venture Capital Bank. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance & Economics from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals and has completed executive education programs at INSEAD, the London School of Economics, and the Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute.

Nikhil Deogun

CEO of the Americas and U.S. Senior Partner
Brunswick Group

Nikhil Deogun has served as CEO of the Americas and U.S. Senior Partner for Brunswick Group, a critical issues advisory firm, for seven years, following a 25-year career as a media executive and journalist.

From Brunswick’s New York office, Nik leads the firm in the region, overseeing its core advisory, as well as creative, arts, research and digital practices in the Americas and has navigated a transformational period of growth since he took the helm in 2018. Nik is also an advisor to the leaders and boards of corporations, universities, nonprofit organizations and cultural institutions, drawing on his nearly thirty-year career at the intersection of journalism and business to counsel them on their most reputation-defining moments.

Nik joined Brunswick from CNBC where for nearly nine years he held several senior management and leadership roles, including Editor in Chief and Senior Vice President, Business News. In this role, he managed the network’s news content, coverage and production. He was responsible for all the editorial content for daily live news programming, working closely with anchors, reporters and producers, as well as CNBC’s award-winning network specials, documentary and news programs. He also helped build and lead CNBC’s events and conference business.

In addition to his management roles at CNBC, Nik previously held senior management and leadership roles in a long and distinguished career at The Wall Street Journal. He was Deputy Managing Editor and international editor of The Wall Street Journal overseeing the Journal’s network of international bureaus and correspondents as well as its Money & Investing section during the 2008 financial crisis. Prior to this, he was a well-respected M&A reporter for the paper, before becoming editor of the Media  & Marketing group, where he oversaw all news coverage of the media, entertainment, consumer products, fashion and retail sectors. He also served as Deputy Bureau Chief in Washington, D.C. for three years where he oversaw regulatory and investigative coverage for the paper.

Nik is actively involved in a number of civic causes, serving on the Board of Directors of the US India Strategic Partnership Forum. He is on the American Board of Trustees for the Arthur F. Burns Fellowship, the Board of Trustees of Muskingum University, his alma mater, the Board of Advisors of the Knight-Bagehot Fellowship in Economics and Business Journalism at Columbia University, and the Board of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. He received his master’s degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia.