Axel van Nederveen (Chair)

Axel is Managing Director and Treasurer of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) with overall responsibility for asset management of the treasury, liquidity management and funding operations of the Bank, as well as the overall market risks associated with the Bank’s lending operations. He joined the EBRD in May 1995 and fulfilled several roles within Treasury before becoming Treasurer in April 2004. Previously he held positions in government bond sales and trading at ABN AMRO in Amsterdam and Paribas in London. Axel van Nederveen holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands.

Frank Czichowski

Frank brings a wealth of expertise resulting from four decades of work in executive and supervisory functions. He is currently a member of the Supervisory Boards of Commerzbank AG as well as of FMS Wertmanagement AöR. After working for some years on research projects in Pakistan and Jordan, Frank started his career in finance in 1989 at KfW. where he held various positions in KfW Development Bank as well as KfW’s Treasury. Frank was Treasurer of KfW between 2004 and 2020 in charge of liquidity management, funding, asset liability management, portfolio management, and securitization. Between 2007 and 2014 Frank was a member of the Supervisory Board of The Current Exchange Funds (TCX) and from 2008 until 2014 he served on the Board of the International Capital Markets Association (ICMA). Frank holds a doctorate degree in economics from the Free University of Berlin.

Rutger Schellens

Rutger is the Chief Executive Officer of ABN AMRO Clearing Bank (AACB). Rutger holds over 35 years of expertise in corporate banking and financial markets while at both ABN AMRO Bank and Rabobank. After studying he started at ABN AMRO and held a variety of roles culminating in leading teams active in market making and repo business in international government and corporate bonds. Before moving to Rabobank in 2002 he led all Corporate sales activities for Treasury and Fixed Income at ABN AMRO Bank. At Rabobank, he has held roles as Head of Global Financial Markets and Deputy Chairman of the Rural and Retail Division. Since returning to ABN AMRO Bank in 2011 he led the Financial Institutions Group & Commercial Real Estate and Global Financial Markets before taking his current CEO role in 2007. Parallel to his executive responsibilities, Rutger held influential positions in board capacities at various organizations such as the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) and Clearstream. Rutger has completed multiple advanced courses from INSEAD and The Wharton School.

Mike Bristow

Mike carries a wealth of experience spanning more than 30 years of executive management and Board roles in the financial sector. He is the Board Chair of the Central Depository and Settlement Corporation Limited in Kenya, an organization owned by several Kenyan institutions. Mike has worked as Managing Director of Barclays Bank, SSB Bank and Commercial Bank of Africa across four African countries – Kenya, Zambia, Ghana and DRC. During this time, he served on various industry professional bodies in each of these countries. In Kenya, he played a significant role in the evolution of mobile money products, including MPESA and M-Shwari. He has also coordinated and managed various finance sector schemes partnering with donors and NGOs in Kenya, Ghana, Zambia and DRC. Mike sits on other boards like that of FSDA and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers London. He earned a Master’s Degree in African Politics from London University’s School of Oriental and African Studies.

Charlotte Gounot

Charlotte is the Chief Finance Officer and Compliance at Defacto, bringing over 10 years of expertise in development finance, financial analysis, strategic economic planning, and project management. She joined Agence Française de Développement (AFD) in 2014 as a Project Leader in the Philippines. She has held significant positions at the French Treasury, including Deputy Head of the Unit for Africa and AFD where she fulfilled several roles such as being the Alternate Member for the French Treasury of Investment Committees at Proparco and AFD. She also served as Head of Capital Market at the French Debt Management Office, where she was responsible for AFT’s market operations and promoting French Treasury securities to investors. She held an influential position as an Advisor in charge of Recovery and Ecological Transition at the cabinet of the French Minister of the Economy, where she was responsible for sizing, designing, and implementing the French Recovery Plan (France Relance). Charlotte holds master’s degrees in civil engineering and earthquake engineering, as well as an Advanced Master’s in Public Policies and Actions for Sustainable Development.

Joost van den Akker

Louis Sabatino

Louis is a former Director and Head of Africa Debt Capital Markets for WestLB in Johannesburg, where he spent 16 years involved in SSA Debt Capital Markets. He began his banking career with Standard Bank of South Africa, heading the bank’s International Trade Finance operations until 1983. In his latest position at WestLB Group, Louis was tasked with developing a non-South Africa trading and capital markets presence in Africa, wherein he created and managed active trading books in bonds, money market, derivatives and FX in 12 African currencies. Louis joined Exotix Partners LLP after WestLB’s closure, where he was responsible for the development and maintenance of the brokerage’s African client base. Louis currently assists GFI and Iroko Securities London in the origination and placement of debt capital market issuance for African borrowers and serves on the board of Africa GFI Fund Advisors in Mauritius. Louis is also a member of the Pricing Committee of The Currency Exchange Fund (TCX).

Ricardo Velasquez

Ricardo is Managing Director and Head of International Banking, Trade Finance and Financial Institutions Group for Grupo Financiero Banorte. He formerly worked for Ixe Grupo Financiero as Corporate Director of Treasury and ALCO and as CRO before the merger with Banorte. He served on the Board of Banorte-Ixe Fondos, Inter National Bank in Texas before its sale in 2017, Uniteller Transfer Services (Board Chair) and Banorte USA (Board Chair). He is also member of the Trade Finance Committee in Mexico and part of the Advisory Board for ICC Mexico Chapter. He actively participates in several Advisory Groups to top Financial Companies in the US and Latin America, supporting with expertise on Global Transaction Banking, Compliance and Money Transfers. Finally, Ricardo was a member of the Global Agenda Council on Financial Services to the WEF, has been a part-time professor at Universidad Iberoamericana and participated in several ALM and Risk Management seminars as guest speaker. He graduated with honors from both McCombs School of Business (MBA) at Texas University and Economics at Universidad Iberomericana (BSc).

Martin Kimmig

Martin is an emerging market risk expert. Previously, he was Chief Risk Officer at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), underscoring his expertise in managing risk. He has held risk-related functions at The Rock Creek Group, where he specialized in emerging market equities. Martin’s more than 20-year career further includes global positions focusing on risk and credit at the World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC). Martin is a CFA and holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Freiburg and an M.Sc. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Evans Osano (Chair)

Evans’s global experience in investments, financial markets, and development finance spans over two decades. He holds the position of Director Capital Markets at FSD Africa where he leads capital markets development in Africa (regulation, market infrastructure, and transactions support). Evans’ accomplishments include leading the green and gender bonds markets market development in Africa; the development of the first Government Bond Market Index in Kenya, along with his significant contributions as the Head of Efficient Securities Markets Institutional Development (ESMID) Africa at the IFC/World Bank, at AIG Global Investment Group (Head of Investments) and on the board and investment committee of the African Local Currency Bond. Evans has participated in joint World Bank/IMF Financial Sector Assessment Programs (FSAPs) in diverse regions and provided technical assistance on government bond markets, nongovernment bond markets, equity markets, institutional investors, and corporate governance. Evans holds a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) degree from the Maastricht School of Management and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

Alice Chapple

Alice is an economist and a specialist in impact investment and international development. Her career has focused on identifying how companies and investors can have a meaningful positive impact on poverty and the environment, and how to drive more capital to the activities and places that support that agenda. Through her company, Impact Value, she currently works with several funds and companies to help them articulate, measure and maximise their impact. Current clients include the Private Infrastructure Development Group, CDC, FSDA, AgDevCo, Frontclear, Centrica’s Ignite Fund and Smart Pension. Alice’s other roles include Trustee of the Shell Foundation; member of the Advisory Board of Sainsbury’s Foundation; Chair of Investor Watch, a not-for-profit organisation established to drive more sustainable investment practices; and an advisor to the UK’s Department for International Development. Alice has an MA in Economics from Cambridge University and is a chartered accountant.

Fleur Henderson

Fleur is Senior Project Director at Frontier Finance Solutions (FFS) since September 2018. FFS is a Cardano Development company, which specialises in developing new business concepts towards local financial market development. All concepts carry a focus on local currency financing. Fleur is a seasoned development professional with strong expertise in building markets for low-income consumers in Asia and Africa and has a considerable track record in Health Insurance Schemes in Sub-Saharan Africa. In this respect, she has successfully worked on several regulatory health framework designs. Fleur has over 15 years of experience in public/private settings with leading multilateral donors, development banks, impact investors, foundations and governments. Fleur has an MA in International Relations from the University of Utrecht.