Douglas W. Diamond
Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (2022)
Merton H. Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance
University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business

Douglas W. Diamond is the 2022 recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel) for his groundbreaking research on banks and financial crises. He specializes in the study of financial intermediaries, financial crises, and liquidity. Diamond is the Merton H. Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. He has been on the faculty since 1979. Diamond is a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research and a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Diamond was president of the American Finance Association and the Western Finance Association, and is a fellow of the Econometric Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Finance Association. In 2012 he received the Morgan Stanley-American Finance Association Award for Excellence in Finance and in 2016 he received the CME Group- Mathematical Sciences Research Institute Prize in Innovative Quantitative Applications. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Diamond has taught at Yale and was a visiting professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and the University of Bonn. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Brown University in 1975 and a PhD in 1980 in economics from Yale University.

Dr. Ayesha Khanna
Co-Founder and CEO of ADDO, an artificial intelligence solutions firm

Dr. Ayesha Khanna is Co-Founder and CEO of Addo, an artificial intelligence (AI) solutions firm.

Ayesha was named one of Southeast Asia's groundbreaking female entrepreneurs by Forbes magazine. She is also founder of 21st Century Girls, a charity that teaches girls coding and artificial intelligence.

Ayesha has a BA (honours) in Economics from Harvard University, an MS in Operations Research from Columbia University and a PhD in Information Systems and Innovation from the London School of Economics (LSE).

Helen Thompson
Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge University

Helen Thompson is Professor of Political Economy in the Department of Politics and International Studies at Cambridge University. She has a wide-ranging column – These Times ¬– at the New Statesman and was a regular contributor to the podcast Talking Politics. Her books include Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century and Oil and the Western Economic Crisis. She has written for, among other publications, The New York Times, London Review of Books, Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, The Guardian, UnHerd, and Prospect on Brexit, the European Union, the economics of the pandemic, energy and climate politics, and the geopolitics of China’s rise. She was included in Prospect’s The World’s Top Thinkers 2021 and 2022.

Dr. Yu Jie
Senior Research fellow on China at Chatham House

Dr Yu Jie is senior research fellow on China at Chatham House, focusing on the decision-making process of Chinese foreign policy as well as China’s economic diplomacy. She frequently speaks and writes in major media outlets such as BBC News and the Financial Times; and regularly briefs senior policy practitioners from the G7 member governments, the Silk Road Fund in Beijing. She also frequently advises major FTSE 100 corporates and leading European financial institutions on China’s political landscape. Yu Jie has testified on China’s foreign affairs at various UK Parliament committees and was previously head of China Foresight at LSE IDEAS. She remains as an associate fellow with LSE IDEAS and obtained her PhD in International Relations at LSE. Prior to LSE, she was a management consultant, specializing in Chinese state-owned enterprises investments in Europe and Chinese market entry strategies for European conglomerates at the London Office of Roland Berger. The London School of Economics and Political Science recognized her as one of its ‘Leading Women’ in 2018 for her contribution in teaching and engaging the public debates on China’s foreign affairs. She is a “Young Leader” for the 2022 Asian Security Shangri-La Dialogue.

General Jean-Paul Paloméros
NATO Supreme Allied Commander for Transformation (2012-2015)
Former Chief of Staff of the French Air Force (2009-2012)

After assuming a national high responsibility as the Chief of French Air Force (2009-2012), General Jean-Paul Paloméros led NATO’s military transformation (2012-2015). As NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT) General Paloméros supported the 28 Allied Nations in preparing the future together in terms of military strategy, capability development, education, training and exercises. Ahead of Allied Command Transformation, he developed ambitious plans to increase NATO’s military ef­ficiency and readiness through improved multinational cooperation, reenergized exercise policy and innovation. During his command tour, General Paloméros put a high priority on NATO force’s operational preparation, fostering the synergy between Allied Nations and the cooperation with Partner organizations, nations, with Industry, Science and technology, Universities and many other stakeholders. During more than 10 years within the French Air Force General Paloméros prepared and led major transformations to modernize the French Air Force’s capabilities and organization.

General Paloméros took part in many operations as a ­fighter pilot and as Commander in the Balkans and in Africa. In 2011, he was the head of the French Air Force which successfully took a major role in Operations over Libya to protect civilian populations.

General Paloméros has logged more than 4000 ‑ flying hours on ­ fighter jets and took part in 82 combat missions. He graduated from the French Air Force Academy in 1973, and was awarded the Curtis Prize within the 84th Royal Air Force Advanced Staff Course.

General Jean-Paul Paloméros has been elevated to the rank of Great Of­ficer in the “Légion d’Honneur”; he has been elevated recently to the highest rank of Great Cross in the National Order of Merit. He was also awarded the prestigious aeronautics’ medal, the NATO Meritorious Service Medal and many other foreign distinctions.

James A. Fok
Author of the book 'Financial Cold War'
Senior executive at Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (2012-2021)

James Fok is a veteran financial and strategic advisor to corporations and governments. He served as a senior executive at Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) from 2012 until 2021, during a period of rapid internationalisation in China’s capital markets. While there, he played a major role in a number of landmark financial markets initiatives, including the launch of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect programme (2014), Bond Connect (2017), the Hong Kong market’s Listing Reforms (2018), and HKEX’s attempted hostile takeover of the London Stock Exchange Group (2019). Prior to HKEX, Fok worked as an investment banker in both Europe and Asia, specialising in the financial services sector.

Fok is author of the book Financial Cold War and has written and spoken extensively about market structure issues and the intersection between geopolitics and international finance. He is an Advisor to the global consultancy firm Bain & Company and sits on the Advisory Board of Hex Trust. He also serves as an International Member of Ireland for Finance’s Industry Advisory Committee (2021-), and previously served on the Executive Board of the International Securities Services Association (2018-21), and the Financial Services Advisory Committee of the Hong Kong Trade and Development Council (2014-21).

Dr. Mario Draghi
Prime Minister of Italy (2021-2022)
Former President of the European Central Bank (2011-2019)

Mario Draghi served as President of the Council of Ministers of Italy from February 2021 to October 2022. His tenure as Prime Minister was defined by many memorable achievements, most notably including the fight to end the Covid-19 pandemic, his leadership of the Next Generation EU initiative, and his solidarity with the Ukrainian people during the ongoing war with Russia.

Described by Paul Krugman as "[arguably] the greatest central banker of modern times,” Dr. Draghi was President of the European Central Bank (ECB) from November 2011 to November 2019 and is widely credited with saving the Eurozone. Over his eight-year term, the monetary policy of the ECB led the Eurozone into an expansion with the creation of 13 million jobs, and the European stock market rising by two-thirds.

Mario Draghi has been at the center of the most globally impactful economic events of the last four decades, including the 2012 Eurozone crisis, the 2015 Greek Debt Crisis, and Brexit. Prior to 2011, Dr. Draghi served as Governor of the Banca d’Italia and Chairman of the Financial Stability Forum (later the Financial Stability Board) that crafted for the governments of the G-7 countries the first regulatory response to the global financial crisis. Drawing on these extraordinary experiences, Dr. Draghi is among the most well-equipped experts to provide analysis on the future direction of the global economy.

Dr. Draghi was listed as the 8th most powerful person in the world by Forbes in 2014 and the world's second greatest leader by Fortune in 2015. He received his PhD in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Dr. Draghi is globally known for his bold and spirited speeches. He simplifies the world financial outlook, giving audiences the keys to understanding what is needed to control risks and translates uncertainty into tangible takeaways for audiences worldwide.

Dinesh Kumar Khara
Chairman of State Bank of India

Mr. Dinesh Kumar Khara is the Chairman of State Bank of India. Prior to being appointed as Chairman of the Bank he was Managing Director (Global Banking & Subsidiaries) of the Bank.
In his role as MD (GB&S) he led and steered the International Banking Group, Corporate and Treasury operations of the Bank.
He has been able to guide and lead the subsidiaries wing of SBI thus ensuring successful pathway for the Non-Banking Subsidiaries of the Bank viz. SBI Mutual Fund, SBI Life Insurance, SBI Credit Card.
As MD (Associates & Subsidiaries) Mr. Khara successfully accomplished merging SBI with its five Associate Banks and Bhartiya Mahila Bank. Additionally, he was also in charge of Risk, IT & Compliance functions of the Bank.
Prior to being appointed as Managing Director of State Bank of India, Mr. Khara was the MD&CEO of SBI Funds Management Pvt. Limited (SBIMF). Mr. Khara joined SBI as Probationary Officer in 1984 and has over 37 years of rich experience in all facets of Banking.
Mr. Dinesh Kumar Khara, did his Masters in Business Administration from FMS New Delhi and is a post-graduate in Commerce from Delhi School of Economics. He is also a Certified Associate of Indian Institute of Bankers (CAIIB).