Richard McGillivray leads the Asia Pacific Institutional Partnerships team at CFA Institute, which is responsible for working with firms, regulators, and Universities across the region. Richard brings a blend of experience in investment management and education to CFA Institute. Prior to CFA Institute, he set up the Asia Pacific operations for a UK-headquartered asset management business for whom he built and supported a broad client base, including private and retail banks, institutions, fund of funds and family offices across Asia Pacific, Europe, and Africa. Prior to that, he worked for 20 years in adult and professional education in Asia Pacific and southern Africa across a range of sectors, including in universities, financial services, media, aid agencies and law.

Kris Daswani is Managing Director, Head, Legal for Transaction Banking at Standard Chartered and a member of the Clients and Products Legal Management Team. She is responsible for the legal affairs for Transaction Banking which covers Cash, Trade and Digital Channels and Data Analytics. Kris’s legal career spans over 30 years across Asia Pacific where she first began her career with then, Pinsent Masons and Simmons & Simmons before going in-house. Kris has acted as the Legal and Compliance Officer for a large Hong Kong broker-dealer, followed by almost 20 years at Citi first as a Regional Counsel in Financial Markets, then was the Asia Pacific Regional Counsel in Global Transactional Services before being the Citi Hong Kong Country Legal Head. She was also the Regional Head of Asia Pacific Legal at JP Morgan’s Office of the Secretary, before joining Standard Chartered in her current capacity in 2017.



Kris is qualified solicitor in Hong Kong and England and Wales.

Liana is a Compliance Contractor at an asset management firm with over a decade of experience in the financial services industry spanning London, Singapore, New York, and Hong Kong. She has worked for Citi, Credit Suisse, Barclays and Mizuho.
Originally from New York, Liana grew up in the rich culture of the American South. Her background allowed her to experience and see diversity from different perspectives. Liana holds an MBA and was also the founder of a sweet potato product company called Here I Yam which sold products in New York City.

Marie-Anne Kong is a Partner in PwC Hong Kong’s Financial Services Division and leads the firm’s Asset and Wealth Management practice (AWM) in Hong Kong. She has over 25 years of experience working in Hong Kong and the UK.
Marie-Anne is a Qualified Accountant (ICAEW, HKICPA) and a member of a number of industry association committees namely: the Regulatory Committee of the Hong Kong Investment Funds
Association (HKIFA), Alternative Investment Management Association, Hong Kong Chapter (AIMA), Hong Kong Academy of Finance (AOF) and judging Panel member for Benchmark Fund of the Year Awards. She is a former member of the Share Registrars’ Disciplinary Committee of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), Committee on Real Estate Investment Trusts of the SFC, and various working groups of the Financial Services Development Council (FSDC).
Marie-Anne has extensive experience in advising asset and wealth management firms on operational effectiveness, best practices in areas of corporate governance and internal controls, fund start-ups, and regulatory and compliance. She serves clients across the various sub-sectors of the Asset and Wealth Management industry, including hedge funds, private equity, real estate, traditional asset managers and pension funds. She is actively involved with relevant industry associations and policymakers and is an active contributor to market developments.
In Marie-Anne’s capacity as the Asset and Wealth Management Leader in Hong Kong, she engages regularly with key industry players and policymakers to discuss industry developments, opportunities and issues, with a view to help shape the industry and create a better business environment to grow the
industry further.

Shuichi Akito is a senior structurer in Equity Derivatives Group based in Hong Kong and the lead for product development and structuring for insurance companies in Asia and delivery of complex equity solutions for Asia-ex China. Shuichi joined J.P.Morgan in 2018, and prior to this he worked for 12 years in various roles in equity and fund structuring in London and Tokyo. Shuichi has a BA in Economics and Management from the University of Oxford.



Shuichi has been active on the Leadership Team of J.P.Morgan’s PRIDE Hong Kong for 2 years and is now part of a team of senior advisors. Shuichi is out at work and has taken part in various J.P.Morgan PRIDE speaker events and mentorship programmes.

Bénédicte is the Head of the BIS Innovation Hub, Hong Kong Centre. Prior to this appointment, she was a managing director at SC Ventures, the innovation arm of Standard Chartered Bank that leads a series of new ventures across digital banking, banking as a service, SME finance and blockchain. From 2018-2019, she was the Vice President of International Government Relations at Circle, involved in the evolution of blockchain and digital assets. From 2012-2018, she was the Head of Risk & Strategy of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), and in that capacity also acting as the Vice Chair of the Committee on Emerging Risks and the Fintech research lead for the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). From 2007-2012, she was a managing director at Credit Suisse and before that from 1997-2007 she was an associate and executive director at Goldman Sachs. Originally from Belgium, she holds LL.M. and M.B.A. degrees from the University of Chicago and the University of Leuven. She is admitted to the New York Bar since 1999. In 2016, she was a recipient of the China Daily Asian Women Leadership Awards for her efforts related to entrepreneurship, innovation and charity. She remains closely engaged in these topics, most recently through her involvement in the Fintech Association of Hong Kong (FTAHK) and Women in Finance Asia (WiFA.)