John Taylor Professor of International Finance and Trade Law at Queen Mary University of London
John Taylor Professor of International Finance and Trade Law at Queen Mary University of London John Taylor is Professor of International Finance and Trade Law at the Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London and a consultant on international law, finance and corporate governance. His cross-border corporate and finance experience, over 50 years, is exceptionally diverse. He has practiced in leading law firms in Australia, the UK and the USA and held senior international management roles in law and finance in banks, a private equity firm and a global fund manager. At various times during his career, he has held increasingly responsible legal and banking positions in the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, where he was a former General Counsel. He has law degrees from the University of Adelaide, Australia, and from Harvard Law School (Frank Knox Fellow, 1968-69) and has published widely on international finance and several other legal topics.
Mark Bowman Vice President, Policy and Partnerships at EBRD
Mark Bowman Vice President, Policy and Partnerships at EBRD Mark Bowman is the Vice President for Policy and Partnerships at EBRD. Prior to joining EBRD, he was Director General, International Finance at HM Treasury with responsibility for advancing the UK’s economic and financial interests internationally. He led HM Treasury’s work with foreign finance ministries, central banks and international institutions; and was the UK’s Finance Deputy at the G7 and G20. Mark was also a member of the Treasury’s Executive Management Board.
Heike Harmgart Managing Director for the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) region of EBRD
Heike Harmgart Managing Director for the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) region of EBRD Heike Harmgart is the Managing Director for the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) region at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
Samallie Kiyingi General Counsel at African Export-Import Bank
Samallie Kiyingi General Counsel at African Export-Import Bank Samallie Kiyingi is a Director and the General Counsel at the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank). Afreximbank is a multilateral development finance institution devoted to financing and promoting intra and extra African trade. As the chief legal advisor to Afreximbank, Samallie oversees the structuring, negotiation and documentation of the Bank’s transactions which cover various sectors including trade finance, project finance, corporate finance and capital markets. Prior to her current appointment, Ms. Kiyingi held a number of senior positions including, Director and Head of the Securitisation Regulatory Policy and Advisory Group at Deutsche Bank in London, Senior Associate at Clifford Chance in London and was a member of the UK government’s Emerging Capital Markets Taskforce.
Michel Nussbaumer Director of Legal Transition Programme at EBRD
Michel Nussbaumer Director of Legal Transition Programme at EBRD Before becoming Director of the Legal Transition Programme, which is the EBRD’s initiative to help its countries of operations upgrade their legal framework for business, Michel worked for almost three years as counsel in the banking operations section. There he was responsible for legal aspects of various investments of the Bank, with a particular focus on SME financing.
Christina Pak Principal Counsel at Asian Development Bank
Christina Pak Principal Counsel at Asian Development Bank Christina Pak specializes in international development finance, law and policy reform, dispute resolution and ESG standards and drives thought leadership on sustainable development issues. She is currently a Principal Counsel of the Asian Development Bank and leads the Office of General Counsel's Law and Policy Reform Program which designs and implements legal and judicial reform technical assistance projects across the Asia and the Pacific region. Christina oversees a diverse portfolio in the areas of environmental protection and climate change, gender equity, private sector development, public-private partnerships and digital economy. She also serves as ADB’s Accountability Mechanism Policy Counsel advising the Board of Directors, the Office of the Compliance Review Panel and the Office of the Special Project Facilitator. In her previous role as a project counsel at ADB, Christina worked on complex multi-sector projects across the Central West, Southeast and East Asia regions. She is a Steering Committee Member of the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. Christina is a US-qualified lawyer, admitted in the States of New York and New Jersey.
Gerard Sanders Senior Adviser to the President and General Counsel Emeritus at Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
Gerard Sanders Senior Adviser to the President and General Counsel Emeritus at Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Mr. Sanders is Senior Adviser to the President and General Counsel Emeritus of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, an international financial institution headquartered in Beijing. He earlier served as General Counsel of the AIIB. Previously he was General Counsel at the International Fund for Agricultural Development, a specialized agency of the United Nations, working at its headquarters in Rome. Prior to that, Mr. Sanders held various positions at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development working in its principal office in London, most recently as Deputy General Counsel. Earlier in his career, Mr. Sanders worked for law firms in Wellington, Washington, D.C. and Amsterdam and in a corporate legal role in London. Mr. Sanders graduated with degrees in law and commerce from the University of Otago, New Zealand, and has post-graduate law degrees from Victoria University of Wellington and Harvard Law School.
