Thursday, September 25, 2025
Rafik B. Hariri Building, Georgetown University
Welcome
Dear Colleagues and Guests,
It is my distinct pleasure to welcome you to this year’s Financial Markets Quality Conference, hosted by the Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.
I would like to recognize the transformational gift from Michael (B’89, P’21) and Robin (P’21) Psaros that has allowed us to establish the Georgetown Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy. We are truly grateful to the Psaros family. The Psaros Center has become the preeminent destination for unbiased expertise at the intersection of finance and policy through our influential thought leadership and programming. Our work is shaped by and contributes to timely activities in global finance at an important time.
The Psaros Center routinely engages with business leaders and government officials to impact policy and practice. We have recently appointed three new distinguished fellows, hosted an event with the Speaker of the House, published whitepapers, and held our third annual FinPolicy Trek to introduce students to key financial leaders and policymakers. I encourage you to connect with us on social media to stay updated on our programming throughout the year.
Today, with the support of our many sponsors and participants, especially BlackRock, CME Group, Evercore, Invesco, LSEG, Optiver, Paul Weiss, Ripple, and Tradeweb Markets, the Psaros Center is once again bringing together policymakers, regulators, global leaders from the private sector, and scholars to address technology and transformation in today’s financial markets.
Again, welcome to Georgetown McDonough. I hope you find the conference insightful and engaging.
Reena Aggarwal Director, Georgetown Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy
Robert E. McDonough Professor of Finance
AGENDA OVERVIEW
AGENDA OVERVIEW
AGENDA
Michael Psaros (B’89, P’21)
Co-founder and Managing Partner, KPS Capital Partners
Michael Psaros is a co-founder and managing partner of KPS Capital Partners, LP, and a member of its Investment Committee and Management Committee. He received a BSBA in finance from Georgetown University and attended Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan.
Psaros served on the Board of Directors of Georgetown University. He currently serves as vice chair of the McDonough School of Business’ Board of Advisors and on the Advisory Board of Georgetown’s Endowment. Psaros received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Honorus Causa, from Georgetown University on May 17, 2025, where he was the commencement speaker at the McDonough School of Business graduation ceremony. The Psaros Family named and endowed the Georgetown Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy in 2022.
Reena Aggarwal
Director, Georgetown Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy and Robert E. McDonough Professor of Finance, Georgetown University McDonough School of Business
Reena Aggarwal is a globally renowned expert in the field of finance, with a focus on global financial markets, market regulation, short-term funding markets, IPOs, capital raising, ETFs, corporate governance, role of institutional investors, and digital assets. Aggarwal has had tremendous impact at the intersection of financial markets and policy both through her research and leading the Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy. She has won numerous awards both for her teaching and research.
AGENDA
Panel Discussion: Innovating Through Cryptocurrency 9:10 - 10 a.m.
Moderated
by
Stacey Cunningham, Former President, NYSE Group
Stuart Alderoty
Chief Legal Officer, Ripple
Stuart Alderoty is the chief legal officer at Ripple, overseeing the legal, compliance, and regulation departments. Alderoty brings more than 30 years of legal experience with expertise in financial services and regulatory affairs. He’s been general counsel and part of the executive leadership teams at CIT Group and HSBC North America Holdings. He began his career in private practice and was a partner at a law firm.
Samara Cohen
Global Head of Market Development, BlackRock
Samara Cohen, senior managing director, is global head of market development for BlackRock where she helps to shape the evolution of market structure to support investor access and product innovation. She earned a B.S. in finance from the Wharton School and a B.A. in theatre arts from the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Pennsylvania. She earned an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Dan Gallagher (C’94)
Chief Legal, Compliance, and Corporate Affairs Officer; Robinhood Dan Gallagher is chief legal, compliance, and corporate affairs officer of Robinhood Markets. Gallagher was partner and deputy chair of the Securities Department at WilmerHale and served as a commissioner of the U.S. SEC from 2011 to 2015. He serves on several advisory boards and holds a J.D. from The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, and a B.A. from Georgetown University.
David LaValle (C’99)
President, CoinDesk Index & Data
David LaValle is president of CoinDesk Index & Data, a portfolio company of Bullish Group, a leading institutional digital asset trading platform. LaValle has over two decades of experience across both traditional financial services and digital assets, with a track record of leadership in executive roles and business expansion. His expertise spans information services and the exchange-traded product ecosystem, including trading, indexing, data, regulation, distribution, capital markets, and exchanges.
Bo Li
Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
Bo Li assumed the role of deputy managing director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on August 23, 2021. He is responsible for the IMF’s work on about 90 countries as well as on a wide range of policy issues. Li worked for many years at the People’s Bank of China, most recently as deputy governor. He earlier headed the Monetary Policy, Monetary Policy II, and Legal and Regulation Departments.
AGENDA
A Conversation with Michelle Bowman, Vice Chair for Supervision, Federal Reserve Board of Governors
Moderated by Professor Reena Aggarwal
Michelle Bowman
Vice Chair for Supervision, Federal Reserve Board of Governors
Michelle W. Bowman took office as the vice chair for supervision of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on June 9, 2025, for a four-year term. Bowman has served as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System since taking office on November 26, 2018, to fill an unexpired term ending January 31, 2020. She was reappointed to the Board on January 23, 2020, and sworn in on January 30, 2020, for a term ending January 31, 2034.
Prior to her appointment to the Board, Bowman served as the state bank commissioner of Kansas from January 2017 to November 2018. She also served as vice president of Farmers & Drovers Bank in Kansas from 2010 to 2017.
In addition to her experience in the banking industry, Bowman worked in Washington, D.C., for Senator Bob Dole of Kansas from 1995 to 1996 and served as a counsel to the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight between 1997 and 2002. In 2002, Bowman became director of congressional and intergovernmental affairs at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. From 2003 to 2004, she served as deputy assistant secretary and policy advisor to Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge.
Following her time in Washington, D.C., Bowman led a government and public affairs consultancy based in London before returning to Kansas in 2010.
Bowman received a B.S. in advertising and journalism from the University of Kansas and a J.D. from the Washburn University School of Law. She is a member of the New York Bar.
AGENDA
Digital Assets: A Conversation with Psaros Distinguished Fellows Rostin Behnam (C’00) and Patrick McHenry
10:45 - 11:30 a.m.
Moderated by Michael Piwowar (MBA’94), Executive Vice President, The Milken Institute Center for Financial Markets
Rostin Behnam (C’00)
Distinguished Fellow, Psaros Center
Rostin Behnam served as the chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) after serving as both acting chairman and a commissioner from 2017 through 2025. As chairman of the agency, Commissioner Behnam focused on transitioning the CFTC from the rulewriting era that dominated the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act to an agency that moves in lockstep within its mandate to address the issues presented by the rapidly evolving derivatives markets. With technology as a predominant driver of change, he has worked to implement rules and dedicate resources to enhance risk management and resilience, strengthen customer protections, promote efficiency and innovation, improve reporting and data policy, and promote international comity. Behnam received his B.A. from Georgetown University and worked as a proprietary equities trader before pursuing a juris doctorate at Syracuse University.
Patrick McHenry
Distinguished Fellow, Psaros Center
Patrick McHenry served 10 terms in the U.S. House of Representatives as the congressman for North Carolina’s 10th Congressional District. McHenry was a member of the House Financial Services Committee, including serving as its lead Republican member and chairman from 2018 to 2024. McHenry drove a robust legislative agenda focused on cryptocurrency, capital formation, artificial intelligence, fintech, data privacy, and corporate governance issues, among other topics. In addition to guiding the House Financial Services Committee, McHenry led the House of Representatives in October 2023, serving as the first-ever speaker pro tempore. During that time, McHenry worked to preserve the powers of the speakership while driving House Republicans toward consensus on a new speaker. McHenry also served as one of House Republicans’ lead negotiators in the spring of 2023 as they worked with the Biden Administration to pass the Fiscal Responsibility Act—a legislative package that achieved historic spending cuts and an increase in the debt ceiling, avoiding a catastrophic default. McHenry is a graduate of Belmont Abbey College.
AGENDA
Panel Discussion: Evolving Markets and Technology 11:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Moderated by Timothy Seymour (B’88), Fast Money Contributor, CNBC
Tal Cohen
President, Nasdaq
Tal Cohen is president of Nasdaq, leading their Market Services and Financial Technology divisions. In this capacity, he is responsible for Nasdaq’s North American and European markets as well as the company’s portfolio of marketplace technology, surveillance, risk management, and regulatory reporting solutions.
Lynne Fitzpatrick
President and Chief Financial Officer, CME Group
Lynne Fitzpatrick has served as CME Group’s president and chief financial officer since November 2024. Since joining the company in 2006, she has held positions of increasing responsibility, including senior managing director and deputy chief financial officer and as managing director of corporate development and treasurer.
Billy Hult
Chief Executive Officer, Tradeweb Markets
Billy Hult is chief executive officer of Tradeweb Markets, where he also serves on the company’s Board of Directors. He became CEO in 2023 and previously served as the company’s president since 2008. He joined Tradeweb in 2000 from Société Générale. Hult received a B.A. from Denison University.
Frank La Salla
President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director; Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation
Frank La Salla is president, CEO, and director of Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC). La Salla joined DTCC in June 2022 following a 28-year career at BNY, where he held several senior-level positions. He earned a B.S. in economics from The City University of New York, a MBA in finance from Wagner College, and a M.A. in theology from Fordham University.
Nandini Sukumar
Chief Executive Officer, World Federation of Exchanges
Nandini Sukumar is the chief executive officer of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), the global association for exchanges and CCPs. The WFE represents more than 250 exchanges and clearing houses globally. Sukumar is vice chair of IOSCO’s Affiliate Members Consultative Committee and chair of the AMCC’s Sustainability Taskforce.
AGENDA
Lunch 12:15 - 1:25 p.m.
A Conversation with David Solomon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Goldman Sachs 1:25 - 2:15 p.m.
Introductions by Robert Groves and Tim O’Neill
Robert Groves
Interim President, Georgetown University
Robert M. Groves serves as Interim President at Georgetown University. Dr. Groves held the position of executive vice president and provost from 2012 through 2024. He is also the Gerard J. Campbell, S.J. Professor in the Math and Statistics Department as well as the Sociology Department at Georgetown University. Groves is a social statistician who studies the impact of social cognitive and behavioral influences on the quality of statistical information.
Tim O’Neill
Former Co-Chief Executive Officer and Co-Head of Investment Management, Goldman Sachs
Tim O’Neill retired from Goldman Sachs in 2023. During his 38 years at Goldman, O’Neill held many senior roles. From 2020, he was senior counselor in the Executive Office and from 2008 to 2020, he served as co-head of the Investment Management Division, where he helped oversee the firm’s asset management and private wealth management franchises.
Moderated by Professor Reena Aggarwal
David Solomon
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Goldman Sachs
David Solomon is chairman of the Board of Directors and chief executive officer of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. Previously, he was president and chief operating officer and prior to that, he served as co-head of the Investment Banking Division from 2006 to 2016. Before that, Solomon was global head of the Financing Group, which includes all capital markets and derivative products for the firm’s corporate clients. He joined Goldman Sachs as a partner in 1999.
Solomon is chairman of the Board of Trustees of Hamilton College and serves on the board of The Robin Hood Foundation. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of New York-Presbyterian Hospital and the Paley Center for Media.
AGENDA
Moderated by Emily Wilkins, Washington Correspondent, CNBC
Mike de Vere
Chief Executive Officer, Zest AI
3 p.m.
As chief executive officer at Zest AI, Mike de Vere has made it the company’s mission to leverage AI in consumer credit underwriting. In his 30 years experience prior to Zest AI, de Vere focused on amplifying the voice of consumers to governments and businesses through organizations like Nielsen, Harris Poll, and JD Power. de Vere received his MBA from the University of Southern California and B.S. in business administration from California State University, Northridge.
Teresa Heitsenrether
Chief Data and Analytics Officer, JPMorganChase
Teresa Heitsenrether is the chief data and analytics officer and a member of JPMorganChase’s Operating Committee. Leading the Data and Analytics organization, she is responsible for setting data and analytics strategy and governance standards, as well as driving firm wide adoption of artificial intelligence to develop new products, enhance productivity, and improve risk management. Heitsenrether has been with JPMorganChase throughout her career.
Daniel Marcu
Global Head of AI Engineering and Science, Goldman Sachs
Liam Smith started his career in the derivatives industry more than 16 years ago with CME Group. Today, he serves as the chief strategy officer for Optiver, a leading global market making and CME self-clearing firm, overseeing the strategic direction of the firm in the U.S. and UK. Additionally, he is the chair of Optiver’s political action committee and has co-authored a number of influential white papers on market structure issues across futures and securities markets. Panel Discussion:
Daniel Marcu is the global head of AI Engineering and Science at Goldman Sachs. He joined the firm as a partner in 2025. Prior to joining the firm, Marcu worked at Amazon, where he most recently served as vice president of web and knowledge services in Alexa Information and then Amazon Artificial General Intelligence. Marcu earned a B.S. from Technical University of Cluj, Romania, an M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Toronto, and an Executive MBA from UCLA.
Liam Smith
Chief Strategy Officer, Optiver US
AGENDA
Moderated by Liz Hoffman, Business and Finance Editor, Semafor
David Schwimmer
Chief Executive Officer, LSEG
David Schwimmer is CEO of LSEG and a member of the Board of LSEG plc.
Since joining the Group in 2018, Schwimmer has overseen the transformation of LSEG from a European regional exchange group to a diversified, global leader in financial markets infrastructure and data services. Before his role at LSEG, Schwimmer spent 20 years at Goldman Sachs in various senior positions, most recently as Global Head of Market Structure and Global Head of Metals & Mining. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, he practiced law at Davis Polk & Wardwell.
Schwimmer earned a B.A. from Yale University, and postgraduate degrees in law (JD) and international affairs (MALD) from Harvard University and The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, respectively.
He serves on the Boards of the Center for a New American Security and the American Ditchley Foundation and is a Senior Adviser to Chatham House and a member of the Principals Group for the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero.
AGENDA
Risk and Uncertainty: A Conversation with Psaros
Distinguished Fellow Lael Brainard 3:45 - 4:30 p.m.
Moderated by Nick Timiraos (C’06), Chief Economics Correspondent, The Wall Street Journal
Lael Brainard
Distinguished
Fellow, Psaros Center
Lael Brainard is an internationally recognized policymaker and economist who formerly served as director of the White House National Economic Council. Previously, she was the vice chair and member of the Federal Reserve Board and under secretary of the U.S. Department of Treasury, where she received the Alexander Hamilton Award.
Brainard has also served as chair of the Standing Committee on Assessment of Vulnerabilities of the International Financial Stability Board and as G7 sherpa for the United States. In these roles, she helped resolve several major financial crises in ways that protected American families and small businesses, while restoring financial stability and growth. Brainard has extensive senior leadership experience in macro, fiscal, and monetary policymaking, as well as in payments, global financial negotiations, investment policy on semiconductors, AI, and energy.
Brainard was an associate professor of applied economics at MIT Sloan School of Management. She received her doctorate in economics at Harvard University. She was a National Science Fellow and was also awarded a White House Fellowship.
AGENDA
A Conversation with Paul Atkins, Chairman, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission 4:30 - 5 p.m.
Moderated by Professor Reena Aggarwal
Paul Atkins
Chairman, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Paul Atkins was sworn into office as the 34th chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 21, 2025, after being nominated by President Donald Trump on January 20, 2025, and confirmed by the United States Senate on April 9, 2025.
Prior to returning to the SEC, Chairman Atkins was most recently chief executive of Patomak Global Partners, a company he founded in 2009. Chairman Atkins helped lead efforts to develop best practices for the digital asset sector. He served as an independent director and non-executive chairman of the board of BATS Global Markets, Inc. from 2012 to 2015.
Chairman Atkins was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as a commissioner of the SEC from 2002 to 2008. During his tenure, he advocated for transparency, consistency, and the use of cost-benefit analysis at the agency. Chairman Atkins also represented the SEC at meetings of the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets and the U.S.-EU Transatlantic Economic Council. From 2009 to 2010, he was appointed a member of the Congressional Oversight Panel for the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
Before serving as an SEC commissioner, Atkins was a consultant on securities and investment management industry matters. From 1990 to 1994, he served on the staff of two chairmen of the SEC: Richard C. Breeden and Arthur Levitt, as chief of staff and counselor, respectively. He received the SEC’s 1992 Law and Policy Award for work regarding corporate governance matters.
A member of the New York and Florida bars, Chairman Atkins received his J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law in 1983 and was senior student writing editor of the Vanderbilt Law Review. He received his A.B., Phi Beta Kappa, from Wofford College in 1980.
The Georgetown Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy is the preeminent destination for unbiased expertise at the intersection of finance and policy. The Psaros Center provides thought leadership and actively contributes to shaping global finance. Located in Washington, D.C., we connect policymakers, industry leaders, and scholars through solutions-driven platforms.
Housed at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, the Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy serves as an impartial, academic-based research center. The Psaros Center integrates practice with policy: facilitating a forum for solutions-oriented discussion, conducting relevant and original research on key global market issues, and engaging students interested in the nexus of finance and policy. Collectively, our efforts impact policy and practice by informing current industry professionals, the next generation of finance and policy leaders, and the world, to create meaningful change.
