Speakers

Farzana Badat

Deputy Commissioner, Financial Sector Conduct Authority

Farzana was appointed Deputy Commissioner of the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), the dedicated market conduct and market integrity regulator for South Africa's financial system, by the Minister of Finance on 1 December 2021. She is part of the Executive Committee responsible for the overall policy direction, strategic oversight and operational management of the FSCA. She Chairs the FSCA's Strategic Management Committee and is responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of harmonised licensing and supervisory risk frameworks across financial institutions including financial conglomerates, banks and payment providers, investment providers and asset managers, life and non-life insurers and insurance groups, micro- and access product providers, crypto asset service providers and financial advisors and intermediaries, as well as overseeing the FSCA's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing unit and General Counsel's Office.

She is Co-Chair of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors’ (IAIS) Standards and Supervisory Practices Committee, with a particular focus on global standard setting, supervisory capacity building and implementation support for Emerging Markets and Developing Economies. She also sits on the Executive Committee of the IAIS and the Governing Council of the International Financial Consumer Protection Network (FinCoNet). Farzana graduated summa cum laude with a Law degree from the University of Natal-Durban in South Africa, holds a Master of Laws degree in International Law from the University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor, USA, and completed her Master of Laws coursework in Human Rights and Constitutional Litigation, Internet, E-commerce and Technology Law and Bioethics at the University of KwaZulu Natal in South Africa. She has also completed the Senior Executive Program Africa (SEPA) aimed at designing effective leadership and competitive corporate strategies to drive regional and international growth for African and other emerging markets, at Harvard Business School in Boston, USA.

Francine Chew

Head of Corporate Impact, The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America

Francine Chew is Head of Corporate Impact at The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian). She is responsible for leading and evolving Guardian's community engagement groups, strategic philanthropy, and environmental initiatives. In her role, Francine partners with business and workstream leaders to coordinate and integrate Guardian's many enterprise-wide efforts to do good and create value for colleagues, customers, communities and the planet. 

Prior to Guardian, Francine worked in investment banking roles at Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch, and was the founding Program Officer of the 10,000 Small Businesses initiative at Goldman Sachs.

Francine earned a BA in Economics from Yale College, where she was a 4-year varsity rower. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and was a Fulbright Scholar in Ecuador. Francine has twin sons, and chairs the Board of Row New York, a sports-based youth development program committed to diversifying rowing. She is also the Executive Sponsor of Guardian’s Black Equity Inclusion Network, or BeIN.

Brenda J. Cude

Professor Emerita, University of Georgia

Brenda J. Cude is Professor Emerita in the Department of Financial Planning, Housing and Consumer Economics at the University of Georgia. She earned a Ph.D. in Consumer Economics at Purdue University. Dr. Cude has served as a funded consumer representative to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners since 1994 and on the Board of Directors for the Consumer Participation Program since 1996. A specific area of expertise is consumer communication through websites, disclosures, and information/education targeted to consumers. She was a member of the Federal Advisory Committee on Insurance from 2014-2016.

Dr. Cude’s primary research interests are in consumer decision-making, with an emphasis in personal financial literacy. She has published more than 200 papers, many in academic journals. Dr. Cude is a member of several academic journal editorial boards.

Seána Cunningham

Director of Insurance, Central Bank of Ireland

Seána Cunningham is the Director of Insurance in the Central Bank of Ireland (Central Bank) since January 2025. 

As Director of Insurance, Seána is responsible for overseeing the supervision of over 170 life, non-life and reinsurance firms. She also serves as a member of the Board of Supervisors (BoS) of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA)as well as the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) ExCo Member.

Seána joined the Central Bank in 2011, having previously practised as a solicitor in Ireland and England.  She has held a number of different roles in the Central Bank, most recently as Director of Enforcement and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) from 2018 to 2024. 

Conor Donaldson

Head of Implementation and Assessment, IAIS

Conor Donaldson has been working on implementation and internal operations for the IAIS since 2012. During this time, he was instrumental in the development of the IAIS’ comprehensive strategy for implementation, built strategic relationships with implementation partners and members from emerging markets and developing economy jurisdictions and launched a number of initiatives specifically aimed at strengthening understanding and observance of the IAIS’ supervisory material. 

From 2021-2023, Conor was based in Singapore where he was the CEO of the Global Asia Insurance Partnership (GAIP), an innovative multistakeholder partnership between Asia’s supervisory community, the global insurance sector and academia, focused on new, emerging and accelerating risks. At GAIP, Conor led the organisation from concept to execution, developing the multi-year strategy, funding model, workplan, budget and leading recruitment of the full team. 

Judith L. French

Director, Ohio Department of Insurance

Judith L. French has served as the Director of the Ohio Department of Insurance since 2021. 

The Ohio Department of Insurance regulates the state’s insurance market, which is one of the largest in the United States. The business of insurance is one of the major drivers of the state economy, with Ohio insurers writing more than $145 billion in premiums annually and employing more than 132,000 Ohioans. 

Director French is the current co-chair of Standards and Supervisory Practices Committee of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors. She previously held leadership roles at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, chairing the Life Insurance and Annuities Committee and co-chairing the Risk-Based Capital Model Governance Task Force. For her work at the NAIC she received the 2025 Raymond G. Farmer award for exceptional leadership. 

With over three decades of public service, Director French has held various roles, including justice on the Supreme Court of Ohio, appellate judge, and chief legal counsel to the governor. As an assistant attorney general, she argued two cases before the United States Supreme Court. 

Director French is committed to protecting consumers, supporting product innovation, and fostering a competitive insurance marketplace.

Petra Hielkema

Chairperson, European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority

Petra is the Chairperson of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) and has been leading the Authority since September 2021, following her appointment by the European Council on 27 May 2021 after confirmation by the European Parliament on 18 May 2021. As Chairperson of EIOPA Petra is member of the Joint Committee, the DORA Oversight Forum and the ESRB Steering Committee and General Board.

Petra was appointed Vice Chair of the IAIS Executive Committee in December 2024. Besides that, she is the Champion of the IAIS Fintech Forum.

Prior to this role Petra was Division Director of Insurance Supervision at De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB, the Dutch Central Bank) as well as Alternate Member of the EIOPA Board and Chair of the EIOPA Policy Committee. Petra joined DNB in February 2007 as a policy advisor, contributing to the development of Solvency II. In 2013 she became Head Insurance Policy and in 2015 she was appointed as Head of the DNB Expert Centre for Fit & Proper assessments. In February 2017 Petra started as Director of Payments and Market. Prior to joining the Dutch Central Bank fulfilled several roles working in Central Asia.

Petra has a European Masters in Law & Economics and a Masters in Russian Studies. She is married and proud mother of three children.

Laurel Kastrup

Principal, KPMG

Laurel leads the KPMG Health Actuarial team with over 30 years of experience in Health and Life insurance, with roles in both consulting and corporate environments. She also has 24 years of experience in Audit and served as the Actuarial Lead Partner on several audits.

She leads the team with extensive expertise in traditional actuarial functions such as actuarial opinions and valuation, financial management and forecasting, financial planning and analysis, mergers and acquisitions, provider reimbursement analysis, trend and capitation analysis, product development, and health insurance pricing. 

Most recently, she has partnered with healthcare clients to assist with using analytics along with retrospective and prospective insights to make informed business decisions and drive accountability, value-based care modeling, and affordability of care evaluation and monitoring.

Laurel previously served on the American Academy of Actuaries board and the Intercompany Long Term Care Insurance Conference board.

Toshiyuki Miyoshi

Vice Minister for International Affairs, Financial Services Agency of Japan

MIYOSHI Toshiyuki is Vice Minister for International Affairs at the Financial Services Agency (FSA) of Japan. He plays leading roles in various international fora. He serves as the Chair of the Executive Committee of the IAIS and is a member of the FSB Plenary and the IOSCO Board. He has also served as Chair of the IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board and Vice Chair of the Corporate Governance Committee of the OECD.

Toshiyuki was Vice Commissioner for International Affairs from July 2023 to July 2025. He was a member of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and an alternate member of the FSB’s Standing Committee on Supervisory and Regulatory Cooperation. From June 2022 to July 2023, Toshiyuki was Deputy Director-General of the Supervision Bureau and worked on supervision of Japan’s major banks and insurance companies as well as branches and subsidiaries of foreign banks and insurance companies in Japan. He also led the work on financial sector issues at the G20 and G7 from July 2020 to July 2024.

Guillermo Pedro Plate

Superintendent, Superintendency of Insurance of Argentina

Dr. Guillermo P. Plate has served as Argentina’s National Superintendent of Insurance since January 2024. In 2025, he was appointed President of ASSAL, the association that brings together insurance supervisors from 19 Latin American countries. He is also a member of the Advisory Committee of A2ii, a World Bank initiative led through CGAP.

Dr. Plate has a strong background in the financial and insurance sectors, having served as Deputy Superintendent of the SSN (2017–2019), Vice President of Provincia ART, and held executive positions at the Royal Bank of Canada and TMF Group. He holds a law degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina (UCA), a Master’s in Corporate Law from Universidad Austral, and an LL.M. in International and Comparative Law from Duke University (USA). He completed the International Regulators’ Programme at Lloyd’s and was selected as an International Fellow by the NAIC (USA).

Siham Ramli

Director of Communication and International Relations, ACAPS

Ms. Siham RAMLI joined the Supervisory Authority of Insurance and Social Welfare (ACAPS) in February 2016 as Advisor to the Chairman of the Authority, and from October 2016, she was appointed Director of Communication and International Relations. In this role, Ms. Siham RAMLI represents ACAPS in international and regional insurance regulatory bodies, such as the Arab Union of Insurance Supervisors (AUIS), The French-speaking insurance supervisors Group and the Organization of African Insurance Supervisory Authorities (OAISA), etc. Ms. Siham RAMLI is also a member of IAIS Executive Committee representing the MENA Region and Audit and Risk Committee. In December 2024, she was re-elected as IAIS Executive Committee Vice Chair for EMDEs. 

Prior to joining ACAPS, Ms. Siham RAMLI held several senior positions in her professional career, namely as a senior advisor to the Minister of Economy and Finance (2007-2012) and as a strategic advisor in a financial group (2012-2016). Ms. Siham RAMLI holds a Master’s degree from the Institut Supérieur de Commerce et d’Administration des Entreprises - ISCAE, Morocco - (2010). She is also a graduate of the Institut Supérieur de l’Information et dela Communication with a higher diploma in journalism and communication (2007).

Deb Schultz

Vice President - Chief Risk Officer, Northwestern Mutual

Deb A. Schultz is Vice President – Chief Risk Officer (CRO) of Northwestern Mutual. Schultz is responsible for enterprise risk management oversight and is also a member of Northwestern Mutual’s Finance Leadership team.  Schultz held other roles within the Company during her tenure. She was formerly Vice President – New Business and the head of the New Business Department, Vice President – Financial Management and the head of the Financial Management Department, and she served as a Senior Actuary within the Actuarial Department.  Before joining Northwestern Mutual, Schultz was a consulting actuary with Towers Perrin. 

Schultz received her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with majors in Actuarial Science and Risk Management & Insurance from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and her Master of Business Administration degree from Northwestern University. She is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, a Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries, an Enrolled Actuary under ERISA, and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

Sophie Sirtaine

Global Director, World Bank Group

Sophie is the World Bank Group Global Director for Financial Services where she is responsible for financial resilience and integrity, capital market development, financial inclusion, and disaster risk finance. 

Sophie is also the CEO of CGAP, an international partnership, housed in the World Bank Group, dedicated to promoting inclusive financial ecosystems that enable a green, resilient, and equitable world for all.   

Sophie has dedicated her professional career to the development of inclusive and sustainable financial ecosystems around the world, with more than twenty years of experience at the World Bank, where she has held different positions, including Director of Strategy and Operations at the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) of the World Bank and Director for the Caribbean region. Previously, Sophie worked as an expert in financial sector development and stability in Europe, Latin America, and Asia. Among others, she led various Financial Sector Assessment Programs (FSAPs) in various countries in Europe, Central Asia, and Latin America, and she was the Manager who led the World Bank's response to banking crises in various countries of the European Union during the global financial crisis of 2008-2011. 

Prior to joining the World Bank, Sophie worked in JP Morgan's Financial Institutions (FIG) team on Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) in Europe, and for Halcrow Fox and Associates' Infrastructure team. Sophie holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the London School of Economics (LSE). 

Craig Swan

Chief Executive Officer, Bermuda Monetary Authority

As Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Craig Swan has overall responsibility for all supervisory and operational activities conducted by the BMA, as well as serving as an Executive Director on the BMA’s Board of Directors.

Mr. Swan joined the Authority in 2006, and has held various positions in the Insurance Supervision, Policy & International Affairs and Risk Departments and, most recently, served as Deputy CEO.

Prior to joining the Authority, Mr. Swan worked as Controller and later Controller & Vice President, Strategic Information Services for Arthur J. Gallagher Bermuda from 2000 to 2006. 

Craig Thorburn

Senior Expert, Global Asia Insurance Partnership

After more than 20 years with the World Bank as Lead Insurance Specialist, Craig Thorburn now is continuing his research and consulting with policymakers on insurance market development, policy, regulation and supervision. He has been engaged with the Global Asia Insurance Partnership since its inception focusing on highlighting the benefits of and the need to reduce protection gaps. GAIP policy papers, seminars, and regional engagement has put the dialogue in the region at the forefront of thought leadership in this area. Key to his work is to find ways to make more and better progress toward resilience, sustainability, and security for households, communities and countries throughout Asia and beyond.

At the World Bank, he provided technical assistance, published research, and managed projects that enhanced insurance market development, policy, regulation and supervisory capacity across a global footprint and across all regulatory issues. His work included leading the Bank’s engagement with the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) over this period leading many collaborative developments especially supporting technical papers, standards development, assessment, and inclusion.

Prior to joining the Bank, Craig was Australian Government Actuary then Chief of Life Insurance Supervision from 1996 to 2002. During this period, he also served as chair of the IAIS Committee on Solvency.

Scott A. White

NAIC President and Commissioner, Virginia Bureau of Insurance

Scott A. White was appointed Commissioner of Insurance of the Virginia State Corporation Commission’s Bureau of Insurance in 2018. He was elected NAIC President in December 2025. 

White joined the Bureau as a research analyst in 1998. From 1999 until 2011, he worked as an attorney advising the Bureau on all major insurance regulatory and compliance matters. In 2011 he became head of the Commission’s financial services legal division, expanding his practice areas to include securities and banking. 

White has chaired the Financial Condition (E) Committee, the Long-Term Care Insurance (EX) Task Force, and the Southeast Zone. He currently serves as Vice Chair of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) Executive Committee and previously served on the IAIS Macroprudential Committee and Insurance Capital Standard Task Force. 

White received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia and a law degree from the University of Missouri. He and his wife, Jodi, have two grown daughters.