On Thursday, September 25, the Georgetown Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy hosted global experts and financial leaders at the annual Financial Markets Quality (FMQ) Conference on the Georgetown University campus.
This year’s conference theme was: Technology and Transformation in Financial Markets. Policymakers, industry professionals, and scholars convened to discuss today’s pressing financial issues. From regulatory trends to technological advancements, FMQ 2025 offered unparalleled opportunities to network, collaborate, and gain actionable knowledge as panels focused on evolving markets and technology, artificial intelligence in financial services, financial market regulation, and cryptocurrency.
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Agenda
Thursday, September 25, 2025
8:00 – 9:00 a.m.
Registration, Breakfast, and Networking
9:00 - 9:10 a.m.
Welcome
Michael Psaros (B’89, P’21), Board Member, PCFMP and Co-founder and Managing Partner, KPS Capital Partners
Reena Aggarwal, Director, Georgetown Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy and Robert E. McDonough Professor of Finance
9:10 - 10:00 a.m.
Panel Discussion: Innovating through Cryptocurrency
Stuart Alderoty, Chief Legal Officer, Ripple
Samara Cohen, Global Head of Market Development, BlackRock
Dan Gallagher (C'94), Chief Legal, Compliance, and Corporate Affairs Officer; Robinhood
David LaValle (C'99), President, CoinDesk Index and Data
Bo Li, Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
Moderated by Stacey Cunningham, Former President, NYSE Group and Board Member, PCFMP
10:00 - 10:30 a.m.
A Conversation with Michelle Bowman, Vice Chair for Supervision, Federal Reserve Board of Governors
Michelle Bowman, Vice Chair for Supervision, Federal Reserve Board of Governors
Moderated by Professor Reena Aggarwal
10:30 - 10:45 a.m.
Break
10:45 - 11:30 a.m.
Digital Assets: A Conversation with Psaros Distinguished Fellows Rostin Behnam (C'00) and Patrick McHenry
Rostin Behnam (C'00), Psaros Distinguished Fellow
Patrick McHenry, Psaros Distinguished Fellow
Moderated by Michael Piwowar (MBA'94), Executive Vice President, The Milken Institute Center for Financial Markets and Board Member, PCFMP
11:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Panel Discussion: Evolving Markets and Technology
Tal Cohen, President, Nasdaq
Lynne Fitzpatrick, President and Chief Financial Officer, CME Group
Billy Hult, Chief Executive Officer, Tradeweb Markets
Frank La Salla, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director; Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation
Nandini Sukumar, Chief Executive Officer, World Federation of Exchanges
Moderated by Tim Seymour (B’88), Fast Money Contributor, CNBC
12:15 - 1:25 p.m.
Lunch
1:25 - 2:15 p.m.
A Conversation with David Solomon, Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Goldman Sachs
David Solomon, Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Goldman Sachs
Moderated by Professor Reena Aggarwal
2:15 - 3:00 p.m.
Panel Discussion: AI and Finance
Mike de Vere, Chief Executive Officer, Zest AI
Teresa Heitsenrether, Chief Data and Analytics Officer, JPMorganChase
Daniel Marcu, Global Head of AI Engineering and Science, Goldman Sachs
Liam Smith, Chief Strategy Officer, Optiver
Moderated by Emily Wilkins, Washington Correspondent, CNBC
3:00 - 3:30 p.m.
A Conversation with David Schwimmer, Chief Executive Officer, LSEG
David Schwimmer, Chief Executive Officer, LSEG
Moderated by Liz Hoffman, Business and Finance Editor, Semafor
3:30 - 3:45 p.m.
Break
3:45 - 4:30 p.m.
Risk and Uncertainty: A Conversation with Psaros Distinguished Fellow Lael Brainard
Lael Brainard, Psaros Distinguished Fellow
Moderated by Nick Timiraos (C’06), Chief Economics Correspondent, The Wall Street Journal
4:30 - 5:00 p.m.
A Conversation with Paul Atkins, Chairman, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Paul Atkins, Chairman, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
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.
Rostin Behnam served as the chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission 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 rule-writing 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.
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.
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.
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.
Prior to his role at LSEG, Schwimmer spent 20 years at Goldman Sachs in a number of senior roles, 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.
Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer, 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, David 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.
David 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.
Alderoty brings more than 30 years of legal experience to the role 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. Alderoty also was managing counsel at American Express where he served on the leadership team of the President and CEO of American Express’ Consumer Card Business. Alderoty began his career in private practice and was a partner with the international law firm of LeBouef, Lamb, Greene and MacRae where he specialized in complex litigation.
Cohen is a member of the firm’s Global Executive
Committee. She works with stakeholders across the capital markets ecosystem, including
investors, academics, market makers, trading venues, and service providers. In
partnership with Global Corporate Affairs, Global Product Solutions, BlackRock Global
Markets & Index Investments, and Digital Assets, she is focused on advancing market
structure priorities on behalf of investors.
Prior to joining Nasdaq in April 2016 as the senior vice president of North American equities, Cohen was the chief executive officer of Chi‐X Global Holdings, LLC from 2010 to 2016. From 2008 to 2010, he served as CEO of Chi‐X Americas.
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. His experiences converge to show his capacity to lead organizations in translating data into insights that enable the betterment of consumers’ lives.
Since joining the company in 2006, she has held positions of increasing responsibility, including serving as senior managing director and deputy chief financial officer and as managing director of Corporate Development and Treasurer.
Chief Legal, Compliance and Corporate Affairs Officer, Robinhood
Prior to joining Robinhood, Gallagher was Partner and Deputy Chair of the Securities Department at WilmerHale. He served as a Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from 2011 to 2015, and held several other positions on the SEC staff prior to being appointed commissioner.
Heitsenrether has been with JPMorganChase throughout her career. Prior to her current role, Heitsenrether was the Global Head of Securities Services from 2015 to 2023. With $30 trillion in client assets under custody, Securities Services is a leading provider of safekeeping, accounting, administration, middle office, collateral management, and data solutions to institutional investment managers, pension funds and governments. Under her leadership, the business increased revenue by more than 22%, grew assets under custody by nearly $9 trillion and more than doubled assets under administration. The business won some of the largest client mandates ever awarded in the industry and launched Fusion, a data platform designed to help institutional investors better manage and leverage data in a scalable, efficient way.
He became CEO in 2023 and previously served as the company’s president since 2008.
Hult has played a pivotal role in Tradeweb’s evolution as a leading global operator of electronic marketplaces for rates, credit, equities and money markets. He has led the development of numerous innovations connecting liquidity providers and investors across retail, wholesale and institutional markets.
Frank joined DTCC in June 2022 following a 28-year career at BNY, where he held several senior-level positions, including most recently as CEO of its Issuer Services business and a member of the BNY Executive Committee, the senior-most leadership committee at the firm. Earlier in his tenure, he served as CEO of BNY’s Alternative Investment Services and Structured Products business and was a member of the Executive Committee of Pershing LLC, where he was Co-Head of Global Client Relationships and Head of Trading Services. Frank also served as President and Chief Operating Officer of BNY Clearing Services LLC.
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.
Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Before joining the IMF, 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, where he played an important role in the reform of state-owned banks, the drafting of China’s anti-money-laundering law, the internationalization of the renminbi, and the establishment of China’s macroprudential policy framework. Li holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University and an M.A. from Boston University, both in economics, as well as a J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School. He received his undergraduate education from Renmin University of China in Beijing.
Global Head of AI Engineering and Science, Goldman Sachs
Prior to joining the firm, Daniel worked at Amazon, where he spent eight years and most recently served as vice president of Web and Knowledge Services in Alexa Information and then Amazon Artificial General Intelligence. Before that, he spent more than 20 years at the Information Sciences Institute and University of Southern California, where he served as director of Strategic Initiatives. Earlier in his career, Daniel served as chief science officer of SDL plc, and chief technology and operations officer and chief executive officer of Language Weaver Inc, a machine translation company that he co-founded.
Chief Executive Officer, World Federation of Exchanges
Nandini Sukumar is the chief executive officer of the World Federation of Exchanges, the global association for exchanges and CCPs. The WFE represents more than 250 exchanges and clearing houses globally, educating stakeholders on the vital role played by market infrastructures in the real economy and as a standard setter, finding the consensus on issues among the global membership.
Liam Smith started his career in the derivatives industry over 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 US & UK. In this role, he has a mandate to lead market structure initiatives, business development, regulatory affairs, external partnerships, clearing, strategic investments, and execution services for US markets. Additionally, he is the chair of Optiver’s political action committee (PAC) and has co-authored a number of influential white papers on market structure issues across futures and securities markets.
Founding Director and Robert E. McDonough Professor of Finance
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. Dr. Aggarwal has had tremendous
impact at the intersection of financial markets and policy both through her research and also by leading the Georgetown Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy. She has won numerous awards both for her teaching and research.
Stacey Cunningham has more than 25 years of experience at leading financial markets institutions including the New York Stock Exchange, Intercontinental Exchange, Bank of America, and Nasdaq. As president of the New York Stock Exchange, Cunningham oversaw the world's largest exchange, home to 2300 of the world's most influential and most innovative companies, and was a member of the Intercontinental Exchange executive management team.
Liz Hoffman is Semafor’s business and finance editor. She joined from The Wall Street Journal, where she spent nine years covering M&A, investment banking, and the world of big money. She’s the author of “Crash Landing: The Inside Story of How the World’s Biggest Companies Survived an Economy on the Brink,” a book about the pandemic’s economic toll.
Executive Vice President, The Milken Institute Center for Financial Markets and Commissioner, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (former)
Michael S. Piwowar, PhD, is the executive vice president of finance. Piwowar served as a commissioner at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from August 15, 2013, to July 6, 2018. He was first appointed to the SEC by President Barack Obama and was designated acting chair of the commission by President Donald Trump from January 23, 2017, to May 4, 2017. He was previously the Republican chief economist for the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and served as the lead Republican economist on the four SEC-related titles of the Dodd-Frank Act and the JOBS Act.
Tim Seymour is the founder and Chief Investment Officer of Seymour Asset Management (SAM). SAM provides both asset management and wealth management services for its clients. Seymour is Sub-Advisor, Portfolio Manager of the Amplify International Enhanced Dividend ETF ticker: IDVO, Seymour is also a Sub-Advisor/Portfolio Manager of the Amplify Seymour Cannabis ETF ticker: $CNBS.
Chief Economics Correspondent, The Wall Street Journal
Nick Timiraos is chief economics correspondent for The Wall Street Journal and is based in Washington. He is responsible for covering the Federal Reserve and other major developments in U.S. economic policy.
Emily Wilkins is a CNBC correspondent for the network’s Washington, D.C. bureau, covering Congress, key regulatory issues, and policies that impact American businesses and the economy.
Watch
the highlights
watch the session
Keynote Address
A Conversation with David Solomon, Chair and CEO, Goldman Sachs
watch the session
Panel Discussion
A discussion on innovating through cryptocurrency
watch the session
Keynote Address
A Conversation with Michelle Bowman, Vice Chair for Supervision, Federal Reserve Board
watch the session
Keynote Address
A Conversation with Psaros Distinguished Fellows Rostin Behnam (C'00) and Patrick McHenry
watch the session
Panel Discussion
A discussion on evolving markets and technology
watch the session
Panel Discussion
A discussion on artificial intelligence and finance
watch the session
Keynote Address
A Conversation with David Schwimmer, Chief Executive Officer, LSEG
watch the session
Keynote Address
A Conversation with Psaros Distinguished Fellow Lael Brainard
watch the session
Keynote Address
A Conversation with Paul Atkins, Chairman, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
