DFSA – HKMA Joint Climate Finance Conference

Mark Steward

Chief Executive, Dubai Financial Services Authority

Mark Steward was appointed Chief Executive of the Dubai Financial Services Authority in May 2025.

Mr Steward served as the Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight at the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) from 2015. He was also the Chair of the FCA's Market Policy Committee, and from December 2021, he was Executive Director of the FCA's International Division. Prior to joining the FCA, Mr Steward served at the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) as an Executive Director with responsibility for the Enforcement Division.

Before joining the SFC, Mr Steward held several senior positions with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and was most recently Deputy Executive Director, Enforcement at ASIC.

Formerly, Mr Steward was Chair of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions’ (IOSCO) Multi-lateral Memorandum of Understanding Monitoring Group.

Darryl Chan

Deputy Chief Executive, Hong Kong Monetary Authority

Mr Darryl Chan was appointed as Deputy Chief Executive from 1 November 2022 at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), and is responsible for overseeing the work of External, Monetary Management and Research departments.

Mr Chan joined the HKMA as Executive Director (Corporate Services) in February 2013 and took up the post of Executive Director (External) in August 2019.

Before joining the HKMA, Mr Chan was an Administrative Officer in the Hong Kong SAR Government and had worked in different policy bureaux and departments on policy formulation and administration

Luying Gan

Managing Director, Head of Sustainable Finance, Greater China and North Asia (GCNA), Standard Chartered Bank

Luying is Managing Director, Head of Sustainable Finance for Greater China and North Asia at Standard Chartered Bank. Luying is a highly experienced professional in Sustainable Finance, specializing in driving Net-Zero transitions and translating market standards and regulatory frameworks into actionable client solutions.

Prior to joining Standard Chartered Bank, Luying served as the Head of Sustainable DCM Asia-Pacific at HSBC in Hong Kong. Before her tenure in Hong Kong, she spent many years in London, where she was at the forefront of Sustainable Financing and working with public and private entities across various jurisdictions. Luying has led numerous landmark transactions, including Sustainable bonds for the Hong Kong SAR and the Republic of Indonesia. Earlier in her career, she worked at Morgan Stanley and EY in London, where she was responsible for structured product valuation.

Luying holds a Master's degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Bachelor's degree from Zhongshan University. She has been a CFA charterholder since 2011 and a Chartered Accountant since 2009.

Vijay Bains

Chief Sustainability Officer Group Head ESG, Emirates NBD

Vijay leads the Sustainability strategy and implementation across the Emirates NBD Group. Vijay is responsible for the Sustainable & Transition Finance Strategy & Implementation for the Emirates NBD Group, as well as implementation of ESG programmes.

Vijay has worked in Sustainability for 20 years across Banking for the European Bank of Reconstruction & Development, Lloyds Banking Group, as well as working in consulting for KPMG UK in Sustainable Finance ESG Strategy.

Vijay is a member of the UAE Banking Federation Sustainability Leadership Council, DIFC Sustainable Finance Council, ADGM Sustainable Finance

Leadership Council, World Economic Forum of Sustainability Leaders and member of S&P Sustainability Leadership Council.

Vijay is a Chartered Environmental Scientist and is a Member of the Royal Geographical Society.

Georgina Lok

Head (Market Development), Hong Kong Monetary Authority

Georgina Lok is the Head (Market Development) of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), responsible for formulating and implementing various initiatives to promote the development of Hong Kong's financial sector. Since joining the HKMA, Georgina has taken up responsibilities in different areas, including corporate development as well as international and regional cooperation. From 2017-2020, she was seconded to the International Monetary Fund, where she served as an Advisor to the Executive Director for China.

Cliff Zhang

CEO and Founding Partner, Templewater

Mr. Cliff Zhang is the CEO and Founding Partner of Templewater, a leading alternative asset manager headquartered in Hong Kong. He also serves as the Chairman of Wisdom Motor (a leading zeroemission commercial vehicle technology company from China), Tamarind Health (Asia’s largest oncology healthcare group) and KA Group (a global leader in providing high-performance, end-toend solutions across the semiconductor testing and assembly value chain). He is also a member of the Hong Kong Tourism Board.

Prior to founding Templewater, he was the Senior Vice President at one of the largest family offices in Asia, focusing on private equity transactions, global mergers and acquisitions, and corporate development, deploying over US$5 billion of capital during his five years with the firm. Prior to that, he was with HSBC and Deutsche Bank investment banking division in Hong Kong. He has extensive experience in private equity, corporate finance and international capital markets.

Cliff holds a Master of Engineering Science degree from Harvard University, and a Bachelor of Applied Sciences degree from the University of Waterloo.

Carlin Naidoo

Group Vice President Sustainability, DP World

Carlin Naidoo is a Group Vice President within Group Sustainability at DP World. At DP World, he leads the Group’s work on ESG Reporting, Ratings and Disclosures. More recently, he has played a lead role in developing the Group’s Sustainable Finance Framework and supporting the issuance of the Group’s inaugural Green Sukuk, and Blue Private Placement. He has recently been appointed as a member of the IFRS Sustainability Reference Group (SRG).

Carlin has over 17 years of experience working in strategy development and execution for leading banks in South Africa, Kenya and Qatar. During his time in Qatar, he supported the bank to become one of the highest rated financial institutions, from a sustainability perspective, in the region. Prior to entering the Financial Services sector, Carlin worked as a Strategy Consultant supporting several leading private and public sector companies in South Africa. He has a BSc in Engineering in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Cape Town and an MBA from IE Business School in Spain.

Paul Chow

Group General Counsel and Group Chief Sustainability Officer, HKEX

Based in Hong Kong, he heads up the Group’s Legal & Secretariat functions, overseeing the Legal and Secretarial Services teams globally.  He also provides strategic legal counsel to the HKEX Board and Senior Management team. In addition, Mr Chow oversees the Sustainability function at HKEX, encompassing the Corporate Responsibility & Foundation team and the Carbon & ESG Product team. In this role, he is responsible for driving the Group's sustainability strategies that align with HKEX’s purpose and long-term goals.

Prior to joining HKEX in 2021, Mr Chow worked at Cathay Pacific Airways where he was Group General Counsel and Company Secretary. Before working in-house, he was a partner at Davis Polk Wardwell LLP, Linklaters and Slaughter and May, bringing broad experience from both private practice and as in-house counsel, along with specific expertise in corporate finance and capital markets. Outside of HKEX, he is a member of the Supervisory Committee of Tracker Fund of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong SAR Government’s Standing Committee on Company Law Reform, Funds Management Sub- Committee of the Hong Kong Housing Authority, Resolvability Review Tribunal, Standing Committee on Compliance of the Law Society of Hong Kong and Green Technology and Finance Development Committee.

Mr Chow holds a Bachelor of Laws from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Master of Science in Global Business from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Michael Fitzgerald

Finance Director, MTR Corporation Limited

Mr Fitzgerald joined the Company in September 2023.

Mr Fitzgerald is responsible for the financial management of the Company’s affairs, including financial planning and control, budgeting, accounting and reporting, and corporate finance. He also leads the treasury and investor relations functions of the Company.

Mr Fitzgerald has extensive corporate finance and investment banking experience. He started his career at KPMG in London in 1995 and worked for Société Générale from 1999 to 2014, holding various posts in London, Hong Kong and Paris. After he left Société Générale, Mr Fitzgerald joined the Orient Overseas (International) Limited (“OOIL”) group as the Group Finance Director and was later appointed as the Deputy Chief Financial Officer and a member of the Compliance Committee of OOIL. He was also a director and a member of the Executive Committee of Orient Overseas Container Line Limited, the main operating company of the OOIL group.

Mr Fitzgerald is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and a member of its Hong Kong Committee.

Liu Hua

General Manager, ICBC Dubai, DIFC Branch

Mr. Liu joined ICBC Group in 2001 and has over 20 years of experience in the banking industry. From 2012 to 2018, Mr. Liu held the position of Deputy Director at ICBC Argentina. From 2018 to 2021, he served as Deputy General Manager of the Channel Management Department at ICBC Head Office. He was appointed as Vice President of ICBC Anhui Branch from February 2021 until his relocation to Dubai.

Mr. Liu was awarded a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Foreign Trade and a Master’s degree in Business Administration, both from Beijing Jiaotong University, China.

Jameson McLennan

Sustainable Finance Research Associate, BloombergNEF

Jameson McLennan is a Sustainable Finance Research Associate at BloombergNEF, a leading research provider on the energy transition. His research primarily focuses on sustainable debt markets and sustainable finance policy, analyzing how these markets can direct capital to sustainable solutions.

Recent work includes publications on green premiums in the labeled bond market, the development of the transition finance market, and bank sustainable finance targets.

Jameson was also the lead contributor to the DFSA-HKMA joint research on the role of sustainable debt in scaling up climate finance in emerging markets.

Francois Tilly

Global Head of Official Institutions, Euroclear

François Tilly, is leading our Official Institutions Group in the Commercial Division and he’s the Chief Representative of our DIFC Office. He is responsible for businesses within Governments, central banks, multilateral development banks and sovereign funds.

He joined Euroclear in 2014 and is based in Dubai. Prior to joining Euroclear, Francois worked with Markit, a global provider of financial information services, heading their new business in the Middle East.

Francois has over 19 years experience in the financial markets. He spent the early part of his career at Thomson Reuters in Paris and London, moving on to Fitch Solutions, a leading financial information service provider. Francois holds a Bachelor's degree in Finance from ESC Bordeaux & HEC Montreal (2003).

Eric Salomons

Executive Vice President, Head of Product Development, Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and Nasdaq Dubai

Eric leads product and market development initiatives for DFM, further expanding the diversification of asset classes. Eric has worked in derivatives and securities market for more than 25 years across Europe and the UAE. Previously, he held commercial and regulatory leadership roles in the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) Executive Committee and its Markets Division, was a member of the IOSCO Committee for Secondary Markets and Commodity Derivatives. He started the first decade of his career as a derivatives market maker for Amsterdam Option Traders (now Saxo Bank).

Ussrah Hussain

Director, Digital, Data & Innovation, MSS MENA, HSBC

Ussrah leads Digital, Data and Innovation for Securities Services in the MENA region. She brings over 18 years of experience across a diverse background in change management, audit, risk, and accounting. Along with her expertise in traditional banking functions she has shifted to digital innovation, with a focus on digital assets, data solutions and client connectivity tools.

As part of the global product team, Ussrah helps drive product design and delivery for several global, cross - business projects. This includes collaboration with clients, FMIs, Fintech, and other large financial institutions to leverage the full potential of emerging technologies.

A trusted partner to clients and regulators, frequent speaker at industry events; Ussrah is passionate about the evolving digital asset eco system and is recognized for her forward-thinking approach to innovation and adoption.

Danielle Bistacchi

Sustainability Director, Middle East at Emperor

Danielle is a sustainability expert with over 15 years of experience specialising in ESG strategy development, supply chain management, and sustainability reporting.

With a Master's in Environment, Policy, and Globalisation from King's College London, she has advised multinational clients across sectors on enhancing sustainability disclosure, transparency, and regulatory compliance. Her extensive in-house experience at a FTSE 100 property developer provided deep insights into managing complex ESG challenges, stakeholder engagement, and navigating evolving regulatory frameworks in capital-intensive industries.