Fintech on the Seas features a distinguished lineup of speakers industry pioneers, legal experts, and regulators who are shaping the global fintech and digital assets landscape through innovation, governance, and strategic insight.
Dr. The Hon. Natalio D. Wheatley, a distinguished political figure in the British Virgin Islands, currently serves as the Premier and holds multiple vital ministerial portfolios. Dr. Wheatley represents the Seventh District and is a dedicated member of the Virgin Islands Party (VIP). He was first appointed to the British Virgin Islands Parliament in 2019 as the Minister for Education, Culture, Youth Affairs, Fisheries and Agriculture and Representative for the Seventh District.
Dr. Wheatley’s educational background is marked by his 2016 Ph.D. in Languages and Cultures of Africa from the University of London. He also holds a Master of Arts in Literary Studies from Purdue University and an undergraduate degree in English from Clark Atlanta University.
In his current capacity as Premier, Dr. Wheatley simultaneously serves as the Minister of Finance, the Minister for Environment, Natural Resources, and Climate Change, the Minister for Tourism, Culture, and Sustainable Development. His diverse portfolio highlights his commitment to driving economic development, environmental sustainability, and cultural enrichment in the British Virgin Islands.
Dr. The Hon. Natalio D. Wheatley’s multifaceted background and his unwavering dedication to the betterment of the British Virgin Islands establish him as a respected and highly capable leader in the region, entrusted with multiple critical ministerial responsibilities.
Lorna Smith is a distinguished leader with decades of experience in public service, financial services, and international business development in the British Virgin Islands (BVI). She played a key role in establishing BVI Finance and has been instrumental in positioning the BVI as a leading global financial centre and premier tourism destination.
Elected to the House of Assembly in 2023, Lorna served as Deputy Premier and Minister of Financial Services, Labour and Trade. She has also held senior roles including Vice President of Bank of Asia and Director of several BVI companies.
As head of the BVI International Finance Centre, she led global promotional initiatives across major financial hubs including London, New York, Hong Kong, and Singapore. She also played a vital role in the recovery efforts following Hurricanes Irma and Maria through both government and community leadership.
Lorna was awarded the OBE by Queen Elizabeth II for her contribution to public service in the BVI and is a multiple Paul Harris Fellow for her contributions to Rotary.
Mr Glenford Malone was appointed Deputy Managing Director, Regulation in January 2022 and is responsible for implementing the Commission’s overall regulatory strategy. Mr Malone has over two decades of experience within the regulatory environment, having served many roles, such as Senior Regulator, Deputy Director, Investment Business and prior to 2002, assistant Registrar of Mutual Funds with the former Financial Services Department, now BVI Financial Services Commission. Mr Malone is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist and is a trained Financial Examiner in the FATF Methodology of Assessing Compliance with the FATF 40 Recommendations.
Professional Qualifications
Kishelle Cameron is the Deputy Director of the Specialised Supervision Unit of the Financial Services Commission. She is responsible for the oversight of high-risk licensees, and those of systemic importance in the jurisdiction. This includes all banks, systemically important TCSPs, Insurance Companies and all high-risk Investment Businesses and Virtual Asset Service Providers. Kishelle leads the Commission’s FinTech Working Group and serves as the Deputy Chair of the Risk Monitoring Committee. She is also the former Deputy Director of the Investment Business Division. In her previous capacity as the Deputy Director of the Investment Business Division, Kishelle gained significant experience in supervising high-risk financial entities and has been instrumental in shaping policies and strategies within the financial regulatory framework. Kishelle is a certified member of several prestigious institutions and has completed various specialised training programs, demonstrating her commitment to continuous learning and expertise in her field.
Professional Qualifications
James Knox is the Regional Managing Director of Aon’s Blockchain and Technology Practice, leading growth across the technology and digital asset sectors. He advises many of the world’s leading blockchain and technology companies and has supported over 100 firms with insurance strategies for IPOs on U.S. and international exchanges.
A trained attorney, James previously served as CEO of Nasdaq’s international insurance division, Carpenter Moore PLC, and as an Assistant District Attorney in New York City. He is also a recognized speaker and moderator on blockchain, digital assets, and regulatory trends across global markets.
Gbenga Omosuyi is Head of Global Business Development at Sphere Labs, a payments infrastructure company at the forefront of compliant cross-border money movement. He focuses on expanding the company’s global presence and forging partnerships that accelerate stablecoin innovation and adoption across global institutions. With over a decade of experience bridging traditional finance and crypto, Gbenga has held senior business development roles across some of the industry’s most influential companies: at BitGo, as Head of Strategic Partnerships, and at Fireblocks, as Strategic and Enterprise Business Clients Development for North America. He began his career began at Deutsche Bank, where he progressed through roles in OTC Derivatives Clearing, Prime Brokerage, and Wealth Management. Beyond his operational work, Gbenga is a Venture Partner at WAGMI Ventures, where he hosts the WAGMI Ventures Podcast. He holds an MBA from Yale University.
Kingsley Advani is Chairman of Advani Family Office and CEO of Allocations, where he oversees $2BN+ in assets. An active investor since 2013, he has completed over 200 investments including SpaceX, Anthropic, Coinbase and Robinhood. Kingsley is a prominent voice in finance and technology, appearing regularly on CNBC and featured in Bloomberg, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, The Wall Street Journal, and Yahoo Finance.
Mark Mariampillai is a Web3 entrepreneur and capital markets specialist focused on the tokenisation of real-world assets. He is the founder of Tokuti, a UAE blockchain and Web3 consultancy advising Tier-1 investment banks, hedge funds, and digital asset firms globally. Tokuti also develops platforms exploring the tokenisation of assets including private companies, real estate, commodities, music royalties & sports talent.
With over two decades of experience across financial services and emerging technologies, Mark has advised leading institutions including Credit Suisse, UBS, Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander, hedge funds such as Citadel & Gibraltar Stock Exchange. He has also worked with digital asset and blockchain companies including Valereum Plc, Damex, and DigiShares.
Combining a background in traditional finance with early experience in the music industry, Mark focuses on how blockchain infrastructure can reshape capital formation, ownership, and liquidity across global markets.
Christina R. Rolle is the Executive Director of the Securities Commission of The Bahamas, a role she has held since 2015. With more than 25 years of experience in financial services, she has led the development of major regulatory frameworks in investment funds, digital assets, securities, and carbon credit trading in The Bahamas.
Ms. Rolle holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, an LLM from the London School of Economics, and is an alumna of Harvard Business School. She also serves in leadership roles within IOSCO, where she has been elected Chair of the Inter-American Regional Committee for the 2026–2028 term.
George Alayon is the Deputy Director, Supervision (FinTech) at the Bermuda Monetary Authority, where he leads initiatives supporting the supervision of Bermuda’s fintech sector, including the regulatory sandbox and innovation hub. He also serves on the Authority’s Insurance and FinTech Assessment and Licensing Committees, overseeing licensing for InsurTech and FinTech entities.
Before joining the Authority in 2015, George held senior roles at CTC Insurance Management, Caceis (Bermuda) Limited, and Ernst & Young Philippines. He is a Certified Public Accountant in both the Philippines and Bermuda, a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter, and holds certifications in cyber risk, compliance, data analytics, blockchain, and AI.
Hao entered the digital asset space in 2013 and transitioned full-time in 2019. At OKX, he played a key role in scaling its market-making program and driving liquidity growth until 2021. With extensive experience in trading infrastructure, institutional solutions, and market dynamics, he now leads LTP’s business expansion and operations, driving innovation and ensuring scalable, compliant, and client-centric financial services tailored for institutional digital asset markets across global financial hubs.
Jack began his career as an aircraft engineer, working on cutting-edge aerospace systems that demanded the highest standards of precision and safety. Intrigued by the elegance of blockchain technology, he shifted his focus from jets to ledgers, bringing the precision engineering and rigorous risk-management principles of aerospace to the digital-asset space. As a Partner at TokenInsight, Jack established APAC’s largest crypto quant fund database and led the firm’s research and investment arm.
In 2021, he founded LTP with a vision to accelerate institutional adoption of digital assets. Today, he spearheads the creation of secure, regulated, and scalable infrastructure that seamlessly bridges traditional finance and blockchain—encompassing execution, clearing, settlement, custody, lending, and financing. Under his leadership, LTP has rapidly emerged as one of the world’s top digital-asset prime brokers.
Ethan is a financial services executive with 15 years’ experience across traditional finance and digital assets. He has led initiatives in trading infrastructure, institutional partnerships, and regulatory engagement, working with regulators in HK, SG, the US, UAE, and BVI. As CEO of LTP’s Hong Kong office, he drives APAC expansion and policy dialogue, positioning LTP as a globally regulated leader in institutional digital assets.
Amardeep Thandi, Head of Digital Assets at JTC Special Situations and based in Dubai, has over 10 years of experience across blockchain, digital assets and the web3 ecosystem. He leads the firm’s global digital asset strategy, driving the integration of blockchain and digital asset capabilities across new and established markets. Before joining JTC, he was Head of Regulation and Compliance for Chainalysis in EMEA, where he advised VASPs, regulators and financial institutions on digital asset strategy, regulatory matters and market growth. His expertise spans digital financial infrastructure, licensing, regulatory compliance, onboarding, KYC and AML/CFT frameworks, as well as launching compliant digital asset solutions using blockchain analytics for risk management. He also specialises in fraud prevention, financial crime investigations, cross-border regulatory reviews, insider trading and retrospective investigations, and is a certified ACAMS member and founding member of the Crypto Fraud and Asset Recovery Middle East Group.
Chris Buchan is a Partner in the Corporate Practice Group of Appleby’s British Virgin Islands office. He previously worked in the firm’s Cayman Islands office before relocating to the BVI.
Christopher advises on public and private M&A, capital markets, finance, investment funds, private equity, fintech, digital assets, and a broad range of corporate transactions. He has extensive experience advising clients on the laws and regulations of both the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands.
Prior to joining Appleby, Christopher practiced at leading offshore law firms in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda. He also served as Partner and Head of the Funds Group and Co-Head of the Private Equity Group at Baker McKenzie in Hong Kong.
His experience includes advising fund managers, investment funds, financial institutions, private equity sponsors, and multinational corporations on complex cross-border transactions, regulatory matters, listings, restructurings, and digital asset projects.
Sean Lawrence is a financial services executive with more than 30 years of experience across banking, brokerage, clearing, derivatives, and digital assets. He has served as CEO of regulated entities in Japan and Australia and held senior leadership positions with ABN AMRO Clearing, Société Générale, UBS, Deutsche Bank, Kaiko, and LTP. Sean has extensive experience in regulatory engagement, market infrastructure, electronic trading, risk management, and governance. He currently leads European expansion initiatives at LTP, focusing on licensing strategy, regulatory affairs, and the development of regulated digital asset businesses.
Sara Galletly is a Partner at Mourant in the Cayman Islands and a member of the firm’s global financial services and regulatory team. She advises on Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands regulatory matters, including anti-money laundering, economic substance, sanctions, data protection, virtual assets, licensing, and investment fund regulation. Sara previously practiced in investment funds, corporate law, and structured finance, and has over a decade of offshore legal experience. She also serves as Secretary and Executive Committee member of AIMA Cayman and is a Director of the IFC Forum.
Saraid is Counsel in the firm’s BVI Corporate, Investment Funds and Regulatory practice.
Saraid has significant experience advising on corporate transactions, including restructurings, mergers and acquisitions and equity capital markets, and also advises on a range of regulatory matters in connection with corporate structures, investment funds and regulated entities across various sectors.
Saraid’s experience includes advising clients on anti-money laundering, beneficial ownership, economic substance, licensing applications, virtual assets, and the establishment of investment funds and managers.
Prior to joining Mourant in 2018, Saraid practised Jersey law at another leading offshore law firm and trained at Nabarro Nathanson (now CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP) in London.
Patrick White is the CEO and Co-Founder of Bitwave, the #1 enterprise finance platform for digital assets. With a deep technical background in crypto payments, accounting, and compliance, he is a leading expert on B2B stablecoin payments and the broader enterprise adoption of blockchain technology.
Pat’s involvement in crypto goes back to its earliest days, with contributions to the Bitcoin and Ethereum codebases.
His opinions and insights have been featured in Axios, Accounting Today, Cointelegraph, Blockworks, and other top publications, where he continues to advocate for stablecoin B2B payments and the power of on-chain technologies to reshape the future of finance.
As businesses rethink payments for a digital-first world, Pat is driving innovation and real-world adoption.
LaNishka Farrington-McSweeney is a Partner and Banking & Capital Markets Sector Leader at EY, with more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry across The Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Bermuda, and the British Virgin Islands. She specializes in banking, wealth and asset management, governance, risk management, regulatory compliance, and anti-money laundering (AML). A recognized industry leader, LaNishka has advised financial institutions, regulators, and multinational organizations on AML frameworks, cross-border regulatory matters, internal controls, and operational effectiveness, while also leading regional compliance and remediation initiatives throughout the Caribbean and North America.
Amanda Wick, one of the world’s foremost experts on the intersection of cryptocurrencies, geopolitics, and digital finance, offers a distinctive perspective shaped by nearly a decade of service at the U.S. Department of Justice, where she specialized in money laundering and cryptocurrency enforcement. In her powerful new book, The Catalysts, she examines the forces accelerating a seismic shift in global finance—from digital assets and decentralized tech to political fragmentation and rising tribalism. Wick’s keynote offers essential insight into the risks and opportunities of this evolving financial landscape—and what it means for policymakers, innovators, and global markets.
David Byrd is a Partner at EY and serves as the firm’s Global Digital Asset Assurance Leader. Based in San Francisco, he specializes in audit, compliance, and assurance services for digital asset businesses, including funds, exchanges, custodians, miners, validators, and token issuers. David leads EY’s Digital Asset Research Center, helping clients navigate accounting, auditing, valuation, and regulatory considerations across the digital asset ecosystem. He regularly collaborates with regulators and industry groups worldwide to advance best practices in digital asset assurance and governance. Before joining the profession, he earned a PhD in Philosophy with a focus on Cognitive Science from the University of California, Davis, and is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in California.
Jonathan Sy is a Partner at KPMG specializing in asset management, with extensive experience advising hedge funds and alternative investment managers. He has played a key role in the firm’s pivot into digital assets, working with emerging and established crypto fund managers and digital asset businesses on financial reporting, governance and regulatory considerations. Jonathan combines his asset management background with an extensive understanding of the evolving digital asset ecosystem, and brings strong familiarity with offshore financial structures and cross-border fund operations.
Ronan Kuczaj is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of DLT Solutions, a blockchain advisory firm he established in 2021 to support digital asset and Web3 projects looking to establish operations in the Caribbean. With a background in international financial services and experience in the blockchain sector since 2018, Ronan advises entrepreneurs, investors, and innovative businesses on strategic growth and market entry. A Chartered Director with qualifications in International Relations, South East European Studies, and International Trust Management, he is recognized for his pragmatic approach, extensive regional network, and expertise in navigating the evolving digital asset landscape.
Lodewijk van Setten is Chief Risk Officer at DLT Solutions and General Counsel at Trilitech, a leading organization within the Tezos ecosystem focused on blockchain innovation and protocol development. With extensive experience across traditional finance and digital assets, he advises on financial services, blockchain products, regulatory matters, fundraising, and corporate structuring. Prior to his current roles, Lodewijk held senior legal positions with State Street and Morgan Stanley, supporting asset management, investment funds, structured products, securities financing, and cross-border transactions across Europe, the Americas, Asia, and the Middle East. He holds advanced law degrees from Utrecht University and Duke University School of Law.
Michael Killourhy is a Partner at Ogier and a leading adviser on British Virgin Islands corporate, finance, and regulatory matters. He has extensive experience advising on mergers and acquisitions, capital markets transactions, private equity investments, corporate restructurings, and financial services regulation. Michael is particularly recognized for his expertise in fintech, digital assets, Web3 businesses, and innovative financial services, and has played a significant role in supporting the development of the BVI as a leading international financial centre. He regularly advises multinational corporations, investment funds, financial institutions, and technology companies on complex cross-border transactions and regulatory issues.
David Mathews is a Partner in Harneys’ Digital Assets & Blockchain practice in the Cayman Islands. He advises clients across the blockchain and digital asset ecosystem, including token issuances, DAOs, DeFi platforms, exchanges, NFT projects, GameFi ventures, and other Web3 initiatives. Prior to joining Harneys, David was Counsel in Ogier’s BVI transactional team, where he advised leading fintech and virtual asset businesses, including regulated VASP entities and prominent blockchain projects. Recognized by Chambers FinTech and named among Citywealth’s Top 50 Fintech, TMT & AI Lawyers, David is widely regarded for his expertise in crypto, DeFi, and emerging digital asset regulation.
Laura Birrell is an Independent Director at Leeward and a recognized leader in the Cayman Islands digital asset industry. A pioneering founder, she established one of the first Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) registered under the Cayman Islands regulatory framework, helping develop regulated solutions that bridge digital and real-world assets. With a background spanning legal, compliance, and governance leadership roles, including serving as General Counsel for a FTSE 250 company, Laura brings extensive expertise in regulatory compliance, risk management, and corporate governance. She is widely respected for her practical insights into navigating the evolving digital asset and regulatory landscape.
Ayana Hull is a Partner and Head of the Regulatory & Financial Services practice at the Maples Group in the British Virgin Islands. With more than 20 years of experience in BVI commercial and regulatory law, she advises clients on investment funds, regulatory compliance, licensing, digital assets, and financial services regulation. Widely recognized as a leading regulatory lawyer, Ayana serves on several industry and government advisory bodies, including the BVI FSC’s Virtual Assets Service Providers Act Advisory Committee and the Fintech on the Seas Steering Committee. In 2026, she was awarded Gold as Caribbean Woman of the Year at the Citywealth Powerwomen Awards USA, reflecting her significant contributions to the financial services industry and public service in the Virgin Islands.
Alex Golubitsky is Chief Legal Officer at Umami Labs and a seasoned attorney specializing in cryptocurrency, DeFi, tax law, and regulatory compliance. Practicing law since 2007, he has extensive experience advising clients on complex cross-border tax and regulatory matters, with a particular focus on digital assets since 2015. Prior to joining Umami Labs, Alex served as General Counsel to a family office and natural gas futures fund management company, overseeing regulatory matters involving the SEC, CFTC, and FERC. A recognized thought leader in cryptocurrency taxation and decentralized finance, he frequently speaks and writes on the evolving legal and regulatory landscape surrounding digital assets.
Aki Corsoni-Husain is a Partner and Global Head of Regulatory & Tax at Harneys, based in London. He advises on a broad range of financial services regulatory matters, with particular expertise in digital assets, fintech, sanctions, anti-money laundering, and tax information exchange. Aki regularly counsels financial institutions, digital asset businesses, and regulatory authorities on licensing, compliance, and emerging regulatory frameworks across multiple jurisdictions. Recognized for his leadership in financial regulation and fintech, he is ranked by Chambers and has been recognized in Lexology’s Client Choice Awards for his work in corporate tax and regulatory advisory.
