Brendon Hopkins, Chief Executive Officer UK/Europe Standard Chartered Bank

Prior to this role, Brendon was Group Head of Taxation based in London where he had responsibility for the Bank’s global corporate tax affairs. Brendon is a Chartered Accountant and holds an MBA from Henley Management College.  He joined Standard Chartered Bank in January 1995, having previously held various management positions based in London. Brendon’s interests include films, literature and music.  He has an 13 year old daughter and a 6 year old son.

Brendon was appointed CEO Europe in February 2006 and has responsibility for Standard Chartered’s business comprising 1,700 staff across the European network including UK, Jersey, Turkey, Geneva and the Falklands Islands.  Brendon is a member of Standard Chartered Bank’s Executive Forum and Business Leaders

Charles Longden, Managing Director, Global Head of Credit Trading & Eco-Markets, ABN AMRO

Currently responsible for the Credit Trading and Eco-Markets businesses at ABN AMRO, Charles has been with the bank for the last 12 years, within its financial markets operation.

Credit Trading incorporates the trading of all cash and derivatives credit products in G11 currencies. Charles led the creation of ABN AMRO’s Eco-Markets group in 2006. The group helps clients to manage the financial risks and opportunities created by moves to address climate change and other environmental issues. It brings together expertise from more than a dozen specialist financial areas across the bank; from carbon trading to structured finance to asset management.

In 2002 Charles was the chief architect of iBoxx CDS Notes, the acknowledged forerunner of iTraxx CDS indices. Prior to joining ABN AMRO, Charles worked within the bond sales and trading team at Royal Bank of Scotland.

As a representative of the bank within industry groups and companies, Charles sits on a number of core committees of the International Capital Market Association, the London Investment Bankers Association and MiFID Connect.

Charles is an executive board member of Markit Group and former chairman of the International Index Company, where he remains a board member sitting on the Strategy and iTraxx Markets committees.

Jonathan Saxe, International CIO, Morgan Stanley

Jonathan Saxe is Managing Director and International CIO for Morgan Stanley. Jon is responsible for regional oversight of business application development, infrastructure engineering, and technology operations across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. He is also acting as the interim co-head of global technology.

After gaining a BS in Computer Science at Boston University and a MS in Computer Science at Stevens Institute of Technology, Jon worked at Bell Labs from 1980-1995 where he was a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff.

Jon joined Morgan Stanley in 1995 as global head of the Client Technology application group, where he managed the development of client systems for prime brokerage, portfolio managers, hedge funds, and custodians.

Jon has since worked in various roles including Application Infrastructure, E-Business Solutions, Enterprise applications, and Client Technology.

Jon moved to London in May 2004 to take up the role of EMEA CIO.

Jon’s interests outside of work include skiing, scuba diving, golf, travel and music.

James Watson, Senior Editor, Industry & Management, Economist Intelligence Unit
James Watson works on a range of bespoke research programmes, surveys and reports for the Economist Intelligence Unit’s clients covering a variety of industry and management issues. He was the author of the 2007 CEO Briefing report. Prior to joining the Economist Intelligence Unit, James spent eight years working as a journalist and editor in the UK, Singapore and South Africa. 

Jon Williams, Head of Group Sustainable Development, HSBC

Jon's twenty year HSBC career includes international roles across various Customer Groups. Prior to his current role, Jon developed and implemented HSBC's environmental risk strategy. With responsibility for the Group's initiative to develop sustainable business opportunities focussing on lending and investments related to climate change, low carbon energy, water infrastructure, forestry and microfinance, he is also now responsible for the Group's strategy to reduce its own environmental footprint by reducing its energy use, waste, water and carbon emissions. Jon sits on the UN Environment Programme-Finance Initiative Climate Change Working Group, the UN Advisory Group on Inclusive Financial Sectors and The Climate Group-Finance Leadership Group.

Francois Barrault, Chief Executive Officer, BT Global Services
Francois Barrault was appointed to the Board and became chief executive of BT Global Services on 24 April 2007. He joined BT in April 2004 as president, BT International, Global Services and was formerly corporate officer and group president of Lucent Technologies Inc.

Janet Blake, Head of Corporate & Social Responsibility, BT Global Services
Janet is responsible for setting corporate and social responsibility strategy, delivering CSR programmes and managing CSR risks and opportunities in the Global Services division of BT. BT firmly believes that central to its role as a business is a serious commitment to CSR. This role covers a wide range of activities including ensuring ethical standards are met across BT’s business and supply chain, maximising employee motivation, valuing diversity, protecting human rights, reducing any negative impacts on the environment as well as a commitment to the communities in which the company operates through community and charity activities.

Ben Burgess, Director, BT Global Financial Services
Ben Burgess is Sales Director for Global Financial Markets within BT Finance Industry Solutions where he’s responsible for all aspects of BT’s relationship with the global banks, investment banks and information providers. His remit is truly global and it covers all the major trading centres from New York, through to Tokyo . The business that he has built establishes BT at the forefront of global convergence and is recognised both externally in the markets and internally as a target market to succeed in.

Prior to this role, Ben was well known across the retail finance community as a result of concluding many large and innovative solutions across a broad spectrum of clients. Over the previous three years Ben headed up the UK Banking Sector where he was responsible for Lloyds TSB, HSBC, Barclays and HBOS, Alliance & Leicester,  Bradford & Bingley and a number of building societies.  These customers are key clients and have largely defined BT’s market position within the Retail Finance business community.