Mark Gem has been with Clearstream for over 20 years and a board member since 2007, focusing on network management, primary markets activity and compliance. He was responsible for Clearstream’s T2S strategy. He currently chairs Clearstream’s Risk Committee, amongst many other things oversaw the post-Brexit organisation of Clearstream’s UK business and Clearstream’s overall response to the COVID-19 crisis and to the war in Ukraine. He represents Luxembourg on the board of SWIFT. He has been on the board of ECSDA since 2002 and served as Vice-Chairman under Joël Mérère until 2013. In May 2024, Mark was re-elected ECSDA Chair.

Mark has a first class degree from Oxford University in Modern History.

Anna is Secretary General of the European Central Securities Depositories Association (ECSDA).

She is a lawyer by background and holds a Master in European law and a multidisciplinary Master in Law and Economics and is also trained in managing strategic projects by the University of Oxford Saïd Business School.

Anna combines an extensive post-trade knowledge with the policy-making experience. She started her career at the general secretariat of one of the political parties at the European Parliament. Then having worked in the Business Transformation and Service Excellence department of an ICSD as well as for their group in Strategy and Government Relations. She is leading the European CSD industry association since 2017.

Bernard Frenay is the CEO of European Markets at Euroclear, where he leads initiatives to integrate financial markets and infrastructures across Europe.

His mission is to modernise and enhance client offerings within Euroclear’s Central Securities Depositories, supporting Europe’s position as a global financial powerhouse and advancing its ambition for a Savings and Investment Union.

Before taking on his current role in 2024, Bernard served as Chief Financial Officer from 2015 and was previously the Managing Director and Head of Finance for the Euroclear Group.

He joined Euroclear in 2009 after serving as Deputy Chief Financial Officer at BNP Paribas Fortis

Samuel Riley is a member of the Executive Board and CEO of Clearstream Holding AG, Clearstream Securities Services. Sam joined Clearstream in 2019 and became Head of Investor Services & Financing in 2020. Previously, he had a long-standing career at Citigroup, where he most recently served as Global Head of Custody Operations. His earlier responsibilities there included leading the EMEA Service Centres & Shared Services organisation and being an Executive Board Member of Citigroup Global Markets Deutschland AG. Samuel Riley holds a degree in Business Management from Wolverhampton University.

Philip Brown is CEO of Clearstream Banking S.A., a member of the Executive Board of Clearstream Holding AG, and Head of Global RM, Sales & Client Services at Clearstream. Prior to this he has occupied roles as CEO of Clearstream Holding AG and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Clearstream Banking S.A. He moved to his position as Co-CEO from the London office in 2008, where he was General Manager and headed Client Relations for the United Kingdom, Ireland, Nordics, and the Americas. He joined the company in July 2005 after twelve years in the custody and clearing business, in a variety of front office sales and relationship management positions. Prior to joining Clearstream, he spent 7 years at The Bank of New York, latterly as Managing Director and Head of European Sales, 2 years at Morgan Stanley International and 7 years at Barclays PLC. He holds a degree in Banking, Insurance and Finance from University College North Wales, Bangor.

Rafael Moral Santiago has been Head Securities Services and a member of the Executive Board of SIX since June 2025. Before joining SIX, he held different leadership positions at HSBC in Hong Kong and London from 2015 until 2024. In his most recent role, he served as Global Head of Country Management Securities Services for HSBC, leading the regional strategy and coordination of the bank’s securities services business across more than thirty markets.

Prior positions included Head of Securities Services for Europe, as well as for Asia Pacific & MENA. From 2002 until 2015 Rafael Moral Santiago worked at Deutsche Bank in various management roles in Germany, the USA and Singapore, most recently as Global Head of Investor Services responsible for Custody, Clearing, Fund Services, and Securities Lending.

Before joining Deutsche Bank, he gained business leadership experience as the CFO and executive board member at 100world (now Senacor Technologies), following a position as strategy consultant at McKinsey & Co. A Spanish citizen, Rafael Moral Santiago graduated from the HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management and attended INSEAD’s MBA and International Executive Programmes. He is also ISSA Board Member.

Edwin De Pauw is Managing Director and Group Head of Compliance and Public Affairs at Euroclear. Edwin’s teams work to ensure Euroclear is viewed as a reliable financial market infrastructure by developing sustainable relationships with regulators and enabling the company to meet its compliance requirements.

As Head of Public Affairs, Edwin engages with national and European policymakers and industry bodies regarding regulatory evolutions, business topics, and geopolitical events that affect Euroclear, its clients, people, and the broader capital markets.

As Head of Compliance, Edwin oversees the management of Compliance and Ethics across the Euroclear Group entities. He fosters a culture of compliance and ethics and has developed a robust compliance framework, ensuring Euroclear conducts business ethically, in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and Euroclear’s rules and values.

Edwin previously led the Data Services and Innovation division, where he spearheaded initiatives to leverage emerging technologies and data to enhance market efficiency, transparency, and liquidity.

Edwin joined Euroclear in 1995, and held senior positions within Euroclear’s Product Management Core Custody and Settlement team, Euroclear Bank’s Fixed Income Product Management and New Issues department and Euroclear group’s audit department.

Attila Toth is working for EBRD as Principal in the Capital & Financial Market Development Team since 2018. He is specialized in equity capital market and capital market infrastructure development where he built up a 20-year experience. He started his career at the Hungarian Debt Management Agency in 1997 and joined the Budapest Stock Exchange in late 1999. During his 16-year career at the BSE he was responsible for business and product development, trading and post-trading. Between 2008 and 2016 he was the Deputy CEO of the stock exchange responsible for issuer and trading member relations, product development, trading and business strategy. He was chairman of the Supervisory Board and also the member of the Board of Directors of the Central Depository and Clearing House of Hungary. He took part in international capital market development projects and spent years in the corporate finance and private equity industry specialised for SMEs before joining the EBRD.

Attila is highly devoted to the improvement of financial literacy. He was the Chief Secretary of the Foundation for Financial Self-Awareness, an institution founded by the Budapest Stock Exchange and later the member of the Board of the Money Compass Foundation of the National Bank of Hungary. Attila Toth has a Master Degree in Finance from the Budapest Corvinus University and has a EFFAS/ACIIA International Programme of Investment Analysis Diploma.

Indars Ascuks is the CEO of Nasdaq CSD and Board member of ECSDA. Indars has over 20 years’ experience working for Financial Market Infrastructures and has been responsible for implementing Nasdaq’s strategic initiatives in the Baltics and Nordic countries.

Indars has been leading the merger of the Baltic and Iceland’s CSDs into a single Nasdaq CSD and has led the integration process of market operators in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania into the international groups of exchanges, including OMX and Nasdaq.

Indars has actively worked in NGOs, such as AmCham Latvia, Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance, as well as was chairing Latvian Securities Market Association. He has been chairing multiple Boards.

Verena Ross is the Chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). She took up the role on 1 November 2021 and is responsible for representing the Authority as well as preparing the work of and chairing its Board of Supervisors and Management Board.
Between 2011 and 2021 Verena Ross served as ESMA’s first Executive Director, when she was responsible for building up the organisation and overseeing its day to day running.
Prior to this, Verena held a number of senior posts in the UK’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) and was a member of the FSA’s Executive Committee. Verena joined the FSA in 1998 to run the Executive Chairman’s office during the regulator’s start-up phase and was briefly a seconded advisor to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission in 2000. She held various positions in the FSA’s Markets Division and was Director of Strategy & Risk Division before becoming Director of the International Division.
Verena is a German national. Following studies in Sinology and Economics in Hamburg, Taipei and London (SOAS) she began her career at the Bank of England in 1994, where she worked as an economist and banking supervisor.

Dimitri Pattyn is Deputy Director General of Market Infrastructure and Payments at the European Central Bank. Prior to that, he was Head of the Market Infrastructure Development Division in the same directorate, where he was responsible for developing new and maintaining the existing Eurosystem services in the area of market infrastructures. Formerly, Dimitri worked for Euroclear, where he was acting as programme manager responsible for the internal and market readiness of the three ESES CSDs for the migration to Target2-Securities.

Mireille has over 25 years’ experience in the financial services industry covering the entire value chain from asset management to post-trade. She began her career at ING in Brussels, before expanding her international perspective with Brown Brothers Harriman in the United States. Since 2007, she has held pivotal roles at Euroclear, most notably leading the Asset Servicing Product Team, where she drove innovation and operational excellence. In 2023, Mireille transitioned to Euroclear’s Public Affairs team, leveraging her deep business acumen to bridge the gap between industry operations and regulatory developments. Beyond her professional achievements, Mireille is a dedicated advocate for inclusion and diversity.

Mireille holds a degree in Business Administration from Louvain-La-Neuve and completed advanced studies in Intercultural Management at ICHEC, Brussels.