Programme

After a 10-year academic career, Dr Paul Fisher was a senior figure at the Bank of England for 26 years, retiring at the end of July 2016. He was a member of the Monetary Policy Committee, the interim Financial Policy Committee and the PRA Board. During the Great Financial Crisis he worked in the Markets Area of the Bank, from March 2009 as Executive Director responsible, amongst other things, for the Bank’s programme of asset purchases for quantitative easing. In June 2014 he was appointed Deputy Head of the Prudential Regulation Authority. Previously, from 2002, he ran the Bank’s Foreign Exchange Division where he had a constructive relationship with the LBMA and developed a working knowledge of the bullion market.

Since leaving the Bank he has been working on Climate Change and Sustainability in the financial sector, including for the EC. He has also been writing on matters of financial stability, policy co-ordination and governance, competition policy, supervision and regulation. Among a range of outside positions he is a Non-Executive Director at the UK Debt Management Office; Senior Associate at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership; Senior Research Fellow at the DAFM centre, King’s College Business School; and he is a Visiting Professor in Economics and Finance at Richmond University, the American International University in London.

John was appointed Chairman of the LPPM in February 2022. He has served on the Management Committee for the previous three years. He is also Commercial Director of Johnson Matthey’s PGMS business. He has worked in the industry for many years and has held a variety of senior commercial roles in JM including spending several years managing their Precious Metals Management business, which included the Trading, Sales and Market Research functions.

Ruth was appointed Chief Executive of the LBMA in January 2014. She is responsible for the success and strategic development of the LBMA, in partnership with the Chairman and the Board. She is also responsible for maintaining accountability to and the quality of, the Association's Membership and Good Delivery Refiners as well as representing the interests of the Association in relation to regulators, investors, media and international precious metals markets.

Before being appointed Chief Executive, she spent seven years working in the Association, initially as Commercial Director and then as Deputy Chief Executive, where she acted as the main lead on Governmental Affairs. She was also responsible for the Association's work on supply chain due diligence, with particular regard to the creation and implementation of the LBMA’s Responsible Gold Guidance. She has represented the Association at industry, governmental and multi-stakeholder regulatory forums. She continues to serve as Vice Chair of the OECD Multi-Stakeholder Governance Group for Responsible Minerals. As Commercial Director, she oversaw the development of the LBMA Conference, the LBMA's quarterly publication the Alchemist and the LBMA website.

Prior to joining the LBMA, she worked in bank finance and US corporate law at the law firms of White & Case and Norton Rose, and also acted as a monitor at the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva. She has an MSc in History of International Relations from the London School of Economics and a degree in English Literature from Kenyon College in Ohio.

Rhod Sharp estimates that he conducted more than 7500 hours of interviews in over 25 years as presenter on the national BBC news and sport station Radio 5 Live. Up All Night, the show he devised, had around one million listeners on AM and FM stations in the UK, more when streamed internationally. Recipient of several Sony radio awards, the programme was once described by the Washington Post as “probably the best night time radio show in the world.”

In 2007, inspired by 24-hour international trading desks and advances in affordable high quality audio transmission, he and his wife bought a home in Massachusetts and established a studio from which he broadcast remotely to the UK in the night time hours for the next 13 years.

Educated at the universities of Aberdeen and Princeton, has served for the last ten years as president of Aberdeen’s US charitable arm, the University of Aberdeen Foundation, Inc.

Gideon Rose is adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). Previously, he was editor of Foreign Affairs from 2010 to 2021, prior to which he was managing editor from 2000 to 2010. He has also served as associate director for Near East and South Asian affairs on the staff of the National Security Council and deputy director of national security studies at CFR, and has taught American foreign policy at Princeton and Columbia. He is the author of How Wars End (Simon & Schuster, October 2010).

Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles is a Senior Adviser at HSBC Holdings, having retired from full-time employment with the firm on 31 December 2023 after 10 years, initially as Senior Adviser to the Group Chairman and Group Chief Executive, and for the past eight years as Head of the Group’s Public and Government Affairs functions. He chaired HSBC’s bank in Oman, and sat on the board of HSBC Egypt

Sherard is Chair of the China-Britain Business Council, and previously chaired both the Saudi British Joint Business Council, the Saudi-British Society and the Omani British Business Council.

Before HSBC Sherard worked for two and a half years as International Business Development Director at BAE Systems. Earlier he spent over 30 years in the British Diplomatic Service, which he joined straight from obtaining a first-class degree in Classics at Oxford. He served in Cairo, Washington and Paris. He was also Principal Private Secretary to the UK Foreign Secretary, the late Robin Cook, and was Head of the Foreign Office Hong Kong Department from 1994 up to the handover to China in 1997. His final diplomatic jobs were as Ambassador to Israel (2001–2003), Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (2003–2007), Ambassador to Afghanistan (2007-2009), and the UK Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan (2009–2010).

Sherard was the first Chair of the Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery Trust, from November 2013 until December 2022, during which time £12m was raised to restore and then run Sir John Soane’s “dream” country house. He is Honorary Vice President of the UK Financial Inclusion Commission; a Committee Member of The Hong Kong Association; and a Board Member of Asia House. He is an Ambassador for the Money Advice Trust, and for the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust. He is a member of the fundraising committee for Maggie’s charity, and a Trustee of Arundells, the Sir Edward Heath Charitable Foundation.

Sherard is an Honorary Fellow of Hertford College, Oxford, and has an honorary DLitt from the University of Westminster. He is President of the Jane Austen Society, and is a Liveryman of The Skinners’ Company and of the World Traders.

Sherard is the author of two books about his diplomatic experiences: Cables from Kabul and Ever the Diplomat. He speaks French and Arabic, some Hebrew and rudimentary Pashtu.

Terrence Keeley is the CEO of 1PointSix LLC and the Impact Evaluation Lab, advisory firms he founded to help institutional and high net worth investors optimize the impact of their investment portfolios. He also heads up his own family office and foundation. Terry is the author of a new, widely acclaimed book on stakeholder capitalism and ESG investing, SUSTAINABLE: Moving Beyond ESG to Impact Investing, published by Columbia University Press. In 2021, Terry was selected as a Global Knowledge Broker by CIO Magazine. “He has been called upon by kings and priests during their times of trouble and walked them back to health,” CIO Magazine wrote in their award announcement. “Keeley is a devoted man with extraordinary skills, great wisdom, unique passion, and incredible breadth.”

Until July 2022, Terry was a Senior Advisor at BlackRock responsible for overseeing the relationships and services that BlackRock provides to central banks, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, foundations, finance ministries and supra-nationals around the world. While at BlackRock, Terry also founded and ran the BlackRock Educational Academy and the BlackRock Client Relationship Academy, BlackRock's learning initiatives for clients and those who serve them. Over twelve years, more than 5,000 students attended academic programs which Terry designed and taught with his colleagues. While at BlackRock, Terry also authored or co-authored more than two dozen white papers on optimal asset allocation and portfolio construction.

Prior to joining BlackRock in 2011, Terry was the founder and Senior Managing Principal of Sovereign Trends, LLC, a New York based advisory firm that helped central banks, finance ministries and multi-lateral organizations optimize their credit ratings and operational performance. From May 1988 to July 2010, Terry worked for UBS' investment banking and asset management subsidiaries in a variety of managerial positions, operating out of London, New York, and Chicago. The teams he managed were responsible for asset management assignments, transactions, credit exposures, debt underwritings, advisory services, and restructurings with governmental agencies globally. In 2012 Terry was appointed by Pope Francis to serve on the Vatican’s financial reform commission, reviewing the banking and financial operations of the Holy See. During his time at UBS and BlackRock, Terry advised, directed and/or consummated more than $120 trillion worth of direct investments.

Prior to his private sector career, Terry worked for President Ronald Reagan's Council of Economic Advisors, where he wrote speeches for the Chairman, Dr. Murray Weidenbaum. He co-chaired

Speaker Paul Ryan’s Financial Advisory Committee from 2015-19. As an adjunct to his work at Sovereign Trends, Mr. Keeley has been a lecturer in business and ethics at more than a dozen universities, as well as a paid Bloomberg TV Contributing Editor. Mr. Keeley serves or has served on advisory boards for the Asian Development Bank, the University of Notre Dame, and Oxford University (Christ Church). He was the first Young Trustee at the University of Notre Dame. He is also the founder of the Financial Hippocratic Oath movement, Cambodia Collegium, and the Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring Awards program, which honors outstanding teachers and athletic coaches in the Adrian Public Schools system in southeast Michigan, where he was raised.

Terry earned a BA degree in politics and philosophy from the University of Notre Dame and completed his doctoral studies – all but dissertation - in history and economics at Oxford University (Christ Church) in 1986. He has two sons, Julian Michael (28) and Calum Matthew (25).

Enkhjin Atarbaatar is Director General of the Financial Markets Department of the Bank of Mongolia. His team is responsible for conducting monetary policy operations of the Central bank and managing foreign exchange reserves. From 2007 to 2016, he worked in the Risk Management unit of the Central bank, where he was responsible for monitoring and reporting of market and credit risk of the reserves portfolio. Between 2016 and 2017, he oversaw the General Management Department of the Bank of Mongolia. He studied at the University of Utah (USA) and Curtin University (Australia).

Finance professional with over two decades of service at the Czech National Bank, specializing in fixed income portfolio management and risk management. Joined the bank in 1998, advancing from a junior role in the Foreign Reserves Management team to becoming Head of the team in 2004, where I successfully led portfolio management strategies for over 15 years. In 2019, appointed Deputy Executive Director of the Risk Management Department, playing a key role in overseeing and mitigating financial risks. Graduated in 1998 with an MA in Information Science from Charles University in Prague. CFA charterholder since 2003.

Joaquín heads the International Operations Division at Banco de México. He is primarily responsible for the international reserve’s management and for providing global markets intelligence to the Board of Governors. Mr. Tapia has worked as well for the Domestic Operations Division, where he led the FX desk and the Monetary Programming Department. Prior to joining the bank Mr. Tapia was an investment banker at Merrill Lynch and also a chief economist for the Mexican Deposit Insurance Corporation (IPAB). Mr. Tapia earned a B.A. degree in Economics from the Universidad Iberoamericana and a M.A. in Math Finance from Columbia University.

Robert Armstrong is the US financial commentator for the Financial Times. He writes the FT's daily markets and finance newsletter, Unhedged. He has also served the FT as a banking reporter, editor of the Lex column, and chief editorial writer. Before becoming a journalist, he was an analyst a hedge fund. He has a PhD in philosophy from Columbia University.

Robert Armstrong is the US financial commentator for the Financial Times. He writes the FT's daily markets and finance newsletter, Unhedged. He has also served the FT as a banking reporter, editor of the Lex column, and chief editorial writer. Before becoming a journalist, he was an analyst a hedge fund. He has a PhD in philosophy from Columbia University.

Universidad de Chile business degree and Master in Economics of the Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg with more than 10 years of professional experience in market development for molybdenum, precious metals, and rhenium. Responsible for anodic slimes tolling agreement with LS MnM and sales of precious metals.

My professional journey includes significant contributions to expanding markets, developing hedging strategies, and representing Codelco in international economic forums.

George is a portfolio manager and metals and mining specialist in the Thematic Equity team within Multi-Asset. He joined the firm in 2007. George is a portfolio manager for the Global Gold Fund and co-portfolio manager for the diversified Natural Resources strategies. He covers all aspects of metals and mining supply and demand including, most recently, the impact of renewable energy and electric vehicles on metals demand.

Prior to this, he was a market analyst for three years at BHP Billiton, working in The Hague and Singapore. He was recruited to BHP Billiton in 2004 from CRU (Commodities Research Unit), an independent metals/chemicals related research company based in London. At CRU, he spent three years in the Carbon Steel team and five years as a Research Manager – Copper, providing in-depth research and forecasts to the industry, banks and hedge funds.

George began his career in 1990 in operations at British Steel Strip Products, working for three years in the Tinplate division. George graduated from the University of Oxford in 1989 with an honours degree in Classics and in 1995 was awarded an MBA from Warwick University.

Victor Flores has been an analyst and investor in the precious metals mining industry for over 35 years with experience in private equity, hedge funds, mutual funds and equity research for a leading international investment bank. He has a strong technical background has practical mining company operating experience Victor has served on the Board of numerous private and public precious metals companies, including a top-10 precious metals producer. He has been a Chartered Financial Analyst since 1992 and has a background in geology and mineral resource management.

Head of the Schroder ISF Global Gold fund and co-fund Manager of the Schroder Enhanced Beta and Total Return Commodity Strategies.

He is also responsible for base and precious metals research

James was Co-Head of Metals Research at JP Morgan from 2013 to 2014, and prior to that held positions at CICC and UBS

James graduated from Oxford University in 2002 and also studied at Nanjing University. He speaks and reads mandarin Chinese fluently

Dr. Jonathan Butler is Head of Business Development & Strategy at Mitsubishi Corporation, specialising in gold, silver and PGM sales/marketing, and leads Mitsubishi’s precious metals research and strategy. Jon has held various roles in Mitsubishi’s global precious metals team since 2013 and previously worked, from 2007, in precious metals marketing at Johnson Matthey. He holds a PhD from the University of Edinburgh and Masters degrees from the University of Oxford. He is currently serving as President of the International Precious Metals Institute (IPMI), Vice Chair of the London Platinum and Palladium Market (LPPM) and is on the Public Affairs Committee of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA).

Mitchell J. Krebs was appointed President, Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors of Coeur Mining in July 2011, which is one of the 3,000 largest publicly traded companies in the U.S. (CDE:NYSE) Prior to becoming President and CEO, Mr. Krebs served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from March 2008 to July 2011; Treasurer from July 2008 to March 2010; Senior Vice President, Corporate Development from May 2006 to March 2008; and Vice President, Corporate Development from February 2003 to May 2006. Mr. Krebs first joined Coeur in August 1995 as Manager of Acquisitions after working as an investment banking analyst for PaineWebber Inc. in its Mergers & Acquisitions group.

During his tenure with Coeur Mining, Mr. Krebs has been responsible for dozens of acquisitions and divestitures of private and public entities both domestically and internationally and has overseen numerous private and public financings involving all aspects of the capital structure totaling nearly three billion dollars. Since becoming CEO, Mr. Krebs has led an organizational relocation including a reconstitution of the board and overhaul of the senior management team, all of which has contributed to industry leading growth, ESG leadership, and the country’s best safety record among metals mining companies. Mr. Krebs recently led the Company through a $725 million expansion of its Rochester operation in Nevada, which will now be America’s largest source of domestically produced silver and one of the world’s largest operations of its kind.

Mr. Krebs is a seasoned leader in the mining industry, recognized for his strategic vision, fostering a culture of innovation and collaboration, and his commitment to sustainable growth. Under his leadership,

Coeur Mining has become a prominent player in the global mining sector, and he has guided the company through challenging market conditions and evolving industry dynamics. Mr. Krebs serves as the current Chairman of The National Mining Association, which represents nearly 300 companies, and he led the creation of its ESG Task Force in 2020. Mr. Krebs also served on the Board of Kansas City Southern Railway Company (NYSE:KSU) (Audit Committee; Finance and Strategic Investments Committee), culminating in the $31 billion acquisition by Canadian Pacific (NYSE:CP) that closed last year. Mr. Krebs is a past President of The Silver Institute where he remains on the Board and serves on the Executive Committee. Mr. Krebs also serves on the board of Big Shoulders Fund, which provides support to inner-city schools to provide a quality, values-based education for Chicago’s children.

Mr. Krebs holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania (1993) and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University (1999). He grew up in rural Iowa and lives in Chicago with his wife Debby and their three young children.

Danielle Oliari is the Chief Operating Officer of CNT Depository, a principal owner of CNT, Inc, CNT Depository, Inc., and the Bridgewater Sports Complex.

A graduate of Boston College (B.A. and MAT) and New York University (MA), Danielle began her professional career teaching English at the high school and college level. While she enjoyed teaching, she took the opportunity to change careers and went to work with her family at CNT, an international precious metals company. Danielle and her siblings, Paul, and Stephanie, mark the third generation of family leadership at CNT. Over the past 15+ years, Danielle experienced all aspects of CNT’s operations. Currently, she runs the depository and minting business lines as well as the family’s charitable organization.

Danielle serves on the World Gold Council’s Retail Gold Investment Committee in North America, the Business Advisory Board for the Ricciardi College of Business at Bridgwater State University where she is a member of the Executive Committee, and the Bridgewater Public Library Board of Trustees where she serves as the vice chair.

In a family business, the passion is not only for work, but for the family. Danielle truly enjoys working with her parents and her siblings as they build their business together. When not at CNT, Danielle is found with her husband supporting their three amazing children in one of their many endeavors, or perhaps, in a quiet moment, curled up with her dog, Charlotte, and a good book.

Matt Watson is the founder of Precious Metals Commodity Management LLC. Here, Matt is helping industrial clients with Precious Metals Consulting Services, Market Reports, and Supply Chain Management expertise. The 2020's and 2030's will be decades focused on Clean Energy and Mineral Constraints. Let me help your organization chart a path to navigate these changing times.

Suki is the Bank’s Precious Metals Analyst, based in New York. She covers the markets for gold, silver, platinum, palladium and other platinum-group metals, along with the key producing countries and consuming sectors. She joined Standard Chartered in 2015 from Barclays, where she spent 11 years, most recently as Head of Metals Research. Suki has worked with corporates, refiners, physical traders, sovereign wealth funds and central banks, institutional investors, hedge funds and private wealth firms, providing analysis and the outlook for the precious metals sector. Previously, she was a Chartered Accountant at PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Suki is the Chair of the Public Affairs Committee of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA). She is an ACA Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

Chris Harris is a senior member of the Concord Resources Limited team with over 30 years of commodity trading experience. Prior to Concord, he worked as a diversified commodity portfolio manager at several prominent asset management firms including Moore Capital Management, Phibro / Astenbeck Capital Management, Ridgefield Capital Asset Management and Catequil Asset Management. He was also the Chief Investment Officer at TerraManta, a startup quantitative commodity business driven by natural language processing and machine learning.

Chris began his career at Morgan Stanley & Co. in 1990 as an IT professional in the International Equity Division in Tokyo. He moved to a trading position in the precious metals group in 1992. During his time with the precious metals group, he was the head silver trader before moving on to the role of head gold spot and forward trader from 1997 through 2002.

He graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1989.

James Steel is HSBC’s Chief Precious Metals Analyst. Jim joined HSBC in May 2006. Previously Jim ran the New York research department for Refco, a large US commodities brokerage house, specializing in energy and metals. Jim also worked for The Economist in the Economist Intelligence Unit covering commodity producing nations and on the Middle East desk.

Jim’s primary duties at HSBC include the production of daily market reports, including long term outlooks for the precious metals markets. These include supply/demand and price forecasts, as well as qualitative analyses. Jim is a frequent speaker at commodities related conferences. He is often quoted in the financial media and frequently appears on Bloomberg and CNBC. Jim is an economist by training and studied economics at undergraduate and graduate levels in London and New York

Ruth was appointed Chief Executive of the LBMA in January 2014. She is responsible for the success and strategic development of the LBMA, in partnership with the Chairman and the Board. She is also responsible for maintaining accountability to and the quality of, the Association's Membership and Good Delivery Refiners as well as representing the interests of the Association in relation to regulators, investors, media and international precious metals markets.

Before being appointed Chief Executive, she spent seven years working in the Association, initially as Commercial Director and then as Deputy Chief Executive, where she acted as the main lead on Governmental Affairs. She was also responsible for the Association's work on supply chain due diligence, with particular regard to the creation and implementation of the LBMA’s Responsible Gold Guidance. She has represented the Association at industry, governmental and multi-stakeholder regulatory forums. She continues to serve as Vice Chair of the OECD Multi-Stakeholder Governance Group for Responsible Minerals. As Commercial Director, she oversaw the development of the LBMA Conference, the LBMA's quarterly publication the Alchemist and the LBMA website.

Prior to joining the LBMA, she worked in bank finance and US corporate law at the law firms of White & Case and Norton Rose, and also acted as a monitor at the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva. She has an MSc in History of International Relations from the London School of Economics and a degree in English Literature from Kenyon College in Ohio.