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Jón Danielsson is one of the two Directors of the Centre and Reader in Finance at the London School of Economics. Since receiving his Ph.D. in economics of financial markets from Duke University in 1991, Jón’s work has focused on how economic policy can lead to prosperity or disaster. He is an authority on both the technical aspects of risk forecasting and the optimal policies that governments and regulators should pursue in this area. Jón has written three highly regarded books: The Illusion of Control (Yale University Press, 2022), which was included on the Financial Times “Best books of 2022” list; Financial Risk Forecasting (Wiley, 2011); and Global Financial Systems: Stability and Risk (Pearson, 2013). He has also contributed numerous academic papers on systemic risk, artificial intelligence, financial risk forecasting, financial regulation and related topics to leading academic journals, including Review of Financial Studies and the Journal of Econometrics. At the LSE he teaches courses in technical risk forecasting and on how the global financial system operates. He has also worked for the Bank of Japan and the International Monetary Fund. His practical and authoritative perspective on financial risk and the financial system means he is regularly interviewed by media organisations including the BBC, Financial Times, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

Professor Oliver Gottschalg is part of the Strategy Department at HEC School of Management, Paris. He holds a Wirtschaftsingenieur Diploma from the University of Karlsruhe, an MBA from Georgia State University and a M.Sc. and PhD degree from INSEAD. His current research focuses on the strategic logic and the performance determinants of private equity investments. His work has been published in leading academic journals and in various publications for practitioners and was featured over 100 times in the business media (press, radio, TV and online) in the past 2 years. His book on ‘Private Equity Mathematics’ is one of the bestselling books with PEI Media. He regularly presents his research at academic conferences and private equity symposia and serves as an advisor to leading investors in the private equity industry. He repeatedly served as an advisor to policy makers at the national and European level in the context of the ongoing debate about a possible need for regulation of the Private Equity industry. His company Gottschalg Analytics is the leading provider of standardized independent PE Track record analytics and validation services, currently advising approx. 20% of the market of fundraising PE Fund Manager worldwide.

Francois-Serge LHABITANT is the CEO and CIO of Kedge Capital where he runs a multi-billion portfolio allocated primarily to hedge funds (private and public markets) and risk-controlled strategies on behalf of a small group of investors. His funds have won several awards for their performance and risk-adjusted performance. On the academic side, Francois-Serge is currently a Visiting Professor of Finance at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (China). He was formerly a Professor of Finance at HEC Lausanne and the co-director of its Master in Banking and Finance, and an Associate Professor of Finance at the EDHEC Business School (France). Francois-Serge holds an engineering degree from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, a B.Sc. in Economics, a M.Sc. in Banking and Finance, and a Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Lausanne, and a LL.M. in Tax Law from the University of Geneva. He is the author of several books and articles in the areas of risk management, asset management, alternative investments (hedge funds, commodities), tax law and emerging markets.

Nils Rode is the Chief Investment Officer of Schroders Capital. He is a member of Schroders Capital’s Management Committee and a member of the Investment Committee. Before joining Schroders in 2005, Nils was a Vice President with private equity backed SkyOnline, a US-based IT and telecommunications company, where he worked in the areas of finance and strategy from 2003 to 2005. From 1995 to 2002, Nils was a management consultant with McKinsey & Company in Germany, where he was the lead manager for several strategic, organizational and operational improvement programs for private and publicly listed companies in the technology and financial services sector. Nils is also the author of a book on strategic management of knowledge based businesses. Nils holds a Master’s degree from ESCP Europe in Paris, Oxford and Berlin where he was a Siemens Scholar. He also holds a PhD in Economics from the Leuphana University of Lueneburg, Germany and a Specialization Certificate in Data Science from Johns Hopkins University and Coursera.

Antti Suhonen is a Senior Fellow at the Department of Finance at Aalto University School of Business, having previously served as Professor of Practice in Finance in 2014-2023. He also works as a consultant and adviser in the financial services sector, with a focus on alternative investments, quantitative investment strategies, and derivatives. His teaching and research interests include credit and fixed income markets, alternative investments, and risk premia strategies. He has published several peer-reviewed academic articles on alternative risk premia and private credit investments and is a frequent commentator in the media and in financial industry conferences. He previously held various derivatives structuring, product development, sales, and trading roles in investment banking over two decades, most recently as Managing Director at Barclays Capital in London. He holds an M.Sc. (Economics) and a Ph.D. (Finance) from Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration.