Stephen has worked on economic policy issues for most of his career having retired in 2010 from the UK Treasury where he was managing director (international and finance) with prior roles including Director for Europe, and Director for International Finance. From 1998 to 2001, Stephen was the UK’s executive director on the boards of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.

Previous posts Stephen has undertaken include leading the team responsible for the Bank of England independence in 1997; and work in the New Zealand Treasury between 1989 and 1993 on macroeconomic policy and forecasting. Stephen studied economics at the University of Cambridge, in England and the University of British Colombia in Vancouver.
Previous posts Stephen has undertaken include leading the team responsible for the Bank of England independence in 1997; and work in the New Zealand Treasury between 1989 and 1993 on macroeconomic policy and forecasting. Stephen studied economics at the University of Cambridge, in England and the University of British Colombia in Vancouver.

An experienced practitioner and teacher on all aspects of negotiation, Tim Cullen has taught on various programmes at Saïd Business School (where he was formerly the Director of the Oxford Programme on Negotiation) and is Professor of Management Practice at the Guanghua School of Management, Peking University, China. He is also a visiting professor at Stockholm Business School.

Tim served as a Commissioner on the Financial Supervision Commission of the Isle of Man and was the founder and first Executive Director for the Small Countries Financial Management Centre (SCFMC). For his pro bono work on the creation and management of the SCFMC, he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2014 Queen’s Birthday Honours.

In 2022 Tim founded and is Chair of the trustees of the Isle of Man - St Vincent and the Grenadines Education Programme (ISEP), a privately funded Isle of Man charity that creates secondary and tertiary educational opportunities for students in the small Caribbean nation of St Vincent and the Grenadines. Tim is also Chairman of TCA Ltd, which teaches negotiation and governance/risk management programmes globally and worked for 21 years for the World Bank. Tim has an MA from Trinity College, University of Dublin.

John Hicklin is a retired senior official of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), where he directed work with member countries, including program negotiations and annual policy discussions; helped to strengthen the IMF’s own policies and its role in the international financial system and, latterly, at the Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) oversaw independent evaluation of the IMF’s work.

John headed the IMF’s country teams in Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines in the 1990s. In the wake of the Asian financial crises, he coordinated aspects of the IMF’s work to strengthen the international financial system. John began his career as an economist at the UK Treasury. He is a graduate of Oxford University and the London School of Economics and Political Science and attended Harvard University on a one-year scholarship

Serena grew up in Tamil Nadu, India. Prior to founding LinkGevity, she worked as a Corporate M&A lawyer at magic circle firm Slaughter and May.

Serena has held senior leadership positions at the Bank of England as Head of Global Trade Strategy and HMT Treasury, where she also acted as Private Secretary (Chief of Staff) to the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Serena won the prestigious Asian Women of Achievement Awards (Business Category) in 2020.

She is passionate about education and equal opportunities. She is Co-founder of Discover2Dream, an initiative aimed at giving students of all ages exposure to young female professionals from a variety of sectors and is on the board of SkillSonics AG.

When not at work, you can find Serena (stage name Segiri) in the recording studio. She is an artist with dance music tracks featured in the UK and Swiss music charts. She also owns a record label, D2D Records, a social enterprise which supports young female musicians.

Bettina Roth was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority in October 2021.
Bettina brings a wealth of international experience to the role having demonstrated a strong track record of professional achievement in both the regulatory and private sectors.
For the last 23 years, Bettina has held senior roles at the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, Abu Dhabi Global Market and the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions. She also completed a secondment with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in New York as part of the Citibank supervision team.
While Bettina had broad responsibilities in her roles, her focus in the last few years has been on automation of key processes and risk-based methodology. Prior to her regulatory roles, Bettina worked for Ernst &Young in Canada and Australia.
Bettina holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Toronto and a Masters of Business Administration from Queen’s University in Canada. She is also a Chartered Accountant, Project Management Professional and Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist.

Sharda has worked with the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines as the inaugural director charged with establishing the Financial Intelligence Unit, from 2002-2008.
She held the post of Executive Director of the International Financial Services Authority from 2008 -2012 and was involved in spear-heading the integration of the various supervisory bodies under the Financial Services Authority, as its Executive Director, from 2012-2018. She became the country’s first Supervisor of Insolvency in 2016, a post which she still holds. Her experience covers anti- money laundering and counter financing of terrorism, international and domestic financial regulation and compliance and international taxation. Sharda has collaborated with international agencies including the World Bank, FATF, CFATF, OECD and European Union COCG on matters of national interests and to meet international standards.

Prior roles to 2002 included Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions and Chief Magistrate (Ag). Sharda launched her own legal and consultancy practice in January 2019. She studied law at the University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Barbados and King’s College, London. Sharda is a proud alumna of the inaugural SCFMP of 2009.

Louise Wittwer was appointed Commissioner of the Cook Islands Financial Supervisory Commission in December 2015.

Prior to that, she spent several years with Audit New Zealand, and forensic accounting firms in London and Wellington, before moving to the Cooks Islands in 2002. She was General Manager of Cook Islands Trust Corporation for her initial three years in Rarotonga before joining the Cook Islands Audit Office as their Audit Advisor in 2005.

She joined the Financial Supervisory Commission as Manager Offshore Services in 2009 and was promoted to Deputy Commissioner in 2012.

Louise is a New Zealand qualified Chartered Accountant, United States qualified Certified Fraud Examiner and a member of the New Zealand Institute of Management. She plans to remain in the Cook Islands for the medium term and is looking to widen her experience, whilst expecting to continue to undertake projects for the Cook Islands Government.

She is also an alumna of the Small Countries Financial Management Programme (SCFMP), attending in 2011.

Gary Roberts was born in the Isle of Man, where he was a public servant for almost forty years. For just over ten years he was the Chief Constable of the Isle of Man Constabulary and he was awarded the Queen's Police Medal for distinguished service by Queen Elizabeth II.

He has been married to his wife, Jackie, since 1989 and he has two grown-up daughters.

He is a chartered fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.