Focus on The Nordics

Following the legislative elections of 14 October 2018, Pierre Gramegna was re-appointed Minister of Finance in the coalition government formed by the Democratic Party (DP), the Luxembourg Socialist Workers’ Party (LSAP) and the Green Party (déi gréng). Pierre Gramegna first joined the government as Minister of Finance in 2013.

As Minister of Finance, Pierre Gramegna has initiated major reforms to balance the budget and to align Luxembourg’s tax rules with international transparency standards. Thanks to these efforts, Luxembourg’s AAA rating has been consistently confirmed by all major rating agencies and, in 2015, the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes upgraded Luxembourg to “largely compliant”. Pierre Gramegna is also a promoter of the diversification of Luxembourg’s financial centre, in particular with regard to FinTech and sustainable finance. He is the initiator and president of the LHoFT Foundation, which runs the Luxembourg House of Financial Technology. He has also further developed bilateral relations with China in the financial sector.

Pierre Gramegna puts particular emphasis on Luxembourg’s role in multilateral development banks. In 2014, Luxembourg became a member of the African Development Bank and, in 2015, Luxembourg was the first non-Asian country to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Currently, he is the chairman of the board of Governors of the AIIB. In May 2016, Pierre Gramegna was elected chair of the Board of Governors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for a one-year mandate. He currently serves on the Board of Governors of the European Investment Bank and on that of the European Stability Mechanism. He is also Luxembourg’s governor to the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

Pierre Gramegna studied law and economics at the Université Panthéon-Assas (Paris II), where he was awarded a master’s degree in civil law in 1981 and a degree in economic sciences in 1982. He completed his post-university education with a DEA (postgraduate diploma of advanced studies) in European Union law.

As a career diplomat, Pierre Gramegna joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1983. From 1996 to 2002, Pierre Gramegna was Luxembourg’s ambassador to Japan and South Korea. From 2003 to 2013, Pierre Gramegna held the position of Director General of the Chamber of Commerce.

Philipp von Restorff currently is Deputy CEO at Luxembourg for Finance (LFF), the agency for the development of the Luxembourg financial centre.

Prior to his appointment at LFF, he was serving as Head of Communication of The Luxembourg Bankers’ Association (ABBL), where he also held the position of Secretary of the Board of Directors.  Philipp has been Chairman of the European Banking Federation’s Communication and CSR Steering Committee from 2014-2018. Before joining the ABBL he worked for the Luxembourg Information and Press Services of the Luxembourg Ministry of State. 

He is elected member of the Board of Directors of LuxFLAG, the Luxembourg Finance Labelling Agency, as well as of the Luxembourg Sustainable Finance Initiative. Philipp is lecturer at the Luxembourg House of Training and financial education volunteer at “Jonk Entrepreneuren Luxembourg”, a branch of the Junior Achievement Network (JA).

Julie Becker has been at the helm of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE) since April, 2021. She joined LuxSE in 2013 and was appointed to its Executive Committee in 2015, before being named Deputy CEO in 2019, and CEO two years later.

Her career in the financial sector in Luxembourg spans over two decades and includes positions at the Central Bank of Luxembourg and Dexia. In 2016, Julie Becker founded the Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX), the world’s leading platform for sustainable securities. A recognised expert in the field of sustainable finance, Julie Becker has represented LuxSE and LGX at numerous, international expert forums and conferences over the past years, including at the prestigious EU High-Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance from 2016-2018. She is also the Chair of LuxCMA, a capital markets industry association established in 2019.

Julie Becker specialises in regulatory and legal matters linked to capital markets. She holds a Master Degree in European & Corporate Law and a Master Degree (DEA) in Private Law from the University of Nancy II, France. She is also an alumna of the Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania, USA.

Nicholas Curwen, born 1976, joined EQT in 2018. Prior to joining EQT, Nicholas worked as a Director in Investor Services at SS&C and was Country Head of the Luxembourg Office of SS&C for five years and Country Head of the Dublin Office of SS&C for two years. Prior to that, he was Head of Client Services at European Credit Management Ltd. in London. Nicholas holds a B.Sc. in Physics and Astrophysics from the University of Birmingham, following which he started his career in finance in Luxembourg.

Anders la Cour is a hands-on leader of the multi-award-winning provider of mission-critical financial services infrastructure, Banking Circle. Previously a technology and financial M&A lawyer, Anders la Cour identified a flaw in how the FinTech sector is serviced by the banks.

Launching Banking Circle, Anders brought to market a solution that has genuinely disrupted the previously accepted status quo of cross border payments. The unique suite of solutions offered by Banking Circle is helping businesses transact across borders in a way that was not previously possible.

Anders was appointed as inaugural Chair of the non-profit business association, Emerging Payments Association EU in February 2020, having been on the EPA Advisory board since 2016. He is regularly invited to speak and present at global industry events, including Money20/20 Las Vegas, Oracle OpenWorld, BankInno, Innovate Finance and Money20/20 Europe, has won multiple awards and had thought leadership articles published in a range of industry publications.

Alex Panican is a serial entrepreneur with more than 15 years of experience in Business Strategy, Digital Transformation and Innovation. He’s the Deputy CEO of the Luxembourg House of Financial Technology (The LHoFT), where he’s supporting the innovation partnerships between the fintechs and the financial actors.

Alex is also a professor in Business Strategy and Digital Marketing. He holds an MBA in Strategy from the University of Quebec in Montreal, Canada. The LHoFT aims to drive digitalisation and innovation in the Luxembourg financial industry and build a collaborative ecosystem of innovators across all sectors of the domestic and international community, including fintech, traditional financial services firms, government, regulators, universities, and investors.

Emilie Serrurier-Hoël has been the Head of Wealth Management of Banque Internationale à Luxembourg (BIL) and a Member of the Executive Committee since January 2020.

Prior to taking on her current position, Emilie Serrurier-Hoël occupied different senior management positions within BIL, including Head of Process Management, Head of Strategy, Corporate Development and Marketing, and Head of Wealth Management Europe. In her function as Head of Strategy, Corporate Development and Marketing, Emilie Serrurier-Hoël was also a Member of BIL’s Executive Committee from October 2018 to April 2019.

Emilie Serrurier-Hoël is a French national and holds a Master’s degree in Management from EM Lyon Business School.

Daniel Starberg is a Swedish lawyer that works for WEALINS since February 2020. He has a solid experience in Luxembourg cross-border wealth planning in the private banking and life insurance sectors and a deep understanding of tax, legal and regulatory requirements.

Passionate about life insurance and promoting cross-border business from Luxembourg, Daniel is since March 2020, the Rapporteur for the Nordic countries working group of ACA (the Luxembourg insurance and reinsurance association).

Stefan Stjerngren is a Private Banker with over 25 years of experience from the financial industry. He is responsible for Private Banking customers from Scandinavia being situated in Asia & Europe. SEB is now the largest Nordic Bank in Luxembourg with fund business and Private Banking as main business areas. Stefan is proud over the focus for SEB Private Banking in Luxembourg; to service and attract top tier segment of Private Banking customers & Family offices with complex international needs. Over time Luxembourg has proven to be a very good location for SEB.