GARP 2026 Financial Risk Symposium

Jo Ann Barefoot is CEO & Co-founder of the Alliance for Innovative Regulation (AIR), a nonprofit organization working globally to promote a more fair, inclusive and resilient financial system by helping adapt financial regulation for the digital age. She hosts the global podcast show Barefoot Innovation and is Senior Fellow Emerita at the Harvard Kennedy School Center for Business & Government. She has been Deputy Comptroller of the Currency, partner at KPMG, Co-Chairman of Treliant Risk Advisors, and a staff member at the U.S. Senate Banking Committee.

Jo Ann currently serves on the board of Oportun. She is a member of advisory bodies for FinRegLab and the Milken Institute. She was formerly on the board of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling and FINRA, chaired the boards of the Financial Health Network and FinRegLab, and served on the CFPB’s inaugural Consumer Advisory Board. She co-founded the regtech firm, Hummingbird.

In 2024, Jo Ann was the first non-lawyer recipient of the Proxmire Award. In 2023, American Banker named Jo Ann one of the most Influential Women in Fintech. Other honors include being recognized as Fintech Woman of the Year, selected to the Forbes magazine list of 50 Over 50, and named to the Fintech Hall of Fame and the Women in Fintech Power List (twice). Fast Company magazine has honored AIR in its World Changing Ideas awards. 

Tim Corbett is Senior Vice President and Chief Risk Officer of State Street Global Advisors and a member of the firm’s Executive Management Group. He leads a global team responsible for managing investment, liquidity, counterparty, model, and operational risks across State Street Global Advisors. Tim’s primary objective is to provide independent oversight and ensure risks are known, quantified, communicated, and prudently managed. He is a member of the Senior Leadership Team and co-chair of the State Street Global Advisors' Risk Committee.

Prior to assuming his current role Tim was the Global Head of Investment and Liquidity Risk at SSGA. He has over 27 years of experience and has held a wide variety of roles within operations, equity research, portfolio management, and risk management at State Street.

Tim holds a BS in Finance from Boston College, and an MBA and an MS in Corporate Finance from Bentley University. He is a frequent speaker on a variety of investment and risk topics at industry conferences including Pension Bridge, Risk Minds, Institute of International Finance (IIF), and The Professional Risk Manager's International Association (PRMIA).

Paul Fabara is Visa’s Chief Risk and Client Services Officer; in this capacity he leads the client operations and global risk functions. Both functions share the common goal of putting Visa’s clients first, whether it is protecting them and keeping them safe, or providing operational support and valued services across our clients’ needs. Mr. Fabara is responsible for maintaining the integrity and security of the Visa payment system, while also serving as the principal liaison with regulatory agencies. He ensures that Visa continues to deliver industry-leading services to prevent, detect and mitigate the impact of fraud and security attacks on Visa’s clients and other payment system stakeholders. Mr. Fabara joined Visa in 2019.

Prior to Visa, Mr. Fabara held a number of key leadership roles at American Express Company (Amex) during his eight-year tenure. Most recently, he held the position of president of the global services group for Amex. As a member of the Amex executive committee, he was responsible for the company’s global servicing functions, including customer service, credit, and fraud operations, as well as enterprise-wide strategic initiatives. Most notably, as chief risk officer, Mr. Fabara promoted strong capabilities and disciplined, integrated risk controls. He improved corporate control and compliance in order to identify, monitor and manage risks and led the company’s broad-based activities to meet the requirements of regulatory orders.

Previously, Mr. Fabara served as global chief operating officer for Barclays’ credit card business, based in London, where he was responsible for card operations across 71 countries. Earlier, he was the chief operating officer of Alliance Data Systems, servicing more than 400 private label credit card programs ranging from retail to travel and entertainment. Mr. Fabara started his career at Providian Financial Corporation, where he served in many capacities including risk management, underwriting, marketing, sales and service, and credit administration.

Edward Fishman is one of the world’s leading authorities on economic statecraft. He teaches at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and is a senior research scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy. He also advises companies on geopolitical strategy and invests in early-stage technology startups.

Fishman is the New York Times–bestselling author of Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare, which has been hailed as “masterful” by the Financial Times, “a timely, riveting world tour” by The Economist, and “a compelling and dramatic narrative about the new shape of geopolitics” by the Wall Street Journal.

Between 2011 and 2017, Fishman served in key foreign policy roles across the U.S. government. At the State Department, he served as a member of the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff, where he advised Secretary John Kerry on Europe and Eurasia and led the staff’s work on economic sanctions, long-range strategic planning, and international order and norms. Fishman was also the Russia and Europe Lead in the State Department’s Office of Economic Sanctions Policy and Implementation, where he played a central role in designing and negotiating international sanctions in response to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. Earlier, Fishman served as a member of the Iran sanctions team, where he developed policies to strengthen sanctions against Iran and maintain pressure during the negotiations that led to the Iran nuclear deal. Outside of the State Department, Fishman has served at the Pentagon as special assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at the Treasury Department as special assistant to the Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, and at Foreign Affairs as a member of the editorial staff. Fishman is a recipient of the State Department’s Superior Honor Award (twice) and its Meritorious Honor Award, having been recognized for his contributions to U.S. policy toward Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, and Iran.

Fishman’s analysis is regularly featured by outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and NPR, and he frequently writes for publications such as Foreign Affairs and Politico. He holds a B.A. in History from Yale, an M.Phil. in International Relations from Cambridge, and an M.B.A. from Stanford. He lives with his wife and two children in New York City.

With over 15 years of specialization in Investment Risk Management, Karim began his career as a Risk Manager at Credit Agricole Indosuez Luxembourg, where he monitored Multi Asset Class portfolios risk for both Private Banking and Asset Management divisions.

Since joining APTimum in 2010 - a risk measurement service company and the official FIS-APT representative for French-speaking markets - Karim provides technical and methodological support for Market and Liquidity risk calculations. He plays a crucial role in helping clients enhance investment processes through risk analysis, stress testing, simulation, and optimization. His responsibilities also include conducting independent risk analysis for institutional clients, supervising risk analysis teams, and implementing APT risk software with performance attribution modules.

Complementing his industry work, Karim actively contributes to academia as a Visiting Lecturer at IAE Nancy School of Management (since 2022) and Université Paris Dauphine-PSL (since 2019), where he teaches Risk Management with APT and Financial Risk Management, integrating both theory and practical application.

Karim's academic credentials include a Post Graduate Program in Financial Markets and Econometrics from Queen's University and a Financial Markets program from NEOMA Business School, both completed in 2007. He is also a CFA® Charterholder and holds both FRM and GFR certifications.

JACOB KOSOFF is a Data Science and Model Development Executive at Bank of America. He leads the Data Science for Technology, Risk and Operations department, which advances Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities at Bank of America, including in Generative AI. 

Jacob serves as the Model Development Executive and Artificial Intelligence Model Development Executive (AI MDE) for multiple lines of business, ensuring compliance with model governance standards and identifying opportunities to improve model performance. Additionally, Jacob and his team are responsible for developing, enhancing, and maintaining the Enterprise Information Product (EIP) datasets. Furthermore, they leverage artificial intelligence and robotic process automation to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of Enterprise Independent Testing (EIT). 

Jacob also serves as the Global Risk Management (GRM) Site Leader for Atlanta and the Co-Executive Sponsor for the Global Risk Development Program. 

Prior to joining Bank of America, Jacob served for eight years as the Head of Model Risk at Regions. In that role, he was responsible for the strategic vision and management of the model governance, model validation, and AI risk teams. Jacob oversaw the governance and validation of all models and analytics at Regions Bank. 

Jacob has 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, including in data science, model development, model risk management and credit review. Prior to Regions, Jacob served in roles at PNC, Freddie Mac, and Genesis Analytics. 

Andrew Liebowitz is a Google Workspace Global Architect and Information Security Specialist at Google. He specializes in helping global enterprises reduce risk through Zero Trust architectures, Chrome Enterprise security, and threat-informed detection. His recent work includes integrating AI capabilities with Mandiant Threat Intelligence and helping bridge customer needs with product roadmaps. Andrew holds a B.S. in Applied Cybersecurity from the SANS Technology Institute and multiple GIAC certifications.

Jeff McMillan is Head of Firmwide Artificial Intelligence at Morgan Stanley, where he leads the firm’s AI strategy, governance, innovation and deployment. He has overseen the rollout of secure generative AI platforms to over 80,000 employees and delivered embedded AI solutions across all areas of the firm to include institutional securities, wealth management, operations, HR, legal, and marketing.

Previously, Jeff served as Chief Analytics & Data Officer for Wealth Management, where he built and scaled Next Best Action, the industry’s first ML-powered personalized advice engine. Over his 25-year career, he has held leadership roles across investment products, research, operations, digital strategy, and technology, including at Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley.

In addition to his role at Morgan Stanley, Jeff is an Adjunct Professor of Management at Columbia University, teaching AI in Financial Services. He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he earned a BS in economics before serving as an Armor Officer and scout platoon leader in South Korea and Fort Knox. Jeff is also a competitive boxer with a lifetime record of 1-0.

William Nelson is an Executive Vice President and Chief Economist at the Bank Policy Institute and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. Previously he served as Executive Managing Director, Chief Economist, and Head of Research at the Clearing House Association and Chief Economist of the Clearing House Payments Company. Mr. Nelson contributed to and oversaw research and analysis to support the advocacy of the Association on behalf of TCH’s owner banks.

Prior to joining The Clearing House in 2016, Mr. Nelson was a deputy director of the Division of Monetary Affairs at the Federal Reserve Board where his responsibilities included monetary policy analysis, discount window policy analysis, and financial institution supervision. Mr. Nelson attended Federal Open Market Committee meetings and regularly briefed the Board and FOMC. He was a member of the Large Institution Supervision Coordinating Committee (LISCC) and the steering committee of the Comprehensive Liquidity Analysis and Review (CLAR). He has chaired and participated in several BIS working groups on the design of liquidity regulations and most recently chaired the CGFS-Markets Committee working group on regulatory change and monetary policy. Mr. Nelson joined the Board in 1993 as an economist in the Banking section of Monetary Affairs. In 2004, he was the founding chief of the new Monetary and Financial Stability section of Monetary Affairs. In 2007 and 2008, he visited the Bank for International Settlements, in Basel, Switzerland, where his responsibilities included analyzing central banks’ responses to the financial crisis and researching the use of forward guidance by central banks. He returned to the Board in the fall of 2008 where he helped design and manage several of the Federal Reserve’s emergency liquidity facilities.

Mr. Nelson earned a Ph.D., an M.S., and an M.A. in economics from Yale University and a B.A. from the University of Virginia. He has published research on a wide range of topics including monetary policy rules; monetary policy communications; and the intersection of monetary policy, lender of last resort policy, financial stability, and bank supervision and regulation.

In his M&CR role, Mark provides analysis on geopolitical, political and economic developments to senior management and the Board. The team oversees macro scenarios that guide financial planning and capital stress testing, sets country risk limits, and manages exposure reporting across approximately 110 sovereign jurisdictions.

The Credit Risk team governs credit risk ratings modeling, monitoring and surveillance for all issuers and securities owned by the TIAA General Account. Credit ratings drive TIAA financial planning models and Investment Risk and Country Risk loss models. Mark's international career spans over three decades of public and private service. Prior to joining TIAA in 2016, he was Head of Asia Pacific Country Risk at JP Morgan in Hong Kong, and previously Head of Developed Markets and Latin America Country Risk at JP Morgan in New York. 

Mark was a Lead Derivatives Negotiator for the LAMCO (Lehman Brothers) bankruptcy estate and founded the Sovereign Risk function at Lehman Brothers, where he served for eight years.  He served as a career US diplomat for nine years with tours in Peru, Singapore and Washington.

Christophe is an expert in analytics who helped global organizations ensure effective and sustainable management of their analytics, through robust oversight governance.

Christophe previously co-led McKinsey's Model Risk Management service line. Since 2024, he joined TD Bank Group as a Model Risk Management Executive. Today, he is heading globally the model and AI Risk Governance.

Arya Sekhar is the Chief Risk Officer for U.S. Banks and Wealth Management Business Segment at Morgan Stanley. Arya brings over two decades of expertise in risk management and quantitative finance, with a career spanning global leadership roles across major financial hubs.

Prior to his current role, Arya served as EMEA Chief Risk Officer from May 2020 to October 2025, after transferring to London as EMEA Deputy Chief Risk Officer in 2019. Earlier, he held pivotal positions including Global Head of Liquidity Risk, Global Head of Market Risk Analytics, and Global Head of Market Risk for Fixed Income Securities. Arya began his career as a mortgage quant at various banks in 2003.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Delhi University and earned a Ph.D. in Finance from Oklahoma State University.

Nick Vassilos is a Managing Director and Chief Risk Officer for Schwab Asset Management. Mr. Vassilos leads the teams responsible for Schwab Asset Management’s investment and operational risk, credit research, and performance analytics functions. Primary risk management activities include measuring and monitoring portfolio risks and maintaining operational risk processes and standards. Credit research efforts include providing independent judgment regarding the credit quality of investments. Performance analytics activities include providing performance, attribution, and competitive analysis.

Mr. Vassilos has over 20 years of experience in risk management. Before joining Schwab in 2018, he was the global portfolio acquisition and analytics leader at Morningstar. In this role, he drove portfolio data improvements and generated new multi-asset analytics. Prior to that, Mr. Vassilos managed his own equity options focused fund, Wave Options. Preceding this experience, he worked at Citigroup in London, where he started the company’s European Delta One trading desk.

Mr. Vassilos earned a Bachelor of Science in finance from the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce. He is a CFA® charterholder and sits on the Board of Directors for CFA Society Chicago.

Kristen Walters is a recognized Chief Risk Officer (CRO) and leader in the financial services sector across both buy-side firms (asset managers, hedge funds and asset owners) and large trading and commercial banks with breadth and depth in public and private markets. 

She is currently Senior Advisor, Institutional Investor Risk at the Global Association of Risk Professionals, and a Lecturer at Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies. Previously, she was the first stand-alone CRO of Canadian Pension Plan Investments, the world’s 6th largest pension fund, where she enhanced governance, controls, transparency, and board reporting. Prior to CPP Investments, Kristen was the first stand-alone CRO of Natixis Investment Managers (with $1.4 trillion in AUM and ~25 global asset management subsidiaries) where she introduced risk oversight and built a supporting team “de novo” during COVID. 

Prior roles included 11 years at BlackRock working directly for the CRO and founding partner to evolve BlackRock’s investment and enterprise risk frameworks, systems, analytics, and reporting. Kristen also worked for Goldman Sachs leading “firm-wide” market risk and provided daily analysis across the trading platform to senior management during the 2008 financial crisis. Earlier in her career she held risk roles at PIMCO, Barclays Capital and KPMG. She started her career in Supervision and Regulation at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston during the 1990s banking crisis. Ms. Walters holds a BBA in Accounting with honors from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and an MBA with Distinction from Babson College, Wellesley, MA).

Michael was appointed CEO of Credit Benchmark in June 2023 after serving in several key executive roles including most recently as Chief Operating Officer and Head of Risk. He is also a member of the Executive Committee.

Prior to joining Credit Benchmark in 2016, Michael worked at Goldman Sachs in the Credit Risk Management & Advisory group covering a diverse portfolio of entities across the natural resources and public finance sectors. Before Goldman, Michael spent over 10 years in other credit risk and banking roles at Barclays, Dexia and Moody’s Investors Service focused primarily on energy, infrastructure and U.S. public finance. Michael holds a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a Bachelor of English Literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

ChristopherDonohue is the Managing Director of the GARP Benchmarking Initiative, a datautility for financial services companies to compare sensitive data. Previously,he led GARP’s Educational and Research Programs, with oversight including the FinancialRisk Manager (FRM®) and Energy Risk Professional (ERP®).

Prior tojoining GARP, Donohue’s roles include hedge fund partner responsible for thedevelopment of asset allocation tools for pension funds and automated tradingsystems; director in the Global Research Center at Deutsche Asset Management, leadingproduct research and development; and Director of Optimization Technology atAlphatech, a technology and research defense contractor, where he led algorithmdevelopment for intelligence aircraft path planning and sensor scheduling systems.