AI For Finance

Geertrui Mieke De Ketelaere is Adjunct Professor at Vlerick Business School. She holds a master degree in civil and industrial engineering and specialised in robotics and artificial intelligence during her studies.

Over the last 28 years, she has worked for several multinationals on all aspects of data and analytics (IBM, Microsoft, SAP, SAS, etc). From a business consulting point of view, she is specialised in defining the AI business canvas, from potential value to predefined risks. With her understanding of the hindsight, insight and foresight of AI technologies, she also frequently acts as an expert and coach behind the scenes.

In her public presentations and recent book, Mieke puts the focus on the demystification of the hype around AI. The State Secretary of Digitalisation, Mathieu Michel, appointed Mieke as ‘Digital Mind’ in 2020. In 2022 and 2023, Mieke was runner-up in the selection ‘ICT Personality of the Year’ in Belgium. Today, Mieke continues to share her vision on the future of AI as a speaker on international radio, television and conferences.

Keynote

During the last months, generative AI has revolutionised the field of AI, allowing for the creation of new and innovative applications that were once unimaginable before in finance.

During her keynote, De Ketelaere will explore the history and future value that generative AI brings to companies and society, from creating life-like visual and audio content to helping with scientific discovery and simplifying tasks for financial professionals.

However, this talk will also highlight the potential risks associated with generative AI for people and planet, including issues of misuse and manipulation that are tremendously present within the financial world.

By balancing the opportunities and challenges of this cutting-edge technology in the financial sector, we can ensure a bright and responsible future and avoid another AI winter.

Dion Bongaerts is an Professor of Financial Technology and Data Analytics at RSM Erasmus University and Academic Director Fintech at the Erasmus Center for Data Analytics. He specializes in the behavior of credit rating agencies, the pricing of credit risky instruments, the origins and effects of market illiquidity, and FinTech (with a focus on Blockchain and AI). His work has been presented at major conferences around the world, including the AFA, WFA, EFA, and NBER meetings and published in top tier academic journals including the Journal of Finance, Review of Financial Studies, the Journal of Financial Economics, and Management Science. He has received several grants, including a Veni and a Blockchain Research grant from the Dutch National Science Foundation (NWO) and a Lamfalussy Fellowship from the ECB. Prof. Bongaerts holds a PhD degree in Finance from the University of Amsterdam, an MSc in Econometrics from Maastricht University, and has been a visiting scholar at Yale School of Management, University of Pittsburgh, and the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing. Moreover, he has several years of professional experience as a risk management quant at ABN-AMRO bank.

Keynote

In this keynote, Professor Bongaerts analyzes the cash conversion cycle for companies in both the B2B and B2C markets. In each of the components of this cycle, Professor Bongaerts demonstrates the challenges that controllers and CFOs encounter and how AI and other technologies can assist in addressing these issues. The entire presentation is illustrated using practical examples.

David Harding is the Group CEO of MagicOrange, the market’s most advanced, cloud-native, IT financial management platform

Prior to MagicOrange, David was a Managing Director and the International COO for Technology at Morgan Stanley and he has more than two decades of experience in technology management.

David also spent 6 years at Credit Suisse, during which time he launched and led the firm’s first global technology cost transparency initiative, a program which he also subsequently led at Morgan Stanley. He has developed and drives a strong culture of accountability to the business, delivering value through cost transparency.

David is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. He also holds a certificate in Digital Innovation for Finance and a Bachelors degree in Modern Languages from the University of Southampton in the UK.

Jan Van de Poel is an seasoned entrepreneur and engineer with a diverse range of experiences in the tech industry. He is the founder of SeeMe.ai, a no-code MLOps platform that allows companies to leverage cutting-edge AI while focussing on their business challenges.

In 2010, Jan co-founded Flow Pilots, a full-service agency specialising in mobile applications and digital transformation for enterprises. He served as a partner until the acquisition in 2017.

Jan was also actively involved as a coach for CoderDojo Belgium from 2013 to 2018, setting up the Hasselt Dojo together with support from the PXL and UHasselt. As a coach, he mentors aspiring young coders and helps them develop their programming and problem solving skills.

He holds both a Master of Civil Engineering in Computer Science from KU Leuven, which he completed with distinction in 2007, as well as a Master’s degree in Commercial Engineering with a specialisation in Information Management Systems from KU Leuven, which he earned in 2005.