Intro to first topic: Gender Equality Panel

Speakers

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  Virginia Stagni Head of Business Development & FT Talent Director
  

  Virginia Stagni

  Head of Business Development & FT Talent Director

  Virginia works between London and New York as a Business Development Manager in the Commercial Department of the Financial Times.

  Her role sees her investigate new business ideas and revenue growth opportunities, ensuring that the Financial Times remains one of the most innovative and disruptive players in the wider news landscape.

  Prior to joining the FT, Virginia was a start-up founder and entrepreneur, also working as a freelance reporter for La Stampa – one of the oldest newspapers in Italy. She is the CEO and founder of Logos, a mobile phone blockchain start-up, and previously founded a digital magazine, Revolart, as well as a cultural heritage foundation, Bolognadasballo.

  In 2016 she was named Best Italian Entrepreneur Under 25 and in 2019 was one of Digiday’s inaugural Future Leaders.

  Virginia holds an MSc in Media and Communications from the London School of Economics and a BSc in Economics and Management for Art, Culture and Communications from Bocconi University. In her spare time she enjoys ‘extreme’ travel.

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  Silvia Pavoni Economics Editor, The Banker
  

  Silvia Pavoni

  Economics Editor, The Banker

  Silvia Pavoni is the economics editor of The Banker, a magazine of the Financial Times group, and a columnist on sustainable finance and environmental, social and governance risks. She is also an honorary fellow at City, University of London and is part of the London council of not-for-profit organisation WILL, Women in Leadership in Latin America.

  She regularly interviews government officials, policy makers and finance professionals at the highest level and is an experienced public speaker. One of her most recent high-profile interviews was with Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, who serves as UN General-Secretary’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance. She has also interviewed Italian finance ministers and bank CEOs over the years.

  Since joining the Financial Times in 2005, Silvia has been on assignment to over two dozen countries, reporting with both written and filmed pieces. Previously, Silvia was in charge of Centaur Media’s specialist database on public private partnerships, which was tasked with providing data to the UK Government.

  Silvia holds an MSc and a BSc in Economics and Finance from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and speaks Italian – her mother-tongue – and Spanish.

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  Romulo Navarrete Partnerships Manager LATAM, Seedstars
  

  Romulo Navarrete

  Partnerships Manager LATAM, Seedstars

  Originally from Peru, Romulo has developed an international career from very early on that has allowed him to be knowledgeable in market expansion, sales, operations, strategic planning, and management & recruitment of diverse global teams. He is also keen on the SDGs conversation in relation with the startups scene in emerging markets, particularly in the Edtech, Healthtech, Gender Equality, Reduced Inequalities and Climate Action sectors.

  He studied Business Management at University of South Florida and started a career in Peru at the global leader company in international education, EF Education First. With proven sales experience in his home country, he then moved to Sao Paulo to expand the regional sales for the company in Brazil. Believing in the importance of continuous education and life experiences, he studied a Diploma in Sales Management in ESPM, pursued a Specialization in International Business in Rotterdam University and soon after, became an English teacher volunteer in a rural primary school in Thailand.

  He joined Seedstars soon after going back to Peru and launched the Seedstars Latin America tour in 2016, looking for the most promising entrepreneurs in the region and organizing the Seedstars World competition that connected the startups with investors, mentors and the public/private sector. After a year of travelling to more than 17 ecosystems in Latin America & the Caribbean, he moved to South Africa to start Seedspace, a strategic network of coworking and coliving hubs that is now present in 15 cities. This allowed Seedstars to set a physical footprint in Asia, Africa, Middle East and Latin America, and to actively promote the activities of the company. On his side, this got Romulo experience in launching a completely new business line across different parts of the world, keeping a global strategy adaptable to local markets

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  Astrid de Valon Digital Financial Inclusion & Women’s Economic Empowerment – Project Coordinator
  

  Astrid de Valon

  Digital Financial Inclusion & Women’s Economic Empowerment – Project Coordinator

  Astrid de VALON is coordinating WFP initiative on digital financial inclusion and women economic empowerment and is passionate about putting more money into more women’s hands. She started her career in the private sector with the Boston Consulting Group and spent over eighteen years in Africa and at global level in management and advisory positions with UN Agencies, International NGOs, the European Union and the OECD. She managed large scale cash programs, co-chaired of the first Regional Cash Working Group and participated to global advisory groups on cash transfer programming. In her work, she strives to ensure the best experience for women and men receiving cash assistance including mitigating risks of abuse of power. Astrid holds an MBA from ESSEC Business School and Universität Manheim. Astrid will bring into this session her understanding of opportunities to make digital finance work better for low-income women and discuss about what’s needed to catalyse real changes for women’s economic lives.