Archives: Speakers

My experience includes:

• Regulatory/ clinical affairs
• Led projects as subject matter expert in the various therapeutic areas
• Maintained metrics and handled clients’ and stakeholders’ expectations; managed timely service delivery
• Organized, managed and provided strategic inputs in projects
• Ensured high scientific integrity following negotiation with internal and external partners
• Collaborated with internal teams to deliver projects on time and in accordance with client requirements and contractual commitments
• Ensured quality assurance for all projects within scope guidelines
• Delivered onboarding training for new joiners

Vanloan Nguyen (she/her) is the Chief Executive Officer of Berkeley Pharma Tech and the founder of the Berkeley Pharma Tech Foundation, organizations focused on advancing innovation, entrepreneurship, and access in the life sciences industry. She has built a dynamic community that connects scientists, entrepreneurs, investors, and industry professionals through educational programs, conferences, and strategic partnerships. With expertise in biotechnology entrepreneurship, venture investing, and ecosystem development, Vanloan supports early-stage founders, researchers, and investors in translating scientific discoveries into real-world impact while actively evaluating and supporting emerging life science ventures. She holds a Master’s degree in Biotechnology Enterprise and Entrepreneurship from Johns Hopkins University and is dedicated to fostering healthcare innovation and empowering the next generation of biotechnology leaders.

David Heath is an Irish entrepreneur and chartered accountant who began his career in audit at Grant Thornton. Shaped by those early experiences, he quickly recognised that manual audit processes represented more than an administrative burden — they were a systemic weakness at the core of audit quality and trust.

This conviction led Heath to found Circit in 2017, with a mission to automate and digitise audit processes to reduce risk, streamline engagements, and improve client relationships. What began as a platform for automating bank audit confirmations has since grown into a comprehensive verification layer used by more than 400 audit firms, including every one of the top 20 global audit networks.

Mark is a 15 year veteran of the Accounting Tech and BPO space having worked with Intuit, Dext and leading the Frontline UK before joining Acting office to build the UK Revenue Team

Originally training as an engineer, optimising systems and processes to help people succeed is a big part of my professional M.O. I have gained a deep knowledge and understanding of the end-to-end accounting workflow through years of osmosis, as well as a passion for digital transformation and AI adoption.

Dimitar Stanimiroff is GM EMEA at Suralink, where he works with leading accounting firms across Europe to reimagine client collaboration and operational efficiency through agentic automation. He brings an operator’s lens to the profession – having spent over 15 years as GM EMEA for some of technology’s most ambitious businesses, helping turn companies like Crossbeam, Handshake, and Stack Overflow into category leaders across European markets. He has founded two startups and actively invests in early-stage technology companies. That outsider perspective informs how he thinks about the structural shifts now facing accounting: the automation of knowledge work, the redefinition of talent, and what it means to build and own a global firm in an era of agentic AI. At this year’s Forum, he’ll explore how firms that move decisively on these questions won’t just survive the transition – they’ll define what comes next.

Taylor Guthrie is an Accounting Manager at FinQuery. Prior to FinQuery, Taylor earned a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from Lynchburg College and then transitioned to a public auditor role at Brown Edwards. As a former audit senior, he assisted in the audits of various entities in various niches. This background includes implementation and maintenance of ASC 842, GASB 87, and GASB 96. Today Taylor helps FinQuery’s customers understand and implement the new lease standards as well as navigate intricacies of the software.

Lee White, FCA became IFAC’s Chief Executive Officer in March 2024. IFAC is the global organization for the accountancy profession, comprising 180 member and associate organizations in 135 jurisdictions, representing millions of professional accountants.

Lee is a professional accountant and a member of ACCA and Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ). During his career, he has worked as an assurance practitioner in both the private (PWC) and public sectors (Auditor-General of NSW), a securities and audit inspector regulator, leader of a professional accounting body, and as a leader of an international public interest organization supporting both global financial reporting and sustainability standards.  He has predominately been dedicated in his career to serving the public interest.

He served the IFRS Foundation from 2018 to 2024, as the Managing Director and during his tenure there was the transformational creation of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) within the IFRS Foundation, and the launch of the ISSB’s first two sustainability standards in June 2023.

Before joining the IFRS Foundation, Lee spent nine years leading Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand or its predecessor body, including six years as its inaugural Chief Executive Officer  (2012-2017). CAANZ was created from the unique combination of chartered accounting institutes in Australia and New Zealand which Lee fulfilled a pivotal role in securing successful member votes (super majorities) in both countries. He also worked as the Chief Accountant at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission for six years, during which time he represented Australia at the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and was directly involved in the creation and initial years of operation of the International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators (IFIAR).

Lee is a proud graduate of Executive Leadership from INSEAD.