In 2023, the Lam-Larsen FinTech Initiative—Lam Family College of Business at San Francisco State University co-hosted two free fintech conferences, one in February and the second in May.
The Lam-Larsen FinTech Initiative is one of five initiatives created in the Lam Family College of Business at SF State from the Lam-Larsen Fund for Global Innovation. The mission of the FinTech Initiative is to become the educational leader in fintech/cryptocurrency in the San Francisco Bay Area to prepare students to join the world’s top fintech companies.
February 24, 2023 | Fintech Conference: Innovation, Inclusion and Risks
Held both in-person and online, this fintech conference was co-hosted by the Lam-Larsen FinTech Initiative—Lam Family College of Business at San Francisco State University, the Center for Analytical Finance (CAFIN) at the University of California Santa Cruz, and The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
Building communication channels among regulators, industry, and academia is critical to developing a safe, fair, efficient, and transparent digital financial system. The conference brought together top experts and leaders from policymakers and regulators, industry participants, and academics to contribute to this conversation. The conference’s goal was to provide a venue for a productive dialogue among participant groups to discuss each other’s concerns and experiences from the equal ground and share knowledge on the current state and potential of fintech.
The keynote speaker was Mark A. Gould, Chief Payments Executive of Federal Reserve Financial Services. He previously served as CIO, COO, and interim CEO for the San Francisco Fed. The conference's overarching theme was to better understand how fintech would be integrated into our existing financial infrastructure, as well as the role of banks, stablecoins, and payments. Organizers and attendees sought to understand the optimal amount of decentralization versus centralization, and explored how these new technologies could enhance financial inclusion globally. The conference also provided opportunities to network in person with fintech experts and leaders.
May 11, 2023 | Fintech Conference: Trends in Fintech and Sustainable Finance
Held in-person, this fintech conference was co-hosted by the Lam-Larsen FinTech Initiative—Lam Family College of Business at San Francisco State University, and the Center for Analytical Finance (CAFIN) at the University of California Santa Cruz.
The conference offered the opportunity to learn from top experts from industry, academia, and regulatory authorities as they engaged in rich discussions about the latest trends in fintech and sustainable finance. Organizers and attendees explored the synergy between trends in fintech and sustainable finance and shared various perspectives regarding the current state of fintech, climate finance, and sustainable finance. Attendees were also able to network and engage in conversations with fintech experts and thought leaders.
Speakers included SF State alum Chris Larsen, co-founder and Executive Chairman of Ripple; alum Jairo Garcia of BlackRock; Christine Parlour, professor and Sylvan C. Coleman Chair of Finance and Accounting at Berkeley Haas; digital finance expert Ashley Lannquist, formerly of the World Economic Forum; and many others.
