Synopsis
Artificial intelligence is reshaping the financial services industry, from how institutions serve customers and manage risk to how employees perform daily tasks. With Financial Services identified as one of Singapore’s national AI Mission sectors, there is a growing need to prepare talent who can use AI effectively, responsibly and confidently.
This panel discussion will explore how financial institutions can build an AI-ready workforce, with a particular focus on students, young professionals and early-career talent. The discussion will consider how to develop “AI bilingual” talent (professionals who combine domain expertise with practical AI capability) while examining how AI may reshape junior roles, workforce upskilling, career pathways, and the human skills that remain difficult for AI to replace.
The discussion will explore:
- How students and young professionals can build practical AI literacy without needing to be engineers;
- How AI may affect junior roles, learning pathways and readiness for mid-level positions;
- What AI-augmented productivity looks like in banks and financial institutions, and how employers are supporting workforce upskilling;
- How longer careers, human judgement, domain expertise and the limits of AI may shape the
- financial services workforce over the next five to ten years.
Programme
04:00 pm Registration
04:15 pm Welcome Remarks, EuroCham Singapore
04:20 pm Keynote Presentation, Ms Vivien Jong, Chief Digital and AI Officer – Asia, BNP Paribas
04:35 pm Panel Discussion moderated by Mr Peter Van Rest, Vice-Chair of Financial Services and Fintech Committee, EuroCham and Head of US and BeNeLux MNC Clients, Network Sector Coverage APAC, ING.
- Mr Laurence Liew, Director of AI Innovation, AI Singapore
- Prof Rick Marchese, Associate Academic Director of ESSEC’s Global BBA and Professor of Management Practice in Finance
- Tanja Petrovic, Global Head of Structured Credit Sales & Origination, Markets, Standard Chartered
05:05 pm Live Q&A
05:20 pm Closing Remarks, Ms Florence Foo, Head of HR SEA, BNP Paribas
05:30 pm Networking
06:00 pm End of event
Speakers
Mr Laurence Liew
Director of AI Innovation
AI Singapore
Laurence Liew is a pioneering figure in Singapore’s AI landscape who serves as the Director of AI Innovation at AI Singapore. With over 30 years of experience in technology leadership, he drives national initiatives that are transforming Singapore into a leading AI-First nation.
Laurence is the architect of several groundbreaking programs, including the 100 Experiments (100E) program connecting AI researchers with industry partners, and the award-winning AI Apprenticeship Programme (AIAP) developing Singapore’s AI talent pipeline. His LearnAI initiative has successfully exposed over 200,000 Singaporeans to AI education.
Internationally, he co-chairs the Global Partnership on AI’s (GPAI) Innovation and Commercialisation Working Group, focusing on AI adoption by SMEs globally. His expertise has led multiple countries to adopt AI Singapore’s programs through the AIAP-X initiative.
He is also the author of “AI-First Nation: A Blueprint for Policy Makers and Organisation Leaders” and is a sought-after speaker who makes complex AI concepts accessible while offering practical insights for organizations navigating their AI transformation journey.
Prof. Rick Marchese
Associate Academic Director of ESSEC’s Global BBA
Professor of Management Practice in Finance
ESSEC Business School
Prof. Marchese’s expertise spans corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and private equity. He brings more than 20 years of industry experience and deep expertise in public and private capital markets to the classroom. Beyond teaching, he remains active in private equity investing and advises corporate boards. As a finance practitioner himself, Rick would be well-placed to connect with the committee members and respond adeptly to the needs and interests of professionals in the field.
Tanja Petrovic
Global Head of Structured Credit Sales & Origination, Markets
Standard Chartered
Tanja Petrovic is the Global Head of Structured Credit Sales & Origination at Standard Chartered Bank, where she leads the Bank’s structured credit, securitised products and private credit sales and origination business across Asia, Europe, the United States and the Middle East. Based in Singapore, she is responsible for driving the strategic growth of the franchise, connecting institutional capital with financing opportunities across global markets, and advancing innovation within structured finance and private capital.
A strong advocate for technology-enabled transformation, Tanja is actively engaged in discussions around the intersection of financial markets, technology and innovation, with a particular interest in how AI can reshape decision-making, client engagement, risk management and capital markets infrastructure. To that end, she has completed the MIT xPRO’s Artificial Intelligence for Senior Executives programme, focusing on the strategic application of AI, enterprise transformation, governance frameworks, responsible adoption, and the impact of emerging technologies on business models, leadership and value creation. Complementing this strategic perspective, she is also one of the architects behind SCB’s internal AI-enabled platforms, helping drive innovation and practical AI adoption across the
organisation.
Since joining Standard Chartered in 2022, Tanja has been instrumental in building and scaling the Bank’s structured credit and private credit franchise into a globally recognised platform serving financial institutions, sponsors and institutional investors. Under her leadership, the business has significantly expanded its distribution capabilities, developed innovative financing solutions and strengthened connectivity between originators, investors and institutional capital providers worldwide.
Ms Vivien Jong
Chief Digital and AI Officer – Asia
BNP Paribas
Vivien Jong is the Chief Digital & Data Officer, Asia at BNP Paribas Wealth Management. An industry veteran with over 20 years of experience in banking and e-commerce, Vivien has led the bank’s digital penetration to over 80%. She is a pioneer of innovation, having established both a Design Thinking Center of Excellence and, most recently, the Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence (AI CoE) in Singapore. Her work focuses on the responsible deployment of generative and predictive AI to enhance portfolio analytics and advisory automation. Driven by a “client-first” philosophy, Vivien specializes in transforming digital platforms into world-class engagement engines.
Moderator
Mr Peter Van Rest
Head of US and BeNeLux MNC Clients
Network Sector Coverage APAC
ING Wholesale Banking
Peter van Rest is a seasoned financial services professional with over two decades of industry experience, including more than 17 years with ING Wholesale Banking. His international career began in Hong Kong and has since taken him to Amsterdam, New York, Berlin, and back to Amsterdam. He held various leadership roles in client coverage and derivative sales.
In early 2025, Peter once again took off his wooden shoes, this time relocating from Amsterdam to Singapore to assume a regional role. He now covers clients across the 11 countries where ING is active in the Asia-Pacific region, bringing a global perspective and deep client insight to the dynamic APAC market.
Peter holds an MSc from the Rotterdam School of Management and an Executive MBA from New York University. He is a CFA Charterholder.
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