Aspen is a place for leaders to lift their sights above the possessions which possess them. To confront their own nature as human beings, to regain control over their own humanity by becoming more self-aware, more self-correcting, and hence more self-fulfilling.

Walter P. Paepcke, Aspen Institute Co-Founder

The Aspen Institute Finance Leaders Fellowship Welcomes 24 Global Leaders Reimagining Finance as a Force for Good

The group of leaders from prominent organizations like JPMorgan Chase, State Street Investment Management, X (Alphabet’s Moonshot Factory), and the Monetary Authority of Singapore will marshal the industry’s influence to power a more just and prosperous world.

Washington, D.C., July 15, 2026 — Today, the Finance Leaders Fellowship (FLF) introduced the 2026 Class of Finance Leaders Fellows. The 24 Fellows join a global community of 196 Fellows across 26 countries and become part of the Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN) — a wider network of more than 4,200 values-based leaders in 62 countries.

“The finance industry holds real power to solve some of the world’s greatest challenges,” said Dar Vanderbeck, Vice President of the AGLN. “This class of Fellows is proof that leadership in finance can mean more than managing risk and protecting bottom lines; it can mean having the courage to redirect capital, influence, and imagination toward a more just and prosperous future. We’re thrilled to welcome them to the Aspen Institute and the AGLN.”

Selected for their leadership and capacity to drive meaningful change, the 2026 Class will embark on a two-year journey of searching conversation and deep self-reflection, grounded in the Aspen Institute’s 75-year tradition of text-based dialogue. Spanning leaders of global institutions, high-growth innovators, operators, regulators, and public servants, the cohort captures many of the forces reshaping finance today—from artificial intelligence and energy transition to digital assets and public policy. Stepping outside their respective industry silos, Fellows examine the values that guide them and launch individual or collaborative impact ventures that put those values into action.

The 2026 Class of Finance Leaders Fellows are:

  • Monica Adractas, Senior Advisor and Former Head of Growth Equity, Canada Pension PlanInvestment Board | San Francisco, CA, United States
  • Matthew Anestis, Co-Founder of The Remix Years and Guest Lecturer, Columbia University | New York, NY, United States
  • Malia Cohen, California State Controller, State of California | Sacramento, CA, United States
  • Jake Cusack, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, The CrossBoundary Group | London, United Kingdom 
  • Chris Farmer, Founder, Managing Partner, and Chief Executive Officer, SignalFire | San Francisco, CA, United States
  • Aditi Javeri Gokhale, Former President, Retail Investments and Chief Strategy Officer, Northwestern Mutual; Senior Advisor, Boston Consulting Group, Piko Labs AI | New York, NY, United States
  • Nezahat Gultekin, Founder, NG Partners and Former Head of Advisory, UniCredit | Milan, Italy
  • David Jen, Managing Director, Finance, X the Moonshot Factory | San Francisco, CA, United States
  • Alfred Johnson, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Crux | Washington D.C., United States 
  • Irini Kalamakis, Senior Managing Director, Global Head of Strategic Partnerships, OMERS Infrastructure | London, United Kingdom
  • Ben Levisohn, Editor-in-Chief, Barron’s | New York, NY, United States
  • Terah Lyons, Managing Director and Global Head of AI & Data Policy, JPMorgan Chase | New York, NY, United States
  • Faiz Mayalakkara, Director and Head of Investments, Emirates Investment Authority | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
  • Fernando Miranda, Chief Executive Officer, Neon Bank | São Paulo, Brazil
  • Anna Paglia, Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer, State Street Investment Management | Boston, MA, United States
  • Jennifer Park, Partner, Head of Impact, ALTÉRRA | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
  • Lila Preston, Partner and Co-Head of Growth Equity, Generation Investment Management | New York, NY, United States
  • Arjan Schütte, Founder and Managing Partner, Core Innovation Capital | Los Angeles, CA, United States
  • Nishant Sharma, Founder and Managing Partner, Kedaara Capital | Mumbai, India
  • Danilo Simonelli, Managing Director, Total Portfolio Management, Mastercard Foundation Asset Management | Toronto, Canada
  • Gillian Tan, Assistant Managing Director, Head of Development & International Group, Monetary Authority of Singapore | Singapore 
  • Geraldo Thomaz, Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer, VTEX | Greenwich, CT, United States & Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 
  • Sunayna Tuteja, Former Chief Innovation Officer, Federal Reserve System | Washington D.C., United States
  • Alex Wilson, Managing Director & Head, International Corporate Banking, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) | London, United Kingdom

The two-year Fellowship comprises four seminars held around the world, totaling approximately 25 days, under the guidance of senior Aspen Institute moderators. The 2026 Class will gather for their first seminar in Aspen, CO in October.  

The Finance Leaders Fellowship (FLF) is a global community of values-based finance leaders — ignited through rigorous self-reflection and bold action — harnessing the catalytic power of finance to build the Good Society. Selected for their singular leadership and capacity to drive change, FLF Fellows embark on a transformative journey of courageous conversation and deep self-reflection, grounded in the Aspen Institute’s 75-year tradition of text-based dialogue. During four week-long seminars along the initial two-year phase of their FLF journey, Fellows connect across geographies, ideologies, and lived experiences to examine the values that guide them and the power they hold to shape a better world. FLF was founded in 2016 by Aspen Institute Henry Crown Fellow, Ranji Nagaswami, and Aspen Institute Trustee, Chris Varelas. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org/flf.

The Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN) is a growing, worldwide community of more than 4,000 high-integrity, entrepreneurial leaders from over 60 countries who share a commitment to enlightened leadership and to using their creativity, energy, and resources to tackle the foremost societal challenges of our times. Because of their demonstrated accomplishments and abilities, they have been selected to join one of 13 geographic or sector-specific AGLN Fellowships around the world.  For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org/agln.  

The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization whose purpose is to ignite human potential to build understanding and create new possibilities for a better world. Founded in 1949, the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve society’s greatest challenges. It is headquartered in Washington, DC and has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, as well as an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.