Pieter Franken is a passionate global FinTech Pioneer and a Deep Tech Innovator with many industry firsts under his belt. Career spanning over 35 years in the Financial Industry, specialising in technology & operations leadership, large-scale digital transformations, digital innovation, FinTech, Financial Inclusion, ClimateTech, AI and cybersecurity. C-level and executive positions with industry leaders including Citigroup, Shinsei Bank, Aplus, Monex Group, Union Digital Bank and Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN), and senior advisory/board positions including Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Sembcorp (Singapore) and Olympus Capital (US).

Pieter joined MAS as a member of its International Technology Advisory Panel (ITAP) and is a Founding Member of the ASEAN Innovation Network (now APIX), a nonprofit company founded by Monetary Authority of Singapore, IFC/World Bank and ASEAN Banking Association to accelerate digital transformation across Asia and other developing regions to foster Financial Inclusion and bridging the gaps between FinTechs and Financial Institutions and operator of the APIX Platform.

In 2023, Pieter co-founded the Japan FinTech Festival (now GFTN Forum Japan) in collaboration with Japan Financial Services Agency and GFTN and co-founded SIMBAS.io, to provide the digital rails for smaller financial institutions in emerging economies for rapid digitisation and financial inclusion. In 2011 co-founded SAFECAST.ORG, a global NPO critically acclaimed for citizen sourced, open environmental data.

Pieter holds a MSc in Computer Science from Delft University and currently is a Guest Professor and Senior Researcher at Keio University, an Adjunct Fellow with Griffith University Asia Institute (GAI) and MIT Media Lab and Harvard Kennedy School alumni. He has contributed to research in Artificial Intelligence, FinTech, Digital Assets, Financial Inclusion, Citizen Science and IoT.