ECSDA Senior Council & Annual Conference

Head Securities Services, SIX

Javier Hernani has been Head Securities Services at SIX since January 2021. In June 2020, he assumed the role of Head BME after the takeover of BME by SIX. The Spanish citizen holds degrees in economics and business management from Universidad Comercial de Deusto and in european studies from Brugges European School. Before joining BME in 2002, he held the position as Deputy General Manager of the Bilbao Stock Exchange. Previously Javier Hernani worked as European Financial Sector consultant at Coopers & Lybrand Brussels and as CFO at Norbolsa, a Spanish broker.

Other Activities and Mandates

• Member of the Board of Directors Bolsas y Mercados Españoles (BME), Madrid
• Member of the Board of Directors Operador do Mercado Ibérico de Energia, Madrid
• Chairman Federación Iberoamericana de Bolsas (FIAB), Buenos Aires

Head Domestic Custody & TR, SIX

Jesús Benito is Head Domestic Custody & TR Operations, SIX. He is also IBERCLEAR C.E.O. since 2006 and REGIS-TR Chairman since 2022.

Jesús has been involved in the European CSD Association (ECSDA) as member of its Board of Directors and Executive Committee.  Nowadays, he is member of the ECSDA Senior CSD Industry Council.

Jesús has a relevant role in T2S. He is the T2S CSD Steering Group (“CSG”) Chairman from its inception in 2012.
He has participated in numerous international Groups, created by the European Commission, ESMA and the European Central Bank, among others.

Before joining Iberclear in 2000, he worked for Banco de España from 1988 to 2000 and has a Business Degree from Complutense University

Head of Settlement Services, SIX

Jesús Sánchez has over 30 years in the industry in different positions, but mainly in the areas of Settlement and Custody.

He chairs the Settlement Working Group of the European Central Securities Depositories Association (ECSDA), where the ECSDA CSDR Penalties Framework was agreed and with settlement efficiency being one of the key issues, and the Market Settlement Efficiency (MSE) workshop of T2S, where relevant issues regarding efficiency are assessed and support further discussions in national communities. He is also member of various market committees and expert groups at national and international level such as the T2S CSDs Steering Group (CSG), the Advisory Group on Market Infrastructures for Securities and Collateral (AMI-SeCo), the Spanish National Stakeholder Group (NSG).

Prior to joining Iberclear in 2006, he worked at Citibank for 14 years, being the head of respective Equities and Fixed Income Settlement departments.
He has a degree in Economics and Business by Universidad Autónoma of Madrid and an Executive Master of Business Administration.

Head of SIX Digital Exchange, SDX

David Newns, a finance professional with over 25 years of experience, joined SIX Group as Head of SIX Digital Exchange (SDX) in 2021. With a deep knowledge of DLT applications in financial services, David advocates for wholesale CBDC as a foundational component for the successful deployment and leveraging of the full potential of DLT and blockchain technology within the global capital markets.

Having an extensive background in traditional finance, he understands the importance of investor protection, robust control environments, a clear governance framework, and adherence to regulatory obligations when applied to the digital asset space. David led SDX to achieve significant milestones, including issuing the first digital bond and tokenizing equity shares. In 2023, SDX made history by settling securities transactions in wholesale CBDC.