< Fintech's Most Powerful Dealmakers of 2016

In the race to be the premier fintech hub, Singapore concedes no ground to London, New York, and Silicon Valley, and the island city-state’s central bank is all-in. In July 2015, Monetary Authority of Singapore managing director Ravi Menon announced the bank had created a fintech and innovation group to orchestrate “regulatory policies and development strategies” to promote Singapore as a “smart financial center.” The group’s chief fintech officer, Sopnendu Mohanty, says the vision is “one that is characterized by innovation, and where businesses and people benefit from the use of technology.” The initiative is an outgrowth of the Financial Sector Technology & Innovation project, set up by MAS in June 2015 with S$225 million ($162 million) to deploy over five years to create a fertile fintech environment, including innovation centers to attract R&D labs. MAS has delineated seven areas capable of transforming financial services: digital and mobile payments; blockchain and distributed ledger; advanced sensors; learning machines; big data; cloud computing; and authentication and biometrics. “These are to be supported by a strong API [application programming interface] architecture and enhanced cybersecurity,” says Mohanty, 45, who previously spent 12 years with Citibank, most recently as global head of consumer lab networks and programs. From 2010 to 2014 he was Citi’s Asia-Pacific head of branch operations and led its Singapore consumer innovation lab. MAS seeks to encourage “a ‘just do it’ mind-set,” Mohanty explains. “Financial institutions can launch their innovative solutions without first seeking MAS’s endorsement if they are satisfied with their own due diligence in terms of risk management and compliance with relevant regulations. Where regulatory compliance is unclear, financial institutions and fintech companies can adopt a ‘regulatory sandbox’ to launch innovative solutions within controlled boundaries, where the risks can be contained.” A native of Balasore, India, Mohanty graduated from Birla Institute of Technology in Ranchi in 1995 with a degree in information science. Since 2011 he has coauthored four patent filings related to retail distribution in the financial sector. “In the field of innovation, you learn something new every day,” Mohanty says. “My personal and professional journey prepared me well for dealing with uncertainties.”

 
The 2016 Fintech Finance 35

1. Jonathan Korngold General Atlantic 2. Matthew Harris Bain Capital Ventures 3. Jane Gladstone Evercore Partners Methanol Gains Traction as an Alternative Energy Source Sponsored by CME Group May 5, 2025 4. James Robinson III & James Robinson IV RRE Ventures 5. Steven McLaughlin Financial Technology Partners 6. Amy Nauiokas & Sean Park Anthemis Group

7. Richard Garman & Brad Bernstein FTV Capital 8. Gerard von Dohlen Broadhaven Capital Partners 9. Darren Cohen Goldman Sachs Group 10. Hans Morris Nyca Partners 11. Meyer (Micky) Malka Ribbit Capital 12. Maria Gotsch Partnership Fund for New York City

13. Barry Silbert Digital Currency Group 14. Jay Reinemann Propel Venture Partners 15. Mariano Belinky Santander InnoVentures 16. Justin Brownhill & Neil DeSena SenaHill Partners 17. François Robinet AXA Strategic Ventures 18. Vanessa Colella Citi Ventures

19. Michael Schlein Accion International 20. Kenneth Marlin Marlin & Associates 21. Rumi Morales CME Ventures 22. Alastair (Alex) Rampell Andreessen Horowitz 23. Steve Gibson Euclid Opportunities 24. Fabian Vandenreydt SWIFT

25. Vladislav Solodkiy Life.SREDA 26. Gardiner Garrard III TTV Capital 27. Nektarios Liolios Startupbootcamp Fintech 28. Lawrence Wintermeyer Innovate Finance 29. Bina Kalola Bank of America Merrill Lynch 30. Hyder Jaffrey Fintech Innovation

31. Calvin Choi AMTD Group 32. Janos Barberis FinTech Hong Kong 33. Jalak Jobanputra Future Perfect Ventures 34. Sopnendu Mohanty Monetary Authority of Singapore 35. Oskar Mielczarek de la Miel Rakuten FinTech Fund