SPEAKERS
ANDREW NAYLOR
HEAD OF MIDDLE EAST AND PUBLIC POLICY
WORLD GOLD COUNCIL
Andrew Naylor joined the World Gold Council in 2016. He leads the Council’s regional office in the UAE and heads up public policy initiatives globally. Before his current role, he was Head of APAC (ex-China) and based in Singapore. He was previously part of the central banks and public policy team and led the Council’s Islamic finance initiative. Before joining the World Gold Council Andrew worked for the international consultancy firm Cicero Group advising financial institutions on foreign investment and trade policy in Asia and the global regulatory reform agenda.
Andrew is a member of the supervisory board of the EU-ASEAN Business Council. Previous appointments include chairman of the Singapore Bullion Market Association’s public affairs committee from 2017-2013, and board member of the European Chamber of Commerce in Singapore between 2012 and 2019.
Andrew regularly gives broadcast media commentary on global political-economic developments on the BBC, Bloomberg Asharq, Sky News, Channel NewsAsia, Dubai Eye and CNBC.
Andrew has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
JUAN CARLOS ARTIGAS
GLOBAL HEAD OF RESEARCH
WORLD GOLD COUNCIL
Juan Carlos joined the WGC in 2009. He serves as the Global Head of Research and is a member of the Management Committee. He and his team develop timely insights on gold market trends, drivers of price, and the role that gold plays in investment strategies.
During his tenure, Juan Carlos has reshaped the organization’s approach to research through robust analysis, incorporating findings from gold physical and derivatives markets and their link to the macroeconomy and geopolitics. This perspective has informed the development of WGC’s Gold Valuation Framework, a novel methodology for understanding the factors that determine gold’s performance.
Previously, Juan Carlos worked at JPMorgan Securities as a US and Emerging Markets fixed income strategist. In this role, he developed sovereign- and corporate-debt valuation frameworks and contributed to leading US and Emerging Markets financial publications. Juan Carlos holds a BS in Actuarial Sciences from ITAM (Mexico) and an MBA and MS in Statistics from the University of Chicago. He was also a candidate for Doctor of Philosophy in Econometrics and Statistics from the University of Chicago.
MATTHEW KEEN
SENIOR ADVISOR
WORLD GOLD COUNCIL
Matthew is a veteran of the gold market having spent time working for both gold refiners and thee banking sector.
Matthew started his career at Johnson Matthey Bankers in 1982 in the aftermath of gold's record breaking run up to $850 spurred by the infamous Bunker Hunt episode. In 1987 he moved to Engelhard (now BASF) where he started his specialisation in platinum group metals (PGMS). In 1991 he left Engelhard to build a PGM business for JPMorgan where he remained for 10 years, including a period in Singapore where his specialisation broadened to official sector coverage. In 2005 he joined Deutsche Bank to rebuild their official sector business in precious metals before moving on to establishing them in PGMs, pioneering a new approach for metal financing. In 2012 he relocated to Dubai with Deutsche Bank and most recently ran Jefferies International’s Dubai office, responsible for regional activities across all financial markets. Whilst at Deutsche Bank he held the following Directorships: London Precious Metal Clearing Ltd. Director, The London Gold Fixing Company Ltd. Director, The London Silver Fixing Company Ltd. Director. He has also been a member of the management committee for the London Platinum & Palladium Market for much of the last 20 years and currently sits on the public affairs committee for the Dubai Gold Advisory Group.
He currently acts as a senior advisor to the World Gold Council.
SUDHEESH NAMBIATH
MANAGER – PRECIOUS METALS
DMCC
Sudheesh Nambiath is Manager for Precious Metals at DMCC (Dubai Multi-Commodities Centre).
Appointed to the role in September 2022, Sudheesh is responsible for building and growing DMCC’s precious metals ecosystem. He is also a member of the Executive Office of the Emirates Bullion Market Committee under the UAE Ministry of Economy, where he looks after UAE Good Delivery standard accreditations and promoting best practices on responsible sourcing.
Prior to joining DMCC, Sudheesh was Head of the India Gold Policy Centre in Ahmedabad, India, among other roles. He is a graduate in economics and a post-graduate in business administration.
STUART THOMAS
CHAIR HOLDER
THE WOODEN CHAIR
Stuart Thomas is CEO of The Wooden Chair, a specialist Precious Metal insurance broker based in London, Dubai and Perth. He has been a broker at Lloyd’s of London for over 30 years, most of which has been focused on the precious metal supply chain; from mines (commercial and ASM) to secure logistics, refineries/off takers, financial institutions and the retail sector.
Having travelled to over 55 countries to see precious metal risks first hand, he has arranged insurance solutions for most precious metal exposures. He placed the largest precious metals risk in the history of Lloyd’s of London (USD3 billion), and some of the most interesting and unusual risks such as insuring unmined gold and Central Bank gold shipments during sanctioned periods. Stuart and his team serve the Middle East and Africa via their local office in Dubai, in partnership with the Chedid Group.