Name
Lavan Thasarathakumar
Job Title
Government and Regulatory Affairs Director, EMEA
Company
GBBC Digital Finance
Speaker Bio
Lavan is the Director of Government and Regulatory Affairs at GBBC Digital Finance. He leads our efforts in representing the view of the industry to policy makers and regulators and distilling and disseminating information that has come out of them back to the industry. A thought leader in the field, Lavan has spoken at a number of public events including the World Government Summit, EuroFi, Digital Assets Week, London FinTech Week and many more.

Lavan was a former UK advisor at the European Parliament with a focus on Economic and Monetary Affairs within which he specialised in emerging technologies advising on a number of FinTech, Cryptoasset and DLT files. Most notably, he advised the rapporteur of the EU Crowdfunding Service Providers Regulation and the Comprehensive European Industrial Policy on Artificial Intelligence and Robotics.

Lavan is a director at Thasa Consulting, which he advises firms, trade associations and supranational organisations on matters pertaining to emerging tech policy. Notably he authored the Commonwealth Secretariat Regulatory Guidance on Virtual Currencies in 2019 and the UK FinTech Strategic Review in 2021.

Lavan is also a Consultant at Hogan Lovells, where he works within the Digital Assets and Blockchain Practice.

Lavan’s ability to navigate the EU and UK legislative process enables him to help members understand the incoming regulatory requirements that will impact them. His experience in drafting legislation, policy recommendations and a strong understanding of the industry leaves him well placed to represent our members.