Leveraging Technology and Innovation for Disaster Risk Management and Financing


This webinar featured a presentation of the main findings of the ADB-OECD report on Leveraging Technology and Innovation for Disaster Risk Management and Financing. The report proposed strategic approaches to leveraging and integrating these technologies and innovations into effective disaster risk management and financing. It also examined the policy and regulatory factors that can best support preparedness and response to increasing disaster and climate risks to ultimately enhancing financial resilience. These policy considerations were further discussed in the subsequent panel discussion.

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Event details

Date/Venue:

19:00–20:30 (Manila time, GMT+8)
Thursday 11 March 2021
Online meeting

Contacts:

  • Peter Rosenkranz
    Economist, Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department,
    Asian Development Bank

    Email: prosenkranz@adb.org
  • Mamiko Yokoi-Arai
    Head of Insurance, Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs,
    Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

    Email: Mamiko.YOKOI-ARAI@oecd.org
  • Leigh Wolfrom
    Policy Analyst, Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs,
    Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

    Email: Leigh.WOLFROM@oecd.org
  • Paulo Rodelio Marquez. Halili
    Senior Economics Officer, Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department,
    Asian Development Bank

    Email: phalili@adb.org
  • Marilyn Aure. Parra
    Senior Operations Assistant, Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department,
    Asian Development Bank

    Email: mparra@adb.org

Download:

Video


Programmetoggle

MC:
Peter Rosenkranz Economist, Regional Cooperation and Integration Division, Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department, Asian Development Bank
19:00–19:05
Opening Remarks:
Yasuyuki Sawada Chief Economist and Director General, Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department, Asian Development Bank
Bio

Yasuyuki Sawada is Chief Economist of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Director General of its Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department. He is chief spokesperson on economic and development trends, and leads the production of ADB’s flagship knowledge products and support for regional cooperation fora.

Before joining ADB, Mr. Sawada was Professor of Economics at the University of Tokyo, and has led numerous large-scale development policy evaluation projects for various institutions. His key research areas are development economics, microeconometrics, economics of disasters, and field surveys and experiments. Mr. Sawada obtained his Ph.D. in Economics from Stanford University.

19:05–19:10
Welcoming Remarks:
Ulrik Vestergaard Knudsen Deputy Secretary-General, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Bio

Ulrik Vestergaard Knudsen took up his duties as Deputy SecretaryGeneral in January 2019. His portfolio includes the strategic direction of OECD policy on science, technology and innovation; employment, labor and social affairs, migration, health; education; and entrepreneurship, SMEs, regions and cities. He oversees the Centre for Skills and the newly established Well-Being, Inclusion, Sustainability and Equal Opportunity Centre (WISE). Jointly with the Secretary-General, Mr. Knudsen transformed the OECD Executive Committee in Special Session into the Global Strategy Group (GSG) to have a strategic forum to discuss issues of global relevance, which he chaired from 2013-2017.

19:10–19:15
Message from Government of the Philippines, Co-Chair Working Group on Regional Disaster Risk Financing Solutions for APEC Economies
Mark Dennis Y.C. Joven Undersecretary, International Finance Group, Department of Finance, Philippines
Bio

Mark Dennis Y.C. Joven is the Undersecretary for the International Finance Group of the Philippine Department of Finance. He was formerly Assistant Secretary of the Revenue Operations Group (ROG) of the same Department, the office exercising general supervision over internal revenue and customs operations. He represented the Philippines in tax treaty negotiations and in various international tax fora. He recently shepherded the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law and the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act. He is licensed to practice law in the Philippines and in the State of New York. He previously chaired the Tax Committee of the Philippine Bar Association and cochaired its Legal Education Committee.

He earned the Master of Law degree from Harvard Law School (Tax Concentration), the Bachelor of Laws cum laude from the UP College of Law, the Bachelor of Business Administration and Accountancy degree cum laude from the UP College of Business Administration and placed first in the 2001 CPA Board Exams.

19:15–19:30
Joint Report Presentation by ADB and the OECD

Leveraging Technology and Innovation for Disaster Risk Management and Financing
Cyn-Young Park Director, Regional Cooperation and Integration Division, Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department, Asian Development Bank
Bio

Cyn-Young Park is Director of the Regional Cooperation and Integration Division in the Economics Research and Regional Cooperation Department of the ADB. In her current capacity, she manages a team of economists to examine policy issues related to regional cooperation and integration (RCI) and develop strategies and approaches to support RCI. Her team also produces the Asian Economic Integration Report, an annual publication on the progress of regional economic integration and policy challenges. During her progressive career within ADB, she has been a main author and contributor to ADB’s major publications including Asian Development Outlook (ADB’s flagship publication), Asia Capital Markets Monitor, Asia Economic Monitor, Asia Bond Monitor, and ADB Country Diagnostic Study Series. She has also participated in various global and regional forums including the G20 Development Working Group, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), ASEAN+3, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and AsiaEurope Meeting (ASEM). She has written and lectured extensively about the Asian economy and financial markets. Prior to joining the ADB, she served as Economist (1999-2002) at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), where she contributed to the OECD Economic Outlook.

She received her PhD in Economics from Columbia University, and bachelor’s degree in International Economics from Seoul National University

Mamiko Yokoi-Arai Head of Insurance, Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Bio

Mamiko Yokoi-Arai leads the insurance work and works on key financial market issues, and is Principal Administrator at the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). She is responsible for the coordination and organization of the OECD’s Insurance and Private Pensions Committee which provides policy guidance on insurance and private pensions systems, and has been working on projects including policy guidance on cyber risk insurance, disaster risk financing, insurer governance, market access, technology and innovation, retirement savings and annuities, and policyholder protection. She is leading a project on long-term health care insurance at the OECD which is intended as a multiyear project that will examine the intersection of social security and social objectives with insurance.

She also works on financial market issues, in particular the assessment of the financial systems of countries acceding to the OECD and is developing reports on SME financing via marketplace lending and ICOs. She also recently led an AML project providing technical assistance to Latvia.

Dr. Yokoi-Arai previously worked at the Bank of Japan and the Japanese Financial Services Agency. She was a Reader in International Finance Law at Queen Mary, University of London for several years.

She has a PhD in Law from the University of London, and a MA and BA from the University of Tsukuba. She was awarded a scholarship to attend the United World College of South East Asia in Singapore.

19:30–20:30
Panel Discussion:
Moderator:
Yoshihiro Kawai Chair of the OECD Insurance and Private Pensions Committee, and Advisory to the Commissioner, Financial Services Agency of Japan
Bio

Yoshihiro Kawai is Chairman of OECD Insurance and Private Pension Committee, Advisor to Commissioner, Financial Services Agency, Government of Japan, and Member of International Advisory Council, China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission. He is also Professor of Kyoto University, and Tokyo University.

He held the position of Secretary General of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) from June 2003 until November 2017. He joined the IAIS in 1998 as Deputy Secretary General and was instrumental in the fast and dynamic growth of the Association. While performing his IAIS duties, Professor Kawai was also a member of the Financial Stability Board (formerly Financial Stability Forum) from 1999 until November 2017.

Professor Kawai’s professional career began with Tokio Marine and Fire Insurance Co and the Ministry of Labour, Tokyo. He later served on the Secretariat for the OECD Insurance Committee in Paris for 4 years. From 1995 until 1998, he acted as Advisor to the Minister of Finance and the President of the Insurance Supervisory Authority Poland in Warsaw.

Professor Kawai earned his PhD in 2000 from City University, London, with his thesis on the reform of insurance supervisory systems for economies in transition. His PhD was preceded by a BA in Education and Sociology from the University of Tokyo and an MBA with a specialization in Economics and Finance from INSEAD.


Paola Alvarez Assistant Secretary, Department of Finance, Philippines
Bio

Atty. Paola Sherina A. Alvarez is currently the Assistant Secretary for International Finance and Special Projects and the Spokesperson and Head of Communications at the Philippine Department of Finance. As an Assistant Secretary, she handles sustainable and climate finance and disaster risk finance. She sits as the Department of Finance Secretary’s alternate in different international platforms, such as the ASEAN DRFI-TWG, APEC, SEADRIF, and the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action. As the Head of Communications, she provides the overall direction on the content of the communication materials published across digital and traditional platforms.

Swenja Surminski Head of Adaptation Research, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
Bio

Swenja Surminski is Head of Adaptation Research at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, part of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). She is overseeing research projects investigating climate risk management and resilience strategies focusing on public policies, financial instruments and corporate governance through a mix of inter-disciplinary approaches. Swenja has published widely on these topics and is the author of ‘The Triple Resilience Dividend’. She works closely with industry and policymakers and was appointed Visiting Academic at the Bank of England to work on the regulator’s first report on climate change. In addition to her academic career, Swenja has spent more than 10 years in the international insurance industry working on disaster risk transfer solutions and climate risk management. Swenja is Associate Principal at Vivid Economics.

Oliver Walker Principal and Natural Resources Practice Lead, Vivid Economics
Bio

Oliver Walker heads Vivid’s Natural Resources practice group and leads Vivid’s work on resilience and disaster risk management. He has over 13 years of experience in developing and communicating strategies that promote economic and social resilience in private markets and for public clients. He has a strong track record delivering policy and industry recommendations to international organizations, country governments, NGOs and think tanks, as well as industry clients in the insurance, water and financial sectors across the globe. Oliver holds a PhD in Economics from Oxford University and is author of The Rough Guide to Economics.

Bill Marcoux WCM Advisory, LLC and Chair, Legislation, Regulation and Resilience Policies Working Group, Insurance Development Forum (IDF)
Bio

Bill Marcoux is an advisor to senior insurance executives, board members and other insurance industry stakeholders. He has 40 years of experience working in the insurance sector, most recently as the global head of DLA Piper’s Corporate Insurance Practice and previously as co-head of the insurance sector practice at Dewey & LeBoeuf. Bill has broad international and US experience. He spent more than a decade based in London as head of Dewey’s insurance practice and during this time also served as the managing partner of the firm’s Hong Kong and Paris offices. He has assisted clients with strategic plans, corporate restructurings, capital raisings, M&A transactions, market access, and significant regulatory issues. Bill is a chair of the Insurance Development Forum’s Working Group on Law, Regulation, and Resilience Policies and is a member of the IDF Operating Committee, he serves on the Advisory Committee to the Dean of Michigan Law School and on the Executive Council of the International Insurance Society.

Alex Chen Head of Broker Segment, Archipelago Analytics, and Founder and Chairman, Asia Risk Transfer Solutions
Bio

Alex Chen is Head of Broker Segment at Archipelago Analytics, a Risk Data Platform company headquartered in San Francisco that helps property owners, brokers, and insurers digitize risk, connect exposures, improve insurance outcomes, and lower the overall cost of risk. He is also Founder and Chairman of Asia Risk Transfer Solutions, a Singapore-based Insurtech firm that develops Natural Catastrophe and Agriculture underwriting models for Asia, and a member of CCI Financial Sub-Committee Advisory Group at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).



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