Speaker & Media Kit - Giovanni Everduin

Biography

Two bios. Pick the one
that fits the room.

The Executive Bio

Use for: Conference programs, keynote introductions, institutional panels, press releases

Giovanni Everduin - known as Gio - is a Harvard Business School alumnus (GMP21) and senior executive with over 20 years of experience across 10 countries spanning Europe, North America, Central America, and the Middle East.

He currently serves as Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer at a regulated financial institution in Dubai, where he co-founded an independent Corporate VC and Innovation Lab - CBIx - exploring AI, tokenized assets, Web3, gaming, and next-generation banking infrastructure. He sits on the board of Zypl, a fast-growing pre-Series A synthetic data and AI startup, the Advisory Board of Luna PR - a leading global PR and marketing agency for Web3, fintech, and AI - and the Steering Board of Tumar, a national innovation fund between The World Bank and the Government of Kazakhstan.

Earlier in his career, he led large-scale transformation and outsourcing programs at Accenture and served as Chief People Officer at an award-winning subsidiary (documented in an HBS case study) of a leading UAE banking group. He holds deep expertise in institutional innovation, AI governance, and the convergence of traditional finance and decentralized systems.

His current employer has been recognized by Forbes on their Best Banks list. Giovanni has been featured in press and media across the Middle East, Central Asia, and global fintech channels.

The Builder Bio

Use for: Podcasts, fireside chats, Web3 events, informal panels, social introductions

Gio Everduin is one of a very small number of people who genuinely operates in both TradFi and Web3 - not as a tourist, not as a conference guest, but as someone who builds in both directions simultaneously.

By day, he runs strategy, innovation, and ventures at a regulated bank in Dubai. He co-founded CBIx because he got tired of writing strategy decks that sat in folders. He sits on risk committees and scrolls Discord servers. He writes investment theses and scans on-chain data.

He is a film producer (SHE - 8 international awards), NFT collector, former MC and radio show host, sneakerhead, and father. The range is real. The range is the brand.

Harvard Business School taught him frameworks. Twenty years across 10 countries taught him when to throw them away.

Speaking

Selected stages.

GITEX

Dubai & Singapore

Innovation & Technology

The United Nations

New York

Regional Collaboration on AI Governance

Ai4

Las Vegas

Artificial Intelligence

GFTN

Singapore

Global Finance & Technology

INMERGE

Baku, Azerbaijan

Digital Assets & AI

Digital Almaty

Kazakhstan

Banking, Web3 & Digital Assets

Inclusion at the Bund

Shanghai

Fireside Chat on Regional Opportunities for Innovation

The Unbanked

Amsterdam (Money 20/20)

Financial Inclusion

Japan Fintech Week

Tokyo

Ventures, Digital Assets & AI

Keynote Topics

The Future of Banking: Inside a Regulated Institution

TradFi Meets DeFi: Why the Future is Hybrid

Innovation Theatre vs. Real Innovation

Tokenized Assets: Beyond the Hype Cycle

Building in the Intersection of AI and Finance

Media

Podcasts, interviews &
coverage.

Podcasts

Podcast

Known Podcast

"Storytelling & Pitching"

On the art of storytelling in business - how to pitch ideas that stick and build a narrative that moves people to action.

Podcast

Couchonomics with Arjun Singh

"The Disruption Equation"

Breaking down the mechanics of institutional disruption - how legacy banks can evolve without losing what makes them trusted.

Watch on YouTube ↗

Podcast

Unboxed with AJ - Season 2, Episode 10

"Building the Bank of the Future"

A candid conversation on transforming traditional banking through innovation, AI, and the convergence of fintech and institutional finance.

Watch on YouTube ↗

Podcast

Chief Digital Heroes in Banking

"From Strategy to Execution"

How to bridge the gap between digital strategy and real-world implementation inside a regulated financial institution.

Listen on Podbean ↗

Podcast

The CEO Series

"The Turnaround Playbook"

A deep dive into leading institutional transformation - what it actually takes to turn around a bank from the inside.

Interviews

Interview

The Luxury Playbook

"Where Finance Meets Culture"

On the intersection of luxury, identity, and institutional banking - and why culture is the ultimate differentiator.

Read on The Luxury Playbook ↗

Interview

AZERTAC (Azerbaijan State News Agency)

Azerbaijan as a Regional Hub for Fintech and Blockchain

An exclusive interview on the country's potential as a regional hub for fintech and blockchain innovation.

Read on AZERTAC ↗

Interview

Dubai Fintech Summit

CBI's Fintech Innovations

Exclusive interview at Dubai Fintech Summit on CBI's approach to fintech innovation, digital assets, and the future of banking in the UAE.

Watch on YouTube ↗

Coverage & Press

News Article

Khaleej Times (BTR)

UAE Leads GenAI Revolution: Transforming Banking and Economic Growth

Feature quoting Giovanni on AI's potential to empower smarter decision-making, enhance risk controls, and drive efficiency across banking.

Read on Khaleej Times

News Article

Entrepreneur Middle East

The UAE's New Hub for AI, FinTech, Web3, and Disruptive Ventures

Coverage of the official launch of CBIx, CBI's independent innovation subsidiary co-founded by Giovanni.

Read on Entrepreneur ME

Press Release

CBI x Miden

MOU: Privacy-First Digital Assets Infrastructure

Strategic MOU bringing together privacy-preserving blockchain architecture with mainstream banking for regulated digital asset use cases across payments and wealth services.

Press Release

CBI x Fuze

MOU: Digital Asset Solutions for Business and Personal Finance

Partnership with digital asset infrastructure provider Fuze to develop a suite of digital asset and blockchain products within the UAE's regulatory framework.

Read on Finance Magnates

Press Release

CBI x Boomitra

Investment in Regenerative Agriculture & Carbon Innovation

CBI's investment in Earthshot Prize-winning Boomitra to advance AI-driven regenerative agriculture and carbon credit solutions across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

Read on Zawya

Selected Work

Proof, not promises.

Building a Corporate VC Inside a Regulated Bank

CBIx · Commercial Bank International, Dubai

Most banks talk about innovation. Few let anyone build a venture arm inside the regulatory perimeter. As Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer, Gio co-founded CBIx, CBI’s corporate venture capital and innovation lab – a three-year journey through board, risk, and regulatory approval before launch in 2025. The thesis: invest in the picks and shovels of digital finance, the infrastructure every institution will need when tokenization goes mainstream. CBIx now operates as a working bridge between a regulated balance sheet and the Web3 ecosystem.

Proof: public launch press coverage.

The DFSA’s First Tokenized Money Market Fund

Advisory · QNB Group

Tokenized funds are easy to announce and hard to approve. Gio took a leading advisory role supporting QNB Group’s tokenization agenda, helping shape and steer the QCD Money Market Fund (QCDT) through to formal DFSA approval – the first tokenized money market fund ever approved in the DIFC, and the first in the Middle East backed by a major bank. With QNB as lead originator and Standard Chartered as custodian, QCDT proved that a Tier 1 Gulf institution could take a tokenized product all the way through a regulator’s gate. The lesson Gio carries from it: the tokenization race is won on the approval path, not the technology.

Proof: CoinDesk →

Helping a Nation Punch Above Its Weight in AI

External Adviser · National AI Council of Tajikistan

As formal external adviser to Tajikistan’s National AI Council, Gio supported the country’s run from national strategy to global stage: a UN General Assembly resolution on AI introduced by the Ministry he advises, the establishment of a Regional AI Center in Dushanbe, and the launch of Area AI – the world’s first special economic zone dedicated to artificial intelligence, drawing partners like Perplexity and Cerebras. A landlocked country is now setting the regional AI agenda. That’s what translation between institutions and innovators looks like at nation-state scale.

Proof: Asia-Plus →

Scaling 20 to 3,000 – The Harvard Case

Tanfeeth · Emirates NBD Group

Before digital assets, there was proof Gio could operate at scale. As Chief People Officer of Tanfeeth, the GCC’s first shared services company, he was part of the founding team that scaled the business from 20 to 3,000 people in under three years – building an award-winning operating model and culture in a market that said it couldn’t be done. The transformation became a Harvard Business School case study on organizational design and people analytics in the Gulf. It’s the operator credential behind everything that followed: Gio doesn’t just advise on building inside institutions, he has done it at scale.

Proof: HBS case study, already referenced on the site.

Outside the Office

What he builds after hours.

EXIT LIQUIDITY

A satirical crypto-conference game under the 1643 Games imprint. Playable RPG demo plus a stylized GTA-style trailer with custom HUD and an original Suno score.

Play the game ↗ Watch the trailer ↗

Native to None

15-track album written and executive produced by Gio. Vocals and production by AI. Released May 2026.

Listen on Spotify ↗

Ask Gio

Personal AI agent built to answer questions about his work, thinking, and background.

Try it live ↗

Language Translator

A tool that translates across three registers - crypto-technical, banking-financial, and plain old English.

Try it live ↗

Freya & Amari

A custom set of published songs and children's books built for his twins. Concepts and stories by Gio, illustrations and production by AI.

View on Lulu ↗

Core Banking Simulator

A core banking system built from first principles on a DXB-CDG flight. Event-sourced, double-entry, 7 layers, 106 tests - vibe-coded with Claude Code at 40,000 feet.

Try it live ↗

[Monthly Experiment]

Rotating builds across creative, intellectual, and personal themes. Updated quarterly.

Downloads

Headshots & assets.