Klaas Knot Keynote Speaker

President, De Nederlandsche Bank (2011–2025)
Chair, Financial Stability Board (2021–2025)
Grand Officer, Order of Orange-Nassau (2025)

Klaas Knot's Biography

Klaas Knot is a Dutch economist and international central banking leader who guided the Netherlands’ central bank through a turbulent decade and a half. As President of De Nederlandsche Bank (2011–2025) and Chair of the Financial Stability Board (2021–2025), he helped steer responses to inflation surges, banking-sector strains and the evolving risks beyond the banking system. His perspective blends policy-maker pragmatism with a clear, audience-friendly style.

Knot’s global vantage point is unique. During his DNB presidency he served on the ECB Governing Council, sat on the BIS Board of Directors, and acted as IMF Governor for the Netherlands—roles that anchor his insights in real-world decision-making at the highest level. He is also a member of the Group of Thirty, bringing a practitioner’s lens to debates on stability, growth and regulation.

In 2025 he concluded his FSB chairmanship as Andrew Bailey assumed the role on 1 July; Knot’s closing letters and speeches to the G20 and the G30 distilled hard-won lessons on non-bank finance, crypto, climate risk and cross-border fragmentation. Organisers value his ability to decode what central banks will do next—and why it matters for boards, investors and policymakers.

Educated at the University of Groningen (MSc, PhD), Knot is Honorary Professor of Economics of Central Banking at Groningen and Honorary Professor of Monetary Stability at the University of Amsterdam. In July 2025, at his DNB farewell, he was appointed Grand Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau. That same month the DNB presidency passed to Olaf Sleijpen, marking the close of Knot’s fourteen-year tenure.

Monetary policy, inflation and the path for interest rates

Global financial stability & the rise of non-bank finance

Banking resilience, regulation and risk culture

Climate risk, sustainable finance and central banks’ role

The digital euro, payments and financial innovation

He has operated at the very centre of global monetary and financial stability policymaking as President of De Nederlandsche Bank and Chair of the Financial Stability Board, guiding responses to inflation shocks, banking stress and systemic risk.
He brings rare, frontline insight from the ECB Governing Council, the BIS Board and the IMF, helping leaders understand how central banks and regulators actually make decisions under pressure.
He translates complex financial stability challenges, from non-bank finance and crypto to climate risk and fragmentation, into clear, practical implications for boards, investors and policymakers.
SHe equips audiences to anticipate what central banks will do next and why it matters, drawing on direct experience briefing the G20, G30 and global financial leaders.
He combines policy authority with clarity and pragmatism, enabling organisations to stress-test strategy and navigate uncertainty in an era of heightened economic and financial volatility.