Cecilia Skingsley appointed as Head of the BIS Innovation Hub

• Cecilia Skingsley, First Deputy Governor of Sveriges Riksbank, appointed to head the BIS Innovation Hub.
• Ms Skingsley will lead the Innovation Hub in its mission to foster international collaboration among central banks on innovative financial technology.
• She will spearhead the Innovation Hub's efforts to build technological solutions to problems in the financial sector in such areas as central bank digital currencies, cyber security and green finance.

The Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has appointed Cecilia Skingsley as Head of the BIS Innovation Hub. She will lead the Innovation Hub in its mission to foster international collaboration among central banks on innovative financial technology.

Cecilia Skingsley, currently First Deputy Governor of Sveriges Riksbank (the Swedish central bank), will join the BIS on 14 September for a five-year term. As Head of the BIS Innovation Hub, she will be a member of the Executive Committee of the BIS.

She takes the helm of the Innovation Hub as it establishes a global footprint across eight locations around the world. Five BIS Innovation Hub Centres are already operating in Hong Kong SAR, London, Singapore, Stockholm (for the Nordic countries) and Switzerland. Two more Hub Centres, in Frankfurt/Paris (for the Eurosystem) and Toronto, are expected to open later this year. The Innovation Hub also has in place a Strategic Partnership with the Federal Reserve System. 

The Innovation Hub serves as a platform for central bank collaboration in building technological solutions to problems in the financial sector. It develops technology projects focused on priority themes such as central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), next-generation financial market infrastructures, supervisory and regulatory technology (suptech/regtech), open finance, cyber security and green finance. The Innovation Hub also monitors critical trends in technology affecting central banking, and serves as a focal point for a network of over 200 central bank experts on innovation.

Cecilia Skingsley is a highly respected leader on issues of innovation within the international community. She has played a pivotal role in advancing key international initiatives directed towards the development of CBDCs. She is a certified financial analyst and holds a degree in economics and political science from the University of Stockholm. She succeeds Benoît Cœuré, who was appointed President of France's Competition Authority in January.