Sony Kapoor

Sony Kapoor is a prominent economist, financial sector expert and development practitioner whose career spans investment banking, civil society, academia and policymaking across several countries. As Managing Director of the Re-Define Think Tank and CEO of Court Jesters Consulting, Sony advises several EU and emerging economy governments, central banks, regulators and investors on economic and financial policy and investment strategy.

Sony was Chairman of the Banking Stakeholder Board, European Banking Authority and an expert adviser to the European Commission, the European Parliament and the IMF focusing mainly on crisis management, economic governance, fiscal policy and financial sector reform. He has held a multidisciplinary role at the LSE, with the Systemic Risk Centre, the International Development and Government departments, as well as the European Institute. He has been a Special Adviser to the UN Environment Programme on green finance and Strategy Adviser to the Norwegian government.

Mr Kapoor has a long track record of identifying the most pressing public policy challenges and successfully tackling them. The impact of his work on financial reform, Eurocrisis and development has led to him being honoured as a Fellow by the Royal Society of Arts, a Young European Leader by Friends of Europe and a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. George Soros has aptly called him a successful “Policy Entrepreneur”.

Sony has had an eclectic career in finance, politics and civil society. He worked for ICICI, India’s largest investment bank, did leveraged finance for Lehman Brothers in London and traded derivatives for Aquila Energy, where he partnered with the World Bank to provide risk management to vulnerable economies. He has also co-founded NGOs such as the Tax Justice Network, Finance Watch, the inter-governmental Illicit Finance Task Force and the International Tax Compact.

An alumnus of the LSE and the Indian Institute of Technology, Mr Kapoor is a popular keynote speaker and a respected commentator. He is currently finishing a book on large scale misallocation of capital.