This year’s largest edition of Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW), hosted by ADGM with ADQ as Headline Partner, will bring together major financial institutions, policymakers, investors, and industry leaders from 8–11 December 2025 in Abu Dhabi.
The 2025 programme includes more than 60 events, over 300 thematic sessions, and approximately 750 speakers. Senior executives from organisations managing more than US$62 trillion in global assets are expected to attend.
Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, Chairman of ADGM, said:
“ADFW 2025 will mark the next chapter in Abu Dhabi’s evolution as a global financial hub, bringing together policy powers, investment titans, and tech pioneers from across the world, all converging in the heart of the ‘Capital of Capital’. This edition will transcend geographical boundaries, connecting the global capital network through innovation, regulatory collaboration and cross-sector partnerships. As the world focuses on the future of finance, Abu Dhabi, through platforms like ADFW, is truly engineering it.”
Under the theme “Engineering the Capital Network”, ADFW 2025 will address developments shaping global finance, including AI-driven innovation, capital flows, institutional partnerships, regulatory trends, and sustainable and inclusive financial systems.
Confirmed speakers include Marc Randolph, Co-founder and former CEO of Netflix; Oliver Bate, CEO of Allianz; Sergio Ermotti, CEO of UBS; Steve Schwarzman, Chairman and CEO of Blackstone; Bill Winters, CEO of Standard Chartered; Stephen Dainton, President of Barclays; Stefan Bollinger, CEO of Julius Baer; Clare Woodman, CEO – International, Morgan Stanley; and Andres Berger, CEO of Swiss Re. Other expected speakers include Roberto Azevedo, former Director General of the WTO; Makhtar Diop, Managing Director of the IFC; Shaikha Al Nowais, Secretary General Elect of UN Tourism; and Jihad Azour, IMF Director for the Middle East.
Speakers from major asset management firms, sovereign entities and hedge funds include Dilhan Palay Sandrasegara, CEO of Temasek; Ray Dalio, Founder of Bridgewater Associates; Alan Howard, Co-founder of Brevan Howard; Jenny Johnson, CEO of Franklin Templeton; David Rubenstein, Chairman of Carlyle; Dmitry Balyasny, Founder of Balyasny; Robyn Grew, CEO of MAN Group; Philipp Hildebrand, Vice-Chairman of BlackRock; Michael Rees, Co-founder and Co-President of Blue Owl; Sandro Pierri, CEO of BNP Paribas Asset Management; and Sadek Wahba, Chairman of iSquared.
Industry figures from banking and fintech include Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase; Charles Hoskinson, Co-founder of Cardano & IOHK; Joseph Lubin, Co-founder of Ethereum; Anatoly Yakovenko, Co-founder of Solana; Jeremy Allaire, Chairman and CEO of Circle; Star Xu, Founder of OKX; and Richard Teng, CEO of Binance.
Alongside existing flagship events such as the Abu Dhabi Economic Forum, Asset Abu Dhabi, RESOLVE, Fintech Abu Dhabi and the Abu Dhabi Sustainable Finance Forum (ADSFF), the programme will feature additional summits and side events.
Day 1 will introduce the Global Markets Summit, examining macroeconomic factors shaping global capital networks, and the CNBC New Energy Finance Forum, which will focus on the shift to new energy systems.
Day 2 will feature Asset Abu Dhabi, the Global Financial Regulators Summit, the AIMA Private Credit Summit, the Infrastructure Summit and the International Family Office Congress, which will discuss global wealth trends and investment opportunities.
Closed-door meetings, including the IMF roundtable, will convene senior officials to address macroeconomic volatility, regulatory change and geopolitical developments.
Day 3 will host RESOLVE and Fintech Abu Dhabi, as well as AI Abu Dhabi, which will examine the role of artificial intelligence in financial services.
Blockchain Abu Dhabi will address blockchain, crypto, decentralised finance and related technology, while a Web3 Leaders Roundtable will gather policymakers and industry figures.
The final day will focus on sustainability and ESG, led by ADSFF. The Second EU–GCC Finance & Investment for Green Transition Forum will bring together policymakers, regulators and financial institutions to discuss strategies for financing a sustainable transition.
A Women in Finance event will convene global women leaders in the sector, and New York University Stern School of Business Abu Dhabi will hold its inaugural graduation ceremony.
Featured image credit: ADFW
