Biography
Mr. Amit Sharma is the founder of FinClusive, a digital financial services platform for financially underserved and excluded individuals and entities that leverages blockchain technology, advanced analytics and global standard-based risk/compliance tools to drive financial inclusion, build economic resilience and protect financial system integrity. Prior to FinClusive, Mr. Sharma had co-founded Empowerment Capital, an impact investing and strategic advisory company specializing in assisting commercially-scalable impact ventures leveraging new technologies, innovative risk management tools and capital strategies. Previously, he led Operations and Strategy for Command Global Services (CGS), where he managed a team of investigators, financial forensic experts, analysts and legal professionals in the recovery of stolen sovereign assets and strengthening of financial regulatory systems. Prior to CGS, he was Chief of Staff and Head of New Products for Mitsubishi UFJ Securities, USA, and also Head of Project Management to the firm’s International Business and Global Markets Units.
In Washington DC, Mr. Sharma served at the US Department of the Treasury, first in the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence—developing and implementing tools to combat transnational threats and financial crime. His global portfolio included the development and execution of anti-money laundering/counter-terrorist financing strategies, the use of economic sanctions, combating proliferation-financing and illicit activities of rogue states, including North Korea. He later served as Chief of Staff to Deputy Secretary Robert Kimmitt and as Advisor to Treasury’s senior team under Secretary Henry Paulson. Mr. Sharma serves on several working groups, advisory councils and boards, including: the Center for Global Development (CGD), the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Center on Economic and Financial Power (CEFP), Middlebury’s Center for Social Impact Learning (CSIL) and Georgetown University’s Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation. He was a Peace Corps volunteer in Mongolia, and makes Guilford, Vermont his home where he enjoys farming and making hard cider. Mr. Sharma is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and teaches regularly on issues related to international security policy, counter-terrorism finance, risk, and social venture development at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and Georgetown University. Mr. Sharma holds an MBA and MA from the Monterey Institute of International Studies and a BA from the University of Virginia.