Michael Saadat
International Head of Public Policy, Block Inc.
Michael Saadat is the International Head of Public Policy for Block, Inc (NYSE: XYZ), leading Block's public policy efforts across APAC, EMEA and Canada, for all of Block's business units - Square, Clearpay (known as Afterpay globally), Cash App, Bitkey, Proto and TIDAL. Prior to Block’s acquisition of Afterpay in February 2022, Michael was VP, Global Regulatory Affairs at Afterpay, a role he held from November 2019. Michael is also a non-executive director on the boards of FinTech Australia and not-for-profit Global Sisters.
Michael has a breadth and depth of domestic and international experience in consumer financial services regulation and public policy at senior levels. Michael was previously Executive Director for Financial Services and Regional Commissioner for the state of New South Wales at Australia’s financial services conduct regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC); he led ASIC’s supervisory work across consumer financial services, including retail banking, consumer credit, insurance and payments. Michael has also previously worked as Head of Compliance for Citibank in Australia, and at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Sydney and London.
Michael has a Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from Macquarie University, a Master of Laws from the London School of Economics, and an Executive MBA from Melbourne Business School.
