Mrs. Sieni Voorwinden is the CEO of the Samoa International Finance  Authority. In this role she is the Registrar and Regulator of all  international entities registered and licensed in and within Samoa. She  has over 15 years’ experience in international financial services.

She has been instrumental in the development of Samoa’s International  Finance Sector, spearheading the establishment of the Samoa  International Business Finance Centre Ltd, which is the commercial and  marketing arm of the Authority. Sieni is a leading member of National  Working Groups  addressing various issues relating to the International  Finance Sector and is the co-lead negotiator on behalf of Samoa in  Samoa’s efforts to delist from the EU Blacklist. She is the lead for  Samoan delegations to the OECD Global Forum Peer Review Group on  Exchange of Information for Tax transparency as well as other  International Standard Setting bodies such as the Group of International  Finance Centre Supervisors, Asia Pacific Group on AML/CFT. Sieni has a  wealth of experience in compliance, legal and business development  initiatives, and is often called upon by international organizations to  share insights on these key issues. She is a strong advocate for the  Pacific Region in finding solutions for the decline in Correspondent  Banking Relationships in the Pacific.

Sieni is a lawyer by profession and holds a Conjoint Degree –  Bachelor of Arts and Law from University of Auckland, NZ. She is in her  second term as the SIFA Chief Executive Office. Prior to her appointment  as SIFA CEO in 2020, she was employed as the Chief Operations Manager –  of The Cause Collective New Zealand, a Pacific social change agency  based in Auckland New Zealand.

She holds the traditional chiefly titles of Tuifaasisina from her  mother’s family in Falelatai and the title Toeolesulusulu from her  father’s family in Satupuala, both villages on the South West Coast of  Upolu in Apia Samoa. She is a proud mother of 4 and considers this to be  her most challenging but most fulfilling role.