Rafael is the Secretary General of the European Association of CCP Clearing Houses (EACH), the trade organisation that represents the interests of European CCPs. A government affairs professional with over 19 years of experience in the financial services industry, Rafael has also represented the interests of regulated market at FESE and worked for the European Parliament as well as in investment consulting.

He is a Member of the Consultative Working Group for ESMA's CCP Policy Committee, an Editorial Board member of the Journal of Securities Operations & Custody, an Invited lecturer on CCP Clearing at the Solvay School of Economics and Management and Vice-President and Chair of Leadership Circle at the European Society for Association Executives.

Rafael studied Business and Economics at ETEA, University of Córdoba (Spain) and The University of Birmingham (UK) and holds a master degree in European Economics from the Free University of Brussels (Belgium).

Ahmed Kouchouk was appointed Vice Minister of Finance for Fiscal Policies & Institutional reform in March 2016. Since then, he has been playing a leading role in designing and implementing Egypt’s macroeconomic policies reforms especially fiscal and debt policies. Mr. Kouchouk served as the leading negotiator and focal point on behalf of the Government of Egypt with the IMF. Mr. Kouchouk in his capacity, supervises and oversees the work of various policy and strategy related units and departments at the ministry of Finance including Macro Fiscal Unit, Debt Management Unit, Public Private Partnership unit, Transparency and Citizen Engagement unit, Public Financial Management unit, and institutional reform unit.

Mr. Kouchouk leads and supervises several work streams at the Ministry of Finance including engagement with international institutions, Rating agencies, Investment Banks, and portfolio investors. He also supervises and manage the process of setting and updating the Macro Fiscal Framework including setting fiscal debt & targets over the medium-term, preparing the annual budget, monitoring budget implementation, managing fiscal risks, and overseeing debt strategy and related policies.

Mr. Kouchouk serves as a Director for Egypt and Constituency 6 at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Board of Directors. In addition, he served as a Board Member at the Central Bank of Egypt from April 2016 to June 2018 and at Egypt Air Holding company from 2018-2019. He also leads Egypt’s inter-ministerial task force managing annual economic dialogue with the EU. Mr. Kouchouk is currently a board member at the Arab African Investment Bank, Egypt National Academy for Training, Misr Fertilizer Production Company (MOPCO), and Misr El Gadida for Housing and Development.

Mr. Kouchouk is a professional economist and policy advisor with more than 20 years of applied experience. He worked as a senior economist for the World Bank from June 2013 to March 2016. He worked as an Economic Advisor to the Minister of Finance and Director of the Macro Fiscal Unit from 2012-2013 and served as the Executive manager of the Macro Fiscal Policy Unit at the Ministry of Finance from 2007-2008 and 2010-2012. He also worked for the Egypt Ministries of External Trade and Economy.

Mr. Kouchouk earned his master’s degree in public policy from Harvard Kennedy School of Government in 2010 and earned a master’s degree in economics from the University of York in the United Kingdom in 2002. He has a B.S, in Economics in 1999 from the American University in Cairo.

Sherif heads the Public Markets department at Chimera Capital, where he oversees Chimera’s ETF business.  Sherif was part of the team that established and launched the first UAE SCA-registered physical-in-kind ETF, and the first ETF in the region with two share classes. Sherif has over 20 years of investing experience covering equity markets in the Middle East and Africa.  Prior to joining Chimera Capital, he held senior fund manager positions at Invest AD and National Bank of Abu Dhabi, managing UAE, MENA and Africa mandates.  He began his career as a buy-side analyst in the Egypt-based investment bank, EFG-Hermes, in 1997.  Sherif has a MSc from Henley Business School and a BA in economics from the American University in Cairo.  

Mr. Wathaifi is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) since September 2019. He joined the Amman Financial Market (AFM) in1984 and became the Director of the Research and Studies Department at the AFM in 1997. He was appointed as the Director of the Research and International Affairs Department at the Jordan Securities Commission (JSC) in 1999. Among his main responsibilities were conducting researches on matters related to capital market regulation and activities, and following up the JSC's relations with related international organizations including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), Union of Arab of Securities Authorities (UASA), and International securities regulators. He took part in internal committees that drafted the Securities Law and legislations governing various activities in the national capital market. He headed the committee that drafted the Corporate Governance Code for Shareholding Companies Listed on Amman Stock Exchange. He is a member in several local, Arab, and international working groups and task forces. Mr. Wathaifi was appointed as the Executive Director of the JSC in July 2013. In July 2014 he was appointed by the Jordanian Council of Ministers as a commissioner on the JSC's Board of Commissioners in addition to the responsibilities of the Secretary General of the JSC. He holds the BA in Business and Economics in addition to High Diploma in banking studies and the Master's degree in finance/ financial markets. He received training in a number of international institutions and institutes including the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the British Financial Services Authority (FSA), the American University, and the Capital Market Research Center at the George Town University in Washington.  He participated, and represented the JSC in several conferences and seminars on Arab and international levels. 

CEO of Muscat Stock Exchange SAOC and chairman of Muscat Clearing and Depository SAOC with over 19 year executive experience capital markets and securities industry in leading financial markets institutions including financial market infrastructure institutions, intermediaries and investment banks. He is master degree holders in Business Administration (M.B.A.) from University of Bedfordshire and a bachelor graduate in Accounting from Sultan Qaboos University.

Experience
 Chief Executive Officer ( since 24 Jun 2021 ) Muscat Stock Exchange
 General Manager (31/3/2017 to 15 Jun 2021) Muscat Clearing & Depository Co.
 Deputy General Manager (3/5/2015 to 31/3/2017) Muscat Clearing & Depository Co.
 Senior Vice President (17/3/13 to 15/04/2015) Gulf Baader Capital Markets SAOC
 General Manager (1/5/09 to 31/1/2013) International Financial Services LLC (IFS)
 Compliance Officer (1/7/08 to 30/4/09) Shurooq Investment Services Holding Co.
 Acting Director – Department of Licensed Companies (08/3/06 to 20/10/07) Capital Market Authority
 Financial Auditor (9/6/03 to 30/6/08) Capital Market Authority

Dr. Mohamed Farid Saleh was appointment as the Executive Chairman of EGX since August 2017 as per the Prime Ministerial Decree No. 1759/2017. Currently, Dr. Farid is the Chairman of the Federation of Euro‐Asian Stock Exchanges (FEAS), a board member of The Arab Federation of Capital Markets (AFCM), a Board member of the African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA), and the Chairman of the Emerging Markets Working Group at the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE). Prior to his appointment as EGX Executive Chairman, Farid served as the Chairman and CEO of Dcode EFC, a leading economic forecasting and advisory firm in Egypt.

Furthermore, between 2013 & 2016, Mr. Farid was an external consultant on Venture Capital and Financial Leasing for the World Bank Group in Egypt, and was a member of the Capital Market Advisory Committee established by the Financial Regulatory Authority [FRA]. Additionally, he was the Vice Chairman of the Egyptian Exchange in 2010‐2011.

Farid holds a PhD in Financial Economics from Cardiff Metropolitan University, an MSc in Quantitative Finance from CASS Business School in the United Kingdom, an MSc in Economics, Finance & Investment from York University, an MBA from the Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport (ASST), a certificate in Venture Capital form UC Berkley, the United States of America, a certificate in Time‐Series Analysis from Timberlakes Cambridge, and BSc in Foreign Trade and Economics from Helwan University.

He also served as a part time lecturer in Financial Markets, International Finance, Financial Derivatives at the American University in Egypt (AUC) and at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (ASST).

Les is the Chief Executive Officer of both the Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX) and the Dubai Commodities Clearing Corporation (DCCC) - the largest and most diversified derivatives Exchange group in the Middle East. In 2019 the DGCX Group traded and cleared USD $866 billion, across four major asset classes; FX, Metals, Equities and Hydrocarbons. The DGCX Group enjoys a global membership base and several International accreditations for the Exchange (DGCX) and Clearing House (DCCC).

Les Male has nearly 30 years’ experience in the Global Commodities industry with particular expertise across Exchanges, risk management and trading systems. As an extensively networked and award-winning business leader with a consistent track record of driving new business and growth, he builds outstanding customer relationships, whilst protecting and growing shareholder returns.

Les joined DGCX in 2018 from Nasdaq where he was responsible for EU/UK client facing activities on the Global Commodities product suite. He started his career managing strategic projects for the UK Network Code, culminating in leading the development of Europe’s first gas spot market (the OCM), he later became Commercial Director at EnMO and then continued in that role for APX-Endex. In 2010 he became the European Managing Director for the Green Exchange, a US backed venture for global carbon trading. After acquisition by the CME Group, his role took on the European gas and Global LNG strategy for Nymex, prior to joining Nasdaq in 2014.

Wael Al-Hazzani is the Chief Executive Officer of Muqassa and has held that position since its establishment in May 2018.
He also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Security Depository Center Company (Edaa) since 2018 , Tadawul Advanced Solution Company since Aug 2020 and Saudi Exchange since April 2021.

Prior to his appointment as the CEO of Muqassa, Wael held a variety of positions such as Head of Clearing and Settlement and was a Risk Planning Manager who was responsible for maintaining risk management processes and policies for Saudi Exchange and designed, developed and recommended a variety of strategies in order to minimize risk exposure.

Wael carries a breadth of knowledge in the capital markets, risk management, clearing and settlement industry. He held many leading positions within the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul), including heading the clearing and settlement function, along with the Post-Trade Transformation Program.

Wael holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA), Minor in Finance and a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from King Saud University, Saudi Arabia.

Abdulla Abdin has Masters in Business Administration from the University of Glamorgan UK, and currently holds the position of Chief Operating Officer– Bahrain Clear. He is the Chairman of the Guarantee Fund Committee and Chairman of the African Middle East Depositories Association (AMEDA) & Chairman of World Forum of CSDs (WFC) representing Bahrain Clear. Mr. Abdin has 31 years of experience in Banking and Capital Market structure, regulations and operations.

Holds MBA from MIT/USA , BS Computer Science / KSU/KSA .

Over 25 years of experience in the Technology, Finance, Capital Markets and Leadership.

As CEO : played key role in the overhaul of the Saudi capital market over the last 13 years and lead the development of the stock exchange to become the leader among its peers in the region and one of the major emerging markets globally. Work at the central bank (SAMA). He has been Chairman of DirectFN since end of Y2017 and has been instrumental in alignment of corporate vision to governance and best-practices.

Michael Grifferty founded and leads The Gulf Bond and Sukuk Association (GBSA) the industry association representing the Arabian Gulf fixed income market. The GBSA is composed of the region’s leading banks, law firms, issuers, ratings agencies and service providers and plays a leading role on all major matters concerning development of bond markets in the region. 

Previously, Michael served as advisor for the US Treasury on sovereign debt and bond markets, advising over forty countries and regional organizations. He has also consulted extensively for the International Monetary Fund and Arab Monetary Fund.

Prior to his international career, Mr. Grifferty was a senior vice president at Government Finance Associates, providing problem-solving financial advisory services to US state and local governments. He has degrees from New York University and Georgetown University in Public Finance and International Relations, respectively.  A native English speaker, Michael speaks French and Russian.

Current position

Managing Director and Chairman of HTB Project Management FZE, Dubai UAE. Company focuses on

• Development of frontier and emerging capital markets including building corporate, market infrastructure and business strategies, development of business opportunities and lines as well as building fintech and digitalization strategies
• Re-engineering post trade structures (CCP and CSD) and business models
• Development and enhancement of sustainable and ESG securities business and market offering
• Delivered multiple advisory and consultancy assignments in the GCC region
  
  
  Past positions at ADX 2017-2020
  • Head of Business Development, 2020
  • Business Development Advisor to the CEO until end of 2019

Anna is Secretary General of the European Central Securities Depositories Association (ECSDA).

She is a lawyer by background and holds a Master in European law and a multidisciplinary Master in Law and Economics. Anna started her career at the general secretariat of one of the political parties at the European Parliament.

Since then, she has gathered an extensive experience of the CSD industry. She was Head of outsourcing control group and operating risk committee of an International CSD. From 2010 and until recently, Anna worked for Strategy and Government Relations of Euroclear group.

During her career, she has also advised an Asian regulator and its financial market infrastructure about changes allowing international access to the market. She also gave lectures on international financial regulation to university students during her stay in Asia.

Khaled has over 24 years of solid experience in the financial sector. He is the Managing Director of Misr for central clearing, depository and registry. 

Prior to that, he was the Chairman of Sameem, Egypt’s first activist investment firm. Throughout his career, Khaled held various positions in banking, private equity and capital markets. He was the CEO of CORECAP, a leading alternative investment firm in Dubai, Board Member and CEO of Amwal Investment Bank in Qatar, Vice President of Abraaj Capital and Manager of Direct Equities in Dubai Islamic Bank. He started his career as a corporate banker at CIB in Egypt.

His transactional track record includes leading Amwal to become the premier investment bank in Qatar and participating in realizing a 101% IRR on its sale. He has also participated in underwriting the US$ 337M Ithmaar Bank IPO, managing the QAR 1bn first Qatari mutual fund and Dubai Islamic Bank’s US$ 150M proprietary private equity book. He also led the acquisition of a strategic stake in Tameer-Bahrain, the first real estate company to go public on the Bahraini stock exchange and in financing Sokhna Port, the first BOOT port in Egypt.

Under his leadership, CORECAP was acknowledged as a New Champion by the World Economic Forum and selected as a member of the community of GGC in 2008 and Amwal was awarded the “Leading Investment Firm in Qatar”. 

In 2009, Khaled was awarded “Entrepreneur CEO of the Year” by ITP. He was also chosen as one of the Gulf's 50 Most Admired Executives by CEO Middle East magazine. He was voted a Young Arab Leader by the YAL Association – UAE. He is a board member of the UAE chapter of the CEO Club. He is also a member of the UAE French Business Council. Khaled holds a MBA from ESLSCA University in France and a BA in Business Administration (English Section) from Helwan University in Egypt.

Ahmed Abou El Saad is the Managing Director of Azimut Egypt Asset Management managing a total AUM of EGP 10.5 billion (USD 670 Million) in a wide range of institutional/HNW portfolios as well as Public Equity and Money Market funds. Azimut Egypt is Part of Azimut Group which is a Global Asset Management firm with total of USD 90 billion over 17 countries worldwide

Previously, he was head of asset management at Naeem Holding managing a total MUM reaching USD 520 million of HNW Gulf portfolios. Earlier, Mr. Abouelsaad was Head of Capital Markets at MIBank, where he managed the bank’s investment portfolio in public trading equities, Fixed income instruments and private equity. He has also served as head of surveillance at the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange, where he was on the executive committee that works on introducing new instruments and regulations to the market.

Ahmed is currently a board member at the Egyptian Stock Exchange. He is also the President of CFA Society Egypt & the Chairman of the Egyptian Investment Management Association (EIMA).

Mr. Abou El Saad has a Bachelor of Arts from Alexandria University, an MBA from the Arab Academy for Science and Technology. Ahmed is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Also the professional certificate in project finance and investment appraisal from the Harvard Institute for International Development.

Gunsel is responsible for Citi’s Securities Services business across EMEA Emerging markets, covering Middle East, North Africa, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Pakistan, based in UAE – Dubai.

Gunsel joined Citi in 2005 and has since held several senior positions within the securities services and direct custody and clearing business. Prior to joining Citi, Gunsel was the International Department Head at Borsa Istanbul group.

With more than 25 years of experience across the capital markets industry, Gunsel works closely with stock exchanges, central counterparty clearing Houses (CCPs), central securities depositories (CSDs), and regulatory institutions as part of the regional capital market development and implementation of best practices. He currently represents Citi at AMEDA (Association of Middle East and Africa CSDs) as associate member.

Gunsel takes a special interest in leadership development. He developed a workshop named ‘Best of You’ and hosted sessions internally at Citi, as well as at institutions’ such as AmCham, Junior Achievement and Universities, across a number of countries. He is also a Toastmasters certified public speaker. 

Gunsel holds a B.Sc. degree in computer engineering and M.Sc. degrees in money and banking, and international banking and finance, as well as a Ph.D. degree in corporate finance.

Ms. Dima Awad  is the General Manager of SANABEL Financial Securities – a  Bank of Khartoum Group  Financial Services Subsidiary  (Bank of Khartoum is the largest bank in SUDAN), With over 16 years of experience in financial institutions. She started her career in Bank of Khartoum in 2006 in various position  , from which she later then  joined SANABEL in August 2014 and managed to grow the business and keep SANABEL on the top of brokerage firms in SUDAN for  the past 7 years consecutively.

Dima was initiated and was in charge of managing the 1^st green sukuk fund in SUDAN with 11M USD Capital amount.

Dima has a Bachelor of Economic From Khartoum University, MBA of Business Administration From UGC and she is a PHD Student.

Khaled is the General Manager of ADIB Securities LLC. He joined ADIB in 2010 with more than 20 years of experience in the global and regional financial brokerage industry.

One of his key objectives is to deliver best in class brokerage experience for ADIB’s clients through a team professionals and cutting edge technology.  Prior to joining ADIB, he was the CEO of Mashreq Securities.  He was earlier the Director of TAIB Securities a subsidiary of TAIB Bank Bahrain. Throughout his tenure, he was responsible for managing the firm’s regional and international brokerage business. Khaled additionally worked for Charles Schwab & Co. in the United States. During his last assignment with Schwab; he managed the unit’s global client’s relationships where he gained an edge in the financial advisory business, prime and institutional brokerage. He holds an MBA in Management from WIU Phoenix, Arizona USA.

Currently working as a Director / Advisor for HARWELL Management, a consulting company dedicated to Financial Industry, I lead missions for Corporate and Investment Banks on Capital Markets Activities such as Post Trade Target Operating Model design and implementation and IT architecture reviews.

30 years experience in Capital Markets both in Paris, Madrid and London, split between Trading (Head of Interest Rates Listed Options and Bond Options market making for Credit Agricole CIB), international audit (Inspection Generale for Credit Agricole CIB) and Post Trade Operations (Global Head of FX and FXO Operations, Deputy Head of Money Market, Bonds and FX/FXO Operations for Societe Generale CIB, Global Head of Interest Rates Derivatives Operations and Global Head of Interest Rates Derivatives Middle Office for HSBC).
Involved in Post Trade industry forums, having represented HSBC in the European Central Bank Operations Management Group in Francfort.

"Leandro is leading the Wavetec business in Europe and has been involved in multiple Information Dissemination projects with stock exchanges around the world. Coming from a background of Economics and Innovation he is passionate about improving customer experience and delivering value with tech and data"

Andrea Marmolejo is an impact investing and sustainability expert, founder and

Managing Partner at Blue Topaz Capital, leading an advisory practice focused on

impact investing and ESG strategies. She develops bespoke purpose-led financial

products for impact investors, advises on and implements ESG integration and

engagement policies, and advises Fortune 500 corporations on aligning their

corporate and social innovation strategy with SDGs (Sustainable Development

Goals). Throughout her career, Andrea set up and managed thematic investment

funds, managed private equity and hedge fund portfolios for funds such as

Regency Capital and Caxton Associates, and advised DFID and the World Bank on

their impact investing strategy in South Asia and East Africa.

Prior to her investment roles, Andrea was Head of Latin American Utilities

Research at Goldman Sachs and a strategy consultant at McKinsey&Co. Andrea is

a Harvard MPA, and she serves as member of the Sustainable Investment

Committee at Handelsbanken Wealth and Asset Management, as member of the

Investment Committee at the Lankelly Chase Foundation and at Oxfam EDP, and

as Non-Executive Director at Frontline Aids and Reall.

Nameer Khan is a leading fintech influencer and thought leader in the MENA region. He serves as an Executive Advisor to leading fintechs / regulatory authorities in the MENA region. As the Chairman of MFTA, Nameer has  strategically partnered with the regional regulators and central banks to establish a robust fintech framework.  He also serves as an advisor to several top tier banks in the Middle East and has established and delivered AI and Digital Transformation programs for leading Financial Centers. He was recognised & awarded as MENA's Future Fintech Leader by Central Bank of UAE & Abu Dhabi Global Market.

Klaus Löber is the first Chair of the ESMA CCP Supervisory Committee (CCP SC) and Director for Central Counterparties (CCPs) at the European Securities Markets Authority (ESMA). He took up office on 1 December 2020 and is serving a five year term. His areas of responsibility encompass in particular the enhancement of supervisory convergence and ensuring a resilient CCP landscape in the EU as well the monitoring and management of the risk that CCPs established in third countries may pose to the EU. He is also chairing the ESMA CCP Policy Committee contributing to the EU Single Rule Book in the area of CCPs and is participating in a variety of FMI related groups at the global level.

Prior to this role, Mr Löber was Head of Oversight of the European Central Bank in charge of the oversight of financial market infrastructures, payments instruments and schemes.

From 2012 to 2016, he was Head of the Secretariat of the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures, the global standard setting body in the area of payments, clearing and settlement hosted by the Bank for International Settlement in Basel, Switzerland.

Earlier positions include the European Commission, Deutsche Bundesbank and private practice.

Mr Löber regularly publishes on financial markets legal, regulatory and infrastructure issues and lectures at universities.

Richard joined Lumi as CEO in 2011, having spent 4 years as CEO of IML, a leading global event technology business. In 2013, Lumi acquired IML and merged it with Lumi, to create the leading AGM and meeting technology provider that Lumi is today. Lumi is the power behind many of the world’s shareholder meetings and delivered more than 4000 virtual, hybrid and physical AGMs during 2021.

Passionate about the digitisation of the AGM ecosystem, as well as enabling shareholder participation and enfranchisement, Richard provides a unique global perspective on the industry.

Richard is also Chairman and Co-Founder of Halo Post Production, and has advised and supported a number of early-stage technology and media businesses. Richard has an MBA from INSEAD.

 At 24, Mostafa Kandil quit his job with a lofty goal: to redefine the $1 trillion global mass transit market, utilizing the power of AI and machine learning. Inspired by his upbringing in Egypt, the struggles he faced traveling home from Cairo to see his family, and the lack of safe transportation options for his mother and sisters, Kandil launched Swvl in 2017.

Kandil started his career at Rocket Internet in 2014, where he launched the car sales platform Carmudi in the Philippines, which became the largest car classifieds company in the country in just six months. He then served as Rocket Internet’s Head of Operations. In 2016, Kandil left Rocket Internet for Careem, a ride-sharing company and the first unicorn in the Middle East, where he supported the platform’s geographic expansion into new markets. Careem is now a subsidiary of Uber, based in Dubai, with operations across 100 cities and 15 countries.

Kandil graduated from the American University in Cairo in 2014 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Petroleum and Energy Engineering.

Seif is currently the Chief Operating Officer of Thndr, an investment platform that simplifies the process of investing in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. Thndr received regulatory approval in 2020, becoming the first to do so in Egypt since 2008. Thndr aims the pioneer digital investment and unlock the huge untapped potential in Egypt by addressing the decades-long issues surrounding account opening, account funding and financial literacy.

Prior to that, Seif was part of Uber's MENA team. He was initially part of the Egypt operations team where he focused on marketplace efficiency and was tasked with maintaining a consistent balance between supply of drivers and demand by riders. Seif later transitioned to a regional role and led on Airports, Premium Products and Rider Experience across MENA - Uber's high margin departments that are used to finance its low-cost/high-impact initiatives in the region. During his last year, Seif grew premium bookings by 34% YoY to reach USD ~ 80mn, grew airport bookings by 42% YoY to reach USD ~ 108 mn and launched Uberlite & Agent Initiated Dispatch to service the underserved segments in the region.

Prior to that, Seif was part of Cl Capital's investment banking team where he advised on transactions worth EGP ~2bn - including Cairo 3A's acquisition of National Company for Maize Product and Madinet Nasr's GDR offering the London Stock Exchange.

Seif holds a Master’s in management from IE Business School and Bachelor is Science in Construction Engineering from the American University in Cairo.

Katarzyna Kazimierczak-Mrowińska graduated from Kozminski University with a diploma in LL.M in International Commercial Law and a Master in European Law in Spain and Poland.

She also studied Finance and Management at the Warsaw School of Economics and at Harvard Business School Online.

Currently the CEO at Authenteq, Kazimierczak-Mrowińska has over 15 years of experience in international business, funding, acquisition, and company growth.

Mohammed Alsehli is the Co-Founder and CEO of Wethaq Group, a group of companies transforming capital markets in the Middle East with its disruptive business model and innovative financial technology. He engages with regulators (Saudi Capital Market Authority, Dubai Financial Services Authority and ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority), and promotes Wethaq’ Group vision to sovereign and supranational agencies, financial institutions and market institutions across the Middle East.  Featured among the 500 who are making the Islamic economy (Islamica500 Publication) and among the 100 influential people helping shape the United Arab Emirates (Arabian Business). Member of the Financial and Financing Sector Committee of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce & Industry. 

Mr. Khalil El Bawab is currently the CEO & Managing Director of Misr Capital (MC); the Investment Banking arm of Banque Misr, the Second Largest bank in Egypt. He joined MC in November 2018 and managed to grow the business from just Asset Management (AM) & Direct Investments to expand to become a full-fledged Investment Bank. MC currently have a footprint and active operations in AM; which became the largest AM in Egypt with AUMs surpassing EGP 38 Bln from just EGP 1.2 Bln before he joined, Private Equity, Fixed Income Brokerage, and Investment Banking activities.

Mr. El Bawab is also the Chairman of Misr Capital Fixed Income Brokerage and a non-executive board member in BM Lease, Misr Digital Transformation.

Mr. El Bawab headed the Fixed Income Division at EFG-Hermes AM. He was the Managing Director of Hermes Fund Management and a key member of the Investment Committee overseeing the Fixed Income Investment Team. He spent more than 11 years at EFG Hermes. During his reign at EFG-Hermes, the AUMs of the Fixed Income mandates grew more than seven folds reaching EGP 18bn (it was EGP 10bn when he left). Mr. El Bawab managed a variety of Money Market Funds including Credit Agricole Money Market Fund (MMF), Bank of Alexandria MMF, and Qatar National Bank “Themar” MMF, Bank Audi MMF, and Arab Investment Bank MMF. Since joining the firm in 2007, EFG Hermes AM has consistently outperformed market peers in the Egyptian market and has received several awards and distinctions from major local and international prominent institutions including Zawya, EIMA and MENA Fund Manager Awards marking its robust performance. Among those awards, EFG Hermes AM received several awards & distinctions in the MM & FI universe including the title of "Money Market Fund of the Year in the MENA region" for five times in seven years from the London-based MENA Fund Manager Awards, in addition to “Best MM Fund in Egypt” for four times in six years presented by Thomson Reuters/Zawya MENA AM Awards (before Zawya was acquired by Thomson Reuters). Last but not least, he was one of the key team members who managed to win the best AM firm in Egypt presented by MENA Fund Manager Awards for six times in seven years.

Moreover, Mr. El Bawab was in charge of managing the 1st structured capital protected fund in Egypt; HSBC’s Fund "Istikrar" in addition to managing the 1st Fixed Income fund in Egypt for Bank of Alexandria in 2010 which was the first Egyptian FI fund to receive a high commendation; in the MENA region, by the MENA Fund Manager Awards in 2015. He is also co-managing the Principal Bank of Agriculture & Development (El Massy) Balanced Fund which has recently received the title of “Balanced Fund of the Year” for 2012 performance from the London-based MENA Fund Manager Awards. In addition to the funds, Mr. El Bawab was also managing a variety of discretionary portfolios for some of the region’s premiere banks, institutions, and high-net-worth individuals.

Prior to joining EFG-Hermes AM in May 2007; Mr. El Bawab held the position of the Assistant Chief Dealer at Arab Bank plc's Treasury & Capital Markets Department; where he worked since 1998 and was one of the leading primary dealers since its introduction in Egypt.

Mr. El Bawab is also a freelance lecturer in Managerial & Corporate Finance, AM, Treasury Products, & Risk Management.

Mr. El Bawab is a CPM and pursued his MBA in Banking and Finance from Maastricht School of Management, Netherlands in 2008 with distinction and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration; Finance Concentration with high honors from the American University in Cairo in 1998.

Mirna Sleiman is the founder and CEO of Fintech Galaxy, an open innovation platform that enables open banking and finance by offering a cloud-based innovation platform, an open API sandbox, and a global fintech marketplace.

Mirna leads a regional Open Finance platform, with a vision to redesign financial services with an open API infrastructure that boosts financial inclusion, revolutionizes financial services and provides a standard integration between Fintechs and institutions.

Mirna has more than 15 years of experience in government relations, business strategy, digital communications and journalism. She managed public sector business for Thomson Reuters across 22 MENA countries and partnered with international organizations to promote innovation and social change. She spent more than 10 years as a financial journalist with Reuters, Dow Jones, The Wall Street Journal and Zawya.

Mirna has an Executive MBA from City University of London in Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

She is certified from MIT University in Fintech and ecommerce, and in Digital Marketing and Communications from Columbia University. Mirna is also certified in Digital Transformation Strategies from Cambridge University.

 John Gollifer joined the Middle East IR Association (MEIRA) as General Manager in January 2019.

John was the General Manager and an executive director of the Board of the UK’s Investor Relations (IR) Society from 2012 to 2018. On joining the IR Society, which works in partnership with other IR associations, including MEIRA, John led IR training for the International Certificate in IR (ICIR) in Chile, Indonesia, Japan, Nigeria, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey and the UK, as well as for the Certified IR Officer (CIRO) in the Middle East. From 2016 to 2018, John lectured at the University of Liverpool in London on the MSc in Strategic Communication programme for the IR module which he created. In 2018, John was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the UK’s IR Society in recognition of his services to IR.

Prior to this, John spent 11 years at the Singapore Exchange where he was Senior Vice President and responsible for investor relations, among other roles in corporate strategy and communications. He established and ran the IR Professionals Association of Singapore from 2006 to 2008, is a multiple IR award winner and he created and taught an IR course at the Singapore Management University from 2009 to 2012.

John was trained as a banker. He spent 15 years in Asia and Europe in corporate finance and equity capital markets. He worked for Barclays Bank as International Manager, Hoare Govett Asia as Senior Manager and Head of Corporate Finance, ABN Amro Rothschild as Assistant Director - Equity Capital Markets, Asia and at BNP Paribas as Director - Equity Capital Markets, Asia and Australasia.

John has a BA (Hons) degree, Diplomas in Banking (ACIB) and Marketing (ACIM) and MBA degree. John has lived and worked in Dubai, Geneva, Hong Kong, Jakarta, London and Singapore.

Between Equity derivatives Structuring, structured products sales, heading the turbos business and institutional coverage, Mariem has 13 years of Financial Markets experience across different geographies Amsterdam, New York, Brussels and Paris. 

Over the last two years, Mariem has been conducting Research on ESG and transition factors integration in valuations. She faced many issues related to diversity of opinions, data inconsistencies. Addressing these, and as a first step, she launched Valuecometrics with the goal to bring more transparency, engagement between investors and companies and to federate the ESG community.  Her longer  term vision is to build a decentralized collaborative intelligence that while embedded in CBDC, measures ESG of underlying operations.

Mariem graduated from the Ecole des Mines, and studied at INSEAD and MIT.

Worlds first shariah currency leveraging product, currency swap, tricon murabaha product for factoring and invoice discounting, Islamic currency trading with leverage, Sukuk convertible MTN, Islamic derivatives for oil futures, Shariah Takafol with Wade’aah and Waqf hybrid structure, Sukuk for airlines, Shariah compliant biological wildlife fund, Islamic crypto leverage product, Islamic repo using Murabaha for global blue chip stocks, Islamic venture capital crowdfunding, Islamic ETN, Islamic structured note and Islamic credit card.

Islamicly is a consumer app which enables Shariah sensitive investors globally to get the most accurate & well-researched real-time information on Shariah compliance of globally listed stocks, opening up the global equities market for Shariah sensitive retail investors worldwide.

Islamic App is the world’s 1st 100% Shariah-certified app for Shariah- compliant equities & is backed by a team of globally renowned Shariah scholars with whom we have been working for the past 20 years.

In just two years since its launch in 2019, Islamicly APP has brought the highest quality of Shariah advice and guidance to 150,000+ users globally from 150+ countries. 

Personal Bio:

Abdul Hadi Shaikh is a graduate in commerce and is a Certified Shariah Advisor and Auditor (CSAA) from AAOIFI. He has been working in the Islamic finance Industry for the past 15 years and has been the lead researcher and presenter at various globally renowned Shariah Boards such as the S&P and Dow Jones Shariah Boards.

Abdul Hadi is a specialist in Shariah equity screening and has advised some of the biggest Shariah compliant asset managers and indices globally. 

He is the co-founder of Islamicly App - a consumer platform which has disrupted access to real time Shariah compliant equities on a global scale.


Prior to joining Ratings Intelligence, Abdul Hadi was at Ernst & Young and PriceWaterhouseCoopers, in the Assurance and Business Advisory vertical.

Marko M. Hafez the co-founder & CEO of Blockstation, FinTech developer of the world’s first end-to-end platform for the, compliant listing, trading, clearing, settlement and custodianship of digital assets and securities. He was an early adopter of blockchain and tokenization technology, recognizing its potential to transform financial services by strengthening security and transparency, driving efficiency, and increasing accessibility for all ecosystem stakeholders. Marko works with institutions including stock exchanges, depositories, carbon credit market operators, regulators, and broker dealers to enhance their operations and optimize the investment lifecycle from start to finish, creating new opportunities in the open market.

Matteo Rizzi is an unconventional entrepreneur with two decades of experience in Financial Services, constantly referred amongst the top executives in the industry. He spent 13 years at SWIFT - where he co-founded Innotribe, the innovation arm of the cooperative, launching the first global startup challenge. Since 2013, he has a FinTech Investor and/or Venture Partner role with global VCs and CVCs (20+ deals, 5 exits) currently at Bamboo Capital Partners). In 2015, he co-founded FinTechStage (now FTS Group.eu) - a platform for Investors and Innovators to boost FinTech innovation globally. In 2019, Matteo founded Timepledge.org a global initiative to foster financial inclusion and entrepreneurship. The same year he launched Breaking Banks Europe (as the Executive Producer). He is the author of The FinTech Revolution and Talents & Rebels and fluent in 5 languages.

Founder & CEO: Dr. AbdelGadir Warsama Legal Consultancy L.L.C. -- Giving legal advisory, advocacy, consultancy and research work to clients including local & international financial institutions, individual bodies and corporate entities.

Earlier professional positions, in order:

Legal Advisor and Head Legal Dept. Bank of Bahrain & Kuwait (Group) & Professor of law - American University Bahrain NYiT \ UCB \ BIBF \ RUW...

Worked as Legal Advisor to Central Bank of UAE & UAE Securitas Markets. Professor of Law - Zayed University. Worked as Legal Advisor to Central Bank of Oman — Sultanate of Oman.

Worked as Legal Advisor, Ministry of Justice - Sudan.

As legal consultant, for more than 40 years my duties include, inter alia, advising on legal maNers covering different local and international laws. Drafting and interpretation of laws, regulations & policies. Drafting & interpretation of international and local contracts, loan agreements, project finance documentation, documentary credits, LCs. Study & follow-up litigation and appearance before Courts in many Countries including Gulf Countries (GCC), London, Malaysia, India...... Participated in local and international arbitration cases & adjudication including ICC — Paris, London, Dubai, Bahrain, India...

SPECIAL EXPERIENCE IN SECURITIES MARKETS:

The Central Bank of UAE, as regulator to banks advised the Gov. to draft laws to regulate Securities Markets in UAE. Being, the legal Advisor of UAE Central Bank, I was involved in preparing such laws & establishing UAE Stock Market. In addition to my work in UAE Central Bank I was appointed as Legal Advisor to UAE Stock Market in Abu Dhabi. Thereafter, I was involved in drafting laws for both Abu Dhabi & Dubai Securities Markets.

I was appointed as World Bank, Legal Consultant, in Securities Markets. In this capacity I was appointed by the World Bank to draft Yemen Securities Market Law, Sudan Securities Markets Law, Qatar Securities Markets Law... etc. Now, in Bahrain, I am involved in the activities of Bahrain Bourse.

In addition to my daily professional practice, I have academic background as Professor of law in many Universities & Higher Institutes, teaching banking, business laws, international law, contracts, company laws, etc.

I Published many books in Arabic & English covering legal banking corporate issues & securities markets laws ( available in bookshops). A regular writer of articles & papers covering legal issues in many newspapers and Legal Reviews. Regular speaker in many international and regional conferences and seminars covering different legal financial corporate issues.

Maya Marissa Malek is the Managing Director/CEO of the Amanie Advisors’ global office, based in Dubai. Maya is a multiple award-winning Islamic finance expert and Executive Leader (also recognised as one of the “Top-50 Most Influential Women in Middle East Finance” by Financial News UK of Dow Jones Group) with extensive experience driving strategic planning and collaboration with key industry players – including regulators, corporates, banks, and standard-setting bodies. She skilfully bridges efforts of diverse regulatory and structural groups – identifying and targeting performance/operations gaps, equipped with history of success working closely with globally-renowned Shariah scholars while creating awareness of Islamic finance worldwide. Her profession in and passion for Islamic finance has taken her around the globe creating awareness on Islamic finance, innovating and creating demand for Islamic finance to take root. She is also an Associate Member of the Chartered Islamic Finance Professional association, a member of the Green Sukuk Working Group in UAE and Shariah consultant for the IFC, World Bank Group and a frequent Islamic finance speaker at Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, UK, the world’ most influential think tank.

Florian has over 20 years of experience in the asset management industry. He is an international tax lawyer and heads up a team of tax advisors responsible for ETFs and mutual funds within BlackRock’s EMEA tax group. Prior to joining BlackRock, he worked in different law firms in Berlin and subsequently took on advisory and industry roles in Luxembourg and London.

Janina is a Senior Tax Manager in one of Ireland’s leading corporate services firm, Vistra Alternative Investments (Ireland) Limited.

She holds a Masters in Strategic Management Accounting in UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School in Ireland. She is a licensed CIMA and CPA holder.  She started her career in a number of shared business services in the Philippines before joining KPMG tax in 2015. After obtaining her Masters degree, she later joined EY Ireland tax where she gained experience in Irish tax advisory, EU tax legislations and tax compliance dealing with aircraft leasing (asset-backed securities structures), banking and securitisation companies (SPVs, FVCs).

Currently, she leads a tax team and is over-all in charge of the Irish and International tax compliance of at least 170 securitisation companies.

• Mustafa Domanic is a Partner at Oliver Wyman’s Dubai office with 15 years of experience across different roles in finance and consulting to leading financial institutions. His primary areas of expertise are corporate strategy, private and public finance & risk management, development of capital markets and market infrastructures. His professional experience spans USA, UK, Turkey, Russia, South Africa and the GCC.
  
  
• His recent work includes:
  • Running IOSCO principles validation of risk management practices for South African CCP
    
    
  • Designing governance and organization of a regulatory division within a Middle Eastern stock exchange and running the implementation of the regulatory transition from the Capital Markets Regulator to the exchange
    
    
  • Creating a blue print for an innovative SME stock exchange based in UAE financial center
    
    
  • Advising a GCC Central Bank and Capital Markets regulator in shaping regulatory response to G20 recommendations on OTC Derivatives reform
    
    
  • Developing transformation strategy and operating model for a GCC SWF
    
    
  • Building Risk, Compliance capabilities for a GCC SWF
    
    
  • Developing the 5-year strategy for the Government sponsored Industrial Development fund in a GCC state
    
    
  • Building an International Financial Center strategy for a GCC regulator
    
    
  • Developing a long-term national funding capacity strategy for a GCC regulator
    
    
  • Developing end-to-end operating model for treasury function for a GCC bank
    
    
  • Reviewing risk management for group of funds managed by GCC asset manager
    
    
  • Defining new business line launch strategy for a KSA broker
    
    
  • Creating Africa financial services acquisition and expansion strategy for large private equity fund with banking assets
    
    
  • Developing corporate strategy for mid size Saudi commercial bank
    
    
  • Review of corporate strategy for a mid size Saudi Islamic bank
    
    
  • Mustafa holds a BA in Economics from the University of Chicago. He is fluent in Turkish and English. Prior to OW he worked for Citadel Investment Group in USA and UK, and 3 Seas Capital Partners in Turkey

►     Paul is EY UK’s asset servicer tax leader and provides tax services to asset managers, asset owners and asset servicers.

►     He has over 20 years experience of assisting financial institutions be compliant with their global operational tax obligations.

►     Prior to joining EY, Paul was a Director at global universal bank and provided tax support to the transaction services division.

►     He was part of the OECD’s BIAC working party that developed the TRACE package.

►     Recent focus has been on working with a pilot group of governments; financial institutions; and academia on developing a DLT solution to the “withholding tax problem”.

Global M&A, Capital Markets, Tax & Legal Partner of ZavaRod. Past President of the Latin American Banking Committee of the Latin American Banking Federation (FELABAN) http://www.felaban.net/comite.php?id=13 between October 2013 to October 2015. Past Chairman of the Tax Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce United States in Peru (AmCham Peru) for 2 years. Past Chairman of the Tax Committee of the Association of Banks of Peru (ASBANC) for approximately 10 years. Lawyer and Arbitrator member of the Bar Association of Madrid (Spain) and member of the Bar Association of Lima (Peru); Master in Tax Law and International Taxation at the University of Castilla - La Mancha, Spain (UCLM). Chairman of Direction Board of Conexión Corredores de Seguros SAC (SBS entity supervised). Diploma of Advanced Studies in European Tax Law UCLM. Doctor of Public Law at the UCLM. Professor of Tax Law at faculties of Enterprise, Accounting and Law Peruvian universities and Spain. Authors of Financial & Tax Books and Papers Researchs like: “Trust y Fideicomisos” https://www.amazon.fr/Trust-Fideicomisos-financiero-tributario-comparado/dp/6139411505; Instrumentos Financieros Derivados https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Michael-Zavaleta-Alvarez/dp/6139468418 ; Planeamiento Tributario en Mercado de Capitales de las Américas con "Perspectiva BEPS/OECD": ¿Cómo distinguir Elusión del no Planeamiento Agresivo en ... Transfronterizos? https://www.amazon.com/Planeamiento-Tributario-Capitales-Am%C3%A9ricas-Perspectiva/dp/6202247185

Academic Director of MBA Global Tax Management & Compliance by FBT/Brazil https://www.fbtedu.com.br/cursos/pos-graduacao/posead/global-mba-tax-management-and-compliance-en/

Professor of Taxation Digital Economy in Maastricht University (Netherlands) and Professor of Global Tax Systems in Guadalajara University

Stefan Nolte serves as the managing partner of Shanda Consult of Nicosia, Cyprus, an international business consulting firm he founded in November 2009, responsible for compliance with the auspices of CySEC, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission. With its wide range of partners in the European Union, in the Mediterranean and in the Middle East, Shanda Consult offers an integrated range of business and advisory services designed to facilitate cross-border industrial investments, and to improve competitiveness and performance.

Furthermore, Mr. Nolte serves as a seasoned SPAC advisor, responsible for the SPACs Division of Shanda Consult, which structures and sets up SPACs for its clients from the scratch to and including IPO in the U.S., and assists private companies in matching with the right SPAC.

Since April 2021, Mr. Nolte serves as an independent director of the SPAC Financial Strategies Acquisition Corp. (NasdaqGM: FXCOU).

From December 1999 to February 2006, Mr. Nolte was the managing director of the European Business Bank Ltd. In Cyprus, an investment bank with activities primarily in the Middle East, South East Asia and the Far East. He serves as the president of the Cyprus Germany Business Association in Cyprus since June 2016, and as a member of the board of the Cyprus Kuwait Business Association since May 2015. Since 1984, Mr. Nolte built up his practical experience in business, investment consultancy and project management in many countries including Turkey, Morocco, Malta, Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and China. During his years in Turkey, Mr. Nolte established the Izmir Branch of the Turkish Foundation for Medium Size Enterprises (TOSYÖV), and he acted as its general coordinator from 1993 to 1995.

Mr. Nolte’s educational background is foreign trade (Hamburg) and finance (Istanbul). He speaks fluently English, German and Turkish, and lives in Cyprus since 1999.

As OBG’s Managing Editor for the Middle East and Asia, Patrick oversees research
and production of the group’s broad suite of business intelligence products across
the dynamic and varied markets of the Gulf and Asia-Pacific. At the same time, he
is instrumental in developing new content ideas and features that reflect the
dynamism in high-potential markets across these regions and the growing
appetite for actionable intelligence and advisory services on the opportunities
within.
A graduate in Political Studies from the University of Leeds, Patrick
was an award-winning national newsroom journalist before gravitating
towards business writing and economic research on emerging markets.
Having gained valuable experience across four continents, Patrick has conducted insightful interviews with an
array of presidents, senior ministers, central bankers and top executives on the pertinent issues facing their
markets, as well as being a regular speaker, moderator and panelist at international events and a contributor to
regional newspapers.
His personal research interests include inclusive growth, the future of work, the rise of China and its impact on
global trade dynamics and investment flows, and the potential to expand business ties between the Middle East
and South-east Asia.

• 14+ years of Strategy Consultancy experience
  
  
• Board Member of the German Arab chamber of commerce
  
  
• Specialized in corporate strategy and monetization, in particular data monetization
  
  
• Worked with clients across industries in Europe, North America, Middle East and Africa
  
  
• Speaker in conferences across Europe, Middle East and Africa
  
  
• Previous head of Financial Services in the MEA region for a global consultancy

Mr. Ghoneim is currently the Regional Head for Azeus Systems Limited (Convene) in TELENA (Turkey, Egypt, Levant & North Africa). Convene is the worldwide leader in Boardroom digital transformation.

Mr. Ghoneim is a veteran of the IT industry with more than 25 years of experience in management, sales, business development, channel management & people management both on local & regional levels through working with several Multinationals such as Oracle, HP, 3Com, Alcatel-Lucent, IBM, Internet Security Systems & BaaN where he delivered consistent contributions to productivity, revenue growth and overachievements.

Mr. Ghoneim holds a Master’s degree in International Business from Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics & Communication from Cairo University, Faculty of Engineering. He is also a fluent trilingual: English, French & Arabic through international education in Jesuites School.

Mr. Ghoneim is an experienced presenter and a public speaker in many national, regional & international events and conferences.

Michael Salvatico leads ESG solutions in Asia, Pacific, Middle East and Africa for S&P Global Sustainable, based in Sydney.  For more than 20 years Michael has been providing investment solutions for financial markets. Over the last decade he has focused on sustainable solutions for investors, banks, corporates, regulators, governments and academics. Michael works with these organisations to understand and better Benchmark, Report, Engage, Analyse and Model ESG risks and opportunities across their organisations. Over this time, a key focus has been climate change impacts on global economies, corporates and financial institutions, with deep experience in de-risking portfolios, identifying opportunities and reporting on baseline footprinting and scenario analysis. Michael founded the first carbon offsetting service of its kind in 2009, that leveraged compliance markets carbon credits, with Climakind.net.

Michael regularly presents at events and has been and continues to be involved in ESG initiatives including, ASFI Technical Working Group – Enhancing sustainability/resilience/stability of the financial system, PRI Fixed Income Working Group, Willoughby Council Sustainability Reference Group, IGCC - Policy Advocacy Working Group,  AIGCC - Physical Risks & Resilience Working Group, HKGFA - ESG Disclosure and Integration Working Group.

Prior to joining S&P Global Sustainable1, Michael led Asia Pacific ESG Business Development for Trucost, part of S&P Global. Michael was an Executive Director at MSCI Inc. and oversaw the company’s ESG Research in Australia and New Zealand. His career experience involves working in portfolio analytics, quantitative investment analysis and ESG research. Before MSCI Inc., he was part of the highly rated research team at Bank of America - Merrill Lynch for nine years, where he was head of Emerging Markets quantitative analysis.​

Michael received a Master of Applied Finance and Investment from the Securities Institute of Australia, and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales.​

Wan Norhaziki is a Shariah finance professional bringing 15 years of experience with extensive exposure within a wide range of financial industries, from central banking, global standard-setting, applied research, to Islamic banking sectors in both Middle Eastern and Malaysian banks. He currently leads the global Shariah Governance Unit at Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (CACIB) in Dubai. Prior to this, he was Vice President and Head of Shariah at Asian Finance Bank, Head of Shariah Risk Management at Bank Muamalat Malaysia, and Head of Shariah at the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB). Wan Norhaziki started his career with the Central Bank of Malaysia in 2007 and had been involved in the Malaysia International Islamic Financial Centre (MIFC) initiative, prior to joining the International Shariah Research Academy for Islamic Finance (ISRA) as a researcher. A Certified Islamic Banker by CIBAFI, Wan Norhaziki holds an M.A. in Shariah, and LL.M. in Banking Law from the International Islamic University, Malaysia (IIUM), a B.A. in Politics and Islamic sciences from the IIUM, a B.A. in Shariah from Al-Madinah University, and a diploma in Islamic studies from Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

“Nuno has over 13 years of experience in the financial services sector, covering multiple disciplines and geographies from Europe, to Africa and Middle East. 

Based out of Dubai, Nuno is responsible for defining the global execution strategy for Central banks & Financial Communities. Leading strategic market development initiatives in collaboration with regulators, central banks and exchanges to empower financial markets growth, through the adoption of market leading technology, best practices, and interconnected communities.

 
Prior to Refinitiv (LSEG business), Nuno has worked in Banking and Product Management in Portugal.

From an academic background, Nuno holds a master’s degree in Finance and bachelor degree in Business Management, as well as Islamic Finance and Portfolio Management certificates."

A.J. is Head of Sustainable Finance, ETFs and Asset Managers at Euroclear, the world’s leading financial market infrastructure with one of the largest cross-border fund platforms, top global reach business and innovative iETF securities depository.

Previously, he was co-founder and CEO of Axial, the first Fintech to process SMAs in Asia Pacific. Alongside strategic investors BlackRock, Credit Suisse and Morningstar, he innovated its unique marketplace and drove expansion across the region, culminating in a private equity sale.

A.J. was CEO of Managed Investments for BNY Mellon APAC where he built the company’s global wealth platform from scratch. He initiated ESG investing and was recognized by Asian Private Banker with the Asset Management Award for Excellence. He also worked at Nomura as Managing Director of Asset Management Hong Kong, leading the strategy to digitalize third party capabilities for Asia.

Prior to that, A.J. was President of Managed Accounts for Pershing LLC, including investment advisor Lockwood. He integrated legacy units to unlock value, creating the largest U.S. player with USD 340B in assets and 600 staff. He transitioned Citigroup’s private bank off Smith Barney technology. For advances in UMA and Robo, A.J. was recognized for leadership in innovation with awards from NOVA, NICSA and MMI.

He served on the ten person executive team that operated and then sold PNC’s GIS global custodian to BNY Mellon. As President of affiliate AdvisorPort, he launched TAMPs for sponsors including J.P. Morgan, and tailored socially-responsible SMAs. A.J. joined PNC to implement its product strategy division globally for GIS. A.J. began his career as a product manager at Federated, opening its fund business in Germany and Ireland. He also started TrustConnect, a high-growth fund trading platform for U.S. trust departments.

A.J. resides in Brussels and has an international studies degree from Johns Hopkins and a graduate diploma from SAIS.

Mr. Hussain Abdulhaq is an experienced Treasurer in the area of Islamic Banking and Financial Markets. His 17 years banking career as a treasury specialist has seen very focused on in Islamic liquidity management, Islamic capital markets, the development of Islamic compliant investment products and hedging instruments as well as Financial Institutions relationships.

Mr. Hussain joined Al Salam Bank-Bahrain in 2007 as a senior member in the treasury team, and has led the treasury integration process of Al Salam Bank and Bahrain Saudi Bank in 2010 and the same for BMI Bank in 2014. Prior to joining Al Salam Bank, he was in charge of dealing room activities for Kuwait Finance House Bahrain for a period of 5 years. Mr. Hussain holds an MBA degree in Banking & Islamic Finance with honors from University of Bahrain and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

Holds Masters/ Bachelors Degrees , The Warton School (Portfolio Management; CFA School CIPM Principal ; Northwestern University ; The College of Wooster)

30 years of Saudi Investment Management – FINTECH Expert

SME with the full spectrum of investment product, creation, sales, marketing and management. Built multiple middle offices and wealth management solutions. Responsible for developing innovative financial solutions in Saudi market and end to end mapping of regulations to business processes.   Brings unique business process perspective to FinTech and able to bridge the gap between Business and Technology.

Jacob Rank-Broadley is a financial markets executive with over ten years’ experience advising financial institutions on strategic and regulatory issues.

He is currently responsible for LIBOR transition within the Refinitiv Benchmarks and Indices business.  Prior to joining Refinitiv, Jacob held strategy and consulting roles at Oliver Wyman and MarketAxess. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics (Hons) from the University College London.

Khalil is the Chief of Business Development in the Securities Clearing Center Company (Muqassa) and have been part of Muqassa since its inception in 2018.

As the leader of Business Development, he played a key role in launching the securities clearing services and enable the launch of the first exchange traded Derivatives product in Saudi Arabia. He also took over many leadership positions to develop initiatives in the financial sector that contribute in the Saudi Vision 2030.

Holds MBA from University of Management and Technology Pakistan

15 years specialization as Brokerage + Investment Management – FINTECH Specialist

SME with both Sell and-Buy Side knowledge, with specialization in Brokerage innovation (+12 Years) and also with Asset Management solutions as Head of Fintech. He brings experience in overall Financial Software Solutions building across  ME/GCC, South Asia, North and West African markets. He is MBA, Finance from University of Management and Technology Pakistan.

William Tohmé, CFA, is Senior Regional Head of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) at CFA Institute and is based in the new CFA Institute office in Abu Dhabi.

In his role, William advocates for the highest standards of practice and ethics in the investment management industry through the promotion of financial market integrity and transparency among regional policy makers and regulators. 

William brings a wealth of experience in building a presence in new markets, deep local knowledge, and a strong entrepreneurial spirit to develop the CFA Institute hub in MENA. He partners with local MENA society leaders to assist with the expansion of their networks, contributing to the further professionalisation of the investment management industry in this flourishing region.

Prior to joining CFA Institute, William was Director, Institutional Business Development at Lazard, where he developed the sovereign institutional client business in the Middle East, covering the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain. Prior to this role, he was Director, Middle Eastern Institutions, Alliance Bernstein Middle East.  

William graduated with a Masters of Advanced Studies (D.E.A.) in Finance, Monetary Sciences and Banking from the Université Paris II in 2001 (Honours) and earned his CFA charter in 2009. William is fluent in English and a native speaker of French and Arabic.

Kok Keong is a veteran with almost 3 decades of experience in real estate, where he has done city planning, real estate development, equity research, and real estate consultancy in the Asia pacific region. His past employers include the Urban Redevelopment Authority, Merrill Lynch, Pacific Star Holdings, and Orangetee.

In the past decade, he has co-founded 3 companies, one of which launched Asia's first real estate token platform in 2017. At present, he is working in Kasa to launch another industry-leading regulated tokenization platform for real estate investments. 

Caroline is the Chief Investor Relations (IR) and Capital Markets Officer and also the Chief Sustainability Officer at MUST. She is responsible for IR, communication, sustainability and helps to steer the strategy and the equity capital markets requirements for MUST.

Ms Fong has over 15 years of experience in IR, capital markets and research. Prior to joining MUST, Ms Fong was Associate Director, IR and Corporate Finance in Temasek Holdings and Head of IR and Corporate Communications in ESR-REIT. In addition, Ms Fong was formerly Head of IR for CapitaLand Mall Asia, where she was responsible for creating the narrative for the company’s retail businesses in Singapore and four other countries. Early in her career, Ms Fong was Associate Director, Listings at SGX, where she advised companies on corporate governance and the regulatory framework for public-listed companies in Singapore.

Ms Fong holds a Master’s in Finance and Investment from the University of Nottingham, UK and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Banking and Finance from the University of London, UK.

Brad joined the DFSA in 2010 and is responsibility for the DFSA’s regulation of market
operations. He was previously a Director with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Capital Markets
in London and Moscow. Prior to joining PricewaterhouseCoopers, Brad has held positions
with the UK Financial Services Authority, the London Stock Exchange and the Stock
Exchange of Hong Kong.

Ayman Doukali, has over a decade experience in Islamic finance, particularly in the Debt Capital Markets and Corporate & Institutional Banking areas. He is currently the Head of Islamic and Structured Finance at the Qatar Financial Center. Prior to joining QFC, Ayman worked for HSBC in Malaysia and held multiple positions within the Global Banking and Debt Capital Markets teams, with his last assignment being the Head of Sukuk for Asia Pacific. Before working at HSBC, he was part of the Debt Capital Markets team at Barwa Bank (Dukhan currently) in Qatar.

Anna Theorin serves as the Head of Product for Nasdaq’s clearing technology offering at Nasdaq Market Technology. Based in Umeå, Sweden, Anna is responsible for developing the long-term vision for Nasdaq’s clearing technology product portfolio, while leading a team of post-trade technology professionals in their work to ensure high-quality and efficient delivery of clearing solutions tailored for the needs of tomorrow. Prior to her current role at Nasdaq, Anna spent over 10 years in the fintech and insurance industries, working with multiple clients across the globe as a business analyst and product manager. She is passionate about identifying technical solutions that provide standardization while tailored to clients' unique selling points, and guiding her clients in their own innovation journeys to develop services and solutions for the financial ecosystem of the future.  

Anna holds a Ph.D in Medicine and a Master’s Degree in Cognitive Science from Umeå University.

Board Member - IESBA (International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants)
Board Member at SHIFT Project
Audit Committee Member at Banco Santander Brasil
Council Member of IIRC (International Integrated Reporting Council) - as a representative of IBGC - and Board Member of Integrated Reporting Framework Board.
Member of UNCTAD/ISAR Group
Head of CBARI (the Brazilian Network for Integrated Reporting)
Senior executive with more than 25 years of substantial experience in the financial market, occupying strategic and statutory chairs, as Board Member; Head of Delegation; Head Accountant in Financial Institutions; Advisory Council for International Accounting, Sustainability and Ethics Standards, Auditing and Professional Ethics Consultative Councils; Investor Relations and National and International Commissions to support corporate reporting.
Deputy Controlling Director and member of the BNDES Risk Committee, notable role as Advisor for Financial Market Transparency to the CEO, Investor Relations and Financial Policy Manager.
Member of the Brazilian Investor Relations Institute, where she was also a member of the Technical and the Disclosure Committees.
Active voice in the dissemination of best Integrated Reporting practices, being a frequent speaker at the main corporate events in Brazil and abroad. Member of W-CFO Brazil.
Former member of the Fiscal Council of FAPES and an alternate member of the Fiscal Council of BNB.
Former Advisory Group IFRS Foundation, Consultative and Advisory Group of International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board,
PhD candidate in Accountancy and Administration at FUCAPE Business School
Author of book aimed at the financial market, lecturer and congresswoman, she is also a professor of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies, teaching classes, supervising monographs and course completion works, participating in evaluation boards and planning courses in the Finance, Accounting and Administration grades companies.
Strong experience in Business Analysis, Financial Planning, Cross-function Team Leadership, Data Analysis, Accountability, and Due Dilligence for funding raising transactions, budget and SAP implementation

Accountant | CFO | Standard Setter (Ethics) | Human Rights | Integrated Reporting | ISAR | IFRS | Auditing | Corporate Governance |

Mrs. Abeer Al Saad serves as the Director of Capital Markets Supervision (CMSD) at the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB). She is in charge of regulating and supervising the kingdom’s capital markets and has more than 15 years’ experience in the field of capital market.

Her current responsibilities include supervision of licensed exchanges, licensed clearing houses and central depositories, the market intermediaries, regulating the issuance and offering of securities in the primary market as well as maintaining and promoting fairness, efficiency and transparency within the capital market and ensuring investor protection.

Mrs. Abeer began her career in 2006 with the CBB and since then she has held several senior positions at the Directorate. Between 2011 till 2016, she served as Head of Issuance and Corporate Restructure Division within the Capital Markets Directorate. She was appointed as Director, Capital Markets Supervision Directorate in October 2016.

Mrs. Abeer serves on a number of national and regional committees including the GCC heads of securities commissions’ steering committee, which aims to integrate the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) securities markets and harmonize the rules of securities market amongst GCC member states. She also represents the Kingdom of Bahrain at the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).

Mrs. Abeer holds a bachelor’s degree in Banking and Finance from the University of Bahrain. She has also completed the Investment Representative Program (Series 7) certificate from BIBF and the primary market certificate from ICMA.

Marwa Al-Maskati leads the Marketing and Business Development function of Bahrain Bourse where she is responsible for all new business opportunities and affairs. Since taking on this role in 2014, she has been instrumental in the implementation and establishment of new markets including the Real Estate Investment Trust Market (REIT) in 2016 and the Bahrain Investment Market (BIM) in 2017, as well as the establishment and launch of the Middle East Investor Relations – Bahrain Chapter. Mrs. AlMaskati currently heads the Bahrain Chapter of MEIRA and sits on the Board of MEIRA as well, she is also an active member of the AFE Sustainability Committee.

Mrs. Al-Maskati has over 18 years of experience in the financial industry with a focus on areas such as strategy development, venture capital, private equity, and business development, having previously worked for a number of prominent organizations. Prior to joining Bahrain Bourse, she held key roles with prominent organizations such as the Central Bank of Bahrain, TAIB Bank, and Tamkeen.

Among her notable career achievements during that time include overseeing a $2 billion real estate portfolio and managed to successfully exit assets worth $450 million at TAIB Bank, and helping to develop Tamkeen’s positioning strategy for 2007-2009 as a member of the organization’s strategy development team.

Mrs. Al-Maskati holds a First-Class Honors Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Strathclyde (UK) in 2006 and a Bachelors of Science in Business and Economics from the University of Wales, Swansea (UK) in 2002. Mrs. Al-Maskati has completed her professional certification as ‘Certified Investor Relations Officer’ awarded by the UK-IR Society and ‘Series 79’ awarded by the BIBF. Mrs. Al-Maskati has also completed the Regulators Securities Market Program conducted by Harvard Law School & IOSCO.

Marcus is an associate partner in the Bahrain office of Ernst & Young to where he recently moved after a spending 22 years with Ernst & Young in May in the UK where he co led the UK IPO team.

He has advised on listings on London, Middle eastern, African and US exchanges including a number of privatisations of state owned entities  He has also advised a range of clients on their readiness to enter an IPO process both in the region and overseas and is a regular speaker on IPO processes at conferences.

As one of the most experienced members of our Global IPO team, Marcus has been involved in transactions in Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, The Balkans, Middle East, Australia, South America and a number of Sub Saharan African countries.

His broad experience also includes advising on a range of transactions including buy side, sell side and formal stock exchange engagements for both Government, corporates and private equity

Marcus is an English Chartered Accountant and he graduated from the University of Oxford with a M.Eng in Engineering and Materials Science

Anton Ganev is an independent consultant offering his expertise in listed/OTC derivatives and risk management to financial institutions looking to optimize capital resources (cost of capital reduction, collateral requirement optimization, …) or enhance their counterparty risk framework.

Anton Ganev has over 10 years’ experience within risk management, most recently with BNP Paribas as former Head of Derivatives Execution & Clearing Business Risk team where he was overseeing the first level of control framework and processes on client clearing activities. This includes counterparty risk and profitability analysis, term sheet negotiation, limit and stress test monitoring, reporting of key risk indicators, regulatory capital optimization and default management.

• Over 30 years’ experience in financial services, with 20+ in listed derivative operations including leadership roles in the day-to-day operation of financial markets in different locations.
• Implemented strong regulatory, compliance and risk environments.
• Excellent communication skills at all levels, written and verbal, and strong effective leadership of teams up to 70+ across locations.
• Developed strong working relationships with key stakeholders both internal and external, the latter including regulators, customers, and suppliers.
• Designed and delivered change management and process improvements across departments and locations to ensure operational services reflect commercial needs.
• Extensive experience of business planning and restructuring.

Ms. Eline Helal was appointed as the Director - Investor Relations, Insurance and Co. Secretary in February 2020.

Ms. Helal has been part of Alba for 10+ years and brings with her years of honed experience across matrixed functions namely Investor Relations, Corporate Communications, Co. Secretariat, Insurance as well as Strategy & Business Development.

Ms. Helal joined Alba as Manager – Investor Relations (IR) since March 2011 to build the IR function from scratch, develop & lead the IR team. During her time at Alba, she also held on top of her IR role, Public Relations for 5 years and was acting as Strategy and Business Development Manager since July 2018.

Ms. Helal’s financial acumen and keen understanding of capital markets has enabled her to quickly get to grips with business fundamentals and understand what information analysts and portfolio managers require; she also played an instrumental role in the financing of Alba’s Line 6 Expansion Project [US$ 3 billion]. She has a well-versed experience in corporate governance, compliance and regulatory skills for working in Debt and Equity markets, especially on Emerging Markets and in particular the Middle East. Eline is recognized as a media relator as well as financial communication advisor for C-levels in the region.

Ms. Helal started her professional career as a financial analyst at the Middle East mobile operator Zain Group in early 2007, moving on to an Investor Relations role for the Company for 4 years.

Eline holds a Master in Business Administration from ESSEC, Master in International Finance from University of New South Wales (UNSW) and a Bachelor of Science in Banking & Finance from Lebanese American University (LAU).

Shobhit has over 11 years of experience in the financial services sector, covering multiple buy-side disciplines and geographies from Middle East, to Africa and Europe.

Based out of Dubai, Shobhit is responsible for FTSE Russell’s Index and Analytics business working with clients such as Asset Owners, Asset Managers, Central Banks, and Sell-Side institutions.

Prior to FTSE Russell (an LSEG business), Shobhit has worked extensively with Portfolio & Risk Management Solutions, and Index Solutions.

Shobhit earned his MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and is a certified FRM (Financial Risk Manager) and CIPM (Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement).

Simone Utermarck is a Director, Sustainable Finance at the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) based in London. She is part of the secretariat that manages the Principles, secretary to the GBP SBP Advisory Council the ICMA Sustainable Finance Committee (SFC) and the Global Sustainable Finance Council (GSFC), and otherwise involved in all of ICMA’s sustainable finance activities. Simone is also a member of the EU Platform on Sustainable Finance, the UK Stakeholder Discussion Forum and the ASEAN Joint Sustainable Finance Working Group Industry Advisory Panel. She is a trained banker with extensive international experience having lived and worked in Europe, the United States, Asia and the GCC. Her previous roles were with Thomson Reuters, S&P Global Ratings, Bloomberg, PwC, Ernst & Young, DaimlerChrysler Global Capital Services.

Simone holds a double degree in International Business from Dublin City University (DCU), Ireland and the ESB Business School, Reutlingen Germany. She also completed the International Certificate in Investor Relations and the CFA Level 1.

Thanzeel is a manager in PWC Qatar’s tax and legal services practice. He has over 13 years of experience in taxation and has been based in Qatar since 2018.

Prior to joining PWC, he was an International Tax manager in EY Qatar and before that a Senior International Tax Inspector in Her Majesties Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Large Business Unit in the UK.

As a former tax inspector, he has an in depth understanding about the operations of the tax authorities, tax compliance, tax audits, tax appeals and dispute etc.

Thanzeel routinely advices businesses about international and domestic tax implications and compliance obligations, reorganizations, restructuring, investments, divestments etc.

Thanzeel has a BSc (Hons) in Taxation from Manchester Metropolitan University, MBA in Corporate Finance from Abertay University, and he is a Fellow of Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and member of Association of Tax Technician (ATT, CIOT).

Sumer Chopra has been a SPAC Expert at Mazars Luxembourg since the launch of the SPAC initiative at the firm in early 2021. He is responsible for the capital markets advisory for SPAC engagements and is also a part of the Valuation team at Mazars Luxembourg. He has been studying and researching on SPACs for the last 6 years. He has been involved in 7 SPAC IPOs and 2 De-SPACs till date and has helped build the SPAC practice at Mazars Luxembourg, who now lead the SPAC audit in Luxembourg.  Sumer began his career at EY India in the Fraud Investigations & Dispute Resolutions division. He holds a Masters degree in Financial Markets and Investments from SKEMA Business School, Paris.

Ajay Kumar Venkatasubramanian is an independent management consultant responsible for driving LIBOR transition in APAC consisting of 13 countries at major bank. In this role he leads teams focused on the operational, technology, finance and risk aspects of the LIBOR transition. The regional role involves coordinating responses from this bank to surveys and questionnaires from regulatory bodies in APAC (viz. Monetary authority of Singapore, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Bank Negara Malaysia, Bank of Thailand etc.) articulating the bank’s progress, exposures and other key challenges.

Ajay has in-depth experience in lead roles in regulatory transformation initiatives in international banks based in APAC. He works closely with CxO stakeholders of these banks in facilitating key high-impact decisions and providing steer to cross-functional teams and task forces of more than 15 members assembled for special purposes and achieving difficult and time critical objectives.

In his several years of experience in the financial services industry, he has worked independently, in prominent consulting firms and at leading banks. His work focuses on key areas in the banking industry such as digital transformation and analytics, regulatory and financial crime initiatives and operational excellence projects. He has published his thought leadership through articles, IEEE publications and point of view presentations throughout his career. He is an avid reader with well-informed views on major trends in the banking and technology sectors.

Professional Achievements:

• Recommended growth strategy to improve wealth advisory market share by 3% for a local bank in a new geography.
• Proposed market-entry strategy by assessing the Thailand market and recommended products, client segments, revenue models & pricing.
• Managed a consulting engagement to deliver a regulatory remediation sponsored by the CEO, at a Private Bank within a challenging 7-month timeline.

Recommended a joint-venture business model for Daimler Financial Services to enter the Indonesian captive finance market.

Malik Yousif Rahimi is the Group Head of Financial Institutions in Ahli United Bank B.S.C. and is responsible for managing the Financial Institutions relationships for the AUB Group globally with emphasis on income generation, liability management, treasury business activities, trade services, in addition to the traditional correspondent banking activities and services.

Malik has been with the AUB Group for over 17 years and played key role in the development and growth of the Financial Institutions business activities across the AUB Group.

Malik has a Bachelor of Business Information Systems from the University of Bahrain, and MBA in Banking & Finance from the Swiss Business School.

Bassam Alali is the Head of Treasury at Ahli United Bank. He has 15 years of banking experience focusing primarily on financial markets, asset and liability management, and foreign exchange trading. Bassam has worked extensively on the Libor transition project at Ahli United Bank and is a member of the Group’s Libor Transition Steering Committee. He is also a member of local and Group ALCO committees.

Prior to joining Ahli United Bank, Bassam was a telecom engineer at MTC-Vodafone (currently Zain Bahrain).

Bassam Alali holds a Master’s degree in Quantitative Finance from the University of Westminster, a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Ottawa and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

Ali Marshad has over 12 years of experience in asset management, investments, treasury and brokerage. Joining SICO in 2008 as an Analyst in the Investments & Treasury division, Ali then headed up the newly established Fixed Income Desk in 2012 before being promoted to Head of Fixed Income in 2015. Prior to joining SICO, he worked in the UK as an Analyst with Mercer Investment Consulting and as a Performance Analyst with UBS Global Asset Management - London. A Chartered Financial Analyst, Ali holds a BSc (Honours) in Banking, Finance & Management from Loughborough University, UK.

With over 13 years of experience in the Information Services and Financial technology sectors, Abdo is responsible for the Companies fundamental data & Corporate solutions business unit at Mubasher group. He is also leading the group’s strategic project with regional governments and exchanges to transform private equity markets in the MENA region; with the upcoming roll out planned with Bahrain Bourse in the 1^st half of 2022.

GFM Mubasher is the Financial content and Media arm of Mubasher group, incorporating Mubasher Media, Fundamental content, Investor Relations solutions, Financial web portals, and Mubasher’s leading Market intelligence platform (www.decypha.com).

Prior to Mubasher, Abdo has worked with Thomson Reuters as part of the Financial & Risk business, leading market development initiatives in the Emerging Markets and Europe.

He also holds an MBA in Global Management from IE business school in Madrid.

Diana is a MEIRA certified Investor Relations consultant and corporate communications specialist with experience in Europe and the Middle East. She has supported companies in strengthening their brands by delivering high impact, integrated campaigns and IR programmes across sectors and advising boards on ESG issues including social and environmental risk, remuneration and stakeholder engagement. She has experience in supporting companies in their transition to being publicly listed, recent IPO experience in includes Theeb Rent a Car, Maharah HR Co., Amlak International, Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Group, Theeb Rent-a-Car and Tanmiah.

Diana holds a BSc from The London School of Economics where she studied Government and Economics.

Darryl F. Abdoelgafoer is a senior risk manager at EuroCCP where he is among others responsible for the recovery and resolution planning. Prior to joining EuroCCP, Darryl worked over two years at Eurex Clearing, where he was responsible for the recovery and resolution planning and the implementation of the EU CCP recovery and resolution regulation.

Darryl also has extensive experience at De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), the Dutch Central Bank and National Resolution Authority. Here he was responsible for the resolution planning of Dutch (significant) banks, and was part of resolution colleges of foreign banks. Besides that, Darryl was also responsible for policy topics, e.g. valuation in resolution, continued access to FMIs, innovations in the financial sector and resolution data requirements.

Darryl holds a Master’s degree in Finance from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and is FRM Certified by GARP.

Katie Kelly is a Senior Director in the Market Practice and Regulatory Policy team at ICMA, where she is primarily responsible for representing the interests of ICMA’s primary market issuer constituency.

More recently, Katie has been working on the transition from LIBOR to risk-free rates and is active in the various associated working groups of the £RFR Working Group, with a particular focus on the adoption of SONIA as the new risk-free rate and the transition of legacy LIBOR instruments.   

Together with ICMA colleagues, Katie has established and continues to nurture the ICMA Women's Network.

Prior to joining ICMA in 2011, Katie practiced law at Linklaters in both the London and Paris offices before taking a position as Treasury Counsel at British American Tobacco.

Katie studied Law and French in Manchester and took her professional legal exams in York.

Malti Javeri, Country Head Securities Services Bahrain Malti Javeri was appointed as Head of Securities Services in Bahrain in May 2019. With over a decade of experience in securities services, Malti has been instrumental in developing key relationships with clients, regulator and important stakeholders of the business. As part of her role, she is responsible for all aspects of the business including Service Delivery, Risk & Governance, and Client Management. She has led various projects developing the product offering for HSBC in the Bahrain and neighbouring countries. Malti joined HSBC in 2004, and has been Securities Services Bahrain for the past 15 years after covering shorter stints in Human Resources and Operations Department of the Bank. She is a Certified Chartered Accountant and holds a Master’s Degree in Strategy from the University of Strathclyde.

Pooja is a policy expert with more than 16 years of experience in regulatory compliance. At present she is advising the UAE Federal capital market authority on implementing international best practices in capital market policy and shaping their views on Fintech, Regtech & Suptech. She has a decade of experience with the Indian capital market regulator as well. An avid writer, she also speaks at various regulatory panels across the UAE and was recently part of Rise Up 2019 Asia cohort, Money 20/20 Singapore.

Ms. Nouran Youssef is a senior financial sector specialist at the Arab Monetary Fund.

In her current position, she provides support to Arab countries in fields of Financial Technology “Fintech”, digital financial transformation, digital financial inclusion, government securities and Sukuk market developments, public debt management and reforms through policy advise, technical assistance, trainings, workshops, as well as publications.

She is leading the Arab regional Fintech Working Group and its activities to enhance a proper Fintech ecosystem in Arab Countries. So, she is currently responsible of divers Fintech themes in Arab Countries, including regulatory & supervisory frameworks, innovation in Fintech products & services, as well as how to support Fintech activities through developing capacity of professionals in Arab countries.

She initiated the fintech index for the Arab region “FinxAr” and developed the Annual Fintech Report for the Arab Region. Also, co-authored many Fintech publications, particularly in relation to designing Fintech Policies & Strategies, Guidelines, covering different Fintech aspects for the region, in addition to the trilingual Fintech Glossary. Fintech Publications cover, among other topics, Open Banking & Open Finance, Central Bank Digital Currencies, Digital Identity, e-KYC and Digital Customer On-Boarding, Regtech/Suptech, DLT/ Blockchain Technologies, Digital Wallet Providers ...etc.

Before joining the Arab Monetary, Ms. Nouran was the Deputy Debt Manager at the Egyptian Ministry of Finance, she was responsible for adopting a full debt markets’ reform agenda, managing and monitoring government securities portfolio, as well as managing public debt risks. Debt Reforms include increasing the average life of tradable debt of Egypt, introducing new instruments to the Egyptian debt market, namely the floating rate notes (FRNs) and Zero-coupon bonds, designing the yearly and quarterly issuance calendar, handling Primary Dealers’ scheme, participating in the issuance of Egypt’s Eurobonds, as well as her main contribution in drafting the Sovereign Sukuk Law.

She has more than 20 years of experience in government securities markets, debt management and reforms, as well as Debt & Sukuk Markets Development; through which she acquired different competencies that has been used to deliver practical experiences through technical assistance programmes and delivering training workshops.

She conducted as well several research on various topics in Islamic and conventional Capital Markets, Debt Markets including digitalization of government securities markets in the Arab region, sovereign debt markets development and debt management strategies in Arab countries, in addition to the role of capital markets in financing infrastructure.

Moreover, she holds a Doctorate of Business Administration from Cairo University, also, holds a Master of Business Administration in finance from the same University. In 2020, she concluded an Executive Programme on “Fintech and Regulatory Innovation” from the University of Cambridge Judge Business School.

Suleiman Barada is an Independent Technology Business Strategist. A Sr. Advisor at the Union of Arab Banks, and Head of UABdigital where he spearheads the ecosystem digital transformation arm of the Union, with an ecosystem-wide vision and mission, and a mandate to leaving no financial institution behind as the sector transitions into the Digital Economy within the Arab countries. Suleiman is also Chair of the Advisory Board at the Arab Banks Innovation Council (ABIC). In his capacity at the Union, and reporting into the Union’s Secretary General, Suleiman is leading a Pan-Arab digital banking agenda on FinTech Collaborations, Open Banking, CBDC, and other transformative initiatives affecting the Arab banking sector as a whole.


Suleiman is also a member of the General Union of Arab Experts under the League of Arab States.

Suleiman is an Ecosystem Architect with focus on value creation and practices a purpose-driven approach to developing and executing Digital Business Transformation roadmaps while being entirely focused on Benefits Realization and the way they can be measured, attained, and sustained. Suleiman has worked with a wide variety of international technology vendors and possesses a thorough understanding of the global tech ecosystem and their characteristics.

Founded S2E MEA, an affiliate of S2E Transformation Inc., a Strategy Execution consulting firm based out of New York, USA. .

Suleiman has acted in various capacities and has led and scaled several businesses in the region with a solid track record in significantly growing companies right from inception with evident turnaround capabilities. Suleiman is regarded as a trusted advisor to clients, partners, and peers and is adept at extending the most relevant advisory, independent of situation or industry.

Certified Digital Transformation Advisor, Six Sigma Yellow Belt, and a Project Management Professional (PMP) since 2005 — collective credentials indicative of his commitment to leveraging best practices and applying standards to his advisory engagements.

Suleiman’s cross-industry experience includes Defense, Government, Financial Services, Healthcare, Higher Education, Construction, Facilities Management, Telco, Utilities, and Retail sectors.

Experienced in Banking, Governance, Compliance, Technology and Regulatory Affairs. Worked 20 consecutive years for Standard Chartered Bank in Operational Risk Management, Fintech, Regtech and Cyber Security. Proficiency relates to Cryptocurrency, Anti Financial Crime, Anti Money Laundering and Combating the Finance of Terrorism. Leveraged the Compliance of international and local Banks. Certified from ACAMS, Grant Thornton and University of London. International conferences speaker and facilitator. Currently provides consultancies and coaching with GRMCT in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

Ashar Saleem, CFA has been a part of the investment management industry for more than 7 years working across multiple asset classes. In his current capacity as a Fund manager at Yaqeen Capital (Previously known as FALCOM financial services) in Saudi Arabia, he is working as part of the asset management team to manage assets in excess of USD 1 Billion which are spread across multiple asset classes ranging from equities, fixed income, real estate and private equity. Previously he was associated with the Saudi Kuwaiti Finance House in Riyadh in a similar capacity in asset management. Prior to that, Ashar was working in the investment department of the Rashid Saad Al Rashid & Sons family office looking after their local and global private equity investments.

Apart from his core career, Ashar has been an active part of the development of the Saudi investment industry overall. He currently serves on the board for University of Business & Technology (UBT) in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, he has been a major contributor to the CFA Institute Global research challenge in Saudi Arabia. He was the Industry mentor for UBT during the CFA research challenge in 2021 while he was appointed as the judge for the finals of the CFA challenge in 2020 and 2022 for the Saudi chapter. Ashar has also volunteered to appear as a guest speaker at multiple occasions at the Prince Sultan University in Saudi Arabia and the Institute of Public Financial Accounts (UK) and has been a continuous mentor for the finance graduates for the institutes. Ashar has always been a consistent contributor for content on renowned financial platforms in Saudi Arabia such as argaam where he is often quoted based on his interviews with their teams.

Ashar holds the CFA charter along with an MBA in Banking & Finance and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics & Finance both from the Lahore School of Economics, Pakistan. He was born and raised in Saudi Arabia and has been the first account witness of the massive transformations that the region has underwent at the fiscal and social level as well. Ashar keeps a key eye on local and global affairs that might impact the global markets in any way.

“Shahed Al Shawa  is a tokenization expert and digital product manager currently living and working in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Her areas of focus include real estate tokenization, crypto products, digital strategy and transformation. She is an MBA candidate and holds a Bachelors of Business Administration from the American University in Dubai.

She has successfully delivered a number of projects in the digital and crypto world, as part of her tenure in Emaar Properties PJSC. She has recently joined a new crypto startup, where she is working to help the company achieve its tokenization goals.”