Dr Abideen Adeyemi Adewale joined the IFSB in April 2018 as a Lead Specialist. He is presently the Head of Research, Publications, and Statistics in the Technical and Research Department at the IFSB, where he also oversees the research activities as well as the coordination and publication of research papers and the flagship IFSB Islamic Financial Services Industry (IFSI) Stability Report. Dr. Adewale also complements activities relating to the facilitation of workshops on the implementation of IFSB Standards, and other technical matters at the IFSB.

Prior to joining the IFSB, Dr Adewale worked at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), as an Associate Professor of Finance, the Head of Programme for PhD Islamic Banking and Finance, and Editor, Journal of Islamic Finance. He had previously worked in Nigeria with a brief stint in a Stock-broking firm, and later as a Lecturer at the Department of Accounting and Finance, University of Ilorin, Nigeria. Dr. Adewale obtained his PhD Business Administration from IIUM where he also did a post-doctoral fellowship. He obtained his M.Sc. Finance and B.Sc. Finance degrees from the University of Lagos, Nigeria and the University of Ilorin, Nigeria respectively

Ahmad Shahriman Mohd Shariff was appointed the Chief Executive Officer of CIMB Islamic Bank Berhad on 1 October 2019. In this role he heads the Group Islamic Banking business of CIMB Group including Islamic wholesale banking, Islamic consumer banking, Islamic commercial banking and Islamic asset management and investment across key markets such as Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Shahriman is also Board Member of CIMB Islamic Bank, Secretary of the Association of Islamic Banking and Financial Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM), Member, Standing Committee on Islamic Financial Reporting, Malaysian Accounting Standards Board (MASB), and Honorary Senior Fellow, Centre for Islamic Economics, International Islamic University Malaysia.
 
Shahriman has over two decades of experience in the corporate sector, of which 16 years were in Islamic Banking and Finance-related leadership roles at HSBC Amanah Malaysia Berhad as Director, Wholesale Banking and Citigroup where he served as Head of Islamic Banking, Citibank Berhad amongst others.

With over 15 years in financial services, Oz is a professional with an extensive experience in wholesale and retail banking, as well as a recognised leader in Islamic finance. He has held a number of senior management roles with international exposure in the UK, the Middle East and Asia. In his early career, he distinguished himself in innovating Islamic finance solutions across various jurisdictions and has advised governments on Islamic finance regulation.

He is credited with material contributions to the development of the Global Sukuk market. In 2018, he oversaw the issuance of the award-winning, World’s First UN SDG Sukuk issuance and represented a Malaysian mission to the UNGA to discuss Islamic finance and its role in achieving the UN SDGs.

In recent years, Oz has established himself as a thought leader in the social and environmental impact sectors within the Banking and Value-Based Intermediation (VBI) community – VBI is an initiative for Malaysian Islamic banks to refocus operations from bottom line to triple bottom line, incorporating social and environmental impact considerations along with economic return. Oz is considered an expert in Sustainability within banking.

Oz has a Bachelor’s degree from University College London, a Master’s degree from the University of Bristol and received an MBA with distinction from London Business School’s Executive MBA program. In addition, he also holds a Corporate Director Certificate from Harvard Business School, and certificates for Sustainability from both Harvard Business School and London Business School.

Prior to becoming the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia, Oz was the CEO of HSBC Amanah. He is also the Chair of the Malaysian Financial Services JC3 (Joint Committee on Climate Change) Sub-Committee 4 on Engagement and Capacity Building and a Council Member of the Association of Islamic Banking and Financial Institutions Malaysia. He is also a Founder & board member of a UK FinTech company, mmob, specialising in Open Banking and Open Finance technology infrastructure.

Professor Dr Mohd Azmi Omar is the president and CEO of the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF) – The Global University of Islamic Finance. Prior to his current position, he served as the director-general at Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI), IsDB Group, Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. At IRTI, Dr Azmi pioneered and introduced an innovative policy research which culminated in flagship reports such as the IRTI Islamic Social Finance Report and the IsDB-World Bank Global Report on Islamic Finance. Dr Azmi has also provided advice and technical assistance in Islamic finance to several IsDB member countries.

Dr Azmi was a member of the board of trustees of Responsible Finance Institute Foundation and External Advisory Group for the IMF Interdepartmental Working Committee on Islamic Finance. He was awarded ‘The Most Outstanding Individual Contribution to Islamic Finance’ accolade at the KLIFF Islamic Finance Awards 2015.

Dr Azmi has held numerous positions at International Islamic University Malaysia, including deputy rector (academic and research), dean of Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance and dean of Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences. He serves as a member of the Shariah committees of Bank Rakyat Malaysia and Etiqa Takaful Malaysia, and as an Islamic finance expert to Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam. Recently, he led a team that developed the Indonesia Shari’ah (Islamic) Economy Masterplan 2019–2024 for the government of Indonesia.

Dr Azmi holds a Bachelor of Science (Finance) degree and an MBA from Northern Illinois University in the US and a PhD in finance from Bangor University, Wales in the UK. He is also a holder of the Chartered Professional in Islamic Finance qualification.

Dean Gillespie is CEO of IBA Group and has extensive banking and start-up experience across both Australia and Asia. He has led the creation of Australia’s first Islamic bank since 2018. Dean was previously in charge of home loan sales at Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and the head of mortgages at Bankwest where he doubled the business’s size within three years. He also ran the retail bank at CBA’s Vietnam International Bank in Hanoi across 160 branches nationwide, where he built the bank’s first mobile banking app.

Dean has a history of founding start-ups, including SparkleVote, an innovative online election company. Outside of work, Dean is the chair of Lucy Air Ambulance for Children and is a former councillor on Hurstville City Council. Dean joined IBA Group largely as a volunteer in 2018 before transitioning to full-time CEO in 2020. He is absolutely passionate about the need to support Muslim Australians in building the first Islamic bank. His knowledge of Australian retail banking and his commitment to ethical banking are key drivers in delivering the IBA Group vision to reality.

Elias Moubarak is a partner in the Kuala Lumpur office of Trowers & Hamlins. Elias represents the full spectrum of stakeholders on a range of Shariah compliant banking and finance transactions including project financings and real estate financings as well as Sukuk issuances. Elias has also contributed to the development of laws, such as Sukuk regulations in Oman, Jordan and Pakistan, facilitating the development of Shariah compliant financing in a number of jurisdictions. Elias is cited in Legal 500 2017 as a banking and finance lawyer who is a “notable practitioner” who has “excellent technical knowledge and a willingness to go the extra mile”.

Mohamed Hamza Ghaouri is currently PhD candidate at IUM Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance, Malaysia. Having moderate experience in Malaysian and Moroccan research centers and consultancy agencies, his research area is Islamic social finance. As a Certified Blockchain Associate, he is passionate about the deployment of financial technologies to solve social issues. He has headed the French training program at IBF Net where he prepared several modules in different areas of Islamic finance. He had delivered some seminars and presented academic papers in many international conferences. He is currently a consultant for Fineopolis working on delivering projects in different areas of islamic finance. Besides consultancy, and with his moderate experience in Malaysia, he is representing the company and conducting business development activities in South-East Asia (SEA). Before joining Fineopolis, he worked closely with a few Islamic fintech companies specialized in Islamic social finance. His job was to assist the management team to conduct research and advisory for the company as well as to represent it in various conferences and seminars. In 2019, was part of a team that won a Second Prize in the Islamic Fintech Pitch Competition organized in parallel with Islamic Fintech Dialogue conference in Kuala Lumpur.

Hitesh Asarpota joined Emirates NBD Capital in 2008 and has been instrumental in the development of the investment banking franchise of the Emirates NBD Group. Hitesh is responsible for the origination and syndication of loans, bonds/Sukuk and liability management and structured finance mandates.

Hitesh has advised various governments, financial institutions, blue-chip and mid-cap corporates on their Islamic and conventional financing strategies and access to debt markets. He has successfully raised over US$150 billion for Middle Eastern, Asian and Turkish issuers. Hitesh holds a postgraduate management degree from HEC, France.

Dr Mohamad Zabidi Ahmad was previously the senior managing director of group wholesale banking at CIMB Group. He has been in the banking industry for 38 years including in wholesale banking and group treasury. He also has overseas experience of five years in London. He was responsible for developing the Islamic franchise for CIMB Group regionally including in the UK, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei and Thailand since 2006. In 2019, his leadership led to CIMB being awarded as the ‘Best Islamic Bank for Treasury Management’ among Islamic banks at IFN Awards 2019. He was previously managing about RM100 billion (US$22.53 billion) of Islamic assets for group Islamic banking.

Dr Mohamad holds various positions in the CIMB Group including as the chairman of the Investment Account Oversight Committee and a committee member in the Group Islamic Management Committee, Treasury & Market Committee and Group Islamic Wholesale Banking Committee. He is also well-versed in the wholesale banking business incIuding credit analytics on corporate and credit markets as he was a member of the Internal Credit Pricing Committee and Corporate Banking, Treasury & Markets Management Committee of CIMB Group. Currently, he is also the chairman of the Board Audit & Risk Committee of BIMB Investment Management since October 2021.

Dr Mohamad holds a doctorate in business administration from the Othman Yeop Abdullah Graduate School of Business (OYAGSB), UUM and a Bachelor in Accountancy degree (Honors) from UITM. He is a chartered accountant by profession and a practicing member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA), a certified senior financial market practitioner by ACI-Financial Market of Malaysia and the Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers, holds the Associate Qualification of Islamic Finance from Islamic Banking & Finance Institute Malaysia, a senior associate from the Chartered Institute of Islamic Finance and a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors Malaysia since June 2022 . Recently, he had completed the Oxford Executive Leadership Programme by Sa’id Business School at Oxford University and the ACI Online FX Global Code by ACI (The Financial Markets Association) in 2020. He had served as a committee member in the Islamic Finance Committee of MIA since 2017.

Recently, Dr Mohamad had been appointed as an Industry Distinguished Research Fellow for the Institute of Sustainable, Growth and Urban Development of UUM and a committee member of the Investment Committee of the International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies Malaysia. He was awarded the ‘Best Overall Outstanding Students Award’ by OYAGSB and was named as a ‘Successful Person in Malaysia’ by BritishPedia UK in 2020. He is also the adjunct professor and member of the Board of Studies for the Perdana University School of Business. Recently, he was chosen as a 28COE (Credential of Entrepreneurs) member in the 28COE book written by Bilal Ahmad Bhat and given the 2022 World Digital Economy Corporate CEO Lifetime Achievement Award by the KSI Strategic Institute of Asia Pacific on the 28^th June 2022.

Ayaz Ismail is Director – Wholesale Banking at CIMB Islamic in Malaysia, where he covers Islamic investment banking transactions. He has been involved in various ground-breaking and award-winning Ringgit and non-Ringgit sukuk offerings. Prior to joining CIMB Islamic, he was with Malaysian multi-national conglomerate Sime Darby, carrying out various roles in the CEO’s Office, Legal, Strategy and Communications functions of the group.

Ayaz graduated with an MBA in Financial Studies from the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom as a Chevening Scholar. He also holds an LLB (Hons) from the same university, a Diploma in Shariah Law & Practice from the International Islamic University Malaysia and a Chartered Professional in Islamic Finance (CPIF) charter. Recently, he completed his PhD in Islamic Finance at INCEIF University, Malaysia and was appointed as a Grand Councillor of the Chartered Institute of Islamic Finance Professionals.

Assoc Prof Dr Mohamed Eskandar Shah Mohd Rasid is currently an associate professor at the College of Islamic Studies, HBKU Qatar Foundation. He holds a PhD in finance from the University of Nottingham in the UK. He also has a Master in International Economics and Finance degree from the University of Queensland, Australia and a Bachelor in Business Administration (Finance) degree from International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM).

Before joining HBKU, Dr Eskandar was an associate professor and associate dean of the School of Graduate and Professional Studies at the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance, a postgraduate university specializing in Islamic finance and established by Bank Negara Malaysia. He was also an assistant professor at the Department of Finance, Kulliyah of Economics and Management Sciences, IIUM. During his doctoral studies, he worked as a tutor at the University of Nottingham and lecturer at Nottingham Trent International College in the UK. Before the current position, he was also the dean of the School of Graduate Studies, deputy director of the BNP Paribas Centre of Islamic Asset and Wealth Management and treasurer of the Malaysian Finance Association.

Dr Eskandar’s primary teaching and research interests are in corporate finance, portfolio management and Islamic capital markets. He has published articles in several top-tier journals and participated in conferences as an invited speaker, panelist and paper presenter. Dr Eskandar is a regular speaker/trainer for many conferences and executive education. He is the managing editor for the World Scientific Annual Review of Islamic Finance and an associate editor for the Turkish Journal of Islamic Economics, International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Asian Academy of Management Journal of Accounting and Finance.

Dr Eskandar was a financial sector specialist consultant for the World Bank and the advisor for the Brunei Institute of Leadership and Islamic Finance in Brunei. He was involved in several consultancy projects with government agencies and financial institutions such as the Ministry of Energy, Malaysia; Afghanistan Ministry of Finance; CIMB Islamic Bank; Responsible Finance Institute; and ZICO Shariah Advisory.

Mohammed Paracha is a banking and finance lawyer based in Dubai. He is the head of the Middle East, as well as the head of Norton Rose Fulbright’s Islamic finance practice for the Middle East and Africa.

Mohammed has been active in the Middle East for nearly 20 years, having worked in Norton Rose Fulbright’s London and Bahrain offices before moving to Dubai in 2011. He became the head of Norton Rose Fulbright’s Middle East practice in January 2021.

Mohammed’s practice focuses on all types of Islamic finance covering a wide range of asset types, investment classes and industrial sectors. With a background in asset and project finance, Mohammed advises on Shariah compliant asset finance, trade finance, real estate finance and project financings. He also advises on the structuring of Islamically acceptable investment funds and has advised on the establishment of new Islamic financial institutions in various countries. Mohammed has strong relationships with many of the internationally renowned Shariah scholars and is a regular speaker at conferences and seminars on Islamic finance topics.

Mohammed is recommended as a leader in his field by Chambers and Partners, The Legal 500, Acritas and IFLR.

Niclas Nilsson is the Founder & CEO of Capnovum, a pioneer in horizon scanning and regulatory change management consistently recognised as one of the world’s most innovative RegTech companies.

He is a passionate entrepreneur with over 20 years in financial services. A frequent speaker, panellist and lecturer on artificial intelligence (AI), innovation, regulatory compliance, conventional and Islamic RegTech, FinTech and InsurTech. Niclas co-authored the chapter on Islamic RegTech for The RegTech Book (2019), and advises boards of financial institutions on strategy, governance, data, technology and change.

Nitish Bhojnagarwala is a vice-president–senior credit officer with Moody’s Financial Institutions Group. Based in Dubai, Nitish covers a portfolio of large conventional as well as Islamic financial institutions in the Middle East, Africa and Turkey.

Nitish joined Moody’s in 2011, and has led Sukuk roundtables and conducted workshops on banking and Islamic finance at various conferences in the Middle East, Europe and Asia. Nitish has also authored several research pieces, with a focus on regional banking, credit issues and issuer-in-depths for conventional as well as Islamic banks.

Prior to joining Moody’s, Nitish spent five years at Tamweel in the Treasury. He has also worked for KPMG in the UAE, where he covered financial institutions. Nitish holds an MBA from S P Jain Institute of Management & Research, with a major in finance (investment banking).

Rafiza Ghazali is with KAF Investment Bank as the Director of Digital Banking. Rafiza joined KAF Investment Bank to spearhead the project team for the incorporation and operational readiness process of the Islamic digital bank entity of the consortium being led by KAF Investment Bank

Prior to joining KAF Investment Bank, Rafiza was the Group Chief Executive Officer of Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd, where she collaborated closely with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) and the Ministry of Finance (MOF), tasked in supporting and develop Malaysian start-ups and tech entrepreneurs.

Rafiza’s wealth of experience in the innovation and digital economy, deep familiarity with various start-up businesses viability and its fund-raising journey and fostering partnership and collaboration with various stakeholders makes her uniquely positioned to drive the digital bank value proposition at providing a conducive open-banking platform-based ecosystem to its customers and partners.

Rafiza served in senior capacities for several industry leading-companies including as the Chief Financial Officer of RHB Investment Bank Berhad and Cagamas Berhad, the Finance Director at Bank Negara Malaysia, and the Head of Islamic Finance, Asia at Thomson Reuters. She also previously held the role of Head of Group Strategy and Innovation at Sime Darby Berhad.

Rafiza’s academic career includes BSc Economics in Accounting and Finance from The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment majoring in Corporate Finance from the Securities Institute of Australia. She is also a Fellow Member of the Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand (CAANZ). She also graduated from the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford with a Post Graduate Diploma in Strategy and Innovation.

Rozani Osman is presently a senior financial sector specialist with the Finance and Markets Global Practice of the World Bank, Kuala Lumpur. He works on several areas including climate finance, capital markets, financial sector development and financial stability monitoring in the East Asia Pacific region. Prior to working with World Bank, he was the head of treasury and liquidity management at Khazanah Nasional for 10 years. He is experienced in climate finance, treasury, capital markets and asset and investment management. He has an MBA from Cornell University and a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Virginia.

Ruslena Ramli is an Islamic Finance advocate with 20+ years of experience. Her banking repertoire include corporate strategy, advising on sukuk/bond issuances, as well as development of Islamic banking products. She is an avid speaker in local and international Islamic Finance conferences.

She brings to MDEC her expertise in Shariah-compliant structures and established relationships with Islamic finance communities locally and aboard. Ruslena holds a BA (Honors) in Accounting and Finance from Middlesex University of London and a Master’s Degree in Islamic Finance from International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF).

Vineeta Tan is a global Islamic finance journalist with over five years of experience in the journalism and publishing industry working independently and leading a team. She joined REDmoney in 2013 and is responsible for the editorial direction and content of Islamic Finance news (IFN). Vineeta authors the IFN daily cover stories, produces reports, research and analytical pieces as well as interviews senior industry players and regulators. In addition to her role as the editor of IFN, Vineeta also manages, produces and oversees all editorial content of REDmoney’s sister publications: IFN Education and MY Islamic Finance.

Trained in journalism and sociology, Vineeta holds an Islamic Finance Qualification awarded by the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investments in the UK. Prior to joining REDmoney, Vineeta was attached to a research company in the US and was a freelance journalist.

Will is Commercial Director for Mambu APAC, responsible for driving the growth of the business across the APAC region. During his time at Mambu, Will has worked with a broad range of businesses, including neo-banks, established tier 1 banks and other fintechs and financial services institutions who now rely on the Mambu platform to provide banking, lending and BPaaS services for their customers.

Will brings 20 years of financial services expertise. During his career, he has managed large enterprise transformation projects and now leverages this experience to advise businesses on technology architecture design, business models and consumer product strategy.

Originally from Sydney Australia, Will has spent the past 15 years in Asia and now resides in Singapore.