Dr Andrew Dahdal teaches at the College of Law, Qatar University and is the chair of the Commercial Law Discipline Group at the International Association of Law Schools and the section head (economic diversification) at the Centre for Law and Development, an industry-funded think tank also hosted within the College of Law.

Dr Andrew is also an industry consultant who researches and publishes on a range of financial services topics, particularly relating to technological innovations. He has taught law in Australia, Europe and the Middle East and currently heads an international project exploring the regulatory changes needed in Qatar to strengthen the fintech landscape.

Dr Andrew holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) degree from Macquarie University, and a Bachelor of Commerce degree and PhD from the University of New South Wales.

Dean is the 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 been in charge of home loan sales at Commonwealth Bank, and head of mortgages at Bankwest where he doubled the business’ size within three years. He’s also run 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 startups, including SparkleVote, an innovative online election company. Outside of work, Dean is 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 a key driver in delivering our IBA Group vision to reality.

Dr Maria Bhatti is a lecturer with the School of Law in Western Sydney University. She completed her Bachelor of Laws and Master of Laws degrees from the University of Melbourne. Her Master’s thesis focused on the taxation implications of Islamic finance for which she received a prestigious scholarship from the National Australia Bank. She completed her PhD from Monash University, and her thesis examined the intersection of religious and secular law through the lens of international commercial arbitration.

Dr Maria is the author of ‘Islamic Law and International Commercial Arbitration’ published by Routledge in 2019 for which she received the Emeritus Professor H P Lee Student’s Publication Prize (Monash University). Prior to completing her PhD, she worked as a family lawyer in Melbourne. Her research and supervision interests include religion and the law including the relationship between religious and secular law; law and religion in society; and international comparative law perspectives.

Paul is Mambu’s General Manager, Australia & New Zealand, having joined the business in July 2021 as a Senior banking Consultant. Prior to joining Mambu, Paul held a senior executive position as Managing Director, Head of Group Operations – Oceania for MUFG Bank, Ltd, a part of Japan’s largest financial group, MUFG. Paul has had an extensive career in the banking industry, previously having held senior positions in Macquarie Bank and actively involved in wider industry initiatives.

Dr Abu Umar Faruq Ahmad is the founding chairman of the Shariah Supervisory Board of Islamic Cooperative Finance Australia. He has a consulting, research and teaching background in Shariah and Fiqh Muamalat, with a special interest in Islamic economics, finance and banking. He has over 100 published research in books, book chapters, refereed conference proceedings and journals to his credit in the multidimensional areas of Islamic economics and finance, which include microfinance, social finance, laws and regulation, Shariah governance, corporate social responsibility, Fatwa shopping, Zakat and Waqf, Sukuk, corporate governance, insurance, reinsurance, dispute resolution, shares and equities, audit, money laundering, stock screening, liquidity management, corporate social responsibility, conscious capitalism and transaction cost. He has interests in researching Islamic business ethics, Islamic jurisprudence, Islamic capital markets, Islamic management, Islamic governance, cross-country analysis of Islamic finance practice, comparative review of Islamic and conventional banking, Shariah compliance analysis of Islamic finance products, fintech, blockchain, smart contracts, derivatives in Islamic finance contracts, women’s economic empowerment in Islam, role of Islamic social finance to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, Fourth Industrial Revolution, and so on. He sits on the editorial boards of a few globally reputed top tier journals.

In addition to presenting research at 80 international conferences and webinars, Dr Abu has published in Thunderbird International Business Review ; International Journal of Emerging Markets; The Singapore Economic Review; International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management; International Journal of Law and Management; Arab Law Quarterly; International Journal of Business and Society; Journal of Public Affairs; ISRA International Journal of Islamic Finance; Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues; Journal of Islamic Accounting and Business Research; Journal of King Abdulaziz University: Islamic Economics; International Journal of Ethics and Systems; International Journal of Islamic Thought; International Finance Review; Journal of Islamic Economics, Banking and Finance; and Review of Islamic Economics, among others.

Dr Abu has also taught in his native Australia and Bangladesh, as well as the US, the UAE, Malaysia, Brunei and Saudi Arabia, at undergraduate and postgraduate levels which include: PGDIB102 Shariah Framework for Islamic Banking; MAEF720 Islamic Financial Transaction II (Guidance College); CG-5102 Islam and Society (UBD); BI-5101 Islamic Jurisprudence (UBD); BA-2301 Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence (UBD); BI-5105 Islamic Transaction (UBD); BA-2204 Introduction to Islamic Banking and Finance (UBD); BB-5110 Business Ethics & Corporate Social Responsibility (UBD); BB-4203 Business Ethics (UBD); SH1002 Shariah Aspects of Business and Finance (INCEIF); DW-3001 Internship (UBD); BI-5303 Practical Training and Reporting (UBD); BUSS490 Internship (HBMSU); ISLM101 Islamic Culture (HBMSU); BUSS210 Business Ethics (HBMSU); BUSS401; and BUSS401 Business and Society (HBMSU).

Webpage: https://expert.ubd.edu.bn/umar.ahmad
Academia: https://kau.academia.edu/DrAbuUmarAhmad
SCOPUS: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=16052160800
ORCID & RESEARCH ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1523-1883
GOOGLE SCHOLAR: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=jj8k64AAAAJ&hl=en
RESEARCH GATE: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Abu_Ahmad

Dr Andrew Dahdal teaches at the College of Law, Qatar University and is the chair of the Commercial Law Discipline Group at the International Association of Law Schools and the section head (economic diversification) at the Centre for Law and Development, an industry-funded think tank also hosted within the College of Law.

Dr Andrew is also an industry consultant who researches and publishes on a range of financial services topics, particularly relating to technological innovations. He has taught law in Australia, Europe and the Middle East and currently heads an international project exploring the regulatory changes needed in Qatar to strengthen the fintech landscape.

Dr Andrew holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) degree from Macquarie University, and a Bachelor of Commerce degree and PhD from the University of New South Wales.

Dr Maria Bhatti is a lecturer with the School of Law in Western Sydney University. She completed her Bachelor of Laws and Master of Laws degrees from the University of Melbourne. Her Master’s thesis focused on the taxation implications of Islamic finance for which she received a prestigious scholarship from the National Australia Bank. She completed her PhD from Monash University, and her thesis examined the intersection of religious and secular law through the lens of international commercial arbitration.

Dr Maria is the author of ‘Islamic Law and International Commercial Arbitration’ published by Routledge in 2019 for which she received the Emeritus Professor H P Lee Student’s Publication Prize (Monash University). Prior to completing her PhD, she worked as a family lawyer in Melbourne. Her research and supervision interests include religion and the law including the relationship between religious and secular law; law and religion in society; and international comparative law perspectives.