Abdul-Haq is an infrastructure and real estate partner at Trowers & Hamlins and specializes in public–private partnership and concession arrangements relating to urban and transport-related development, real estate development and investment and strategic legal advice.

Abdul-Haq has held several senior management positions within the firm, including sitting on the management board for six years from 2015, as well as being the firm’s international managing partner until August 2021. He also sits on the board of governors of St Christopher’s School. He is regularly consulted by clients on matters of strategic importance.

Ahsan Ali is responsible for the global Islamic corporate and institutional banking business at Standard Chartered Bank (SCB). Since joining SCB in March 2004, he has built this business from inception and has led several award-winning and industry-defining transactions. Ahsan has over 24 years of experience in the financial services industry, of which the last 14 have been in Islamic banking.

Ahsan holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta and a degree in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, in addition to a CFA [chartered financial analyst] designation.

Currently, Dr Ali Fallahi is a country economist at the IsDB, based in the regional hub of Indonesia/Jakarta, and helps the bank develop country partnership strategies and programs in member countries.

Having an experience of 14 years working with the IsDB in different positions (such as country manager and field representative), Dr Ali has contributed to managing and enhancing the country portfolio, identifying areas of investment and promoting regional cooperation and integration based on the countries’ national development priorities.

Dr Ali began his career as a researcher in economic cooperation and integration, a senior expert at the Organization for Investment and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs of Iran and a lecturer in universities in the fields of economic development and international political economy.

Dr Ali has contributed to several forums and conferences as a main speaker including WIEF- SEACO Foundation Roundtable, Dhaka, Bangladesh; 27^th BIMP-EAGA Senior Officials’ Meeting, Brunei; 4th Indonesian Shariah Economic Festival, Surabaya, Indonesia; and IFN Indonesia Forum on the Halal economy and social finance.

ARDIAN Asmar, QCRO is full time professional in Payment industry. Coming from Commercial and business development background at IBM, Oracle & Astra Graphia Tbk.

ARDIAN is also a Chief Executive of Strategic Partnership at Indonesia Islamic Fintech Association since September 2021. With 26+ years of experience in Manufacturing, Telco, Payment and Consulting, ARDIAN bring the full spectrum of expertise, experience and various industry insight to application in Islamic Finance.

ARDIAN is also an active Consultant for implementing Shariah Principles especially in Payment space also other fintech space such as P2P Lending and Securities Crowd Funding (SCF).

Dr Ayaz Ismail is the director of 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 multinational conglomerate Sime Darby, carrying out various roles in the CEO’s Office, as well as legal, strategy and communications functions of the group.

Dr Ayaz completed his PhD in Islamic finance at INCEIF University, Malaysia. He graduated with an MBA in financial studies from the University of Nottingham in the UK as a Chevening scholar, and also holds a Bbachelor of Laws (Hons) degree from the same university. He is a Chartered Professional in Islamic Finance charterholder and a grand councilor of the Chartered Institute of Islamic Finance Professionals.

Bazari Azhar Azizi is currently working as the principal analyst of the Islamic capital market at the National Committee for Islamic Economy and Finance. He previously worked in Shariah business development at MNC Sekuritas Indonesia, was a Shariah executive at Zicolaw Indonesia and a research fellow at the Central Bank of Indonesia. In the meantime, he also acts as a Shariah financial specialist at Bagus Enrico and Partners.

Bazari is actively engaged with the development of the Islamic capital market program in Indonesia and has attended several international conferences related to the Islamic finance industry, such as the 5^th Mediterranean Islamic Finance Forum, in Barcelona, Spain; and the 4^th International Islamic Economics and Finance Congress, in Istanbul, Turkey; among others. He also published some articles related to Islamic finance and the capital market in IFN, the Jakarta Post and Republika.

Bazari obtained his Master’s degree in Islamic finance from the University of Durham in the UK, where he won the Best Academic Performance award. He was also recognized as the best graduate at Tazkia Institute, Indonesia, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Islamic economics.

Analytical thinking, focus and high determination are the three main ingredients of success for Bung Aldilla who has more than 25 years of experience in the banking industry until finally focusing on Shariah banking. After a successful journey at the senior management level in several banks and working in several markets globally, he is now holding the position of senior executive vice-president of Shariah consumer banking at Bank CIMB Niaga. His journey has been filled with prestigious awards such as the Asia Banker Award and the Global Great Manager Award.

Dien Sukmarini is a division head of Islamic capital market (ICM) policy development at the Indonesia Financial Services Authority. Dien has been involved in ICM development for more than a decade. Dealing with ICM development from regulator side has led her to have experience in conducting research, establishing roadmaps, drafting regulations, building institutional relations and delivering seminars and workshops.

Dien led the establishment of the Islamic Capital Market Roadmap 2015–2019 and Islamic Finance Development Roadmap 2017–2019. Additionally, Dien was the lead author of some publications related to ICM such as ‘Sukuk Handbook’ and ‘Directory of Indonesia Islamic Finance’. Dien is enthusiastic about new issues in ICM development. Last year, Dien led research on an Islamic–ESG index and corporate green Sukuk. Currently, Dien is responsible for a project on social ICM product development and the establishment of guidance for SMEs to get funding in the ICM.

Farouk Abdullah Alwyni is both an Islamic finance practitioner and a lecturer. He spent most of his Islamic finance career in the Jeddah-based IsDB headquarters handling IsDB trade finance operations in many Asian and CIS countries (1998–2007). Prior to running Alwyni International Consulting in 2012, Farouk was a member of the executive management of Al-Ijarah Indonesia Finance (a multi-finance company owned jointly by Bank Muamalat Indonesia (BMI) and Gulf-based Islamic financial institutions) and BMI. He was also one of the country correspondents for Kuala Lumpur based-Islamic Finance news (2012–17), and continues to contribute articles to IFN until now.

Farouk has been on London-based Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment’s Authorized Training Partner list since 2012 and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (also London-based)’s Islamic Finance Associate list since 2018. He has also been on the 2016, 2017 and 2018 lists of ISLAMICA 500 — a collection of individuals considered influential in the development of the Islamic economy. Farouk speaks and writes about finance, economics and development in a variety of events and publications. He also now serves in the advisory board of the Central Board of Indonesian Association of Islamic Economists. Starting in June 2022, he has been assigned as the vice-rector of Jakarta-based, health-focused Binawan University.

He has been working at the Indonesia Stock Exchange since 2000 and began to focus on developing the Islamic capital market since 2010. Currently, he is head of Islamic capital market at the Indonesia Stock Exchange and also member of Islamic capital market committee at the National Sharia Board of Indonesia. In addition, he is also as a vice chairman of the Islamic capital market commitee at the Islamic Economy Society, member of Islamic capital market committee at the Islamic Economics Expert Association, and member of sharia stock selection committee. He is an originator of Sharia Capital Market School, an integrated training on stock investment in the Islamic capital market; the Indonesia Sharia Stocks Index (ISSI), an islamic stock composite index; the Sharia Online Trading System (SOTS), the world’s first sharia compliant online trading platform for retail investors, and the tradable sharia stocks zakat and the tradable sharia stocks waqf. He was the first Indonesian to receive the Cambridge Islamic Finance Leadership Award 2017 from Cambridge IFLP headquartered in London, England, and Upcoming Personality in Global Islamic Finance (Islamic Capital Market) 2020 from Global Islamic Finance Award (GIFA). In 2022, he also has been chosen from GIFA to receive GIFA Advocacy Award (Islamic Capital Market). He is active as speaker about the Indonesian islamic capital market and also a post-graduate lecturer in Islamic capital market courses at several universities in Indonesia. He is also actively writing articles about the Islamic capital market and a regular contributor in the Islamic Finance News as a country correspondent since 2018. He is an author of two books about Islamic Capital market written in Indonesian.

Apart from being a director of DDCAP and its subsidiaries, DD&Co and DDGI, Laurence is also a director of DDCAP (DIFC).

Lawrence has more than 25 years of experience working in the Islamic finance market. He joined DDCAP in April 1998. Previously, he was an assistant manager at Kleinwort Benson responsible for Islamic finance and investment activity. Lawrence manages the company’s business development and trading desks and has extensive experience in arranging asset-based transactions which conform to Shariah stipulation.

Lawrence specializes in Shariah compliant structured finance and asset origination. His broad knowledge in the physical commodity sector has enabled him to advance the traditional merchant trading capabilities of DD&Co for the benefit of institutional clients operating within the Islamic financial sector. Lawrence is a regular speaker at many annual Islamic conferences held in the GCC, Southeast Asia and Europe.

Murniati Mukhlisin earned her degrees in Islamic accounting from International Islamic University of Malaysia (undergraduate), University of Indonesia (postgraduate) and University of Glasgow in the UK (doctoral). She was awarded with distinguished scholarships to support her studies.

Murniati has working experience in banking, financial and information technology services. Murniati then started her career as a lecturer in Islamic accounting and finance in 2002 and she is currently Islamic accounting-certified. She sits on the editorial advisory board for the Emerald Journal of Islamic Accounting and Business Research – UK, Journal of Muamalat and Islamic Finance Research – Malaysia and Turkish Journal of Islamic Economics.

For research, Murniati works on critical perspectives of research in the areas of financial reporting, Islamic accounting, Islamic banking and finance and Islamic financial literacy. Murniati is currently a rector at Tazkia Islamic University College, Bogor, Indonesia.

Murniati is also a public speaker and motivator. Together with her husband, Dr Luqyan Tamanni, M.Ec, CFP, Murniati authored an inspirational book called ‘Sakinah Finance’ that concerns Islamic family finance. She is also an active columnist in national and international media such as Republika, Majalah MySharing, Islampos, Suara Islam, Hidayatullah, Majalah Gontor, detik.com, Kompas, IFN news and ISFIRE-UK. Her research papers and activities are available at https://tazkia.ac.id/dosen/assoc-prof-dr-murniati-mukhlisin-m-acc/ and https://www.sakinahfinance.com/.

Prof Dr Sapta Nirwandar was born on the 13th May 1954, in Tanjung Karang, Lampung. He completed his study at several universities in Paris (Institute International d’Administration Publique, Paris; University Paris I-Sorbonne; École Nationale d’Administration; University Paris IX-Dauphine) for his doctoral program in public administration. He speaks English and French fluently.

Prof Dr Sapta has an extensive background in international and national public service, including state-owned enterprises and academia. After returning to Indonesia, he continued as a bureaucrat and held several key positions in many government offices.

Before retiring as a bureaucrat, Prof Dr Sapta was the vice-minister of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy from 2011 to 2014. Now, he devotes his time encouraging the development of the Halal lifestyle industry as the chairman of the Indonesia Halal Lifestyle Centre. He frequently speaks at various international Halal seminars and conferences abroad. He also now leads the Indonesia Tourism Forum. He is active in assisting the government in advancing national tourism development.

On the 2nd December 2021, the ‘Silk Road’ International University of Tourism and Cultural Heritage Uzbekistan hosted a ceremony awarding the title of ‘Honorary Professor of the University’ to Prof Dr Sapta who is also a senior lecturer at Sahid University (Indonesia).

Shaiful Kamarul is currently the senior country manager, Indonesia, for the Islamic Corporation of Investment Insurance and Export Credit (ICIEC), a member entity under the IsDB Group. He received his MBA from International Islamic University Malaysia and a Bachelor in Accountancy (Hons) degree from University Putra Malaysia. He is a professional member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants and CPA Australia.

Shaiful is the focal point for ICIEC business activities in the Southeast Asia region, focusing on member countries — Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia, and to a certain extent Singapore where Lloyd’s market is located. He manages the business relationship with national export credit agencies, insurance and reinsurance companies, Takaful and re-Takaful companies, financial institutions and Lloyd’s Singapore brokers and insurers.

The primary focus for the ICIEC role in Indonesia is to support Indonesia Export Credit Agency – Indonesia Eximbank and Asuransi ASEI and to drive exports from the country via export credit insurance.

Shaiful represents the organization at official functions and any organization meetings as required. He has more than 20 years of experience in the insurance industry and has worked with leading insurance companies and insurance broking firms in Malaysia.

Dr Sutan Emir Hidayat is currently the director of the Islamic Economy Supporting Ecosystem at the National Committee for Islamic Economy and Finance, the Republic of Indonesia. During 2019–20, he was the director of education and research at the National Committee for Islamic Finance.

Prior to that, Dr Sutan was an associate professor and the head of the Business School at the University College of Bahrain. He is actively engaged with academic research in his field and has presented several research papers at reputable international conferences such as the 11th Harvard University Forum on Islamic Finance at Harvard Law School, Massachusetts, in the US; and the Gulf Research Meeting at the University of Cambridge in the UK, among others. He was listed in leading advisory firm for Islamic markets ISFIN’s directory named Islamica 500 as one of the top 500 influential personalities on a global scale in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. Dr Sutan obtained both his MBA and PhD in Islamic banking and finance from the International Islamic University Malaysia.

Indonesian Citizen, based in Indonesia. Sylvi J. Gani obtained her Master of Business Administration in Banking and Finance from University of Indonesia in 2001, and attended the Accelerated Universal Banking Program at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore in 2012-2013. She earned her Bachelor of Chemical Engineering from Bandung Institute of Technology in 1995.

Previously she served as Head of Resources Energy and Infrastructure at Australian and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ Bank) (2015-2020), Director of Natural Resources Group Indonesia at Australian and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ Bank) (2013-2015), Team Head of Mining and Energy Group at Bank CIMB Niaga (2010-2013), Vice President for Corporate Banking Group at Bank CIMB Niaga (2007-2010), Relationship Manager of Loan Workout Division at Indonesia Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) (1999-2004), and Assistant Manager of Investment Banking Department at Ficorinvest Bank (1996-1999).

She was appointed as Director of PT SMI since March 23rd, 2020 pursuant to the Minister of Finance Decree No. 126/KMK.06/2020. As Financing & Investment Director, she is responsible for managing the Company’s funds and investments, and monitoring facilities, as well as administrative and custodial activities.

With an array of experience in consumer, commercial and transaction banking across both international and regional intuitions, Usman has been in the forefront of strategic growth in the Malaysian banking sector. Right to win sequels ranges from product development, proposition solutions and digital channels in both the local and regional market space. Usman has embarked on growth journeys targeting innovative solutions in areas on ESG and other need based finance solutions across multi business clientele. Usman is currently the regional head of Transaction Banking for CIMB Islamic, overseeing Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.

Vineeta Tan is managing editor and a director of REDmoney Group, one of the world’s longest-running Islamic finance media houses. Vineeta oversees REDmoney Group’s stable of products including Islamic Finance news, IFN Fintech and Islamic Sustainable Finance & Investment.

With over a decade of experience in the journalism and publishing industry, Vineeta specializes in ethical and Islamic finance as well as fintech reporting and analysis covering regions including the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe.

As managing editor of IFN, Vineeta leads the editorial direction and business development of IFN and its sister publications in addition to authoring reports, producing podcasts and conducting video interviews. She has interviewed senior industry players, key stakeholders and senior dignitaries including the finance/economic ministers of the Ivory Coast, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Vineeta is a regular on the international conference circuit as both a moderator and speaker. She has an MBA and is trained in journalism and sociology. Vineeta also holds the Islamic Finance Qualification awarded by the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investments,UK.