Abdul-Rahman Hammad joined IdealRatings in 2012 and is based in Saudi Arabia. He has extensive experience as a sales executive serving the financial sector across the Middle East region with a proven track record among top tier institutions. Prior to IdealRatings, He was a sales manager at Advanced Operations Technology, where he was responsible for identifying and developing new solution sales and converting them into profitable new businesses. He also worked for KnowledgeNet as a sales manager where he was responsible for setting sales strategies to penetrate the market and introducing the company’s order management system for the financial sector in the GCC region. Abdul-Rahman holds a Bachelor of Science degree in computer engineering from Applied Science University in Jordan and an MBA from Manchester Business School.

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.

To leave a legacy, you have to be obsessed with a vision. Akmal Saleem’s vision is to impact the world through entrepreneurial leadership and venture-building within technology and Islamic finance. Over the last 15 years, Akmal has been building, investing in and advising brands across Europe and the Middle East with key experience in fintech, venture capital and social finance.

Launching his first fintech in 2014, a social finance loan app (Goodly Loan Company), Akmal has since launched the UK’s first digital Islamic banking app (Rizq) and Europe’s first digital Waqf app (Waqfinity).

With close to 10 years of experience in Saudi Arabia, Akmal currently advises multiple family offices in the region and is an executive strategic advisor at the General Authority of Awqaf. Akmal also currently leads the advisory of a GBP30 million ventur capital fund in London (Simsan Ventures) and has overseen multiple Financial Conduct Authority regulatory authorizations.

All of this is under an international firm of whom Akmal is the founder and managing partner (Qadr Financial), a deal advisory and corporate finance firm that represents and empowers brands in Saudi Arabia, unlocking growth potential through connectivity and strategy.

Altay Poyraz joined Tadawul in February 2015 as the Post Trade Program team leader and in October 2018 he was appointed as the clearing operations head.

Altay has extensive experience in the capital market and post-trade, particularly in central counterparty clearing, risk management, regulation and technology.

Altay holds a Bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey, a Master`s degree in industrial engineering from Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey and a Master’s degree in financial engineering from Ozyegin University, Istanbul, Turkey.

In addition, Altay is a financial risk manager certified by the Global Association of Risk Professionals.

Asad Ahmed is the managing director of Alvarez & Marsal in Dubai, with more than 30 years of experience in banking and credit management and in formulating and managing strategic and operational changes in financial institutions. He brings in-depth knowledge of strategy formulation and implementation, performance improvement initiatives and change management programs. He has held various senior management positions in the Middle East, Africa and Canada.

At A&M, Asad has led assignments ranging from review of operational risk at a major Gulf bank to corporate debtor advisory. He has also served as the interim general manager with one of the largest brokerage firms in the UAE.

Before joining A&M, Asad worked as a managing director with Gulf African Bank (Kenya), the largest Shariah compliant bank in East Africa. Asad has also worked at National Bank of Fujairah, last serving as the general manager, and worked for nine years with Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (Toronto).

Asad earned an MBA from the Institute of Business Administration (Karachi, Pakistan) and is a certified public accountant in the US, a certified credit professional from the Credit Institute of Canada and a fellow of the Institute of Canadian Bankers.

Dr Bello Lawal Danbatta was appointed the secretary-general of the IFSB effective the 29^th January 2018.

Dr Bello was previously the director of the Centre of Consultancy and Executive Programs at the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance and has over 25 years of combined experience in the private, academia as well as financial services regulation and supervision sectors across Africa, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. He is a member of AAOIFI, and has chaired various working groups for the issuance of financial accounting standards for Islamic financial institutions. He has also been involved in the development and drafting of standards, guidelines and frameworks for capital adequacy, accounting as well as supervision and regulation of Islamic finance for various countries.

Dr Bello holds a PhD. in Islamic banking and finance from the International Islamic University Malaysia and an MBA in corporate finance. He is a chartered accountant with the Association of Certified Chartered Accountant (ACCA-UK), a member of the Chartered Institute of Islamic Finance Professionals, Nigerian Institute of Management and International Council for Islamic Finance Educators. He has worked with the Securities and Exchange Commission Nigeria and other multinational corporations.

Faisal Al-Osaimi is the founding Principal and Co-CEO of Invesense Asset Management Limited.
A Certified portfolio and wealth manager with 22+ years’ diverse experience, as a Trader, Dealer, and Senior Executive Manager, Faisal gained his work experience in premier Kuwait Institutions such as Gulf Investment Corporation, KFIC Asset Management and KMEFIC. He has managed AUM in excess of USD 2 billion deployed across MENA regions from managed stock portfolios and Mutual Fund mandates to private real estate projects.

Faisal firmly believes diversity and portfolio efficiency – as part of an assertive, educated, evidence-based approach without being passive – are key to successful asset management, and he places great emphasis on achieving solid results for clients through this strategy.

At Invesense, Faisal sought to establish ESG & Sharia strategies based on academic data that can be translated to real world investment solutions. This has served Invesense Clients well with a diverse Asset Allocation model with lower management costs.

He serves on the Board of Kout Food Group and is the Chairman for Gulf & Asia Holding company.

He holds a Bachelor of Business & Administration from Kuwait University, Kuwait. Along the way he had earned several International diplomas in Financial Analysis & Services.

Dr Hurriyah El Islamy is currently serving as an executive board member of Badan Pengelola Keuangan Haji, an independent sovereign agency empowered by law to manage the Indonesian Hajj pilgrim funds. She was named as one of the most active Islamic finance activists by Bank Indonesia and has global experience in Islamic finance having served as the director for CIMB Group responsible for all Islamic businesses of the group. She was also the director of Capinnova Investment Bank, an Islamic investment arm of the Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait after she served Kuwait Finance House Bahrain leading the Compliance and Anti-Money Laundering Department there while (also) serving as the legal counsel.

Dr Hurriyah remains active in the Islamic finance industry as she is the advisor in Islamic finance to the Astana International Finance Centre, a board member and strategic advisor to Islamic Fintech Alliance and is also listed as an IMF expert in Islamic finance and capital markets. She has a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) degree, a Master’s degree in corporate law and a PhD.

Husain Abdulwahed Alkhaja is the GCC regional director and director of DDCAP.

Husain is a vastly experienced banker who has been working within the Islamic financial marketplace for the past 30 years for various highly regarded regional and international financial institutions. Most recently, he held senior executive positions within MFAI (Jersey), a wholly-owned subsidiary of DMI Group. This followed his tenure as COO of CMA-licensed investment company Gulf Investors Asset Management Company.

Having started his career in banking in Bahrain, Husain was appointed the regional director and head of GCC and Islamic banking at Societe Generale where he was based in Dubai. Prior to returning to Bahrain as CEO of Investment Dar Bank, Husain was the general manager of ADNIF, the Islamic subsidiary of National Bank of Abu Dhabi.

Dr Husam Yaghi is currently the group vice-president at one of the conglomerates in Saudi Arabia. He was group CTO for 15 years for another conglomerate in Saudi Arabia in addition to serving as a telecommunications advisor at the Saudi Arabian National Guard.

Dr Husam was educated and trained in the US for 20 years before relocating to Saudi Arabia in 1998. He has held numerous senior executive positions and built several companies starting with GloboNet (the first internet service provider in Louisiana in the US) in 1986. He has published more than 20 technical papers on various topics including Islamic finance and blockchain. In 2018, he was selected as one of the 50 most influential professionals in fintech.

Dr Husam is currently building a metaverse world which will house several running businesses in addition to leasing space for others to showcase their products and services. The ecosystem will utilize a cryptocurrency token which will be floated on decentralized finance exchanges.

Dr John A Sandwick is a recognized pioneer in Islamic finance. He created the first application of the Modern Portfolio Theory in the context of global portfolio allocations with Shariah certification. He is also noted for organizing innovative domestic and international Sukuk (Islamic bonds), the world’s first global Sukuk fund, a Sukuk participation certificate and the first-ever mid-market Sukuk in Saudi Arabia.

Dr John is a visiting professor of finance at Al Yamamah University in Riyadh, and a former instructor in the Graduate School of Finance at University Paris-Dauphine. He frequently teaches Master classes on Islamic finance, including in Kuala Lumpur, Almaty, Dubai, Riyadh, Geneva and London for groups including central banks, pension funds, family offices and treasuries.

Dr John’s most recent publications include a popular article in the Journal of Asset Management, as well as a recent book from one of the world’s top-ranked academic publishers, Edward Elgar Publishing. He has a Master’s degree in development banking from American University in Washington DC and a doctorate in business administration from Grenoble Ecole de Management in France. He is currently a corporate finance and wealth management consultant for Saudi family clients.

Khaled Al Ahli is a fintech expert with exceptionally strong payment and financial services credentials. His hard work, charisma and true passion have helped Khaled’s reputation as a qualified expert in fintech and financial services. Following his successful career in banking, he was appointed as a vice-president for Mastercard. Subsequently, he established a fintech start-up company regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain, as the CEO, introducing the first-of-its-kind biometric payment network in the region.

Khaled is a fellow of the UK Chartered Management Institute and has been awarded two UK awards for his distinguished achievement as an MBA graduate of the University of South Wales. He is a certified fintech professional from McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University, and a certified practitioner in NLP from the Canadian Training Center.

Khaled’s unique fusion of academic and professional expertise helped his standing as a qualified regional expert; he is a regional speaker at fintech forums and summits. Currently, he is a member of the Advisory Board of Seamless The Middle East, a Dubai annual regional conference focusing on banking, fintech and payment sectors.

Lawrence Oliver is a director of DDCAP and its subsidiaries, DD&Co and DDGI. He is also a director of DDCAP (DIFC).

Lawrence has worked in the Islamic finance market for more than 25 years. He joined DDCAP in April 1998. Previously, he was an assistant manager at Kleinwort Benson and a member of the team responsible for Islamic finance and investment activity.

Lawrence is responsible for 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 of the physical commodity sector has enabled him to evolve 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.

Maya Marissa Malek is the managing director/CEO of Amanie Advisors’s global office, based in Dubai. Maya is a multiple award-winning Islamic finance expert and executive leader (also recognized 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.

Maya skillfully bridges efforts of diverse regulatory and structural groups — identifying and targeting performance/operations gaps — and is equipped with a 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, and innovating and creating demand for Islamic finance to take root. She is an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Islamic Finance Professionals, a member of the Green Sukuk Working Group in the UAE and a Shariah consultant for the International Finance Corporation, World Bank Group and a frequent Islamic finance speaker at Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs in the UK, the world’s most influential think tank.

Mashael Al-Otaibi is the director of the Fixed Income and Treasury Department at the Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company (SRC) fully owned by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF). Mashael joined SRC in 2017 and was a member of the establishing team; prior to heading the Fixed Income and Treasury Department, she was the head of capital markets and deputy treasurer at SRC. She also was the vice-president and fixed income portfolio manager at Riyad Bank; and a senior asset class specialist at the National Commercial Bank (NCB), Saudi Arabia, now known as the Saudi National Bank.

Mashael has extensive experience in fixed income, with a focus on advising a range of different Sukuk program establishments in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including fixed income portfolio management and trading. In addition to possessing 13 years of professional experience in financial institutions, Mashael holds an MBA specializing in finance from Prince Sultan University, Saudi Arabia and a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. She holds two Leadership Executive Certificates from INSEAD University, France.

Mike Tirman is a partner in Ice Miller’s Real Estate Group and advises and represents clients in all areas of real estate law, including acquisitions and dispositions, financing (including various forms of Shariah compliant financing), ground leasing, development, land use and zoning, entity structuring and joint ventures.

Some of Mike’s representative transactions include, among others, r
epresenting a buyer in a US$195 million Shariah compliant acquisition and CMBS financing of a portfolio of 30 industrial properties, representing a landlord in a US$104 million refinance of a portfolio of four industrial properties in New Jersey encumbered by ground leases and representing a REIT in a US$30 million acquisition of a parking garage and execution of a reverse 1031 exchange.

Mike is licensed to practice law in Illinois and Indiana.

Dr Mohammed Ishaq Ali is a professional with extensive experience in the field of investment management with several organizations across Saudi Arabia and India. He has a successful track record of managing Shariah compliant mutual funds and discretionary portfolios, consistently outperforming the market, peer groups and benchmarks.

Dr Mohammed’s core expertise involves the formulation of investment strategies, asset allocations and portfolio diversification though quantitative screening, macro assessment and stock-specific ideas. He is active in industry/market research to identify mispriced assets in any conditions of the market. His capability to manage risk and comply with regulatory frameworks and Shariah guidelines is invaluable to asset management departments.

Dr Mohammed has a distinct record of teaching MBA and CFA students in the areas of corporate finance and investments, apart from providing training to investment bankers. He has authored books, published articles and presented papers in various conferences and seminars.

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.

Muhsin’s career in the Professional Investments industry spans over 23 years. Over this period he has occupied senior roles at several investment firms – including Old Mutual Investment Group, RMB Asset Management and Absa Investments. He covers a wide spectrum of public and private investment strategies and bespoke client solutions. He is extremely passionate about Islamic Sustainable Investing and dedicated to driving the the adoption and advancement of Islamic Finance in Africa, the Middle East and Globally. He holds an executive MBA and Honours Degree in Finance.

Nabil A Issa is a partner in the Corporate, Finance and Investments Group of King & Spalding, working from the Dubai and affiliated Riyadh offices. Nabil’s experience includes work in the areas of Shariah compliant funds, joint ventures, foreign investment, private equity, privatizations, venture capital, healthcare, education, food and beverage and real estate industry transactions. He is particularly known for his development of innovative Shariah compliant CMA funds and investment structures for real estate and private equity investments in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Nabil is regularly cited by independent legal directories and client-based surveys. Chambers Global 2020 highly ranks Nabil for his corporate and investment funds work (Band 1) in the Middle East and recognizes him as an expert in Saudi corporate (Band 1 as a lawyer based outside of Saudi Arabia) and capital market matters. Nabil is listed as a ‘Leading Individual’ for his corporate work in the Middle East region by Legal 500 EMEA 2021.

Following graduation from the University of Pennsylvania, Nabil was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to UAE University to study the effects of membership in the World Trade Organization on the financial laws of the UAE.

Rami is a senior banker with 20 years’ experience. He has raised over $60 billion and completed numerous transactions within debt capital markets, structured and project finance, as well as financial restructuring deals in both international and local markets. Rami has delivered landmark and first-time deals to the market and has been a speaker at several events sponsored by KSA and US institutions. Rami has two Masters degrees (MBA and MSc in Finance) from Boston College, United States and a Bachelors from KFUPM, Saudi Arabia.

Saliegh Salaam leads Old Mutual Investment Group’s Shariah proposition, where environmental, social and governance considerations are a key component of how Old Mutual’s portfolios are managed. He has been the lead portfolio manager of Shariah products (equity, multi-asset and global equity) since 2007 and has grown this award-winning Shariah proposition to be a significant player in the market.

Saliegh has more than 25 years of financial market experience which spans leadership roles at smaller boutique asset managers as well as large asset managers.

Yazeed Almutawa is the director of investment banking at Al Rajhi Capital. Yazeed worked at HSBC for more than three years where he played key roles in several high-profile capital market transactions exceeding US$40 billion. Prior to HSBC and Al Rajhi Capital, Yazeed worked at the Saudi Central Bank’s investment department where he was part of the international investment team and his role included regulating and developing the process of capital market investments. Yazeed holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering and a Master of Science degree in financial engineering from the University of Southern California.

Amna Usman heads the Corporate Department at Trabulsi & Co law firm where she handles various issues regarding foreign investment, company formation and restructuring; mergers and acquisitions; joint ventures; and the day-to-day corporate matters of her clients.

Amna has a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree from the University of London and a specialized Master of Laws degree from Queen Mary University in corporate and commercial law. During her LLB degree, she did in-depth research on the various aspects of Islamic finance and banking. She has a keen interest in the Shariah compliance of the evolving digital currency and is currently advising the Fintech Department of her law firm on possible future Shariah compliant options.

Dr Mohammed Ishaq Ali is a professional with extensive experience in the field of investment management with several organizations across Saudi Arabia and India. He has a successful track record of managing Shariah compliant mutual funds and discretionary portfolios, consistently outperforming the market, peer groups and benchmarks.

Dr Mohammed’s core expertise involves the formulation of investment strategies, asset allocations and portfolio diversification though quantitative screening, macro assessment and stock-specific ideas. He is active in industry/market research to identify mispriced assets in any conditions of the market. His capability to manage risk and comply with regulatory frameworks and Shariah guidelines is invaluable to asset management departments.

Dr Mohammed has a distinct record of teaching MBA and CFA students in the areas of corporate finance and investments, apart from providing training to investment bankers. He has authored books, published articles and presented papers in various conferences and seminars.

Nabil A Issa is a partner in the Corporate, Finance and Investments Group of King & Spalding, working from the Dubai and affiliated Riyadh offices. Nabil’s experience includes work in the areas of Shariah compliant funds, joint ventures, foreign investment, private equity, privatizations, venture capital, healthcare, education, food and beverage and real estate industry transactions. He is particularly known for his development of innovative Shariah compliant CMA funds and investment structures for real estate and private equity investments in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Nabil is regularly cited by independent legal directories and client-based surveys. Chambers Global 2020 highly ranks Nabil for his corporate and investment funds work (Band 1) in the Middle East and recognizes him as an expert in Saudi corporate (Band 1 as a lawyer based outside of Saudi Arabia) and capital market matters. Nabil is listed as a ‘Leading Individual’ for his corporate work in the Middle East region by Legal 500 EMEA 2021.

Following graduation from the University of Pennsylvania, Nabil was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to UAE University to study the effects of membership in the World Trade Organization on the financial laws of the UAE.

Nader Naifar is a professor of finance at the College of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He had experience in teaching for more than 20 years with expertise in various subjects pertaining to finance including financial markets, Islamic finance and corporate finance. He is skilled in teaching students with practical examples, is familiar with modern learning technologies and has proved excellent in teaching and managing a broad range of students from diverse financial backgrounds and with different behavioral patterns.

Nader’s research interests include financial economics, Islamic finance, Sukuk markets, default risk, credit default swap, global crisis, contagion, international financial markets, real estate, macroeconomic conditions, and energy markets. He has published more than 60 papers in international refereed journals including journals indexed by Web of Science and Scopus databases. He has been awarded the ‘Excellence in scientific research award’ and the ‘Publications International award’ delivered by Imam University.

Saliegh Salaam leads Old Mutual Investment Group’s Shariah proposition, where environmental, social and governance considerations are a key component of how Old Mutual’s portfolios are managed. He has been the lead portfolio manager of Shariah products (equity, multi-asset and global equity) since 2007 and has grown this award-winning Shariah proposition to be a significant player in the market.

Saliegh has more than 25 years of financial market experience which spans leadership roles at smaller boutique asset managers as well as large asset managers.

Toseef Azid is a professor of economics at the College of Business and Economics, Qassim University, Saudi Arabia. He holds a PhD in economics from University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, UK (1993). He received the Overseas Research Scholarship from the UK government and a Fulbright Award Scholar in Residence Program (2006) from the US. He has taught in Pakistan, Brunei, the UK, the US and Saudi Arabia. His research focuses on technological change, labor economics, Islamic economics and Islamic finance. His eight books are published, with one in Pakistan; four are published by Routledge, UK; two are published by Emerald; and one by World Scientific Publishers, Singapore. He was also appointed twice as a member of the selection committee of the IsDb Prize. He has more than 80 papers to his credit which are published in well-reputed international journals.