Abdulhaq Mohammed is the firm’s Head of Asia and the Managing Partner of its Singapore office. Abdulhaq has held several senior management positions within the firm, including sitting on the management board for six years, as well as being the firm’s international managing partner until late 2021.  He specialises in infrastructure and real estate and his areas of expertise include PPP and concession arrangements relating to transport and social infrastructure, real estate development and investment, and strategic legal advice. He has advised on property restructurings and the creation of regulatory frameworks. He is also particularly experienced in leading large teams on complex projects. He often advises overseas investors on the structuring, financing and execution of their real estate investments into the UK and Europe. Abdulhaq has close to 20 years’ experience working in the Middle East and prior to that also worked in our London office. He is consistently recognised as a top-tier lawyer by both The Legal 500 and Chambers Global. 

Abdulla Al Hammadi serves as an Assistant Vice President with Moody’s Financial Institutions Group. He is based in Dubai, where he oversees a portfolio of bank credit ratings across the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries, with a particular emphasis on Islamic financial institutions. Abdulla joined Moody’s in 2024. Prior to his tenure at Moody’s, Abdulla was an Associate Director at Fitch Ratings, covering financial institution ratings in the Middle East. Before Fitch Ratings, he was with the Central Bank of Bahrain, handling prudential supervision for wholesale banks. Abdulla is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and earned a First-Class Honours degree in Banking and Finance from the University of Bahrain. He authored a book titled “Principles of Financial planning, Investment & Trading” aimed at providing comprehensive overview on passive style investment portfolio.

Dr Hamim Syahrum Ahmad Mokhtar is currently the Deputy Director in the Financial Inclusion Department of Bank Negara Malaysia. His role includes leading and guiding strategic development policies of social finance, microfinance and green finance. Previously, he was the Deputy Director in the Financial Surveillance Department and Islamic Banking & Takaful Department.

Dr Hamim was also involved in a number of working groups and taskforces established by the ISFB including the following groups: Capital Adequacy Standards (Sukuk Securitisation and Real Estate), Governance of Islamic Collective Investment Scheme, Guides on Islamic Deposit Insurance and Guidance Notes in the determination of Alpha in Capital Adequacy Ratio.

Dr Hamim holds a degree in Accounting with Honors, an MBA and a PhD in Islamic Banking and Finance. He has published and presented several papers at both domestic and international conferences, including a paper on the efficiency and competition of Islamic banking in Malaysia which was accorded the ‘Highly Commended Award’ by award-winning international Journal Emerald Literati Network. He is also a Chartered Accountant of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants and a Chartered Banker. He received the central bank’s Excellent Individual Performance Awards in 2009.

Dr Jane Chang is Malaysia’s first Accredited Social Value Practitioner (Level 3). As a scholar of cognitive entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education, she is passionate about innovation for social impact. Her work on entrepreneurial mindset and cognition has assisted individuals worldwide, including in deprived areas of London, the interior of Borneo and the scholars of world-class nations, into a space of community learning for a value creation mindset. She was a finalist for the Reimagine Education Award at Wharton Business School (the most innovative curriculum design). She co-founded one of Malaysia’s first social value and impact management quality setters, providing a unique social value and impact framework with international accreditation to manage social value and impact. A leader who incorporates social innovation and practical entrepreneurship education in everything she does, Jane brings together an impressive eclectic mix of skills and experience as an ecosystem builder.

Jessica Tan is Principal, Fixed Income Indices at S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI). With a key focus on Asia Pacific indices and clients, Jessica drives the development and management of index products, ensuring their strategic planning, implementation and long-term success. Prior to joining the product management team, Jessica led the Asian indices client services team to provide the highest level of service to index clients. She later transitioned to the global research & design team, conducting market analysis and developing new index products before combining her expertise in client management and product development in the product management role. Jessica graduated from Singapore Institute of Management with a Bachelor of Science in banking and finance under the University of London programme.

Max Garvey is a seasoned entrepreneur with expertise in Web1 and Web3 technologies. He founded Toner.com Group in 1999, scaling it from a dorm room start-up into a multinational business generating over $100 million in revenue without external funding.

As the creator of the EPIC Blockchain Protocol (2017-2023), Max developed a pioneering Layer 1 blockchain to drive mass adoption. He later founded Epic Economy Amplifier (2022) and Epicenter Labs (2024) to expand and commercialize the EPIC Blockchain ecosystem.

A Stanford University alumnus with a background in Computer Science and Business, Max is now based in Dubai, UAE, focused on building transformative, accessible technologies for global impact.

Dr Mohamed Damak is a Senior Director of Financial Services at S&P Global Ratings, covering financial institutions in the Middle East and Africa. He is also the Global Head of Islamic finance at the rating agency, leading a global team of Islamic finance analysts.

Dr Mohamed had worked for S&P Global Ratings from 2006 to 2010, covering conventional and Islamic financial institutions in MENA. He then worked as a Principal Credit Risk Officer for the African Development Bank in Tunis before rejoining S&P Global Ratings.

Holding a PhD in Finance and a Master’s degree in Money, Banking and Finance from Universite Paris-Pantheon-Assas, Dr Mohamed also has a Master’s degree in Financial Institutions Management from Ecole Superieure de Commerce de Tunis.

Wendy Cheong is a senior management and strategy professional with over 22 years of experience in leading and transforming international business operations. She is currently Managing Director-Regional Head of Asia Pacific for Moody’s Ratings, based in Hong Kong. In this role, Wendy develops and leads Moody’s growth strategy in both developed and emerging markets in the region. Wendy is the senior representative for Moody’s in Asia Pacific and is responsible for managing regional operations, overseeing policy and regulatory outreach, coordinating Moody’s global initiatives, and providing oversight of affiliates, joint ventures and MIS domestic market strategies in the region. Wendy joined Moody’s in 2010 as an Assistant Director at Content Strategy in Moody’s Analytics, and has since held senior positions in strategy and management roles across business lines in Hong Kong and New York to build strategic vision, drive business growth and enhance market impact. She has served as Chief of Staff to the President of Moody’s Investors Service; Representative Director for MIS in Hong Kong, while also serving as Senior Vice President – Head of APAC Strategy & Business Management; and Director and Senior Product Strategist at Moody’s Analytics. Wendy sits as a Director on the boards of a majority of Moody’s Asia entities and affiliates in the region. Wendy is a member of Moody’s Global Diversity Council and founded the Moody’s Women’s Employee Resource Group in Asia Pacific. She held leadership roles in several external women in finance organizations, including 100 Women in Finance and the Women in Finance Association of the Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA). She is currently a member of the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN), a leading network of over 600 organizations across 34 countries that mobilizes capital for impact investing. Before joining Moody’s, Wendy held senior strategy, sales and marketing positions at Prudential PLC, as well as at Singapore Telecoms in Hong Kong and Singapore. She holds a BA in Southeast Asian Studies from the National University of Singapore.

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.

Elias is a Partner in Trowers & Hamlins’ International Banking and Finance Department.

Elias has a broad range of experience both in the conventional and Islamic finance spheres. He has significant experience in representing the full spectrum of stakeholders on a range of banking and finance transactions including project financing and real estate financing as well as capital market issuances.

Yoon Jun Jie is the CEO and Founder of Capsphere, Malaysia’s first Asset Based P2P Financing and Investment platform registered with Securities Commission Malaysia. He started Capsphere to support local SME’s and to enable communities to take part in their growth. Previously, he was Vice-President in the Southeast Asia Global Corporate Banking team at Bank of America. He has gained experience in facilitating debt financing, advising on cash management and treasury solutions for global corporations and financial institutions.

He has completed the Professional Credit Certification from the Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers. His education includes an MPhil in Economics from University of Cambridge and a BSc in Statistics, Economics and Finance from University College London.

Dr. Marjan Muhammad is the Deputy President Research at ISRA Institute, INCEIF University. In her current capacity, she oversees different portfolios including research and innovation, research management, assessment and publication, research commercialization, and Islamic finance online database (I-FIKR) developed by ISRA. She was previously the Director of Research Affairs Department at ISRA from 2013-2017. She is currently a member of the Shariah Advisory Council of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) effective from 1 November 2019 and a member of the Shariah Advisory Council of Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) effective from 1 July 2023. Prior to that, she was a member of Shariah Committee at a few local Islamic banks. At the international level, she sits on the Advisory Committee of Experts of Lotus Bank Limited and Shariah Supervisory Board of Lotus Capital Limited, both are based in Nigeria. Marjan obtained her bachelor’s degree in Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Heritage (Fiqh and Usul al-Fiqh) from the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) and graduated from her master’s and PhD degrees at the same university.

Dr Mahbubi hails from Indonesia and holds a PhD in Islamic Banking and Finance from the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM). He obtained his Master’s degree in Islamic Finance from the International Center for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF), and Bachelor’s degree in Islamic Finance from Tazkia Institute, Bogor, Indonesia.

Dr Mahbubi currently holds the position of Islamic Finance Expert at the Brunei Darussalam Central Bank (BDCB) and is a registered Shariah adviser with the Securities Commission Malaysia. Dr Mahbubi also holds international recognition as Member of the Curriculum Review Committee at the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), Bahrain. He is also Chairman of Sidogiri Islamic Institute; Director of Shariah, AIFA Consulting; Member of Board Shariah Committee, CIMB Islamic Bank; Member of Shariah Committee, FWD Takaful Sdn Bhd; and Shariah Advisor of Dar al-Muraja’ah al-Shar’iyyah, Bahrain.

Previously, he was the Chairman of Shariah Committee, Affin Islamic Bank Berhad; on the Board of Directors for ZICO Shariah Advisory; and former Head of Economics, Finance, Awqaf and Zakat at the International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS Malaysia). He was also a researcher at the International Shariah Research Academy for Islamic Finance (ISRA) Malaysia.