Haitham Al Salmi is Chief Executive Officer of Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX) and Chairman of Muscat Clearing and Depository, bringing more than 22 years of executive experience across capital markets, securities, financial market infrastructure, investment banking and financial services. Throughout his career, Haitham has held senior leadership positions spanning exchanges, clearing and depository services, investment institutions and capital market regulation. Prior to his appointment as CEO of MSX, he served as General Manager and Deputy General Manager of Muscat Clearing and Depository, where he gained extensive experience in the development and operation of Oman’s capital market infrastructure. His earlier private-sector roles include Senior Vice President at Gulf Baader Capital Markets and General Manager of International Financial Services. Haitham also brings significant regulatory experience, having served with Oman’s Capital Market Authority in a number of capacities, including Acting Director of the Department of Licensed Companies and Financial Auditor. In addition to his responsibilities in Oman, Haitham plays an active role in the wider regional and international capital markets community. He serves as Vice Chairman of the Federation of Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges and Chairman of the Arab Federation of Capital Markets, contributing to dialogue and cooperation among exchanges and market institutions across both regions. Haitham holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Bedfordshire and a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Sultan Qaboos University.

Dr Qais Issa Al Yahyaei is the Chief Economist at the Central Bank of Oman, where he leads the Economic Sector and contributes to setting its strategic direction. In this role, he oversees economic analysis, money markets, market operations, investment and reserve management, and currency administration, ensuring that the CBO’s monetary and economic decisions are grounded in rigorous analysis and aligned with national economic objectives. He provides strategic leadership across the directorates and departments, approves key economic and market policies and research outputs, and oversees high-impact policy recommendations to the Governor and Executive Management based on comprehensive economic assessments. In close coordination with the Operations and Financial Stability Sectors, Dr Al Yahyaei advances cross-sectoral economic initiatives and ensures adherence to the highest standards of financial oversight and supervision. Additionally, he represents the CBO in high-level national, regional, and international economic and financial forums.

Prior to his current role, Dr Al Yahyaei served for more than seven years as Executive Vice President for the Financial Stability Sector at the CBO. Earlier in his career, he founded and led the Financial Stability Department for over five years, spearheading several pioneering initiatives that were among the first of their kind in the region. Across his career, he has played an active role in numerous cross-functional management and technical committees within the CBO.

Dr Al Yahyaei brings more than two decades of experience in central banking. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Glasgow, a Master’s degree in Economics, Banking, and Finance from Cardiff University as a Chevening Scholar, and a Bachelor’s degree in Accountancy from Sultan Qaboos University. He is a certified member of the Institute of Internal Auditors and a graduate of IMD’s Leadership Development Program.

Oliver Agha is the Managing Partner of Agha & Co and a Professional Associate at Outer Temple Chambers. U.S.-qualified, he formerly led Islamic finance at the world’s largest law firm and headed the Projects practice at Clifford Chance’s Saudi affiliate. He began his legal career at Fulbright & Jaworski in the U.S. Agha was the first Western-trained lawyer appointed to an AAOIFI board and is widely regarded as a foremost authority on Islamic finance enforcement and reform. His incisive writing has made The Islamic Legal Opinion column in IFN essential reading for regulators, investors, and scholars navigating a field clouded by form-over-substance mimicry.

Aflah Al Lawati joined Oman Oil Company (OQ SAOC) in December 2013 and has served as Group Treasurer & Vice President of Financial Planning & Analysis since April 2021. He brings 20 years of experience across financial advisory, corporate finance, fiscal solutions and capital raising. In his current role, Aflah leads the Group’s Treasury and FP&A functions, overseeing funding strategies, liquidity management, balance sheet optimization and financial performance planning. In addition to his executive responsibilities, he serves as a Board Member and Chairman of the Audit Committee of Nama Power and Water Procurement Company (Nama PWP), as well as a Board Member of OQ Exploration & Production (OQEP).

Aflah has a strong understanding of financial markets and corporate finance, with particular expertise in financial strategy, stakeholder engagement and relationship management. He holds a BSc in Commerce, majoring in Finance, from the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George, Canada, and a Level 7 Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), UK. He is also a certified Board Director by the GCC Board Directors Institute (GCC BDI).

Aisha Al Kharusi is the Deputy Executive Chairperson of the Modern College of Business and Science, Oman’s oldest full-fledged private institution, overseeing transformation and innovation within the college. With a proven track record of leadership and strategic vision, she brings a wealth of experience to this pivotal role for driving progress and a commitment to excellence.

Prior to this role, Aisha served as the Assistant General Manager of Government and Institutional Banking, Chief Marketing Officer in Oman’s leading Islamic bank. From 2009 to 2012, she was the executive manager of corporate communications and strategy, a key leadership team member and a strategic, long-range business planner of Oman’s oldest commercial bank, National Bank of Oman. Earlier, she was the Deputy Regional Director of The Boeing Company, part of the team responsible for setting up the largest aerospace company, the Middle East Dubai Office, covering ten regional countries. Her responsibilities included international relations, university relations and the Global Corporate Citizenship arm.

Aisha began her career with USA Today in Washington, DC, followed by a publishing firm in Oman and a short tenure at Sultan Qaboos University. In her nearly three decades of work experience, she has held several other senior leadership positions at the corporate level and mid-level management. Aisha has completed several leadership courses and programs. In 2016, she was selected to join the National CEO program organized by the Diwan Royal Court and led by IMD Business School and the National University of Singapore. Aisha also completed a senior executive program at the London Business School. She has served on several boards, including founding board members of inJAz Oman, AEISEC Oman, Oman Business Forum, Oman Chamber of Commerce’s Businesswoman Forum and the Capital Market Authority.

Aisha has a Bachelor’s degree from the American University, Washington, DC, and a Master’s degree in Communication Design from the University of Arts London, Central Saint Martins. She has received several awards, including Woman of the Year 2012 from the Al Mar’a Excellence Award. Aisha was listed among the Most Powerful Women in Corporate Oman by the Oman Economic Review. Aisha’s leadership skills have been honed through her experiences in the UK, Washington, DC, Cologne, Germany, Dubai, the UAE and most of the Middle East. Beyond her professional life, Aisha is deeply involved in philanthropy. She sits on the board of Bwejuu Charity School in Zanzibar, East Africa, a school for underprivileged children with over 600 students. In Oman, she was a board member of Children First, UNICEF Oman Leadership Circle and a founding member of the Association of Early Intervention for Children with Special Needs.

Ali Hassan Moosa is a distinguished leader with over 30 years of extensive experience across the banking, technology, real estate and hospitality sectors. Based in Muscat, Oman, Ali has demonstrated a profound commitment to advancing financial sector development through innovation and strategic leadership. Ali’s current role as Financial Expert in the Ministry of Finance at Estidamah, the National Programme for Fiscal Sustainability and Development of the Financial Sector, underscores his pivotal role in harmonizing fiscal, monetary and economic policies in Oman. Ali is also a member of the Finance and Insurance Committee at the Oman Chamber of Commerce & Industry which plays a crucial role in fostering the development of the financial and insurance sectors within the Sultanate of Oman. Furthermore, Ali is a member of the Advisory Council at Muscat College providing expert advice and sharing latest industry trends with Academia to assist the college in teaching and research.

Asad Qayyum is a highly skilled dual-qualified corporate and commercial lawyer with extensive multi-jurisdiction experience in a number of sectors of the law including capital markets, funds, conventional and Islamic finance, mergers and acquisitions, natural resources (oil, gas and mining) and project finance transactions.

Asad is qualified as a solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales, a barrister of England and Wales and an advocate of the High Courts of Pakistan. He has over 22 years of experience advising on a broad range of transactions during his time in the UK, Sultanate of Oman and Pakistan. Asad’s expertise is in advising sovereign and sovereign-owned companies and listed and private companies with respect to their debt and equity capital market financings (conventional and Islamic), registration of funds (including real estate investment funds, acquisitions and disposals of hydrocarbon assets – onshore and offshore) and negotiating clients’ commercial (oil and gas) contracts across the globe (including in the UK, Oman, Canada, the Middle East, Pakistan, Cameroon, Tanzania, Namibia, Burundi, Benin, Cameroon, Nigeria and Kazakhstan).

Azza Alhabsi is an economist at Ominvest, Oman’s largest publicly listed investment firm. She leads macroeconomic and market research to guide investment strategies across global public and private markets. With over a decade of experience, including nearly 10 years at a sovereign wealth fund, she brings deep insight into Oman’s economy, fiscal policy and reform agenda, while also tracking regional and global dynamics.

Badar Al Shanfari, currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer. He has over 20 years of experience in the field of Investments and Financial Services. Throughout his career Badar has held various leadership positions including the CEO of Uzbek-Oman Investment Company, which is the leading private equity firm based in Tashkent. Prior to his current position, Badar was the Deputy CEO of Ominvest’s Private Equity Subsidiary Jabreen Capital. In addition to various roles at Ominvest including its Chief Operating Officer (COO), earlier he held the role as EVP of International Strategic Business at Ominvest and Deputy CEO of EastBridge Partners based out of Singapore to lead Ominvest’s Southeast Asian initiatives. Badar has served and is currently on multiple Boards of various companies, in different sectors and geographies. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Duquesne University and his MBA from Strathclyde University. In addition, Badar is a Certified Public Accountant from the United States of America – state of Delaware.

Darius Nass is an Associate Director for Global Equity Indices at S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI). He is based out of the Singapore office and is responsible for the product management of S&P DJI’s global index suites, including the S&P Global BMI, S&P Global 1200 and S&P Islamic Indices. In his role, Darius leads efforts to develop new benchmarks, promotes existing offerings and regularly publishes market commentary, analytical reports and research.

Prior to joining S&P DJI, Darius was part of the Nasdaq Index R&D team, where he was led product development initiatives for the APAC region.

Darius holds a Master’s degree in Quantitative Finance from Singapore Management University.

With more than 14 years of work experience in the financial and Islamic banking sectors, Issa Khalfan Al Suqri leads the Shariah Compliance & Audit Department of Meethaq Islamic Banking. Mr. Issa has extensive experience in Shariah compliance, Shariah governance, Shariah auditing, Shariah risk management and product structuring. Previously, he worked as Deputy Head of Shariah Department at Ahli Islamic, and Manager of Shariah Compliance at Alizz Islamic Bank. Mr. Issa holds bachelor degree from Sultan Qaboos University and General Diploma from Institute for Islamic Sciences – Sultanate of Oman. He has accomplished several renowned professional qualifications in Islamic finance and banking including Diploma in Islamic Finance from CIMA, CSAA from AAOIFI, Certified Financial Consultant in Islamic Finance (CFCIF) from Institute of Financial Consultants of Canada, and Professional Certificate in Islamic Finance (PCIF) from INCEIF, Malaysia.

James Sadler is Head of Debt Capital Markets & Structured Finance at Oman Investment Bank, based in Muscat, responsible for the origination and execution of public and private debt financing solutions. He has more than 20 years of investment banking experience in Europe, the US and the MENAT region, including 10+ years based in the GCC, and has led the execution of a wide range of conventional and Islamic financing transactions across sovereign, corporate and financial institutions sectors. James has worked on various significant Sukuk offerings from the CEEMEA region, including international and local currency issuances for issuers including the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Finance, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, the Government of Dubai and Oman Electricity Transmission Company (OETC), as well as senior and capital Sukuk transactions for a number of regional financial institutions. Prior to joining OIB James headed DCM origination for HSBC in Saudi Arabia, and previously held senior DCM roles at Bank of America in Dubai and New York, BNP Paribas in Bahrain, and UBS in London. He holds an MA (Hons) from the University of Oxford.

Max Freeman 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.

Mohamed is a distinguished investment professional with over 18 years of global experience in managing and optimizing financial portfolios across various sectors. Currently, he serves as Head of Investments, Private Markets at Oman National Investments Development Company (TANMIA), where he oversees private markets investments and drives value creation and growth in diverse portfolio sectors.

Throughout his career, Mohamed has developed a deep expertise in private equity, public equity, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, organizational transformation, restructuring, business development and strategic planning.

Prior to his current position, Mohamed served as Chief Executive Officer of Uzbek Oman Investment Company. His career trajectory also includes pivotal roles at Oman Oil Company, United Securities and Capital One Financial Corporation in the UK and the US. Throughout his career, Mohamed has been actively involved in governance, serving on the Board of Directors for companies across Oman, Uzbekistan, Spain and South Korea.

Mohamed holds a Master’s degree in International Business with Distinction from the University of Leeds in the UK and a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Pennsylvania State University in the US. He also completed Level 2 of the CFA program and pursued executive education programs at IMD, INSEAD and the Royal Academy of Management.

Mohsin Shaik Bin Sehu Mohamed is an experienced Islamic finance practitioner with nearly two decades of work in investment banking, capital markets, and investments. As Head of Investment Banking & Capital Markets at Dhofar Islamic – Bank Dhofar, he is responsible for Sukuk structuring, private equity, corporate finance, asset management, and advisory services. Mohsin has contributed to the growth of Islamic finance in Oman, including the country’s first Sukuk issuance in 2013 and the government’s first sovereign retail Sukuk in 2020.

He holds professional designations as a Fellow Chartered Professional in Islamic Finance from Chartered Institute of Islamic Finance (CIIF), Chartered Islamic Finance Professional from INCEIF, and serves as a Grand Councilor/Board Member with the Chartered Institute of Islamic Finance in Malaysia. Mohsin earned his Master of Business (Applied Finance) from Queensland University of Technology, Australia, and a Bachelor of Accounting (Hons) from University Tenaga Nasional, Malaysia.

Muzzammil Dhedhy is the Co-Founder and Group Executive Director of Hejaz, a global Islamic financial services and fintech group operating across Australia, the GCC, the UK, Europe and Asia. Since 2013, he has held a range of senior executive and board roles within the Hejaz Group, including COO, Chief Product Officer, and Responsible Manager across multiple Australian Financial Services Licences and a Credit Licence.

In his current remit, Muzzammil leads group-wide product, risk and compliance strategy (CRO) across Hejaz’s asset management, lending, and fintech businesses, including the Halal Money app and Hejaz’s growing suite of listed and unlisted investment products, with a portfolio of over $3 billion. He plays a central role in Hejaz’s multi-jurisdictional licensing and regulatory relationships and oversees governance frameworks across more than 30 funds and multiple regulated entities. He also holds positions on various global advisory boards and committees and has acted in strategic advisory capacities to governments and regulatory bodies on matters relating to Islamic finance, fintech and regulatory innovation.

Muzzammil holds a Bachelor degree in Commercial Law, a Master of Applied Finance, and a Master of Islamic Jurisprudence, reflecting his blend of legal, financial and Sharia expertise.

Sami Bait Rashid is a seasoned banker with over two decades of experience spanning personal banking, digital banking, credit and product management. He holds an MBA from the University of Bedfordshire and has completed prestigious management and leadership development programs at INSEAD and Harvard.

In addition to his core banking expertise, Sami holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Islamic Banking and Insurance from the Institute of Islamic Banking and Insurance as well as the Islamic Finance Qualification from the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment. His career reflects a strong blend of strategic vision, operational excellence and a commitment to innovation in the banking sector.

Shahariah Shaharudin is the President of Saturna, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Saturna
Capital Corporation. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Studies from Knox College, Illinois and a Master of Arts degree in Economics from University of Illinois, Springfield.

Shahariah has more than 30 years of experience in the areas of fund management, stockbroking and commercial banking. She started her career in a commercial bank with extensive experience in retail banking, trade finance and corporate banking and later joined a stockbroking company, overseeing both the stockbroking and futures broking business. She also worked for a fund management house under the Strategic Business and Market Development Division where her core responsibility was sourcing business and servicing both retail and wholesale clients. She was CEO and an Executive Director of Kenanga Islamic Investors before joining Saturna in October 2018.

Shahariah speaks at Islamic finance and ESG conferences. She is passionate about Islamic investment and has participated in the Brunei Roundtable; presented in events in Shenzen, China; and was nominated in the ‘Top 10 List for Women in Malaysian Financial Institutions’ by a local magazine.

Shahariah is currently a holder of the Capital Market Services Representatives License for fund management.

Suad is a distinguished treasury and financial markets professional with over two decades of experience in banking, treasury management and risk. She is currently the AGM – Head of Treasury & Financial Institutions Department at Oman Housing Bank, where she leads the bank’s treasury function and drives strategic initiatives across funding, liquidity and financial markets.

She is widely recognized as the first Omani to earn the prestigious ACI Diploma Certificate, a leading global qualification for treasury professionals, and is also a certified Financial Risk Manager (FRM) by the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP). Suad holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Sultan Qaboos University, complemented by executive education programs at INSEAD, Duke University and Harvard Business School.

Prior to joining Oman Housing Bank, Suad held several senior leadership positions, including Head of Global Markets at Bank Nizwa and Global Head of Corporate and Institutional Sales at Bank Muscat. She also led Asset and Liability Management (ALM), Secondary Loans, Murex Analytics and Business Process Management (BPM) functions at Bank Muscat, where she played a key role in strengthening treasury operations and driving business transformation.

Beyond her executive responsibilities, Suad is an active mentor and industry advocate. She serves on the Oman Banking Association Treasury Committee and is a founding member of ACIFMA Oman, supporting the advancement of Oman’s financial markets and the development of future industry leaders.

Aisha Al Kharusi is the Deputy Executive Chairperson of the Modern College of Business and Science, Oman’s oldest full-fledged private institution, overseeing transformation and innovation within the college. With a proven track record of leadership and strategic vision, she brings a wealth of experience to this pivotal role for driving progress and a commitment to excellence.

Prior to this role, Aisha served as the Assistant General Manager of Government and Institutional Banking, Chief Marketing Officer in Oman’s leading Islamic bank. From 2009 to 2012, she was the executive manager of corporate communications and strategy, a key leadership team member and a strategic, long-range business planner of Oman’s oldest commercial bank, National Bank of Oman. Earlier, she was the Deputy Regional Director of The Boeing Company, part of the team responsible for setting up the largest aerospace company, the Middle East Dubai Office, covering ten regional countries. Her responsibilities included international relations, university relations and the Global Corporate Citizenship arm.

Aisha began her career with USA Today in Washington, DC, followed by a publishing firm in Oman and a short tenure at Sultan Qaboos University. In her nearly three decades of work experience, she has held several other senior leadership positions at the corporate level and mid-level management. Aisha has completed several leadership courses and programs. In 2016, she was selected to join the National CEO program organized by the Diwan Royal Court and led by IMD Business School and the National University of Singapore. Aisha also completed a senior executive program at the London Business School. She has served on several boards, including founding board members of inJAz Oman, AEISEC Oman, Oman Business Forum, Oman Chamber of Commerce’s Businesswoman Forum and the Capital Market Authority.

Aisha has a Bachelor’s degree from the American University, Washington, DC, and a Master’s degree in Communication Design from the University of Arts London, Central Saint Martins. She has received several awards, including Woman of the Year 2012 from the Al Mar’a Excellence Award. Aisha was listed among the Most Powerful Women in Corporate Oman by the Oman Economic Review. Aisha’s leadership skills have been honed through her experiences in the UK, Washington, DC, Cologne, Germany, Dubai, the UAE and most of the Middle East. Beyond her professional life, Aisha is deeply involved in philanthropy. She sits on the board of Bwejuu Charity School in Zanzibar, East Africa, a school for underprivileged children with over 600 students. In Oman, she was a board member of Children First, UNICEF Oman Leadership Circle and a founding member of the Association of Early Intervention for Children with Special Needs.

Ali Ozyon is the Chief Marketing Officer at Hejaz Financial Services, where he leads global marketing, brand strategy and growth initiatives across Islamic finance, fintech and digital platforms. Over the past decade, Ali has played a pivotal role in scaling Hejaz’s assets under management and strengthening the group’s international presence across Australia, the GCC, the UK and Europe. He also spearheads the go-to-market strategy for Halal Money, Australia’s first Islamic fintech platform, successfully driving early market adoption and exceeding initial user growth targets. Ali operates at the intersection of strategic storytelling and technology-driven systems. He has led the development of integrated CRM ecosystems, unified telephony infrastructure and AI-enabled workflows across marketing, sales and client service functions, enhancing operational efficiency and customer engagement. Beyond his corporate role, Ali is the host of the Out of Interest, where he explores high performance, leadership insights and unconventional pathways to success.

Asad Qayyum is a highly skilled dual-qualified corporate and commercial lawyer with extensive multi-jurisdiction experience in a number of sectors of the law including capital markets, funds, conventional and Islamic finance, mergers and acquisitions, natural resources (oil, gas and mining) and project finance transactions.

Asad is qualified as a solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales, a barrister of England and Wales and an advocate of the High Courts of Pakistan. He has over 22 years of experience advising on a broad range of transactions during his time in the UK, Sultanate of Oman and Pakistan. Asad’s expertise is in advising sovereign and sovereign-owned companies and listed and private companies with respect to their debt and equity capital market financings (conventional and Islamic), registration of funds (including real estate investment funds, acquisitions and disposals of hydrocarbon assets – onshore and offshore) and negotiating clients’ commercial (oil and gas) contracts across the globe (including in the UK, Oman, Canada, the Middle East, Pakistan, Cameroon, Tanzania, Namibia, Burundi, Benin, Cameroon, Nigeria and Kazakhstan).

Dr Ehab Elsonbaty’s practice focuses on sovereign wealth funds, government advice as well as projects and affairs, corporate matters, corporate governance, sustainability, ESG and Shariah compliant legal services. He advises Middle Eastern entities seeking to do business in the Americas and American clients seeking to do business in the Middle East. Ehab’s extensive transactional and regulatory experience enables him to provide efficient and effective strategic legal support in a wide variety of business matters. Ehab is a strategic adviser to many boards or directors and advisory boards. He helps the firm deliver seamless cross-border solutions for Middle East entities. Among them are corporate enterprises, private equity investors, family offices, government entities and sovereign wealth funds. He helps clients maximize inbound and outbound opportunities arising from this dynamic region, providing comprehensive bilingual legal services and sensitive on-the-ground awareness of each geography in this diverse region. Before joining DLA Piper, Ehab served as Senior Legal Counsel and Head of Corporate Governance and Government Affairs and Senior Adviser to the General Counsel on Special Projects at the Qatar Investment Authority, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund and one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world. There, he was responsible for strategic, corporate, sustainability, ESG and special projects and transactions valued at billions of dollars as well as was a member of several management committees including the Management Investment Committee and the Crisis Management Committee. Earlier in his career, he served for six years as Senior Legal Adviser to the Amiri Diwan, the office of the Amir of Qatar at the Royal Court. During this time, Ehab was also a member of many policy and legal committees, among them the Permanent Legislative Committee of the Council of Ministers and the Committee for Review of Legislation as well as a Member of the National Committee to Review Commercial Laws of the Ministry of Economy and Trade. Ehab drafted and contributed to several laws and regulations of Qatar, GCC and Middle East. In addition, he served as a public prosecutor in the Egyptian public prosecution, and as a Judge in the commercial courts and was Assistant Minister of Justice for more than 15 years, most recently as a Judge in Cairo’s Court of Appeal. He is currently admitted to the Bar in Egypt and is a certified and practicing arbitrator and mediator and a Member of the Egyptian Judges Club. During his service in Egypt, Ehab was seconded to the Ministry of Justice’s Office for International Cooperation and Human Rights, was an Adviser to the Minister of Telecommunication and Information Technology, a Member of the National Committee for Humanitarian Law, a Member of the National Committee for Counter-Terrorism and the national committee to control the public elections. He has provided consultancy support to several regional and international organizations such as the UN, United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, International Telecommunication Union, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the Council of Europe and the Arab League.

Hassan Ali Ansari is CFO of Takaful Oman. Takaful Oman is one of the two Islamic insurance companies in the Sultanate of Oman. He started his career with PwC in 2001 and later on in 2007 he moved to AIG, where he served until 2019. He held multiple positions in AIG such as CFO of Pakistan, financial controller for MENA, country finance manager for Oman and Qatar, etc. In addition to core finance, in his current role, he oversees Shariah compliance, risk management and the information technology department. Hassan is a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan.

Dr Mohamed Eskandar Shah Mohd Rasid, the CEO of ISRA International Consulting, brings with him a wealth of academic and industry experience, having previously served as Associate Professor of Islamic Finance at the College of Islamic Studies, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, under the Qatar Foundation. Prior to that, he held several key leadership positions at INCEIF University, including Associate Dean (Student & Internationalization), Dean and Deputy Dean of the School of Graduate Studies.

Dr Eskandar has served as a consultant to numerous government bodies and financial institutions, including Malaysia’s Ministry of Energy, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Finance, CIMB Islamic Bank, the Responsible Finance Institute and ZICO Shariah Advisory. He is currently a Financial Sector Specialist Consultant for the World Bank and an Adviser to the Brunei Institute of Leadership and Islamic Finance. His consulting portfolio covers strategic and regulatory assignments such as Sukuk documentation review for the Maldives Ministry of Finance, Islamic finance master plan development for Kazakhstan’s AIFC, SME empowerment strategies for CIMB and impact monitoring of social finance initiatives for the World Bank. He also advises fintech and sustainability-focused projects, including engagements with GFI Fintech, Alfie Tech Asia, Qatar Gas and Heritage Amanah Indonesia. He has served as a subject matter expert in Islamic finance and capital markets for various institutions, including Bank Negara Malaysia, the Securities Commission Malaysia, PNB, OCBC Al-Amin, as well as academic institutions in Pakistan, China and Bangladesh.

Dr Eskandar holds a PhD in Finance from Nottingham University Business School (UK), a Master’s in International Economics and Finance from the University of Queensland (Australia) and a Bachelor of Business Administration (Hons) from the International Islamic University Malaysia.

Sadaf Buchanan leads the tier-one ranked Banking and Finance team in Muscat and has more than 20 years’ experience in restructuring and finance work. She also heads up the Islamic Finance initiative for the Oman office.

Sadaf works alongside both lenders and borrowers in advising on security issues and options, enforcement (both solvent and insolvent routes) and commercial lending and borrowing and has also advised on a number of the landmark debt capital markets transactions from the Sultanate.

She has broad experience in acting on both local and international deals and advising banks, businesses, shareholders and other stakeholders in relation to business restructurings and financing issues involving a variety of sectors from hotel and leisure to oil and gas as well as many international companies and financial institutions considering doing business in Oman.

Sadaf is ranked as “Highly Regarded” by IFLR1000 2024/5 for Banking and Capital Markets: Debt.