Dr Ahmet Aysan is a full professor, associate dean for research and the program coordinator of the PhD and Master of Science programs at Hamad Bin Khalifa University. He has been a board member and Monetary Policy Committee member of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkiye and served as a consultant at various institutions such as the World Bank, the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkiye and Oxford Analytica. Dr Ahmet, who has many articles published in academic journals, is a recipient of the Bogaziçi University Award and the MEEA Ibn Khaldun Prize. Dr Ahmet is also a research associate at the University College London Centre for Blockchain Technologies and a non-resident fellow at the ME Council.

Akber has more than 25 years of experience in the investment industry and is Acting Chief Executive Officer of Al Rayan Investment (ARI). ARI is a leading firm for corporate financial advisory and asset management. Akber joined ARI in 2009, to set up and lead asset management, which included overall responsibility for managing GCC public equity and global sukuk portfolios of $1.5bn. ARI manages the award winning Al Rayan GCC Fund and Al Rayan Qatar ETF.

Prior to ARI, Akber was a Director at Deutsche Bank in London, where he spent more than 11 years in European and emerging markets equities. Akber is a graduate of University College London. Akber has lived in Doha, Dubai, Frankfurt, Karachi and London.

Dr Dalal Aassouli is an Assistant Professor of Islamic and Sustainable Finance at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar.

Dr Dalal was previously a visiting academic at the Durham Centre for Islamic Economics and Finance, Durham University Business School. Prior to that, she worked at the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM) in Malaysia where she assisted with the establishment of the IILM’s Sukuk program. Before that, she held several corporate finance positions in Europe where she had exposure to the African, European and Latin American markets.

Dr Dalal serves on several industry working groups and non-profit global forums such as the CIBAFI Sustainability Working Group, Qatar Financial Center Islamic Finance Taskforce and the Global Impact Fintech Forum. She is also an invited speaker in international conferences and events and provides her consultancy expertise to various organizations on issues related to sustainable and Islamic finance.

Dr Dalal holds a Master’s degree from NEOMA Business School and Paris Dauphine University and a PhD from ENS de Lyon in France.

Dr Dalal’s areas of research interest include Islamic finance in general and its implications for liquidity management, corporate finance, ethical finance, development finance, green finance, food security, sustainable development and SRI.

George M. Barakat is an accomplished banking and finance professional with 18 years of expertise in Banking, Treasury and Finance. He has a strong background in Corporate Treasury and Finance, with extensive experience in capital-related financing and restructuring transactions. His expertise includes sukuk issuance, syndicated loans, Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and investment management.

Currently, George serves as the Group Treasury Director at Power International Holding (PIH), where he is responsible for strategically overseeing the Group Treasury. Prior to joining PIH, George headed the Group Treasury and Investments at Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana & Group of Companies where he also served as a board advisor for one of the group’s major companies. George also headed the Group Treasury at Ezdan Holding Group Q.P.S.C where he played a key role in structuring and negotiating syndicated loan facilities, sukuk issuances and managing investor relations. Before Ezdan, George spent over nine years at Mashreq Bank, where he held key positions across Business, Treasury and Finance, gaining comprehensive experience in each area.

George holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) issued by the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), USA as well as a Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) issued by the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP), USA.

Hadi joined Al Rayan Investment’s Financial Advisory Group in 2019. Having more than a decade of financial advisory experience, he currently focuses on deal origination and execution, advising clients across equity and debt capital markets, mergers and acquisitions as well as corporate finance advisory. During his time at the firm, Hadi acted as Joint Lead Arranger on the establishment of Estithmar Holding’s QAR3.4bn Sukuk program and the issuance of a QAR500mn Sukuk tranche. He also acted as Joint Lead Manager on several Sukuk issuances including Air Lease Corp, Dar Al Arkan, the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, Qatar International Islamic Bank and Warba Bank. Hadi has advised numerous clients during his time at ARI, including Lesha Bank and Mazaya.

Hadi holds a Bachelor’s degree from the American University of Beirut and a Master’s degree from Imperial College London. He is a CFA Charter Holder and is fluent in English and Arabic.

Hakan Ozyon’s role as CEO at Hejaz Financial Services involves setting strategic paths and forming financial alliances. With over 30 years of experience in business, he is known for leading innovative strategies and nurturing talent. He is adept at unlocking potential, promoting growth and increasing revenue. Hakan has deep ties in both the Islamic and broader Australian communities, enhancing business operations and setting corporate goals. Notably, he has spent a decade transforming visions into pioneering Islamic financial services. He is respected globally for his business acumen.

Henk Jan Hoogendoorn is the Chief of the Financial Sector Office at Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), where he is responsible for delivering QFC’s mission of attracting financial and regulated businesses to Qatar through the QFC platform, in line with the Second Financial Strategy and Qatar National Vision 2030.

Henk has extensive experience in international finance, management and transforming and building businesses in the financial sector. Henk has held senior management roles at ABN AMRO Bank and Deutsche Bank in the Netherlands and the Middle East and has a solid track record of implementing businesses in the financial sector.

Prior to joining QFC, Henk served as Mashreq Qatar’s country CEO and as the Managing Director-Head of Non-bank Financial Institutions at Deutsche Bank where he was responsible for insurers, pension funds, fintech and implementing strategic and business plans across Europe.

Henk holds a Master’s degree in Law from the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands and has participated in executive education at the London Business School and INSEAD.

Lee Irvine is a Partner in the Financial Markets Group of Simmons & Simmons and is based in Dubai. He has extensive experience in advising financial institutions and public and private companies on all aspects of conventional and Islamic debt capital markets, equity capital markets and liability management.

Michael Grifferty founded and leads The Gulf Capital Market Association, the industry body representing the Arabian Gulf debt and equity markets. The GCMA is composed of the region’s leading banks, law firms, issuers, ratings agencies and service providers. He plays a leading role in all major matters concerning development of capital markets in the region.

Previously, Michael served as Advisor for the US Treasury on sovereign debt and bond markets, advising over forty countries and regional organizations. He has also consulted extensively for the International Monetary Fund and Arab Monetary Fund.

Prior to his international career, Mr. Grifferty was a Senior Vice President at Government Finance Associates, providing problem-solving financial advisory services to US state and local governments. He has degrees from New York University and Georgetown University in Public Finance and International Relations, respectively. A native English speaker, Michael also speaks French and Russian.

Munaf Usmani is a Senior Vice-President in the Treasury and Markets Division at QInvest with a career spanning 15 years in the Islamic finance industry, having closed over US$5 billion in investment and advisory transactions. In his current role, he is responsible for managing the firm’s proprietary capital in financial market investments including fixed income funds, equities, derivatives, structured products, etc. He is also responsible for asset liability management, hedging and funding for the firm. Additionally, he oversees the financial institution function, focusing on establishing and enhancing relationships with local, regional and global financial institutions. Prior to QInvest, Munaf was in the Treasury and Financial Institutions Department at Meezan Bank, where he started as a Trainee Dealer and rose to the level of Deputy Treasurer. During his time at Meezan, he was in charge of the sales, trading and liquidity management portfolios with a total balance sheet size of US$15 billion; led key initiatives for the bank including establishing the Equity Capital Markets and Fund Transfer Pricing units; and successfully closed landmark agreements in the Islamic banking space. Munaf holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and a Master’s degree in Management from the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi.

Tahir joined the Group in December 2021 as part of the merger with Al Khalij Commercial Bank (al khaliji) where he held a similar position since 2015. He started working with the Bank in 2007.

He has over 30 years of banking experience in leading regional and international banks, having previously worked in Dubai Bank PJSC, ABN AMRO Bank N.V., Prime Bank and First International Investment Bank in variety of roles in Treasury, Investments, DCM and Corporate/Institutional Banking

Tahir holds an MBA (Finance) from Imperial College of Business Studies, Pakistan.

Dr Ahmet Aysan is a full professor, associate dean for research and the program coordinator of the PhD and Master of Science programs at Hamad Bin Khalifa University. He has been a board member and Monetary Policy Committee member of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkiye and served as a consultant at various institutions such as the World Bank, the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkiye and Oxford Analytica. Dr Ahmet, who has many articles published in academic journals, is a recipient of the Bogaziçi University Award and the MEEA Ibn Khaldun Prize. Dr Ahmet is also a research associate at the University College London Centre for Blockchain Technologies and a non-resident fellow at the ME Council.

Akber has more than 25 years of experience in the investment industry and is Acting Chief Executive Officer of Al Rayan Investment (ARI). ARI is a leading firm for corporate financial advisory and asset management. Akber joined ARI in 2009, to set up and lead asset management, which included overall responsibility for managing GCC public equity and global sukuk portfolios of $1.5bn. ARI manages the award winning Al Rayan GCC Fund and Al Rayan Qatar ETF.

Prior to ARI, Akber was a Director at Deutsche Bank in London, where he spent more than 11 years in European and emerging markets equities. Akber is a graduate of University College London. Akber has lived in Doha, Dubai, Frankfurt, Karachi and London.

Dr Andrew Dahdal is an associate professor at the College of Law, Qatar University and the chair of commercial law at the International Association of Law Schools. Dr Andrew researches and publishes on a range of financial services topics focused on the Middle East and beyond, particularly relating to technological innovations. His most recent book is ‘Qatari Business Law’ (2003, published by Qatar University Press). He has taught law in Australia, Europe and the Middle East and is currently part of an international project exploring financial inclusion and technology in Qatar. Dr Andrew holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) degree from Macquarie University, and a Bachelor of Commerce degree and PhD from the University of New South Wales.

George M. Barakat is an accomplished banking and finance professional with 18 years of expertise in Banking, Treasury and Finance. He has a strong background in Corporate Treasury and Finance, with extensive experience in capital-related financing and restructuring transactions. His expertise includes sukuk issuance, syndicated loans, Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and investment management.

Currently, George serves as the Group Treasury Director at Power International Holding (PIH), where he is responsible for strategically overseeing the Group Treasury. Prior to joining PIH, George headed the Group Treasury and Investments at Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana & Group of Companies where he also served as a board advisor for one of the group’s major companies. George also headed the Group Treasury at Ezdan Holding Group Q.P.S.C where he played a key role in structuring and negotiating syndicated loan facilities, sukuk issuances and managing investor relations. Before Ezdan, George spent over nine years at Mashreq Bank, where he held key positions across Business, Treasury and Finance, gaining comprehensive experience in each area.

George holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) issued by the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), USA as well as a Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) issued by the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP), USA.

Ibrahim Mohammed Hassan holds the position of the Executive Director of Finance at QDB overseeing financial planning and participating in taking significant strategic and investment related decisions to ensure the sustainable growth of the bank’s operations.

Ibrahim sits on various boards of directors and executive committees being in charge of the strategic and operational overseeing of QDB’s portfolio of investment in subsidiaries and associates.

In addition to his role as the CFO of QDB, Ibrahim is also Executive Director of Investment; a role that he has held since March 2017. The investment team is managing a QAR 365 million venture capital fund with a mandate to support Qatari and local entrepreneurship aiming to build the required capacities to achieve scalability.

Ibrahim Hassan holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar and is a Member of CFA Institute.

Mohsin Mujtaba is the director of products and market development at the Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) where he is leading new initiatives to position the QSE as a multi-asset platform of global significance. He has been responsible for launching the largest exchange-traded fund platform in the MENA region at the QSE. He is currently focused on developing new products such as derivatives, REITs and ESG investment solutions for QSE customers. He also works closely with market participants and regulators to further improve the Qatari market structure.

Mohsin played an instrumental role in achieving Emerging Markets status for Qatar by MSCI and FTSE. Prior to that, he spearheaded the launch of the secondary market for treasury bills and government bonds at the QSE. He also served as the executive advisor to the CEO and helped in charting the exchange strategy that led to a strategic partnership between the State of Qatar and NYSE Euronext in 2009. Before joining the QSE, Mohsin was the chief systems architect at Wavetech where he was responsible for delivering customer-centric solutions and advising the capital market industry in Pakistan and the GCC region. He works closely with asset owners, investment managers and brokers to develop ideas and exchange traded products for the Qatari market.

Tahir joined the Group in December 2021 as part of the merger with Al Khalij Commercial Bank (al khaliji) where he held a similar position since 2015. He started working with the Bank in 2007.

He has over 30 years of banking experience in leading regional and international banks, having previously worked in Dubai Bank PJSC, ABN AMRO Bank N.V., Prime Bank and First International Investment Bank in variety of roles in Treasury, Investments, DCM and Corporate/Institutional Banking

Tahir holds an MBA (Finance) from Imperial College of Business Studies, Pakistan.