Charles is a senior professional in the F&PS sector. He retired as a Senior Partner of PwC in September 2020 after a 37-year career with the firm. Charles continues working with PwC, in an advisory capacity, on a part-time basis. Alongside this, Charles holds a number of roles including as director and trustee.

Charles joined PwC in 1983 and throughout his career with the firm specialized in delivering audit, assurance and capital market transactions services to listed companies. He led the PwC business responsible for serving the firm’s larger listed audit clients. Other roles included Sponsor Partner for the firm’s Building Public Trust program, Non-Executive representative for the UK’s Tax practice and Lead Partner of the UK firm’s Senior Networking Programme. Outside of PwC, he has served as the Chairman of the Audit and Assurance Faculty of the ICAEW, a Member of its governing body and Chairman of the Audit Quality Forum. Charles has also served as a Magistrate, a Member of the Advisory Counsel for the Prince of Wales’ Accounting for Sustainability project, Adviser to the Mansion House Scholarship Scheme and a Governor of an academy primary school in Hackney.

Charles is a Liveryman and Court Member of the Worshipful Company of Grocers and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales.

Elected as an Alderman in May 2013, he served as Sheriff of the City of London in 2015/16 and as the 690th Lord Mayor of London in 2017/18. His mayoral theme was ‘The Business of Trust’.

Stella Cox CBE, FCSI (Hon) has worked within the Islamic financial marketplace for more than thirty years.‎ Since 1998, she has been the Managing Director of DDCAP Group, which is a leading provider of capital market intermediary services and related technology solutions to Islamic financial market institutions. Stella has, since 2015, been a member of the Board of Trustees of the RFI Foundation, which acts as a catalyst to link together responsible & Islamic finance, and she represents DDCAP within the Islamic Finance and the UN SDGs taskforce, the inaugural meeting of which took place in July 2020, convened by the Islamic Finance Council UK in partnership with the UK government. Since 2014, Stella has been Chair of the Islamic Finance Market Advisory Group formed by TheCityUK. In June 2016, Stella was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), and was honored for her services to the economy and, specifically, as a champion for the development of Islamic Finance in the UK. ‎In July 2019, Stella became a Freeman of the City of London and, in 2024, she was awarded the Honorary Fellowship of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment by its Board of Trustees.

Adeel Khan is Managing Partner of Potentia and has over 27 years of experience spanning private equity, corporate management, debt advisory, M&A and fund management. Adeel has held senior roles at Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, J.P. Morgan and Integral Capital. His deal expertise covers sectors including food, financial services and technology across global markets. Adeel has executed investments, buyouts and exit transactions across the capital structure. He holds a BEng from Imperial College, an MSc from Oxford and an MBA from Imperial.

Ahsan is responsible for Islamic Corporate & Investment Banking globally at Standard Chartered Saadiq, the Bank’s Islamic banking arm. In this role, he oversees the delivery of Islamic banking services to the bank’s clients across multiple geographies and products including financial markets, global credit markets and transaction banking.

Since joining Standard Chartered Bank in March 2004, Ahsan has played a key role in building the bank’s Islamic business from inception and has led several award-winning and industry-defining deals.

Ahsan has 31 years of experience in the financial services industry of which the last 20 years have been in Islamic banking. Prior to joining Standard Chartered, he worked at Citi.

Ahsan holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta and a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

Arshadur Rahman is a Senior Manager in the Bank of England’s Data and Statistics Division and is the bank’s specialist in Islamic finance. He was a Co-Author of the Financial Services Authority of the UK’s 2007 regulatory paper on Islamic finance and has previously supervised Islamic banks in the UK.

Arshadur also led the design and implementation of the Bank of England’s Alternative Liquidity Facility, the first non-interest-based central bank deposit facility established by a Western central bank which launched in 2021. He is a visiting Research Fellow in Islamic Finance at King’s Business School in London.

Bashar Al-Natoor, as the Global Head of Fitch Ratings’s Islamic Finance, is responsible for coordinating all Islamic finance activities across the agency’s sovereign, financial institutions, corporate, structured finance, infrastructure and insurance teams, bringing together dedicated analytical and industry expertise into a centralized and focused Islamic finance group.

Bashar has more than 19 years of experience in the Islamic finance market. Since joining Fitch in 2007, he has overseen Fitch’s Sukuk criteria and Islamic finance practices, undertaken research and written numerous published articles on Islamic finance. He joined Fitch as a Director in the EMEA Corporates Group based in Dubai and was responsible for analyzing EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) issuers, with a focus on Middle Eastern and Turkish issuers in the construction, property and telecommunication sectors.

Prior to joining Fitch, Bashar spent seven years at the IsDB in key roles including Investment Officer in the Treasury Department; Senior Credit Analyst in Risk Management; and Senior Technical Assistant to the Vice-President of Finance and Administration. Before working with the IsDB, he was a Senior Auditor for four years in Arthur Andersen.

Bashar graduated with a Master of Science in Banking and Financial Studies from the Arab Academy for Banking and Financial Sciences and a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Banking from Al-Ahliyya Amman University. He is a Certified Bank Auditor, Certified Risk Professional, Chartered Market Analyst and Certified Risk Analyst.

Bilal Mahmood is the first Convenor of the City Muslim Network. He is a senior banking and finance solicitor who has worked in and around the Square Mile at law firms and banks for 18 years. Committed to narrowing inequality, he’s previously set up social mobility mentoring programmes throughout London to empower young aspiring solicitors from disadvantaged backgrounds. Bilal is also a policy board advisor at the new think tank, the Future Governance Forum.

Danesh Mahadeva was appointed Chief Financial Officer of Gatehouse Bank in July 2017. He began his career at the bank as Vice-President, Head of Finance in September 2013 and was responsible for managing the finance function. He has been an active member of key governing committees of the Bank and has worked closely with the board in developing the bank’s strategy and financial planning. Prior to joining the Bank, Danesh’s previous roles have included working for Barclays Bank across financial and product control and Ernst & Young specializing in audit in the banking and capital markets division. Danesh graduated with a BSc in Management Sciences from the London School of Economics and Political Science and is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants for England & Wales.

A seasoned financial services professional with extensive experience across MENA and the UK, Fazeel Siddiqui is passionate about helping individuals grow and protect their wealth, and specializes in investment strategies through managed portfolio services, using individual savings accounts, self-invested personal pensions and other tax-efficient solutions. Fazeel draws on a career built on trust, insight and results, and thrives on turning complex financial decisions into clear, actionable plans that empower clients to achieve their long-term goals.

Furqan Sheikh is a Wealth Director based in London. He helps ultra-high-net-worth individuals and their families with strategic financial planning, business coaching and corporate exits. Furqan specializes in entrepreneurs and clients who have public lifestyles, short career spans and more sporadic earnings, often from several sources. Having started his career in 2002, Furqan has gained experience helping clients from a range of backgrounds and industries to reach financial independence, resulting in him having a deep understanding of a variety of needs and excellent listening skills. Prior to joining RBC Brewin Dolphin in 2018, Furqan worked at Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management, holding roles such as Wealth Planning Director and Senior Wealth Adviser. He is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment and a Member of the Personal Finance Society, having gained his Financial Planning Diploma through them.

Lawrence Oliver is a Director and Deputy CEO of DDCAP and its subsidiaries, DD&Co Limited and DDGI Limited. Lawrence has worked in the Islamic finance market for more than twenty-five years. He joined DDCAP in April 1998. Previously, he was a member of the team responsible for the Islamic Finance and Investment activity at Kleinwort Benson Limited. Lawrence is responsible for the company’s Business Development and Trading Desk including the evolvement and placement of its fintech solutions and has extensive experience of arranging asset-based transactions, which conform to Sharia stipulation. He specialises in Sharia 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 Limited for the benefit of institutional clients operating within the Islamic financial sector.

Lawrence is a member of the advisory board of CDIT, an initiative launched in September 2018 by the Responsible Finance & Investment Foundation (RFI) with the aim of improving transparency and accountability in the responsible finance industry. In 2021, Lawrence was invited by AAOIFI to join the AAOIFI Governance and Ethics committee’s Commodity Murabaha working group.  Lawrence is a regular speaker at many annual Islamic conferences held in the GCC, Southeast Asia and Europe.

Mahdi Yazdizadeh is CEO of Ereele Capital, a Dubai-based Islamic alternative investment platform. With a background in senior roles at Credit Suisse, Barclays and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Mahdi has focused on structured finance across the MENA region. He is also Founder of Berkeley Trading, which has generated over USD120 million in Islamic trade finance revenue annually and Co-Founder of RibhAI, the first global fine-tuned LLM trained purely on Islamic principles. Mahdi holds a degree in Financial Economics from Oxford University. He is also a Member of the Forbes Finance Council.

Mike Rainey is an English qualified Banking and Investment Finance Partner based in our Dubai office. With over 20 years of on-the-ground experience in the Middle East, Mike has represented clients on a host of cutting-edge, award-winning transactions, covering both conventional and Shariah compliant financings. Mike acts for borrowers and lenders on an array of sophisticated equity, loan and bond financings across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, GCC and EMEA markets. He regularly creates structures to successfully fund the acquisition and delivery of critical assets – such as real estate and infrastructure projects – as well as guide cross-border inbound and outbound corporate and trade investments. Mike is also active in advising on advanced financial restructurings, including many ‘first-of-a-kind’ insolvency restructurings, such as the first perpetual Sukuk used in connection with a restructuring under the 2018 Saudi Arabian bankruptcy law. Mike is ranked by The Legal 500 EMEA and IFLR1000 as a ‘notable practitioner’. He is part of the King & Spalding team that repeatedly receives prominent market accolades, with recent examples including the Saudi Arabia Awards 2025 Restructuring Deal of the Year (Arkad Engineering & Construction Company SAR2.86 billion [US$762.67 million] perpetual Sukuk), the IFLR Middle East Awards 2023 Restructuring Team of the Year, IFN Awards Insolvency and Restructuring Firm of the Year 2022, the Real Estate Team of the Year Award at the Middle East Legal Awards 2022, Project Finance International’s 2020 Middle East & Africa Solar Deal of the Year and the IFN Commodity Deal of the Year 2022. Mike remains active as a market thought leader in topics such as Islamic finance and insolvency. He regularly writes articles and speaks at industry events on contemporary and emerging legal and commercial issues related to finance and restructurings.

Moad Giebaly has experience of advising on a range of corporate work including domestic and international mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, commercial contracts and general corporate advice. Moad has a particular focus on the real estate sector which ranges from advising developers and local authorities to advising on inward investment (from the MENA and ASEAN regions) in the real estate and hotels and leisure sectors. These include those involving the corporate structuring of Shariah compliant acquisitions of shares and assets and establishing Shariah compliant offshore funds.

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 has 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.

Mohammed Paracha is a banking and finance lawyer based in Dubai where he is Head of Middle East, as well as Head of the Islamic Finance practice for the Middle East and Africa. Mohammed has been active in the Middle East for over 20 years, having worked in the London and Bahrain offices before moving to Dubai in 2011. He became Head of Middle East practice in January 2021. In 2025, Mohammed graduated as a Shariah scholar, reflecting his deep knowledge of Islamic financial products and law and an ability to connect modern finance with Islamic legal principles. His 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’s clients include multi-lateral development banks (IsDB, International Finance Corporation, Asian Development Bank, Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector and the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit) commercial banks (BNP Paribas, HSBC, SCB, Bank ABC and SMBC) and regional banks (Dubai Islamic Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD and Mashreqbank). Mohammed was the Project Lead on the Islamic Codification Project for Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre. A further highlight of Mohammed’s career includes being appointed to the Bank of England’s Committee on Islamic Finance which then paved the way for London to become a key global hub in the industry. Mohammed is recommended as a leader in his field by Chambers and Partners, The Legal 500, Acritas and IFLR.

Mohammad Parekh is the Founder and Managing Director of MRP Premier Group, a leading real estate advisory firm based in London. He also serves as the CEO and Founder of Akhlaq Capital, a Shariah compliant real estate fund. Mohammed has over 17 years of experience in the real estate industry, specializing in investment and development acquisition, project management and affordable housing. He holds a BSc in Geography with Business and an MSc in International Real Estate and Planning from University College London. Under Mohammed’s leadership, MRP Premier Group advises a diverse clientele, including private and public sector organizations, on a wide range of real estate projects. The firm has a strong focus on inward investment into the UK and outbound investment for its global network of high-net-worth individuals, primarily from the Middle East and Far East. Mohammed founded Akhlaq Capital to provide ethical and Shariah compliant investment opportunities in the real estate market. Akhlaq Capital focuses on generating income and capital growth through strategic investment in real estate assets and select development opportunities in key markets such as London, Jakarta, Abu Dhabi and Kuala Lumpur.

Mohammed Saifullah has over two decades of multidisciplinary experience in Islamic banking and the legal industry. As the founding CEO of Ebdaa Islamic Finance Consultancy, he continues to drive innovation and excellence in Shariah compliant financial services.

He has served as the CEO of Dar Al Sharia, a subsidiary of Dubai Islamic Bank. His expertise encompasses structuring and documenting landmark Islamic finance products including Sukuk, Islamic funds, Islamic syndications (project finance), Islamic swaps, Islamic trusts, corporate and retail Islamic products as well in Shariah compliance and governance.

He holds a Master’s in Law and is a Certified Shariah Adviser and Auditor (AAOIFI). He has an advanced certification in digital transformation from MIT, a Diploma in IT Law and Islamic Finance. He is also an arbitrator at the International Islamic Centre for Reconciliation and Arbitration.

Nadim Zaman is the Managing Director of Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg where he is responsible for the growth markets of businesses. Previously he has held leadership roles at Natixis, HSBC, Central Bank of Bahrain, Deutsche Bank and Bankers Trust Company. He is a graduate of Harvard Business School, Cass Business School and the University of Bahrain.

Dr Natalie Schoon is a results-driven professional with a varied background across the financial industry, including in investment banking, treasury change management, capital adequacy, wholesale banknote operations, regulatory change (Basel Accords), risk management, compliance and Islamic finance. She has lived and worked in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Eastern Africa and works for both small and large international organizations globally.

Natalie was responsible for, among others, the design, implementation, management and succession planning for the Islamic financial infrastructure for the Agricultural Development Fund (a USAID-funded program in Afghanistan), and has been instrumental in the design of a stand-alone solution for access to finance for women (Zahra).

Natalie has managed training in credit risk, capital structure, statistics, economics and financial markets for a wide range of organizations globally. She works closely with the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment in the UK on regulatory workbooks for Cyprus, Dubai, Qatar, Palestine, Kuwait and more. Natalie has worked on the minimum capital standards for mortgage lending in Pakistan to promote the primary and secondary mortgage market (The World Bank), and successfully designed the new rules and regulations for trading in Sukuk and derivatives as well as short-selling for the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission.

Nitish Bhojnagarwala is an Associate Managing Director with Moody’s Financial Institutions Group. Based in Dubai, Nitish covers a portfolio of large conventional as well as Islamic financial institutions in the Middle East, Africa and Turkiye. Nitish joined Moody’s in 2011, and has led Sukuk roundtables and conducted workshops on Banking and Islamic Finance at various conferences in the Middle East, Europe and Asia. Nitish has also authored several research pieces, with a focus on regional banking, credit issues and issuer-in-depths for conventional as well as Islamic banks. Prior to joining Moody’s, Nitish spent five years at Tamweel in the Treasury function. He has also worked for KPMG in the UAE, where he covered financial institutions. Nitish holds an MBA from S P Jain Institute of Management & Research, with a major in Finance (Investment Banking).

Nuno Soares is Chairman of Atlantic Premium Capital Partners and Senior Managing Partner at Excellium Capital Partners, a UK-based corporate finance firm. An economics graduate from the University of London, Nuno brings extensive expertise across forex and equity trading, global manufacturing, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, real estate investment, property development and family office/wealth management. He has held senior positions with leading S&P 500 corporations including Citibank, Gulf and Diageo, and previously served as Managing Director of Amorim Group in the UK, Portugal’s largest industrial conglomerate. Nuno is registered with the UK Financial Conduct Authority and is fluent in English, Portuguese, Spanish, French and Italian.

Olga has worked in the asset management industry since 2001. She is based in London and joined HSBC in November 2018 as Head of EMEA ETFs Sales, expanding her role to global coverage at the end of 2019 and further to index investment in 2020.

Prior to joining HSBC, Olga worked for BlackRock for 12 years – nine years in Passive Sales where she held responsibility for client coverage across Southern Europe and three years as an EMD Senior Product Strategist. Before this, Olga worked as a Sales and Product Manager for BNP Paribas Asset Management in Paris for six years. She has also worked as Financial Controller in Spain outside the asset management industry.

Olga received an MBA from the IE Business School in Madrid and holds a degree in business administration from the University Complutense in Madrid and Montpellier. She holds the Imperial Sustainability Leadership Certificate from the Imperial College Business school.

Rafiza Ghazali is the CEO of KAF Digital Bank, the Islamic digital banking entity of the consortium led by KAF Investment Bank. Prior to joining KAF Investment Bank, Rafiza was group CEO of Cradle Fund, where she collaborated closely with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation and the Ministry of Finance, tasked with supporting and developing Malaysian start-ups and tech entrepreneurs. Rafiza’s wealth of experience in innovation and the digital economy makes her uniquely positioned to drive the digital bank’s value proposition of providing a conducive open-banking platform-based ecosystem to customers and partners. Rafiza’s academic career includes a Bachelor of Science Economics in Accounting and Finance degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment, majoring in Corporate Finance, from the Securities Institute of Australia. She is a fellow member of the Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand, and holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Strategy and Innovation from the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford.

Richard Thomas (OBE, FCSI) is the managing director of Sustainable Economy Limited (SEL), his own think tank and consultancy based on his experiences in Islamic finance and economics. His most recent research was on the impact Gharar and Jehala on sustainable business planning, risk management and the role of artificial intelligence and big data. Richard has over 40 years of experience working in direct Shariah compliant banking and investment management and his current work is related to Shariah compliant infrastructure investment.

Prior to SEL, Richard was the chairman and CEO of Gatehouse Bank. In 2010, Richard received his Order of the British Empire (OBE) in recognition of his contributions to the UK Islamic financial services industry. Richard’s principal employers prior to Gatehouse Bank were Saudi International Bank, United Bank of Kuwait, Arab Banking Corporation and Brown Shipley Merchant Bank.

Richard is a fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) and he has been an INCIEF governing council member and a board member of the Financial Services Professional Board (Malaysia).

Dr Samir Alamad is a practitioner and expert in the Islamic banking and finance industry and a well-established published author. He works in both industry and academia, as the Chief Adviser of Islamic Finance and Banking at Ihsan Islamic Finance Solutions and a Senior Lecturer and Director of International Finance and Banking at the School of Economics, Finance and Accounting at Coventry University in the UK.

Throughout his professional career spanning over 20 years, Dr Samir has held senior positions and been recognized as an adviser to various government departments, both in the UK and internationally, on matters related to Islamic finance, social and financial inclusion. He holds a PhD from Aston Business School in Financial Innovation and Engineering.

Since 2012, Dr Samir has been a trusted adviser to various UK government departments, including HM Treasury, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Department for Education, the Foreign Office and the Bank of England. He has played an instrumental role in structuring alternative finance schemes aimed at enhancing financial inclusion and advancing the infrastructure of alternative and Islamic finance within the UK.

Dr Samir is an AAOIFI Certified Shariah Adviser and Auditor and serves as a board member on the AAOIFI curriculum review committee. He has a significant publication portfolio, including papers in three-star academic journals and is a regular speaker at national and international conferences. He has delivered numerous lectures, and been featured in many TV and radio shows.

Sefian Kasem is the Global Head of ETF and Indexing Investment Specialist at HSBC Asset Management. He is based in London and has been in the industry since 2006. Prior to joining HSBC Asset Management, Sefian worked for HSBC Global Banking and Markets for over 13 years, where he held positions within Cross-Asset Trading and Global Credit Trading divisions. He holds a degree in economics and finance from the London School of Economics and a PhD in Mathematical Finance from Imperial College in London.

Simone Utermarck is a Senior Director, Sustainable Finance at the International Capital Market Association based in London. She is part of the secretariat that supports the Principles, Secretary to the Advisory Council and the Global Sustainable Finance Council, as well as the voluntary Code of Conduct for ESG Ratings and Data Products Providers. She is a member of the ASEAN Joint Sustainable Finance Working Group Industry Advisory Panel and the UK Transition Finance Council WG on Credibility & Integrity, and an observer to the Singapore Sustainable Finance Association’s working groups on transition finance and taxonomies. In the past, she was a member of the EU Platform on Sustainable Finance and the UK Stakeholder Discussion Forum on the Green Gilt. Simone was the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) lead on the Guidance developed for ‘Bonds to finance the Sustainable Blue Economy’ (2023), the ‘Green, Social and Sustainability Sukuk’ (2024), and ‘Sustainable Bonds for Nature’ (2025). She is also co-coordinating a taskforce on Sustainable Finance and FinTech & Digitalisation. She frequently represents ICMA at public events and is actively involved in the organization’s education offering.

Stella Cox CBE, FCSI (Hon) has worked within the Islamic financial marketplace for more than thirty years.‎ Since 1998, she has been the Managing Director of DDCAP Group, which is a leading provider of capital market intermediary services and related technology solutions to Islamic financial market institutions. Stella has, since 2015, been a member of the Board of Trustees of the RFI Foundation, which acts as a catalyst to link together responsible & Islamic finance, and she represents DDCAP within the Islamic Finance and the UN SDGs taskforce, the inaugural meeting of which took place in July 2020, convened by the Islamic Finance Council UK in partnership with the UK government. Since 2014, Stella has been Chair of the Islamic Finance Market Advisory Group formed by TheCityUK. In June 2016, Stella was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), and was honored for her services to the economy and, specifically, as a champion for the development of Islamic Finance in the UK. ‎In July 2019, Stella became a Freeman of the City of London and, in 2024, she was awarded the Honorary Fellowship of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment by its Board of Trustees.

Sulaiman is an investment banker with over twenty years of experience in Financial & Capital Markets, and Asset Management. Before joining Cur8, he headed Dukhan Bank’s Capital Markets, Sales & Structuring businesses. Sulaiman started his career working for HSBC’s Islamic Finance team and where he structured several first to market transactions. He has a bachelor’s degree in physics and an MA in Islamic Finance.

Thominah Talukdar has over 15 years of regulatory compliance experience within the financial services market. During her career, she has supported several UK and global firms across the insurance, banking and consumer credit sectors with regulatory change and other strategic transformation projects. More recently she has supported a Shariah compliant product provider with its recent implementation of the Consumer Duty in the UK. Thominah’s journey into Islamic and ethical financial alternatives began at Al Rayan Bank (formerly the Islamic Bank of Britain), where she was inspired by the vision of making ethical financial solutions more accessible and mainstream within the UK. In 2011, she transitioned into consumer protection and financial regulation roles, starting at the Financial Ombudsman Service, then moving to EY, and eventually joining Avyse Partners. Throughout her consulting career, Thominah has supported firms in relation to regulatory change initiatives, from Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) compliance to the recent Consumer Duty. Her deep understanding of the UK regulator’s direction has enabled her to assist numerous firms with authorization applications, applications for regulatory approval and navigating direct regulatory scrutiny. Passionate about social and financial inclusion, Thominah has consistently advocated for a more transparent and equitable financial services system. She holds a BA Hons in International Politics from the School of Oriental and African Studies and is an active volunteer within her local community.

Umer Suleman studied Economics at the Royal Holloway University of London, and is further qualified from Manchester Business School as well as Harvard University. Umer is a regular Khateeb in the city and his locality and also delivers lectures across different platforms. Umer started his career as an auditor within the Big 4 then moving to a major global finance firm in the city. At both organizations, Umer led the Muslim Networks. Additionally, Umer has been actively involved in Islamic finance for the last decade, working with some of the most notable UK scholars on Shariah structuring and process reviews. Umer currently is the Global Head of Risk, Compliance & Shariah for Wahed. He sits on the board of the UKIFC, is an adviser for the finance arm of the Islamic Council of Europe and is Co-Founder of the National Waqf Fund. Umer has also been an adviser for a number of other Islamic fintechs. Umer was recognized for his work in 2016 as ‘one to watch’ in the city of London by Brummel magazine for not only his work in Islamic finance but also his role as a member of the board for the Cube Network, an umbrella organization for professional corporate Muslim Networks.

Dr Usman Chaudry joined Gatehouse Bank as the chief risk officer in January 2018. Prior to this, he was the risk director at Tandem, a fintech bank, responsible for risk management and compliance; and part of the management team that completed the acquisition of Harrods Bank. Prior to Tandem, Dr Usman held the role of global head of risk governance and policy at Standard Chartered, responsible for risk oversight across some 80 countries. Prior to this, he was at KPMG advising UK banks on financial services risk and regulatory matters, including financial services corporate transactions; and at Barclays and GE Capital helping to set up greenfield operations and risk management in retail and commercial businesses across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He started his career at FICO, where he used advanced analytics and artificial intelligence to help banks drive better decisions. Usman holds a PhD in computational chemistry from the University of Manchester.

Valerie O’Flaherty is Head of Irish and UK Debt Listing in Euronext Dublin, one of the world’s leading debt listing venues with over 44,000 bonds. With more than 15 years of experience in debt capital markets, Valerie worked in the primary markets team at the Central Bank of Ireland before joining Euronext in 2021. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Studies and German from Trinity College Dublin.

Bhavick Patel is UK Head of ETF and Indexing Business Development for HSBC and has extensive ETF and investment product experience.

Prior to HSBC Bhavick spent 4 years at Source/Invesco and was at Blackrock for five years with the iShares sales team covering asset managers and private banks. Bhavick began his career at Morgan Stanley where he spent two years managing collateral on equity and fixed income derivative portfolios. Bhavick holds a B.Sc in Economics from Royal Holloway, University of London and has completed the IMC.

With over 23 years of professional experience, Faisal Islam is a recognized leader in digital finance, product innovation, and financial inclusion. He currently serves as the CEO – ZOOD Pakistan & TEZ Financial Services.

Faisal’s work focuses on closing the financing gap for MSMEs through a range of Shariah-compliant digital products, including Islamic consumer financing, Islamic BNPL, invoice financing, agricultural finance, and Islamic card solutions. He has also pioneered the design of AI-driven, Shariah-compliant alternative credit scoring models, aimed at expanding financial access to underserved segments. In addition, he has successfully established regulatory-aligned Islamic financing operations in emerging markets. His expertise spans the full spectrum of product development from Shariah structuring and partner bank enablement to building embedded finance ecosystems, always ensuring alignment with Islamic ethical standards. His initiatives have been instrumental in advancing cashless economies and promoting financial inclusion through innovative loyalty programs, digital onboarding solutions, and incentive-based payment ecosystems. Beyond Islamic finance, Faisal brings a strong background in technology leadership, with extensive experience across banking, fintech, retail, and asset management sectors.

Lawrence Oliver is a Director and Deputy CEO of DDCAP and its subsidiaries, DD&Co Limited and DDGI Limited. Lawrence has worked in the Islamic finance market for more than twenty-five years. He joined DDCAP in April 1998. Previously, he was a member of the team responsible for the Islamic Finance and Investment activity at Kleinwort Benson Limited. Lawrence is responsible for the company’s Business Development and Trading Desk including the evolvement and placement of its fintech solutions and has extensive experience of arranging asset-based transactions, which conform to Sharia stipulation. He specialises in Sharia 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 Limited for the benefit of institutional clients operating within the Islamic financial sector.

Lawrence is a member of the advisory board of CDIT, an initiative launched in September 2018 by the Responsible Finance & Investment Foundation (RFI) with the aim of improving transparency and accountability in the responsible finance industry. In 2021, Lawrence was invited by AAOIFI to join the AAOIFI Governance and Ethics committee’s Commodity Murabaha working group.  Lawrence is a regular speaker at many annual Islamic conferences held in the GCC, Southeast Asia and Europe.

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.

Moad Giebaly has experience of advising on a range of corporate work including domestic and international mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, commercial contracts and general corporate advice. Moad has a particular focus on the real estate sector which ranges from advising developers and local authorities to advising on inward investment (from the MENA and ASEAN regions) in the real estate and hotels and leisure sectors. These include those involving the corporate structuring of Shariah compliant acquisitions of shares and assets and establishing Shariah compliant offshore funds.

Dr Mohammed R Kroessin is a development economist with 20 years of experience of working with Islamic development and financial institutions on strategies for sustainable development and social impact. He has worked for the Chamber of Commerce and the Centre for Enterprise in the UK, was assistant CEO of Muslim Aid and is now the founder of GEMicro, an Islamic social finance advisory firm. He also heads the Islamic Relief Worldwide Global Islamic Microfinance Unit where he leads a portfolio of 10 country financial inclusion programs.

Dr Mohammed holds a Master’s degree in international political economy from the University of Kent, UK and a Master’s degree in development management from Westminster Business School, UK. He completed his PhD at the University of Birmingham, UK in Islamic development finance. He is currently a lecturer in Islamic microfinance at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, Germany. Dr Mohammed has worked with Islamic development finance institutions in Africa, Asia and the Middle East and sits on the board of two microfinance institutions in the Balkans. His is also presently director of the UK Financial Inclusion Forum.

Saad is the founder and managing director of Mnaara Limited, a UK-based investment platform providing Shariah-compliant investors and financial institutions access to top-tier global private market funds.

He has over two decades of experience in investment management and financial advisory. Previously, Saad co-founded Nitaq Capital, a family office advisory firm based in Saudi Arabia. He also served as Chief Investment Officer at MASIC Investment Company, a multi-billion-dollar Shariah-compliant family office and as head of Investment Banking at Alinma Bank in Saudi Arabia. Saad holds an MBA from INSEAD and is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

Dr Samir Alamad is a practitioner and expert in the Islamic banking and finance industry and a well-established published author. He works in both industry and academia, as the Chief Adviser of Islamic Finance and Banking at Ihsan Islamic Finance Solutions and a Senior Lecturer and Director of International Finance and Banking at the School of Economics, Finance and Accounting at Coventry University in the UK.

Throughout his professional career spanning over 20 years, Dr Samir has held senior positions and been recognized as an adviser to various government departments, both in the UK and internationally, on matters related to Islamic finance, social and financial inclusion. He holds a PhD from Aston Business School in Financial Innovation and Engineering.

Since 2012, Dr Samir has been a trusted adviser to various UK government departments, including HM Treasury, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Department for Education, the Foreign Office and the Bank of England. He has played an instrumental role in structuring alternative finance schemes aimed at enhancing financial inclusion and advancing the infrastructure of alternative and Islamic finance within the UK.

Dr Samir is an AAOIFI Certified Shariah Adviser and Auditor and serves as a board member on the AAOIFI curriculum review committee. He has a significant publication portfolio, including papers in three-star academic journals and is a regular speaker at national and international conferences. He has delivered numerous lectures, and been featured in many TV and radio shows.

Sefian Kasem is the Global Head of ETF and Indexing Investment Specialist at HSBC Asset Management. He is based in London and has been in the industry since 2006. Prior to joining HSBC Asset Management, Sefian worked for HSBC Global Banking and Markets for over 13 years, where he held positions within Cross-Asset Trading and Global Credit Trading divisions. He holds a degree in economics and finance from the London School of Economics and a PhD in Mathematical Finance from Imperial College in London.

Dr Shaher Abbas is the founder and CEO of IFIN, the first-of-its-kind Islamic fintech that is geared to redefine the Islamic finance industry. He is also the co-founder of IFAAS, the leading international consultancy specializing in Islamic finance.

Dr Shaher has over 20 years of experience across the Islamic finance landscape, including banking, Shariah governance, product development, auditing and training with extensive knowledge in the fintech sphere.

Dr Shaher’s technical expertise and ability to innovate have been internationally acclaimed and endorsed as he received the ‘Ethical Finance Innovation Challenge Award’ twice — in 2013 for IFAAS and in 2021 for IFIN — the IsDB Private Sector Forum Competition 2023 award, the MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Startup Competition 2022 award and the Arab Financial Inclusion Innovation Prize 2018.

Dr Shaher holds a PhD in Islamic financial engineering from Durham University, UK and a Master’s degree in Islamic economics, banking and finance from Loughborough University, UK. He is also an AAOIFI-certified Shariah advisor and auditor.

Sulaiman is an investment banker with over twenty years of experience in Financial & Capital Markets, and Asset Management. Before joining Cur8, he headed Dukhan Bank’s Capital Markets, Sales & Structuring businesses. Sulaiman started his career working for HSBC’s Islamic Finance team and where he structured several first to market transactions. He has a bachelor’s degree in physics and an MA in Islamic Finance.

Thominah Talukdar has over 15 years of regulatory compliance experience within the financial services market. During her career, she has supported several UK and global firms across the insurance, banking and consumer credit sectors with regulatory change and other strategic transformation projects. More recently she has supported a Shariah compliant product provider with its recent implementation of the Consumer Duty in the UK. Thominah’s journey into Islamic and ethical financial alternatives began at Al Rayan Bank (formerly the Islamic Bank of Britain), where she was inspired by the vision of making ethical financial solutions more accessible and mainstream within the UK. In 2011, she transitioned into consumer protection and financial regulation roles, starting at the Financial Ombudsman Service, then moving to EY, and eventually joining Avyse Partners. Throughout her consulting career, Thominah has supported firms in relation to regulatory change initiatives, from Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) compliance to the recent Consumer Duty. Her deep understanding of the UK regulator’s direction has enabled her to assist numerous firms with authorization applications, applications for regulatory approval and navigating direct regulatory scrutiny. Passionate about social and financial inclusion, Thominah has consistently advocated for a more transparent and equitable financial services system. She holds a BA Hons in International Politics from the School of Oriental and African Studies and is an active volunteer within her local community.

Wasim is the co-founder and CEO of Spark, a fintech startup platform exclusively for Shariah compliant products and services. With over eight years of experience in consulting projects at Big 4 organizations, Wasim specialises in transformative strategies, converging data insights to drive organisational growth and operational excellence for public and private sector organisations. Some of Wasim’s recognitions include being former UK Young Engineer of the Year, Welsh Young Engineer of the Year and recipient of the Young Engineer for Britain Duke of York’s Award for Most Creative Use of Technology.