Under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of the UAE
SPEAKERS
Next to – King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz AL Saud St- AL BateenW34-Abu Dhabi – United-Arab-Emirates
As the CEO of Alliances for Global Sustainability, Co-Founder of Aurora50 and Honorary President
of the Emirates Green Building Council, Sheikha Shamma is a highly regarded business leader and
expert in the field of sustainability. In addition, she serves as a member of the UAE’s Circular
Economy Council, the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy Advisory Board, and the
Industry and Academic Advisory Board for the Academy of International Business MENA.
Sheikha Shamma has also established the Shamma bint Sultan Sustainability Initiatives, a social
enterprise currently focusing on nature-based climate solutions whose flagship program is
Mangroves 4 Mankind; and Women in Sustainability, an initiative that supports and facilitates
programs for youth to high level thought leadership.
Sheikha Shamma holds a Masters degree in Sustainability Leadership from Cambridge University
H.E. Khaled Mohammed Balama was appointed as Governor of the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) on April 5th, 2021.
H.E. has a robust, 30-year track record in leading UAE government entities. He brings significant experience of CBUAE’s mandate to the role, having sat on the CBUAE Board of Directors since 2008.
Previously, as CBUAE Vice Governor, H.E was responsible for overseeing the key CBUAE functions of ensuring the UAE’s monetary and financial stability, protecting the nation’s banking system and transforming the financial landscape.
H.E. The Governor has also held multiple senior roles at the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, including Executive Director of the Real Assets Department at the Abu Dhabi Investment Council, and Board positions at the General Pension and Social Security Authority and Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (du).
H.E. graduated as a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Indiana University, USA, and has held a CFA charter since 1995.
His Excellency, Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Mashreq Bank. He was the CEO of Mashreq for nearly 30 years and under his leadership, Mashreq grew from a small local bank, to a leading customer centric financial institution in the region known for its innovative products and services.
Furthermore, His Excellency is a member of the Board of Directors of Abdullah Al Ghurair Group of Companies, one of the biggest and most successful business groups in the United Arab Emirates and the Middle East, with operations spanning more than 20 countries and business roots stretching back half a century.
His Excellency was elected as a speaker on the United Arab Emirates Federal National Council (UAE Parliament), from 2007 until 2011. Previously, he sat on the Board of Directors of major companies such as Emaar, Dubai Investments, Visa International, MasterCard, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Co-Chairman of the Arab Business Council – World Economic Forum (WEF). He was also a member of the Consultative GCC Council for the GCC Leaders and President of the Knowledge Fund, and a member of the Board of Trustees of New York University, USA.
His Excellency holds an Honours’ Degree from the California Polytechnic State University in Industrial Engineering.
H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri was appointed Minister of Economy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) under the new government structure approved in July 2020.
He is chairman of the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), the General Civil Aviation Authority, UAE International Investors Council, and CSR UAE Fund’s Board of Trustees.
Prior to his appointment, H.E. Al Marri held important positions in the government as a senior, top-ranking official. He was the Secretary General of the UAE Cabinet since 2017, during which he was instrumental in strengthening the interdependence between the federal and local governments. In this role, he also spearheaded many initiatives to get the pulse of the people and know their sentiments, as well as build the UAE’s long-lasting relations with international organizations such as the World Economic Forum.
H.E. is also the former Director General of the Executive Office of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. He was part of the high-profile team that was behind the launch of ‘Area 2071,’ the nucleus of the future envisioned in the UAE Centennial Plan 2071. Furthermore, the
UAE Minister of Economy, in his previous post, took part in the unveiling of the Hatta Economic Zone development project and the relaunching of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Center for Leadership Development.
In addition, he was the CEO of the Dubai Future Foundation, enabling him to play a vital role in the successful launch of Dubai 10X and other initiatives of national importance. The Dubai 10X initiative, in particular, aims to strengthen the emirate’s bid to become the city of the future.
H.E. Al Marri is a member of the Boards of Directors of different federal entities. His memberships allow him to actively support the development of priority sectors in the country such as the Golden Visa initiative, which seeks to attract talented individuals from across the world.
The UAE Minister of Economy holds a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Sheffield in the UK. Also, he is a graduate of the UAE Government Leaders Program and Mohammed Bin Rashid Center for Leadership Development.
His Excellency Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh actively supports the Government in initiatives and plans that are core to the economic diversification plans and driving a sustainable future for the UAE.
Al Sayegh is currently serving as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), being responsible for supervising the growth and development of the market to consolidate its position as one of the largest global Abu Dhabi-based financial hubs. He also holds several positions, including Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Abu Dhabi Global Market, Board Member of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Member of the Executive Committee of the Board, Board Member of the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, Deputy Chairman of the Emirates Nature-WWF and Co-Chair of the UAE-UK Business Council.
His Excellency formally served as the Founding Chairman of Aldar Properties, Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar), Founding Board Member of Mubadala Development Company and the Deputy Chairman of First Gulf Bank. He takes over key leadership positions in several government organizations, including Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Abu Dhabi Investment Company (Invest AD).
His Excellency studied in the US and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Lewis & Clark University.
Aisha Mohamed Abdullah Al Abdooli is the Acting Assistant Undersecretary of Green Development & Climate Change in addition to her role as a Director of Green Development & Environment Affairs Department at the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment.
Al Abdooli has extensive experience over 17 years in different fields including: Green Development, Sustainable Development & Green Economy, in addition to her expertise in developing policies, strategies and regulatory framework in Air Quality, and Waste & Chemicals Management.
Aisha had worked in managing BOOT and PPP projects in Sewerage Infrastructure, Sewage Treatment Plants and Waste Management Projects in addition to managing EPCM firms to ensure that the Construction Environmental and Social Management Plan (CESMP) is implemented in Aluminum Industry and the project construction is executed in compliance with all applicable environmental standards.
In 2013, Aisha was appointed as the Director of Green Development at the Ministry of Environment and Water, where she was responsible for developing national green development policies and strategies and regulatory framework for transformation to green economy. She also developed necessary policies for the private-sector contribution in green development and monitoring the transformation of country toward a green economy. Subsequently she handled the role of both Director of Environmental Awareness and Education and Director of Air Quality at the Ministry. She was reappointed to lead the Green Development portfolio in January 2017. She is also serving as Chief Innovation Officer of the Ministry since March 2016.
Aisha holds Master Degree in Project Management from the British University in Dubai and Bachelor Degree in Chemical Engineering from the UAE University in Al Ain and Public Sector Innovation Diploma from Mohamed Bin Rashid Center for Government Innovation .
Dr. Abdelilah BELATIK is Secretary General of the General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI), an international organisation affiliated with the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. At the helm of CIBAFI, he brought the organisation to international arena by building working relationships with international multilateral institutions (United Nations, IsDB, FSB, IMF, World Bank, etc.), international standard setting organisations (IFSB, BCBS, etc.) and regulatory and supervisory authorities. Dr. Abdelilah is also Chairman and Founder of Turritopsis, the Strategic Institute of Sustainable Development, Brussels, Belgium.
Dr. BELATIK is a multi-lingual finance professional with twenty years of experience including in leadership positions, in major financial centres from Europe, the United States, Asia and the Middle East. He was Assistant Secretary General at Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) where he led the preparation and rollup of the IFSB’s Strategic Performance Plan (SPP) 2012 – 2015 in accordance with Integrated Result Based Management framework. He has worked for 9 years with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Luxembourg, New York and Hong Kong, in the Assurance and Business Advisory Services, Financial Services practice.
Dr. BELATIK holds a Doctorate of Business Administration and a Master’s degree in Applied Business Research from Switzerland; Masters of Science in Business Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts in Commercial Sciences from Brussels – Belgium and a Certificate of Artificial Intelligence from the University of Oxford, United Kingdom. He has held and holds membership positions in a number of international boards and committees, including those of the International Assurance and Auditing Standard Board (IAASB), the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), External Advisory Group of the IMF the Waqf Fund in Bahrain, and the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI). He is also member of the Committee of the Royal Award for Islamic Finance by the Securities Commission Malaysia and Central Bank of Malaysia.
Since June 2018, Fahad Alshathri serves as Deputy Governor for Supervision at the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) where his main responsibilities include ensuring a sound and efficient financial system through effective regulation of the banking industry, the insurance industry and finance companies.
Before taking the current role, Alshathri was the Deputy Governor of Research and International Affairs at SAMA where his main duties include researches and studies related to national economy, monetary policy and financial stability, development of the financial sector, and international affairs.
Besides the current responsibilities, Alshathri is the Chairman of the Board of the Kafalah Program (and SME guarantee scheme). He is a current member of the Board of Directors of Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) and of Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD). He was a member of the Board of Directors of Social Development Bank (SDB) and General Investment Authority (SAGIA).
Before joining SAMA in 2016, Fahad Alshathri served as an Executive Director and member of Executive Board at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He served as well as Economic Advisor at the Ministry of Finance (MOF). He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA.
Ebrahim Al-Zaabi has more than 27 years of wide-ranging expertise in academics, research and knowledge-based and technical-based fields related to regulatory, legislative and supervisory tasks in the UAE and the MENA region, financial markets, banking and insurance.
All above qualified him to occupy many leadership positions In the country and chair and be a member of several international, regional and local committees.
Job positions
Membership of the most important local and international committees
HE Shaykh Abdullah bin Bayyah, Chairman of UAE Fatwa Council and President of the Forum for Promoting Peace, is recognised by Muslim scholars worldwide as one of the greatest living authorities on the Islamic legal methodology known as Usul al-Fiqh (Principles of Jurisprudence). He is known for his scholarship drawing on scripture and traditional texts across all four major Sunni jurisprudence schools to address Muslim communities’ crucial contemporary concerns.
The Shaykh has developed theories of Islamic jurisprudence in non-Muslim societies, called the Jurisprudence of Minorities (fiqh al-aqalliyyat). The Shaykh is a long-standing member of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy and has worked, among other things, on Islamic finance, authoring several articles and books exploring Islamic position on many of its aspects. In recent years, Shaykh’s work focused on addressing some of the most pressing global issues, such as interfaith relationships, reconciliation, and peace.
In 2014, the Shaykh established the Forum for Promoting Peace in Abu Dhabi under the patronage of Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates. The vision of the Forum was to address the crises facing global Islam from a framework of Islamic tradition and legal theory applied to local contexts. Over 1,000 of the world’s leading Islamic scholars and other leaders from various traditions attended the FFP’s launch.
In January 2016, the Shaykh convened the Marrakesh Declaration, as the culmination of an effort running since 2011 to address the issue of violence and oppression against minorities in Muslim majority countries. The Declaration applied traditional Islamic texts to affirm the Islamic principle of equal citizenship as prescribed by the Prophet. It was signed by scholars and politicians from across the Muslim world.
Dr. Al Kuwaiti is currently holding the position of the Managing Director of the National Data Centre under the Supreme Council for National Security.
He is also working as Assistant Professor (Adjunct) of Homeland Security Program at Rabdan Academy.
In his current role Dr. Al Kuwaiti aims to create a fully governed approach to data privacy, sharing and processing as well as the unification and connectivity of government systems and digitization towards a smart government
In 2013, Dr. Al Kuwaiti joined the National Electronic Security Authority and held He held various positions. As the Executive Director of Government Operations, where he managed the National and International government relations. Executive Director of Operations Analysis and Cyber Security.
In 2011, Dr. Al Kuwaiti was the Chief Technical Analyst at Ministry of Interior where he directed and managed various technical and administrative tasks. He also held other positions, such as Operations Director and CTO of the Counter Terrorism Center. He was also stationed as a Defense, Air, and Naval Military Attaché at the Embassy of The United Arab Emirates in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Al-Kuwaiti has published numerous studies and lectured at many conferences such as IEEE, RSA, Cyber Warfare Europe, Tele Strategies, ISS World MEA, IDEX, International Anti-Cyber Crimes Conference, Future War Summit etc., Dr. Al-Kuwaiti presented the UAE Cyber Security Framework at INTERPOL in Singapore. He also organized various events such as National Cyber Security Exercise and Cyber Quest.
His interests are consulting on detecting, monitoring and responding to cyber warfare, Network Forensics, Corporate Governance & Process, and national cyber policy. He is an honorable member of Society of Engineers – UAE, IEEE Society, Golden Key National Honor Society and Computer Society. He is a visiting lecturer on Cyber Security at few universities such as Khalifa University and National Defense College in Abu Dhabi.
With over 20 years of experience, Dr. Al-Kuwaiti holds a Doctorate in Computer Engineering and Network Security from George Washington University in the USA and a M.Sc. degree in Telecommunications and Computer Networks. He also holds a M.A. degree in International and Civil Security. Dr. Al-Kuwaiti has won various awards such as Best Lecturer, Dean honors list, leadership Awards, best Design Projects.
Mohammed Omran is the Executive Chairman of the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), Egypt – the single Regulatory Authority for Non-Banking Financial Institutions and a Professor of Finance at the Arab Academy for Science and Technology. He is currently a board member at the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), a member of its Monetary Policy Committee and the Head of its Audit Committee.
Prior to his current appointment, he was the Executive Chairman of the Egyptian Exchange for six years. He was also the Chairman of the Federation of Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges (FEAS). He served as a Vice Chairman for Operation of the Insurance Holding Company for one year and the Vice Chairman of the Egyptian Exchange for four years from 2006-2010. He served for several years as an Economist at both the Arab Monetary Fund in Abu Dhabi and the International Monetary Fund in Washington D.C. He was an advisor to the Minister of Investment and an Acting Executive Director of the Egyptian Institute of Directors. He also served as an International Board Member at the Privatization Agency of Kosovo for 5 years from 2009-2014.
Professor Omran holds an MSc from Cairo University and Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Plymouth. UK. He was a visiting Professor in several research and academic institutions such as University of Plymouth in UK, University of Oklahoma in U.S., the World Bank in Washington, University of Laval in Canada, and Vaasa University in Finland.
Professor Omran had been awarded several research grants and prizes. He was the Winner of the Capital Market Personality of the year 2017 in Africa. In the same year, he was one of nine selected globally and the First and Only Egyptian to get the Distinguished Hubert Humphrey Leadership Award.
Professor Omran was a Fulbright Scholar and he served as a reviewer for more than a dozen of Economics and Finance Journals.
Professor Omran specializes in financial markets, corporate governance, corporate finance and privatization concentrating on the MENA region. He authored and co-authored around 40 papers and his work appears in several international Economics and Finance Journals such as: Journal of Economics and Business, Journal of Financial Research, Journal of Comparative Economics, Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, World Development, International Review of Law and Economics, Multinational Finance Journal, International Review of Financial Analysis, Journal of Investing, Emerging Market Review, International Journal of Business, Review of Accounting and Finance, International Journal of Theoretical and Applied Finance, and Global Finance Journal.
Abbas Mirakhor received PhD from Kansas State University and taught at various universities, 1968-1984, before joining the International Monetary Fund where he served as staff member 1984-1990 and Executive Director 1990-2008. He held the position of the First Chair in Islamic Finance at INCEIF, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2010-2017.
Dr Andreas Dombret is a renowned banker who served as member of the Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank from 2010 to 2018 and as member of the Supervisory Board of the European Central Bank from 2014 to 2018. From 2012 to 2018 he served on the Board of the Bank for International Settlements in Basel.
Earlier in his career, Dr Dombret was Vice Chairman of Bank of America in Europe, the Middle East & Africa, the Middle East and Africa, a Partner at Rothschild and Head of Germany at JP Morgan. He started his career at Deutsche Bank.
Since leaving the public sector Andreas has returned to the private sector, advising the likes of Oliver Wyman, Houlihan Lokey, Sumitomo Bank, Santander and Amazon Web Services.
KEY POSITIONS
Dr Aznan Hasan is an Associate Professor in Shariah at Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance (IIiBF), IIUM. He is currently the President, Association of Shariah Advisors in Islamic Finance (ASAS) He is also the Deputy Chairman, Shariah Advisory Council, Securities Commission and Deputy Chairman, Shariah Advisory Committee, Employee Provident Fund (EPF). He is also a member, Shariah Advisory Council, AAOIFI, Bahrain and Higher Shariah Authority, Central Bank of UAE. He also serves as a member of Board of Directors, Maybank Islamic Berhad. Before that, he served as Independent Non-Executive Director, Hong Leong MISG Takaful Berhad (2016-2019). He was a member, Shariah Advisory Council of Bank Negara Malaysia for two terms (2006-2008, 2010-2013). Prior to joining SAC of Bank Negara Malaysia, he was the Chairman, Shariah Advisory Board, ACR Retakaful MEA, Bahrain and SEA, Malaysia, where he was instrumental in the setting up of ACR Retakaful model from a Shariah point of view. Currently, he is the Chairman, Shariah Committee, Maybank Islamic Berhad and Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Berhad. He also serves as the Chairman, Shariah Advisory Board, FNB Bank (South Africa), a member, Shariah
Advisory Council, HSBC Amanah (Dubai), Standard Chartered (Global-DIFC-Dubai), Shariah Advisory Board, ABSA Islamic Bank (South Africa), Yasaar Limited (London), Khalij Islamic (UK) Limited (London), Amanahraya Berhad and Amanah Raya Asset Management, as well as other financial institutions and corporate bodies located locally and internationally. He also serves as Shariah consultant to Maybank Investment Bank and Hong Leong Islamic Bank. He is a registered Shariah Advisor for the Islamic Unit Trust Schemes and Islamic securities (Sukuk), Securities Commission of Malaysia. He was also a member, Shariah Supervisory Board and Investment Committee, Waqaf Foundation, a corporate entity formed by the Government to oversee the application of Waqaf in Malaysia. He is also invited by several Zakat Centres in Malaysia to give advice on zakat matters in Malaysia.
Dr Aznan has conducted and published more than 50 researches and presented more than 100 presentations.
Dr Aznan Hasan received his first Degree in Shariah from University of al-Azhar (1994). He then successfully completed his Master degree in Shariah from Cairo University with distinction (mumtaz) (1998) and his thesis was recommended for publication. He then obtained his Ph.D from University of Wales, Lampeter, United Kingdom (2003).
Bénédicte is the Head of the BIS Innovation Hub, Hong Kong Centre. Prior to this
appointment, she was a managing director at SC Ventures, the innovation arm of Standard
Chartered Bank that leads a series of new ventures across digital banking, banking as a
service, SME finance and blockchain. From 2018-2019, she was the Vice President of
International Government Relations at Circle, involved in the evolution of blockchain and
digital assets. From 2012-2018, she was the Head of Risk & Strategy of the Hong Kong
Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), and in that capacity also acting as the Vice Chair
of the Committee on Emerging Risks and the Fintech research lead for the International
Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). From 2007-2012, she was a managing
director at Credit Suisse and before that from 1997-2007 she was an associate and
executive director at Goldman Sachs. Originally from Belgium, she holds LL.M. and M.B.A.
degrees from the University of Chicago and the University of Leuven. She is admitted to the
New York Bar since 1999. In 2016, she was a recipient of the China Daily Asian Women
Leadership Awards for her efforts related to entrepreneurship, innovation and charity. She
remains closely engaged in these topics, most recently through her involvement in the
Fintech Association of Hong Kong (FTAHK) and Women in Finance Asia (WiFA.)
benedicte.nolens@bisih.org
Benoît Cœuré became Head of the BIS Innovation Hub in January 2020. He is a member of the BIS’s Executive Committee. Previously, he was a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, responsible for market operations and European and international relations.
From 2013 to 2019, he chaired the BIS’s Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures and was a member of the Financial Stability Board.
Prior to joining the ECB, Mr Cœuré served in various positions at the French Treasury. He was Deputy Chief Executive, then Chief Executive of the French Debt Management office (2002-2007); Assistant Secretary for Multilateral Affairs, Trade and Development, co-chair of the Paris Club, and G8 and G20 Finance Sous-Sherpa (2007-2009); then Deputy Director General and Chief Economist of the French Treasury (2009-2011).
Mr Cœuré is a graduate of the École Polytechnique in Paris. He holds an advanced degree in Statistics and Economic Policy from the École nationale de la statistique et de l’administration économique (ENSAE), and a bachelor’s degree in Japanese. He has authored articles and books on economic policy, the international monetary system and the economics of European integration.
Mr. MU Changchun is appointed Director-General of the Digital Currency Institute, People’s Bank of China in July, 2019. Mr. Mu joined the People’s Bank of China in 1995. From 1995 to 2004, he worked for the International Department and his responsibilities covered multilateral and bilateral cooperation and coordination with international organizations and foreign central banks. From 2004 to 2006, he was appointed as Senior Advisor to the Executive Director of the Constituency Office, representing Canada/China /Korea/Kuwait/Spain in the African Development Bank. In 2006, He rejoined the International Department. From 2010 to 2020, he served in a number of positions, including Assistant to the Governor and then the Deputy Director-General of the Executive Office, and the Deputy Director-General of Payment & Settlement Department. Mr. MU is a member of CPMI, a member of FSB Financial Innovation Network, and also a member of IMF High-level Advisory Group on Finance and Technology. Mr. Mu graduated from Renmin University of China with a BA in Economics in 1995 and earned his Master’s degree in Applied Finance from Macquarie
University, Australia in 2000.
Mr Pou holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences degree in Economics from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Mr Pou joined the HKMA in 1994 as an Assistant Manager. He was promoted as Manager in 1997, as Senior Manager in 2000 and as Division Head in 2008. Mr Pou has worked in different areas of HKMA’s work including banking supervision, banking policy, banking development, monetary operations and payment system operations. Mr Pou was seconded to The Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited (HKMC) during 2015 to 2018 to oversee HKMC’s general insurance business, before taking up the present position on 29 October 2018.
Denis Beau has been Deputy Governor of the Banque de France since 1 August 2017. He has also been appointed by the Governor to represent him as Chairman of the Autorité de contrôle prudential et de résolution (French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority – ACPR). He is a member of the college of the Autorité des marchés financiers (French Financial Markets Authority – AMF) and of the Supervisory Board for the European Central Bank’s Single Supervisory Mechanism.
Denis Beau has also been appointed Chair of the Committee on Controlling (COMCO) of the ECB since 9 January 2018 and Chair of the Analytical Group on Vulnerabilities (AGV) of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) since March 2019.
Born in 1962, he joined Banque de France in 1986 after graduating from l’Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris. He subsequently received a Master degree in Business Administration from INSEAD. His career path at the Banque de France led him to hold management positions in the Financial Markets, Payments and Market Infrastructures and Economics and International Relations departments. He was seconded to the New York Fed (1997-1998) and served at the Bank for International Settlements as secretary of the G10 Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems (2007-2008). He was then appointed Director General of Financial Stability and Operations and a member of the Executive Committee of Banque de France. In this capacity he was a member of European and international committees dealing with monetary policy and financial stability issues and prudential regulation of banks (Euro Retail Payments Board, Committee on the Global Financial System, Basel Committee on Banking Supervision – co-chair of the Macroprudential Supervision Committee).
Gauri Singh is the Deputy Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency. Ms. Singh brings more than 30 years of experience in policy, advocacy and project implementation within the field of renewable energy and sustainable development from India and the international system.
Prior to joining IRENA, Ms. Singh worked within India’s federal government and at the apex level within provincial government. Federally, she was responsible for leading the development of the National Solar Mission of India policy in 2010, an early policy framework designed to drive solar power development across the country.
At the Madhya Pradesh provincial Government, Ms. Singh steered rural development providing strategic planning and implementation guidance across the state for large initiatives. Her work involved poverty reduction and sustainable development within rural communities. She was also responsible for spearheading initiatives aimed at improving livelihoods for nearly two million poor women across the state.
In Madhya Pradesh, Ms. Singh led livelihood projects based on decentralised renewable energy solutions to support rural artisans and ran an ambitious intervention to restore the flow of 40 rivers across the state, based on the use of remote sensing maps. She also played a key role in drafting the framework for the state Right to Water Act.
Prior to that, Ms. Singh was Director, Country support and Partnerships at IRENA where she was responsible for regional and country level initiatives and for spearheading partnerships with regional energy and economic organisations.
Hafid Oubrik is the Director of Payment Systems Operations and Development at the Central Bank of the UAE, in charge of managing the payment systems operations and development. His mission consists on managing the department and ensuring the smooth functioning of the payment systems operated by the Central Bank, while taking initiatives towards improving the payment field in the UAE.
Prior to joining the Central Bank of the UAE, Mr. Oubrik was a Senior Financial Sector Specialist at the Arab Monetary Fund, in charge of various financial sector initiatives in the MENA region, and formerly, he led the payment systems Department and the Credit Registry Department at the Central Bank of Morocco.
Lubna Bouza is the Editor in Chief – Business News and Presenter at Sky News Arabia TV based in Abu Dhabi, UAE. She has led the coverage of International and GCC stock markets, trading trends, global and regional financial stories for nearly ten years.
She presents and produces “Alam Al Taqa” show: A weekly program that reviews the most important energy issues worldwide while discussing them with industry decision makers and analysts.
During her years in financial journalism, Lubna interviewed a wide range of regional and international leaders, CEOs and Ministers including ECB President Christine Lagarde, Billionaire Bill Gates, President of the World Bank David Malpass, US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, HE Dr. Sultan Al Jaber CEO ADNOC Group, The Minister of Finance in KSA HE Mohammed Al Jadaan, CEO of Aramco Amin Al Naser among others. She has also covered and reported from major international events and conferences, including the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings, the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos and the FII in KSA.
Lubna joined Sky News Arabia from CNBC Arabia. She holds a Master degree in applied Finance and Banking and Master degree in International Business Administration (with emphasis on Economics) from the University of Wollongong- Australia.
Luiz A Pereira da Silva – Deputy General Manager
Luiz Awazu Pereira da Silva became Deputy General Manager on 1 October 2015.
Before joining the BIS, Mr Pereira da Silva, a Brazilian national, had been Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Brazil since 2010. Prior to that, he worked in various positions for the World Bank in Washington DC, Tokyo and southern Africa. He also served as Chief Economist for the Brazilian Ministry of Budget and Planning, and as Brazil’s Deputy Finance Minister in charge of international affairs.
Michael Abbott is the Global Banking Lead leading Accenture Digital’s Financial Services Practice where he is helping global clients in Banking, Insurance and Capital Markets navigate complex digital transformations. His most recent engagement include launching a direct to SMB Insurance business in 9 months, helping create a Digital “brain” for banking and driving a massive data/analytics AI/ML environment to the cloud.
Michael was the founder and CEO of Softcard, which was acquired by Google in 2015 and is now the mobile wallet platform for Google’s Android Pay. Michael built Softcard from concept to 4 million users and in the process created the technology and business models adopted by Apple, Google and others that provide the foundation for the mobile payments industry.
From a simple vision, Michael convened an unprecedented group of blue-chip companies from the mobile, financial and retail industries including Google, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Subway, American Express, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, AT&T, Verizon, Visa, and MasterCard.
Prior to leading Softcard, Michael was the Chief Marketing Officer for GE Capital’s Consumer Finance business where he led Marketing, Pricing, Business Development and Strategy. He started and grew GE’s bankcard business into $10B in sales and built GE’s private label business into a highly profitable growth engine, tripling net income to $1B with an industry leading 30% ROE. In 2010, Michael was honored by the GE Board of Directors with the GE Chairman’s award for decisively leading the business through the financial crisis.
Michael started his career as a research scientist at IBM’s Watson Research lab where he focused on fault tolerant super-computer and communication systems research.
Michael is a frequent global speaker and has keynoted numerous events including Mobile World Congress, the Electronics Association, and Money 20/20, as well as served as a spokesperson on Bloomberg and CNN.
Michael has a BS in Electrical Engineering and Mathematics from Stony Brook University and master’s degree in Electrical Engineering and an MBA from Columbia University.
Mustafa Adil is the Head of Islamic Finance for Refinitiv, a London Stock Exchange business. He is responsible for leading the Islamic finance and Islamic markets business for the organization, providing knowledge solutions and bespoke services to support the continued growth and increasing depth of the Islamic finance industry. He works in collaboration with government entities, multilateral organizations and leading financial institutions to support them in fulfilling their aspirations and executing their strategies in the Islamic markets space. These include the delivery of content solutions, research, consulting services and market engagement. He also spearheads the development of new initiatives or services that meet the increasingly sophisticated needs of the industry across markets.
Prior to joining Refinitiv, Mustafa was a leading consultant in the Islamic Financial Services team at Ernst & Young, providing advisory services to some of the leading Islamic financial institutions in the GCC and globally. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England & Wales and holds a Bachelors degree in Mathematics from Imperial College in London.
Nasir Al Nabhani has been Chief Executive Officer of MDC Business Management Services (MDC BMS) since 2016. He led the creation of the multifunctional shared services company to enable organizations to focus on their core business activities. Nasir is responsible for the provision of valuable, effective, and responsive support services across Mubadala’s units, subsidiaries, and joint venture partners. With the implementation of strategic partnerships, the services of MDC BMS can be leveraged by any organization in Abu Dhabi.
Prior to establishing MDC BMS, Nasir led Mubadala’s Business Services Division Executive Director from 2007. He implemented a corporate-wide joint procurement initiative that yielded significant recurring savings for Mubadala. Nasir established and oversaw the Group Procurement function, and led a number of strategic including Shared Services, Health and Safety, and Business Continuity Management.
Before joining Mubadala, Nasir was Head of Accounting Dolphin Energy Nasir is a Member of the Board of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Injazat, Rosewood Hotel Abu Dhabi, The Four Seasons Abu Dhabi and LeasePlan. He holds a master degree in Security and Strategic Studies from UAE National Defense College and B.B.A. in Finance from Portland State University.
Rola Abu Manneh is the Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank UAE, a role she has held since August 2018. She is the first Emirati woman to head a bank in the UAE. In her role, Rola has been responsible for transforming the UAE business into one of the biggest five markets for the Standard Chartered Group. Before joining Standard Chartered Bank, Rola was the Head of Corporate & Investment Banking for Abu Dhabi at First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB). In this role, her responsibility was to maintain relationships between FAB and its client base, including government, government-related entities, elite customer groups, family corporations, local corporations, multinational corporations and commercial banking services. Prior to this, Rola served as General Manager of FAB’s Wholesale Banking Group, which comprised of Project Finance Syndications, Financial Institutions Group and Global Transaction Banking.
In February 2021 for the second consecutive year, Rola was featured as one of the Middle East’s Power Businesswomen by Forbes Middle East. During her first year with the Bank, Rola was included in Arabian Business’ ‘World’s Most Powerful Arabs in 2019’ list. She was also recognised by Forbes ME as one of the ‘Top 20 Women Leading Top Companies in the Middle East’. During the same year, Financial News listed her as one of the most influential female leaders.
Dr. Sabri Al Azazi is the Assistant Governor – Support Services and Operations at the Central Bank of the UAE. Dr. Al Azazi has extensive experience for more than 25 years in the fields of Information Technology, Information Security and support services through his work in several government and private institutions in the U.A.E.
Prior to joining the Central Bank, Dr. Al Azazi was the Executive Director of Information at Al Hilal Bank, the Executive Director of Central Operations Sector, and the Assistant Undersecretary at the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship. He was also the Senior Advisor for Information Technology at the General Management Office of Abu Dhabi Municipality, the Executive Director of Information Security in Dubai Holding and the Chief Operating Officer of Datafort,. In addition, he held several executive positions in different sectors including security, defense, telecommunications, government services and the banking sector.
Dr. Al Azazi remains active in the academic field. He is a visiting professor of information security at the American University of Sharjah and at the University of Wollongong in Dubai. In addition, he is a visiting researcher at the Cranfield University in the United Kingdom in the field of quantum cryptography and information security. He is also a member of the advisory board of the University of Wollongong for the computer science department.
Dr. Sabri Al Azazi holds a PhD in Information Security- Applied Sciences from Cranfield University in the United Kingdom, an Executive MBA from the American University of Sharjah and a BSc in Computer Engineering from Washington State University.
Dr. Al Azazi is the first UAE National to receive a CISSP degree in the Country (2001). He graduated from the Oxford Academy of Executive Directors to be the first Head of Information Technology in the United Arab Emirates (2007)
Dr. Sabri Al Azazi has participated in many of the supreme leadership committees and task groups. He has assumed many positions, such as:
Board Member of Gulf Payment Company (GPC)
Board Member and Member of the Executive Committee of the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB)
Member of the Supreme Council of the Federal Public Finance Policies
Member of the Board of Trustees of the ICT Fund in the United Arab Emirates
Dr. Sabri Al Azazi has been a member of many task groups that have played a prominent role in raising the level of institutional performance, such as
• Chairman of the Crisis & Emergency Committee at the Central Bank.
• Financial Stability Policy Committee at the Central Bank.
• Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee at the Central Bank.
A telecom professional, an entrepreneur, and a well-seasoned CEO with over 28 years of experience in multiple markets in MENA region in greenfield and legacy operations. With a proven record in group & portfolio management, operations management, turnaround & transformation, technology evolution, and digitization.
Mr. Alabdooli is an expert in telecom industry as he has held many key positions like Etisalat Group Chief Executive Officer, CEO of Etisalat UAE and Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Etisalat Misr.
He Chaired the technical committees that negotiated and won operation licenses for Etisalat in Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. He launched Etisalat Egypt operations in 7 months only and successfully led the turnaround and digital transformation of Etisalat UAE. During his tenure, he expanded the fibre and LTE networks coverage, hence, positioning the UAE as the first globally in terms of fibre penetration and amongst the leaders in mobile coverage. He launched the first 5G network in MENA region and has in his portfolio many other recognizable accolades.
Mr. Saleh is currently a Board Member in Mobily, and Injazat. He also, was a Board Member in Maroc Telecom Group, Deputy Chairman & Member of the Executive Committee of Etisalat Misr. In addition to the above positions, he was the Chairman of Thuraya, Chairman of Etisalat Services Holding and Board Member in Khalifa University.
Mr. Saleh received many rewards in recognition of his achievements like the Best CEO of the Year 2010 by DG Group, Second “Most Powerful” Executive among top 50 Executives in Arab companies for the year 2015 by Forbes Global 2000, Best New Entrant of 2007 by CommsMEA, etc. He is currently the sponsor MD of G42 Cloud & G42 Communications.
Mr. Saleh has graduated from the University of Colorado in Boulder, USA, with a Master’s Degree in Telecommunications (with Honor) and a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering (with Honor).
In his capacity as Chief Business Development Officer, Salmaan Jaffery is responsible for
developing and executing business strategies aligned with the DIFC’s 2024 growth ambitions. The business development team, under Mr. Jaffery’s direction, identifies and evaluates potential partnership opportunities that serve business and client growth within the DIFC community.
Mr. Jaffery has 20 years of extensive operating and advisory experience working with global financial services and consulting firms across the Middle East & North Africa, Asia and North America. During this time, he has established a track record for earning trust and delivering value to clients by developing new revenue opportunities, improving performance and driving organisational change. Mr. Jaffery has cultivated a vast network of peer and C-Suite relationships and is an accomplished thought leader in customer centricity and Islamic finance.
Before joining the DIFC Authority, Mr. Jaffery held leadership roles in Conventional & Islamic Finance at PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young Middle East. Prior to that, he held operating and finance roles at Citibank and American Express in New York. Mr. Jaffery has also led client teams at Oliver Wyman focused on customer driven growth strategies and new venture analyses.
Mr. Jaffery holds an MBA from Cornell University and a BA in International Relations (Phi Beta Kappa) from Colgate University in the United States. He is President of the Cornell University and Johnson School Clubs, Middle East and serves on the Boards of several nonprofit organisations
Dr. Al-Suwailem is currently the Acting Director General of the Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI) and Chief Economist, the Islamic Development Bank Group, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Before joining IRTI in 2004, Dr. Al-Suwailem managed the Research and Development Center at Al-Rajhi Bank, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He worked at the Institute of Islamic and Arabic Sciences in America, Virginia; Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois, USA; and King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Dr. Al-Suwailem held membership in several professional committees, including the Technical Committee of the Islamic Financial Services Board; Economic Committee of Awqaf at the Ministry of Islamic Affairs in Riyadh; Academic Committee in Islamic Fiqh Academy of Muslim World League; Liquidity Risk Management Working Group at IFSB; and Task Force for Islamic
Finance and Global Financial Stability at IsDB, among others.
He obtained his M.A. from Southern Illinois University in 1990, and his Ph.D. from Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, in 1995. He authored many books and published several papers on Islamic economics and finance.
Shu-Pui Li joined the Central Bank of U.A.E. (CBUAE) in November 2018 and is currently the Advisor to H.E. the Governor of Central Bank of UAE. His major responsibilities include the implementation of the Fintech Strategy and establishment of a FinTech Office for the CBUAE; implementation of the National Payment Strategy and the continued enhancement of the financial market infrastructure of U.A.E.; and the provision of advisory support to the digital transformation of the CBUAE.
Prior joining CBUAE, Shu-Pui was the Executive Director of the Financial Infrastructure Department of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and spent 17 years at the HKMA. His work covered the following areas:
Shu-Pui had also worked for the JP Morgan and Chase before joining the HKMA and was in charge of the Information Risk Department for the entire Asia region.
Shu-Pui is a qualified Chartered Accountant (FCA) of the Institute of Chartered Accountant England & Wales, a qualified Chartered Information System Engineer (CEng), a certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) and a member of the British Computer Society (MBCS). He has also obtained a Masters degree in research of computer graphics and a Bachelors (1st Class Hons) degree in Computing Science at the University of Manchester
Thabet Bakheet Khamis Thabet is The Director of Information Security at Central Bank of UAE, he is a risk management professional with over 20 years of experience in various areas of banking and telecom operations functions including Critical infrastructure Cyber Security, audit and risk management.
Thabet has worked in various sectors in UAE in oil and gas, government, telecom and banking sectors and gained in-depth knowledge of the business process, technology, and risk and control issues faced by the organizations.
He has experience in dealing with in all organization levels including executive management, technology, Risk and audit committeesز
Academic and Professional qualifications.
Thabet holds Master’s degree from Paris Sorbonne University in banking and Finance, and a Master degree in Information Security & Computer Crimes from Glamorgan University in the United Kingdom.
He is an industry Certified Information Security Professional (CISSP( and Anti-money laundry certified professional (ACAMS) and continuously works toward gaining more skills and knowledge in areas of Financial Technology, financial and technology risks.
Tobias Adrian is the Financial Counsellor and the Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department at the International Monetary Fund. Before joining the IMF in January 2017, he served as Senior Vice President and Associate Director of Research at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, where he helped lead the New York Fed’s work on financial stability policy and monetary policy. He had earlier conducted economic research at the National Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts and at the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels. He earned his Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his M.Sc. from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He also earned postgraduate degrees from Goethe University in Frankfurt and from Dauphine University in Paris. He has taught economics at MIT, Princeton University, and New York University. His economic analyses have been published in such scholarly journals as the American Economic Review, the Journal of Financial Economics, and the Journal of Finance.
Dr. Vachira has been working at the Bank of Thailand for 30 years. She currently serves as Deputy Governor for Corporate Development to oversee holistic organizational management including Human Resources, Technology, Risk Management, Legal, Banknote Management and Corporate Services. She also serves as Chairman of the Banknote Management Committee, Member of the Monetary Policy Committee and the Payment Systems Committee.
Dr. Vachira is a CFA Charterholder. She received a Bachelor of Accountancy from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, and Master of Business Administration from the University of Bridgeport, USA. She also earned a Master of Arts and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Georgia, USA.