His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri is the Director General of the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism. He is a member of the Executive Council of Dubai, a member of the Board of Directors of the Investment Corporation of Dubai and also the Director General of the Dubai World Trade Centre Authority (DWTCA).
Almarri was recently appointed as chairman of Dubai Financial Market and also serves as a member of the Supreme Committee of the Expo 2020 and board member at the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Emaar Properties PJSC and Taaleem PJSC.
Almarri’s responsibilities span enhancing Dubai’s positioning as the preferred destination for investment, business and leisure and for developing and strengthening the Emirate’s economy.
Helal Almarri holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the London Business School (LBS). Almarri is a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and previously worked at consulting firms, McKinsey and KPMG.
H.E. Mohamed Khalifa Al Hadari is the Deputy CEO of the EmiratesSecurities and Commodities Authority (SCA), in charge of the organizational andsupport affairsdivision. He performs anessential role supervising the adoption of the international best practices in the areas of human resources, financial and administrative governance, customer satisfaction, information technology, quality management and performance development.
During his extensive 25-year long career, H.E. Mohamed Khalifa Al Hadari gained a professional insight in his area of expertise which qualifiedhim to assume prominent positionsat finance and business level in the UAE and the region. Such insight is boosted with his vast knowledge in his area of specialty, an effective public relations network and his significant contributions to the development of the administrative systems and policy and procedure structures which contributed to the growth and development of the SCA and upgrading its performance. Thanks to his efforts, the SCA has a track record of achievements and has received recognition and numerous awards in the areas of excellence locally, regionally, and internationally.On top of such awards, the SCA received five awards under Sheikh Khalifa Government Excellence Program, four awards under the Emirates Award for Human Resources in the Federal Government, not to mention other awards, including“Employer of the Year-Public Sector Award",“Best Employer- UAE”, “Best Smart Applications”, and“Best Social Media Application for Government Institutions”.
Mr. Al Hadari led the UAE capital markets’ efforts towards the adoption of the XBRL system byleadingthe UAE's XBRL Committee.Hewas elected as a member of and ambassador to the XBRL International in the region where he actively contributed to adopting and applying the XBRL technologies in many capital markets in the Arab region.
Al Hadari obtainedhisMBA degree from the University of Lincolnshire and Humberside in the United Kingdom. He also obtained Bachelor in Political Sciencefrom the College of Business and Economics at the United Arab Emirates University.
Mr. Hamed Ali was appointed as CEO of DFM on 8th of November 2021. Prior to this appointment, Mr.Hamed Ali has served as Deputy CEO of DFM from July 2020. He is also leading Nasdaq Dubai as the CEO since 2012.
In these roles, he develops and implements the expansion of existing markets and activities at bothexchanges and is creating new areas of growth, building on the synergies between DFM and NasdaqDubai.
Under his leadership Nasdaq Dubai launched equity derivatives on UAE stocks in 2016 and on Saudistocks in 2019.
Nasdaq Dubai has become one of the largest exchanges in the world for Sukuk listings. It is the largestexchange in the Middle East for US dollar denominated bond listings, many of them from Chinese andother international issuers as well as GCC issuers. Under Mr. Ali’s direction Nasdaq Dubai has alsopioneered the UAE’s listed REITs market. The exchange’s MarketSite event space, launched in 2018, hasbecome a leading venue for thought leadership and media activity.
Mr. Hamed Ali was previously Executive Director of Nasdaq Dubai from 2006 to 2008. His experience includes serving as Chief Operating Officer of DIFC Authority and most recently as Executive Director at theDubai Knowledge & Human Development Authority.
Mr. Hamed Ali played a key role in the development of the Dubai Strategic Plan 2015 and participated invarious strategy development exercises. He holds an Executive MBA from London Business School, a B.Sc.in Applied Computing from Leeds Metropolitan University, and a Master Certificate in Project Management.
Mr. Ibrahim Al Haddad is a highly experienced professional with 20+years track record of delivering high impactful projects in both public andprivate sectors. Since he joined the RTA in 2013, he has focused oncommercial transformation and public private partnerships projects andspearheaded the implementation of many marquee projects for theRTA, such as the Hala Joint Venture Agreement between the RTA andCareem, Commercial Transformation of Dubai Taxi, ConcessionAgreement with Hypermedia, and implementation of the RTA InvestPortal to name a few.
Under his leadership, the Commercial and Investment Department wonthe CFI award for the “Most Innovative Logistics Project InvestmentTeam – GCC 2019” and achieved the ISO 10014:2006 Certification(first entity in the region to obtain the certification), which demonstratesthat the RTA’s commercial and investment practices are in line withglobal leading practices.
Mr. Al Haddad holds a Master’s Degree in Real Estate Management fromthe University of South Wales – Sydney, in addition to a bachelor’sDegree in Architectural Engineering from the UAE University.
Abdulla Belhoul is the Chief Executive Officer of TECOM Group. Prior to this, he was the Chief Commercial Officer of DHAM, where he managed an extensive portfolio of 10 business districts, 20 leading retail destinations and 15 residential communities. He also oversaw the functions and teams responsible for customer experience and smart services. Abdulla was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Industrial City in 2013 and Chief Commercial Officer of TECOM for the retail and residential portfolio under DHAM. Between 2007 and 2013, Abdulla held various leadership positions in Dubai Holding, overseeing the construction of key projects that make up Dubai’s skyline today. From 2002 to 2007, he held various managerial positions at Dubai World Trade Centre and the Dubai Department of Civil Aviation’s Engineering. Abdulla holds an MBA from the Higher Colleges of Technology (United Arab Emirates) and a Bachelor’s in Engineering Management from the same institution. Abdulla has also completed several executive and board level programs, including the INSEAD Executive Development Programme.
Mohammad Al Bastaki is the Chief Executive Officer of Emirates NBD Capital, the investment banking arm of Emirates NBD, a leading banking group in the MENAT region. Mohammad currently is responsible for overseeing the structured finance, capital markets, and advisory businesses with a mandate to drive the growth of the Group's Investment Banking franchise.
Alan as the CEO at Taaleem supervises the strategic direction of the organisation. He was previously CEO of a premium schools group in Dubai, and before that, CEO of a large multi Academy Trust in the UK. He brings a wealth of experience, as a teacher, headmaster and superintendent of schools. Alan is a strong communicator who fundamentally understands that the profitability and success of an education company is intrinsically linked to happy and flourishing schools where the welfare of students is the number one priority, and where staff are the most prized asset.
Mr. Varghese joined the Group in 1998 and has served as its Chief Financial Officer since 2006.
Mr. Varghese holds a CIMA and CA certification and has over 40 years’ experience in a range of industrial and commercial organizations, including as Finance Manager of Galadari Automobiles Co. Ltd., Financial Controller of Emirates Stone Co. Ltd and Manager-Project Finance in The Associated Cement Cos. Ltd.
Mr. Varghese also serves as Chief Financial Officer for two of the Group’s IPPs; Shuaa Energy 2 and Noor Energy 1 and as Director of Etihad ESCO, Mai Dubai, Digital DEWA, Dubai Green Fund and Forward Investments.
Andrew has over 20 years of experience in Equity Capital Markets across EMEA, working across all types of equity issuance (IPOs, ABBs, rights issues etc) for a wide spectrum of issuers including Private Equity, Government bodies and founder shareholders. He has executed over 250 transactions during his career for issuers throughout Europe and in the Emerging Markets where the Middle East has been a significant focus over recent years.
Marie Freier is Barclays Global Co-Head of Sustainable & Impact Investment Banking.
Marie and her team advise and raise capital for emerging growth companies that are addressing a wide range of sustainability issues, as well as for existing clients navigating their own transition. She is deeply engaged in market-wide ESG discussions, serving on the Barclays Sustainable Finance and Climate Council as well external groups, such as the European Risk Management Council’s Sustainability Think Tank.
Marie was previously Global Head of Cross Asset ESG Research at Barclays, leading the integration of ESG considerations into Barclays research product. In this role she built a global team of ESG subject matter experts to support credit and equity analysts in assessing how ESG attributes affect financial risks and valuations across sectors and companies, ultimately driving security pricing, as well as being in close dialogue with institutional investors globally.
Marie joined Barclays from Sanford C. Bernstein, where she served as Head of European Product Management and, most recently, as both co-Head of European Sales and Global Head of ESG, spending more than 13 years at the firm. She previously worked in the reinsurance industry for Aon and Willis Re, now part of Willis Tower Watson. Marie holds an M.A. in Mental Philosophy from the University of Edinburgh.
Saeed Al Awar is Managing Director, Head of Middle East at Rothschild & Co. Formerly a lawyer at Linklaters where he trained and worked with them in both their London and Dubai offices, he joined Rothschild & Co in 2014. His experience spans over more than 17 years and across M&A, equity capital markets and debt advisory/restructurings in both regional and international markets. He has advised on many landmark strategic and financial matters, advising on public takeovers and private acquisitions, divestitures, and capital market transactions, including initial public offerings. His deal experience includes acting on transactions involving some of the region’s most iconic companies, Americana, ADQ, PIF, DP World, ADNOC, Mubadala, Emaar and TAQA among them. His advisory mandates cover a multitude of sectors, from oil and gas, infrastructure, consumer, retail, technology and healthcare to financial services and advising on transformational deals for a variety of government owned enterprises.
Saeed is also an independent board member of Xcube LLC (Dubai Government owned market maker for DFM) and ADC SPAC (ADX Listed – first listed SPAC in the region. Sponsored by ADQ and Chimera). Saeed also sits on the Advisory Council of the Dubai International Chamber of Commerce.
Mohammad Junaid - Head of Corporate Governance Section – at the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), and working with SCA for the last 13 years, plays a key role in identifying weaknesses and building strong corporate governance practices, examining and recommending methods to Improve public companies’ compliance with SCA regulations. In addition, Mohammad is an expert for issues that are relevant to promoting good corporate governance practices by public companies in the UAE.
In addition to his role in SCA, Mohammad played a major role in improving UAE's ‘Protecting Minority Investors’ rank at The World Bank "Doing Business" KPI, also he has lead the transition of physical general assembly meetings to Virtual General Assembly Meetings for listed companies during the Covid 19 Pandemic early days and he leads the Disclosure working team in the Sustainable Finance working group with a goal of creating a sustainable finance ecosystem in the UAE.
Mohammad has a Master’s Degree in “Applied Finance and Banking” from the - University of Wollongong, and is a graduate from the Government Leaders Programme -FUTURE LEADERS – administered by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) – UAE.
Highly accomplished, result driven and well oriented with over 25 years of progressive experience in Banking and Capital Markets. Demonstrated ability to develop corporate wide strategy, streamline business and operations that drive growth, increase efficiency that contributes to the organization bottom line. He was in charge of Nasdaq Dubai acquisition project consolidating IT and Operations infrastructure.
Developed and managed new financial products, scheme cards products and platforms diversifying revenue streams through rationalization of existing services capitalising on Fintech.
Before joining DFM he was the COO of Dubai Bank, and also worked with Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, First Gulf Bank and National Bank of Abu Dhabi in various roles with focus on Islamic Finance and Capital Markets. He project managed over 50 IPO’s and Right Issues as Lead Manager or Co Lead Manager bank role. He led two main core banking system migration projects, conversion to Islamic bank, M&A’s transactions, trading and back office systems.
He has consistently produced a very high standard of work and possess the ability to adapt to frequent new situations, master new techniques with solid leadership, communication and interpersonal skills to establish rapport with all levels of staff and management.
Ali Al Hashimi holds an MBA and Bachelor degree in Business Administration and Finance from the University of Baghdad.
Dubbed as the “UAE ECM Guru”, Ahmed is considered the most active equity capital markets lawyer in the UAE, having led almost all the IPOs and rights issue took place in the UAE since the global financial crisis. As narrated by Chambers & Partners, Ahmed a “go-to figure for domestic equity capital markets matters” and all innovative and complex capital market structures. Ahmed is the Managing Partner of IBRAHIM & PARTNERS and has recently led the iconic IPOs of DEWA, TECOM, Fertiglobe, ADNOC Drilling, in addition to the IPOs of Emaar Malls, ADNOC distribution, Amanat and Emaar Development. Ahmed has 25 years of experience in the Middle East region and holds his degree from UCL and Queen Mary, University of London
Salah Shamma is the head of Investment and portfolio manager at Franklin Templeton Investments (ME) Limited.
Mr. Shamma has been in the investment industry since 2002 and joined Algebra Capital in January 2007 as an equity portfolio manager. The firm is now known as Franklin Templeton Investments (ME) Limited, in the Middle East-North Africa (MENA) region. During his employment at Algebra Capital, Mr.Shamma was involved in the establishment of the firm's flagship equity funds and was a member of the Equity Investment Committee. Currently, Mr. Shammais responsible for the investment process, research and performance of FTIME MENA equity team. He is the co-fund manager of the Franklin MENA Fund and Franklin Middle East and North Africa Fund. He is also a member of FTIME's Equity Investment Committee.
Prior to that, Mr. Shamma was with SHUAA Capital's Debt Asset Management department as co-fund manager of the first Arab bond fund (TAIF).
Mr. Shamma holds a B.A. in business with an emphasis on finance from the American University of Beirut.
Jaap Meijer is head of research, chief strategist, economist and head of FIG at Arqaam Capital, with 26 years experience in research, leading a team of 20 analysts who cover over 200 stocks, the largest coverage in MENA. He covered the European banking sector in London at amongst others Dresdner Kleinwort prior to moving to Dubai.
Alex leads Edelman Smithfield's EMEA Capital Markets practice drawing on 20 years' experience in corporate finance and financial communications
Alex is an experienced board adviser and provides strategic corporate and financial communications advice to companies and investors. He has led and worked on a wide range of complex and high profile situations across the capital markets worldwide, including M&A, restructuring, equity and debt fundraising, and shareholder activism.
In addition to transaction advice, Alex has extensive experience advising companies on their communications and positioning with investors and other stakeholders, complex tax and financial reporting matters, and managing crisis and litigation situations.
Over 20 years of experience in the Capital Markets and Finance industry in London, Paris and Dubai. Rony has successfully executed over 40 Capital Markets transactions and holds Masters in Civil Engineering from ESIB and Masters in Finance from ESCP
Luma Saqqaf is the CEO of Ajyal Sustainability Consulting. Drawing on three decades at the forefront of finance, Islamic finance, sustainability and entrepreneurship in MENA and Europe she advises corporates, financial institutions, funds and asset managers on all aspects of sustainable value creation; and counsels regulators and financial markets in MENA on sustainable finance issues and regulations.
She is a member of the Social Value International and Women Action Sustainability in Spain. She is also a regular speaker at conferences and contributor to articles on the topics of sustainable finance in the MENA region.
Luma has more than 20 years’ experience in legal practice, including practicing at the two “magic circle” law firms, Allen & Overy and Linklaters, where she was a finance partner and global head of the Islamic Finance Group. She led teams across Europe, Middle East and Asia on groundbreaking transactions covering finance and capital markets including Sharia’a compliant sukuk (bonds), loans, securitisation and structured finance, derivatives and funds transactions.
Luma is also an investor and entrepreneur. In 2013, she founded Ajyal Group which invests in diverse sectors and founded the ethical luxury womenswear brand, BYLUMA in 2017. She has advised and mentored several social enterprises in MENA and in 2014, she set up non-profit platform JeeranSME, linking mentors from the Gulf with small businesses in Jordan and Palestine.
Luma holds a Masters in Law from the University of Bristol, UK, and Bachelor of law from the University of Jordan ; and has attended Harvard executive business education (YPO Harvard Business Leadership Program 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019). She also has obtained a number of sustainability related certificates in Impact Measurement and Management, Duke University; Sustainable Finance, International Capital Markets Association ICMA; Climate and Green Bonds, Climate Bond Initiative; Sustainability Reporting and GRI Update, GRI.
Oliver Schutzmann co-founded Iridium Advisors, a Dubai-based management consulting firm that unlocks the potential of organizations and leaders by advancing the science and practice of Investor Relations.
He has worked at the heart of the investor relations industry for over two decades. Credited with introducing best practice investor relations to the Arabian Gulf in 2006, he is a trusted advisor to private and public companies, investment banks, and exchanges; offering strategic advice on investor relations, ESG, and capital markets.
Before Iridium, Oliver was Head of Investor Relations and a member of the senior management team at SHUAA Capital for eight years, a DFM-listed investment bank. Before moving to Dubai, he worked at Euromoney, The Economist, and Charles Barker - a consulting firm that pioneered investor relations in Germany.
Oliver served as Chairman and founding Board Member of the Middle East Investor Relations Association, where he devised the Certified Investor Relations Officer (CIRO) accreditation. He is a regular contributor to IR Magazine and regional media.
Andree is the Head of the Investment Banking divison of Bank of America Merrill Lynch in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
Andree joined Merrill Lynch in London in 2005 as an analyst and has 18 years of investment Banking experience in London, Hong Kong and Dubai. She joined the Dubai office in 2016 as a Director and was promoted to lead the MENA Investment Banking division in March 2020.
Her vast knowledge of our global platform product offering accumulated throughout her years as active member of the Corporate Finance and M&A team is complemented by her international client coverage expertise making her a well-rounded representative of the leadership of the Bank.
Andree graduated from ESSEC Business School in Paris and holds a Masters in Law from Universite St Joseph in Beirut.
Ted leads Edelman’s U.S. Investor Relations practice and advises the senior management and boards of public companies on strategic communications including investor relations, financial and corporate public relations, transaction communications, crisis communications and leadership positioning.
Past IPO engagements include Rocket Companies, LegalZoom, European Wax Centers, Sterling, Latham Pools, VTEX, and Hudson Group.
Prior to joining Edelman in 2015, Ted advised Parkway’s establishment of an industry leading IR program that led to a 25% increase in sell-side coverage. Ted helped execute an IR strategy to support Parkway’s $1.2 billion acquisition of Thomas Properties Group (NYSE:TPGI) in 2013 as well as the completion of two secondary equity offerings that generated approximately $350 million in net proceeds.
His past experiences also include executing a product development strategy for the firm’s $50 million+ IR advisory services business and leading NASDAQ’s Technology and Consumer advisory practice teams as well as running the firm’s Special Situations Advisory Program, which provides intelligence to clients facing increased interest from activist investors.
With almost two decades in capital markets experience, Saad Chalabi is currently working on strengthening Dubai Financial Market's competitive edge as the CEO of xCube, the recently established fin-tech. xCube is a trading member of the Dubai Financial Market, currently operating as a market maker on listed equities and futures. The fin-tech utilizes high-frequency trading algorithms to enhance liquidity and support orderly markets and is also a Stock Lending and Borrowing (SLB) agent on the DFM. Chalabi oversees the team in creating a robust solution to offer stock lending to other market markets, institutions, and participants to hedge their overall risks and create additional liquidity to listed futures, among other initiatives.
Originally coming from an institutional sell side background, Chalabi spent almost twelve years with Al Ramz Capital, where he built and operated the market-making and liquidity-providing desk. Some of his achievements include leading some of the first end-to-end transactions in SLB in the UAE stock markets. Chalabi is a CFA charter holder and Chartered Market Technician (CMT).
Simon brings two decades of experience in high profile media relations roles spanning financial services, broadcasting and the UK Government.
He leads Edelman’s Financial Communications practice in the Middle East, advising financial services companies, central banks, private capital firms and listed entities on all forms of reputation management ranging from media to investor relations, capital market transactions, executive positioning and public affairs.
Simon joined Edelman from Barclays in London where, as Director of Group Media Relations, he led the bank’s efforts to rebuild trust after the financial crisis, advised the Group CEO, and ran proactive campaigns, strategic comms, financial reporting, M&A and executive media engagement. He also led on a variety of issues including regulatory and litigation matters, ESG, Brexit, COVID-19 response, and the bank’s successful defense against an activist investor.
Prior to working in financial communications Simon was Chief Press Officer for the British Broadcasting Corporation, and also for the UK Government Housing and Communities Department serving six cabinet ministers.
Sharif El-Badawi is the Chief Executive Officer of the newly established Dubai Future District Fund, an evergreen venture fund of funds and direct investment vehicle of the emirate of Dubai.The fund is anchored by Dubai Future Foundation and the Dubai International Financial Centreto invest in the Future of Finance and Future Economies with the aim of bolstering economic development in Dubai, the UAE and the broader region.
Previously, he co-founded and managed Plus Venture Capital (+VC), a leading seed stage investment firm in the Middle East and North Africa region, investing across sectors from seedto growth within the region and diaspora. Before that he was a founding managing partner of thefirst US-based venture capital firm with a dedicated fund for the MENA region and was the most active venture capital investor in MENA during its investment period from 2017-2020. In his role,he managed the 500 Startups MENA fund, 500 Falcons, which invested in over 180 startups across 15 countries.
In addition, Sharif serves on the board of San Francisco Bay Area based non-profit TechWadi where he was the chairman of the board from 2015-2019 helping build meaningful bridges between MENA startups and Silicon Valley. He also serves on several advisory boards for startups, organizations and governments in the MENA region and Silicon Valley.
Prior to his career in investing, Sharif was the Partner Lead to VCs and Startups at Google where he worked with top tier VCs and their most promising startups on strategies that bring allof Google to their businesses. Before joining the Global Partnerships team, he spent 5 years leading performance advertising strategy and solutions for Google's largest customers in North America covering Mobile, Search and Display ads.
He joined Google through the $750m acquisition of AdMob, the world’s leading mobile advertising network. Before AdMob, Sharif was a technologist and serial entrepreneur having founded or co-founded several companies in the Consumer Internet and B2B space over a twelve year period starting in 1998.
Sharif earned his Master of Business Administration from University of California, Irvine Merage School of Business and his Bachelor’s of Science in Neuroscience from the University of California, Los Angeles. In 2018, he relocated from his home state of California to Dubai with his wife and three children.
▪ Kapil is heading up Standard Chartered Bank’s Global Commercial Real Estate business for the Middle East and Africa. His international mandate is focused on originating, structuring and executing real estate M&A and financing transactions for corporates, developers and investors across Europe, Middle East and Africa – as well as following capital flows into Asia and the USA
▪ Kapil joined Standard Chartered in 2011 and has 19 years of transaction experience focused on Private Equity, Real Estate and Corporate Finance deal generation and execution, across Europe and Emerging Markets
▪ Kapil started his career with KPMG in London, where he was part of the Corporate Finance team, advising blue-chip corporates and public sector clients on real estate financing / monetization options (sale and leaseback; OpCo PropCo; JV structures) and M&A transactions
▪ Kapil holds a BSc (Hons) in Banking & International Finance from the Cass Business School, London. He also holds a Certificate in Corporate Finance with the Securities and Investment Institute (SII) and is a member of the Association of Tax Technicians (ATT)
Eyad is a proven CFO with Corporate finance executive with 30 years of experience in building, leading, and advising corporations through IPOs, Private Placements, complex restructurings, international expansion, capital markets transactions. and mergers and acquisitions within the UAE, Qatar, KSA and worldwide.
Eyad has lead many IPOs, Rights issue, Debt / Equity Swap, reverse IPOs and complex restructuring throughout his Career in leading establishments in the region such as Power International Holding – Qatar , Emaar the Economic City in KSA, Al Futtaim Group, Dubai Properties Group, Arabtec Holding and Depa Ltd in the UAE in addition to international Acquisitions and board participation. His portfolio of industry support includes various sectors such as Real Estate, Contracting, Construction, Agriculture and Dairy, Family Conglomerates and Industries.
Eyad Holds an MBA from UOWD and is an Accounting and Finance MBsC from Yarmouk University.
Miguel joined Citigroup in 2010 as Head of Corporate and Investment Banking Portugal. In mid-2012, he was appointed Head of Investment Banking Africa (exc. SA & Egypt). In November 2017 Miguel was appointed Head of Investment Banking for the Middle East and Africa (ex SA).
Prior to working at Citigroup, Miguel was a Senior Country Advisor for Bank of America Merrill Lynch and an Executive Director at Goldman Sachs. Miguel has an MBA in Finance from City University Business School in London and a BSc in Economics from Nova School of Business and Economics in Lisbon
In the M&A space, Miguel has been extremely active with his Citi colleagues in advising on reference transactions for Middle East and African clients such as Helios Investment Partners, TGI (Nigeria) and Access Bank (Pan-african) in Africa and Network International and DP World (UAE); Euromoney named Citi the Best Advisory Bank in both Africa (2020) and the Middle East (2020 and 2021);
In the Equity Capital Markets space, Miguel and the Citi team have been the clear leaders in the Middle East and Africa regions leading more Equity offerings than any other institution; most recently those include IPOs for VIVO and ASA international in 2018 and Network International, Jumia and Airtel Africa in 2019 and several equity offerings in 2020 and 2021 for companies like Jumia and Helios Towers; in 2022 Miguel and his Citi colleagues were Joint Global coordinators in DEWA (UAE) IPO, one of only 3 IPOs in EMEA region above 6bn USD; in the Middle East in the last 3 years, Citi has been the leader in the Equity Capital Markets space; in 2021 it was named Best Investment Bank in the Middle East.
Miguel is a regular contributor to CNBC and Bloomberg TV as well as a regular speaker in regional events, including: Africa Business Forum (Dubai), Investopia (Dubai), Qatar Economic Forum (Doha) as well as other such as The Africa CEO Forum, the World Economic Forum (Africa and Middle East) and Milken Institute (US, UK and Middle East) amongst others.
He is a member of the Portuguese Diaspora Council since 2018.
Mr. Joost Smulders is the Chief Investment Officer at Dubai Green Fund, the impact investment fund setup by Dubai Government and anchored by Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA).
At Dubai Green Fund, Joost has led the funds’ green investments, including utility scale solar IPP projects and energy efficiency projects.
Joost has over 16 years of experience in Private Equity, Project Finance and Investment Banking, having executed dozens of transactions with a combined value of over USD 100 billion, across Europe, Middle East, and Asia, in diverse sectors such as renewables, energy, infrastructure, and industrials.
Prior to joining DGF, Joost was the Vice President of Investments for a private investment company headquartered in Abu Dhabi, and Associate Director M&A and Capital Markets at UBS Investment Bank in Dubai and London.
Joost holds an MSc in International Business from Maastricht University, and is CFA charterholder.
May Nasrallah is the Founder and Executive Chairman of deNovo Corporate Advisors, an Independent, Middle-East focused, corporate finance advisory firm, offering international bulge bracket expertise to MENA-wide and centric corporates and institutions.
deNovo Corporate Advisors under May’s leadership has over the past 10 years established its reputation and track record as the pre-eminent independent, regionallyheadquartered boutique advisory firm. deNovo has successfully executed numerous sellsides, buysides, stake sales, restructurings, valuations, fundings, capital structure and strategic reviews on behalf of its continuously growing client base. May and deNovo’s advice is consistently sought by the region’s leading family groups, corporates and sovereign wealth funds as well as global firms seeking regional acquisitions. deNovo entered a Strategic Alliance to enhance global coverage with PJT Partners in 2020, and with Bank Itau in 2019.
May has also served as a non-Executive Chairman and Senior Advisor to BlackRock across the Middle East region, between 2020 and 2022, supporting development of BlackRock’s strategy in the region and fostering relationships with key regional stakeholders, including clients, regulators and governmental bodies.
Prior to founding deNovo, May spent over 15 years at Morgan Stanley in numerous Investment Banking roles and geographies including New York, Hong Kong, London and Dubai. Most recently, she was Head of Investment Banking for the Middle East and North Africa region, where she established, led and grew Morgan Stanley's inaugural investment banking presence in the Middle East, based in the DIFC, Dubai. She retired from the firm in late 2009.
May currently holds the following Non-Executive positions: Board Member of the Dubai International Chamber of Commerce, Member of the International Advisory Council for PJT Partners, Independent Board Member for The Kanoo Group Holding Company, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Lebanese Professional Diaspora Organization “LIFE”, Member of the International Advisory Council of the Middle East Institute (MEI) and Member of MIT MENA Senior Advisory Board.
May speaks fluent Arabic and English and lives in Dubai with her husband and four sons.
Fadi Ghandour is the Executive Chairman of Wamda Group, a platform that invests, nurtures and builds entrepreneurship eco-systems across the Middle East and North Africa.
Fadi was also the co-founder of Aramex, one of the leading global logistics companies based in Dubai. Fadi spent the first 30 years of his work life as CEO of Aramex, building the company, to become one of the leading emerging market logistics companies, and making it the first company from the Arab world to be listed on Nasdaq.
Passionate about impact and social entrepreneurship, Fadi founded and chairs Ruwwad for Development, a private-sector led community engagement platform that helps marginalized communities, across several countries in the MENA region, overcome marginalization through activism, civic engagement, education and financial inclusion.
John Gollifer joined the Middle East IR Association (MEIRA) as General Manager in January 2019.
John was the General Manager and an executive director of the Board of the UK’s Investor Relations (IR) Society from 2012 to 2018. On joining the IR Society, which works in partnership with other IR associations, including MEIRA, John led IR training for the International Certificate in IR (ICIR) in Chile, Indonesia, Japan, Nigeria, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey and the UK, as well as for the Certified IR Officer (CIRO) in the Middle East. From 2016 to 2018, John lectured at the University of Liverpool in London on the MSc in Strategic Communication programme for the IR module which he created. In 2018, John was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the UK’s IR Society in recognition of his services to IR.
Prior to this, John spent 11 years at the Singapore Exchange where he was Senior Vice President and responsible for investor relations, among other roles in corporate strategy and communications. He established and ran the IR Professionals Association of Singapore from 2006 to 2008, is a multiple IR award winner and he created and taught an IR course at the Singapore Management University from 2009 to 2012.
John was trained as a banker. He spent 15 years in Asia and Europe in corporate finance and equity capital markets. He worked for Barclays Bank as International Manager, Hoare Govett Asia as Senior Manager and Head of Corporate Finance, ABN Amro Rothschild as Assistant Director - Equity Capital Markets, Asia and at BNP Paribas as Director - Equity Capital Markets, Asia and Australasia.
John has a BA (Hons) degree, Diplomas in Banking (ACIB) and Marketing (ACIM) and MBA degree. John has lived and worked in Dubai, Geneva, Hong Kong, Jakarta, London and Singapore.
Husam Hourani has over 26 years of experience advising clients on banking and finance related matters, family structuring, succession planning and IPOs in the United Arab Emirates. He also advises clients on major capital markets transactions in the United Arab Emirates, including in particular listings and/or offerings of different financial products on the Dubai Financial Market, Dubai International Financial Exchange and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, as well as continuing/reporting obligations and other regulatory matters related thereto. His work on conventional finance, Sharia-compliant products and capital markets wins him many fans.
Husam is an expert in designing legal private structures and major reorganizations for family business, restructuring and safeguarding their assets and putting in place enforceable family governance and succession planning arrangements. He also advises clients on corporate restructuring.
Husam Hourani was awarded the “Managing Partner of the Year” award at the IFLR Awards 2013, 2014 and 2019 and was also named “Managing Partner of the Year” by ALB The Brief Middle East Law Awards 2012.
Dr. Ashraf Gamal El Din, FCG is the Chief Executive Officer of Hawkamah, the Institute for Corporate Governance, the DIFC. He is a Fellow and Certified Governance Expert from the Chartered Governance Institute, UK (ICSA). He was a jury member of the Arabia CSR Award. Prior to joining Hawkamah, Dr. Ashraf was the Executive Chairman of Egypt Post. Before that, he was the Deputy Executive Director of the Egyptian Banking Institute, the training arm of the Central Bank of Egypt. He was also the founder and Project Manager of the Egyptian Corporate Responsibility Center working on promoting the concepts and application of CSR in Egypt. Furthermore, he was the Executive Director of the Egyptian Institute of Directors (EIoD), the Institute of Corporate Governance in Egypt and the Arab Region Dr. Ashraf served as a board member and head of the Audit Committee in a number of listed, non-listed, State Owned and family owned companies, such as Egyptian Resorts Company, Sahl Hashish, Egypt Reinsurance, Misr Life Insurance, Suez Canal for Technology, Thebes International, Misr Qena Cement, just to name a few. He also served a member of the General Assembly of the Holding Company for Transportation.
Dr. Ashraf served as an advisor to the Minister of Investment 2004-2010 in the areas of corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, privatization and restructuring. Furthermore, Dr. Ashraf is a Professor of Management, Faculty of Commerce, Cairo University. He holds a PhD degree from Manchester University, UK, and a master’s degree in Public Administration from Carleton University, Canada. He further holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Cairo University with highest honors.
Andrew Tarbuck is a Partner and Head of Capital Markets at Al Tamimi and, with over 14 years of experience in the region, he is widely recognised as a leading lawyer for capital markets in the Middle East. Andrew has particular expertise in all aspects of capital markets transactions, particularly IPOs, other equity fund raisings, debt securities and Sukuk. He is skilled in all aspects of capital markets, M&A, public company work and corporate law.
Andrew has been ranked in Band 1 in Chambers Global for several years and is a “Leading Individual” in Legal 500 for UAE and Middle East Capital Markets. Commentators described him as "very knowledgeable, practical and energetic, and gets things done", “a big player who brings a lot of expertise to his team” and as “a leading figure in the capital markets space” with “a solid track record in multibillion-dollar IPOs”. Clients have been quoted: “Andrew has been stellar; our work would not have come to fruition without his advice." and "I particularly like his blend of technical know-how, commercial knowledge and innovative thinking." Other sources praise his "great reputation" and state that “he is amazingly knowledgeable”.
Salmaan Khawaja leads the M&A and Transactions Advisory services at Grant Thornton in the UAE. He has acted as financial advisor across a range of international M&A and IPO transactions involving companies across North America, Far East, Europe, the Middle East, Pakistan, India and South Africa.
His clients include private equity firms, sovereign wealth funds, large corporates and high net worth individuals across various sectors. The transactions he has advised on include buy-side, sell-side and fundraising mandates for cross-border and regional transactions.
Salmaan was previously seconded to the UK M&A Regulator, The Takeover Panel, for two years where he worked on several high-profile M&A transactions involving listed companies with market capitalisations ranging up to $50 billion.
He has also been authorized by the London Stock Exchange, to act as a Nominated Adviser (Nomad) to advise companies and take them through IPOs on the London market. Salmaan regularly advises companies on their acquisition strategies, bid tactics, valuations, due diligence, business plans, funding options including IPOs and transaction negotiations through to deal completions.
John has over 30 years of experience advising companies on all aspects of their capital market communications
John has also worked on numerous international IPOs, listings and spinoffs including, C&W Worldwide from C&W Group (London), TNT Express from Post NL (Amsterdam), Worldpay (New York) and Emaar Malls (Dubai).
He has worked extensively on cross border and domestic M&A and restructuring projects for businesses including AkzoNobel, Brookfield Asset Management, CME, De Beers, DP World, Ferrero, Mubadala, Heineken, Seagram, Scottish & Newcastle, Stagecoach, Vantiv and Walt Disney.
He has advised on activism and shareholder disputes including TNT Express, Kirin, Nissan, AkzoNobel and Punch Taverns and on special situations in the pensions sector for schemes including AA, Boots, BAA, Co-op G4S, M&S, and Kodak.
John is co-founder of Smithfield, which is now Edelman’s wholly owned global financial media and investor relations practice
Shaikha is the Head of Government and Corporates, Dubai – Global banking at HSBC Bank Middle East Ltd. She first joined the bank in 2014 as an associate director in the Dubai Coverage team, responsible for relationship management, coverage and business origination for Government of Dubai owned/related entities and Dubai based corporates. Shaikha started her professional career in 2007 with NASDAQ Dubai where she worked in the business development team as well as the listing authority of the exchange. Following that in 2010, Shaikha moved to work with the Financial Audit Authority of the Government of Dubai as an auditor covering the Banking and investment companies sector. Shaikha holds a Bachelor in Business Sciences with a finance concentration from Zayed University, and a Master in Finance from Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
Dr. Mohamad Hamade is the Chief Executive Officer of Amanat Holdings. He joined the Company in November 2017, initially as the Chief Investment Officer, and has since led several successful transactions valuing c. AED 3 billion jointly, including seven acquisitions and two profitable divestments. These transactions are based on the strategy he defined and implemented on exiting minority investments where the path to control is challenging or limited, capturing specialized opportunities, and expanding investment platforms where Amanat can act as an influencer shareholder. Additionally, he steered Amanat's VC strategy, positioning the Company as a regional leader in the digitalization of both sectors, healthcare and education. Dr. Mohamad holds an MD and a BSc in Biology from the American University of Beirut and an MBA from Cornell University in the USA. He also holds a Research Fellowship Certificate in ENT Surgery from Harvard Medical School.
As Senior Executive Officer, Steve leads Emirates NBD's Asset Management business. He has over 25 years' experience in investment distribution in the UK, Middle East and Far East and has been resident in Dubai since 2001. Prior to becoming SEO, Steve led the institutional sales team, with additional responsibility for wholesale channel distributors such as insurance companies, private banks and wealth advisers.Prior to joining Emirates NBD Asset Management in 2010, Steve worked with a number of regional institutions, holding roles including General Manager (ME) for Anglo Irish Bank (IOM) PLC, Sales Director for Amiri Capital and Business Development Director at Dow Jones International. He is a member of the Institute of Directors, the London Institute of Banking & Finance and the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investments and is a Board member of Emirates NBD SICAV, Emirates NBD Fund Managers (Jersey) Ltd and Emirates NBD AM SPC.
Jassim is co-head of Investment Banking in the Middle East and North Africa. He joined Goldman Sachs as a managing director in 2021. Prior to joining the firm, Jassim was a member of Citigroup’s Middle East investment banking team in Dubai for 13 years. Earlier in his career, he worked at Deutsche Bank on the Middle East and North Africa Investment Banking team. Jassim earned a BA, with honors, in Finance from Michigan State University in 2005.
Alinawaaz (“Ali”) Khalpey is currently Managing Director, Head of Equity Capital Markets Syndicate and the previous Chief Executive Officer of EFG Hermes Frontier. He is an accomplished leading international Investment Banker and Financier.
Ali joined EFG Hermes in 2017 to lead the firm’s drive into non-MENA frontier markets, calling on more than 25 years of hands-on experience in frontier market equities with a particular focus on African and frontier Asia markets. Since joining EFG Hermes, Ali successfully led the Firm’s aggressive expansion across frontier markets – having launched new offices in UK, Pakistan, Kenya, Bangladesh, Nigeria and most recently, Vietnam.
Under his leadership, EFG Hermes has established leading capital market positions in Pakistan, Kenya, Nigeria, Vietnam and Bangladesh. The firm was recently announced Frontier Investment Bank 2020 by Global Finance, amongst other accolades from Institutional Investor and African Banker.
Ali’s personal track record includes building and leading businesses with dominant market share and mind share across Frontier Emerging Markets as well as leading numerous Equity Capital markets transactions in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Pakistan and the United Kingdom.
Prior to joining EFG Hermes, Ali co-founded Exotix Africa LLP with Exotix Partners in late 2013, serving as CEO and global head of equities at the new venture, where he managed a team of 64 sales, research and execution professionals as well as country managers in London, New York, Dubai, Nairobi and Lagos. He was responsible for the rollout of the business across new geographies, including to frontier Asia. Under his leadership, Exotix established itself as one of the leading Frontier Market Investment Banks, with a geographic footprint larger than any of its competitors.
In 2002, Ali joined Investec Securities as Head of Institutional sales to rebuild the South African sales and research product. After successfully leading the team to a Number 1 sales ranking in the Extel Survey, he relocated to New York as Managing Director of Investec Securities USA, where he continued to expand the firm’s institutional client base.
In 2010, Ali joined Renaissance Capital in London, where he was Head of Pan-African Equities, leading a team of 52 across sales, execution and research in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe, the United Kingdom and the USA. During a two-year period based in Johannesburg, he successfully led Renaissance Capital to market leading positions in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya.
Ali began his career in 1996 as a London-based Africa analyst with BlackRock, rising to the rank of vice president and fund manager.
He was born in Mumbai, India, and grew up in Zimbabwe. He was educated at the Winchester College in Hampshire, and is a graduate of the London School of Economics with a First Class Degree in Economics.
Having lived in Zimbabwe, the UK, USA and South Africa, Ali and his family recently relocated to Dubai, UAE.
Alex Hageman is a Managing Director at Moelis & Company and Head of Equity Capital Markets for EMEA. Having been based in Dubai for the past five years, Alex has worked on many of the Firm’s advisory assignments in the region. He has extensive experience working on high profile European and Middle Eastern equity capital markets transactions, in particular IPOs and follow-on offerings. Examples of IPOs that Alex has worked on in the region include Salik, DEWA, ADNOC Drilling, Solutions by STC, Saudi Aramco, Bindawood and Arabian Centers.
Alex has been leading Moelis’ equity capital markets business in EMEA for over 10 years. Prior to that, he spent more than a decade in the Equity Capital Markets Groups at Citigroup and Morgan Stanley, focusing on equity capital markets transactions across all industries. Prior to his career in investment banking, he worked on the advisory team at Robeco Asset Management.
Alex holds a M.Sc. (Corporate Finance) from the Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Faisal is a senior investment professional with a career spanning 21 years during which he managed diverse award-winning departments such as Asset Management, Direct Investments & Treasury, Investment Research and Business Development.
His previous role was in capacity of Sr. Executive Officer at FundRock (ME), which is part of The Apex Group. He also was part of the senior leadership team in KAMCO Investments Company and Global Investment House in Kuwait.
Faisal is a financial markets expert who has been speaker at various international conferences and is well quoted in the media on economic trends and financial markets. He holds a master’s degree in finance from Delhi University, India and is a CFA charter holder from CFA Institute, USA.
Finlay Wright is the Head of Equity Solutions, Middle East and Asia in Rothschild & Co Dubai office. He joined Rothschild & Co’s Equity Capital Markets business after graduating from Oxford University with a masters degree in Latin American Studies and a bachelor degree in French and Spanish (Hons). He also has an MBA from INSEAD in Singapore. He has been working in equity capital markets for over 17 years, 3 years at ABN AMRO Rothschild & Co, the ECM Joint Venture between Rothschild & Co and ABN AMRO, and 14 years in the Rothschild & Co Equity Advisory team in London, Hong Kong and Dubai.
He has advised on public and private capital raises worth over $40bn in geographies as diverse as Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Ukraine, the United Kingdom as well as the UAE and Saudi Arabia, including multiple international listings.
Michael Grifferty founded and leads The Gulf Capital Market Association (formerly known as The Gulf Bond and Sukuk Association) the industry association representing the Arabian Gulf debt and equity markets. The GCMA is composed of the region’s leading banks, law firms, issuers, ratings agencies and service providers and plays a leading role on all major matters concerning development of capital markets in the region.
Previously, Michael served as advisor for the US Treasury on sovereign debt and bond markets, advising over forty countries and regional organizations. He has also consulted extensively for the International Monetary Fund and Arab Monetary Fund.
Prior to his international career, Mr. Grifferty was a senior vice president at Government Finance Associates, providing problem-solving financial advisory services to US state and local governments. He has degrees from New York University and Georgetown University in Public Finance and International Relations, respectively. A native English speaker, Michael speaks French and Russian.
Ali Shaikley is a partner at White & Case LLP, based in Dubai. He has advised on a number of IPOs, rights issues, SPACs and other equity capital markets transactions in the Middle East, Europe and the US. Recently, Ali led the team that advised DEWA on its landmark USD 6.1 billion IPO, and is currently leading a number of transactions, advising both issuers and banks, on IPOs in the UAE and wide region. Ali is ranked as a leading equity capital markets lawyer in each of the major legal directories.
Patrick Delivanis is a Managing Director of Morgan Stanley and Head of Investment Banking for the Middle East and North Africa, based in Dubai. Patrick joined the Firm in 2006 as an Associate in IBD based in New York. He was named Vice President in 2007, Executive Director in 2010 and Managing Director in 2014. Previously, Patrick worked for JPMorgan from 2000 until 2006.Patrick earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Williams College, and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Columbia University.
Over 27 years of experience in Investment Banking, Asset Management, Private Equity, Private Banking and Compliance/ Risk. Instrumental in raising $1.5bn for a PE fund that invested in 30 different companies. Worked with multinationals such as ADIA, Credit Suisse, UBS, Swicorp, Hambros, Lehmans and Nomura. MBA from the University of Oxford Saïd Business School.
Rami has over 20 years of investment banking experience. He has advised sovereign, corporate and financial sponsor clients on a variety of strategic and financial transactions including IPOs, Debt Raisings, M&As and Restructurings Previously Rami was the Head of Investment Banking Department at Credit Suisse in Qatar where he led the origination and execution of several complex cross-border M&As and several multibillion dollar capital markets transactions.
Karim Meleka is a Managing Director at the Investment Banking division of EFG Hermes. Mr. Meleka joined EFG Hermes in 2009 and has since played key roles in a number of groundbreaking transactions such as the Saudi Aramco IPO on Tadawul (USD 20.4 bn), Borouge IPO on ADX (USD 2.0 bn), Emaar Malls IPO on DFM (USD 1.6 bn), and ADNOC Drilling IPO on ADX (USD 1.1 bn) along with over 15 other high-stakes deals. He has 13 years of experience in the field, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and is a CFA Level III candidate.
Lee is head of the legal corporate affairs office at DIEZA (formerly DAFZA), joining in 2016. He is also the acting general counsel for the World Free Zone Organisation.
Prior to joining DAFZA, Lee was in private practice for six years with the Dubai office of Clyde & Co and with the London office of Eversheds Sutherland. Lee was also the legal director for leading real estate developer Omniyat for 8 years. He is an English qualified solicitor. Lee holds a Doctorate in International Law and a Masters degree in Law, both from the University of Nottingham
Andy Parnis, Head of Capital Markets, Middle East
Andy is a Managing Director at Teneo with 18 years’ experience. He specialises in working with EMEA companies on all aspects of financial and capital markets communications and investor relations. Since relocating to the Middle East, Andy has advised Borouge, ADNOC Drilling, Fertiglobe and Burjeel Holdings on their IPOs and he currently provides investor relations advice and support to a range of ADX, DFM and Saudi Exchange listed companies. Previously, he was at a strategic communications firm in London where he was a Managing Director in the Capital Markets practice and Co-Head of the Investor Relations Team. In his role, he advised on several large cap IPOs and complex M&A transactions for FTSE 100 companies. Prior to moving into strategic communications, Andy spent nine years in finance as an equity analyst at UBS and Lehman Brothers. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant (ACA).
Tahir Mahmood heads the Business Development department of Nasdaq Dubai & Dubai Financial Market, overseeing all products offered by the exchanges. His role revolves around creating and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders such as issuers, regulators,lawyers and bankers, to help grow Dubai’s capital market. Tahir works with the team to bring new listings to the exchange, as well as offer new products to the market.
Tahir has had a key role in making Dubai the leading Sukuk listing venue globally by coordinating with issuers, regulators, lawyers and bankers.
Tahir joined Nasdaq Dubai in July 2013 and has spent most of his previous career working within the Islamic finance arena in London, Bahrain, Qatar and now Dubai. He has assisted commodity brokerage houses to establish operations in both London and Bahrain,specializing inSharia’a compliant commodity based financial products. In his previous position, Tahir oversaw the Islamic finance division of the Bahrain Financial Exchange as well as helped to market all of the exchange’s products.
Tahir holds aB.Sc in Business Computing from City University, London.
Barry Leipsic joined Citadel in 2008 as an associate specializing in equity capital markets. He was promoted to analyst in 2012 and portfolio manager in 2021. In his role, he has successfully scaled his team and deployed capital globally, across numerous equity related investment strategies.
Citadel was founded in 1990, currently has $60bn of investment capital. Citadel Global Equities is Citadel’s founding equities business established in 2001. Our seasoned portfolio managers and analysts work in sector-focused investment teams, combining deep industry knowledge with bottom-up fundamental research. Our rigorous investment process and market-neutral risk framework allow us to form differentiated views and make thoughtful, risk-adjusted investments. Our investment professionals specialize in a narrow subset of their industry. They develop a deep understanding of the companies they cover and build long-standing, trusted relationships with management teams. Barry began his career as an analyst in the Media & Telecom Investment Banking division at Citi. Barry received a joint honors degree in economics and finance from McGill University
Rahul Sonthalia has more than 16 years of experience in the area of investment banking, equity research, macro-economic research and financial training. He has been teaching financial modelling and investment banking courses in UK, Singapore, and the MENA region
He specializes in financial analysis, equity valuation, financial modeling and exam preparation training. His experience as a practitioner allows him to deliver practical and industry relevant courses. He has delivered advanced financial modelling related programs for Sovereign wealth funds and banks in the GCC and for large asset management companies in the UK and Singapore. He was a guest speaker on “Best Practices in Financial Modeling” at Modeloff Global World Financial Modeling championship in London.
Rahul is an Economics graduate, a CFA Charterholder and a CMA. He also holds the AFM certification from the Financial Modeling Institute (FMI), CISI certificates for International Introduction to Securities & Investment and International Certificate in Wealth & Investment Management and Risk in Financial Services.
Hitesh joined Emirates NBD Capital in 2008 and has been instrumental in the development of the investment banking franchise of the Emirates NBD Group. Hitesh is responsible for the origination and syndication of loans and debt & equity capital markets.
Hitesh has advised various governments, financial institutions, blue chip and mid-cap corporates on their Islamic and conventional financing strategies and access to loan and capital markets. He has successfully raised over USD 300 billion for Middle East, Asian and Turkish issuers & borrowers.
He is currently the chairperson of the Gulf Capital Market Association and part of the High Level Working Group on Green Sukuk alongside Her Majesty’s Treasury (HMT), Indonesian Government (Ministry of Finance) & London Stock Exchange amongst others. Hitesh holds a postgraduate management degree from HEC, France.
Salmaan is the Chief Business Development Officer for the Dubai International Financial Centre. He is a member of the management team and is responsible for overseeing the DIFC client portfolio as well as the DIFC’s growth strategy. Salmaan has 25+ years of experience in North America, Asia and MENA with leadership roles at global firms such as Oliver Wyman, Citibank, American Express and PwC. Mr. Jaffery holds an MBA from Cornell University and a BA in International Relations (Phi Beta Kappa) from Colgate University in the United States and serves on the Boards of several non-profit organizations.
Richad Soundardjee has a longstanding career in the investment banking industry since 1994, having held various management positions within the Societe Generale Group until 2021. He started as an equity capital markets specialist originating and executing IPOs, equity capital increases and M&A for key corporate and financial institutions in France, then in South East Asia and then in the UK until 2002. He then moved to the debt side of the primary capital markets business as an managing director and global head of the structured bonds private placement platform of the Societe Generale Group’s bond syndication team based in London. In 2009, Richad took responsibility for the Equity and Debt Capital Markets origination activities of the Societe Generale Group for the CEEMEA region. He was Societe Generale Group’s CEO for the Middle East and Egypt region and SEO for Societe Generale DIFC branch from 2013 to 2021.
An experienced capital market regulator, Basheer joined the DFSA in 2008 and isresponsible for primary market regulations and for managing the DFSA Listing Authority. He is the Islamic finance subject-matter expert at the DFSA and is also responsible for the development of the ESG securities requirements.
Tom leads Pinsent Masons’ financial services practice in the Middle East. His team advises market participants and government entities on all aspects of their business throughout the region. Tom has a particular interest in the disruptive nature of new technologies to traditional businesses in the financial sector and how market participants and regulators work together to foster innovation in a compliant manner. Tom and his team regularly advise businesses in the region and internationally on restructuring their corporate and regulatory footprint to get ready for listing on Dubai’s capital markets.
Rizwan advises on capital markets and securities issuances, structured finance, securitisations, Shari’ah-compliant fund formations and other transactional matters. · Widely recognised as a leading lawyer within the realm of capital markets and Islamic finance. · Has developed a reputation for advising on “first of its kind” transactions. Practice Rizwan Kanji’s practice focuses on capital markets, finance and securitisations using both conventional and Islamic finance structures. He advises investment banks, financial institutions, multilateral development banks, sovereign states, insurance companies and multinational regional corporations on high-profile transactions. Widely considered one of the leading lawyers within capital markets and Islamic finance, Rizwan has earned a reputation for advising on “first of its kind” transactions.
Eric Salomons leads the product development initiatives for the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) to further expand the diversification of asset classes traded and cleared on DFM and NASDAQ Dubai. Previously, he was leading the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) Markets Division and served as a member of the DFSA’s Executive Committee.
He has developed his career in derivatives and securities markets over the past 25 years and has been involved in trading, risk management and regulation of cash and derivative market products. Eric served as a member of the IOSCO Committee for Secondary Markets, as well as its Derivatives Committee, and was a senior adviser to emerging markets’ exchanges in Africa and Asia. Eric has further gained wide ranging and valuable experience of exchange operations, clearing houses and settlement systems as project manager for licensing and supervision of markets in Europe and the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). Prior to joining the DFSA, Eric was responsible for exchange regulation and was a member of the Euronext College of Regulators at The Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM).
He started and developed the first 10 years of his career as a market maker on Euronext and Eurex for Amsterdam Option Traders (AOT), a listed proprietary trading firm.
With over two decades of experience at blue chip multinationals across different sectors and geographies, Prasad has been instrumental in the development of the UAE capital markets and currently heads the Equity Capital Markets platform for ENBD. Prior to Emirates NBD, Prasad was with Macquarie Capital for over 4 years advising on several infrastructure and project finance transactions, including the first UAE PPPs with ZonesCorp. Earlier, Prasad worked with KPMG for over 9 years in the Corporate Finance and Assurance teams in the UAE and UK primarily covering fund raising, corporate finance advisory and M&A.Recent transactions Prasad has advised on include the IPOs of DEWA, EMPOWER, SALIK, Taaleem, Network International, Arabian Centres, Emaar Development, Emaar Malls Group, Amanat Holdings, Dubai Parks & Resorts, Emirates REIT and ENBD REIT, and the US$ 1.2bn private placement in GEMS Education, in addition to several other rights issues, block trades and private placement transactions. Prasad is an FCCA from the UK, with an MBA from Nottingham University, UK.
Charbel Azzi is Managing Director and Head across Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, Turkey, India, & CIS at S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI). He joined the company in April 2009, and is based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Charbel has extensive experience in investment management, portfolio construction, strategy and product development, capital raising, and marketing and selling investment products and services across the Middle East and Africa. He works closely with clients to design and deliver indices and strategies that utilize S&P DJI’s expertise in custom index design, Shariah-compliant investing, asset allocation, commodities, equities, and emerging markets.
Prior to joining S&P DJI, Charbel worked at Standard Chartered Bank in Dubai as director of origination for the Middle East and North Africa, working with regional family and private offices, corporates, pension funds, investment and insurance companies, and high net worth clients.
Charbel holds a BBA from the American University in Dubai. He is fluent in English, Arabic, and French.
Maher Al Kaabi, a visionary leader and a seasoned banker with over 29 years of experience in the Banking, IT industry and Family Business. He has extensive expertise in Board Membership, Islamic Banking, Wholesales & Consumer Banking, Risk Management, Finance, Operation & Technology, Sales & Distribution and Business Development. He also has deep knowledge in innovation and trends in the generation and utilization of data sets and of new technologies. Serves on board of several startup companies, a Chairman of Board of Governance of a Star International School and co-founder of Blink.
Currently, he is an advisor to the Group Chairman of Al Serkal Group of Companies (165+ year old family) and serves as an Independent Board Member. He advises the Board on developing a more structured governance model and reviewing and refining the structure of the group with the objective of creating a more flexible, robust and efficient organization that will be better placed to respond to future business opportunities. He also applies his expertise in transitioning businesses digitally.
Works extensively with various ministers in future technologies, circular economy, and sustainability of family businesses.
He has worked as Group Head of Islamic Banking at Emirates NBD and also served as Group Head Chief Operating Officer for Group Wholesale Banking. Previously he worked as the Chief Risk Officer at Dubai Bank. And prior to that he worked at Citigroup for over 14 years where he has assumed various senior roles both locally and internationally.
Anthony Sassine is a Managing Director, Senior Investment Strategist at KraneShares. Anthony is responsible for researching and advising on China’s capital markets and innovation sectors, including climate investing, clean technology, and future mobility. Anthony also advises clients on asset allocation and thematic investing, in addition to co-designing and co-managing ETF model portfolios. Anthony is leading KraneShares expansion in the Middle East. Anthony is a frequent contributor to various U.S. and international media outlets, including Bloomberg, Asharq, and Cheddar News, and has been quoted by Reuters, Bloomberg, and Forbes.
Abeer has over 20 years’ experience in the Middle East, including practicing for more than 10 years at Clifford Chance and Linklaters. Abeer specialises in advising regional and international corporate, investment banking, private equity and other clients on complex and high profile domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, restructurings, public takeovers and equity capital markets transactions across the Middle East, Europe, Asia and India. She is recognised for her profound understanding of the legal environment and the distinct business culture of the Middle East and their interaction with international market practice, as well as her for her ability to communicate effectively with the different stakeholders. Abeer was instrumental in leading the teams that advised on groundbreaking domestic public M&A and ECM transactions such as advising Emaar Properties on its statutory merger with Emaar Malls, Shuaa Capital psc on its merger with Abu Dhabi Financial Group, Meraas on its conditional cash tender offer to acquire 100% of the share capital of DXB Entertainments PJSC, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank PJSC on its AED 3.8 billion capital raise through a combination of a rights issue and an additional tier 1 sukuk issuance, UltraTech Cement, a wholly owned subsidiary of Aditya Birla Group, on the acquisition of 29.79% shareholding in Ras Al Khaimah RAK Co. for White Cement & Construction Materials PJSC, Emaar Properties on the IPO of Emaar Development and Emaar Malls and the Government of Sharjah on its strategic investment in Invest Bank for AED 1.9 billion. Abeer is a Fulbright scholar and holds a doctorate degree in law from Georgetown University. She currently serves as a member of the MENA Advisory Board of Georgetown University School of Law.
Daniel is a Managing Director in the Institutional Equity Division in London. He joined Morgan Stanley in 2001 and is responsible for managing Morgan Stanley’s relationships with the senior leadership of key clients across Europe and the Middle East. Previously, Daniel was head of EMEA Capital Markets Distribution and held senior roles in Equity Capital Markets, Hedge Fund Distribution, and ran the firm’s top-ranked Event Driven group in Europe. He began his career at HSBC in Equity Research. Daniel is a graduate of the University of Manchester, with a BA Honours in Economics, Politics and Modern Languages and is a Freeman of the City of London.
Damian Regan is Deloitte's Middle East – Sustainability Reporting & Assurance Leader, helping clients to understand their contribution to society and their environmental impacts; and assisting them in effectively communicating and reporting their sustainability strategies, goals and results. He also works with industry bodies and regulators to develop standards of sustainable practices, reporting and assurance.
Greg is a Transaction Diligence Partner in the MENA region within EY. He is also EY’s MENA Transaction Diligence, IPO and Sell & Separate Solutions Leader. Greg has undertaken a wide variety of internationally focused cross-border transactions for financial and strategic investors, including sell-side and IPO projects for various clients in the UK, US, Hong Kong, India, and the Middle East and North Africa. Greg has approximately 22 years of experience in IPO and M&A transaction preparation and execution initially in the UK, followed by secondments to Hong Kong, Mumbai and Dubai (with previous firm, KPMG). Greg is an FCA and completed his MBA from MBS and HKUST. Greg is also a Certified Investor Relations Officer through the MEIRA chapter. Greg has worked closely with various exchanges and regulators and various corporate and PE clients planning and delivering IPO and exit readiness workshops and roadshows around the world
Diako is a Director in HSBC’s ESG Solutions Group, a cross capital markets advisory team supporting clients on strategic ESG dialogue and positioning. Prior to this, Diako was Sustainable Finance Lead for HSBC in the MENAT region. Before joining HSBC in 2019, Diako spent a decade at the consulting firms PwC and EY, focused on sustainability, ESG and climate consulting, first in Australia and then the UAE. Diako holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne, and a Masters in Corporate Sustainability and Environmental Management from Monash University. Diako is also a member of the DFM and ADGM Sustainable Finance Working Groups, as well as the Green Sukuk Standards Working Group, in collaboration with the Climate Bonds Initiative.
Shereen Mitwalli is a renowned keynote speaker, moderator, and motivational speaker. Having spoken on various platforms internationally including Ted. A sought-after speaker and educator, well-known for her public speaking skills & a true inspiration in her field.Shereen has worked on a number of high-profile celebrity interviews & cover stories, local & international event presenting & speaking engagements with the likes of Richard Branson, Lewis Hamilton, Chris Gardner, Zac Efron, Gigi Hadid, Penelope Cruz, Nicolas Cage, Prince Albert of Monaco, and most recently, Steve Madden.
Brandy Scott has presented Dubai Eye 103.8's interview-based flagship show The Business Breakfast every weekday morning since 2006, except for a brief sabbatical studying for a Masters in creative writing – a move which secured an international publishing and television deal for her first novel, Not Bad People. The pandemic has seen the four-hour radio show expand to television on Dubai One.
Ahmed joined the J.P. Morgan MENA Investment Banking team in 2011 where he has been responsible for leading our client coverage and investment banking assignments across a range of countries and sectors. During his time at J.P. Morgan, Ahmed has established a successful track record in advising on corporate finance transactions varying from M&A advisory and capital markets issuance, to debt financing and risk management solutions. Prior to joining J.P. Morgan, Ahmed held corporate and investment banking coverage positions in MENA for 11 years at Citi and 2 years at Deutsche Bank. In 2022, Ahmed was named Co-Head of Investment Banking for MENA. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration with Finance specialisation and minor in Accounting from the American University in Cairo (Highest Honours). He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and speaks Arabic, English and French
George is the Head of Client Development for the Global Family and Private Investment office coverage within the Wealth Management group, based in the Middle East. His 20 years of experience spans financial services. George has advised families, private offices and financial institutions cross asset class. Experienced in digital transformation, technology for family offices, banks, and asset owners including sovereign wealth and pension funds. Prior to joining Northern Trust George led the Wealth & Asset Management practice for the region at Ernst Young based in the UAE. Focussed primarily on banking, asset and investment management as an industry practitioner has held leadership roles at public and private institutions. George holds a BSc (Hons) and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment, educated at Sandhurst and a member of the Chartered Institute of Insurance.
Abdallah has over a decade of experience advising on transactions in the Middle East and North Africa, with particular experience advising on some of the region’s leading capital market transactions. Abdallah’s practice focuses on representing issuers, sponsors and underwriters in connection with initial public offerings across various securities exchanges, direct listings, cross-listings, carve outs and cross-border public M&A. Additionally, Abdallah’s wider practice includes advising regional and international financial investors, corporates and financial institutions on investments throughout the MENA region
Akshay Coppa is the VP of Products and a Partner at Euroland IR. Euroland IR delivers Best Practice Investor Relations services to more than 1300 stock-listed companies worldwide. Akshay has more than 12 years of experience leading product/R&D teams, strategic planning, scaling solution delivery, and building partnerships. Akshay often represents Euroland IR at global conferences and keenly follows SaaS and digital industry trends. Akshay has a Bachelor of Technology in Biotechnology from Anna University and a Master of Science in Finance from the School of Business in Gothenburg.
Executive Director – Future Design and Acceleration at Dubai Future Foundation, an innovation ecosystem formed by the Dubai government to challenge the status-quo and design a future-ready city powered by innovators and disruptors. In this role, he leads the Dubai Future Accelerators (DFA), Area 2071, and Dubai Future Labs. Most notably, he spearheads the accelerator program that connects government entities with technology companies, start-ups, and entrepreneurs from all over the world to work closely with decision-makers in Dubai to tackle and solve current and future challenges through cutting-edge technologies such as AI, IoT, Blockchain, etc.
Prior to joining Dubai Future Foundation in 2018, Saeed served as the Executive Director of Retail and Strategic Alliances at Dubai Festivals & Retail Establishment (DFRE) of Dubai Tourism and led several departments such as Strategic Alliances and Sponsorships, Retail Permits, and Retail Promotions and Raffles. He also played a key role in developing and rolling out Dubai's Retail Calendar (DRC) in 2017 that introduced new shopping seasons.
Saeed earned his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Colorado and completed his Master’s in Information Technology from Bond University in Australia
Faisal Kazim is the Future Foresight Lead at Dubai Future Foundation. He dedicates his research toward realizing Dubai's goal of becoming a leading city of the future. He studies futures of various industries, and conducts evidence-based research on their impact on Dubai's economy, environment, and society. He has a background in investment management, and he took part in the economic diversification efforts of one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world. His latest report, titled "Hydrogen: From Hype to Reality", envisions the future hydrogen economy in the UAE. He is now focusing on carbon markets and carbon removal.
Head of TMT equity research coverage and Consumers strategy at Arqaam Capital. Ziad has over 12 years of sell side research experience in Emerging Markets. Covered >85 publicly listed companies in MEA diversified space (>5 sectors in >20 countries). Consistently ranks in the top 3 TMT analysts in MENA (Extel/II) for the past 3 years. Bachelors in Business Administration from the American University of Beirut (AuB), Master in Business Administration from the Lebanese American University (LAU), CFA charter holder. Fluent in Arabic, French and English
Dhanya brings a wealth of knowledge and decades of experience in financial and corporate communications to her role as Head of Dubai at Edelman Smithfield.
Dhanya has a diverse sectoral communications background and has advised companies in banking and finance, payments, fintech, real estate, legal, oil and gas, insurance and derivatives. She has proven experience in developing and implementing contextual communications strategies that are aligned with her clients' objectives, and has advised clients on realigning communications strategies, particularly in the face of crises and special situations.
In her previous role as Senior Director at Asda'a BCW, Dhanya led impactful stakeholder engagement programs for major global and regional companies such as Visa, SHUAA, SALAMA, Eshraq Investments, Zand and AECB. She also has extensive experience in capital markets communications, including Anghami's listing on Nasdaq, SHUAA's reverse listing on DFM, and Eshraq's acquisition of Goldilocks, to name a few.
Previously, Dhanya worked at Weber Shandwick in Dubai, where she managed award-winning campaigns for global and regional financial institutions including Standard & Poor's, Credit Suisse, EY, Strategy&, Dubai Islamic Bank, Arab Petroleum Investment Corporation (APICORP), Henley & Partners, Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX), Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), RAKBANK, Baker Botts, Amlak Finance and Deyaar.
Dhanya holds a Masters in International Business from the University of Wollongong, Dubai. She is also certified in Investor Relations by the Middle East Investor Relations Association. Born and raised in Dubai, Dhanya is well versed with the intricacies of the region
