Speakers

Iqbal Ahmad Khan is the Chief Executive Officer of Fajr Capital. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam, GEMS Education, Jadwa Investment, MENA Infrastructure and National Petroleum Services. Previously, he was the founding CEO of HSBC Amanah, the global Islamic financial services division of the HSBC Group. He is a long-time advocate of the Islamic financial services industry, serving as an advisor to government initiatives in Brunei, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. He holds a Master’s degree in Political Science and International Relations and a B.Sc. (Hons) in Physics and Chemistry, both from Aligarh Muslim University.

He is the recipient of several industry and global accolades, including the Royal Award for Islamic Finance, a biannual prize presented by HM the King of Malaysia, and a Lifetime Achievement Award presented by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the UAE.

Credited with driving Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) to the USD 40 Billion global entity it is today, Dr. Adnan Chilwan, Group CEO of DIB, is widely recognized as a dynamic transformational leader, pushing multi layered innovative change across not only strategic but microcosmic levels as well . On a personal mission to make modern Islamic banking a norm of banking globally, Dr. Adnan Chilwan with over 20 years of banking expertise is already hailed as a pioneering driver of Islamic finance in his own right. Dr. Chilwan has a PhD and a MBA in Marketing to his credentials. He is a Certified Islamic Banker (CeIB), a Post Graduate in Islamic Banking & Insurance and an Associate Fellow Member in Islamic Finance Professionals Board.

Dato’ Wan Mohd Fadzmi Wan Othman was appointed as the President/Chief Executive Officer of Agrobank on 1 July 2011. He also concurrently serves as the Chairman of the Management Committee, Management Credit Committee, Asset Liability Committee, Management Information Technology and Transformation Committee, Management Risk Committee and Human Resource Management Committee. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Construction Economics from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia. He also attended the Advanced Management Program (AMP) at Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Prior to joining Agrobank, he was the Director of Global Financial Banking to RHB Banking Group. He was also attached to Maybank Group for 22 years where he held several senior management positions including Country Head for Maybank’s branches in London, New York and Hong Kong. He is also a Board Member of the Farmers’ Organisation Authority Malaysia (LPP).

Dr Amat Taap Manshor has been the CEO of the Finance Accreditation Agency (FAA) since its inception in August 2012.

With a proven track record of over 20 years, Dr Amat has set FAA on a solid path towards becoming a leader in the development of quality talent for the Financial Services Industry, with particular focus on the Islamic Finance sector.

Dr Amat aspires to create a solid foundation for the improvement of human capital in the Islamic financial services industry through the development of quality standards and practices. He firmly believes that the continuous growth of the Islamic economy is dependent on the financial ecosystem in which it operates and on a skilled and competent workforce.

Under his stewardship, FAA has taken an astute and strategic approach to professional learning and development by engaging industry experts and market leaders to ensure that courses and learning modules are relevant to the industry’s needs and requirements and are line with international best practices.

Fadi Al Faqih was awarded the prestigious “Islamic Banker of The Year” by the World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC) in recognition for his tireless dedication and immeasurable contributions to Islamic banking and finance. Under his leadership, BOK has enhanced and developed its services to offer a full range of products and services to include corporate banking, retail banking, SME, microfinance, treasury and investment banking across multiple channels in Sudan.

Ramlie Kamsari is one of the youngest CEOs of an Islamic asset management firm. Before joining Nomura Islamic Asset Management as CEO, Ramlie Kamsari led another Islamic asset management firm with multi-billion AUM.
"I am delighted to be part of such a prestigious Islamic finance leadership executive programme, and looking forward to meeting with the delegates coming from all over the world." Ramlie Kamsari, CEO of Nomura Islamic Asset Management.

Sheikh Dr. Mohd. Akram Laldin is one of the most influential Shari'a scholars playing a lead role in the global Islamic financial services industry. As Executive Director of ISRA, he manages a large team of researchers who have contributed immensely to applied Shari'a research specific to Islamic banking and finance. He also advises numerous financial institutions on matters related with Islamic finance. As a member of the Central Shari'a Advisory Council of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), he is central to all the Shari'a related developments in Islamic banking and finance in Malaysia.

Dr. Mohd Daud Bakar is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Amanie Group that deals with many facets of global Islamic finance from Shariah advisory to structured training to media and to Big Data Analytics. Under Dr. Daud leadership, Amanie Advisors has received an award of “Islamic Economy Knowledge Infrastructure”, at the Global Islamic Economy Summit 2015, by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Oct 2015.

Dr. Daud has been honoured with “The Asset Triple A Industry Leadership Award”, “Shariah Adviser Award”, “Most Outstanding Individual” and “Award of Excellence for Outstanding Contribution for Shariah Leadership & Advisory” for his exceptional contribution to Islamic finance Industry.

On the publication side, Dr. Daud has just published his first master piece book entitled “Shariah Minds in Islamic Finance: An Inside Story of A Shariah Scholar”.

Jonathan Lawrence is a partner of the global law firm, K&L Gates. He has been a finance lawyer for nearly 20 years and co-heads the firm’s Islamic Finance practice. He is based in the London office and works closely with colleagues in the Doha, Dubai and Singapore offices as well as other practice areas including real estate and financial services. The firm advises principally on English, United Arab Emirates, Qatari, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) laws as they touch Islamic-compliant transactions and structures, and his team works with other counsel to advise on local law issues in many countries.

Dr. M. Yaqub Mirza is an American Muslim entrepreneur who co-founded the first and the largest Islamic mutual fund in the USA, Amanah Mutual Fund Trust. Currently, he is serving as President & CEO of Sterling Management Group Inc., a US-based investment management company. Given Dr. Mirza&quo:s vast experience of managing ethical investments, mergers and acquisitions, and his role entrepreneurial role in his family business in halal sector in the USA, the delegates of Cambridge-IFLP will immensely benefit from his leadership perspective. Dr. Mirza will also share some of the parts of his books, "Faith-based Entrepreneurship" and "Five Pillars of Prosperity."

Iqbal has led the National Zakat Foundation since November 2011, a few months after its inception and launch. Prior to joining NZF, he worked for over five years in the investment banking industry as an equity research analyst in London. He holds an MA in Economics and Management from Cambridge University, where he was President of the Islamic Society, and an MSc in Voluntary Sector Management from Cass Business School.

Iqbal believes passionately in the transformational potential of Zakat when it is properly institutionalised. He has spoken extensively about Zakat and NZF across the UK and has also presented to international audiences, notably at the Global Donors Forum, convened by the World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists, and the World Islamic Economic Forum.

Mohammed Amin’s special interest is the taxation and regulatory treatment of Islamic finance by governments in Muslim majority and Muslim minority countries. He graduated in mathematics from Cambridge University, and is a chartered accountant, a chartered tax advisor and a qualified corporate treasurer.

Until the end of 2009, Amin was a tax partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and led PwC’s Islamic Finance practice in the UK as well as being a member of PwC’s four-person Global Islamic Finance Leadership Team. He was the lead researcher for the study “Cross Border Taxation of Islamic Finance in the MENA Region – Phase One” which was published by the Qatar Financial Centre Authority in early 2013.

Amin regularly writes about Islamic finance in articles, book chapters and on his personal website www.mohammedamin.com. Amin has presented on Islamic finance in over 20 cities outside the UK.

Muhammad Ikram Thowfeek, a Chartered Accountant by profession and an Islamic Banker by practice. He specializes in setting-up Islamic Financial Institutions and very passionate about training and career coaching. He is a renowned author in Islamic finance topics and a prominent speaker at Global Islamic Finance Forums.

Dr. Mohammed Abdel-Haq is a leader, with multi-pronged interests and roles. As an investment banker, he has served as Managing Director and Global Head of HSBC Amanah Private Banking. After leaving HSBC, he remained involved in asset and wealth management banking, and at present owns a private merchant bank in London. In academia, he continues to play a lead role through a number of engagements, most notably Centre for Islamic Finance at Bolton University, which he helped set up.

Dr. Mohammed Abdel-Haq is actively involved in British politics, and is a member of the ruling Conservative Party.