Ayman Ahmed Mohammed has over 20 years of experience in Islamic banking operations across the Republic of Sudan, Saudi Arabi and Bahrain. He has held his current role in Al Baraka Banking Group since 2006, prior to which he was head of research and development in the founding team of the General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI). Ayman is a graduate of Economics from Pune University in India.

Years served: 2014, 2015

Daud Vicary Abdullah is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of INCEIF, The Global University of Islamic Finance. He has been in the finance and consulting industry for over 43 years, with significant experience in Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. Since 2002, he has focused exclusively on Islamic finance where he has contributed to a number of books on the subject and has co-authored a book on Islamic finance entitled “Islamic Finance: Why it makes sense.” He is also a frequent speaker and commentator on matters relating to Islamic finance. Prior to INCEIF, Daud was the Global Islamic Finance Leader with Deloitte. He was also previously Acting CEO of Asian Finance Bank, an Islamic bank based in Malaysia, and was the first Managing Director of Hong Leong Islamic Bank.

Dr. Sayd Farook is a veteran C-suite professional with a strong knowledge management and strategy execution track record. He has advised and served large corporates, multilaterals and governments in the Middle East and North Africa region in his role as Global Head Islamic Capital Markets at Thomson Reuters. Previously, he was the Global Head Islamic Capital Markets at Thomson Reuters, where he advised and served large corporates, multilaterals and governments in the Middle East, North Africa and South East Asia. During the duration of his five year leadership stint at Thomson Reuters where he oversaw the Islamic markets strategy, he conceived and led his 25 strong team to achieve a number of industry firsts besides growing and leading a profitable and highly visible business. He also advises and produces a number of research based insights for government entities in the GCC.

Mahdi Kilani is the head of Business Banking at Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank. He joined the bank in 2007. As head of business banking, Mr. Kilani oversees the bank’s SME business banking function, and all its services, including finance transacting, accounts, and all other SME customer needs. The business banking division caters solely to SME customers. Mr. Kilani founded ADIB’s business banking function upon joining the firm in 2007; the bank had not previously offered any specialized SME services. The specialization was created within the bank to focus on SMEs as a driving force of the UAE economy. Since its foundation the business banking division has seen its customer base grow from 20,000 to 60,000 customers, quadrupling top line revenues in the division. Under Mr. Kilani’s leadership the bank has developed dedicated business centers that cater directly to SMEs. Before joining ADIB, Mr. Kilani was with Commercial Bank International (CBI) where he established the Retail Banking Group. Prior to that, he was with Islamic International Arab Bank in Jordan, where he spearheaded the establishment of the Retail Banking Business and introduced a Shari’a compliant structure of retail banking products. Mr. Kilani is currently the head of the SME Committee at the UAE Banks Federation. Mr. Kilani holds an MBA from the City University of London Cass Business School and a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Civil Engineering from Middlesex University.

Michael Lafferty is chairman of Lafferty Group, an international research, education and publishing house with a worldwide clientele. Michael founded Lafferty Group in 1981 leaving the Financial Times, where he was responsible for banking coverage. He is currently deputy chairman of Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF), a global think-tank for central banks and sovereign funds and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Years Served: 2013, 2014

Mustafa Adil is the Head of Islamic Finance for Thomson Reuters. He is responsible for leading the Islamic finance and Islamic markets business for the organization, providing knowledge solutions and bespoke services to support the continued growth and increasing depth of the Islamic finance industry. He works in collaboration with government entities, multilateral organizations and leading financial institutions to support them in fulfilling their aspirations and executing their strategies in the Islamic markets space. These include the delivery of knowledge solutions, research, consulting services and market engagement. He also spearheads the development of new initiatives or services that meet the increasingly sophisticated needs of the industry across markets.

Prof Datuk Rifaat has served on several international bodies, including the Basel Consultative Group, Basel Committee for Banking Supervision, the Consultative Advisory Group of the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, and the Standards Advisory Council of the International Accounting Standards Board. Prior to taking the helm at IILM in 2012, he was the inaugural Secretary-General of both the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), from 2003, and the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI). He is author of several books, and a considerable number of academic and professional papers. He is Visiting Professor at the ICMA Centre, Henley Business School, University of Reading, UK, and Adjunct Professor at the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF) in Malaysia, where he also serves on the Governing Council. He received his PhD from the University of Bath, UK.

Ramlie has extensive experience in the global capital markets and financial services industry, spanning over 20 years in Singapore and Malaysia, and covering the areas of global sales, advisory services and deal executions of capital market products, listed derivatives products, insurance and risk transfer solutions, and Shariah and Ethical investment products. He was lately appointed CEO of 3 different businesses (Asset Management, Insurance & Takaful Advisory, Derivatives Sales & Broking) and served as Board Member of several subsidiaries during his tenure with CIMB Group. He actively participates in industry consultative sessions conducted by Bank Negara Malaysia and Securities Commission Malaysia over the years. He has also served the Derivatives Consultative Panel of Bursa Malaysia, the Malaysian Futures Broking Association and the Malaysian Insurance and Takaful Brokers Association in various capacities.

Years Served: 2014, 2015

Sheikh Yusuf is an independent Shariah advisor and scholar of Islamic Transactional Law. He serves as Chairman of the Shariah Board for the Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes, the Islamic Interbank Benchmark Rate (IIBR), Wafra (the Kuwait Investment Advisory Group), Oasis Asset Management (South Africa), The Kotak Mahindra Shariah Fund and others. Sheikh Yusuf is a member of the Shariah Committee of the Accounting and Auditing Organization of Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), the Council of Scholars, International Shariah Research Academy for Islamic Finance (ISRA), and a founding member of the Governing Council of the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF). Sheikh Yusuf is widely published and authored a three volume Compendium of Legal Opinions on the Operations of Islamic Banks, the first English/Arabic reference on the fatawa issued by Shariah boards.

Years Served: 2013

Stella Cox is Managing Director of DDCAP, a leading intermediary in the wholesale Islamic Capital Markets. During her thirty year career in financial services, Stella has served as an Independent Non-Executive Director of a UK Islamic bank and has worked within Islamic Finance market development committees formed by several overseas financial regulators and authorities. In 2013, the UK Government launched the first Islamic Finance Task Force. Stella was one of a small group of non-ministerial industry experts within the Task Force. Stella currently serves as Chair of the Islamic Finance Market Advisory Group established in 2014 by TheCityUK and has recently been appointed a Trustee of the Responsible Finance Institute.