HE Rasheed M. Al Maraj,
Governor
Central Bank of Bahrain

Mr. Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj has been Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), previously the Bahrain Monetary Agency (BMA), since January 2005.

As Governor, Mr. Al Maraj carries ministerial ranking and is the chief executive of the CBB, which is responsible for ensuring monetary and financial stability in Bahrain. The CBB is also the single regulator of Bahrain’s financial services industry. Mr. Al Maraj has a wealth of experience in finance, engineering and management and has served with the Government and the private sector.

His career highlights include senior positions with Government, having served as Assistant Under-Secretary at the then Finance and National Economy Ministry and Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Transportation.

Prior to his appointment as CBB Governor, Mr. Al Maraj was General Manager and Chief Executive Officer of the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp), which is based in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

Currently, Mr. Al Maraj is on the Boards of the Economic Development Board (EDB), National Oil and Gas Authority (NOGA) and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of Bahrain.

He has previously served as Chairman of the Bahrain Telecommunications Company and as a member of the Consultation Council of the Co-operation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf.

Mr. Al Maraj is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, UK.

Jane Diplock,
Chairman, Executive Committee, International Organisation of Securities Commissions
Chairman, New Zealand Securities Commission

Jane Diplock took office as the Chairman of the New Zealand Securities Commission in September 2001. She was reappointed as Chairman in February 2006 for a further five year term.

Before her appointment as Chairman, Jane was the National Director, Infrastructure and Strategic Planning at the NZSC, and New South Wales Regional Commissioner with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Jane has also held various senior executive positions with Westpac Banking Corporation and was the managing director of the New South Wales Technical and Further Education Commission.

Jane was appointed as an officer of the General Division of the Order of Australia in January 2003 for services to: business and commerce; public administration, particularly in the areas of education and training; and the community through a range of social justice, health, educational and cultural organisations.

During her chairmanship, the NZSC has obtained additional responsibilities and powers, notably in enforcement of securities law and oversight of securities markets. The NZSC has also taken a higher profile in education about securities and in international securities regulation.

Jane is Chairman of the Executive Committee of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions, a post held concurrently with her chairmanship of the NZSC. She was elected to this post in May 2004 and was recently re-elected for a further two-year term. She is a member of the Trustee Appointments Advisory Group set up by the International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation. Jane is one of the eight leaders of international organisations (including the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Financial Stability Forum and African, Asian and Inter-American development banks) on this group. Jane is a member of the Trans Tasman Leadership Forum, and a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Management Inc.

Dr David Rutledge,
Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Multi Commodities Centre
Director, Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange

Dr David Rutledge has extensive international experience in the commodities, financial and related derivatives markets in the US, Australia and the Middle East. David, who hails from Australia, has held positions as Managing Director, Zurich Capital Markets; Chief Executive, Sydney Futures Exchange; Chief Executive of the Queensland Sugar Corporation; Vice President and Chief Economist at the New York Commodities Exchange; and Senior Vice President of Market Development at the New York Board of Trade.

David holds degrees in Economics and Statistics from the University of Sydney and Stanford University, including a PhD from Stanford. He is a Fellow of the Securities Institute of Australia.

David joined Dubai Multi Commodities Centre in February 2003 as Executive Director, Commodities. Since December 2004 he has been Chief Executive, responsible for the overall management of Dubai Multi Commodities Centre's activities in the commodities, precious metals and diamonds sectors. David has been instrumental in the development and management of the Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange, Dubai's newly formed multi-commodities exchange. He was the founding Chairman of the DGCE and is now a non-executive director. He is also the Chairman of the Dubai Diamond Exchange.

Khalid Hamad,
Executive Director, Banking Supervision
Central Bank of Bahrain

Khalid Hamad has held several senior posts at the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB).

His current responsibilities include supervision of all banking institutions, including Islamic banks, licensed by the CBB, as well as inspection of all financial institutions, comprising banks, insurance firms and capital market players.

He has also served as Director, Banking Supervision, and Acting Director, Inspection.

Mr. Hamad began his career in 1987 with the then Bahrain Monetary Agency, the predecessor of the CBB. In 2003 he joined Ernst & Young in Bahrain, serving as Senior Manager and then as Executive Manager, Risk Management & Regulatory Services. He rejoined the CBB in his current post in February 2006.

He is Chairman of the Deposit Protection Board of Bahrain, Chairman of the International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM), member of the Technical Committee of the Islamic Financial Services Board, Chairman of the Waqf Fund for research, education and training in Islamic finance and an Associate Member of Toronto Strategic Leadership. He has also served on a number of national and regional committees, including the GCC Banking Supervision Committee, Arab Banking Supervision Committee, Offshore Group of Banking Supervisors and BMA Budget Committee.

Mr. Hamad has a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Portland, USA, and a Strategic Leadership and Executive Management Program certificate from the University of Columbia, New York.

Meraj Ahmed,
Partner
Ernst & Young

Meraj Ahmed is a Partner in the Ernst & Young Middle East firm and heads the firm’s Technology & Security Risk Services practice within the ME region.

During his more than 20 years in business, Meraj has gained extensive experience in leadership roles in Information Technology governance, deployment, assurance and regulation. His client portfolio includes leading organizations in the financial, telecommunications and government sectors.

He earned his MBA from the Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania.

Abdul Rahman Al Baker,
Executive Director – Financial Institutions Supervision
Central Bank of Bahrain

Mr. Abdul Rahman Al Baker has served as Executive Director – Financial Institutions Supervision since January 2006 and his responsibilities include supervising and regulating Islamic banks and Insurance companies as well as strengthening Bahrain’s position as in International Financial center for Islamic Banks, Insurance and Fund Management.

Mr. Al Baker holds Bachelors Degree in Accounting from Poona University, India, a Master of Philosophy from the University of Surrey, UK, he is a graduate of the Gulf Executive Program, which was conducted by the University of Virginia in 1999 and has attended the Federal Deposits Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Inspection courses, Schools 1, 2 and 3 and 4.

Turki Al-Malik,
Head Of Authorization
Capital Market Authority, Saudi Arabia

Mr. Almalik is the Head of Authorisations Department at the Capital Market Authority of Saudi Arabia. His responsibilities include, overlooking and managing the authorisation process which includes the review of applications from those seeking a license to conduct securities business in Saudi Arabia.

Mr. Almalik has extensive experience of several years in the financial services industry, and has worked for multinational finance houses like J.P. Morgan Chase and Merrill Lynch at their offices in New York. At Merrill Lynch, his previous employer, he was responsible for devising and implementing investment strategies and Wealth and Asset Management for the MENA region.

Mr. Almalik received a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from King Saud University, Riyadh and attended various Executive Programs at Harvard Business School. He holds a Series 7 and 66 license.

Maryam Al Suwaidi,
Director, Issuance and Disclosure Dept
Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority

Maryam Al Suwaidi is the holder of a Masters Degree in Commercial Law from the University of Wales (U.K.). She is currently concluding her Ph.D. studies at the London School of Economics with a doctoral dissertation covering selected aspects of securities regulations. She has broad experience covering diverse environments including contributions to the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and service as a lecturer at the Institute of Training Judicial Studies - Abu Dhabi. She joined the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) in 2002 as the principal Legal Advisor to SCA. Currently, she is the Director of Issuance and Disclosure at SCA.

Mrs. Al Suwaidi has participated on many committees and teams including the Companies Licensing Joint Committee between the Ministry of Economy and the Securities and Commodities Authority chaired by the Minister of Economy; the SCA Review Committee of Laws and Regulations; the SCA Leadership Team; and the UAE negotiation team for the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States of America.

Sameer Al-Wazzan,
CEO
Solidarity Insurance

Sameer Al Wazzan, CEO - Solidarity, leads all aspects of the business with the core objective of providing a comprehensive and competitive range of Takaful products with investment opportunities primed to the highest levels of service and suitability for varying customers and market needs whilst generating satisfactory returns for shareholders and policy holders.

Sameer has over 25 years of experience in the insurance sector. During his career, he has been actively involved in re-engineering the application of the insurance businesses in Bahrain and the region; and has achieved great success in the international market place with his innovative and visionary leadership style.

Prior joining Solidarity in September 2003, Sameer was the GM of Bahrain Kuwait Insurance Company, and National Insurance Company. Sameer is a holder of Management Degree from Stanford University/ USA and from Manchester Business School/ UK.

Al Wazzan is an active member in a number of industry related associations and committees. He was the founder and Chairman of the Bahrain Insurance Association (BIA), Islamic Takaful & Re-Takaful Company (Bahrain), ITRC (Bahamas) Ltd and Takaful Islamic Insurance Company (Bahrain). Besides, Sameer is a Board member in the General Arab Insurance Federation (GAIF), Coordination Committee for Gulf Insurance & Reinsurance Association and Vice Chairman of Arab War Risk Insurance Syndicate (AWRIS).

Paul Andrews,
VP & Managing Director
FINRA

Mr. Andrews is Vice President and Managing Director of FINRA’s International Affairs and Services Department. In this capacity, he directs all international engagements. He has led a number significant international projects, including serving as the senior member of a FINRA team to advise the Securities & Exchange Board of India on market regulation issues and the implementation of a new integrated market surveillance system and assisting the Saudi Capital Markets Authority develop its policies, processes and procedures for market surveillance, enforcement, inspections, authorization, and corporate finance. In addition, he led a project with the Singapore Stock Exchange in assessing the risk related to clearing and settlement. He also lead the establishment of a Diploma program with the UK’s University of Reading to provide education and training courses for practicing compliance and regulation professionals. When he first joined FINRA (then NASD) in 1998, he servedas Counsel to Chairman and CEO Frank Zarb.

Prior to joining FINRA, Mr. Andrews spent eight years at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. During this time, he worked in the Division of Market Regulation and the Office of the General Counsel. In these capacities, Mr. Andrews lead the international affairs office in Market Regulation, researched and analyzed various legal and policy issues concerning the structure of securities markets, market intermediaries, and dispute resolution. Prior to the SEC, Mr. Andrews spent four years in private legal practice in Washington, DC.

Jan Babiak,
Managing Partner, Regulatory & Public Policy
Ernst & Young

Jan Babiak, Managing Partner - Regulatory and Public Policy, for Ernst & Young Northern Europe, Middle East, India and Africa (NEMIA), is an EY NEMIA board member with responsibility for leading the regulatory and public policy interest and corporate responsibility and climate change services of Ernst & Young in more than 40 countries. This includes board level coordination with government offices, regulatory bodies, national professional bodies and other stakeholders including clients, investors and academics.

Jan serves on Ernst & Young’s global regulatory and public policy board, and UK executive board known as the UK Leadership Team. She is also a board member of the prestigious Committee of 200, has been recognised as the CBI’s First Women of Technology in 2005 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Women in Business and Finance 2007.

Prior to this role, she was responsible for leading a team of some 800 professionals, providing IT security, programme management and assurance services. Her leadership experience spans more than 20 years resulting in frequent requests for media commentary on governance, regulation, sustainability, IT and diversity in the workplace including interviews with the FT, BBC, CNN, ITV, The Times, Reuters and Computing. She has experience across a broad spectrum of industries including insurance, airlines, entertainment, investment management, energy, and banking / capital markets.

Mark Beer,
Vice President Government Relations & Corporate Services
MasterCard Worldwide

Mark is responsible for communications, government relations, franchise management, risk management, regulatory affairs and facilities throughout South Asia, Middle East and Africa.

Mark was previously MasterCard’s regional legal counsel for South Asia, Middle East and Africa. Before joining MasterCard he worked in the corporate finance team of Man Investments in Switzerland, structuring hedge funds for global distribution. Mark has also worked as a lawyer in law firms in the United Kingdom and in Dubai.

He is a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales and a member of the UK Law Society. He represents MasterCard as a Founding Sponsor of the Hawkamah Institute, and sits on the MENA OECD Task Force on the Corporate Governance of Banks. He is also Chairman of the British Business Group, Dubai and the Northern Emirates.

Mark holds a Bachelors degree in Jurisprudence from Oxford University and completed his Law Society finals at the College of Law in York.

Thomas Beyer,
Managing Director, Global Public Services
BearingPoint Management & Technology Consultants

Mr. Beyer serves as global leader for BearingPoint’s Government Administration Competency Program and he leads the Enterprise Business Management Solution team – currently the largest Management Consulting Solution group in BearingPoint’s Public Services Solutions Group.

Under his leadership BearingPoint has successfully engineered many innovative market solutions in areas like risk & compliance, regulatory reporting, financial management and eGovernment. Mr. Beyer’s team operates across the entire US federal government, state & local governments and many international governments.

As global competency leader, Mr. Beyer is responsible for the conceptualization and realization of cross-country and cross-industry solutions in the area of risk management, compliance and eGovernment with a particular focus on the back-office, regulatory and administrative aspects of governments around the world. Mr. Beyer is also responsible for leading competency units in Europe, Middle East and Asia.

His pragmatic and analytical approach has made him a thought leader and frequent keynote speaker in the area of risk management, regulatory compliance, and financial management. He is also a recognized speaker on the subjects of eGovernment, integrated enterprise planning and federal enterprise architecture.

David Cafferty,
Regional DIrector Middle East
International Compliance Association

David Cafferty has over 20 years experience in the fields of accounting, corporate governance, financial crime, compliance, and anti-money laundering. A UK police-trained financial investigator and fraud examiner, he is also a Chartered Management Accountant and a Certified Fraud Examiner.

A Forensic Accountant by profession, David is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountant’s (CIMA), Technical Advisory Group (specialising in financial crime and money laundering); a member of the UK Consultative Committee of Accounting Bodies (CCAB) Money Laundering Working Group; a member of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists, a member of the Institute of Money Laundering Prevention Officers; a Trustee of the World Association of Compliance; a member of the International Compliance Association; a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners; a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors; and a member of the UK Fraud Advisory Panel. He is also a member of the European Corporate Governance Institute and is registered as an “expert” with the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

He is an international speaker on subjects relating to corporate governance, financial crime, compliance, and money laundering and a regular contributor to journals, magazines and newspapers on the same subjects. He has appeared on television in the UK and overseas as a subject matter specialist and has written a number of books in relation to Fraud Risk Management and Anti-Money Laundering, as well as developing a Fraud Risk Management Model which was recommended for use by the United Nations.

His professional activities includes 5 years with the third largest Fraud squad in the UK and a number of years acting as a trainer, investigator and consultant in the fields of corporate governance, financial crime, compliance, and money laundering.

Specialist assignments include criminal cases of serious or complicated frauds, while civil cases encompass matrimonial disputes, personal injury, taxation, commercial disputes, and insurance accounting in relation to claims for business interruption and increased costs of working as well as fidelity claims. Industry experience includes local and central government, law enforcement (in the UK and Overseas), professional bodies, oil and gas, communications, IT, energy, hospitality, manufacturing, construction, financial services, banking, leisure, and transport.

Assignments and speaking engagements have seen David working in many countries around the world and, for example, assignments in 2007 included visits to Zambia, Botswana, Lebanon, South Africa, Poland, UK, Malaya, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and the Philippines.

Niall Coburn,
Head Of Corporate Governance
Al-Khaliji Commercial Bank

Niall is an Australian national with over 20 years of experience in financial and regulatory law.

His career spans senior legal and compliance positions with financial institutions in both the Middle East in Qatar and Dubai and in Australia. Niall holds professional qualifications, including a Master of Laws degree from Melbourne University, and Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts (Economics) degrees from the University of Tasmania. In addition he holds an Executive Graduate Diploma in Business from the Mt. Eliza Business School.

In 1984, Niall was as admitted to the High Court of Australia and Supreme Courts as a Barrister and Solicitor. He was a Barrister at Law Owen Dixon Chambers Australia, subsequently a Principal Lawyer with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). In 2002, Niall was awarded an Australia day honour medal for his work in corporate investigations with ASIC.

In 2003, Niall joined the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) at Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). As a Director in the international legal team, he assisted in the drafting of the DIFC’s legal and regulatory framework. He was later selected to head the enforcement team as Director, reporting to the CEO. He has given advice to governments on compliance, throughout the Middle East, including Egypt and Jordan.

Niall will lead al khaliji’s legal, compliance and corporate governance teams, ensuring international best practice is implemented across the company.

He brings to al khaliji not only his two decades of experience at the most senior levels of the legal and compliance field in the financial sector, but also five years of experience working in the Middle East. His role will be critical in ensuring al khaliji’s success as Qatar moves towards a single regulatory structure.

Richard Ellis,
Adviser Banking Supervision
Central Bank of Bahrain

Richard Ellis is the Advisor, Banking Supervision at the Central Bank of Bahrain.

Mr. Ellis has worked for a total of four central banks, including the Central Bank of Kuwait, the Central Bank of the Bahamas and the Bank of England. During this time he has worked in banking supervision, primarily on the drafting and implementation of regulatory policy and more latterly anti-money laundering measures, complemented by work in on and off-site supervision.

He has also worked in the private sector in the regulatory practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers, and in the retail and corporate divisions of HSBC.

Mr. Ellis is a member of the CBB’s Basel 2 Implementation Task Force, and the team that is producing the CBB’s new Investment Business Rulebook. He also oversaw the compilation of the Conventional and Islamic Banks Prudential Rulebooks at the CBB in 2004 and 2005 which included the CBB’s enhanced requirements for corporate governance of banks.

Alderman David Lewis,
Lord Mayor
City of London

David Lewis is a corporate finance solicitor who has worked in the City and the Far East for 35 years. He is now a consultant with the international law firm, Norton Rose, having retired as Senior Partner in 2003 aged 55. He was elected an Alderman in 2001. He is an alumnus and Hon Fellow of Jesus College Oxford. Chairman of the Governors of the Dragon School and an Almoner of Christ's Hospital. He is a trustee of a number of charities and a Liveryman of the Solicitors' Company, the Fletchers Company and the Welsh Livery Guild.

Gary Long,
President & Chief Operating Officer
Investcorp

Gary Long joined Investcorp in 1994 as Chief Financial Officer. He was appointed Chief Operating Officer in 2003 and took on the role of President in 2007. He is responsible for Investcorp's five product areas, its business support and finance functions and its placement activities. As such, he has overall responsibility for the financial and investment performance of the firm.

Before joining Investcorp Gary spent 14 years in senior financial positions with American Express Travel Related Services in London and New York. He was previously a strategic planning specialist with management consultants Arthur Young and Company in New York.

Gary holds a BA (Hons) in Economics from Davidson College, North Carolina, and an MBA from Harvard University. He is a Certified Public Accountant and has a post-graduate degree in Accounting from the Graduate School of Business, Northwestern University, Illinois.

He is a board member of the Bankers' Society of Bahrain, the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance and the American Association of Bahrain. He is also on the board of the Crown Prince's International Scholarship Program.

Ruth Martin,
Managing Director
The Securities & Investment Institute

Ruth's first career was in the executive Civil Service at the Department of Employment where she held a range of managerial and policy posts related to the links between employment and training. She has been a principal lecturer in management, specializing in training management and a consultant specializing in accreditation and competency based training and assessment. She has an MA from Departmental Organisational Psychology, Birbeck College University of London, is a member of the Chartered Management Institute and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Prior to joining Institute she was Director of Professional Development at the Market Research Society.

Initially Director of Qualifications at the Securities & Investment Institute she became Managing Director in 2004.

Michael Matossian,
EVP and Global Head of Group Regulatory Compliance
Arab bank plc

Michael Matossian Joined Arab Bank plc in November 2005 as EVP and Global Head of Group Regulatory Compliance. Mr. Matossian has more than 25 years of experience in regulatory risk management, anti-money laundering, and compliance. Over the past 15 years his roles have included serving as Chief Compliance Officer, as well as SVP and Director of Regulatory Risk Management, Director of Anti-Money Laundering, BSA Officer, and General Auditor at three different leading U.S. financial institutions; he spent 10 years working for a "Big Four" public accounting firm, and two years with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Mr. Matossian participates on several national and international task forces addressing anti-money laundering and compliance matters. He holds the following certifications: Certified Public Accountant, Certified Management Accountant, Certified Risk Professional, Certified Fraud Examiner, and Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist.

Eric Milne,
Senior Middle East Counsel
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Eric Milne is Senior Middle East Counsel in the Dubai office of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and is a member of the firm's Banking Team. His main area of practice is banking and project finance, advising both lenders and borrowers, with particular emphasis on acquisition, leveraged and project financings. He has also been involved in IPOs, telecoms work, public to privates and multi-jurisdictional leveraged buyouts.

He has extensive finance related experience in the region, and recent deals have included advising MTN Group on its acquisition of Dubai-based Investcom for US$5.53bn - the first acquisition of a DIFX listed entity which involved close dialogue with the Dubai Financial Services Authority in relation to the application of their new takeover rules and Dubai International Capital (the Dubai-based international private equity investment arm of Dubai Holding) on its acquisition of Travelodge for £675 million from the Permira Funds.

Jamie Orchard,
Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director Legal and Regulatory
Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority

Jamie Orchard has a distinguished background as a barrister and solicitor for more than 18 years. He has received a Bachelor of Laws (with Honours), a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practices and a Master of Laws, all from the Queensland University of Technology. Additionally, Jamie has received a Graduate Certificate in Business Administration from the University of Queensland and a Certificate in Arabic and Arab Studies from the University of Durham.

Jamie has, for the last 15 years, focused on financial services regulation. He has held roles as Director of Enforcement of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and Managing Director of Enforcement of the Dubai Financial Services Authority.

Babul J Parikh,
Special Counsel, Global Projects
Law Office of Mohanned bin Saud Al-Rasheed, in Association with Baker Botts L.L.P

Babul is a special counsel of Baker Botts LLP and the firm’s senior lawyer in its office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A member of Baker Botts Global Projects group, his practice includes Saudi Arabian financial services and capital markets regulation and also foreign investment and real investment regulation.

Babul joined Baker Botts from White & Case in 2005 where he spent 7 years. He has been based in Riyadh for nearly 10 years, during which time he has represented international and regional banks, developers and sponsors on several major petrochemical, infrastructure and real estate projects in Saudi Arabia. He has also advised major multinationals on several corporate and M&A transactions in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Gulf region.

Prior to his time in Saudi Arabia Babul worked for several years on infrastructure projects and corparate transactions in London, Hong Kong and Dubai with Clifford Chance.

Babul qualified as an English solicitor in 1990 after obtaining a BA (Hons) in Economics at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England.

Lubna Qassim,
Executive Director, Legal and Regulatory Affairs
Dubai Council for Economic Affairs

Lubna, a UAE national, spent most of her academic life and professional life in the UK. She graduated from Brunel University, England with an Honours Degree in Law and gained a Distinction Postgraduate Degree in Law from Leeds University, England.

Lubna is a pioneer in her field and the first UAE national to have read law in England and to obtain a LLB with Honours from England and also the first to have successfully completed the Legal Practice Course, the English solicitor’s exams, with a distinction. Lubna is also an advocate with the rights of audience before the UAE courts. She has a comprehensive experience of 7 years in dual jurisdictions.

She initially worked for a well respected local law firm, Al Tamimi and Company. However, when the opportunity arose she made the move to the largest global law firm in the world, Clifford Chance, to gain more exposure to international transactions. She has worked in the commercial corporate groups and the securitisation group of the firm. She has also extensively assisted Clifford Chance Paris and London in relation to a recent major arbitration case. She worked both in Dubai office and London office of Clifford Chance. She was head hunted and on her return from London, recently joined the Dubai Council for Economic Affairs as the Executive Director for legal and regulatory affairs. She aims to develop this division into an important arm to develop the legal infrastructure of the UAE.

She has extensive experience in advising on UAE, GCC and English law. She has particular experience in commercial law, corporate legal structures, capital markets, employment law, arbitration and litigation. She has written many articles for various publications and is a member of the Law Society of England and Wales. She is a strong believer and passionate about developing the legal framework and institutional framework of the UAE to support the UAE Economy.

She is also the first UAE national to have worked at the House of Lords, Parliament of the UK. She assisted one of the Lords on various projects and one of the bigger projects she worked on was for United Nations. During her experience at the House of Lords, she was in contact with prestigious political figures of the UK. She has a large diversified contact base around the globe.

She is a valued asset being a multi-linguist; she speaks fluently in five languages and at present learning Mandarin.

Lubna also takes an interest in the progression of women’s rights in the Middle East and actively attends various regional debates supporting the voices of change.

Shahram Safai,
partner
Afridi & Angell

Shahram Safai is a partner at Afridi & Angell in Dubai advising on corporate law and real estate law matters. He holds an L.L.B. from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. He is also an experienced, registered professional engineer with a degree in Engineering from the University of British Columbia and a Master of Business Administration from Webster University, St. Louis, Missouri. He is a member of the Law Society of England & Wales, the California State Bar and the Association of Professional Engineers of British Columbia. Afridi & Angell is an international law firm with offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates and New York, U.S.A. and a representative office in Shanghai, China. The firm conducts a corporate, commercial, real estate, construction, and financial legal practice concentrating on the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.

Afridi & Angell is a member of Lex Mundi, the world’s leading association of independent law firms, representing 160 jurisdictions and more than 20,000 lawyers worldwide.

Aryan Schoorl,
senior counsel
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Aryan Schoorl is a senior counsel in the Dubai office of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and is a member of its financial services regulatory practice. Aryan has a wide range of regulatory and market infrastructure experience in both Europe and the Middle East. He frequently advises on Middle-East financial services and capital markets regulation.

Aryan joined the firm from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), where he was a senior regulator. He also worked for the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM). His roles included the international supervision of Euronext markets (cash and derivatives), expert group membership of the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR), the authorisation and supervision of the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX) and the authorisation of the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME).

Prior to his regulatory roles, Aryan was a capital markets and financial services lawyer, advising corporates and financial institutions on primary and secondary markets as well as on contentious and non-contentious regulatory matters. Aryan was admitted to the Bar in Amsterdam, the Netherlands in 1999. He was educated at the Universities of Amsterdam and Berlin (Germany) and he holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree.

Al-Harith Sinclair ,
partner and Head of Regulatory and Government Affairs for the Middle East
DLA Piper

Al-Harith is a partner in the Dubai office and is Head of Regulatory and Government Affairs for the Middle East.

His particular areas of expertise include regulation of financial institutions, government regulation and affairs, regulation of mergers and acquisitions, competition and consumer protection regulation, investigations and white-collar crime advice.

Al-Harith has 11 years of experience in regulation and has specialised in financial institution regulation for the last nine years. Much of this experience was gained at Clifford Chance, where Al-Harith worked in the financial regulatory department and at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton where he headed up the UK financial regulatory function globally. As a specialist in the whole spectrum of financial regulation, Al-Harith has advised leading multinational banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions on matters including new authorisations, new products, regulatory capital structuring, general compliance and liaising with regulators and local counsel around the world.

Al-Harith is regularly asked by the media to comment on issues arising from changes in legislation in the Middle East in relation to financial markets and other regulated sectors.

Al-Harith liaises closely with governments and national regulators in the Middle East.

Kit Stevenson,
Head of HR
Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority

Mr. Kit Stevenson is a Human Resources (HR) leader with professional and educational achievements across the U.S., U.K., and Middle East. Kit is currently the Head of Human Resources with the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA) in Doha. There he formed the HR team and established the HR policy and function to drive the growth of the new regulator while maintaining a clear focus on international best practices and the achievement of international employment standards.

Prior to joining the QFCRA, Kit held managerial roles in HR with industry-leading organisations in the U.S. in the real-estate investment and development, manufacturing and distribution, and retail sectors with both regional and nation-wide areas of responsibility. Kit is a graduate of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne School of Management and holds a Masters Degree in HR Management with emphasis on international HR. Additionally, he is CIPD qualified and a member of the HR Association of Qatar. Kit is passionate about addressing the challenges and opportunities of a mobile global workforce and is highly interested in GCC employment trends, expatriate administration, and international HR Management as a whole. He enjoys networking with like-minded professionals and can be contacted at k.stevenson@qfcra.com.

David Symes,
Managing Director
Compliance Recruitment Solutions

David is a Chartered Accountant with 20 years experience of the Compliance & Regulatory world, the last 10 of which he has been running CRS.

After graduating from Manchester University with a Bachelor of Arts (Economics) he qualified with a leading City firm then moved to Banque Indosuez (now part of Calyon) in Internal Audit. In 1988 as the first UK Financial Services Act came into force he joined the Guardian Royal Exchange (then a FTSE 100 Group, now part of Axa) to help set up their first Compliance Department where he was Deputy Head of Group Compliance directly in charge of Fund Management Compliance and later all regulated Insurance activity.

In 1994 he moved into Recruitment and in 1997 set up Compliance Recruitment Solutions whilst also working as a Compliance Consultant for various Fund Management firms. CRS has gradually expanded only employing former Compliance staff and in 2005 first opened an office in Dubai, where they now operate in partnership with CCL the specialist Compliance Consultants, and also have an office in Sydney primarily to source candidates for the GCC & European regions.

David is well connected in both the UK & GCC Compliance spheres and chairs the London Chartered Accountants Compliance Group he originally co-founded in 1988. He has also become a leading authority on recruitment issues & trends in the Compliance & Regulatory fields, structuring the main specialist salary survey used in the UK job market (and working on similar for the GCC) and assisting in designing several jobsites. In addition he has worked with various UK bodies in developing a set of standards for AML & Compliance staff, written articles for industry publications on regulatory standards as well as job market trends and acted as a technical consultant to several major publishers.

Phillip Thorpe,
Chairman And CE
Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority

Phillip Thorpe began his career as a barrister and solicitor in New Zealand before moving to Hong Kong to take on various senior posts with the Hong Kong Securities Commission. He was later appointed the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Futures Exchange. In 1989 he moved to London as Chief Executive of the Association of Futures Brokers and Dealers and subsequently became an Executive Director of the Securities and Futures Authority of the UK.

Following this post, he served as Chief Executive to the London Commodity Exchange, Chief Executive of IMRO (the fund management regulator), and Managing Director of the then newly formed Financial Services Authority in the UK. More recently, he has held the post of Chief Executive of the Institute for Financial Markets in Washington DC and the Chief Executive of the Dubai Financial Services Authority.

Michael Webb,
MD Financial Sector Development & Policy
Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority

Michael Webb is a graduate in Law of Victoria University of Wellington. Prior to joining the QFC Regulatory Authority, Webb was a leading New Zealand commercial barrister. He specialised in securities, banking, corporate, insolvency and public regulatory law, acting in advisory, contentious business and transactional matters. He has been closely involved in financial markets, corporate and insolvency law development and reform.

He has also acted in lead legal roles in regulatory regimes for the electricity and telecommunications sectors. From 1992 to 2003 he was a member and Acting Chairman of the New Zealand Securities Commission. Other appointments have included as a director of significant New Zealand and Australian companies and recently Chair of the Ministerial Task Force on Financial Intermediaries in New Zealand.

Austin Wiehe,
Attaché
U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)
U.S. Embassy, Abu Dhabi

Attaché for the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) at the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi, he has worked for many years as a U.S. government analyst supporting the formulation and implementation of U.S. financial sanctions against both countries and persons, as well as analyzing the effectiveness and impact of these programs. Most recently he has served as the Chief of OFAC’s Country Programs Section and Foreign Terrorism Division.

Steven Williams,
Executive Vice President - Group Financial Controller
Gulf International Bank

Stephen is Executive Vice President and Group Financial Controller of Gulf International Bank B.S.C. (GIB). He joined GIB in 1987 and was appointed Group Financial Controller in 2000.

Stephen is a member of GIB’s senior management team with responsibility for Groupwide financial, management and regulatory reporting, and involvement in the Group’s strategic planning process. He is also responsible for GIB’s treasury and market risk management reporting. Stephen is a member of GIB’s Group Risk Committee and Assets and Liabilities Committee (ALCO). During his time with GIB he has worked with a number of the major management consulting firms, including Booz Allen, McKinsey and Oliver Wyman, on the development of the bank’s strategic plans and, more recently, on the implementation of a risk-adjusted return on economic capital (RAROC) methodology for financial planning and performance measurement purposes. Stephen is responsible for GIB’s Basel II implementation project and was a member of the Institute for International Finance’s (IIF) Working Group on the new Basel II capital adequacy proposals.

Stephen is a qualified chartered accountant (ACA) and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). Prior to joining GIB, Stephen worked for KPMG in both Bahrain and London.

Michael Zamorski,
Managing Director, Supervision
Dubai Financial Services Authority

Michael joined the Dubai Financial Services Authority in April 2006 after a 29 year career with the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to oversee Supervision of Authorised Firms within the DIFC. As FDIC’s Director of the Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection, he was responsible for overseeing the FDIC’s bank supervisory activities for safety and soundness, as well as compliance and consumer protection for the 5,200 institutions under its jurisdiction. Michael was a Member of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the prudential standard-setter for large, internationally-active banks, from 2000 to 2006. Michael holds a BS degree in Economics, conferred cum laude, from Villanova University, Pennsylvania and is a graduate of the American Bankers’ Association’s Stonier Graduate School of Banking.