His Excellency Tahir Salim Al Amri is the Executive President of the Central Bank of Oman (CBO), and was appointed by a Royal Decree No.44/2017 in September 2017. Through his leadership, CBO proactively provides a stable framework for economic development of Oman through the effective, efficient and transparent implementation of monetary and exchange rate policy and management of the financial sector.

His career started at the Ministry of Finance in revenue accountancy before becoming the Acting Director of Oil Revenue and then the Director of Gas Revenue. Later in his career, he became the Director General of Treasury and Accounts and then the Director General of budget and Contracts. In 2015, HE Al Amri moved to the private sector as Deputy CEO of Oman Investment and Finance Company and was engaged in a transformation journey to enhance efficiency and productivity before his appointment at CBO.

As a policy professional in treasury, finance and economy and an accountant by education, HE Al Amri served on the Board of several prestigious private and public entities, for a variety of businesses from a leading local bank, to sovereign wealth funds, shipping, and oil and gas industry. His pragmatic approach played an important role in participating in the negotiations of national  agreements spanning technical licensing and construction contracts, writing of articles of association, Oil and Gas upstream agreements, shareholders’ agreements, shipping contracts, establishing credit policies and procedures, and Audit Committees, to name a few.

Ms. Nor Shamsiah is the 9 th Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia, assuming office on 1 July 2018. She chairs Bank Negara Malaysia’s Monetary Policy Committee, the Financial Stability Committee and the Financial Stability Executive Committee.

Prior to her appointment as Governor, she served as Assistant Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Division of the International Monetary Fund.

Ms. Nor Shamsiah joined Bank Negara Malaysia in 1987 and has served in various areas including prudential regulations, legislation, policies and guidelines for the financial sector and supervision. She was involved in the financial sector resolution initiatives during the Asian financial crisis. She was instrumental in the formulation and implementation of the Financial Sector Masterplan (2001-2010) and Financial Sector Blueprint (2011-2020) that charted the development of the Malaysian financial system.

As Deputy Governor from 2010 to 2016, Ms. Nor Shamsiah was responsible for banking, insurance and Takaful supervision, financial intelligence and enforcement, talent management, finance and shared services of the central bank. She also represented Bank Negara Malaysia in the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and the Financial Action Task Force.

Ms. Nor Shamsiah graduated from the University of South Australia with a Bachelor of Arts in Accountancy and is a Certified Practising Accountant (CPA).

By Royal Decree, H.E. Dr. Ziad Fariz was appointed as Governor of the Central Bank of Jordan on January 10 ^th , 2012.

Prior to that, Dr. Fariz held the position of Chairman of First Investment Group. Between August 2007 and February 2009, he held the position of Chairman of the Board of Capital Bank. Before that, he served as the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance during the period from November 28 ^th , 2005 until September 2 ^nd , 2007.

Between 2001 and November 27 ^th , 2005, Dr. Fariz was the Chief Executive Officer of the Arab Banking Corporation in Jordan.  Prior to that, he served as Governor of the Central Bank of Jordan between 1996 and 2001.

In 1995, H.E. worked on establishing Capital Bank and then became chairman of its board of directors. Prior to that, he served as a Minister of Planning and International Cooperation from June 20 ^th , 1991 until June 8 ^th , 1994. During the period December 6 ^th 1989 until June 20 ^th , 1991, he was appointed as Minister for Industry and Trade. In 1984, H.E. was appointed General Secretary for the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation until April 1989, when he was then appointed as a Minister until December 6 ^th , 1989.

H.E. started his professional career at the Central Bank in 1966 as an economic researcher in the external trade division of the research department. After completing his Ph.D. in 1978, he rejoined the Central Bank of Jordan as an economic consultant and then as an executive director for both the research and the investment and foreign operations departments.

Dr. Fariz was born in the city of Salt, Jordan in 1943. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Keele University, U.K and a Bachelors degree from the University of Baghdad, Iraq.  He is also a member of the Board of various educational, cultural and banking institutions.

His Excellency Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair is the CEO of Mashreq Group and he is the member of the Board of Directors of Abdullah Al Ghurair Group of Companies, one of the biggest and most successful business groups in the United Arab Emirates and the Middle East, with operations spanning more than 20 countries and business roots stretching back half a century.

His Excellency Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair held various dignitary positions, which had its impact both regionally and internationally. His extensive experience in banking and in the business world, makes him one of the most well-known personalities, both locally and regionally.

In 2012, His Excellency was appointed as Chairman of UAE Banking Federation. His Excellency’s wide experience in the banking industry continues to contribute and steer the mission of the UAE Banking Federation. His vision is manifested through the various steps taken since his appointment to elevate the performance of all banks in the UAE and the industry.

His Excellency’s current positions include Chairman of Abdullah Al Ghurair Foundation for Education, Chairman of the Executive Committee of Al Ghurair Investment, Vice Chairman of the Higher Board of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and he is on the Board of Emirates Foundation. His Excellency is also the Chairman of Masafi Company, Oman Insurance, President of FBN GCC, a non-profit international network that is run by family businesses, for family businesses, with the aim of strengthening family business governance and ensuring success over generations.

His Excellency was elected as The Speaker of the United Arab Emirates Federal National Council (UAE Parliament) for tenure of four years, which ended in February 2011. Previously, he sat on the Board of Directors of major companies such as Emaar, Dubai Investments, Visa International, MasterCard, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Co-Chairman of the Arab Business Council – World Economic Forum (WEF).  He was also a member of the Constitutive Council for GCC Leaders and President of The Knowledge Fund.

His Excellency was recognized multiple times in leading platforms, such as awards, conferences and seminars, both international and local. His endeavours have earned him various local and international accolades most significantly, a five time recipient of Lifetime Achievement Awards.

• Business Leader of the Year from Gulf Business Industry Award 2016 and 2017
• Banking Business Leader of the Year from Gulf Business Industry Award 2017
• Arab Banker of the Year award 2015-2016 from The Union of Arab Banks (UAB) in Rome, Italy
• Innovator of the Year Award from Gulf Business Industry Award 2014
• Lifetime Achievement Award from Gulf Business Industry Awards 2012
• Best CEO Award – CEO Middle East magazine 2008
• Lifetime Achievement Award from The Arab Bankers Association of North America (ABANA) – USA in 2008
• Best CEO Award for supporting Emiratisation initiative in UAE from the National Career Fair – Banking and Finance in 2008
• Lifetime Achievement Award from Euromoney in 2008
• Lifetime Achievement Award from Banker Middle East 2009
• Best Banking Contributing Personality Award from Banker Middle East 2011
• MEED Leadership Award 2011
• Arab Banker of the Year in the Private Sector Award 2010-2011 from The Union of Arab Banks (UAB) in Rome, Italy

His Excellency earned an honours degree as an industrial engineer received his education from California Polytechnic State University and graduated as an industrial engineer with Honours Degree.

His Excellency continues to play a pivotal role in providing substantial views to the UAE’s financial and banking industry.

Dr. Wellink (born 27 August 1943) was appointed President of the Dutch Central Bank (“DNB”) on 1 July 1997. As of 1 June 1998 till his retirement on July 1 ^st . 2011, he also served as a member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank. Starting in 1997, Dr. Wellink sat on the Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements which he chaired from 2002 until 2006. He chaired the Basel Committee for Banking Supervision from July 2006 until 2011. Mr. Wellink was a member of the Group of Ten Governors and  Governor of the International Monetary Fund. He served as a  supervisory boardmember of a number of non-profit organizations, industrial companies and financial institutions. At present Dr Wellink is, a.o., an independent non-executive director of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). He was awarded a Knighthood in the Order of the Netherlands Lion and is Commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau. Mr Wellink obtained a doctor’s degree in economics at the Rotterdam Erasmus University and an honorary doctorate from Tilburg University. From 1987 till 1997 he held the post of Extraordinary Professor at the Vrije Universiteit (banking and monetary economics). Dr Wellink was born  27 August 1943.

As Chairman of Gulf Bank, Omar K. Alghanim is the chief architect in setting the vision and growth strategy for one of the region’s leading financial institutions. He is also the Group CEO of Alghanim Industries, a Kuwait-based company that owns and operates businesses, investments and assets all over the world.

He currently chairs the Family Business Council – GULF (FBCG), a nonprofit membership organization established to improve long-term governance among family-owned businesses, which account for 90 percent of the regional private sector economy.

He has an active partnership with the UN High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) to educate and train 100,000 Middle East refugee children by 2020.

Omar is co-founder and first Chairman of INJAZ Al ARAB, a regional NGO that helps to equip young people with entrepreneurial and financial skills, and part of Junior Achievement Worldwide. He is also the founder and Chairman of INJAZ-Kuwait.

Omar is a member of Harvard Business School’s Board of Dean’s Advisors, and the MENA Advisory Board, developing and strengthening relationships with business and academic leaders in the region. He also serves on the Leadership Council of Harvard Kennedy School´s Center for Public Leadership (CPL), which is a network of business, philanthropic, and civic innovators who serve as intellectual partners to the CPL.

He served on the World Economic Forum’s (WEF’s) Chair of the MENA Regional Business Council, and was appointed by the WEF as a ‘Young Global Leader’. For the 2017 WEF Annual Meeting, he was selected to serve on the Stewardship Board of the Education, Gender, and Work System Initiative. In 2019, he became a member of the International Business Council, which acts as a community to identify and address globally relevant business issues, and to develop practical solutions.

Omar has a Bachelor of Science in Business Commerce from New York University´s Stern School of Business (1997) and an MBA from the Harvard Business School (2002).

Mr. Al-Majed joined Boubyan Bank in August 2009, and has more than 36 years of banking experience. He worked previously for the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) where he held leadership positions, including Deputy Chief Executive Officer and General Manager – Consumer Banking Group. Mr. Al-Majed graduated from the University of Alexandria with a bachelor’s degree in accounting, and attended various executive management development programs at various universities, including Harvard, Wharton and Stanford.

Mr. Alnahedh received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration in Finance from California State University – Sacramento in the U.S. in 1993. He completed numerous specialized Executive Programs including the General Management Program (GMP) at Harvard Business School in the U.S.

Mr. Alnahedh is currently the Group Chief Executive Officer at Kuwait Finance House since 2014. In addition, Mr. Alnahedh is the Chairman of KFH Capital Investment Company and Board Member of Kuveyt Turk Participation Bank. Mr. Alnahedh possesses a vast banking experience, spanning more than 25 years. During his professional career, he held numerous prominent leadership roles at the National Bank of Kuwait including his role as a member of the Executive Management Committee from 2010 until 2014, General Manager Consumer Banking Group from 2011 until 2014, General Manager Corporate Banking Group from 2008 until 2011, and General Manager Treasury Group in 2008. In addition, he was promoted to various leadership positions within the Treasury Group from 1993 until 2008.

Shaikha K. Al Bahar currently holds the position of Deputy Group CEO for the National Bank of Kuwait Group (NBK), the leading financial institution in Kuwait and one of the largest in the Middle East. Prior to her current position, Mrs. Al Bahar led the Group’s Kuwait operations as NBKKuwait
CEO between 2010 and 2013, consistently contributing more than 70% of
the Group’s profits.

In addition to being a member of most management committees at NBK Group, Mrs. Al Bahar is the Chairperson of National Bank of Kuwait (Lebanon), National Bank of Kuwait France S.A., National Bank of Kuwait
(Egypt) and NBK Capital and a Board Member of National Bank of Kuwait
(International) P.L.C., the Group’s UK subsidiary. Besides her role at NBK, Mrs. Al Bahar is also a member of Kuwait’s Supreme Council for Planning and Development since August 2017.

Mrs. Al Bahar is a proficient strategic leader with extensive experience in commercial and investment banking, as well as corporate and project finance. Through her career, she managed many landmark transactions on the sovereign and the institutional levels across the Middle East.
During her tenure at NBK, Mrs. Al Bahar played a key role in turning the Group into a leading regional institution, operating in 15 countries across the globe, with total assets exceeding USD 91.9 billion and net profits of USD 1.2 billion.
Mrs. Al Bahar was renowned over the years as a prominent Arab female figure and has been regularly featured in various respectable rankings, including the world’s 100 most powerful Arab women by Forbes Middle East and Arabian Business. Mrs. Al Bahar holds a Bachelor degree majoring in international marketing and with a minor in statistics. She also attended
several executive management programs at reputable universities and business schools including Harvard, INSEAD, Wharton, Stanford, Duke as well as the National University of Singapore.

Martin is a senior international banker with extensive experience in the Middle East, Asia and Europe connecting customers across HSBC’s global network in a banking career that spans three decades.

Leading HSBC’s next period of growth in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey (MENAT), Martin returns to a region in which he laid the foundations of a career that has focused on helping customers fulfill global ambitions.

Beginning his banking career in 1988 with Credit Commercial de France (CCF), which became a wholly owned entity of the HSBC Group in 2000, Martin moved to banking after spending a year as charge d’affaires at the French Embassy in Cairo in 1987.

Martin held a number of structured finance and coverage roles in Paris before becoming Head of Export Finance at CCF in 1998. He returned to Egypt in 2000 as Chief Executive at CCF subsidiary Credit International d’Egypt, where he led its restricting and sale, then stayed in Cairo as Senior General Manager at HSBC Egypt from 2001 to 2004.

Martin moved to Dubai in 2004 where he spend four years leading HSBC’s Corporate & Institutional business in the Middle East before moving to the bank’s global headquarters in London in 2008, where he became Global Head of Multinationals for HSBC’s Global Banking and Markets business.

He added an Asian dimension to his Middle East and Europe connections in 2013 by becoming Chief Executive Officer of HSBC in South Korea and then becoming CEO f HSBC Australia in 2017.

Martin’s return to MENAT in 2018 enables him to put to work his expertise in connecting customers to global opportunities in a region that is home to some of the world’s most ambitious economic transformation programmes, fast-growing capital markets, dynamic international trade hubs and vibrant, tech-savvy consumer sectors.

Martin graduated from the institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris, holds a Master’s in Law from La Sorbonne University, Paris and a Bachelor’s degree in History from Paris Nanterre (Paris X) University.

A Conseiller du Commerce Exterieur de la France, appointed by French Government decree, since 2001, Martin is also an Ambassador for the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation (AIEF).

Dr. Garbis Iradian has more than 27 years of experience in macroeconomic analysis and forecasting of MENA economies. He is currently the Chief Economist for the Middle East and North Africa Department at the IIF. Prior to joining the IIF in 2008, he worked for 17 years at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). While there he held the positions of senior economist and senior advisor to an Executive Director where he monitored and assessed macroeconomic and financial developments of several Middle Eastern and Central Asian economies. Prior to joining the IMF he served as international economist at the Royal Bank of Canada and taught macroeconomics and econometrics at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from Freiburg University, Germany. He has published several articles and working papers on MENA and Central Asian Economies.

Dr. Catherine L. Mann has been the Global Chief Economist at Citibank since February 2018, where she is responsible for thought leadership, research Guidance of a global team of economists, and crossfertilization of research across macroeconomics, fixed-income, and equities. Prior to this position, she was Chief Economist at the OECD, where she also was Director of the Economics Department and was Finance Deputy to the G20 (2014-2017). Prior to the OECD, she held the Barbara ’54 and Richard M. Rosenberg Professor of Global Finance at the International Business School, Brandeis University, where she also directed the Rosenberg Institute of Global Finance (2006-2014). She spent 20-plus years in Washington, DC (1984-2006) where her positions included Senior Fellow at the Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics;
Economist, Senior Economist, and Assistant Director in the International Finance Division at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors; Senior International Economist on the President’s Council of Economic Advisers; and Adviser to the Chief Economist at the World Bank.

Dr. Mann received her PhD in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of  Technology and her undergraduate degree is from Harvard University. She has authored or co-authored seven books, 60-plus articles, and numerous shorter pieces and testimony. Her published work includes: Is the US Trade Deficit Sustainable? (1999), Global Electronic Commerce: A Policy Primer (2000), Accelerating the Globalization of America: The Role for Information Technology (2006) and notable articles including: “Managing Exchange Rates: Evidence of Global Re-balancing or Global Co-dependency?” Business Economics (2004) and “Perspectives on the US Current Account Deficit and Sustainability,” Journal of Economic Perspectives (2002). “Assessing the Potential Benefit of Trade Facilitation: A Global Perspective,” World Economy (2005), “The US Current Account, New Economy Services, and Implications for Sustainability,” Review of
International Economics (2004), and “Has Quantitative Easing Affected the U.S. Treasury Auction Market?,” Atlantic Economic Journal (2014).

James has recently joined Refinitiv as Managing Director for Europe, Middle East & Africa.

Prior to joining Refinitiv James held a number of senior leadership positions in global businesses including HSBC, Barclays and National Australia Bank Group.

In his role as Head of HSBC’s UK Business Banking, James led a 2,000 strong team looking after one million business customers. He has an excellent track record of delivering growth through his people and under James’ leadership HSBC scooped multiple industry awards including Best Business Bank, Most Trusted Small Business Bank and Best Online Business Banking Provider.

Most recently he was Managing Director for HSBC’s Global Digital Innovation Team, playing a key part in defining a new challenger proposition.

Outside of work, James is married to Angie, has 3 children and is a lifelong supporter of Huddersfield Town Football Club.

Otto Williams heads Strategic Partnerships, Fintechs and Ventures for Visa’s Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA) region. His focus is in identifying, structuring and commercialising compelling payments experiences and opportunities with fintech firms and strategic partners to extend the reach of Visa’s payment network for consumers, merchants and banks throughout the CEMEA region. Prior to his current role, Mr Williams oversaw Visa’s partnerships with multinational eCommerce brands, technology platforms and device providers that include Samsung, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Mozilla, Pinterest, eBay, Fitbit, Garmin, amongst others.  He and his team launched global programmes including Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Apple Pay, Fitbit Pay and Garmin Pay with Visa Tokenization, the Visa Ready Partner Program and Visa Checkout Open Platform. Prior to joining Visa, Mr Williams worked as a software engineer in various companies, and then joined Cowen and Company as an investment banker where he covered technology, internet and media companies. He holds an undergraduate degree in Computer Engineering, and an MBA from the University of California Berkeley.

Anwaar AlMahmeed is the co-founder of the East Chain Co. The East Chain Co. is an investment firm that was established in 2017 with the goal of investing in, developing, and implementing blockchain technology and other technology related to the digital assets space.

The East Chain Open Hub (ECOH) is a conference focused on gathering people from around the world to discuss the exciting new opportunities offered by distributed technologies, as well as its risks and regulation. Anwaar is the lead organizer of the ECOH Conference which had its first event in Kuwait on May 2018. Before founding the East Chain Co., Anwaar was product development manager at Boursa Kuwait during its initial privatization phase. She started her career in the Kuwait Investment Authority’s training program in 2011, in which she interned at State Street’s Financial Securities department then later joined the Hedge Fund Department at the KIA.

During her 5 years at the KIA, Anwaar became an assistant investment Manager of Hedge Funds, a board member of the National Technology Enterprises Company in Kuwait, and is a CFA Charterholder since 2015. Anwaar holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Kuwait University.

Henk Jan Hoogendoorn is the Managing Director, Financial Sector Office at the QFC Authority, where he is responsible for delivering on QFC’s mission of attracting financial and regulated businesses to Qatar through the QFC platform, in line with the Second Financial Strategy and Qatar National Vision 2030.

He has extensive experience in international finance, management, and transforming and building businesses in the financial sector. Henk has held senior management roles at ABN AMRO Bank and Deutsche Bank in the Netherlands and the Middle East and has a solid track record of implementing businesses in the financial sector.​

Prior to joining the QFC, Henk served as Mashreq Qatar’s Country CEO and Managing Director of Deutsche Bank, Head Non Bank Financial Institutions, where he was responsible for Insurers, Pension Funds, Fintech, and implementing strategic and business plans in Europe.

He holds a Master degree in Law from the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands and has participated in executive education at the London Business School and INSEAD.

Axel Threlfall is Editor-at-Large, Reuters, based in London. Alongside his editorial duties, he hosts high-profile engagements and thought leadership events for and on behalf of Reuters and Thomson Reuters, such as the Newsmaker series and the World Economic Forum news programming in Davos. He was previously Lead European Anchor for Reuters Digital Video. Prior to joining Reuters, Axel spent four years as an anchor for CNBC in London. Before that, he was an editor with The Wall Street Journal in New York and a news reporter for Bloomberg in London. He has also advised businesses and NGOs on their dealings with the international media. Axel is frequently asked to moderate events for international organizations, including the United Nations, the IMF and the OECD. He has a BA in History from Durham University and a postgraduate degree in journalism from City University, London.

Susannah Streeter is the anchor for the World Business Report on the BBC World Service and BBC World TV, delivering breaking stories and gaining insight into unfolding economic events from entrepreneurs, economists and analysts.

Susannah regularly hosts corporate events focused on international business themes and challenges and is an experienced moderator and speaker, having worked on a huge range of events and speaking engagements. Specialist topics include Business, Finance, the Environment, Digital Disruption and Brexit.

Susannah is a fluent French speaker. She hosted the World Green Economy Summit in Dubai, interviewing former President Francois Hollande in French and has a hosted a major conference for the French conglomerate Total, plus bilingual events in her role as UK representative for NATO’s Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers.

Prior to covering an international news agenda, Susannah was a regular face on BBC One Breakfast News, reporting live from across the UK. She also reported for the consumer affairs programme Working Lunch and the BBC Budget programme.

Between 1997 and 2007 Susannah served in the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, joining 7644 Squadron, a media operations unit, where she rose to the rank of Squadron Leader.