Speakers

Ahmad Zulqarnain joined Khazanah in May 2014 as Executive Director of Investments, responsible for Khazanah’s investments in financial services. He is also Head of the Strategic Management Unit, overseeing both corporate and portfolio strategy.

Prior to Khazanah, he was appointed as the first Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Danajamin Nasional Berhad in 2009, Malaysia’s first financial guarantee insurer.  He has 20 years of experience in both banking and corporates, including tenures with UBS Warburg, Pengurusan Danaharta Berhad, CIMB Group and Symphony Group.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Harvard University.

Ironically, Ahmed dropped out of university to build Zookal, a business aimed at making education more affordable for students. Zookal does this by renting out textbooks that are otherwise very expensive to buy.

Zookal also sells e-textbooks and digital video courses to help students improve their grades across Asia Pacific and makes over US$10 million in revenue from 50,000 paying customers across 3 countries.

Ahmed is also the Co-founder and Director of Flirtey, a drone delivery service partnership with NASA, which made the world’s first FAA approved drone delivery.

Akmal Saleem’s vision is to change the world through social enterprise; to develop, invest and steer organisations that impact people, communities and causes. Notably, he aims to build successful societies through commerce and opportunity, all delivered through ethics and philosophy. 

Having built a successful global branding and creative agency (Brand786), Akmal is currently developing an ethical private wealth management and impact investment firm which helps raise capital for business owners and introduces unique investment opportunities to investors. 

Akmal is also the founder of Maarij Island Hotel & Resort, the worlds first dedicated resort for Muslim holiday makers, situated on a private island in Indonesia, which will be launched in 2017/2018 to holiday makers around the world.

Andini Effendi is a news anchor for Metro TV’s daily prime time shows: ‘Primetime News’, ‘Trending Topic’, and a weekly English news programme, ‘Indonesia Now’. She is also an international affairs and finance correspondent. Her coverage experience includes, the Thailand conflict, the Libyan war, 2012 US election, and Syrian refugees in Iraq.

Andini holds an MA in Global Affairs, with a focus on peacemaking and peacebuilding. Andini also produced a short documentary called “Peace it Forward” which focuses on a peacebuilding approach through arts and sports in Sri Lanka and Timor-Leste. During the course of her tenure, she interviewed the Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, Philippines’ Benigno Aquino jr, and Israel’s Shimon Peres among others. 

Annamaria  Aisha Tiozzo has been the President of WHAD, Italian Halal Certification Center since 2007, which operates within the cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, food, livestock,  tourism and finance sectors. She is a consultant in Islamic Marketing, covering the development process to the distribution of products and services to the Middle-Eastern markets and Muslim consumers, for government agencies, trade associations, companies and retail chains.

Prior to her post at WHAD, she was Vice President of Confassociazioni International, an Italian confederation group of more than 200 associations of professionals, which focuses on Arab countries. She was also the President of the ATS- legal and judiciary school –  based into the faculty of law of Ferrara, from 1998 to 2006.

Annamaria has lectured on halal certification, Islamic marketing, Islamic finance, and their impact on international trade at local and international universities.

This year, she was mandated by Cosmoprof, the leading international trade fair for the beauty world, to organise the first worldwide pavilion dedicated to Halal cosmetics and Muslim friendly spas which is part of the Bayti-Italian Muslim friendly hospitality project.

Arancha González is an expert in international trade issues with 20 years of experience and currently serves as Executive Director of the International Trade Centre (ITC).

She has extensive knowledge about international trade and economics, coupled with broad experience in trade and development matters in the public and private sectors, and in the area of management at multilateral organisations.

Before joining ITC, Arancha served as Chief of Staff to Pascal Lamy, the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). During her tenure at the WTO, she played an active role in launching the WTO’s Aid for Trade initiative and served as Mr. Lamy’s representative at the G-20.

Prior to her tenure at the WTO, she held several positions at the European Commission, conducting negotiations of trade agreements and assisting developing countries in trade-development efforts. She was also the European Union spokeswoman for trade and adviser to the European Union Trade Commissioner.

Arancha began her career in the private sector advising companies on trade, competition and state-aid matters, serving as an associate at Bruckhaus Westrick Stegemann, a major German law firm in Brussels.

She holds a degree in law from the University of Navarra and a postgraduate degree in European Law from the University of Carlos III, Madrid.

Besides her native Spanish, she speaks English, French, German and Italian.

Attiya Nawazish Ali has been working in the Islamic Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (ICCIA), which is an affiliated Institution of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) since its establishment in 1980.

She has been working with the private sector of 57 OIC member countries, and has spear headed projects focused on Capacity Building, Poverty Alleviation, Microfinance, Value Addition, Entrepreneurship development, SME development and transferring of knowledge and expertise. She represents Islamic Chamber at numerous international events and brings with her a rich experience of the private sector of the OIC Countries. She works closely with some of the UN Agencies and other International Organization and Association working in similar fields, aiming at South-South Cooperation.

Azran is currently the CEO of iflix in Malaysia, and its Group COO – a disruptive internet television subscription video-on-demand service that was launched in May 2015 and now operates across Southeast Asia and is scaling to emerging markets in other regions. iflix aims to radically change how entertainment content is delivered to consumers in emerging markets, and how to address the threat of piracy.

He previously pioneered the long-haul, low-cost airline model as the founding CEO of AirAsia X, leading the growth from start-up to US$1 billion in revenue and a public-listing in six years, breaking many low-cost airline industry conventions and introducing innovations such as flatbed business class seats, fly-thru transfers, quiet zone and seating options, while achieving the world’s lowest unit operating cost and industry-leading technical reliability.

Azran held positions as Senior Director of Business Development at Astro All Asia Networks, SVP of Business Transformation at the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange, and Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company. He currently Chairs the Advisory Board of the Asia Business Centre at Curtin University, Chairs the Malaysia Chapter of YPO, and mentors high-growth companies for Endeavor.

He holds a Masters degree in Management Science & Engineering and a Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering, both from Stanford University.

Bakti Santoso Luddin is President Commissioner of Indonesia’s leading engineering,
procurement, construction (EPC) and investment company, PT Wijaya Karya (Persero) Tbk
(WIKA). He has more than 25 years of experience in consulting, finance, electricity, energy, and project management. He holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Bandung Institute of Technology and an MBA in economics from the University of Nebraska, United States.

In addition to serving WIKA, he is Commissioner of PT Mesitechmitra Purnabangun since 2008, and President Commissioner of PT Menamas and PT Indomas Mulia since 2012.

Bakti actively participates in business seminars in Indonesia and abroad. He is also active in
various professional organisations such as the Indonesian Industrial Engineering and Management Association (ISTMI), the British Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia (BritCham), Electric Power Society of Indonesia, Indonesia Chamber of Commerce and Indonesia Institute of Engineers.

Barbara Nicolini studied political science at the University of Milan, and started working for the EU in the HR department in Ispra, Italy. She attended one of the first Italian web start-ups, SEAT Pagine Gialle and Click Jobs. Later, joining the American multinational corporation Kelly Services, she worked as a business developer for Kelly Select.

She began her career in the fashion industry by selecting employees for fashion companies, working for TMP Hudson Highland, and other international companies such as LVMH (Dior, Kenzo, Fendi, Givenchy, Acqua di Parma, Sephora) Burberry, Ballantyne, Richmond Group, Cartier, Ferrari among others.

She created and presented in the Mediaset TV show “Don’t Open that closet”, and has been contributing to Vanity Fair Italy for more than two years in the My Business and Job Salad section. She also collaborated with the magazine and web TV Vanesia, in the beauty section and is author of the book Find Jobs Now in Fashion published in 2016 by Sperling (Mondadori).

She currently runs and manages her family business, Santagostino Group, collaborating with many of the world’s leading fashion, retail, luxury and beauty brands, dealing with resource allocation, strategic development and product consultation. Her most recent work is with Infinita Group as Creative Director of the site Fashionis.com.

With more than two decades of business operational and management expertise under her belt, Camelia Tan Sri Ya’acob is a self-made successful serial-entrepreneur. She has a sharp eye to effectively turn-around business strategies and strengthen marketing plans by monetising various assets to increase company profitability.

Today she is the owner and CEO of Rootwommers, a company specialising in 2 powerful modern income generators i.e. Word of mouth marketing and Connecting Networks for SME companies in Malaysia and Singapore.

In the course of her present day business, she is totally involved in training SME startups or scaleups in business and modern marketing systems. Her simple, down to earth theories, hands on practical marketing and connecting network techniques have been proven successful for many business owners. Entrepreneurs who follow her systems will experience high profitability in a short frame of time.

Today, as a strong advocate in Connecting Networks, she and her team specialise in cross-connecting B2B and B2C markets from any network. Her training modules focus on building entrepreneurs to be effective connectors and marketers utilising coexisting networks from different business experiences and backgrounds.

Dato’ Dr Norraesah Mohamad is the Executive Chairman of My E.G. Services Bhd, an IT service provider. She is also Executive Chairman of Embunaz Ventures Sdn Bhd, a family owned Investment Company involved in Education and Hospitality sector. She also sits on the Board of 5 other listed companies in Malaysia.

Dato’ Dr Norraesah is a member of the Board of Trustees of the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) Foundation, a member of its International Advisory Panel and heads the WIEF Businesswomen Network (WBN).

She obtained an MA and PhD in International Economics and Finance from the University of Paris I, Pantheon-Sorbonne, France. In 1982, she obtained her Masters in International Economics Relations from International Institute of Public Administration, France. She also obtained her first Degree in Economics from the University of Malaya and also earned a Diploma in Commercial Policy from GATT Geneva. She has over forty-one (41) years of working experience in the field of banking, investment consultancy and international trade and commerce. She worked with the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) from 1972 to 1985, during which time she was in charge of trade policies and multilateral trade negotiations, trade fairs and missions. From 1986 to 1988, she was attached to the Ministry of Finance, responsible for national privatisation programmes and debt management. In 1988, she left the public sector to pursue her career in the Corporate/Banking sectors.

Dato’ Mohamed Rafique Merican is the Chief Executive Officer of Maybank Islamic Berhad and Group Head of Islamic Banking since 1 July 2016. He joined Maybank Group in 2012 as its Group Chief Financial Officer and is also a member of the Maybank Group Executive Committee. He has more than 25 years of experience in the corporate sector, as Chief Financial Officer of Tenaga Nasional and Malakoff Berhad.

Prior to that, he served at Radicare (M) Sdn Bhd, a facilities management concessionaire for hospitals in Malaysia as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Executive Officer. He also worked with Amanah Capital Group and Bumiputera Merchant Bankers Berhad in corporate finance and advisory roles. His recent appointments include Non-Independent Non-Executive Director of Etiqa Takaful Berhad and Member of Etiqa Insurance Berhad Investment Committee. Dato’ Rafique was also the President Commissionaire of PT Bank Maybank Syariah Indonesia from 2013-2016.

Dato’ Rafique is a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) UK; Chartered Accountant, Malaysian Institute of Accountants and underwent the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School. He is a member of the Malaysia Accounting Standards Board; Malaysia Advisory Committee of ACCA Malaysia and CNBC Global CFO Council.

Dato’ Muzaffar has 21 years of experience in the banking and financial services sector. He assumed his new role as the Group Head of Maybank’s Global Banking since 1 July 2016. His career included stints with Asian International Merchant Bankers Berhad in the Corporate Banking Division, Amanah Merchant Bank Berhad, and Amanah Short Deposits Berhad where he handled corporate debt and financing businesses, from debt syndication to advising on private debt securities. He was also involved in various debt and corporate restructuring exercises during the 1997 financial crisis. During his tenure at CIMB Investment Bank and HSBC Amanah, Dato’ Muzaffar was involved in the investment banking business.

Prior to joining Maybank in 2011, as Chief Executive Officer of Maybank Islamic, Dato’ Muzaffar was the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of CIMB Islamic Bank as well as Member of the Board of Directors of CIMB Insurance Brokers. He received the Asset Triple A Awards 2013, Industry Leadership Award, as Islamic Banker of the Year for his contribution to developing Islamic finance regionally and Maybank Group’s Islamic banking business.

Dato’ Muzaffar is the Chairman of the Standards Committee, Association of Islamic Banking Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM), and Member of H.M. Treasury U.K. Global Islamic Finance and Investment Group.

Desi Anwar is a prominent senior anchor, TV journalist, writer, photographer and media & communications specialist based in Jakarta, Indonesia. 

Previously, she hosted ‘Face 2 Face with Desi Anwar,’ on Metro TV, a programme where she interviews global prominent figures and personalities. Her guests included His Holiness the Dalai Lama, entrepreneur Richard Branson, Hollywood star Richard Gere, musician Kitaro, inancier George Soros, IMF Chief Christine Lagarde, author Karen Armstrong, and many heads of states and other influential international figures. She also hosted a weekly talk show ‘TeaTime with Desi Anwar’ on Metro TV, featuring leaders, inspiring figures and personalities from Indonesia. In addition, she was a regular columnist for the news magazine ‘Tempo’ and the English daily ‘The Jakarta Globe’ and has published several books featuring her photography and philosophical musings both in English and Indonesian.

Desi is an award winning TV anchor and recipient of an Honorary Fellows from SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies, the University of London) for her contribution to the growth of the media industry in South East Asia. She is also the recipient of Number One Press Holder from the Indonesian Journalist Association (2010) and was awarded Senior Journalist (Wartawan Utama) status from the Indonesian Press Council (2011).

At present,, she is with CNN Indonesia as Director and senior anchor, hosting a regular hour-long primetime talk show ‘Insight with Desi Anwar,’ interviewing prominent newsmakers both national and international on a variety of current issues.

Listed as one of the 40 under 40 fashion entrepreneurs by Prestige Magazine and Mercedes-Benz Indonesia, Didiet Maulana is dedicated to advancing the fashion sense of Indonesian textiles. His vision is to uplift and give new meaning to the traditional fabric of Indonesia for the younger generations.

Didiet was nominated as a Creative Industries Leader 2012 by Seputar Indonesia for his contributions to the industry. He has organised more than 20 fashion shows in Jakarta between 2012 to 2016 and has been a recipient of many awards. In addition to being an official designer for Putri Indonesia and Miss Universe for several years, he has also spoken at the Indonesian Youth Conference, the Economic Faculty of Indonesia University, Danone Indonesia, and Pasar Design Kankain Karkara, and was keynote speaker for Festival Indonesia with Indonesia Tatler.

Recently, he was appointed as representative for Indonesian fashion designers in India in 2015, Ambassador for Samsung Galaxy Note 3, 4, 5, and S4, and was the designer for TUMI exclusive gift bags for the Nominees of the 2016 Grammy Awards.

Ilham joined Ilthabi Rekatama, a private investment company in Indonesia, as President Director in 2002. Through Ilthabi, he invested in various companies in the fields of energy, education, health, manufacturing, information and communication technology (ICT), and others.

Ilham previous professional background is largely with aerospace companies, IPTN Indonesia and Boeing USA.
Prior to that, he was Assistant Professor for Fluid Mechanics at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), Germany. He chairs the foundation of the International University Liaison Indonesia (IULI), which he co-established in 2012.

In 2014, he was elected to be Chief Executive of Wantiknas, the National Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Council of Indonesia. Being Vice Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) for Informatics, Broadcasting, Research & Technology, Ilham is also responsible for KADIN’s bilateral committee for Germany.

He is also the founder of The Habibie Center foundation, leading its Institute for Democracy through Science and Technology. He is a member of the board of advisors of the US cultural center in Jakarta called @america and the Chairman of Business Action for Support of Information Society (BASIS), International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris, France.

Ilham is also the Vice Chairman of the All-Indonesian Association of Muslim Intellectuals and the Chairman of All-Indonesian Association of Muslim Entrepreneurs.

Dr Adnan Chilwan is a leading authority in the field of Islamic banking & finance and credited as a pioneer of change and innovation. With a career spanning nearly two decades with both reputed conventional and Islamic banks in the Gulf region, he currently serves as the Group Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Islamic Bank, the world’s first Islamic bank and the largest Islamic bank in UAE.

With solid repute in the industry, he has been recognised by key organisations for his efforts in driving the globalisation of Islamic finance, such as Forbes, for three consecutive years in the top 10 of the Top Indian Leaders in the Arab World. He is also ranked 6th amongst the top 100 CEOs in the GCC region at the renowned Top CEO 2016 awards and awarded the exclusive “Best Strategic Vision” title by Banker Middle East Industry Awards 2016, as well as the privileged “Banking Innovation” Award at the Indian Innovation Awards 2015.

Dr Chilwan has a PhD, an MBA in Marketing, and a postgraduate degree in Islamic Banking & Insurance. He is also a Certified Islamic Banker (CeIB), and an Associate Fellow Member in the Islamic Finance Professionals Board.

Dr Atef has over 25 years of experience in M&SME’s Islamic banking and entrepreneurship. He is ex-CEO and founder of Family Bank, the first M&SME Islamic bank in Bahrain. He was awarded the Mohammed Bin Rashid Award for Best SME Bank in the Arab World, by HE Mohammed Bin Rashid, Ruler of Dubai, at the World Entrepreneurship Forum in 2013.

Dr Atef occupied several senior positions such as Advisor to the Bahraini Government, General Manager at the Bahrain Development Bank, Director at the Social Fund for Development, lecturer in TABBIN Institute in Egypt, and researcher at INERIS-Institut National de l’Environnement et des risques in France. He also served as an expert in EC, ILO, IFC-World Bank, ISESCO, UNESCO, UNDP, UNFPA, UNIDO, GOIC, ESCWA, GIZ, TCF, FCCGCC, SILATECH, KHALIFA Fund, BDB, ODB, QABF, amongst others, and is a member of ICSB.

He is an international speaker, consultant and instructor on M&SME’s Islamic banking, providing his services for Islamic banks worldwide. He has led the conversion of several conventional banks to Islamic banking and recently founded the Social Innovation Expert organisation.

Dr Atef has a Ph.D. from l’Institut National Polytechnique de Lorraine, France, D.E.A from Ecole des Mines de Nancy, France and BSc. from Cairo University, Egypt. He has published 35 articles and 3 books on the development and renaissance of the Islamic world, SME’s Islamic banking and business incubation.

Eddy Lee has invested in and supported more than 50 startups predominantly in the US, Singapore and Indonesia. Interest areas include mobile health, big data, IoT and marketplaces. He has recently relocated from the Silicon Valley to Southeast Asia to tackle unmet needs in emerging markets. He works alongside founders with a focus on people development, product-market iteration and international markets entry into countries such as the US, Singapore and Indonesia.

At Stanford University, Eddy concurrently serves as a Consulting Professor at the School of Medicine, where he connects academic projects with commercial opportunities. He is also a mentor at Stanford’s StartX incubator where he provides startups with cross border knowhow. During his career at Stanford, Singapore and Australia, he has devised medical imaging technology for visualising stem cell migration and therapy. Prior to that, he designed semiconductor chips at Marvell, a NASDAQ-listed Southeast Asia success story which he hopes his portfolio startups could one day emulate.

Dr El Hassane Hzaine is currently General Manager of ICDT. He is also a Member and Secretary of the Consultative group for enhancing intra-OIC trade, a Permanent Member of the Secretariat of the Trade Negotiating Committee of the Trade Preferential System among the OIC Member States (TPS-OIC), member of the working group on development of goods and services and trade finance (cooperation between the IDB group the government of Malaysia and ICDT).

Dr Hzaine lectures and teaches in different OIC Countries (Saudi Arabia – IDB, GCC Secretariat, Turkey – COMCEC meetings and the Trade Negotiation Committee meetings, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Burkina Faso, Libya, Kuwait, Senegal, Syria, Tunisia, Qatar and Morocco etc.).

He is the former Secretary General of ICDT and Director of Studies, Research and Cooperation Department.

Luky Eko is VP and Chief Administration Officer of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in the People’s Republic of China. Previously, he held various senior positions in the Central Government of Indonesia. Notable contributions include, among others, Chairman of Implementing Team of the Committee for Strategic Infrastructure Project Provisions at the Office of Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs and Deputy Minister for Regional Development and Autonomy at the National Development Planning Ministry.

He holds a Bachelor degree from Bandung Institute of Technology in Urban and Regional Planning, and a PhD in Regional Economics and Science Studies from Cornell University, USA.

Ebrahim Patel, a South African entrepreneur with a passion for business, started a number of successful ventures. He is the Chairman of TransAfrix Holdings and serves on various company boards.

He is the current National President of the Minara Chamber of Commerce, Deputy Chairperson of Business Forum SA, International Advisory Member of the World Islamic Economic Forum, Chairman of the WIEF Young Leaders Network, Trustee of the eThekweni Community Foundation and Advisory Board member of the University of KwaZulu Natal ELC.

Ebrahim serves on the KwaZulu Natal Economic Council which advises the provincial government on economic strategy and is a lead member of the KZN Halaal Hub Task Team.

He is passionate about youth and entrepreneurship and is regularly asked to speak on various platforms locally and internationally.

Elhadj As Sy has more than 25 years of experience in leadership roles in the humanitarian sector. Before joining the IFRC in 2014, he was UNICEF’s Director of Partnerships and Resource Development in New York. He has also served as the UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa and Global Emergency Coordinator for the Horn of Africa.

From 2005 to 2008, Elhadj was the Director of the HIV/AIDS Practice with the United Nations Development Programme in New York. He also held senior positions with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and UNAIDS. From 1988 to 1997, he was the Director of Health and Development Programmes with Environment and Development Action in the Third World in Dakar, Senegal.

Elhadj holds a Bachelor’s degree in Arts and Human Sciences from the University of Dakar and a Master’s degree in Arts and Germanistik from the University of Graz, and graduated from the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna. He was also awarded a post graduate diploma in Education from the Ecole normale superieure in Dakar. He speaks English, French, German and is a national of Senegal.

Previously, he worked as the African CEO for Kaymu, an online marketplace with operations across 17 African countries.

Prior to joining Kaymu, Elias worked as an Engagement Manager for McKinsey & Company where he was based in Nigeria and worked throughout Africa. He also worked as an Investment Analyst at Emerging Capital Partners (ECP), a leading Africa-focused private equity firm.

Elias holds a BS and an MS from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.

Schulze is also a non-executive board member of a family business, Schulze Global Investments, which has been a pioneer of US private equity in frontier markets, including Mongolia, Georgia and Ethiopia.

Erly Witoyo is an entrepreneur with passion for Islamic finance and technology. He is the Founder of Kapital Boost, the first Islamic peer-to-peer crowdfunding platform in Asia. He has over 15 years of experience in the financial industry working at top-tier credit rating agencies and investment banks. Before Kapital Boost, Erly was a Director at Barclays in Singapore, where he led the top-ranked Asian corporate credit research team (FinanceAsia poll 2010-2013).

Erly left the corporate world and started Kapital Boost to focus on helping smaller businesses and investors, particularly to address the lack of financing available to SMEs and the shortage of attractive Islamic-based investments available to retail investors. He is also a partner at Club Ethis, the Islamic real estate crowdfunding platform, and a Board of Commissioner at PT Bubu Internet, one of the largest digital media agency in Indonesia.

Essa Al Ghurair serves as the Chairman of Al Ghurair Resources, a major supply chain provider and a key player in the field of agricultural commodities. Specialising in industrial manufacturing and commodities trading in international markets, combined with extensive experience has led Essa to be a leading figure in industry circles.

As Chairman of the Resources Division, he oversees the diverse business activities, which include the manufacturing and marketing of edible oils and legumes; and in the trading of food grains, oils and meals. Under this leadership, Dubai Oil Mills – one of the largest crushing plants in the MENA region broke all previous grain trading records in a single year, topping the 2 million metric ton mark.

Essa has been the main driver to encourage the group to invest in the energy & petrochemicals sectors and is now leading the group’s initiatives through Trans Asia Gas International, to develop projects in the oil & gas, power generation and petrochemicals sectors mainly in the Middle East and North Africa Region.

Essa graduated from the San Diego State University in California USA with Business Administration. In addition to his current portfolio, he also holds major positions within the Group and its joint ventures: Chairman – Al Ghurair Resources LLC; Chairman – Trans Asia Gas International LLC; Chairman – Essa Al Ghurair Investment LLC; Director – Al Ghurair University; Director – National Cement Co. PSC; Chairman -Tharawat Advisory Board, Tharawat Family Business Forum; Board Member – Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

Evi Trisna has extensive experience in social educational development. She assisted in starting several initiatives such as, Fun and Meaningful Science & Math Education with Surya Institute and a movement of professionals teaching in classrooms known as Inspirational Class, which has involved more than 20,000 volunteers in 143 districts in Indonesia.

In 2015, she worked on teacher reform with a team of experts for the Ministry of Education and Culture in Indonesia.

She was in one of the initial teams that started the Indonesia Teaching Movement in 2010, which was regarded as a pioneer in civil society movements for education in Indonesia. The movement has grown tremendously across Indonesia in the past 6 years and currently, Evi holds the position of Executive Director.

Evi was the first recipient of the Kelly Elizabeth Memorial Scholarship. She holds a Master’s degree in International Educational Development from Boston.

Faduma Aden is the Founder and Creative Director of Jemmila. Jemmila is a Stockholm based fashion brand that connects Scandinavian aesthetics with Muslim fashion. The design concept comes from her personal experience and desire to find suitable high quality professional attires that perfectly fuse fashion with faith.

Faduma is also the founder of Contelier – a creative agency that focuses on intercultural communication. The agency consists of creative strategy consultants whose aim is to help companies communicate with new segments and explore new business opportunities by improving their diversity.

Empowering and inspiring women is a priority for Faduma. One of her initiatives is Jemmila Leaders, an interview series with leading Muslim women from different educational and professional backgrounds. The aim is to inspire, engage and empower women all around the world.

Faduma holds a Master’s degree in Strategic IT Management from Stockholm University. Her background and passion for technology is one of the reasons she is compelled to find innovative ways to work with fashion. She is the winner of KPMG Sweden’s the Future Challenge competition, the Filip Nilsson Scholarship, and the Brewhouse Award. She has also been nominated for several other prestigious awards.

Fatma holds a postgraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of Nairobi, Kenya, majoring in strategic management with a minor in entrepreneurship. Fatma is an advisory board member of the World Youth Parliament (Kenya Chapter) and a mentor with the Cherie Blair Foundation, London & the WIEF Businesswomen Network. She is also among the lead consultants on the online panel of expert’s forum for the women-banking segment (Annissaa) of Gulf African Bank, Kenya.

She runs various companies in Kenya including Auto Village – an automotive repair company. Auto Village provides an internship programme that equips graduates with practical work skills, builds their confidence and prepares them for employment.The National Industrial Training Authority and Kenya Private Sector Alliance are partners of this programme, which is supported by the President of the Republic of Kenya. Fatma & Auto Village have been recognised by KEPSA for their contributions in alleviating youth unemployment and poverty eradication.

Fatma nurtures and helps women and youth in less privileged groups in Kenya to develop and grow economically and become responsible citizens. She has empowered Growth Oriented Women Entrepreneurs through the GOWE programme sponsored by the African Development Bank.

AHM Mustafa Kamal is a reputed Chartered Accountant who got involved in politics from his student life and had been associated with active student politics. He served his locality as a leading organiser of Awami League during the 6 point movement of 1966, mass upsurge of 1969 and the historic 1970 election period.

In 1996, he became Member of Parliament of Comilla-9 constitutional seat on the Awami League nomination. During this period, he was a Member of the Public Accounts Committee, Board of Investment, Privatisation Commission, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance Ministry and Chittagong University Senate.

Since 2004 he has been included in the Awami League Central Committee. Simultaneously, he has served as the Convener of Comilla District Awami League since 2006. He is currently serving as the Finance and Planning Secretary of Bangladesh Awami League.

Mr Kamal was elected MP for the second time from Comilla -10 seat in 2008 parliament election as an Awami League candidate. He held the post of the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance Ministry during 2009-2013 period.

He also served as President for the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) (2009 – 2013). During his tenure World Cup Cricket was arranged in Bangladesh in 2011 with worldwide acclamation. The inaugural ceremony of this event (17th February 2011) secured 2nd position in the world ranking.

Mr Kamal had served as the President of International Cricket Council (ICC) from 2014-2015. Earlier, he was the Vice-President of ICC, President of ICC Audit Committee and the President of Asian Cricket Council (ACC).

Mr Kamal was elected the Member of Parliament for the 3rd time contesting from Comilla-10 seat on Awami League nomination in January 5, 2014 election. He was sworn in as a Cabinet Minister of the Government of the Peoples’ Republic of Bangladesh and holding the office of the Ministry of Planning since January 12, 2014.

He is a law graduate, and holds a degree in Commerce and a Masters in Accounting from Dhaka University.

With over two decades of professional experience, Aisha Abubakar has covered the public service administration, pension, investment banking, SME finance/rural Enterprise development and micro credit administration, international development and human resources. Work experience has focused principally on small and micro enterprise development, women development and family livelihood enhancement.

Under the leadership of Aisha Abubakar, as Managing Director and CEO of the Abuja enterprise agency, the AEA won the Global Citizen Movement Award for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in 2013 for being a model for entrepreneurial development as a way to lift people and communities out of extreme poverty and serving as a model for the rest of the world;

She accessed and managed the disbursement of 2 streams of SME loans amounting to N2billion from CBN and N150million from FCT with 80% successful recovery rate; She is one of the pioneer directors that helped set up the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD); Designed and planned the nationwide Customs, Immigration and Prisons Pensions department verification of over 13,000 pensioners (CIPPD); Creation of the “Shea Butter village”; Set up a Microfinance Bank in Kwali, FCT and Commissioned the 1st entrepreneurship complex for SME start-ups in the FCT.

She holds an MA in Development Studies from the University of Leeds, England and a BA in Politics and International Studies from the University of Warwick, England. Currently, Aisha Abubakar serves as Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, in the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Dr Ahmad Mohamed Ali Al-Madani is the first President of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) since 1975. 

Dr Ali holds a B.A. degree in Commerce and a degree in Law from Cairo University, Egypt. He earned an M.A. and PhD degrees, both in Public Administration, from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and State University of New York (SUNY), Albany, USA, respectively in 1962 and 1967. 

Dr Ali began his career in education and manpower development in 1958-59 as Director, Scientific and Islamic Institute, Aden, Yemen. Subsequently, he returned to Saudi Arabia to assume the position of Acting Rector of King Abdulaziz University from 1967 to 1972. 

His contribution to the development of the people was recognised by the government of Saudi Arabia and in 1972 he was selected to serve as Deputy Minister of Education and served his country for three years. 

Upon the initiative of the late King Faisal Bin Abdulaziz, when the member countries of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) decided to establish the Islamic Development Bank, he was chosen as its first President.

His education, background and past experience helped him establish a strong base for the mission of the development of the Bank. Not limiting the Bank’s activities in one direction, Dr Ali looks at development in its totality and has spread the involvement of the Bank in several directions including trade, insurance, the private sector, etc., as demonstrated by the establishment of the Islamic Development Bank Group of Institutions, comprising of the Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI), the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), and the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC). In addition to establishing the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD).

He was chosen to be the Secretary General of the Muslim World League (MWL) during 1993-95 and was given the task of restructuring the MWL, after which he returned to serve the Bank. He has also been contributing to the welfare of the community in the Kingdom by extending his services to the Higher Education Councils of five Universities and as a Board member of the Saudi Fund for Development.

Dr Ali’s views on development have been expressed in many articles, speeches, lectures and working papers on Islamic economics, banking and education. He is a firm believer that Islamic principles and its applications in economics and banking has a lot to offer the world and thus, contribute positively towards solving the current economic crisis.

He is keen on taking the IDB to a world of excellence with the Vision 1440H which was delineated on behalf of the Bank by a group of Eminent Persons. The Vision 1440H Document aims at alleviating poverty, eradicating illiteracy, providing better health facilities to the people, strengthening ties with the private sector, NGOs, and striving for the cause of development of women, etc.  He looks at development as a comprehensive and integrated phenomenon that has to be continuously reviewed and closely coordinated. He seeks cooperation with all people who would like to contribute to a better life for all humans in this global village.

After graduating with a PhD in Economics from the University of Georgia, USA, Dr Anani assumed high level positions in the Government. From the position of Head of Economic Research, he became the Deputy Minister of Labor where he was instrumental in changing labor laws, introducing and successfully defending the creation of the Social Security Corporation and promoting the apprenticeship training corporation in Jordan. In 1979, he became a Cabinet Minister of Supply, and assumed many positions including Minister of National Economy and Labor. After a brief stay at the private sector where he established three companies, Dr Anani was appointed President of the Royal Scientific Society, where he founded the Jordan Technology Group and put forward the plans for promoting the Princess Sumayya College to a full university.

In 1993, Dr Anani was appointed to the Management Committee of the ailing Petra Bank, where he managed along with the other members of the Committee, to cut the initial losses by 60 percent. In the same year, he became the Minister of Information and the coordinator of the peace process with Israel. He was then appointed as a senate member, a position which he kept until 2001.

Dr Anani became the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Foreign Minister in 1997. The following year, he was promoted to the Chief of the Royal Court, and was the last one to serve under the late King Hussein. In 2000, he resigned after a brief service under King Abdullah II.

Since, 2002, he has been running the Al Baseera Consultancy firm in Dubai Media City. Dr Anani has published 4 books and coauthored a book on the peace process to be published in the UK and USA. He has written many scientific articles in the English and Arabic language.

During his career, Dr Anani chaired more than twenty quasi-governments, civil society and private sector organisations, including the Electricity Authority, Consumer Corporation, Social Security Corporation, Jordan – Gulf Bank, Amman Bank, Cement Production Corporation, Telecommunications Corporation. He championed and led the privatisation drive in Jordan and personally supervised the privatisation of Royal Jordanian Airlines, Telecommunications and the Cement factory.

Dr Anani was the driver behind governance in both private and public corporations in Jordan. He was commissioned by the UNDP to do a study on Bangladesh. He also authored a book with Dr Reema Khalof on privatisation and governance. While consulting in the Gulf Region, he made several studies for private clients on corporatisation of family businesses and ensuring the adoption of governance principles in such firms.

President Emomali Rahmon was born on October 5, 1952 in Dangara district of the Republic of Tajikistan.
 
From 1971 to 1974 he served in the Pacific Navy Military Force. After the demobilisation, he started working at the Lenin collective farm in Dangara. 

He graduated from the Faculty of Economics at the Tajik National University in 1982. From 1987 to 1992, he was appointed the Chairman of the Lenin collective farm in Dangara.

In 1990, President Rahmon was elected as People’s Deputy at the Supreme Council of the Republic of Tajikistan of twelfth convocation. In autumn 1992, he was elected as the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Council of the People’s Deputies of Kulyab province. Later that year, he was elected as the Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Tajikistan.
 
On November 6, 1994, Emomali Rahmon was elected to the post of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan by nation-wide voting.
 
5 years later, President Rahmon was re-elected on the alternative basis and by nation-wide voting and assumed an office of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan for a seven-year term. 
 
In 2006, at free, transparent and democratic elections, held on the alternative basis, Emomali Rahmon was elected as the President of the Republic of Tajikistan for a further seven-year term.
 
The greatest achievement of President Rahmon is, undoubtedly, the establishment of lasting peace and national unity. The bitter experience of internal wars in the world suggests that no single state could overcome its opponents on the battlefield and stand at the head of the state machine, management structures and military agencies, using weapons, equipment and its warriors.
 
By ensuring peace and national unity, he laid a solid foundation for moving towards the economic recovery and the beginning of constructive affairs.

Over twenty years of independence, under the leadership of President Rahmon, Tajikistan made confident steps forward on the path of building an independent democratic state. During this time, the country has had its own flag, emblem and anthem. Principal foundations of statehood –a national army and border troops have emerged and matured. Tajikistan became a member of the authoritative international organizations and established political, economic and cultural ties with most countries in the world. The fundamentals of the constitutional system and public administration were streamlined, national currency was put into circulation and national passport was recognised.
 
Thus, the historical merits of President Rahmon recognises the fact that he took over management of the state, prevented the threat of its collapse, extinguished the flames of civil war, restored paralysed power authorities, particularly the law enforcement bodies, created a national army and border troops, provided the conditions for consolidation of power and state, guaranteed the nation’s peace, returned the refugees and displaced persons back to homeland. He laid a solid foundation for building a new society of Tajikistan, held constitutional reform in the country, created a new Constitution of Tajikistan, provided political and legal basis for signing General Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and National Accord on June 27, 1997. He also brought peace between Tajiks, which was instructive experience for the world community. He created the conditions for national revival, marked the beginning of creative works, radically improved the socio-economic situation of the people, eliminated the threat of hunger and contributed to the growth of political authority of the state on the international arena. 

At the new stage of constructing young Tajik state, a fortune bestowed upon the ancient Tajik nation unique historical personality –President Emomali Rahmon – the person, who represents the highest qualities –justice, generosity, courage, compassion and unique ability to unite the people. It is the combination of these qualities that has brought society to a high level of self-knowledge.
 

As Minister of Commerce, Khurram Dastgir Khan revitalized Pakistan’s trade diplomacy. He spearheaded the campaign to obtain GSP+ trade preferences for Pakistan from the European Union. In spring 2014, he led vital negotiations to obtain reciprocal market access for Pakistan and to normalise trade with India. His vigorous diplomacy led to start off Pakistan’s negotiations for free trade agreements with Turkey and Thailand.

Under his stewardship, the Ministry of Commerce has revamped national trade defence laws, obtained approval for Pakistan’s accession to TIR convention, and has successfully concluded institutional reforms of the Ministry itself as well as its attached departments. He has steered the drive for a qualitative shift towards value-addition and diversification in Pakistan’s exports.

Khurram Dastgir Khan was elected from his native city of Gujranwala to the National Assembly of Pakistan in 2008 and re-elected in 2013. During the 2008-13 Parliament, he earned distinction as Chair of the standing committee of commerce and as a member of the Public accounts committee.

He also served on the Special Parliamentary Committee in Kashmir, Finance Committee on the National Assembly, Special Committee on Threats to Journalists, and the Standing Committee of the National Regulation & Services as well the Standing Committee on Millennium Development Goals.

Affiliated with Pakistan Muslim League-N [PMLN], Khurram Dastgir Khan has served as national office-bearer in leadership positions within his party. He was serving as Special Assistant to Prime Minister at the time of the military coup d’etat in October 1999. Between1999-2008, he led a resistance to the authoritarian rule in his native district and participated actively in PMLN’s national resistance.

Khurram Dastgir Khan was trained as an engineer at California Institute of Technology and holds a degree in Economics from Bowdoin College, both in the United States. He is a Life Member of Pakistan’s Engineering Council.

President Joko Widodo is the 7th President of Indonesia serving in this position since October 2014.

President Joko Widodo, a forestry faculty graduate from the Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, officially entered politics when he was elected as Governor of Jakarta, after proving to be very popular among both the urban and rural sections of the society.

In 1988, he founded his own business, CV Rakabu. which was later re-established and became a very successful furniture exporter by 2002. He also served as the chairman of a local branch of the country’s influential furniture manufacturers’ association.

In 2005, he decided to enter politics and ran for the office of mayor of Surakarta representing the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle. Initially people viewed him with skepticism as he was primarily a businessman with no political connections.

He won the elections and soon proved his detractors wrong by initiating many progressive reforms in the city. As the mayor he earned much respect for his progressive reforms and his honesty which distinguished him from other politicians. He developed a rapport with the people as he had risen to this post from an underprivileged background, and thus could connect with people from all sections of the society.

In 2010, he was re-elected for a second term of office with over 90 percent of the vote.

In 2012, he decided to run for the Governor of Jakarta. President Joko Widodo was contesting the election against the incumbent, Fauzi Bowo, and ousted him in the second round of that election. As the Governor of Jakarta, he implemented many policies to encourage small industries and focused on improving Jakartans’ access to health care and education.

He implemented a universal health care programme in Jakarta, based on a ‘Healthy Jakarta Card’ (Kartu Jakarta Sehat or KJS) which became very popular. He also launched the “Smart Jakarta Card” in order to help poor students by giving them an allowance that can be withdrawn from ATMs in order to buy school supplies.

The leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, Megawati Sukarnoputri chose Joko Widodo to be the presidential candidate of her party in 2014. His mayorship in Surakarta and his governorship in Jakarta had made him highly respected and popular all over Indonesia. He won the election with more than 53 percent of the popular vote, defeating his opponent Prabowo Subianto.

After assuming office in 2014, President Joko Widodo focused on curbing corruption within the Indonesian administration and has been taking steps to attract more foreign direct investment into the country. He has also implemented land reforms, improved public services, and initiated healthcare and educational programmes.

He was awarded the Bintang Jalasena Utama, 1st Class (“Navy Meritorious Service Star”) in 2011 by the Government of Indonesia, and the 1st Class “Star of the Republic of Indonesia” (BRI), Bintang Republik Indonesia Adipurna in 2014, and was once ranked as the third best mayor in the world by the international City Mayors Foundation.

Ms Maite Nkoana-Mashabane was born in Makgoebaskloof and grew up in Ga-Makanye Village in the Limpopo province. During the 1980s, she was an active member of the United Democratic Front and served in various structures of the Mass Democratic Movement and the African National Congress’ (ANC) underground structures.

After the unbanning of the ANC in 1990, she served the party in various structures, including the ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) and actively participated in the relaunch of the ANCWL in the country.
She served as the Chairperson of the ANCWL in Limpopo and as member of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the organisation from 1992 to 1995.

Ms Nkoana-Mashabane was elected as a Member of Parliament from 1994 to 1995. In 1995, she was appointed High Commissioner to Malaysia, servicing the Philippines and Brunei (1995 to 1999).
From 1999 to 2005, she was appointed as High Commissioner to India, servicing Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives and Nepal.

She was a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) and the NWC of the ANCWL, as well as the Deputy Secretary-General of the ANC in Limpopo from 2004 to 2008.
In 2005, she was appointed Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Limpopo’s Department of Government and Housing. During her term, the department won the National Govan Mbeki Housing Award for “Best Provincial Housing Department in South Africa, 2008”.
Ms Nkoana-Mashabane was named Newsmaker of the Year for 2008 by the Polokwane Chamber of Business.

The department also won seven other awards, including “The department doing the most to accelerate service delivery”. Minister Nkoana-Mashabane was elected as a member of the ANC NEC and NWC in 2007. She was also the Provincial Convener of the Progressive Women’s Movement in Limpopo in 2007.
On 11 May 2009, she was appointed as the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation during which she served as a member on the 2010 Soccer World Cup Local Organising Committee, presided over the historic United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP17/CMP7) in Durban as President and was a key lobbyist for South Africa’s inclusion as a member of the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) formation (2011).

She was also lead campaigner for the election of Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma as Chair of the African Union Commission – a first for Africa (2012).
She was sworn in for a second term as Minister of International Relations and Cooperation on 26 May 2014. She is currently a member of the ANC NEC and NWC.
In 2015, Ms Nkoana-Mashabane was elected as the Treasurer General of the ANCWL. She also serves in the league’s NEC and NWC.

As South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ms Nkoana-Mashabane is entrusted with the formulation, promotion and execution of South Africa’s foreign policy, taking overall responsibility for all aspects of South Africa’s international relations in consultation with the President.
She leads one of the biggest contingents of diplomats, with 125 diplomatic missions in 107 countries located in all corners of the world.

Professor Alpha Condé is the first democratically elected president in the history of the Republic of Guinea.

Professor Alpha Condé, a faculty of law graduate from the University of Sorbonne, began a teaching career in public law at the University in Paris for 10 years.

He is a politician, and author of ‘Guinea: Albania of Africa, or American Neo-colony?’. A strong advocate of the African cause and the struggle for democracy on the African continent and in his country, Professor Alpha was the chairman of the largest political party of the country.

He was also an activist in the Union of Higher Education (SNESUP), in charge of the Association of Guinean Students in France (AEGF), Manager of the African Students Federation Noire in France (FEANF), and the coordinator of the direction of African national groups (GN), which oversaw the activities of the FEANF management. He was an influential figure and leader in the FEANF.

Subsequently, he held several corporate executive management positions in international trading. He founded Africonsult, an office of economic and financial studies, providing economic, financial and social advice to African governments, international companies wishing to work in Africa and for international institutions like the United Nations. He was the Chief Executive Officer of Africonsult until 2001.

Professor Alpha is also commissioned as a consultant in the political conflicts with several heads of state from the region.

Professor Dato’ Dr Sano Koutoub Moustapha held the post of Minister of International Cooperation of Guinea for five years. He was also a former Minister for Religious Affairs in his country. By profession, he is a full Professor of Comparative Jurisprudence and Islamic Finance.

He has a Doctorate of State in Islamic Finance from the University of Zaitouna in Tunisia. He also has a PhD in Law from the International Islamic University in Malaysia. Prof. Sano is the Deputy Chairman of the highest legislative organ in the Muslim world called Islamic Fiqh Academy which is affiliated with the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation, OIC in Jeddah.  Prof. Sano is the author of 24 books on various topics such as Islamic Banking and Finance, Education, Comparative Jurisprudence, and Islamic Thought among others. He speaks and writes fluently Arabic, English, French and NKO. Prof. Sano has been on forefront of progress and positive development in his country. He has been also promoting the International relations and partnerships. He achieved a great deal in many areas such as International Investments, Halal hub, Waqf and Education amongst many other.

A dynamic personality, he is sure to be able to provide greater insights and will share his experiences on how he is able to bring about such positive change, not only to the community but the whole country at large.

Since his appointment as the Minister of Economy and Commerce in 2013, H.E. Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani, plans and oversees the implementation of economic policies aimed at promoting sustainable development at the national level in line with the National Development Strategy 2011-2016 and the Qatar National Vision 2030.

In addition to his ministerial duties, H.E. Sheikh Ahmed assumes several key positions in the State of Qatar. He serves as the Chairman of Qatar Stock Exchange, Enterprise Qatar, and (MANATEQ) Economic Zones Company, General Supervision on the performance of Qatar Tourism Authority, as well as the Deputy Chairman of both Qatar Financial Center Authority and Qatar Investment Authority, in addition to several other leadership positions.

Prior to his appointment as Minister of Economy and Commerce, he acquired professional experience in his capacity as Director General of Al Jazeera Media Network from 2011 until June 2013.
During his tenure at Al Jazeera, he successfully engineered the expansion plans of the network and supervised the establishment of Al Jazeera America and Al Jazeera Balkans. Under his leadership, Al Jazeera network emerged as one of the world’s leading news channels. The network won several prestigious international awards including the News Channel of the Year award by the Royal Television Society in Britain.
Prior to his role at Al Jazeera, He acquired significant experience since he started his career in 1995 as an engineer at Qatar Gas. He climbed the career ladder to assume various leading posts including the Head of Production Engineering, Director of Production and Reservoir, Director of Offshore Operations and then Chief Operating Officer – Engineering and Ventures. During his tenure at Qatar Gas, he led over 247 onshore and offshore projects and integrated a comprehensive sustainability strategy into daily operations.

He also gained international industrial experience, working for over a year at Total in La Defense, Paris, France and at Mobil Research Centre, MEPTEC in Dallas, Texas, USA.

H.E. Sheikh Ahmed holds a BSc in Petroleum Engineering from the University of the United Arab Emirates, followed by an MA in Integrated Reservoir Project Management from Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London, UK.

Handry joined GE in 1997 after having worked for a couple of years for local companies in Indonesia. Previously, he held several roles in the area of business development, sales, and quality for several GE businesses in the country as well as in the region.

Handry loves education and volunteering activities and spends his spare time visiting universities and sharing his experiences with students. He is an advisory member for several prominent universities and professional organisations in Indonesia.

Handry graduated as a Bioindustrial Engineer from Bogor Agricultural University in 1993. He holds a Master’s Degree in international business from the International Precious Metals Institute (IPMI) and an MBA from Monash University in 1997. He also holds a PhD degree in strategic management from the University of Indonesia.

Hermawan Kartajaya is the President of the World Marketing Association, Co-founder of Asia Marketing Federation, and President of Indonesia Council for Small Business (ICSB). In 2003, he was named by the United Kingdom’s Chartered Institute of Marketing on the list of “50 Gurus Who Have Shaped the Future of Marketing” which includes Philip Kotler, David Aaker, Gary Hamel, Tom Peters, and Seth Godin.

In 2009, he received the Distinguished Global Leadership Award from the Pan-Pacific Business Association at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He also received Lifetime Achievement in Marketing Award from Jawa Pos in 2016. He is currently the Founder & Executive Chairman of MarkPlus, Inc.

James Chau is a broadcaster, writer and Goodwill Ambassador for WHO and UNAIDS. He was a Guest Presenter on BBC World News, and is currently a Special Contributor to CCTV News after ten years as its main anchor. He is active on social media, writing for the Huffington Post and has 1.7 million followers on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter. He was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

He has interviewed a range of personalities, amongst them Nobel Peace Prize winners Kofi Annan, Muhammad Yunus and Aung Sang Suu Kyi, as well as Joko Widodo, Winnie Mandela, Robert Mugabe, Elton John, Paul Kagame, Diane von Furstenberg, and Chinese First Lady Peng Liyuan. Most recently he reported on the Syrian civil war, the Paris terrorist attacks, the COP21 climate talks, and the outbreaks of Zika and Ebola.

A frequent public speaker, he moderates high-level events such as World Economic Forum and St. Gallen Symposium with participants such as Prince William, Bill Gates and Jack Ma. He studied piano at the Royal Academy of Music and graduated from Cambridge University, where the annual John C.B. Chau Prize in Engineering is named for his father.

He lives in Beijing and London.

James Digby is a Founding Partner at the Global Startup Awards, a pan regional startup competition that recognises entrepreneurs and their respective supporting ecosystems in 25 countries around the world. He also co-founded the award-winning startup incubator Rockstart Accelerator in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

As a seasoned board member, most recently with Louisiana State University (LSU), James has also served on the management team and was a personal mentor for a number of startups that have gone on to raise significant funding and global traction, recently with the award-winning AIRTAME wireless HDMI streaming device that became the most publicly backed crowd funded project in Europe on Indiegogo of all time.
 
James has more than a decade of entrepreneurial experience working with startups and corporations like Samsung, and public organisations such as the Saïd Business School at Oxford University and the Kauffman Foundation to development innovation & strategy workshops as well as lecture on entrepreneurial techniques with a focus on ‘lean’ methodologies and global connections.

After completing his degree in Business Administration from the USA, he worked in a family-owned group of companies.

In 2003-2004, Jesús Ramirez began his career in Comomin SCA, the parent company of the family-owned group, specialising in the area of assembling and industrial maintenance within the petrochemical sector in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. He acted as Project Manager and coordinator of various projects accorded by the autonomy of Ceuta, in Spain.

In mid-2004 he established, managed and directed a new company called Sideracero DAH, SA, which specialises in the marketing and distribution of steel products manufacturing and cutting of bespoke sizes steel sheets for both domestic and European markets. Sideracero was one of the leading suppliers to the pioneering project of floating liquefied gas storage in Crinavis-San Roque, Spain for Exxon Mobil.

In mid-2008, he continued his professional career with Ferrotek Suministros SA, with the aim of opening up its client base to an international stage providing marketing and urgent distribution of industrial supplies worldwide, managing board management and cost management tasks as well as risk controls associated with international credit sales.

From early 2013, he was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Grupo Fuxiona SL, a company specialising in exclusive global trade and contracts, with its own trademarks, including genuine and iconic projects.

Jordan Duffy is a serial entrepreneur, technology innovation expert and, at the age of 21, co-owns Buckham & Duffy, an innovation and rapid development firm with 18 employees. B&D services enterprise and government clients in identifying and accelerating the adoption of emerging technologies, research and startups. Jordan works for governments and in international policy to create more innovative enterprises and nations. His expertise is also used as a board member for city council and as a G20 delegate.

Jordan’s passion for technology and business started at home assembling computers, and his entrepreneurial journey started at age 14 with business partner Alex Buckham. Alex and Jordan have been growing businesses for eight years. Business aside, Jordan is an avid self-educator and driven change maker. Jordan has battled and defeated cancer and manages chronic pain, has travelled to 20 countries and played drums on the Great Wall of China in the 2008 Olympic Orchestra. Jordan brings an understanding of millennial, startups, small/medium business, enterprise and government and many things in between.

Based in Kuala Lumpur, Kunrat Wirasubrata is the Acting Director of the Islamic Development Bank Group Regional Office for Southeast Asia since December 2011. Before being posted in Kuala Lumpur, he worked in IDB headquarters in Jeddah managing IDB portfolio in East and Central Africa, and before that in South and Central Asia.

Kunrat is a Member of the WIEF International Advisory Panel (IAP).

Kyri, a British national, has resided in Malaysia for over 20 years. He is an entrepreneur with extensive branding, marketing and strategic planning experience in the advertising and IT sectors, nationally and internationally. He has 17 years of experience in marketing and branding for international agencies such as Batey Advertising, Saatchi & Saatchi and Dentsu, Young & Rubicam.

For the past 10 years, Kyri ventured into ICT software development and brand consultancy. He has a special interest in social entrepreneurship, sustainable business ideas & Islamic peer-to-peer micro-financing.

Kyri has a BA in business studies from the University of North London.

He is the CEO and Director of My Outlets Pte Ltd in Singapore, a value chain platform that provides halal trade and business solutions to SMEs in the halal F&B industry since 2013. Malek plays a crucial role in the company’s strategic corporate development, helping SMEs from the halal F&B industry in developing their export capability development. He managed to build a global network and partnerships with various food manufacturers who are keen to enter the Asian market, including numerous Malaysian, Indonesian, Turkish and Australian companies, as well as government, trade and halal certification bodies in the region.

Malek is also Deputy President of the Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and has been awarded the SMCCI Entrepreneur of the Year Award. He is involved in various advisory roles as well as the strategic planning, charting and developing the growth of SMCCI.

As well as his role as the Head of the Halal Industry’s F&B Cluster, Malek has decades of experience in the know-how, understanding of the needs, wants and concerns of the local halal food players.

Nazeem Noordali, General Manager of Corporate & Structured Finance, is responsible for overseeing all ITFC trade finance transactions for MENA, Africa and Asia/CIS. Prior to the establishment of ITFC, he was Acting Group Supervisor of Operations in the Trade Finance & Promotion Department (TFPD) at the Islamic Development Bank (IDB).

He pioneered the concept of Shariah-compliant structured commodity finance within the Islamic banking community. He has been particularly instrumental in introducing a number of innovative solutions towards building a robust structure and led a team of multi-skilled professionals, which over the recent years have produced some of the landmark deals in Islamic trade finance for ITFC.

He began his career in 1990, before joining IDB, with the French General Council in the Finance Department and later moved to Mauritius, where he worked for the state export development agency, involved in the promotion of exports and direct investments into the Economic Free Zone of Mauritius.

He obtained a Masters of Science degree in Shipping Trade & Finance in 1989 from the CASS Business School, UK, following his Bachelor’s degree (Honours) in Economics from the London School of Economics (LSE).

Mumtaz Khan is Advisor to Nogaholding, the parent company holding all the oil and gas assets of the Kingdom of Bahrain. Mr. Khan is a recognised leader in private equity in the Middle East and Asia. He was the key person to establish the US$730 million Islamic Development Bank Infrastructure Fund (IDB Fund) and served as Chairman and CEO of EMP Bahrain, Manager of the IDB Fund, for eight years.
 
Mr Khan served as a Managing Director at EMP Global in Washington D.C. and for three years was based in Hong Kong as a Managing Director for the US$1.1 billion AIG Asian Infrastructure Fund.
 
Prior to that, Mr Khan was with IFC for 14 years and served as Resident Representative based in Jakarta. Mr. Khan also served as a Manager in IFC’s Asia Department and pioneered IFC’s programme in China through extensive engagement with state owned entities in China and the Ministry of Finance.
 
Mr Khan is a member of the Advisory Board of the UK based Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF). He is also a member of the Bretton Woods Committee and served as a member of the Interim Council of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). At the WIEF Foundation, he serves as the Economic Advisor.
 

Nadira is currently the CEO of Nadi Ayu Technologies and the Co-Founder of NATSB since 2002. She is also the Managing Director for Girls In Tech Malaysia (GITM), as well as Great Women Malaysia. Nadira Yusoff is the recipient of several entrepreneurship awards, such as the Malaysian Outstanding Woman Entrepreneur Award which was awarded during the ASEAN Women Entrepreneur Forum in 2015 (AWEF), and the Most Innovative Company Award at the NEF-AWANI ICT Awards in 2011.

She was also nominated for the Prime Minister’s Women Entrepreneur Award in 2011 and was a finalist for the Great Women of Our Times Award by the Malaysian Women’s Weekly Magazine in 2012. She also represents Malaysia as the focal point in the ASEAN Women Entrepreneur Network (AWEN).

Nadira has been featured in various entrepreneurship-related interviews and television programmes, and has been actively involved in several local and regional forums as speaker and moderator including the Women Extraordinaire Forum in Kuala Lumpur in 2014.

She was the lead programme curator for Bahtera and the 1ASEAN Entrepreneurship Summit in 2015. This year, Nadira Yusoff was chosen by the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor to represent the ASEAN Women Entrepreneurs in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), which took place from February until March 2016.

Established in 2012, Crowdo, a leading financial technology company in Asia, offers a full suite of equity crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending solutions. It has a strong regional presence with offices in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, and has helped raise funding for projects across six continents from more than 70 countries.

Nicola has more than 15 years of experience in financial technology with significant expertise in investment, finance, internet and the hi-tech sectors. He spent 8 years at Accenture where part of Accenture’s research centre in Sophia Antipolis served financial institution clients on large transformational projects. Subsequently he joined Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore as a fixed income trader on Asian financial markets.

He holds an MBA from INSEAD in Singapore and France and a Master in Bio-electronic engineering from the Polytechnic University of Milan. He has been living in Singapore for more than 10 years.

Growing up in a family of cooks, Paco began his career working in a family restaurant in 1995, while studying hospitality at the time.

Paco has had extensive experience working in restaurants such as “Guggenheim”, “Mugaritz”, “El Bulli”, and “Change of Pace” in London, creating quality dishes and menu changes. In 2006, he became head chef upon his return to “Mugaritz”, a role that included travel to various countries to give exquisite lunches and dinners.

As the breadth of his experience grew, Morales went on to mentor and train other chefs between 2006 and 2007. He was known for his perfectionism in everything from the products used, dishes prepared to hospitality.

Subsequently, he started working with former professional tennis player Juan Carlos Ferrero and became the gastronomic director at the Ferrero complex.

In 2010, Paco opened his own restaurant “Noor” at Hotel Ferrero, where he was awarded the coveted Michelin star. Between 2013 and 2014, he became advisor to three restaurants, in Menorca, Madrid, and Brazil. Last year, he finalised the opening of his restaurant in Cordoba.

Peniel Uliwa has over 27 years of extensive experience as a Business Advisor, Research Manager, Senior Programme Officer and Director cum Principal Consultant, revolving around Small Enterprise Development and more.
He has been involved in a wide range of “hands on” business advisory services and policy developments for small businesses in farming and non-farming sectors, and has been exposed to working environments in multicultural teams at national (Tanzania), regional (East, West and Southern Africa) and international settings (EU, Far East/India).
He has published experiences of sub-sector studies in international journals of Small Enterprise Development and researched intensively on agricultural markets, value chain empowerment, contract farming, BDS Market Development and entrepreneurship development.

Previously, he held positions such as Senior Economic Development Advisor at SNV Zimbabwe, Senior Programme Officer and Deputy Director at SNV Tanzania, and Research Manager at Small Industries Development Organisation. In addition, he has undertaken several major consulting assignments with international organisations such as OXFAM, Gatsby Trust UK, UNCCD, and Norges Vel, amongst others.

Uliwa currently works as a Managing Partner of Match Maker Group which houses Match Makers Associates Ltd (MMA) and Match Maker Fund Management (MMFM), offering value chain consultancies, business development services and financial services.

Philip Glickman, based in Singapore, is the Regional Head of Commercial Payments for MasterCard in Asia Pacific. He oversees the product management of T&E, Purchase Card, SME, B2B solutions and partnerships as they relate to commercial products. His career has spanned the development of payments within both the consumer and commercial fields, in addition to acquiring government procurement. Before joining MasterCard, he worked with Citibank in their transaction banking business in Hong Kong and New York, and in the supply chain management field for the Eni Group and MSC in New York, a leading shipping line, also in New York.

Philip received a BA from Hofstra University, an MBA from American University and is fluent in Italian.

Volker Nienhaus was Professor of Economics at the German universities of Trier and Bochum, Vice Rector of the University of Bochum and President of the University of Marburg. He holds an honorary professorship of the University of Bochum and was Visiting Professor at the University of Reading (UK), University of Malaya, and the Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies. He served in several academic advisory committees and boards, including the German Federal Ministry of Economic Co-operation and Development and the German Federal Agency for Civic Education.

Currently, Volker is a member of the Governing Council and Adjunct Professor of the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF) in Kuala Lumpur and consultant to the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB). He is also member of the Supervisory Board of FWU AG in Munich, an internationally operating family takāful provider. His interest in Islamic economics and finance and his long list of publications date back to the late 1970s.

Professor Richard Black is Pro-Director (Research and Enterprise) at SOAS University of London. Prior to moving to SOAS in 2013, he was founding Head of the School of Global Studies at the University of Sussex.

Richard is widely published on issues concerning migration, refugees, development and environmental change.  He was Editor of the Journal of Refugee Studies from 1994-2009 and was elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in 2012.  His books include A continent moving west? (Amsterdam, 2010), Targeting Development (Routledge, 2004) and Refugees, Environment and Development (Longman, 1998) and he has recent articles in Nature, Nature Climate Change, and Global Environmental Change.  Richard has field experience across various countries of Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern/South-eastern Europe.

Ridzki oversees business operations, expansion, strategic, partnership and brand development, with a vision to drive the brand in Indonesia forward.
 
He has more than 20 years of experience working for multinational companies. Prior to joining Grab Indonesia, he was the COO of AirAsia Indonesia, and prior to that he held the role of Regional Director in AirAsia Group.
 
Prior to his role in AirAsia, he spent the majority of his career in the telecommunications industry, most notably as the Executive Vice President of Marketing, Product and CRM of Bakrie Telecom.
 
Ridzki graduated from the State University of New York with an MBA degree, and graduated from Universitas Padjajaran, Indonesia with a Bachelo

With a passion for handcrafts since her childhood, Riski Hapsari, born in 1981, started her career in secondary school by selling handmade bracelets. In 2007, she resigned from CIMB Niaga Bank and started her first online business http://koleksikikie.multiply.com. In 2013, she joined the 2nd Regional WIEF Online Marketing Workshop in Surabaya where the Workshop inspired her to develop another website called http://koleksikikie.com.

In 2016 she not only had her own website, but her name had spread throughout social media including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Her customers are scattered throughout Indonesia, with a total of 400 online transactions per month. She successfully penetrated into the foreign market and now has a few foreign customers from Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, US, and Australia.

Not only focused on selling accessories, the website also provides information on how to find materials to make accessories at home and market them as well. This way, she will help Indonesian women establish their own business from home. Koleksikikie also collaborates with the Indonesian Government through the PNPM Mandiri programme in order to empower women in rural areas. Due to her dedication and hard work, she was selected as one of the finalists for the Indonesia Women Entrepreneur award “Wanita Wirausaha Femina” in 2015.

Roshan Isaacs is revolutionising the way in which designers, the world over, perceive the modest fashionista. As the IFDC’s South Africa Country Manager, she oversees creative projects as she tackles creative problem solving, business strategies and big picture thinking.

Her contribution to establishing a voice for the Islamic design industry is at the core of all she does, as juror of the International Fashion Film Festival, Managing Director of Style Africa Fashion Network, producer and host of CoverMode on local radio station Voice of The Cape, writer for Modest Muse and IFDC’s highly anticipated Cover Magazine (being called in the press the Vogue of Islamic fashion), host of IFDC’s The Modest Chapter, and model for TopCo.

Her vision for IFDC South Africa is to create global awareness amongst South African Designers who cater to the modest wear market, promote modest wear on mainstream runways, host an IFDC International Fashion Show and build a market, retail or online, that enables South African designers to reach out to global consumers.

Salahuddin Kasem Khan is the Managing Director of A. K. Khan & Co. Ltd.; Chairman of Coats (Bangladesh); Chairman of A.K. Khan Jute Mills; and Director of Bengal Fisheries. He was appointed as the Honorary Consul General of Turkey by the President in 1984.

Khan is also the President of the Bangladesh – Malaysia Chamber of Commerce (BMCCI). He is the Chairman of the SEACO Task Force, Co-chair of Skills Development WG of the Better Business Forum (BBBF), and Co-chair of the EC and member of the National Skills Development Council (NSDC).

Salahuddin Kasem Khan is a member of the WIEF International Advisory Panel (IAP).

Sandiaga S. Uno, is one of Indonesia’s most prominent young entrepreneurs and is active in the Indonesian business community. He is the co-founder of PT Saratoga Investama Sedaya Tbk and served as a President Director 2004 – 2015. He has led the investment firm to have a solid track record of profitable investments across key sectors of the Indonesian economy.

Sandiaga is a Chairman of Indonesia Association of Traditional Market Merchant, Chairman of Indonesia Swimming Federation and Vice Chairman of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Cooperatives and Creative Economy of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Vice Chairman of the Indonesian Public Listed Company Association. He served as a Chairman of the Indonesia Forum Foundation (2013 – 2015) and Indonesian Economic Committee as a member (2010-2014) and the Chairman of the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (2005-2008).

Sandiaga holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (Summa Cum Laude) from the Wichita State University and an MBA from George Washington University. He is married with three children.

Sevket Can Tulumen received his BA in Civil Engineering from Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey and his MA Degree in Civil Engineering from Case Western Reserve University, USA in 1988.

His experience includes being a Partner for Tulka Construction and Engineering Company and owner of Tulpa Marketing and Trade Company Ltd.

He is currently a Member of the Board and Chairman of Foreign Relations Committee for MUSİAD Businessmen Association in Turkey. He is also a Member of the Auditing Board for Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, ITO.

Shelby is an entrepreneur who has dedicated his career to building and empowering peer-to-peer marketplaces. Shelby has been called a pioneer in “Collaborative Consumption” or the “Sharing Economy.” This movement is rapidly changing consumer behaviours in many ways, and along the way, these marketplaces are disputing mobility, insurance, commerce, work, and the very way we live our lives.

Shelby is the founder of RelayRides (recently rebranded to Turo), the world’s first and largest peer-to-peer car sharing marketplace (Airbnb for cars), which has raised over $100M in financing from top tier investors and now operates in over 3,000 US cities. RelayRides spawned a global industry, garnering participation from major corporations and attracting significant press attention from hundreds of outlets worldwide. Shelby was also the CMO of pay-per-mile car insurance company, MetroMile, and the Founder/CEO of Peers, which aims to help a new sharing economy workforce find and manage work. Shelby started his career in Management consulting, and has done significant independent consulting as well, advising major corporations on strategy, project implementation, and operations.

Shelby holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, and a BS in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University, where he attended on a swimming scholarship.

Shinta Witoyo Dhanuwardoyo, known as Shinta Bubu, recognised as Globe Asia’s 99 Most Powerful Women in Indonesia, is a pioneer in Indonesia’s tech industry. She established Bubu.com in 1996, which is one of the first Internet companies ever built in Indonesia. Bubu.com started as a web design company, and with rapid development in the country’s digital landscape, has since evolved into a leading digital agency.

She is passionate about all things tech, and is committed to contribute to the development of the tech industry. One of her initiatives include IDByte 2015 event and Bubu Awards, which brings in world-class industry players and honours the best talents in Indonesia’s digital landscape. She also set up SVATA – a non-profit organisation aiming to bridge knowledge between Silicon Valley and Indonesia’s tech ecosystem. Her most recent initiative is establishing Angel eQ Network – a community of angel investors made of prominent entrepreneurs.

Shinta Bubu has also served as CEO of Plasa.com – one of the digital arms of Telkomsel and one of the first e-commerce in Indonesia. At Plasa.com, she managed to secure partnership with E-Bay. She also set up Nusantara Ventures, one of the first venture capital firms in Indonesia.

Sitta Rosdaniah is the Financial and Supporting Director of Jakarta Industrial Estate Pulogadung (JIEP) − the first industrial estate in Indonesia. She has served 18 years as a staff and official at the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of State-owned Enterprises in Indonesia. She has a B.Eng. in Industrial Engineering from the Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS), an MSc in Business & Economics from the University of Strathclyde, and a PhD in Economic Public Policy from the Crawford School from the Australian National University. She attended an Executive Education in Finance at the Harvard Business School.

She has taught in several universities in the areas of business & economics, finance, and public administration. She is currently a member of the Advisory Board for the Industrial Engineering Department at ITS. She was a recipient of the British Chevening Award in 1999 and the Australian Leadership Award in 2007.

Tan Sri Dato’ Abdul Ghani Othman is an economist by training and profession. He began his career as a lecturer at the Faculty of Economics, University of Malaya and subsequently rose to the rank of Dean for the Faculty of Economics and Administration.

Tan Sri Dato’ Abdul Ghani Othman has previously served as a Member of the Senate, Member of Parliament and as a Minister in various Ministries within the Government of Malaysia. His last position was Chief Minister of Johor and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Johor Corporation from May 1995 to May 2013.

Tan Sri Dato’ Abdul Ghani Othman is presently an Independent Non-Executive Director and the Chairman of the Board of Sime Darby Berhad (SDB). He was appointed to the Board of SDB on 1 July 2013.

Tan Sri Dato’ Ahmad Fuzi Haji Abdul Razak was previously the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Malaysia. He joined the Malaysian Diplomatic and Administrative Service in 1972, and served in various capacities at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, mainly in the Political Division, and at the Malaysian Missions abroad in Moscow, The Hague, Canberra, Washington and Dhaka. His tenor as Secretary-General saw him deeply involved at the Senior Officials level in the successful hosting by Malaysia of the NAM Summit in 2003, the OIC Summit in 2003 and the ASEAN Summit plus East Asia Summit and Related Summits in 2005.

Tan Sri Ahmad Fuzi has previously also served as Director General, Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations Malaysia; Deputy Secretary General 1, Ambassador-at-Large and Malaysia’s Representative to the ASEAN High Level Task Force (HLTF) on the Drafting of the ASEAN Charter and Malaysia’s Representative to the High Level Panel (HLP) on the Drafting of the Terms of Reference of the ASEAN Human Rights Body. The last two positions allowed him to engage a wide spectrum of representatives and stakeholders dealing with matters pertaining to Human Rights in Malaysia and other ASEAN Member States.

Tan Sri Fuzi is currently, Secretary-General of the World Islamic Economic Forum Foundation (WIEF) and Chairman of Amanahraya-Reit Managers Sdn Bhd; Seremban Engineering Berhad; Theatre Management Associates Sdn Bhd; Optima Capital Sdn Bhd; Sofgen (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, ACE Holdings Sdn Bhd and IMAN Research Consulting Sdn Bhd.

Tan Sri Fuzi is also a member of the Board of Directors of Maybank Islamic Bhd; Puncak Niaga Holdings Berhad; Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS) Malaysia Sdn Bhd; MDIS Unicampus Malaysia Sdn Bhd; Alstar Solutions Sdn Bhd; Lejadi Medimax Sdn Bhd and WEROS Technology Sdn Bhd. He is also Advisor, Xadarcorp Sdn Bhd.

In recognition of his service to the nation, he was awarded the AMN (1979), the JSM (1999), the DSPN (1999), the DMPN (2002) the PSM (2003) and the DSLJ (Brunei Darussalam 2014).

Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Wan Mohd Zahid Mohd Noordin is an educationist by training and profession. He began his career as a teacher and subsequently rose to the rank of Education Manager within the Ministry of Education. His last position was as Director General of Education of Malaysia. Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Wan Mohd Zahid is presently Chairman of Management and Science University (MSU), Furukawa Electric Cables (M) Sdn Bhd And Academy of Higher Education.
 
He is also a Director Amanah Saham Nasional Berhad, Perbadanan Usahawan Nasional Berhad, SP Setia Berhad and Amanah Mutual Berhad. He was formerly the Chairman of Berger International Ltd based in Singapore, and Deputy Chairman of International Bank Malaysia Berhad.

He is also a board member of the Securities Industry Development Corporation (SIDC), the training and development arm of the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC).
 
Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Wan Mohd Zahid holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree from University of Malaya, Masters from Stanford University and a PhD from University of California, Berkeley. He underwent a course in business management under the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School.

He is the Chairman of WIEF Education Trust, WIEF Board of Trustee and member of the WIEF International Advisory Panel (IAP).

In March 1998, Tanri Abeng was appointed by President Soeharto as Indonesia’s first Minister for State-Owned Enterprises and given the challenge not only of restructuring the State sector but also of creating, from scratch, a new ministry to undertake the task. He was reappointed to the same portfolio when Dr Habibie replaced President Soeharto. He launched a programme to restructure the state-owned enterprises, to increase their productivity and unlock their value, which was completed before President Habibie’s cabinet was resolved in 1999.

Tanri’s experience in formulating a coherent plan for state-owned enterprise reform is part of his involvement for more than three decades with multinational, regional and national corporations. He has held top executive positions in Indonesia for Union Carbide (USA), Heineken (Netherlands), Bakrie & Brothers and has held non-executive positions in other companies including BAT (United Kingdom), BATA (Canada) and Asia Pacific Breweries (Singapore).

Tanri was also an Elected Member of People’s Consultative Assembly from 1990-1998. Since leaving government, he has been active in the field of developing cross cultural leadership skills for the benefit of future private and public sector leaders in Indonesia and the Asia Pacific region, through the Executive Center for Global Leadership.

Tanri is currently the Publisher of Globe Asia as well as the President Director of Global Investment Partners. A graduate of State University of New York in Business Administration, he also completed an Advanced Management Program at Claremont Graduate School, USA.

Teymoor is a journalist, broadcaster and public speaker with a 25-year track record of presenting, writing and editing news and current affairs.

He has launched and hosted high profile programmes for major global TV networks including Al Jazeera, BBC, CNBC, CNN and Channel 4, and has covered major international news events like 9/11, the Asian tsunami, the Arab Spring, the Japan earthquake and nuclear meltdown, the Thailand riots, and the Iran Presidential election of 2009. 

Teymoor was awarded the “Best News Presenter” at the Asian Television Awards in 2006, and shared the award for “Best News Story (Sports)” from the Royal Television Society in 2000.

Dato’ Sri Najib Tun Razak is the Prime Minister of Malaysia. As the son of Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, Malaysia’s second Prime Minister, and nephew of Tun Hussein Onn, Malaysia’s third Prime Minister, Dato’ Sri Najib was born into a family of political pedigree.

40 YEARS OF PUBLIC SERVICE
Having initially pursued a career in business, he only entered public service upon his father’s death. After an outpouring of public support, at the age of 22 he became the youngest MP in Malaysia’s history. Despite the absence of his father to help him, by 25 he was a Deputy Cabinet Minister, by 29 the Chief Minister of a state, and by 33 a full Cabinet Minister. Having successfully led most key ministries, including Education, Defence and Finance, aged 55 on 3 April 2009 he became Prime Minister.

POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION
Since then, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has implemented the most far-reaching political and economic reform programmes since Malaysia’s independence. These include:
• Repealing the colonial-era Internal Security Act, which permitted indefinite detention without trial;
• Ending Malaysia’s 60-year State of Emergency;
• Introducing measures to increase media freedom, such as scrapping restrictions on newspaper publishing licenses;
• Reforming the Universities and University Colleges Act to allow undergraduates to participate in political activities;
• Creating the Peaceful Assembly Act, for the first time enshrining in law the right to peaceful protest;
• Repealing the Banishment Act;
• Repealing the Restricted Residences Act;
• Implementing various electoral reforms.
• Diversifying the economy and halving government dependency on oil and gas from 41 percent of total revenue when he assumed office in 2009, to 21 percent by 2015.

The Prime Minister also introduced the ‘1Malaysia’ concept, which stresses the importance of national unity, regardless of one’s race or religious beliefs.

His Government Transformation Programme has fundamentally changed the provision of government services – improving education, widening access to healthcare, developing rural infrastructure, expanding public transport, reducing poverty, and cutting crime. Alongside this, his Economic Transformation Programme has significantly liberalised the economy, creating more than 1.8 million jobs, raising living standards, virtually eliminating absolute poverty through implementing a minimum wage, encouraging foreign investment – which grew by more than 22 percent per annum from when he took office in 2009 until 2015 – and turned Malaysia into one of Asia’s most dynamic and successful economies. His flagship New Economic Model is on target to transition Malaysia to a high-income nation by 2020.

FOREIGN POLICY RESULTS
Since assuming office, the Prime Minister has presided over a new era in Malaysia’s foreign policy, ending populist confrontation tactics and instead pushing for open regionalism. A strong believer in ASEAN, he has promoted cooperative ties with major powers, emerging economies and the developing world. In particular, the relations he has cultivated with other world leaders has vastly increased trade, foreign investment and jobs for Malaysians, and helped to bring peace and stability to the region.

For example, the Prime Minister played a key role in facilitating a peace agreement to bring an end to Asia’s longest-running insurgency in the Southern Philippines. He also personally negotiated behind-the scenes with pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine, securing the return of bodies, wreckage and black boxes from Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 – something no other world leader was able to do.

The Prime Minister has called for a new Global Movement of Moderates to combat extremism, attracting support from President Barack Obama among others, and was the first Muslim head of government to unequivocally condemn suicide bombings and label them un-Islamic.

ELECTION WINS
In 2013 the Prime Minister returned to office after winning Malaysia’s 13th general election. His Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition won 133 seats against the opposition’s 89. In 2016, despite being a mid-term government subject to an unprecedented campaign of politically motivated allegations, BN under the Prime Minister’s leadership won landslide victories with hugely increased majorities in Sarawak – Malaysia’s biggest state – and also in the constituencies of Kuala Kangsar and Sungai Besar.

Following these landslide election wins, the Prime Minister said his priority will continue to be the economic development, social welfare and security‎ of all Malaysians.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka for the fourth time on 21st August 2015. He is the Leader of the United National Party (UNP), Sri Lanka’s largest political party, which is a constituent member of the National Unity Government led by H.E. the President Maithripala Sirisena.

Ranil Wickremesinghe was first appointed as the Prime Minister from 1993 – 1994 after the assassination of President Ranasinghe Premadasa. He was again elected as the Prime Minister from 2001 – 2004 when the United National Front Government won the general elections in 2001.

A lawyer by profession, Prime Minister Ranil was elected to Parliament in 1977 at the age of 28, having worked in the Youth League of the UNP from his university days. As the youngest Minister in Sri Lanka at the time, he held the post of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs under President Jayewardene. Soon after, in recognition of his exceptional talents and unique capacity for work, he was appointed to the Cabinet as the Minister of Youth Affairs and Employment. Later on, he was given the portfolio of Education. Then in 1989, as a seasoned legislator, he was made the Leader of the House under President Premadasa. He also served as the Minister of Industries, Science and Technology.

From 1977 to 1994, during the seventeen years that the UNP was in power yet again, Prime Minister Ranil,made a crucial impact on the development of the country. He is still considered to be the best Education Minister of the country due to the radical educational reforms he initiated in the 1980s, aimed at the qualitative improvement of school education (with a special focus on English, Technology and Computer skills) and the Education Administrative Service. He energised the young people in Sri Lanka with creative, motivational as well as skill development programs through youth clubs (Yovun Samajas) and youth camps (Yovunpuras).

Later on, as the Minister of Industries, Science and Technology, he was responsible for Sri Lanka’s second round of economic liberalisation that commenced in 1989 with focus on financial de-regularisation and industrial promotion in rural areas through infrastructure development and the institution of industrial estates. As the MP for Biyagama, he dramatically developed his electorate to become a modern model suburb with brand new carpeted roads, electrification schemes, water and sanitation projects, schools, community centres and other infrastructure inputs. He also established the Biyagama Free Trade Zone to provide employment for thousands of young men and women in a range of industries.

In 1993 after the untimely demise of President Premadasa, Prime Minister Ranil was appointed Prime Minister during the presidency of D. B. Wijetunge. Eveready for a challenge, the young Prime Minister rose to the responsibility of high office and he has been credited for establishing law, order and stability in the country at the crucial juncture. During the short period, the country recorded the highest level of economic growth for the decade.

After the UNP was voted out in 1994, Prime Minister Ranil became the Leader of the United National Party and the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament. Under his leadership, the UNP undertook extensive restructuring at institutional and grassroots levels and further democratised the Party to represent a more equitable balance in terms of ethnicity, gender and youth.

In 2001, he led his party back to power and was sworn in as Prime Minister once again. In spite of the fact that the President was from the opposing party who could exercise full executive powers and was a strong opposition in Parliament, Prime Minister Ranil’s most significant achievements were to restore full-time electricity, rejuvenate the ailing economy, break down the many ethnic barriers in the country, bring the warring LTTE to the negotiating table for peace talks, and galvanise the goodwill and financial support of the international community for Sri Lanka.

Outside of politics, Prime Minister Ranil is the Chair of the Dhayakasabha of one of Sri Lanka’s historic temples, the Kelaniya Vihara and a dhayakaya of Gangaramaya, Walukaramaya and the Weragodalla (Sedawatte) temples. He has written and spoken widely on Sri Lankan history, Buddhism and world politics.

Tun Musa Hitam, who is currently Chairman of the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) Foundation was Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister until 1986. In the course of his service in the Malaysian government, he held various positions including Minister of Home Affairs, Education, Primary Industries and Trade and Industries and Chairman of the Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA). Among his major official activities were as Leader of Malaysian Investment Missions to Europe, USA and Japan and representing Malaysia at UN UNESCO and ECOSOC related negotiating and regular conferences.

Since Tun Musa’s retirement from politics in 1987, he held Chairmanships of 3 Public Listed Companies and various business related institutions both at domestic and international levels. He was Chairman of the Malaysia – China Business Council, Co-Chair of the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) of the Asean – China, 15 year economic cooperation program and Chairman of the EPG to draft the Asean Charter. Currently, Tun Musa is Chairman of the Sime Darby Foundation, Chairman of the International Advisory Panel of CIMB Bank, Chairman of the International Selection Panel of the Royal Award on Islamic Finance and member of the Advisory Panels of the Iskandar Development Authority.

Tun Musa holds a BA from the University of Malaya and MA from the University of Sussex, and held a resident Fellowship at Harvard University. For his services to the nation, The Yang Di Pertuan Agong, King, of Malaysia conferred him the Malaysia’s highest award which carries the title “Tun”.

Thione Niang is a social entrepreneur, political strategist, youth advocate and author. His efforts led him to participate as a community organiser in the 2008 election of President Barack Obama and National Co-Chair of Gen44 for the 2012 campaign.

He currently heads three international organisations. The first is the Give1 Project, which he created in 2009 as an institution that promotes the involvement and leadership of future young leaders. The second is the TNG Consulting Group, which aims to facilitate communication and relations between global organisations and governments, and the third is Akon Lighting Africa & Solektra International which he co-founded with the renowned artist Akon and Malian Businessman Samba Bathily in 2014. The mission of Akon Lighting Africa is to bring electricity to 600 million African households and communities through sustainable solar energy.

In 2015, he was appointed Ambassador to the US Ministry of Energy by President Obama. Thione Niang advocates for inclusion of minorities in all aspects of the energy sector, with a special focus on energy economic development, STEM education, and climate change. Thione Niang shares his inspiring story with the world in his recent book, Memoirs of an Eternal Optimist.

Valerina Daniel is a prominent News Anchor in Indonesia. As a Broadcast Journalist for 15 years, she has covered many stories from the devastating tsunami in Aceh and Sri Lanka to the US Presidential Election in Washington, DC.

She is very passionate about communications, sustainable development and climate change issues. Her passion for the environment was acknowledged by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry of Indonesia whom entrusted her to be the Communications Adviser since 2005, acknowledged her passion for the environment. Valerina was recently appointed as Ambassador for Indonesian Legal Wood Campaign.

Valerina graduated from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, majoring in Master of Communications and Media Studies after receiving the Australian Leadership Awards in 2008. She has published several books titled “Easy Green Living”, and “I Love Earth” – a series of children’s stories.

Because of her dedication to the environment, Valerina received the Indonesia Green Award and the Australian Alumni Awards for Communications an