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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.