Forum Programme

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.  

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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”.