Dr Hayat Sindi is a leading biotechnologist and champion of science and technology in the Middle East. Driven by her desire to closely link science and social impact, she co-founded a non-profit organisation called Diagnostics For All, which creates innovative, inexpensive, point-of-care diagnostic devices for people in impoverished regions. In 2011, she launched i2, an Institute for imagination and ingenuity, to encourage innovation among young people specifically male and female scientists, technologists and engineers.

She received the Clinton Global Citizen Awards for Leadership in Civil Society for her work to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship among young people in the Middle East. She is currently the advisor to the president of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) and a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for sciences and a member of the UN Technological Facilitation Mechanism (TFM) 10-Member Group. In 2013, Sindi was one of the first 30 women to be appointed by Saudi Arabia’s highest consultative body, the Shura Council.

Charlotte Kan is an international broadcast journalist, editor and moderator with over 17 years of experience. She was a reporter for some of the world’s leading media organisations and institutions such as Bloomberg, Euronews, Thomson Reuters, Standard & Poor’s, ITU, M6, RTBF among others.

She founded Fabrik.digital, a specialist agency producing multimedia content to help organisations advance their thought leadership and digital transformation. Her clients range from tech hubs and startups to leading firms such as Oracle, IBM and SAP.

She’s an expert communicator with expertise in finance and digital transformation, she also uses her experience as a TV anchor and reporter to provide media coaching services. ​She holds a master’s degree in International Journalism from City University, United Kingdom.

Kamarul Bahrin Haron is an established TV journalist, editor and anchor in Malaysia. He has 20 years of experience in reporting and producing news of current affairs. He’s currently the executive editor in charge of editorial operations for the increasingly popular 24-hour news and current affairs channel in Malaysia called Astro Awani.

On his talk show, Agenda Awani, he addresses current issues in areas such as globalisation, sustainability, innovation, social enterprise, human capital and entrepreneurship. He has critically engaged with local and international experts including Nobel laureates, country leaders like Prime Minister David Cameron and Dr Mahathir Mohamed, business leaders as well as public intellectuals. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Universiti Sains Malaysia.

H.E. Dr Bandar M. H. Hajjar is the president of the Islamic Development Bank Group and honorary fellow of WIEF Foundation. Before assuming his current role, he served as minister of Hajj. He started his career as an academic and held several academic and administrative positions including deputy dean of the College of Economy and Administration as well as deputy director of the Islamic Economics Research Centre (IERC) at King Saud University in Saudi Arabia.

He was previously a member of the Shura Council where he chaired its Foreign Affairs Committee and was also a member of the Council’s Committee of Economic Affairs and Energy as well as the Committee of Social Affairs and Youth. He also served as a member of several national and international bodies, including the Board of Trustees of Takaful Charity Foundation, World Council for Supporting the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and Disabled Children Association (DCA).

Under his five-year chairmanship, the National Society for Human Rights not only built awareness among citizens and residents about their rights under laws of shariah, domestic and international conventions, but also revised laws to align with international conventions, issuing the first report on human rights in Saudi Arabia.

H.E. Kelimbetov Kairat Nematovich worked as the member of Supreme Economic Council under the Administration of the President of Kazakhstan and was the chairman of the Agency for Strategic Planning, First Vice-Minister of Finance. In 2002, he was Minister of Economy and Budget Planning of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

In 2006, he was CEO of Kazyna Sustainable Development Fund, the state’s institution of development. Then in 2008, he was appointed as head of administration and CEO of the Sovereign Wealth Fund Samruk-Kazyna Joint Stock Company, the fund which consolidates all the State companies.

He was Minister of Economic Development and Trade in 2011 and was appointed as the Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, a year after, where he governed the issues of macroeconomics, budget policies, tax and custom regulations, among others. He not only represented Kazakhstan but also served as chairman of the Council of Eurasian Economic Commission.

In 2013, by the decree of the President of Kazakhstan, he was appointed as the chairman of the National Bank of Kazakhstan and two years later, he was appointed as the governor of Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC). He is a graduate from Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia and Georgetown University in the United States.

Ghida Fakhry has been an international broadcast journalist for the past 20 years. She was a lead anchor for Al Jazeera, covering some of the world’s major news stories. She was a regular presenter of Newshour, the network’s flagship news programme and Inside Story, a current affairs programme. She was also host of the award-winning documentary programme, Witness.

Over the last two decades, Ghida has reported extensively from the United Nations in New York and conducted interviews with numerous Heads of States and Governments. She is also a frequent moderator at global meetings and events organised by the World Bank, the European Union, the United Nations, its specialised agencies and leading NGOs. She is currently based in Washington DC where she presents a global affairs programme for TRT World and contributes articles on international affairs and US foreign policy to the Huffington Post.

Ajmal Bhatty is the managing director of Massesglobal LLP, a member of the Advisory Board of United Kingdom’s Islamic Finance Council and executive director of Badri Management Consultancy, an actuarial firm in Dubai. He is a thought leader and pioneer in takaful. He serves on boards of companies, contributing to the work of various standard setting bodies like Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) and Islamic Development Bank (IDB) in pursuit of developing takaful worldwide.

He has in-depth experience in startup ventures, bancassurance and offshore global processing centres in Malta, Bermuda as well as India. He has managed companies in United Kingdom, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Singapore and Malaysia. He is also committed to finding ethical solutions in the new digital age of insurtech and fintech.