Is a Saudi national who holds a B.Sc. Industrial Management from the King Fahad University of Petroleum & Minerals in Dhahran, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He is a member of the National Committee for Chemical & plastics Industries at The Saudi Chambers’ Council, the founder & board member of the Gulf Society for Detergent Industries Manama, Bahrain and a member of the Saudi Chemical Society Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In addition to his present position he is also a board member of the Saudi Fisheries Company , a board member & head of the Audit and Compensation Committee of the Al-Salam Aircraft Co., the chairman of the Executive Committee of the Saudi Advanced Industries Company (SAIC), the president of Abdulaziz Al-Duailej & Partner for Industrial Consulting, the managing director of Saudi Advanced Industries Company (SAIC) and the founder of the Al- Duailej Industrial Consulting Office.

Mohammed is responsible for spearheading Rasameel’s expansion into the UAE and developing Rasameel’s principal investments platform. Rasameel is a leading Kuwaiti investment company, whose business model revolves around Shariah compliant structured finance and investment banking. Prior to joining Rasameel, Mohammed was with HSBC’s Middle Eastern securitisation team since 2005. In this role Mohammed had responsibility for originating and executing the first public rated Middle Eastern securitisation - UAE CMBS Vehicle No. 1 as well as working on securitisation transactions in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait. By training, Mohammed is a UK qualified lawyer and he worked in the capital markets and securitisation group of Lovells (both in London and Tokyo) for 6 years. In this role Mohammed developed an expertise for emerging market securitisation and Islamic capital markets transactions - working on a number of high profile transactions, including, the first residential mortgage securitisation in Saudi Arabia. Mohammed has also spent time with Lehman Brothers, London where he worked on a number of UK Master Trust securitisation transaction. Mohammed has a law degree from Trinity College, University of Cambridge and completed his law school at the Oxford Institute of Legal Practice.

Muhammad Imran Usmani, Son of justice (Retd) Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani, holds LLB, M. Phil, and Ph. D. in Islamic Finance and graduated as a scholar (Alimiyyah degree) and Takhassus (Specialization) in Islamic Fiqh and fatwa from Jamia Darul-Uloom, Karachi. From the inception of Meezan Bank he is the In-house Shariah Advisor and Head of Product Development and Shariah Compliance department of Meezan Bank, where he supervises in-house training for the different Courses, Audit & compliance, R&D and advisory for Shariah based Banking. Dr. Usmani has been serving as lecturer/teacher of different subjects of Shariah and as administrator of some divisions of Jamia Darul-Uloom, Karachi since 1990. He has also been leading Friday khuthbah and prayer at a Jamia Mosque for 18 years. Dr. Usmani also serves as an advisor/ member of Shariah Boards of the State Bank of Pakistan, HSBC Amanah Finance, Guidance Financial Group USA, Lloyds TSB Bank UK, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JABIC), Credit Suisse Switzerland, ABN Amro Global, Future Growth Albarakah Equity Fund South Africa, AIG Takaful, Capitas Group USA, Bank of London And Middle East Kuwait, DCD group Dubai, ACR Re- Takaful and other Mutual and Property funds and international Sukuk. He is also an advisor of International Islamic Financial Market( IIFM) Bahrain and International Center for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF) Malaysia. Dr Usmani is author of many books related with Islamic Finance and other subjects of Shariah. He has been presenting papers in many national and international seminars and has delivered lectures in various academic institutions such as Harvard, LSE, IBA, LUMS and others.

Christopher Chadie is a Senior Associate at Rasameel Structured Finance in Dubai. Prior to joining Rasameel, Chris worked in London for Credit Suisse where he was an structurer in the Asset Finance Capital Markets team, working on securitizations for Financial Institutions to achieve capital relief. Transactions he was involved in include Dexia’s WISE 2006 (securitization of a wrapped Project Finance portfolio, GBP 1.5 billion) and Credit Suisse’s CLOCK Finance No.1 (securitization of part of Credit Suisse’s SME loans portfolio, CHF 4.8 billion). Before that, Chris worked for in the London Investment Banking arm of UBS, in the Financial Institutions Group. There, he focused on advisory work and M&A transactions for UBS’s clients. Transactions he was involved include BNPP’s 2006 rights issue which financed part of the bank’s acquisition of Banca Nazionale del Lavoro. Chris holds an MBA from ESSEC Business School in Paris. He is fluent in English and French, and has some knowledge of Spanish.

Emanuele Cibrario is a Senior Associate at Rasameel Structured Finance in Dubai. Emanuele has a total of four years of experience in principal investments and structured credit. Prior to join Rasameel, Emanuele was working in Credit Suisse within European ABS in London were he specialised in principal investments and integrated financing solutions: from equity to secured debt funding. Emanuele holds a Master in Management from ESCP-EAP and speaks four European languages (English, French, Italian & German).

Nirmal Govinda Das is Vice President Financing for the Emirates Group. His primary responsibility is to manage the entire financing requirements for Emirates and DNATA. Nirmal has been with the Group since March 1992 and was appointed Vice President Financing in November 2007. Prior to this he has held a number of Finance roles within Emirates, most recently as the Financial Controller for the Emirates Group IT Division including Mercator. Prior to joining Emirates, Nirmal worked with Pricewaterhouse Coopers, India. Nirmal is a certified member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, India and is a Commerce graduate from Delhi University. In addition he has completed Management Development and Technical programs from the Harvard Business School, George Washington University and Cranfield University.

Max Hamidi joined Amlak in November 2007 as EVP - Finance & Treasury. Max is a professionally UK qualified Chartered Certified Accountant (FCCA) with an Honours Bachelor Degree from Middlesex University London, having 16 years of rich experience in Finance and Banking industry. Max is also a Member of the Association of Corporate Treasurers of UK, London (AMCT). During his long association with banking industry he has held various senior level responsibilities and has worked with global leading banks like Royal Bank of Scotland & NatWest Bank Plc, City of London within Finance, Treasury and Investment Banking. Max was also associated with KPMG Dubai and Iran for 4 years as Director and prior to joining Amlak he was associated with Royal Vopak (Middle East) in Dubai as Regional Finance Director.

Khalid Howladar is the Senior Credit Officer in the Structured Finance Group covering Middle Eastern Securitisation and Sukuk Finance and also helps drive Moody’s Islamic finance initiatives globally. Newly relocated to Dubai, he joined Moody’s in 2001 and previously was an analyst responsible for rating cash, synthetic, structured and project finance CDOs, as well as a member of the Business Development team responsible for new markets and products in the MENA region. In addition to providing various educational workshops for local market participants, he has lectured at Dubai University and authored articles for numerous finance journals across the globe which focus on the credit risk, securitisation and ratings of Sukuk structures. Previously Khalid spent four years at Credit Suisse, in the emerging market fixed income group as an senior analyst in the Risk Management team. Khalid holds an MSc in Finance from London Business School, an MSc in Information Technology and a BEng in Software Engineering both from the Imperial College of Science and Technology and Medicine.

Andreas (Andy) Jobst is an economist at the Monetary and Capital Markets Department (MCM) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, D.C. His work focuses on structured finance, risk management, financial regulation, as well as monetary policy and capital market development. He previously worked at the Division for Insurance and Research at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Deutsche Bundesbank, the Center for Financial Studies (CFS) in Frankfurt/Main, the European Central Bank (ECB), the Bank of England, the Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL) of the United Nations, the European Securitization Group of Deutsche Bank, and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Mr. Jobst holds a PhD in Finance from the London School of Economics (LSE) and has been educated at Oxford and Cambridge. He is one of the authors of the Global Financial Stability Report published by the Monetary and Capital Markets Department of the IMF (2005-2008). In 2007, he has been inducted to Risk’s Who’s Who global directory of risk management.

Baljeet Kaur Grewal is Managing Director & Vice Chairman at Kuwait at Kuwait Finance House Research Ltd. In her capacity as Chief Economist, Baljeet heads the Global Economics & Research entity and is responsible for investment advisory. Kuwait Finance House is also the only Islamic Bank worldwide with a notable Investment Banking Research presence, instrumental in promoting Islamic banking and facilitating portfolio fund movement globally. Prior to this, Baljeet was attached to the Maybank Group Malaysia, ABN AMRO Bank and Deutsche Bank, London, with experiences ranging from Credit Structuring, Origination & Syndication and Capital Market Research. She has broad experience in investment banking, having participated in notable fund raising transactions in Asia & the Middle East. To date, she has undertaken research in Islamic finance with a principle focus on debt capital markets and Sukuks. She has written and published numerous articles on Developing Economies & Debt Markets, World Economic Growth and GCC & SEA Economies; as well as addressed numerous international conferences & forums. Baljeet holds a 1st Class Hon. degree in International Economics from the University of Hertfordshire, UK and has undertaken extensive research with the London School of Eocnomics and international bodies. She is also the award recipient of the prestigious Sheikh Rashid al-Makhtoum award for Regional Contribution to Islamic Finance in Asia 2006. In 2007, Kuwait Finance House was awarded “Best Research in Islamic Finance” by Dow Jones Islamic and Terrapin Group. Kuwait Finance House is the largest Islamic banking institution by asset size in the world with its diversified range of products and services, covering full-scale corporate and investment banking, commercial banking, retail banking, asset management and direct investments in various sectors. Kuwait Finance House was voted the Worlds’ 2nd Best Islamic Bank in the industry in 2006. Malaysia’s first foreign Islamic Bank, Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia) Berhad was simultaneously voted Best New Islamic Bank and the second Most Innovative Islamic Bank for 2006.

Rakesh Patnaik is the Real Estate Fund Manager at Global Investment House, Kuwait, with the responsibility of Structuring, Sponsoring, Launching and Managing real estate funds on a worldwide basis. (Global Investment House is a leading Kuwaiti Investment Bank, licensed and regulated by Central Bank of Kuwait, $5billion assets under management, listed on Kuwait Stock Exchange). www.globalinv.net Rakesh has 10 years of experience in Real Estate Investment, Acquisition, Corporate Real Estate and Leasing, with property experience in key markets in United States, The Gulf Region and South Asia. Current Funds under management: 1. Global US Real Estate Fund (Islamic) – Investing into the Medical Office and Office Sector in the United States. Fund is Cayman Domicile. 2. GCC Real Estate Fund (Islamic) – Investing into the Residential Sector in the GCC member countries. Fund is Bahrain Domicile. Rakesh is represented on the Operating Committee of the above mentioned funds. Prior to being in the Middle-East, Rakesh was based in India and Singapore.

Dr Engku Rabiah Adawiah is currently an Associate Professor at Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). She obtained her LLB and LLB (Shari’ah) from the IIUM. Shortly thereafter, she successfully completed her Masters of Comparative Laws (MCL) from the same university. In 1998, she was conferred with PhD in law from the University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom. She teaches both Shari’ah and civil law; particularly on the subjects of company law and Islamic banking and securities at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Her research interest is in Islamic banking and finance, Islamic law of transaction, company law and securities regulation. Her publications include articles in local and international journals and periodicals; and chapters in books and proceedings. She has presented in various conferences, seminars, workshops and in-house trainings on Islamic Banking and Finance. She had also served as a Shari’ah advisor to several financial institutions in the past, such as, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd; Bank Industri & Teknologi Bhd; CIMB Islamic; Bank Pembangunan & Infrastruktur Bhd; Bank Simpanan Nasional Bhd; Aseambankers Bhd; and RHB Group. She was also an independent Shari`ah Advisor for Islamic unit trusts registered with the Malaysian Securities Commission. Currently, she is a member of the Shari`ah Advisory Council of the Central Bank of Malaysia, and an independent Shari’ah Advisor for Islamic securities issuance, approved by and registered with the Malaysian Securities Commission. She had advised on a number of Sukuk issuances in Malaysia, such as: Sarawak Specialist Hospital & Medical Centre Sukuk in 2004; Vastalux Capital Sukuk and IJN Capital Sukuk in 2005; and Dynamic Communication Link in 2006. She is also a member of the Shari`ah Advisory Board for Khazanah in relation to both its exchangeable sukuk of 2006 and 2007 respectively. In addition, she is a member of the Shari`ah Committee of Labuan Re; a member of the investigation tribunal for the Malaysian Bar Council; a member of Malaysian Institute of Islamic Understanding’s Board of Directors, where she also sits in the Investment Committee for the board.

Mr. Bilal Rasul is the Registrar of Modaraba Companies and Modarabas, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan. A British Council (Chevening) Scholar, Mr. Rasul is a Master of Public Administration as well as a Master of Economics and Finance from the United Kingdom. He has 15 years of varied experience in capital market regulation including the securities market, non-banking and finance companies as well as the non-financial sector. As Registrar, he is responsible for heading the Islamic finance initiative for the capital market in Pakistan and has successfully conceptualized an Islamic regulatory framework for the capital market. Recently he concluded work on 12 new Shariah compliant financing contracts which are now the standard operating documents for the Modaraba companies in Pakistan. As Focal Person of the IFSB at the SECP, Mr. Rasul is responsible for the implementation and adoption of the IFSB standards and principles.

Jahanara Sajjad Ahmad is the Program Manager Financial Institutions and Capital Markets at Hawkamah Institute of Corporate Governance. Prior to joining Hawakamah, she was Director Securities Market Division at the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan where she was responsible for ensuring adequate disclosure in the prospectuses of companies proposing to be listed on the Pakistan and the International Stock Exchanges, Listing of Equity and Debt instruments including Islamic products i.e the Sukuk, Regulating the Primary Capital Market of Pakistan, Development of the Debt Capital Market, Licensing of Special Purpose Vehicles, Privatisation and subsequent listing of Government owned companies through offer of shares to the public, Monitoring the implementation of the Takeovers and Acquisition Law for Listed Companies and Enforcement of specific clauses of the Code of Corporate Governance of Pakistan. She was Head of the Internal Audit Function at the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan prior to her promotion as Director Securities Market Division. Jahanara is an associate member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan and as member of the Debt Capital Markets Committee has participated in the preparation of a Report on ‘Proposed Reforms to Pakistan’s Debt Capital Market’ for the Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan.

Graduating with a Bachelor of Law degree in 1985 Simon Stockley, after serving articles of clerkship, left the profession to pursue an independent career in property development and marketing, establishing and managing the Townhouse Group of Companies over a ten year period. In 1998 he began researching alternative funding mechanisms for the South African mortgage market and in January 1999, he established South African Homeloans, South Africa’s first discount home loan specialist and non-bank mortgage lender. He was appointed the company’s first Chief Executive Officer in 2000, a position he held until his resignation in October 2004. During his tenure as CEO of SA Home Loans, the Company grew its mortgage portfolio from a zero base to in excess of R20 billion ($3.5 billion). Simon has received numerous awards in recognition of his management and, particularly, his marketing expertise, including The Institute of Marketing Managers’ KwaZulu Natal Marketing Man of the Year Award and The British Airways/Natal Mercury Business Excellence Award. He has spoken widely, both locally and internationally and has written numerous articles on “securitisation”. He led the team which brought South Africa’s first residential mortgage backed security issue to the market in November 2001 (Thekweni 1) and was, subsequent to this issue, intimately involved in the structuring and marketing of a further three Thekwini bond portfolios. Accordingly, Simon is acknowledged as the pioneer of South Africa’s now burgeoning securitisation industry. In November 2005, (having resigned from SAHL the year before) Simon has been retained by Kingdom Installment as an advisor to the Board. Kingdom Installment is a specialist loan finance company operating in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. During this period, Simon successfully launched the Gulf’s first Sharia compliant mortgage securitisation program (KSA MBS) and executed a strategic alliance on behalf of the company with Arab National Bank and the International Finance Corporation, in terms of which KIC will be recapitalised in excess of $550 million, making it the largest specialist home loan finance company operating in the GCC. In March 2007, Simon merged his investment and consulting activities under Catalis (Pty) Ltd, through which entity he now consults to a wide range of both national and international clients. Catalis has recently acquired a private equity stake in Integer, a mortgage start-up operation in Cape Town, where Simon is currently deployed as CEO, responsible for launching the Company, which is currently ramping up operations in anticipation of its first securitisation issue, end 2008. In addition to Simon’s executive responsibilities Simon acts as Non–Executive Chairman to a specialist mortgage finance company in Ghana, Ghana Home Loans, and is also the Non-Executive Vice Chairman of Diamond Mortgages, a Nigerian based mortgage lender. He has also recently accepted Board positions with Rasameel (a Kuwaiti specialist finance house) in respect of their newly launched UAE and Saudi subsidiaries.

Dr. Subhani is a Canadian Independent Financial Shari‘ah Scholar, with several professional affiliations, Shari‘ah-compliance consulting assignments, speaking engagements at Islamic Finance conferences and visiting teaching positions in Financial Shari‘ah at Canadian universities. He has over 45 years experience in both Conventional and Islamic Finance, mainly in the oil & gas sector, with a PhD & MA in Islamic Law/Finance (McGill), MBA and Doctoral Studies in Finance (USC), and MBA in Accounting (IBA Karachi). His PhD dissertation on Riba has officially been recognized by McGill as a “seminal theorization on an important institution of Islamic law … demanding the attention of [Islamic] states and legislatures.”

Phillip Thigpen is Treasurer and head of Capital Markets at Saudi Home Loans. He is based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Home Loans originates and services Shari’ah compliant home finance products throughout the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The company initialized operations in late 2007 and is already one of the largest home finance companies in the Kingdom. Mr. Thigpen is responsible for the Company’s balance sheet investments, financial-asset acquisitions, and product pricing. Mr. Thigpen also manages the company’s funding strategy, investment portfolio, and capital markets strategy. Mr. Thigpen was formerly president of 1789 Capital Advisors, Inc., a New York-based institutional firm that provides financial advisory and transaction management services to the residential and commercial real estate finance industry in the United States and internationally. Prior to that, he was head of the Capital Markets department at GMAC Commercial Mortgage, the largest commercial mortgage banking firm in the United States, where he headed trading of rated and non-rated commercial mortgage-backed securities. Mr. Thigpen managed portfolio investments and a $1.2 billion hedge position. Mr. Thigpen began his finance career at Salomon, Inc., in New York City, on the mortgage trading desk. He was responsible for managing firm’s relationships with mortgage bankers nationally. Mr. Thigpen bought and sold over $100 million of mortgage loans and mortgage-backed securities on a daily basis. Mr. Thigpen is a graduate of Harvard College and Columbia Business School.

Muhammad Imran Usmani, Son of justice (Retd) Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani, holds LLB, M. Phil, and Ph. D. in Islamic Finance and graduated as a scholar (Alimiyyah degree) and Takhassus (Specialization) in Islamic Fiqh and fatwa from Jamia Darul-Uloom, Karachi. From the inception of Meezan Bank he is the In-house Shariah Advisor and Head of Product Development and Shariah Compliance department of Meezan Bank, where he supervises in-house training for the different Courses, Audit & compliance, R&D and advisory for Shariah based Banking. Dr. Usmani has been serving as lecturer/teacher of different subjects of Shariah and as administrator of some divisions of Jamia Darul-Uloom, Karachi since 1990. He has also been leading Friday khuthbah and prayer at a Jamia Mosque for 18 years. Dr. Usmani also serves as an advisor/ member of Shariah Boards of the State Bank of Pakistan, HSBC Amanah Finance, Guidance Financial Group USA, Lloyds TSB Bank UK, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JABIC), Credit Suisse Switzerland, ABN Amro Global, Future Growth Albarakah Equity Fund South Africa, AIG Takaful, Capitas Group USA, Bank of London And Middle East Kuwait, DCD group Dubai, ACR Re- Takaful and other Mutual and Property funds and international Sukuk. He is also an advisor of International Islamic Financial Market( IIFM) Bahrain and International Center for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF) Malaysia. Dr Usmani is author of many books related with Islamic Finance and other subjects of Shariah. He has been presenting papers in many national and international seminars and has delivered lectures in various academic institutions such as Harvard, LSE, IBA, LUMS and others.

Daud Vicary Abdullah is the Principal of DVA Consulting. Daud has been in the Finance and Consulting Industry for more than 35 years, with significant experience in Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. Since 2002 he has focused almost exclusively on Islamic Finance. Daud holds an Economic and Social History Honours degree from the University of Bristol, England, is a distinguished fellow of the Islamic Banking and Finance Institute of Malaysia (IBFIM) and a former Board member (2003 – 2007) of the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI). Daud started his career with Lloyds Bank, followed by Chemical Bank and Midland Bank, where he gained experience in Retail Banking Operations, Internal Audit, Back Office Systems, IT support and Internal Consultancy. He spent 7 years as a Partner/Director with Deloitte Consulting where he was responsible for setting up the firms Global Centre of Excellence for Islamic Finance based in Malaysia and involved in developing and running Shariah Review Programs and the transformation of financial institutions to provide Islamic Financial services. Daud was the first Managing Director of Hong Leong Islamic Bank, where under his guidance the Group successfully transformed an Islamic Banking Window into a full-fledged Islamic Banking Subsidiary. During his time at Hong leong he was also closely involved in the planning for and launch of Hong Leong Tokio Marine Takaful, where he was a Board member. Following that, Daud became Chief Operating Officer at Asian Finance Bank, a brand new Islamic Bank, where he was responsible for establishing the infrastructure to support the business lines, opened new branches and established a representative office in Jakarta. Daud is involved in delivering and coordinating the delivery of strategic and operational consulting for the establishment of Islamic Financial Institutions as well as providing training and operational insight to the running of Financial Institutions. Daud is a frequent speaker and commentator on matters relating to Islamic Finance, has been a contributor to a number of books on the subject and is currently co-authoring a book on Islamic Finance for non-Muslims.

Deputy Director, Policy and Strategy, Japan Bank for International Cooperation / Visiting Associate Professor, Waseda Graduate School of Finance, Accounting and Law Mr. Yoshida started his career as an economist at Bank of Japan covering international financial markets. Since 2007, he is in charge of policy and strategy on Islamic Finance at Japan Bank for International Cooperation. Mr. Yoshida teaches Islamic finance at Waseda Graduate School of Finance, Accounting and Law. His books include “Introduction to Islamic Finance” (in Japanese) and “Why Islamic Finance is robust” (in Japanese). He holds B.A. from Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo, after attending Harvard University.

Khalid is currently the Vice President in-charge of Investments & Capital Markets in Siraj Capital which is an investment company specializing in developing, sponsoring, seeding and launching innovative investment funds, and investment opportunities in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Prior to his current role, he was the Managing Director – Islamic Finance at International Holding Group– a boutique Private Equity & Investment Advisory firm based in Dubai, UAE. In his previous assignment as Director – Islamic Finance at Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Khalid was responsible for developing a unique value proposition and attracting Islamic Financial Institutions to operate from its platform. Khalid has extensive experience within the world’s leading banking groups. He has been Managing Director of the Financial Institutions Group at Bank of America in the UK. He also worked at Citibank in the UK, Turkey, USA, Belgium, Greece & Pakistan, his roles included Country Operations Officer and Vice President Positions. His areas of banking expertise span over Operations, IT, Treasury Management, Risk Management, Financial Control and B2B e-Business Solution. In addition, he has held a number of key Business Development roles in both Islamic and traditional banking products & services, transaction banking and capital market instruments. Khalid’s extra-curricular interests include readings in astrophysics, playing golf and swimming.