Archives: Leadership

Mahboob Husain is a professional banker with over 45 years of financial and IT systems experience.

He set up a commercial bank and an Investment bank in Pakistan and later worked as CEO of two Investment Banks. He worked in Saudi Arabia for eleven years with the largest and second-largest commercial banks as Technology Head and as Head of the Investment Division respectively, that included financial and systems work. Following this, he headed the IT Group of Pakistan’s second-largest bank. He was also a member of the SAMA committees for clearing and legislation for mutual funds. His current responsibilities as part of Advisory Services include review of IT services,good practice, and banking operations at iibGroup.

He has a B.Sc degree from Punjab University, Lahore and has completed several international courses in Finance and IT.

Sohail has 30 years of experience in financial services, acquired at leading multinational financial institutions.

He started his career at Citibank (London) reaching the positions of Head of Global Product Development for Financial Institutions, Head of Structured Finance for Asia Pacific and Head of Cross Border European Structured Product Arbitrage within six years. His responsibilities included process and risk management, building and management of revenue, product innovation and deal execution in Europe, the Americas, Africa and the Far East.

Subsequently, he worked at Barclays Capital (London) for nine nears holding senior positions including Managing Director, with responsibility for expanding the company’s Structured Capital Markets business beyond the UK into North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

He then worked at Cobussen and Partners, providing advisory services for private equity infrastructure projects in South Asia, the Middle East and the UK and developing a portfolio of structured investments with a group of private and institutional investors.

Sohail holds an M.Sc. in Economics (Accounting & Finance) from the London School of Economics and an LLB (Business Law) from City of London Business School.

Hubert Chipman was born on November 5th, 1953, in Nassau, The Bahamas. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountant and The Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountant. Hubert spent 36 years in the employ of Ernst & Young and its predecessor firms. Hubert was made a partner in 1991 and Country Managing Partner in 2006. Hubert headed the Banking Practice of EY The Bahamas, Bermuda and Cayman Islands (BBC Region), responsible for the coordination of all banking audit across the Region. He also served on the Executive Board of the BBC Region.

Hubert is a former Member of Parliament for St Anne’s Constituency May 2012- 2017. Heserved as the Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, Education, and Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee.

Marwan has over 25 years of experience in North America and the MENA region with a primary focus on Asset Management and Investment Banking.

Marwan started his career at TD Asset Management in Toronto, following which he moved to Saudi in 2002 where he worked with several institutions in the, both local and international, including Robeco and Affiliated Managers Group in the financial sector. He has been responsible for growing and servicing Institutional clients, including Central Banks, Sovereign Wealth Funds, Government Institutions, Endowments, Foundations and Family Offices. Marwan has also been responsible for Global Key Accounts in the region for local banks. Marwan has a passion for helping others and volunteers at numerous establishments including Junior Achievements, Habitat for humanity, YMCA and the London food bank.

Marwan is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics. He is a member of the Canadian Securities Institute and a Board member for the Lebanese Canadian Cultural Club of London.

Husain AlMusawi brings over 25 years of extensive experience in the telecommunications sector, with a strong focus on strategy, product development, systems implementation, and project management.

His expertise includes building certified data center facilities, developing hosting-related products, designing ICT and cloud strategies, and creating comprehensive roadmaps for their implementation. Husain has spent 12 years in the financial sector within the Middle East, leading Information Technology divisions, to build and manage cloud-enabled IT infrastructure and designing data center facilities that meet stringent security, backup, and geographical redundancy requirements. He played a crucial role in the design, construction, and product development rollout of three data centers for Bahrain Telecommunications company. This project included two Tier-III certified data centers, boasting a combined capacity of over 560 racks, ensuring that these facilities met stringent standards for reliability and performance.

Husain holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Media Technology from the University of the West of Scotland. He is also certified in multiple data center specializations, Amazon Web Services, and various related professional disciplines.

Sabiha has a professional experience of over 2 decades at senior level management positions in based in Singapore, Hong Kong and London.

She has a track record of building new businesses in emerging markets along with a specialized focus on fund management, equity trading, advisory services and regulatory frameworks. She has worked on several corporate finance transactions ranging from fundraising, mergers and acquisitions, convertible debt, restructuring and tender offers. Sabiha has served as a Director at TPL Corp, NCPL and Rovida Asset Management. She is a Venture partner at Integra Partners, formerly Dymon Asia VC. Prior to that she was working at Cenkos Asia, as Director – International, where she was providing strategic and regulatory advice to its clientele.

She has served as Director of Asian Equity Sales at Standard Chartered Singapore, Director – Head of Sales at JP Morgan, Pakistan and was a fund manager at Societe Generale Asset Management.

Sabiha holds an LLB degree in Law from the University of London, Westminster. She is a qualified barrister from the UK, a member of Lincoln’s Inn and is licensed for CMFAS Module 1B and 6 in Singapore.

Farah has over 20 years of experience building brands in international markets with a track record of hybrid marketing and a focus on the financial sector.

She brings expertise in strategic and tactical branding, consumer insights, product development and customer experience. Her digital expertise includes in-depth knowledge of UX/UI as well as social media marketing and strategy.

She started her career as a banker with Deutsche Bank and Credit Agricole Indosuez. Following this, she spent 8 years in Chicago, IL building digital assets for McDonald’s, Beer Nuts, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Farah has worked with brands including group companies in the AKFED portfolio, Emaar and Bank Alfalah, creating 360° solutions that built brand equity across all channels. She has won multiple awards for excellence in advertising and sustainability.

Farah holds a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy with a minor in Economics from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York.

Bilal has 10 years of experience in financial services and is a Digital Asset specialist, having invested in the asset class for 8 years.

He started his career at Cohen & Company (London) as an Emerging Markets Distressed Credit Trader, joining as a graduate and reaching Associate level in 6-years. During this time, he contributed to the origination, valuation, structuring, sales and trading of over USD 18bn notional value credit assets. His responsibilities included asset valuations, conducting legal, financial and operational due diligence and marketing, sales and negotiation during the trading of the credit assets. His trading counterparties included investment bank trading desks, credit funds, hedge funds, sovereign entities and IFI’s. Bilal has also established and operated a boutique Digital Asset Management practice, utilizing his skills in investment management, transactionality and safe asset custody.

Bilal holds a BA in Philosophy, Politics & Economics, from the University of Swansea and City University of Hong Kong.

Alaa is an accomplished professional with over 17 years of extensive experience in management, administration, customer service, compliance and banking operations.

She began her career with Gulf Air and Zain Telecommunications before transitioning to the manufacturing sector, where she worked closely with directors and high-value clients, managing key operations and facilitating seamless communication and coordination. She then moved to the banking sector, where she started her banking career with JS Bank in Bahrain. She has managed key banking operations, including financial transfers, account opening, and payment processing for individual and corporate clients globally. With expertise in compliance, she ensured adherence to legal standards while maintaining efficient transaction management and accurate financial reporting. Her expertise encompasses customer service, staff training, and operational efficiencies. Throughout her career, she has consistently demonstrated the ability to collaborate with senior management and effectively engage with high net worth clients.

Alaa holds a BSc degree in Management Information Systems from Ahlia University, Bahrain, and has completed professional trainings in banking and finance compliance practices at the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance.