Dr Mohd Daud Bakar
International Institute of Islamic Finance
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Dr. Bakar was the former Associate Professor in Islamic law and Deputy Rector, Student Affairs and Disciplines, at the International Islamic University Malaysia. Currently, he is the Chief Executive Office of the International Institute of Islamic Finance. His areas of specialization include Islamic Legal Theory, Islamic Banking and Finance, Islamic Law of Zakat and Islamic Medical Law.

Currently, Dr. Bakar is a member of the Shariah Advisory Council of many financial institutions in Malaysia and around the world, including the Central Bank of Malaysia, Securities Commission of Malaysia, International Islamic Financial Market in Bahrain, Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions in Bahrain, HSBC (Malaysia) and the Dow Jones Islamic Index Shariah Board.

Dr Monzer Kahf
Former Economist- IDB, Jeddah
California, USA

Dr Monzer Kahf has written more than 25 books in English and Arabic, on Islamic banking and finance, Islamic economics, Zakah and Awqaf, including some which have become the standard reference manuals in the field. He has had more than 70 articles and encyclopedia entries published on Islamic economics, Islamic public and private finance, Islamic banking, Zakah, Awqaf, including entries in the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World.

Dr. Kahf has undertaken scores of training programmes and served for 15 years as a Senior Research Economist, specialising in Islamic economics, finance and banking, at the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah, KSA. His training programmes, both public and private, have been conducted throughout the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe and North America.

In 2001, Dr Kahf was awarded the Islamic Development Bank Prize in Islamic Economics in recognition of his valuable contributions to the sector. Dr Kahf graduated BA in Business from the University of Damascus, Syria, and obtained his PhD in Economics from the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA. He is a founding member of the International Association of Islamic Economics and of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists of the United States and Canada.

Dr Nordin Mohd Zain
Executive Director, Malaysia Accounting Standards Board
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Dr Nordin Mohd Zain is currently the Executive Director of the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board (MASB). He was one of the founding board members of the MASB when it was established in 1997. He is actively involved in the development of conventional accounting standards and Islamic accounting standards in Malaysia. He obtained his Ph.D. from the Strathclyde Graduate Business School in Glasgow, UK and has held various positions in commerce including an internal auditor and corporate banking assistant manager.

Daud Abdullah (David Vicary)
Managing Director – Hong Leong Islamic Bank
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

David Vicary( Daud Abdullah) is a Director of Financial Services at Deloitte Malaysia, and leads Deloitte’s global centre of excellence for Islamic Banking. An operational banker for 15 years, he has spent the last 17 years in consulting, mainly in the Asia/Pacific region.

Muhammad Nejatullah Siddiqi
Author, Scholar, Speaker, Trainer
Pittsburgh, USA

Dr. Muhammad Nejatullah Siddiqi is an Islamic scholar and an Islamic economist, mixing traditional knowledge and modern know how. Currently, he is Professor of Economics, Centre for Research in Islamic Economics, at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He is the author of numerous books and papers about economics from an Islamic perspective.

Mohd Ridza Mohammed Abdullah
Managing Partner - Mohd Ridza Co. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Mohamed Ridza is the managing partner in Mohamed Ridza Co. He graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honors) degree from the International Islamic University Malaya. Prior to joining the firm, he was a partner with Zaid Ibrahim & Co. In Zaid Ibrahim & Co, he headed the Islamic Banking and Finance department. He is also a graduate of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators ( London ). He is currently a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (FCIS) and an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (ACI Arb.) He is a member of the Corporate Governance Committee and the National Investigation Committee of the Malaysian Association of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators.

He was called to the Malaysian Bar as an Advocate & Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya in 1993. His current practice includes corporate and commercial law, construction law and Islamic banking and finance.

Being trained in Shariah as well as common law, he has advised clients locally and internationally on Islamic banking documentation utilizing various Shariah concepts ranging from Islamic trade finance, Islamic corporate and retail banking and takaful. In addition, he also advises clients on Islamic offshore financing, Islamic private debt securities and Islamic backed debt securities. He is also instrumental in developing Islamic banking documents for several financial institutions. He has spoken extensively in seminars involving corporate matters and Islamic banking and finance, particularly Islamic private debt securities.

He contributed a chapter on "The Contribution and Functions of Independent Directors" for the book "Independent Director - Perceptions, Roles and Responsibilities" by The Malaysian Institute of Corporate Governance (MICG) in collaboration with Securities Commission.

He has recently co-authored a book titled the "Law & Practice of Islamic Banking & Finance" that is published by one of the world's leading publishers of legal materials, Sweet & Maxwell. It is one of the few works available that deals with the legal aspects of the Islamic banking and finance system in practice.

Baljeet Kaur Grewal
Director, Chief Economist and Head of Research
Kuwait Finance House

In her capacity as chief economist, Baljeet heads the global economic and investment research team at KFH, the first Islamic bank worldwide to have a notable research presence. Prior to this, Baljeet was attached to Aseambankers Malaysia, ABN Amro Bank as chief economist and Deutsche Bank, London, with experiences ranging from credit structuring to economic & capital market research. She has broad experience in investment banking, having participated in notable Islamic fund raising transactions in Asia and the Middle East. To date, she has undertaken research in Islamic finance with a principal focus on debt capital markets and Sukuk. She has written and published numerous articles on developing economies and debt markets, Islamic debt structures and Asian economies. She has also addressed numerous international Islamic conferences and forums. Baljeet is a first Class Honors holder in International Economics from the University of Hertfordshire, UK and has undertaken extensive research with the London School of Economics. She is also the award recipient of the prestigious Sheikh Rashid al-Makhtoum award for Regional Contribution to Islamic Finance in Asia 2006.

Prof. Dr. Mohd. Ma'sum Billah
Group Chairman,
K-Professional Development Group

Professor of Islamic Financial Applications, University of Camden , USA. Assoc. Professor of Law (Insurance, Takaful, Islamic Banking, Finance & E-Commerce), Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia.  He is also an Adviser and Consultant to several Companies and Institutions (Internationally & Locally) on Takaful, Re-Takaful, Insurance, Banking, Financial and IT regulations, Wealth & Asset Management, Islamic Bond Market, Islamic Capital Market, Islamic Money market, Gold Dinar and so on  under both modern principles and Shari'ah  Discipline.

Dr Humayon Dar
Chief Executive Officer
BMB Islamic

Dr Humayon Dar is among the foremost Shariah specialist in the world, renowned for pioneering numerous industry-setting techniques in Islamic banking and finance. His name is synonymous with many of the most sophisticated Islamic products available. Well connected with leading royal and industrialist Muslim families, he is one of the world’s key liaison figures in bringing leading Western financial institutions exposure to the world’s most distinguished Shariah scholars. Known as a champion of the integration of Islamic banking and finance in the mainstream financial markets, he continues to play the role of a catalyst in bridging the gap between Islamic and conventional finance.

Humayon belongs to the first generation of qualified Islamic economists, with formal training in conventional and Islamic economics, as well as classical Islamic jurisprudence at the International Islamic University Islamabad, where he was personally tutored by the world’s leading Islamic economists, jurists and thinkers. His higher studies include an M Phil/Ph D (both in Economics) from Cambridge University, where he conducted research on Islamic finance. His post-doctoral research has exclusively been on Islamic economics, banking and finance.

As a technical member of BMB Islamic’s Shariah Supervisory Board, he also participates in Shariah coordination in addition to his responsibilities as CEO. Before founding BMB Islamic, he developed Dar Al Istithmar (a majority-owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bank) into an Euromoney award-winning team of acclaimed Islamic financial innovators. Prior to that, he was involved in setting up a first-of-its-kind M Sc course in Islamic Economics, Banking and Finance at Loughborough University. He also helped Cass Business School (City University London) – where he is honorary senior visiting fellow - develop the curriculum for an Executive MBA in Islamic Finance.

Deeply committed to the industry, Humayon’s external appointments are numerous. Among others, he sits on the board of directors of the Arab British Chamber of Commerce and Charity Bank. He is on the editorial boards of New Horizon (a flagship publication of the Institute of Islamic Banking & Insurance) Review of Islamic Economics and International Journal of Islamic Financial Services.

Badlisyah Abdul Ghani
Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director
CIMB Islamic Bank

Badlisyah Abdul Ghani was appointed executive director and chief executive officer of CIMB Islamic Bank on the 28th February 2006. He joined Commerce International Merchant Bankers Bhd (CIMB) in 2002 and was attached to the corporate finance division, prior to his appointment as the head of CIMB Islamic. He is responsible for the Islamic banking and finance business division of the CIMB Group. He also sits on various group management committees. Prior to CIMB Group, he was attached to an offshore banking subsidiary of a premier Malaysian Islamic financial group in structured finance, capital markets and syndications.

As a thoroughbred Islamic banker, he has been involved in more than US$10 billion Islamic financial deals locally and globally. Among his notable accomplishments is the creation and introduction of the first Sukuk al Ijarah in the world, the first Istisnah Sukuk in the world, and the first Musharakah asset backed securities and residential mortgage backed securities in the world. In the December 2004/January 2005 edition of Euromoney, Badlisyah was named one of the “Global Top 20 Pioneer in Islamic Finance” for his contribution to the development of the Islamic financial sector in Malaysia and globally. He holds a Bachelor of Law’s from the University of Leeds, UK. He is also a director of CIMB-Kanoo Islamic Investment Co BSC, Bahrain.

Sohail Jaffer
Partner & Chief Investment Officer
FWU Group

Sohail Jaffer is a Partner and CIO within the FWU Group, the independent fast growing international financial services group headquartered in Munich. FWU Group's core activities comprise asset management, life insurance (Family Takaful and unit linked investment plans) and pensions.

As Managing Director of Premium Select Lux SA, an asset management subsidiary of FWU AG in Luxembourg, his responsibilities include fund product development, the evaluation and selection of external asset managers for multi-manager programmes and building international distribution across bank and other financial intermediary channels for a broad array of private label wealth management solutions including a Dynamic Quant global equity investment strategy and socially responsible investment products.

From June 1998 until June 1999 he was Senior Vice President within the International Mutual Funds Group of Scudder, Stevens and Clark Ltd, based in London and responsible for international product development in Europe and Japan. From January 1989 until May 1998 Mr Jaffer worked in Citibank London. He was with the Financial Institutions Group until 1996 and later was Director within Citibank's Alternative Investment Strategies Group, which formed part of Citibank Global Asset Management. His responsibilities included international business and product development, designing structured fund products linked to a broad spectrum of alternative investments, and the sales and marketing of a wide range of Alternative Investment Funds to institutional investors in Europe and the Middle East region. He is a UK qualified accountant (FCCA) and was an Audit Partner with Pricewaterhouse.

A Council Member of the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) for the Benelux region and he was also Chairman of AIMA for two consecutive terms from 1997 to 2000. He is also an active member of AIMA's Investment Research Committee. He has written extensively on alternative investments throughout the financial media, edited 'Alternative Investment Strategies', "Funds of Hedge Funds" for professional investors and managers and contributed a chapter to 'Evaluating and Implementing Hedge Fund Strategies' (second edition), all published by Euromoney books. Recently he also edited a new Euromoney publication on"Islamic Asset Management".

Sohail is a member of ALFI's Asset Management Advisory Committee and of ALFI's Hedge Fund Committee. ALFI is the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry.

Abdulkader Thomas
President & Chief Investment Officer
SHAPE - Financial Corp.

President & CEO, SHAPET Financial Corp. Consultants to the US and international financial community in matters relating to Sharia'a compliant financial structuring; sub-advisor to the global securities industry with respect to sukuk and other forms of Islamic transactional issuance; and Islamic banking training resource.  Clients include University Bank of Ann Arbor, Salam Financial Corp. of Toronto , and others.

Principal, AJIF.org, LLC ( The American Journal of Islamic Finance www.ajif.org ).  Research resource for the financial services industry including ISI Emerging Markets; Guidance Financial Group, LLC; Lightbulb Press, iHilal.com, Dow Jones Islamic Markets Indexes; and others.  Licensor of REIT screening concept to iHilal Financial Services.

Abdulkader has 25 years of diversified financial services experience. A graduate of the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy in international trade, Abdulkader earned a BA with honors in Arabic & Islamic Studies from the University of Chicago.

Abdulkader has worked in Bahrain , New York , London and Los Angeles. His areas of activity have included trade finance, real estate finance, securities, and Islamic finance at Citibank, Credit Lyonnais, Sumitomo Bank, Ltd., The United Bank of Kuwait , and MEF Money/Guidance Financial Group.

Abdulkader is responsible for shepherding the first US banking regulatory approvals of Islamic financial instruments for ijara wa iqtina and murabaha. More recently Abdulkader secured regulatory approval for an Islamic profit sharing deposit to be applied in the US. Abdulkader also structured the first REIT of REITs structured to allow Muslims to invest in listed US REITs whilst complying with Sharia'a. Abdulkader has also been involved in the structuring of inbound foreign investment for both the US and the UK. Abdulkader has included supervising marketing and consumer demographics in conjunction with new business launches.

Abdulkader is a frequent speaker on Islamic financial and banking matters. He is the author of several works in the field including Islamic Bonds: Your Guide to Issuing, Structuring and Investing in Sukuk with Nathif Adam ( London : Euromoney, 2004). Forthcoming books include Structuring Islamic Financial Transactions (contracted with Euromoney for early 2006) and Interest in Islamic Economics: Understanding Riba (contracted with Taylor & Francis - Routledge for early 2006).

Paul Wouters
Lawyer Antwerp Bar Association (Belgium)
Resident Of Counsel - Bener Law Office Istanbul (Turkey)

Paul WOUTERS has 20 years of practice as a lawyer - consultant in financial services, stock exchange regulations and contracts, both on the institutional level (setting up financial institutions, regulatory counselling...), related "white collar criminality" (money laundering, insider dealing...), drafting and negociation of contracts and syndications, as well as on internal structuring (governance, compliance,...).

He has been speaker or pannellist on several (inter)national conferences and is author of various published articles in related areas.

BENER LAW OFFICE carries high standards and credentials on (inter)national consulting, impact assessment and guidance on cross-border restructuring... and has been involved in turnkey projects, engineering, project finance, international mergers &  acquisitions, due diligence, ...  related to Banking and Financial sector, Telecom, Energy and Media sectors, industries (gas, cement, textile & yarn, power plants .), manufacturing and service providers.  They have successfully assisted construction tendering, national and international privatization procedures.

Dawood Yousef Taylor
Assistant General Manager, Head of Takaful Ta'awuni
Bank Aljazira

Dawood Yousef Taylor has spent the last six years researching, developing and introducing to the Kingdom, the first Takaful Ta'awuni (Islamic Life Insurance) program in the Middle East, heading up a very experienced Takaful Ta'awuni team at Bank Aljazira.

Uniquely, the Takaful Ta'awuni model adopted is based on a Wakala contract for both underwriting and investment aspects of the program. This is the first time a single Wakala contract has been adopted for a Takaful Ta'awuni operation. The Bank Aljazira Takaful Program is the first sharia complaint and Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency approved Takaful Ta'awuni program in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

This development also resulted in the first commercially available software being designed and produced for the Takaful Ta'awuni international market.

A full suite of Takaful Ta'awuni products, individual and corporate, both risk and investment was introduced to the Saudi market in late 2001. Sales in the first two years of operation have significantly exceeded expectations and a full roll out of the Takaful Ta'awuni program, nationwide, is planned for late 2003, with regional offices now operating in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam.

Prior to his appointment as Head of Takaful Ta'awuni at Bank Aljazira, Dawood was Assistant General Manager at Arab National Bank, Head of Investment Department-Western Region of Saudi Arabia, successfully introducing the Al Hilal Islamic Mutual Investment Fund to the local market, one of the first Dow Jones Islamic Index funds launched in the Kingdom.

From the early 80's to joining Arab National Bank, Dawood was Western Region Manager- Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , for a major offshore insurance broker.

Dawood has been invited to speak on Takaful at numerous international conferences and seminars throughout the world and has had a number of articles on Takaful published in prominent Islamic financial magazines.

Dawood, a British Muslim, has lived and worked in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia since 1974.

Rushdi Siddiqui
Global Director, Dow Jones Islamic Market Index Group

Dow Jones Indexes develops, maintains and licenses market indexes for investment products. Among its more than 3,000 indexes are the world’s best known stock indicator, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the leading pan- European indexes, the Dow Jones STOXX Indexes. Dow Jones Indexes is an independent, full-service index provider, supplying accurate, reliable and transparent index data.

Dow Jones indexes underlie a variety of fi nancial products in today’s marketplace, including exchange-traded funds, futures and options contracts, mutual funds, variable annuity and equity indexed annuities, and structured products such as OTC options, swaps, warrants, equity-linked notes and public/private debt.

The Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes were created for people who wish to invest according to Islamic investment guidelines. The indexes track Shariah compliant stocks from around the world, providing Islamic investors with comprehensive tools based on a truly global investing perspective.