Current Speakers MENA

Hemant’s distinguished career spans within Transaction Banking domain serving multiple geographies with proven track record of leadership, innovation & strategic vision.

In his 30 years plus of banking experience spread across multinational & regional banks within MENA & European regions, he steered and achieved unparalleled success in the field of transaction banking and digital transformation. He has in-depth knowledge supporting the execution of his visions for Cash & Supply Chain products within the evolving world of regulatory compliance, and the fast paced digitization of Transaction Banking operations.

Hemant has led implementation of cutting –edge technology solutions to enhance customer experiences and operational efficiencies, ensuring the organizations remains compliant to its regulatory obligations

Jan has over 15 years of experience in the payments industry, with a consistent record of delivering impactful national initiatives and transformations. Currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer of Al Etihad Payments, he leads the team transforming and modernizing the payments ecosystem in the UAE, including the recent launch of a new instant payments platform called Aani.

Before his role at Al Etihad Payments, Jan was the Chief Executive Officer at BankservAfrica, Africa’s largest clearing house, where he successfully implemented a number of transformative initiatives, including PayShap, a cloud-based domestic instant payments scheme in South Africa. Jan was also at the genesis of Canada’s payments modernization journey, having worked at Payments Canada as the Executive Director & Chief Information Office.

Before joining the wold of digital payments, Jan held executive positions at various central banks, including Bank of Canada, Bank for International Settlement and the Czech National Bank, leading mission critical initiatives in the areas of Currency and Information Technology.

With this track record, Jan continues to make significant contributions to the global payments industry, leveraging his deep understanding of technology and driving cross-sector collaboration, innovation and broad-scale transformation. He is passionate about financial technology and financial inclusion.

Hussain AlKhalsan brings over 14 years of invaluable expertise to his role as Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Zand bank. With a strong foundation in IT Infrastructure and IT Security, Hussain has seamlessly transitioned into a pivotal role in Cyber Security, Information Security, and Technology Risk Management.

Throughout his career, Hussain has consistently demonstrated a meticulous and prudent approach to his work. He is known for his respect towards company authority and traditions, and his commitment to operating within the formal organizational structure. By prioritizing careful execution and risk mitigation strategies, Hussain ensures that all initiatives are conducted with the utmost diligence and precision.

Martijn de Jong is a seasoned Digital Transformation Leader and an independent consultant with a passion for creating value in the global financial services industry. With expertise in FinTech, Banking, Insurance, Payments, Asset Management, Private Equity, and Venture Capital, Martijn combines his digital and technology proficiency with a deep understanding of customer needs and business acumen. He has a particular focus on driving global digital transformation initiatives across the Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East regions.

As a strategic C-level executive, e excels in building successful long-term business and delivery teams from the ground up. He has a proven track record of setting long-term digital directions, leading change management, and managing complex multimillion-dollar projects. He leverages his skills in consultative sales and marketing to capitalize on opportunities and achieve breakthrough results. He thrives in multidimensional roles where he can contribute directly to an organization’s growth and development, finding personal satisfaction and a sense of achievement in leading strategic growth and team-building efforts.

Jaspal Singh is a business problem solver who believes in the power of technology. Currently, he has been working as a Product Owner in one of the largest banks of the GCC region. He is responsible for the success of the digital transformation programs spanning from Retail Banking to SME Banking. He is passionate about Blockchain and Data Science problems. He is a certified professional in Blockchain and Data Science.
Right from childhood days, he has profound interest in numbers which resulted in pursuing the Computer Science Engineering. He was the first student of his engineering college to score perfect 100 in mathematics in the third semester. He has published research papers on Cryptography and Wireless Technologies in the international conferences during the engineering. The same interest in numbers leads to his interest in Data Science and Blockchain. Time to time, he speaks in the conferences on the Digital Banking including Blockchain and AI.

Aon Raza is an insurance industry transformation specialist, currently serving as the Head of Transformation at Al Wathba Insurance. With over 12 of experience in the field, Aon is at the forefront of driving digital transformation initiatives within the insurance sector.

Aon’s expertise lies in leveraging cutting-edge technology and data analytics to revolutionize traditional insurance practices, making them more agile, customer-centric, and efficient. His strategic insights have helped many insurance companies adapt to the digital age.

A senior banker with over 30 years of experience in building Digital Businesses , Innovation and managing large P&Ls . Possess a track record of achievements having worked for some of the largest International banks in the world – Citibank, Lloyds Banking Group and Mashreq Bank in EMEA, Asia Pacific and MENA respectively. Have strong leadership presence and team management capabilities.

Giovanni, widely known as Gio, is a distinguished professional and Harvard Business School alum (GMP21) with an extensive 23-year track record marked by a combination of passion, creative problem-solving, and exceptional people skills in diverse cross-cultural settings. Formerly a strategy consultant, Gio has navigated his career from the position of Chief People Officer in a rapidly growing startup to assuming broader, strategic roles that encompass innovation, Web3 technologies, and traditional business strategy and execution.

Currently serving as the Head of Strategy, Innovation & Ventures for a medium-sized bank, Gio oversees critical areas such as Strategy, Transformation, Customer Experience (CX), Business Intelligence (BI), the Venture arm, Fintech Partnerships & Innovation Lab, Web3, AI, and the Metaverse. His fervent dedication lies in discovering utility and use cases for Web3 and Web2.5, including DeFi, tokenization, custody, ZK proof, and digital assets, within the banking industry.

Gio’s professional journey reflects a commitment to rethinking the role of a bank in the context of Web3. He firmly believes in a fundamental paradigm shift, a new operating model, and a mindset change to align with the evolving landscape. With a passion for innovation and a strategic vision, Gio stands at the forefront of reshaping the future of banking in the Web3 era.

Ram is an International Banking CFO with a wealth of Finance experience working in Retail, Corporate and Investment Banks. He has led several Finance transformation projects and has leveraged the unique position of the CFO at the intersection of finance, technology and strategy to drive digitalization and inspiring a data-driven decision making culture. He is also engaged with the wider Finance community, often speaking at events on the challenges facing the function and how to be ready for the future or making the function future proof

Quote:
CFOs are the go-to experts in the finance domain, but need to escape from the ‘curse of expertise’ that could make them over estimate their own knowledge and become closed-minded. They would do well to cultivate a ‘beginner’s mind’ and approach the new technologies with openness, curiosity, flexibility and a desire to learn thereby unlocking many possibilities to become a value-adding finance function and the ultimately the custodian of performance for the firm.

Prior to her current role, Ms. Linoy Kidd was the GBM (Global Banking and Markets) CIO for Mexico. Linoy has worked for HSBC for over 14 years in multiple locations including London, HK, China, Mexico and Dubai.

Developing teams to be part of the global strategic lens. She also started Infusion100 a movement 5 years to give back to communities around the world. Since its inception Infusion100 has built 5 schools and 1 house. The 5 schools are in: Malawi (2), Senegal, Haiti, Nicaragua and the house build is in Mexico.

She’s also a mother and a keens sport woman having walked over 2000km for charity.

Technology director with over twenty years predominantly in Banking and Financial Services sector. Strong track record in many aspects of technology including transformation, program delivery, operating model, technology and operations strategy and design, service management, risk management, cost performance optimisation and vendor/outsourcing management. Leading remote teams. Strong leader, team builder, and founder of strong relationships with stakeholders at all levels and in all cultures across the globe

Dr. Yoonus is a highly experienced senior analytics professional with over 14 years of expertise in the fields of data science, financial crime compliance, and quantitative finance. He holds a PhD in Mathematics-Finance (Interdisciplinary) and a Masters in Mathematics. Additionally, he is certified by ACAMS (Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists). Dr. Yoonus has worked in various financial institutions and across different geographical locations, gaining valuable experience and knowledge. Dr. Yoonus is known for his leadership skills and ability to build high-performing analytics teams. Dr. Yoonus is passionate about technology and keeps a close eye on advancements in AI/ML, Network Analytics, and Entity Consolidation. He believes in the potential of these technologies to effectively combat financial crime and enhance the efficiency of Transaction Monitoring programs

In addition to his professional roles, Dr. Yoonus serve as Strategic Advisor, MENA Financial Crime Compliance (FCCG) Artificial Intelligence Working Group. He also serves as the Chairperson of the Industry Advisory Panel for the Humanities and Social Sciences Department at Birla Institute Of Technology and Science, Pilani Dubai.

Passionate, customer centric & visionary digital tranformation enthusiastic & EPMO/PMO governance consultant supporting organizations in developing and executing digital strategy & transformation, deriving business values & improving customer experience leveraging web 3.0 technologies(AI/ML/RPA). On a mission towards enhancing overall customer experience, streamlining operational efficiency, and propelling the digitization of transactions.
Certified from Stanford GSB in Digital Strategy & Transformation and PMP, PRINCE2 in project management domains. Proven leadership with track record of 25+ years of overall technology, business, digital & project management experience in BFSI(GCC) with diverse organizational domains includes 15+ years in banking, 3 years in insurance and 7 years in govt sectors.

Proven leadership in building digital transformaton strategy & managing transformation initiatives leveraging modern engineering practices(Automation, API, RPA, Agile, Cloud..) deriving value for business & customers. Successfull in establishing EPMO/PMO governance & framework, Portfolio & Program management & delivery, building project governance templates & repository, EPMO/PMO dashboards, CAPEX/OPEX, track benefits realization, manage RFP & vendor governance within banking & insurance.
Worked for reputed banking & insurance giants in middle east(UAE, Qatar & KSA) and successfully led & delivered technology driven business, regulatory, compliance, retail, corporate, risk, infra and info-sec projects portfolio on TEMENOS T24, Oracle FLEXCUBE & TCS BaNCs core banking platforms integrating with third party applications & technologies under SWIFT, ATM, AML, Digital Branch, immediate payment system, UAEFTS, DDS, Collections, Treasury, loan origination, call center, Windows OS upgrade, Data migration, Data Warehouse, ESB, API, STP, Cloud, LC/NC Platform, AI & RPA supported by regional and international vendors.

Ahmed is currently the Head of Cyber Defense and Security Operations in a Leading bank, Prior to this Ahmed was the Corporate Chief Information Security Officer, Regional Security Manager and Chief Security Architect in multiple Organizations in Egypt, UAE and Middle East across different segments as Banks, Payment services, utilities, Oil and Gas organizations. Ahmed Nabil has more than 20 years of experience in the field of Information Security, Technology/Systems, Infrastructure, Project Management, Cyber Defense, Application Automation, Cloud Architecture, IT management and holds several professional certification

Highly driven professional & energetic leader. Fractional CMO, Board & NED experience. Industry Judge and event content curation. Equipped with significant experience of defining growth strategy for new business, new product and new services. Professional Services and Consulting. NFC, Wallets, Commerce and Payments. Passionate about financial health, financial literacy and digital inclusion, being met through the development of simple solutions. Proven experience in forming teams, initiating and developing partnerships, convening Eco-systems, liaising with Industry & Regulatory bodies, Government and Public Policy makers. Fintech, Telcos, Tech, Retail. Strategic thinker and visionary. Passionate & engaging presenter; regular speaker. Strong ability to translate nascent technology, complex development strategies and future opportunities into clear client propositions.