Chairman, Foreign Exchange & Remittance Group (FERG)
Alaa AlRousan
Head of Middle East and North Africa Region, SWIFT
Christos Christou
Chief Compliance Officer, Lulu Financial Holdings
Mir K Rasool
Chief Business Officer Index Exchange
Shafique Ibrahim
Founder, FXB Payments Summit
Osama Al Rahma
Chairman, Foreign Exchange & Remittance Group (FERG)
Alaa AlRousan
Head of Middle East and North Africa Region, SWIFT
Christos Christou
Chief Compliance Officer, Lulu Financial Holdings
Mir K Rasool
Chief Business Officer Index Exchange
Some of our Esteem Speakers
Hasan Fardan Al Fardan
CEO, Al Fardan Exchange
Jamal Saleh
Director General, UAE Banks Federation
Osama Al Rahma
Chairman, Foreign Exchange & Remittance Group (FERG)
Christos Christou
Chief Compliance Officer, Lulu Financial Holdings
Alaa AlRousan
Head of Middle East and North Africa Region, SWIFT
Haseeb Ansari
Chief Compliance Officer, Emirates Islamic
Hasan Fardan Al Fardan
CEO, Al Fardan Exchange
Jamal Saleh
Director General, UAE Banks Federation
Osama Al Rahma
Chairman, Foreign Exchange & Remittance Group (FERG)
Christos Christou
Chief Compliance Officer, Lulu Financial Holdings
Alaa AlRousan
Head of Middle East and North Africa Region, SWIFT
Haseeb Ansari
Chief Compliance Officer, Emirates Islamic
Osama Al Rahma
Chairman, Foreign Exchange and Remittance Group (FERG)
Osama Al Rahma has performed leadership roles across the financial sector and other organizations and currently at Emirates Investment Bank as Head of Business Development and Wealth Management. He has over 30 years of experience in the financial services.
Prior to Emirates Investment Bank, Osama worked at Al Fardan Exchange LLC and Al Fardan Group since 1993 in many leadership roles and was CEO since 2011 and Director at the Group. He has occupied other roles such as EX-Chairman of Foreign Exchange and Remittance Group ( FERG) under Dubai Chamber of Commerce and currently act as Advisor to the board . He was a former Vice Chairman of Dubai Quality Group. He is an Independent Director and Advisor to other Fintech and payment companies.
He holds a degree in Electronics Engineering and a Postgraduate Diploma in Management Studies from the University of Hull. He is also an alumnus of J.F. Kennedy School of Governments Executive Program in Leadership of Harvard University and holds a Harvard Fintech Certificate. HE has
Diploma in Corporate Governance from the Corporate Governance Institute in Dublin.
Alaa AlRousan
Head of Middle East and North Africa Region, SWIFT
Alaa AlRousan is Head of SWIFT in the Middle East and North Africa Region. He is responsible for driving SWIFT’s initiatives in the region and working with banking communities and regulators to provide solutions to regional industry challenges such as payments innovation, operational excellence and cyber security.
Alaa specializes in payments solutions design, financial messaging, RTGS, ACH and instant payment networks. Alaa has been with SWIFT for more than nine years, during which he has held the positions of Technical Expert & Solution Designer for the Middle East, Turkey & Africa, and Country Manager of some of the largest markets in the region. Prior to joining SWIFT, he worked in consulting and project management roles across the financial services industry. Alaa holds an MBA degree from Bayes Business School and an Engineering degree in Computers & Control Systems.
Christos Christou
Chief Compliance Officer, Lulu Financial Holdings
A professional Chief Compliance Officer with 30+ years in banking and non-banking financial services. A degree holder in Banking and Finance, an MBA from University of Liverpool, and CAMS, CGSS, and CCAS certifications from ACAMS. An executive management record of directing a diversified team of Compliance/RegTech/FinTech professionals and a Board member within Lulu Financial Group, chairing the Compliance, Audit and Risk Committees in all Lulu Financial Group companies in GCC and APAC regions.
A specialist in Payment Services, Crypto Assets, Regulatory and AML/CFT Compliance, Sanctions, Advanced Analytics and Forensics. A great career also as an adjunct lecturer for the Chartered Bankers Institute, Professional Academies, and Universities/Colleges in Europe and Middle East. An active member of the Public-Private Partnership Committee (ACPF) of the UAE, and member of the ACAMS Task Force as a subject matter expert for certifications and conferences.
Mir K Rasool
Chief Business Officer, Index Exchange
A distinguished leader in the field of growth marketing and business transformation, with over 20 years of experience, Mir has excelled as a Chief Business Officer, Marketing Director, and Growth Marketing Specialist, driving the products and services marketing for renowned brands across sectors of retail, consumer electronics, telecom, cross border payments and payment solutions in India and the Middle East.
Well-connected in the payment solutions industry, he collaborates closely with ecosystem partners, banks, fintechs, startups, accelerators, aggregators, regulators, and established incumbents, leveraging his extensive knowledge of
markets in South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. His commitment to innovation and strategic alignment has yielded impressive results, including significant increases in market share and revenue.
His expertise encompasses various domains, including marketing strategies, project management, digital initiatives, brand management, e-commerce, and strategic planning. Recognized as one of ‘Asia’s 100 Power Leaders in Marketing & Communications 2022’ and awarded “CMO of the Year 2021” by the World Marketing Congress, Mir is known for his ability to lead organizations toward sustainable growth while managing P&L effectively.
Among his many accolades, he has also received the SIBA Emirates Business Leader Marketing Award 2023 and was recognized in Forbes Magazine for his contributions in marketing, communications, and business strategies.
Hasan Fardan Al Fardan
CEO, Al Fardan Exchange
Hasan Fardan Al Fardan is the CEO of Al Fardan Exchange, where he leads the company's strategic direction and spearheads its digital transformation to enhance operational efficiency and diversify revenue streams.
Prior to joining Al Fardan Exchange, Hasan held pivotal roles at the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), where he gained deep expertise in investment strategy and financial management. As a member of one of the UAE’s most prominent family-
owned business groups, he plays a key role in shaping the country’s economic and
financial landscape through several influential positions.
He currently serves on the Executive Board of the Emirates Family Office
Association (EOFA) and is a board member of the UAE Foreign Exchange &
Remittance Group (FERG), where he chairs the FinTech Subcommittee. Hasan also
provides strategic oversight as a director at Ajyad Capital B.S.C., a leading
investment firm based in Bahrain, and sits on the Supervisory Board of Evocabank, a
digital banking pioneer in Armenia. Additionally, he is a member of the Advisory
Committee for the Dubai AI Festival.
Recognized for his leadership in fintech and digital innovation in financial services,
Hasan is a sought-after speaker and thought leader. He has shared insights at
prominent platforms such as the Future Innovation Summit, where he discussed The
Future of Money, and the Dubai AI Festival, speaking on AI in Financial Services. He
also contributed to Best Practices for Family Offices at Abu Dhabi Finance Week.
Hasan holds a Master’s degree in Real Estate, Finance, and Investment from Henley
Business School, University of Reading, UK. His visionary leadership continues to
position Al Fardan Exchange as a catalyst for innovation, driving regional financial
inclusion and transformation.
Jamal Saleh
Director General, UAE Banks Federation
Jamal Saleh joined UBF (UAE Banks Federation) in July 2018 and became UBF's
Director General on 1st January 2019. Prior to joining UBF, his last role was Head of Credit & Risk and Acting Regional Chief Risk Officer with a leading GCC bank. Jamal Saleh spent 29 years in banking (Conventional and Islamic) and covered Credit and Enterprise Risk Management (Credit, Market, Operational, Liquidity, and IT Risks).
His first 10 years were in the USA (in Private Banking and Credit) and the last 19
were in the UAE in Corporate Banking, Credit, and Risk Management with three
leading UAE banks. He served as PRMIA's UAE Director General for 7 years (2007-2014) and was
concurrently Member on British University's Advisory Board.
Jamal Saleh graduated valedictorian, summa cum laude, from New Jersey (USA) in
Finance and Banking, and held 6 professional certifications in credit, finance, investment, and risk management.
He was a frequent TV quest on local and international business channels and
newspapers, as well as a key speaker at tens of regional and international forums in
UAE, MENA, Singapore, Europe, USA, etc., including 11 years at the renowned RiskMinds of Geneva/Amsterdam from 2006-2016, and the Commonwealth of
Nations at Westminster Palace's Central Hall in London.
Haseeb Ansari
Chief Compliance Officer, Emirates Islamic
Haseeb Ansari is the Chief Compliance Officer at Emirates Islamic (part of the
Emirates NBD Group) and has more than 29 years of international banking
experience, which includes effective management of Regulatory and Financial
Crime Compliance frameworks, as well as Governance and Operations. He has
extensive experience in dealing with regulators, industry bodies, foreign
correspondent banks and service providers. He has been an active member in the
Compliance community and currently, he is the Vice Chairman of the UAE Banks
Federation (UBF) Compliance Committee and member of the Market Conduct &
Consumer Protection Committee.
Prior to joining Emirates Islamic, Haseeb was the Chief Compliance Officer at
United Arab Bank and previously, he completed more than 9 years at Barclays Bank
PLC, where his last assignment was the Regional Head of Compliance for the
Middle East. He originally started his career at Citibank, managing a diverse
spectrum of functional portfolios for over a decade.
