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Vice President, Payments Platform
Co-Founder
Head – Digital Channels
Deputy General Manager
Chief Business Officer
CEO
Managing Director, Banking & Financial Services
Vice President, Business Development,
Cross-Border Services, EEMEA
EVP
Risk and Compliance Officer
Chief Technology Officer
CEO
Executive Director
Chief Executive Officer
Sr Business Lead
Group General Counsel and Group Head of Compliance
Vice President, Product Owner
Payments & Remittance
Tech Entrepreneur and Founder
General Manager
MD
Co-Founder & CCO
Head – Compliance
Co Founder & CSO
Chief Operations Officer
AML Manager
Senior Consultant – Digital Transformation and Fintech
Co-Founder, Lemon Labs
Master of Ceremonies
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As Chief Executive Officer of Al Fardan Group, I am focused on modernizing and transforming the family business, with a mission of preparing the organization for expansion both locally and regionally via aggressive strategies through organic and inorganic growth.
Hasan Fardan hold’s a Bachelor’s Degree from Richmond, UK with a specialization in Finance, and also holds a Master’s degree in Real Estate Finance and Investment from the University of Reading, Henley Business School, UK.
Al Fardan Exchange is a member of the Al Fardan Group, which has roots stretching back to 1954. Emerging from a seafaring and pearl trading tradition to a commercial trade, the Al Fardan name is built on a solid bedrock of security and reliability. Leveraging on the Group’s diversified business interests and successful operations in real estate, high-end jewellery and financial services, Al Fardan Exchange holds global reach with trust and credibility as its main ethics.
Al Fardan Exchange LLC is incredibly proud to serve the UAE’s cosmopolitan community through their 83+ strong network, spanning across all Emirates which is reinforced by strong relationships with over 150 global corresponding banks, financial institutions, and other financial service providers. This enables all their customers to access secure transactions that firmly place reliability and trust in the forefront. Established in 1971, Al Fardan Exchange has been playing a prominent role in supporting communities. Today, Al Fardan Exchange serves UAE’s diverse population through their omni-channel solutions including a mobile app and a strong network of branches spanning across all the Emirates.
Al Fardan Exchange offers a full suite of financial services. Amongst these are:
Get to know more about our services – https://alfardanexchange.com/
Dr. Waleed Sadek is the Founder & CEO of PaySky, the leading digital payment solutions provider founded in 2017. With a forward-looking vision and ambitions to redefine and democratize the digital payment ecosystem. PaySky fostered partnerships with different entities such as central banks, banks, financial institutions, and telecom operators to provide them with its latest technology in the Middle East and Africa. The company has a presence in more than 10 countries namely, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Pakistan, Libya, Sudan, Uganda, and Botswana.
As a serial entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience in digitizing the financial services sector in Egypt and the Middle East, Dr. Sadek established and led several fintech startups. Prior to setting out on his entrepreneurial journey, Dr. Sadek has been sought after for his strategic vision, process-oriented finesse, and his ability to drive innovation within both young and mature businesses. He joined Visa from 2004 to 2008, where he held multiple leadership positions, including the position of Head of the Innovation and New Technologies Department for the Middle East and North Africa. He was also appointed the manager of Visa Global Strategy for Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA). Moreover, Dr. Sadek established several companies and served as a Board Member of BITEL EMEA, as well as of Wind Technologies.
He is a renowned subject matter expert in the domain of digital financial services & payment systems and has shared in developing technology standards and market regulations in the electronic payments domain. Despite graduating from Ain Shams University’s Faculty of Medicine in the year 2009, Sadek chose to pursue his passion in the field of information technology. Where he would develop innovative solutions in the fintech industry and enable everyone to use it to facilitate their lives and help the economy to grow and prosper.
Dynamic banking professional with experience in the GCC Region, Deep understanding of core banking concepts and Shariah compliance. I have a proven track record of achievement and demonstrated success driving bank’s sales growth by providing award-wining IT development and support in a highly competitive environment.
Head of Business Development with Emirates Investment Bank – Dec 2020
Over 28 years of experience in the financial sector encompassing business & client relationship development.
Previous:
Al Fardan LLC-CEO & Director
Al Fardan Group
FERG – Dubai Chamber of Commerce Dubai Quality Group
Former Chairman and Vice Chairman of FERG
Former Vice Chairman of Dubai Quality Group
Education:
Post Graduate Diploma in Management Studies , University of Hull.
Degree in Electronics Engineering Harvard Fintech Certificate.
Alaa AlRousan is a Regional Account Director for SWIFT in the Middle East. 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 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 seven 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 Engineering degree in Computers & Control Systems
Mr. Zuhursho Rahmatulloev is a Co-Founder of Alif Bank (Tajikistan) and has 12 years of regional experience in banking, fintech, and entrepreneurship. Additionally, Zuhursho led the first international expansion of Alif Bank (aka Alif) into Uzbekistan from 2019 to 2022. Currently, he is tasked to oversee a launch of an innovative remittance product in UAE to digitize and boost remittance flows to top recipient countries. He is a certified Islamic finance professional and holds an MA in International Political Economy from the University of Warwick, UK.
Rashid Basheer leads Digital Channels at Al Ansari Exchange for UAE. In this role, he creates new delivery channels and digital product offerings for Al Ansari Exchange. In 2021, the Mobile App of Al Ansari Exchange was named second in Forbes Middle East Top 15 Fintech Apps. Rashid is passionate about customer experience and has been the prime guiding principle on all strategies for product and channel development. He has over 10 years of experience in the Remittance Industry and holds an MBA from TiasNimbas Business School (Netherlands). Previous to Al Ansari Exchange he has worked briefly with NewForsight Stategy Consultancy specializing in sustainability.
With 11+ years of experience in Financial Industry, and recently promoted as Deputy General Manager for UAE Operations, Shafeez runs the Global Money Transfers, Wage & Salary Administration, and Foreign Exchange end to end for Lulu International Exchange Company.
His expertise in Financial Management, Business Development, Marketing, Sales & Customer Service is an added plus and strengthens him to take new challenges and excels in delivering the highest level of performances and setting new standards month on month for the company.
In his last role as the Head Of Operations for UAE business, he is recognized as one of the youngest & strongest member of the Management team with many accolades for his outstanding contributions in numerous record breaking performances within the company in short intervals.
Founder of FXB Global Summit and a digital transformation and payment leader in notable CIO & CDO positions with over 20 years of experience in shaping and delivering digital growth in payments & cross-border remittances with advancements in strategic partnerships with Fintech, Government and FIs. Developed and executed a wide range of strategic programs with an emphasis on digital transformation. Digital Payment Consultant and advisor to Exchange Houses, Digital banks and Fintech. Member, advisor and Speaker at various Blockchain, Fintech and Payment forums. Received various CIO and CXO awards and was recognized as one of the ’50 Most Influential Payment Professionals’ at World Payment Congress.
Mir K Rasool, Chief Business Officer of Index Exchange, is one of the most popular figures in the remittances industry, a captivating speaker known for his creative bombshells.
He has extensive expertise spanning close to two decades in retail, remittances, cross-border payments, currency exchange, and consumer goods, associating with some of the most renowned businesses in India and the Middle East. As an exceptional leader and a highly-networked professional, Mir was recognized by World Marketing Congress and CMO Asia at The Middle East Branding & Marketing Leadership Awards as “CMO of the year 2021” for his enviable creative marketing & brand building strategies. In 2022, Mir K Rasool was also named among Asia’s 100 Power Leaders in Marketing & Corporate Communications 2022.
Being a research and data-driven professional with significant experience in managing the formulation of communication materials for internal and global audiences, Mir has held several senior positions in well-known organizations such as Mahindra & Mahindra, Maxx Mobiles, and Al Fardan Exchange are a few among other major brands. As the Chief Business Officer of Index Exchange, one of the trusted currency exchange and money transfer firms in the UAE, he is now utilizing his broad knowledge and expertise to drive business growth and innovation in the remittance sector.
He has achieved an impressive height in his career and is a thought leader in digital strategy, innovative ideas and integrated marketing communications. He inspires the team to believe that excellence, isn’t about achieving high standards, but about setting new standards. Celebrating the dedication, he has shown on the way to this achievement. He has earned every bit of the success he is enjoying.
This definitely is a fantastic realization based on his clarity of vision and purpose. And we are really proud to have him with us!
Mohit has 22+ years’ experience in Cross-Border Remittances, Payments and Technology. At Mastercard, Mohit is responsible for expanding the business’s vision to enable Cross-Border payments from any funding source to any destination, for any need. Mohit focus on building out and expending account-based payment capabilities as Mastercard intensifies its efforts to advance multi-rail strategy, accelerating the adoption of digital payments, remittances, cross border and commercial payments with Banks, Fintech, Digital players and Telcos.
Domenico Scaffidi is the Vice President, Global Lead Payments Innovation Practice at Volante
Technologies. He has over 25 years experience guiding and supporting financial Institutions,
PSPs, central banks, and central infrastructures in the fields of instant and real-time payments,
cross-border payments and helping to improve liquidity and settlement management.
Dome is a member of the Standard Advisory Panel (SAP) at the Bank of England and has been
a member of various working groups and task forces within the ECB European Central Bank
(ECB) and European Banking Authority (EBA) helping to shape and influence payments
standards in the UK and Europe.
Dome has worked extensively in both fintech and banking, including as Head of the Payment
Systems and International Business Applications for the International Cooperative Banks.
Biju heads Banking & Financial Services at Fiorano and is responsible for industry engagement, product strategy, and Partner strategy.
Based in London, Biju specializes in Open Banking, Distributed Cloud Applications, and next generational banking architectural models, including Coreless Banking, BaaS, and Embedded Finance.
Biju is also an author, thought leader, and a regular speaker at global Banking and Financial
Services events, the most recent being a panelist at the US Faster Payments Council ISO 20022
Townhall event on 2nd November 22.
He is also part of several industry groups globally pushing the agenda for modular, composable
Banking.
Ankit Grover is a Seasoned Business Development professional with experience across varied areas of sales, operations and Management. Experienced in working with SMEs and enterprise organizations of different sizes with a focus on revenue growth & expense reduction through leveraging technology platforms. Proven track record of leading business turnaround and driving
organisational change to deliver measurable results.
Murat Kastan is the EVP at UPT. “UPT’s main business is Money Transfer and Payments Services. UPT is a 100% subsidiary of Aktif Bank – the largest private investment bank in Turkey.
UPT is a significant player in money transfer business being the first licensed payment institution in Turkey with most extensive delivery channels exceeding in total 7,000 physical delivery points throughout Turkey. UPT provides value added services such as bank account transfers, bank card transfers, wallet transfers, collection accounts, virtual accounts and bill payments.
UPT’s technical infrastructure is being directly used in 12 countries through banks and money transfer companies. Currently we have more than 160 global partners such as banks, fintechs, payment and money transfer companies. Our partners can send/receive remittances to/from more than 150 countries through our global network. With this global network, we provide our services to a large target audience in 5 continents within 176 countries through 400.000 service locations worldwide. Recently we have launched our mobile application UPTION which offers multicurrency account, money transfer services and prepaid card. With UPTION, customers can send transfers to beneficiaries mobile numbers and their UPTION IBANs instantly 7/24.”
Kamlesh Luhana is currently the Senior Sales Engineering for emerging markets at Forcepoint. In this role, he leads the cybersecurity presales for UAE in strategic and enterprise sector business. With over 14 years of dedicated experience in Information Security, Kamlesh has extensive background in Cloud Security and Data Security programs.
Craig has over 15 years of experience working for FTSE 100 companies and has specialised in Payments processing for the last six years. Helping banks, corporates, PSPs and FinTechs grow by transforming their businesses through more efficient payments processing.
From automating the validation of cross-border payments, to realising straight-through-processing of payments. Craig has helped remove unnecessary frictions (inc. manual intervention, delays, repair fees, and customer dissatisfaction) that can make Payments processing inefficient and costly.
Compliance and Risk Officer of Mensa Technologies LLC, has 8 years of extensive experience on AML-CFT compliance and risk management within the Exchange and Remittance industry in the United Arab Emirates
A seasoned FinTech professional with 40+ years’ experience of leading and operating Payment Systems initiatives at large multinational companies. Established new successful country branches, implemented innovative solutions, delivering success by leading large global teams. Has an all-rounder hands-on experience of all dimensions of FinTech Payment Systems and Operations.
Padmini Gupta is the Co-founder and CEO of Xare. Xare is one of the fastest growing fintechs
globally with now more than 1 Million+ users. Xare won Entrepreneur’s Fastest Growing
Fintech of the Year for 2021. She began her entrepreneurial journey with rise, a fintech
platform that democratizes access to essential financial services for millions of migrants
globally. Rise was Entrepreneurs MENA Fintech of the Year for 2020. Rise launched Xare, which was inspired by rising’s migrant customers, allowing anyone anywhere to share money with anyone. Before her entrepreneurship journey, she was an award-winning banner from California and World Economic Forum Global Leadership Fellow, and an Oxford MBA.
Padmini began her career in banking in the 1990s in California, where she was responsible for
running a $200 million+ portfolio in commercial banking. She was one of the early pioneers
dedicated to bringing financial products to women and minority-led businesses; and, as a result,
was twice awarded by the US Small Business Administration. She also sat on the Banker’s
The Board of Accion was part of the San Diego City Redevelopment Task Force.
In 2004, Padmini left her lucrative banking career to pursue an MBA at the University of Oxford.
She joined the World Economic Forum as a Global Leadership Fellow, working with global public and private sector leaders around key issues such as urban mobility, smart cities, and climate change. She also served as a distinguished member of the World Affairs Council, leading discussions with international experts around the most pressing global issues of the day.
A passionate advocate for society’s ignored voices, Padmini has always been a strong proponent of the importance of financial independence and co-founded rise, and then Xare as a way to combine her financial expertise with her desire to drive important social change. Padmini continues to be a mentor and advisor to several startups and plays an active role in supporting women entrepreneurs through her involvement with Dubai Business Women Council, Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (SHERAA), to name but a few. As a global citizen who has lived and worked in more than 10 countries, she brings a unique understanding and passion to redefining migrant banking and helping a billion people to build a better, more equitable and more sustainable future.
Nabil Ismail is an Executive Director –Private Equity at Gulf Capital PJSC. He has been with Gulf Capital since 2014. He focuses on and manages investments in the tech & fintech space with keen interest on expanding their presence from the GCC across North Africa and South East Asia. He worked previously with TECOM Investments where he was involved in real estate investments, corporate finance, building incubation program, and divestments of assets and companies. Prior to that, he was at the Executive Office in Dubai.
Nabil has an extensive background in investments of 12+ years. He also served as a judge on several SME awards and an adviser for Emirates Foundation. Nabil is an avid golfer and had represented the UAE National team in the past. He holds an MSc in Finance and Accounting from the London School of Economics and a BA in Economics from Davidson College, USA. He is also Chartered Financial Analyst.
Mr. Abdulla Hassan Alhammadi is the Chief Executive Officer of Electronic Documents Centre L.L.C (EDC), a subsidiary of Emirates Post Group Company. EDC Operates in the areas of Digital Transformation Solutions, Data Management and Fulfilment, Smart Card Solutions and Turnkey Projects.
Through his position, Mr. Alhammadi plays a vital role in achieving the group’s goals, as he
succeeded since his assignment as the CEO in 2010, on developing the products and services
provided by EDC, and make the company a market leader in its fields of operations.
In 2001, Mr. Alhammadi graduated from University of Louisville in Kentucky, USA with a
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Majoring in Computer Information System.
He started his career as a as a System Analyst in ADNOC Company at Abu Dhabi and
subsequently joined the Technology Sector of Emirates Post Group in 2003, where he led
the IT System Analysis team of the group.
In 2005, Mr. Alhammadi was assigned to lead the IT department at EDC a subsidiary of Emirates Post group and subsequently elevated to be the Chief Operating officer (COO) role in the year 2007. where he was responsible to develop the company’s strategy plan, formulate the policies and procedures, manage the day-to-day administration and operations of the company. Under his leadership EDC acquired the accreditation of ISO 27001 for Information security and EMV PCI certification from VISA and MASTERCARD.
Being a tech savvy Alhammadi understood the need of Digital transformation. By managing
the existing traditional business, and his role as the CEO he visioned the company’s
transformation to adopt and provide Digital solutions. From the year 2015 he executed the
strategic plan for transforming EDC into a Digital solutions provider and integrator and
under his leadership EDC has started offering solutions and products in the field of
Communications, Fintech, AI & Digital Trust.
Through continues academic development and acquired hands on experience, Mr.
Alhammadi lead EDC through different times and difficult phases and was able to make
significant achievements in the financial, operational and leadership aspects.
In 2022, Mr. Alhammadi was one among the 40 CEO’s in the country to be part of the UAE Government AI Leadership programme conducted by Mohammed Bin Zayed University under the topic of “The MBZUAI EXECUTIVE PROGRAM” a 12-week, intensive experience to develop AI-savvy leaders in the UAE
Manuel Villena is the Managing Director for Middle East at Ria, the money transfer division of Euronet Worldwide, Inc. He oversees the sales, finances, and operations in Middle East. Prior to his current role, he was Business Developer Director at RIA responsible to develop, expand and grow the following territories, Ria’s Africa business managing RIA Dakar Hub, Cyprus, Benelux (Belgium-Netherland – Luxembourg) and the Nordic countries (Sweden-Norway-Denmark-
Adrianus Schoorl previously was the Head of the financial services regulatory team in the Middle East of leading law firm White & Case LLP and featured prominently in the legal rankings and directories. His specific area of expertise is financial technology and Adrianus worked with several regulators on building out frameworks and supervision capacity. Adrianus is the Group General Counsel and Head of Compliance, at WizzFinancial, from May 2022.
Zameer has 19 years of experience in the Remittance Industry ranging from Money Exchange houses to Banks in UAE and Saudi Arabia.
He has been involved in setting up the remittance products, managing them, and bringing various innovations to them.
With Mashreq Bank for the last 5 years, he is Heading the Remittance Business for Mashreq, Retail Banking Group in his current position.
Asif, Comes from technical background of Infrastructure, Platform and DevOps.
Currently running a successful practice of working with SMB and Startups to make them future ready by adopting cloud and modern tools. He is the Tech Entrepreneur and Founder of LogicEra (Leading Microsoft Azure Partner – Globally)
Tanya is part of the Plug and Play GCC team with the focus of unlocking partnerships in the innovation space. While capital support for startups and SME’s is fundamental for survival, it should be complemented with acceleration through ease in market access. With over 6 years of experience in a corporate’s value chain, she aims to bridge the corporate-startup gap and build an ecosystem of opportunities.
Farrukh Ahmed is a seasoned banker with over 20 years of Product Management, Business Transformation, Customer Experience Management, and Training and Mentorship experience.
Farrukh also contributes to the start-up community with mentorship and hosts multiple podcasts and Training workshops.
Hassan has Over 6 years of experience in the Fintech domain from both the tech and business sides.
Zahir Moghal, the CEO of Delma Exchange, his journey over the last 11 years has been an
incredible ride, growing and positioning the company that has grown to become one of
the market-leading specialist providers of foreign exchange products, solutions, and
services, operating across the UAE. Under his guidance, Delma Exchange now offers a
unique approach to corporate payments and has a proven track record of delivering
tailored foreign exchange solutions for business transactions.
In his career spanning over 20+ years, Zahir is an exceptional leader with strong
experience founding and growing companies. He has successfully led several leadership
roles with a focus on driving business growth and innovation. His specialization has
always been in identifying deals and providing the most lucrative solutions for his clients.
Throughout his career, he has been driven by exceeding clients' expectations, problem-
solving, and establishing long-term relationships based on trust and integrity. With a rich
network across the UK and internationally, he has been able to deliver successful deals
consistently.
Having an extensive career path starting with media sales to now being the CEO, he has
gained a deep understanding of how to implement various sales and marketing
strategies to build and grow a business. His ability to handle problems and transform
failure into a learning experience enables him to develop a highly motivated sales force.
He believes ethics is legally and morally required for a positive and successful work
environment. Zahir is an inspiring leader who invests in the company’s employees,
acknowledges their strengths, helps them work on any weaknesses, and creates a culture
in the workplace where everyone feels like they belong and contribute something
worthwhile.
When he is not working, Zahir is an active philanthropist, and a blogger, who plays golf &
tennis to keep fit. He enjoys reading and researching topics related to philosophy and
psychology.
I would like to introduce myself as someone who is deeply entrenched and passionate about the Payment Industry. Over the years of working in this industry I have come to realize that one of the main goals of any Organisation should be enhancing the customer experience and finding ways to reduce transaction time and increase efficiency.
I am a Certified Compliance Expert (ACAMS, ICA) & Digital Disruption Enthusiast with 15+ years deep experience in overseeing compliance function, building compliance programs (AML/CFT, Regulatory Compliance, Fraud Prevention), Transformation & Operations Management in Fortune 500 listed companies including Citibank, Western Union, PwC & Khushhali Microfinance Bank at global and regional level. My unique combination of experience & specialism supports financial institutions navigate regulatory complexity and change efficiently & effectively. Having extensive experience in designing and implementing fit for purpose compliance program and solutions to monitor, manage, measure, and reduce compliance risks, I ensure companies have efficient and compliant operations that transparently demonstrate compliance with regulations
Adel spent 13 years in London, is a blockchain enthusiast, crypto investor since 2017 and an ex-FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) compliance authorisations officer. Prior to joining the digital assets world, Adel previously worked for fortune 500 companies such as IBM and Jefferies Investment Bank before joining the UK government. As government financial services regulator, Adel worked in the licensing and authorisation of crypto exchanges, corporate finance firms and asset managers where he developed significant knowledge of the fast-growing space of the blockchain and Web 3 industry.
Innovation Strategy, Fintech & Digital Transformation expert, Futurist, Speaker with broad experience in the MENA region through working with Citibank, Mashreq, Standard Chartered Bank and Rakbank heading the digital transformation. Advisory board member of Surefire Capital in Canada and Strategic advisor of Housing Finance Bank of Uganda. Publicist on the US #1 Digital Banking portal The Financial Brand.
ISO20022 certified Payment expert having experience in transformation, process reengineering and implementation of group-wide projects.
Gurminder Harinder Singh has over twenty years of financial services industry experience and specializes in the regulatory compliance of money service business.
She is responsible for the internal compliance and ethics programs of of Al Rostamani International Exchange LLC in Dubai. Gurminder is well versed with the Financial Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Laws prevailing in the financial industry. Being a law graduate and curious by nature she enjoys her role as the Head of Compliance wherein she believes that a compliance person always thinks from their gut. As a role of being an advisory for the business and operations, Gurminder believes every opportunity to interact with a co- worker is a learning experience for self and the other.
Gurminder has been a speaker and moderator at various conferences. She is very active in compliance community and has played an integral part in drafting the Foreign Exchange & Remittance Group’s AML Compliance Standards for Mooney Service Businesses in the UAE.
Gurminder is a Certified Anti Money Laundering Specialist and Certified Global Sanctions Specialist. She received her Bachelor of Law from Panjab University, India.
A dynamic, results-oriented leader with over two decades of experience in the banking and
finance industry.
Abdel Kareem currently works in the capacity of Chief Operations Officer at Wall Street Exchange
Centre LLC – a member of Emirates Post Group. He is an inspiring and motivational head with
first-rate interpersonal skills and the ability and passion to develop the vision of any company he
manages. He has managed extensive business background in international and multi-cultural
environments.
In his previous endeavors, Abdel Kareem has had a career-long success in creating a corporate
vision including developing and implementing strategies with action plans that align with the
vision. He is an insightful, innovative, pragmatic change agent who consistently challenges the
status quo and leads teams to exceptional results. Highly successful in building relationships with
upper-level decision makers, seizing control of critical problem areas, and delivering on customer
commitments. His passion includes establishing a culture of continuous quality improvement to
increase efficiency, drive growth, and enhance profitability.
Shantnoo has over 15 years of experience in the payments and crypto industry and worked with companies dealing in Remittances, Open Banking and crypto currencies. He got into cryptos with a then startup; BitPesa and worked with the team to engineer one of the first models between Bitcoins and traditional money. He launched the operations for one of the largest crypto exchanges; Huobi in the Middle East, Africa and Turkey. At present he is the founder of Encryptus, a leading Institutional Trading Desk which is bridging the gaps between Crypto < > Fiat with licenses and compliances.
Competent, dynamic, and result oriented professional offering a distinguished and insightful exposure of over 10 years across Compliance, Audit, Accounting, Planning & Reporting with domestic and multinational companies
Multi-faceted information technology professional with more than 20 years of extensive experience in different industries and business segments, financial services (conventional, Islamic), conglomerate, real estate, consulting/advisory services, and software services, attaining 15 years experience as a Chief Information Officer (CIO) and CXO advisor in leading organizations in GCC. Demonstrated success leading and fostering teams in completing major business and digital transformation programs conforming to unique and challenging goals and timelines while keeping Customer Experience CX and Innovations as a key pillar. Solid background and knowledge in Technology, different business industries, financial services as well as strategic management. Charted success constructing the IT organization and systems of four financial services start-ups (Banks) in MENA as well the first conversion ever for conventional to Islamic Bank.
With an academic background in Business & IT, I always felt like a medium between two completely different worlds. After 10 years at Deutsche Bank, Bitcoin opened up yet another world for me in 2016. Advising numerous projects with their own Crypto, DeFi, NFT & Metaverse strategies has given me deep insights into practical transitions from Web2 into Web3. While mastering technical blockchain challenges, I strongly believe that providing a great User Experience is the key to mass adoption.
Madhur Tipnis is a payments professional with hands-on experience in the issuance space having built and scaled card programs directed specifically for the underbanked and unbanked segments in the UAE, with focus on healthy transactional growth based on consumer persona mapping. Madhur has also driven the digital enablement journey for one of the major exchange houses in the UAE and continues to be involved in the process of making banking services accessible for the various segments of the underbanked in the UAE.
Ellis is an impact-driven deep-tech builder who brings together business entrepreneurs and technical talents to quickly bring advanced technologies to the markets.
With over 25 years of experience in the field of digital transformation, Mr. Ellis worked for Mashreq Bank, Mckinsey, W Motors, Alibaba, Google, Asustek, Intel, and three owned Startups. He worked in various roles (CIO/CTO, CEO, Board Member) in different countries (UAE, US, China, Singapore, Taiwan), creating strategies and deploying technology roadmaps to boost business growth.