Mike is a Senior Finance Professional with more than 15 years of management experience across 8 countries and 5 continents. Mike has excellent technical skills and a strong understanding of the UAE Financial Services regulatory environment. Mike is currently working as a Sr Consultant for the GCC Debt Advisory business at PWC. Mike moved to the UAE in 2018 to lead the Corporate Bank for HSBC. In this role Mike sat on the HSBC UAE Exco, the Risk Management Committee and the Financial Crime and Compliance Committee. Mike left HSBC in 2021 and joined the Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank as the Head of Wholesale Banking. At ADIB Mike was a member of the Exco and the Risk Management committee. During his time at ADIB the bank was involved in several landmark IPOs and ADIB opened an Asset Management firm in the DIFC. Most recently, Mike was the CFO for the UAE’s largest listed REIT. Mike was hired to refinance the REIT’s existing sukuk. The sukuk was rated CCC+ in Dec/22 and was refinanced in Dec/24 at BB+. The new sukuk was > 300 bps cheaper and had significantly more favourable terms and conditions. In preparation for the issuance Mike worked with Sr Management and the Board to increase transparency and improve control functions. During Mike’s time at the REIT its share price increased 3x. Prior to moving to the UAE Mike was a member of HSBC’s International Manager program. He held significant roles in Canada (MD Western Canada - Corporate Banking) and Asia (MD and Regional Head of Structured Banking and Mid Market Sponsor Coverage). Mike is originally from Canada and started his banking career at the Bank of Nova Scotia in Canada, Central America and Peru. During the course of his career Mike has led internal projects or advised his customers on commercial strategy, financing structures, turn-around/restructuring strategies, HR planning, ESG framework development and technology design and implementation. Mike has an International MBA from Schulich School of Business, York University, Toronto, Canada and speaks English, French and Spanish.

Simon is a progressive, accomplished leader with over 20 years’ banking experience across major financial centers in Europe, Asia, North America and the Middle East. He has proven operational, risk, regulatory and transformation experience coupled with strong financial acumen, considerable corporate client coverage capabilities as well as strong board engagement. Simon is currently providingindependent consultancy, advisory and NED services to UAE-focused entities. Most recently, Simon served as the Deputy CEO and Chief Operating Officer for HSBC in the UAE, a position held from 2018 through 2024. During this time, he obtained board approval for a new strategy for the market, and executed against this to deliver significant profit growth. He also led the Executive Committee, and was an active participant in the Risk Management and Assets & Liability Committees. Simon led regulatory development and engagement for the UAE entity, and represented the bank on both the Advisory and Consultative Committees of the UAE Banks Federation. He also supported the UAE CEO with definition and execution of a People & Culture Strategy, through which HSBC won recognition as a Top UAE Company to work for in 2023 and 2024. As COO, he led teams across the core disciplines of transformation; technology; data architecture; corporate real estate; operations & transaction processing; procurement & vendor risk; and business management to deliver efficiency gains, while sustaining and enhancing operational resilience. During his tenure, Simon delivered a multi-million dollar real estate programme, several enterprise-wide transformation programmes (including financial crime and operational resilience), a core banking upgrade, and led HSBC’s response to critical industry payments infrastructure changes, including Open Finance Regulation. From 2019, Simon was also the Senior Executive Officer (SEO) for the HSBC Bank Middle East branch in the Abu Dhabi General Market (ADGM), where he established a new operation, navigating relevant licencing requirements and building teams to support both private banking clients and institutional advisory. Simon was also a director of HSBC Financial Services Middle East over this period. Prior to these roles, Simon was the Chief Operating Officer for Commercial Banking at HSBC in the UAE (2015 – 2018), where he fundamentally repositioned the franchise, de-risking the business during HSBC’s Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) and establishing a platform for safe growth in the market. He also led the business implementation of FATCA, as well as UAE VAT and other local regulatory requirements. Simon moved to the UAE in 2011 to establish HSBC’s international commercial proposition (now a USD200m business), and also led the Corporate Banking team in the Jebel Ali free zone, extending trade facilities of over USD1bn to trade-based clients. Prior to moving to the UAE, Simon held a number of client coverage and product roles with HSBC in New York, Hong Kong, Australia and London. Thematically, in these roles he supported international corporate clients with a range of working capital, trade and treasury solutions. Simon has a Master’s degree from New York University, is a Fulbright Scholar and is a Fellow of the Association of Corporate Treasurers. He is South African and is a big fan of rugby [and continued HSBC’s support of the UAE Rugby Federation to expand the reach of the game]. He is married and has a young family.

Tom Gamali is a seasoned technology and cybersecurity leader with over two decades of experience supporting FTSE 100 companies and multinational organizations. He specializes in cybersecurity governance, digital transformation, enterprise risk management, and regulatory compliance. Throughout his career, Tom has successfully led cybersecurity and operational resilience initiatives across the financial services, technology, and diversified industries sectors in Europe and the Middle East. Tom previously served on the European Advisory Council of (ISC)², where his expertise in cybersecurity leadership, the evolving role of the CISO, and enterprise risk management earned him high regard among industry peers and the broader professional community. He currently serves on an Enterprise Risk and Credit Committee within the financial services sector, providing strategic guidance on integrating cybersecurity into enterprise risk frameworks, enhancing organizational resilience, and ensuring compliance with international and regional regulations, including the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) and the SAMA Cybersecurity Framework. A trusted advisor to boards and senior executives, Tom counsels on cyber risk oversight, strategic technology innovation, and the integration of emerging technologies to drive sustainable business growth. He is recognized for his collaborative leadership style, strategic foresight, and ability to navigate complex regulatory and risk environments.

Yoko is a global healthcare strategist and researcher with over 20 years of experience driving innovations in digital health and strengthening health systems. Currently a research faculty with the Center for Global Digital Health Innovation at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, working at the intersection of technology and health to enhance health service delivery and equity. Yoko has worked at and collaborated with leading global organizations, including the World Bank, WHO, Clinton Health Access Initiative, and Gates Foundation, contributing to strategic global health initiatives and projects across 37 countries. Yoko brings deep expertise in leveraging technology, data-driven solutions, and public-private partnerships to improve global health outcomes.

Richard is a Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and is an Accredited Director with the Chartered Governance Institute of Canada. Richard has over 20 years’ experience in the financial services sector and currently serves as a Director on boards of hedge and private funds as well as structured products and regulated and unregulated invesment management entities. Richard was an audit and advisory partner at KPMG working with managers running a range of strategies such as equity, credit, structured products, global macro, event driven and quantitative investment strategies. Richard was one of the Financial News 100 Rising Stars of 2009. Richard’s experience includes: financial statement and regulatory audits; valuation advisory services; consulting on internal processes and controls, business integrations, transactions and forensic projects. Richard’s clients have included hedge, private equity and debt funds across the UK, US, Europe and the Middle East covering a wide range of financial instruments such as private equity, loan instruments, repos, CLOs, ABS and derivatives. Richard led the team that revalued the investment assets for the Bank of Cyprus and Laiki Bank during the Cypriot economic crisis. Richard worked with the Troika (International Monetary Fund, European Commission and European Central Bank) on valuation models utilised for the restructuring of these Cypriot banks. Richard also assisted with the setting up of UKFI, the company tasked with managing the UK Government’s investments in financial institutions. Prior to moving to the Cayman Islands, Richard was a Director and COO of the asset management audit practice with KPMG in the UK. Richard also spent 3 years with KPMG in Kuwait. In Kuwait he assisted with starting the current KPMG practice and worked with sovereign wealth, pension funds and investment managers on audit and consulting projects. Richard also worked with NGOs and non-profit organisations assisting with the rebuilding of Iraq post the second Gulf war. Richard trained and qualified with KPMG after graduating with honours in Mathematical Statistics and Operational Research from the University of Exeter.

Lodovica Speri is a seasoned financial services professional with over 18 years of experience, with a distinguished track record in client relationship management, business strategy, product innovation and regulatory reform. Throughout her career at JPMorgan, where she played a pivotal role in shaping the global clearing business and product offerings across derivatives and prime brokerage. Lodovica has led teams across Europe and globally, delivering complex regulatory initiatives including Dodd-Frank, EMIR, MiFID, and LIBOR reform. She is known for her strategic acumen in navigating and influencing regulatory landscapes, representing her firm in dialogue with bodies such as the SEC, CFTC, FCA, and the European Commission. Her advocacy has helped shape industry responses to landmark developments including decentralized clearing and ESG-driven market structures. In product development, Lodovica has successfully overseen the roll-out of hundreds of cleared derivatives instruments annually, pioneering growth in emerging areas such as crypto derivatives, repo clearing, and sustainable finance products. Her commercial leadership has unlocked new revenue streams and elevated client engagement through bespoke solutions and advisory. A multilingual professional (English, French, Italian, Spanish) with dual Italian and British citizenship, Lodovica combines technical depth with cross-cultural fluency. Most recently, she broadened her leadership impact through a sustainability-focused initiative in the Cayman Islands and continues to serve on financial and sporting boards, reflecting her commitment to community and governance excellence. His career spans senior roles at global companies including Audi, Volkswagen Group, BMW, and Abdul Latif Jameel, where he led large-scale cloud transformations ($28M), SAP programs ($100M), and built shared services environments serving over 8,000 users. He has delivered significant cost savings (up to 43% CAPEX and 35% OPEX) and implemented high-availability IT infrastructures. In the MENA region, Önder served as Group CIO, driving digital innovation initiatives (AI, IoT, Big Data) and advising corporate boards and family offices on technology strategy, risk, and operational efficiency. Most recently, as Corporate CIO, he led the design and implementation of IT governance and enterprise architecture frameworks for international holdings. Based in Germany, Önder is fluent in German, English, and Turkish. He is also actively engaged as a mentor and social impact advocate. As a Board Advisor, he contributes strategic technology leadership, digital transformation expertise, and intercultural insight to both family-owned businesses and corporate boards across industries.

Grant Harding is a Fellow Chartered Accountant (ICAEW), a Certified Public Accountant (AICPA), and holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management. He has over 15 years of experience in the f inancial services sector, with a focus on public and private equity markets, credit, and technology driven businesses. He currently serves as a Non-Executive Director on the board of Tholus Capital Management, a private equity investment manager, and has previously held senior leadership roles across investment management and e-commerce platforms. Grant was most recently Principal Finance at Amazon Business in the United States, where he provided strategic financial leadership to a multi-billion-dollar services business. His work included developing business plans, structuring procurement deals, conducting customer value assessments, and overseeing supplier due diligence. He spent a decade with Samena Capital, a private equity and credit investment platform with operations in the UK, Middle East, and South Asia. He served as Group CFO, Executive Committee Member, and Board Director, overseeing corporate and fund finance, regulatory and tax compliance, investor reporting, and operational restructuring. During his tenure, he led the group’s expansion into new jurisdictions, secured and restructured investment vehicle financing, executed post-acquisition value creation plans, and implemented firm-wide cost-efficiency strategies. Grant’s expertise includes the development of strategic business plans, financial and regulatory reporting, investment valuation, operational due diligence, credit structuring, and the development of cross-border investment platforms. He has worked with both regulated and unregulated entities across the US, Cayman Islands, BVI, UK, Isle of Man, UAE, Mauritius, India, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, and Singapore, managing engagement with regulators, institutional investors, service providers, and f inancial counterparties. Earlier in his career, Grant was a Manager with KPMG Cayman Islands, where he led audits of private equity, credit, and hedge funds, in addition to conducting investment valuation reviews and forensic investigations, including a Madoff-related fraud case. He began his career with EY UK, undertaking audits of financial institutions and leading forensic reviews that were reported to Ireland’s National Asset Management Agency (NAMA).

Ava is a strategic marketing and communications leader with a global track record across private equity, venture capital and emerging technology. She has advised investment firms and fast growth companies in the UK, US, Europe, Australia, and the Middle East, leading high impact positioning strategies to support capital raising, international expansion and stakeholder engagement. Her background includes directing communications for a climate-focused private equity firm and supporting early stage VC firms with brand development, investor storytelling and media strategy. Ava has deep expertise in climate tech, fintech, AI, digital assets and other frontier technologies. Ava is passionate about innovation that delivers positive impact. She is particularly drawn to businesses operating at the intersection of capital, policy and technology - where strong storytelling and stakeholder alignment can unlock outsized growth. With a strong instinct for opportunity and narrative, Ava works closely with founders and executives to clarify market positioning, build investor confidence and accelerate commercial outcomes. At Daymer Group, Ava supports clients with fractional CMO and strategy services that accelerate go-to-market success, sharpen investor narratives and position brands for global scale.

​Abby is a commercially astute board advisor and trustee with over 20 years’ experience as a strategy executive and consultant. She has a demonstrable track record in planning, delivering and overseeing profitable change, both directly and as an independent sounding board for management teams and shareholders. A strategy consultant by background, Abby’s experience spans strategy design, operational transformation, stakeholder management, contract negotiation, M&A, due diligence and joint venture creation. She has extensive expertise in governance and change management, and in clarifying, advising and achieving consensus on board level issues. She currently serves as Chair of the board of the Katherine Low Settlement, a London-based charity, responsible for stewardship, decision making and supporting the Executive team through change. Until recently she held a variety of in-house consultancy roles at Capita Plc, including sales team transformation, proposition portfolio development and client account planning. Abby was previously Group Strategy Director at Nuffield Health and Strategy & Development Director on the Group Leadership Board of BMI Healthcare (now Circle Health), overseeing CapEx Committees and programme Steering Committees, advising on budgetary cycles, negotiating with funders and supporting shareholder engagement. Abby holds a 1st in Business Studies from the University of Edinburgh, a CIPFA Award for Excellence in Accountancy, a Distinction from the Securities Institute in the Intepretation of Financial Statements, a HEP from University College London’s Global Business School for Health. She is a member of the FT’s Non Executive Director Club.

Katrina has recently been the in house funds General Counsel for a multi-billion private credit firm where she also performed the Chief Compliance Officer and Money Laundering reporting Officer roles. During this time Katrina also sat on the risk, operations and valuation committees as well as establishing a manager presence in Abu Dhabi, including obtaining a regulatory licence for asset management in the ADGM with the Abu Dhabi FSRA. Katrina has helped to upgraded a firm’s compliance programme including digitisation of the programme via the implementation and ongoing maintenance of an online compliance monitoring platform, implementation of new policies for business continuity/disaster recovery, incident response, cybersecurity. Complete overhaul of the compliance manual including update of all key policies (Trade Allocation, Conflicts, Risk Management, Market Abuse, AML). Katrina specialises in a number of offshore and onshore jurisdictions including the UK, Ireland, Luxembourg, UAE and Cayman Islands. Katrina is adept at handling all aspects of legal and compliance issues for financial services firms, including fund launches (including private funds, hedge funds and regulated funds), regulatory compliance and compliance programme implementation/ongoing oversight, contract negotiations, litigation oversight, employment law and HR matters, securities laws and capital markets transactions as well as general corporate legal work. Katrina has been an approved director for a number of regulated fund entities in Ireland and Abu Dhabi based. Katrina trained with Simmons & Simmons in London and has a background in funds. Katrina is well linked into the investment funds network as well the legal and compliance network both in private practice and in house. Katrina is a regular speaker at a number of industry events such as HFM, Middle East Symposium UK Summit, WITH INTELLIGENCE Private Market COO Summit and Maples Group Investment Fund Forum (“MIFF”). Katrina has a First Class Degree in Law from Nottingham Law School.

Melanie is an experienced financial services professional with proven technical abilities and strong interpersonal skills. Melanie has Twenty-five years’ experience in the financial services sector, working at a senior level with a range of firm types, operating under a broad range of international regulators, industry bodies and legislative frameworks in jurisdictions including London, the US and Malta. Melanie is well versed in helping to design and implement compliance and risk systems and controls which leverage cutting-edge technology to provide fast, efficient and scalable monitoring solutions. Melanie has a demonstrated ability to develop solid relationships at all levels throughout the business in order to ensure open lines of communication and a reliable flow of information, helping to effectively advise firms on matters of strategic development. Melanie’s career spans the launch and development of Palekana Ltd, a London-based investment firm where she was instrumental in shaping its compliance infrastructure and regulatory strategy across jurisdictions. Prior to that, she served as Co-Head of Compliance Solutions at Throgmorton UK Ltd, leading the firm’s expansion into consultancy and RegTech innovation. In 2009, Melanie founded AM Compliance Ltd, delivering outsourced compliance services and advisory to asset managers with international operations. Her early career includes senior compliance posts at GSA Capital Partners, Beach Capital Management, and Aspect Capital, giving her a robust foundation in hedge fund regulation, risk frameworks, and policy design. Melanie has a Law degree from Exeter University, United Kingdom.

Sam is a Big 4 qualified Chartered Accountant with over 20 years’ experience within investment management. Sam has been a chief financial officer and held numerous board positions on both management entities and funds in the United Kingdom and Luxembourg. Sam’s most recent role was as the chief financial officer of a large private credit manager with funds in the Cayman Islands, Luxembourg and Ireland. Sam helped grow assets under management from €500m to nearly €3bn over a 5 year period. Sam led the team to develop new systems, processes and controls to enable the firm’s growth and prepare the firm for the future. Sam also negotiated terms with investors and led the relationship with all service providers to the funds and management companies. Previously Sam has worked in a the “number one” finance role either as the finance director or chief financial officer for large investment managers. He has led finance teams and taken responsibility for all aspects of both investor reporting, regulatory, financial and internal reporting. He has experience in IFRS, US GAAP and Luxembourg GAAP as well as tax compliance for various jurisdictions including UK, USA, Ireland, Luxembourg and UAE. Sam is able to help firms with their regulatory reporting, financial statements, valuations, financial modelling, tax compliance, transfer pricing, group structuring, NAV calculations, budgeting and cash flow forecasting, strategy and technology. Sam is also able to sit on the board of investment management companies and funds and is a registered director with the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority. Sam is a Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and speaks English and Spanish.

Önder Mete is an accomplished CIO and technology strategist with over 23 years of international leadership experience across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. He advises companies on digital transformation, IT governance, and building future-ready technology organizations. His career spans senior roles at global companies including Audi, Volkswagen Group, BMW, and Abdul Latif Jameel, where he led large-scale cloud transformations ($28M), SAP programs ($100M), and built shared services environments serving over 8,000 users. He has delivered significant cost savings (up to 43% CAPEX and 35% OPEX) and implemented high-availability IT infrastructures. In the MENA region, Önder served as Group CIO, driving digital innovation initiatives (AI, IoT, Big Data) and advising corporate boards and family offices on technology strategy, risk, and operational efficiency. Most recently, as Corporate CIO, he led the design and implementation of IT governance and enterprise architecture frameworks for international holdings. Based in Germany, Önder is fluent in German, English, and Turkish. He is also actively engaged as a mentor and social impact advocate. As a Board Advisor, he contributes strategic technology leadership, digital transformation expertise, and intercultural insight to both family-owned businesses and corporate boards across industries.