Chairman, Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers (AICB)

Tan Sri Azman Hashim, FCB

Tan Sri Azman Hashim has been in the banking industry since 1960 when he joined Bank Negara Malaysia. He practised as a Chartered Accountant in Azman Wong Salleh and Co. from 1964 to 1971. He was on the board of Malayan Banking Berhad from 1966 to 1980 and was its Executive Director from 1971 until 1980. He was the Executive Chairman of Kwong Yik Bank Berhad, a subsidiary of Malayan Banking Berhad, from 1980 until 1982 when he acquired AmInvestment Bank Berhad.

Tan Sri Azman is Chairman of the Asian Institute of Finance Berhad, Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers, Asian Banking School Sdn Bhd, Malaysian Investment Banking Association, the Malaysia Productivity Corporation, Malaysia South-South Corporation Berhad and Chairman Emeritus of Pacific Basin Economic Council (PBEC).

He is the President of Malaysia South-South Association, Malaysia-Japan Economic Association, Malaysian Prison FRIENDS Club and a Member of the APEC Business Advisory Council and East Asia Business Council. He is also the Leader of the ASEAN Japanese Business Meeting (Malaysia Committee, Keizai Doyukai). He is the Pro-Chancellor of Open University of Malaysia and a member of the Governing Body of Asian Productivity Organisation.

Tan Sri Azman is also involved in several charitable organisations as Chairman and Trustee of AmGroup Foundation and Perdana Leadership Foundation and Trustee for Yayasan Azman Hashim, Malaysian Liver Foundation, Yayasan Tuanku Najihah and Yayasan Canselor Open University Malaysia. Tan Sri Azman is also the Founder and Council Member of Azman Hashim Family (L) Foundation and Azman Hashim Charitable (L) Foundation.

Former Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability, Malaysia.

Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad

Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad is a Member of Parliament for Setiawangsa and Former Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability, Malaysia.

A law graduate from King’s College London, he was Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Private Secretary before being elected as Selangor State Assemblyman for Seri Setia in the 2008 General Elections. He was appointed as the Political Secretary to the then Selangor Chief Minister.

He then became Deputy Speaker for the Selangor State Legislative Assembly and then State Executive Councillor (State Minister).

In the 2018 General Elections, he was elected to Malaysia’s Parliament, representing Setiawangsa.

With the formation of the Unity Government, he was appointed Minister of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change in 2022.

He is the author of several books, including Malaysian Son: A Progressive’s Political Journey in the Heart of Southeast Asia and Saving the Planet: Climate and Environmental Lessons from Malaysia and Beyond.

Distinguished Fellow Asia Global Institute The University of Hong Kong

Tan Sri Andrew Sheng

Andrew Sheng is well known in global financial circles as a former central banker and financial regulator in Asia and a commentator on global finance. He is Distinguished Fellow of Asia Global Institute, the University of Hong Kong. Andrew is the Chief Adviser to the China Banking Regulatory Commission, a Board Member of Khazanah Nasional Berhad, the sovereign wealth fund of Malaysia, a member of the international advisory council of the China Investment Corporation, the China Development Bank, China Securities Regulatory Commission and the Securities and Exchange Board of India.  He is also an advisor to the United Nations Environment Program Inquiry into the Design of a Sustainable Financial System.

Andrew served as Chairman of the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong from 1998 to 2005, having previously been a central banker with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and Bank Negara Malaysia. He also worked with the World Bank from 1989 to 1993. From 2003 to 2005, he chaired the Technical Committee of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).

He has published widely on monetary, economics and financial issues. His 2009 book entitled, “From Asian to global financial crisis: an Asian regulator’s view of unfettered finance in the 1990s and 2000s”, was published by Cambridge University Press. His forthcoming book is “Shadow Banking in China: An Opportunity for Financial Reform”, with Ng Chow Soon (John Wiley).

He is also an Adjunct Professor at the Graduate School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing and the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. In 2009, he became the Pro-Chancellor of Universiti Tun Abdul Razak.

He writes regularly on international finance and monetary economics, financial regulation and global governance for Project Syndicate, AsiaNewsNet and leading economic magazines and newspapers in China and Asia. A chartered accountant by training, he has a BSc in Economics and Honorary Doctorates from the University of Bristol and University of Malaya. In April 2013, Andrew was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He also appeared in the Oscar-winning film “Inside Job” in 2011.

Chair, GEFI Global Steering Group

Dame Susan Rice

With a career that spans medical research, leadership roles in higher education and then banking, Dame Susan chairs the Global Steering Group of GEFI (Global Ethical Finance Initiative). She also chairs the boards of Scottish Water, Business Stream, North American Income Trust.

The first woman to head a UK or European clearing bank as Chief Executive of Lloyds TSB Scotland plc, she was also a director of the Bank of England, Senior Independent Director of both J Sainsbury’s plc and SSE plc and lay member of Court at Edinburgh University. She was founding chair of Scotland’s Fiscal Commission, the country’s official, independent economic and fiscal forecaster and recently became a non-executive director on the board of the UK’s Office for Budget Responsibility.

Focused on the creation of long-term value in business and enterprise, she works with the UK’s Place-based Climate Action Network and previously led a business-focused collaboration on carbon reduction and a sustainable Scottish economy. A leading voice on ethics in finance, she chaired the Financial Services Culture Board and supported the Chartered Banker Institute by leading her industry to support the creation of professional standards for bankers. Susan also helped develop numerous social finance and impact investing entities in the US and the UK.

Alongside several honorary degrees and professional fellowships, Dame Susan is a Freeman of the City of London.

Senior Strategic Advisor, DDCAP Group

Dato’ Dr Mohamad Zabidi Ahmad

Dato’ Dr. Zabidi has worked in the banking industry for 38 years. He has amassed 19 years’ experience in Group Treasury product and functions (conventional & Islamic) including corporate (deposits, investment, client solutions), interbank, fixed income and derivatives, product development, structuring and marketing.

He previously served as the Senior Managing Director and Regional Head, Islamic Treasury, Treasury and Markets, Group Wholesale Banking, for CIMB Group. During that time he was responsible for the development of CIMB Group’s regional Islamic Treasury franchises, managing over RM 100 billion of Islamic assets for CIMB Group Islamic Banking. His country focused treasury remits included Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei and Thailand and for 5 years he was based in London as Chief Dealer. His innovations included the introduction of CIMB’s Islamic Repo contract.

Dato’ Dr. Zabidi held various additional executive management positions within the CIMB Group, including Chairman of Investment Account Oversight Committee (IAOC); Member of the Group Islamic Management Committee (GIBC), the Treasury & Market Committee (TMC) and the Group Islamic Wholesale Banking Committee (GIWBC). Dato’ Dr. Zabidi has been widely recognised for his leadership, with CIMB announced as “Best Islamic Bank for Treasury Management” at the IFN Awards in 2019.

Dato’ Dr. Zabidi previously participated in the Bursa Malaysia / Bank Negara Malaysia Working Group resulting in the formation of the Bursa Suq Al-Sila’ Commodity House and the Working Group resulting in the establishment of the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM). He served as a proactive Chairman of AIBIM Treasury & Markets, leading the CMTC Sukuk Index Task Force in the successful launch of the Sovereign & Corporate Bloomberg-AIBIM-Bursa Sukuk Index in September 2012. In 2018, under his leadership, AIBIM also published the practice notes for Qard Hassan and Commodity Murabaha for adoption by AIBIM members.

Dato’ Dr. Zabidi has presented papers on Islamic Treasury products to various Central Banks, including the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Bank Indonesia and Bank Negara Malaysia.

Amongst his academic and professional achievements Dato’ Dr. Zabidi holds a Doctorate in Business Administration from OYAGSB, UUM and is a Bachelor in Accountancy with Honours, UITM. A qualified Chartered Accountant, he is a practicing Member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA), a Certified Senior Financial Market Practitioner (CSMP) by ACI-Financial Market of Malaysia (FMAM) & The Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers (AICB), holds an Associate Qualification in Islamic Finance (AQIF) from Islamic Banking & Finance Institute Malaysia (IBFIM) and that of Senior Associate from the Chartered Institute of Islamic Finance (CIIF). Recently he was appointed as Industry Distinguished Research Fellow for the Institute of Sustainable, Growth and Urban Development of UUM (ISGUD) and a Member of the Investment Committee for International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS) Malaysia. He also serves as Adjunct Professor at Perdana University.

In 2020, Dato’ Dr. Zabidi completed the Oxford Leadership Executive Programme at Sa’id Business School at Oxford University and the ACI Online FX Global Code by ACI (The Financial Markets Association).

Head of Unit CI FISMA, European Commission

Sven Gentner

Sven Gentner is the head of unit for corporate reporting, audit and credit rating agencies in the European Commission’s directorate-general for financial stability, financial services and capital markets union.

Group Chief Shariah and Sustainability Officer, MBSB Group

Ashraf Gomma Ali

Academic/Professional Qualification

• Master’s in Islamic Finance Practice (MIFP), International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2014)
• Bachelor of Laws (LLB) in Shariah, Umm Al Qura University, Mecca, Saudi Arabia (2015)
• Bachelor of Science in Finance, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA (2005)
• SC Registered Shariah Advisor
• AAOIFI Certified Shariah Auditor and Advisor
• Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership Certificate, Cambridge University (2024)

Working Experience and Occupation

• Co-Founder/CFO, Sharia Compliant Blockchain Fintech Startup, Europe (Aug 2022 – July 2024)
• Consultant – Islamic Banking Expert, World Bank/IFC, Washington, DC (Feb 2022 – July 2024)
• Managing Director, Ihsan Advisory Sdn Bhd, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (April 2021 – July 2024)
• Research Associate and Standards Working Group Member, AAOIFI (Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions) (2019 – July 2024)
• Director and Regional Head, Shariah Advisory and Governance Department, CIMB Islamic Bank, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (April 2017 – 2021)
• Vice President, Shariah Assurance Manager, National Commercial Bank (NCB), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (2011 – April 2017)

Director, Head of Asia-Pacific Insights and Analysis, S&P Global Market Intelligence

Aries Poon

Aries oversees a team of economists and country-risk experts for S&P Global Market Intelligence.

His team provides comprehensive economic forecasts, country-risk scores, and geopolitical analyses on 48 economies across Asia-Pacific. Aries has published widely on a range of topics, from China’s banking system and energy sector to Asia-Pacific’s semiconductor industry and the global green bond market. He previously worked as the editorial lead, also at S&P Global Market Intelligence, overseeing the coverage of banking, insurance, financial services and real estate in the Asia-Pacific.

Before joining S&P Global in 2018, Aries had worked for the Wall Street Journal as the chief of its Hong Kong and Taipei newsrooms. He was also a finance editor at Caixin Global in Beijing. A Hong Kong native, Aries has a Master of Public Policy from the University of Oxford. He is also a lecturer for the Global Studies undergraduate program at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Amanda Zillig, Global Human Rights Program Lead, ING

Amanda Zillig

Amanda is the Global Human Rights Program Lead at ING Bank. In her role, Amanda leads the Business and Human Rights topic, overseeing ING’s comprehensive human rights program. This includes human rights reporting, advisory services for the business, and translating complex issues in alignment with the OECD guidelines for responsible business conduct and the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. She also contributes to the development of human rights policies within risk management. Additionally, Amanda is a key member of the Business Ethics team, providing expert advice on reputational risk. Her daily responsibilities involve continuous engagement with both internal and external stakeholders.

SE Asia Regional Lead for Green Finance and Carbon Pricing Mechanisms, UK FCDO

Charis Yeap

Charis Yeap is the SE Asia Regional Lead for Green Finance and Carbon Pricing Mechanisms with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), based out of the British High Commission in Singapore. Her scope includes the design and implementation of the regional strategy, as well as programme and policy activities that support the development of green financial systems and facilitating the financing of credible green and transition projects in Southeast Asia. She was previously the Economic Development Adviser at the British High Commission Kuala Lumpur delivering programmes and advising on policies regarding low carbon economy and regulatory diplomacy. Before that, she worked in research on innovation economics and transparency, as well as in charitable organisations in Malaysia and the UK.

Charis holds a MSc in Development Management from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Hult International Business School. She has also just completed a PhD in Economics at the Asia-Europe Institute, Universiti Malaya, on the topic of Industry 4.0 technological adoption.

Asia-Pacific Engagement Lead, TISFD

Bernadette Victorio

Bernadette Victorio is an international development and sustainable finance specialist with over fifteen years of experience leading multi-country programs and partnerships across Asia Pacific. She has worked with institutions such as the Asian Development Bank Institute, the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), and the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, focusing on sustainable and inclusive finance, business and human rights, and corporate accountability. As a strong advocate for gender equality and social justice, Bernadette is dedicated to amplifying women’s voices and leadership in shaping equitable financial systems. She currently leads Oxfam’s Fair Finance Asia program, a regional initiative spanning ten countries and over 90 civil society partners, driving sustainable finance and responsible cross-border investment.

Bernadette has lived and worked in the Philippines, Cambodia, Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand, with professional experience across Africa, Latin America, and the Pacific. She holds a Master’s degree in International Development from the International University of Japan.

First Vice President & Head, Sustainability Office, BDO Unibank Inc.

Marla Garin-Alvarez

Marla drives the execution of the BDO Sustainability Strategies and ESG Governance with oversight on sustainable finance transition and sustainability advisory across the BDO Group that includes three banks and 24 companies. She leads the team that produces the Bank’s annual Sustainability Report aligned with global reporting standards, collaborates with external partners on strategic sustainability projects supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and represents BDO in external forums.

Marla was former Global Diversity & Inclusion Lead for Thomson Reuters, and held senior corporate communication roles at Intel Corporation and San Miguel Corporation. She is an experienced international speaker on sustainability, sustainability reporting, gender, and diversity and inclusion. She is currently a member of the Asia Regional Council of the Taskforce on Inequality and Social-related Financial Disclosures (TISFD), as well as a member of the Advisory Group of the Global Capacity Building Coalition (GCBC), the global convening body for climate finance capacity-building launched at COP 28. She served for two years as a member of the Advisory Board for the Asia Risk Conference, was a founding member of the Women Inter-industry Network (WIN), and the Philippine Financial Inter-industry Pride (PFIP), and former Board member of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Philippines.

Regional Secretary for Southeast Asia, IndustriALL

Ramon Certeza

Director, Global Inclusion, CFA Institute

Lauran Halpin

Lauran has long been passionate, both in her role as an investor and in private life, in sustainability, social issues, and making an impact in her community. Lauran is the former Head of Impact Equities at Martin Currie and lead a newly established investment capability for the business bringing together all her experience and passion for sustainability and impact. Before joining Martin Currie, Lauran was a member of the portfolio construction group managing ESG-related products at Franklin Templeton Global Equity Group including the Templeton Global Climate Change Fund.

Lauran has nearly 20 years of investment experience beginning her career in 2007 at Baillie Gifford where she was Global Healthcare Analyst and managed the Glenfinlas Global Healthcare Fund. Lauran continued her research of the Global Healthcare sector when she joined Edinburgh Partners as an Investment Manager in 2013 and also co-managed a number of EAFE accounts. With an M.Sc. in Ecological Economics from University of Edinburgh (2005) and a B.S.in Biology from Davidson College (2003), Lauran spends her spare time enjoying outdoor life in the Highlands with her two dogs.

Director of Sustainability, Marketing and Communications,, Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers (AICB)

Shireen Kandiah

Shireen spearheads the Institute’s thought leadership initiatives and research publications, as well as its strategic partnership and communication initiatives.

Her professional experience spans CRM Strategy, Branding and Capital Markets. Prior to joining AICB, Shireen worked in Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) in the areas of international regulatory standards and capacity building. She has also worked in international advertising agencies and business conglomerates based in Kuala Lumpur and Dubai.

Shireen graduated from the University of Kent, UK with a LL.B. (Hons) in Law.

Managing Director, GEFI

Omar Shaikh

Omar is the Managing Director of the Global Ethical Finance Initiative (GEFI) and Board Member of the UK Islamic Finance Council (UKIFC)

A Chartered Accountant by profession, he specialises in ethical/responsible finance, Islamic finance, and private equity. He has extensive experience in financial services and has advised multiple governments and regulators on ecosystem building as a leading advocate for sustainable and Islamic finance. His background includes working with EY London, where he qualified as a CA and was the former Head of Islamic finance.

Through his GEFI work, Omar has established a number of initiatives, including the Path to COP, the SDG Financial Products platform with UNDP, which promotes innovative financing structures for the SDGs, the Global Islamic Finance and UN SDGs Taskforce launched with the UK Government and IsDB, and the award-winning interfaith Edinburgh Finance Declaration—the world’s first shared values approach to finance between Islamic finance and the Church. He also served on the Board of the University of Oxford Faith-Aligned Impact Finance Project

Omar received a BAcc and a PhD from the University of Glasgow along with an Honorary Doctorate from Heriot-Watt University conferred for his work in developing ethical finance. Beyond finance, he is actively involved with Colourful Heritage which works with Glasgow Museums to preserve and celebrate South Asian heritage in Scotland, The King’s Trust Scotland and Olivewood Primary School.

GCC Programme Lead

Dalia Aboulenein

Chief Customer Officer

Andy Homer

Andy Homer joined Gatehouse Bank in June 2018 as Director of Communications and was appointed Chief Customer Officer in August 2021. Prior to this, Andy led the external communications team at Aldermore Bank, where he was responsible for establishing and managing the Bank’s corporate communications programme including its successful IPO and subsequent acquisition by FirstRand, South Africa’s largest bank. Andy has over 25 years’ experience in financial services and has held senior communications roles at a number of household names including NatWest, Alliance & Leicester, Santander and HSBC.