Following a successful inaugural edition, Ethical Finance GCC returns to Dubai convening a senior audience of finance professionals and policy markets to discuss how the GCC navigate the imperatives of resilience and sustainability.
The Summit will centre on three defining topics shaping the financial agenda:
Resilience: The Economics of Disruption, Uncertainty and a Fracturing World
- What does a resilient GCC economy look like in an era of heightened uncertainty?
- How geopolitical fragmentation, energy and resource security are redefining risk, redirecting capital and reshaping economic priorities?
Sustainability: Trends and Tensions
- Is sustainability losing ground to resilience or is the agenda evolving?
- What is the changing trajectory of sustainable finance and emerging trends?
- Do resilience and sustainability represent competing priorities or a shared ambition for long-term prosperity?
Rewriting the Market Agenda: Purpose in Practice
- Looking back to chart the way forward: How Smith and Ibn Khaldoun will navigate today’s economic realities?
- From the Future Finance week to COP31 and the UN Water conference
Senior representatives from across finance
Open, frank and challenging discussions
Ample networking opportunities
For the first time, Ethical Finance GCC is by invite-only, with attendance offered through a register of interest process.
Registration starts at 09:00. Sessions start at 09:30
Speakers
H.E. Maher Al Kaabi
Sasja Beslik
Alya Al Zarouni
Tara Schmidt
Sebastian Frederiks
Dr Mohamed Damak
Vijay Bains
Lina Abou Diab
Naveen Raza
Omar Shaikh
Advisor to the Group Chairman of Al Serkal Group of Companies
H.E. Maher Al Kaabi
H.E. Maher Al Kaabi, a visionary leader and a seasoned banker with over 30 years of experience in the Banking, IT industry and Family Business. He has extensive expertise in Board Membership, Islamic Banking, Wholesales & Consumer Banking, Risk Management, Finance, Operation & Technology, Sales & Distribution and Business Development. Serves in various boards of companies and is actively involved in various startup companies and is a co-founder of Blink.
Currently, he is an advisor to the Group Chairman of Al Serkal Group of Companies (165+ year old family) and serves as an Independent Board Member. His expertise lies in devising impact and commercial strategies, working with government leaders and private sectors.
Works extensively with various ministries in future technologies, circular economy, and sustainability of family businesses by training NextGen on Venture Studio Module. On the advisory board of UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment and other entities.
He is on the Board of Director / Advisory Board:
– UAE Ministry of Economy – Circular Economy Committee
– UAE International Investors Council
– Middle East Energy
– MENA Power Projects
– MIT Sloan CIO Council
– Cybersecurity – CYSEC Global
– The Optimisation Hub
– Chairperson – Copperstone Education
– Impact Investing Solutions (based in Switzerland)
– Impact Boards Emerging Markets (based in UK)
– Messe Frankfurt GmbH (Smart Building)
– CARE (of Sustainability) by Trescon
He has worked at Citigroup for 15 years where he has assumed various senior roles both locally and internationally. Post that he worked as the Chief Risk Officer at Dubai Bank. And then as Group Head of Islamic Banking at Emirates NBD and served as Group Head Chief Operating Officer for Group Wholesale Banking. In addition, he has been honored with numerous Global Awards.
He is currently pursuing his doctorate in the field of AI driven sustainability.
Chief Investment Strategy Officer, SDG Impact Japan
Sasja Beslik
Sasja Beslik is a preeminent voice in Nordic and global climate finance, recognized as the world’s most influential person in green finance in 2020. Over a distinguished career at Nordea, Bank J. Safra Sarasin, and PFA, he has been a primary architect of the Nordic region’s shift toward sustainable investment. As the former Head of Sustainable Finance at Nordea, he launched the “Stars Fund”—the first sustainable fund to be named Sweden’s best overall equity fund—proving that climate-aligned portfolios can outperform traditional benchmarks.
With over 20 years of experience, Sasja has helped catalyze the rise of ESG investing globally. He was knighted by HRM King of Sweden for extraordinary service in the field of sustainability and investments was a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. He further shapes global standards through his service on various boards and international committees, including the UNPRI Steering Committee, the UNEP Water Working Group, and the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC).
A prolific author and thought leader, Sasja provides critical insights into the low-carbon transition through his books, such as Where the Money Tree Grows, and his influential weekly newsletter, ESG on a Sunday.
A graduate of Stockholm University in economics and journalism, he remains at the forefront of the dialogue on the future of climate-aligned capital.
Chief Operating Officer, DIFC Authority
Alya Al Zarouni
As the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the DIFC Authority (DIFCA), Alya is responsible for setting the strategic direction of DIFCA’s operations and client experience. She brings more than 20 years of experience in developing and delivering technology-driven business services and solutions, providing outstanding client service, and driving internal efficiency through policy, process and digital transformation. Prior to her appointment as the COO, Alya assumed multiple roles across different functions in DIFCA and has led the transformation of DIFC services since 2010.
Alya was appointed as Board Member of the World Alliance of International Financial Centers (WAIFC) in 2023, an association registered in Belgium representing 19 leading international financial centres across four continents.
She has also been serving as a board member of Hawkamah: The Institute for Corporate Governance for over three years and led the DIFC Academy since its inception until 2022.
In terms of her education, Alya was at the top of her class and earned both her BSc in Computer Science and MBA from the American University of Sharjah. She has an LLM in International Business Law from the University of Paris II Pantheon Assas (Magna Cum Laude). She is a graduate of the prestigious Mohammed bin Rashid Center for Leadership Development, completing both the Young Leaders Programme and the Dubai Leaders Programme.
Senior Advisor, GEFI
Tara Schmidt
Sustainable Banking technical expert and practitioner, advising financial institutions, corporates, governments and regulators. Strategic leader in the development of international frameworks in climate-related
financial risk & transition finance. Former Managing Director of Sustainability & Climate Strategy at Lloyds Banking Group & Global Consulting Partner at ERM.
Head of Wholesale Banking, UAE, ING
Sebastian Frederiks
Sebastian Frederiks is the Head of Wholesale Banking Middle East for ING. Sebastian has nearly 20 years’ experience in financial institutions, 14 years of which have been spent in the Middle East. He joined ING in 2018 to lead its Financial Institutions business in the Middle East. Before that, he worked at Standard Chartered Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Al Hilal Bank.
Managing Director, Global Head of Islamic Finance MEA, S&P Global Ratings
Dr Mohamed Damak
Dr. Mohamed Damak is the Managing Director and Global Head of Islamic Finance at S&P Global Ratings, guiding the firm’s approach to Islamic finance in the Middle East and Africa. With over 20 years in the financial sector, he provides insights into Islamic banking, sukuk markets, and Shariah-compliant instruments. Before re-joining S&P Global Ratings, Mohamed worked as a Principal Credit Risk Officer for the African Development Bank in Tunis.
He holds a PhD in Finance and Master in “Money, Banking and Finance” from the University of Paris 2, Pantheon Assas and a Master degree in Financial Institutions Management from Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Tunis.
Dr. Damak has authored numerous reports on the sector’s growth and challenges and is a sought-after speaker at international conferences and contributes regularly to discussions on the integration of Islamic finance into the global financial system.
Group Head ESG, Emirates NBD
Vijay Bains
Vijay is the first-ever Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO), Group Head of ESG at Emirates NBD Bank, Head Office.
Prior to joining ENBD, Vijay was at KPMG in the UK where he has worked across Sustainability, advising client on Sustainable Finance, ESG Strategy, ESG Regulations. He has held roles across other leading organizations like Ernst and Young, Lloyds Banking Group and the European Bank of Reconstruction & Development.
Vijay has extensive experience building and implementing ESG strategies and teams. He has designed and marketed sustainability loans and green bonds, while advising on sustainability for IPOs, as well as designing and building ESG finance products such as mortgages, loans, and insurances
Vijay brings over 15+ years of sustainability experience to the role across the Middle East, UK, Europe, and North America. Vijay is responsible for the end-to-end ESG strategy including the introduction of more sustainable practices, policies, and outcomes across Emirates NBD Group.
He is not only responsible to increase the Bank’s sustainable finance offerings, investments, provide customers with greater advisory services to support their net-zero transition but also be responsible for the Corporate Governance requirements too. Vijay will significantly increase Emirates NBD Bank’s sustainability investments across the organization.
EMEA Sustainable Debt Team Leader. Bloomberg
Lina Abou Diab
Lina Abou Diab is the EMEA Sustainable Debt Team Leader at Bloomberg LP, where she plays a key role in advancing sustainable finance initiatives and market transparency across the region. With over a decade of experience at Bloomberg, including previous roles in company fundamentals and ESG analysis, she brings deep expertise in financial data, capital markets, and sustainability trends across emerging economies.
Lina holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the American University of Beirut and is recognised for her thought leadership on the evolving landscape of sustainable finance in the Gulf and broader EMEA markets.
Net Zero Transition and Partnerships, HSBC
Naveen Raza
Naveen is a banking professional with over 18 years of experience. Her early career started in Islamic Finance with HSBC Amanah, since then she has worked in various roles at HSBC in the UK and UAE including Private Banking & Wealth Management, Strategy & Planning, Streamlining & Process Excellence. She also has extensive experience in Project Managementand ESG. Recently Naveen was the Head of Sustainability & Financial Inclusion for Wealth & Personal Banking HSBC EMEA.
She is now looking after Net Zero Transition & Partnerships in the HSBC MENAT Sustainability Centre of Excellence which includes working on customer’s transitions plans as well as developing HSBC’s external sustainability and philanthropic partnerships.
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.
Partners:
Interested in Partnership Opportunities?
There are an exciting range of partnership opportunities at Ethical Finance GCC 2026 and to work with GEFI throughout a range of regional and international events and strategic campaigns.
For details, please contact dalia@globalethicalfinance.org
Back by popular demand, GEFI’s practitioner-led executive programme, the Islamic Sustainable Finance Masterclass returns, equipping finance professionals across ethical, sustainable and Islamic finance with the knowledge and tools to challenge assumptions, explore emerging issues and build the capabilities needed to shape tomorrow’s markets.
Supporting the DIFC 1 million sustainability leaders initiative, the programme will provide a solid grounding in Islamic and sustainable finance, practical insights and contextual knowledge of mainstream sustainable finance.
Sunday 1st, Monday 2nd, Tuesday 3rd November 2026 | Heriot-Watt University, Dubai
