Dr Christopher Whittle is a senior advisor in ESG, enterprise risk management and governance, with more than 30 years of executive and advisory experience across Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Indian subcontinent. He advises boards, audit and risk committees, and senior leadership teams on strengthening governance structures, risk maturity, ESG reporting and sustainability oversight.

Christopher has held senior leadership and advisory roles across public and private sector organisations, including executive roles in diversified investment, asset finance and corporate risk environments. His earlier experience includes senior credit and risk roles with Nedbank and Absa, where he worked on corporate lending, project finance and public sector risk assessment.

He holds a PhD in Management and Governance, an MBA, and postgraduate qualifications in Political Science. He is a GRI Certified Sustainability Professional and an Associate Member of the Institute of Risk Management South Africa.

Marwan AlKhouli is a senior banking, governance and transformation advisor with more than 30 years of leadership experience across the GCC and Middle East. His expertise spans banking operations, digital transformation, governance, risk management, internal controls, compliance, operational excellence and board advisory.

He has held senior executive and board-level roles across leading financial institutions, including Deputy CEO, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Business Officer, Group Chief Audit Executive and Board Member positions. His experience includes leading enterprise-wide banking transformation, centralised operations models, digital banking initiatives, payment platforms, customer onboarding, internal audit transformation and COSO-based control frameworks.

Marwan holds an MBA in Accounting and a BA in Accounting from the University of Jordan. He is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified Risk Professional, Certified Risk Analyst, Certified Internal Control Auditor, Certified Project Manager and Fellow Governance Practitioner, with additional credentials in ESG and people management.

Abdullah Ali AlMakrami is a senior assurance, finance transformation and governance advisor with extensive experience supporting boards, audit committees and executive management across Saudi Arabia and international markets. His expertise spans audit and assurance, financial reporting, IPO readiness, finance transformation, governance, enterprise risk management, regulatory compliance and business strategy.

He has held senior leadership roles in professional services and was formerly a Partner in Assurance Services at EY, where he led complex audits for large listed and IPO-stage organisations, advised on financial and regulatory risks, and supported quality management, digital transformation and data analytics initiatives. His sector experience includes banking, retail, mining, healthcare, asset management, transportation, manufacturing and contracting.

Abdullah holds a Master’s Degree in Accounting and Finance from Boston College Carroll School of Management and a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and Finance from The American University in Cairo. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a SOCPA-certified professional.

Imran Sadiq is a senior strategy, governance, resilience and technology advisor with more than 20 years of experience supporting boards, executive leadership teams and regulated institutions across the GCC. His expertise spans corporate strategy, enterprise risk management, organisational resilience, business continuity, cyber governance, internal audit, transformation assurance and technology-enabled GRC.

He has held senior leadership roles across sovereign wealth, investment, and professional services environments, including Director of Risk Management & Resilience at ADQ, Head of Risk Management & Business Continuity at Oman Investment Authority, and Risk Services Leader for Qatar and Oman at PwC Middle East.

Imran holds a Doctorate in Business Administration with a focus on Organisational Resilience, a Master’s degree in Information Technology, and completed the Leadership Program for Directors at INSEAD. He is also a Certified Information Systems Auditor, Certified Information Security Manager, Certified ISO 31000 Risk Professional, and ISO 22301-certified business continuity professional.

Saad Bin Tariq is a governance, risk, resilience and digital solutions leader with more than 20 years of experience across sovereign wealth, real estate, retail, professional services and public sector environments. His expertise spans enterprise risk management, business continuity, internal audit, cyber risk, data analytics, GRC platforms, ERP controls, continuous control monitoring and risk quantification.

He has held senior roles across leading organisations including ADQ, Emaar Properties, Majid Al Futtaim Retail and PwC. His experience includes leading risk and BCM programmes for large investment portfolios, implementing Archer and Oracle Fusion GRC platforms, developing cyber and operational risk assessments, and using data analytics, automation and dashboards to strengthen governance and oversight.

Saad is an ACCA professional and holds a BSc in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes University. He is also a Certified Information Systems Auditor, with certifications across ISO 31000, ISO 22301, ISO 27001 and ISO 42001, supported by additional credentials in cyber risk, cloud security, blockchain and Power BI.

Dr Amine El Haimar is a quantitative risk and scenario modelling specialist with deep experience in advanced risk analytics, stress testing, probabilistic modelling and model risk governance. His expertise supports enterprise risk management, portfolio decision-making, capital planning and scenario intelligence for complex financial and investment environments.

He has held senior quantitative risk and model validation roles across leading global financial institutions and sovereign investment environments, including ADQ, Credit Suisse, UBS and BNY Mellon. His experience includes investment banking stress testing, PPNR model development and validation, Value-at-Risk analytics, stochastic modelling, model risk management and quantitative decision support.

Amine holds a PhD and Master’s degree in Operations Research from The George Washington University, and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and Industrial Management from Al Akhawayn University.

Waqas Haseeb is a senior cyber, IT governance, risk and assurance advisor with more than 19 years of experience across Pakistan, the GCC, Egypt and South Africa. His expertise spans cyber governance, IT GRC, privacy and data protection, AI governance, technology risk, internal and external audit support, third-party assurance, regulatory audits and transformation advisory.

He has held senior advisory and leadership roles across Big Four and industry environments, including EY, PwC, KPMG, Deloitte and Engro. His experience covers financial institutions, regulatory bodies, commodity markets, FMCG, petroleum, trading and manufacturing sectors, with a strong focus on technology assurance, cyber risk, IT audit, GRC implementation, infrastructure project assurance and emerging technology risk.

Waqas is a Certified Internal Auditor and Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control. He also holds multiple senior PECB credentials across ISO 27001, ISO 22301, ISO 31000 and ISO 42001, covering information security, business continuity, risk management and AI management systems.

Uzair Aman is a governance, risk and compliance advisor with more than a decade of experience across the GCC and Pakistan. His expertise spans enterprise risk management, corporate governance, internal controls, ICFR, compliance risk management, business continuity, process documentation, risk and control matrices, and GRC technology enablement.

He has supported boards, audit committees and executive leadership teams on the design and implementation of practical GRC frameworks, delegation of authority structures, risk taxonomies, risk appetite models, control testing programmes and remediation tracking mechanisms. His experience includes advisory and assurance roles with Falconry Solutions, PwC, PwC Middle East, Bank of Khyber and RSM, covering financial services, public sector, infrastructure, insurance, energy, real estate and not-for-profit organisations.

Uzair is an Associate Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan.

Muhammad Kakira is a project management and financial analysis professional with experience across consulting delivery, banking, financial reporting, budgeting, project operations and business analysis. His expertise spans project coordination, stakeholder follow-up, financial forecasting, performance monitoring, regulatory reporting and operational administration.

He has supported project delivery and business operations across Oman and international markets, with experience in banking, consulting, digital services, financial analysis and project supervision. His earlier experience includes roles with Jaiz Bank, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mazars and Muscat Securities Market, covering financial reporting, banking sector analysis, regulatory reporting, valuation support and business research.

Muhammad holds a Master of Science in Finance from Peking University HSBC Business School and a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting. He is also a PhD candidate in Logistics, Materials and Supply Chain Management at Aston University, with certifications in SAP financial accounting and SAP project management.

Fatima Naseem is a strategy, communication and brand professional with experience across oil and gas, e-commerce, textiles and fashion, FMCG, media and the development sector. Her expertise spans brand strategy, strategic communications, stakeholder engagement, ESG communications, CSR, digital marketing, partnership support, proposal narratives and creative content development.

She has worked with leading organisations including Pakistan Refinery Limited, Daraz, Artistic Milliners, Hilal Foods, British Council, USAID and Deloitte, supporting executive communications, annual reports, media engagement, stakeholder campaigns, sustainability initiatives and brand positioning. Her work focuses on translating complex business, governance, resilience and sustainability themes into clear, structured and compelling narratives for clients, partners and wider stakeholders.

Fatima holds an MBA from the Institute of Business Management and a BSc in Social Development and Policy from Habib University. She has also completed the McKinsey Forward Program and holds certifications in ESG and digital marketing.

Arvind Kumar Umedani is an assurance and advisory professional with more than a decade of experience in financial audits, reporting and special assurance assignments. His expertise spans external audit, IFRS reporting, International Standards on Auditing, regulatory reporting, audit planning, engagement execution, audit quality and client coordination.

He has worked with leading professional services firms including EY and KPMG, supporting full-scope audits and reporting engagements across diverse sectors. His experience includes designing audit approaches, supervising engagement teams, reviewing audit documentation, preparing audit reports and supporting clients in meeting financial reporting and regulatory requirements.

Arvind is an ACCA Member and a CA Finalist from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan. He brings strong technical grounding in audit methodology, financial reporting and assurance delivery, with a practical focus on quality, timelines and stakeholder management.

Scott Whittlesea is an investment risk and compliance technology advisor with more than 20 years of experience across asset management, sovereign wealth and institutional investment environments in the UK, Europe and the Middle East. His expertise spans investment risk analytics, portfolio risk reporting, public markets oversight, liquidity risk, investment compliance, guideline coding and risk system implementation.

He has held investment risk and consulting roles across leading institutions including Oman Investment Authority, Wisayah Investment Company, Mirabaud Group and Schroders, and has supported major asset managers on risk and compliance platform implementation. His experience includes multi-asset and multi-region portfolio reporting, compliance limit monitoring, investment guideline coding, data analysis, testing and implementation of systems including Aladdin, Bloomberg AIM, Sentinel and SimCorp.

Scott holds a Master’s degree in Physics from the University of Bristol and the Investment Management Certificate from CFA UK.