Key Note Speakers

​H.E. Dr. Obaid Saif Hamad Al Zaabi is the Chief Executive Officer of Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) and has over 28 years of work experience in financial legislation, accounting, banking, finance and investment, and Shari'ah-compliant finance from many leading financial institutions in the United Arab Emirates, such as the U.A.E. Central Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, Amlak Finance, and the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA). He has been working with SCA since year 2008 and has handled various roles and responsibilities and various challenging assignments.

 

Dr. Al Zaabi earned his PhD in Banking & Finance from Durham University, UK in 2006 and a distinction in his MBA from (AASTM-ALO) in 2000. He graduated from the UAE University in 1989 with a BSc. in Business & Accounting. Mr. Al Zaabi is also a full member of the Australian Institute of CMA, the Auditing & Accounting Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (CIPA) and the UAE Auditors and Accountants Association. He represents the Gulf Regulatory Authorities in the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) as member of the Consultative Advisory Groups of the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) as well as the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA). Mr. Al Zaabi is a member of the board of directors of the GCC Accounting and Auditing Organization (GCAAO).

 

He has been accorded with various awards and recognition including "Middle East Financial Markets Excellence Award" by The Middle East Excellence Awards Institute, 2016 and "Distinguished Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) in the Financial Sector" award offered by the British Magazine "Finance Monthly", 2016. Dr. Al Zaabi has also delivered a series of keynote lectures and courses to both undergraduate and post-graduate students at Sharjah University and the British University in Dubai.

​Ali Kutan is a Distinguished Research Professor of Economics and Finance at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, an associate member of the Emerging Market Group (EMG), Cass Business School, London, a research fellow at the William Davidson Institute (WDI), University of Michigan Business School, and a senior fellow at the Center for European Integration Studies (ZEI), University of Bonn, Germany. His research interests include applied international finance, financial markets and institutions, and financial aspects of economic development. His recent work focuses on the transition economies of the Central and East Europe, China, Turkey, the EU and the U.S. His recent research topics include the determination of asset prices in emerging markets, the monetary aspects of the enlargement of the European Union, and the impact of IMF actions on emerging markets.