Dr. Debashis

Global Leader in Open Banking,
Generative AI, Data Strategy,
and Risk Analytics

Bio: Dr. Debashis is a globally renowned expert in Open Banking, Generative AI, and Risk Analytics, with over 29 years of international experience across Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, India, Dubai, the US, and the UK. He has held leadership roles at KPMG, Ernst & Young, Tata Consultancy Services, Qatar National Bank, and Bank AlJazira, driving transformative projects in financial services.

He holds a Ph.D. in Risk Analytics and certifications including AWS Certified Machine Learning Specialist, AWS Solution Architect Professional, Google Cloud Professional Machine Learning Engineer, Google Cloud Professional Solution Architect, SAS Certification, Project Management Professional (PMP), and PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP) Charter Holder.

Dr. Debashis is a leader in leveraging AI, data strategy, and regulatory compliance to drive Open Banking innovations and reshape global financial ecosystems.

Mr. Rizwan Ahmed

Head of Business Excellence
First Abu Dhabi Bank KSA

Bio: Mr. Rizwan Ahmed is a seasoned professional with 24+ years of elaborated experience as a Change leader, having domain expertise in Strategy, Business Excellence, Digital transformation & Customer Experience (CX).

He led multiple program and initiatives delivering high-value business transformation to different organizations across the globe. His major focus on aligning people, processes and technology to business goals that promote operational excellence, talent retention and profitable growth.

As a trusted business partner, Mr. Rizwan has a proven track record of delivering innovative, cost-effective digital solutions to support the business he serves.

Currently, working as Head of Business Excellence for First Abu Dhabi bank KSA, responsible for formulating the strategic direction for Bank while ensuring all products, technologies and services are aligned with the strategic direction. In his previous roles, he gained expertise in business & change management for financial institutions including operational excellence, technology transformation, skills & capability development in Asia, Middle East and Europe.

He is educated to master’s degree in business administration along with completing leadership focused program from University of Pennsylvania

Mr. Ladle Patel

Senior Advisor
Arab National Bank

Bio: Ladle Patel is a visionary leader and Senior Advisor in the Advanced Analytics team at Arab National Bank (ANB), Riyadh, reporting to the Chief Data Officer. With over 12 years of experience in Data Science, Machine Learning, MLOps, and Generative AI, he specializes in aligning AI initiatives with business strategies to drive transformational impact. Ladle is known for his ability to map business challenges to AI solutions, enhance organizational capabilities, and foster cross-functional collaboration, delivering AI-driven value across finance, pharma, and retail sectors. As a frequent industry speaker, he shares valuable insights on AI transformation and the future of AI in business.

Mr. Karim El Mourabet

Head of Solution Consulting for Middle East and Africa
Finastra

Bio: Karim El Mourabet leads the Retail Banking Solution Consulting team at Finastra, focusing on the Middle East and Africa. With over 15 years of experience in retail banking software and digital transformation, he has been instrumental in establishing multiple digital banks in the region.

Before his current role, Karim led the Innovation Services for Finastra’s Global Services team, where he worked on Next Gen service offerings. He holds a Master of Science in Project Management and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the American University of Beirut.

Mr. Abbasi Poonawala

Director, Enterprise Architecture
Alinma Bank

Bio: Abbasi is a highly motivated and passionate Enterprise Architect with a wealth of in depth business and technology experience in BFSI working over two and half decades. He has specialized in leading Enterprise Architecture design, Digital Transformation Programmed, SOA, BPM, PCM/ECM.

Today, he is instrumental in leading the enterprise architecture at young and innovative Bank in KSA (Alinma Bank).

Mr. Ali Alqaraawi

Chief Operating Officer
Aljazira Capital

Bio: Ali Alqaraawi, a seasoned professional with over two decades of experience, currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Aljazira Capital. His extensive background spans various sectors, including distinguished roles at Saudi Aramco and other private enterprises, focusing on digital technology, operations, business development, and project management. Holding a Master's Degree in Business Administration from Hong Kong University and a Bachelor's Degree in Software Engineering from KFUPM, Mr. Alqaraawi brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to his current position.

Mr. Muath AlHomoud

Director of Cybersecurity
D360 Bank

Bio: Awarded “CISO of the Year” and recognized on the “CISO Powerlist,” Muath is an accomplished Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), and Certified Ethical Hacker. With over 15 years of expertise, Muath has consistently led technology and operational transformations in highly regulated environments, ensuring the security of business-critical information and assets. Managing budgets exceeding 56M SAR, Muath excels in aligning cybersecurity strategies with business objectives, leveraging Agile methodologies, and driving Digital Transformation initiatives such as Robotics Process Automation. Known for their leadership, Muath is passionate about facilitating rapid technological change to secure significant business value.

Mr. Ismael Mohamed

Open Banking Expert

Bio: Ismael Mohamed is a seasoned Canadian professional with over 26 years of experience in banking, telecom, and digital transformation, specializing in Open Banking. He has held pivotal roles in operational management, service delivery, and agile methodologies, dedicating more than a decade to the digital banking sector.

Ismael holds an MBA from Royal Roads University, specializing in Management Consulting, and is a Chartered Manager (CMgr.) from the Canadian Institute of Management. His expertise in Agile Methodology and cultural transformation empowers organizations to embrace iterative development and respond swiftly to changes.

As a sought-after speaker, Ismael shares valuable insights on Open Banking, Digital Transformation, Scrum, and Agile Implementation. His commitment to knowledge sharing is demonstrated through his lecturing at the Arab Open University and his pro bono work teaching the Scrum Master Course, where he has trained over 350 professionals in the past four years, advancing the Scrum Framework in the industry.

Ms. Khawlah Al-Babtain

Open Banking
Business Development Manager
Riyad Bank

Bio: Khawlah Al-Babtain earned her IT degree from King Saud University. She has over six years of experience in the banking industry, where she worked on building, enhancing, and maintaining Riyad Bank network infrastructure. She also provided the best practices that would fit the organization's needs. Khawlah has tremendous experience in implementing the open banking framework in Riyad Bank and identifying the business opportunities that would increase the value of open banking.

Mr. Kannan Rasappan

Chief Executive Officer
Banfico

Bio: Open Banking expert who has worked & advised leading financial institutions in the UK - RBS, HSBC, WorldPay, Lloyds Banking Group. An active participant at various working groups on Open Banking and speaker at various conferences. Currently serving as Advisor to Berlin Group's NextGenPSD2 standards - EU's most widely used API specification.

CEO & founder of Banfico, who is helping banks to get Open Banking compliant & promoting innovation by providing consulting & implementation services.

A strong advocate of Open Standards and expert in identity & security. Come from a highly technical background with 20 years of experience & is a hands-on solution architect. Graduate in Applied Mathematics

Dr. Ahmed Darwish

Head of Digital Delivery, >Bank AlBilad

Bio: When organizations are struggling to manage their digital transformation and portfolio, Ahmed Darwish is one of the few in the middle east to consult for outstanding results. With over 28 years of experience working for IBM, Fujitsu, Siemens, Al Rajhi, Alinma, and Al Bilad Bank, accompanied with track record of services, products, projects, and portfolio management, Ahmed can lead organizations into success.

Ahmed is the author of the Service Management approach "SLAStand" (2005), PMO Transformation process "PMOTrans" (2014) and the Digital Delivery process "RASHEEQ" (2019) developed for Fujitsu, Saudi Fransi Capital and Bank Albilad, respectively. PMI nominated him as the chairperson of the translation of PMBOK© 5th edition and a reviewer of the PMP® Exams.

Ahmed is holding a Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA) degree in Digital Government from Newcastle University Business School (NUBS) and Grenoble Ecole De Management (GEM). He is also holding a master degree in Computer Engineering and BSC in Electronics and Communications Engineering from Cairo University (1999 and 1992 respectively.) For over 16 years, Ahmed has enriched the knowledge of the professional community in over one hundred events as a public speaker in Digital Transformation, Digital Payments, PMO transformation, PMP®/Project Management, and Soft Skills.

Mr. Fahad AlJuwaidi

Country CEO, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB)

Bio: Fahad Aljuwaidi is the Country CEO in Saudi Arabia at First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the UAE's largest bank. Fahad is also the Chairman of the Foreign Banks’ Committee and Board member at FAB Capital.

Fahad has over 20 years of international work experience in the financial services industry and in management consulting. In his role at FAB, Fahad has the responsibility for leading and growing our KSA franchise; retail, private, corporate, and investment banking. With a focus on growth, Fahad has led the enhancement of the operating model in KSA. Fahad has also been instrumental in addressing regulatory compliance and requirements.

Prior to joining FAB, Fahad held several senior positions throughout his career, such as, at The World Bank and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in the United States and France, Riyad Bank, and Al Rajhi Takaful.

Fahad has graduated from The George Washington University with two graduate degrees and an undergraduate degree from the American University in Washington, DC. Fahad has also attended several executive management programs, such as, at Harvard University and Stanford.

Fahad has lived in the US and Europe for over 20 years.

Mr. Osama Ben Saleh Bukhari

Group CEO
Executive Committee Member Al-Faris International Group

Bio: Osama is an entrepreneur that leads several initiatives and businesses in Saudi Arabia as well as globally under Alfaris International Group. He embarked upon his career in the banking sector where he gained valuable experience across a span of almost two decades, then opting to shift his focus on expanding his family businesses since 2014. Ranging from education to medical services, retail businesses, and most importantly, information technology.

Since 2012, Osama has held the role of the head of the Banking Commission under the International Chamber of Commerce, where he represents ICC Saudi Arabia in global events and regularly appears on CNBC Arabia addressing the financial sector developments.

In addition, Osama is a member of the executive committee of the Saudi Uzbek business council. Osama has been recognized by Arabian Business as one of “50 People You need to Know in KSA”

Mr. Wael Fattouh

VP Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)
Bank Aljazira

Bio: Wael Fattouh is a seasoned cybersecurity expert with over two decades of experience managing information security and technology risk for organizations across various industries. He has served as the VP and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Bank Al Jazira in Saudi Arabia since 2020. In this role, he manages five enterprise information security divisions, including governance risk and compliance (GRC), cyber resilience, security architecture, digital fraud, and data governance and privacy. Prior to his role at Bank Al Jazira, Wael worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for 15 years. At PwC, he served in various leadership roles including Middle East cybersecurity Partner, and managed multimillion-dollar projects for global clients across multiple countries and industry sectors. During his career Wael was part of and lead many transformative and innovative projects that defined and shaped the security and technology vision and future of the organizations he worked with.

Mr. Abdulelah Aloshayni

Advisor
Saudi Central Bank

Bio: Abdulelah Aloshayni is a seasoned advisor in digital transformation and technology spaces with over 13 years of extensive experience in helping businesses integrate digital technology into their strategies, operations and processes. With a passion for breaking down silos and streamlining customer journeys, Abdulelah has successfully guided numerous organizations through the challenging process of digital transformation and technology implementations.

Abdulelah earned an executive MBA , providing him with a deep understanding of business strategy , Financial implications and operations. This knowledge, combined with his expertise in technology, has allowed him to develop innovative solutions that drive increased efficiency and profitability.

Throughout his career, Abdulelah has worked with companies of all sizes and across a wide range of industries, from healthcare to insurance to Financial Services to Aviation to Insurance and transportation . His approach is always tailored to meet the specific needs and goals of each stakeholders , ensuring that they achieve their desired outcomes which led Ministry Of Transport to accomplish golden prize in Open Source implementations among 144 government entities.

As an advisor, Abdulelah is known for his ability to communicate complex ideas in a way that is easy to understand and actionable. He is a trusted partner to his stakeholders , providing guidance and support throughout the entire digital transformation programs .

Ms. Prakriti Singh

Senior Vice President, Acceptance Solutions and New Digital Infrastructure, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa
Mastercard

Bio: Prakriti Singh is the Senior Vice President for Acceptance, Digital and New Infrastructure at Mastercard for Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (EEMEA) region. She manages the overall acceptance P&L within EEMEA and the commercialization of Mastercard’s products and solutions for acquirers, merchants, PSPs, PayFacs and Crypto players, for face to face and online payments.

Prakriti has been in the payments industry for 10+ years. She headed Mastercard Labs including Labs for Financial inclusion where she launched & scaled Mastercard Credit Program for Small businesses, Farmers Network for agri-businesses and IoT payment solutions which collectively reached more than a million users.

She also headed Mastercard’s partnership with EXPO 2020, and launched the company’s priceless planet coalition in the region. Prakriti was also part of the consulting and services sales team as well as with Mastercard Advisors.

She started her career as a software engineer with Tata Consultancy Services and prior to joining Mastercard, Prakriti worked with Oliver Wyman, a global top tier strategy consulting firm. She was part of their Retail and Business Banking Practice as an advisor to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and PlaNet Finance. Prakriti graduated from the Indian School of Business and holds an MBA in finance & strategy.

Ms. Reem Alshammari

Vice President
Country Product Manager Payments
J. P Morgan

Bio: Reem Alshammari is the Country Product Manager for J.P. Morgan Payments in Saudi Arabia.

Based in Riyadh, Reem’s role spans across multiple functional products in core cash, FX, liquidity, channels and digital innovation. She is responsible for leading the strategy, overseeing the delivery and managing the positioning of the product suite in the Kingdom.

Reem has a bachelor’s degree in Finance and since joining J.P. Morgan’s Corporate and Investment bank in 2015, has held key roles in leading the Riyadh Branch’s cash management and digital platform automation teams prior to joining the Payments product organization.

Ms. Fatima Asad- Said

Chief Executive Officer & Board Member
Abacus Consulting Technology Limited

Bio: Fatima is an integral member of the top leadership of Abacus Consulting Technology Limited, a leading international professional services firm committed to transforming clients by delivering world class technology, consulting, and outsourcing solutions through high performing people and global strategic partnerships. Over more than 25 years, Fatima’s professional experience embodies thought leadership and delivering innovative solutions in Corporate Governance, Digital Transformation, Strategic Change, Human Capital Management, Enterprise Technology Solutions, and project leadership across multiple sectors and industries.

A MBA graduate from LUMS, she started her career with Coopers & Lybrand International and then PricewaterhouseCoopers. Her leadership journey includes serving on various Boards as an independent director such as Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Faysal Bank, Kashf Foundation, Bata Pakistan and Kaarvan Crafts Foundation. She holds a Corporate Director Certification from Harvard Business School, and a member of the Harvard Corporate Directors, Diversity and Inclusion Hub Leadership Council, and Women Executives on Boards Forums

Mr. Saleh Alkarawi

Senior Business Development Executive
Banfico

Bio: With over seven years of dedicated experience in Business Development within the Financial industry, I have cultivated an extensive and influential network in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Throughout my career, I have showcased a deep understanding of open banking and Fintechs profiles, contributing to the advancement of financial services.

My expertise as Senior Business Development Executive at Banfico lies in fostering strong connections within the KSA market, establishing valuable relationships with key stakeholders, investors, and banks. My proficiency in navigating the intricacies of the financial sector has enabled me to drive business development initiatives that align with industry trends and innovations.

Mr. Mohamed Roushdy

Senior Consultant
Digital Transformation and Fintech
International Finance Corporation

Bio: Multi-faceted information technology professional with more than 25 years of extensive experiences in different industries and business segments, financial services (conventional, Islamic), conglomerate, real estate, consulting/advisory services, and software services, attaining 15 years’ experience as a Chief Information Officer (CIO) and CXO advisor in leading organisations in GCC. Demonstrated success leading and fostering teams in completing major business and digital transformation programs conforming to unique and challenging goals and timelines while keeping Customer Experience CX and Innovations as a key pillar.

Solid background and knowledge in Technology, different business industries, financial services as well as strategic management. Charted success constructing the IT organization and systems of four financial services start-ups (Banks) in MENA as well the first conversion ever for conventional to Islamic Bank. Manchester Business School Distinguished Ambassador of the Middle East Centre where obtained MBA degree focusing on strategy management.

Distinguished speaker at major regional and international conferences about Fintech, Proptech and disruptive technologies: Open Banking & Finance, Banking As A Service (BaaS) , Banking As A Platform (BaaP) , Blockchain & Digital Assets, CBDC, AI/ML, IOT and Big Data, as well one of the main Fintech and Digital Banking contributors in the Middle East, and member of the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) Fintech Working Group (FWG). Proven technology leader equipped with advanced communication and interpersonal skills, fluent in both English and Arabic. Technically proficient in multiple back-office solutions, core banking, ERP, and digital solutions spanning across different industries.

Mr. Eric Horring

Director, Business Architecture
Disruptive Digital Bank in KSA

Bio: Eric is a highly motivated and passionate Enterprise Architect with a wealth of in depth business and technology experience in banking and finance. Over the years he has specialised in leading Enterprise Architecture design, Digital Transformation programmes, Business Process Management and Systems Integration.

Today, he is instrumental in leading the business architecture of a yet to be launch KSA based digital banking innovator. .

Mr. Yzelle De Wet

Director
Solutions Consultant
KnowledgeNet

Bio: Yzelle started his career as a technical consultant with Informix specialized in working with complex Financial Data and was one of the first Data Warehouse practitioners in the region. Yzelle continued his career with Hewlett Packard in the Financial Services practice enabling financial institutions with the latest data driven technology solutions

Yzelle shifted over to Private Equity where he served as a CIO and focused on early adoption of Open Banking by digitizing BYPL for the fintech sector whilst developing opportunities for the Fintech sector to collaborate with traditional banks.

Yzelle holds an MSc in Computer Science and various other technology and managerial academic certifications

Mr. Karim Mostafa

Product Growth Manager at KnowledgeNet

Bio: As a product leader, Karim's roles span across a range of critical disciplines, his job is to productize value-generating opportunities. Overseeing the evolution of POC ideas into MVP’s products while ensuring that the right customer is gets the right message just in time.

Before his financial sector experience, Karim worked in the telecom sector on cutting-edge propositions assuming roles in production management, customer value management, sales & trading and CX, making win-win propositions come native to him.

Over his career he had global exposure working in various markets UK, South Africa, Egypt, KSA, UAE, allowing him to harness the power of diversity, and have the toolkit to deliver results on scale while staying true to local cultural needs

Mr. Edouard de La Jonquière

Vice President
Commercialization, Mastercard Gateway, EEMEA

Bio: Edouard leads Mastercard Gateway commercialization in the EEMEA region. He joined Mastercard in early 2023, coming from Stripe, where he spent 4 years leading Financial Partnerships in Europe and then Market Expansion in the Middle-East and Africa.

Edouard began his career in consulting at Capgemini, then moved into entrepreneurship. He cofounded and led a startup and held several executive positions in growing tech companies in Europe.

Mr. Fahad AlEidy

Chief Executive Officer
KnowledgeNet

Bio: Fahad serves as Chief Executive Officer. AlEidy monitors the constant improvement of quality, effectiveness, and organizational efficiency through the personal contribution that aligns business processes and infrastructure with achieving cost savings, accelerating performance, and maintaining flexibility.

Fahad AlEidy is an accomplished Information Technology professional with more than 20 years of experience in driving technology innovation for high-growth organizations. As the Chief Executive Officer of KnowledgeNet, he plays a pivotal role in the company's strategic direction and technological advancement in the Middle East.