Cambridge – Cambridge IF Analytica announced successful completion of its 3rd edition of Cambridge Islamic Finance Leadership Programme (“Cambridge-IFLP”) held on August 13-18, 2017, at Clare College, a member of the University of Cambridge syndicate. This year, a total of 50 delegates, speakers and mentors from 15 countries from the US, Europe, Middle East and Asia participated in the 5-day residential programme.
Notable mentors and speakers included Iqbal Khan (CEO of Fajr Capital), Iyad Asali (General Manager of Islamic International Arab Bank, Jordan), Mohamed Amersi (Chairman and Founder of a number of telecom companies and a pioneering personality in Islamic legal documentation) Rafe Haneef (CEO of CIMB Islamic Bank), Stella Cox (CEO of DDCAP, UK), Dato’ Izani Ghani (Executive Director of Khazanah Nasional Berhad), Dr. Hamed Meerah (Secretary General of Accounting & Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions, Bahrain), Dr. Zahid Parvez (Principle of Markfield Institute of Higher Education, UK), Professor Mehmet Bulut (Vice Chancellor of Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, Turkey), Professor Mehmet Asutay (Professor of Islamic Political Economy at Durham University Business School), and Dr. Mohd Daud Bakar (Chairman of Amanie Advisors).
This year, six Cambridge Islamic Finance Leadership Awards were announced, with Middle East dominating the awards presentation. The winners included: Saif Hamdan Al Alkeem, Head of Priority Banking for the UAE at Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB); M. Farshad Cader, Senior Manager/Head of Financial Institution at Kuwait Finance House (KFH); Muhamad Yusri Wahsalfelah, Deputy Head, Government Relations and Special Projects at Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD); Irwan Abdalloh, Head, Islamic Capital Market Development at Indonesia Stock Exchange; Obeid Ruff, Islamic Finance Attorney from USA; and Marina Mardi, Assistant Vice President Finance at Khazanah Nasional Berhad. These awards were given to outstanding delegates who had demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities during the programme, participated actively and constructively in all discussions, and their inputs added value both to the programme and other delegates. All delegates received their certificates from Dr. Hamed Meerah, Secretary General of AAOIFI, whilst the Cambridge Islamic Finance Leadership Awards were presented by Iqbal Khan of Fjar Capital.
The Third Cambridge-IFLP was a star-studded programme, with CEOs of Islamic financial institutions and Shari’a scholars serving as mentors. “We studied all the top executive and leadership programme offered by the top universities in the world, and concluded that the existing programmes are too academic and principally taught by professors who may not have sufficient practical knowledge and understanding of organisational level issues,” said Dr. Sofiza Azmi, Programme Director of Cambridge-IFLP. “Ours is a leadership programme with an exclusive focus on practice, led by practitioners,” she continued.
“Networking is the hallmark of Cambridge-IFLP,” said Muhammad Yusri Wahsalfelah who represented Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD). “No such a programme in the Islamic finance industry, which creates a strong bond amongst the participants,” echoed Kamran Sherwani from ADCB Islamic.
With a number of Leadership Talks given by industry leaders, the delegates benefitted from in-depth knowledge and understanding of the industry experts on how to develop themselves into effective and influential leaders in their respective organisations and in the global Islamic Islamic financial services industry. “It is always a treat to listen to the likes of Iqbal Khan whose inspiring concluding speech at the 2017 Cambridge-IFLP was the perfect closing of the programme,” said Professor Humayon Dar, Executive Chairman of Cambridge IF Analytica.
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About Cambridge IF Analytica
Cambridge IF Analytica is a UK-based think tank specialising in offering strategic advice in the field of financial services. The main activity of the firm is to conduct academically rigorous yet professionally relevant research for financial institutions, multilateral bodies and governments.
© Press Release 2017
