Mr. Abbas Najwani

StrategisActing Head of Customer Experience at Sohar International. He has over 22 years of expertise in strategic planning, business development, product development & management, marketing & sales, financial consumer protection. He has an MBA from University of Bedfordshire and Bachelors in Commerce and Economics from SQU.
Mr. Aditya Jitani

Head - Risk Management (Credit Risk) in Bank Muscat. He has developed various credit risk methodologies and rating models for corporate, SME and retail portfolio in the bank. His core competencies lie in the areas of credit risk evaluation, risk quantification methodologies, implementation of advanced approaches of Basel and IFRS 9. A Chartered Accountant from ICAI, he has over 20 years of experience in banking and credit risk.
Ms. Afra Al Zadjali

Senior Analyst at Oman Investment Authority. She has a Master's Degree in Finance from Cranfield University. She is a certified debt collections trainer with over 7 years of experience managing distressed portfolios (Retail & SME) in two leading international banks. Her expertise is in quality assurance, strategy and litigation within debt management functions.
Mr. Ali Al Asmi

General Manager- Investment and Treasury Directorate at CBO. He has ACCA certification, MBA, and is pursuing research for PhD. He has worked with CBO for the last 27 years, in various positions, including accountant, Chief accountant (the first Omani to occupy this position) and in-charge of Banking Operations Dept. He was thereafter promoted to Acting General Manager of Financial Affairs, before moving to his present position. His teaching and training expertise is in accounting and finance.
Mr. A.V. Manohar

Finance professional with a rich experience of 40 years as the Head of Finance function for various companies in Oman and India. His last position was Chief Financial Officer at Oman & Emirates Investment Holding Company. His expertise is in accounting, finance and audit.
Mr. Azhar Hamid

Head of Shari’a Audit and Compliance Department of Ahli Islamic, Ahli Bank. He has extensive knowledge and experience of Shari’a governance and compliance, Shari’a auditing, Shari’a risk management and products’ structuring over 18 years. Previously, he was Deputy Head of Shari’a Department at Doha Bank, Manager Shari’a Compliance at Dubai Islamic Bank Pakistan, Lecturer Islamic Banking and Finance at International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) and Research Associate to President of IIUI.He holds MSc. and MPhil degrees with specialization in Islamic banking and finance from IIUI. Additionally, he has studied Shari’a under Darse Nizami Pakistan.
Currently, he is pursuing PhD degree in Islamic Banking and Finance at INCEIF University, Malaysia. He has accomplished several professional certificates such as Durham University Islamic Finance Certificate, AAOIFI’s CSAA, IFSB Standards Certificate, EY Islamic Banking Profit Calculation Certificate, Dar ul-Mashwara Qatar Shari’a Auditing Certificate etc.
Mr. Devesh Sharma

Senior Manager (Head)- Internal Audit in Oman Refreshment Co reporting to the Chairman of the Audit Committee. He is a CA and has also HDDS Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), CRMA (Certified Risk Management Assurance) certifications more than 19 years of post-qualification experience in Internal Audit and Finance Control. He was earlier working as Senior Manager of Compliance and Manager of Internal Audit in SABMiller (the Second Largest beer manufacturing company in the world). He is a past Board Member of IIA, Oman Chapter.
Ms. Fadhila Al Faraj

Advisor to the Executive Director of IMF, USA and previously Head of Statistics at CBO. Her professional journey has included a prestigious Fulbright fellowship and tenure at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), where she managed statistics for both advanced and emerging economies and delivered various capacity development missions, such as workshops for G20 and Financial Stability Board economies. With a keen focus on advancing cross-border statistics and financial initiatives, she leads the dissemination and analysis of Balance of Payments and the International Investment position, besides spearheading crucial meetings with international organizations and credit rating agencies. She is the taskforce head of CBO and Oman Credit and Financial Information Centre (Mala’a) Digital Transformation, a strategic endeavor aligned with Oman Vision 2040. She has a master’s degree in economics from Illinois State University, USA.
Dr. Fatin Al Zadjali

Head-Learning and Development at Bank Dhofar. She began her career as a banker and worked in two major banks in Oman. She subsequently joined CBFS and evolved into the role of academic and training faculty. She has done her Bachelor’s in Business from Australia, Diploma in Banking from IBFS, MBA from University of Strathclyde – UK and PhD in Islamic Finance from INCEIF- Malaysia. She also has various training related Certifications such as Certified Training Professional (CTP), Creative Train the Trainer and Certified Islamic Banker. Her areas of training expertise are Islamic banking and soft skills.
Mr. Haitham Al Raisi

Associate Vice President Fraud Risk Management at Sohar International and Board Member of ACFE- Oman Chapter. He has over 15 years of experience. He was previously Manager Investigation - Financial Crime Threat Mitigation, HSBC. He holds M.Sc. in Finance and Management. He has also completed various professional certifications such as Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS), Diploma in Islamic Finance (CIMA), and Diploma in Governance, Risk & Compliance and Diploma in Financial Crime Prevention (ICA, UK). He has also attended Leadership courses conducted by Queen›s Smith School of Business, Canada and ISB, India. His areas of training expertise are retail banking, fraud risk management, compliance and financial crimes investigation.
Mr. Hisham Moosa Hassan

Senior Vice President at Sohar Islamic, Sohar International. With experience exceeding 18 years in both local and international banks, he has specialized in wholesale banking, risk management as well Financial Institutional Relationships. In addition, he has served as a senior treasury manager at Oman Investment Authority (OIA). He graduated from SQU and has Masters degree from University of Bradford. In addition, he is a Certified Credit Analyst by Moodys Analytics.
Ms. Jinal Dhirajlal Bakhai

Cyber Security Systems Engineer at MHD Infotech LLC, She has a Master's degree in Cybersecurity and Digital Forensics from the University of Bedfordshire, Jinal's professional journey is marked by diverse experiences across the cybersecurity spectrum such as Cyber Security System Engineer, IT Support Specialist, and Cyber Security Researcher.In addition to her professional commitments, she has delivered training sessions on cutting-edge topics such as AI in Cybersecurity, AI in Fraud Investigations, Security in Cyber-Physical Systems, and Security in IoT.
Mr. Juma Al Jabri

Chief Dealer at Bank Dhofar. He has over 17 years’ work experience in Treasury and financial products. He has worked in different banks in the areas of money market, fixed income, interbank, commodities and fx corporate sales. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from SQU and an MBA from University of Strathclyde. He is also one of the few professionals in Oman having both ACI Dealing Certificate and ACI Diploma, having passed both examinations with merit. He is currently board member and Oman representative in Inter-arab Cambiste Association (ICA).
Mr. Karthyic Subramanian

Deputy Head of Sales at Bank Muscat. He has over two decades of experience in priority & personal banking, wealth management and customer relationship management with focus on managing multiple sales teams, directing sales, service and distribution of banking products across liabilities, assets & wealth services for various customer segments such as mass, affluent NRIs & government services through multiple channels including bank branches, outbound sales teams, relationship teams & other alternate channels. Prior to joining Bank Muscat, he worked with HSBC Bank Middle East in Oman. This was preceded by a decade long experience in India with various reputed banks. He has done an Executive Program in Management (Leadership, Finance & Strategy) from Columbia Business School. He holds an MBA (Finance & Systems), BA (Economics) and has also done Fundamentals of Financial Planning Certification of CISI, UK.
Mr. Majid Al Zadjali

Head of Business Continuity Management at Sohar International. He has 21 years of experience in local banks in the areas of MIS, BCM, IS and IT Audit. He has a Diploma in Programing from Higher College of Technology and a Bachelor in Computer Hardware and Networking from Middle East College. He also has • Certification of Business Continuity Management (CBCI) from Business Continuity Institute. He has Implemented ISO 27001 with certification in a local bank.
Mr. Murahari Naik

Head Trade Finance Ops Transformation at National Bank of Oman. He has over 3 decades of experience in almost all key areas of banking with leading commercial banks in India and Oman. He has done MBA in Banking and Finance and holds CAIIB and CDCS Certifications.
Dr. Manish Dhameja

Chief Wholesale Banking Officer at Sohar International (SI). A seasoned banking professional with 30 years of experience across South Asia, GCC and Africa. Previously he had strong leadership experience in project finance, corporate finance, commercial banking and risk management in leading institutions like Standard Chartered Bank & ICICI Limited. He has successfully led multiple businesses across India, South Asia, Africa and GCC. He is an Engineer, MBA, CFA and has recently completed doctoral program from Indian School of Business (ISB).
Dr. Mohamed Damak

Senior Director/Sector Lead Financial Institutions & Global Head of Islamic Finance S&P Global Ratings (SPGR) in the Emerging EMEA region. He also co-heads the Emerging Market Global Industry Focused Team and is a member of several senior forums and research labs including the Digitalization of the Markets Research Lab. Prior to joining SPGR, He worked as a Principal Credit Risk Officer for the African Development Bank in Tunis. From 2006 to 2010, he worked for SPGR covering conventional and Islamic financial institutions in the Middle East and North Africa region. He holds a PhD in Finance and Master in Money, Banking and Finance from University of Paris 2, Pantheon Assas and a Master’s degree in Financial Institutions Management from Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Tunis. His areas of expertise include emerging markets financial institutions, the digitalization of the financial services industry (including cryptocurrencies, stable coins, tokenization, and digital bonds) and Islamic finance.
Mr. Mohammed Al Wadhahi

Talent Development Manager at Oman Arab Bank. His expertise is in organizational psychology, leadership development, growth mindset, coaching and mental health. He is an ICF credentialed coach with 6 years of experience in training and development in the healthcare and the banking sector.
Mr. Sachin Sawrikar

Co-Founder and CEO of Radiant Capital Investment Managers Limited and Radiant Capital FZCO, a provider of professional consulting and financial advisory services to clients, that is, fund management to innovative financing solutions. He was formerly Head of Private Markets at Bank Muscat. He has over 27 years of investment management experience in India and GCC region with leading investment firms with a proven track record of managing funds in different asset classes - equity, debt, balanced, sectoral, money market, private credit, REITs, private equity, etc. He holds a Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering, MBA (XLRI, India) and MSc in Real Estate Investment & Finance (Univ of Reading, UK). He is a CFA charter holder and Member of RICS. He is the President of CFA Oman Chapter.
Mr. Mohammed Anwar Al Balushi

A former banker with over 27 years of experience in internal audit and branch operations. He was earlier Executive Manager in the Executive Project Management Office, Unit Head of Assessment Center and Deputy Head-Learning and capability development at Sohar International. He is a certified trainer, has an MBA from Bedfordshire University, UK, and is a member of CIPD, UK and ACFE. He holds a banking diploma from CBFS. He has Psytech Testing Certificate and International Compliance Association (ICA) certificate. He is certified by Korn Ferry in the assessment of leadership potential. He also has PMP and CISA certifications. He is a columnist and books reviewer for Oman Daily Observer, Times of Oman and The Arabian Stories newspapers. He has authored a book on “Modern Techniques of Bank Branch Auditing”.
Mr. Mohammed Nabiulla

Learning & Development Manager at National Bank of Oman. He has over 18 years of diversified banking experience across, Retail, Insurance, Sales, Marketing and learning & Development functions. He specializes in Managing Learning Team, Content Development & Design, Development & Delivery of Engaging Learning Initiatives, Evaluation of Training Effectiveness & Performance Improvement, Leadership & Soft Skills Facilitator, Behavioral Trainer, Sales Trainer & Performance Coach, Outbound Experiential Trainer, Psychometric Testing & Assessment Centers, E-Learning Solution Specialist, E-Learning Content Development Learning Management System Hosting Relationship Management. He has previously worked with Mashreq Bank UAE, Qatar & Bahrain & ICICI Prudential Life Insurance co in India. He has Master degree in Finance & Marketing from AIMS India, he is Certified Life Coach from Achology- The Academy of Applied Psychology UK. Certified Occupational Assessor from EFPA UK. Assessor & internal Quality Assurance from ILM UK. DDI Certified Leadership Facilitator USA, Certified Experiential Trainer from IIPE Canada, Certified Outbound Trainer, Certified Trainer Proactive Relationship Banker from Cohen Brown Management group INC USA.
Mr. Murahari Naik

Head Trade Finance Ops Transformation at National Bank of Oman. He has over 3 decades of experience in almost all key areas of banking with leading commercial banks in India and Oman. He has done MBA in Banking and Finance and holds CAIIB and CDCS Certifications.
CA. Nalin Chandna

He has over two and a half decades of corporate finance, management and board level experience across industries, organizations, functions and geographies. He is a certified Leadership Coach and trainer. A qualified Chartered Accountant from ICAI, India, he is a TEDx speaker. His areas of training expertise are leadership development, personal growth, renewables and sustainability policies & reporting frameworks. He was previously the Managing Director for Petregaz Middle East & India. Prior to this, he had a long tenure as the Group CEO of National Gas Company of Oman and a Board member at its subsidiaries across multiple geographies. He has also worked with Monsanto, WalMart, Motorola, Carrier Airconditioning and Ernst & Young.
CA. Nat Vora

Senior Advisor with AJMS global with specific focus on sustainability & ESG, risk advisory, & business consulting. He has over 3 decades of experience in finance and accounting, specializing in startups, mergers and acquisitions, and capital raising for energy, telecom, retail, and banking. He is also the Founder and CEO of StrategiX Advisors with services in Muscat, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and India. His last job was as the CFO of Solar Wadi, the first independent Omani company that invests in, builds, and operates renewable energy power plants. He is a qualified CA from ICAI, India and is also a CPA.
Mr. Nuwan Sumanasekara

Head of Credit and Operations – Najahi Business Banking, Bank Muscat. He has over 25 years of banking experience in the varied areas of MSME credit, consumer credit, credit risk management, business banking, operations and strategy. He previously worked for Hatton National Bank in Sri Lanka, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank in U.A.E. and RAK Bank in U.A.E. He holds Associate ACMA, CGMA designations awarded by CIMA & AICPA respectively. He also has an MBA degree from Postgraduate Institute of Management in Sri Lanka.
Mr. Ratheesh Sudhakaran Nair

Banking Development Executive with the Regulation Directorate at CBO. He previously held management positions in one of the leading commercial banks in India, with over 11 years’ experience in treasury, cash management services, corporate and retail banking. He also has over five-years’ experience in Risk Management at one of the leading Stock Broking players in India. He holds a Masters in Commerce and MBA. He is a Certified Associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers (CAIIB) and has certifications from National Institute of Securities Market (NISM) & National Stock Exchange (NSE) on derivatives, capital market, commodities market, depository operations and mutual funds.
Dr. Riyad Mustafa Abu Shhadeh

Banking Expert at CBO. He has 28 years of central banking experience, he is also enrolled at the IMF roster as an expert in the field of Financial Stability and Banking Supervision. He started his career at the Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA) in 1996, where he held the posts of Director of the Banking Supervision Department, Assistant Governor for Financial Stability and the Deputy Governor. He has Ph.D in Risk Management from Nagpur University- India under a prestigious ICCR scholarship. He also has a Master's Degree in Finance, Regulation and Risk Management from ICMA Center -University of Reading – in UK under the prestigious Chevenings scholarship. He also holds Master's degree in Banking and Business Finance from the University of Baroda, India and B.Com with distinction’ from Nagpur University, India. He represented PMA as a board member in several organizations and committees notably Deputy Governor at the Arab Monetary Fund, Palestine Capital Market Authority (PCMA), the National Committee for Combating Money Laundering & Terrorist Financing, UN Resolutions Implementation Committee, Palestine Banking Institute and the Council of Auditing Profession, the Palestinian Social Security Institution, the Board of the Higher Education Institutions, the IMF Middle East Technical Assistance Center (METAC)- Beirut- Lebanon. He represented PMA on the Arab Committee on Banking Supervision (ACBS) and the Arab Financial Stability Team that is affiliated to the Council of Governors for the Arab Central Banks and Monetary Agencies, the Arab Monetary Fund.
Ms. Suhaila Al Mawali

A former employee of the Tax Authority with over 20 years of experience in tax services. She also worked at EY Oman. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Finance from SQU and a Master of Professional Accounting from the University of Western Australia. Currently, she is in the process of finalizing her ACCA and PMP certifications.
Dr. Sunil Gupta

Chief Learning Officer and Innovation Instigator, Ideas, Oman, UAE and India. He has done Post Masters Research and Advanced Training in HR at New York University, USA. He has an M.Phil. & Ph.D. in Management. He holds various certifications including Lifetime, Master Trainer, Dr. Edward de Bono Creativity Tools, Master Black Belt, Six Sigma- Motorola University, USA, Certified CPS- Creative Problem Solving- CPSI/ CEF: Introduction, Advanced tools, Building & Sustaining a Culture of Innovation, Certified Facilitator, Design thinking, Certified TRIZ Expert (Russian Theory of Inventive Problem Solving), USA, Certified Trainer, Mind Mapping, Buzan Centre, UK.
Mr. Venkat B

He has over 22 years of experience in the areas of cyber threats, cyber-Security, OT and cloud security, data governance, and IT governance. His experience spans across multiple industries like IT services, banking, telecom, energy, oil and gas, manufacturing, healthcare and automobile with global companies like Accenture, IBM,Tata Communications, Vodafone, and Wipro. His focus is on delivering comprehensive security and risk solutions aligned with industry standards and regulations (ISO27001, NIST CSF, ISA62443, COBIT, DAMA, PCI-DSS, HIPAA etc.). He holds various certifications, including CISSP, PMP, TOGAF, DAMA CDMP, CRISC, CEH, CISA, IBM-Blockchain Solution Advisor and AWS Security.
Mr Venu Daga

Head of Retail Credit Risk in Bank Muscat. He is a qualified engineer with over a decade of working experience in various geographies. He previously worked with banks like HSBC and Citibank in India followed by Mashreq Bank in the UAE. His expertise spans the areas of risk management, advanced analytics, quantitative & predictive analysis building and managing credit risk models.
Mr. Venu Krishnan

Former Chief Manager heading the units of Business Intelligence & Strategic Initiatives, Retail Marketing and MSME at Bank Muscat. He has 39 years of banking experience across Operations, Finance, Branch Management, Trade Finance, Business Intelligence, Micro Finance, and Retail & Investment Banking. He had been part of the task force of all the mergers & acquisitions of Bank Muscat. He holds professional certifications including CAIIB, Certificate in Retail Banking Conduct of Business (LIBF, UK), and Certificates in Investment & Securities, Asset Servicing and Operational Risk (CISI, UK). He is also a Qualified Member of Multi Dollar Round Table (MDRT), USA. He is currently studying for Doctorate Program from UCAM University, Spain, and Certified Financial Planner (CFP) from CFP Board, USA. He has also done extensive participation in the Individual, Team and Executive Coaching programs of International Coaching Federation (ICF, USA). He is a Licensed Insurance and Mutual Fund Adviser certified by the respective regulators in India. He is currently practicing as an Independent Financial Adviser.
Mr. Vikas Kumar

Mr. Vikas Sharma Program Manager, Digital Technologies at Bank Dhofar. He has over 18 years of technology leadership and previously led digital banking initiatives for OAB and Bank Muscat including developing and integrating advanced digital banking platforms, enhancing customer experience and operational efficiency, agile transformation projects. He has done B. Tech & PGDBA. He has various certifications including PMP from PMI, Safe PO/PM, Safe Agilest, Prince 2-Foundation & Practitioner.
Mr. Vikas Sharma

He has over 22 years of experience in the areas of cyber threats, cyber-Security, OT and cloud security, data governance, and IT governance. His experience spans across multiple industries like IT services, banking, telecom, energy, oil and gas, manufacturing, healthcare and automobile with global companies like Accenture, IBM,Tata Communications, Vodafone, and Wipro. His focus is on delivering comprehensive security and risk solutions aligned with industry standards and regulations (ISO27001, NIST CSF, ISA62443, COBIT, DAMA, PCI-DSS, HIPAA etc.). He holds various certifications, including CISSP, PMP, TOGAF, DAMA CDMP, CRISC, CEH, CISA, IBM-Blockchain Solution Advisor and AWS Security.
Ms. Zahra Al Lawati

Senior Specialist – Retail Business Partner at Sohar International Academy. She has over 16 years of diversified banking experience across retail banking, operations, customer experience, wealth management and learning and development. She has previously worked with HSBC Oman Bank. She has a Bachelor’s and Diploma degree in HR from CBFS & Pearson UK, Vocational Cambridge International Diploma in IT Skills. She is a: Certified Psychometric Assessor by Psytech International, Certified Trainer by New Metrics Training Institute and holds Certified Bank Branch Manager (CBBM) certificate of CBFS.

Guest Speakers

Mr. Abbas Najwani

Mr. Aditya Jitani

Ms. Afra Al Zadjali

Mr. Ali Al Asmi

Mr. A.V. Manohar

Mr. Azhar Hamid

Mr. Devesh Sharma

Ms. Fadhila Al Faraj

Dr. Fatin Al Zadjali

Mr. Haitham Al Raisi

Mr. Hisham Moosa Hassan

Ms. Jinal Dhirajlal Bakhai

Mr. Juma Al Jabri

Mr. Karthyic Subramanian

Mr. Majid Al Zadjali

Mr. Murahari Naik

Dr. Manish Dhameja

Dr. Mohamed Damak

Mr. Mohammed Al Wadhahi

Mr. Sachin Sawrikar

Mr. Mohammed Anwar Al Balushi

Mr. Mohammed Nabiulla

Mr. Murahari Naik

CA. Nalin Chandna

CA. Nat Vora

Mr. Nuwan Sumanasekara

Mr. Ratheesh Sudhakaran Nair

Dr. Riyad Mustafa Abu Shhadeh

Ms. Suhaila Al Mawali

Dr. Sunil Gupta

Mr. Venkat B

Mr Venu Daga

Mr. Venu Krishnan

Mr. Vikas Kumar

Mr. Vikas Sharma

Ms. Zahra Al Lawati