Chief Executive Officer - SICO
Najla Al Shirawi has more than 21 years of investment banking experience. Having been part of SICO since 1997, she was appointed CEO in 2014 following her appointment as deputy CEO in 2013. Najla served with Geneva-based Dar Al-Maal Al-Islami Trust, where she established private banking operations for the Group in the Gulf region.
Najla is a Board member at the Bahrain Economic Board (EDB) and a Chairperson on the Board of Directors for two SICO subsidiaries: SICO Funds Services Company (SFS) in Bahrain and SICO Financial Brokerage in Abu Dhabi.
She is also an Independent Board Member of Eskan Bank BSC(c), Bahrain and a Board Member of the Deposit Protection Scheme, the Bahrain Associations of Banks, and the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance. She holds an MBA and a BA in Civil Engineering from University of Bahrain.
Chief Executive Officer - BISB
Mr. Hassan Amin Jarrar is one of the most prominent banking leaders in the region with more than 30 years of international, regional and local banking experience. Prior to joining Bahrain Islamic Bank on July 1, 2015 as Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Jarrar held the position of Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank, Bahrain. Mr. Jarrar’s diverse career in Banking includes extensive experience in retail, SME, and Corporate Banking in the Middle East and the US.
Regionally, he served as Head of Corporate and SME Banking at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, and Head of Corporate Banking at Mashreq Bank, Abu Dhabi.
Internationally, he has over two decades of experience in key management positions in leading banking institutions in the USA, namely Security Pacific Bank, and Bank of America. He is the Chairman of Liquidity Management Center ”LMC” and serves on the Boards of Bahrain Bourse, the Bahrain Association of Banks, Bahrain Economic Development Board, Tamkeen, and Thomson Reuters MENA Regulatory advisory Board. Mr Jarrar holds a BSc in Finance from California State University, San Jose.
Chief Executive Officer - Bahrain Bourse
Shaikh Khalifa bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Bahrain Bourse in 2014. In this role, he is leading the development and execution of the Bourse’s overall strategy and has directed the creation and implementation of Bahrain Bourse’s business & functional strategies, including restructuring Bahrain Bourse to be in line with the organization’s vision, mission, and strategic goals, as well as initiating the Bahrain Investment Market, a unique stock market that targets companies in the growth and development stages.
Sh. Khalifa has an extensive experience in business development consultancy & strategy development. He joined Bahrain Bourse in 2010 as Deputy Director for Central Securities Depository (CSD) and Information Technology. In 2013, he was promoted to Chief Operating Officer where he played a structural role in development of the Market Rules, implementation of a new trading engine powered by NASDAQ OMX's X-stream trading platform, and implementation of the Bourse’s 2011-2015 strategy. His previous experience covers the areas of structured products, business development, and strategy development and implementation.
He graduated from King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia with a Bachelor’s Degree in Science of Finance in 2000. He went on to earn an MBA from the CASS Business School – London in 2008.
Founding President - AUBH
Dr. Saxton has over 25 years of educational expertise, with a focus on transformational leadership, corporate strategy and academic program management. In her role as President of AUBH, Dr. Saxton leads a hand-picked global faculty in delivering a unique style of American education.
Prior to her role with AUBH, Dr. Saxton held senior roles within the Laureate Education network, serving as SVP Innovation & Emerging Strategies, and subsequently CEO of the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences; and Chief of Staff for ImagineAfrica Alliance.
Her international entrepreneurial roles in both developed and emerging economies, in particular her work in The Hague as Chief Strategy & Development Officer for the International Baccalaureate Organization, have prepared her well for the multi-cultural environment of the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Chairman, World Business Angels Investment Forum (WBAF) Senior Advisor, London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG)
Entrepreneurship and innovation guru, global leader, best-selling author, angel investor, columnist, star of the Turkish version of the television show Dragons’ Den, Chairman of the World Business Angels Investment Forum (WBAF), Vice President of the European Trade Association for Business Angels, Seed Funds, and Early Stage Market Players (EBAN), President of the Business Angels Association of Turkey (TBAA), the World Entrepreneurship Forum Ambassador to Turkey and the Balkan countries, and President of Deulcom International. One of the top global speakers on entrepreneurship, innovation and angel investment invited by former US President Obama to speak at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Kenya. Recipient of the European Trade Association of Business Angels (EBAN) award for the Best Individual in Europe Globally Engaging with the Global Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in 2013, 2014, and 2015. The only entrepreneur to be granted a personal audience with former President Obama at the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship in Washington, DC. Developer of the world-renowned entrepreneurship theory, The Altuntas Start-up Compass Theory. Advisory board member of the South East Europe Research Council in Greece. Appointed as JCI Ambassador, following Ban Ki-moon, former Secretary General of the United Nations. Profiled regularly by leading international media such as CNN International and Bloomberg. A co-author of Planet Entrepreneur: The World Entrepreneurship Forum’s Guide to Business Success Around the World, published by Wiley (2013). Author of Off the Bus, Into a Supercar! How I Became a Top TV Star and Celebrated Investor, published by Balboa Press (2014) and translated into Chinese, Croatian, Albanian, and Macedonian.