H.E Dr. Najem bin Abdulla Al Zaid is the Vice Minister of Justice in Saudi Arabia. He was the Founding Partner of ZS&R law firm in association with Hogan Lovells. He is the Chairman of the Saudi Electricity Company and a member of the Tadawul Group’s Regulatory Policies and Oversight Committee. Further, he is a Board and Board Risk Committee member at Gulf International Bank - Saudi Arabia, a Board Member in the Royal Commission for Riyadh City. Additionally, he is member of the Audit Committee in the Public Investment Fund.

He also served as the Vice Chairman of the Mediterranean & Gulf Cooperative Insurance & Reinsurance Company, Board Member of the National Centre for Privatization & PPP, member of the audit committees at Diriyah Gate Development Authority and the Saudi Agriculture & Livestock Company (SALIC), member of the governance committee at Arabian Centres Company, member of the governance committee at the Saudi International Petrochemical Company, member of the executive committee of the Saudi Falcon Club and member of the Saudi Delegation that negotiated Saudi Arabia’s World Trade Organization (WTO) membership.

Prior to founding ZS&R, Dr. Al Zaid was the Chief Governance and Legal Officer at Al Rajhi Bank Group and had previously served as the Commissioner and a Board Member of the Saudi Capital Market Authority, appointed by royal order. He also worked as Counsel at the Islamic Development Bank Group.

Dr. Al Zaid holds a Doctor of Juridical Science from the George Washington University Law School, USA, a Master of Laws from the University of Minnesota Law School, USA, a High Diploma in Law from the Institute of Public Administration, Saudi Arabia, and a BA in Islamic Jurisprudence & Law from Umm AlQura University, Saudi Arabia. Further, he successfully completed the Harvard Law School Leadership Program and the London Business School Management Development Program. He has 30 years’ professional experience.

Mr. Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al-Helaissi is the Group Chief Executive Officer and a Board Member of Gulf International Bank B.S.C, Chairman of Gulf International Bank (UK) Limited and Vice Chairman of Gulf International Bank – Saudi Arabia. His board memberships include GIB Capital, Golf Saudi, Saudi Golf Federation and the Bahrain Institute of Banking & Finance (BIBF). Mr. Al-Helaissi also serves as a member of the Global Board of the Institute of International Finance (IIF) and co-chair of its Emerging Markets Advisory Council (EMAC).

Prior to joining GIB in February 2016, Mr. Al-Helaissi was the Deputy Governor for Supervision at the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), having started there in 2013. At SAMA, his responsibilities included the oversight of the banking and insurance sectors as well as finance company regulations (mortgage, leasing, and other nonbank finance institutions). He was also responsible for consumer protection. 

Prior to SAMA, Mr. Al-Helaissi was Senior Country Officer and Managing Director, Saudi Arabia, for JP Morgan Chase, as well as Head of Global Corporate Banking for the Middle East and North Africa. Earlier in his career, he was General Manager, Central Province of Saudi British Bank (affiliate of HSBC) and covered all key lines of business, including corporate and consumer banking. He has also served on a number of boards, including the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) and King Fahd Causeway Authority.

Mr. Al-Helaissi has 35 years’ banking and regulatory experience and holds a BA in Economics from the University of Texas in Austin, USA.

Mr. Sultan bin Abdul Malek Al-Sheikh is a Senior Director - Head of Financial Institutions Sector at the MENA Investments Division at the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF). He is the Board Chairman of Tawrid Company for Financing Solutions. He also serves as a Board Member of Tahakom Investment Company, Gulf International Bank - Saudi Arabia, and Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company (SRC). In addition, Mr. Al-Sheikh is a Board member, Member of the Executive Board Committee and Member of the Nomination & Remuneration Committee of the Regional Voluntary Carbon Market Company (RVCMC). Mr Al-Sheikh also serves as Board Director at the Saudi Sports Company and as Member of the Executive Board Committee at Al-Nasser Club Co. Prior to joining PIF, Mr. Al-Sheikh held key positions in reputable financial institutions. He served as an Associate and Vice President of Investment Banking at Saudi Fransi Capital. Mr. Al-Sheikh also worked as an Officer in the Securities Listing Department at the Saudi Capital Market Authority (CMA) and as a Relationship Manager at the National Commercial Bank (NCB) of Saudi Arabia. Additionally, he previously served as a director at Al-Marai Company and the Helicopter Company and as Chairman of Saudi Company for Exchanging Digital Information (Tabadul).

Mr. Al-Sheikh holds a MSc in Finance from the George Washington University, USA, and a BSc in Finance from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Saudi Arabia. He has 21 years’ professional experience.

Mr. Bander bin Abdulrahman Mogren is a Senior Managing Director, and the Chief Operating Officer at the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF) since 2016, where he leads the development of the Shared Services function as well as the strategic transformation of information technology systems and infrastructure. He is also a Member of the PIF Portfolio Companies Nomination Committee.

In his current role, Mr. Bander Bin Mogren represents PIF on a number of boards and board committees including as Chair of the Board of Directors of SRJ Sports Investment Company. In addition, Mr. Bander Bin Mogren is a Board Member of King Abdullah Financial District Development Company and the Chair of its Nomination and Remuneration Committee. He is also a Board Member of both Gulf International Bank Saudi Arabia and Bahrain and a Member of each of its Nomination and Remuneration Committees (NRC’s) and is a Member of the Professional Fighters League (PFL) Board and its Compensation Committee. Mr. Bander Bin Mogren serves as Chairman of Nomination and Remuneration Committee in Riyadh Lake alongside serving as a Member of the NRC’s of a number of PIF portfolio companies, including NEOM; Qiddiya Investment Company; ROSHN; Saudi Tadawul Group; Newcastle United plc; Savvy Games Group; Riyadh Air; the Royal Court Decision Support Centre; Sanabil Investments and other companies.

Prior to joining PIF, Mr. Bander Bin Mogren was Managing Director of Human Resources and Corporate Services at NCB Capital and before that he held several other key positions at a number of Saudi Arabia’s leading investment institutions, including Head of Human Resources at Jadwa Investments. He also served as Board member in Taqnia and Noon Investments Company.

Mr. Bander Bin Mogren holds a double major BA in Human Resources and Business Administration from Eastern Washington University, USA. He has 23 years’ professional experience.

Dr. Khalid bin Abdulla Alsweilem is an accomplished economist and successful business leader, with over 30 years’ experience in business and government. He served as Director General of SAMA’s Investment Department. He is one of the world’s longest serving and most successful sovereign investment practitioners.

Dr. Alsweilem is the Chairman of Ninety-One Capital KSA and EFG Hermes Saudi Arabia, an independent board director at Cenomi Centers, and an Investment Committee Member at the Arab Gulf Fund for Development.

He is a former fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School and is currently a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University and a Research Affiliate at MIT. Dr. Alsweilem was a lead author of three major papers on sovereign funds models and institutions that were published as joint reports by the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and the Center for International Development at Harvard.

He also co-authored an important book in 2017 published by Columbia University Press on the role of sovereign funds in resources economies while he was at Stanford University Global Projects Center (GPC).

Dr. Alsweilem holds a BSc in Industrial Engineering from the University of Arizona, an MA in Economics from Boston University, a PhD in Economics from the University of Colorado, and a Post-Doctoral Fellowship from the Department of Economics at Harvard University. He has 33 years’ professional experience.

Mr. Fahad Al-Saif is a Senior Managing Director, Head of PIF’s Global Capital Finance Division, Head of Investment Strategy and Economic Insights Division.

Mr. Al-Saif worked on developing PIF’s green financing framework and obtaining an investment grade inaugural credit rating by international rating agencies, subsequently launching PIF’s debut international bond program; issuing the first green bond with a 100-year tranche, the first bond of its kind globally by a Sovereign Wealth Fund, among other efforts that support PIF and its portfolio companies in diversifying the sources of capital to fund transformational projects across different sectors.

Mr. AlSaif has several distinguished roles across various boards. He is the Chairman of the board at AviLease, an aircraft leasing company, and at Emaar, The Economic City. In addition, he serves as the Vice Chairman of Bahri, the national shipping company of Saudi Arabia. His extensive portfolio includes serving as the Vice Chairman, Executive Committee Member, and Nomination and Remuneration Committee Member for the Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company. Furthermore, he is a board member of ACWA Power, a leading entity in the renewable energy sector, and a board member in the Voluntary Carbon Market Company. Mr. AlSaif also chairs the Audit and Risk Committee for King Salman Airport Development Company and is a member of its board. Beyond his contributions in the private sector, he plays an active role in the government sector, engaging in various initiatives, including his board position with the Insurance Authority and the Financial Sector Development Program.

Mr. AlSaif holds more than 27 years of experience in leading diverse functions including treasury, investment, debt capital management, and corporate finance. He started his career in the private sector and served in senior positions in both Saudi British Bank (SABB) and HSBC Saudi Arabia for over a decade. Following his private-sector stint, he then took on a public-sector role within Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Finance, where he served as a senior advisor to the Minister, His Excellency Minister of Finance, and established and headed the ministry’s debt management function, later renamed as National Debt Management Centre (NDMC), where he served as the Chief Executive Officer and Board member.

Mr.Alsaif is an Information Systems graduate from King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals.

Mr. Rajeev Kakar is a Board Member of Eurobank Ergasias SA (Greece), Commercial International Bank (Egypt)and is a Global Advisory Board member at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, SP Jain School of Global Management and Indian Institute of Management – Pan IIM Board (GCC). He is also a Board Member at Gulf International Bank - Saudi Arabia.

From 2006-2018, he was the Global Co-Founder of Fullerton Financial Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings, Singapore; and served concurrently as the Global CEO of Consumer Banking, Regional CEO for Central Europe, Middle East and Africa; and as the founder, Managing Director and CEO of Dunia Finance, Fullerton’s UAE subsidiary. Prior to that, he was at Citibank for 20 years, finishing as the Regional CEO & Division Executive - Turkey, Middle East and Africa. Additionally, he also served as Board Member of Commercial International Bank (Kenya) and Unit Trust of India Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mr. Kakar holds an MBA, Finance & Marketing from the Indian Institute of Management, and a B. Tech in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology. He has 38 years’ professional experience.

Mr. Frank Schwab is a strategic advisor, a co-founder of FinTech Forum Frankfurt, and a member of the Supervisory Boards of Addiko Bank in Vienna and Hauck & Aufhaeuser Innovative Capital in Frankfurt Mr. Schwab is also a Board Member of Tawrid. His main topics are innovation, crypto currencies, blockchain, technology, transformation and banking.

Previously, Mr. Schwab was the CEO of GIZS GmbH & Co KG (Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe / paydirekt), MD of Token GmbH Germany, and CEO of Fidor Solutions AG. He was also the Chairman of Hufsy in Copenhagen, and a senior advisor to McKinsey on banking transformation in Germany. He has held numerous management roles at Deutsche Bank AG, including Director for Strategy, Architecture, Business Development and Innovation; Group Technology & Operations; Private & Business Clients; IT & Operations; as well as Head of Internet & E-Commerce Technology. He also lectured for several years at the Mannheim Business School Creativity and Innovation Management. Additionally, he also served as a member of the Risk Advisory Committee at PayU (Amsterdam) and a Senior Strategic Advisor at Nagarro.

Mr. Schwab holds an Executive MBA from Ashridge, UK and completed a Bank Officer apprenticeship with Deutsche Bank, Mannheim, Germany, and study of Computer Science and Business Administration at the University of Mannheim. He has 28 years’ professional experience.

Mr. Nezar Al Saie is the Vice Chairman of the Board at Gulf Union Holding and is also an entrepreneur who has founded several leading regional companies in the telecom and building materials sectors in the Kingdom of Bahrain, including Kalaam Telecom and Polycon Bahrain, and is currently the Chairman of both companies. Mr. Al Saie is also the Chairman of Ahmed Al Saie & Bros and N. Al Saie W.L.L.

Previously, Mr. Al Saie spent 14 years at Investcorp Bahrain, where he was a member of the Management Committee and responsible for the placement of alternative assets including private equity, real estate, and hedge funds in the Gulf region. Prior to that, he was a Vice President at Chase Manhattan in Bahrain and London, where he worked across the global bank’s credit, corporate and private banking divisions. Mr. Al Saie served on the Boards of several public and private financial institutions, and as senior advisor to Lazard Brothers, London, and Itau Bank, Brazil.

Mr. Al Saie holds a BSc in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas, Austin, and a MSc in Management from London Business School. He has 44 years’ professional experience.