George is the Chairman of The FinTech Group.  He brings decades of experience in the investment, asset and wealth management sectors. He is also the Chairman of Gulf Wealth Management Limited, a start-up digital wealth management platform focused on the affluent individuals based in the GCC region.

​George was a co-founder and former Chairman and CEO of Aberdeen Asset Management PLC.  Subsequently he established Asset Management Investment Company PLC, which invested in the global asset management sector, of which company he was Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer from its incorporation until 2011.  He has been a director and chairman of a number of public and private companies in several jurisdictions including most recently European Wealth Management Group Limited, City of London Investment Management Group plc and The ECU Group plc. In addition to Gulf Wealth Management Limited he is currently Chairman of Oryx Management Services Limited, Ilex Associates Limited and Manufacturers Capital Limited and is on the boards of several other companies.

​George is a British national.

Education & Professional Qualification

• University of Edinburgh – LLB

• University of Aberdeen – MA in History

• Member of the Society of Writers to Her Majesty’s Signet in Scotland

• Burgess of Guild of the City and Royal Burgh of Aberdeen

Nadeem is the Managing Director of The FinTech Group. He brings more than 30 years of experience in the financial services and strategy consulting sectors.

​Nadeem is the CEO of Gulf Wealth Management Limited, a start-up digital wealth management platform focused on meeting the investment needs of the affluent individuals based in the GCC region. He is also the Managing Director of Gulf Ventures Corporation, a venture development firm focused on the financial services sector. Between 2012 and June 2014, Mr Mujtaba was a part of the Management Committee of Chairman Mentors International (“CMi”), the Europe’s leading ‘mentoring’ firm based in London.

​Previously, Nadeem was a part of the senior management team of Gulf Investment Corporation in Kuwait and Gulf International Bank in Bahrain. Prior to coming to the GCC, Nadeem worked at the London office of Oliver Wyman & Company, an international strategy consulting firm focused on financial services sector. Prior to his experience in strategy consulting, Nadeem gained auditing experience with Deloitte in Bahrain and Ernst & Young in the UK.

​Nadeem is a British national.

Education & Professional Qualification

• IMD, Switzerland – MBA
• American Institute of Certified Public Accountants – CPA

Michael is Director at The FinTech Group Ltd and Director – Investor Relations at Gulf Wealth Management Limited. He is also the Founder and CEO of Stormberg Partners WLL, Bahrain, a Middle East based advisory firm which supports the deployment of new disruptive technologies from OECD countries to leading institutions, family business groups and government enterprises in the Middle East. He has 40-years leadership experience across commercial, investment banking and wealth management whilst building businesses often from start-up and in an international setting.

As a banker Michael led 3-successful ‘greenfield’ start-ups including for (i) HSBC in Saudi Arabia & Europe (Jersey, London, Geneva), for (ii) Credit Suisse Asset Management in London, and (iii) what-is-now Emirates NBD in Dubai & Europe (Jersey, London). As part of his responsibilities for HSBC – SABB he was also appointed MD Saudi British Investment Management, Switzerland and for Emirates NBD a Director of ENBD Trust Co (Jersey) Ltd.

Michael began his banking career at Chemical Bank (now J.P. Morgan Chase). He served in North America, Europe and the Middle East. Over time he held country / region leadership positions for Oman and separately for the Middle East and later for Canada. He was a Member of the bank’s Credit Committee.

Michael is a British national.

Education & Professional Qualification

• London Business School, UK – IMP
• Cranfield School of Management, UK – MBA

Ajmal is Director of insurance at the Fintech Group in addition to his roles as Managing Partner of MassesGlobal UK and Executive Director of Badri Management Consultancy UAE. He is also on the Advisory Boards of the United Kingdom Islamic Finance Council and the iPortal.live for global promotion of takaful including the ESG metrics of Green Economy and digital solutions including telemedicine.

He specializes in General, Life & Health insurance and takaful, ensuring governance and compliance of statutory and takaful standards and applying financial and ERM tools and strategies to evaluate stability and solvency of insurance and takaful businesses, new start-ups and operational restructuring.

Ajmal’s core competencies include digitalization, change management, risk mitigation, brand building, business durability and corporate governance. His professional and leadership experience spans over 30 years in managing insurance and takaful businesses globally, holding C-level and Board positions with HSBC (in the UK, Malaysia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and the UAE), with Tokio Marine Group (in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt), with Qatar General Insurance, Takaful International, Arab Insurance Group Bahrain, the Old Mutual and Shield Assurance in the UK.

Ajmal is a thought leader in takaful; recognized for his outstanding contributions to the takaful industry internationally. He pioneered research, promotion and development of takaful, contributing to the evolution of ideas and concepts of ethical savings and protection, working with standard setting bodies of IFSB and AAOIFI and insurance regulatory bodies of Bahrain, Malaysia, Brunei and Afghanistan.

Ajmal is a British national.

Education & Professional Qualification

• Institute & Faculty of Actuaries, UK – AIA
• Chartered Insurance Institute, UK – Chartered Insurer
• INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France – The Leadership Program

Younus is Director – GCC Region at The FinTech Group. With 30 years of global experience in the FMCG and retail industries, Younus has a strong knowledge and practice of Middle Eastern markets.

Younus started his career in FMCG as a Brand Manager for Colgate Palmolive in Pakistan where he gained substantial experience in the areas of category management, consumer marketing, market research, advertising, sales and profit & loss management.

In 1995, Younus moved to the GCC region where he has worked for retail giants such as Alshaya Group and Alghanim Industries in Kuwait. During his 25 years career in the GCC region, he has held several senior positions across the retail industry.

Younus is experienced in developing new business concepts from inception to business launch with exceptional results. Prior to joining The FinTech Group, Younus had responsibilities at Alshaya Group for establishing exclusive partnerships with world class retail brands and enable them to achieve significant market share in the Middle East by leveraging Alshaya’s multi-market presence in the GCC region.

Younus is a dual Pakistani/American national.

Education & Professional Qualification

• National University, California – MBA
• University of Karachi, Pakistan – BSc. Statistics
• The Institute of Leadership & Management, UK – Level 5 Leadership Certificate

Samina is Director – Technology & Customer Success at The FinTech Group. She brings more than 15 years of experience in technology, consulting and banking.

Samina has led many projects to redesign end-to-end business process, resulting in elevating the end customer’s experience journey during her freelance work in Massachusetts, US.

Prior to her relocation to USA, Samina worked as the Head of Business Process Management at National Bank of Kuwait, one of the leading GCC retail banks, where she managed the delivery of process innovation and continuous improvement initiatives across multiple departments and value streams. Prior to that, Samina worked at Ernst & Young in a managerial role in the firm’s Technology & Security Risk Practice, where she conducted consulting assignment in IT & communication and information security project development for clients in Kuwait.

Samina is a dual Pakistani/American national.

Education & Professional Qualification

• University of Bahrain – Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science
• INSEAD, France – Blockchain Implementation & Implications Diploma
• ABPMP –Certified Business Process Professional
• PMI – Project Management Professional
• SMMI – ITIL Service Manager

Ken is a Senior Advisor at The FinTech Group with a focus on the FinTech needs of the banking and capital markets sectors in the GCC region.

​Ken has over 25 years’ experience of advising clients in the financial services and energy sectors through senior roles in professional services (Partner at Deloitte and Ernst & Young in the Middle East) and investment banking (Executive Director at UBS and Noble Grossart). He has worked extensively in the UK, Western and Central Europe, the CIS and particularly the Middle East, where he lived and worked in Doha for 2 years. He is currently advising several clients in the European FinTech world.

​Ken is a Swiss / British national and speaks fluent German and French as well as conversational Arabic.

Education & Professional Qualification

• Strathclyde Business School – MBA
• University of Cambridge – MA
• Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland – ACA
• Fellow of the Energy Institute
• Meyler Campbell Business Coach Programme Graduate

Luc is a Senior Advisor at The FinTech Group with a focus on InsureTech in the GCC region.

​Luc is an innovative international business strategist, who played a primary role for the last 20 years at CEO and Board level, in the creation, turnaround and expansion of multimillion-dollar financial services organisations, both in the conventional and Islamic domains.

​Luc is also a digital entrepreneur.  He has developed two patents and conceptualised, designed and prototyped 3 mobile applications, which are game changers. He launched his own digital solutions and an advisory company with a group of top C-Suite executives who are blending with select ”techies” to transform old products and processes into new, modern and game changing digital applications in the insurance sector. His knowhow, which has been acquired with blue chip companies (Allianz, AIG, AXA) and regional Asian and GCC organizations, in seven countries, can help fast track businesses looking for live, practical, out of the box CEO level intelligence and advice.

​Luc is a French national.

Education & Professional Qualification

• Universities of Grenoble II and III in France – MSc, Science & Technology
• University of Quebec in Montreal, Canada – MA, Communication

Humayun is a Senior Advisor at The FinTech Group with the responsibility for business development in Oman.

Humayun brings 30 years of experience in the financial services sector in Oman, Saudi Arabia and Canada with organizations like ABN Amro Bank Canada, Royal Bank of Canada, Saudi American Bank, Ernst & Young, Inforica Inc, Canada and National Bank of Oman.

At National Bank of Oman (“NBO”), Humayun was General Manager with responsibility for the bank’s Wholesale Banking Group comprising Corporate, Investment, Government, Business Banking, Treasury Division, Financial Institutions Group and Wholesale Distribution Division (Transaction Banking).

Humayun joined NBO in 2008 and also served the bank as General Manager Retail Banking and Chief Financial Officer prior to taking responsibility for Wholesale Banking. He served on key decision making forums of the bank such as the bank’ Executive Management Committee, Asset Liability Committee, Management Credit Committee, Management Risk Committee and was the Chairman of the Business Technology Committee.

Humayun is a Canadian national.

Education & Professional Qualification

• MBA in General Management – University of Western Ontario, Canada
• Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales

Lawrence is a Senior Advisor at The FinTech Group with a focus on arranging FinTech JVs and partnerships to fast-track the introduction of innovation in the GCC region.

Lawrence is the former CEO of Innovate Finance, an independent membership association that represents the UK’s global FinTech community. As CEO he developed the company and delivered: advocacy for government policy changes, curated member programmes and promotion, the annual members’ conference – the pre-eminent annual Global Summit, the FCA Industry Sandbox Consultation, the Global FinTech Hub Federation, and the Women in Fintech Powerlist.  Innovate Finance’s advocacy roles included:

• Secretariat to the FinTech All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG)

• Secretariat to the Network Action Group (City of London)

• Member of the FinTech Panel (HM Treasury)

• London Tech Ambassador (Mayor of London)

During this period, Innovate Finance played its role in establishing the UK as the No. 1 FinTech Hub in the world.

Lawrence’s current FinTech related advisory, venture and board roles include:

• Huddlestock – Investment Platform – Advisory Board

• UK Islamic FinTech Panel – Member – Panel Board

• India Fintech Opportunities Review – Advisory Council

Lawrence is a Canadian national.

Education & Professional Qualification

• Henley Business School, United Kingdom – MBA

Naeem is Country Manager – UAE at The FinTech Group.

Naeem is a trade finance specialist with over 38 years of global experience at banks in Kenya, Luxembourg, Hamburg, Pakistan, Kuwait and United Arab Emirates. He has worked with Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait Finance House, American Express, Standard Chartered Bank, BCCI and Habib Bank Limited.

Naeem has vast experience in leading trainings in trade finance for management and banking sector employees in Kuwait at Kuwait Institute of Banking Studies (IBS).

Naeem is a Pakistani national.

Education & Professional Qualification

• University of Karachi, Pakistan – BSc.

Rashid is Country Manager – Pakistan at The FinTech Group for its operations in the country, mainly relating to Hyland Credentials for the education sector. Rashid has more than 35 years of working experience in Electrical, Electronic, Pharmaceutical and Chemical Industries.

Prior to joining The FinTech Group, Rashid was VP – Business Administration at Siemens Saudi Arabia for two business divisions with business volume of ~ USD 100 million per year (1992-2018).

He has worked with Hoechst (pharmaceutical) as Senior Officer – Finance in Pakistan during 1985 – 1992 handling financial reporting and company investments.

Rashid completed his accountancy training with Hyder Bhimji & Company with wide experience of audit and finalization of accounts of various types of industrial and commercial organizations in Pakistan.

Rashid is a Pakistani national.

Education & Professional Qualification

• University of Karachi, Pakistan – Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce