Abdullah Hudhud leads Moody’s Relationship Management team in charge of managing existing and new relationships across the Middle East & Africa.

In his role as Head of Relationship Management for ME&A, Abdullah is responsible to drive Moody’s commercial strategy and lead a team of relationship managers covering the region.

Prior to joining Moody’s in 2019, Abdullah spent 4 years at the National Bank of Canada as Head of EMEA for Financial Institutions Group, 8 years at Standard & Poor’s as Head of Client Coverage for Middle East & North Africa, 4 years with HSBC as Director of Corporate & Investment Banking, and 2 years with BNP Paribas as Relationship Manager of Private Banking.

Abdullah has a Masters of Science degree in Investment Banking & Securities and a Bachelors degree in Finance.

Nitish Bhojnagarwala is an Associate Managing Director with Moody’s Financial Institutions Group. Based in Dubai, Nitish covers a portfolio of large conventional as well as Islamic financial institutions in the Middle East, Africa and Turkey.

Nitish joined Moody’s in 2011, and has led sukuk roundtables and conducted workshops on Banking and Islamic finance at various conferences in the Middle East, Europe and Asia. Nitish has also authored several research pieces, with a focus on regional banking, credit issues and issuer-in-depths for conventional as well as Islamic banks.

Prior to joining Moody’s, Nitish spent five years at Tamweel in the Treasury function. He has also worked for KPMG in the UAE, where he covered financial institutions. Nitish holds an MBA from S P Jain Institute of Management & Research, with a major in Finance (Investment Banking).

Fabian Astic serves on Moody’s Ratings’ Senior Leadership Team as Managing Director, Global Head of Digital Economy, and Chair of the AI Oversight Working Group. He leads the rating agency’s preparedness efforts related to the digitalization of the global economy, including Digital Finance, AI Analytics, and Cyber Credit Risk.

Fabian is a recognized expert in traditional and digital finance, often contributing to industry events and conferences. He serves on the Digital Asset Markets Subcommittee of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Global Markets Advisory Committee, and on the board of QuantCubeTechnology, an AI-powered predictive analytics company.

Prior to his current role, Fabian led quantitative analytics and innovation for the rating agency. He joined Moody’s in 2006 and had various roles in the Credit Strategy & Standards and Structured Finance groups.

Fabian’s academic credentials include a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics with a focus on Mathematical Finance, and a Master’s Degree in Mathematics Applied to Economic Sciences from Université Paris Dauphine. He also holds a Master’s Degree in Science and Executive Engineering from the Ecole des Mines de Paris, where he specialized in Quantitative Finance.

Mr. Slok joined Apollo Global Management in August 2020. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Slok worked for 15 years on the sell-side, where his team was top-ranked by Institutional Investor in fixed income and equities for ten years, including #1 in 2019. Previously he worked at the OECD in Paris in the Money and Finance Division and the Structural Policy Analysis Division. Before joining the OECD he worked for four years at the IMF in the Division responsible for writing the World Economic Outlook and the Division responsible for China, Hong Kong, and Mongolia.

Mr. Slok studied at University of Copenhagen and Princeton University. He frequently appears in the media (CNBC, Bloomberg, WSJ, NYT, FT), and he has published numerous journal articles and reviews on economics and policy analysis, including in Journal of International Economics, Journal of International Money and Finance, and The Econometric Journal.

Annabel Schaafsma is a Managing Director and Global Head of the Structured Finance Group within Ratings and Research. She is responsible for a global team that both assign primary ratings as well as the surveillance of existing ratings covering all asset types including Asset Backed Securities, Corporate and Residential Mortgage Backed Securities, Structured Credit and Covered Bonds.

Annabel has many years of experience in credit analysis, as well as managing credit professionals. Annabel first joined Moody’s in 2001 in the Structured Finance Group where she went onto leading teams assigning Primary ratings to Residential Mortgage Backed securities and the surveillance of Consumer Asset Backed Securities in EMEA. Prior to her current role she worked in Credit Strategy and Standards Group responsible for the Methodology Development Group. Prior to joining Moody’s Annabel worked for Credit Suisse in the Credit Risk Management department in various roles in London and New York. In 2006 Annabel joined Standard Chartered Bank as Head of Credit Research for the Structured Credit Investment team that invested in structured finance instruments. Before re-joining Moody’s in 2010, Annabel was head of Traded Credit Risk Management for Standard Chartered Bank in London responsible for the identification and analysis of credit risks within the firm’s trading business.

Annabel is passionate about diversity and inclusion; she is the executive sponsor of the Moody’s UK Women’s Business Resource Group. Annabel holds an undergraduate degree in Economics focused in finance and accountancy from Manchester University

Nitish Bhojnagarwala is an Associate Managing Director with Moody’s Financial Institutions Group. Based in Dubai, Nitish covers a portfolio of large conventional as well as Islamic financial institutions in the Middle East, Africa and Turkey.

Nitish joined Moody’s in 2011, and has led sukuk roundtables and conducted workshops on Banking and Islamic finance at various conferences in the Middle East, Europe and Asia. Nitish has also authored several research pieces, with a focus on regional banking, credit issues and issuer-in-depths for conventional as well as Islamic banks.

Prior to joining Moody’s, Nitish spent five years at Tamweel in the Treasury function. He has also worked for KPMG in the UAE, where he covered financial institutions. Nitish holds an MBA from S P Jain Institute of Management & Research, with a major in Finance (Investment Banking).

Mohieddine (Dino) Kronfol is the chief investment officer for Global Sukuk and Head of MENA Fixed Income for Franklin Templeton based in Dubai, United

Arab Emirates. Dino is responsible for managing the investment process, research, and performance of the Global Sukuk and MENA Fixed Income teams, and

leads portfolio management for FTSF Global Sukuk, FTIF Gulf Wealth Bond, and FT-BSP Private Financing strategies.

Dino is a pioneer in Arab capital markets where he has committed the past 25 years to the development of MENA debt markets and Shariah compliant finance

across the globe. He has one of the longest track records managing global Sukuk assets, since 2008, and under his leadership, Franklin Templeton has

established itself as a leader in global Sukuk investing. Dino frequently shares his views as a commentator on regional and international media and is a regular

speaker at industry events.

Preceding his tenure at Franklin Templeton, Dino was part of a small team that, in 2000, helped build from scratch and run what became SHUAA Capital's

financial services business. He was initially head of Capital Markets and later became head of Debt Asset Management and, in 2002, fund manager of the first

fund to focus exclusively on MENA debt. Prior to that, he was an early employee at one of the first pan-Arab investment banks, Middle East Capital Group

(MECG).

Dino holds a bachelor of arts in business administration and an MBA from the American University of Beirut. He won the first Failaka Islamic Award for "The

Best Sukuk Fund" in 2010, the first Employee Provident Fund of Malaysia (EPF) Award for "Best Global Sukuk Portfolio Manager" in 2014 and 2019, and the

MENA Fund Manager Award for "Outstanding Achievement by an Individual" in 2016. Franklin GCC Bond fund won the Mountain View Fund Award 2019 in

the Bond Funds Global category. His team was awarded the Bonds, Loans & Sukuk Middle East Awards for MENA Fixed Income Strategy, 1 Year (2022) and

3 Years (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025) and Global Sukuk Strategy, 1 Year (2021) and 3 Years (2022, 2023). In private markets, 3 transactions won the

Bonds Loans & Sukuk Private Credit Deal of the Year in 2022 (Pure Harvest), 2023 (Moove), and 2025 (Keyper).

Zeina joined Amwal in January 2024 as a Fixed Income Portfolio Manager and Partner based in Dubai.

Prior to joining Amwal, Zeina was a portfolio manager for Arqaam Capital. She was Zeina was the lead pm managing all the funds and institutional discretionary mandates across Global Emerging Markets Conventional and Global Sukuk.

Zeina has over 15 years of experience in the financial services, 13-year track record co-managing Global Credit Funds, and 10-year track record co-managing Shariah Global Credit funds. Prior to joining Arqaam, Zeina was part of the management team of a global fixed income fund domiciled in Luxembourg and worked as a fixed income advisor to the Private Banking Team. Previously, Zeina held a position as a credit and market risk supervisor and worked in securitization part of the structuring team for asset-backed securitization deals. Zeina holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Finance and has been a CFA Charterholder since 2011.

Alexander Perjéssy is Vice President – Senior Credit Officer at the Moody’s Sovereign Risk Group.

Based in Dubai, he has lead analyst responsibilities for a number of sovereigns in the Middle East, including most of the Gulf Cooperation Council member states and several regional multilateral institutions.

Prior to joining Moody’s in November 2017, Alex worked for two years as economist at the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Before relocating to the Middle East, Alex spent more than 12 years covering macroeconomic developments and sovereign risk assessment in the emerging markets of the EMEA region for AllianceBernstein and The Rohatyn Group, both US-based asset management firms in New York, as well as for Goldman Sachs in London.

Alex holds an MA in Economics from the University of Maryland and a BA in Economics from Middlebury College.

• Deepa Raja Carbon is the Managing Director and Vice Chairperson of the newly established Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority [VARA], her mandate covers creation, enablement and scale-up of the first-of-its-kind global Virtual Asset ecosystem, as an ‘interoperable’ standard for a future ‘autonomous and decentralised’ economy, assuring strong investor and market risk guard-rails for cross-border transposability.
• In tandem, Deepa holds the position of EVP Corporate Office at the Dubai World Trade Centre [DWTC], managing Corporate Strategy and Real Estate Commercial.
• Ms. Raja Carbon’s functional responsibilities across the portfolio span [i] economic policy and sector-specific strategy; [ii] investment and commercial value enablement; [iii] regulatory policy and legal governance - economic and market risk assurance; [iv] corporate business/ sector-specific performance management; and [v] brand and reputation management - driving mandated GDP targets.
• Additionally, she is the Economy and Policy Advisor to Economic Strategy Sector at the Dubai Government’s Department of Economy and Tourism [DET]. Responsible for enabling Dubai’s economic growth – the sector targets accelerated GDP and Productivity across the future economy, and sustainable contribution from recovering sectors, with core focus on Tourism in line with city aspirations to deliver 25 million tourists by 2025.
• As a leadership team member involved in the Dubai Expo 2020 from bid through core asset development phases, she is currently enabling the legacy transformation of this landmark global event for the UAE.
• With nearly 20 years experience in driving transformational growth programmes, Deepa started her career as a Strategy Consultant with Booz and Company’s North American management consulting practice spanning multi-sectoral clients across the Americas, Europe and Asia.
• Her initiation to the business environment was through special assignments for the World Bank and UNDP based out of Kenya and South Africa; and she continues to service social enterprise in her capacity as co-chair of Bunyan Knights for UAE next-generation leadership development.

Fabian Astic serves on Moody’s Ratings’ Senior Leadership Team as Managing Director, Global Head of Digital Economy, and Chair of the AI Oversight Working Group. He leads the rating agency’s preparedness efforts related to the digitalization of the global economy, including Digital Finance, AI Analytics, and Cyber Credit Risk.

Fabian is a recognized expert in traditional and digital finance, often contributing to industry events and conferences. He serves on the Digital Asset Markets Subcommittee of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Global Markets Advisory Committee, and on the board of QuantCubeTechnology, an AI-powered predictive analytics company.

Prior to his current role, Fabian led quantitative analytics and innovation for the rating agency. He joined Moody’s in 2006 and had various roles in the Credit Strategy & Standards and Structured Finance groups.

Fabian’s academic credentials include a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics with a focus on Mathematical Finance, and a Master’s Degree in Mathematics Applied to Economic Sciences from Université Paris Dauphine. He also holds a Master’s Degree in Science and Executive Engineering from the Ecole des Mines de Paris, where he specialized in Quantitative Finance.

Yasmina Serghini is a Managing Director in Moody’s Rating's Corporate Finance Group. She manages the teams in Madrid, Milan and Paris that are responsible for investment grade and high yield companies primarily in the TMT, retail, pharmaceutical, healthcare, food, packaged goods, railways and postal services industries.

Since joining Moody’s in 2005, Yasmina has been in charge of the credit ratings of automotive and truck manufacturers, retail, consumer packaged goods companies, including beverages and business services companies. Prior to joining Moody’s, Yasmina worked for Caisse Nationale des Caisses d’Epargne as a credit risk analyst where she had responsibilities for the analysis of companies mainly in the airlines, telecoms and real estate industries as well as aircraft and shipping financings. Yasmina is a CFA charterholder. 

She holds a Postgraduate Diploma (“DESS”) in Finance from Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris and has a university degree (majoring in Finance) from Dauphine University (Paris). She is fluent in English, French and Moroccan.

Lisa Jaeger is a Vice President – Senior Analyst in Moody’s Corporate Finance Group based in Dubai. She is responsible for a diversified portfolio of issuers across the Middle East, Turkey and South Africa, including Investment Holding Companies and Conglomerates, Telecoms and Diversified Industrials. Lisa joined Moody’s in 2020 after spending 5 years at Goldman Sachs in London, where she was an Executive Director and senior credit risk manager, covering leveraged lending to corporates as well as real estate and structured finance lending and investing transactions. Prior to that, Lisa spent 6 years at J.P. Morgan in London, where she started her career with the bank’s credit risk graduate program in 2009, covering a wide range of different clients and products, including financial institutions, private equity sponsors and diversified investment grade and non-investment grade corporates. During her time at J.P. Morgan, she also spent one year in the leveraged finance origination team. Lisa holds a Master’s degree in Finance and Strategy from Sciences Po Paris. She speaks fluent English, German and French and is learning Arabic.

Aziz Al Sammarai joined Moody’s Corporate Finance in April, 2018. Aziz is based in Toronto office where he covers a portfolio of U.S. and Canadian based companies mainly in the paper and plastic packaging and forest products industry as well as Canadian based airlines and homebuilders. Prior to joining Moody’s, Aziz held multiple roles in the credit rating industry in Toronto. Previously, Aziz worked in external audit roles for KPMG.

Aziz has a Master’s in Finance from the Queen's University and a B.Sc. in Finance from the University of Bedfordshire Oman.

Paul Feghaly is an Analyst in Moody’s EMEA Corporate Finance Group based in Dubai. He covers a diversified portfolio, including but not limited to regulated utilities, telecom and real estate companies situated in the Middle East.He joined Moody’s Dubai office in 2018, and previously worked as a senior associate in PwC’s Capital Markets Advisory team for two years, covering IPO and debt transactions in the MENA region. Before that, he has spent around 5 years working in different regional audit and tax functions with both Deloitte and BDO International.Paul holds an associate degree in Audit and Accounting, has passed the US certified public accountant (CPA) examination, and completed the executive CORe program at Harvard Business School Online

Antonello Aquino is Managing Director, global co-head for Insurance, Funds and Asset Management, and EMEA Private Credit at Moody’s Ratings. He leads Moody’s analytical team responsible for maintaining credit ratings on insurers, funds, and asset managers in EMEA and North America, as well as private credit entities.

Antonello joined Moody’s in 2008 as a Senior Insurance Analyst, covering major European (re)insurers. Prior to Moody’s, he led the Financial Institutions Group (FIG) rating advisory practice at Credit Suisse in Europe. His earlier experience includes roles as a Senior Analyst in Standard & Poor’s insurance sector, and positions within the FIG M&A teams at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW) and ABN AMRO.

He holds an MBA from HEC Paris and is an alumnus of London Business School. He graduated cum laude in Business Administration from Bocconi University in Italy. Antonello is fluent in English, Italian, and French.

Stephen is a Managing Director and Global Co-Head of banking. He is co-responsible for global bank ratings and is based in London where he primarily focuses on banks in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

From 2022-2025 he was the Managing Director and Regional Head of EMEA, Stephen also served as the Country Manager for the United Kingdom for Moody’s Ratings. He was responsible for core business strategy, governance and oversight in the EMEA region.

Before relocating to London, Stephen held the position as Global Co-Head of Banking from 2010 to 2022, based in Hong Kong. In this role, he was responsible for global bank ratings with a primary focus on banks across the Asia-Pacific region.

Prior to joining Moody’s, Stephen worked at J.P. Morgan in London, Tokyo and Hong Kong in various senior credit, research and rating advisory positions. From 1990-1996 he was a bank analyst at S&P Global in London and Paris.

Stephen began his career as a banking regulator at the Bank of England. He is a graduate of the University of Oxford, where he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics.

Mohamed Abdelbary is the Group Chief Executive Officer at Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB). As Group CEO, he is responsible for leading ADIB strategic directions, overseeing the group operations and ensuring the bank’s profitability and growth. With over 28 years of experience in financial services and banking, he has held key positions in leading financial institutions, including Citibank, Barclays Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank. His deep knowledge and strategic vision have been instrumental in driving the growth and success of the organizations he has been part of.

Abdelbary joined ADIB in May 2020 as the Group Chief Financial Officer, a role in which he played a pivotal role in shaping the financial strategy and performance of the bank.

Mohamed possesses the CFA® Charter holder credential, demonstrating his commitment to the highest standards of ethics and professionalism in the industry. His visionary leadership and unwavering commitment to excellence continue to shape ADIB’s path towards a future of sustainable growth and prosperity.

Badis Shubailat is a Senior Analyst with Moody’s Financial Institutions Group. Based in Dubai, Badis covers a portfolio of large conventional as well as Islamic banks in the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Morocco. He is the lead analyst responsible for the Bahraini and Tunisian banking systems and also covered in the past financial institutions in Kuwait, Qatar and Turkey. Since joining Moody’s in March 2014, Badis has authored research publications focusing on GCC and North African credits as well as Islamic Banking. Badis holds a Bachelor in Business Administration from John Cabot University (Rome, Italy) and an MSc in Finance from EADA Business School (Barcelona, Spain). Badis speaks English, French, Arabic and Italian.

Francesca joined the Financial Institutions Group (FIG) of Moody’s Ratings in December 2014 and has broad experience in covering a wide range of banks and other financial institutions in terms of business and ownership profile. She is currently the lead analyst for banks in United Arab Emirates, Oman and some in Turkey.

Previously she worked in a private wealth management in New York and as an intern at Monte Dei Paschi di Siena in Milan. Francesca holds an MSc in Finance from Bocconi University - Milan and Bsc in Economics and Finance from University of Bologna.

Rahul Ghosh is Managing Director – Global Head of Sustainable Finance for Moody's Ratings.

Rahul leads global oversight for the credit rating agency’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) research and outreach strategy. In this capacity, he is responsible for co-ordinating high quality and impactful research exploring the credit implications of ESG, as well as digital and in-person outreach to meet the growing market needs of investors, issuers and other important stakeholders.

Rahul is a regular participant at high-profile industry working groups, market briefings, external conferences and media engagements. He is a member of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures, a market-led initiative to develop a risk management and disclosure framework for nature-related risks. He has also represented Moody’s on the UN Principles for Responsible Investment's advisory committee on credit ratings and the Green and Social Bond Principles working groups. He has presented on the impact of climate change on emerging market sovereigns at the G20 Green Finance Study Group and on sustainable finance trends at the International Finance Corporation’s Global Debt Mobilization Conference.

Before his current role, Rahul oversaw Moody’s ESG Solutions Group outreach and engagement activities globally with the sustainability stakeholder community. He also previously worked in Moody’s Credit Strategy & Research team where he was responsible for thematic research and outreach on global emerging market (EM) credit trends. Prior to joining Moody’s in 2013, Rahul was the Head of Asia at BMI Research (Fitch Solutions) in Singapore, leading a team of macroeconomists and industry specialists in analysing sovereign risk, sector performance and the capital markets.

Rahul is a passionate impact leader for Moody’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in London, chairing the pillar on “activating an environmentally sustainable future”. He holds a Masters degree in Economics from the University of Edinburgh and a Certificate in ESG Investing from the CFA Society of the UK.

Antoine is Head of Sustainable Investment Banking for Asia-Pacific and the Middle East at Crédit Agricole CIB. Based in Hong Kong, he is responsible for developing the Bank’s sustainable finance footprint and product range in the regions.

Since joining the Bank in 2021, he has led the franchise to be named Asia-Pacific ESG Financing House by the International Financing Review (2021, 2024 and 2025) and Asia’s Best Bank for Sustainable Finance by Euromoney (2025).

Antoine has 15 years’ experience in the sustainable finance field. He first joined the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) department at Crédit Agricole CIB in 2010 and subsequently the Sustainable Banking team in 2014. He later became Sustainable Banking Director and took the responsibility of several large clients in Benelux, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, where he actively developed Crédit Agricole CIB’s sustainable finance activities.

Rehan Akbar is an Associate Managing Director in Moody’s EMEA Corporate Finance Group, based in Dubai. He currently manages the corporate team responsible for rating coverage of companies in the Middle East, Africa, Turkiye, and the CIS region. Prior to joining Moody’s in 2011, Rehan worked as a credit analyst at Mashreq Capital, focusing on emerging market corporates. He began his career as a software engineer and technology consultant.

Rehan holds a Master’s degree in Management Sciences and Engineering from Stanford University and a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Lahore University of Management Sciences. He is also a CFA charterholder.

Christian Fang is a Vice President and Senior Analyst with the Sovereign and Sub-Sovereign Risk Group at Moody’s Investors Service.

Based in Dubai, Christian serves as lead analyst for a portfolio of sovereigns in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, including Jordan, Kuwait, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka.

He is also lead analyst for the Gulf Investment Corporation and the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, multilateral development banks serving the interests of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, respectively.

Christian was formerly based in Singapore covering a portfolio of predominantly Asia Pacific and Eurasian sovereigns and sub-sovereigns.

Prior to joining Moody’s, Christian was a Lead Portfolio Manager for the Monetary Authority of Singapore, where he was responsible for the investment of Singapore’s foreign reserves in European fixed income, global investment-grade credit, and global developed equity markets.

His time with the central bank included a two-and-a-half-year stint in London as its sole in-house investment representative. He also worked in monetary policy operations and macroprudential policy research, and was involved in the negotiation of Singapore’s renminbi swap line with China, as well as banking systemwide stress tests.

Christian holds an honors bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Chicago and a master’s degree in Finance from Princeton University.

Lisa Jaeger is a Vice President – Senior Analyst in Moody’s Corporate Finance Group based in Dubai. She is responsible for a diversified portfolio of issuers across the Middle East, Turkey and South Africa, including Investment Holding Companies and Conglomerates, Telecoms and Diversified Industrials. Lisa joined Moody’s in 2020 after spending 5 years at Goldman Sachs in London, where she was an Executive Director and senior credit risk manager, covering leveraged lending to corporates as well as real estate and structured finance lending and investing transactions. Prior to that, Lisa spent 6 years at J.P. Morgan in London, where she started her career with the bank’s credit risk graduate program in 2009, covering a wide range of different clients and products, including financial institutions, private equity sponsors and diversified investment grade and non-investment grade corporates. During her time at J.P. Morgan, she also spent one year in the leveraged finance origination team. Lisa holds a Master’s degree in Finance and Strategy from Sciences Po Paris. She speaks fluent English, German and French and is learning Arabic.

Iker is an Analyst in the Moody’s EMEA Corporate Finance Group based in Dubai. He covers a diversified industry portfolio, with exposure in Turkey, Africa, and the Middle East.

He joined Moody’s Dubai office in 2022, and previously worked as an associate analyst in the Moody’s London office covering the leveraged finance industry with exposure to Business and Consumer Services, Healthcare, Airlines and Aerospace & Defense. Before that, he spent 2 years working in the consulting industry in Spain.

Iker holds a Masters Degree in Investment Management from Henley Business School. He also holds a BSc in Business Management from the University of Deusto and is a CFA charterholder since 2018.

Antonello Aquino is Managing Director, global co-head for Insurance, Funds and Asset Management, and EMEA Private Credit at Moody’s Ratings. He leads Moody’s analytical team responsible for maintaining credit ratings on insurers, funds, and asset managers in EMEA and North America, as well as private credit entities.

Antonello joined Moody’s in 2008 as a Senior Insurance Analyst, covering major European (re)insurers. Prior to Moody’s, he led the Financial Institutions Group (FIG) rating advisory practice at Credit Suisse in Europe. His earlier experience includes roles as a Senior Analyst in Standard & Poor’s insurance sector, and positions within the FIG M&A teams at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW) and ABN AMRO.

He holds an MBA from HEC Paris and is an alumnus of London Business School. He graduated cum laude in Business Administration from Bocconi University in Italy. Antonello is fluent in English, Italian, and French.

George is the Chief Executive Officer of UIB (DIFC) Ltd and serves on the Board of Directors of UIB’s parent company, UIB Holdings (UK) Ltd. and is the Deputy Chairman of UIB Turkey.

He is a founding member, and the former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the DIFC Insurance Association. He has recently been re-elected to again serve on the board of directors of the DIFCIA.

He is currently the Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Insurance Business Group (IBG), an interest group formed under the auspices of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce to further the interests of the insurance industry and its interaction with other industries.

Having more than 35 years of experience in the insurance industry, he is a post graduate of the University of Southern California and holds a Master of Business Administration degree in Finance and Marketing. He joined United Insurance Brokers Ltd., (London) in October 1987 and was one of the founders of UIB’s Oil & Gas Division. Previously, he had been with a leading international insurance broking firm responsible for the handling of Property and Casualty risks of major California-based multinational corporations.

He is an expert in Well Control insurance and is one of the few insurance practitioners who has had firsthand well control experience in post-liberated Kuwait when he observed and worked with a specialist well control team on several wells burning out of control. George has authored, lectured and conducted Non-Technical Well Control Seminars in London and Internationally.

He has been a prominent speaker at numerous national, regional, and international insurance conferences.

He is a certified SCUBA diver and keen Alpine skier – from the deep blue to the high summit!

George is fluent in English, Arabic and French.

Hammad Khan is the Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer at Sukoon Insurance Company, UAE. As a member of the Executive Committee, he leads the Finance & Accounts, Investments & Administrative functions, playing a pivotal role in shaping the company’s strategic direction.

Sukoon Insurance is one of the UAE’s largest multi-line insurers, with total assets exceeding AED 11 billion and an “A” credit rating from S&P. Hammad has been instrumental in driving the company’s transformation strategy since 2018, significantly strengthening the balance sheet, enhancing the solvency ratio, liquidity management, restructuring investments into a more balanced d whilst enhancing its yield, and successfully turning around the takaful entity following its acquisition.

He serves on the Board of Directors of several entities:

Chairman, Oman Insurance Management Services Limited (OIMSL), DIFC, UAE

Board Member, Sukoon Takaful PJSC, UAE (listed entity on DFM)

With over 25 years of leadership experience in the insurance industry, Hammad has been a founding member of multiple start-ups across the GCC, including both conventional and takaful ventures, and has led the establishment of joint ventures. He is a Fellow Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan.

His key accomplishments span across:

Business transformation and strategic execution

IFRS implementation (incl. Sukoon being the first GCC insurer to publish IFRS 17 results)

Process re-engineering and data analytics

M&A acquisition and integration

Development of enterprise-wide policies and integrated cash management solutions to elevate customer experience.

Prior to Sukoon, Hammad held senior roles at leading institutions including:

American International Group (AIG), UAE

Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company, UAE

Noor Takaful (a subsidiary of Noor Bank), UAE

Abdul Latif Jameel, KSA

Allianz EFU (Subsidiary of Allianz AG)

Awards & Recognition:

Named one of the UAE’s Most Influential CFOs by Khaleej Times Editorial Board in 2025

CFO of the Year by Middle East CFO Magazine in 2017

Brandan is a Vice President – Senior Credit Officer in the EMEA Insurance Team, with analytical responsibility for a range of (re)insurance ratings across the EMEA region.

Brandan joined Moody’s New York office in 2010, as an analyst responsible for a diverse portfolio of US insurance and reinsurance companies. Prior to joining Moody’s, he was Assured Guaranty Ltd., responsible for accounting policy and transaction advisory services. Brandan started his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers in South Africa, later transferring to the New York office where he was a manager in the Assurance practice, primarily responsible for the audits of life insurance companies. Brandan holds a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Pretoria and a MBA in finance from New York University’s Stern School of Business. He is a Chartered Accountant (SA) and a Certified Public Accountant (NY).

Mohammed Ali Londe is an Vice President – Senior Analyst within Moody’s Insurance Group, based in Dubai. He is responsible for Moody’s insurance ratings in the Middle East. Prior to joining Moody’s in 2013, Mohammed worked in the Planning and Performance Management department of Zurich International Middle East. Mohammed’s past experience also includes working with Chartis Middle East (AIG) and as an auditor, within the insurance department of Deloitte Bermuda where along with performing numerous insurance and reinsurance audits, he was seconded to work with Endurance Specialty Insurance Ltd.Mohammed Ali holds a BSc from Oxford Brookes University, UK.