The IFC is unique in its constitution as it is led by industry experts who have both in depth specialist domain knowledge and have demonstrated commitment and dedication to the sector. The Board Members have acted as respective Head's and Team Leaders of Islamic Finance groups of organisations including Barclays Wealth, Ernst & Young and Tods Murray. The Board is supported by a strong calibre of management individuals who are professionally qualified.
BOARD MEMBERS
Tariq Masood is a banking veteran and is the IFC Chairman. With over 30 years of banking experience, his expertise, foresight and technical understanding provide the IFC with a Chairman who is leading from the top. Tariq has worked in Pakistan, Bahrain, UAE and multiple UK cities and possesses an in-depth knowledge and understanding of how the financing needs of the Muslim business community have evolved. With his keen desire to promote Islamic banking and finance, his guiding vision and passion is a key driving force behind the IFC.
Graham Burnside is a partner with Tods Murray LLP, heading up the Banking Department, specialising in commercial lending, debt trading and in particular securitisation and asset-backed finance. Graham has led the way in tailoring sharia principles to Scots Law facilitating the availability of Islamic home financing to the Scottish community. In addition to the legal structuring of the product this also involved extensive consultation with HM Treasury, leading to the introduction (in the Finance Act 2005) of stamp duty reliefs for Scottish Islamic mortgages parallel to those which had already been introduced in England.
Saftar Sarwar is a Private Banker specialising in private banking/wealth management for the Asian and International community in Scotland. Saftar has over 15 years investment and banking experience across a broad spectrum of financial areas with key knowledge and experience in fund management. Within Barclays Saftar covers Islamic finance solutions, Resident non-Domicile (RND) clients as well as traditional and conventional private banking and wealth management. His main focus is on innovative Islamic Finance solutions for the HNW market in the UK.
Omar Sheikh sits on the UK Treasury Advisory Sub-Committee advising the UK Government on fiscal policies for Islamic products and the UKTI’s advisory working group responsible for establishing the UK’s strategy for making the City a leading hub for Islamic finance. This has included participating in international trade delegations supporting the City Lord Mayor meeting with various ambassadors and CEO's. Omar has worked with Ernst & Young where he was recognised as the UK firms Subject Matter Expert for Islamic finance and successfully led the build out of the Islamic finance offering within the UK office. Omar’s background includes working with the EY Private Equity team and the multi-award winning EY Islamic Financial Services Group in Bahrain.
EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT
Umer Suleman has worked in different finance roles gaining experience different sectors, starting his career in Deutsche Bank and subsequently working with leading global advisory firm, Ernst and Young as an external auditor, specialising in Real Estate. Umer has gone onto cement his financial services expertise, serving as a Risk Manager for a major global bank.
Nadeem Haq is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales and of the Institute of Internal Auditors. Nadeem has worked in London and Dubai and has experience of audit, compliance and consultancy in a broad range of industries including financial services. Having worked with leading global firms PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Royal Bank of Scotland, Nadeem has developed expertise in the areas of banking, financial services and corporate governance.
Shahid Hanif has over 14 years experience working in the City of London in Consultancy, Sales and Marketing and finally Senior Management. Shahid was a Senior Vice President for Global Strategic Account Management Division of Thomson Financial ( now Thomson Reuters). Managing a senior sales team with a focus on business growth and revenue protection in EMEA. Prior to this Shahid gained extensive knowledge of Capital and Money markets sectors working with finance service firms including Bridge Information Systems, Moneyline and Telerate/Dow Jones.
Mujtaba Khalid works as a Senior Associate at the IFC. He has successfully completed a B.Sc in Accounting and Finance from the London School of Economics and a M.Sc in Investment Analysis from the University of Stirling, where his area of research was corporate governance and socially responsible investments. Mujtaba has acquired the Chartered Institute of Management Accountant's (CIMA) Islamic Finance Qualification and has undertaken extensive training in Islamic Banking and Finance from the State Bank of Pakistan.
SHARIAH
The IFC is privileged to have the support and endorsement of its work from prominent industry scholars. Engagement with global scholars such as Sheikh Nizam Yaqubi, Dr.Imran Usmani, Sheikh Haytham Tamim and locally Imam Habib-ur-Rehman and Imam Mustaqim Shah have been invaluable in inspiring the formation and ongoing activities of the IFC. Their recognition of the not-for-profit nature of the IFC work has driven them to both support and encourage the work of the IFC.
In addition to the above, the IFC recognises the contributions from a number of industry practitioners and product providers and benefits from their invaluable support.
