Board of Directors

Dr. Omar Zuhair Hafiz - Chairman

Dr. omar Hafiz is an associate professor of Islamic finance in King Abdulaziz university. He is A Saudi citizen born in Almadina in 1950 and got his Ph.D from Indiana University bloomington USA in 1981 and a bachlor degree in islamic studies in 2005 from king Abdulaziz university. He joined department of Economics in 1981 after graduation for Around 9 years where he served as chairman of the department and director of the first international research center in islamic economics. in 1990 he left the university for working in Islamic Finance industry where he worked for Islamic Development Bank for around 15 years and for other islamic finance and Takaful institutions for more than 10 years.
He published some books in Arabic and supervised a lot of dissertations in islamic economics, and in 2017 He returned back to his university to work in Islamic Economics Institute

Mr. Faheem Ahmad - President - Strategic Planning and Global Relationships

Mr. Faheem Ahmad was recognized among top 500 Islamic personalities by Islamica500. www.islamica500.com/download.html.
Faheem Ahmad is the founder of the VIS Group, Pakistan. He has top level management experience at international level in the fields of credit rating, and Islamic and conventional financial risk assessment modeling. In 1997, he formed a JV with a leading rating agency of USA, to form DCR-VIS. JCRA joined JCR-VIS subsequent to DCR’s merger with Fitch. JCR-VIS is currently a prominent financial services provider in Pakistan and is recognized by all relevant regulatory authorities as a full service rating provider.
In 2001, Mr. Ahmad participated in the establishment of Islamic International Rating Agency (IIRA) in Bahrain. In 2011, he developed and launched a ‘Fiduciary Rating System’; capturing Mudarib's quality, governance and compliance with Shari’a principles. IIRA now has mandates in 11 Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Sudan, Turkey, Jordan, Pakistan, Egypt, and UAE.
In 2002, he was a member of the founding team that established the Association of Credit Rating Agencies in Asia (ACRAA), headquartered in Manila. ACRAA represents 30 rating agencies in Asia. In December 2013, recognizing his commitment towards ACRAA, Mr. Ahmad was elected as the Chairman of the Board of Directors. During his association with ACRAA, he has also served as the Chairman of the Best Practices Committee, he played a leading role to develop “ACRAA Code of Conduct Fundamentals for Domestic Credit Rating Agencies” and important publications, including ‘Credit Ratings – The Basics Revisited’, ‘Rating Shopping'. In this regard, Mr. Ahmad in 2012, conducted a study, funded by ADB, for the development of ‘Idealized Default Curves’ for mapping national scale ratings to facilitate cross border fund flows.
Mr. Faheem Ahmad also serves on the Board of Directors of CRISL, Bangladesh, a company he helped found in 2003. CRISL has since grown to be one of the largest and most prominent rating agencies in Bangladesh and is recognized by all relevant, national, regulatory authorities.

Mr. Abdulrahman Shehab - Board Member

Mr. Shehab is a holder of Master in Business Administration, University of Hull, UK. He Has over 37 years of banking experience gained in senior positions with various international financial institutions, both Islamic and conventional.
He commenced his career with Habib Bank Ltd in 1973, later worked with (then) Chase Manhattan Bank, Bahrain, Bank of America, Bahrain, American Express Bank, Bahrain and Bahrain Middle East Bank, Bahrain.
After a successful career with Shamil Bank of Bahrain (formerly Faysal Islamic Bank of Bahrain), he was appointed as Assistant Chief Executive Officer – Operations at Bahrain Islamic Bank in 2002, and thereafter joined Al Baraka Banking Group in May 2006. Mr. Shehab is a Board member of Banque Al Baraka D’Algérie, and Al Baraka Bank Ltd Pakistan.

Mr. Zubair Nawaz Chattha - Board Member

Mr. Zubair Nawaz Chattha has been associated with the Gourmet family business since his early days. Gourmet Group, a family enterprise, is the most diversified food and beverage manufacturing group of companies in Pakistan, with a product range of approximately 800 items of confectionery, bakery, dining, dairies, ice cream, traditional delicacies (Sub continent sweets), carbonated drinks, juices, jams and condiments.
Mr. Zubair bears an impressive profile detailing an unprecedented track record bedecked and evenly interspersed with illustrious achievements and services on various fronts during his professional career.
From his educational record to professional acumen, Mr. Zubair Nawaz Chattha stands out par excellence. After completing his B.A, he went for a graduation in law and completed his LLB in 1992. He also holds degree of LLM. On the academic front he has had renowned institutions among his alma maters, including University of Punjab, Lahore and Harvard Law School USA.

Mr. Husam Al khalal- Board Member

Mr. Ahmed Darwesh - Board Member