Kapil Kumra

Deputy General Manager & Head of Project Finance at Foreign Corporate Group, National Bank of Kuwait

KAPIL KUMRA has over 30 years of experience in Project & Corporate finance (with over 19 years in the GCC). Kapil has been the head of the Project Finance team at Foreign Corporate Group, National Bank of Kuwait, since 2014.

Previously Kapil was with Arab Bank’s Offshore Business Unit at Manama, Bahrain, where he was involved in the origination and execution of Corporate and Project & Structured Finance mandates in the Middle East and South Asia region.

Kapil has worked on a number of PPP projects in Kuwait, including expansion financing of the largest Wastewater Treatment plant and bids for projects tendered by the Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects (KAPP). Kapil is also a board member of the IPFA (International Project Finance Association) Middle East Region.

Dr. Zain Al Abdin Sharar

Senior Legal Counsel, Qatar International Court & Dispute Resolution Centre (QICDRC)

ZAIN AL ABDIN SHARAR has over 23 years’ experience in the legal field. Prior to joining the QICDRC, Dr. Sharar was the Director of Legal Affairs & Enforcement at the Qatar Financial Markets Authority (QFMA). Dr. Sharar also served for three years on the QFMA’s disciplinary committee.

Dr. Sharar has taught corporate law and corporate governance at a number of Australian universities and has provided advice to board members of several Australian publicly listed companies. He worked at Qatar University for three years as an Assistant Professor of Commercial Law, where he taught companies law and arbitration law. He has also taught commercial law and maritime and aviation law at the Ahmad Bin Mohammed Military College in Qatar and has lectured on many topics at the Legal and Judicial Studies Centre at the Qatar Ministry of Justice.

Dr. Sharar is a certified mediator at the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution in London and a qualified arbitrator at the GCC Commercial Arbitration Centre. He has provided mediation and arbitration services in many commercial and construction cases. He also participates in ADR training programmes.

Dr. Sharar has a Bachelor of Laws, a Master’s in International Trade Law, and a Doctor of Legal Sciences from Bond University in Australia, specifically focused on corporate governance.

Ibtissem Lassoued

Partner, Head of Advisory in the Regional Financial Crime Practice; Al Tamimi & Company

Ibtissem Lassoued has extensive experience advising international clients on a spectrum of
complex, multijurisdictional white collar crime issues, including but not limited to anti-money
laundering and counter-terrorist financing, global economic sanctions, anti-corruption issues
including the extraterritorial effect of the US FCPA and UK Bribery act, complex fraud, extradition
and INTERPOL notices, and Capital Market investigations. Ibtissem offers clients a full and practical
knowledge of the remit of inter-governmental organizations, in particular in relation to the FATF
and MENAFATF, and the effect of these on anti-corruption efforts, confiscation of the proceeds of
crime, de-risking and the reporting of suspicious transactions.

Ibtissem has been ranked as Band 1 in Chambers Global for Corporate Investigations for 6
consecutive years since the category’s inclusion and is commended for being ‘a brilliant
practitioner’, ‘as passionate about her area of expertise as she is knowledgeable’ and ‘stunningly
good at what she does’.

In February 2021, Ibtissem was appointed as the Chair of the Global Coalition to Fight Financial
Crime Middle East and North Africa Chapter. Her work with the Global Coalition involves strategic
oversight and direction of the Global Coalition’s activity in all MENA countries and active
involvement in the development of an effective financial crime system across the public and
private sectors. In 2019, she was ranked amongst Financial News’ 50 Most Influential Women in
Middle East Finance, and is currently serving as a member of the International Advisory Board of
the CEELI Institute, a non-profit non-governmental organisation based in Prague, Czech Republic,
dedicated to advancing the rule of law.

Desiree Moore

Partner and Director of Professional Development; K&L Gates

Desiree F. Moore is a litigation partner in the Chicago and Doha offices of K&L Gates.  She is the founding member and co-lead of the firm’s Digital Crisis Planning & Response (DCPR) client solution. She counsels corporations, educational institutions, non-profit organizations, sports leagues, and high-profile individuals in proactively planning for and effectively managing crises of varying magnitudes, including data breach, online defamation, harassment, and impersonation, university and other education scandals, celebrity disgrace events, key person transitions and investigations, leaked confidential and proprietary information, and more. Her work balances the considerations of a public-facing crisis with smart and prudent legal action. Desiree has been quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and more on behalf of clients who are navigating high-pressure situations.

Desiree also regularly helps clients proactively identify and manage the risks associated with social media use. She counsels individuals and corporations alike on social media best practices, how to effectively implement regulations for social media use in and outside of the workplace, and how to implement disciplinary measures for unlawful social media use.

As a trial attorney, Desiree has successfully litigated in state and federal court and has managed high-level disputes in sectors such as cryptocurrency, social media, intellectual property, entertainment, product liability, labor and employment, and class action defense at the trial and appellate court level.

Paul Bradley

Senior Associate; Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP

Paul Bradley is an experienced construction and arbitration lawyer and a Senior Associate at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP based in Doha, Qatar.

Paul has been based in Doha for almost 10 years and has over 15 years’ experience advising on contentious and non-contentious matters in relation to major international construction projects in the Middle East, England, Australia, Asia and Africa. Paul has advised employers, contractors and specialist subcontractors on numerous major projects in the healthcare, infrastructure, chemicals, transport (rail, airport, sea port and roads), mining, retail, office, hotel and residential sectors.

Paul holds an MSc in Construction Law and Dispute Resolution from Kings College, University of London.

Stephanie Nand

International Leadership Consultant; Changeosity

Stephanie has led a truly international career, including a global role facilitating Shell’s leadership development programs and as a senior psychologist with the Emirates Group. Committed to continuous development Stephanie is an associate member of the Association for Coaching, a registered Psychologist with the Australian Psychological Society, member of the British Psychological Society, The Association of Business Psychologists (UK) and the European Association of Aviation Psychologists..

Stephanie believes passionately in working with the whole person: exploring a coachee’s core strengths and challenge areas to propel them forward personally and professionally. Facilitating insights with coachees helps them to evolve and adapt to adverse circumstances now and in the future.

Dr. Yassin El Shazly

Melissa D’Souza

Associate, Aurifer Middle East Tax

Melissa is an ACCA Affiliate, specialising in the field of accounting, auditing and taxation. Her past work experience includes financial accounting, statutory reporting and basic record keeping. With her exposure to taxation in the region, Melissa now provides niche tax advisory to clients with Aurifer. Her clientele includes several industry leaders operating in the oil and gas sector, the exhibition and conference sector and the industrial goods sector. She is also involved in several projects relating to restructuring and joint ventures in the region. Melissa has co-written various articles and prepared training materials relating to direct taxes, transfer pricing, VAT, other indirect taxes and compliance requirements in the GCC. 

Dr. Bashayer Al Majed

Assistant Professor, Kuwait University

Dr. Bashayer Al Majed  is an Assistant Professor at Kuwait University, teaching Civil and Contract Law. She is experienced in providing legal counsel in all aspects of Civil Law.Dr. Bashayer’s research area focused on the development of the Kuwaiti legal system. Additionally, Dr. Bashayer is an experienced, award-winning, public speaker, with a strong presence at both academic conferences and on international television, with a strong interest in politics, constitutional , legal economics ,humanitarian issues and law reforms. She has published articles in a range of academic journals and international broadsheets.

Sarah Haddadi

Head of Rule of Law Business, LexisNexis MENA

SARAH HADDADI is the Head of Rule of Law and Deputy Head of the LexisNexis Middle East office. She studied Law at Paris La Sorbonne University and Assas University, where she completed a Master’s degree in Rule of Law and Lobbying. Before joining LexisNexis, Sarah worked in a prominent law firm in Paris, specialising in private law. She joined the LexisNexis team in 2015 and has been based in Dubai since 2016, where she manages the LexisNexis Rule of Law activity in the MENA region.