Dr. Sayd Farook (Co-Chairperson)
Dr. Sayd Farook is a veteran C-suite professional with a strong knowledge management and strategy execution track record.
Sayd is a founding Vice Chairperson of the RFI Foundation. He is also an Advisor to the Executive Office of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Most recently, Sayd served as the Vice Chairman and CEO of Middle East Global Advisors, a leading intelligence and connectivity platform and a Projects Advisor to the Dubai Islamic Economy Development Center, Government of Dubai.
Previously, he was the Global Head Islamic Capital Markets at Thomson Reuters, where he advised and served large corporates, multilaterals and governments in the Middle East, North Africa and South East Asia.
During the duration of his five year leadership stint at Thomson Reuters where he oversaw the Islamic markets strategy, he conceived and led his 25 strong team to achieve a number of industry firsts besides growing and leading a profitable and highly visible business. He also advises and produces a number of research based insights for government entities in the GCC including Dubai, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia such as the Dubai Islamic Economy Development Center, The Executive Office, Central Bank of Bahrain, Economic Development Board Bahrain, Tadawul Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Development Bank.
Prior to his role at Thomson Reuters, Dr. Sayd was a legal and structuring advisor at Dar Al Istithmar, a boutique advisory firm based in Oxford and owned by Deutsche Bank, Oxford Center for Islamic Studies and Saudi Bin Laden Group.
Prior to this, he led the growth and innovation strategy at the Centre for Islamic Finance at the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance.
Sayd has advised, taught and drafted standards for regulators and universities throughout his career and sits on the editorial advisory board for two prominent blind peer reviewed academic journals. Dr. Sayd has a Doctorate in Financial Economics (specifically focusing on Islamic banking and risk management), a first class Honours in Business and a Law Degree (LLM) from the University of Technology Sydney. He is also a fellow Certified Islamic Professional Accountant (CIPA).
