Facilitator Profile
The trainer is the Founder and Principal of Sharing Risk dot Org, a think tank working to provide information and analysis on the Islamic finance industry. He is also the co-owner and Chief Compliance Officer of Marqum Capital, a Portland, Oregon, USA based Registered Investment Advisor
The trainer has written extensively about the Islamic financial industry and writes the monthly ‘Expert Opinion’ column for Dubai, UAE based Business Islamica magazine. He also has been the US Correspondent for Dubai, UAE based Islamic Business & Finance magazine since 2007. His articles have appeared in several publications including Islamic Finance News and Clear Profit.
In April 2008, the trainer presented a paper, “The Development and Implementation of Shari’ah-based Microfinance Using the Grameen Group Financing Methodology” at a workshop at the 8th Harvard University Forum on Islamic Finance.
He has been profiled in Oregon Business Magazine’s Power Book 2008, The Oregonian, UU World (the magazine of the Unitarian Universalist Association).
The trainer served as Executive Director of two non-profits, the Institute of Halal Investing and One Ummah Foundation from 2006 to 2008. The former is a think tank working to demystify Islamic finance among both Muslims and non-Muslims while the latter focused on funding education in several Asian countries. From 2007 to 2008, he was Chief Compliance Officer for Rubicon Global Asset Management, an Oregon based Registered Investment Advisor.
The trainer has written extensively about the Islamic financial industry on subjects including:
- Standardization in Islamic financial contracts
- Islamic microfinance
- The bankruptcy of East Cameron Partners, the first US-based company to issue a sukuk
- Islamic finance in North America
- Transparency in Islamic finance
- The controversy about the Shari’ah-compliance of certain sukuk structures
- Funding college education for Muslims in the U.S.
- Islamic financing of renewable energy
Since 2006, he has written the Sharing Risk dot Org blog (formerly ihiBlog) and in 2009 began writing a featured blog at Zawya.com. He is a member of the Zawya Network as well as several other social networking groups dealing with Islamic banking and finance and regulatory compliance.
He received his B.A. in Economics from Reed College and while studying at Reed College, he was awarded the Walter Mintz Economic Scholarship and the President’s Commendation for Academic Excellence.
Other related publications:
- Making the difficult transition. CPI Financial
- Faith-based finance tackles poverty. Oregon Business Magazine’s “Oregon Innovates”, reprinted in Oregon Business Magazine’s Power Book.
- Unitarian Universalist heads Islamic investing group. UUWorld, 2007
- Retaining ethics when investing. The Oregonian, 2007
Key Benefits for attending
- LEARN the basic differences between interest-based and Shari’ah-compliant financing
- RECOGNISE how Islamic finance can unlock new sources of finance
- EXPLORE several case studies of sukuk (Islamic bonds)
- UNDERSTAND the progress towards standardisation within the Islamic finance industry
- STUDY the interaction between Islamic finance and legal systems designed to facilitate interest-based financial products
- INTERACT with other professionals with exposure to Islamic finance
- BENCHMARK against best practices and examples for further improvements
- BENEFIT from a range of workshop exercise and case studies
Who Should Attend
- Islamic and conventional bankers | Senior Managers involved in Islamic Banking | Chief Financial Officers | Corporate treasurers and finance managers | Project financiers | Central bankers and regulators | In-house counsel | Corporate Legal Counsel | Lawyers and Consultants
