DUBAI PRECIOUS METALS CONFERENCE
21-22 NOVEMBER 2022

Ahmed Bin Sulayem

Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | DMCC

Ahmed Bin Sulayem is the Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DMCC and has driven its growth from a start-up of 28 member companies in 2003 to the world’s leading free zone in 2022 with over 21,000 member companies from 180 countries, employing over 66,000 people.

Tasked with enhancing commodity trade flows through Dubai, DMCC has introduced to the market a number of value-added products and services under Mr Bin Sulayem’s leadership. In 2022, DMCC has been named the ‘Global Free Zone of the Year’ by The Financial Times fDi Magazine, for a record eighth consecutive year.

Mr Bin Sulayem oversaw the exponential growth of the DMCC Free Zone master development in Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT), a 200-hectare business and residential community in Dubai of over 100,000 people living and working across 87 towers. Mr Bin Sulayem also oversees the development of DMCC’s latest real estate project; the much-anticipated Uptown Dubai district.

Mr Bin Sulayem currently serves as the Chairman of the Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE) and the Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX).

The Kimberley Process officially appointed the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the first and only Arab country to Chair the Kimberley Process in November 2015. Shortly after, the UAE Ministry of Economy officially appointed Mr Bin Sulayem as the UAE’s Chair of the Kimberley Process for 2016.

HE Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi

UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade

HE Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi was appointed the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, following the new UAE Government structure in July 2020, and has been assigned a file to attract the best talents and competencies to serve the strategic direction of the UAE. HE also oversees the development of non-oil foreign trade sectors and the expansion of global partnerships, in addition to enhancing the investment climate in the country, in order to cement its position as a major business destination at the regional and global levels.

He had held the position of Minister of Climate Change and Environment previously, during which he supervised the implementation of the UAE's strategies locally, advancing environment and climate actions. He also led the country’s efforts in limiting and adapting to the repercussions of climate change at the global level, while also focussing on the preservation of the UAE’s biodiversity through the development and implementation of a set of effective policies and measures.

Prior to assuming his ministerial position, HE Al Zeyoudi served as the permanent representative of the UAE to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), and Director of the Department of Energy Affairs and Climate Change at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

He began his career as a petroleum engineer at the Abu Dhabi Marine Area Operating Company (ADMA-OPCO) before moving to the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar), where he worked on the development of renewable energy technologies and solutions. He has played a major role in the UAE’s successful diplomatic campaign in 2009 to host the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in the capital, Abu Dhabi.

HE Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al-Zeyoudi holds a Bachelor's degree in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Tulsa; a Master's degree in Business Administration from the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT); a Master's degree in Project Management from the British University in Dubai; and a PhD in Strategy, Program and Project Management from SKEMA Business School in France.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Set the Ministry’s general policy and strategic direction concerning international trade.
• Develop, approve and follow up on the completion of the Ministry’s strategic plan and executive programs.
• Supervise the general workflow in the international trade affairs sector, approving regulatory decisions in accordance with the powers delegated to the Minister, and following up on the completion of reports.
• Prepare and implement the budget according to the set provisions and allocations.
• Propose the necessary laws, decrees, bylaws and regulations related to the international trade affairs sector and presenting them to the Minister of Economy for necessary actions.
• Represent the Ministry before the relevant authorities inside and outside the state, in coordination with the concerned authorities and in accordance with the powers vested in him.
• Sign agreements between the Ministry and other bodies, in accordance with the powers vested in him.
• Develop the strategic direction and general national policy to attract high-quality talents and the best minds to the state, fast-track the country’s shift to a knowledge-based economy, enhance science and technology capabilities, and follow-up on their implementation in coordination with concerned federal and local authorities.
• Identify priority target groups of people with the right talents and competencies, proposing and following-up on the impact of relevant policies and initiatives, and exchanging knowledge with national and global talents in coordination with concerned authorities.
• Coordinate with concerned authorities to promote the UAE as a regional and global destination for the brightest talents and the best minds.
• Establish a database of talents in coordination with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation and other concerned parties.
• Perform any other tasks that are assigned to the Minister by virtue of laws, regulations, and decisions issued by the Cabinet, or assigned to him by the Minister of Economy.

Peter Schiff

Chief Economist and Global Strategist | Euro Pacific Capital

Peter Schiff began his investment career as a financial consultant with Shearson Lehman Brothers, after having earned a degree in finance and accounting from U.C. Berkeley in 1987. A financial professional for over twenty years, he is the owner of Euro Pacific Asset Management, Chief Economist and Global Strategist for Euro Pacific Capital (a division of Alliance Global Partners), and Chairman of SchiffGold (a precious metals dealer based out of Manhattan). He is also the host of The Peter Schiff Show Podcast.

An expert on money, economic theory, and international investing, Peter is a highly recommended broker by many leading financial newsletters and investment advisory services. He holds FINRA Series 4, 7, 24, 27, 53, 55, 63 & 65 licenses. Peter achieved national notoriety in 2008 as being one of the few economists to have accurately forecast the financial crisis well in advance. Between 2004 and 2006 he had made numerous high-profile statements predicting the bursting of the real estate bubble, significant declines in national real estate prices, the collapse of the mortgage market and the banking sector, the bankruptcy and bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Peter has authored several best-selling books including Crash Proof, Crash Proof 2.0, How and Economy Grows and Why it Crashes, The Little Book of Bull Moves in Bear Markets, and The Real Crash. He also served as an economic advisor to the 2008 Ron Paul presidential campaign.

David Tait

CEO | World Gold Council

David Tait was appointed CEO of the World Gold Council in November 2018.

During his 35 years in the financial services industry, David has worked for a variety of highly regarded firms, most recently as Global Head of Fixed Income Macro Products at Credit Suisse. Prior to that he held senior trading roles at both Credit Suisse and UBS Investment Bank.

David began his career trading at Goldman Sachs, and then moved to Credit Suisse before building considerable asset management experience as a Partner at Bluecrest Capital.

He is currently an Independent Member of the Bank of England’s FICC Market Standards Board and Chairs the Precious Metals working group.

David is also a major supporter of the NSPCC and has raised over £1.5 million by summiting Mount Everest on five occasions. He was the first person the traverse Everest from the North to South in 2007. He is an ex-trustee, Chair of the Rebuilding Childhoods Board and was awarded an MBE by the Queen for his services to the charity.

His life story has been made into the Julian Jarrold directed motion picture, “Sulphur and White” starring Anna Friel, Dougray Scott, Mark Stanley and Emily Beecham. The Royal Premier was February 2020 and the proceeds will benefit the NSPCC.

Sanjeev Dutta

Executive Director - Commodities and Financial Services | DMCC

Sanjeev Dutta is the Executive Director of Commodities and Financial Services at DMCC. He oversees DMCC’s commodities vertical, and directs the development, implementation and regulation of the organisation’s financial products, platforms and services.

An expert on trade finance and commodity markets, Sanjeev is responsible for identifying new business opportunities for DMCC and nurturing existing commercial partnerships. He was instrumental in establishing the DMCC Tea Centre, DMCC Coffee Centre and the award-winning DMCC Tradeflow platform, and now tasked with enhancing the trade of agri and softs, precious metals and stones through Dubai.

Sanjeev is a senior member of DMCC’s executive leadership team and supports the general management, strategic direction and growth initiatives of the organisation. Sanjeev devised and implemented the organisation’s Code of Corporate Governance, and established its comprehensive risk management protocol.

Joining on its inception, Sanjeev has held a number of senior roles within DMCC and previously served as the Chief Financial Officer of Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DCGX). A distinguished speaker, Sanjeev regularly represents DMCC at international industry events and is an expert on trade, commodities and Islamic Finance.

A Chartered Accountant by profession, Sanjeev has over two decades of multi-industry expertise in auditing, financial controls, consulting, risk management, corporate governance and general management with both PwC and KPMG.

Arvind Sahay

Chairman | India Gold Policy Centre, IIM Ahmedabad

Professor Sahay joined IIMA in June 2004 from London Business School where he had been teaching since his Ph.D. in 1996 from the University of Texas at Austin. He is an alumnus of IIMA (where he did his PGP) and IIT Kanpur (from where he did his B.Tech.).

His primary areas of interest include marketing strategy, pricing, neuroscience and consumer behavior, brand management, high tech marketing, international trade and investment. Sectorally, he has consulted and done work in pharmaceuticals, cement, building materials, telecom, broadcast, automotive, IT, FMCG, education and financial services sectors among others. At the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, he has taught the basic marketing courses on the PGP, PGPX and PGP-PMP programs. In addition, he offers elective courses on pricing, brand management, neuroscience and consumer behavior, tracking organizational performance, brand management and valuation, innovation and fintech. His executive education and consulting clients come primarily from the financial services, pharmaceutical, building materials conglomerates, automotive, FMCG, retail and media sectors. His teaching ratings are consistently in the 9/10 range. He leads the IIMA executive education programs on pricing, neuroscience in marketing, enhancing salesforce performance and fintech.

His corporate experience includes stints as a management trainee in the manufacturing sector and as a customer service and then account manager in the financial services industry. He has consulted and done corporate training for more than 50 clients in India and abroad. He has written 32 international peer reviewed articles, 65 cases and more than 50 articles for business magazines and newspapers. His most recent project was for FSSAI where a nationwide RCT of front of package label (FOPL) study was done which will form the basis of the FSSAI decision on FOPL for packaged food. His second book - on “Brands and the Brain” – was published in April 2022. His latest publications in 2022 are on the “Neural Correlates of Weak Brand Choice” and the “Decision between Gifts and Promotions in Consumer Choice.”

Professor Sahay is the recipient of the University Wide Outstanding Dissertation Award from the University of Texas at Austin (for his Ph.D thesis), the Innovation in Teaching Award at London Business School and of the Dewang Mehta Best Teacher Award in Marketing Management and the UTV Bloomberg Best Marketing Professor in India. He was also nominated to the Thinkers50 India list by the Institute of Competitiveness, Harvard Business School. He is also the winner of the Philip Morris Best Case Award at IIMA (this is a case on fintech).

Professor Sahay is currently an independent director on the board of Brandscapes Consultancy Pvt. Ltd, HIL Ltd. (a CK Birla Group firm), Matter Motor Works Ltd., a Public Interest Director on the Board of India International Bullion Exchange IFSC Ltd. and Director on the board of IFCI Limited (an NBFC) and HIL International Gmbh. He was a member of the working group on Gold established by the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India and of the NITI Aayog Committee to Transform Gold Markets. As Dean (AER), he has led the fund-raising effort at IIMA and has helped raise more than INR 130 crores over 36 months. His strong international orientation had also resulted in an increase in student exchange numbers from 120 to 180 over three years. As Chairperson (SBU Head) of Executive Education at IIMA he stewarded an increase in revenues from 67 crore to 92 crores over two years. He has also been Chairperson, PGPX and Chairperson, Marketing Area at IIMA.

He has been an invited speaker at the Pricex Conference in Chicago, at the BusinessWeek Conference on E-marketing in London, at the annual meetings of All India Management Association in Indore, at the Western Conference of the Confederation of Indian Industry in Ahmedabad, at the CIO Forum, at the India International Gold Convention, at various corporates in India and abroad to their leadership teams and at the Indian Professional Business Network in Qatar. He is the coordinator and lead faculty for IIMA’s management development programs on Pricing, Neuroscience in Marketing, Fintech, and Enhancing Salesforce Performance, and Applications of Behavioral Science in Management: A CXO Playbook, the first programs of their kind in India. He has been a member of the FICCI Sub-Committee on Pharmaceuticals. He was a member of the team that developed the Innovation Index for the Pharma industry that is intended for use by the Government of India and the industry to monitor progress in R&D in pharma in India.

His recent research has been in the areas of brand relationships, tensile pricing, life cycles in marketing, customer dimensions of gold in India, customer responses to dynamic pricing and how and when to implement dynamic pricing, customer reactions to overlapping price ranges; impact of bundling on customer reference prices; customer loss aversion at different price levels; impact of price changes in pharmaceuticals in India on demand, brand advocacy, and brand preference reversal due to cognitive load and discount framing. His latest papers appear in Journal of Business Research in 2022 (neural correlatesof weak brand choice), Journal of Global Marketing” in 2018 (there are limits to quantity changes in FMCG products before customers react ), Resources Policy in 2020 (that gold purchase has strong cultural influences – some of which have led to failure of policy measures like the GMS) and the European Journal of Marketing (2021; on dual brand personalities, Implicit Theories and Word of Mouth). He has earlier been a regular columnist for Outlook Business magazine on marketing strategy and also writes occasionally for the leading Indian business newspapers, Financial Express, and Dainik Bhaskar on gold, economics and business. He is also the author of a case book on marketing strategy called Cases in Pricing, Marketing Communications and Distribution apart from his recent book on Brands and the Brain.

Professor Sahay can be contacted at asahay@iima.ac.in; Arvin.sahay@yahoo.com

Sabyasachi Ray

Executive Director | The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council

Mr. Sabyasachi Ray had joined The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) on 2nd of August 1999, as Director, Eastern Region at the Kolkata office of the Council. Being professionally qualified in Business Management with Marketing Specialisation and having prior experience in marketing in various firms, ranging from office automation, exports of tea to business services for 6 years, Mr Ray’s advent to GJEPC at the above mentioned position was quite justifiable. With the passage of time, it was an important milestone in his career, as it marked the beginning of 12 years of professional excellence that eventually led him to crown the highest executive post as the Executive Director of GJEPC. Of course, his elevation had not come in a day and certainly not easily. He earned it by way of his dedication and devotion to his work and the organization and given his supreme attitude and analytical mind, the Committee of Administration of the Council have bestowed the post of the Executive Director to a person of immense ability.

In the course of his professional journey in GJEPC, Mr Ray was not only managing and promoting the cause of the entire Eastern Region of India, but later was made the Director, Exhibitions & Trade Promotions and the Senior Director. Subsequently, he was elevated to the post of the Acting Executive Director. Mr Ray had been instrumental in the coming up of Manikanchan, the first sector specific Special Economic Zone in the country for advancing the exports of jewellery from Eastern Region. He is instrumental in the transformation of India International Jewellery Show (IIJS) as the mega show, what it is today, and working out the systems and logistics to make the show world class in-spite of facing the odds of organising the show in hostile rainy season and without proper exhibition infrastructure at Mumbai. After seeing the success of IIJS, under his supervision not only a second IIJS, the IIJS Signature was born in 2008, but he also strategically changed the focus of Council from organising major India Pavillions internationally to standalone buyer seller meets for China, Europe, CIS & USA. India International Jewellery Week, Mines to Market, India Show at Basel World etc are some of the other events which he had successfully overseen. In his tenure in the Council he actively participated for introduction of iconic events like India International Jewellery Week (IIJW), IIJS Signature etc. He has not only helped the Indian Diamond Industry to gain a strong voice in Kimberley Process Scheme, but had given leadership to the African Countries during the Zimbabwe crisis of KP to emerge as one of the finest statesman of the world diamond industry today.

Mr Ray, during his tenure, has successfully rallied and argued with the different government departments of India and the states to create policies for the betterment of the trade and exports in India, including the introduction of duty drawback scheme for jewellery and decrease of Octroi in the city of Mumbai for diamonds. He has earned a lot of appreciation for the proactive role that the Council took to guide the industry out of the great economic downturn in 2008-09. He almost singlehandedly guided the Council to become tech savvy including the implementation of ERP in day to day operations and making most of the services online.

He is the force behind the creation of Gem & Jewellery Skill Council of India (GJSCI).

In spite of all odds, Mr Ray was successful in looking after the employee welfare and keep abreast with the changing times and adopting modernisation of the Council in every sense. This had been possible because of his drive and ability to draw the best out of his colleagues and subordinates as a motivational leader.

He has widely travelled to countries like USA, Japan, Russia, Israel, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Italy, South Africa, various CIS countries like Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan & Kazakhstan, Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Congo, Namibia, UAE & etc. Today Gems & Jewellery is one of the highest foreign exchange earners of the country and India polishes 14 out of 15 diamonds in the world which makes him one of the busiest executives of any non-profit organisations in the country.

Rhona O'Connell

Head of Market Analysis | EMEA and Asia, StoneX Group Inc.

Rhona O’Connell has over 35 years’ experience as a metals markets analyst and is a recognised authority in the precious metals sector. She has worked in a number of aspects of the industry, including the mining sector (gold giant Consolidated Gold Fields, including feasibility studies for a silver project and for what became the Northam Platinum mine in South Africa), commodities broking at Rudolf Wolff where she was a major contributor to Wolff’s Guide to the London Metal Exchange, for the World Gold Council, in the equity markets and investment banking. In the latter role she was the Precious Metals analyst at Shearson Lehman, where she was responsible for advising or supporting a range of market participants from trading through equities to corporate finance.

She has held Extel ranking (2nd place) in the gold sector, has been the Association of Mining Analysts Commodities Analyst of the year and has a high media and public speaking profile.

She came to build a team of analysts at StoneX after a number of years working with metals analysts GFMS, latterly managing a team of over 20 analysts.

She holds an honours degree in Law from the University of Cambridge.

Dr. Marco Kalbusch

Chief of Staff | UN Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary General for the Great Lakes Region

Dr. Marco Kalbusch is the Chief of Staff in theUnited Nations Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary General for theGreat Lakes Region. Since joining the United Nations in 2001, he served invarious positions at the United Nations Secretariat and in United Nations fieldpresences working in the areas of disarmament, Human Rights and politicalaffairs, including most recently as Head of the Integrated Office of MONUSCO,Secretary of the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, and Director of the UNRegional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa in Lomé. Before joining theUN, Marco worked for the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium and articledat the High Court of Nuremberg, Germany.

Marco holds Belgian and German law degrees, adoctorate in public law, and a masters in Canon law. He is qualified topractice law in Germany. He is a guest lecturer for the UNSSC – IE Universityjoint master’s programme in international development and a former guestlecturer at the Lucerne Academy for Human Rights Implementation.

Gaurang Desai

Chairman | Dubai Digital Asset Business Group and Managing Director of Strategy, Equiti Group

Gaurang is the Chairman of Dubai Digital Asset Business Group (D2A2), an digital asset industry body established under the aegis of Dubai Digital Chambers and Managing Director of Strategy for the Equiti Group, a globally regulated progressive Fintech Brokerage house based in Dubai.

Gaurang has over 26 years of experience working across financial exchanges, market infrastructures and regulators across the globe. Establishing and managing various regulated exchanges and Clearing Houses/CCPs has provided him with a deep understanding of the needs of today’s financial markets and appropriate strategies to meet regulatory challenges.

Gaurang was a Founding member and the CEO of the Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX) group until 2018. He was appointed as an Advisor for Financial Markets to the UAE’s Federal markets regulator, the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), to help them develop and implement new products and services regulatory frameworks including Crypto Asset Regulations.

Gaurang is an experienced industry leader in regulated markets across asset classes and technologies. He is also a seasoned entrepreneur helping build organizations and projects from the ground up.

He holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration in Finance and a Bachelor's degree in Commerce from the University of Mumbai, India.

Chandraprakash D Siroya

Vice Chairman | Dubai Gem and Jewellery Group

Chandraprakash D Siroya, also known as Chandu Siroya in business circles, is a Commerce graduate and hails from Rajasthan in India. He is the Managing Director of Siroya Jewellers LLC, one of Dubai’s dynamic companies. He has vast experience in the Manufacture, Wholesale and retail of jewellery. He has been a speaker at various gold conferences including the DPMC. Siroya is the recipient of the Award of Highest Importer of Gold Jewellery from India into the Middle East for the past 12 out of 14 years. Siroya Jewellers have also been awarded the Guinness World record for the manufacture of the World’s Longest Handmade Gold Chain measuring 5.52 kilometers for the Dubai Gold & Jewellery Group during the Dubai Shopping Festival 2015.

Mr Siroya is the current Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dubai Gold & Jewellery Group. He has been a very active member of the board since its inception 27 years ago. Mr.Siroya has been part of the DMCC Gold advisory committee, and is a member of the Dubai Customs Advisory Committee. He is actively involved within the Jain Community of Dubai and is the President board of Advisors of JITO (Jain International Trade Organization Dubai) Dubai chapter.

Louis Maréchal

Senior Advisor, Minerals and Extractives | Centre for Responsible Business Conduct, OECD

Louis Maréchal joined the Centre for Responsible Business Conduct of the OECD in September 2014. He specifically works on projects related to the implementation of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict Affected and High-Risk Areas.

Prior to joining the OECD, Louis Maréchal worked for four years with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France on issues related to transparency and governance in the mining sector, and security of supply of strategic metals. He started his career with a strategic consultancy firm focusing on the defence and extractives industries.

Louis Maréchal holds a master’s degree in international relations.

Safeya AlSafi

Director of Anti-Money Laundering Department | Ministry of Economy

Safeya AlSafi is the Director of Anti-Money Laundering Department at Ministry of Economy (MoE) since 2020. Safeya is also UAE’s FATF Expert member on supervision and preventive measures, presenting UAE in FATF plenary sessions and other international AML/CFT engagement activities.

She has more than 10 years of experience in banking sector, and she handled several managerial positions in banking industry. During her professional career, she established many departments such as the AML department in Ministry of Economy and Private Banking Division in Emirates Islamic Bank.

During her career she was a member of The National Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism and Financing of Illegal Organizations Committee and some of its sub-committees; such as Sub-Committee of Supervisory Authorities in UAE, Sub-Committee for Money Laundering Crimes Investigative Authorities in UAE, Sub-Committee for National Risk Assessment of Money-Laundering, Terrorism Financing and Illegal Organizations Financing Risks in UAE, and The Sub-Committee for Combatting the Financing of Terrorism and the Financing of Illegal Organizations and the Financing of Proliferation in UAE. She is also an Assistant Chairman of the Sub-Committee of Companies Registrars in UAE.

Safeya is a Master degree holder in Islamic Economics and Wealth Management from Zayed University and she have a professional diploma in innovation & Government accelerators in future design industry from Hamdan bin Mohamed Smart University.

She has two professional certificates from Chartered Institute For Securities & Investment which are certified in international certificate in wealth & investment and the other one is certified in international intro. to securities &investment.

Safeya has an active voluntary life since 2006. She is a board member of Emirates Down Syndrome Associate since 2018 and selected as a Treasurer.

Dr. Emmanuel Makumba Mali

Director for Democracy and Good Governance, International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR)

Dr. Emmanuel Makumba Mali, a Zambian National, born on 12th December

1976, was appointed Director for Democracy and Good Governance of the
International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) on 29th June,
2021. His Directorate is responsible for the coordination of the implementation
of the Regional Initiative on the fight against the illegal exploitation of Natural
Resources. Before joining the Secretariat, he served in the Zambian Government
at the Office of the President, Cabinet Office, as a Public Policy Specialist, a
position, that among others, involves the coordination of policies to ensure
compatible and effectiveness. He has several years of professional experience in
government, the private sector, academia, and civil society dealing with a whole
range of good governance. Dr. Mali, is an Economist and Good Governance
expert by training with a Bachelor's Degree in Economics from the University of
Zambia. He also holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the Hertie School
of Governance in Germany and a Doctor of Philosophy in Governance from the
University of Lusaka. He speaks fluent English and has working knowledge of
French.

Güzhan Gülay

Executive Vice President | Borsa Istanbul

After graduating fromthe Faculty of Business Administration of Istanbul University in 1993, GüzhanGülay completed Ziraat Bank Banking School and worked as a specialist in theCapital Markets Directorate of the same bank. He joined Borsa İstanbul familyas an assistant specialist in the Equity Markets Directorate in 1995, became aspecialist in 1998 and a manager in 2014 in the same department.

He wasappointed as the Business Development Director in 2018 and as the PreciousMetals and Precious Stones Director in 2019. He has acted in many projects bytaking fundamental positions in designing, configuration, testing, legislationand development for the improvement of the markets and infrastructure of BorsaIstanbul.

After his master's and doctorate education, he acted as a visitinglecturer for a year at the City University of London Cass Business School andtaught part-time at various universities.

Sadi Ahmad

Global Head of Legal and Compliance | Sam Precious Metals

Sadi Ahmad is the Global Head of Legal and Compliance at SamPrecious Metals. Before joining Sam Precious Metals in 2021, he was theDirector at AKW Consultants, where he headed the Regulatory Compliance, DueDiligence and AML/CFT division. Ahmad finished his Masters from the UniversityCollege London.

Marc Ummel

Head of Unit Raw Materials | SWISSAID

Marc Ummel has been responsible for commodities at SWISSAID since 2018. Improving the management and governance of natural resources, particularly in the gold sector, is one of the main areas of work of this non-governmental organisation. SWISSAID carries out advocacy and advisory work with industry actors, governments and international standards to strengthen existing regulations and create responsible supply chains. It conducts research and surveys to combat conflict minerals and human right violations, increase the traceability of precious metals and improve corporate due diligence. SWISSAID also accompanies projects to support the formalisation of artisanal gold mines and their access to the international market.

Before joining SWISSAID, Marc Ummel worked for the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation in the West Africa Division. He holds a master's degree in development studies from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva and works as a consultant and policy advisor in the field of responsible mineral sourcing.

Andrew Naylor

Regional CEO, APAC (ex China) and Public Policy | World Gold Council

Andrew Naylor joined the World Gold Council in 2016. He leads the Council’s regional office in Singapore and heads up public policy initiatives globally. Prior to being appointed as regional CEO, he was part of the central banks and public policy team and lead the Council’s Islamic finance initiative. Before joining the World Gold Council Andrew worked for international consultancy firm Cicero Group advising financial institutions on foreign investment and trade policy in Asia and regulatory reform.

Andrew is Chairman of the Singapore Bullion Market Association’s public affairs committee and is a member of the supervisory board of the EU-ASEAN Business Council. He was a board member of the European Chamber of Commerce in Singapore between 2012 and 2019.

Andrew regularly gives broadcast media commentary on global and political economic developments on the BBC, Sky News, Channel NewsAsia and CNBC.

Andrew has a degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science and the College of Law of England and Wales.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nayloronline/

Pramod Mohan

Managing Director | FinMet Pte Limited

Pramod is a senior banking professional with extensive international experience in the commodities and financial markets domain in the Indian Sub-Continent, Australia, Far East & Middle East Asia and North America. He has more than two decades of experience in the precious metals industry which included roles as the Managing Director and Head of Precious Metals for Middle East based out of Dubai and Managing Director - Marketing and Business Development for Asia Pacific based out of Singapore for Scotiabank. In Nov 2020, he transitioned into an entrepreneur by co-founding – FINMET, an innovative and dynamic company that brings together the world of technology and precious metals in order to provide solutions for Trading, Financing, Logistics and Risk Management.

One of the key focus areas for FinMet has been to connect the global physical suppliers to India and UAE.

FinMet Technologies partners with banks and financial institutions to provide door step gold loans to retail clients thereby making it cheaper and accessible to the masses.

Navin D'Souza

Co-Founder and CEO | ComTech Gold

Navin is an industry expert with over 20+ years of experience in financial and commodity markets, especially in the Exchange and Banking arena where he has been responsible for enhancing and implementing new processes.

He began his career with Deutsche Bank in Global Cash Operations, followed by the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE). During his stint as Director of Operations for Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX), he was instrumental in operationalizing the launch of Shariah Gold Product and the implementation of DMCC Tradeflow warrants for DGCX physical Gold Deliveries. Before joining Comtech he spent 4 years as Head of Risk Management and Senior Vice President Post Trade Strategy for Dubai Financial Markets and was the key member in setting up the independent Clearing House and Depository.

Navin is now leveraging his experience at ComTech Gold as a CEO and Co-founder to bring strategic partnerships and operational efficiencies of tokenized gold. Navin has a Certified Financial Analyst (CFA) degree from the CFA Institute, a Chartered Accountant degree from The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, and a Master's degree in Finance.

Jim Konjuhi

Director MEA - Business Development and Cash Solutions | Brink's Middle-East and Africa

Jim Konjuhi is the Director for Middle East and Africa at Brink’s focusing on business development and managed service solutions for cash and valuables. In addition to this role, Jim is the head of cash services at Brink’s UAE and is head of the RFID inventory and collateral management solutions. He has been with Brinks since 2015 and prior to this role he was with TJS, a technology company focused on offering Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) based inventory management solutions for jewellers.

Çağdaş Kucukemiroglu

Consultant - Middle East | Metals Focus

Çağdaş is responsible for research across the Middle East.Çağdaş has 20 years’ experience in commodities, 13 in precious metals. Previousroles include Investor Relations Manager at Goldas Jewelry and Deputy Directorat Atasay Jewelry Group.

Sudhan Sundaram

Head of Products | DGCX

Sudhan has over 22 years of experience in financial markets and has been based in Dubai for the past 18years. He joined DGCX in 2017 as Head of Equity Products and elevated to the current position. He was responsible and part of the launch of new precious metals products in DGCX namely Shariah Gold, Daily Gold, Gold Repo along with other products like Pakistani Rupee, Indian Rupee Weekly, Israeli Shekel Futures contracts. During his tenure in DGCX, he has conducted several precious metals focused webinars, working group sessions and training programs for members and other interested participants. Prior to joining DGCX, he was part of Al Rostamani Group as Head of Equities and Commodities for 11 years overseeing their brokerage operations. He has vast experience in Equity, commodity and currency spot and derivatives products. Over the years, he was responsible for Product Development, Business Development, Relationship Management, Managing Profit Centers, Financial Planning, Investment Advisory and Portfolio Management.

Urs Röösli

CEO | aXedras Group AG

Urs is thefounder CEO of aXedras which is a DLT / blockchain-basedinfrastructure and application provider. Connecting and digitalizing the globalprecious metal industry. Prior to this he was thePresident and CEO of Loomis International and before that Managing Director atVia Mat Management AG.

Mark J. Valek

Partner - Fund Management and Research | Incrementum AG

Mark is partner of Incrementum AG an investment boutique in Liechtenstein. He is responsible for Portfolio Management and Research and is co-author of the widely read In Gold We Trust Report. His passion is to apply interdisciplinary thinking to investment. He is particularly fascinated with the Austrian School of Economics, monetary history, and the foreseeable paradigm shift in the monetary system.

While working part time, Mark studied Business Administration at the Vienna University of Business Administration and has continuously worked in financial markets and asset management since 1999. Prior to the establishment of Incrementum AG, he was with Raiffeisen Capital Management for ten years, most recently as fund manager responsible for inflation protection strategies and alternative investments.

He gained entrepreneurial experience as co-founder of Philoro Edelmetalle GmbH which has established itself as one of the leading European bullion dealers. Since 2013 he has held the position as reader at scholarium in Vienna, and he also speaks at Wiener Börse Akademie (academy of the Viennese Stock Exchange). In 2014, he co-authored the book “Austrian School for Investors”. Mark is married and proud father of one son. He likes to balance his work life by working out and playing basketball.

Jeffrey Rhodes

Founder & Managing Consultant | Rhodes Precious Metals Consultancy DMCC

Jeffrey founded Rhodes Precious Metals Consultancy DMCC in 2013 after a successful career in the precious metals industry spanning four decades working across four continents for major bullion banks and financial institutions.

Since that time, he has successfully advised asignificant number of high-profile clients across all segments of the global precious metalsindustry and is widely regarded as a leading precious metals market expert.

Jeffrey has been prominent in the development of the Dubai Multi Commodity Centre from its creation in 2002 and has been a member of Dubai’s Gold Advisory Group since its inception in 2003; he is a past chairman of the Public Affairs Committee of the LBMA and was the founding editor of its popular trade magazine The Alchemist.

Jeffrey speaks regularly on the Dubai Eye’s Business Breakfast Show, appears frequently on financial TV such as Bloomberg, CNBC and Dubai One; also participates in global precious metals forums as a speaker and moderator.

Yang Lu

Director, Metals Products | CME Group

Yang Lu is Director Metals Products at CME Group. Yang is responsible for managing the Exchange's Precious Metals futures and options products on CME Group exchange’s COMEX & NYMEX, in addition to developing and executing precious metals business strategy in EMEA. Yang joined CME Group in 2014 and is based in London. Prior to joining CME Group, Yang worked as a Metals Analyst at Thomson Reuters GFMS, with a focus on demand analysis across the base metals markets. Yang holds an MSc in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and a BSc in Economics from Zhejiang University. Yang is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

HARISH PAWANI

Director | PK International

DOMAIN AND SECTORAL EXPERIENCE

Bullion

• Heading Purshottam kanji & Co and Peekay IntermarkLimited, dealing in Precious Metals products for overfour decades. Developed a deep understanding of thecomplex bullion market and group companies are oneof the leading exporters of bullion to the banks andgovernment nominated agencies in the Indian Subcontinent.

TRADE AND RELATED MEMBERSHIPS

• Comex division of CME Group since 1989.
• SIMEX, Singapore since 1984.
• Gold & Jewellery Group, Dubai.
• Associate member of LBMA
• Member Advisory group of DMCC for precious metals.

ACADEMIA

Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering

Polytechnic Institute of New York , NYC, USA

OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS

• Permanent trustee on board of Indian High School, Dubai - the largest school in GCC.
• Permanent trustee on board of India Club, Dubai.
• Permanent trustee of Purshottam Kanji Kanya Chhatralaya, Mandvi, Kutchh, India - a charitable trust for education of underprivileged girls funded by the Pawani family.
• Permanent trustee of Purshottam Kanji Charitable Trust, Mumbai, India - a charitable trust funded by the Pawani family.

Ashok Kumar Gautam

Managing Director and CEO | India International Bullion Exchange

Mr. Ashok Kumar Gautam is the first Managing Director & CEO of India International Bullion Exchange IFSC Ltd. (IIBX) at GIFT City. He joined IIBX in his present leadership role in February 2022.

Mr. Gautam is a finance professional with over 36 years of experience in various tenets of banking and financial management; such as Treasury, Bullion, Financial Institutions, Transaction Banking, Cash Management Services, Relationship Management, Credit, International Banking, Trade Finance etc.

Mr. Gautam was most recently Executive Director & Head Treasury with IDBI Bank Ltd., with added responsibilities of Cash Management Services, Government Business Group & Financial Institutions. Before that during his 11 and a half year stint at Axis Bank he was Executive Vice President and Head Financial Institutions Group (FIG) and held leadership positions of Head Global Markets, Treasury and Head Transaction Banking - Corporate & Financial Institutions. During his tenure at Axis Bank he spearheaded the Bullion business for more than 8 years.

During his over 22 years’ experience in State Bank of India, Mr. Gautam was Head of the first Central Treasury of the Bank at Hong Kong covering all branches from Sydney to Male, Treasury at Singapore office and the Regional Dealing Room at Overseas Branch New Delhi, among other leadership roles.

Mr. Gautam has earlier represented Banks at various industry bodies:

• On the Board of Fixed Income, Money Market & Derivatives Association, i.e., FIMMDA as Director.
• On the Board as Additional Vice Chairman and member Managing Committee of Foreign Exchange Dealers Association of India, i.e., FEDAI.
• Secretary, Forex Association of India, i.e., FAI.
• Invitee to the RBI committee on Financial Benchmarks.
• Member of the RBI Working Group on Interest Rate Options.
• Member, India Customer Advisory Board of Thomson Reuters.
• Member, Finance & Banking Committee, Indian Merchants’ Chamber.

Educational & Professional Qualifications:

B.Sc. (Mathematics & Statistics); MBA (Finance);

CAIIB; Diploma in Bank Management; Diploma in Treasury, Investment & Risk Management from Indian Institute of Banking & Finance (IIBF);

Certified Financial Risk Manager (FRM) from Global Association of Risk Professionals, USA (GARP);

Axis Executive Leadership Program conducted by Duke Corporate Education;

Strategic Innovation and Leadership Program by Tuck Executive Education at Dartmouth.

Speaker

Mr. Gautam is frequently invited by Institutes, Trade bodies, Colleges and Associations as a speaker and has addressed various National and International seminars and conferences.

Nikita Knyazev

Director, Precious Metals Market | Moscow Exchange

In 2010, he graduated Master's degree in Applied Physics and Mathematics from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, as well as the HSE Master's degree in Strategic Financial Management of the Firm.

Nikita is an industry expert with over 10+ years of experience in financial and commodity markets, especially in derivatives and spot business, where he has been responsible for creating new financial products, opening new markets and establishing cooperation projects.

Now he is working at Moscow Exchange as a Precious Metals Market Director to contribute to the growth of liquidity, transparent pricing and increase the efficiency of operations with gold and silver for Russian participants in the precious metals market.