Women Finance Leaders Roundtable Conference and Awards 2025 – London, UK

Musa Shaikh
Berkeley Middle East Holding
Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

• Royal Family Investment Advisor
• Berkeleyme & MS Voice of Global Women – Founding Director

Shaikh is a Certified Public Accountant, a Fellow member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK, and a CGMA from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, an Associate member of the Institute of Financial Accountants, a fellow member of International Accountants. He is a Certified Internal Auditor from the Institue of Internal Audit, Florida, USA, a Certified Information System Auditor, and a Fellow Member of Securities and Investments from CISI, United Kingdom. He is a double graduate in law and business, LLB (Hons) from Buckinghamshire New University UK, a Master in Law from Kings College London, a Master in Business Administration from Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, a Master in Public Administration from Chichester University, He is a Certified Project Management Professional from PMI, USA. He has amazing capabilities to innovate, equipped with deep knowledge of Artificial intelligence, system architecture, and data sciences. He is a certified Amazon AWS Data Analytics and certified Solutions Architecture Professional. He has more than 20 years of experience in leading financial strategies, planning & budgeting, corporate governance, FP&A, VC, Corporate finance, strategies for turnaround, Risk and compliance management, acquisitions for startups & large projects, financial modeling, due diligence, and advise on leading key business complex matters on a global scale.

Jaqueline Frydman
Alternative Investment Advisor

Jaqueline Frydman is a business professional with a performance in consultancy & advisory for property management and asset acquisition, with experience in project management, relationship management and sales, established in the North American sector for 7yrs with expansion focusing on Real Estate investment and development in the UAE region. Conducted accounts for the Mexican government and established contractual relationships between parties for Financial Institutions amongst the private sector with the entities in the public sector. Passionate in merging cultures for economic growth and adding proficiency in communication between different regions of the world to target international markets.

H.E. Aarefa Saleh Al Falahi
RAK Chamber of Commerce
Board Member

• RAK Insurance Company – Board Member
• Emirates Sports & Cultural Club – Board Member
• RAK SME Association – Member of the Board
• RAK Chamber of Commerce Exhibition Committee​ – Chairman
• Business Industrial Academic Council Committee HCT, UAE – Member
• Computer Information Sciences Industrial Advisory Committee in HCT, RAK – Member
• Women on Board Circle (2020) formed by Sh Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan – Member
• Senior Branch Manager in one of the leading banks in UAE  with total 20 years experience in 3 main leading banks – Vice President

Khulood Shaban
Berkeley & Lords Group
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Khulood is a philanthropist, a business leader, successful business entrepreneur, and the most influence Arabic women in Gulf region. She is the CFO & CEO of Berkeley Middle East holding an American Emirati Joint venture conglomerate with a diversified portfolio. Khulood career is diversified over several roles including CEO, Director Finance, Financial Controller, & Chief Financial Officer based on decade of experience. Khulood core expertise to manage financial transactions for the whole group and in ongoing projects, arises through Merger or acquisitions, study the fundamental and technical feasibility, evaluate the investment risks by applying high level financial management tools for stakeholders keeping ERP, budgeting, variance reporting aligns with financial strategy of the shareholders. Her strengths are innovative & creativity toward a particular business venture, preparation of business plan, coordination with external auditors, lenders, regulatory authorities, compliances, meeting with investors for arranging of Funds, building a capital Structuring simple and complex, IPO’s securities, active management, & financial decision making.

Laura Merlini
CAIA ASSOCIATION
Managing Director, EMEA

Laura Merlini is a senior financial industry professional with a strong interest in education and governance. Laura currently serves as Managing Director for EMEA at the CAIA (Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst) Association and has 20 years of experience in the European alternative investments industry. During her previous role at Fortis Prime Fund Solutions in Milan, Madrid, and Geneva, Laura advised on the areas of fund set-up, administration, banking, and custody. She earned the CAIA charter in 2007 and has been an active CAIA proponent and member-volunteer, being the co-founder of the CAIA Iberia Chapter (based in Madrid) in 2008 and leading the CAIA Switzerland Chapter in Geneva since 2010. Furthermore, she chaired the 100 Women in Finance Educational Committee in Geneva from 2016 to 2018. Laura earned a BA in Business Administration at Bocconi University in Milan, received the CEMS MIM (Community of European Management Schools) MSc in International Management in 2002 and is a member of the inaugural class (2014) of the Executive Master in Positive Psychology, Leadership, and Strategy form IE in Madrid in 2014. She is a Certified Investment Fund Director by the CIFD Institute, she was a member of the UN PRI HF Advisory Committee, and sits on the board of Agave Advisors, an independent wealth management company in Geneva. Moreover, Laura is a certified sommelier and enjoys travelling to discover new terroirs.

Salma Al Qubaisi
Al Qubaisi Holding Abu Dhabi
President

• Berkeleyme & MS Voice of Global Women Abu Dhabi – President
• The Investors Club – Board Member
• Government of Abu Dhabi – IT Planning & Strategy

Salma Al Qubaisi born in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, is an Emirati Technology women leader, serving the Government of Abu Dhabi, the largest government organization in the oil & gas sector She is an innovative and inspiring personality in the field of Business, Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence, and Blockchain. She is instrumental in delivering value to IT professionals with her creative thoughts and leadership skills. Salma Al Qubaisi is a keen investor in Tech Projects, whether it’s a pre-seed, seed, Stage A, or B venture. She is an expert in Tech acquisition including projects based on SaaS, Robotics, Advanced machine learning, and Platforms of various types. She is having leadership skills, Project Management, Budget Planning and Control, Team Development, Business Plan development, Business Continuity Planning and Disaster Recovery Planning, Strategic Acquisition, and Negotiation.

Alain Mulder
IMA Institute of Management Accountants
Managing Director, Europe & Central Asia, Senior Director Global Special Projects

Alain Mulder is Managing Director Europe at IMA® (Institute of Management Accountants), the global non-profit organization behind the CMA® (Certified Management Accountant) program. He is heading the Europe region and has extensive experience in finance, business development, operations, marketing, and communications.
Alain drives corporate learning, dedicated to upskilling finance teams within large corporations. Expert in creating empowering connections among business professionals to foster a successful future. Committed to delivering innovative and strategic learning solutions that drive corporate success.
Alain was a finalist in the 2020 Executive Director of the Year awards by the Association of Association Executives (AAE).

Alain is frequently asked to speak at international events, on topics such as the future of finance, the finance transformation, professional development, accounting, DE&I and global economic conditions.

Before joining IMA, Alain worked at the Institute of International Research, where he conducted market research on market developments in accountancy, finance, and IT. He worked for several U.S. organizations in a pan-European business development role, focusing on market and client research and growing the client portfolio. He was also the founder of a startup that puts technology at the forefront, providing more financial transparency to real estate owners.

Ali Mehroz Khan
Close Brothers Group
Internal Audit Manager

More than ten years of experience in IT Risk and Assurance practice of EY Financial Services. Currently, working as a Group Internal Audit Manager (Technology, Cyber and Change) in one of the leading merchant banks of the United Kingdom.

• Certified Information Systems Security Professional CISSP (ISC)
• AWS – Cloud Computing Practitioner (AWS-CCP) – Amazon
• CISM, ISACA – Certified Information Security Manager
• CISA, ISACA – Certified Information System Auditor
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan Chartered Accountant

Shahid Javed
President, ICAP – UK & Ireland Chapter
CEO – Fingdom Financial Consultants Ltd (Chartered Accountants)

I am a proactive chartered accountant with over 20 years of expertise in financial and business management, strategic financial planning, and treasury. I am a former CFO for renowned real estate developers in Dubai and CEO of Fingdom Financial Consultants in the UK. I served as a board trustee and treasurer for a major UK charity and am a chairman of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) UK-Ireland Chapter.

Khulood Shaban
Berkeley & Lords Group
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Khulood is a philanthropist, a business leader, successful business entrepreneur, and the most influence Arabic women in Gulf region. She is the CFO & CEO of Berkeley Middle East holding an American Emirati Joint venture conglomerate with a diversified portfolio. Khulood career is diversified over several roles including CEO, Director Finance, Financial Controller, & Chief Financial Officer based on decade of experience. Khulood core expertise to manage financial transactions for the whole group and in ongoing projects, arises through Merger or acquisitions, study the fundamental and technical feasibility, evaluate the investment risks by applying high level financial management tools for stakeholders keeping ERP, budgeting, variance reporting aligns with financial strategy of the shareholders. Her strengths are innovative & creativity toward a particular business venture, preparation of business plan, coordination with external auditors, lenders, regulatory authorities, compliances, meeting with investors for arranging of Funds, building a capital Structuring simple and complex, IPO’s securities, active management, & financial decision making.