The Evolution of Wealth Management in the Middle East

Ashok Sardana, Founder and Managing Director of the Continental Group, has been advising clients on a range of financial solutions for over 37 years. A dynamic individual, Ashok believes in leading from the front and is passionate about spreading financial awareness and the need for proper financial planning. He is a lifetime member of the MDRT and a ‘Top of the Table’ qualifier for over 20 years. He is an internationally certified financial advisor from the Chartered Insurance Institute of London and holds a Diploma in Business Management and a BA from Delhi University, India. Ashok’s views and thoughts on insurance and financial services in the UAE have been much sought after and published in newspapers and on radio talk shows. His articles have frequently been featured in various publications. The Continental Group is among the leading independent financial services organisations in the UAE. Under Ashok’s leadership, the Continental Group has grown from a threemember team providing insurance solutions to over 100 qualified professionals offering complete insurance and financial planning solutions, through offices spread across the UAE, Mauritius, Switzerland and India. A strong advocate of continuous learning and improvement, Ashok is an innovative thinker, who is also passionate about classic cars. He is married to the same lady for the last 44 years and has one son who has joined the business.

A seasoned banker with over 25 years of experience in multinational banks like American Express Bank, ABN AMRO, Credit Suisse AG and Citibank, Madhavan brings along with him strong corporate leadership learning and business acumen. He is the Founder & CEO of Gulf International Finance Limited (GIFL).With a proven track record of successful stints in his previous assignments, of which over a decade has been in the GCC, Madhavan possesses a keen understanding of the global financial services environment. His strong relationship management skills augur well with fulfilling client needs that enables him to drive the overall strategy of GIFL. Madhavan is a commerce graduate and has obtained an MBA from India. He is also certified in Banking, Finance & Securities Law by the New York Institute of Finance (NYIF).

Malik has a great breadth and depth of expertise in Wealth Management and Strategic Leadership, guiding organisations toward leadership positions that help their clients achieve their life goals and dreams. He deploys a genuinely passionate style in motivating leaders and frontline staff to become exceptional professionals, deliver an engaging client experience, and achieve outstanding financial results. Rooted in his extensive global experience, Malik’s ‘war stories’ enable his audience to apply practical skills for enhancing overall business quality and productivity. As a Wealth Management executive, Malik has operated at the leading edge of the Global Wealth Management industry with 30+ years of experience as a senior executive across the US, Asia, and MENA. He consistently communicates a strong strategic vision backed by excellent education, all adapted to cross-cultural business settings. His career successes include Global Head of Sales Management/Wealth Development at HSBC, as well as business leadership at ADIB (Global Head of WM) Permal Group (US Head of UHNW), Citigroup (WM Head, Asia/ President CIS, US), Merrill Lynch (Director/Country Head) and Bain & Company (Senior Advisor). He has also been on the board and management committees of investment subsidiaries and businesses. Currently, Malik is CEO of K2 Leaders Inc, a New York based Wealth Management advisory firm which provides teaching, coaching, and consulting for Wealth Management institutes, business schools, and financial industry clients. He is a noted speaker and moderator at industry conferences. Malik is a Council Member of GLG as well as a Development Partner/Advisor of Acumen, an impact investing firm in NY. Malik, Najmi, their two daughters and two sons are avid scuba divers and hikers.

Raghavendra Ramesh, is currently part of Moxtra's Solutions team. Moxtra powers one stop apps for the mobile era. Raghavendra, has been with Moxtra for five and a half years now. As a part of the journey at Moxtra, Raghavendra has worked closely with some of Moxtra's marquee enterprise accounts such as Citibank, OCBC Bank, Bank of Singapore, Standard Chartered Bank (Retail & Private) in the Asia Pacific region. Raghavendra, works with bank teams to understand their current challenges with respect to client engagement, their key business objectives, and helps them leverage Moxtra's capabilities to address these challenges.

Ayesha Abbas joined Standard Chartered Bank in Feb 2019 as General Manager – Affluent, Head of Priority & Premium Banking, and Branch Network in the UAE, also managing client coverage in Pakistan, Oman and key African markets out of the UAE. In her role, Ayesha is responsible to design and deliver on Standard Chartered Bank’s growth agenda by setting up and driving best in class Priority and Premium Affluent banking segments. She is responsible to translate and implement Group Affluent CPBB strategy in the UAE, delivering on the customer promise and financial results. In her role, Ayesha runs the multi-channel Distribution teams for affluent client acquisition and relationship management, Affluent client value proposition with Product oversight, branch network transformation, and International Network Corridors. She is a key member of the CPBB Management Team and is instrumental in setting up the banks refreshed growth strategy with a special focus on superior client experience, scientific mechanism of client segmentation and coverage, process streamlining, digital and distribution models, with a focus on resource optimisation, revenue growth and profitability. Prior to joining Standard Chartered, Ayesha was with HSBC where she spent 18 years of her career. During her tenor with HSBC, Ayesha worked in Country, Regional and Global roles within Premier Wealth Management and Private Banking space in Middle East, North Africa, Turkey, UK and Switzerland. She maintained her consistent position in the regional and global talent pool representing Top 2% of the work force. Her last role in HSBC was Regional Head of Premier & Wealth Management Sales. In her role, she owned, designed and delivered the Regional Premier Wealth Management strategy in terms of Financial Performance, Customer Experience, People Development, and Governance. Ayesha is a member of the UAE D&I council and is the gender ambassador. She has also been recently appointed as Global CPBB D&I council member. She is an avid traveller and spends a good part of her holidays in hiking and forest walks.

Wael Salem is the Chief Executive Officer at Tradesocio. In his role as CEO, Wael leads Tradesocio in providing tailored investment technology solutions. Wael leads a team that is passionate about innovation and digital transformation for financial organizations. Prior to becoming the CEO at Tradesocio, Wael was a Senior Technology Consultant at one of the largest financial institutions. He was an advisor, mentor and product lead for multiple financial institutions in Singapore, Dubai, London, Hong Kong, and Cyprus. As an experienced global wealth and asset manager, he has launched several funds capitalizing on investor markets in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. With a deep sophisticated understanding of the investment landscape, Wael’s aim in the next ten years is to establish Tradesocio as the go-to fintech studio that customizes technological solutions which drive the future of investment management. As an avid investor and technologist, Wael ardently mentors and grooms many Start-ups. He holds a degree in Information & Technology with a concentration in programming from the American University in Dubai. He is qualified as a CISI – Chartered Wealth Manager – Level 4.

Thomas Schornstein is a Member of the Executive Board of additiv AG, based in Zurich. He is responsible for additiv’s sales activities. Thomas has joined additiv from Credit Suisse AG, where he was a Managing Director in the Wealth Management Division. Positions held within Credit Suisse for the last 20 years have included Market Area and Market Group Head positions for various markets as Germany, the Netherlands, Nordics, Israel, Africa and Central and Eastern Europe. MBA in Banking and Finance from the University of Zurich (MA UZH).

Wael Salem is the Chief Executive Officer at Tradesocio. In his role as CEO, Wael leads Tradesocio in providing tailored investment technology solutions. Wael leads a team that is passionate about innovation and digital transformation for financial organizations. Prior to becoming the CEO at Tradesocio, Wael was a Senior Technology Consultant at one of the largest financial institutions. He was an advisor, mentor and product lead for multiple financial institutions in Singapore, Dubai, London, Hong Kong, and Cyprus. As an experienced global wealth and asset manager, he has launched several funds capitalizing on investor markets in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. With a deep sophisticated understanding of the investment landscape, Wael’s aim in the next ten years is to establish Tradesocio as the go-to fintech studio that customizes technological solutions which drive the future of investment management. As an avid investor and technologist, Wael ardently mentors and grooms many Start-ups. He holds a degree in Information & Technology with a concentration in programming from the American University in Dubai. He is qualified as a CISI – Chartered Wealth Manager – Level 4.

Ayesha Abbas joined Standard Chartered Bank in Feb 2019 as General Manager – Affluent, Head of Priority & Premium Banking, and Branch Network in the UAE, also managing client coverage in Pakistan, Oman and key African markets out of the UAE. In her role, Ayesha is responsible to design and deliver on Standard Chartered Bank’s growth agenda by setting up and driving best in class Priority and Premium Affluent banking segments. She is responsible to translate and implement Group Affluent CPBB strategy in the UAE, delivering on the customer promise and financial results. In her role, Ayesha runs the multi-channel Distribution teams for affluent client acquisition and relationship management, Affluent client value proposition with Product oversight, branch network transformation, and International Network Corridors. She is a key member of the CPBB Management Team and is instrumental in setting up the banks refreshed growth strategy with a special focus on superior client experience, scientific mechanism of client segmentation and coverage, process streamlining, digital and distribution models, with a focus on resource optimisation, revenue growth and profitability. Prior to joining Standard Chartered, Ayesha was with HSBC where she spent 18 years of her career. During her tenor with HSBC, Ayesha worked in Country, Regional and Global roles within Premier Wealth Management and Private Banking space in Middle East, North Africa, Turkey, UK and Switzerland. She maintained her consistent position in the regional and global talent pool representing Top 2% of the work force. Her last role in HSBC was Regional Head of Premier & Wealth Management Sales. In her role, she owned, designed and delivered the Regional Premier Wealth Management strategy in terms of Financial Performance, Customer Experience, People Development, and Governance. Ayesha is a member of the UAE D&I council and is the gender ambassador. She has also been recently appointed as Global CPBB D&I council member. She is an avid traveller and spends a good part of her holidays in hiking and forest walks.

Ashok Sardana, Founder and Managing Director of the Continental Group, has been advising clients on a range of financial solutions for over 37 years. A dynamic individual, Ashok believes in leading from the front and is passionate about spreading financial awareness and the need for proper financial planning. He is a lifetime member of the MDRT and a ‘Top of the Table’ qualifier for over 20 years. He is an internationally certified financial advisor from the Chartered Insurance Institute of London and holds a Diploma in Business Management and a BA from Delhi University, India. Ashok’s views and thoughts on insurance and financial services in the UAE have been much sought after and published in newspapers and on radio talk shows. His articles have frequently been featured in various publications. The Continental Group is among the leading independent financial services organisations in the UAE. Under Ashok’s leadership, the Continental Group has grown from a threemember team providing insurance solutions to over 100 qualified professionals offering complete insurance and financial planning solutions, through offices spread across the UAE, Mauritius, Switzerland and India. A strong advocate of continuous learning and improvement, Ashok is an innovative thinker, who is also passionate about classic cars. He is married to the same lady for the last 44 years and has one son who has joined the business.

Raghavendra Ramesh, is currently part of Moxtra's Solutions team. Moxtra powers one stop apps for the mobile era. Raghavendra, has been with Moxtra for five and a half years now. As a part of the journey at Moxtra, Raghavendra has worked closely with some of Moxtra's marquee enterprise accounts such as Citibank, OCBC Bank, Bank of Singapore, Standard Chartered Bank (Retail & Private) in the Asia Pacific region. Raghavendra, works with bank teams to understand their current challenges with respect to client engagement, their key business objectives, and helps them leverage Moxtra's capabilities to address these challenges.

Thomas Schornstein is a Member of the Executive Board of additiv AG, based in Zurich. He is responsible for additiv’s sales activities. Thomas has joined additiv from Credit Suisse AG, where he was a Managing Director in the Wealth Management Division. Positions held within Credit Suisse for the last 20 years have included Market Area and Market Group Head positions for various markets as Germany, the Netherlands, Nordics, Israel, Africa and Central and Eastern Europe. MBA in Banking and Finance from the University of Zurich (MA UZH).

A seasoned banker with over 25 years of experience in multinational banks like American Express Bank, ABN AMRO, Credit Suisse AG and Citibank, Madhavan brings along with him strong corporate leadership learning and business acumen. He is the Founder & CEO of Gulf International Finance Limited (GIFL).With a proven track record of successful stints in his previous assignments, of which over a decade has been in the GCC, Madhavan possesses a keen understanding of the global financial services environment. His strong relationship management skills augur well with fulfilling client needs that enables him to drive the overall strategy of GIFL. Madhavan is a commerce graduate and has obtained an MBA from India. He is also certified in Banking, Finance & Securities Law by the New York Institute of Finance (NYIF).

Michael is a prominent figure in the financial services industry in Asia. He is the founder and CEO of Hubbis, a renowned provider of intelligence and connectivity for the Asian wealth management industry. With a depth of experience and expertise, he has played a pivotal role in shaping the industry for over 30 years, becoming a leading industry presence in the events, professional development, and publishing space in the region. Hubbis is a multi-generational family-owned and managed business.

He has been actively involved in the Asia-Pacific region since 1993. And has lived in Asia since 1995, holding positions in Hong Kong, Sydney, and Singapore. 

For over 14-years, Hubbis has established itself as the gold standard media and events brand in wealth management thought leadership in Asia. Each year providing a very large body of cutting-edge editorial and sponsored content, organizing top-flight events.

During that time Hubbis has become the platform of choice for many high-profile C-suite leaders to communicate their vision of the Asian wealth management.

Before his involvement with Hubbis, Michael founded Pacific Prospect in 2002, a financial services media company. Under his leadership, the company achieved significant success and was subsequently acquired by global business-to-business publisher Incisive Media in 2006. Michael continued to serve as the CEO of Pacific Prospect until October 2008.

Prior to his entrepreneurial ventures, Michael garnered 5 years of experience in financial markets publishing. His career in this field began in 1993 when he joined Euromoney Publications as the publisher of the quarterly magazine, International Bond Investor. In 1995, Michael joined Thomson Financial Services (now owned by LSEG) and spearheaded the conception and launch of Finance Asia magazine. During his tenure as Managing Director of Finance Asia, he also initiated the Asian Debt Review, Asian Private Capital Magazine, and the Finance Asia Conference Business. In 1997, he founded FIA Limited, further expanding his contributions to the financial publishing industry.

Born in North Wales, Michael served as the head boy of St David's College Llandudno. He holds a degree in Business Administration from Cardiff University. Beyond his professional endeavours, Michael is a family-oriented individual and is happily married with three children: Reanna, Garett, and Tarryn.