Family Enterprise and the Role of the Next Generation

Ismael Hajjar is a UAE based partner specialising in international tax & wealth structuring, family office and private capital advisory.
He started his career in Europe and has been serving international families for over 16 years. He relocated to the UAE in 2013 and is currently acting as a trusted advisor to a number of successful families across the Middle East region.
He is leading PwC Tax and Legal service offering to private clients, entrepreneurial & royal families and family offices in helping them understand and manage their global affairs, overcome cross-border tax challenges and identify opportunities to achieve their family and business objectives.
Prior to joining PwC, Ismael was acting as head of Private for another big four firm and was responsible for the design and execution of the overall firm strategy for private companies and their owners across all service lines.

Dr. Sohale Altamimi, Ph.D. in Finance and CFA® Charterholder, is a highly experienced professional with over 13 years of expertise in both the investment and academic communities. As the former head of the department of Finance, he successfully led his team to achieve significant goals, including earning the quality accreditation NCAAA. Dr. Altamimi's deep understanding of behavioral finance and assets pricing is evident through his numerous published peer-reviewed papers. Additionally, he applies his knowledge and expertise as the founding partner and CFO of Ajras, a financial technology company. Currently, Dr. Altamimi serves as the Deputy CEO of the National Business Center of Family Business (NCFB), supporting the growth and sustainability of family businesses.

Christopher is an experienced professional with a demonstrated history of more than 10 years in the financial services industry. Prior to joining Fiduchi, he worked in banking – with a focus on Middle East private clients – based in Dubai and Jersey. He is a qualified investment professional.
Christopher is responsible for growing Fiduchi’s Middle East business. Through his wide-ranging regional network, he services clients, both high net worth individuals and corporate institutions, offering them a range of bespoke fiduciary solutions. In order to further grow Fiduchi’s Middle East market penetration, Christopher re-located to Dubai in December 2018 as Regional Director of Fiduchi Limited (DMCC Branch). In what little spare time Christopher has - thanks to his two young sons - he enjoys tennis, reading spy novels, and is looking forward to improving his elementary Arabic.

Yasmin Alafaliq is the Co-Founder of Elaqat for Corporate Services, a one stop shop that focuses on foreign investments by providing company incorporation services to foreign companies that wish to expand into the Saudi Market.
In 2022, Yasmin joined Levari Law by becoming the firm’s appointed partner in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Yasmin is an experienced lawyer with extensive knowledge of the Saudi Arabian laws and regulations which are supported by a degree in Law from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. She takes pride in providing the best services with the highest of quality.
Yasmin holds bachelor’s degree of law (LLB) from King Faisal University.

Lynda oversees business development for the private client team globally at Ocorian.
Lynda moved to Dubai over 20 years ago and has developed a very strong sense of cultural differences, regional sensitivities and the importance of long-standing relationships built on trust in these markets. During her time in the region Lynda has visited clients and intermediaries in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt.
Lynda is responsible for maintaining and enhancing Ocorian’s existing relationships and client base in the Middle East and identifying new business opportunities – with particular focus on delivering solutions to private clients, single family offices, large corporates, asset managers and institutions across the region.
Lynda has a 1st class Honours Degree in Business Studies and holds an Islamic Finance Qualification and Investment Advice Certificate.

Carly has been assisting families for over two decades with their with succession planning, asset protection and family governance. Originating from Jersey, but having lived in the UAE for 7 years, she has a wealth of experience in this field and throughout her time in the Private Wealth industry has become a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (for which she was appointed as the Company Secretary of the Jersey Branch from 2014 - 2016) (“ICSA”), an Associate of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, gained her Master’s Degree in Corporate Governance, completed the Islamic Finance Certificate as well as the Advance Certificate in Family Business Advising. She has been specialising in assisting those families based in the Middle East for over ten years now and has significant experiencing working with families in the UAE, Bahrain and Saudi as well as the Levant.

Hassan leads the private wealth practice at Alzawawi Law Firm. He focuses on advising private wealth clients on various matters including succession, governance, corporate governance, and various contentious matters including shareholders’ disputes. As well as being a qualified lawyer in Saudi Arabia who represents clients regularly before the Saudi courts, he is also a qualified solicitor in England & Wales.
Hassan’s corporate experience includes working closely with multinationals in relation to foreign direct investment into the Kingdom, restructuring and commercial disputes. This experience covers various sectors including food and beverage, real estate, logistics, hospitality and hotels, casual dining, pharmaceuticals and healthcare.

A bilingual legal consultant, Fivos has over 10 years of experience having worked in private practice and in-house roles in the UK, Greece and KSA. His legal practice focuses on HNWI Wealth Management, Family Company Governance, International Regulatory Compliance, Private Equity, Real Estate Assets, Sharia Financing, and generally Commercial Transaction and Corporate Structuring. His academic background is in English Law, European Business Law, and International Business Strategy, which grants him insight into the needs and opportunities of his clients. Fivos is passionate about his work, and dedicated to supporting ethical and socially responsible investment.

Jude is an in-house transactional lawyer with over 6 years experience at a family-owned wealth management and investment company. She is experienced in M&A, funds, corporate/family governance, and regulatory compliance and is committed to safeguarding family investments with expertise and integrity.

Nour Tassabehji, has been with CdR Capital since 2018 and currently leads the firm’s regional presence based out of the DIFC. Her career before joining CdR spanned across both financial services and luxury brand management, providing trading and advisory services to high-net-worth individuals with Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management, and overseeing strategic EMEAI countries as senior commercial manager for Parfums Christian Dior. She holds an MBA from INSEAD, a B.Sc. in Economics from Royal Holloway College, London, and an M.Sc. in Investment Management from Cass Business School in London.