Celia de Anca 

With a degree in Arabic Philology from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, de Anca went on to specialize in European Community Studies and International Relations. She earned her PhD in Philosophy and Letters from the same university. She is currently the Vice Dean of Ethics, Diversity and Inclusiveness at IE University and the Director of its Diversity Center. She also develops online education programs, including the Cousera Fundamentals of Diversity course, and has been the academic director of the Diversity Inclusion and Belonging specialization program. Prior to that, she also worked as Director of Corporate Programs at the Euro-Arab Management School (EAMS) in Granada; she was an external advisor to Merrill Lynch’s Diversity and Inclusion Council (London) from 2006 to 2008, and a member of the Executive Committee of the IE Business School from 2005 to 2015. Also a member of the Ethics Committee of InverCaixa’s Ethical Investment Fund since 2010, and a member of IFN’s Advisory Board since 2020 and Developing Leaders Quarterly’s Advisory Board since 2022, she was bestowed with the 2008 Executive of the Year Award by the Madrid businesswomen’s organization ASEME. 

Olivia Orozco 

With a PhD in History and Civilization from the European University Institute of Florence (IUE, 2008), Orozco earned her Master’s degree in Contemporary Arab Studies from Georgetown University (MAAS, 2003) and a degree in Economics from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM, 1998). She co-authored the first book in Spanish about Islamic Economics and Banking (AECID, 1999) and has had articles published on the topic, as well as the history of economic thought in the Mediterranean and Arab world economies today. She specializes in economics and development in Arab countries, Islamic economics and banking, and economic thought in the Mediterranean. She is the main editor of Casa Árabe’s publications on finance, business, industrial policies, water, migration, development and the economic consequences of conflicts. 

Alfredo Cabellos 

Partner in charge of Maritime and Aviation Affairs at Watson Farley & Williams Madrid. An asset finance specialist, he has had a lengthy career in financial consultancy in the transportation world, both in Spain and abroad. He began his career at Castro, Sueiro & Varela, then joined the Madrid office of Stephenson Harwood and, in 2004, joined Uría Menéndez, where he continued his work until joining Watson Farley & Williams. He holds a Law degree from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and is a member of the Spanish Maritime Law Association. Along with other courses, he teaches Maritime Law in the Maritime Law Master’s degree program at ICADE and the Spanish Maritime Institute (IME). He has been included by Chambers and Partners in Category 2, “Shipping: Finance” in Spain, where he is described as “a key figure in advising Scandinavian shipowners and Spanish banks on new Spanish Tax Lease structures.” 

Delfina Serrano 

An Arabic and Islamic Studies specialist and Senior Scientist at the CSIC’s Institute of Languages and Cultures of the Mediterranean and Near East, Serrano’s research work revolves around the study of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) and its ties with other Islamic religious sciences such as kalam or discursive theology, and Sufism. Her publications address these topics in their doctrinal and practical aspects, and in specific historical contexts, including the contemporary period. Her work has been published in international scholarly journals like Al-Qantara, Der Islam, Islamic Law and Society, Bulletin d’Études Orientales, Revue des mondes musulmans et de la Méditerranée, Journal of Women of the Middle East and the Islamic World (Hawwa), Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies, and by publishers including the CSIC, Brill, Routledge, Oxford University Press, Harvard University Press and Brepols. Until 2020 she directed the editorial series Estudios Árabes e Islámicos published by the CSIC, and she is currently on the editorial board of the journal Al-Qantara (CSIC). 

Guillermo Canalejo 

A partner in the Tax Law Department at the Madrid office of Uría Menéndez, he is co-head of the Middle East Practice Group. He earned his Law degree at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and specializes in Tax Law and International Business Administration. He has extensive experience in corporate taxation and is a specialist in international tax planning, a field in which he advises Spanish and foreign multinationals as well as doing so on private equity transactions, other collective investment vehicles and tax planning for individuals with large asset holdings. He also regularly gives seminars and conferences, both in Spain and abroad. Abdulkader Thomas The Managing Director of Shape for Economic Consultancy and an international Islamic finance expert. He has held senior positions in many institutions, including those of Editor and CEO of the American Journal of Islamic Finance; he is a member of the Management Committee of Orientation Financial Group and Acting CEO of the Islamic Investment Banking Unit of United Kuwait Bank. One of his main areas of interest is the application of fiqh to solving modern-day financial issues. He is currently working in the fields of applied research, market regulation and financial problem-solving. These are finding new applications outside the business sector and in academia.

Abdulkader Thomas
The Managing Director of Shape for Economic Consultancy and an international Islamic finance expert. He has held senior positions in many institutions, including those of Editor and CEO of the American Journal of Islamic Finance; he is a member of the Management Committee of Orientation Financial Group and Acting CEO of the Islamic Investment Banking Unit of United Kuwait Bank.
 
One of his main areas of interest is the application of fiqh to solving modern-day financial issues. He is currently working in the fields of applied research, market regulation and financial problem-solving. These are finding new applications outside the business sector and in academia.

Germán Rodríguez Moreno 

Assistant Professor of Islamic Law at IE University and Islamic Finance at IE Business School, both in Madrid, and the Universidad Internacional de Andalucía, based in Seville. He is also a member of the editorial board of Revival Press (Legal Transformation in Muslim Societies), in the United Kingdom. An expert on zakat (required tithing), takaful (Islamic insurance) and waqf (Islamic trusts), he has given classes on takaful in Riyadh and Paris, as well as taking part in international conferences in Istanbul, Seville and Valencia as a speaker. An English attorney (solicitor) with 20 years of experience in the financial sector, he worked for City of London firms and the largest British insurer in the world, mainly in the field of M&A. In addition to his Law studies, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a Master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Stirling in Scotland. His most notable recent publications include: “Islamic Insurance has finally reached Spain” (Actualidad Aseguradora nº12 - September 12, 2022) and “Can Fintech save Takaful: A Case Study” (Islamic Fintech, Routledge 2021).