­The Global Asset Allocation Conference

Mohamed A. El-Erian is the President of Queens’ College, the University of Cambridge. Since 2014, he has served as Chief Economic Advisor at Allianz, the corporate parent of PIMCO where he formerly served as chief executive and co-chief investment officer. He is Chair of Gramercy Fund Management, a columnist for Bloomberg View, and a contributing editor at the Financial Times, He serves on two corporate boards and several advisory committees and non-profit boards. Dr. El-Erian first joined PIMCO in 1999 and was a senior member of PIMCO’s portfolio management and investment strategy group. He rejoined the company at the end of 2007 after serving for two years as president and CEO of Harvard Management Company, the entity that manages Harvard’s endowment and related accounts.

Abdulrahman Al-Rashed is a senior columnist for the London-based Arabic daily Asharq al-Awsat, and the Head of the Editorial Advisory Board at Arabiya TV News. He is Chairman of O.R Media, a London-based documentary film production company. Previously, he was editor-in-chief of Asharq al-Awsat and the weekly magazine Almajalla. Al Rashed, who holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in media from the American University in Washington DC, was the White House correspondent for the Saudi Al-Jazira newspaper.

Amer Bisat, PhD., Managing Director, is Head of Emerging Markets (EM) Fixed Income and a member of the Fundamental-GFI Executive Committee. In this role, he oversees the team managing the EM portfolios totaling approximately $35 billion across hard currency, local and corporate debt instruments. Dr. Bisat's service with the firm dates to 2013. Before BlackRock, he was a partner in two macro hedge funds and held portfolio management responsibilities at Morgan Stanley and UBS. Between 1991 and 1998, he was a senior economist at the International Monetary Fund where he helped negotiate high-profile programs with Russia, Ukraine, and Egypt.

Dr. Bisat taught graduate level economics courses at Columbia University, co-authored a book on globalization, and academic and policy papers on growth and financial sector development. He was the former Chairman of the Arab Bankers Association of North America and is a trustee of several cultural and art institutions. He sits on the Advisory Council of the Carnegie Middle East Center and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Dr. Bisat earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the American University of Beirut and a PhD in economics and finance from Columbia University.

Mr. Abdallah Obeikan is a Digital Transformation Leader and the Chief Executive Officer of Obeikan Investment Group. Obeikan Group is a major player in manufacturing, education services, located in Riyadh K.S.A. It operates in 16 countries across Middle east Africa and Europe, with more than 3000 employees, and 20 mega manufacturing sites. Mr. Abdallah holds BSC in Electrical Engineering, King Saud University,  Riyadh, K.S.A, 1986. He started working with Obeikan in 1987 and moved from one position to another till he became the CEO in the year 2000.

Ed is the Founder and CEO of Cale Street Partners (“CSP”), a real estate investment and finance firm established in 2014, in partnership with the Kuwait Investment Office, the London branch of the Kuwait Investment Authority. CSP has a unique and broad mandate, focused on providing bespoke capital solutions, both debt and equity, to facilitate large and complex real estate developments, acquisitions and joint ventures. The mandate encompasses all major real estate asset classes, with a geographic focus on Western Europe, the UK and North America.

With over 10 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, Salma is well recognized in the field both locally and internationally. She works alongside decision-makers to ensure a holistic approach to social development through her active participation in various committees and fora. She represents Saudi civil society internationally at UN human rights conventions and at the G20. Prior to the Chief Advocacy Officer role, she was the Chief Programs Officer, overseeing several development projects focusing on women’s economic empowerment. Her deep understanding of the realities of society’s most vulnerable and fragile communities stems from working directly with beneficiaries. As a result, she is able to advocate, based on evidence, for concrete policy action. Her efforts are further advanced through numerous media appearances and speaking opportunities to spread awareness on the most pressing issues facing communities today regarding social development and the preservation of human rights. With a global view of gender and development issues, she ensures that the organization’s work is aligned with its mission, the nation’s Vision 2030, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Noelle is Chief of Cash Markets at the Saudi Exchange where she is responsible for leading the trading business for equities, fixed income, funds, and statistics and reporting function. Since joining the Saudi Exchange in 2015, she led the introduction of real estate investment trusts (REITs) and the Nomu parallel market, and was part of the project management team for listing Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest IPO. Previously, Noelle worked in strategy consulting at PricewaterhousCoopers (PwC) where she advised several private and public entities.

She is a Board Member of the Capital Market Instutions Dealing Committee, the Finance Program Advisory Board, the Center for Sustainability & Climate at Prince Sultan University in Riyadh and Bloomberg’s “A Fair Shair” Advisory Board.

Noelle holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Prince Sultan University. She is a Certified Change Management Professional (PROSCI), holds a Certificate of Mastery in Capital Markets Professional Certification from the New York Institute of Finance and has completed an executive program in Women’s Leadership at Stanford University. She was named one of the 50 most influental women in Saudi Arabia by Arabian Business and won several awards including the MENA Women Leader in Financial Markets & Investments Excellence Award from the Middle East Excellence Awards Institute.

Noor Al Fadhel is the Executive Manager and Co-Owner of Mantech Co. Ltd. Noor holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master Degree in Special Education for the Gifted and Talented from the American University of Beirut. She also earned a Doctor of Education Degree (EdD) in Sociology of Education from the Institute of Education at the University of London, with a concentration on the schools of choice for Saudi mothers.

Noor also volunteered for over 18 years at private and public schools in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, where she conducted training workshops on better inclusion for children with special needs.

Martin Mocker is a professor of information systems at ESB Business School, Reutlingen University, Germany and an Academic Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Information Systems Research. His teaching and research focus on the digital transformations of large, established companies aiming to stay competitive in an increasingly digital economy. Martin has co-authored the bestselling book “Designed for Digital: How to Architect Your Business for Sustained Success.”

Jonathan Berger is the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer at AS Birch Grove. Previously, Jonathan was the President and Chief Investment Officer at Stone Tower Capital, where he was responsible for overseeing all investment activities. He also co-founded Pegasus Capital Advisors and was responsible for developing and managing investments in the security markets and highly structured securities.

Jonathan holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics with a concentration in Finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Wharton Leadership Advisory Board and a board member in StreetSquash Organization and the Atlantic Salmon Federation.

Mr. Boehringer, Managing Director and Head of Europe for Oaktree’s Global Opportunities Strategy, leads the dedicated investment group in the region. Prior to joining the firm in March 2006, Mr. Boehringer spent two years at Goldman Sachs in the European Special Situations Group. Prior to Goldman, he was co-founder and director of FITravel Corporation, an internet-based distribution system for travel products. Prior experience includes five years in Leveraged Finance at Warburg Dillon Read/SG Warburg and two years at LTU GmbH & Co. Mr. Boehringer holds a B.A. degree in economics from Harvard University and an M.B.A. from INSEAD in France, where he graduated with distinction and was the recipient of the INSEAD Canadian Foundation Scholarship. Mr. Boehringer is proficient in German, French and Japanese.