Biographies

Mohammad Saeed Rahman is the founder of several business ventures and few non-profit organizations. His ventures include Rubicon Global Asset Management, Rubicon Global Holdings, Rubicon Global Research, Always On Network, Maui-Rubicon Broadband and Z-Motors US.

Mr. Rahman has a very avid interest in demystifying halal investing and bringing it within the mainstream of the investing industry on a global scale. He was a member of the Reuters panel on Islamic finance in Singapore.

Mr. Rahman currently serves on the board of the Counsel of Spiritual and Ethical Education (CSEE). He also founded One Ummah Foundation in memory of his son, Mustafa Saeed Rahman. OUF is a non-profit organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of illiteracy and poverty in underdeveloped countries. Mr. Rahman previously served on the board of the Doughy Center for Grieving Children & Families.

John Foster was managing editor of International Media Ventures in Dubai. IMV published Trader Middle East, Dealmaker and Private Air Middle East in partnership with DoubleDown Media in New York.  DoubleDown Media went into bankruptcy early in 2009. IMV suspended publishing in April 2009. Both were a result of the global financial crisis. John was launch editor of the above three titles and managed a team of six, across editorial, sales and administration.

Dealmaker was the only remaining magazine in the MENA region that was devoted to private equity, venture capital and investment banking. Trader concentrated on the nascent proprietary trading industry in the MENA region and covered FX, commodity and equity trading and hedge funds in the Middle East. Private Air was the only magazine in the region that looked at the growth and development of the private aviation industry, highlighting new models, new operators and new fixed operation bases across the region. There was a very strong lifestyle component to all three titles.

Prior to joining IMV, John was managing editor of CPI Financial, and editor of Banker Middle East, Banker Arabic, Islamic Business & Finance, Private Equity & Hedge Funds magazines. He was also editor of CPIFinancial.net. John managed a team of five editorial staff, redesigned all of the magazines, launched Banker Arabic and CPIFinancial.net, and developed an online, real-time news service for CPI Financial.

Dr. Qayum grew up in Uttarpradesh, India.  He was taught by the first Nobel Laureate in the field of economics and has been in a professor of economics at Portland State University since 1970.  He is a founding member of the Association for Communal Harmony in Asia (ACHA) and has been on ACHA Board since 1993.  For the last several years, he has been a member of India Cultural Association and is active in Islamic Society of Greater Portland (ISGP).  Currently he is serving on the Board of ISGP. 

Dr. Ehsan Feroz is a Professor of Accounting at the Milgard School of Business at the University of Washington, Tacoma, is on the editorial board of several journals. He is involved with the Institute of Halal Investing in a personal capacity.