Chief Executive Officer

Jeffrey H. Singer joined the Dubai International Financial Centre Authority (DIFCA) in August 2012. As the CEO of DIFC Authority, he oversees the strategic development, operational management and administration of the Centre. He is also responsible for developing DIFC's international relations with the world's other leading financial centres and further strengthening the Centre’s position globally.

Prior to DIFC, Jeff served as the Chief Executive Officer of NASDAQ Dubai Limited for four years, where he managed the transition of the exchange from its previous existence as DIFX onto the global platform of NASDAQ. Jeff was instrumental in developing the exchange as a bridge between regional and international financial markets.

Before his move to Dubai in 2008, Jeff was Senior Vice President of NASDAQ OMX Group (formerly, NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc.) and Head of NASDAQ International where he was responsible for NASDAQ's global business development with a primary role of managing international relationships with companies outside the Americas. Jeff had joined NASDAQ OMX Group Inc. in 2003 as Vice President of Eastern Region and was responsible for maintaining NASDAQ's leading market position in the East Coast.

Jeff also possesses significant technology experience gained through his earlier positions as General Manager at SAP America for five years and other executive appointments at several technology startups prior to joining Nasdaq.

Jeff holds a Masters degree in Business Administration from Harvard Business School and received a Bachelor of Science degree in International Finance from Brigham Young University.

Chief Operating Officer

Nabil M. Ramadhan, Chief Operating Officer, joined DIFC Authority in June 2006 as Chief Human Capital Officer and then he was promoted in 2008 to Chief Corporate Development Officer. In his current role, he is responsible for leading the overall Operations Division of DIFC Authority, which includes Human Capital, Real Estate, Security, Information Technology, Procurement and administration, and Operational Excellence departments, by ensuring smooth delivery of Operations of DIFC Division in an efficient manner and providing quality support services to the DIFC organization, develop DIFC real estate in line with the overall DIFC strategy and ensuring quality delivery of DIFC property operations.

Nabil also contributes towards DIFC Authority’s strategy and business plan, with a specific focus on the strategic direction of the Operations Division.

Before joining DIFC, Nabil worked for Dubai Properties as Director of Human Resources, where he set up their human resources department. Prior to that, he was the head of Human Capital Services at Dubai Technology & Media Free Zone. Nabil started his career as Management Trainee at Emirates Group in performance development department.

Nabil participated in the Dubai Government Excellence Programme and is a graduate of the Mohammed bin Rashid Leadership Programme.

Nabil is a member of Human Resources Development Committee in the Banking and Financial Sector. He is also a board member of Indemaj, the independent non-profit organisation that supports the development of quality education in all UAE Government School, with a particular focus on rural areas.

Nabil holds a B.Sc. degree in Industrial Engineering from University of Arizona, USA.

Chief Financial Officer
Chief Executive Director, DIFC LCIA

Rajesh joined DIFC in January 2011 as the Chief Financial Officer of DIFC Authority overseeing the financial performance of the DIFC Authority, DIFC Investments LLC and its subsidiaries (‘DIFCI’), Registrar of Real Properties, Registrar of Companies, Hawkamah and other entities. Rajesh is responsible for overseeing the entire financial spectrum from strategic financial planning through to execution for these entities, while adhering to DIFC’s values of transparency, efficiency and integrity.  Rajesh implements financial best practices and industry standards in the Centre, including the development, management and monitoring of the Centre-wide revenue cycle. 

One of the key milestones achieved by Rajesh with DIFC was his instrumental role in directing and managing the refinancing of the US$1.25 billion DIFCI Sukuk and its repayment in June 2012. This involved high level discussions with various stakeholders, local and international banks, lawyers and financial advisors.  The refinancing was achieved through a syndicated facility of US$1.035 billion with participation from international and local banks and key divestments. The transaction was a dual tranche five-year Islamic facility and included both Commodity Murabaha and Ijarah tranches. 

This was a landmark transaction which was very well received by the market and recognised the strategic importance of the Centre to Dubai.  He successfully managed relationships with investors and the rating agencies in order to maintain the Sukuk’s rating from January 2011 to June 2012.

Rajesh is a Chartered Accountant with over 16 years of experience advising key clients with the Big 4 accounting firms across a broad range of services.  Prior to joining DIFCA, Rajesh was a Director at KPMG Dubai, where he worked for more than 8 years. He brings with him significant advisory experience across a range of financial services including restructuring, financial due diligence, review of business plans & underlying assumptions, cash flow analysis, restructuring and M&A advisory.  He has significant experience working with government related entities and worked on some of the key restructuring projects in Dubai during 2009 and 2010.  Rajesh has also worked with leading regional private equity houses, corporates and family businesses, advising them on numerous M&A transactions both locally and internationally.

Prior to joining KPMG, Rajesh worked with Arthur Andersen, Ernst and Young and Lodha & Co in India where he had conducted various financial audits, accounting and reporting assignments including audit for statutory purposes, reporting under IFRS, Indian & US GAAP, business process reviews, assistance in managing business risks and on call assignments.

Rajesh is an Associate with the Institute of Chartered Accountants, India. He also holds a Bachelors of Commerce with Honours in Finance and Accounting.  Rajesh has participated in a wide range of training programmes both locally and internationally across US, UK, China, Europe, India and Sri Lanka.

Rajesh also holds the title of Chief Executive Director of the DIFC–LCIA (London Court of International Arbitration) joint venture.

Chief Legal Officer
Secretary to DIFCA Board of Directors
Data Protection Commissioner
Registrar of Securities

Roberta Calarese joined DIFC Authority in February 2011. She is responsible for setting up the long term plan for the overall functioning of the division of Legal Affairs. This includes developing and maintaining the DIFC legal framework in line with international best practices and industry standards, providing strong legal support to the business lines and assisting senior management and the DIFCA board to identity and manage potential and actual legal risks both internal and external.  Roberta also provides guidance and input for policies and procedures that define the guidelines and controls within the Legal Affairs division.

Roberta has a long and vast experience in DIFC, having joined the DFSA in 2002 as Director of Policy and Legal Services.  In her long standing career with the DIFC, Roberta has been instrumental in establishing the legal and regulatory framework of the DIFC. 

Roberta’s legal and compliance experience also includes time spent with Prudential Bache, ABN AMRO and Goldman Sachs, in both London and Dubai.

Roberta graduated with honours from the University of Warwick, and received her Masters in International Legal Finance from University College London.

Chief Strategy and Business Development Officer

Chirag heads the Strategy and Corporate Planning Department that is primarily responsible for supporting strategy development at the DIFC Authority. The Strategy and Corporate Planning department focuses on expanding the “depth” and “breadth” of the financial services and related sectors development through a combination of strategic thinking, planning, provision of value-added research and effective initiative management.

The Strategy and Corporate Planning Department also leads Strategic Planning effort for DIFC, which serves DIFC’s Industry and sector research needs and monitors financial services sector trends globally and within the DIFC region. The Strategy department also acts as the internal consultant and incubator for new strategic ideas for DIFC.

Chirag is a member of the DIFC Executive Team, DIFC Authority Legislative Committee and DIFC Registration Review Committee.

Chirag has worked in strategic and high impact influencing positions (Strategic Consulting, Industry and Government/SWF) in major emerging market blocks of South Asia and MENA in a period where these regions saw dramatic shifts and development of the Financial Services Industry. Chirag has Financial Services domain knowledge across asset management/mutual funds, capital markets/securities brokerage, custody, financial retailing, investment advisory, investment banking, private banking, risk management, consumer banking, cards and retail lending, regulatory policy and wealth management.

Prior to working at DIFC, Chirag worked with American Express as Head of Business Development and Special Projects, working on strategy, business transformation/reengineering, business development and strategic partnerships, idea incubation, product management, compliance, six sigma projects/initiatives.

Prior to working at American Express, Chirag worked for Andersen Business Consulting where he was responsible for Financial Services Business Consulting. During his tenure at Andersen, Chirag got exposure in wide ranging roles across the consulting chain.

Chirag has a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA Finance), a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce and is also a qualified Chartered Accountant.

Head of Human Capital

Kabira Bhatporia, who has been with DIFC since 2007, is the Head of Human Capital since May 2012, where her responsibilities entail providing leadership and direction for the Human Capital function at DIFC Authority and to ensure that DIFC Authority is able to optimise all human recourses in order to be recognised as a premium employer globally. Before that, Bhatporia was the Director -HC Business Partner at DIFCA, and oversaw HC Business Partnering and Talent Sourcing and Management.

Bhatporia comes with almost 20 years of experience in different Human Capital practices including recruitment, training, best practice application and policies. Before joining DIFC, she was the Assistant General Manager of Human Resources and Administration at Maersk Kanoo in Dubai, managing UAE, Oman and Qatar. Prior to this, Bhatporia served as Manager - Compensation and Training at Kodak India Limited’s corporate office, based in Mumbai, India.

Bhatporia holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Mumbai University, India and has a Diploma in Training and Development and another Diploma in Business Management, for which she specialised in Human Resources.

Registrar of Real Properties

Jaber Humaid Al Suwaidi has been with DIFC since 2005. As the Registrar of Real Properties (RORP), a position he holds since 2010, he is responsible for ensuring adherence to relevant legislation as well as to help realize operational best practices in order to deliver optimal service in terms of quality and efficiency. He is also responsible for establishing and implementing the Real Properties Titles registry system and diligently keeping internal policy at international industry standards. Before that, Al Suwaidi was Assistant Manager at the Leasing department in DIFC, where he managed all existing and future property leasing contracts and developed efficient policies for the real estate department in the legal, financial, project development and strategy sectors. 

Al Suwaidi comes with seven years of experience in the real estate management industry. He holds a Diploma in Real Estate from the Dubai Real Estate Institute and a Foundation Diploma from the Emirates Aviation College.