Hussain Qaragholi is a global banking veteran with over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. Hussain is Managing Director of Phoenix Finance Partners, a UK-based consultancy specializing in banking and fintech.

He is founder of a digital bank and sits on the advisory board of an ADGM-based Venture Capital fund focused on Iraq and the Gulf. He is an advisor to the board for a London-based fintech lending platform regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Hussain’s banking career began at Merrill Lynch in New York before he joined Citigroup in London and Dubai – where he advised sovereigns and corporates on complex financings. In 2014, he joined Deutsche Bank and became Managing Director and Head of Middle East Corporate Coverage – managing a global client portfolio and banking team based in London and Dubai. He was part of Deutsche Bank’s Middle East Executive Committee and was crucial in shaping the bank’s regional strategy and growth.

Hussain serves on the RAND Global and Emerging Risks advisory board focusing on the opportunities and risks arising from artificial intelligence and synthetic biology. He was affiliated with the Atlantic Council and the Middle East Institute.

Hussain holds a Bachelors of Arts from The College of William and Mary (with Honors); a Master’s in Business Administration and a Masters of Arts in Contemporary Arab Studies and in International Business Diplomacy from Georgetown University, in Washington, DC, and a certificate in fintech from Oxford University.