ICA Regulatory and Financial Crime Conference
With over 15 years’ experience in hosting relevant, practical, and inspiring events, the International Compliance Association (ICA), the leading professional body for the global regulatory and financial crime compliance community, is excited to bring the ICA Inaugural MENA Regulatory and Financial Crime Compliance Conference to the Fairmont Hotel, Dubai on March 1-2, 2020.
The ICA is honored to welcome His Excellency Ebrahim Obaid Al Zaabi, director general, Insurance Authority, to deliver the keynote address, along with a range of speakers from HSBC, Standard Chartered, PwC, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), and other leading financial organizations.
The evening keynote address will be delivered by Patrick Loots, disarmament demobilization and reintegration officer, United Nations Office, who will provide an alternative look at traditional approaches and stereotypes to education and training with specific reference to rehabilitation of special groups such as disengaged “terrorists.”
Financial crime and compliance industry leaders from global and regional banks, regulatory bodies, insurance companies, law enforcement, money services businesses, international consultancies, and technology providers will gather from all parts of the Middle East, North Africa, and beyond to network, exchange ideas, and discuss the latest developments in the compliance space. Topics to be explored at the event include the conduct agenda, data security, ultimate beneficial ownership, and crypto risk.
Other distinguished speakers include Yeva Gazazyan, CFA, Ph.D., head of compliance (FCC & RC), HSBC Bank Armenia CJSC; Dr. Erdal Ozkaya, Head of Information and Cybersecurity, Standard Chartered Bank; Peter Smith, managing director of strategy, policy and risk, Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA); and Richard Chudzynski, Middle East data protection and privacy legal leader, PwC.
Pre-conference masterclasses in anti-money laundering and governance, risk, and compliance will take place March 1, providing an ideal opportunity for delegates to take a deeper dive into the latest local and global issues.
ICA CEO Helen Langton commented: “Building on our presence in the United Arab Emirates for the last 12 years,
I am excited about the launch of ICA’s first conference in the MENA region in line with our vision and mission to provide a much-needed platform for the exchange of knowledge and best practice and to promote the professionalization of compliance.
I invite all compliance professionals from the region to attend the conference and take this opportunity to gain practical skills, expand their network and forge new, strategic alliances with their peers cross-industry.”
To find out more, visit: www.dubai.int-comp.org.
For more evets :
https://www.erdalozkaya.com/category/free-events/
CISO Insight
Industry events remain one of the most effective ways for security leaders to stay current, build peer networks, and discover approaches that no vendor whitepaper can teach. The hallway conversations between sessions — where practitioners share what actually worked and what failed — consistently deliver more actionable intelligence than the formal presentations themselves.
Why Cybersecurity Events Matter for Practitioners
The cybersecurity industry moves at a pace where knowledge has a short half-life. Techniques that were cutting-edge 18 months ago may already be outdated. Threat actors evolve continuously, and defenders must keep pace. Industry events — conferences, summits, forums, and workshops — serve as concentrated knowledge-transfer mechanisms where practitioners can absorb months of industry developments in days. Beyond the formal agenda, events create opportunities for informal knowledge exchange that drives real operational improvement. CISOs discussing challenges over coffee, incident responders comparing detection approaches, architects debating implementation strategies — these peer interactions produce insights impossible to replicate through online content alone.
Building a Strategic Approach to Industry Engagement
For CISOs managing limited time and travel budgets, being selective about events is essential. The most valuable events combine technical depth with strategic relevance, attract genuine practitioners rather than just vendors, and provide structured networking. Regional events often deliver more value per hour than mega-conferences because the community is smaller and more focused. I recommend mixing one or two large international events with several focused regional forums for the best balance of breadth and depth. The connections made at these events prove invaluable during incident response, technology evaluations, and career transitions.
Frequently Asked Questions
How should CISOs choose which cybersecurity events to attend?
Prioritise events that align with your current strategic priorities, attract peers from your industry sector, and provide opportunities for genuine peer interaction beyond vendor presentations. Look for strong speaker curation, hands-on workshops, and structured networking opportunities.
What is the ROI of attending cybersecurity conferences?
The return comes in multiple forms: peer intelligence that informs strategy, vendor evaluations from practitioners, talent pipeline development, and professional growth. CISOs who invest in event attendance consistently report that connections made prove valuable during incidents, evaluations, and transitions.
Related reading: Visit our CISO Career Hub or explore the Cyber Resilience Hub for frameworks and resources.