He will supervise the board's performance on statutory governance obligations
Bridge finance startup Offa has announced the appointment of Riaz Husain (pictured) as a non-executive director.
A former Bank of England Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) supervisor, Husain is expected to bring an important independent perspective to Offa’s board.
He served at the PRA from 2014 until his retirement in 2019. Prior to that, he worked for leading insurance companies as an actuary between 1975 and 2013, having qualified as an associate of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.
In his new role at Offa, Husain will supervise the board’s performance in respect of its statutory governance obligations and chair meetings of the board’s risk and audit committee.
“We are delighted to have Riaz join the Offa board,” said Sultan Choudhury, executive chairman at Offa. “His immense experience, fine analytical mind, and independent ideas will be invaluable to our executive team, informing our high-level strategic decisions as we seek to balance risk with growth in this constantly evolving global business landscape.”
Commenting on his appointment, Husain stated that he was excited to be joining Offa during the pivotal phase as expanding the business.
“Offa’s board of directors and executives boasts a breadth of expertise, which include leaders in Islamic finance, highly experienced bankers and real estate professionals led by chairman, Sultan Choudhury, the founder and former CEO of Al Rayan Bank,” he noted.
“Even the best directors benefit from being constructively challenged, and I look forward to working with the board to support their business decisions, governance, and risk management processes.”
Offa, the UK’s first Shariah-compliant bridge finance provider, was launched in 2019 to offer greater choice to property investors from the nation’s four million strong Muslim community who want to access finance in line with their Islamic beliefs.
Last year, the UAE’s Gulf Islamic Investments – a leading Shariah-compliant global investment company with over US$3 billion (£2.366 billion) of assets under management – became a majority shareholder in the West Midlands-based firm.
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