Rafe became the Chief Executive Officer of CIMB Islamic Bank Berhad on 4th January 2016 and is in charge of the CIMB Group’s Islamic banking and finance franchise. CIMB Islamic operates as a parallel franchise to the Group’s conventional operations and covers Islamic wholesale banking, Islamic consumer banking, Islamic commercial banking and Islamic asset management and investment.

Rafe has 20 years of experience covering a range of businesses and functional roles gained from three global banks, an international asset management company and a legal firm, at various financial centers including London, Dubai and Kuala Lumpur.

He has also spearheaded sustainability for the banking industry in his various capacities. He is a founding trustee of RFI Foundation in the United Kingdom which is focused on creating more awareness on sustainable finance and integrating Islamic finance with sustainable finance globally. Rafe was also instrumental in CIMB Islamic’s inclusion as a founding member of Bank Negara Malaysia’s Value-based Intermediation (VBI) Community of Practitioners, working to develop VBI together with the central bank to contextualize and drive sustainability with Islamic finance institutions in Malaysia.

His commitment to driving and institutionalizing sustainability and sustainable finance was a key catalyst for CIMB Group (i) to join the United Nations Environmental Programme – Finance Initiative (UNEP-FI) as a member and (ii) to be the first bank in the Southeast Asia (ASEAN) region to become part of the founding group of UNEP-FI members helping to develop the draft Principles of Responsible Banking. Sustainability is now a key pivot of CIMB Group’s mid-term strategy.

He read Law at the International Islamic University Malaysia and also holds an LL.M degree from the Harvard Law School. He was admitted to the Malaysian Bar in 1995 and qualified for the New York State Bar in 1997.

Rafe first joined HSBC Investment Bank plc, London in 1999 and thereafter HSBC Financial Services Middle East, Dubai where he set up the global sukuk business in 2001. Subsequently, he became the Global Head of Islamic Finance business at ABN AMRO Dubai in 2004 covering both consumer and corporate businesses. In 2006, he moved back to Malaysia with Citigroup Asia as the Regional Head for Islamic banking, Asia Pacific. He later joined HSBC Amanah in 2010 as the CEO, Malaysia and Managing Director of Global Markets, ASP.