Randa El Chaar

Randa helps prepare individuals towards their Chartered Financial Analyst - CFA (Levels I and II), and Certified Management Accountant - CMA qualifications. With a finance and accountancy background and experience in commercial banking and finance, Randa brings a practical focus to her training courses.

Randa has also produced and delivered bespoke courses on IPOs, debt instruments, financial statement analysis - with focus on the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (FASB) conceptual framework, rules of recognition, measurement, valuation, disclosure and the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) reporting requirements - for both Government  institutions and banks.

She has also prepared students for the ‘Certificate in Investment Management’ (CertIM), a Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI) qualification, and the ‘Associate of the Institute of Canadian Bankers’ (AICB) a Canadian Securities Institute (CSI) qualification.

In addition Randa runs entrepreneurial development and mentoring programs delivered independently and in association with Government bodies, and with the participation of venture capitalists in the region and Europe. Randa holds a PhD in Finance (Cum Laude) and a Master Degree of Money and Banking.

Martin Mitchell

Martin has trained CISI qualifications for almost 20 years, and is one of the world’s most experienced CISI trainers. He is expert at keeping his audience motivated and focused on the task, leading to exceptional success rates. Martin has run numerous courses in the UAE – he regularly tutors candidates for the International Investment Award, the DIFC Rules and Regulations examination, and other CISI qualifications including the Certificates in Investment Management, Securities and Derivatives.

Martin is a fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) and a qualified accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW). Martin qualified as an accountant with a forerunner of the global accountancy firm Ernst and Young in London, where he was involved in auditing financial institutions that subsequently became parts of HSBC, UBS and Citigroup. After qualifying, Martin started training others, initially training aspiring accountants and then moving into training in the City of London. It was during this period that Martin first started training towards the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment examinations, introducing innovative training techniques and materials.

Martin rose to become Managing Director of a substantial City of London training entity, with a full-time faculty of 15. During his tenure, Martin also began training internationally – particularly in the Middle East and Asia.

During the internet boom, Martin became heavily involved in e-learning and developed a ‘blended’ learning course for the CISI’s Certificate in Securities whilst working as Global Head of Content at venture capital funded firm Wide Learning.

Martin then spent two years at the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment  where he was an Associate Director and ran the publications division, the business development team and numerous train-the-trainer courses. Martin continues to be very active at the CISI, he is senior editor for a number of the CISI’s official workbooks, runs train-the-trainer courses to assist in the CISI’s accreditation process for training organisations, and sits on the CISI’s Examination Board.