George Istfan is the Founder and Managing Partner of George Istfan & Associates (GIA), bringing over six decades of professional experience in audit, tax, and financial consulting.

Before establishing GIA, George served as Audit Manager at Arthur Andersen, where he gained extensive regional experience across Lebanon, various Arab countries, and North Africa.

George is a member of the Lebanese Association of Certified Public Accountants, the Arab Organization for Certified Public Accountants, and the International Accountants Society in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is also a Court-Sworn Auditor and is licensed by the Lebanese Ministry of Finance as an Internal Auditor for public sector entities.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Accounting and Finance from the American University of Beirut (AUB).

Rania Istfan is the Managing Partner of George Istfan & Associates (GIA), where she leads the firm’s Audit, and Quality Control services. With over three decades of professional experience, Rania brings extensive expertise in audit, financial reporting, and regulatory compliance.

Before joining GIA, Rania worked for several years in internal audit with a leading regional insurance company, gained extensive experience in evaluating and strengthening internal control systems, assessing operational and financial risks, and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements.

At GIA, Rania heads the Audit Practice, ensuring the delivery of high-quality audit services and verifying that clients comply with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and local regulations. Her deep understanding of financial systems enables her to provide clients with strategic guidance in developing and implementing effective financial policies and procedures.

Rania is a member of the Lebanese Association of Certified Public Accountants and a Court-Sworn Auditor. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the Lebanese American University (LAU).

Karim Istfan is a Partner at George Istfan & Associates (GIA) with over two decades of professional experience in management consulting, tax planning, financial due diligence, and corporate valuation.

Before joining GIA, Karim worked for several years with a multinational company, where he gained valuable experience in business development. He is a member of the Lebanese Association of Certified Public Accountants and serves as a university lecturer, teaching business and tax-related subjects.
Karim advises clients on strategic business structuring, helping them select the most suitable legal and tax frameworks based on his in-depth knowledge of Lebanese, UAE and GCC laws as well as international Double Taxation Treaties.

He holds an MBA from Notre Dame University (NDU) and an Executive Master’s in Financial Management from ESA Business School, and SDA Bocconi School of Management in Italy. In addition, Karim earned a Certificate in International Financial Reporting (ACCA), and a GCC Tax Certificate.

Carine Khalaf is the Managing Partner at Khalaf Law Partners, where she leads the firm’s legal strategy and oversees its corporate, civil, commercial, and criminal law practices. With over two decades of legal experience, she provides counsel to individual and corporate clients on complex legal and business matters, including corporate governance, compliance, and contract structuring.

Carine began her career at Khalaf & Zein Law Firm, where she served as an associate lawyer for several years before co-founding and leading Khalaf Law Partners. Her practice combines a strong command of Lebanese private law with a deep understanding of business dynamics and client-focused problem-solving.

She holds an MBA from ESA Business School (in partnership with ESCP-EAP, Paris) and a DESS in Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution from the Lebanese University, certified by Pantheon-Assas University (Paris II).

Carine also has notable expertise in trusts and estate structures, serving as a board member in several family trusts. Actively involved in the legal community, she is a member of the Comité Francophone and the Institute for Human Rights of the Beirut Bar Association, as well as the Lebanese Transparency Association (No Corruption). A founding member of WIL Power Lebanon, she is dedicated to promoting women’s leadership and integrity within the legal profession.

Fouad Khalifeh is Managing Director and Co-Founder of Khalife Consulting Group – KCG. With more than three decades of experience, Fouad provides expert counseling on financial crimes matters ranging from transactional compliance decision-making, internal investigations on anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-financing of terrorism (CFT) , regulatory monitoring and reporting, sanctions and embargoes programs oversight, anti-bribery and corruption program validation, correspondent banking relationship management, suspicious activity reporting, fraud protection, code of conduct and ethics review, cyber-security enhancement, and virtual assets-related issues including Fintech and Regtech.

Before co-founding KCG as the Practice Lead for Financial Crimes Compliance, Fouad held the roles of Group Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Risk Officer of several leading commercial banks in Lebanon, and served as a Senior Examiner at the Banking Control Commission of the Central Bank of Lebanon. Fouad also served as a member of the Compliance and Risk Committees of the Association of Banks in Lebanon, and is a Professor of Risk Management and Compliance at the School of Business of Saint Joseph University in Beirut.

Fouad holds a Bachelor’s Degree and a Master’s Degree in Economics from University of Paris 1 (Panthéon – Sorbonne) in Paris, and an MBA in Management from Holy Spirit University Kaslik (USEK) in Beirut. He is the winner of the 2016 “Top Minds in Compliance” Award granted by the US Compliance Week Magazine