Adil Razzak’s early professional foundation was built around accounting, financial reporting, audit, compliance, and controls. Currently, he serves as Chief Risk Officer at a greenfield digital bank in Saudi Arabia, with over 22 years of experience across Banking, Risk Management Strategy, Risk Appetite frameworks, Enterprise Risk Management, Credit Risk management frameworks, Capital and Liquidity risk frameworks, internal controls, regulatory governance, credit risk, market and liquidity risk, operational risk, information security, cybersecurity risk, ICAAP, ILAAP, stress testing, and digital banking transformation.
Before his current role, he worked at another digital bank in Saudi Arabia, where he played a key role in building the risk management infrastructure from the ground up. That experience was extremely close to him, because it shaped his understanding of what it really takes to build, govern, regulate, and scale a digital bank in a fast-changing financial ecosystem.
My early professional foundation gave me discipline, structure, and a strong governance mindset. But I gradually realised that I wanted to move beyond a narrow view of accounting and control. I wanted to understand the broader business picture – how organisations, particularly digital-native organisations, grow, compete, innovate, manage people, create value, and respond to changing market forces.
I was always interested in fintech, digital transformation, and the future of banking. This interest eventually motivated me to transition from conventional banking to digital banking, and my experience in the sector further deepened my curiosity. While building risk infrastructure from the ground up, I realised that modern banking leadership requires far more than technical expertise. It requires a strong understanding of strategy, technology, customer behaviour, innovation, regulation, risk, governance, and execution.
This was one of the main reasons I decided to pursue an Executive MBA. I wanted to acquire the bigger picture – to learn the models, frameworks, and strategic tools that shape business decisions, and to understand the mainstream business nuances beyond my own professional domain
I chose SP Jain Global because the program offered a very practical and globally relevant learning experience. The curriculum was truly impressive, covering strategy, leadership, strategic marketing, finance, innovation, entrepreneurship, change management, ESG, digital transformation, simulations, reflective assignments, applied projects, and full-fledged exams. It was not just an academic degree; it was a serious leadership development journey.
The EMBA has changed the way I think. It has given me new dimensions of thinking and broadened my horizon remarkably. Earlier, I would naturally approach issues through the lens of accounting, audit, control, risk, compliance, and governance. These remain extremely important, but the EMBA helped me add several new lenses: strategy, innovation, growth, customer value, competitive advantage, organisational behaviour, leadership, and transformation.
The Harvard simulations, MPAWs, group projects, reflective assignments, classroom discussions, individual projects, group assignments and exams all pushed me outside my comfort zone. They helped me understand how business leaders make decisions under uncertainty, how trade-offs are managed, how strategy is built, and how the different functions of an organisation connect with each other.
The benefits have been immediately visible in my professional life. I now engage with business issues from a broader and more balanced perspective. I am able to connect risk with strategy, controls with innovation, and governance with business growth. This has strengthened my stakeholder management, especially when interacting with Boards, senior management, regulators, auditors, business and technology teams, and external advisors.
For me, SP Jain Global’s Executive MBA has been an important step in preparing for the C-suite. My current role as Chief Risk Officer has certainly been supported by the perspectives, confidence, and skillset I gained during this one-and-a-half-year journey.
The flexible Engaged Learning Online (ELO) format played a very important role in making this journey possible. At this stage of my career, it would not have been practical to leave work and pursue a full-time program. My professional responsibilities in Saudi Arabia were intense, especially during the period when we were building and strengthening the risk function of a digital bank in a highly regulated environment.
The ELO format allowed me to continue my career while participating seriously in the program. What I appreciated most was that flexibility did not mean compromise. The sessions were engaging, the faculty were committed, and the discussions were interactive and relevant.
Balancing work, family, studies, deadlines, exams, group assignments, and professional responsibilities was not easy. However, I am glad that I managed to show commitment and complete this amazing journey. Looking back, it has been one of the most satisfying learning experiences of my professional life.
Saudi Arabia’s financial sector is transforming rapidly under Vision 2030. Digital banking, fintech, open banking, financial inclusion, artificial intelligence, data-driven decision-making, ESG, and customer-centric innovation are reshaping the industry. For banking professionals, this creates tremendous opportunities – but it also requires a very different leadership mindset.
The EMBA helped me understand what is shaping today’s economic and business landscape. It gave me exposure to strategic frameworks, business models, fintech thinking, innovation concepts, leadership models, and global business trends. It helped me connect what I was seeing in the banking industry to broader shifts in technology, regulation, customer behaviour, and competition.
My hands-on experience in digital banking gave me practical exposure to transformation, and the EMBA helped me understand that experience at a much deeper strategic level. It helped me see how digital banks compete, how fintechs create value, how technology changes customer expectations, and how leaders need to balance innovation with governance and risk discipline.
For me, the most valuable aspect was the overall richness of the experience. The course coverage was truly amazing. It was not limited to one area of management; it touched almost every important dimension of business leadership.
The faculty brought strong academic and practical insights. The curriculum exposed us to strategy, finance, leadership, innovation, entrepreneurship, ESG, change management, and digital transformation. The Harvard simulations allowed us to experience decision-making pressure in a realistic environment. The MPAWs helped us apply concepts to real workplace challenges. The reflective assignments were especially meaningful because they made me think deeply about my own leadership journey, strengths, limitations, and aspirations.
The peer learning was also powerful. Interacting with professionals from different industries and backgrounds helped me look at business problems differently. Sometimes, a single class discussion or group assignment would open an entirely new angle of thinking.
Overall, SP Jain Global gave me more than knowledge. It gave me perspective, confidence, and a broader understanding of business. That, for me, has been the real value.
I would tell them that an EMBA is not just another qualification. If approached seriously, it can genuinely change the way you think.
Many banking professionals become very strong in their technical areas – whether it is accounting, audit, risk, finance, treasury, compliance, operations, or business. But as you move toward senior leadership, technical expertise alone is not enough. You need strategic thinking, business understanding, communication, stakeholder management, an innovation mindset, people leadership, and the ability to see the organisation as a whole.
My advice is not to wait for the perfect time, because it rarely comes. There will always be work pressure, family commitments, deadlines, and other responsibilities. But if you are serious about your growth, the journey is worth it.
The EMBA challenged me, stretched me, and at times tested my limits. But it also changed my perspective, broadened my thinking horizon, and helped me prepare for the next stage of my career. For banking professionals – especially those working in fast-changing markets such as Saudi Arabia – this kind of learning is extremely relevant.
Adil Razzak serves as Chief Risk Officer at a greenfield digital bank in Saudi Arabia, bringing over 22 years of experience. He graduated with an Executive MBA from SP Jain Global in 2026 and was also recognised as a Dean’s Lister for his academic excellence.
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