The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Ciarb) celebrates the appointment of Nighat Dad, the first female Muslim Pakistani to join its Board of Trustees. 

Nighat was elected to the Board in October 2023 along with Rama Sridhar (Singapore), Ron C. Hamilton (New York), Anita Kimber (London) and Charles Laganá Putz (São Paulo). 

Based in Lahore, Nighat is the Founder and Executive Director of the Digital Rights Foundation and an inaugural member of Meta’s Oversight board. Recently Nighat has also become a part of the UN General Secretary’s high-level Advisory Board on Artificial Intelligence (AI). She was named a “Next Generation Leader” by Time Magazine and identified as a “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum. Nighat champions online free speech, privacy, and digital safety. Her advocacy extends to global technology discussions, emphasizing platform accountability and AI governance. 

Ambassador (r.) David Huebner C.Arb FCIArb, Chair of the Nominations Committee and Deputy Chair of the Board, said, “Ciarb’s future success depends in meaningful part on the Board expanding its range of expertise and life experience, as well as on more broadly reflecting the Institute’s global reach. I am delighted to welcome such an extraordinarily accomplished new Trustee colleague as Ms. Dad, from Pakistan, the home of one of our newest Branches.” 

Nighat Dad said, “I am honored to serve as a board trustee for Ciarb, particularly as the first Muslim Pakistani woman in the 108-year history of the organization. Ciarb works around effective dispute resolution globally and I believe in order to do this voices of the Global majority should be included and represented.” 

The five new Trustees were identified through an extensive global search managed by the Board’s Nominations Committee with Prospectus, an executive and board search consultancy for non-profit and purpose driven organisations. A pool of several hundred potential candidates was gradually narrowed to the five nominees presented to the Board for consideration and vote. 

The election of these five new Trustees was a consequence of changes to Ciarb’s Royal Charter and Bye-laws proposed by the Board, approved by Ciarb’s membership at the Extraordinary General Meeting held in September 2022, and endorsed by the Privy Council and King Charles III in February 2023. The changes created five Trustee seats to be filled by vote of the Board rather than by regional vote of Ciarb members. 

Ends 

November 2023 

Notes for editors: 

Ciarb is an independent, charitable membership organisation committed to supporting the effective resolution of disputes. Ciarb champions all aspects of dispute resolution across arbitration, mediation and adjudication, setting robust ethical standards. Ciarb delivers learning and networking opportunities, qualifications, mentorship, research and resources, events, and best practice guidance for its members and dispute resolution practitioners globally. Today, Ciarb has 43 Branches that connect over 18,500 members across 150 jurisdictions around the world. 

For further information on Ciarb, please contact: media@ciarb.org  

About the new Trustees: 

Nighat Dad is based in Lahore and is Founder and Executive Director of the Digital Rights Foundation and an inaugural member of Meta’s Oversight board. Recently Nighat has also become a part of the UN General Secretary’s high-level Advisory Board on Artificial Intelligence (AI). She was named a “Next Generation Leader” by Time Magazine and identified as a “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum. Nighat champions online free speech, privacy, and digital safety. Her advocacy extends to global technology discussions, emphasizing platform accountability and AI governance. 

Ron C. Hamilton, based in New York, recently became Senior Vice President, Divisional Operations Leader at Swiss Re. Ron has extensive board experience. He has over 25 years of experience in global financial services, compliance and risk management. Previously, he was Head of Governance at Swiss Re, leading a global team focused on operational, regulatory, and financial risks for an insurance portfolio exceeding US $33B of premiums 

Anita Kimber, based in London, is a Partner in Digital Transformation at Ernst & Young (EY). She has extensive international experience in business model optimisation through digital transformation, cost reduction, market differentiation, and growth strategies. Anita is a well-known and sought-after face in FinTech innovation. Her credibility and policy insights across government, regulators, industry bodies, Fintechs and Banks have led to being recognised as 2023 Women in Banking and Finance overall Achievement winner and she is included on the Fintech Top 35 women PowerList. 

Charles Laganá Putz is based in São Paulo and is a non-Executive-Director of Dierberger Group. Charles has extensive experience in C-Suites and on corporate boards and their audit committees, having been Chairman of Manabi, CEO of NAMISA, CFO of Brasil Telecom and CFO of Telefonica in Brasil. He is a lecturer on corporate governance and founded Verena Ventures, a corporate strategy and governance consultancy. 

Rama Sridhar, based in Singapore, is former Executive Vice President, Asia Pacific Mastercard and a corporate advisor to Temasek Holdings. Rama serves on Singapore’s Future Economy Council and ASEAN’s Financial Innovation Network and has served on corporate boards at Vocalink Asia (Chair) and APIX (Director). She was recently named one of Singapore’s first “100 Women in Tech” and, at the 2021 IDG ASEAN Awards, was named “CIO of the Year for Innovation”. She was also named “Innovator of the Year” at the Women in IT Awards Asia.