Talal Yassine

Talal Yassine
OAM
Born 1 January 1972 (age 42), Lebanon
Residence Sydney, Australia
Nationality Australian
Occupation Banker and Non-Executive Director

Talal Yassine, OAM (born 1972) is an experienced banker and non-executive director.

Early life and education

Yassine came to Australia with his parents in 1977 at age 4 and grew up in Western Sydney. He attended Granville South Public School and Granville Boys High School. He commenced his tertiary studies at the University of Sydney in 1991. In 1993, he transferred to Macquarie University and completed a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (LLB). Yassine subsequently completed his Master of Laws (LLM) at University of Sydney and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) at Deakin University.

Business career

Talal began his career as a Solicitor in Corporate & Strategy at Dunhill Madden Butler before joining PricewaterhouseCoopers as a Director and strategist. After 10 years at PwC, Talal joined investment firm Babcock & Brown Ltd in the Corporate Finance Group and later in the Technical Real Estate Division. Later Talal held leadership positions in Better Place Australia and is currently the Managing Director of Crescent Wealth.

Talal serves on the Board of Australia Post, the Whitlam Institute, The Global Foundation, and The Australian Multicultural Council. He also is currently the Chairman of the Council of Australian-Arab Relations and the Chairman of the Australian Arab Dialogue Ltd. Talal previously has served on the Board of Sydney Ports and the Council of Macquarie University, as the Deputy Chairman of a government regulator and as Chairman as Platinum Sound Pty Ltd.

Islamic Finance

Talal has established himself as Australia's leading thought leader in Islamic finance. He is currently the Managing Director of Crescent Wealth, an Australian Islamic wealth manager which launched the world's first Islamic compliant superannuation fund. In an interview with the ABC, Talal stated "Islamic investment avoids debt. It does not use the concept of interest and money making money. It is more of a joint venture kind of approach and it avoids moral hazard investments - tobacco, alcohol, the gambling, and armaments. And basically it is a really conservative way of investing for value without using any "innovative" financial engineering that we've seen so much of and which has caused so much damage in the current world economic environment."

Talal is regularly invited to speak on all issues relating to Islamic finance. Internationally, he has spoken at the World Islamic Economic Forum, the Amanie-Failaka Symposium, and the Annual Kuala Lumpur Islamic Finance Forum. This is in addition to countless engagements domestically at a corporate, political and academic level including the Australian Arab Chamber of Commerce & Industry (AACCI), the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA), The CEO Institute, New South Wales Parliament House, University of Sydney, and the Australian National University (ANU).

Go North & Turn Left Strategy - Forming the Inner Triangle

Talal is also a strong proponent of the creation of the inner triangle of national interest for Australia. The strategy requires that Australia establish itself as a regional hub across trade and investment by expanding into Asia and then the Middle East, i.e. forming the 'Inner Triangle'.[1]

As a way of building lasting relationships with the Asian region, he is a strong supporter of Australian students studying abroad stating "these students of Asia will be able to demonstrate to a potential employer that not only can they stand on their own feet, but that they have experienced the fast-paced and evolving nature of Australia’s economic integration in the region".[2]

Community involvement

From his early days, Yassine played a leading role in many community groups and associations and, as a human rights lawyer, was an activist against the Howard Government's anti-terrorism laws.

In March 2009, Talal was appointed as board member of the Whitlam Institute Ltd. The institute aims to foster contemporary relevance of Gough Whitlam's years in public life in order to to promote equality; to involve the people of Australia in the decision-making processes of our land; and to liberate the talents and uplift the horizons of the Australian people.

In November 2012, Talal was appointed as a Professor at the Crawford School of Public Policy, at the Australian National University. The Crawford School is the Australian National University’s public policy school, serving and influencing Australia, Asia and the Pacific through advanced policy research, graduate and executive education, and policy impact. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Western Sydney's School of Business.

On Australia Day 2010, Talal was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his service to business and to the community through a range of education, health and multicultural organisations.

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