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Wafa is the founder of Excelsia, an independent governance and risk advisory firm based in Luxembourg, dedicated to strengthening internal audit, enterprise risk management, and board governance across the financial sector. She is a former Big 4 Partner with nearly 20 years of consulting and assurance experience, including her role as Internal Audit Lead Partner and Enterprise Risk Leader at EY Luxembourg.

She has extensive expertise in the asset management industry (alternative and traditional), and has held IA mandates with large IFMs, managing cross-border and cross-service lines engagements. Wafa advises boards and senior executives on internal controls across the three lines of defence, governance, regulatory expectations, and strategic risk matters, and acts as a subject matter expert in internal audit. Through Excelsia, she also trains boards and executives on leveraging internal audit and governance to create sustainable value.

Earlier in her career, she led several regulatory implementation projects, including AIFMD for asset managers and depositaries, giving her first-hand insights into regulatory transformation and operational challenges. She also built the internal audit practice at EY, equipping her with a deep understanding of governance, risk, and control practices across a wide spectrum of financial institutions in Luxembourg.

Wafa is a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and an active member of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), a GARP Sustainability and Climate Risk certificate holder and ILA Fund Governance Expert.

She holds a Master’s degree in Finance, Corporate Valuation, and Financial Engineering of M&A Transactions from Lumière Lyon II University. Wafa is fluent in French, German, and English.