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Curriculum vitae

Ali Owji, M.Sc.

AI Strategy & Digital Transformation · Founder & Managing Director, Trustline Digital

Dubai, UAE · Vancouver, BC · GCC / MENA · Canada

I help leadership teams define the right problem, test the options and turn the decision into a strategy, product or operating system people can actually use.

I have led more than 40 people across marketing, finance, sales, design, development and operations in management, consultancy and delivery roles.

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Experience

6 of 6 roles

    • Founded and lead a specialised digital strategy, analytics and product consultancy whose work contributed to a 32% revenue increase for the group.
    • Designed an integrated analytical suite spanning semantic clustering, seasonality, SEO prioritisation, campaign signals and a Monte Carlo-enabled media planner.
    • Led end-to-end client engagements across discovery, positioning, product UX, conversion architecture, campaign systems and performance review.
    • Built client-scoped operating products that connect research and planning to delivery logs, governance and measurable outcomes.
    • Led cross-functional marketing, design, data and engineering delivery across GCC and Canadian engagements, while representing the firm in industry and university settings.
    • Co-developed an industry-modernisation programme for MKTG 361 at the American University in Dubai, rebuilding a four-week arc around live analytics, attribution, Python and disciplined AI-agent workflows for Fall 2026.
    Quantitative Digital MarketingAI & transformationPlatform engineering

Education and credentials

M.Sc. Financial Risk Management

University of Glasgow

Sep 2017 — Nov 2018 · Scotland, United Kingdom

With Merit · Thesis: volatility forecasting across the FTSE 100, DAX and CAC using ARCH-family models and out-of-sample validation

BBA Economics & Finance

American University in Dubai

Sep 2013 — Jun 2017 · Dubai, UAE

Cum laude · Dean's Honor List, Dec 2016 and Jun 2017

Certified Digital Marketing Professional

Digital Marketing Institute

Jan 2023 · IE-DMI145324

Bloomberg Market Concepts

Bloomberg

Feb 2018 · BLbwdp1tBM59zCWNZeKmxX9e

Honours

Mar 2026

Rising Star Volunteer Badge

JA British Columbia

For hands-on education in financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship across B.C.

Sep 2025

KT+150 List Honoree — Top Innovators in Software & Web Development

Khaleej Times

Named among the top 150 innovators in the MENA region for founding the region's first specialised quantitative digital marketing firm.

Jul 2024

Alumni Awards Finalist — Business and Innovation

British Council

Finalist for innovation and impact.

Apr 2017

Outstanding Economic Student

American University in Dubai

Feb 2017

Equity Research Challenge — team member

CFA Society Emirates

Led the valuation of Emirates Integrated Telecommunications using DCF, trading and transaction multiples, with Monte Carlo sensitivity analysis.

Dec 2016

Prize Winner — Read & Innovate contest

Dubai Economic Council

First edition of the contest, for work on Phishing for Phools: The Economics of Manipulation and Deception.

Working tools

Analysis and modelling

Where the quantitative work happens. Models are written and validated here, then their results are published — not re-implemented by hand.

  • PythonPrimary modelling language — simulation, valuation, allocation
  • NumPyVectorised simulation
  • pandasData preparation and analysis
  • SciPyDistributions and optimisation
  • EconometricsEstimation, hypothesis testing and model diagnostics
  • Time-series forecastingARCH, GARCH, EGARCH and GJR-GARCH model comparison
  • Out-of-sample validationRMSE, MAE and benchmark comparison
  • Factor modellingMarket, size and value attribution
  • JupyterExploratory work and model review
  • SQLWarehouse and reporting queries
  • ExcelWhere the client actually works
  • BloombergMarket data — BMC certified
  • Stata · SPSS · EViewsAcademic econometric and statistical work

Systems and delivery

The stack the eight production systems are built on, and the one this site runs on.

  • TypeScriptStrict, everywhere
  • Next.jsApp Router, static export
  • React
  • Tailwind CSS
  • Azure FunctionsServerless API layer
  • Microsoft GraphIdentity and data access
  • SharePointSystem of record
  • Azure PipelinesType checks, lint and tests before deploy

Method and practice

The non-technical half, which decides more outcomes than the technical half does.

  • Risk quantification
  • Monte Carlo simulation
  • Discounted cash flow
  • Attribution modelling
  • Change management
  • Governance design
  • Post-implementation evaluation
  • Experiment design
  • KPI architecture
  • Capacity planning
  • Root-cause analysis
  • Data storytelling
  • Stakeholder and client leadership
  • Curriculum and assessment designIndustry-aligned lesson architecture, project briefs and assessable AI-use workflows

Markets and underwriting

Specific analytical methods from the academic record, applied selectively when the decision calls for them.

  • Portfolio constructionRisk-return trade-offs, covariance and benchmarks
  • Empirical asset pricingFactor exposure and return-model testing
  • Derivatives and hedgingPayoff logic and scenario-dependent value
  • Stress testingDownside cases and assumption failure
  • Real-estate underwritingNOI, cap rate, GRM, cash-on-cash and financing
  • Market intelligenceComparables, price-per-square-foot and inventory structure

Teaching and speaking

Guest Lecturer, Heriot-Watt University Dubai

Nov 2023 — Nov 2025 · Dubai, UAE

  • Lectures and workshops at bachelor's and MBA level, on quantitative digital marketing and strategic marketing.
  • A marketing analytics workshop on data-driven approaches, and a professional development session on CV and profile building.

Guest Lecturer & Curriculum Co-Developer, American University in Dubai

Nov 2023 — Present · Dubai, UAE

  • Introductory session on quantitative digital marketing for undergraduates — foundational principles of data-driven marketing and the role of analytics in strategy.
  • Invited to co-develop approximately 20% of MKTG 361 — Marketing Research, restructuring four consecutive weeks around a shared GA4 dataset, attribution analysis, Python and AI-assisted development.
  • Built two curriculum options, a stakeholder walkthrough, complete lesson plans, a revised group-project brief and a six-step framework for specifying, reviewing, testing and owning AI-assisted code; approved for Fall 2026 within the existing learning-outcome mapping.

Languages

Arabic, English and Persian — native or bilingual proficiency.

References

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