Caspar Herzberg

President, Middle East and Africa

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Schneider Electric

Caspar Herzberg is the President of Schneider Electric Middle East & Africa. Caspar manages SE’s operations in 80+ countries, with several thousand employees across Middle East & Africa including Central Asia and Turkey. Schneider Electric serves its customers with integrated efficiency solutions, combining energy, automation and software in Power Management and in Industrial Automation Systems. Prior to joining Schneider, Caspar Herzberg was the Vice President of Cisco Consulting Services for Asia Pacific, China and Japan. He previously held various executive positions within Cisco and Accenture in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. With 20 years’ experience in the industry, Caspar is recognized as a thought leader for Smart Cities, Digital Transformation and IoT, pioneering the digital platform for the New Economic Cities in Saudi Arabia, Songdo in South Korea and the economic powerhouse of Chongqing in China. He is the published author of the book ‘Smart Cities, Digital Nations’ (Roundtree Press 2017). Ranked among the Top 100 executives in the Arab World by Forbes in 2017 and 2018, he is on the Board of Trustees of the NewCities Foundation and served as an advisor on the Chongqing Mayor’s International Economic Advisory Council. Caspar served as an officer in the German Army and holds a Master of Science in International Politics from SOAS, University of London, and a Bachelor of Arts in Arabic and Modern Middle Eastern Studies from St. Anne’s College, University of Oxford. He grew up in Egypt and speaks fluent Arabic, German, French and English.

Hatem Dowidar

Chief Executive Officer

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Etisalat Group

Eng. Hatem Dowidar is the Chief Executive Officer of Etisalat Group. He joined Etisalat Group in September 2015 as Group Chief Operating Officer and was appointed as Chief Executive Officer, International in March 2016. He sits on the subsidiaries’ boards in Morocco, Egypt and Pakistan. Prior to joining Etisalat Group, Eng. Dowidar was the Group Chief of Staff for Vodafone Group based in London, reporting to Vodafone Group CEO. He brings 30 years of experience in multinational companies, and more than 24 years of these within the telecommunications industry across various leadership positions in multinational companies. He initially joined Vodafone Egypt in 1999, served as Marketing Director (CMO) and later became the CEO of Vodafone Egypt from 2009 - 2014, where he managed to take the business to out-right leadership, and kept the business growing with benchmark profitability in very challenging and competitive environments. Eng. Dowidar has a long track record of achievements in the various leadership positions he held at Vodafone Group and its subsidiaries, including Group Core Services Director, CEO of Vodafone Malta, CEO of Partner Markets with partnerships covering over 45 markets and Regional Director Emerging Markets. He also has extensive Corporate Governance experience from his representation as Chairman and Board Member in several Corporate Boards within and outside the Telecommunications industry. Eng. Dowidar started his career in AEG/Deutsche Aerospace (Daimler Benz Group) in Egypt, before moving to Marketing in Procter & Gamble, where he held various managerial roles. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications and Electronics Engineering from Cairo University and an MBA from the American University in Cairo.

Ayman Mokhtar

Regional President Middle East, Turkey & Levant

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Viatris

Mr. Ayman Mokhtar is Viatris Regional President for the Middle East, Turkey & Levant Region. Viatris is the global healthcare company formed in November 2020 through the combination of Mylan and Upjohn, a legacy division of Pfizer. Viatris empowers people to live healthier at every stage of life. Viatris portfolio comprises more than 1,400 approved molecules across a wide range of therapeutic areas, spanning both non-communicable and infectious diseases. https://www.viatris.com/en With more than twenty years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, Mr. Mokhtar is an executive with a broad international experience having held strategic positions within multinational companies and lead regional operations covering the Middle East and Africa. His most recent roles have been Regional Strategy Lead for Africa and the Middle East at Pfizer and General Manager GCC Countries for Upjohn a division of Pfizer. Mr. Mokhtar has a passion for improving patient access to medications through innovative approaches, connecting stakeholders on common goals and driving meaningful partnerships. In his active external engagement as board member of several trade associations in the Middle East Region, he strongly advocates for the importance of collective efforts to optimize healthcare services and healthcare delivery in the Region. He has been able to forge several public private partnerships in research, awareness, patient access across the region, notably in the UAE. Mr. Mokhtar holds a bachelor’s degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Cairo University in Egypt. He has completed several business studies and executive programs the latest being “the Advanced Management Program Global Experience, International Business” at Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management. Mr. Mokhtar lives in the United Arab Emirates with his family.

Eng. Grace Najjar

Managing Director

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PMI Middle East/North Africa(MENA)

Harj Dhaliwal

Managing Director, Middle East and India

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Virgin Hyperloop

Harj Dhaliwal is a seasoned executive and oversees all activity and programmes for Virgin Hyperloop across the Middle East and India. With over 35 years of experience, he has an unparalleled corporate leadership and management track record in the transport sector having cut his teeth and delivering mega rail and infrastructure projects in complex challenging environments around the world. Prior to Virgin Hyperloop, Harj was a Senior Vice President based out of the UAE for Parsons Corporation responsible for managing all rail and metro transport activities across Europe and the Middle East with over 450 staff deployed across some of the largest and complex transport programmes in the world including Expo 2020. He began his career as a contractor in the UK, moved to defense sector and then found his place in transport where he has held senior executive management roles for over 25 years. Harj is a Chartered Civil Engineer, Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Member of the UK Engineering Council, and holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Nottingham Trent University, UK. Harj is based in Virgin Hyperloop’s Dubai office.

Jean-Paul Scheuer

MCO Lead and General Manager for Sanofi Genzyme

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Sanofi Greater Gulf

Jean-Paul is currently the MCO Lead and General Manager for Sanofi Genzyme in the Greater Gulf, a newly formed Multi-Country Organisation (MCO) at Sanofi, one of the company’s largest affiliates globally. Prior to this, he was Country Chair and General Manager at Sanofi Gulf from 2016 to 2020. During his 24 years in the pharmaceutical industry, he has held the position of General Manager for 16 years, and has experience in diversified businesses having worked across Prescriptions, Rare Diseases, OTC and Generics. A French Foreign Trade Advisor since 2008, he is the current Vice President at CCIFI France, a board governing the 123 French Chambers of Commerce in the world. He was recently reelected as a member of the Board of Directors of the French Business Council (FBC) for 2020-2022. Achieving the second highest number of votes among 20 candidates, Jean-Paul was also appointed as the Board’s Treasurer. He is consistently ranked among the Forbes Top 100 Executives in the Arab World Jean-Paul began his career in pharmaceuticals at Parke-Davis France, Warner Lambert group in Paris before joining Oriental Europe Zone as Deputy Regional Operations Manager. Following this, he held a series of appointments of increasing seniority including General Manager at Servier Ukraine Doo in Kiev, where, under his leadership, the turnover rose from €5m to €30m in the space of five years and General Director at Servier Austria GmbH, Vienna, Austria, where he increased the turnover by 12%. He joined Sanofi in 2008 as General Manager of Sanofi-Aventis Ukraine where he consolidated and solidified the business and spearheaded its expansion in a highly challenging business landscape while ensuring organisational continuity and growth. A year later he was appointed General Manager at Sanofi Ukraine and Belarus. His first position in the Middle East came when he was appointed Head of Generics Middle East and General Manager at Globalpharma before rejoining Sanofi as Country Chair Gulf and General Manager Rx operations Gulf at Sanofi Gulf. In his current role at the helm of Sanofi Genzyme, he oversees a business with an annual turnover of €160m. He is responsible for seven fast growing countries and his achievements include introducing a number of strategic projects and launching several innovations in Immunology, Rare Diseases, Diabetes and Cardiovascular. He is currently engaged with transformation efforts of the local business model and is driving major changes at all levels. His most notable accolades include being selected as the top manager of the year in Ukraine in 2011. In Ukraine, he served as a member of the Board of the French Chamber of Commerce from 2008 to 2010 and of the Board of the American Chamber of Commerce, serving as the Treasurer for the Executive Board. In 2011, he became a member of the Board of the Association of the Pharmaceutical Research and Development where he was elected as Chairman for 2011-2012 tenure. He was also nominated as the Best Manager for Distribution of Pharmaceuticals in Ukraine and voted among the top 40 Best Managers in the country by Invest Gazetta in 2013. Jean-Paul earned a Master’s in Pharmaceutical Industry from ESCP Business School in Paris, France and a Master of Arts from the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom. He also holds a degree in Finance and Marketing from the French Business School in Dijon, France and has certificates in Blue Ocean Strategy and Leadership transition from INSEAD, one of the world's leading and largest graduate business schools.

Hasan Al Hosani

Chief Executive Officer

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Bayanat

Technology and business leader, Hasan Al Hosani brings more than 20 years of experience to the role of CEO at Bayanat. Hasan leads the development of Bayanat’s expansion into the geospatial artificial intelligence domain, and the commendable growth of its product and service offering to a large and rapidly growing market, estimated to be worth $108 billion by 2026. Prior to joining Bayanat in March 2020, Hasan was a key contributor to G42’s strategic growth, via the merger and acquisition team, where he played an instrumental role in the company’s transition from EDIC to G42. In 2016 Hasan co-founded SECUIRA, delivering cutting-edge technology solutions to both the public and the private sectors, and marketing and consultation services to international firms looking to enter the UAE market for Smart Cities, AI, and Big Data. Four years later, SECURIA had acquired a clear market leadership position, becoming one of the most respected and sought-after security consultation firms in the GCC region. In 2013 Hasan was a member of the founding team of the Abu Dhabi Monitoring and Control Center (ADMCC), a national security firm providing management and regulation of the UAE’s monitoring and control systems, and critical analysis of data. During his tenure with ADMCC, he served as a Member of the MCC Executive Committee & Head of the MCC Standards & Practices Committee. Prior to 2013 Hasan served in various leadership positions with Advanced Integrated Systems (AIS/ ATS), where he oversaw the successful deployment of Abu Dhabi’s multi-billion dirham Smart City Solution. Hasan holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration, and Bachelor of Science in Electrical / Electronic Engineering, and is currently working on his PhD thesis

Christopher Cook

Area Managing Director Oman, UAE, Qatar

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Maersk

Chris is leading Maersk’s business based in Dubai, with responsibility for all Liner, Supply chain and Value-Added Services. He has an extensive 18-year career in Maersk holding various operational and commercial leadership roles throughout Europe, UK and Africa. Prior to his current responsibilities, Chris was based in the Netherlands with Damco as the Global owner of the Lifestyle Industry Vertical. He is responsible the global PNL including strategy development and execution. Chris holds a Bachelor of Science degree with Honors, in Logistics, from the University of Cardiff in the UK. Together with his wife Tory and 3 kids, Chris lives in Dubai. When he is not travelling, visiting customers or with his team, Chris likes to spend time with his family and enjoys fitness regimes.

Jaideep Dhanoa

Co-Founder and CEO

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FENIX

Jaideep Dhanoa is the Co-founder and CEO of FENIX, the leading micromobility operator in the Middle East region. The company launched its micromobility service in November 2020 and now operates in 13 cities in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and Turkey. The mission at FENIX is to unleash urban potential and propel communities forward. Before FENIX, Jaideep was the Co-Founder and CEO, MENAT of Circ, the first licensed micromobility operator in the Middle East - a market he led through the company’s exit via acquisition in January of 2020. With Circ, Jaideep created the micromobility category in the Middle East as the first to market in 5 GCC cities and 3 countries, completing over half a million rides and becoming the #1 travel app in UAE, Bahrain and Qatar. Jaideep was first introduced to micromobility at Grab’s Ventures team where he founded and was the global head of the unicorn’s micromobility business, GrabWheels, leading a full-stack team in China and Southeast Asia that worked on bike sharing, e-bikes, electric scooters and e-moped sharing services. Before Grab, Jaideep was a member of the core leadership team at Careem as its Senior Director of Growth & Strategy, based in Dubai. Jaideep also spent several years with McKinsey & Company’s Tech, Media and Telecom practice in San Francisco and led the market entry of several digital media businesses for The Walt Disney Company in Asia Pacific markets including Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and Australia. Earlier in his career, Jaideep was part of the founding team at Global Cricket Ventures, headquartered in Dubai, as the Head of Product where he built several online media assets with millions of monthly unique users including IPLT20.com and BCCI.tv. Jaideep holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Financial Engineering from Columbia University and a MBA with Distinction from INSEAD. He first moved to Dubai in 1997, graduating from the American School of Dubai, and has spent 11 years in the Middle East.

Dr.Rosanna Duncan

Chief Diversity Officer

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Palladium

Rosanna is Chief Diversity Officer at Palladium, a global impact firm with a nearly 60-year history and operations in over 90 countries. Working with such a broad organisation involves maximizing the opportunities that can be realized by embracing equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) for employees, communities with which Palladium works, clients and the supply chain. Rosanna is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and draws upon a 25+ year record of multi-sector achievement that includes embedding EDI contractor requirements into Europe’s largest infrastructure project, High Speed Rail (HS2) Ltd. Underpinning her experience is a PhD that explored the implementation of EDI within the construction process, as well as a significant body of research and internationally published work on a range of EDI topics.

Feras Al Majed

Vice President of HR & Communication

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GBM

Feras Al Majed is the Vice President of HR & Communications. He originally joined GBM in 2013 , Feras is responsible for all HR & Communications activities across the entire organization including the employee experience, hiring, employee relations, compensation and benefits, as well as training and development programs for employees at all levels. Feras has worked previously with leading organizations such as BNP Paribas, DHL and Investcorp in various HR roles . Feras holds a degree in Human Resource Management from the University of Leeds in the UK and has many professional qualifications from leading institutions like the CIPD and London Business School in leadership and HR management.

Nameer Khan

Chairman

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MENA Fintech Association (MFTA)

Nameer Khan is one of the Top leading Fintech Influencers and Thought Leader. Chairman of MENA Fintech Association (MFTA) and advisor to leading fintechs. Awarded as MENA's Future Fintech Leader by Central Bank of UAE & Abu Dhabi Global Market. Strategically partnered with the regional regulators and central banks to establish a robust fintech framework . 1- Appointed as an Executive Advisor Fintech for key regulatory authorities, establishing with the central banks of the Arab world to establish a Fintech landscape and framework. 2- Advisory to leading fintechs for strategic development of product and market expansion 3- Transformation of top tier banks in the Middle East 4- Established and delivered AI and Digital Transformation programs for Leading Financial Centers

Dr. Eng. Suaad Alshamsi

Aviation Advisor of ORAT

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Etihad Airways

She graduated with DBA in aviation management from American academy for specialized studies as well as he she is holding MBA from Coventry University in aviation management as well as she is holding degree in Aerospace Engineering from Hertfordshire University along with Bachelor’s degree in aviation management from Coventry University in UK. She has honored an honorary Doctorate for the role of women in leadership in aeronautical engineering from the American Academy of specialized studies in Egypt. She embarked on this journey in the aviation industry when she joined many leading companies involved in aviation as a part of her training in aircraft engineering field such as Messier Bugatti, Honeywell, Kunz, Airbus and Boeing. She joined emirates airlines as first aircraft engineer in UAE and been working in maintenance field for more than 10 years and continue her growth in the aviation and now she is working as senior manager and technical advisor for one of the biggest aviation project in UAE [midfield terminal project] which is Abudhabi new airport with Etihad airways. She is one alumni members of the emirates association in the UK, one of members of IEEE, as well as one of the founders of woman in aviation organization Middle East chapter. Also she is the chief executive officer of L2L [learn to live] consultation company. She is the Ambassador of the international union for technical education in UAE. Awarded many award and appreciate during her young journey as she been involved and privileged of her involvement in Dubai Recruitment exhibition, rewarded Najm Gold award from Emirates group as a role of Emarati lady engineer, beside her awarded of fast track award from Emirates airline, Emaratia shield privilege in Abu Dhabi and creative women in aviation engineering by shiekha fatima bint khalid alqasimi. The latest award she awared is the Oscars accomplished Arabs and the women award for arab creativity. She has been outstanding representing United Arab Emirates Female image in Shanghai Expo 2010 and presenting as a jury member in star of Science program. Her name included in creative women in UAE Wikipedia by her highness sheikha shamsa wife of Sheikh Khalifa. She been speaker in many forums and conferences in UAE, gulf countries and worldwide such as woman in aviation conference in Dubai world trade Centre 2019, powerful woman in Egypt opera in 2019, woman in aviation industry forum in Bahrain in 2018, aviation gathering forum in Bahrain in 2018, top of her game in emirate tower, powerful woman engineer in new York city in 2018.. Etc.

Walid Hassouna

CEO of the NBFI platform; CEO of vaIU and Head of Debt Capital Markets

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EFG Hermes

Walid Hassouna, CEO of the NBFI platform at EFG Hermes, CEO of valU and Head of Debt Capital Markets at EFG Hermes Walid Hassouna is the CEO of the Non-Bank Financial Institutions (NBFI) platform at EFG Hermes, which overlooks activities in the non-bank financial field covering microfinance, leasing, factoring, Buy-Now Pay-Later (BNPL), mortgage and insurance. Walid is also the CEO of valU, the Chairman of Paytabs Egypt and Head of Debt Capital Markets at EFG Hermes. He currently sits on multiple boards including Tanmeyah microenterprises, EFG Hermes Corp Solutions for leasing and factoring, valU for BNPL, Bedaya for mortgage finance and Kaf Takaful for insurance. In addition to being the Vice Chairman of EFG-EV a fintech accelerator and incubator. Hassouna’s leadership of the NBFI platform at EFG Hermes over the past 5 years has seen it grow multiple businesses and launch innovative brands. Today the NBFI platform contributes to more than 30% of its revenues as of 1H2021. Prior to joining EFG Hermes in 2016, Walid Hassouna was General Manager and Head of Structured Finance and Investment Banking at Bank Audi, where he closed structured and project finance transactions in excess of USD 15 billion. Walid holds a successful banking career spanning seventeen years, which started in Misr International Bank. He also structured and executed several award-winning deals, in project finance and M&As within Egypt and the GCC amongst other investment banking transactions. He was also the Head of structured finance and syndication in Banque Misr where he successfully managed to top the league table of the MENA region in syndicated loans. Walid is a Cairo-University B.B.A holder, where he graduated with highest honors. He also holds an MBA from J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University as well as Islamic Finance Qualification from CISI- UK.

Rob Beswick

Managing Director

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Virgin Mobile UAE

Rob Beswick has been with the Virgin brand in the region for over 10 years. He is currently the Managing Director for Virgin Mobile UAE where he is leading the first fully digital mobile brand, pioneering digital innovation, with the goal of making the digital mobile experience even better for customers. Following two years as Chief Commercial Officer where he led the digital transformation and commercial growth strategy, he is now responsible for overseeing all strategy, growth, operations and talent management. Under his leadership, Virgin Mobile UAE has grown incrementally year-on-year and has been consistently recognized for its digital transformation and benchmark customer experience. It has received accolades for Best Customer Experience by Telecoms World for two years (2019, 2020), Innovation of the Year by Arabian Business Technology (2019) and Best Customer Service Provider by Telecoms Review Excellence Awards (2020). Prior to joining Virgin Mobile UAE, Rob held the position of Group Vice President for Brand at Virgin Mobile Middle East and Africa for seven years. Here, he was responsible for leading the successful launch of Virgin Mobile in the region, as well as the management of digital strategy, multi-channel retail, customer experience, and the brand and marketing strategies across all markets. Ahead of joining Virgin Mobile, Rob was Group Marketing Director for Lycamobile, leading the launch of the brand in 12 markets over six years.

Lucky La Riccia

Vice President and Head of Digital Services

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Ericsson Middle East and Africa

Lucky La Riccia has been Heading Digital Services at Ericsson Middle East and Africa as of May 15, 2019. La Riccia’s responsiblities include driving business growth and capturing market opportunities within Middle East and Africa including Turkey in the Digital Transformation and Cloud domains. He started his career with Ericsson in 2004, holding several leadership positions across the Digital Services portfolio within Asia Pacific and India across a multitude of technology areas including Operations Support System (OSS), Business support system (BSS) and Core network domains. His strengths build upon a strong and broad technology understanding, extensive experience in delivering complex technology and business transformation programs and the virtualization of telecom operator solutions across multiple continents. Having led various assignments across the globe, La Riccia has mastered the leadership of technology teams and introduction of leading technology changes into customer environments. Previous to Ericsson, he spent ten years in Banking and Finance specialising in the areas of Software Development, Systems Integration and Architecture; placing a focus on the software for Insurance, Banking, Funds Management and Product Catalogue functions. La Riccia was born in 1975 and currently resides in Dubai, UAE. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and a Masters of Business Administration International Business from Deakin University, Melbourne.

Kindah Sais

Global Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Middle East & Africa

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Boeing International

Kindah Sais serves as the Global Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Leader for Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, Middle East, Africa and Turkey). She is responsible for aligning Boeing’s diversity & inclusion efforts with the customs and sub-cultures in the region, which houses a number of Boeing’s major customers. Reporting to the Manager for diversity & Inclusion, for Boeing International, Sais leads and provides diversity & inclusion products, services and strategies to diversity councils, Business Resource Groups, Leadership Teams and other groups, domestically and internationally. Her responsibilities also include enhancing local presence and providing global functional support, through extending diversity reach within the region & global sites in the organization, in addition to creating, supporting & developing regional strategies, to grow working women and minority groups across the region. Sais was appointed to the role in 2016. Kindah has been working in the Diversity & Inclusion function, for over 15 years, with a variety of multinational organizations. Prior to joining Boeing, she served as the Talent Practice, Diversity & Inclusion Head, for Procter & Gamble, Saudi Arabia, where she led the Talent Supply & Development, Diversity & Inclusion Strategies, Trainings and Practices, for the Kingdom since 2006, when she joined as the first Saudi female in the organization’s Human Resource Department and earned a number of diversity & Inclusion certifications. A Saudi national who was chosen as one of Saudi Arabia’s top 100 business women in 2011, holds a Bachelor’s Degree, with a triple major in International Business, Management and E-Commerce & Information Systems, from Seattle University. She then earned her MBA Degree from the American University of Beirut. Kindah also serves as the Ambassador for Seattle University’s Saudi & Middle East Alumni Association, and has worked with the Arab Community of the State of WA and University of Washington, among other universities, institutions and communities, on a variety of gender and cultural programs and activities. Her passion is fueled by looking for the difference that makes the difference.

Florence Fontani

Director Projects and Coordination AMEA Head of Sustainability & Communication GCC

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ENGIE

Florence is Director Projects and coordination for ENGIE Asia, Middle East, Africa and also Chief Sustainability & Communications Officer for GCC and Pakistan With a Master’s Degrees in Finance from Paris IX Dauphine, Florence started her career in the financial sector and managed commercial teams before moving to the utilities sector in 1998, when she joined SUEZ. As a brand and commercial expert with an Advanced Studies degree in Communication & Marketing from CELSA and from HEC Paris, she very quickly moved to external communications to take the lead of the ENGIE Group Business & Marketing Communications & Group Audiovisual Communications. In 2016, she took up the role of Executive Vice President Strategy, Communications, Sustainability, for ENGIE Middle east, South& Asia, Turkey at ENGIE’s regional HQ in Dubai. Florence is a passionate advocate for women and sustainability issues in the global energy sector. She is a member of the board of French Business Group in Abu Dhabi, and the vice president of the French Club “Renewable Energies” in the Middle East. She has been nominated French Trade Advisor to the UAE. She was nominated in 2021, member of the board of Global Compact Network Saudi Arabia.

Simon Birkebaek

Partner

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Boston Consulting Group(BCG)

Simon Birkebaek is a core member of the Energy, Corporate Finance & Strategy, and Social Impact practices at Boston Consulting Group. Simon works with clients on strategy, large-scale transformation, and corporate development. He focuses on strategies related to emissions reduction, climate regulation, and risk and disclosure, as well as new market opportunities, and has supported clients in these areas across the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. Recently, Simon has developed a comprehensive decarbonization roadmap for a major region in the Middle East, developed a carbon capture strategy for an industrial goods company, and defined an ESG strategy for a major power developer, including ambition, target setting, and initiative definition. Prior to joining BCG, Simon worked with robotics and electronics in engineering companies.

Thierry Sabbagh

Managing Director

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Nissan Middle East

As Managing Director of Nissan Middle East, Thierry Sabbagh leads the strategy and overall business operations of Nissan in a region of more than 8 markets, while ensuring the best services are brought forward to Nissan’s partners and customers across the Middle East. Thierry joined Nissan in 2018 as Director of Sales, driving the sales performance for the brand across the Gulf, Levant, and North Africa markets. An industry veteran with a deep and diverse understanding of corporate and automotive sectors, Sabbagh brings over two decades of comprehensive experience in sales, marketing, brand, planning and business development operations across MENA. Sabbagh began his career with Mercedes-Benz in marketing. Five years later, he moved to General Motors Middle East where he held various roles in Marketing, Planning and Business Development divisions. In 2010, he was Regional Brand Director for Cadillac, before he moved to leading advertising and marketing consultancy Wunderman, as General Manager. In 2012, Thierry joined Ford Middle East as Regional Sales Director and shortly after, he progressed to become Managing Director for the entity. In his current role, Sabbagh is driving the Nissan NEXT business transformation goals in the region to foster sustainable business growth, building on the brand’s heritage of 70 years in the Gulf and wider Middle East. Thierry is well versed in Arabic, English and French, and holds a bachelor’s degree in Business / Hotel Management in Marketing, from the University of West London.

Hasan Iftikhar

Partner, Consulting Technology, Media and Telecom

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Deloitte Middle East

Hasan is a TMT Consulting Partner at Deloitte Consulting. He has been at the fore front of driving complex and high impact strategy and business transformation initiatives, across telecoms, media and technology sectors. Being a thought leader of the future roles for ICT enabling the national digitization; Hasan has led and shaped various regional programs on achieving higher digital adoption targets and propelling the ICT and big data platforms through innovative business models. Hasan has worked on a wide spectrum of industry 4.0 developments and has a keen interest in the evolving role of telcos in the future digital ecosystem.

Khaled Khalifa

Senior Advisor

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Representative to the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries, United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees (UNHCR)

Khaled Khalifa is a professional humanitarian worker with more than 25 years of experience in relief and development. He led humanitarian operations in various settings of natural disasters and complex emergencies. Khaled Khalifa worked in several senior managerial positions with major international organizations in many countries and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. degree in Management Leadership and Organizational Strategy. He holds an MA degree in English Literature & Humanities, an MSc in Sustainable Development, and a Project Management Diploma. He is a well-known international trainer in disaster management and an expert speaker on humanitarian affairs and the Middle East. In addition to his role as a representative to the Gulf Cooperation Council, Mr Khaled leads UNHCR’s Islamic philanthropy activities globally and has been instrumental in the success of the Refugee Zakat Fund, which supported over 2 million beneficiaries in 13 countries last year. This success was made possible thanks to Khaled Khalifa’s role in building key partnerships with diverse Islamic philanthropy stakeholders.

Dr. Patrick Noack

Executive Director Future Foresight and Imagination

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Dubai Future Foundation

Dr. Patrick Noack is Executive Director: Future, Foresight and Imagination, at the Dubai Future Foundation, where he manages three teams: Dubai Future Research is the research arm of the foundation and provides thought leadership on emerging technologies, social impacts and cross-domain topics; Dubai Future Councils which were established to explore how 13 key sectors could be re-imagined to be fit for the future; the World Economic Forum’s UAE Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution which develops policy-oriented research in the 4IR domains of relevant to the UAE. Prior to this role he was senior policy adviser at the Royal Society where he led on emerging technologies and foresight. He was responsible for a landmark report on neural interface technologies – iHuman – which aimed at exploring the forthcoming scientific opportunities and the social and policy implications. In the years prior, he has developed scenarios and foresight on complex issues with United Nations specialised agencies and in the private sector. Patrick holds a master’s in social policy from the LSE and a doctorate in zoology from the university of Aberdeen.

Salmaan Jaffery

Chief Business Development Officer

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Dubai International Financial Centre Authority

Salmaan is the Chief Business Development Officer for the Dubai International Financial Centre. He is a member of the management team and is responsible for overseeing the DIFC client portfolio as well as the DIFC’s growth strategy. Salmaan has 25+ years of experience in North America, Asia and MENA with leadership roles at global firms such as Oliver Wyman, Citibank, American Express and PwC. Mr. Jaffery holds an MBA from Cornell University and a BA in International Relations (Phi Beta Kappa) from Colgate University in the United States and serves on the Boards of several non-profit organizations.

Adele Trombetta

VP Customer Experience MEA & Technology Transformation Group EMEAR

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Cisco

Adele Trombetta leads Cisco’s Customer Experience organisation in MEA and the Technology Transformation Group in EMEAR. In her dual role, she is responsible for ensuring Cisco’s customers get the best out of their technology investment and are aligned to future market trends. At EMEAR level she leads an amazing team of Subject Matter Experts and with them she is now working to accelerate the transformational growth with a main focus on Cloud, Security and Business Advisory. Prior to this role, Adele led Cisco’s Advanced Service delivery organisation for Europe, Middle East and Africa, with responsibility for regional strategy and P&L, her key areas of focus were delivery excellence, workforce transformation, and cross-country collaboration. Adele has over 20 years’ technology sector experience and a strong track record in orchestrating large-scale, transformational programs for key customers. Prior to joining Cisco, she held leadership roles at DXC Consulting, a company formed by the combination of CSC Consulting, HPE Enterprise Services and IBM. Adele is an active advocate for diversity and equality in the workplace and is the executive sponsor for the Cisco Women of Impact and Early-in-career programmes across MEA. She is a Certified Management Consultant (CMA) and holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, and an MBA from Henley Business School. Adele also has been awarded two patents both in security technology, she has been Board member of the Unicredit/HPE JV in Banking Services and Member of the supervisory board of the Morocco Caisse des Depots et Gestion/HPE Joint Venture in Professional Services. Adele has lived in a number of countries across the globe and currently resides in Dubai.