Dr. Ahmad is a Data Science Leader at IBM, author and keynote speaker, with extensive research and consulting experience in Data Science & AI applied for different industries (e.g. Banking, Communication, Government, Energy). Ahmad has helped leading banks globally (Europe, MEA and APAC) to apply AI to combat financial crimes, including Anti Money Laundering, Counter Terrorist Financing and Fraud. Ahmad is Ph.D. in Computer Science, with specialization in Machine Learning and Information Retrieval, he has key scientific contributions published at major international conferences and books.

Serving as the Digital Infrastructure Solutions Manager of GBM Oman, Ahmed Qarout plays a major role in leading and strategizing comprehensive solutions to help clients achieve newer levels of business performance and enable them to derive more revenue. He has led an impressive career in the digital solutions since 2008. Prior to his current role at GBM Oman, Ahmed was Intelligent Network Solutions, Security & Mobility (INS) Manager at GBM Bahrain. He was known for driving aggressive growth unlocking more opportunities in offering secure, scalable, and cost-efficient solutions and maintained a competitive edge for the organization. Before joining GBM Bahrain, he was Regional Business Development Consultant responsible for increasing the regional revenue of GBM-INS with the strategic vendors such as F5, Juniper, Riverbed, Paloalto, Fortinet and many others covering UAE, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain.

I am working with Ahlibank, Muscat, Oman for the last five years mainly in Internal Audit Department and Operational Risk. Currently heading the Operational Risk Department. Prior to coming to Oman, I was working in India mainly in Mumbai with fairly large stint at State Bank of India, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and RBL Bank. In banking sector in India I have worked for 20 years in business mainly in large credit, international banking and 11 years in audit of wholesale banking and retail banking.

Salman Kabani’s professional Banking career spanning over 18 years in the GCC/Middle East and domestic markets, having worked in the entire spectrum of Commercial & Investment Banking; culminating in core competency as Subject-Matter Expert in Enterprise Risk and Portfolio Management; setting and devising strategies for all the areas of commercial banking.   Currently, he is heading Operational Risk, Market Risk and Strategy at Bank Nizwa, Oman. He is an MBA in Finance and Masters in Economics; and Certified Sharia Advisor and Auditor from AAOIFI. During his experience, he has established and led the Enterprise Risk Management function in the large public and private sector banks; directed strategic projects for generating economic value, profiling all material risks, developing and maintaining a sound capital adequacy assessment process and setting “in-control” status. He is exceptionally skilled in developing/setting- up enterprise risk functions, managing complex cross-functional teams, driving growth plans, business strategies and delivering results within changing risk and regulatory environments.

Anees Al Raisi knows first hand the dangers and risks of cyber threats facing banks. For the past 11 years, he worked as a risk professional in various organizations helping in combating Operational Risk Issues, including but not limited to security and cyber frauds to mitigate the losses that the organization or it's customers might suffer. Anees works in Bank Dhofar as Head of Operational Risk, working hand in hand with the bank as a whole to mitigate or eliminate risks that might arise from, people, system, or process risks. He helps facilitate the identification of risks by owner department and in implementation of of controls to mitigate those risks in order to achieve their targets.

Jessy El Murr is a certified media trainer and a multilingual digital journalist who spent over 18 years writing and presenting political, military and digital news stories for international news outlets. A seasoned field journalist and former BBC and Sky News Arabia correspondent, El Murr has recently acquired several media consulting and training projects for government and private entities across GCC countries including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, The United Arab Emirates and the State of Kuwait. El Murr has interviewed a variety of senior officials and international personalities including Bill Gates, Sir Richard Branson, Georges Clooney and several international and regional dignitaries. El Murr holds a Master’s degree in Integrated Journalism from Emerson College in Boston, MA and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the American University of Beirut.