SPEAKERS 2019 & 2020
A futurist with an artist's eye and an inventor’s mind, Monika Bielskyte prototypes culturally diverse, socially and environmentally engaged future world prototypes for the entertainment industry, governments and businesses.
MONIKA BIELSKYTE
Futurist, AR/VR/MR Resarcher
Dr Ramadan AlBlooshi is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dubai Healthcare City Authority – Regulation (DHCR), an independent regulatory arm of Dubai Healthcare City Authority (DHCA), the governing body of Dubai Healthcare City free zone, a health and wellness destination.
DHCR is responsible for the licensure of all healthcare professionals and healthcare operators and setting and maintaining international best practice in healthcare delivery and patient care within the free zone.
In his earlier role, Dr Ramadan was the Director of the Health Regulation Department at Dubai Health Authority (DHA). His expertise is clinical governance.
DR.RAMADAN ALBLOOSHI
CEO, DHCR
General Manager, New Business, Shell
Houda leads the new business development team in the Middle East and North Africa, responsible to deliver new oil and gas projects in partnership with host governments across the Gulf countries, Levant, and North Africa. Prior to this role, Houda worked in Mergers and Acquisitions based at Shell Headquarters in The Hague.
Houda is an angel investor in regional digital start-ups and supports entrepreneurship in the region through mentoring entrepreneurs as well as participating as a Juror in the MIT Business Arab Competition. She has a keen interest in Education and supports youth through Junior Achievement and other local NGOs in her home country.
HOUDA DABOUSSI
AFZAL SHABAZ MOHAMMED
Head of MindSphere & Command and Control Team, Siemens
Afzal Mohammed is the head of the MindSphere and Command & Control Team, Expo 2020 Dubai for Siemens, overseeing the implementation of the company’s operating system for the Internet of Things at Expo 2020 Dubai.
With more than 20 years of experience in critical enterprise projects, Afzal has been with Siemens for 18 years and worked across Asia, the Middle East
and Europe. He holds a Masters of Business Administration, Information Systems (MBA).
HADI RAAD
Vice President & Regional Head of Digital Solutions, Visa
Driving Visa digital payments in e/m-commerce, contactless, digital wallets, mobile payments, Risk products, and the Visa developer platform.
Before joining Visa, Hadi was head of consumer products marketing at Google in the Middle East and North Africa. He earlier was a Principal of Booz & Company
digital media, telecom, and technology practice in the Middle East.
EAMON HOLLEY
Legal Director, DLA Piper
Eamon is a leading telecommunications, technology and data lawyer in the Middle East, and regularly advises clients in relation to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia.
Eamon is also a listed telecommunications expert for the UAE in the International Who's Who Legal.In 2016 he was ranked by the International Who's Who Legal as one of the fifteen "Most Highly Regarded" telecommunications lawyers in the world, and is noted by the Legal 500 as a "Next Generation Lawyer" within TMT in the UAE.
ENG. MUAMMAR KHALED
AL KATHEERI
Executive VIce President - Engineering and
Smart City, Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority
As of 2014 Eng. Muammar has been the chairman of the smart city project committee in Dubai Silicon Oasis.
Eng. Muammar holds a Master of Science in Innovation & Change Management from Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University in Dubai, and a Bachelor degree in Architectural Engineering from Al Ain University; United Arab Emirates.
PETER GRAY
Technical Director, Tour de France
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MAGNUS OLSSON
Chief Xperience Officer & Co-Founder,
Careem
With former McKinsey colleague Mudassir, they decided to do something meaningful and big together. That became Careem. Today Careem is the leading ride hailing app in MENA, Turkey, and Pakistan and is the region’s only tech unicorn. Careem operates in more than 120 cities across 14 countries with more than 3,000 employees and 800,000 captains.
When not at Careem, Magnus spends significant time mentoring start-ups and supporting the tech ecosystem. He lives in Abu Dhabi with his wife and two children.
ANI BHALEKAR
Sr. Solution Leader, McKinsey & Company
Ani has been deeply involved across all aspects of technology-based transformation – from strategy and design through to build and run. He draws on extensive expertise with mobile and IoT technologies to serve clients across industries and specializes in Industry 4.0, smart buildings, connected transport, and blockchain. 18 years of experience in different parts of the mobile and IoT ecosystem. Professional experience in SE Asia, China, India, Korea, Germany, USA.
Prior to joining McKinsey, Mr. Bhalekar was part of Accenture Mobility’s global leadership team where he led the Industry X.0 practice for the region. At Accenture, built and led the cross-industry Mobile and IoT / Industry X.0 practice in SE Asia. Fully accountable for P&L and delivered record profit and margins in 2017.
Lead Sport Scientist, Arsenal Football Club
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TOM ALLEN
Christos Sermpetis is a partner based in our Dubai office and leads our Operations Practice in the Middle East. In his more than 10 years at McKinsey, he has served leading energy and industrial institutions across Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Christos’s commitment to the Middle East is based on a deep belief in the “Resource Revolution” and the new frontiers it creates for the global energy, materials, food, and water sectors. He supports resource shapers in the region in their transformation efforts—in particular, their journey to operational efficiency, agility, and cost control. His areas of expertise include mining, chemicals, aluminium and steel, industrial minerals, and upstream and downstream oil and gas operations.
Partner, Digital McKinsey
CHRISTOS SERMPETIS
PAUL POTGIETER
Managing Director, Dimension Data
Paul brings over 15 years of industry experience whereby he has managed
multiple businesses and has fulfilled numerous senior leadership roles spanning across solutions, marketing, sales and overall business management.
He is a major proponent of how IoT forms part of any Digital Strategy in today’s business arena.
Paul holds a MBA(Liverpool), GEDP(GIBS), IoT(MIT)
DANISH FARHAN
Chairman, Serial-Enterpreneur, Strategist, Storyteller and Investor, Xische
Evangelical about entrepreneurship, culture and anti-disciplinary thinking, Danish is a strategic advisor to the Government of Dubai and co-author of Dubai's Happiness Agenda. He serves on the WEF Cities by Design Council, he is the co- founder of World Happiness Summit, and board member of Dubai Government venture Moro Hub. Danish is also the chairman of investment boutique Xische Holdings, a privately-held group that includes an investment fund, AI platform, e-commerce venture, and a global footwear brand.
DR. ANIL KHURANA
Partners, Strategy & Innovation, US&ME,
PwC
Anil leads the Middle East Consumer & Industrial Products and Services, which includes transportation, industrials, energy, and retail.
He is the chairperson of PwC’s global Aviation COE, and on the global leadership team of the Industrial Products, Industry 4.0, and New Ventures teams.He has more than 25 years experience in operations, innovation and R&D, consulting, academia, and private equity.
MICHAEL G. JACOBIDES
Chair of Entrepreneurship & Innovation, London Business School, TEDx speaker, visiting Scholar, New York Fed and Cambridge U.
TEDx speaker, visiting Scholar, New York Fed and Cambridge U. Formerly, on faculties of Wharton and Harvard Business School and NYU-Stern; Ghoshal Fellow, Advanced Institute for Management Research. Regularly engages with global firms such as BCG, McKinsey, PwC, Accenture, IDEO, Santander, RBS, Zurich, IBM, Vodafone, Telenor, Airbus, Burberrys, DeBeers, MerckSerono, NHS, CNN & BBC contributor.
A futurist with an artist's eye and an inventor’s mind, Monika Bielskyte prototypes culturally diverse, socially and environmentally engaged future world prototypes for the entertainment industry, governments and businesses.
MONIKA BIELSKYTE
Futurist, AR/VR/MR Resarcher
ANI BHALEKAR
Sr. Solution Leader, McKinsey & Company
Ani has been deeply involved across all aspects of technology-based transformation – from strategy and design through to build and run. He draws on extensive expertise with mobile and IoT technologies to serve clients across industries and specializes in Industry 4.0, smart buildings, connected transport, and blockchain. 18 years of experience in different parts of the mobile and IoT ecosystem. Professional experience in SE Asia, China, India, Korea, Germany, USA.
Prior to joining McKinsey, Mr. Bhalekar was part of Accenture Mobility’s global leadership team where he led the Industry X.0 practice for the region. At Accenture, built and led the cross-industry Mobile and IoT / Industry X.0 practice in SE Asia. Fully accountable for P&L and delivered record profit and margins in 2017.
Dr Ramadan AlBlooshi is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dubai Healthcare City Authority – Regulation (DHCR), an independent regulatory arm of Dubai Healthcare City Authority (DHCA), the governing body of Dubai Healthcare City free zone, a health and wellness destination.
DHCR is responsible for the licensure of all healthcare professionals and healthcare operators and setting and maintaining international best practice in healthcare delivery and patient care within the free zone.
In his earlier role, Dr Ramadan was the Director of the Health Regulation Department at Dubai Health Authority (DHA). His expertise is clinical governance.
DR.RAMADAN ALBLOOSHI
CEO, DHCR
General Manager, New Business, Shell
Houda leads the new business development team in the Middle East and North Africa, responsible to deliver new oil and gas projects in partnership with host governments across the Gulf countries, Levant, and North Africa. Prior to this role, Houda worked in Mergers and Acquisitions based at Shell Headquarters in The Hague.
Houda is an angel investor in regional digital start-ups and supports entrepreneurship in the region through mentoring entrepreneurs as well as participating as a Juror in the MIT Business Arab Competition. She has a keen interest in Education and supports youth through Junior Achievement and other local NGOs in her home country.
HOUDA DABOUSSI
Lead Sport Scientist, Arsenal Football Club
-
TOM ALLEN
AFZAL SHABAZ MOHAMMED
Head of MindSphere & Command and Control Team, Siemens
Afzal Mohammed is the head of the MindSphere and Command & Control Team, Expo 2020 Dubai for Siemens, overseeing the implementation of the company’s operating system for the Internet of Things at Expo 2020 Dubai.
With more than 20 years of experience in critical enterprise projects, Afzal has been with Siemens for 18 years and worked across Asia, the Middle East
and Europe. He holds a Masters of Business Administration, Information Systems (MBA).
Christos Sermpetis is a partner based in our Dubai office and leads our Operations Practice in the Middle East. In his more than 10 years at McKinsey, he has served leading energy and industrial institutions across Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Christos’s commitment to the Middle East is based on a deep belief in the “Resource Revolution” and the new frontiers it creates for the global energy, materials, food, and water sectors. He supports resource shapers in the region in their transformation efforts—in particular, their journey to operational efficiency, agility, and cost control. His areas of expertise include mining, chemicals, aluminium and steel, industrial minerals, and upstream and downstream oil and gas operations.
Partner, Digital McKinsey
CHRISTOS SERMPETIS
HADI RAAD
Vice President & Regional Head of Digital Solutions, Visa
Driving Visa digital payments in e/m-commerce, contactless, digital wallets, mobile payments, Risk products, and the Visa developer platform.
Before joining Visa, Hadi was head of consumer products marketing at Google in the Middle East and North Africa. He earlier was a Principal of Booz & Company
digital media, telecom, and technology practice in the Middle East.
PAUL POTGIETER
Managing Director, Dimension Data
Paul brings over 15 years of industry experience whereby he has managed
multiple businesses and has fulfilled numerous senior leadership roles spanning across solutions, marketing, sales and overall business management.
He is a major proponent of how IoT forms part of any Digital Strategy in today’s business arena.
Paul holds a MBA(Liverpool), GEDP(GIBS), IoT(MIT)
EAMON HOLLEY
Legal Director, DLA Piper
Eamon is a leading telecommunications, technology and data lawyer in the Middle East, and regularly advises clients in relation to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia.
Eamon is also a listed telecommunications expert for the UAE in the International Who's Who Legal.In 2016 he was ranked by the International Who's Who Legal as one of the fifteen "Most Highly Regarded" telecommunications lawyers in the world, and is noted by the Legal 500 as a "Next Generation Lawyer" within TMT in the UAE.
DANISH FARHAN
Chairman, Serial-Enterpreneur, Strategist, Storyteller and Investor, Xische
Evangelical about entrepreneurship, culture and anti-disciplinary thinking, Danish is a strategic advisor to the Government of Dubai and co-author of Dubai's Happiness Agenda. He serves on the WEF Cities by Design Council, he is the co- founder of World Happiness Summit, and board member of Dubai Government venture Moro Hub. Danish is also the chairman of investment boutique Xische Holdings, a privately-held group that includes an investment fund, AI platform, e-commerce venture, and a global footwear brand.
ENG. MUAMMAR KHALED
AL KATHEERI
Executive VIce President - Engineering and
Smart City, Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority
As of 2014 Eng. Muammar has been the chairman of the smart city project committee in Dubai Silicon Oasis.
Eng. Muammar holds a Master of Science in Innovation Change Management from Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University in Dubai, and a Bachelor degree in Architectural Engineering from Al Ain University; United Arab Emirates.
DR. ANIL KHURANA
Partners, Strategy & Innovation, US&ME,
PwC
Anil leads the Middle East Consumer & Industrial Products and Services, which includes transportation, industrials, energy, and retail.
He is the chairperson of PwC’s global Aviation COE, and on the global leadership team of the Industrial Products, Industry 4.0, and New Ventures teams.He has more than 25 years experience in operations, innovation and R&D, consulting, academia, and private equity.
PETER GRAY
Technical Director, Tour de France
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JOCHEN-THOMAS MORR
Principal / Industry 4.0 Leader for Digital
Product Developement, PwC
Morr is a leading practitioner in digital operations strategies as well as digital product development for PwC’s Management Consulting. He is principal at PwC Germany. Jochen-Thomas is part of PwCs Digital Operations Impact Center and leads the digital product development and smart manufacturing team. He has more than 14 years of industrial and consulting experience with multinational industrial equipment manufacturers, high tech industry companies and automotive suppliers. His focus is on supporting leading companies in digital supply-chain management, smart manufacturing, operations strategy development, digital product development, global R&D and manufacturing footprint design, and process cost optimization.
KHALIFA ALMARRI
Director of Infrastructure Operations
Department, Smart Dubai
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Partner, Digital Lead, Digital McKinsey
VINAY CHANDRAN
MOHAMMAD ALSARAIRA
Senior Director Business Development
Business Development & Partnership, du
An ICT professional with international experience covering Middle East, Asia and Africa, with an exceptional track record in combining strategy, marketing and technical knowledge to spearhead Digital business development/ Solution Development/ Product management within a competitive marketing environments.
MARWAN ABDULLA
BIN DALMOOK
Senior Vice President ICT Solutions
& Smart City Operations, du
In addition to being responsible for leading and directing du’s managed services operations, Marwan was selected to drive du’s Smart City and Smart Government initiatives, an endeavour that aims in transforming Dubai to the happiest city in the world by 2020. Some of Marwan’s career achievements include; establishing du’s Technology Security Risk Management Department, launching Dubai’s advanced internet & telecommunication infrastructure and managing du’s Smart City initiatives. Marwan holds a higher diploma in Business Information Technology from the Higher Colleges of Technology in the UAE.
RAFFAELE BRESCHI
Associate Partner, Digital McKinsey
He leads the regional Talent Management service line, with expertise in building talent systems both in traditional and agile environments - e.g. within the context of digital / analytics transformations.
Raffaele holds an MBA from IE Business School and a M.Sc. in Business Administration from Bocconi University, where he teaches presentation techniques.
SOPHIA HASNAIN
Founder & CEO, Linked Things
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SYED RIZWAN MUNAWAR
Director Technology, HyperNym
He leads the regional Talent Management service line, with expertise in building talent systems both in traditional and agile environments - e.g. within the context of digital / analytics transformations.
Raffaele holds an MBA from IE Business School and a M.Sc. in Business Administration from Bocconi University, where he teaches presentation techniques.
MAGNUS OLSSON
Chief Xperience Officer & Co-Founder,
Careem
With former McKinsey colleague Mudassir, they decided to do something meaningful and big together. That became Careem. Today Careem is the leading ride hailing app in MENA, Turkey, and Pakistan and is the region’s only tech unicorn. Careem operates in more than 120 cities across 14 countries with more than 3,000 employees and 800,000 captains.
When not at Careem, Magnus spends significant time mentoring start-ups and supporting the tech ecosystem. He lives in Abu Dhabi with his wife and two children.
