Abdullah Alshubrumi

Director, Industrial Security & Crisis Preparedness, Maaden

Graduated as a chemical engineer from King Abdulaziz University, master’s degree in Risk, Crisis and Resilience Management from University of Portsmouth.

Director with rich experience in operation management, Risk Management, Crisis management and emergency preparedness, long term projects, and technical support. Has the advantage of working in a multicultural and competitive environment. Highly motivated individual and an excellence driven team leader focusing on value creation. Total experience is almost 13 years between Petrochemical, Mining and Government Authorities. Has worked in SABIC (Saudi Basic Industry Corporation) , ZATCA (Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority) and currently working in Ma’aden (Saudi Arabian Mining Company).

Asma Kabanji

Design and Operations Manager, SIRA 

Asma Kabanji is an alumnus Bath University, UK. Graduated with a degree of master’s in computer science. Gabanji has more than 17 years’ experience in the field of Information technology, systems, programming, and project management. In 2019 she held her current role as Security System Specialist in SIRA.

Eng. Arif Al Janahi

Security Consultant, SIRA 

Arif Al Janahi is a higher collages of technology alumni since 1997. He graduated as industrial electronics engineer. Al Janahi has more than 22 years of experience in the field of security industries. He gained his experience working in Dubai police - department of protective system since 2008, where he had deferent technical specialties managing city wide projects. In 2016 he held his current position as security engineering director in SIRA. He is a registered chartered security professional at the security institute. 

Abdullah Al Barwani

GM, Corporate Security, Omantel

Abdullah has more than 22+ years’ experience in information technology and security management. Abdullah has established cybersecurity programs in 3 different sectors throughout his career taking a risk-based approach specific to those sectors to acquire and develop the right talent, establish the frameworks and processes, and build organizational structures.

Abdullah started his career in the Ministry of Defense of Oman in the year 2000 as a system administrator before he was given the task to establish the cybersecurity program 3 years later focusing in managing security risks in the entire Ministry. In 2006 Abdullah has moved to the Government Sector as part of the E-Government program where Abdullah established the first cybersecurity division in 2008 where he developed 7 critical managed services run by more than 26 nationals providing services to over 400 government entities.    

Since mid-2017, Abdullah started a new career journey by joining the national telecom operator of Oman (Omantel) as a GM for the corporate security division with a responsibility to establish SOC services covering both IT and Telecom domain as well as other Managed Security services including security advisory. Key projects included the implementation of a signaling firewall, LTE Gateway, Network compliance and Advanced Persistent threats protection. To govern the security program, Abdullah has contributed to the certification of the ISO 27001 and PCI. Other governance frameworks established was IoT and NFV frameworks based on GSMA frameworks. 

Dr. Abdullah Khurram

CEO, Foresight Quotient 

Dr. Abdullah Khurram brings over 10 years of political risk and strategic foresight consulting experience across all six habitable continents. He has served as the Head of MENA at Torchlight AI, as a Research Fellow at PoliTact, as aStrategic Advisor at Gulf State Analytics & as a Research Associate at the Middle East Institute in Washington and at the Economic Policy Research Institute in Cape Town, South Africa. He has also served on the board of advisors for Duke University’s U.S.-China Leadership Summit, and has been involved with The University of Chicago’s U.S.-China Treaty Project that advised on federal level on the future of relations between the two countries. Dr. Khurram has frequently guest lectured including at Columbia University, Duke University, Bangladesh Foreign Service Academy, Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies in Slovenia, and not limited to the National Defence University (NDU) of Pakistan. Dr. Khurram holds a PhD in international, political and strategic studies from The Australian National University, a master’s degree in global security studies from Johns Hopkins University and a master’s degree in international relations from The University of Chicago.

Ali M. Al Qahtani

Ras Tanura Industrial Security Operations Manager, Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia

Ali AlQahtani, CPP. PSP. is a security operations manager who has been working in Saudi Aramco for the last 15 years. Ali has Bachelor degree on Criminology and Criminal Justice from the university of Leeds in the United Kingdom and Master Degree on business and organizational security management from Webster University from the United States. Since 2016, he acquired the Certified Protection Professional (CPP) and Physical Security Professional (PSP) from ASIS International.

Ali was hired by Saudi Aramco on 2008 and since then he has been working on the industrial security organization on different field including planning, safety, training and operational excellence. In 2019, he led Saudi Aramco Emergency Center in Dhahran and in 2021, he was assigned as Ras Tanura Industrial Security Operations Division’s Manager where he is leading the security team who are covering several critical oil and gas facilities. He is also ASIS Dhahran Chapter Vice Chairman.

Bruce Braes

Head of Security Consulting, Buro Happold

Bruce Braes is the Head of Security Consulting for Buro Happold the global engineering design and advisory practice headquartered in the UK and operating across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

Before taking up this role in August 2020, Bruce was the Director Physical Security at Jacobs, Critical Mission Solutions in the United Kingdom, having joined Jacobs’s Major Projects in 2014. Prior to joining Jacobs, Bruce was Risk Manager with Parson Brinckerhoff, and a Principal Security Consultant with AECOM in Western Australia. Prior to this he spent 12 years as founder and director of Strategic Security Solutions International, a global security risk management consulting firm that he sold in 2008 to Universal Guardian Holdings.

Bruce is a Chartered Security Professional (CSyP), Certified Protection Professional (CPP), Physical Security Professional (PSP), Certification Institute of Risk Management (CMIRM), Certified Security Consultant (CSC), Certified in Risk Identification and Systems Control (CRISC), Certified Nuclear Security Professional (CNSP).

He holds an MA (Security Management) from Loughborough University in the United Kingdom, MEng (Risk Management) from Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, and MSc (Security Science) from Edith Cowan University In Perth, Australia.

Bruce has served on the ASIS International Standards and Guidelines Commission since 2018. He is on British Standards Institute GW/3 Private Security management and services committee and RM/1 Risk Management Committee. He also serves as a UK expert on the ISO/TC 262. 

He has presented at conferences in USA, Middle East, Asia Pacific and Europe

Dr. Bushra Al Blooshi

CEO Senior Consultant I Dubai Electronic Security Center (DESC)

Results-driven leader with forward-thinking approach centered on company success and competitive growth. Demonstrated record of success in city level strategic planning oversight, policy development and business process re-engineering.

CEO Senior Consultant at Dubai Electronic Security Center (DESC). Leader of Dubai Cyber Innovation Park (dcipark). Member in the world economic forum global future council. Chair of digital skills committee and Director of digital policies in Dubai digital authority.

Bushra leads many strategic initiatives in the city of Dubai such as Dubai Digital Skills Strategy, Dubai cybersecurity strategy, Dubai cybersecurity R&D agenda and Dubai digital policies. Bushra has more than 17 years of experience in digital transformation, cybersecurity and strategy management. She held different positions in different industries and organizations.

AlBlooshi published and participated in many national and international conferences. Dr. Bushra is currently a member of several advisory boards and committees nationally and internationally.

Dr.Bushra is the inventor of two patents in memory management and cloud security. She was recently awarded as the best executive in cybersecurity in Middle East by women in cyber security Middle East. She was also the lead author of a report published recently by the world economic forum in collaboration with international experts around the world.

Craig Jones

Cybercrime Director, INTERPOL 

With more than three decades in law enforcement, Craig Jones leads the INTERPOL Global Cybercrime Programme. The Programme aims to reduce the harm caused by cybercrime impact worldwide through threat response, operations, and global law enforcement capacity building. To do so, INTERPOL strongly promotes Public-Private Partnerships for robust cybercrime intelligence and offers regional support through collaboration with Cybercrime Unit Heads globally.

In addition to managing many significant international projects, Mr. Jones holds various advisory roles in prominent organizations including the World Economic Forum’s Centre for Cybersecurity.

Prior to joining INTERPOL, Mr. Jones held key roles in the UK law enforcement, coordinating responses to the National Cyber Security Programme. Known as a strategic thinker, he foresees the impact of broad developments affecting the global cybercrime threat landscape, with the ultimate goal of building communities to protect communities through partnerships.

Dr. Carlotta Rodriquez

Disaster Risk Data Governance & Policy Design Specialist, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) Arab STAG (Scientific Technical Advisory Group), UAE

Dr Carlotta Rodriquez is a risk and emergency management specialist, with particular focus on DRR, policy making and resilience assessment. She combines extensive academic and field experience, teaching theoretical knowledge and how to make it operational.

Her field of expertise covers architecture and seismic engineering, Disaster Risk Reduction, Disaster Resilience and Social Vulnerability, Disaster management, Shelters and emergency settlements, Sustainable Development, Climate Change, Cultural Heritage, Information management, project writing and project management.

She worked as a researcher and professor for several Institutions in Switzerland, Portugal, Italy, and UAE, and as a consultant for international organizations in the field of Disaster Risk Management and Post Disaster Reconstruction, in Asia and in Africa.

Highly flexible and efficient, Dr Carlotta worked effectively all over the world in very diverse environments such as governmental institutions, international organizations, research centers and in the field engaging communities and local stakeholders.

She is part of several international scientific groups: she is member of two ISO working groups withing the Scientific Committee 292 -Security and Resilience, she is member of the national council of the italian disaster managers’ association (ASSODIMA), and she is part of the UNDRR-ARAB Scientific Technical Advisory Group (STAG).

MSc in Architecture –University of Rome “La Sapienza”.

Thesis: Sustainable technologies with a focus on recycled concrete, Life Cycle Assessment and fiber-optic measuring methods.

MSc in Engineering (Advanced structural modelling, analysis and design) –University of Rome “La Sapienza”

Thesis: Structural Health Monitoring of Cultural Heritage.

PhD in Risk and Emergency Management – IUSS Pavia/University of Pavia

Thesis: A framework to assess Disaster Resilience based on the Sustainable Development Goals.

Lt. Col. Dana Humaid Al Marzooqi

Director General, International Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Interior 

A career law enforcement professional, Dana is responsible for driving the Ministry’s international collaboration agenda. She manages international relations and partnerships for the Ministry, working closely with law enforcement agencies and international organizations across the world. She leads multiple international police task forces. She also heads the Secretariat of the International Security Alliance, which consists of Ministries of Interior from 10 countries across the world collaborating on a range of security issues.

Dana is a passionate advocate for ensuring the safety and security of vulnerable sections of our communities. She plays an active role in ensuring the safety of children in the UAE by overseeing the Ministry’s Child Protection Centre. She has led the strategic plan for combatting online child sexual abuse in the UAE and participated in the development and enhancements of national child protection related legislations and policies.

Dana is actively involved in enhancing international efforts to combat the sexual abuse and exploitation of children. She serves as a Board Member on the WEPROTECT Global Alliance and the Virtual Global Taskforce. She is also the co-chair of AI for Safer Children (AI4SC), a joint initiative between UNICRI and the UAE Ministry of Interior to leverage the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Dana Haubold

CISO External | Help AG

Dana is a Security, Risk and Business continuity management professional based in UAE with 16 years of work experience in business and security for the energy sector, design & engineering, and event & sport industries in the Middle East. Dana’s professional focus areas are the development of integrated Security Risk Management for Physical, Information and Cyber Security, Security Strategy, Governance, Compliance, Business Continuity, and Incident and Crisis Management. She holds a number of security certifications in various domains, including the CSMP®, CISSP, CRISC and CBCI and has recently achieved the Chartered Security Professional (CSyP) status. Dana also sits on the Middle East Members Group of The Security Institute, which is the regional representation of the UK’s largest membership body of security professionals.

Daniel Norman

Regional Director l EMEA

Daniel Norman is the Regional Director for the ISF across EMEA. His expertise lies in cyber resilience, supplier security, risk management and changing security behaviours. He has worked on a variety of research projects at the ISF exploring future threat forecasting, cyber exercises and social engineering. He has experience at Goldman Sachs, PwC and is a frequent contributor to Security Middle East Magazine.

David Rubens

Executive Director, Institute of Strategic Risk Management (ISRM), UK

Dr David Rubens is Executive Director of the Institute of Strategic Risk Management (ISRM) and CEO of Deltar Group, a global provider of strategic crisis management programmes and consultancy services. He is a recognised global authority on strategic management of complex events, and has over 30 years experience working with government agencies, multinational corporations and NGOs in modelling, preparing for and engaging with the complex risks that the world is currently facing.

David is a member of the UK National Preparedness Commission, is a Professor in the United Nations University European Centre for Peace and Development where he is Director of the Strategic Risk and Crisis Management programme, and is on the Advisory Board of numerous global organisations. He is a former member of the UK Critical Infrastructure Resilience Executive Steering Committee as a Subject Matter Expert for the strategic management of complex crisis management, and was voted the IFSEC No 1 Global Security Thought Leader of 2019.

David Alamos Martinez

Chief, Office on Parliamentary Engagement, United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (Special Projects and Innovation Branch)

Mr. David Alamos is a Spanish attorney at law, specialized in Criminal Law, with experience in the areas of justice reform, criminal justice, terrorism prevention and the fight against organized crime. He is also graduated as Business Administrator and has worked in developing and managing technical assistance programmes to enhance capacities of Member States of the United Nations at the national, regional and international levels.

Mr. Alamos has been working with the United Nations Organization since 2004, in Austria, Colombia, Italy, Qatar and Switzerland, holding different positions as Chief of Crime Prevention and Justice and Terrorism Prevention Expert for Latin America and the Caribbean at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Legal Advisor at the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), Evaluation and Monitoring Advisor at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and Donor Relation Officer at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Prior to his experience in the United Nations, Mr. Alamos worked in the European Commission and in the Embassy of Spain in Austria, as well as in the private sector.

Currently, Mr. Alamos serves as the Head of the Parliamentary Engagement Office in Preventing and Countering Terrorism at the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT). He is dedicated to enhancing parliamentary core functions and coordination of parliamentary assemblies in preventing and countering terrorism and addressing the underlying spread of violent extremism. Through the implementation of the UNOCT Global Programme on Parliamentary Engagement, Mr. Alamos focuses on strengthening the role of parliaments in law-making, policy-setting, budget allocation, oversight of government actions while ensuring a whole-of-society and gender sensitive approaches to counter terrorism, as well as the interests of communities and the work with vulnerable groups at risk of radicalization.

Divakar Pandian

 Associate Director – Resilience| Red Sea Global, Saudi Arabia

Divakar Pandian is a distinguished figure in the world of resilience engineering, boasting a remarkable 15-year journey dedicated to helping organizations strengthen their resilience culture and enhance their capacity to navigate and recover from unforeseen disruptions. As the founder of the #MakeResilienceAccessible movement, Divakar has spearheaded an initiative that strives to make resilience accessible to all, ensuring that no one is left behind when it comes to preparing for an unpredictable future. Author of the insightful book, "Defluffing Resilience: A Practical Guide to Resilience," Divakar provides a fresh perspective on resilience that resonates with the universal truth that disasters show no discrimination – they strike without regard for wealth, status, or industry. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, his book underscores the pivotal role economic strength plays in shaping the effectiveness of resilience measures. "Defluffing Resilience" stands as a manifesto committed to ushering in a new era of comprehension and empowerment in the realm of resilience. By demystifying the jargon and complexities that often shroud this subject, the book offers straightforward yet profound insights that promise to redefine the future of resilience practices. Furthermore, Divakar is the host of an engaging podcast that bridges the gap between theory and practical implementation. With a focus on making resilience accessible to both beginners and seasoned experts, his podcasts foster insightful conversations that demystify the intricacies of resilience engineering. Passion drives Divakar Pandian's advocacy for resilience engineering, firmly believing that it is an indispensable pillar for any organization aspiring to not just survive but thrive in today's intricate and unpredictable world. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table, making him a sought-after expert in the field.

Dr. Daria Daniels Skodnik

Senior Scholar, International Security & Defense & Former Deputy Commandant & Dean | NATO Defense College, Slovenia

Dr. Daria Daniels Skodnik is an international affairs expert and a distinguished academic renowned for her exceptional professional experience, which encompasses an extensive military, academic, and diplomatic background.

Having spent over two decades in international relations and publicdiplomacy, Dr. Daniels provides her expertise at the intersection of international organizations, governments, academia, and think tanks. She has held multiple leadership and management roles in the public policy sector, dealing with international relations and organizations such as the UN, EU,

OSCE, and NATO. Within her diplomatic capacity, she has contributed significantly to the development of senior professional education and has worked extensively on bilateral and multilateral diplomacy platforms with governments and academic institutions worldwide.

Eddie Reyes

US Contractor, Ministry of Interior & Retired Deputy Chief of Police

Mr. Reyes retired as the Director of the Department of Public Safety Communications in Prince William County, VA after serving in that capacity for more than four years and public safety government for 32 years. He oversaw Prince William County’s Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP), which is responsible for answering all 9-1-1 calls and dispatching incidents for police and fire/rescue services in the County and two additional cities and four towns. Prince William County is the second largest municipality in the Commonwealth of Virginia in terms of population.

Mr. Reyes has 28 years of law enforcement experience, retiring as the senior deputy chief from the Alexandria, VA Police Department and serving as Deputy Chief of the Amtrak Police Department where he oversaw the Mid Atlantic Division. During his tenure with the City of Alexandria, he worked in almost every unit of the Police Department and worked some high-profile incidents including the attack at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, the Sniper incidents in 2002 and many mutual aid events in the National Capital Region. During his tenure with the Amtrak Police Department, he represented the Amtrak Rail Service at both the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia and the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. In addition, he was responsible for planning the security and safety of rail passengers at Washington Union Station during the Inauguration of the President of the United States in January 2017.

Eleanor Berry

Country Manager, South Sudan

Eleanor Berry, Deputy Country Manager, CTG South Sudan Eleanor has over a decade of experience in security, intelligence and risk management. Currently managing CTG’s operations in South Sudan, Eleanor previously directed an intelligence advisory firm headquartered in Dubai. Her expertise lies in cultivating and guiding diverse teams and providing counsel to clients navigating high-risk environments. She also sits on the OSAC Dubai Steering Committee, spearheading Diversity Equality & Inclusion initiatives for women in security.

Emanuel Jech

Head of Security Risk Management, WSP, UAE

Emanuel leads the multidisciplinary Security Risk Management consulting practice at WSP Middle East. He is a security and risk professional with 35 years of industry experience in private security, corporate security, and in consulting for the built environment and information security in Canada, Europe and in the Middle East. As an end client, he has worked as a Google Data Centre Security Manager,  Safety & Security Manager EMEA at Salesforce, and corporate security manager at the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi in a GRC role within the technology department covering operational sites and capital projects security risk and planning for security systems and operations.

Faisel AllTaleb

AVSEC Proffesional Manager and Cargo Security Manager, Saudi Arabia

Faisel AllTaleb is a certified ICAO AVSEC Professional Manager with experience in enhancing and managing cargo security operations within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, throughout his professional career he has studied and worked in enhancing security measures and practices using innovative security technologies at King Khalid International Airport, through successful delivery of high-profile security infrastructure projects.

Gregory Byetheway

Road Safety Advocate, RoSPA 

Gregory majored at Lancaster University in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics, laying a robust academic foundation that has been instrumental in his professional endeavours.
Upon graduation, Gregory showcased his entrepreneurial acumen by founding and successfully managing two businesses. His leadership, combined with strategic foresight, was instrumental in their growth and eventual success.

Motivated to ensure that others don’t suffer from accidents, he aligned himself with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). Within his role at RoSPA, Greg contributes to RoSPA’s esteemed mission, using his personal and professional insights to further the organisations commendable goals. At Intersec 2024, Gregory is poised to shed light on the issues of driver training and safety in the UAE, and emphasize the significance of safety, innovation and strategic planning to foster a safety driving culture together.

Dr Gaurav Singh

Head Technology, Innovation and Automation, Adani Group Security

Dr Gaurav Singh, Head Technology, Innovation and Automation - Adani Group Security, earned his PhD in ‘Supply Chain Optimisation & Risk Management’ from IIT Delhi and won ‘Gold medal’ and the prestigious “Padmashri MM Suri” award during his M. Tech from IIT Delhi. 

As General Manager of Army Base Workshop, he drove the “Atmanirbhar Bharat” campaign resulting in indigenization of 350+ high-tech and low-tech assemblies, resulting in optimizing, costs and lead times of Manufacturing.

Currently, Other than 250+ Projects globally, he is driving Digital Transformation and centralized integration of various applications and services, to enable cross functional consumption of data for effective analysis, and better and faster business Multi-Criteria Decision Making.

Dr Gaurav Singh has delivered keynotes in numerous Government, Industry, Technical and Academic Seminars and conferences. He is a peer reviewer for several International Journals. He is the ‘ASIS’ State chapter co-chair.

Dr. Gareth Lee Stubbs

Interim Program Chair – Policing & Security, Rabdan Academy, UAE

Dr. Gareth Stubbs became a police officer after completing his Law degree and served for 18 years in Northern England, working predominantly in uniform roles in Emergency Response and Community Policing. Whilst serving, Gareth completed his 2^nd degree, two Masters Degrees, and started his PhD in Policing. Gareth’s PhD was in diversity in police recruitment, utilizing social identity and labor market theoretical frameworks. He finished his service as a senior manager, managing the Uniform response and Neighborhood policing functions in a very busy town in the UK. Gareth is now the Interim Program Chair of Policing and Security at Rabdan Academy. He has a deep interest in the use of technology in policing, change management, and is currently exploring the intersection between frontline service delivery and digital policing methods. His current focus is on attempting to understand the likely challenges police will face in the Metaverse.

Hamad Al-Melaihi

Head of Industrial Security Operations Planning & Performance, Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia

Hamad Al-Melaihi has graduated from King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals with a bachelor degree in Electrical Engineering. He also has a masters degree in Human Resources Development from Texas A&M. Hamad has several leadership and professional certifications including Executive Leadership from MIT, Project Management (PMP) and Professional Security Professional from ASIS International (PSP).

Hamad has joined Saudi Aramco on 2008 as an Engineer and  progressed within the company covering many positions. He was assigned to Aramco Americas during the period of 2013 to 2016 overseeing the development programs. On 2019, Hamad has been assigned as Fire Protection Northern Remote Area Manager. He has wide experience Security Maintenance Systems, Security Training, Fire Protection, Project Management and Planning and Performance. In 2023, he has been assigned as the Head of Industrial Security Operations Planning and Performance. Hamad also is handling the role of ASIS Assistant Regional Vice President in the Middle East.

Hussein Abdallah

Security Risk Expert and Government Relations Adviser, Shell, UAE

Hussein is Shell’s regional corporate relations adviser, covering non-technical risks to business in the MENA region with focus on supporting business development. Prior to his present role, Hussein covered regional security intelligence as part of Shell’s global intelligence and assessment team. Hussein has a diverse professional background in corporate, consultancy, government, and media. He is a steering committee member of OSAC’s Dubai chapter and a contributor to OSAC regional conferences in MENA since 2016.

Col. John Pumphrey

Military Police and Security Executive, Canadian Armed Forces, UAE


Colonel Pumphrey joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1986 and has served in specialist security and policing positions throughout his career. Recently, he has been employed as the defence advisor to several Canadian Embassies and has worked to improve bilateral defence relations in Southeast and Southwest Asia, and within the family of GCC countries. 

Career highlights include serving as a Chief of Police and Security at a Canadian Military Base, deploying with the United Nations in Haiti, acting as NATO’s senior policing advisor for security sector reform of the Afghan National Police throughout southern Afghanistan in 2008, and serving as the first commander of a specialist security formation that included VIP Protective Services, the national military prison and custody services, and security management services for Canadian embassies worldwide.

In 2011, he assumed duties as the Deputy Departmental Security Officer for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and Department of National Defence (DND) where he developed a national strategy for security reform across the enterprise. Later he assumed the position of

Director of Defence Security Operations within the newly established Director General Defence Security organisation which he helped to define.

Colonel Pumphrey was appointed as an officer of the Order of Military Merit in 2011. He is also a Certified Protection Professional with ASIS International. He has a diploma in engineering, a bachelor’s degree in military and strategic studies, and holds advanced degrees in the Study of Risk, Crisis, and Disaster Management, as well as an MBA in Quality Management. He is currently a doctoral candidate in applied social science, with research interests in decision-making and conflict prevention in fragile nation states.

Colonel Pumphrey plans to finish his doctorate in 2024 and then switch his attention to improving his guitar playing skills. He needs a lot of practice.

Col. Kanwal Kishore

Head of Security I Jio World Centre - Reliance Global Corporate Security

An Indian Army veteran with 21 years of service who has demonstrated professional competence and expertise in high-risk security operations. He has shown persistence when faced with challenges in counter terrorist operations. He served as Military Observer with UN at DRC and has been trained in specialized skills at Saalfelden, Austria.  He has been a training instructor at three prime institutes of the Indian Army and has been conferred with Gallantry Award by President of India and won appreciation for rescue missions.

From last six years he is heading security of Asia’s biggest multi-use customer facing infrastructure – Jio World Centre. His expertise lies in protection of assets, security automation systems, emergency response, crisis management, business continuity management and protection to mega events. He is CPP from ASIS and CBCP from DRI International. He has been awarded multiple times and recently been accoladed with ‘Security Professional of the Year award in Corporate Security 2023’.  

He has participated in various knowledge sharing sessions as keynote speaker and panellist. He is a member of ASIS International, DRI International, FSAI and IFSEC India. He brings to the table vast experience of a soldier and a corporate security specialist who is a team player, focused, and has a high level of integrity.

Kashif Khalid

Regional Director - Africa & Middle East (Operations, Safety & Security)  l IATA 

Kashif Khalid is Regional Director – Africa & Middle East for IATA’s Operations, Safety & Security division with a core focus on Airports, Passenger Experience, Cargo, Ground Operations, Security & Facilitation, providing leadership and advocacy with stakeholders to further IATA’s mission, projects, strategic partnerships, and industry standards.

Formerly he was Head of Assets & Acquisitions at Abu Dhabi Airports, leading the Global Airport development and M&A function for the UAE Government entity and its Sovereign Wealth Fund as well as the innovation, sustainability, and operations strategy for the UAE Airports portfolio.

He has advised global Airports, Governments and Airport Investors/Operators on both Greenfield and brownfield development projects, Operations Strategy, Commercial-Nonaeronautical revenue development, privatizations, public private partnerships in airports and associated infrastructure projects and concessions.

Kevin Graham

CEO, The Critical Communications Association (TCCA)

Kevin is a communications industry expert with more than 40 years’ international experience in engineering, sales and marketing, management, advisory and Board roles for private and public companies across APAC, the USA and Europe. He has 20 years’ experience in providing advisory services to telecommunications sectors including critical industries, resources, government, public safety, transport and utilities. Kevin is founding chair/director of critical communication industry associations in Australasia (2000-2021), North America (2012-2015), past President Australian Radio Site Owners and Users Associations (now ARCIA). 

Lorraine Adkins

Interim Director of Campus Safety Operations| New York University Abu Dhabi, UAE

Lorraine Adkins is the Interim Director Campus Safety Operations at NYUAD, with a wide remit covering emergency management, business continuity, and all aspects of the physical security operations spectrum. 

Lorraine is a retired British Army Officer who served for 26 years in British Military Intelligence. During a successful military career, Lorraine saw active service in Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Afghanistan and completed two operational tours in Iraq. 

Lorraine was awarded the Member of the British Empire (MBE) medal in 1993 for her contribution to Operation Desert Storm in Iraq, while working as a security and intelligence analyst at the UK Ministry of Defense in Whitehall, London.

Now in her ninth year at NYUAD, Lorraine continues to use her crisis management knowledge and experience to develop campus incident response plans and emergency and business continuity protocols. Prior to her current role, Lorraine has worked as a security and intelligence consultant in the UAE, Qatar and the UK.

Leo Levit

Steering Committee Chair | ONVIF, Sweden

Leo Levit has spent many years in the technology innovation and product management fields. Beginning with a master's degree in Electronic Engineering, his professional career has included multiple positions in several multinational companies such as Ericsson and Sony. During Leo’s 20+ year career, he has contributed to technology adoption in the telecommunication, security and video analytics fields. Leo is currently the Director of System Integration at Axis Communications AB.

Eng. Mohamed Rashed Al Dhanhani

Director of Corporate Risks & Business Continuity Department | Dubai Municipality, UAE 

Eng. Mohamed Rashed Al Dhanhani is the Director for the Corporate Risks and Business Continuity Department of Dubai Municipality. He is responsible for the enterprise-wide framework for Enterprise Risk, Business Continuity, Occupational Health and Safety, Sustainability, Circular Economy, Emergency and Crisis management across Dubai Municipality. He holds a degree in engineering and additional qualifications in Managing Crisis, Disaster and Resilience. Eng. Mohamed is instrumental in setting up the Command-and-Control Centre for Dubai Municipality which centrally monitors and responds to the Incidents, Emergencies and Crisis Events. He is a recipient of excellence medal from HE Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid for DM’s contribution for EXPO2020 and has headed multiple Teams in DM for mega events such as EXPO 2020, COP28 etc. He is part of the Dubai Municipality Crisis Management Team and supports in the response and recovery operations. Eng. Mohammed has contributed as a team member for Evaluate the public Safety in Big projects (such as Dubai Parks, Dubai Safari, Dubai Frame) and in formulating and implementing regulations pertaining to Escalators and handrails regulations for Dubai. 

Mohammed Saleh

Security Engineering Director, SIRA 

Eng. Mohammed Saleh is an alumnus of the Higher Colleges of Technology since 2006. Graduated with degree in Mechatronics engineer, has been deeply immersed in the security industry for over 16 years. He started on his professional journey as an Engineer at DEWA. In 2007, he transitioned to Dubai Police - Department of Protective System. In 2016 he held his current role as Security systems & consultancy manager in SIRA.

Mark Nuttall

Chair | ISRM UAE Chapter

Mr Nuttall MA CAMS CPP PMP is Chair of the Institute of Strategic Risk Management in the UAE. He has an extensive counter-crime, business, geopolitics, and risk background, and over 25 years of experience in global risk management, anti-financial crime, and international security. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, the Institute of Paralegals, the International Compliance Association, the Institute of Strategic Risk Management, and the Royal Society of Arts, and holds a Master’s degree in International Security. His extensive practitioner and leadership experience span the corporate, political,  and government sectors, and he has had work published across multiple mediums.

Mauro Miedico

Director United Nations Counter- Terrorism Centre | United Nations Office on Counter Terrorism (UNOCT), USA

Mr. Mauro Miedico is an Italian attorney at law with post-graduate studies at the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Italy, and at the prestigious Ecole Nationale d’ Administration (ENA) in France.

He has been working with the Organization of the United Nations since 1996, in the United States, Austria, Haiti, Serbia, Sierra Leone, and Colombia, holding different positions as Legal Advisor with the United Nations Department of Peace-keeping Operations (UNDPKO), with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR), with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and with the United Nations Office of Counter Terrorism (UNOCT). Mr. Miedico has particularly worked in the field of justice reform and as an advisor to a number of governments on criminal justice and on preventing and countering terrorism. 

Mr. Miedico currently serves as Director of the United Nations Counter Terrorism Centre (UNCCT). He provides strategic and programmatic advisory services and expertise to the Under-Secretary General of Counter-Terrorism addressing complex strategic, operational and policy issues. In his senior leadership position at the United Nations Office of Counter Terrorism, he also oversees, and has lead responsibility on a variety of counter terrorism technical assistance initiatives and programmes under the Office. 

Mike Latza

Regional Chief Security Officer l Mastercard Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa

Mike Latza, based in Dubai, is responsible for protecting Mastercard critical assets and assisting the business to build trust in the cyber domain so we can secure the world beyond cash for the Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa region.

Prior to his current role, Mike served 8 years as a Special Agent in the U.S. State Department Diplomatic Security Service at various locations domestically and throughout the Middle East & Africa. Mike also served as a U.S. Army Engineer officer in Iraq, and Afghanistan.

Mike holds the Certified Protection Professional designation from the American Society for Industrialized Security, the Certified Information Security Manager certification from ISACA, and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the University of Dayton, Ohio.

Mike Redington

Chief Executive | BSIA, UK

Mike Reddington was appointed as Chief Executive of the BSIA (British Security Industry Association) in 2019. The BSIA is a trade association that represents more than 70% of UK companies operating in the professional security industry sector and is recognised as ‘the voice of the professional security industry’.

Mike has worked in the security industry for over 25 years and began his career in electronic engineering before moving into sales, marketing and management, rising into senior roles for a variety of leading blue-chip organisations, such as Honeywell and ADI. He is passionate about the industry with a commitment and drive to identify and develop standards, quality, best practice, and professionalism within the security industry. Mike also holds an MBA from Leeds University Business School.

Dr. Marwan Ibrahim

Risk Management Expert | Riyadh Airports Company, Saudi Arabia 

• Responsible for the leadership, innovation, governance, and management necessary to identify, evaluate, mitigate, and monitor the company's operational and strategic risk.
• Develops Enterprise Risk Management tools, practices, and policies to analyze and report enterprise risks, and to manage risks according to an enterprise risk management framework.
  
• Ensures the organization's risk management policies and strategies are following applicable regulations, rating agency standards, and strategic imperatives of the organization.
  
• Establishes the Enterprise Risk Management architecture for the company.
  
• Oversees or monitors all operational risk management activities of the organization.
  
• Monitors and analyzes risks within the company's business units and reports on these risks to the Board.
  
• Chairs or provides key inputs into the company's enterprise risk or other committee that oversees the enterprise risk management process and ensures alignment with organizational objectives.
  

Mohammad S. Alries

Chief of Emergency Center| Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia

Mohammad S. Alries, Chief of Saudi Aramco Dhahran 911 Emergency Center. Mohammad hold a Bachelor Degree in Criminal Justice from University of Arizona. In 2012, Mohammad joined Saudi Arabia Control and Investigation Board “ Nazaha” in Tabuk. In 2013, Mohammed Joined Corporate Security Services at Saudi Aramco as an investigator dealing with different types of investigation cases within the company. In 2019, Mohammad was appointed as Sr. Planner for Dharan Area Industrial Security Operation. In 2020, Mohammad was assigned as Security Support Services Unit head. In 2021, Mohammad was assigned as the manager of the security and Operation Control Room OCR of the Saudi Arabia Pavilion at Dubai Expo 2020. The Pavilion was a major success with 5,000,000 visitors have visited the pavilion safely and securely.  Mohammad has a massive experience as a manager of different security operation divisions and organization. Mohammad is the Industrial Security Operation representative for the Saudi Aramco Emergency Management taskforce and corporate emergency preparedness committee. Mohammad has a broad experience in security Operation and Security Operation Control. 

Mohannad Salam

Regional Lead, Smart Cities, AtkinsRéalis, UAE

Mohannad Salam is the Regional Lead, Smart Cities, Middle East, at AtkinsRéalis. As part of his role, he leads on providing innovative advisory solutions for designing smart cities in the Middle East region. With more than 20 years’ experience, he developed transformation strategies with chief experience officers (CXOs) and government executives, and managed cross-functional teams to design, develop and deliver disruptive solutions. In addition, he advised enterprises on driving growth through innovation and transformation, and built successful vendor partnerships, such as Intel & Microsoft, to become their strategic IoT Partner in the region. An award-winner, Mohannad was named among "Best 20 Worldwide IoT Solution Providers" by CIOReview, the enterprise technology magazine, in 2018.

Muttahir Salim

Associate Director – Security | Buro Happold, UAE

Introducing Muttahir Salim: a seasoned security expert with 25 years' experience, a Fellow at the UK Security Institute, and a decade of UK military service. His experience spans 15 years across the Middle East and Africa. Currently an Associate Director at Buro Happold, he leads the Middle East security practise out of Riyadh and Dubai working across a multitude of Saudi GIGA projects working towards blending technological innovation with physical security design.

Muttahir is a PhD Candidate at the Department of Security and Crime Science at University College London. His research leverages cutting-edge tools like geospatial analysis, social network analytics, machine learning and deep neural networks. His academic background features a Bachelors in Applied Physics and Master's in War Studies from King's College London, with a focus on terrorism and counter insurgency.

Beyond his security roles, Muttahir played an instrumental role as a founding partner in a pioneering mobile technology platform in Scotland (UK), which later achieved a valuation of USD 300M. With a story of dedication, tech acumen, and leadership, Muttahir is set to make a significant impact at the upcoming Intersec conference.

Patrick Kane

Senior Director of Security | Atlas Air, USA

Patrick Kane is Senior Director Security for Atlas Air, a US airline conducting cargo and public/private passenger operations worldwide.  Patrick is heavily focused on developing and implementing mitigation measures to support highly mobile global workforce and multiple travelers, to include pre-travel risk assessments, coordinating secure transportation and journey management, assessing hotel and transportation options.

Patrick currently serves as the Chair of the ASIS International Santa Barbara Ventura Chapter #21 and is the President of the Corporate Executive Protection Leadership Council (CEPLC).  He recently spearheaded the creation of a Travel Risk Working Group within ASIS International. Patrick is also the past Chair and Chair Emeritus of the OSAC Aviation Security Working Group.  He has over 20 years of experience working in private sector corporate security; most of that time focused on international operations and has personal experience on the ground in more than 70 countries.

Since 1996 Patrick has been a Certified Protection Professional (CPP) in good standing under the auspices of ASIS International.  He received an International Executive MBA from Instituto de Empresa in Madrid, Spain in 2004.  .  Prior to entering the private sector, Patrick served as an infantry officer in the US Marine Corps. 

Riccardo Marchetto

Cluster Security Manager for MENA and Travel Security program lead for EMEA | Google & OSAC Dubai Chapter Private Sector Co-Chair 

Riccardo Marchetto is a highly experienced security professional with over 19 years of experience. He has a proven track record of success in developing and implementing effective security strategies across diverse global contexts.

In his current role as Regional Security Manager for North Africa and the Middle East at Google and EMEA Travel Security program lead, Riccardo oversees core regional programs for various Google entities. He has a strong track record of managing complex security operations, including budgets, personnel, and projects. He is also an expert in stakeholder engagement, physical security, vendor management, travel security, incident response, risk management, crisis management, and event security.

Prior to his current role, Riccardo worked as a Security Consultant for, where he designed and implemented security policies and strategies for corporate clients in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and South America. He also took entrepreneurship in managing a commercial and recreational diving center in Djibouti.

Riccardo has a Master of Science in Counter Terrorism Studies. He is also a private sector chairman of the OSAC Overseas Security Advisory Council's Steering Committee in Dubai.

Sharang Gupta

Director, PwC Middle East

Sharang Gupta is a director with PwC Middle East and for more than 14 years he has been advising clients in the technology and public safety space. He has worked successfully with over 20 global public safety agencies and has designed several marquee command centers across sectors. 

Rajat Chowdhary

Partner - Public Safety (Technology Consulting), PwC Middle East

Rajat Chowdhary, a partner with PwC in the Middle East. He has 15+ years of experience in advising clients in technology and Public Safety domain.

He is also a co-inventor on several patents filed by PwC in the space of Command-and-control center application and operations.

Suzan Ahmad Al Ghanem

Section Head - Organizational Resilience and Business, Environment Agency Abu Dhabi

Suzan has been involved in the BCM implementation since 2015 and holds a Bachelor of Science in Ecological and Environmental Biology [UAE University] and Master of Science in Organizational Excellence [HBMSU]) and has more than 15 years of experience & certifications in various fields including: Business Continuity, Emergency Management, Crisis Management, Environment Health & Safety, Food Safety and Audit. She has participated in providing solutions in these specialized fields for both government agencies and the private sectors. She has also published a number of scientific articles internationally; contributed to the development and implementation of BC programs, disaster recovery strategies, risk assessment, BIAs; selected appropriate post-disruption continuity strategies; and developed plans, guidelines and standard operating procedures. Suzan also participates in several committees and works in teams at institutional, local (UAE), and international levels. She is an active speaker in the Business Continuity community on a local and international level.

Syed Ali

Head of Technology Risk (Cyber GRC, Responsible AI) | Tonomous

Syed brings with him over 23 plus years of Cybersecurity, Risk Management and Audit experience, working with leading UK Banks and Telco Operators in the GCC. Syed has led the GRC and Assurance Cybersecurity Teams, at large Telecom Operators and was previously the Senior Cybersecurity Advisor to the CISO of stc group, including Board Advisor/Observer over cybersecurity subsidiaries. Syed currently heads the Technology Risk function at Tonomus NEOM leading Cybersecurity, Data Privacy and Responsible AI. At Tonomus, NEOM, Syed is laying the foundation for a Truly Cognitive Cyber, GRC and Assurance Function, critical for a Cognitive city of the Future, as well as building the first Responsible AI function in that region.

Shreeram Marathe

Lead – Security Automation (O&M) - Group Security, Adani Enterprises Ltd

Lt Cdr Shreeram Marathe (Retd) is an ex- Indian Navy Officer from Naval Aviation Technical Arm. Presently, he is working with Adani Enterprises in Group Security Services as Lead – Security Automation and Technology to lead centrally driven projects and solution implementation for Adani Group.

In his 21.5 years of exciting professional journey, he had worked with Cairn Oil & Gas (A Vedanta Group Company), Wipro Ltd and Indian Navy to lead various projects ranging from military grade avionics upgrades to IT Infrastructure Management for one of the largest banks in Asia and Security Automation Projects for large conglomerates.

He is passionate for process automation and tech-innovations. In his free time, he likes to read history, watch documentaries, explore new places and hone his culinary skills. He is associated with social causes like green initiatives, tree plantation and physical fitness through Yog for masses.

Dr. Shamma Hamdoon Al Naqbi

Associate Dean (Assistant Professor) - Dean of Faculty Office | Rabdan Academy, UAE

Currently, Shamma serves as the Associate Dean at Rabdan Academy. Her professional journey commenced at the Higher College of Technology, where she assumed the role of English Faculty Lead. In this capacity, she oversaw the design and implementation of specialized programs aimed at educating and training young Emirati educators for kindergarten and primary level instruction. Over a span of five years, She progressed to the position of Foundation Program Chair, showcasing hercommitment to educational leadership.

Her career trajectory has been marked by a strategic transition to Rabdan Academy. She held significant roles as the Chair of the Foundation and General Education Programs, shaping a critical phase of her professional growth. Subsequently, she was appointed as the Student Affairs Director, a role in which she orchestrated a thorough restructuring and proficiently executed annual work plans for the Student Affairs Department.

Her unwavering commitment to continuous professional development is underpinned by a robust academic foundation. She possesses a Master of Strategic Security Studies from the National Defense College, a Ph.D. in Education Management, Policy, and Leadership, a Master of TESOL from Melbourne University, and a Bachelor of Education from the Higher Colleges of Technology. Each academic achievement has significantly contributed to her expertise and dedication to the field of education and its broader societal implications.

Satia Rai

CEO | IPSA, UAE

Satia has enjoyed an extensive career in the security profession starting on the front line in the retail sector, over 27 years ago. She progressed to management and senior leadership roles, with experience in security services and risk management within the public and private sector at both operational and strategic levels. Satia has played a significant role at C-suite level in various key organisations and has an exceptional record of leading transformational change within the security sector.

As well as being a dedicated security professional, she is an outstanding spokesperson for equality, diversity and inclusivity in all of its forms.

In a voluntary capacity Satia is CEO of International Professional Security Association (IPSA) and Chair for the Security Industry EDI forum, a member of the International Security Expo Advisory Council, a member of the Security Skills board and she also participates in the Security Industry Authority (SIA) stakeholder forum.

Satia is also a winner of the Young Professional of the year Award for the Institute of Strategic Risk Management award (ISRM), Winner of the Chairmans award at the British Security Awards 2023, and a finalist in 2022 for the Women in Security Awards (WiS) and Outstanding Security Performance Awards (OSPAs) 2023.

Staffan Jansson

Head of Crisis Management & Security APAC, Middle East and Africa | Hitachi Energy

Over 25 years’ experience in Operational Risk Management and Global Corporate Security.

15 years with Organization Resilience responsibility in Emergency Response, Crisis Management and Business Continuity in ABB and since 2020 Hitachi Energy.

My scope of work covers the globe and in the recent 12 years my primary focus has been mostly APAC, South Asia, Middle East, and Africa.

I have been delivering precautionary measures such as setting up security policies, creating various security programs, launching training and exercises, horizon scanning and conducting risk analyses; in addition, providing operational risk management and security support to business units and functions.

Tero Pesonen

Board Vice-Chair & Chair of the Critical Communications Broadband Group, The Critical Communications Association (TCCA)

With a career spanning 25 years in critical communications, Tero has been involved in various global management and leadership roles, facilitating strong customer relations, strategic business orientation and wide-ranging solution development. He has been involved with professional mobile radio communications since 1997, promoting and organising TETRA interoperability activities and developing a deep understanding of public safety application models.

Most recently, Tero has been involved in ground-breaking work related to new opportunities in mission critical broadband. He works closely with major public safety and critical infrastructure operators and users, creating advanced solutions to meet mission critical requirements. Since September 2014 he has been Chair of TCCA’s Critical Communications Broadband Group (CCBG), bringing different stakeholders together to create a common critical broadband future. He is also the Vice Chair of TCCA’s Board, representing the Finnish governmental public safety operator VIRVE. Tero holds Master of Science degrees in electrical engineering and economics.

Viktor Polic

CISO | ILO

Dr. Viktor Polic has 30 years of cross-functional professional experience in information management and governance, with particular focus on information security, risk management and assurance for large multilateral public sector organizations with global presence in technology, financial, humanitarian, and development sectors. Actively contributing to inter-organizational working groups for establishing policies, standards, and guidelines in the area of information security, personal data protection, awareness programs, risk analysis and metrics. Conducting research in cryptography, data protection regulation, information assurance, and risk management. Viktor has been teaching for 20 years undergraduate and graduate courses in computer science, telecommunications management, Business decision support systems, and cybersecurity courses as an adjunct faculty at Webster University Geneva, a certified National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD). He is also a member of the Scientific Committee for Advanced Studies in Information Security at the Department of Management Studies of the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences at the University of Geneva.

Ahmed El Raghy

Senior Advisor - Regional Office, International Telecommunications Union (ITU) for the Arab States

Ahmed ElRaghy is the Senior Advisor in the ITU Regional Office for the Arab States starting June 2021. He is responsible for managing the full life cycle of assigned regional initiatives and the operational plan in the Arab Region with the aim to strengthen ITU's role and position within the UN Sustainable Development Group. Prior to that he held the position of the International Policy Executive Director at the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) of Egypt. He was responsible for carrying out strategic and action plans for the development of international strategy, policies, and regulations that would support national telecommunication/ICT objectives, as well as increase foreign investment opportunities. He possesses over 19 years of experience in ICT regulation and policies in fields of services licensing, broadband development, integrated future technologies, innovation, and entrepreneurship areas. He has a proven track record in planning, implementing, and following up on international/regional strategies. He was also the key responsible person on successful hosting of the ITU World Radio Conference - WRC19 - and ITU Global Symposium of Regulators - GSR16 . He holds an engineering degree in Communication and Electrical Engineering and Executive Master’s degree in Business Administration.

Abbas Sabuwala

IT Security & Operations Manager (CISO), Prominent Freezone in Dubai, UAE

Abbas Sabuwala is a distinguished CISO and a Chartered IT professional, renowned for his adeptness in assisting organizations in fortifying their digital landscape and safeguarding valuable information assets. His proficiency lies in the establishment and maintenance of a robust governance framework across technology, people, and processes, while simultaneously fostering a culture of heightened security awareness. With a comprehensive background in various IT domains, Abbas has undertaken leadership roles in several high-value IT strategic initiatives, encompassing Business applications, Information Security, Cloud Infrastructure, and Telecommunications, within prominent multinational corporations, financial institutions, and government verticals.

Abbas has adeptly overseen numerous pivotal projects in the realm of Mergers and acquisitions, ERP implementations, Integrated risk management, Business resiliency, Crisis management, and Digital transformation. 

Abdullah Al Barwani

CEO, Foresight Quotient

Abdullah has more than 22+ years’ experience in information technology and security management. Abdullah has established cybersecurity programs in 3 different sectors throughout his career taking a risk-based approach specific to those sectors to acquire and develop the right talent, establish the frameworks and processes, and build organizational structures.

Abdullah started his career in the Ministry of Defense of Oman in the year 2000 as a system administrator before he was given the task to establish the cybersecurity program 3 years later focusing in managing security risks in the entire Ministry. In 2006 Abdullah has moved to the Government Sector as part of the E-Government program where Abdullah established the first cybersecurity division in 2008 where he developed 7 critical managed services run by more than 26 nationals providing services to over 400 government entities.    

Since mid-2017, Abdullah started a new career journey by joining the national telecom operator of Oman (Omantel) as a GM for the corporate security division with a responsibility to establish SOC services covering both IT and Telecom domain as well as other Managed Security services including security advisory. Key projects included the implementation of a signaling firewall, LTE Gateway, Network compliance and Advanced Persistent threats protection. To govern the security program, Abdullah has contributed to the certification of the ISO 27001 and PCI. Other governance frameworks established was IoT and NFV frameworks based on GSMA frameworks.

Abdullah has an MBA from Bradford University in the UK and master in Strategic Studies in National defense and Security from Sultan Qaboos university in addition to cybersecurity certifications such as MCSE, CISM and SABSA. Abdullah is a member of many steering committees in Oman, and he is also a member of the advisory panel of the security and fraud group of the GSMA.

Dr. Ahmed Ali Abdel-Hafez

VP for Cyber Security Affairs | National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (NTRA), Egypt

Dr. Ahmed has B.Sc. and M.Sc., in Electrical Engineering from Military Technical College (MTC) in 1990, 1997 respectively, he has a Ph.D. from the University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada in 2003.

Dr. Ahmed has more than 32 years’ experience in the field of Telecommunication Systems, he is Certified as a Consultant in Information Security Systems Since 2013 (Engineering Syndicate of Egypt) and was responsible for establishing and developing Cryptography Research Center (CRC) (Egyptian MOD) including the management, supervision, and capacity building of center staff, and became a Head of the Center for 8 years whereby led the design, development of a National Encryption Algorithm, and production of different cryptosystems for the defense and governmental sectors.

DR. Ahmed worked as Visiting Lecturer/Professor in numerous top universities in Egypt, where he has Academic Supervision of PhD and MSc students in top universities in Egypt (30+ researcher) and has 70+ international publications in peer reviewed scientific journals and in academic conferences

Dr. Ahmed chairs the Executive Bureau of The Egyptian Supreme Cybersecurity Council as well as a prime member of the Egyptian Supreme Cybersecurity Council

Dr. Ahmed has awarded with the Second-Class Order of the Republic by the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, (in 2020) for his significant and distinguished contributions.

Ahmed Abdallah

Dubai Chapter Leader | OWASP, UAE

He has an experience over than 15 years in designing, implementing and security systems and digital solutions. Ahmed has been supporting various governmental, public and private held entities achieving their goals by securely utilizing digital solutions.

Ahmed is OWASP Dubai Chapter Leader with major focus on Web and Mobile Application Security, Secure Coding, Cloud and Blockchain Security. He is also IBM certified Artificial Intelligence Analyst.
As an International trainer he has successfully delivered 8000+ training hours to hundreds of satisfied professionals across Africa, Asia, Europe and Australia.

Abdulaziz Aljurais

Head of Information Security. Industrial Security | Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia

Abdulaziz Aljurais is cybersecurity expert with over 10 years of practical experience safeguarding critical assets for the Saudi Arabian Energy giant, Aramco. As the Head of Information Security, within the Industrial Security department of Aramco. His extensive expertise bridges the Information and Physical Security domains, enabling a holistic view of challenges across the security landscape.

Abdulaziz has demonstrated his technical expertise hands on in Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance (GRC), Data Management Protection, Identity and Access Management, Security Incident Handling, Cybersecurity resilience and Business Continuity, to enhance the security posture of the Industrial Security Department.

Abdulaziz is recognized for his transformative leadership and management skills, which has transformed organizations and which have been recognized at a corporate level. He has received a corporate awards in Operational Excellence by the president of Aramco.

Abdulaziz's mission is ensuring the safety, security, and continuity of operations for his organization to deliver on a global scale. His commitment is deeply rooted in a passion and respect of the ever-evolving cybersecurity landscape.

Anoop Kumar

Information Security Manager l Al Nisr Publishing

Anoop brought in his information security Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) Management experience to help GN Media to ensure Project Management and Operational Risk Management, cost reduction and improve People, Process and Technology performances. Over 20 years Information Technology (IT) GRC management experience enabling business-based decisions regarding Project Management, Defining Information Security Governance Risk and Compliance Strategies including Cyber Security Framework, curbing technology vulnerabilities & risk through effective risk & vulnerability management programs, vendor management & organizational leadership.

Ahmed Abdel Hamid

Security and Compliance Regional Leader, META (Worldwide Public Sector)| Amazon, UAE

Ahmed leads Security and Ccompliance for for Public Sector Middle East and Africa (MEA) in AWS. Based at AWS’s regional headquarters in Dubai. With 20+ years of Security and Compliance experience, Ahmed advises senior leaders across MEA governments and key regulatory bodies around security strategy as well as implementation of robust and future-looking security and compliance postures in the cloud. Prior to joining AWS, Ahmed worked in senior security roles at Cisco and IBM. He holds a bachelor's degree in engineering and communications in addition to an MBA with specialization in operations management.”

Alexandra Topalian

MC, Moderator & Presenter 

Alexandra Topalian is a renowned Canadian master of ceremonies, captivating audiences at conferences with a blend of wit and expertise. With over 25 years of vast experience in North America, Southeast Asia, Africa and now the MENA region in a variety of industries, she  effectively moderated panels, facilitates discussions and sets the stage for transformative dialogues in diverse sectors. Her vast experience has laid a solid foundation for public speaking, as she infuses every event with energy and purpose.

Bharat Raigangar

Board Advisor, 1CxO, CyberSecurist & Mentor

Bharat has over 25+ Years of leadership experience in field of Corporate Service, CyberResilience Risk, Compliance, Audit and Assurance including Strategic Advisory, Mentorship

Bharat, in the last  25+ years have  Roles performed include, CEO, GEO Business Head, CISO, Head of Corporate Service, Head of Info Sec & Fraud Management, Business Partner, Manager, Program, President of Professional Association for organization  ranging from HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, NBF, ABN Amro, IBM, WIPRO among others.

He is currently a Board Advisors for couple of startups into Risk & Compliance Management and to SI’s in framing their Cyber Services besides being a1CxO to end-customer.

He is active in the board of non-for-profit professional association like the ISACA, EliteCISO, ACFE among others.

Craig Jones

Cybercrime Director, INTERPOL 

With more than three decades in law enforcement, Craig Jones leads the INTERPOL Global Cybercrime Programme. The Programme aims to reduce the harm caused by cybercrime impact worldwide through threat response, operations, and global law enforcement capacity building. To do so, INTERPOL strongly promotes Public-Private Partnerships for robust cybercrime intelligence and offers regional support through collaboration with Cybercrime Unit Heads globally.

In addition to managing many significant international projects, Mr. Jones holds various advisory roles in prominent organizations including the World Economic Forum’s Centre for Cybersecurity.

Prior to joining INTERPOL, Mr. Jones held key roles in the UK law enforcement, coordinating responses to the National Cyber Security Programme. Known as a strategic thinker, he foresees the impact of broad developments affecting the global cybercrime threat landscape, with the ultimate goal of building communities to protect communities through partnerships.

Daniel Norman

Regional Director - EMEA, Informational Security Forum

Daniel Norman is the Regional Director for the ISF across EMEA. His expertise lies in cyber resilience, supplier security, risk management and changing security behaviours. He has worked on a variety of research projects at the ISF exploring future threat forecasting, cyber exercises and social engineering. He has experience at Goldman Sachs, PwC and is a frequent contributor to Security Middle East Magazine.

Eman Al Awadhi

Vice President – Network & Cyber Security | Expo City Dubai, UAE 

Eman is currently serving as the Vice President of Network and Cyber Security at Expo City Dubai, an Expo 2020 Dubai legacy which is focused on creating sustainable and innovative technology for smart city. She leads five essential verticals: Network Infrastructure, Cyber Security, Physical Security Technology, Integrated Operations, and Technology Acceleration.

 Where Eman stands out is her ability to combine business acumen with tech expertise. It's more than just showcasing advanced tech; it's about ensuring these innovations have a meaningful impact on our daily lives. With commercialization and sustainability at the forefront of her considerations.

Eman was previously Vice President of Cyber Security and Resilience at Expo 2020 Dubai, she was responsible for defining and implementing the most advanced cyber-security strategy ever seen at a World Expo. In today’s digital era, Eman had the significant task of ensuring the security of Expo 2020 technology infrastructure and data, as well as the privacy of visitor, participant and volunteer data.

Faheem Siddiq

Director - Information Security, Majid Al Futtaim

Faheem Siddiq is a continuous learner in the art (and sciences) of managing cyber risks in digital transformations. Having experience in securing industry processes of energy, banking, and retail sectors, he has co-authored CIS Critical Security Cloud Controls (CIS CSC) and is a contributor to upcoming NIST DevSecOps standards. A thought leader in his field of expertise, Faheem covers topics of cyber security innovation, its regulatory compliance across GCC nations and forming new-age, integrated digital risk management framework that encompasses domains of artificial intelligence, cyber defense, data privacy and business continuity.

When not learning new concepts, he tends to mentor national workforce and younger talent into this exciting domain of defining and executing ‘fit for purpose, risk based’, cyber security strategies.

Fadhel Al Marri

Security Systems Officer, Dubai Electronic Security Center

A dedicated cybersecurity analyst with five years of experience, specializes in network security and threat intelligence. Holding a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, excels in monitoring and fortifying network systems against cyber threats. key strengths include developing advanced security protocols and implementing proactive measures to preemptively identify and neutralize potential risks.

Dr Gaurav Singh

Head Technology, Innovation and Automation, Adani Group Security

Dr Gaurav Singh, Head Technology, Innovation and Automation - Adani Group Security, earned his PhD in ‘Supply Chain Optimisation & Risk Management’ from IIT Delhi and won ‘Gold medal’ and the prestigious “Padmashri MM Suri” award during his M. Tech from IIT Delhi. 

As General Manager of Army Base Workshop, he drove the “Atmanirbhar Bharat” campaign resulting in indigenization of 350+ high-tech and low-tech assemblies, resulting in optimizing, costs and lead times of Manufacturing.

Currently, Other than 250+ Projects globally, he is driving Digital Transformation and centralized integration of various applications and services, to enable cross functional consumption of data for effective analysis, and better and faster business Multi-Criteria Decision Making.

Dr Gaurav Singh has delivered keynotes in numerous Government, Industry, Technical and Academic Seminars and conferences. He is a peer reviewer for several International Journals. He is the ‘ASIS’ State chapter co-chair.

Dr. Hoda A. Alkhzaimi

Co-Chair for Global Future Council for Cyber Security | World Economic Forum, UAE

Hoda Alkhzaimi, a visionary leader with over 17 years of experience in industrialization, economic development, and greenfield projects, has made a significant impact on the global technology landscape. With a focus on disruptive and emerging tech investments, she has helped shape the future of science and technology development for both local and international markets. In this article, we delve into Hoda Alkhzaimi's illustrious career, highlighting her achievements in various domains and her commitment to fostering innovation and sustainable development.

Ivan Monforte Fugarolas

Head of Communication & Cybersecurity Ecosystem Promotion, Cyber Security Agency of Catalonia 

Ivan oversees the Communication direction and the strategy to promote the cybersecurity ecosystem at the Cybersecurity Agency of Catalonia. In the last 8 years he has been dedicated professionally to the public administration sphere, initially in the field of communication and in recent times as responsible for planning, supervising and directing the teams of a political Cabinet as well as the coordination and collaboration with the technical teams that carry out the specific policies, both in the field of innovation, Technology and cybersecurity as areas of competence as well as the more specific areas of ordinary management (budgets, hiring, personnel management, planning, launching projects, etc.)

In the field of specific sectorial management, these last 8 years he has been focused on the management and supervision of the main digital transformation and digital innovation projects such as cybersecurity initiatives promoted from the public sphere in collaboration with private entities and companies, technology centers and the digital ecosystem from Catalonia, Spain but also European and international ones.

Linoy Kidd

GBM MENAT CIO | HSBC, UAE

Linoy Kidd has worked in 5 countries and has worked in HSBC for 15+ years: started in UK, then moved to HK, China, Mexico and currently resides in UAE as the MSS CIO of MENAT. She is known for her leading from the front mentality and growing teams in different locations.  She also builds schools on the side of her job.  So far she has built 7 schools in Africa, Haiti, Nicaragua and a house for the homeless in Mexico.

H.E. Dr. Mohamed Al Kuwaiti

Head of Cyber Security, UAE Government

Dr. Al Kuwaiti was appointed by the Cabinet as the Head of Cyber Security for the UAE Government since 2020. As the Head of Cyber Security, his mandate includes responsibilities as the Chairman of the UAE Cyber Security Council as well as Managing Director of the National Data Centre under the Supreme Council for National Security. As the Head of Cyber Security for the UAE Government by investiture, Dr. Al Kuwaiti has legal authority over all aspects pertaining to securing the cyberspace for the entire Nation.

In his current role, Dr. Al Kuwaiti is tasked with the responsibility of charting the cyber security strategy for the Nation that not only equips the UAE to enter the digital era with capabilities to deal with the new threat landscape exacerbated by the pandemic, but also ensures UAE’s leadership in cyber security globally; towards establishing the UAE as the world’s leading trusted digital hub and supporting the Nation’s digital transformation agenda and the digital future of all residents who made UAE their home.

Towards that end, he leads the Council to outline an implementation plan to protect the UAE cyberspace through emerging technologies such as Cloud, Big Data and AI in a whole-of-government approach coordinating and orchestrating efforts between Emirates and government entities via a unified platform built and managed by the Council.

Under Dr. Al Kuwaiti’s leadership, the UAE has advanced 42 positions in the ITU Global Cybersecurity Index, rising to the 5th place globally from 47th in the previous assessment. Dr. Al Kuwaiti has also led UAE to many firsts, including Guinness World Records for having the most users in a cyber capture the flag (CTF) competition, the largest bug bounty competition and the largest cyber drill; all initiatives that aim at capacity building in cyber security and improving the technical competencies of cyber security professionals and enthusiasts. More importantly, he has been instrumental in advocating for realizing the value of cyber security by demonstrating cyber security as a critical business enabler. Since 2021, Dr. Al Kuwaiti plays the role of an ambassador for collaboration between the government and cyber agencies, helping to bridge the discussion between the two major stakeholders in the digital economy.

Under his chaperone, key public-private partnerships were established between the UAE Cyber Security Council and leading local and international cyber security organizations with the goal of making a positive contribution to the UAE cyber agenda and be a major force that will benefit the global cyber security industry. Additionally, bilateral agreements established with countries both within the region and across the world contributed towards mutual information sharing, capacity development and legal assistance aid treaties, all key outcomes as a result of the National Cyber Security Strategy that he has put in place to realize the vision of the UAE for the next 50 years.

Underscoring the UAE’s leadership in cyber security on a global stage under Dr. Kuwaiti’s tutelage, UAE plays a pivotal role in the Arab Regional Cybersecurity Centre with UAE being elected as the Vice Chair of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Computer Emergency Response Team to respond to cyber emergencies during the 10th Regional Cybersecurity Week for Arab Countries and OIC Member States in 2022. UAE also co-chairs the Information Sharing Committee in the White House Counter Ransomware Initiative, a coalition of 37 international partners. His contributions to accelerate the cyber security maturity of the Nation and fostering a vibrant cyber security ecosystem in the UAE have been recognized in multiple forums, including the (ISC)² Government Professional Award for EMEA. Dr. Al Kuwaiti also sits on the Boards of the UAE Council for Digital Wellbeing, Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), Federal Geographic Information Center and is on the Advisory Committees of the College of Information Technology under United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) and Emirates ICT Innovation Center (EBTIC) under Khalifa University. Additionally, he is an Adjunct Professor under the Homeland Security Program at Rabdan Academy and a visiting lecturer on Cyber Security at universities such as Khalifa University and National Defense College in Abu Dhabi.

Prior to his current appointments, Dr. Al Kuwaiti was with the National Electronic Security Authority in various appointments and capacity since 2013 where he was most recently the Executive Director of Government Operations managing National and International government relations. He had served as the Chief Technical Analyst at the Ministry of Interior where he had held other positions, such as Operations Director and CTO of the Counter Terrorism Center. Dr. Al Kuwaiti started his 20 year-long career as a Defense, Air, and Naval Military Attaché with the Embassy of The United Arab Emirates based in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Al Kuwaiti has published numerous papers and keynoted at many conferences such as IEEE, RSA, Cyber Warfare Europe, Tele Strategies, ISS World MEA, IDEX, International Anti-Cyber Crimes Conference and Future War Summit. He is a highly sought after speaker internationally and has provided the main keynote address for more than 50 international, regional, and national cybersecurity events such as GITEX, GISEC and the World Government Summit, and has presented the UAE Cyber Security Framework at INTERPOL Global Cyberspace and Cybercrime Complex located in Singapore.

Dr. Al Kuwaiti holds a Doctorate in Computer Engineering and Network Security from George Washington University in the U.S. and a master’s degree in Telecommunications and Computer Networks. He also holds a M.A. degree in International and Civil Security. Dr. Al Kuwaiti is an honorable member of the Society of Engineers, IEEE Society, Golden Key National Honor Society and Computer Society. His research interests are detecting, monitoring and responding to cyber warfare, network forensics, corporate governance & processes, and national cyber policy.

Mukhtar Mansour

Services Director – Smart Buildings & Smart Cities| MEEZA, Qatar 

Mukhtar Mansour has 22 years of rich experience in design & implementation of ICT (Information and Communication Technology), IOT (Internet of Things) and ELV (Extra Low Voltage) systems for datacenters, electronic & physical security in wide varieties of projects including Smart Buildings,  Smart Cities, hospitals, military camps, shopping complexes, luxurious hotels, resorts, museums, educational institutions, marine communications, harbors, research laboratories, and complex high rise buildings.

Mahmoud Khalifa Zian

Cybersecurity Researcher| Prince Sultan University

Mahmoud is a cybersecurity researcher at Prince Sultan University in the Security Engineering Lab, specializing in malware analysis and detection using AI technologies. With a degree in Computer Science from Future University in Egypt, affiliated with Cincinnati University. His work primarily focuses on leveraging AI to enhance malware detection and analysis techniques. He isdeeply passionate about the intersection of AI and cybersecurity, especially in understanding and combatting malware threats. His ongoing research and projects reflect a commitment to advancing the field of cybersecurity through innovative AI applications.

Mohammed Basleem

Senior Information Security Analyst | Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia

Mohammed Basleem is a Senior Information Security Analyst at Aramco with 10 years of experience helping security operations with cybersecurity risks. Specializing in risk management & Implementation of international cybersecurity standers and frameworks, Mohammed uses that experience to Maintain cybersecurity status of security operations, ensuring all risks are minimized and monitored.

Mohammed has capitalized on his Computer Science degree from King Faisal university and professional information security certifications (such as CRISC, GSEC and ISO 27001 lead Auditor) to combat the latest technological risks on industrial security.

Over the years, his contribution at Security Operations Department has garnered recognition through different operational excellence programs in data protection section and being recognized by Aramco Chief Information Security Officer for being within the tops of president cybersecurity excellence award. Mohammed may spend his days at his office in Dhahran, but it’s the managing cybersecurity risks over security operations that gets them up in the morning.

Mohamed Ibrahim

 Dubai Chapter Leader | OWASP, UAE

His leadership and software engineering Skills and helped himto reach a position of 
technical Senior project manager, and Service Delivery Manager in his career path.
As an experienced technical trainer, he successfully delivered training programs in 
UAE, KSA, Kuwait and Egypt with more than 5000 training Hours in different software
fields such as Dev Ops, Agile Scrum, Cloud Computing, Web-Development, Linux 
Administration, and IBM Digital Business automation.

Mahmoud Hussien

 Dubai Chapter Leader | OWASP, UAE

A cyber security consultant with experience in designing and building complex cyber security solutions for IT and OT systems. My responsibilities include preparing high level and low level designs, implementing, testing and commissioning various cybersecurity solutions like intrusion detection systems, anti-malware, application monitoring and centralised logging systems.

Motilal Chaturvedi

Vice President & Head - HSE & Security, First Abu Dhabi Bank, UAE 

Mr Motilal is recognized as one of the global thought leaders and subject matter experts in HSE and Security domain. He leverages the latest technology to create innovative solutions for overcoming the accelerating challenges of safety and security risk, especially in the financial sector. Over his 23 years of successful career, Motilal has successfully progressed up to the ranks in leading roles from executive manager to CSO/Head of HSES. Currently, as a vice president of one of the leading financial institutions of ME, Motilal is responsible for establishing HSE & Security Risk, Governance and Compliance Framework globally, including setting in place a cohesive strategy to mitigate or reduce these risks. He is a recognized member of some of the leading standard setting institutions of international repute and holds some of the sought-after qualifications & designations such as lead auditors for management systems such as ISO 45001, 14001, 22301, 50001, CRisP , MSyl.

Narendra Mainali

Chief Digital Strategy Officer | NIC ASIA Bank 

He has been working in the field of Information Technology/Cyber Security and Digital Transformation for last 17 plus years in Banking and Financial Industry. Currently he is working as a Chief Digital Strategy Officer(CDSO) of NIC ASIA Bank. Before that he had led various other segments in the capacity of Chief Information Security Officer(CISO),Chief Cyber and Digital Innovation Officer(CCDIO) and MIS head.

In his current role he have successfully led cross-functional teams, implemented innovative technologies, and improved operational efficiency through business process re-engineering. These experiences have equipped him with a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities within the technology platform and cyber Security need as they continue our Digital Transformation Journey. His core interest is to converge Information Technology and Cyber Security as an essential component of Digital Transformation rather than seeing it as a competitive segment.

Prabhat Kumar Pathak

IT Director - Cyber Security & Technology,  Sports Retail, UAE

20 years of  experience in Digital transformation,Technology and Security gap assessment and maturity plan, Risk and Compliance management, ERP and Application security expert, Privacy and security advisory

Patrick Kane

Senior Director of Security | Atlas Air, USA

Patrick Kane is Senior Director Security for Atlas Air, a US airline conducting cargo and public/private passenger operations worldwide.  Patrick is heavily focused on developing and implementing mitigation measures to support highly mobile global workforce and multiple travelers, to include pre-travel risk assessments, coordinating secure transportation and journey management, assessing hotel and transportation options.

Patrick currently serves as the Chair of the ASIS International Santa Barbara Ventura Chapter #21 and is the President of the Corporate Executive Protection Leadership Council (CEPLC).  He recently spearheaded the creation of a Travel Risk Working Group within ASIS International. Patrick is also the past Chair and Chair Emeritus of the OSAC Aviation Security Working Group.  He has over 20 years of experience working in private sector corporate security; most of that time focused on international operations and has personal experience on the ground in more than 70 countries.

Since 1996 Patrick has been a Certified Protection Professional (CPP) in good standing under the auspices of ASIS International.  He received an International Executive MBA from Instituto de Empresa in Madrid, Spain in 2004.  .  Prior to entering the private sector, Patrick served as an infantry officer in the US Marine Corps. 

Rajarshi Dhar

Director, MEASA Head for Security, Growth Advisory | Frost & Sullivan, India

10+ years of experience in research and consulting with a diverse client base and expertise in:

• Growth consulting
• Market expansion
• Market entry strategy
• Portfolio/LoB expansion
• GTM
• Sales enablement
• Market intelligence

Rajashi has a detailed understanding of the security space – cybersecurity, OT security and physical security market. He previously worked with cybersecurity OEMs/telcos/MSSPs, building management system providers, and video surveillance product and service companies on specific client requirements. He lead consultant for security projects for Frost & Sullivan in India and Middle East, adept to drive research & consulting engagements for security and ICT customers. 

Prior to Frost & Sullivan, Rajarshi has experience in Market Research & Consulting activities for Fortune Companies and Startups with ResearchFox Consulting, front-lining with US based customers in providing technical support for their Internet services at Wipro.

Dr. Srijith Nair

CISO | Careem, UAE

As Careem's CISO, Srijith leads the team that keeps Careem secure and ensures trust between Careem's Customers, Captains, Colleagues, merchants and partners.

Srijith is an accomplished cyber and information security leader whose career has spanned industry verticals (tech, telecom, security, ecommerce), geographies (Middle East, Europe, USA), and sizes (startups, scale-ups, MNCs). He has previously led the security product management at Booking.com. He also worked as the Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Product Officer of Axiomatics, and Principal Security Researcher at British Telecom.

Srijith holds several international patents, contributes to security industry standards and authored various widely-cited journal articles and conference papers. He serves on the External Advisory Board of the Institute of Cyber Security for Society (iCSS), University of Kent, and on the Technology Advisory Board of UCON Project, a joint project between Huawei GmbH and Fortiss GmbH.

Srijith holds a PhD in Computer Science from Vrije Universiteit, the Netherlands. He has held memberships in IEEE and ACM.

Syed Ali

Head of Technology Risk (Cyber GRC, Responsible AI) | Tonomous

Syed brings with him over 23 plus years of Cybersecurity, Risk Management and Audit experience, working with leading UK Banks and Telco Operators in the GCC. Syed has led the GRC and Assurance Cybersecurity Teams, at large Telecom Operators and was previously the Senior Cybersecurity Advisor to the CISO of stc group, including Board Advisor/Observer over cybersecurity subsidiaries. Syed currently heads the Technology Risk function at Tonomus NEOM leading Cybersecurity, Data Privacy and Responsible AI. At Tonomus, NEOM, Syed is laying the foundation for a Truly Cognitive Cyber, GRC and Assurance Function, critical for a Cognitive city of the Future, as well as building the first Responsible AI function in that region.

Shafiullah Ismail

Vice President - Cyber Security and Risk | Mubadala Capital, UAE

Shafiullah is passionate about transforming security as a business enabler through a number of digitization initiatives. During his 16+ years in the cyber security industry, Shafiullah has worked with many technologies in different positions from technical to management. He was a driving force in some of the key cyber security strategies and has managed a portfolio of mission critical cyber security projects and initiatives. He is a member of several security professional organizations including ISACA, CSA, ISC2 and other security industry forums. He holds a Computer Science & Engineering degree and industry recognized CISSP, CISA, CISM, CGEIT, TOGAF9, CCSK certifications.

Shafiullah has won several awards, including being named as one of the top security champions at The Cyber Sentinels CISO Awards at the GEC Security Symposium 2021. He was recognised as one of the leaders who is using technology to secure critical business information assets and minimise risk while delivering business value. He was also named as a Top 10 CISO of the Year at the IDC Middle East Excellence Awards 2022.

Siham Benhamidouche

Digital Risk Leader l Schneider Electric 

Siham Benhamidouche has been working for more than 15 years in IT and Cybersecurity.

She started her career in Security at Areva T&D as Network Supervisor and then she became Telecommunication, Security and Messaging Manager to deliver all the security solutions (peripheric and end points) for a secure and performant network to more than 200 sites over the world.

In 2012, she moved to Schneider Electric where she has taken over the role of Web Infrastructure Director, maintaining and leveraging Amazon cloud or hybrid model to deliver relevant and secure infrastructures to critical applications.

Since 2017, Siham is working as Digital Risk Leader, protecting all Schneider Electric’s public facing footprint to secure interactions with Partners, distributors and Customers, and ensuring compliance with regulations as well as providing web security guidelines, standards and driving Cybersecurity awareness within the Global marketing practice. In 2019, she has also taken the role of Cybersecurity Officer for Middle East and Africa, where she is responsible for leading and implementing the Cybersecurity strategy across the zone, contributing to improve Schneider Electric’s cybersecurity maturity and posture.

Shahmeer Amir

3rd Ranked Bug Bounty Hunter & Top 10 Hacker MS/FB

Shahmeer Amir is a world-renowned Ethical Hacker and the 3rd most accomplished bug hunter who has helped over 400 Fortune companies, including Facebook, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Twitter, resolve critical security issues in their systems. He has founded multiple entrepreneurial ventures in the field of Cyber Security, and currently leads three startups in four countries.
As the CEO of Younite, Shahmeer's premier company is working on next-generation audio-video communication technologies. He is also the CEO of Veiliux, Asia's first mainstream Cyber Security startup present in the Asia Pacific, UAE, and the UK. Authiun, another startup, is a complete passwordless authentication solution for the 21st century.
Shahmeer is the Cyber Security Advisor to the Ministry of Finance Government of Pakistan, involved in multiple projects regarding Deep Sea Tracking, Digital Transformation of Legislation, and Digitization of Pakistani Cultural Content. He is also a member of Forbes Technology Council.
As an Engineer and a Cyber Security professional with relevant certifications from renowned organizations like EC-Council, Mile2, SANS, etc., Shahmeer is currently looking at the Blockchain technology for his doctorate. He has authored three books, including Bug Bounty Hunting Essentials, and a dozen research papers.
Shahmeer is a highly sought-after keynote speaker on Cyber Security, Blockchain, and other technologies, having been invited to over 80 conferences globally. including Blackhat, GiSec, FIC, AEC Alberta, Hackfest and many more. He has also been accepted at multiple prestigious academic institutions in their entrepreneurship programs, including Stanford. As a CTO of companies, Shahmeer has learned to code in 25 languages and read code in 35, making him an expert in multiple technologies.

Shaikh Ikram

Team Lead - Plant Network & System Security Group, Saudi Aramco

Shaikh Ikram is a recognized subject matter expert in the field of cyber security with more than 15 years of experience working on different roles. Shaikh has extensive experience building and leading intelligence practices in both the public and private sectors in four continents. Currently, leading a team for Plant Network & System Security group within Saudi Aramco in KSA. Shaikh holds an Engineering degree in Computer systems along with Masters in Information & Communication Systems Security from Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden. He is a key member of several cyber security communities across the globe. Shaikh has provided technical expertise and guidance for both commercial sector customers, as well as O&G clients.

Tabish Asifi

Group IT Governance Lead (Digital Transformation) | Majid Al Futtaim 

Tabish Asifi, with over two decades of experience in the GCC region, is a recognized expert in IT Transformation, Strategy, and Governance.

His career path has led him to work in renowned consultancies such as Deloitte and Grant Thornton, and he has held technology leadership positions in major GCC conglomerates like Majid Al Futtaim (UAE) and Al Gosaibi group (KSA).

Throughout his career, he has managed an impressive portfolio of technology-driven business transformation projects, crossing over USD 500 million.

As an influential member of the UAE's CIO Majlis, a respected group of UAE IT leaders, Tabish contributes his expertise to shaping regional IT perspectives. His contributions earned him the "IT Transformation Leadership" award in 2018 and he has been featured many times in regional publications such as CIO One, CXO DX etc.

Continuing with his passion in this field, he is currently pursuing a Doctorate from ESC Clermont (France), focusing his research on the complexities of driving successful digital transformation in large organizations.

His professional mission is to help organizations successfully navigate their digital transformation journey, built on the strong foundations of Innovation, Collaboration, and Execution competencies.

Tomàs Roy Català

Director | Cyber Security Agency of Catalonia, Spain

Senior Telecommunications Engineer at the UPC; senior engineer in Electronics at the Turin Polytechnic in Italy; degree in Educational Sciences at UNED; master's degree in Management in Public Administrations from ESADE; interuniversity master's degree in intelligence analyst from the UAB and postgraduate degree in Innovation and Design Thinking from MIT in the United States.

He has been certified in different areas of cybersecurity, auditing and management of ICT services and has attended courses related to his functions, such as IESE Effective Communication, among others.

Cybersecurity expert manager with more than 20 years of experience in the sector. Between 2002 and 2004 he was Director of Cybersecurity and Privacy at FIAT GM POWERTRAIN.

From 2004 to the present, he has developed different areas of management responsibility in cybersecurity in the Generalitat: 8 years in the Center for Telecommunications and Information Technologies; 2 years as executive director of the Information Security Center of Catalonia (CESICAT), 9 years as director of the Strategy area at the Cybersecurity Agency of Catalonia and until now as director of the Cybersecurity Innovation and Competence Center area of the Cybersecurity Agency.

He has participated as a professor in master's degrees, courses and talks related to innovation and cybersecurity.

Azam Soukar

Director Group HSE | Dubai Holding Real Estate, UAE

Azam Soukar is an internationally experienced senior Health, Safety & Environmental, quality and risk Professional with more than 27 years of experience delivering strategic and operational solutions in relation to the effective management of Health, Safety, Environmental and quality solutions cross a diverse range of markets and businesses. He applies his core capabilities in Organizing, planning, and implementing effective controls to create and sustain a positive HSE culture across the organizations. 

Abdullah Al-Ghamdi

Chairman | Society of Occupational Safety & Health & Compliance Lead | Aramco Project Management, Saudi Arabia

Over 30 years experience in Upstream, Downstream, Health Care and Project Management HSE feild

Lead of Excellence and Compliance group for Aramco-controlled government projects management and internal auditor/evaluator for operational excellence responsible for professional safety, the environment, and the well-being of the workplace.

Branco Dennenberg

HSE Director - Built Environment (EMEAA), Element Materials Technology

Branco has extensive HSE experience, having worked a significant portion of his career in senior positions within aviation, hospitality, facility management and TIC sector in the Netherlands and United Arab Emirates. In his current role, Branco is responsible for providing overall leadership for the development, implementation and execution of HSE and sustainability strategy for Element’s Built Environment Business unit in 12 countries across Europe, Middle East, Asia and Australia.

Since June 2022, Branco is the Chair of IIRSM UAE Branch Committee

Dee Arp

Chief Operating Officer| NEBOSH, UK

Eisa Malek, currently working as Senior Engineer Services with HSE (West Kuwait) Team of Kuwait Oil Company. He has started his career in K.O.C in Nov 1999. After completing Bachelor of Tug Master from the UK through a scholarship program in Kuwait Oil Tanker Co., he joined Export and Marine Group in KOC. Moving on to HSE Export & Operations Team in 2003 as Environment Engineer, he was deeply involved in handling Environmental aspects of Marine Operations  and Export Operations, providing technical guidance on the implementation of Kuwait Environmental Protection Agency (KEPA) regulations and was responsible for maintaining, enforcing and liaising with various Governmental and Non-Governmental Organizations/ agencies on HSE issues.

He was promoted as Senior Engineer Services (HSE) in 2011 and was subsequently instrumental in controlling the contractual and service provisions of various HSE Contracts including Road Monitoring Services – Mobile and Fixed/ Point to Point Speed Cameras within KOC field areas.

Eisa Malek

Senior Engineer Services – HSE | Kuwait Oil Company, Kuwait

Eisa Malek, currently working as Senior Engineer Services with HSE (West Kuwait) Team of Kuwait Oil Company. He has started his career in K.O.C in Nov 1999. After completing Bachelor of Tug Master from the UK through a scholarship program in Kuwait Oil Tanker Co., he joined Export and Marine Group in KOC. Moving on to HSE Export & Operations Team in 2003 as Environment Engineer, he was deeply involved in handling Environmental aspects of Marine Operations  and Export Operations, providing technical guidance on the implementation of Kuwait Environmental Protection Agency (KEPA) regulations and was responsible for maintaining, enforcing and liaising with various Governmental and Non-Governmental Organizations/ agencies on HSE issues.

He was promoted as Senior Engineer Services (HSE) in 2011 and was subsequently instrumental in controlling the contractual and service provisions of various HSE Contracts including Road Monitoring Services – Mobile and Fixed/ Point to Point Speed Cameras within KOC field areas.

Dr. Gaurav Singh

Head Technology & Automation – Group Security, Adani Enterprises Ltd.

Dr. Gaurav Singh, Head Technology, Innovation and Automation - Adani Group Security, earned his PhD in ‘Supply Chain Optimisation & Risk Management’ from IIT Delhi and won ‘Gold medal’ and the prestigious “Padmashri MM Suri” award during his M. Tech from IIT Delhi. 

As General Manager of Army Base Workshop, he drove the “Atmanirbhar Bharat” campaign resulting in indigenization of 350+ high-tech and low-tech assemblies, resulting in optimizing, costs and lead times of Manufacturing.

Currently, Other than 250+ Projects globally, he is driving Digital Transformation and centralized integration of various applications and services, to enable cross functional consumption of data for effective analysis, and better and faster business Multi-Criteria Decision Making.

Dr Gaurav Singh has delivered keynotes in numerous Government, Industry, Technical and Academic Seminars and conferences. He is a peer reviewer for several International Journals. He is the ‘ASIS’ State chapter co-chair.

He is in process of creating solutions for dovetailing Deep Learning and AI to propel Operational effectiveness and efficiency to include enhancing the ‘Le-Agility in GSOC Operations’. He is also modeling Plants and Infrastructure for deployment of Digital Twins at project and Operations and Maintenance stage.

His interests include Deploying Digital Twins in Infrastructure space, Digital Twins driven Simulation and Optimization, Risk Management through Modelling and Quantification, and Security Risk in Supply Chain Management.

Dr. Ghanim Kashwani

Senior Manager, Applied Research| Higher Colleges of Technology, UAE 

Ghanim Kashwani is a UAE National, Professor of Civil Engineering and Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers. 

Ghanim has held senior roles at the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and is highly recognised amongst the key institutions in the United Arab Emirates.

Professor Ghanim Kashwani gained his PhD in Civil Engineering from the Heriot-Watt University, Scotland in the United Kingdom.

He is a Fellow Chartered Civil Engineer (CEng-FICE) of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE)-UK.

Ghanim is a is also a Chartered Scientist (CSci), a Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv-MSSE) and a Chartered Manager (CMgr-MCMI). He was awarded Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Civil Engineering by the American University of Sharjah (AUS) and completed his MBA with the University of Wales Trinity Saint David-UK.

Professor Kashwani served as an elected board member in the Society of Engineers (SOE) in the UAE and Education Lead in British Chamber of Commerce Abu Dhabi (BCC AD).

Dr. Hadi Al Badi

HSE Director | Masdar, UAE

Dr. Hadi Al Badi is a seasoned executive in Risk, Assurance and Sustainability, specialises in Quality, Health, Safety, and Environment (QHSE) management.

As the Director of QHSE, ESG, ERM, and BCM, he excels in formulating strategies for organizational resilience and compliance with industry standards. His career in the Oil and Gas sector began at ADMA-OPCO, progressed to a Senior Environment Engineer at Dolphin Energy, and advanced through roles as a Process Safety Manager and HSE Director at TAQA.

Currently, Dr.Al Badi is contributing his extensive expertise to Masdar, focusing on sustainable energy solutions and environmental stewardship.

Dr. Al Badi holds a doctorate in business and administration, an executive MBA, and degrees in engineering management and chemical engineering.

A visionary leader, he is deeply committed to promoting safety, sustainability, and resilience within the industry.

Dr. Hani Hossni

CEO| ITALCO Aluminium

Hani is an engineer with a Doctorate degree in Business Administration (Triple Crown), along with a multitude of certifications reflecting his extensive experience in project management and the implementation of HSEQ & BCM standards across diverse sectors.

He was EHS and BCM Director at Abu Dhabi Waste Management Company-TADWEER from 2014 to 2023.

Hani is a NASP Certified Trainer, Certified Safety Training Specialist (STS) and Certified Safety Planning Specialist (SPS). He is a member of many local and international professional organisation’s, and has achieved Fellow status with the International Institute of Risk & Safety Management (IIRSM) and the UK “Health, Safety, Specialist Experts Board”.

Hani has been an active member of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group since 2010

Khalid Al Abdulqader

Head of HSSE | Saudi Tourism Authority  

Khalid has over 21 years of experience working in the fields of Health, Safety, Security, and Environmental Protection. In addition to Oil and Gas, he has also worked in the fields of Project Management, Manufacturing, and Engineering.

Khalid has extensive experience in establishing, implementing, and managing comprehensive HSSE programs and systems. A second area of his experience is direct/indirect participation in the development/execution of health, safety, and environmental directives and initiatives with governmental stakeholders’ organizations.

A graduate of King Faisal University with a business administration degree, Khalid also holds accredited HSE qualifications e.g., NEBOSH level 6 diploma.

Mohammad A. Naggaz

Director - HSSE New Business Development | GCC Lab, Saudi Arabia

He has a total of twenty-three years of experience in the field of Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE) in Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), Maaden Phosphate Company (MPC), SABIC and (SATORP).

Experience includes management, development, and implementation of HSSE Systems during normal operation and turnarounds, TQMS and Service Level Agreement (SLA).

Current position is the director of HSSE new Business development at GCC Lab.

Matthew Cox

Deputy QHSE Director | Veolia & IIIRSM Trustee and Council Member, UAE 

Matthew is a Fellow of IIRSM and has worked across the Middle East for almost 20 years. He is currently Deputy QHSE Director for the Veolia Group of Companies in the UAE.

In 2014, he was recognized by the UAE Ministry of Labour,(now MOHRE) for his contribution to Occupational Health and Safety in the country and was the first overseas recipient of the Prestigious IIRSM President’s Commendation award.

He was IIRSM’s UAE Branch Chairman from 2013-9 and since 2018, he has served as both Trustee and Council Member of the Institute

A passionate advocate of common sense driven Risk Management, he seeks to achieve safer workplaces through employee education and empowerment

Maged Elkassaby

HSE Manager| Aramco, Saudi Arabia

Maged Elkassaby is an experienced HSE Manager with a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Civil Engineering and Occupational Health, Safety, and Environment. He is a CSP and CMIOSH and an approved HSE trainer. With 16 years of HSE experience in mega projects across Qatar, UAE, and KSA, Maged has trained safety practitioners, introduced safety methodologies like the shout and show training method, and spoken at media events. He was a speaker at the 2022 Arab OSH Conference.

Dr. Naseem Mohammed Rafee

Director - Health & Safety Department, Dubai Municipality, UAE

Naseem worked with Dubai Municipality for over 16 years in which 2 years worked at Dubai Municipality Clinic as Safety Officer then held the position of manager of consumer products safety section in 2008, and director of Health & Safety department since 2019,  during which she developed & managed the operations of many important programs in the feild that have a strategic impact on both Dubai & Municipality strategic plan such as registration of different categories of consumer products (e.g. Health Supplements, cosmetics and personal care products , fragrances , disinfectants, biocides and recently Toys, food contact material and textile being added ), in addition to the related programs as field inspection and ports control for the imported consignments, and other health and safety related activities managed Covid-19 crisis committee in alignment with Dubai supreme committee of crisis & disaster management to contain crisis and support UAE, Dubai economy and recovery, managed National Disinfection Program in Dubai, and conduct a comprehensive control program for the related establishments and activities in Dubai to ensure their compliance with the precautionary measures obtaining international related standards , e.g. ISO/PAS 45005:2020 certificate for DM during 2021 as first global municipality for the scope of COVID-19 aspects management system, ISO 45001:2018 Occupational health and safety management systems, ISO 17020:2021 requirements for operation of various types of bodies performing inspection. As a member, in high level federal and local government committees, participated for evaluation of Health and safety, and consumer products, related policies regulations and safety.

Represented Dubai Municipality in a number of international and national conferences & seminars by presenting papers in the different related fields, Published papers on the risks of consumer products and service quality in reputable journals.

She won “Emirates Women Award 2022” leadership category - winning the Best smart Initiative Award in Hamdan Bin Mohammed Programme for smart government in 2017, emirates women wards in 2018, best person in crisis management 2021.

As an active volunteer national in UAE, worked as Executive Director -volunteer part time career - at UAE Genetic Diseases Association that aims to support the UAE community in educational and awareness programs of genetic disorders from 2011-2015.

Paul Burns

Corporate HSSE Training | ACWA Power, UAE

Paul is a curious, passionate, and accomplished HSE professional with 25 + years of extensive experience, working together with people and businesses within various industries, he is committed to supporting and leading organisations with their business strategy and culture in focus. He is currently working together with ACWA Power supporting the people, businesses, communities, and environment in which we live and work.

Paul has academic qualifications from leading Irish, EU, UK and international institutions including Hons Science Degrees in OHSE, Risk and Project Management

Paul Slater

Executive Director QHSE | Saudi Entertainment Ventures, Saudi Arabia

Paul is a passionate Quality, Health, Safety and Environmental professional, with over 20 year’s experience. Paul is currently employed by Saudi Entertainment Ventures, which is a Public Investment Fund subsidiary company, operating out of Riyadh. In his current position as Executive Director Quality, Health, Safety & Environmental, he is responsible for developing and implementing the strategic health and safety vision across the organisation, furthermore, he also responsible for providing operational health, safety and environmental support.

Paul has worked within the UAE and the Middle East for the past 14 years, within various sectors and prior to that within the UK. Paul holds a Master’s degree in safety and risk management through Robert Gordon University in the UK and is a chartered health and safety professional, with the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).

Penny Brooks

Qualification Development Manager | RoSPA, UK

Penny Brooks is RoSPA Qualifications’ Qualification Development Manager, responsible for the development of qualifications in the transport and logistics sector. For more than 15 years she has specialised in the field of driver and road safety and has worked with clients to develop training qualifications for the UK and Global markets.

Dr. Rahaf Ajaj

Assistant Professor in EHS,  College of Health Sciences 

Dr. Rahaf Ajaj is a distinguished Assistant Professor at Abu Dhabi University's College of Health Sciences, where she imparts her knowledge and expertise to the next generation in environmental health, safety, and sustainability. With a commitment to fostering diversity in the sustainability field, Dr. Ajaj also assumes a leadership role as the head of the UAE chapter of Women in Renewable Energy Canada.

In addition to her academic pursuits, Dr. Ajaj serves as the Cluster Leader for Climate Change and Public Health at the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, contributing significantly to developing and refining national policies. Her impact extends beyond borders as she advocates for robust and inclusive strategies in the ever-evolving landscape of environmental sustainability.

Drawing from a wealth of experience spanning over 15 years, Dr. Ajaj possesses a multifaceted background that includes regulatory work as a Health Physicist overseeing radiation facilities and advising prominent petroleum organizations. Her research proficiency encompasses diverse fields, including occupational health, climate adaptation, and radiation protection, reflecting her dedication to addressing complex global challenges.

Driven by an unwavering passion for environmental stewardship, Dr. Ajaj seamlessly bridges the gaps between academia, government service, teaching, and community leadership. Her holistic vision and proven track record of collaboration across disciplines and industries make her a catalyst for transformative change. By mobilizing action at both grassroots and policy levels, Dr. Ajaj is actively shaping higher education and policymaking to drive sustainable solutions for a better future.

Samir Benmebarek

HSEQ Manager| Dragon Oil (Holdings) Ltd. 

Samir Benmebarek is a Chartered Engineer with an illustrious career spanning over 35 years.  He has worked in the Upstream and Downstream Oil and Gas Industry as well the Refining and Petrochemical Industries. Samir has worked in a multitude of work environments in the Arabian Gulf, North Africa, North America and Northwest Europe.

As Dragon Oil’s HSEQ Manager, he is responsible for providing expert advisory support on all HSE and Process Safety related matters.

Salman Dawood

Executive VP - ESG & Sustainability| Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) 

Salman Dawood Abdulla has overseen Health, Safety, Sustainability, Environment, Fire & Rescue, Quality and Business Transformation at Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the largest ‘premium aluminium’ producer in the world, since 2016.

As Executive Vice President, he is accountable for developing EGA’s corporate strategy and operational targets for HSSEQ and Business Transformation. Mr. Abdulla has worked for the company since 1984, in a various engineering and project leadership roles.

Mr. Abdulla has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Staffordshire University as well as an MBA from the University of Bradford. Currently he is a doctoral candidate for Business Administration (DBA) at the University of Bradford, with a focus on the impact of different leadership constructs on safety performance of safety critical organisations.

Mr. Abdulla was appointed as Chairman of the Safety and Environment Committee of the Gulf Aluminium Council in 2017.

Sultan Al Karrani

Team Leader – HSE | ADNOC, UAE

Sultan Al Karrani graduated from U.A.E University in 2000 with a Bachelor’s degree in Geology and went on to complete a Master’s degree in environmental science in 2007.

He has worked at Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations Limited (ADCO) since 2008. After gaining five years’ experience as a Health, Safety and Environment Engineer in the drilling department, Sultan moved to the operations site, and was promoted to Health, Safety and Environment Team Leader. In 2022 Sultan became a HSE contractor management specialist based at ADCO headquarters and leads a team of over 20 people who  ensure that operations are safe and cause no harm to environment.

Suzan Ahmad Al Ghanem

Section Head - Organizational Resilience and Business, Environment Agency Abu Dhabi

Suzan has been involved in the BCM implementation since 2015 and holds a Bachelor of Science in Ecological and Environmental Biology [UAE University] and Master of Science in Organizational Excellence [HBMSU]) and has more than 15 years of experience & certifications in various fields including: Business Continuity, Emergency Management, Crisis Management, Environment Health & Safety, Food Safety and Audit. She has participated in providing solutions in these specialized fields for both government agencies and the private sectors. She has also published a number of scientific articles internationally; contributed to the development and implementation of BC programs, disaster recovery strategies, risk assessment, BIAs; selected appropriate post-disruption continuity strategies; and developed plans, guidelines and standard operating procedures. Suzan also participates in several committees and works in teams at institutional, local (UAE), and international levels. She is an active speaker in the Business Continuity community on a local and international level.

Saleh Ali Albalushi

VP, HSE Division | Drydocks World, UAE

Saleh Ali Albalushi has over 22 years of work experience in the Oil & Gas, Aircrafts, Energy, Shipyards and Real Estate industries, he held senior management positions in reputed organizations where he has played a leadership role by developing and implementing a group-wide corporate health, safety, environment, risk management and Business Continuity Management strategy and worked alongside the executive leadership team to provide strategic advice across a range of different critical areas.

Saleh is Vice President - Health Safety & Environment at Drydocks World, a DP World company, he oversees the HSE Division that includes Safety Operation, Compliance, Governance and Sustainability, & Fire & Rescue, Environment, Engineering Procurement Construction and  Medical departments.

Previously held a position of Corporate Health, Safety and Environment Director at TECOM Group and Dubai Holding Asset Management operations.

Syed Mazhar

Senior Manager – HSSE System, Process & Training| Al Bawani 

Syed Mazhar currently serves as the Chair of the IOSH UAE Branch and holds the esteemed title of Chartered Safety Professional. He is also recognized as an Authorized Trainer by IOSH UK.

Mr. Mazhar's educational background includes a Bachelor of Science degree in Fire and Safety Engineering, complemented by a host of professional qualifications in Occupational Health, Safety, and Environmental (OHSE) practices. Among his notable certifications are NVQ, NEBOSH, IOSH, NASP, and OSHA.

With a wealth of experience spanning more than 15 years in the field of Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE), Mr. Mazhar has made significant contributions to renowned global organizations. His professional journey has encompassed roles at prominent companies such as ADNOC, Jacobs, DP World, K Home International, AE7, TUV, and Al Bawani, showcasing his expertise and commitment to the field.

Thomas Kramer

Managing Principal | LJB Inc. & Director at Large | ASSP, USA

With nearly 30 years with LJB Inc., Thom is registered as both a professional engineer and as a certified safety professional.  From an education background, he has both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in engineering, as well as a Master of Business Administration degree.  He is the chair of the ANSI Z359 full committee on fall protection and previously, was chair of three other ANSI Z359 subcommittees (Z359.1, Z359.6, Z359.17).  Thom is the president of the International Society for Fall Protection and was recently elected as the VP of Finance for the American Society of Safety Professionals.

Thom has presented on the topic of fall protection at international and national conferences including the American Society of Safety Professionals’ Professional Development Conference and the National Safety Council’s Congress and Expo, as well as sessions in Australia, Brazil, Bahrain, Germany, Finland, Kuwait, Myanmar, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and United Kingdom.

Eugenia Marina

Business Development Director, MENA | Rec Faces 

Eugenia Marina, the Business Development Director MENA at RecFaces, is an expert in facial biometrics and project sales. Eugenia has successfully led and participated in complex projects, gaining valuable practical experience in the application of facial recognition. Eugenia's expertise covers the entire project cycle, from initial contact and training webinars to after-sales support, ensuring comprehensive customer satisfaction.

Eugenia is a highly qualified specialist who consistently demonstrates her ability to tackle diverse business challenges. Under her leadership, airports, subways, and government institutions have been equipped with facial biometrics, providing effective security solutions. With a unique blend of technical knowledge and exceptional communication skills, Eugenia successfully manages and delivers complex, large-scale projects. Her results-oriented approach and commitment to mutual benefit make her a trusted partner in the industry

Kumar Sokka

Global President | LenelS2 

Kumar was named Global President and General Manager of LenelS2, the worldwide leader in access control software and enterprise risk solutions in November 2022.  He leads the global LenelS2 business where he is responsible for crafting the strategic growth plan and setting the vision and priorities of LenelS2. He is accountable for delivering on the overall financial and operational performance of the business. In this role Kumar lead sales, global product management and engineering, operations, and services, and is responsible for driving our continued focus on customer-centricity, aftermarket services, and SaaS.

Kumar brings an extensive background in general management, sales, digital, and business strategy. Prior to joining LenelS2, Kumar led the digital business unit at Rockwell Automation. In this role, he was the P&L owner responsible for leading a team of professionals to deliver large-scale digital transformational projects. Prior to that, Kumar held roles of increasing responsibility in business and sales management globally.

Kumar earned his MBA from the Kellogg School of Business of Northwestern University and his BS in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University. 

Lee Odess

CEO | Access Control Executive Brief 

Lee Odess is a globally renowned access control influencer, thought leader, consultant, speaker, and author who has spent his career reimagining the role of access technology in modern connected living experiences.

Lee is a big believer that security goes beyond your front door and that true access means the enablement of spaces. Throughout his career, he has leveraged a number of platforms to help owners and operators adopt the latest technology to provide safe access, deliver innovative resident experiences and future proof buildings.

It’s easy to get overhwlemed by modern technologies. Businesses often don’t know where or how to begin. This is why Lee provides a monthly Access Control Executive Brief giving the low-down on all things smart locks, physical security and access. Informed by his deep sector knowledge, these briefs are for those looking to spark their curiosity, informing them on the best way to improve efficiency and revenue.

To hear his objective take on updates in the world of security, CEOs, executive teams and anyone with an interest in access control can sign up for Lee’s executive brief at https://www.leeodess.com/. 

Matt Bennett

Director, Strategic Alliances, HID 

Based in London, Matt is focused on growing the technical, commercial and marketing relationships with HID’s Technology Partner ecosystem. These organizations further HID’s leadership in the Mobile Access and connected ecosystem enablement space. Through HID’s partner ecosystem, our world is becoming smarter and more connected everyday

Mohammed Bajarsh

Head of Pre-Sales MENA | Rec Faces 

Mohammed Bajarsh, RecFaces Head of Presale in the MENA region, is a dedicated, innovative, and collaborative leader, passionate about technology. He has a strong technical background in robotics and advanced Technologies, which gives him a deep understanding of emerging technologies and how to apply them in practical and impactful way.

Mohammed's extensive practical 7-year experience and ability to understand and solve complex technical problems allow him to make strategically sound decisions that increase efficiency on technically challenging projects. While working in the RecFaces team, Mohammed has already conducted a number of pilot and commercial projects to implement facial recognition software in the areas of transportation security, financial institutions, large sports venues, and high-tech business centers.

Peter Chen

Global Sales and Marketing Director | Anviz 

As an expert and opinion leader in the fields of electronic information, intelligent security and IoT, Mr. Peter Chen owns more than 20 years of experience in industry insights, channel management and marketing. Since joining Anviz a decade ago, he has led the team in achieving global expansion of the Anviz brand and establishing its strong presence in the global market. Particularly in the Middle East market, Mr. Chen has successfully led the team in implementing over a thousand projects, especially in access control, surveillance and other product lines. His project experience spans across multiple sectors, including finance, commerce, government, and enterprise.

Robert Lydic

President | Wavelynx 

Robert Lydic is a global industry leader in NFC Wallet and in business scalability and in the physical security and access control industry. With over 25 years of industry experience, he effectively creates products and visions that can be embraced by end users and integrators all over the world. 

Throughout his career, Rob has successfully created, grown and transacted four companies that continue to lead in their respective market segments. 

After building and selling his third company in 2014, Rob moved to Boulder, Colorado to join an access control startup where he led strategy and sales that resulted in the business being acquired by Allegion in 2018.

Today Rob is the President of Wavelynx Technologies, leading the organization to transform the access control industry through an open, interoperable and secure platform. In his role, Rob also leads Wavelynx as the first access control provider of all three major NFC Wallet solutions.

Rick Caruthers

CEO | Galaxy Systems 

Mr. Caruthers’ extensive experience and proven track record in the professional security industry spans over 30 years, where his career initiated on the integration side of the business then migrated into the manufacturing space. Over 20 years to date, Mr. Caruthers has risen through the ranks in positions ranging from Regional Sales Manager, Government Sales Director, Vice President of Sales, Executive Vice President, to his current role as President of Galaxy Control Systems.

Shiraz Kapadia

CEO & President | Invixium 

Shiraz Kapadia is the CEO & President at Invixium. As a biometric industry veteran and thought leader, Shiraz provides the overall vision and works tirelessly to grow the company and innovate high-end security solutions for a modern world.

Prior to Invixium, Shiraz was the Chief Operating Officer at Bioscrypt – a division of L-1 Identity Solutions – a world leader in biometric access control. At Bioscrypt, Shiraz was responsible for turning around the business, developing and executing Bioscrypt’s growth strategy, directing product innovations, driving sales and marketing execution, leading an aggressive global market expansion and overseeing various operational functions.

With a decorated history in the biometric industry, Shiraz is recognized as an energetic speaker and thought leader on all matters relating to biometrics.

Servaas Kamerling

Product Director, Access Solutions EMEA

With a strong understanding of access control, integrated security, data protection, and change management, Servaas currently serves as Product Director for Access Solutions EMEA at Carrier Fire & Security, proudly representing the renowned brands LenelS2 and Onity.

His 30-years of experience spans several domains, including interactive signage at Elo TouchSolutions and professional audio at Philips. However, 20 years of his career have been dedicated to physical security with a primary focus on access control. At the forefront of technological advancements, Servaas is well positioned in contributing to the evolution of access solutions and ensuring the safety and security of businesses worldwide.

Servaas attained a master’s degree in industrial design engineering from the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands and further enhanced his education, becoming a Six Sigma Black Belt at General Electric. Servaas is based in Brussels, Belgium. 

Sanjit Bardhan

Vice President & Head of Mobile | HID 

Sanjit Bardhan is the Vice President and Head of Mobile at HID. 

At HID, Mr. Bardhan leads the overall business strategy of Mobile and its adoption across global markets. This includes leading the strategy with HID’s Strategic Alliance Partners, Global Business Development with Technology Giants, Partner and Professional Services, HID’s Technology Partner Program as well as representation in emerging Standards Alliances that help drive mobile adoption. Mr. Bardhan’s team is globally distributed servicing all key regions with HID’s customer and partner base.

Mr. Bardhan has been providing though leadership in the mobile space across various industry events, journals and publications including most recently with The Economist, Security Info Watch, Security Middle East,  and Intelligent CIO.

Mr. Bardhan is based in Austin, Texas and works out of the HID Global headquarters.

Utkarsh Jain

Co-Founder and CEO, Veris 

Utkarsh Jain, CEO and Co-Founder of Veris is a visionary entrepreneur and IoT expert.

His journey unfolds through 3 impactful ventures, starting with Codescape, an India-based network analytics pioneer, marked by a successful exit. Next up was Teramatrix, which changed the automobile industry with connected applications, further leading to a Silicon Valley acquisition.

His prowess now manifests in Veris, a Workplace Management Solutions company trusted by over 200 enterprises in 22 countries. Veris aims to reshape physical spaces using IoT and AI, so as to redefine and streamline the world of security, while delivering great experiences to people.

Utkarsh's leadership style, marked by open communication and empowering team members, transforms challenges into stepping stones.

As the world transitions into an AI enabled hybrid work era, Veris stands ready for the next leap, driven by Utkarsh's passion to solve the most complex challenges as scale with technology. 

Abdulla Al Suwaidi

Investment Department Manager I SIRA

With a proven track record in the financial sector, Abdulla AL Suwaidi stands at the pinnacle of SIRA's Investment Department as its visionary Investment Director. His journey in the financial sector is a testament to his exceptional leadership, commitment to excellence, and adept management of complex investment portfolios.

Abdulla Al Suwaidi embarked on his financial journey equipped with a solid academic foundation. Holding a master’s in business administration from Dubai University, he demonstrated early on a keen interest in financial markets and investment strategies. He’s also holding a bachelor’s in finance and Banking from High Collage of Technology His academic rigor laid the groundwork for a promising career that would unfold in the dynamic landscape of investments within UAE.

He entered the financial services arena with a series of key roles, gaining valuable experience and refining his expertise. His early contributions at Emirates Islamic were marked by a knack for identifying emerging investment opportunities and navigating through market fluctuations with resilience.

Joining SIRA's Investment Department marked a turning point in Al Suwaidi's career. As the Investment Director, he has played a central role in defining and executing investment strategies aligned with SIRA's broader mission. He’s responsible for managing investment and projects valued over AED 200 million. His strategic vision involves not only optimizing financial returns but also contributing to the sustainable growth of the organization.

Under Al Suwaidi's leadership, the SIRA Investment Department has witnessed a paradigm shift in its approach to investments. His emphasis on rigorous research, risk mitigation, and a diversified portfolio has led to consistently positive outcomes. AL Suwaidi has overseen the successful management of substantial investment portfolios, by being the founder of the Keyless initiative aiming to reduce carbon emissions by an impressive 7,200 tons annually. This accomplishment demonstrates his proficiency in achieving remarkable results within the challenging and ever-evolving landscape of the market.

Ahmed Al Baloshi

Strategy and Future Department Director | SIRA 

 Eng. Ahmed Alzood graduated as technology electronics engineer from Higher Collages of Technology - Dubai in 2007. Alzood has more than 16 years’ experience in the security field. He gained his experience working in Dubai police - department of protective system since 2007, He has deferent specialties applied in his roles as a director of corporate communication department and strategy and future department in SIRA. In 2023 he held his current position as a Director of Private Security Sector Affairs and as Security Professional Society Chairman.

Ahmed Alzood

Private Security Sector Affairs Department Director & Security Professionals Society Chairman | SIRA 

 Eng. Ahmed Alzood graduated as technology electronics engineer from Higher Collages of Technology - Dubai in 2007. Alzood has more than 16 years’ experience in the security field. He gained his experience working in Dubai police - department of protective system since 2007, He has deferent specialties applied in his roles as a director of corporate communication department and strategy and future department in SIRA. In 2023 he held his current position as a Director of Private Security Sector Affairs and as Security Professional Society Chairman.

Arif Aljanahi

Security Consultant | SIRA 

Eng. Arif Al Janahi is a Higher Collages of Technology - Dubai alumni since 1997. He graduated as industrial electronics engineer. Al Janahi has more than 22 years of experience in the field of security industries. He gained his experience working in Dubai police - department of protective system since 2008, where he had deferent technical specialties managing city wide projects. In 2016 he held security engineering director position in SIRA. In 2023 he held his current position as SIRA’s Security Consultant. He is a registered chartered security professional at the Security Institute.  

Jasem Al Balooshi

Qualitative Project Management Department Director | SIRA 

Eng. Jasem Taher Al Balooshi is an alumnus of the Higher Colleges of Technology since 2005. Graduated with a degree in Applied Electronics and Computer Systems, has been deeply immersed in the security industry for over 17 years. He started on his professional journey as an Instrumentation and Control Engineer at DEWA, where he played a crucial role for two years. In 2007, he transitioned to Dubai Police - Department of Protective System. In 2016 he held his the role of Security Development & Projects manager in SIRA. In 2023 he held his current role as Qualitative Project Management Department Director in SIRA.

Mohammed Saleh

Security Engineering Director | SIRA 

Eng. Mohammed Saleh is an alumnus of the Higher Colleges of Technology since 2006. Graduated with degree in Mechatronics engineer, has been deeply immersed in the security industry for over 16 years. He started on his professional journey as an Engineer at DEWA. In 2007, he transitioned to Dubai Police - Department of Protective System. In 2016 he held the role of Security systems & consultancy manager in SIRA. In 2023 he held his current position as Security Engineering Director.

Sultan Alqemzi

Restricted Goods Permits Department Director | SIRA 

Sultan Alqemzi is an alumnus of University of Bedfordshire, UK. Graduated with a degree of master’s in Commercial Law. Alqemzi has more than 23 years’ experience in the security sector. He gained his experience working in Dubai police since 2000. In 2022 he joined SIRA and held hes current role Director of Restricted Goods Permits department.