About the speakers

Major General Ahmed Naser AlRaisi

Major General Dr. Ahmed Naser Al Raisi, Inspector General | UAE Ministry of Interior & President | Interpol

Major General Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi is one of the most prominent law enforcement leaders in the United Arab Emirates. He was elected as the current President of INTERPOL on 25 November 2021 for a four year term. His vision for INTERPOL is a modern, diverse, and transparent organization. As President of INTERPOL, Dr. Al-Raisi heads the Executive Committee and presides at the Assembly General Assembly.

Major General Al-Raisi is also the Inspector General of the UAE Ministry of Interior. He is an expert in policing technology and international anti crime coordination. During his career, Dr Al-Raisi has pioneered numerous innovations in UAE policing, including the development and implementation of an Iris and Facial Recognition system across all ports of entry and the digitization of police services across the country, resulting in the provision of 200+ policing services through smart platforms, among other significant projects.

Dr. Al Raisi obtained his Doctorate in Policing, Security and Community Safety from London Metropolitan University (2013); his MBA in Business Administration (Innovative Management) from Coventry University (2010); his Diploma (Police Management) from the University of Cambridge (2004); and his BSc. (Computer Science) from Otterbein College (1986).

Dr. Al-Raisi has more than four decades of law enforcement experience and is an expert in policing, digital transformation, forensics and international anti-crime coordination.

H.E. Dr Mohamed Al Kuwaiti

Head of Cybersecurity Council, UAE Government

Dr. Al Kuwaiti has appointed into the Cabinet as the Head of the Cyber Security for the UAE Government since 2020. As the Head of the Cyber Security, his mandate includes being 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 securing the cyberspace for the entire Nation.

In his current role, Dr. Al Kuwaiti is tasked with the responsibility of charting a cyber security strategy for the Nation that not only ensuring that the UAE will be entering into the digital era with fully capable of dealing with the new threat landscape brought about by the pandemic, but also to ensure UAE’s leadership in cyber security globally towards establishing the UAE as the world’s leading trusted digital hub supporting the Nation’s digital transformation agenda and the digital future of all residents who made UAE their home. Towards that end, he led the Council to put together 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 or 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 5th place globally from 47th place in the last assessment. Dr. Al Kuwaiti has also led UAE to many first, including Guinness World of Records for having the most users in a cyber capture the flag (CTF) competition and the largest bug bounty competition, all initiatives that aims at supporting capacity building in Cyber Security and improving the technical competencies of cyber security professionals and enthusiasts. More importantly, he is most 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 eco-system. 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 in realizing the vision of the UAE for the next 50 years.

Abdulaziz Almutairi

Director of Corporate Industrial Security, Ma’aden

Director of Corporate Industrial Security at Ma’aden in Saudi Arabia. Abdulaziz Al Mutairi holds bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and attended several advanced programs in leadership, crisis and risk management. He has more than 15 years of experience in the petrochemical and mining industries and worked at diversified disciplines including operation and processing engineering, projects, crisis, and security management. Mr.Almutairi has active membership at many specialized regional, and national committees and associations.

Adrian Whelan

SVP, Head of Global Security, DHL

Adrian Whelan is the Senior Vice President and Head of Global Security for DHL Express. DHL Express employs over 100,000 people in 220 countries and is part of the Deutsche Post DHL Group, Headquartered in Bonn, Germany. The DPDHL Group employs over 500,000 employees worldwide. Adrian has worked for DHL Express for 22 years and is currently based in Singapore. Prior to joining DHL Express, Adrian served with the Royal Hong Kong Police in Hong Kong. After leaving the RHKP he managed a Regional anti-counterfeit and brand protection organization in Asia Pacific. He has lived and worked in the UK, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Germany and Singapore. Adrian is regarded as a subject matter expert in the field of logistics security. In his current role, Adrian is responsible for all aspects of security. The security remit includes physical security, investigations, travel safety and security, training and interfacing with law enforcement and other regulatory agencies. DHL Express is the global leader in terms of the number of TAPA (Transported Asset Protection Association) certified facilities with more than 400 globally. It is also regarded as an industry pioneer in terms of it’s Certified International Specialist (CIS) training programme. Adrian is British and graduated from King’s College, University of London with a Bachelor of Science (Hons) degree.

Bryan Bachmann

Regional Security Officer

Bryan Bachmann has over 26 years of service with the Department of State as a Special Agent with the Diplomatic Security Service.  He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1988 to 1992, honorably discharged as a Staff Sergeant. 

Bryan assumed the role of Senior Regional Security Officer (SRSO) for U.S. Mission Egypt in October 2021.  He serves as the Chief of Mission’s chief advisor and senior Subject Matter Expert on all Mission security and law enforcement matters and policies at U.S. Embassy Cairo, Egypt. His previous assignments include ARSO Port-Au-Prince, RSO Kigali, RSO Basra, RSO Lagos, RSO Sana’a, RSO Abuja and RSO Baghdad.  He served domestically in the Chicago Field Office, the Marine Security Guard training section, Deputy Office Director for the Office of Mobile Security Deployments, and as the Deputy Regional Director for DS Office of High Threat Programs NEA/EUR section.  

Ben Kite

Senior Executive Leader in Defence, Intelligence, Cyber, Security and Resilience, Kearney

Ben Kite was commissioned into the British Army’s Intelligence Corps in 1990, retiring in April 2022 as a Major General. During his thirty-two year career he worked on intelligence, Security and Cyber issues both in the UK as well on deployments to Germany, the United States, Belize, Bosnia, Kosovo, South Africa, Iraq and Afghanistan. His last role was as Director Intelligence Interoperability in Defence Intelligence where he led the creation and implementation of Defence’s first Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance strategy and managed International Intelligence engagement and interoperability with the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and Army.   Ben is currently working as a senior Defence, Intelligence and Security adviser for Kearney. He studies military history in his spare time and has published three books on the Second World War and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Dr. Bushra AlBlooshi

Head of Research & Innovation, Dubai Electronic Security Center (DESC)

Dr. Bushra AlBlooshi, Head of Research and Innovation in Dubai Electronic Security Center (DESC) and the chairwoman of digital skills committee in Dubai Digital Authority. Bushra leads many strategic initiatives in the city of Dubai such as Dubai cybersecurity strategy, R&D agenda, Dubai Cyber Innovation Park (DCIPark) and Dubai cybersecurity policies and certifications. Bushra was the cybersecurity leader of many strategic initiatives in Dubai such as Dubai open data project (DubaiPulse), invest in Dubai, UAE digital identity( UAE PasS) and Dubai IoT and Blockchain platforms. 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.

Carla Naude

Regional Security Advisor, Arab States, UNDP

Her career in security spans more than 40 years and covers a wide range of security disciplines.   Carla served as government official in South Africa from 1979 and later joined the Chubb Security Group in Cape Town as Security Consultant.  From 1997 until 2003 she managed security portfolios at Cape Town’s Victoria & Alfred Waterfront and at Century City.  During this time, she also consulted to various property developments elsewhere in the country. 

She relocated to the United States in 2004 and worked for the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, before joining the United Nations Development Programme's Security Office in New York as Security Advisor Premises, a global responsibility for advising on physical security to UNDP country offices.  Carla was assigned to Cairo as Sub-Regional Security Advisor for East Africa Arab States in October 2009 and soon thereafter took on the role as Regional Advisor, covering UNDP’s Arab States Region.  She is  actively involved with the United Nations’ Women Security Awareness Training and around the issue of inclusion of People with Disabilities.  

Carla joined ASIS International in 1995 and held various volunteer leadership positions with the Cape Town Chapter, as Regional Vice President (RVP) for Southern Africa and in 2008 was the President of the Professional Certification Board. She is a founding member of the Cairo Chapter in 2010, was RVP for North Africa and currently serve on the Steering Committees of the Crime Prevention and Women in Security Communities.  Carla holds a BA in Criminology and Communication Science from the University of South Africa and ASIS International’s Certified Protection Professional (CPP^Ⓡ) certification since 1996.

Dana Haubold

Representative of the Middle East Members Group, The Security Institute

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.

Lt. Colonel Dana Humaid

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 is one of the founding members and the President of the Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities, an NGO that aims to mobilize faith and spiritual leaders to ensure the safety of their communities. She also heads the Secretariat of the Secure Communities Forum, a collaborative platform that bring together professionals from a wide range of disciplines together to network and collaborate on community safety.

Dana’s previous positions with the Ministry include the Director of the Child Protection Center and the Director of Project Management and Shared Services. Prior to joining the Ministry, she was the Head of Advisory Affairs in the Strategy Department of Abu Dhabi Police.

Faisal Al Maazmi

Director, Protective Services Department, Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City

Faisal Seasoned Security Management, Emergency Preparedness & Business Continuity professional and leader with a solid and extensive experience focusing on large-scale establishment with demonstrated history of working in both aviation and the healthcare industry. Faisal served at Dubai International Airport, Dubai Police for 5 years in his early career. He worked in various departments such as Criminal Investigation, Command Centre and Operations Control. Faisal then joined Emirates Security Services as Security Manager for 2 years prior to joining Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi (CCAD) in 2011. During his 10 years at CCAD he demonstrated great quality of services and abilities that led him to be the youngest Emirati Director at CCAD in 2016. He managed several project since the inception of the project during constructions eras and many more in his years of operations at CCAD, Faisal did lead a team of Managers and Sr. Professionals in various functions such as Security Operations, Emergency Preparedness, Security Control, Parking & Valet and Transportation Services.

Faisal AlShammari

Senior Vice President, Head of Risk Strategy & Governance

A Result-oriented executive with an innovation flair, Inventor, Strategist, Trainer, Public Spokes Person, Excellence Achiever. Diverse experience acquired over more than 25 years with a proven track of leading successful initiatives in the fields of strategy, governance and risk management, digital transformation, information security, crisis management, business continuity, physical security, policies, standard operating procedure (SOPs), and legislation. Hands-on experience in planning and managing mega strategic initiatives, transformation programs, and projects, along with building successful teams that accumulated a unique blend of strategic, functional, and technical expertise.

Accredited Assessor & instructor in the 4.2 Generation Government excellence suit. Accredited Counselor and Excellence Assessor in the government knowledge transfer program by the Prime Minister's Office. Graduate of the sixth batch of the UAE Government Executive Leaders Program & the second batch of training the trainers' program. Founder and Chairman of Emirates Child Protection Association (ECPA). A Non-Resident Internal Management Consultant at Emirates Center for Government Knowledge/ by Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government MBRSG.

Served as public safety & law enforcement senior officer (Colonel), subject matter expert, and Executive Director of the Digital Transformation & AI Program concurrently while being the founding director of the Governance Department, and the e-Auditing Department, CISO. Provided strategic, innovative, creative, & smart initiatives and capabilities to leading government organizations such as the Ministry of Interior and Abu Dhabi Police amongst others to tackle critical challenges such as Child Protection and Environmental activities. Pioneered and established leading PPPs to provide advanced business and technology consultancy services locally and internationally.

Represented UAE on several occasions, conferences and exhibitions, Summits, Forums, and workshops in many areas such as innovation, Future foresight, the fourth industrial revolution, disruptive and emerging technologies Achieved and shortlisted for many local and international awards locally and internationally.

Dr. Gareth Lee Stubbs

Lecturer - Science in Policing and Security Program, Rabdan Academy

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.

Dr. Lt. Col. Hamad Khalifa Al Nuaimi

Head of Telecommunications Division, Information Technology Center, Abu Dhabi Police

In 2002, he joined Abu Dhabi Police and started working as a Network technician, at the same time, my passion for educational qualifications was under my target. Thus, he worked hard in parallel and earned my HD (Higher Diploma) degree at CNET (computer Network Engineering Tech) from the HCT (Higher College of Technology ), as well as my Bachelor degree in computer Networking.  In 2009, he applied for SU (Syracuse University) where he completed my master’s degree in Telecommunication Network Management. In 2018 he earned my PHD Project Management from the British University in Dubai.

Heide Young

Founder, Women in Cyber Security Middle East (WiCSME)

Heide Young, ranked in the Top 10 Technology Leaders across the Middle East in 2022. She is the Founding Partner and Board Member of Women in Cyber Security Middle East (WiCSME), a globally recognized group focused on empowering, supporting and increasing the percentage of women in cybersecurity.

Heide is also on the Advisory Board for the Arab International Cybersecurity Summit, Mentor for CyberSafe Foundation CyberGirls 2022 Fellowship, Liaison for Women in Security & Resilience Alliance (WISECRA), and formerly part of the leadership team for Australian Women in Security Network (AWSN) and a FITT (Females in IT&Telecom) Mentor. She is internationally recognized as an active and contributing member to the global cybersecurity community. A seasoned frequent international keynote guest speaker, international judge for women in cybersecurity awards, and official mentor to women in cybersecurity from Australia, Africa, and the Middle East. Driven by passion, she is dedicated to increase female presence in cyber security through her mentoring, volunteer activities and outreach programs she champions. She is committed to demystifying cyber security and the careers within, so that young girls and women have the opportunity presented to them on how to get involved in cyber security, contribute, and be heard.

Helmut Spahn

Director Safety, Security and Access, Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)

Helmut Spahn is Director Security of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), former Director General of the International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS), former president of the famous and prestigious football club Kickers Offenbach and spent over 20 years as a high-ranking officer in the German police force. Spahn was formerly Head of Security for the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ and Chief Security Officer for the German Football Association (Deutscher Fussball-Bund, DFB). He has been a UEFA Security Officer for the Champions League and Europa League as well as UEFA Euro 2012.

John Cowling

Security Consultant

Following a successful career in private consulting and government employment in Australia, John arrived in the region in 2005 and since then has travelled to over 20 countries undertaking client focussed consulting at the levels of strategic, tactical and operational. Highlights have included working in numerous high risk or what John refers to as the ‘more interesting’ countries assisting with capacity building in post conflict locations as well as training and mentoring upcoming security professionals as well as working within diverse multicultural teams to achieve risk reduction aligned to operational requirements.

John believe that diversity in culture and gender is essential to a successful security function, and is firm believer in providing realistic and tangible solutions that make a positive change on client's operations and people's lives.

Dr. John Hatzadony

Program Chair - Homeland Security, Rabdan Academy

Dr John Hatzadony is a security, intelligence and anti-money laundering and global sanctions compliance professional with expertise as a strategic member of the Homeland Security and intelligence fields. He is a 20 year intelligence veteran in the public and private sector with expertise in analytical tradecraft, counterterrorism, counterintelligence and counter-threat financing. He has held analytical and operational positions, numerous supervisory intelligence and security roles and as an investigative team lead and intelligence manager. He is founding Program Chair of Homeland Security and the MSc in Intelligence Analysis at Rabdan Academy in Abu Dhabi and has over 20 years of university-level teaching, law enforcement and intelligence training experience. 

James Thorpe

Editor, International Security Journal, UK

James Thorpe is a keen writer and researcher who graduated from the University of Lincoln in 2020 with a First Class (BA Hons) Degree in English. Gaining significant experience as Editor of Security Journal UK (SJUK), James was internally promoted to Editor of International Security Journal (ISJ) in 2022.

In his current role, James engages with various businesses, consultants and directors working in a range of disciplines across the global security industry. As well as working on the monthly editions of ISJ, James plays a key role in the organisation of the company’s ISJ Leaders in Security Conference which made its successful debut in Dubai in May 2022.

J.T. Mendoza

Head of Global Insider Risk Management & Investigations, CGI

J.T. Mendoza has over 25 years of experience in a variety of senior-level security and intelligence positions. He has led and overseen large, complex security, counterintelligence, and criminal investigative programs and worked collaboratively with interagency partners to address national security challenges. Prior to retiring from US government service, J.T. served as the Deputy Director, USAF Insider Threat and in a number of positions within the Dept of Defense. He participated as a member of the working group which drafted Executive Order 13587 and subsequent policies. In his current position, he manages and oversees an enterprise-wide insider risk management program for an international organization with a global footprint.

Dr. Julian Laufs

Head of Liaison Office, German Cyber-Innovation Agency

Dr. Julian Laufs is currently Head of the Liaison Office at the German Cybersecurity Innovation Agency.

He holds a PhD in Security and Crime Science from the Dawes Centre for Future Crime at UCL and an MSc in Countering Organised Crime and Terrorism from UCL, where he was recently appointed as Honorary Research Fellow at the Jill Dando Institute.

Between his studies, Dr. Julian worked in the German Embassy in Washington D.C. as well as the Delegation of the European Union to Uganda. Over the past five years, he has contributed to and led several research projects at UCL and the Alan Turing Institute, working with various police forces and the UK Home Office to develop future policing strategies. Dr. Julian was also a visiting scholar at Yale Law School, where he researched and taught the impact of future surveillance technologies on procedural justice.

His research interests include the impact of disruptive future technologies on law enforcement and intelligence organisations, digital transformation in the security sector as well as future foresight and horizon scanning. 

Kate Barker

Chief Future of Work Officer & Executive Coach, NEOM

Kate Barker is a globally recognised Chief HR Leader, Future of Work expert, and an awarded authority in talent management, leadership development, and people/technology advancements. As an international advisor, Kate’s career spans three decades, working to advance Fortune 500 companies and Governments to have confidence in their future, to stay competitive and minimise risk.

Kevin Wynes

Regional Security Officer, OSAC

Kevin Wynes is a Supervisory Special Agent in the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, having joined the Department of State in 2006. Prior to serving at the Consulate General in Dubai, Kevin’s overseas assignments include India, China, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Domestically, Kevin served as a Desk Officer for the Middle East and South Asian regions, which provided security oversight for all Embassies and Consulates in those regions, and as Special Assistant to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security’s International Programs and operations. Additionally, Kevin served in Diplomatic Security’s New Orleans Resident Office as well as the Washington Field Office.

In his current role in Dubai, Kevin is the public co-chair of the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) chapter in Dubai, one of the largest and most influential chapters in the world.  OSAC promotes the public-private partnership to allow information sharing between businesses and real-time monitoring of major events to help make the operating environment for American businesses safer and more effective.

Kevin is originally from Washington, D.C. and served as an Army Officer prior to joining the Department. Kevin is the recipient of several Department awards including the Award for Heroism and multiple Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards.

Leo Levit

Leo Levit, Chairman, ONVIF Steering Committee

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.

Colonel (Rtd) Thafar Maaitah

Security Specialist / Corporate Security and Control, Roads and Transport Authority (RTA)

Expert in the field of Security, monitoring, Investigation and infrastructure protection; ISO 18788 Lead Auditor (Management System for Private Security Operations),

Served at the Jordanian Public Security Department for 23 years (Special Police / Counter Terrorism - Secret Services / Criminal Investigation Department, Preventive Security and Interpol Amman as Deputy Director).

Worked at the United Nations Headquarters in NY-USA and in many UN field missions (Bosnia, Kosovo, and Darfur).

I had the opportunity to work at the Jordanian Royal Court (National Centre for Security and Crisis Managing - NCSCM) as a head of Counter Terrorism Analysis Office (CTAO) for five years. Member of the National Capabilities Assessment Team.

Currently working as Chief Specialist - Security and Monitoring Department at Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) – Dubai.

Obtained B.A and Master’s Degree in Law (Counter Terrorism Laws and its Implications on Human Rights), Diploma degree in Criminal Justice and a Diploma Degree in Military Sciences. Currently, Mr Maaitah holds PhD in Law (Regional Organization Role in Counter Terrorism and Protection of Human Rights).  

 Regularly lectures at Universities, Defence Academies, International Organisations, Security conference/ workshops and has advised governments on security and radicalization / counter terrorism.

Active member of international security Organizations / Associations (M-ASIS, F-ISRM, F-SPA-SIRA, M-SECCOM- UITP, M-BCI, M-IPSA)

Mina Maurice

Senior Security Consultant, Dubai Customs 

Experienced security and risk consultant with a demonstrated history of working in Middle East. Skilled in corporate physical security, law enforcement, risk management. Professional in implementing security strategies and systems. Good understanding of business needs, necessity of asset protection, and representing the risk based and holistic approach to the business protection.

Malcolm Smith

President, ASIS

Malcolm was the 2022 President of ASIS International. He is a South African citizen with over 25 year’s international work experience in the public and private sectors. He held several senior management positions in different industries such as oil & gas, banking & finance, fast moving consumer goods and cultural properties. His previous roles at leading multinational companies include CSO/Global Head of Security at Sasol Petrochemicals, and Group Head of Security & Safety Services at Nedbank Limited.

In addition to his role as Head of Risk Management & Technical Security Support, Malcolm is a management consultant specializing in human resource management, strategy alignment and risk management. He is a capacity builder who assists organizations in achieving their strategic objectives. Malcolm maintains that DE&I and inclusive leadership is critical for business success. He consults on organizational development, talent & leadership development, risk management, job evaluations and performance management.

Malcolm holds an Executive MBA from Henley, a Bachelor of Laws Degree, and a Post Graduate of Executive Leadership in Information Assurance from EC Council University. He also earned professional certifications in Asset Protection, Human Resource Management, Information Security Management, Fraud Examination, and Management Consulting.

Mariam Askar AlNaqbi

Deputy Head Security Operation, Expo 2020 Dubai

Mariam AlNaqbi in her role of the deputy head of security operation, is responsible for developing and managing the implementation of the security policies, procedures, restrictions and authorized permits for all requested activities at Expo 2020 Dubai and she has deployed the full plan for security crisis management exercises align with stakeholders. Also, she has deployed the full security event plan for the Expo2020 opening ceremony. Overseeing the full protection for site, staff and visitors by 24/7 via CCTV control room and allocation on security managers to zones. Also, she is participating in implementation of the Emergency Plan in cooperation with technical security managers, health and safety and other stakeholders.

She has over a decade of experience in security and joined Expo 2020 team in November 2019. Additional to this, she worked for Etihad Airways, where she managed the security operation in Abu Dhabi Airport.

She holds a master’s in business management, Anglia Ruskin, Cambridge UK, and a bachelor’s in International Studies from Zayed University, Dubai.

Mohammed AlZamanan

Director of Emergency & Crisis Management, Diriyah Gate Development Authority

Mohammed Al Zamanan is a Health and Safety Director within Diriyah Gate Development Authority, leading the Emergency Management team across the entire masterplan.

Mohammed has 25 years’ experience assessing operational threats, building world-class teams, designing holistic approaches to resilience, risk, BCM, crisis, and enterprise Health and Safety systems. His work involves active engagement across a broad spectrum of stakeholders including C-suite executives, law enforcement, governmental authorities, project teams, contractor labour force etc., to ensure strategic and operational Crisis Management demands are delivered. Delivery includes, planning and managing critical risk, policies, procedures and delivering operations to diverse organization across varied risk environments, developing risk management strategies and applying corrective actions to effectively enhance operations. All of which has gained Mohammed a proven track record of developing, enhancing, and delivering projects, operational programs, risk and crisis management operations.

Mohammed holds a Master’s degree in Emergency & Disaster Management from the University of New Haven, and a Foundation degree in Public Administration & Risk Management. He holds many professional and accredited certificates including global instructor in business continuity and crisis management from the Disaster Recovery Institute International (DRII).

Na'ill Momani

Emergency and Crises Management Advisor, The Royal Commission for AlUla

Dr. Naill holds a BSc in Civil Engineering from the University of Jordan and a Ph.D. in Engineering Management, Crisis, Risk, and Emergency Management from George Washington University in the United States of America.  He has an extensive publication record with more than 30 peer-reviewed articles within the disaster risk management domain.  He has also been interviewed several times on TV and in print media. He has worked with numerous international organizations, governments, and agencies, most notably the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), UNDP, and World Bank.  Dr. Naill is a frequent participant in international scientific committees and workshops and has given more than 100 talks as a guest and keynote speaker worldwide.  This includes active membership of the Environmental Society of Jordan, guest editor and editorial board member and reviewer for international peer-reviewed journals such as The International Emergency Management Journal, selected as ADEC (Abu Dhabi Education Council) external reviewer, and Co-Chair for the International Emergency Management Society (TIMES) the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Chapter.  Moreover, Dr. Naill is a member of the consultants' roster for the disaster risk management working group of the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) of the World Bank. 

Nasser Bostan

Chief Data Integrity Officer, Tonomus

Nasser Bostan is the Chief Data Integrity Officer at Tonomus. He has over three decades of expertise in cyber operations and the delivery of complex digital transformation programs involving governance frameworks, standards and policies, security controls and threat management solutions. He also has extensive experience in service operations and business/commercial operations, as well as sales, portfolio development and thought leadership.

Before joining Tonomus in 2021, Nasser was General Manager, Cyber Security at British Telecom (BT), responsible for the creation and execution of the go-to-market business and strategy for the Middle East, Africa and India. He led a sales, marketing, consulting, technical and operational organization, working closely with an ecosystem of vendors and channel partners to offer BT customer data and assets protection with industry-leading cybersecurity capabilities.

Nasser joined BT in 2007 as Transition Director, Global PharmaChems, and went on to serve in a variety of leadership roles, including General Manager, Cybersecurity Delivery and Operations for the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa regions.

He is an accomplished keynote speaker, having delivered remarks at high-profile events such as the CySec Saudi, Smart Cybersecurity Summit and the IDC IT Security Roadshow. Nasser is also a regular contributor to prominent industry publications, including Intelligent CIO, Business Transformation and InfoSecLive.

Paul Slater

Executive Director QHSE, Saudi Entertainment Ventures

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).

Per Johansson

Vice President of Building Technologies, Bosch Middle East and Turkey

Mr. Per Johansson is the General Manager at Robert Bosch Middle East, a fully owned subsidiary of Robert Bosch GmbH. Mr. Johansson joined the Bosch Group in 2003, where he started as a Country Sales Manager in Bosch Sweden.

In his current role as General Manager, Johansson is in charge of the company’s operations throughout the Middle East region. With over 25 years of experience, he drives the team’s efforts to achieve regional growth, synergy utilization and comprehensive stakeholder management.

Prior to joining the team in Dubai, Johansson took on a fundamental role under Bosch’s Security Systems Division in Sweden and Singapore. He later moved to Denmark to take over the role of Vice President for Bosch Power Tools responsible for the Northern European market. Following his successful contribution to business growth, Johansson moved on to cover Western Europe out of Germany as the division’s Vice President for the region.

Johansson has been working with the Bosch Group for 20 years across key markets in Europe and Asia. He has previously worked with companies such as Scania and Philips in Europe, and has also been part of start-up businesses. 

Mr. Johansson’s educational background is within Finance, Marketing and Management.

Saed Marji

Global Director of Security, Safety and Facilities, ARAMEX International 

Saed Marji has directly been responsible across ARAMEX divisions of express, freight and logistics since 2018. Prior to that  he held management positions in QHSSE, operations and finance with Panalpina world transport for 18 years covering the MEAC region (Middle East, Africa and CIS). He had the unique opportunity to work with multiple industry verticals including automotive, telecom, fashion and hi tech in addition major projects in aviation and Oil & Gas , his educational background includes a bachelor’s degree in finance, IOSH, Nebosh, IATA Air cargo Security. In addition, he is a certified lead auditor in ISO 14001. ISO 45001, ISO 9001 and TAPA.

Saleh Ali Albalushi

Head of HSE Division, Drydocks Worls - A DP World Company

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 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 Head of HSE Division at Drydocks World, a DP World company, he oversees the HSE function that includes Health, Safety & Fire Defence, Environment and Medical departments.

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

As the former Head of Quality, Health Safety, Security and Environment at Dolphin Energy, Saleh supported complex midstream and downstream Gas Energy projects and operations. He also spent time at Nakheel a Dubai World company as HSE Department Manager where he established the HSE department from the scratch for all Jumeirah family of brands vertical.

Saleh worked for Schlumberger onshore and offshore upstream oilfield projects as oilfield engineer and subsequently as HSE Advisor for all onshore and offshore operations.

Saleh is committed to endeavor towards establishing comprehensive Environmental, Health and Safety protocols and best international practices and technologies; to advance UAE’s international competitiveness and strategic innovation-based economy.

Shafiullah Ismail

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.

Shaun Hipgrave

Shaun Hipgrave is Director Protect and Prepare, two of the Ps from the UK Counter Terrorism Strategy CONTEST.  He was the former Head of the Joint Security and Resilience Centre (JSARC) in the OSCT of the Home Office which he set up from scratch from 2016 and is the policy area for working with academia and the private sector as well as the unit that runs the HO Security and Policing show every year. Shaun has been working in the security sector for over 25 years.  After serving in the British Army he joined Northumbria Police where he served for 13 years, mainly in investigation and intelligence roles.  In 2003 he moved to the private sector joining FTS, a services and software forensic telecoms company focused in the criminal justice space.  After a spell as head of international development he took over as FTS managing director.  In 2012 he moved to IBM where he worked in the analytics solutions business.   As well as his private sector career, Shaun has been heavily involved in supporting the security sector through trade bodies.  Prior to joining the Civil Service, Shaun spent six years as the VP of the security sector board for ADS as well as a member of the RISC executive, an organisation that is now the main conduit between JSARC and the private sector/academia.  Shaun is married with two girls:: Maisie 11 and Georgia 9.  He is a sports enthusiast especially rugby and cricket but is being slowly converted to an avid junior netball and hockey Dad.

Sultan Al-Owais

Digital Lead, Prime Minister's Office 

Sultan Al Owais leads cyber security and Digital Transformation teams for the ministry of Cabinet Affairs. Sultan has 15 years of cyber security experience across different vital sectors within the UAE, and has become a known public speaker and acknowledged expert in the field.

Talal AlOnazi

Executive Director - HSSE, The Royal Commission of Alula 

HSSE Executive Director for Royal Commission for AlUla ( RCU ) was establishment to protect and safeguard AlUla. Eng. Talal  Alonazi is Executive HSSE management professional with a strong track record of delivering significant and sustained health and safety, security performance. Expert in the design and delivery of transformational change in both culture and systems with the ability to instill clarity and structure to deliver organizational growth and development.

Tawfeeq Al-Sadoon

Security Executive Director – Red Sea Global
General Manager – Red Sea Security Services

Executive Director of Security at the Red Sea global, and General Manager of the Red Sea for Security Services. Mr. Tawfeeq Al-Sadoon has extensive experience spanning more than thirty years in the security fields, where he served for twenty-five years as a Special Security Forces officer in the Ministry of Interior, then moved to work in economic cities projects as director general of general affairs.

Mr. Tawfeeq Al-Sadoon holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and a Higher Diploma in Security Sciences. He has a proven track record of achievements in the field of building security systems in mega projects.

Mr. Tawfeeq is currently working on developing the security capabilities of the Red Sea Global projects, such as the Red Sea and AMAALA destinations, he contributed to the establishment of the Red Sea Security Services, company specialized in Tourism Security, which aims to qualify and employ the youth of the Kingdom to work in the tourism security sector within the projects of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

Mr. Tawfeeq is a member in several professional associations related to information technology, security and safety..

Tero Pesonen

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.

Tony Mclntosh

Director Cybersecurity Solutions - Federal and State & Local (Public Safety), Motorola Solutions UK Ltd.

Everil "Tony" McIntosh is a former police officer and US Army combat medic. As a former first responder he understands the true nature of availability of communications systems at a critical time. At the heart of everything he did was cybersecurity to ensure the Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability of the systems. Working closely with worldwide teams he has driven the security posture at Motorola Solutions to a new level and refocused efforts on ensuring not only MSI systems are at the highest level of security but making sure to drive awareness outside the company to our customer base.

Tony is a Board member of CAMI, Cybersecurity Association Of Maryland Inc., this group advises the State of Maryland on cyber preparedness and response for the community.

Turki Bin Matooq Al Thonayan

Chief Executive Officer, The National Security Services Company (SAFE)

In February 2020 Turki Matooq Al Thonayan was appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the National Security Services Company "SAFE", which is owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Turki has more than 25 years of extensive security experience starting from 1996 with Saudi Aramco until he became the Manager of Northern Area Industrial Security Operations in 2018. Later, Turki held of the listed company "BATIC" for Investment and Logistics then he held CEO position of "AMNCO" and appointed as a Board of Directors member of "AMNCO-FM" for Facility Management.

Turki’s security experience is diversified in corporate security services, computer security administration, residential area security operations, industrial and maritime infrastructure facilities protection, security support system and identification systems.

Educationally, Al Thonayan holds an MBA and a bachelor’s degree in information & Computer Science both degrees are from KFUPM. He is certified as Port Security Officer, Information Systems Risk Analyst, Ethical Hacker, Fraud Examiner, Hacking Forensic Investigator and SAP Consultant, in addition to his membership in many international organizations related to security fields.

With “SAFE,” Al Thonayan is strategically working to uplifting security services industry, maximizing the integration among security elements, supporting national security initiatives, offering the best-in-class security solutions and combining world-class technology with the expertise of well-trained and distinguished security personnel.

Travis D. Frain

National Chair of the UK Counter Terrorism Youth Advisory Group, Counter Terrorism Police

"Since sustaining serious injuries in the terrorist attack on Westminster Bridge in London, Travis has spent the years following campaigning for the rights of victims of terrorism and has committed to combatting the spread of terrorism and extremism wherever it arises. He co-founded the pressure group Survivors Against Terror in 2018, was named a Young Leader in National Security in 2021, and is currently conducting doctoral research into the history of US-UK Foreign relations with respects to Islam and Islamism at Edge Hill University. 

As a strategic advisor to the UK's Counter Terrorism Policing since 2018, he has been a regular commentator on international media and was elected as the National Chair of the Counter Terrorism Youth Advisory Group in 2022, working to advise the Police and Security Services on how best to prevent radicalisation in young people and engage with local communities. He also serves on the boards of several US and UK emergency response charities and NGOs with the aim of empowering the testimonies of people affected by terrorism in order to ensure that their voice is heard."

Valentin Gaburov

Senior HSE & Security Lead, Dubai Healthcare City Authority

Based in the U.A.E, has over 23 years of professional experience in HSE & Security. Having arrived in UAE in the year 2000, gained 19 years of great experience in the Middle East by being involved in projects operating in Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Qatar, and Kuwait. Coming from Safety & Security background, the strengths and abilities are to develop and effectively manage projects' HSE & Security in controlling the operational activities in safe and secure manner.

The major strengths include Health, Safety & Security of international standards, Field Operation in Risk Control & Management, HSE protocols in Healthcare Field, Incident Investigation, Military Expertise, Vehicle Security and Surveillance Detection, Emergency First Aid & Survival Trainer.

Significant Project Experience:
Dubai Healthcare City Authority Free Zone
Bluewaters mixed-use island, Dubai, UAE
Citywalk, Dubai, UAE
Jumeirah Bay, Dubai, UAE
Al Seef mixed-use, Dubai, UAE
La Mer, Dubai, UAE
Nikki Beach, Dubai, UAE
Tiara Towers, Dubai, UAE
Boxpark, Dubai, UAE
Museum of the Future, Dubai, UAE
Jebel Ali Hills
Dubai Harbour

Well experienced in UAV operations as a Certified Commercial Drone Pilot for 6 years. Worked with DJI drones S1000; S600 and 210 RTK. Studied in Cinematography field, developing and producing an Aerial Imagery, Data Analysis, Documentary and 3D Mapping 'Photogrammetry' for project study, value engineering, promotion media and archiving of the development progress by operating varieties of UAVs which includes studio enhancement of the media and professional quality production for demonstration to executive management and clients.

Vashita Mehra

VP - Global Security Manager India and SE Asia I Army Woman I Security Leader I First Woman ASIS Triple Crown in India IModel,  Marsh McLennan

Vashita is an ex-Indian Army Officer, who has close to 22 years of experience. She has handled Security for large organizations like Microsoft, Bharti-Retail, Flipkart, Concentrix, with employee headcount ranging upto 20000, spread across multiple offices and regions. She is presently employed with Marsh McLennan as Vice President Security for India and South East Asia.

Vashita’s expertise and experience canvases across a multitude of fields covering Risk Assessment & Mitigation, Security Audits, Executive Protection, Investigations, Event Security, Crisis Management, Self Defense Training, Emergency Response, Threat Ops, First Aid and Fire Safety, Travel Security etc.

Vashita is a strong advocate of diversity, equity and inclusion and hopes to contribute as much as she can to make this profession lucrative for all genders, ages and backgrounds.

She is also the 1^st Woman in India to achieve the coveted ASIS Triple Crown Certification. She attributes this achievement to her constant hunger to learn more. She has been extensively recognized in the region and earned many awards , such as :

1. Top Indian Women Influencers In Security Award – 2020
2. Global Indian Woman of the Year Award - 2021  
3. Featured in Security Today Magazine as the Top 20 Indian Women Influencers in Security
4. Featured in the book “Most Successful Female Professionals of India – 2019”
5. Vashita’s Professional journey and her blog post have also been published on the ASIS International Website
6. First Chair of the Women Leadership Forum at Marsh McLennan

Yacine Benamane

Yacine Benamane CPP®, Vice Chair, ASIS Dubai Chapter

Yacine Benamane CPP®, has also a Diploma in Security Management and is a trained and qualified crisis and business risk senior manager with more than 20 years breadth of corporate security experience in Oil & Gas and Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sectors delivering tailored security strategies for people protection, Supply Chain, and route to market operations throughout North Africa and Middle East.

Currently MENA & Iran Senior Regional Security Manager for Unilever based in UAE, he is also an authorized auditor of Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA), member of the Security Institute (SyI),  the US Department of State’s Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) and  Vice Chair of ASIS Dubai Chapter since 2020 

Abdulla Al Dhaheri

Cyber Security Specialist, UAE Government

Abdulla Al Dhaheri is a cybersecurity specialist and blockchain expert. He’s a CEH, OSCP, eJPT, eCPPTv2, eWPT, & certified blockchain developer.

He’s also the author of the book “Into the futures of technologies” that speaks about web3, cybersecurity, space force & the Metaverse.

Dr. Aloysius Cheang

Chief Security Officer, Huawei Middle East & Central Asia

Dr. Aloysius Cheang is currently the CSO of Huawei UAE responsible for driving the company’s cybersecurity vision of building a safe and secure intelligent connected digital world in the UAE and Islamic nations globally. He is also a Board Director for US-based (ISC)2, as well as UK-based cyber leadership think tank, the Centre for Strategic Cyberspace + International Studies (CSCIS). In his career spanning over 22 years, Aloysius had delivered direct business values in strategic, complex, multi-year and multi-million-dollar technology and cyber program for Global 500 organizations worldwide while managing large multi-cultural, multi-disciplinary team spread across 5 continents and 4 major time zones time after time. Prior to his current appointment, Aloysius was a Co-Founder and Managing Director for Cloud Security Alliance Asia Pacific (CSA), the Worldwide Head of Security for Vodafone Global Enterprise and a Security Practice Leader with PricewaterhouseCoopers Singapore, having started his career with DSO National Laboratories in Singapore focusing on Defence R&D.

Ali Awadallah

Program Manager, Jaheziya, UAE

Ali Awadallah is an educational expert and a pioneer in the fields of online safety, safeguarding, and children’s development with a long career in several governmental and private organizations in the UAE. He is currently holding the position of a Program Manager at a leading UAE training and educational consultancy and overseeing several projects in the field of online safety awareness.

Ali’s broad canvas of experience working with a wide range of agencies including Government, schools, universities, social care, unions, and police. He works with a broad range of national and international organizations that include ITU, UK Safer Internet Center, InSafe, Secure US, and has spoken at global conferences in the Middle East, Europe, and the US.

Ali is holding an Information Technology and Computer Science degree from Philadelphia University.

Ali Abdulla Hassan

Chief of Information Technology, Ministry of Oil, Bahrain

19+ Years of experience in the Information Technology Field. Working currently in the Ministry of Oil and Environment - Kingdom of Bahrain as Chief of Information Technology.  Mix-skilled with Digital Transformation, Cybersecurity, Digital Sustainability, and Cloud Transformation, and passionate about IT Service Management frameworks using the ITIL concepts and practices"

Anthony El Khoury

Manager – Cyber Strategy, Deloitte, Lebanon

•Led the development and implementation of the information security framework for a governmental entity in alignment with international standards (i.e.ISO 27001/2, NIST, ISO 27014) as part of the OECD tax exchange platform integration requirements

•Led the development of a remote work framework for a major Bank with presence in the MENA and Gulf region to establish and enhance remote working capabilities while accounting for cyber risks as part of the Bank’s business resilience strategy

•Led the IT/Information security audit for the biggest multilateral Islamic development bank covering interfaces with external parties, third party management, IT general controls, network and physical security.

•Delivered training sessions covering executives and staff for a leading Telecommunications company on Telco Emerging risks, revenue assurance and Fraud

•Conducted an IT diagnostic for a conglomerate with presence in UAE and Africa and participated in the development of its ERP strategy and provided support throughout the roll out and implementation phase

•Led and conducted several compliance assessments against international standards and local regulations across the region (i.e.ISO 27001/2, NIST CSF, NESA IAS, NCA-ECC) and supported clients in the implementation of remediation plans and accreditation process.

•Conducted a gap analysis for a leading bank covering its Digital Factory agile development framework/DevSecOps and provided recommendations to enhance and align its agile practices with leading requirements.

Andres Desa

Head of Cybersecurity Audit, Mubadala Investment Company

Andres leads cybersecurity audit and advisory projects at key companies within Mubadala Investment Company.

With more than 18 years’ experience in the IT Consulting and Services domain, Andres has led multiple Cybersecurity projects, ranging from Ethical Hacking, Information Security Management System implementation to Cybersecurity Strategy development for various organizations.

Since 2011, Andres has supported companies ranging from oil and gas to healthcare across four continents to enhance their Industrial Cybersecurity controls.

Andres holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Computer Science from Goa University. He has earned multiple risk and cybersecurity certifications, including the GIAC Response and Industrial Defense.

Abdullah Al Barwani

GM, Corporate Security, Omantel, Oman

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.

Amer Sharaf

Director of Compliance Support and Alliances, Dubai Electronic Security Center

Amer Sharaf is the Director of Compliance Support and Alliances at the Dubai Electronic Security Center based in the Emirates of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Amer has accumulated a diverse set of skills in his career in the Information Technology field successfully delivering key applications and infrastructure related projects. His experience also extends to deploying resilient and highly available data centers catering to key critical systems. Amer has considerable experience on city level systems and adopting several disruptive technologies and ensuring that key security principles and technologies are adopted.

Biju Hameed

Head- Technology Infrastructure Operations, Dubai Airports

Biju Hameed CISSP CISM CISA CRISC CCSP MBCS is a seasoned cybersecurity professional and international speaker with two decades of extensive experience in the areas of cybersecurity management & technology operations , 13 years of which has been in Aviation cybersecurity.
He currently heads the Business Technology Infrastructure & Operations practice at a Dubai Airports spending a considerable amount of time and focus on IT/OT Security. Biju holds a Master’s degree (with distinction) in Network Security and has several professional certifications to his credit. He has also been a featured speaker and panelist at several regional and international events for over a decade now. 

Bharat Raigangar

Entrepreneur & 1CxO - Corporate Service Advisor

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.

Bader Almarzooqi

Security Systems Officer, Dubai Electronic Security Center

Bader is part of the Dubai Cyber Index team that created the first cyber index for a city worldwide. The index focuses in raising the cyber security response time of government entities in Dubai and creating a healthy competition among Dubai cybersecurity teams.

Dr. Ebrahim Al Alkeem

Digital Transformation - Cyber Security - Artificial Intelligence expert Director, ENEC

Dr. Ebrahim Al Alkeem is an expert in the effects of Artificial Intelligence, with a focus on secure critical infrastructure design and other exponentially developing technologies on the economy, healthcare, and society. He explains the cyber threats and opportunities created by these new developments. As a proven leader in cybersecurity with over 17th years of experience in the field, Dr. Ebrahim has been helping companies grow their technological capabilities with keen insight and creative ideas. He has worked with many technologies in different positions. He is currently leading the cybersecurity department and is responsible for assessing internal technological capabilities from both OT and IT perspectives.  Dr. Ebrahim holds a Ph.D. degree in Engineering from Khalifa University in Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity. He manages to publish a couple of articles in the most prestigious journals in the world and has some of the worldwide recognized security certificates. He has been an expert speaker and panel member in cybersecurity events and summits. In 2015, Dr. Ebrahim won the Tamayaz Excellence Award, an appreciation award in the category of inventions of information technology & smart services. Also, he is an active member of many engineering associations across the world.

Emma Brain

Seasoned Broadcaster & Journalist

Emma Brain is a seasoned broadcaster, journalist, moderator and interviewer who’s been in the UAE since 2003. She has worked for many different media outlets within the radio and tv industry, as well as writing regularly to local press.

She’s a popular panel moderator and interviewer who has been a part of many high profile events across the emirates.

Dr. Raed AlHazme

Chief Information Officer, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Saudi Arabia

Raed H. AlHazme, PhD, is the Executive Director of the IT Department at the Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs (MNGHA), and the IDC CIO of the Year 2021. The scope of the IT department at MNGHA covers 2 medical cities, 3 hospitals and 72 primary healthcare centers distributed across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Dr. AlHazme has been involved in the management of IT departments in different environments for more than 15 years. Led by Dr. AlHazme, MNGHA’s digital transformation process has progressed to a high-level of digital maturity. As per the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), MNGHA is the only healthcare organization in the world that has reached quadruple Stage 7 (highest level) on HIMSS’s digital maturity models. Furthermore, MNGHA King Abdulaziz Medical City has been considered as one of the 250 top Smart Hospitals in the World based on the renowned Newsweek’s 2021 and 2023 ranking reports. Academically, is an adjunct assistant professor in the health informatics department at King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and in the biomedical informatics department at Nova Southeastern University, FL, USA. Dr. AlHazme’s research activities are focused on digital transformation, health informatics and data science, which involved publishing a number of scientific literatures and registering four patents at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Dr. Mohammad Khaled

Director/Business Development-Govt. Accounts, e& Enterprise

Dr. Mohammad is a futurist & technology/Business leader with 20+ years track record in the areas of Corporate Governance, Cyber Security &Resilience, Corporate Excellence & Innovation, Smart &Safe City, Digital Transformation, Future Foresight & Accelerations, Strategic Transformation, Analytics & Big Data, &Artificial Intelligence. Also been selected Safe Digital Thought Leader feature in Asia's 100 Power Leaders in Technology 2022 from UAE.

He is a strategic thinker, global mentor, &advisor for international companies, international technology vendors, public shares companies, both private & public sectors, with proven leadership & organizational skills in empowering high-performing technology teams. His extensive experience in corporate development including establishing, revamping, growing business and transformation, in addition to driving strategic initiatives &partnership. He has worked at several mega organizations (government, Semi Government &private) such as G42, DarkMatter, Department of Energy, ALRowad IT Solutions,Department of Finance, Abu Dhabi Police & others.

He is the Member of The Board of Advisors at Abu Dhabi University,British University in Dubai & others.

In his current role experience, he is leading large cross-functional teams to build strategic projects and initiatives on all various sectors including critical infrastructure enabling Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence for business-critical platforms for the public and private sector. He is driving strategy & deployment for A.I.,Cloud & Big data analytics solution projects to digitize services, accelerate smart & safe nations transformation, & support the efforts of critical infrastructure owners & operators to manage risks & achieve security and resilience.

He is on the Board of Advisors –Faculty of Engineering & IT Programs, British University in Dubai, Board of Advisors –Computer Engineering, Abu Dhabi University, Adjunct Professor for Doctorate and MBA, Abu Dhabi University, Mentor- Technology Fellowship Program, Arab Youth Center.

His articles have been features in several publications like BYOD Technological: Next Generation Business Development Programs for Future Accelerations, Innovations & Employee Happiness, International Journal of Computer Applications (IJCA), Governance, Risk & Compliance for IoT, International Journal of New Technology and Research, Evaluating & Measuring Governmental Smart and online Service in Terms of the Quality - The Case Study of UAE, International Journal of Enhanced Research in Science, Technology & Engineering &more.

He holds a PhD in Computer Science:British University in Dubai, Master’s in Engineering Management:ALHOSN University.

Mohamed Gamal Abdelmksoud

Group Information Technology Director, United Eastern Medical Services (UEMedical), UAE

Mohamed G. Abdalmksoud is A top-performing IT director with over 20 years of experience managing business applications, Digital solutions, networks, Datacentre, IT security, And services management.

He has a proven record managing different industries IT systems such as Healthcare, Retail, Hospitality, Oil and Gas, and investment. Currently Leads the digital and technology team in UEMedical Healthcare Group as a Director of IT,

His team is dedicated to improving primary care practices to facilitate quality improvement that can help practices improve the ability to deliver high-quality care and improve patient outcomes, examining the effects of information technologies on business strategy, productivity, and performance in the group.

Mohamed G Abdalmaqsoud is a recognized expert in health IT development, adoption, and use of IT clinical practice, IT quality improvement, primary care transformation, IT health care policy & Member of CHiME “ College of Healthcare Information management Executives,” Certified Expert in ITIL, Prince 2, PMI-ACP, professional certificates from Microsoft, Cisco, VMWARE, CNSS 4011 Recognition: Committee on National Security Systems and National Security Agency (NSA) and Ec-Council Ethical hacker certified and holds bachelor’s degrees in Computer Sciences.

Mariam AlMhairi

Assistant Specialist IT Infrastructure Systems, Federal National Council, UAE

Mahmoud Al Omar

Technology and Safeguarding Specialist in the Knowledge Solutions Division, Jaheziya, UAE

Mahmoud Hashem Al Omari is an employee of Jaheziya since (October 2017), Specialized in Training, Education and Online Safety.

Mahmoud Hashem is currently working as a Technology and Safeguarding Specialist in the Knowledge Solutions Division. Responsible for designing, developing and managing ICT Training courses and carrying out training needs analysis and performance assessments to determine the skills gaps between current and desirable learner skill levels. Has trained the trainers on the latest technologies and teaching techniques, and worked with a variety of high profile clients such as: ADNOC, IAT, the UAE Armed Forces and more.

Mukhtar Mansour

Services Director - Smart Buildings & Smart Cities, Meeza

Mukhtar Mansour has 21 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.

Naser Al Rashedi

Policy, Strategy and Regulation Expert in ICT, Cyber and Space, UAE Federal Agency

Eng. Naser Alrashdi has been honored to serve the UAE government in the fields of ICT, Cybersecurity, and Space for the past 17 years, where he’s gained extensive experience with professional practical know-how on the areas of:

• policy and regulatory frameworks development at both national and international levels,
• strategy, planning, and governance;
• licensing, and risk management;
• incubation and acceleration of innovation and entrepreneurship;
• capacity building;
• investment promotion;
• awareness and engagement;
• collaboration, and partnership;
• coordination and negotiation

In his career journey Naser managed over 60 national projects, led the development of 43 national policies, strategies and regulations, led and supervised over 73 national and international studies, coordinated the preparation of over 590 conference paper contributions in over 209 international conferences; held more than 20 leadership positions in national committees, and another 20 leadership positions in international committees on various matters related to ICT, Cyber, and Space. Naser supported incubation and accelerated of more than 6 Space Startups, coordinated the government authorization/licensing of over 17 ICT/Space activities, government signing of 20 international treaties& agreements, 14 MoUs, and the join of more than 10 international organizations/committees. Naser is currently part of the Space Program Quality Assurance and Risk Management Team at the UAE Space Agency. Moreover he is supporting the UAE federal government in coordinating a national initiative towards boosting UAE attractiveness of entrepreneurships and FDI. Recognizing the global and local trends, he is currently perusing the next phase of his career journey with focus on digital transformation, Fintech and advanced technologies; where he intends to apply and further enrich his indicated above areas of expertise. As he is progressing in this new phase, he is also exploring and open to innovative ideas and suitable challenges.

Prof. Ernesto Damiani

Director Info Security Center, Khalifa University

Ernesto Damiani is Director of the Center for Cyber-Physical System at Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi,  and Full Professor at the Department of Computer Science, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy, where he leads the SESAR research lab and is the head of the PhD Program in computer science. His research interests include Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Cyber-physical systems, secure service-oriented architectures, privacy-preserving big data analytics and cyber-physical systems security. Ernesto holds/has held visiting positions at a number of international institutions, including George Mason University in Virginia, US, Tokyo Denki University, Japan, LaTrobe University in Melbourne, Australia, and the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA) at Lyon, France. He is a Fellow of the Japanese Society for the Progress of Science. He has been Principal Investigator in a number of large-scale research projects funded by the European Commission, the Italian Ministry of Research and by private companies such as British Telecom, Cisco Systems, SAP, Telecom Italia, Siemens Networks (now Nokia Siemens) and many others. His serves in the editorial board of several international journals; among others, he is the EIC of the International Journal on Big Data and of the International Journal of Knowledge and Learning. He is associate editor of the IEEE Transactions on Service-oriented Computing and of the IEEE Transactions on Fuzzy Systems. His served as vice-chair of the IEEE Technical Committee on Industrial Informatics. In 2008, Ernesto was nominated ACM Distinguished Scientist and received the Chester Sall Award from the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society. Ernesto has co-authored more than 700 scientific papers and many books, including “Open Source Systems Security Certification” (Springer 2009).

Ohad Gross

Senior Director for International Business Development , Cellebrite

Ohad is Cellebrite’s Sr. Director for International Business Development, responsible for developing and promoting Cellebrite’s DI story and nurturing business opportunities.

Ohad brings more than 20 years of experience in global business development positions. Prior to joining Cellebrite in December 2021, Ohad had had a long tenure at Intel Corporation both in Israel and in the USA, as business executive.

Sultan Altukhaim

General Manager - Cybersecurity & Data Governance, Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST), Saudi Arabia

Sultan has an extensive IT and Cybersecurity management experience locally and internationally. He is now leading all regulatory affairs regarding Cybersecurity and Data Governance in the ICT and Telecom sector in Saudi Arabia. Sultan has worked for many pioneer organizations such as Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), Saudi Telecom Company (STC), Boeing, Capital Market Authority (CMA), and Saudi Investment Bank (SAIB). Sultan has earned his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Information Systems from King Saud University, and his second M.Sc. in Engineering Management from Florida Tech. He holds distinguished leadership certifications from Harvard Business School, INSEAD, and London Business School.

Shaik Abdul Khader

CISO, Qatar Petrochemical Company

Shaik Abdulkhader (Shaik) is a proven visionary cybersecurity leader with 28+ years of experience with strong business acumen and excellent working knowledge of cybersecurity, IT, IOT, IIOT & OT technologies. He has highly diversified industry exposure and multi geography experience, having excellent knowledge of Business & IT systems, products, solutions, platforms & services in Banking, Oil & Gas, Manufacturing, Telecom & Government sectors and have been associated with the biggest global brands like TCS, Vodafone, QNB, IBM, QAPCO etc at various technical & leadership roles.

Shaheela Banu

Chief Information Security Officer, Kuwait Gulf Oil Company (KGOC)

15+ years of experience in Vulnerability Management & Patch Updates, Information Security in Management Systems, & ISMS Lead Auditor Compliance & Risk Management. Worked in Leading Insurance and Banking Sector in Kuwait. Lead Pentester & Auditor for many Healthcare, Educational Institutions. A Social Worker for Cybersecurity Awareness in India, Kuwait, UAE, Saudi Arabia.

Haitham Al-Jowhari

Partner, Cyber Security & Digital Identity | PwC, UAE

Haitham is a Partner in the cyber security and digital identity consulting practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers – Middle East. He has 17+ years of experience working with national cyber agencies, government and critical national infrastructure on their cyber security agenda and digital identity transformation programs at national, sectoral and entity level. Haitham has also contributed to the establishment of the PwC Middle East cyber practice and is currently the Chief Operations Officer of the digital trust and cybersecurity unit. 

Hariprasad Chede

Chief Information Security Officer, National Bank Of Fujairah PJSC

Hariprasad Chede is heading the Information Security Risk at National bank Of Fujairah UAE.

With over 20 years of experience Hari brings expertise in Digital Trust, Information security, Fraud Management, Data Governance, Data Privacy, Identity Governance, Change management and Risk management.

He is a thought leader in digital innovation, digital trust and business resiliency and won many prestigious awards.

He works closely with the schools and institutions to enable the users to use the digital innovation responsibly.

He has earned a number of prestigious accolades on Risk Management, information security, Data Privacy and Digital Innovations.

He also has a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science and Engineering from Bangalore University, India. 

Hassan Suleiman Hariry

CEO, Titan Security, UAE 

Hassan Suleiman Hariry is the CEO of Titan Security, a cyber security company headquartered in Dubai, UAE. Hassan is a graduate of the Lebanese American University (LAU) in Beirut with a BBA in Business Administration and a master's degree in Finance and presently studying International Diplomacy and Security.

Over the years, Hassan Hariry consolidated his skills to become fully proficient in project management of various projects involving risk consulting, performance monitoring , crisis management and intelligence systems for both the commercial and public sectors. His acumen and expertise in the subject of security has forged alliances with key organizations in the industry worldwide and built a significant network.

Recently Hassan has partnered with the Georgian Defense Minister to promote the security sector in Georgia through his companies, Plus 971 Cyber Security & Titan Security in the UAE and XDS Levant in Lebanon and XDS Defense in the UK. The aim of the cooperation is to promote the security sector in the Republic of Georgia and increase cooperation between the Middle East | North Africa Region and Eastern Europe.

Hassan Halawy

General Manager, Elite Agro Project LLC, UAE

Hassan Halawy comes from engineering background with verifiable year after year track record for achieving revenue, profit and business growth with extensive experience in the Middle Eastern and African market. He has built, led & motivated teams to establish themselves among key players in market and managed delivery of projects on time for key private & public institutions. He repeatedly produced sustained revenue and dynamic growth with business background in international & multicultural environments. His unique experience in Agriculture and Technology helps him bridge the Gap between operational requirements of Agriculture and the rising challenges of adopting technology in a safe and consistent manner.

Hassan’s special focus and interest lies in Precision Agriculture, Automation and leveraging Data Science and AI in agriculture and is a certified Data Protection Officer

Khalid Ansari

Principal Cybersecurity Engineer, FM Approvals

Khalid Ansari is the Principal Cybersecurity Engineer with FM Approvals' industrial control cybersecurity certification program. He has 25 years of global experience in industrial automation and control systems spanning the spectrum of software development, systems integration, commissioning, and ICS/OT cybersecurity in a production environment. Khalid volunteers on several committees including those for ISA-62443 standards and the ISASecure certification scheme. He has bachelor's and master's degrees in control systems and several cybersecurity certifications including the Global Industrial Cyber Security Professional and the ISA/IEC-62443 Cybersecurity Expert. 

Latifah Al Malla

Executive Training & Development, Ministry of Health 

Hamad Saeed Husain Abdulrahman

Director of the Information and Communication Directorate, King Hamad University Hospital

Hamad is the Director of the Information and Communication Directorate in King Hamad University Hospital. He is an accomplished digital strategist with a proven track record of implementing many successful digital transformation initiatives. He has more than 18 years of experience in DevOps, Digital Transformation, and Cyber Security. Prior to Health Care he has worked in multiple Public and Private sectors, including Consultancy and Aviation entities. He has leveraged his leadership skills with his deep technical background marking his successful track record. He has achieved multiple renowned ICT and Cyber Security certifications and holds an MBA from the University of Strathclyde.”

Ibrahim Nasser Abdi

Technology and Safeguarding Specialist in the Knowledge Solutions Division, Jaheziya, UAE

Ibrahim Nassir is an employee of Jaheziya since (September 2009), Specialized in Training, Education and Online Safety.

Ibrahim Nassir is currently working as a Technology and Safeguarding Specialist in the Knowledge Solutions Division. Responsible for designing, developing and managing ICT Training courses and carrying out training needs analysis and performance assessments to determine the skills gaps between current and desirable learner skill levels.

Ibrahim Nassir has trained the trainers on the latest technologies and teaching techniques.

Prior to his current post, Ibrahim Nassir has worked with a variety of high profile clients such as: ADNOC, IAT, the UAE Armed Forces and more.

Talal Alasmi

Director of Information Security, Department of Electronic Information Security

Currently working in a Security leadership (CISO) role with Ministry of Education, an organization with 86000+ employees. In past successfully delivered as GRC head, Security transformation lead, lead Security architect, head of IT  Security Compliance and security lead in many important projects.

His achievements

• Building MOE Information Security strategies  (indefinite asset, Risk assessment, Definition objectives of the strategic management)
• Building MOE ISMS likewise  ISO27001
• Building and devolve security culture in MOE
• Idea owner of Cyber Safe Project
• Idea owner of Blackmail campaign
• Capacity building MOE team and send a proposal to top management to build an initial Security Operations Centre (SOC) capability using a commercial tool.
• Saving for one year more than 100 K  OMR

He has over 20 years of Information Security experience with 17 years in leadership and strategic positions.

Talal is passionate about innovation, entrepreneurship, IT security and business strategy. He has Master Degree of Network Security and Digital Forensics.

Continued success in sharpening my ace since 2017; qualified 5+  top rated internationally recognized professional exams covering all major domains; CISM, CRISC, CISA, CDPSE ,IFRS16,  CSNA and CSNE.

Shahab Siddiqui

Global Head of Cyber Security, Petrofac

Shahab Siddiqui is the Global Head of Cyber Security at Petrofac, a leading service provider to the oil and gas production and processing industry. He is a Cyber Security professional with more than 15 years of extensive experience working in various domains of Information Security, with expertise in defining and delivering Information Security strategies in complex enterprise environments. His area of specialisation includes SOC operations, Incident Handling, Information Security Risk - Governance & Compliance, ISMS Auditing & implementation, and PCI DSS.

Sohail Munir

Emerging Technologies and Digital Transformation | Thought Leader in AI, Blockchain, Metaverse, Digital Identity, GovTech, and FinTech | NEOM

Dr. Sohail Munir is a seasoned industry professional with over twenty-five years of Entrepreneurial and Program Management experience in the space of GovTech, Smart City, Safe City, Digital Transformation, Digital ID, C4I Systems and FinTech. He specializes in Enterprise Architecture for large and complex ICT Systems. Sohail's current R&D interests are in the space of AIOps, Machine Learning, and Blockchain. He has been a key contributor to the Blockchain and Paperless city initiatives at Smart Dubai Government. He has been actively involved in developing policies, legislation, and standards for Blockchain in Government, Digital ID & Signature, and Digital Payments. He has worked on developing Micro Services Architecture for Smart City Services enabling Open Data and API Economy. Sohail has also organized a private equity fund investing in emerging technologies like AI and Blockchain in LawTech, FinTech and GovTech sectors.

Yahya Salim Alazri

Consultant, Oman CERT | Ministry of Transport, Communications, and Information Technology (MTCIT), Oman

The former Director of the National PKI in Information Technology Authority (ITA). Yahya was responsible to provide a state-of-the-art PKI services in a national wise and to support the integration of the government’s entities to the national digital identity platform and the digital signature platform.

Yahya is now a consultant in the Oman National CERT. He has 16 years of experience in cybersecurity, digital identity, digital signature, information security and risk management, IT project management, and digital transformation. He was part of the national PKI project implementation and a team-lead in the government e-readiness project in 2012.

Yahya had the honor to receive an international prize for Oman National PKI by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in Switzerland, 2016. He represented the Sultanate by presenting Oman National PKI in the Expert Group Meeting on Mobile ID 2016, Poland. Yahya was a speaker in the PKI Arab Forum 2014, a speaker in the GCC eGovernment Conference 2015 in Bahrain, a speaker in ITU GSR’18 in Switzerland, a speaker in ITU Telecom World 2018 in South Africa, a speaker in the eID Forum 2019 in Estonia, a panel moderator and a panelist in the Seamless ME 2022. In addition, Yahya provided several speeches in different conferences and forums in Oman.

Captain Brent Brooks

Toronto Fire, Canada

Brent Brooks is a Captain with Toronto Fire Services currently assigned to Toronto’s High-Rise Unit. Brent’s 28-year firefighting career started at Pearson International Airport, with continuing duties at (De Havilland) and Bombardier Aero Space Crash Fire Rescue teams. He is a proud retired member of the Canadian Armed Forces.

Captain Brooks’ High Rise Unit assignment has led to the advancement of Toronto’s High-Rise Operations through innovations in tactical research and development, their Incident Management System and operational training.

As a fire service advocate of best practices, Brent’s high-rise specialization has seen his service on numerous committees, national and international speaking engagements. He started the High-Rise Round Table in Toronto, hosted the Toronto and Montreal High-Rise Summit and is a member of the Chicago based Council of Tall Buildings. He also represents Canada as a member of the London, England based T70 Tall Building Safety Committee.

Captain Brent Brooks’ Community of Practice is far reaching in its scope through donated lectures and hands-on training throughout Ontario, Canada, and internationally. His mission is to educate the next generation of firefighters by sharing best practices for occupant survival and firefighter’s safety related to High-Rise firefighting.

Dave Fuller

VP Approvals Manager, Fire Protection, FM Approvals

David B. Fuller is a Vice President for FM Approvals, a member of the FM Global group.  David manages FM Approvals’ Fire Protection Group which is responsible for testing and certifying fire protection related products and services. 

David has more than 30 years experience in fire protection and property loss prevention. He has been in his current position since 2015. Prior to his current position, David was a manager in FM Global’s Engineering Standards group where he was responsible for FM Global’s loss prevention data sheets related to fire and explosion hazards.

David is a member of National Fire Protection Association and currently serves on the NFPA sprinkler installation, fire pump, and inspection test and maintenance technical committees.

David holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Northeastern University and a master’s degree in fire protection engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.  

Dr. Adel Al Ali

Group HSSE&R, ENOC

Dr. Adel Al Ali is a specialist and a practitioner of Health Safety Environmental, Quality and Security Management System with a demonstrable record of success gained over 31 years of Local and International experience in Occupational Health, Safety, Environment & Security rules, regulations, policies & standards in the Oil & Gas Industry (plant and offshore operations) in the UAE, always delivering strong strategic and tactical input and first-class Safety and Operational stewardship. UAE national with strong network and connections.

Dr. Adel holds a doctorate degree in Business administration and several prestigious memberships and certifications in HSE. Currently Dr. Adel is working as a Senior Director, Group Health Safety Sustainability Environment and Resilience department in Emirates National Oil Corporation. He is an effective and inspiring leader who provides clear directions to his diverse group of department managers towards achieving Business Excellence.

Ahmed Yousry

Senior Associate - Business Development, Emirates Safety Laboratory

Ahmed Yousry is a Sr. Business Development Engineer at Dubai Civil Defence Emirates Safety Laboratory. His area of focus is developing and sustaining solid relationships with stakeholders and clients and developing effective strategies to improve the business.

As a Fire protection engineer he worked for various consultant construction companies as a senior fire protection systems design engineer, he completed a significant number of projects throughout  8 years of working in the fire protection business.

Besides working, He is currently pursuing his Master’s degree at the American University of Sharjah in engineering systems management and he acquired his bachelor degree in mechanical engineering from Helwan University in Cairo.

H.E. Brig. Expert Ali Hassan Al Mutawaa

Assistant Director-General for Fire and Rescue Affairs, Dubai Civil Defense

Alex Keene

European Sales & Marketing Manager, PVStop International

Alex Keene has over 20 years’ experience in senior Business Development & Operations roles with a number of high profile, multinational corporations.

Alex has recently transitioned his career focus into renewable energy safety and the fire and emergency services industry, inspired by a pivotal early placement and experience with BP Solar.

As a senior member of PVSTOP International team, Alex brings expertise and knowledge developed over 7 years exposure to the mitigation of the risks to life and property posed by Solar PV Systems.

Aparna Venugopalan

Certification Specialist-Electrical, Emirates Safety Laboratory

A qualified regulatory, conformity assessment, and product compliance specialist with expertise in different product conformity assessment programs in GCC, including Saudi Arabia (SASO)_SABER, U.A.E.(ESMA), KUWAIT (KUCAS), GMARK, IECEE, SQM, UAE Fire and Life Safety Code.

A graduate of Electronics and Communication Engineering from Mahatma Gandhi University, Aparna Venugopalan, is a focused &Persuasive Management Professional with over 10 years of expertise in Quality Management, Product Certifications, Project Management, Internal Sales, and Certifications Process Coordination. Experienced in certification and auditing, formulates conformity assessment instructions based on product safety and performance standards. Currently associated with Emirates Safety Laboratory as a Certification Specialist

Duncan J. White

Managing Editor, IFSJ

Duncan J. White has worked in the fire industry for over 35 years, having started his career as a firefighter in 1987. Following almost 30 years as an operational fire officer he has continued his involvement with the fire industry as an editor within global publishing. Duncan is currently Managing Editor for International Fire and Safety Journal, a monthly publication from Centurian Media Ltd.

Dr. Ramakrishna Akula

Senior Specialist – HSE Competency Development, ENOC

Dr. Rama (Ramakrishna Akula) is a Chartered engineer and Occupational Safety and Health Practitioner with 23 years of Oil and Gas work experience. He gained significant recognition as a subject matter expert in Quality, Health Safety and Environment, Plant Operations, Organizational Strategic Performance, Operational Excellence and Business Excellence Management Systems.

Dr. Rama completed his doctorate degree (Ph.D.) in safety. He is a chartered member in IOSH, UK (CMIOSH), holding the title Occupational Safety and Health Practitioner and a Chartered Mechanical Engineer. He also holds an MBA in Operations, a post-graduate diploma in HSE and a Certificate in Disaster Management.

An experienced management systems assessor, he has been a lead assessor for prestigious industry excellence awards in UAE for the implementation of Corporate Excellence programs. Also, Dr. Rama is the recipient of the UAE National Quality Award from The American Society for Quality (ASQ- the Middle East and North Africa) and holds a world record on research publications in International Journals. Also, Dr. Rama has been the lead author of published books in the areas of Operations Excellence, Gas Cylinder safety and Process Safety Management.

Edward Barnes

Chief Technical Officer, Reacton Fire Suppression

Edward Barnes is the group’s Chief Technical Officer and focuses on the development of technology for the group including global certification, product development and manufacturing. Edward oversees a significant amount of global awareness training on certification standards ensuring customers, regulators and governments fully understand the relevance of certification of fire products in specific applications.

This work has led to several improvements in the UK and worldwide from OEMs to insurers in the recognition of standards specifically for buses, and offroad vehicle equipment. Ensuring that information gained in the research of the products is shared globally in a combined effort to reduce losses associated with fires.

Faheemuddin Mohammed

Certification Specialist, Emirates Safety Laboratory

Fire and Life Safety Engineer working in the TIC Industry as a Certification Specialist graduated in 2013 from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, completing a Bachelor of Technology in Electronics and Communication Engineering.  Over his eight-year career progression, Faheemuddin has developed technical expertise and in-depth knowledge of the various international codes, standards, technical specifications and numerous MENA and South Asia regional regulations and requirements with practical experience in design, programming, testing & commissioning of Fire Detection and Alarm systems, Aspiration Detection systems, Voice Evacuation Systems, Emergency Lighting systems, Central Battery systems, Exit Signs & Exit Lights Photovoltaic Systems. 

Ghaith Bakir

Senior Regulatory Engineer-MEA, UL Solutions

Ghaith Bakir, Senior Regulatory Engineer at UL Solutions, who provides regulatory support in the Middle East and Africa regions. Working out of the UL Solutions office in Dubai, Ghaith provides technical expertise in regulations, codes, standards, and product installations related issues to assist regulatory authorities, consultants, manufacturers, designers and contractors in resolving product acceptance and code compliance issues., Represents UL Solutions at AHJ and code development meetings by participating in code discussions and conducting technical presentations on code-related technical subjects, Plan, conducts and supervises code and regulatory related projects of major magnitude and scope.

Prior to joining UL Solutions Ghaith worked as a project engineer for a leading producer and supplier of fire and life safety solutions. In that role, he managed projects across the United Arab Emirates (UAE) involving the installation, testing and maintenance of fire protection equipment and systems. He also worked for a Dubai master developer as a fire engineer, assisting in developing and implementing fire safety management system frameworks, and evaluating compliance with national and international fire safety standards and best practices.

Ihab Al Bairam

Senior Director HSE & Quality, LOAMS / DAMAC Group

Over 18+ experience in QHSE for various industries leading the specialist team in Construction, Project Management, MEP Systems installation & Commissioning, Specialist in Fire & Life Safety Systems, Community & Facilities Management, Security Operations across the many major projects in the country with Bachelors in Engineering & Masters in Facilities Planning & Management.

Leading the major team across the business with key responsible & specialist in Projects / Building Fire & Life Safety Systems, QHSE, ISO Management Systems, Crisis & Business Continuity Management Lead.

Ian Moore

Chief Executive Officer, Fire Industry Association

Ian is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Fire Industry Association (FIA). The FIA, with over 1,000 member companies, is a not-for-profit trade association with the aim of promoting the professional status of the UK fire safety industry; all of its members hold 3rd party accreditation. As Europe’s largest trade association for the fire protection industry, the FIA’s main objective is to promote the professional standards of the fire industry through close liaison and lobbying with Government and key organisations in the industry. In addition, the FIA trains to qualification over 8,000 engineers per year to a Nationally recognised level.

Julius Sarmiento

Senior Certification Specialist, Emirates Safety Laboratory

Julius Sarmiento is a Senior Certification Specialist with over 17 years of working experience including 15 years in the field of building engineering & construction. He specializes in conformity certification of fire and life safety products and materials. Before joining Emirates Safety Laboratory, he worked in a Third Party House of Expertise as a DCD  engineer/inspector where he developed his knowledge & expertise in building fire & life safety which has been the foundation of technical proficiency in a wide variety of small to large-scale-size building projects. He also gained experience working for 13 years in the building design and construction industry and was involved in various building construction projects as a Senior MEP Engineer in several construction organizations.

Laxminarayan Nayak

Regional Risk Engineer, RSA

Eng. Laxminarayan Nayak is an experienced risk engineering professional having worked in several Middle Eastern countries with leading organizations. He is presently performing loss prevention fieldwork and account consultancy for large-scale industrial, renewable energy, and special occupancies of RSA Middle East. Prior to joining RSA, he worked for Cholamandlam MS Risk Services Ltd., Chennai.

Mr. Nayak holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and an M.Tech degree in Chemical Engineering with a specialization in Safety Engineering from the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Rourkela, India. His specialty includes conducting high-hazard risk assessments & business resilience reviews of various types of occupancies largely for the insurance industry. Additionally, his experience involves industrial loss prevention consulting, machinery breakdown risk assessment, fire protection system review and testing, etc.

Mr. Nayak has performed over three hundred risk consulting physical surveys and numerous remote/desktop risk assessments of different types of occupancies including chemical industries, renewable energy facilities, metal & manufacturing, and special occupancies. He is passionate about risk management of emerging risks like cybersecurity, multifaced technological risk consulting, etc.

Michael James Kelly

Fire Safety Officer, Savills Property Management UK

Michael is a Fire Resilience expert of over 35 years with a focus on all aspects of Fire & Rescue, Incident Command and Crisis Management.

He has produced Fire Safety Strategies for Compliance Monitoring programs in line with UK and UAE Life Safety Code and NFPA standards.

He has spent over 10 years in the Middle and Far East as a consultant. Furthermore, Michael develops specific and bespoke Incident Response Teams (IRT) based upon the company or organisation’s risk profile for additional asset protection and fire and rescue capabilities.

Some of the major projects Michael has worked on include the Burj Khalifa, The Dubai Mall , The World Islands and Dubai and Al Makhtoum Airport AFS.

Recently his expertise has been sought by other international governments including the Bangladesh and Maldives Civil Defence Forces in association with the United Nations Development Plan (UNDP) in assisting them to develop their Urban Resilience Plans (URP) for dealing with various major incidents and disasters.

Michael is also an associate part time lecturer/Instructor for the prestigious UK Fire Service College the centre of excellence for professional training delivery.

At present Michael is working for the globally acclaimed Savills Property Management company in relation to Fire safety. 

Mohamed Yousufdeen

Chief Technical Officer & Board of Directors, Fire Experts for Safety Engineering

Mohamed Yousufdeen, better known as Yousuf has over a decade of core experience in the field of Fire Engineering and Fire Science Technologies, ranging from Fire Life Safety (FLS) engineering within the High-rise & Super Tall buildings and Industrial facilities construction, including fire testing requirements of all the fire safety related materials, specializing in facades and their associated attachment members.

He has carried out numerous House of Expertise (HOE) projects as a fire engineering expert and specialist in the field of FLS, FRA, Structural fire protection evaluation, examining active and passive fire protection systems of buildings, all type of facility construction, and has an extensive in-depth knowledge of building envelope types and their technologies.

His unique fire safety Initiatives for fire prevention facade awareness, Emergency Preparedness, and Hazard communication received extensive attention in his home country’s Education & University Institutions, along with several Regional Fire Safety Industries. Yousuf has published several Technical papers in many countries on Risks and Occupational Hazards to occupants/firefighters, involving Challenges in Rescue and Fire Management in existing occupied Buildings, and Performance-based Design Safety. 

Matthew Dear

Director, Better Environment And Transport (BEAT)            

Matthew is Founder and Director at Better Environment And Transport (BEAT), developing and implementing net zero carbon solutions for Fire and Rescue Services with demanding performance and operational requirements.
 
Prior to BEAT, Matthew established and led London Fire Brigade’s Zero Emission Fleet Programme – the ambitious initiative to deliver a zero emission fleet and contribute to the Mayor of London’s target for a net zero carbon city by 2030.  Matthew also led on the Zero Emission Pumping Appliance (ZEPA) Project – the groundbreaking initiative that delivered the UK’s first electric powered fire appliance.
 
Matthew previously worked at the Greater London Authority – leading on numerous zero emission projects (including for London’s emergency services) and was Air Quality lead for the London Environment Strategy.

Peter Krapp

Managing Director of Safety & Security Section, ZVEI

Peter Krapp University degree in Economics; since 1999 at ZVEI e.V. – Electro and Digital Industry Association e.V. of Germany. Initially as press and public relations officer, then energy policy officer and senior officer in the Energy Technology Division. Since 2009 Managing Director of the Safety and Security Division in the ZVEI with the lead markets Safety (protection of human life, technical safety of systems and buildings) and Security (protection of critical infrastructures as well as civil protection and disaster control) and additionally since 2012 Managing Director of the Installers and Planners Group in the ZVEI.

Paul Murphy

Area Manager (National Resilience Lead Officer), Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service

Paul Murphy is the Area Manager leading on National Resilience on behalf of Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service (MFRS) and the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC). He reports to the National Resilience Strategic Lead, Merseyside Deputy Chief Fire Officer (DCFO) Nick Searle.

Paul joined MFRS in January 1995 and has served in a number of Senior Management roles since 2007, Paul is a highly experienced officer and has resolved a number of large scale operational incidents as both a Gold and Silver Commander.

In January 2017 Paul was promoted to Area Manager for the Strategic Change and Resources Directorate. During this time, he was directly responsible for ensuring that the Merseyside Fire & Rescue Authority delivered the strategic projects that were designed to bring about the change required to allow the Service to adapt to the ever changing demands placed upon it, financially, politically and legislatively. This included the following departments, Estates, ICT, Operational Resources and Blue Light Collaboration

In June 2018 Paul moved to the Operational Preparedness Directorate leading a number of MFRS departments, including JESIP, Training & Development Academy, Operational Procedure Review Team, Operational Intelligence, Business Continuity, Fire Control, Operational Planning, Transport & Workshops, Search & Rescue Team, Marine Rescue Unit and Operational Resources.

During his 28 year career Paul has built significant local, national and international networks and has led on behalf of Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service and National Resilience on a number International Fire and Rescue related projects. In January 2022 Paul moved into the lead officer role in National Resilience.

Whilst the majority of emergencies in the UK are dealt with at a local level by the emergency services, local authorities and local resilience partners without the need for direct involvement by central government. However, there will be occasions where additional assistance may be required from or provided to other authorities and such measures are contained within the NFCC National Coordination and Advisory Framework (NCAF). National Resilience enable the deployment of specialist Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) resources to significant, serious and catastrophic incidents around the country.

The Home Office devolve the coordination and management of National Resilience to a Fire and Rescue Lead Authority Model. Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service, on behalf of the Home Office, assume sector responsibility for Fire and Rescue Services National Resilience.

National Resilience provide operational support to the National Coordination Advisory Framework (NCAF) arrangements and provide Strategic and Tactical Advice on the National Resilience capability, and provide support to the Chair of the National Fire Chief’s Council.

National Resilience provide assurance to the Home Office that the National Resilience capability provided by the New Dimension programme is being properly maintained and is readily deployable.

National Resilience capabilities enable UK fire and rescue authorities to better deal with large-scale emergencies by ensuring that they have in place the equipment and trained personnel to respond to a range of threats.

Peter Wagner

Head of Leadership Department, Berlin Fire and Rescue Academy, Member of CTIF

• Dr. Peter WAGNER, Berlin (Germany)
• Fire Officer in Gold Level (Ltn. Col., Berlin Fire Brigade, active in Fire Service since 1982, current position: Head of Leadership Department at Berlin Fire and Rescue Academy)
• Education: Engineer of Fire Prevention and Safety, Doctor of Technical Science
• Member of GFPA (German Fire Protection Association, items performed: Risk analyze, Fire Statistics, Computer Simulation of Fire Services, Development of Master Plans for Fire and Rescue Services)
• Member of CTIF (Centre of Fire Statistics, items performed: World Fire Statistics Reports 1995 / … /2022)
• National German delegate of EFSCA (European Fire Service Colleges’ Association, items performed: Leader of Curricula Development Working Group, international cooperation)
• International expert for Disaster Management, items performed: bridge building between countries and fire services.

Philip Witts

Chief Operating Officer, Ateis Middle East

Philip has over 20 years experience in Director level roles at industry leading Fire and Life Safety manufacturers. In his position with Ateis Middle East he is actively involved in successfully implementing their award-winning Fire Alarm, PAVA and Smart City solutions into some of the largest and acoustically challenging projects in the region and across the world.

Peter Stephenson

Hydrock, Director – Fire Safety Division, Middle East

As a Director (Fire Engineering) at Hydrock, Peter co-ordinates the companies international expansion into the Middle East and consultancy activities including developing fire strategies, fire & emergency response strategies and fire systems analysis for projects. Peter is also a Fellow of the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) and is currently President of the IFE GCC UAE Branch registered in Dubai.

His considerable experiences in fire safety engineering and rail infrastructure projects includes working as a Business Development Manager at Warringtonfire, Associate Director at Buro Happold, Senior Fire Safety Engineer for Network Rail, Fire Safety Officer for Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service and as a consultant in both large multi-disciplinary and small independent practices. Peter is actively involved within the international fire safety community, formerly being treasurer of the Railway Industry Fire Association (RIFA) and former finance director of the International Aviation Fire Protection Association (IAFPA). Peter is a regular contributor to regional journals (Fire Middle East and Gulf Fire).

Susan Lamont

Director – Fire Safety, ARUP

Dr Lamont has worked in the fire protection industry for over 20 years in the UK, USA, Middle East and parts of Asia and Africa. She is a chartered engineer, a Fellow at Arup, a Fellow of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) and a board member of the Fire Protection Research foundation.

She has worked though all stages of design and construction on a diverse range of projects from large assembly buildings, hospitals, schools, shopping malls and offices to masterplans and transport hubs. 

Fire safety challenges associated with sustainable construction such as timber, green facades, alternative energy sources and other solutions are a focus for research at Arup as we strive to deliver net zero carbon in construction and operation of our projects without reducing fire safety.

Eng. Salma Humaid Saeed

Head of Drawing & Projects Section, General Directorate of Dubai Civil Defense, UAE               

Rachel Novelo

Engineer – Reaction to Fire testing, Emirates Safety Laboratory

Rachel has worked in the TIC Industry for six years as a Reaction to Fire Testing Engineer; she graduated from Ateneo de Naga University, completing a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering course and a Materials Engineer certification.  Rachel has the technical expertise and in-depth knowledge of various reaction-to-fire standards, including the Steiner tunnel test methods, European Standard EN 13501-1 for classification of construction products, roof, fabric and upholstery testing, and the cone calorimeter.

Steven Reilly

Principal Engineer - Fire & Life Safety Lead MENA, Cundall

Steven is the Fire & Life Safety Lead for the MENA region at Cundall, with over fifteen years experience in fire & engineering consultancy. He has vast experience in Fire Safety, from carrying out Fire Risk Assessments & Audits on new and existing international developments to leading multidisciplinary teams on large multi-million-dollar schemes.

Stevens passion for sustainability and concern about the current climate crisis closely aligns with Cundall's mission to deliver sustainable engineering solutions across the built environment. Zero Carbon Design 2030 has seen Cundall commit to only designing zero carbon projects by 2030. 

Vivek Vijay

Certification Specialist, Emirates Safety Laboratory

Vivek is an expert in providing in-house fire protection engineering, risk assessments, life safety/code consulting & inspections, conformity assessment services, and MEP consulting & supervision. He is presently associated with Emirates Safety Laboratory, UAE as a Certification Specialist for Extinguishing Systems.

Mr. Vivek holds a degree in Engineering from Anna University. Over his 11 years of career progression, he has acquired wide-ranging experience in the design, inspections, testing & commissioning of various FLS and MEP services. He also possesses in-depth knowledge of various international codes, standards, regulations, and specifications.  Some of the significant projects he has worked on include Abu Dhabi Mid-Field Terminal, Muscat International Airport, and Salalah Airport

Vinay Deshpande

Technical Director - Fire & Life Safety, WSP

Vinay is a highly experienced Fire protection Engineer with over 35 years of Building Systems engineering experience, 30 years of which has been in the fire protection Industry with major Fire Protection Companies including multinational fire engineering and multi-disciplinary consulting firms.

For the last 25 years, he is actively involved in assisting architectural teams in finalizing fire strategies for the developments assisting with code compliance and authority approval issues. The vast practical knowledge gained in fire protection systems has helped many projects rationalize system designs that are efficient and effective.

His work in the middle east includes many landmark and signature development in UAE, Qatar and KSA.

Jim Andrews

Group Head of Health, Safety and Environment, Petrofac

As Group Director for HSE, Jim has overall accountability for quality, health safety, security and environment. Petrofac is a leading energy services company that helps its clients meet the world’s evolving energy needs. Prior to joining Petrofac, Jim gained almost 30 years’ experience with Schlumberger, working in numerous countries and across several senior managerial positions in operations and functions. Most recently he was the President of Production Management and prior to that spent three years as Schlumberger's Vice President of HSSE.

Andrew Wilkinson-Sharpe

Acting Chief Executive, NEBOSH

Andrew is an accomplished and detail-orientated leader with substantial experience of delivering strategic objectives in the charitable sector. Having joined NEBOSH as Corporate Services Director in 2021, Andrew was well placed to take up the position of Acting Chief Executive using his extensive organisational knowledge and experience to continue the work done following significant business transformation resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Azmi S.Aboulhoda

Managing Director, EMergy

Azmi S. Aboul-Hoda leads EMergy, a privately held corporation specialized in the built environment field with focus on enhancing and troubleshooting building performance, energy and sustainability, measurement and verification of energy optimization projects, design of special solutions in the built environment industry, outdoor comfort design and modeling, commissioning process, and environmental services. Azmi is also an active member of ASHRAE and several other local and international organizations.

With more than 24 years' experience in the built environment field in international and multinational companies, his expertise covers various responsibilities in the sustainability, design, engineering, execution, testing, commissioning, and maintenance. During his tenure, Azmi contributed to the built environment industry through the design and construction of new buildings, enhancement of existing buildings’ performance, indoor environmental quality, energy optimization, energy measurement and verification, design of outdoor comfort, peer review of design, etc. Azmi was involved in various prestigious projects across the Middle East, such as, Jabel Data Center, Qaryat Al Hidd Abu Dhabi, Dubai International Airport Terminal III / Concourse II Project (1.6 Billion Dirhams), Beirut International Airport, Al Shuweihat S1 Independent Water and Power Plant, Revamp of Ruwais Refinery, Lebanese University Campus, Consulting Clinics in Beirut Down Town, Abu Dhabi World Trade Center Mosque, Amine Sweetening Unit Gas Processing GORU-B Facility (Pakistan), etc.  

Dr Abhilash Raghavan

Corporate Health Safety Environment & ESG Management

Dr.Abhilash Raghavan is a Chartered Health and Safety Practitioner(CMIOSH), Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Certified Professional in Carbon Footprint & GRI Sustainability Standards, Certified Sustainability Reporting Practitioner, LEED Green Associate, ISO Lead Auditor for Safety & Environment. He also holds a PhD specialized in Environmental Health and Safety

Over the course of last two decades, he had worked in a wide range of industries, gaining experience in EHS, ESG, Sustainability, and Environmental Management. These industries included Government and regulatory, pharmaceuticals, engineering, healthcare, industrial gas manufacturing, recycling, financial sector, and more

Abhilash is ardently committed to protect human life from injuries and accidents and assisting organizations in finding their path to success, while transitioning to sustainable business models. Have always adopted a thorough HSE Management System, Policies and Standard Operating Procedures. Expertise in Best Practices, RCA/ CAPA, directing Compliance Audits, Safety Trainings, and upholding ISO & OHSAS-compliant HSE conditions. Managed large-scale construction projects and fostered a safety culture/habit

As an Environmental and Sustainability Manager, he had led initiatives in the areas of Sustainable Business Practices, ESG Due Diligence, Risk Assessment and Rating, Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocols and Abatement, Climate Change, Net Zero, Carbon Neutral, and the Circular Economy. Proven capacity to develop and implement programs for environmental health and conservation, pollution prevention, waste reduction, recycling of solid waste (the "Zero Waste Program"), resource conservation (including cutting down on water and energy use) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions

In addition to his current position as the leader of HSE function at National Bank of Fujairah, he is an active volunteer in promoting HSE profession and mentoring young and aspiring HSE professionals. He is also serving as a Council member of IOSH, the largest professional HSE organization in the UK, which represents about 46K Safety and Health professionals globally

Dr. Abhilash believes in conveying and using the knowledge gained via continual learning and professional upskilling, and his most recent degree is an MBA in Energy and Sustainability from a prestigious European university

Dee Arp

Chief Operating Officer, NEBOSH

NEBOSH’s Chief Operating Officer, Dee Arp is a Chartered Safety and Health Practitioner of IOSH and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Educational Assessors. Dee moved into occupational health and safety nearly 30 years ago whilst working at RoSPA. After becoming a qualified health and safety practitioner; she taught on a wide range of courses and worked with several boards to implement safety governance.  As NEBOSH’s Chief Operating Officer Dee has responsibility for providing leadership on all matters relating to qualification development and assessment and compliance matters, including learning partner accreditation. 

Eng. Mohamed Abdulla Al Marzooqi

Head of Accident Investigations team – Health & Safety Department, Dubai Municipality

Eng. Mohamed is a Mechanical Engineer graduated from Institute of Florida Technology in FL,USA in 2017. He received IOSH, NEBOSH, HAZOP, PHA, ICS trainings and certifications.

He joined Dubai Municipality in 2018 as Safety Engineer in Occupational Health and Safety section, and through H&S inspections at high risk industries he gained his experience in the field.

Later on he was  given the responsibility of being head of accident investigation team later in 2019. As a team leader he was responsible for investigation carried out in major industrial, construction and public health and safety related  accidents as well as  representing Dubai municipality as Safety expert in General prosecution sessions and in Dubai  courts hearings  to support investigation findings and related judgements.

He gained huge expertise in the field of inspecting all public health related premises and activities in later when he shifted to Environmental health section as a deputy head of section.

His major task is to review and approve investigation reports and supervise preparation of the necessary statistics needed for calculation of KPI’s in the emirate of Dubai. Major Achievements are influencing the process of investigation and facilitate the communication process between government entities, and improve the cooperation process between Dubai municipality and concerned authorities and industries. 

Dr. Rob Cooling

Executive Director of HSEQ, NEOM

As Executive Director of HSEQ (Health, Safety, Quality and Environment) at NEOM, Dr. Robert Cooling is charged with protecting the safety, health and well-being of the workforce across one of the world’s largest construction projects and a development that is growing exponentially.

A key part of his wide-ranging occupational health and safety role is the development and maintenance of a robust health and safety strategy at NEOM, and ensuring that the correct governance and assurance is in place to safeguard everyone working across the giga-project’s numerous sites. His mandate also includes the design and implementation of health safety programs, including training and development, to help establish a positive health and safety culture.  

Prior to joining NEOM in August 2022, Robert successfully completed a five-year tenure as Vice President of HSEQ at Expo 2020 Dubai, the world exhibition that opened its doors to the public on October 1, 2021. Robert’s achievement in ensuring the success of the Expo was particularly remarkable in view of the additional constraints that the coronavirus pandemic imposed on top of the existing health and safety challenges of an exhibition that attracted 24 million visitors over its six-month run.

Other significant activities Robert has been involved with in the region include working with Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects in a client advisory role that saw him lead a three-year transformation project to integrate health and safety into the planning, design and construction of Dubai’s aviation-related infrastructure.

Prior to that, he was employed in a strategic program management role for Qatar Rail, responsible for establishing HSEQ strategies, policies and plans for rail projects associated with the FIFA World Cup 2022. Before that, he advised on a country-wide occupational health and safety assurance program across electricity generation and distribution assets for the Authority for Public Services Regulation in Oman.

Robert previously worked in the Kingdom offering advice to the Saudi BinLadin Group, which incorporated a review of HSEQ standards and the development of a corporate HSEQ governance framework and management system. His first role in the region saw him acting as a consultant for the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai, leading a health and safety transformation project, including the development and delivery of health and safety training programs across all RTA sectors and agencies.

Robert holds an MBA from London Business School; a Doctorate in Health and Safety Law and a Master of Arts in Health, Safety and Environmental Law from Salford University; and a Bachelor of Science in Safety and Environment from Hull University, all United Kingdom institutions. 

Said Ebrik

OHS Consultant, United Arab Emirates

Said Ebrik is currently working as a freelance HSE consultant offering HSE training to contractors management and supervision staff and labor force; conducting audits, review and supervision of field work; specialized in the development of HSE Management Systems (HSEMS) and manuals for various construction and services contractors and consultants; and review and audit of manuals. Said is also an active OHSMS Generalist – Grade A member of the Occupational Safety & Health Abu Dhabi (OSHAD), and Occupational Health & Safety Professional member of the International Institute of Risk & Safety Management (IIRSM).

With nearly five decades of experience in the HSE field in government, oil and gas, multinational and international companies, his expertise covers various responsibilities in the management and auditing of the HSE departments. During his tenure, Said contributed to the HSE industry through the implementation and enhancement of HSE systems in new and existing construction projects, environmental quality, occupational health, sustainability, etc. Said was involved in various prestigious projects across the emirate of Abu Dhabi and various oil and gas construction and production locations of ZAKUM Development Co.

Salman Dawood Abdulla

Executive Vice President HSSEQ and Business Transformation, EGA

Salman Dawood Abdulla has overseen Health, Safety, Sustainability, Environment, Fire & Rescue, Quality and Business Transformation at Emirates Global Aluminium, 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.

Shabbir Halai

Chief Executive Officer, S. Halai Enterprises

Business Graduate from the Institute of Business Administration (1996). Worked with corporate firms to finally go into my own business venture in 2011. Worked with different Universities as a Visiting Faculty member & worked on the Industry Academia disconnect for some time. Associated with the HSE segment with different customers since 2011.

Dr Waddah S Ghanem Al Hashmi

Hon. Chairman – Energy Institute Middle East | Chairman – Federal Occupational Health and Safety Committee, UAE

An environmental engineer by training with a double masters in both sciences and business administration, Dr Waddah has spent more than 25 years in technical and senior executive roles, first in consulting and then the energy industry. He is a certified director and sits on several international boards. Over the past decade his research area has been Governance and Leadership and the creation of high reliability organisations. Dr Waddah is the Chairman of the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Standards Committee and a published author of more than 8 international books, including two on governance and leadership which were published by Routledge in 2017 and 2021. He has also had many articles published, including two that featured in the Harvard Business Review Arabia. His doctoral research was focused on EHS Governance and Leadership in High-Risk Organisations and explored perspectives from the GCC region. In 2019 he was named the Sustainability Leader of the Year by IEMA, UK.

Dr Waddah is also in a visiting faculty at the University of Technolgi Petronas (Malaysia) and Hult Business School. He is an external examiner at the University of Petroleum and Energy Sciences (India) and sits on the Industrial Advisory Boards of Herriot-Watt University and the University of Abu Dhabi. Dr Waddah is considered one of the authorities on health, safety, environmental and sustainability governance and leadership. He is also the Chairman of the Platform for Connected Leadership.

Fergus Kaye

Director of Learning Partner Quality, NEBOSH

Fergus has worked in the health, safety and environmental education sector since graduating from the University of Lincoln with a degree in Management and Marketing. His 20-year career in the industry began with a health and safety training consultancy and it was during this time he completed his NEBOSH National Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety in 2007. He joined NEBOSH in 2010, initially working in business and product development before moving into the standards department where he was responsible for developing assessments, marking standardisation, and malpractice investigations. In his current role as Director of Learning Partner Quality, Fergus oversees the accreditation and performance of NEBOSH's network of Learning Partners who are based throughout the world. Fergus is currently studying an MBA at Cranfield University.       

Eng. (Dr.) Emmanuel Uwalaka

Masse, Mosha, Executive Director – Africa & Middle East Region, Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHAssociation)

Emmanuel is a certified international safety instructor from the American Institute of Professional Studies (AIPS, USA) and OSHAssociation UK Trainer; also a regular international speaker at the Health and Safety Expo UK, FPSO Africa Congress, Securex West Africa, The BIG 5 Construct Expo, GISCon Conference, etc.

He is the author “Safety- Everyone's Responsibility- for a secure future” and  “Essentials and Best Practices in Health, Safety and Environment”, launched recently in London and have won several distinguished awards including Safety Health Practitioners International Rising Star Award 2019 at Excel London. He is a  Honourary Doctorate Degree holder in Disaster Risk Management and Safety from the Efam Benin University – Benin Republic.

Emmanuel is known as the “Safety Minister”, in Africa due to his proactive contributions and performance in the health and safety sector in the region. He is a dedicated and enthusiastic international consultant on Occupational Safety and Health with great passion to promote global safety best practices in any organisation and developing nations. As a renowned safety analyst, he has consulted for both public and private organisations towards improving their safety management system.

He is currently a key player in the Occupational Safety and Health Sector in Africa and an official executive of the Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHAssociation) with headquarters in the United Kingdom.

Dr. Hani Hossni

EHS Department Director, Tadweer

Hani is an engineer with a Doctorate degree in Business Administration (Triple Crown), along with a litany of training/certifications to credit and extensive experience in project management and implementation of HSEQ & BCM standards, as well as cross-competency in system and equipment maintenance across diverse sectors, he is handling as an EHS & BCM Director in TADWEER, Abu Dhabi.

Upon taking over the role of acting Executive Director for Strategy and Business Process Development in 2012 till 2014 and acting Executive Director for Services Support in 2017 in Abu Dhabi Center of Waste Management, He leads the Policy, Strategic Planning and Licensing Departments. His primary focus was to streamline the licensing process since there was a lack of defined procedures and technical guidelines from the day of establishment of CWM. Under his leadership Key, Technical Guidelines were developed, approved and implemented to establish improved Licensing and enforcement procedures in the Waste Sector.

Prior to joining The Center of Waste Management he was Manager of the Strategy Planning & Communication Department in Abu Dhabi Sewerage Service Company and formerly HSEQ Manager and Management Representative in Abu Dhabi Distribution Company since 2007, in business continuity this role Hani, played an instrumental role in establishing the vision and core values of the company as well as developing 5 year business plans for the whole corporate and cascading them to all business units. He developed, implemented, maintained and reviewed the HSEQ & BCM integrated management system (IMS) and business performance excellence models of the company. He worked as not only an HSEQ Manager but a Management Representative. He is NASP Certified Trainer, Certified Safety Training Specialist (STS), Certified Safety Planning Specialist (SPS). He is a member of many local and international professional organisation as a Fellow Member of the UK Professionals Board “Health, Safety, Specialist Experts Board” since 2012. He played a crucial part in leading as a Lead Champion of Shaikh Khalifa Excellence Award Committee and winning the Golden category award in the services sector and participated in the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group and organised Occupational Health Campaign for the organisation in coordination with New Medical Center Hospital.

In addition to his continual development to his career and as part of his social services contribution, Hani was elected in the “Dubai Quality Group” Board of Director for the next two years 2011-2012.

He has been an active member of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group since 2010 and taken the role of Chairman Waste Sub-group under ADSG since 2013.

Before this role, he worked for ADWEA as a Senior Water Projects Manager, where he dexterously managed major water construction projects while ascertaining compliance with ADWEA standard water specifications. So he has a good understanding of Infrastructure Projects.

Isaac Ochulor

QHSE Engineer & Advisor (Corporate), SMGT Middle  East

Isaac Ochulor holds a Masters Degree in Health and Safety Leadership and is currently pursuing a Doctorate Degree in Energy and Sustainability Management. The majority of Isaac's work experience and expertise have been in Oil and Gas Exploration, Drilling & Transportation.

In the capacity of Drilling HSE and QHSE Engineer and trainer at companies in Africa and the Middle East, he has been responsible for the development, implementation, management, and alignment of policies and procedures in accordance with International Standards (ISO).

He is currently serving as the Quality, Health, Safety, and Environment Engineer for Suhail Al Mazroui Transportation (SMGT) Abu Dhabi as well as the QHSE focal point for SMGT-ADNOC's Onshore projects.

Having extensive knowledge and experience in enterprise risk management processes, Isaac serves as a key contributor to businesses' compliance and effective governance.

He is the recipient of ADNOC Onshore & ADNOC Drilling awards in 2021 and 2022 for excellent performance and contribution to HSE Compliances.

In addition to being a certified Lead Auditor in ISO 45001, he is also an IADC-approved Rigpass Instructor. HSE Committee member, International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) USA.

Mohamed Abdelsalam Hassan

HSE Consultant, Consolidated Contractors International Company

I, Mohamed Hassan is a HSE Consultant and Training Professional, have over 25 years of experience in safety management system consulting, development and implementation in various environments including industry and building construction sector. I am passionate about occupational health and safety, the concept of continual improvement and leading by example

I earned a Bachelor of Social Work in 1994 from University of Alexandria, Egypt, completed the NEBOSH and Train the train certificate program in 2006. I continue to actively pursue professional development opportunities to maintain this designation and to ensure my skills, knowledge and abilities remain current.

I have played a leadership and Auditor role in the Al Naboodah Construction Company and Consolidated Contractor Company as well.

As a trainer, I have provided thousands of programs for clients in construction, municipal, ADNOC, DEWA governmental, automotive and various manufacturing environments.

 I am principal investigator on numerous large-scale research studies, is associate Editor of Environmental Health Perspectives, and has served on numerous peer-review and advisory panels for Ubique, and others in recent years.

I recognize that safety management systems must be clear and easy for users, in order to build an engaged culture of safety and to prevent serious workplace injuries.

Adil Abdel-Hadi

Centre Director, Aman Security Training

Ahmed Ismail Alblooshi

Securtiy Training Affairs Director, SIRA

Arif Aljanahi

Security Engineering Department Director, SIRA

Asma Abdelhamid

Customer Happiness Manager, SIRA

Bachelors in Information Systems from Zayed University. Master in Computer Science from Bath University, UK. Joined SIRA in 2019, with a prior 13 years’ experience in the field.

Khalid Alhamadi

Metrology and Controlling Department Director, SIRA

Khalifa Alaqadi

Hazardous Materials Section Manager, SIRA

Majid Alzarouni

Licensing and Permits Department Director, SIRA

Mohamed Saleh

Security Systems and Consulting Section Manager, SIRA

Mechatronics engineer, Working in security systems since 2007, Worked as project engineer, Security systems and consulting manager since 2014.

Sarah Ibrahim

Security Services Users Section Manager, SIRA

Abdulkadir Vardar

EURASIA General Manager, Nanodems Corporation

Abdulkadir Vardar, EURASIA General Manager at Nanodems, has been working in electronic security industry for 16 years, specializing in software solutions. With a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering and over a decade in experience, he has managed many large-scale electronic security projects in Europe, Asia and Australia, providing integrated physical security solutions and expertise to critical sectors such as Retail, Finance and Energy.

Bashar Alzubaidi

Director of sales -Middle East, Teledyne FLIR

David Bosworth

Business Development Director , Sensorzone

Dr David Bosworth is the Business Development Director for SensorZone , a proximity warning system and safety insights dashboard. Along with a PhD in Material Science, David has spent his career in the safety sector, at both a technical level and as it relates to solving customers’ problems.

Dennis Jensen

Business Development Manager-Advanced Products, TLX Technologies

Dennis Jensen, Business Development Manager of Advanced Products at TLX Technologies, works with companies to integrate smart electromagnetic solutions into their products and systems.  Mr. Jensen has spent his career focused on technology deployments and OEM advanced product development.  He has authored various papers on deploying innovative technologies into different industries, helping companies understand the value of technology integration to their operations and customers.

Ephrem Tesfai

Sales Engineering Manager, Middle East, Turkey and Africa, Genetec

Joining Genetec in 2009, Ephrem Tesfai heads the Technical Engineering team for the META region. As Sales Engineering Manager, his role is to ensure delivery of the best sales and technical experience to Genetec partners and end users.

Prior to his current position with Genetec, Ephrem worked as System Engineer for three years, where he was responsible for the technical configuration of VMS and Video Analytics. He has over 14 years’ experience in the security industry.

Gary Ovis

Business Development Manager Explovent, Construction Specialties LLC

Construction Specialties has – for 70 years – delivered products and services that make buildings better. For 20 of those years, Gary Ovis has worked exclusively with CS’ Safety Venting line under the Explovent brand. Consulting with all parties involved in the design and operation of buildings which can house deflagration hazards, Gary brings decades of experience in the world of relief venting to any project or talk in which he is involved. Gary lives in Canada and is based out of Construction Specialties’ office in Mississauga, Ontario.

Hussein Magdy

Regional Sales Leader, Eaton

Business building with more 15 years of Experience in buildings solutions.

Jürgen Tichy

Area Sales Manager, Schrack Seconet AG  

Mr. Jürgen Tichy has been working for Schrack Seconet since 1995 as an Area Sales Manager for many international regions including Middle East and has contributed to a substantial growth of the business over this time. 

Mohamad Mouafak Zaza

Director of Strategy & Business Development, Dahua Technology MENA

A Business Development and Strategy Director in the CCTV and security industry, with over 15 years of experience, and strong background in driving business growth and developing effective strategies. a proven track record of success in identifying and pursuing new business opportunities, establishing strategic partnerships, and leading cross-functional teams to achieve company goals.

Mohammed Murad

Vice President Global Business Development & Sales, Iris ID

Mohammed Murad is the Vice President of Sales and Business Development and a Board of Director for Iris ID Systems.

Highly accomplished international business and technical leader with exceptional decision-making skills.  Offer a unique combination of market knowledge and leadership experience within global identity management industries.  Extensive experience providing strategic solutions to multinational commercial and government clients. 

He has been directly involved in secure and implementing some of the largest iris biometric business system in the world.

1.    Andhra Pradesh, India, 60 million people welfare program

2.    India, 1.2 billion people UIDAI program

3.    Mexico, 110 million people National ID program

4.    Qatar Immigration and border control, 20 million plus

Currently Mr. Murad serves on the board of International Biometric Identification Association (IBIA) in Washington DC and as an advisor to few companies.

Having received a degree in Computer science and mathematics, he has garnered extensive experience in technology on all ends, from development to product management, including over 20 years of experience with Iris Biometric Technology. 

Pierluigi Monticelli

Branch Manager, Comelit Middle East

Experienced and open-minded export manager, in Comelit since 2008, passionately promoting intercom systems with outstanding technology and stunning design into Middle East and America regions

P. Shankar

Senior Manager - Marketing, Videonetics 

Shankar has been part of Videonetics since 2021. He is responsible for formulating marketing strategies & generate demand for the product & solution portfolio of the company, while overseeing all marketing, advertising, and promotional activities.

He is responsible for shaping company’s outward image, uncover consumer insights and cook marketing campaigns to establish the brand, creating opportunities to deliver exceptional experience throughout a customer’s journey.

Shankar has over 15 years of experience in product management & marketing. Before joining Videonetics, he has worked with renowned multinational organizations like BenQ Corporation (as PMM), Tyco (as PMM-SAARC region) & Honeywell. During his tenure at Honeywell & Tyco, Shankar has successfully launched range of products in security & surveillance domain, for India & the SAARC region. At BenQ, he introduced a range of projectors that helped the company enter new customer segments and retain the largest market share in India.

He has a graduate degree in mechanical engineering and a post-graduate degree in international business.

Shankar has a passion for driving and does often embark on long road trips across the country. Among his other hobbies, he enjoys listening to trance & progressive genre of music, cycling, & photography. He has keen interest in following sports, especially, Formula 1, MotoGP & football.

Steven Kenny

Manager, Architect & Engineering Program – EMEA, AXIS Communications

Steven Kenny has spent 18 years in the security sector in roles that have seen him take responsibility for key elements of mission critical, high profile projects across a number of different vertical markets. For the past eight years Steven has focused his attentions on how security technologies can best support business security strategies, whilst driving the adoption and elevating the importance of cybersecurity and compliance for physical security practitioners. Steven’s current role sees him lead a team of Architect and Engineering managers across the EMEA region whilst supporting various industry associations and standards organisations.

Steven has taken a consultative role in a national steering group that supported the creation of Secure by Design, Secure by Default certification, working closely with the UK Surveillance Camera Commissioner. Having spoken as a keynote speaker at various international security conferences, Steven has been instrumental in improving standards across the physical security market, whilst supporting the identification of key technology trends that have benefited many organisations.

As a volunteer, Steven has previously held the position of Director of Systems, Information and Cyber Security for ASIS International and the UK chapter, before taking up a role as a board director. Steven currently sits on the EMEA Advisor Council as the emerging technology lead for TiNYg (Global Terrorism Information Network), and on various standards committees to support IoT security, as well as the BSI Private Security Management and Services.

Udi Lowy

Sales Director, D-Fend Solutions

Udi Lowy is a Sales Director at D-Fend Solutions, the leader in radio frequency (RF), cyber-based, counter-drone takeover technology. He services the EMEA region and possesses extensive knowledge regarding counter-drone technologies in sensitive environments, as well as different types and models of drones. Working in the global defense industry for over 13 years, Udi understands multi-layered defense systems and employs a cross-cultural approach. Previously, he lived in Southeast Asia for over six years and managed his organization’s activities in that region. Udi is a veteran with an operational background as a naval officer – he commanded fast-attack crafts.

Wadih Abi Haidar

Director of Sales EMEA, Astrophysics Inc

Wadih Abi Haidar currently serves as Astrophysics EMEA Director of Sales. Wadih attended the Lebanese American University in Lebanon, graduating in 2000 with a B.S. in Business Management. He began his Astrophysics career in 2008 and has been a part of the company for over 15 years, becoming an expert in the Middle East region. He has extensive experience working in the critical infrastructure x-ray security business with distinguished private clients and government customers in multiple Middle Eastern countries.

Robert Izak

Business Development & Product Marketing Lead, Innovatrics

Over the last 6 years at Innovatrics, Robert founded and started the Innovatrics Channels Partner Program with the goal of expanding the business development of Facial Recognition solutions via a certified partner network. Currently, Robert acts as a SmartFace Business Development & Product Marketing lead, responsible for promoting the unique value of SmartFace, alongside marketing & sales activities. Prior to joining Innovatrics, Robert has gained experiences from IT sales and cloud solutions at IBM, as well as new product development & marketing for B2B solutions at Telefonica O2 and Konica Minolta respectively.