His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama was appointed as the UAE’s first Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence in 2017, becoming the world’s first minister in this field. In July 2020, his responsibilitities expanded to encompass Digital Economy & Remote Work Applications. In 2023, he further assumed the roles of Director General of the Prime Minister’s Office at the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs & Director General of the Dubai Crown Prince’s Office.

Ms. Wade is responsible for leading the U.S. Intelligence Community’s Data Strategy and implementation. She is focused on re-imagining the future of intelligence in the digital era and ensuring AI-ready data at scale.

HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud, founder and CEO of KBW Ventures, is a globally-renowned venture capitalist, with a storied portfolio of first-mover emerging technology investments.

Since joining Emirates in 1988, Mr Al Redha has been a pivotal player within the operations team in various capacities. He has progressed his career and widened responsibilities with the growth of the company. His experience over the years has covered all aspects of operations and logistics which includes engineering, flight operations, service delivery, airport services, network operations and aircraft procurement.

Caroline is an internationally recognized expert in applied AI, specializing in the convergence of AI and business strategy. As Global Managing Director for AI Business and Applied Engineering at Google, she drives transformative outcomes for enterprises, particularly within the advertising and marketing sectors. Her deep understanding of AI’s potential, coupled with extensive experience in networking, security, and cloud infrastructure, allows her to guide organizations toward strategic AI adoption that delivers measurable business impact.

Maja Pantic is an AI Scientific Research Lead in Facebook and a Professor of Affective and Behavioral Computing at Imperial College London, working on machine analysis of human non-verbal behaviour and its applications to human-centric AI.

BSC in Finance, MIS, and Master’s in E-Commerce, Boston University. Formerly: founded the Belhoul Investment Office. Currently, Chief Executive Officer of the Dubai Future Foundation (DFF).

Faisal Juma Khalfan Belhoul is an entrepreneur and investor in the private market with 25 years of experience. He is the Chairman of J&F Holdings, which is his private family office.

Issam Kazim is the CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM), which was established in December 2013 as an affiliate of Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism).

Arif Amiri Is The Chief Executive Officer Of DIFC Authority Where He Is Responsible For Setting The Strategy And Growth Direction Of The Authority. Under His Leadership, DIFC Has Emerged As A Powerful Catalyst For The Financial Services Sector, As Well As The Leading Global Financial Centre In The Middle East, Africa And South Asia (MEASA) Region.

Dr. Chris Cooper is an accomplished ICT professional with over 25 years of experience in the technology sector. Dr Cooper has held leadership, sales, and business development positions with several renowned technology multinationals in the UAE, UK, and the EMEA region, including strategic roles to build regional operations and presence. Dr Cooper brings a diverse range of capabilities to AIQ, including business analysis, team management, and business strategy

H.E. Amer Sharaf is a highly experienced professional with a career spanning over 20 years, currently serving as the CEO Director of Cyber Security Systems and Services at Dubai Electronic Security Center. With experience accumulated over two decades, Sharaf has honed a diverse skill set in the field of Information Technology. Throughout his career, he has consistently showcased proficiency in managing and delivering critical projects, demonstrating his ability to navigate complex challenges with precision and ingenuity.

Major General Khalid Nasser Alrazooqi has held the position of Director of the General Department of Artificial Intelligence at Dubai Police General Headquarters since March 2014. He has overseen the implementation of several key strategic projects in the UAE, including the introduction of smart police stations, electronic passports, and smart electronic gates.

H.E. Younus Al Nasser is a globally recognized leader in planning and implementing city-wide digital transformation and building holistic data ecosystems.

Fadi Ghandour is the Executive Chairman of Wamda Group, a platform that invests, nurtures and builds entrepreneurship eco-systems across the Middle East and North Africa.

An education maven and accomplished entrepreneur, Mayank Kumar is one of the sharpest minds leading the edtech revolution in India. Mayank is the Co-founder & MD of one of Asia’s largest integrated learning skilling and workforce development majors – upGrad that has enrolled over 10 million+ learners worldwide.

CEO of CBD since January 2017. Holds a PhD in Artificial Intelligence from Utrecht University, an MSc in Computer Science from Nijmegen University and an MBA in Finance from Bradford University.

John Marshall is Co-founder and CEO of Airia, an enterprise AI, full-stack platform.  Prior to Airia, John founded and built AirWatch to be the global leader in enterprise mobility management with over 20,000 customers and $250M in recurring revenue.  After VMware acquired AirWatch in 2014, John helped his former employees launch and scale OneTrust, an enterprise privacy platform with over 14,000 customers.

Heath has 25+ years’ experience growing boutique investment and institutional funds management businesses, and 7+ years developing distributed and decentralised digital infrastructure. As a co-founder of Holon in 2018, he has been building the next generation of Web3 services for the world’s data infrastructure of today, tomorrow and the future.

Juan Benet is the inventor of IPFS, a protocol revolutionizing the web, and Filecoin, the world’s largest decentralized storage network. As the founder of Protocol Labs, Juan leads innovation in technologies like web3, AI, BCI, and more. A Stanford Computer Science graduate, he’s passionate about improving the internet and building more robust foundations for our digital future.

Anthony leads a multi-disciplinary team of approximately 360 legal, government affairs, and digital crimes professionals that counsel Microsoft’s sales and marketing organization, providing front-line support for Microsoft’s Customer and Solutions team covering more than 100 countries. Antony has supported Microsoft’s sales and marketing teams around the world in a number of roles over his nearly 20 years tenure at Microsoft, including leading teams in Australia and New Zealand, Middle East and Africa, and Asia (including India and China).

Dr. Chris Baryomunsi is the Minister for ICT and National Guidance in the Cabinet of Uganda. He was appointed to that position in 2021. From 1 March 2015 until 6 June 2016, he served as State Minister of Health for General Duties. Baryomunsi is the elected member of Parliament for Kinkizi County East and a member of Uganda’s ruling party, the National Resistance Movement.

In December 2023, H.E. Savannah Maziya became the Honourable Minister of Information, Communication, and Technology (ICT) of the Kingdom of Eswatini, assuming several responsibilities within this vital role. Additionally, Savannah is the Executive Chairperson of the Bunengi Group – a South African-based company operating globally in the mining, infrastructure, energy, foods, and health sectors.

Dr. Yeshurun Alemayehu ADDE is a highly accomplished professional with extensive experience in the field of Engineering, space science sector and leadership. Currently serving as the State Minister of ICT and Digital Economy Sector at the Ministry of Innovation and Technology in Ethiopia. He plays a crucial role in driving the country’s digital transformation and fostering innovation.

Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful (MP) has been a pivotal figure in Ghana’s digital transformation, serving as the Minister for Communications and Digitalisation since January 2017. Her leadership extends beyond national borders, as she has been a Commissioner of the Broadband Commission since 2019 and a Partner2Connect Focus Area Leader for Connecting people everywhere. Notably, Mrs Owusu-Ekuful chaired the World Telecommunication Policy Forum 2021 (WTPF-21) and co-chaired the Africa Union and European Union Digital Economy Task Force launched in 2018

In 2021, H. E. Mrs. Rose Pola Pricemou became the Minister of Information and Communication in Guinea, then successively held the positions of Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Small and Medium Enterprises in 2022, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation in November 2022, and Minister of Posts, Telecommunications, and Digital Economy in 2024.

As a Minister of State in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Minister Calleary is responsible for promoting responsible and sustainable trade, ensuring fair and better regulation for all businesses, and that markets work effectively for consumers and for the economy as a whole. He also has a specific focus in the continued digital transformation of enterprise and ensuring Ireland maintains or improves its position of 5th in the DESI, and remains a digital frontrunner at the heart of Europe. He represents the Irish Government at the EU Competitiveness Council which works to enhance competitiveness and increase growth in the EU, as well as the D9+ forum and OECD Digital for SMEs Global Initiative. A native of Ballina, Dara Calleary has been a TD for Mayo since first being elected at the 2007 General Election.

Wilmer Peres Neto is Group CTO (Chief Technology Officer) at British American Tobacco (BAT), reporting to Javed Ibqal, Director of Digital and Information and a member of BAT Management Board. Wilmer joined BAT in May 2022, based in London UK, leads our ERP strategy, Data & Analytics, Innovation and Enterprise Architecture functions and looks after a global team of circa 250 internal FTEs worldwide plus large outsourcing contracts.

An entrepreneur, a businesswoman, a daughter, a sister, a wife and a mother, Amira Sajwani is the epitome of today’s spirited young Emirati woman. She is the Managing Director of Sales & Development at DAMAC Properties, Founder & CEO of PRYPCO and Co-founder of Amali Properties

Sameena Shah is the Global Head of Client Onboarding and Documentation and the Chief Analytics Officer for CIB Operations at JPMorgan. Previously, Sameena spearheaded the Augmented Intelligence Ratings transformation at S&P Global. At Thomson Reuters, she directed the R&D teams responsible for developing Eikon Search, Reuters Tracer, and Westlaw Quick Check—three of the company’s most significant launches during that time. Before that, she held AI-related positions at Schonfeld Securities hedge fund and Yahoo! Research, and also managed her own consultancy firm, advising businesses on integrating AI.

A serial entrepreneur whose AI-powered composable software platform that allows every business and entrepreneur to become digitally powered, Builder.ai, has raised over $450M since 2018.

Dr. Ott Velsberg is a renowned Estonian IT specialist and government official, known for his expertise in data governance and data science. As the current Chief Data Officer (CDO) of Estonia, he is responsible for driving the country’s data policy and initiatives related to the use of data in the public sector.

Rodrigo is CEO and co-founder of SambaNova Systems. Prior to joining SambaNova, Rodrigo was responsible for SPARC Processor and ASIC Development at Oracle. He led the engineering organization responsible for the design of state-of-the-art processors and ASICs for Oracle’s enterprise servers.

David Rozzio is Head of WW Commercial PC Category taking care of Category Management and Lifecycle Management of Commercial Notebook, Commercial Desktops and Cloud Clients. David startet his career in 1999 as a financial controller in Saint-Gobain, France. In 2000, to fulfillhis ambitions for entrepreneurshipm he created his own online photofinishing and photosharing company in France.

Chief Data Scientist for the New York City Council. Head/founder of R&D (data science and software engineering).

Faraz is the CEO of noon, the region’s leading consumer commerce platform. The noon ecosystem of services now includes marketplaces for food delivery, quick-commerce, fintech, and fashion. Faraz is an engineer by training and has an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to noon, Faraz was the co-founder and Managing Director at Namshi.

Ari Kesisoglu is Property Finder’s President. Property Finder is empowering people in their home search journeys, with Ari driving the leadership team to create a lighthouse technology company

Michael Clark is a globally recognised data scholar, industry advisor, and innovation evangelist, dedicated to empowering people to unlock their human potential through their own data. He has worked with leading global companies such as Mastercard and JP Morgan and has guided future cities like Neom by addressing complex digital and data challenges, envisioning a brighter future.

Quentin is the founder and CEO of HyperFusion, the largest private GenAI GPU computing cluster in the GCC region, based in Dubai, UAE. HyperFusion was built under the umbrella of Alpha Praetorian Capital, a tech private investment fund he co-founded in 2021.

Demetris Skourides was appointed as the Chief Scientist for Research, Innovation and Technology by the President of Cyprus H.E. Mr Nicos Christodoulides. He is an evangelist possessing an unrivalled skill in emerging technologies, a Visionary strategist with proven capability in developing and shaping industries. Mr Skourides is the policy maker for research and innovation, the CTO and AI officer of Cyprus and is entrusted with the mission of leading the Cyprus’s transformation in becoming a leading hub for research, innovation and technology implementing Cyprus’s vision 2035.

Haitham Mattar is Managing Director, India, Middle East and Africa (IMEA), responsible for driving the growth and strength of IHG and its hotels across the region. He is currently leading the operations and performance of more than 180 hotels as well as overseeing the strategic development of IHG’s plans with a pipeline of over 130 hotels. Key to his role is maintaining and fostering relations with government stakeholders, tourism bodies and owner community across markets.

Abhinav Shashank, cofounder and CEO of Innovaccer, is an industry visionary who created Innovaccer to accelerate healthcare innovation and digital transformation to improve clinical, financial, and experiential outcomes in U.S. healthcare. He is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology at Kharagpur.

Lidija Ljumovic coordinates the processes that is very essential for the European Integration, all competences of the Government of Montenegro concerning non governmental organisations. She covers the responsible position of contact for Montenegro in the world initiative for OGP – Open Government Partnership which runs portals for openness and transperancy.

Leading L’Oréal’s data and analytics division in the Middle East, Alexis’s focus is on transforming the global beauty industry through strategic Analytics and artificial intelligence/machine learning initiatives. At the intersection of business impact, technology and creativity, his team consults across divisions to optimize performance and foster innovation. With a deep understanding of machine learning, they have developed solutions that enhance customer experiences and drive business growth.

Mr. David Tan is the Assistant Chief Executive Officer (Development Group) of JTC, Singapore government agency championing sustainable industrial development in Singapore.

Seasoned Data and Statistics Director with 20 years of expertise, leading transformative, globally benchmarked projects that set new industry standards.

Taha Benssiba is the Head of AI for Europe South, Middle East and Africa, advising customers across industries on AI, Machine Learning, large GPU clusters, LLM and Gen AI. Taha is also responsible for the AI adoption and GTM strategy and is a part of the EMEA AI Leadership team at Oracle. He has lived & worked in the US and Morocco before relocating to the UAE

Srinivasan Sampath is the Chief Information Officer at First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB). Sampath has the responsibility for driving the Group’s Technology and Transformation Strategy to ensure that FAB is ready for the next generation of Digital Banking services.

Saket Saith is a seasoned professional at the forefront of digital transformation, specializing in the convergence of strategy and execution. Currently serving as the Group Chief Technology and Data Officer at RAKBANK, UAE, Saket has over 25 years of experience in leading technology and data initiatives, ensuring the delivery of innovative and customer-centric solutions.

Maen Mahmoud Razouqi a Kuwaiti National global optimist leadership executive. Forbes Top 100 MENA Leaders 2023. He is one of the Principal Founders and a Director of AFKAR Ventures founded in Sep 2020 as a first mover EnergyTech MENA investment enterprise with a focused vision that aims to help shape a sustainable and independent future for the region’s energy tech sector by accelerating the future of energy.

Usama joined Northeastern University Khoury College of Computer Sciences as professor of the practice and the Office of the Provost as the Inaugural Executive Director of the Institute for Experiential AI. He continues as Chairman of Open Insights, a company he founded as a technology and consulting firm in 2008 after leaving Yahoo to enable enterprises to get value out of their data assets and optimize or create new business models based on the evolving economy of interactions.

As EVP, Head Wholesale Digital Banking & CEO NeoVentures, Amith leads the transformation of Mashreq Bank into a more digital and analytics-driven organization. He has deep business knowledge and exceptional ability to bridge the gap between business and technology realms, resulting in a seamlessly integrated approach to strategic decision making and delivery

Alireza Haghighi, MD, DPhil, FACMG, is the Founding Director of the International Center for Genetic Diseases (iCGD), dedicated to advancing genomic and precision medicine globally through partnerships with governments, academia, and industry. Dr. Haghighi is internationally recognized for his leadership in international projects that aim to advance genomic and precision medicine across the world. Dr. Haghighi regularly consults for and advises government leaders, as well as academic and industrial organizations.

Nader Albastaki is a Managing Director of the Dubai Future District Fund, an evergreen venture fund of funds and direct investment vehicle of the emirate of Dubai. The fund is anchored by Dubai Future Foundation and the Dubai International Financial Centre to invest in the Future of Finance and Future Economies with the aim of bolstering economic development in Dubai, the UAE and the broader region.

Andrew Hanna was appointed as founding CEO of ZainTECH in March 2021, assuming responsibility for the strategic and operational direction of the company. ZainTECH is Zain Group’s regional digital and ICT powerhouse consolidating Zain Group’s Enterprise, ICT, and Digital assets to offer a compelling and unique value proposition of comprehensive digital solutions and transformation services tailored to enterprises and governments in the MENA region, under one roof.

Antoine is a technology investor and a visionary entrepreneur, starting in the deep Artificial Intelligence space as early as 1998. Since 2017 he is a co-founder and Managing Partner of Alpha Intelligence Capital firm investing in Artificial Intelligence companies globally.

Pascal Gauthier is currently the chairman and CEO of Ledger, an industry leader in protecting critical digital assets. He is committed to driving ownership and security in the cryptocurrency industry. He also engineered Komainu: the joint venture between Nomura, Ledger and CoinShares, that safeguards BTCs and other cryptocurrencies on behalf of financial institutions (of which he is board member).

Ram has over 33+ years of industry experience of which includes industry experience in the field of IT, data and AI. He actually started his career in AI in 1986. Ram has held executive roles as CDAO, CIO, CTO and CEO. He has successfully operated in different and dynamic market conditions in various industry verticals and government organisations in over 40 countries including Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Asia, Pacific, Latin America, Middle East, Africa and North America regions.

On Lee is a renowned expert in ABCD (AI, Blockchain, Cloud, and Data) digital technologies, providing digital solutions across various industries, such as financial services, fast-moving consumer goods, e-commerce, travel, media, entertainment, and more.

Abdulrahman AlJiffry is a Partner at 500 Global, a VC firm with more than $2.7b in AUM with a truly global portfolio of active programs and companies. Abdulrahman is focused on the MENA Accelerator Fund, helping scale MENA most promising startups in a rapidly growing and maturing market.

Chris is COO at the NEAR Foundation, a Swiss-based non-profit supporting the ongoing growth and development of the NEAR Protocol. Prior to joining the NEAR Foundation, Chris was a partner at Web3 accelerator Outlier Ventures. Chris is a qualified solicitor (England & Wales) and has been advising and working with Web3 and other technology projects for several years.

Vijay is a technology investor, serial entrepreneur, and a seasoned CEO. Since 2017, Vijay held the position of Managing Director and Regional Head of MENAPT at Techstars; the world’s most active pre-seed technology investor; with a portfolio of 3,800+ companies with a combined market capitalization at USD $90Bn.

Himanshu Shrivastava is an experienced technology leader with over 25 years of experience in leading Technology and Digital Transformation initiatives. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Computer science from Delhi University and an MBA in Information Technology/Marketing. Himanshu has worked in various roles within Technology, including leadership roles, in organizations such as Citibank (APAC leadership role based out of Singapore), American Express Bank, Bank of America, ABN AMRO Bank, Polaris Software Lab Ltd., and currently at the Al Futtaim Group. He has been involved in the design, development, and deployment of products such as Internet Banking, Mobile Application, Open Banking APIs, Loan Origination, EBPP, Collections, Branch Application, Teller, Call Center Application, and Enterprise Service Bus (Middleware).

Saqr Mashhor Ereiqat is a seasoned professional with extensive experience in blockchain, fintech, healthtech, and govtech. As a Partner at TradeDog Group and Co-Founder of Crypto Oasis Ventures and Riddermark, he plays a key role in shaping technological advancements across various industries.

Viktor Fischer is Managing Partner and Founder of RockawayX. RockawayX manages $2B across its asset management (VC and credit fund) and infrastructure, and has made over 90 investments in direct project and funds in the blockchain space. At RockawayX he plays a pivotal role in the onboarding and growth of early-stage blockchain startups.

Leading Google Cloud’s Artificial Intelligence business across EMEA, Alex has over 20 years in the global technology sector with operating experience in the UK, EMEA and Worldwide. A member of Google Cloud EMEA Leadership team, prior experience includes Sales leadership, General management, Corporate strategy, Analyst relations, Organisational and GTM design.

Abdelali Zahi is the AI Leader for Financial Services & Telcos EMEA at Oracle, bringing 17 years of experience in artificial intelligence, analytics, and digital transformation. Previously, he served as the CTO at 3rd-eyes analytics AG in Switzerland and held leadership positions at Allianz Global Investors in Germany, where he spearheaded AI initiatives and led the development of critical investment and risk analytics platforms. Abdelali’s expertise spans AI, machine learning, cloud computing, high performance computing, and fintech.

Suresh Vaidhyanathan is an accomplished C-suite leader managing a diversified portfolio of businesses including market leading digital platforms. He was listed amongst Forbes Middle East Top 100 CEOs.

Serial Entrepreneur and COO of Public Masterpiece, Garen Mehrabian merges physical assets with RWA and blockchain innovations, driving the future of digital & tangible asset integration in technology.

Shayan has over 18 years of experience across HSBC’s footprint markets including Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, UK and the UAE. He has been a frontline business leader covering Corporates, Digital, Payments and Strategy through the course of his international career. Shayan is a strong advocate for technology making financial services more accessible, efficient, transparent and inclusive and continues to advocate for this through his global network.

Julie is the Regional Director for the Lower Gulf at Coursera, one of the largest online learning platforms in the world with a mission to provide universal access to world-class learning. She has supported learners and led successful teams for over 15 years, and believes strongly in the value that education plays in improving lives and societies.

Founder and CEO of Indigo Hive, with over 5 years of experience in technology, business strategy, and innovation. Specialized in transforming corporate challenges into scalable technological solutions, with a strong focus on artificial intelligence and automation. With an initial background in medicine, I bring a unique perspective by integrating business consultancy with technological development, resulting in high-performance products like Cogfy.

Shirom Chabra is a distinguished academic, ex McKinsey AI consultant, and entrepreneur with a PhD in Computational Biology from the University of Cambridge.

Vyas Raina is an accomplished Deep Learning expert, ranking in the top 2% of engineers at the University of Cambridge. With a PhD from the Machine Intelligence Laboratory, he has authored over 10 high-impact papers in top tier Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning conferences. His professional experience includes roles as a research scientist at Amazon Web Services and a lead NLP researcher at a New York hedge fund (Schonfeld).

A Global partnerships leader and entrepreneur with 17 years of experience. He is a specialist in developing businesses and building relationships with new and existing investors, partners, and Fortune 100 companies across the globe.

Dubai-based, British national Laura Buckwell is an international, industry event EMCEE, moderator and former TV news anchor. Throughout her time, Laura has interviewed many high profile CEO’s, personalities, entrepreneurs and government bodies. As a prominent figure within the events industry, Laura enjoys hosting high profile industry platforms, including the COP28 World Action Summit, the 18th Session for UNIDO, ADIPEC, the IPTC Riyadh, the Global Smart Energy Summit, Hypermotion and the Future Sustainability Summit to name a few. Laura has had the privilege of introducing global leaders to the stage including Presidents, Prime Ministers, and UN officials.

Jane Witherspoon is Bureau Chief Middle East based in Euronews’ Dubai bureau. She regularly appears in some of Euronews’ best-known titles, like Interview, City Scenes and Target. As part of ​this coverage, Jane has interviewed high-profile personalities, entrepreneur Steven Bartlett, Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer, EU Ambassador to the UAE Andrea Matteo Fontana, chef Gordon Ramsay and legendary hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan to name a few.

Nawied Jabarkhyl is a Director at APCO, and Head of International Media Relations at the global communications consultancy firm. In his role, he advises government, corporate clients and senior executives on strategies to maximize media relations and impact.

Karl is the Founder and CEO of iAdvisory, a Dubai Future Fellow, and board advisor pioneering the digital economy and driving innovation across government, enterprise and venture space.

Dan Murphy is CNBC’s Anchor and Correspondent based in the United Arab Emirates, reporting on business, markets, economics and geopolitics from across the Middle East region.

Andy Hock is SVP of Product Management at Cerebras Systems. Andy was the Senior Director of Advanced Technologies at Skybox Imaging, makers of high-resolution satellites, when the company was purchased by Google in 2014 for $500M. After the acquisition, he continued on as Product Manager at Google before joining the team at Cerebras. Prior to Skybox, Andy was the Senior Program Manager, business development lead and a Senior Scientist for Arete Associates. He holds a PhD in Geophysics and Space Physics from UCLA.

Kerem Alper is the Co-founder and CEO of Neol, an AI-native network management platform reshaping how organizations collaborate with top talent. With degrees from Stanford University, Kerem has received multiple accolades, including the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leader and awards from institutions such as iF Design and Core77 for his work on the future of work.

Martin Green is a Vice President at Salesforce Middle East and has been supporting customers in the region for the past five years. Martin is a Business Unit leader for clients in the Financial Services, Telco & Media, Real Estate and Transport sectors. He has always been a keen technologist and is a leading advocate of Artificial Intelligence thought leadership within the Salesforce practice.

Lixia’s diverse career encompasses senior executive roles at JPMorgan and Fiserv, as well as founding an AI/web3 fintech venture. She currently serves an Investor and Advisor-in-Residence at Columbia University’s Venture Lab and as Head of MENA for the Asian Family Legacy Foundation.

Dr Anish Shivdasani is a serial tech entrepreneur, having founded three startups- across digital marketplaces, crypto and Smart City

Dr. Sonia Ben Jaafar is the Chief Execu ve Officer of the Abdulla Al Ghurair Founda on (AGF), overseeing the largest privately funded educational philanthropic ini a ve in the Arab region. With over twenty years of experience, Dr. Ben Jaafar is recognized for her exper se in educational development, focusing on evidence-based solu ons to educa on challenges.

Porter is the Head of Ecosystem & Community for the Filecoin Foundation where he orchestrates the engagement of over 2,000 storage providers systems, data onboarding platforms, Filecoin service providers, decentralized AI collaborations, investors, and other ecosystem enablers to support the advance of the Filecoin network.   

Mauricio is currently the Middle East and Africa Chair for Kearney, the global management consultancy. He previously served as Global Board Director for the firm and as Board Member of Kearney Venture Capital.

Jonathan is the co-founder of Ansa Research, a firm focused on the future of the internet and the decentralization of the cloud. Prior to founding Ansa Research, worked at Protocol Labs as the Ecosystem Lead for Filecoin, and at Palantir – leading engagements across Telecoms, Oil and Gas, and Industrial Manufacturing.

Matthieu is a renowned impact entrepreneur and subject matter expert in Digital Transformation for Emerging Technologies, including Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), IoT, Big Data, and Digital Twins, particularly in the context of Smart Cities. With a robust background in finance (investment banking) and real estate (sales, redevelopment), Matthieu brings a unique blend of skills and experience to the table.

Joseph Michael Daniels is a world leading sustainable technologist, innovator and entrepreneur. In 2022 Joseph Michael Daniels retired from his original founding role to create a next generation smart nations eco system builder, Elixr, aligning its planet 2030 vision via the domain Planet Earth to help support social impact and sustainability entrepreneurs to change the world.

Gareema Kaaushik is a distinguished business leader and product management expert, renowned for her extensive experience in the FinTech and banking sectors. With a robust background in digital transformation, payments, analytics, and e-commerce, Gareema excels in crafting and executing innovative digital strategies that enhance customer experiences and drive business growth. Her expertise encompasses both B2C and B2B markets on a global scale, where she has partnered with leading organizations to uncover and seize product-market opportunities. In addition to her professional achievements, Gareema is passionate about giving back to the community. She actively supports NGOs, mentors startup founders and aspiring product managers, and finds joy in reading and traveling. Her dedication to both her field and her community makes her a valuable asset to any discussion on the future of digital transformation and AI.

Alaa Dalghan is the Managing Director of Cognit DX, a boutique advisory firm specializing in Technology Strategy, C Level Advisory and Digital Transformation using Emerging Tech: AI & Machine Learning, IoT, Data Science & Analytics and Blockchain/Fintech.

Faisal Hamady is a core member of BCG’s global Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT) practice leadership, where he is the global lead of the Digital Economy, the global lead for Innovation for Economic Development, and the Middle East lead for Tech-innovation.

Elliot Robson has over 20 years working as a business and technology leader with a history of success building teams and bringing new technology to the market. He’s built a broad knowledge base including classic analytics methods, ML/NLP, linguistics, generative AI and human philosophy with experience building and growing tech teams and implementing cutting-edge technologies across industries.

Rohit Chennamaneni is the co-founder of Darwinbox. Rated highest globally on Gartner Peer Insights, Darwinbox is used by 1000+ enterprises to manage their end-toend HR needs. Rohit has worked for organizations like Mckinsey, Google and P&G prior to starting Darwinbox.

Tunc Ozgul, with 25+ years of experience, leads AWS’s Startup & VC Ecosystem for MENA and Turkey. He has a background in venture capital, angel investing, and held leadership roles at Intel.

Naser Ahmed Alrashdi has a distinguished career spanning over 19 years in the UAE government, focusing on ICT, Cybersecurity, and Space. He has held several prominent positions, including Director of Space Policy & Regulations, Director of the Global Industry Accelerator Program, and Senior Manager of Cybersecurity Policy & Planning. Between 2007 and 2012, he served as a diplomatic representative for the UAE at the UN-ITU in Geneva. Currently, he is the CEO of 5IR Consultancy and is involved with the UAE Space Agency’s Space Program Quality Assurance and Risk Management Team. He also teaches at the Mohamed Bin Rashed School of Governance and PWC Academy, and is a member of several advisory boards and committees.

Nickson Dicson heads the Data & AI Services Business for AWS covering MENA and Turkey Region with over 20 years of industry experience across various industry verticals.

Issam Said is a Manager of solutions architecture and engineering at NVIDIA.

A key figure at Cipre Holdings and CEO of Celestial Dynamics, leads AI innovations like MATRIA AI, managing 85M digital twins and 2B+ data points, transforming industries through advanced data-driven.