Anywhere 2021 Speakers

Sriram Krishnan is a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz where he invests in early stage consumer startups. Today, Sriram serves on the board of Hopin. Prior to joining a16z, Sriram held numerous senior product roles. Most recently, he led core consumer teams at Twitter where he was responsible for products including the home timeline, new user experience, search, discovery, and audience growth. Before this, Sriram created and oversaw various mobile ad products for both Snap and Facebook, including Snap’s Direct Response ads business and the Facebook Audience Network, one of the largest networks in display advertising. Sriram started his career at Microsoft where he touched numerous projects related to Windows Azure. He is the author of “”Programming Windows Azure”” published by O’Reilly. Sriram writes actively at @sriramk on Twitter and at sriramk.com. Along with his wife, he also co-hosts The Good Time Show on Clubhouse, a nightly show through which they interview innovators around tech and culture.

Alex Antolino is a creative director, content creator, and overnight music producer.

David Miltner is the Head of Growth Marketing for International Expansion at Fiverr International Ltd. (NYSE: FVRR), the company that is changing how the world works together. David and his team are responsible to grow Fiverr’s international footprint and connect local businesses with top talented freelance experts. Before he joined Fiverr, David successfully scaled up new mobility start ups in Germany and Europe.

Kieran Flanagan has a proven track record in helping businesses, from start-ups to scale-ups, grow their traffic, users, and revenue. At HubSpot, he’s played a major role in the growth of their international business, product-led business, and global customer acquisition group. As an SVP of marketing, he currently leads a group that spans global customer acquisition, HubSpot media, and HubSpot academy and community.

Elie is the co-founder of Anghami, the leading music streaming service in the Middle East. In late 2012, seizing the opportunity of a lack of proper digital music service in the Arab world, Elie and his partner, Eddy Maroun, launched Anghami (‘my tunes’ in Arabic). Since then, Anghami has reached over 85 million users, streaming a billion track played each month. With offices in Abu Dhabi, Beirut, Dubai, Cairo & Riyadh, Anghami’s 120 people team successfully raised over $30 million from VCs and leads the subscription race in the region, announcing an IPO in March 2021. At Anghami, Elie runs the operations and product development, spending most of his time working between clouds, streams and pixels.

Fadi Ghandour is the Executive Chairman of Wamda Group, a platform that invests, nurtures and builds entrepreneurship ecosystems across the Middle East and North Africa. Fadi is also the Founder of Aramex, one of the leading global logistics companies. Fadi spent the first 30 years of his work life as CEO of Aramex, building the company, making it the leading emerging market logistics company, employing over 15,000 people working in over 250 offices in 90 countries. He took the company public twice, first on Nasdaq making it the first company from the Arab world to do so, then on Dubai Financial market. Fadi is a serial entrepreneur. In his career, he was involved with founding, investing and launching tens of companies and non-profits, ranging from digital tech, hospitality, fitness & wellness to security. Passionate about impact and social entrepreneurship, Fadi founded and chairs Ruwwad for Development, a private‐sector led community empowerment platform that helps marginalized communities, across several countries in the MENA region, overcome marginalization through activism, civic engagement, education and financial inclusion. He has also co-founded and continues to support Al-Riyadi, one of the leading not-for-profit sports clubs in Jordan. Fadi also served and continues to serve on several global and regional boards of companies, education institutions and non-profits.

One of the most interesting questions of our time is what will happen to societies, economies and innovation as almost everyone has a super computer in their pocket — and what it will mean for those who don’t. Now, with access to rapidly changing tech, and with Covid, much is massively accelerated. When I travel — now on zoom, once 250,000 miles a year – I love to see and understand this shift bottom up; to understand differences in culture, history, governance. But I also love to see what is shared as, for all the diversity across borders, problem solvers in rising markets share a ton – more so often than with the West. Tremendous impact and wealth will be created. I am hopeful by nature; love to hike; read much of the time; try to be of-service all of the time – and hopefully share all of it first and foremost with my kids.

Emily Oberman is an award winning multidisciplinary designer whose work encompasses strategy, brand identity, motion graphics, publications, packaging, advertising, and websites. Her work is unique in that it blurs the line between promotion and design—often using language and humor to make an emotional connection for brands both global and local. Her clients include Warner Bros. Entertainment, Warner Records, and Fisher-Price, Rotten Tomatoes, Saturday Night Live, DC, J.K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts, Ready Player One, League of Legends, The Wing, COTE Korean Steakhouse and Netflix’s Queue digital magazine / platform. Before joining Pentagram, she worked at the legendary design studio M&Co., working with Tibor Kalman. Emily then co-founded Number Seventeen with Bonnie Siegler in 1993. A graduate of Cooper Union, Emily’s work has been recognized by the AIGA, TDC, ADC, CA, among other acronyms. In 2004, she was awarded Copper Union’s Augustus Saint-Gaudens Award. In 2016 she was one of Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business. She has served on the national board of AIGA and as president of its NY chapter. She has taught at Yale, Cooper Union, Parsons and The New School.

As Jungle Creations’ Brand Development Director, Siobhan leads the brand strategy for the company’s portfolio of media brands, which have over 125 million followers across social platforms, employing new approaches to content, partnerships and platforms.

Sam has 15 years’ experience working with large brands on their social media intelligence strategies. Based in London, he works with clients across Europe and the Middle East to understand their business goals and design custom solutions to meet and exceed these.

Hassan Waheed Abdulkarim is a Senior Investment Advisor at DAFZA and Chairman of Scality. Hassan is an active stakeholder in the startup ecosystem, having invested in regional and global tech startups, both personally and professionally. Hassan currently sits on the Investment Committee of Dtec Ventures. Hassan started his career in corporate & investment banking. Prior to joining DAFZA, Hassan worked as Director of Underwriting and Credit at Mohammed Bin Rashid Fund for SME.

Seray Cicek is a medical technology innovator and synthetic biology enthusiast. She holds a MSc in Pharmaceutical Sciences and BASc in Engineering Science (Biomedical) from the University of Toronto. During her senior year in Engineering Science, along with her teammates, she turned her award-winning capstone project into a start-up called Xpan Inc. Her strong interest in synthetic biology led her to pursue graduate studies in Keith Pardee’s lab. Her graduate studies focused on development of a low-cost diagnostic device for the detection of Zika virus in patient samples, and deployment of these devices in Ecuador, Colombia and Brazil. Seray is the co-founder and CEO of LSK Technologies Inc, a start-up that aims to decentralize diagnostic labs to increase access to traditionally lab-based tests.

Mamta Varerkar has more than 15 years of experience in Branding, Advertising and Communications, with a focus on providing clients with Digital solutions. Mamta is a Partner and Digital Director at Yellow – a branding, communications and digital agency based in Dubai Design District. Mamta has also been an independent marketing consultant to several SMEs, startups and agencies, helping them meet their marketing and business objectives. Mamta shares her experience working with startups in her podcast called: Startup Hustle Middle East, which includes stories of startups and VCs from the ecosystem. Aside from this, Mamta enjoys speaking opportunities around the topics of communication, digital and content marketing and entrepreneurship.

Ahmed is the Head of Growth & Business Development in Tap Payments. Driven by his passion to help businesses grow, Ahmed manages operations across the region to offer seamless payment solutions to merchants. Prior to joining Tap, Ahmed has 13 years of experience in Business development across multiple industries including technology, telecom and cybersecurity.

Feras Jalbout is a serial investor turned entrepreneur. Most recently, Feras served in a dual capacity as Head of Investments at Wamda Capital – an early-stage venture fund focused on deploying capital into high growth companies across MENA and Managing Director of Aurora Partners, a single-family office based in Dubai with an unconstrained global investment mandate. His work included developing and executing global investment theses in areas of mega growth across public and private markets. In July 2020, he set out to build baraka – a UAE-based fintech on a mission to connect young, urban, millennials to regional and international investment opportunities. Since then, he has brought together, and now leads, a dynamic team geared towards growing baraka’s vibrant and transparent open investing platform that educates, enables and empowers individuals to take control of their investments.

Jon Santillan is the founder of Denarii. Backed by 500Startups, Denarii is a money transfer app that helps overseas workers to send money home. With the long-term mission and vision towards a cashless borderless society, the mobile application won the grand prize at the “Dubai Smart-Preneur” 2019 competitions. Denarii was part of MISK500 accelerator program, Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund organized by the ministry of finance and the Hub71 incentive program for startups. Before Denarii, Jon worked in Etihad Airways, Tajawal and Almosafer where he led multiple digital marketing programs and product developments, resulting in high sales revenue. Jon Santillan is also an advocate of pay-it-forward startup culture by helping each other flourish and grow.Jon Santillan is the founder of Denarii. Backed by 500Startups, Denarii is a money transfer app that helps overseas workers to send money home. With the long-term mission and vision towards a cashless borderless society, the mobile application won the grand prize at the “Dubai Smart-Preneur” 2019 competitions. Denarii was part of MISK500 accelerator program, Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund organized by the ministry of finance and the Hub71 incentive program for startups. Before Denarii, Jon worked in Etihad Airways, Tajawal and Almosafer where he led multiple digital marketing programs and product developments, resulting in high sales revenue. Jon Santillan is also an advocate of pay-it-forward startup culture by helping each other flourish and grow.

Mark co-founded Sarwa in 2017 and is a new generation executive with 10 years of experience across diverse roles spanning strategy, management, operations and technology. Mark has previously worked at organisations including Accenture Strategy, focusing on banking and wealth management, and Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ), one of Canada’s largest pension funds with $270B+ in AUM, and started his career at BLOMINVEST Bank. Mark studied finance and entrepreneurship, earning his Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University, and has been recognized in the Forbes 30 under 30 lists.

Mo Ali Yusuf is the Regional Manager of Checkout.com. Previously Mo worked at Visa and Booz, and founded several startups.

Nawaf Mohamed Alkoheji is currently the Chief Executive Officer at Tenmou. He is committed, driven and dedicated to developing a start-up culture in Bahrain and to work together with key stakeholders to benefit entrepreneurs and encourage companies to grow and scale up. Nawaf started his entrepreneurial journey by launching Foods Limited now called the Culinary Company, a specialized catering company in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Nawaf also has several years of startup and SME experience, while was working in Tamkeen. Nawaf graduated with a BA in International Relations from Webster University London, and an MBA from the University of Incarnate Word in Texas.

Mohammed is an investor, Kauffman Fellow and a entrepreneur. He has previously founded and exited his Cybersecurity startup, worked as a software engineer at Google and Mozilla and was a personal investor in over a dozen comapnies. He also led several national initiatives as a Deputy Minister for Planning & Development in Saudi Arabia’s ICT Sector. As a recognized cybersecurity thought-leader; Mohammed won the prestigious ACSAC award in its 31st year. He has a PhD in CS focusing on the intersection of Cybersecurity, Machine Learning and Cognitive Psychology.

Erik founded Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa together with Mikkel Vinter in 2006 and he has more than 20 years of experience in mobile telecoms in both MNO and MVNO. Erik has a proven track record of building successful MVNOs in the world including in Saudi Arabia starting from the acquisition of the initial license and subsequently holding the position as chairman in the operational entity since inception. Erik is dedicated to ensuring that Virgin Mobile Middle East &Africa maintains its position as the leading MVNO/MVNE player in the region with particular focus on the Middle East. For the first five years, he held the position of Chief Financial Officer being was responsible for all financial activities, including local and global debt and equity fundraising. From 2011 until the middle of 2018, he worked as Chief Business Development Officer focusing on developing new business opportunities and nurturing the relationship with our JV partners across the region. During his career, Erik has held many senior positions across several different countries in Europe, working with both frequency-based and MVNO-based greenfield mobile companies and traditional telecom companies offering both fixed and mobile services. Prior to Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa, Erik was Chief Executive Officer of Realtime, a global VAS provider, where he successfully managed a turnaround of the business and developed a strong growth strategy for the company in Europe, South America and the Middle East. Between 2000 and 2003, Erik was the Chief Financial Officer of a telco corporate venture fund. Erik graduated from the University of Aarhus with a master’s degree in economics and Business Administration in 1994. Married and living in Dubai with 3 children, Erik is an enthusiastic runner and enjoys spending time with his family and visiting new places in the region.

Paul is a voyageur. He explores human behavior — who we are, how we feel & transact, how technology impacts it all, what it means to us. Trained in global affairs, serial entrepreneur, and creative at heart, Paul advises organizations, from venture to startups, from fintech to travel. He deciphers global mythologies — our experiential journeys around a nomadic, augmented & tribal world. Paul is a sought-after speaker, a TV/radio/stage host, and a show creator, appearing in more than 70 countries. He draws a unique perspective from his multi-cultural background, a Swiss, a Greek, a Finn, having lived in Tokyo, Manila or London, and his forever travels to discover more. Paul has always been at the forefront of enabling what’s next. He’s an air travel nerd, award-winning photographer, and a chocolate lover.

Faisal is the Innovation Hub Manager and head of AB Accelerator at the Arab Bank. Prior to joining Arab Bank, Faisal managed a portfolio of +30 startups at Oasis500, a pioneering seed-stage accelerator in the MENA region with a portfolio of 100+ companies. Faisal works with multi-stage startups in designing the early stages of product design, go-to-market strategy, and business development. Furthermore, assisting startups in raising venture funding. Faisal is deeply passionate about the Fintech industry, led FinTech focused corporate innovation programs in Jordan. Faisal holds a Bachelor’s degree from the American University of Washington DC with a double specialization in Business Management and Entrepreneurship.

Racha Ghamlouch has 11 years of experience in community development, events, and content creation. She led conference content, community initiatives, and innovation programs at ArabNet for 8 years. She then moved to develop community engagement strategies at BECO capital. Racha had founded the Digital Digest, a digital business news aggregator, before joining BECO and left in 2018 to focus on the digest full time while consulting companies on community development and communication.

Charles Schreger is the former president of HBO Enterprises, where from 1990 – 2019 he was responsible for the domestic and international distribution of original programming produced by HBO and was a member of the senior management team. He also served as executive Vice President and special assistant to the CEO. Before joining HBO, Schreger served in a number of executive positions in the film and television industries. With Columbia Pictures, he was the Senior Vice President of film acquistions and also president and founder of Triumph Films, a joint venture between Columbia Pictures and Gaumont. Triumph distributed foreign language and American independent films in the United States. Before segueing into the entertainment industry, Schreger was a reporter for the Chicago and Los Angeles bureaus of Variety and a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times. Schreger holds a BA degree from Brandeis University and an MS degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. He has taught journalism at the USC and is an adjunct professor at NYU Stern and a visiting professor at the American University in Dubai.

Reem is a Dubai-based Canadian media executive, business woman, podcast and livestream host, executive producer, public speaker and cultural innovator. Her work in the Middle East is focused on building cultural understanding, producing ground-breaking content and redefining the landscape of the Arab Digital Generation through entrepreneurship, technology and media. She is best known for co-hosting the Dukkan Show, the Middle East’s leading Society and Culture podcast and is an Executive Producer regional podcasts: Switch/Flicks, The MenaBytes Drop and Legal- ish.

Serene works in Investment Promotion and Business Advisory at the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), the central government hub supporting private sector investment in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.   Previously she was an Entrepreneurship Development Expert with the World Bank Group where she worked with the Kuwait National Fund (KNF), the The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) and the Small & Medium Enterprises General Authority (SMEA) and the Innovative Startups And SMEs Fund (ISSF) in Jordan.   Serene was previously a consultant to the Dubai Chamber of Commerce where she developed and managed the Dubai Startup Hub and the Dubai Smartpreneur Competition in partnership with Smart Dubai.   Serene is a founding team member of Oasis500, a pioneering seed investment company and technology accelerator in in the Middle East.   Serene holds an MBA from London Business School, a postgraduate certificate in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley and a BA in Public Relations and Organizational Communication from Pepperdine University.

Serial entrepreneur, established 4 startups all of them in health tech, 2 successful exits, one acquisition, and currently running Aumet.com

Dr. Philipp Rothemund is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Robotic Materials at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, where he has been since 2020. During 2019-2020, he was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Colorado Boulder. He received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 2009 and an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 2012 from ETH Zurich. In 2014, he received a M.S. in Engineering Sciences from Harvard University, where he also received his Ph.D. in Engineering Sciences. His research interests include nonlinear continuum mechanics, materials science, soft robotics, electroactive polymers, renewable energy sources, and energy harvesting.

Bedy oversees 500 Startups’ ecosystem development programs–including investor education courses in partnership with top institutions such as Stanford, Berkeley and INSEAD, and leads 500’s corporate startup innovation and consultancy. She has helped launch strategic partnerships and accelerator programs across the globe. Bedy joined 500 Startups in 2011 becoming General Partner of its Global Flagship Funds I, II, III and IV. Among her investments are Talkdesk, Viva Real which sold to OLX, and Cinepapaya, acquired by Fandango. She is also a Managing Partner of Falcons I and General Partner of the Sanabil 500 MENA Seed Accelerator Fund, which focus on MENA startups. Prior to 500 Startups, she worked as a management consultant specializing in distribution and go-to-market strategies for Fortune 500 companies in Brazil. She founded Brazil Innovators, an organization that became the premier hub for Brazilian tech founders, with a network of over 5,000 members. Bedy is a member of the Society of Kauffman Fellows, Class ‘17, a Guest Lecturer at Stanford Center for Professional Development, INSEAD and Berkeley, and a Forbes Contributor. She holds a BA from Fundação Getúlio Vargas, an MLA from the University of Pennsylvania, and is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese.

Alex is the founder and CEO of STIRIXIS Group, the internationally awarded design consultancy firm with projects in more than 25 countries. He holds a Masters in Civil Engineering (MCivEng) and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) with distinction, and is certified in Project Management (IPMA, PRINCE2), in Strategy and Innovation (ICSA) and an eminent public speaker about Systems Thinking and its tools for Maximization of ROI in Business Growth. He has been recognized as Best European CEO in Retail Development from European CEO Awards in 2015, the Best European CEO in 2018 from AI Global Excellence Awards and as International Game-changer from the ACQ5 Awards in 2019. In 2020 he founded Metallaxis.org, an international think-tank and future trends agency, to support organizations in dealing with the exponential speed of change and disruption.

Rami is a seasoned marketing professional with vast experience in the MENA region for the past 10 years. As MEA Marketing Executive, Rami manages Talkwalkers digital marketing efforts for the MEA market, specifically engaging with thought leaders, events, content distribution, and cross-industry partnerships. He had previously worked at Wamda and MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab where he spearheaded all community-building initiatives and communications efforts. His background includes media studies and television broadcasting. He is naturally inquisitive and constantly looking to disrupt the status quo.

Deborah Magid, Director of Strategy in IBM Ventures, is based in Silicon Valley and represents IBM’s $40 B software business. Deborah shares insights about emerging markets, technologies and business models with venture firms and entrepreneurs around the world. Deborah is responsible for fueling IBM’s ecosystem in strategic areas related to high growth businesses, including Analytics, AI, Cloud, Security, Blockchain and IoT; and contributes to filling out IBM’s product portfolio through M&A. Deborah is a frequent spokesperson on topics ranging from how startups can achieve success, women in technology and trends and disruptions in investing. She is a board advisor of Silicon Valley Forum and on the NVCA’s Corporate Venture Advisory Board.

Leila is Co-Founder and CEO of Finyal Media, an award-winning podcast network producing content that helps young people reconnect with the Arab world. Finyal Media are the creators of hit Arabic podcast series 1001 Nights, Juha and The Basement, among others. Leila has 15 years’ experience working in media and telecoms across Europe, Africa and the Middle East. She started her career in London at Fremantle and subsequently worked as a management consultant and in-house strategy expert for large media-focused companies including OSN, Etisalat and Value Partners, before joining Finyal Media. Leila holds a BA from Oxford University and an MBA from London Business School.

A podcaster, a blogger and a digital communications expert, Maram started her career as a journalist and a writer in TV newsrooms. She then moved to PR where she focuses on integrated communications strategies. Maram was one of the founders of Rise by Kekst CNC, a communications offering tailored for startups and SMEs. In her free time, Maram co-hosts the successful UAE podcast, DXBabies. Maram holds an (MA) in Leadership and Innovation in Contemporary Media from the American University in Dubai, and a BA (Hons) degree in Communications and Information Study – Journalism with a minor in Politics as well as a Certificate of Middle Eastern Studies from the same university Maram speaks Arabic, English and French.

Kareem Elsirafy is a seasoned entrepreneur and investor with extensive strategic and operating experience in early-stage tech. Having dedicated over two decades of his career toward technological solutions for business and social complications, Kareem believes in the power of technology to drive positive returns for social impact and business initiatives. Kareem is a United States Marine Corps veteran and holds multiple degrees from Columbia University including BA’s in Political Science, Economics and Middle Eastern Studies, and an Executive MBA in Technology Management from Columbia as well.

Kelsey Warner is the Future Editor at The National where she oversees coverage of what innovations and trends are reshaping society. She also co-hosts the weekly Business Extra podcast. Her reporting has appeared in the Christian Science Monitor, The New York Times, Forbes Middle East and MSN. Prior to becoming a journalist, Kelsey led a Boston-based non-profit that supplied emergency funding to families facing homelessness. She holds a master’s degree from Columbia Journalism School.

Eduardo has a medical background and he is currently the CEO at Medicsen, having obtained the recognition of institutions as MIT, Forbes or the Spanish government. His path was oriented towards Neurosurgery when he decided to focus on technological innovation for healthcare with the goal of improving quality of life for millions of patients. He is a passionate and creative problem solver that has persevered through the initial phases of creating businesses and validating technological assets until market entry.

Hebah Fisher is a serial entrepreneur and journalist. She’s the CEO and cofounder of Kerning Cultures, the award-winning Dubai-based network behind Arabic and English podcasts that regularly top the podcast charts across the Middle East. Kerning Cultures’ stories have appeared on Radiolab, This American Life, Gimlet Media, and NPR. Kerning Cultures is also the first venture-backed podcast company in the Middle East.

As a young and creative leader with an energy that keeps him challenging the status quo and inspiring change, Firas Mghames had a vision of joining creatives, writers, filmmakers, animators, engineers, architects, and business consultants, all under one roof. A decade ago, this vision was translated into a vivid reality with the international hybrid creative agency FEER McQUEEN. As Managing Director of FEER McQUEEN, Firas has gotten a head start in the realm of digital transformation with an all new take on everything related to branding, design, advertising, animation, technology and all that goes with it. Firas holds a B.S. in Computer Graphics & Animation and a M.A. in Design from Notre Dame University. He has worked with a myriad of clients, including Swatch, Bank Audi, BBAC Bank, Total, and Danone.

Matthew Salloway is an international entrepreneur, venture capitalist, investor, and attorney. He is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of SIP Global Partners, an international performance venture fund focused on global technology companies and anchored by a top five telecommunications company. His experience also includes serving as the CEO of a top 50 Global family office, having a focus on venture capital and cross-border business development for portfolio company market expansion to the MENA region. He is also a successful film producer with some of his credits including: Lee Daniels’ The Butler, starring Oprah Winfrey and Forest Whitaker; The Ides of March, starring George Clooney and Ryan Gosling; and War with Grandpa, starring Robert De Niro.

Hisham Al-Falih founded Lean Technologies with his former Stanford roommate Aditya Sarkar and Columbia graduate Ashu Gupta in September 2019. The company’s mission is to enable the next generation of financial innovation in the Middle East, which it achieves by distilling critical yet complex financial infrastructure into an intuitive and universal API for developers. Hisham’s interest and experience in the Fintech ecosystem predates Lean. As a Venture Capitalist, his focus and subsequent investments were in fintechs across the Middle East, Silicon Valley, and Europe. Prior to this, Hisham graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and was a Mayfield Fellow at the Stanford Technology Ventures Program.

Andrius is leading business development activities at Anglo-Gulf Trade Bank (AGTB). Driven by the passion for innovation in corporate banking and client experience, he is managing a wide range of AGTB’s strategic initiatives – from partnerships and digital channels development to business planning and new product rollouts.   Prior to joining AGTB, Andrius was with the Boston Consulting Group, in strategic advisory projects across the GCC region. Before moving to the Middle East, he had a successful career in sales & trading at a major Swedish bank – Swedbank, starting his career as a trader and moving to senior business development roles, building and expanding financial derivatives business across the Baltic states and Scandinavia.

Victoria is an Investment Associate at Expert Dojo she has over ten years of experience in investment, due diligence, financial analysis, strategic planning, and business development in various industries, including Sensor & Technology, Semiconductor, Oil & Gas, Asset Management, Private Equity, and Venture Capital Industries in the UK, US, and Europe. Since 2018, she has been investing, mentoring, and advising women entrepreneurs in their journeys. Additionally, she is an Advisor at Astia Angel Group, Women Network, 13 Ventures, and Green Hill Ventures.

Abdulmajeed Alsukhan is the CEO and co-founder of Tamara, Saudis first buy-now-pay-later service provider. Tamara launched in August 2020 to address the growing demand for more inclusive and flexible payment methods as online commerce surged in the Kingdom. The pandemic also gave Tamaras leadership an opportunity to explore new ways of building a global remote team with a unique corporate culture, which is why today the company employs over 50 top talents in four markets: Saudi, UAE, Vietnam, and Germany. Before launching Tamara, Abdulmajeed co-founded Habli in 2017, a Saudi-based logistics provider for grocery delivery, which was acquired in the same year by Nana Direct, where he joined as co-founder and helped lead the companies growth from less than 50 employees to over 170 in two years and raised over $27M in funding. Abdulmajeed has a B.A. in financial economics from California State University and M.A. in Economy Policy from Boston University.

Founder of Abodoo the first dynamic skills data intelligence company for countries globally to reboot local economies to drive job creation and the game changing virtual real estate technology Yonderdesk which is dramatically improving employee well being and workflow in this new world. Irish born Vanessa has spent the last 18 years working for Fortune 1000 and governments. Published author and co-author of Your Company with No Walls she has spent the last decade running successful remote companies from the UK and Ireland. Her mantra “when you finally find your life’s purpose that is when the real fun begins” Vanessa’s mission is simple…. through real time data intelligence and an engaged virtual work and learning place amazing outputs can be achieved in job creation, re-skilling, inclusivity and sustainability of our world.

Dana Shaheen is the Director of Fintech and Digital Banking MENA region at VISA, based in Dubai. She holds a BSc in Finance and a BA in Journalism and Media Studies from Rutgers University, USA, as well as a MBA from London Business School in London. At Visa, Dana works closely with Fintech and Digital Banking partners on delivering innovative payment solutions to the MENA market by leveraging Visa’s leading digital payments network and solutions. Prior to joining Visa, Dana worked with a number of startups in London in the fintech space and other. Prior to her MBA, Dana had 7 years of experience in Investment Banking both in Dubai and London.

Ross Douglas Bio Founder & CEO of the Autonomy & The Urban Mobility Company Autonomy Paris is an annual event that brings innovators, policy makers, press and public together in Paris once a year to experience and build future mobility solutions. Now in its 6th year, Autonomy has become the most important international gathering for the urban mobility community. In addition, the Urban Mobility Company focuses on content, publishing a weekly newsletter to 12 000 subscribers and host webinars in partnership with leading companies.

Miriam Kiwan is the Head of partnerships at ADGM, an award-winning International Financial Centre (IFC) in Abu Dhabi. She is responsible for developing and managing strategic partnerships that support ADGM’s sustainable growth. Prior to this, Miriam spearheaded Entrepreneurship and Innovation, focusing on positioning ADGM as the leading tech startup hub the MEASA region and improving connectedness across ecosystems locally and internationally. Prior to ADGM, Miriam held various strategic roles in the UAE and Europe. She holds a Global EMBA from TRIUM, a joint program between London School of Economics, New York University Stern and HEC Paris.

A Saudi Entrepreneur, Entertainment expert, founder & CEO of Syrup Global LLC which caters to a variety of clients from Gov, Corporates, SMEs and Talented Individuals, providing Advisory, Talent Management, Experience Management, and Storytelling services, Mostafa is also a member of the advisory board of Building the Music Commission’s strategy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In addition, Mostafa brings a combination of extensive in-house and advisory experience providing a number of training, mentoring & couching & accelerating programs for entrepreneurs and start ups in the fields of Arts, Marketing & Entertainment Technologies. He received his Executive-MBA from Hult International Business School in 2015, rotating to 5 global campuses (Dubai, London, Shanghai, Boston & San Francisco).

Prashant Shrivastava (Popularly known as “PK” ) has 25 years’ experience in the technology industry. PK currently leads and oversees the execution of Tarabut Gateway’s overall strategy and has been a prominent figure in driving digital transformation across Bahrain. Whilst at TG, PK has been fundamental in the successful delivery of commercial targets and operational delivery of all of TGs commercial activities in Bahrain. Prior to joining TG, PK founded and successfully ran a Banking Software Services & Product Company for over a decade; which he helped scale up to a medium enterprise. Before running his own business, PK was an Engagement Manager at Infosys. In this role PK supported banks and financial institutions across India, Africa, Latin America, and Europe in their digital transformation strategies. Due to his monumental contribution and role in building an array of globally successful banking products, he was selected to be part of the Infosys Leadership Institute and took up a variety of leadership roles in a diverse range of commercial initiatives.

Lee McMahon is the Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer at Clara.co. Clara is a legal operating system that digitises and automates startup legal expertise. Clara educates and empowers founders to address many of the tasks currently performed by lawyers, including incorporating companies, drafting agreements, building cap tables and structuring data rooms. At the same time, Clara acts as a collaboration and information sharing tool for founders, investors and lawyers so that the key players in the global startup ecosystem can work together more efficiently. Clara is led by a seasoned team of entrepreneurs who have worked at the upper echelons of the legal and technology industries.

Kai Ling leads innovation at Etihad Aviation Group, focusing on organisational capability development and culture change, accelerated innovation delivery and external partnerships. In her current role, she has conceptualised, designed and delivered Etihad’s innovation lab which provides seed funding, resources, streamlined governance and shelter to incubate promising ideas and accelerate the delivery of innovative projects for the organisation. She works closely with global corporates, venture funds, accelerators and startups in driving innovation that brings business value and is passionate about building partnerships, both internally and externally, to deliver change.

Partner at True Search

Faisal Toukan is the CEO and Co-Founder of Ziina. He has experience across consumer fintech, enterprise sales, blockchain, start-ups, and venture capital with a passion for bringing new technologies to market.

As Head of Business Development and Partnerships at Hub71, Nader Museitif focuses on building strong alliances with tech enablers across different sectors to enrich Hub71’s global ecosystem for startups. Nader’s experience spans across multiple regions – Europe, Middle East and Africa, leading strategic growth activities for companies including Uber and Aramex. In his most recent role as the Middle East General Manager for the award-winning UK-based startup Hostmaker, Nader led the expansion efforts of the business and operations in the region. As head of Business at Uber for Middle East and North Africa, Nader led Uber’s business development and commercial efforts to ensure growth across the MENA region. This included fundraising, investor relations, strategic partnerships and business development across strategic verticals. Prior to his role at Uber, Nader was the Global Director of Corporate Development, in the areas of merger and acquisitions and franchising, for the UAE company Aramex – the first Arab-based company to be listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange. Leading the company’s corporate development strategy and global expansion efforts, Nader led large teams to help the company expand into new markets through acquisitions, investments, joint ventures, and franchising.

Head of Marketing and Communication for Al Masaood Group, Abu Dhabi’s pioneering business conglomerates and sitributors of world-class brands such as Nissan, Infiniti, Renault, Ducati, Bridgestone, MTU , Volvo Penta and other home-grown brands. Marwa’s rich marketing experience spans several industries, including Airlines, Banking, FMCGs, F&B, Automotive, manufacturing, construction and power generation. Her contributions are evident in delivering services to a broad spectrum of global and regional brands such as Volvo Penta, MTU, Nissan, Al Hilal Bank, Nestle, Kraft, Emirates Airline, Pizza Hut, entities that fall under the Government of Abu Dhabi. Marwa holds an MBA from the American University of Sharjah and Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems (with honours) from the same university. Marwa is a Certified Sustainability Marketer, with an accreditation from the Center for Sustainability Excellence and a Certified Digital Marketer from the Institute of Digital Marketing in Ireland. Marwa is a frequent lecturer at Abu Dhabi University on the topics of communications and CSR.

Johan works for Mitigram, the worlds largest marketplace for Trade Finance. He is responsible for the business and growth in Asia, having previously worked as Head of Client Relations. Trade Finance is an overarching term covering all the various products and support that Banks can offer companies doing export and import. This type of financing and risk mitigration is key to enable smooth flows goods and services across borders. Exports and Importers of smaller size, and specifically from developing countries, have had difficulties accessing the facilities of banks – making it more difficult and sometimes impossible to conduct business. Mitigram democratizes Trade Finance by providing all exporters and importers with a channel to most of the worlds largest banks.

Matt was previously Sustainability Director at B&Q, where he ran the award-winning One Planet Home programme. He was also a member of the sustainability leadership team at Kingfisher that created the ground breaking Net Positive programme. His role at Futerra is to support businesses in creating sustainability visions, strategies and action plans that deliver their vision for positive change. With a wealth of experience, Matt is the cornerstone of our strategy team.

Gabrielle joined the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) in February 2021. As Head of Market Development in the Financial Technology & Innovation unit, she drives the relationship between financial institutions, venture capital firms and FinTech startups, along with contributing to the FSRA’s FinTech strategy. Her expertise includes the implementation of new technologies and business models within financial institutions. Prior to ADGM, Gabrielle oversaw venture capital firm, Plug And Play’s FinTech activities in EMEA, deploying funding to European FinTech and InsurTech startups, executed on the open innovation process at Citi FinTech, and built financial models at Bloomberg. Gabrielle is a frequent speaker at leading conferences (e.g. Financial Times Live, Money2020, Finovate), has authored a number of whitepapers and articles on innovation in the financial industry (e.g. Forbes ME) and has been featured in Innovate Finance’s Women In Fintech Powerlist in 2017, 2018, 2019 and Lattice80’s 100 Women in Fintech in 2018 & 2019.

Romain is the Founder & CEO of Satgana, a global Venture Builder on a mission to launch and fund startups addressing the biggest social and environmental problems of our times. Previously, Romain was CEO & Co-Founder of Far Ventures, a pioneering Venture Studio on the African continent. He has 8 years of experience founding, building, investing into, advising and exiting a range of businesses, mostly through Venture Builders with a focus on emerging markets. He holds a MSc in Management from EM Lyon Business School.

CEO of multi-award winning, travel social media platform, Geotourist, hailed as the Future of Travel-Tech and featured in the current industry report, Future Trends, by Visit Britain and cited as Game Changing Technology by Euromonitor International. Their disruptive GPS-guided travel app connects places together and features accessible audio trails on a global map, curated by locals and experts in history, art and architecture and enables visitors to explore with confidence. Shaon is an experienced CEO with experience in design and innovation for the leisure, travel and tourism industry. Having been involved with some of the smallest and largest projects in the world, Shaon now shares unique insights and best practice in visitor experience and place-making strategies with destinations who wish to grow their micro and macro tourism economies through storytelling.Anywhere 2021 Speakers

Engineer and entrepreneur passionate about building companies around tech solutions. After creating new businesses for Multinationals in Europe, Asia and MENA regions, Renaud co-founded ZIWO, the first cloud communication software for emerging markets. With its own and unique cloud telephony backend, ZIWO has omnichannel capabilities, Out-of-the-box CRM integrations, API, and AI super-powers to revolutionize the Customer Experience. Renaud is also a mentor, an advisor, and an investor in tech startups. 🚀🚀🚀 When not at work, Renaud is a father of 4, an avid kite surfer, and a snowboarder enthusiast. Renaud holds a Master of Science in Engineering from Arts et Metiers Paris and an MBA from INSEAD.

Gary has held roles across product management, corporate development, and venture capital throughout his career. He currently runs Leyden Ventures, working across early stage venture and public sectors in Dubai. Gary has invested in over 3 dozen companies over the past 3 years and led the launch and day-to-day management of Techstars Dubai in Partnership with GINCO. Gary has served as an advisor to The Executive Office of the Ruler of Dubai, Dubai Holding, and Abu Dhabi Media Group. Prior to moving back to Dubai, Gary was the Video Technology Product Lead at VICE Media and Director of Ad-Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of Carrot Creative (acquired by VICE). Until April 2012 Gary was serving as Director of Corporate Development for Piksel, the video technology firm behind BBC iPlayer in the UK and ATT U-Verse in the US. Gary graduated from Kelley School of Business in the US.

Father, Founder, Board, and startup builder. CEO @ CyberME Studio

Ricardo is the co-founder and CEO at Heptasense, a video analytics software for surveillance cameras, featured in Wired and Forbes as one of the top AI startups in Europe. Previously, we was as a researcher in Data Science applied to Nanomedicine and Brain-Computer Interfaces, that lead to several awards, 1s place in hackathons and a patent.

Rajesh Mehta is an International Business Leader & Columnist. He is a Leading Columnist at the Financial Express, The Daily Guardian & The American Bazaar.He is CEO of Mehta Software Services Private Limited & Founder of Entry-India. He has more than 20 years experience in areas like Market Entry, Innovation Consulting & Public Policy. He has been extensively working on US India Public Policy space .He has set up two dozen foreign companies in India & was earlier HR Head of Polaroid in India. He was President India of IndoScandic Organization based out of Sweden. He is on the Advisory Board of Infinite Sum Modelling & Red Fort Strategies. He is a Member of the Executive Committee at Centre For Trade, Promotion & Industry He was earlier Adviser to WASME(World Association of Small & Medium Enterprises). He has advised or helped international organizations like Tekes, Finnode, Finpro (Finland) JETRO, METI(Japan), APCO Worldwide and European Business Technology Center. He is a successful writer and has written compendiums & Reports on issues like Women Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Water, Atmanirbhar Bharat(Self Reliant India) & Skill Development. He has done MBA from Fore School of Management.

Ibrahim “Abe” Seksek is the current COO of MENA and Russia of Startupbootcamp, a Rainmaking company. Before joining Startupbootcamp he Co-Founded a couple of companies such as ZenHR Solutions, which addresses the entire HR cycle, and Crystel, Jordan’s first business process outsourcing (BPO) provider. Ibrahim also worked as Head of Global Operations Support for Naspers, the parent company of dubizzle and OLX, which oversaw the operations in 70 countries.

Triska Hamid is the editorial director at Wamda where she drives the platform’s content agenda from features and research to events. She has covered the Mena telecoms and technology landscape for the past 10 years and has been published in MEED, The FT, The National and the Telegraph.

Zach Finkelstein is a Managing Partner at Class 5 Global. He has a background as a VC investor and operator focused on emerging markets. Zach was previously the VP of Corporate Development at Careem where he oversaw several acquisitions, divestments, and fundraising. Zach also played a role in the launch of several new markets and business units. Prior to that, Zach was at Lumia Capital where he focused on Lumia’s emerging market portfolio including such investments as Careem, CargoX, and Shedul. Previously, Zach worked at Citigroup and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Zach earned a BA magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania where he was an editor of the Journal of International relations as well as a board member of the Wharton Undergraduate Finance Club.

Khaled is Managing Partner at Nuwa Capital. Prior to launching Nuwa Capital, Khaled was Managing Partner at Wamda Capital, the region’s first institutionalized Venture Capital fund investing in technology-enabled companies in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey. He started his career at Dubai International Capital where he supported the development of the MENA region’s first seed capital fund. Since then Khaled assumed a number of venture capital and startup roles including heading investments and strategy at twofour54 in Abu Dhabi. Khaled has centered his career around identifying and investing in disruptive businesses that displace incumbent inefficiencies in traditional sectors of the economy. His areas of interest include ecommerce, Fintech, marketplaces, digital content and enterprise solutions. Throughout his career Khaled has focused on building lasting partnerships with the entrepreneurs delivering the region’s digital economy. Khaled has invested in and managed over 150 early stage transactions including Careem, Mumzworld, Insider, Modanisa, Twiga Foods, Luxury Closet, Goldenscent, LunchOn, Tamatem, VoltLines and CrowdAnalyzer.

Stephanie Nour is partner at Nuwa Capital where she leads on network engagements and operations. Most recently, she was Wamda’s Director of Communications and Outreach, working on outreach and partnerships with multiple stakeholders in the MENA startup ecosystem. At Wamda, she focused on building the brand and community since joining in 2012, and led on projects such as the MIT Media Lab workshop Dubai, the American University of Beirut’s Reboot Beirut Hackathon, and the Crown Prince Court’s Minds on a Mission Design Thinking workshop among other programs and deal sourcing activities. She has a BS in Computer Science with a minor in Creative Writing from the American University of Beirut.

Gaurav Dhar CEO Marshal. Board Member MENA Fintech Association. Gaurav Dhar Second Generation FinTech Entrepreneur. Tech Investor. Advisor. Mentor. Gaurav Dhar is the Manager of the Payments Solution Provider Marshal Equipment. Gaurav has been working at Marshal for over 13 years now, handling the day to day business, delivering solutions, building long-term partnerships and payment ecosystems. He personally leads the charge on innovation, with a view to the future of payments both locally and globally via his network and clients around the world which include VC’s, incubators, accelerators, and start-ups. Marshal Equipment has clients in over 18 countries, with all of its IP developed in-house, based out of Dubai for the last 37 years. The company looks to cater to, foster and work with FinTech solution innovators locally and globally. Linkedin Profile:www.linkedin.com/in/GauravDhar133

Abdullah is the head of the regional corporate practice at Al Tamimi & Co (the largest law firm in the MENA region) and is also the co-founder and Chairman of Dubai Angel Investors (one of the best-known micro-VCs in MENA). He is a lawyer with nearly 25 years’ experience in global corporate finance, M&A and venture capital with a deep focus on technology transactions. He is an expert in navigating financing transactions as well as shareholder, management and corporate governance issues. Abdullah’s clients range from sovereign wealth funds, publicly traded corporations, VCs and CVCs to early-stage companies and he has led deals in 35 emerging and developed markets with an aggregate deal value in excess of US$30 billion. He is a serial angel investor with many personal investments including successful exits in the U.S. Europe and the Middle East.

Sajjad Kamal co-founded AlemHealth, a Tele-radiology RIS/PACS for emerging markets, as the CTO. AlemHealth is backed by notable investors including Y Combinator. Prior to that, Sajjad co-founded Beneple, a health insurance analytics platform, as the CTO. Sajjad has had a successful exit with Beneple. He has been involved in the health tech space for over 15 years starting with a project working with Nobel Peace prize winning Dr Muhammad Yunus to develop telemedicine kiosks for the base of the pyramid. Ever since, Sajjad has been involved with several technical healthcare projects such as Empower Health which was a Hult Prize finalist. Sajjad has previously worked at Blackberry and Apple early on during his career. He holds a BMatch/CS from University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada – the birthplace of the forgotten Blackberry. In support of empowering the community, Sajjad has curated several TEDx events and co-founded the Coding Circle. Sajjad is passionate about supporting health tech companies to increase global access to care through technology. Feel free to reach out at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sajjadkamal/

Philip Bahoshy is the founder and CEO of MAGNiTT, is the largest investment data platform for the MENA startup ecosystem, be investors, entrepreneurs and corporates. Raised in the UK with Iraqi origins, Philip obtained an MBA from INSEAD in 2013 and a BSc in Economics from the London School of Economics. During his time in Dubai, Philip worked at Oliver Wyman in the Financial Services practice for three years, followed by nearly three years at Barclays Wealth working as Chief of Staff to the CEO advising on strategic initiatives. Philip has lived in the UAE for more than twelve years and is passionate about developing the MENA startup ecosystem.

Hasan Haider has over 10 years of experience investing in MENA startups. Hasan is the Founder and Managing Partner of +VC, an early stage venture capital firm focused on the MENA region. Hasan was previously Managing Partner, MENA at 500 Startups and led the firms growth in the MENA Region over the last 5 years, turning 500 Startups into the most active VC fund in the MENA region, raising and deploying the 500 Falcons fund, building partnerships and running programs in the region to help build the regional ecosystem. Hasan has invested in more than 180 startups in the region over the course of the last 10 years. Prior to 500, Hasan was the co-founder and CEO of Tenmou, the first business angel’s organization in Bahrain and one of the first in the MENA region. Hasan’s work in developing angel investment in emerging markets through Tenmou has been picked up as a case study by the World Bank and was taught to Entrepreneurship Policy makers at Babson College. Previously, Hasan’s career was in finance and investment banking at Sico where he spent a number of years.

Head of Data, at Teads

Valentina is a Senior Consultant at Kekst CNC in Dubai. She has been working with the company since 2015. Since joining, Valentina has gained broad experience in Corporate Communications and PR, advising clients from a number of industries including private sector companies, oil & gas, aviation, technology, law, financial and energy sectors. Valentina focuses primarily on corporate communications, crisis communications and preparedness as well as digital engagement. Prior to joining CNC, Valentina has gained experience in the communications field at Ketchum Pleon, one of the leading global consultancies, the Press Office of the Berlin International Film Festival and the German Council on Foreign Affairs in Berlin. Coming from an international background Valentina is fluent in German, Italian and English as well as intermediate in Spanish. Valentina holds a Master’s degree in Media, Business and Communication studies from the Erasmus University of Rotterdam as well as a BA in Media Culture from the University of Maastricht.

Mohammed was born and raised in Saudi Arabia and spent most of his life in the Kingdom. He graduated from the Lebanese American University with a double major in Marketing and Management and started his career with British American Tobacco. He then transitioned into oil and gas having worked with Castrol ( British Petroleum JV ) and decided to pursue his MBA from IE University in 2015. Mohammed then relocated to the UAE to work with Valvoline (Oil & Gas) in managing the Distributor Operations for the Middle East. He now works at Google as a Senior Business Consultant for Saudi Arabia & the GCC supporting businesses to take the step to grow digitally by using Google platforms

Noora Al Askar is a US licensed Nutritionist, turned Health & Wellness tech entrepreneur. She is the founder & CEO of Nutribox, the award winning weightloss and wellness app that empowers, motivates and guides you to become the healthiest version of yourself. At the age of 23, fresh from postgrad studies in the UK, she built the Nutrition Clinic at one of the leading private hospitals in Kuwait from scratch, got it accredited, and turning it into one of the highest operating profit centers, while changing thousands of lives in the process. She later co-founded an urban juice apothecary, and got selected to join an elite program called Thukhur, with 30 young Kuwaities to be part of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation program at Cornell University in New York. Fast forward late 2016, inspired by her patients at the hospital, she decided to resign from her corporate job of 7 years, and enter the techpreneurial world to build Nutribox. Her journey has been an enriching, and dynamic fast paced learning curve.

Over the last decade, Greta has supported many hundreds of people, entrepreneurs and teams around the world to transform their lives and businesses. As an innovation consultant and systemic coach she supports clients along a holistic innovation journey, starting at shaping an innovation organisation over to creating personal life propositions. She has given lectures at Harvard University Extension School and at Business School ESCP Europe in London (MSc in Digital Transformation Management & Leadership). Greta is based between Berlin and Mexico City.

Vice President of Dubai Technology Entrepreneur Campus (Dtec) Department of the Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority Freezone Hans holds a BA, an MBA and is studying for his PhD. For the past 8 years he has led a team of managers running the largest and most impactful tech hub in the MENA region. It houses 1000+ tech startups, from 72 nations, within its 10,000m2 business centre. Dtec has helped create 3000 jobs and the inflow of 300m US $ in the local economy. Hans shaped Dtec’s strategy. Today it is highly profitable and has 6 different pillars addressing, Co-working, Acceleration, Events & Learning, Venture Capital, Services and Corporate Innovation. Dtec was also a hosting partner of Intelak, Emirates Airlines incubator, co- founded Startupbootcamp’s Smart City Accelerator and is home to Intel’s Innovation lab and the HP Innovation Garage. Previously, Hans founded, as CEO, 3 startups, on different continents, raising 10m US $ in venture capital and holding senior positions building 3 departments in MNCs, including Siemens’ first incubator 20 years ago.