Allen Blue is vice president of product management and cofounder of LinkedIn, the online professional network. At LinkedIn, he is responsible for LinkedIn’s overall product strategy. He also sponsors LinkedIn’s work and education products within the economic graph team, including the products and platforms supporting Skillful.com (a joint effort to close the middle skills gap in the United States between LinkedIn and the Markle Foundation.) He advises several startups in Silicon Valley, most focused on improving health and education. He sat on the U.S. Commerce Department’s Data Advisory Council, helping guide the department’s efforts to make its data broadly available to American businesses. Blue serves on the boards of the Hope Street Group, a non-profit which focuses on bringing economic opportunity to Americans through a combination of policy and practice, and Change.org, an online destination for making grassroots-driven change easier. Before LinkedIn, Blue cofounded SocialNet.com, an online dating service, and graduated from Stanford University.

Kat Cole is an inspiring leader and operator with a track record of turning around companies and building brands, teams and high-growth businesses over two decades. As COO and President of Focus Brands, the owner, franchisor and operator of global limited-service food brands, doing billions in product sales in over 50 countries, she leads the company’s 7 brands: Cinnabon, Auntie Anne’s, Moe’s, Schlotzsky’s, McAlister’s, Carvel and Jamba with 6500 operations globally, and leads the multi-brand licensing and CPG business. She is formerly president of Cinnabon Inc. and past Group President Focus Brands. She has led the evolution of several brands through product and technology innovation, organizational structure changes and building customer-centered cultures. Kat is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, a member of the Milk Bar Board of Directors, an advisor to high-growth businesses, and mom of two. Kat is a past member of the United Nations Global Entrepreneurs Council, was featured on CBS Undercover Boss, and was named one of Fortune’s 40 under 40. She is past chair of the board of the Women’s Foodservice Forum, past Silver Plate winner from IFMA, named most admired leader by QSR magazine and named Elliot Leadership Motivator of the year. She is a college dropout, yet has her MBA in International Business. Her journey from restaurant hostess at 17, executive by 26, president by 31, and investor by 35 is often shared as an example of the American and entrepreneurial dream. Outside of the foodservice industry, Kat is an angel investor and advisor to early-stage consumer products and Direct-to-Consumer companies and an outspoken advocate for women’s issues and the broader role of business in democratizing access to education and opportunity.

Christine is the CEO and Founding Partner of 500 Startups. Since the firm’s inception in 2010, she grew 500 to over $580M in committed capital, 2,200+ portfolio companies, 5,000 founders, 120+ team members, and a vibrant community of founders spanning more than 75 countries around the world. Christine has spent her entire professional career in Silicon Valley, building tech products and investing in early stage startups. From 2003 to 2010, Christine held product marketing and technical operating roles at Google, focusing primarily on monetization and developer products. Early on at Google, she was part of the team that launched Google AdSense and Google Analytics. Christine also drove marketing for YouTube’s syndication products, including strategic partnerships with major consumer electronics and gaming partners like Sony, Panasonic, Vizio, Electronic Arts, and Ubisoft. She also worked on Google’s Developer Tools including App Engine, Google Web Toolkit (GWT), Android, and Google APIs, and led planning for Google I/O, Google’s flagship developer conference. Christine holds a B.A. in Cognitive Science from the University of California at Berkeley and was a National Merit Scholar. Christine also served as a research apprentice through the Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program in the Department of Psychology.

Dr. Jonathan Reichental is the CEO of Human Future, a global business and technology education, advisory, and investment firm. He is the former Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the City of Palo Alto, and a multiple award-winning technology leader whose 30-year career has spanned both the private and public sectors. In 2017, he was named one of the top 100 CIOs in the world and in 2016 he was named a top influential CIO in the United States. Dr. Reichental is also recognized as a global thought leader on a number of emerging trends including urban innovation and blockchain technology. In 2013 he was recognized as one of the 25 doers, dreamers, and drivers in government in America. He also won a best CIO in Silicon Valley award and a national IT leadership prize. His innovative work in government has also been recognized by the White House. Dr. Reichental is an adjunct professor at several universities including UC Berkeley and the University of San Francisco. He is a popular writer and online host, producing several highly successful online courses with LinkedIn Learning. He co-authored The Apps Challenge Playbook and he is a frequent public speaker on a wide range of technology and business-related topics. He co-hosts the popular podcast, Drinking Wine Talking Tech. He is currently working on his latest book about Smart Cities for Wiley & Co.

For 20 years, Zubin combined his passion for technology, music, and human interaction to launch and grow Lucid Fusion, a leading global eCommerce tech agency. In 2020, VaynerX acquired Lucid Fusion, launched VaynerCommerce, and appointed Zubin as President. Currently, Zubin leads VaynerCommerce and advises several direct-to-consumer, retail, and technology companies.

Courtney Powell is the COO of 500 Startups. Courtney is tasked with helping 500 scale globally and explore new opportunities across both new and existing markets. She is responsible for driving day-to-day operations across the team to pursue 500’s mission. Courtney was co-founder and CEO of PublikDemand in Batch 4 of 500’s Seed Accelerator. She went on to become CEO of Agent Pronto, one of the largest real estate agent referral services in North America, which was acquired by Fidelity National Title Group. Most recently, Courtney was the Head of Corporate Development at Keller Williams, the largest real estate franchise in the world, with over 170,000 agents doing more than $330 billion dollars in gross sales volume during 2018 alone. During her tenure, she established the company’s first corporate innovation program and worked with Keller Capital to invest and acquire tech companies in the real estate space. Courtney also serves as an Advisory Board Member for the SXSW International Interactive, Film, and Music Festival since 2016, became a member of the Forbes Real Estate Council in 2017 and is a contributing author for Forbes and the Huffington Post. Courtney received the Twilio Doer Award in 2013, was named to the Forbes Top 30 Under 30 CEOs in 2014, and became a Google Business Leader in 2015. Courtney attended the University of Texas at Austin and studied French Language and Corporate Communication.

As a creative entrepreneur, Ron spends his time transforming his moonshot ideas into real life companies and campaigns that change the game. His visionary marketing concepts for global brands like Red Bull, Nike, Bacardi, Budweiser and SONY showed the world that he could think three steps ahead. But his ability to instantly create strong concepts and solve creative problems on the spot, made him the infamous go to guy for all your favorite brands and companies. After founding agencies like Don’t Say Nothing and 24K Agency, he started his latest adventure with his friends that took the world by storm: The Avocado Show.

Dr. Graciela Chichilnisky is the CEO and Co-Founder of Global Thermostat. A world-renowned economist and creator of the formal theory of Sustainable Development, she previously acted as Lead US Author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which received the Nobel Prize in 2007. She worked extensively on the Kyoto Protocol, creating and designing the carbon market that became international law in 2005, and wrote the wording for the carbon market into the Kyoto Protocol at the COP in Kyoto in December 1997. In February 2019, Global Thermostat was named “10 Breakthrough Technologies” by the MIT Technology Review, curated by Bill Gates. In 2015, Dr. Graciela Chichilnisky was selected “”CEO of the Year”” by International Alternative Investment Review, and Fast Company Magazine selected Global Thermostat as one of the “”World’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies”” in energy. Additionally, Graciela Chichilnisky is a professor of Economics and Statistics at Columbia University, a University Senator and the Director of the Columbia Consortium for Risk Management. She is the author of eighteen books and over 300 scientific articles in preeminent academic journals. Dr. Chichilnisky holds two PhD degrees, in Mathematics and Economics from MIT and University of California, Berkeley.

Kalsoom Lakhani is the Founder/CEO of Invest2Innovate, or i2i, which supports startups and the broader entrepreneurship ecosystem in growth markets, focusing mainly on Pakistan and the region. She is also a partner in i2i Ventures, a venture capital fund for Pakistan, which is also the country’s first female led institutional fund. Kalsoom has also trained young entrepreneurs, changemakers, and civil society leaders in Nepal, Cambodia, Ireland, Bangladesh, Kosovo, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan, and has spoken at numerous venues, including the World Economic Forum, Aspen Ideas Festival, SXSW, the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, and the Global Entrepreneurship Congress.

Khalil Alami is the Chief Executive Officer of a leading online payment gateway Telr. Khalil has more than two decades of experience in the financial services sector, including 19 years in the payment and card industry, with a focus on payment infrastructure and system implementation. He brings deep knowledge of industry structure, with emphasis on card processing and settlement, the four-party system, international payments architecture, electronic and mobile payments, consumer touch points, and network security. Khalil has an MBA from the American University of Beirut and a Bachelor of Science from Purdue University in Economics.

Ali Abulhasan’s interest in payments and technology has grown into a continuous road of discovery for the past 15 years. Throughout his career in the oil, banking, and telecom sectors, he always found himself exposed to payment transaction pain points. So he founded Tap Payments in 2014 to help enable startups and SME’s in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to start accepting online payments easily. Today Tap serves over 50,000 businesses of all sizes, from small home businesses all the way to large corporations across various industries such as retail, food, insurance, airlines, telecom, and many others. Ali Abulhasan also shares an interest in arts, design, and product development.

Faisal comes from a financial background where he was involved in the investments sector since the beginning of his career in 2007. He progressed during his time with Kuwait Finance Center (Markaz) where he engaged in Private Banking Services, working mainly with clients in the investments sector. In addition, Faisal was closely involved in the launch of multiple tech startups such as Ride Rove & The Pretty Book. Today, he looks over Tap’s integration team.

Financial and strategy expert with over 15 years of working experience in private and public sectors.

Ahmad was involved in the field of financial services since the beginning of his career in 2009. He progressed during his time with Ernst & Young where he engaged in Assurance and Advisory Services, working mainly with clients in the banking industry. That took place before he moved to the Group Risk Management at the National Bank of Kuwait in 2012, focusing on the compliance function with respect to banking regulations. Building on his ambition to explore the financial technology space, Ahmad joined Tap in 2017, which came as a continuation to his project-based involvement with Tap since its launch in 2014. Today, he looks after Tap’s relationships with banks and regulators across the markets where Tap operates.

Noor Sweid is the founder of Global Ventures, a UAE-based, growth-stage venture capital firm focusing on investing in emerging markets. Previously, Noor was the Chief Investment Officer at The Dubai Future Foundation, where she spent time developing the innovation ecosystem in Dubai, and a Managing Partner at Leap Ventures. In 2008, Noor led the IPO for Depa, her family business, on the London Stock Exchange and NASDAQ Dubai, scaling the business tenfold in three years to reach $600M in revenues. Additionally, Noor founded ZenYoga, the first yoga and pilates studio in MENA and largest chain of wellness studios in the region, which she exited in 2014 through sale to a private equity firm. Noor is Chairperson of the Middle East Venture Capital Association, was on the Founding Board of Endeavor UAE, and serves as a Director for MIT Sloan, TechWadi, The Grooming Company, and beyond.Recently, Noor was listed in the World’s Top 50 Women in Tech by Forbes, received the Arab Woman Award for Finance, and was named in the Arabian Business 100 Most Powerful Arab Women list. Noor holds bachelors’ degrees in Finance and Economics from Boston College as well as an MBA from MIT Sloan.

Neil Yorke-Smith is an Associate Professor of Artificial Intelligence at Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands. His vision for AI is a tool to help people in socio-technical systems. His previous work includes the technology originally behind Siri (acquired by Apple). Currently his research focuses on agent-based optimization and behavioural factors in data-driven planning. He has consulted in Silicon Valley, Europe, and the Middle East, and is co-chair of the 33rd Innovative Applications of Artificial Intelligence Conference (IAAI) in 2021. More at: member.acm.org/~nyorke-smith

Alice Nawfal combines a business and policy background, and is passionate about bringing privacy-preserving technologies to market. She is the Cofounder and COO of Notabene, a KYC platform for digital asset businesses. Before Notabene, she was COO of uPort, the decentralized identity platform anchored on Ethereum, where she led sales, marketing and operations. Alice spent her earlier career as a Management Consultant at Bain & Company, and later as a Public Policy Consultant at the Economist Intelligence Unit. She has an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School, an MBA from the Wharton School, and Math and Economics degrees from MIT.

An experienced technologist, my early corporate successes led me to form my own enterprise software company, producing and selling to Universities and institutions. A hands-on role, I executed this idea from concept to maturity, while also leading the international sales for an advanced engineering company before its M&A. I’m a former Senior Adviser at UK trade & investment. Managing a team of seven, my role facilitated a good understanding of the London technology environment. I then continued my passion for supporting Start-up and Scale up organisations by joining London & Partners as the tech & urban specialist on the Mayor’s international business programme. Helping London companies internationalise. I’ve now stepped out of the public sector, to continue supporting ideas, Start-ups and Scale-ups with several of my own ventures, including working with an amazing co-founder on a new style of award, accolade and accelerator programme The Fintech Power50.

Jonathan is a cross-cultural impact entrepreneur cultivating solutions that liberate communities and environments through technology. After spending many years working in big data and scalable infrastructures with companies like Activision, he turned his focus towards Aquaponics which is next-gen farming using earth’s microbiome to grow produce with higher yields, better quality, greater nutrient density and higher profitability than traditional farming. Jonathan has also dedicated his time to this method of farming to aid in solving the water crisis, environmental regeneration, localization of agriculture, and empowerment of communities. He is the CEO and Co-founder of two social impact enterprises: Aquaponics AI, a US-based aquaponic tech company, and Tulua, a Jordan-based aquaponic system research and design company.

Dr. Paul Blazek is a passionate entrepreneur that is driven by the curiosity to research and understand how user needs change the way products and services are developed and sold online. He is founder and CEO of cyLEDGE Media, Europe’s leading customization experience agency, with offices in Austria, Switzerland and Germany. In co-founding and scaling-up eight startups Paul learned many lessons on success and failure drivers and build up a strong network in the entrepreneurial scene. Currently he is also transforming in Vienna the former biggest bread factory of Europe into a co-innovation hub that will celebrate a new innovation culture in bringing young entrepreneurs together with established industries with the goal to solve the challenges of our times. Paul is mentor for the MENA region of the initiative enpact and in several European institutions, teaches customer experience management and business model innovation at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, is affiliated researcher at the RWTH Aachen University, founding member of the International Institute on Mass Customization and Personalization (IIMCP), appointed member of the MIT’s Smart Customization Group and a research fellow of the Peter Pribilla Foundation. Paul studied at the RWTH Aachen University and the University of Vienna and achieved his Ph.D. at the University of Göttingen.

“Ross is CEO & Co-Founder at Wego, which is online travel marketplace that provides top ranked mobile apps and websites for users living in the APAC and MENA regions. Wego harnesses powerful technology that simplifies the process of searching, comparing and booking flights and hotels across hundreds of airlines, hotels and online travel agency websites. Wego is has dual-HQs in Singapore and Dubai and is backed by top-tier investors including Tiger Global, Crescent Group, Square Peg Capital and the MBC Group. Ross is a veteran of the Asian internet industry having established Yahoo!s Southeast Asian operations in Singapore back in 1998 and leading product development efforts across the region for 6+ years. He is also Singapore Co-Chair of H2, the premier global leadership network for the digital industry.”

Jeremiah is a technology analyst who forecasts how technology will impact business, society and our lives, based in Silicon Valley.

Jean-Baptiste O’Neill is a Retail Client Account Executive within Accenture Middle East. Accenture is one of the world’s largest professional services companies, leading with Innovation, with capabilities in Strategy, Consulting, Digital, Technology and Operations.With more than 15 years of experience, Jean-Baptiste has led multiple transformation projects in the retail industry across Europe and the Middle East, mainly for groceries, fashion and DIY retailers. He has extensive experience on both demand side (merchandising, commercial levers, omnichannel) and supply side (forecasting, supply planning, store operations, back office functions).He graduated from EM Lyon in France and holds an MSc in Management. He has lived in Dubai for 4 years with his wife and their 5 children.”

Michael Dermer is an entrepreneur authority, lawyer, speaker, coach, and author of The Lonely Entrepreneur.  The Lonely Entrepreneur was born from Michael’s harrowing experience of living through the perfect storm – watching the company he built from scratch to over 500 people nearly get destroyed overnight by the 2008 financial crisis. Not only did they survive, they sold the company and today are considered the pioneer of the health rewards industry.  No one knows more about the journey from struggle to success than Michael. Today, Michael leads The Lonely Entrepreneur and its mission to help entrepreneurs turn their passion into success. Michael is a sought after authority and speaker and has appeared in national and international media outlets (MSNBC, CBS, ABC, Entrepreneur, Forbes, Huffington Post, Telemundo) and has keynoted and acted as judge in over 100 events serving entrepreneurs in the United States, Mexico, China, India, the UAE, Croatia, Singapore, Spain, and other countries throughout the world.

With over 20 years’ experience as a successful C-Suite executive in US Fortune 100 companies and local family conglomerates, Mohamed has leveraged his technology affinity with deep retail industry knowledge to lead international brands through digital transformations. He has successfully launched the region’s largest luxury online pure player Ounass.com and the lifestyle platform, Nisnass.com. In addition, he has deployed omnichannel solutions with the launch MamasandPapas.ae, and Gap.ae in the GCC. He has recently co-founded GrubTech, an end to end ai powered digital platform enabling restaurants to successfully manage omnichannel operations. Previously he held the position of Senior Vice President of Omnichannel for Al Tayer for 12 years, where his responsibilities included Product & IT, Logistics, Merchandise Planning, Supply Chain and the E- Commerce division.

Helen Chen is the CEO and Co-founder of Nomad Homes, a property technology company. Prior to founding Nomad, Helen was an investor and worked at several notable companies including Goldman Sachs, China Investment Corporation (CIC), and Blackstone as well as studying at Stanford Business School. Always having had a passion for real estate, the idea for Nomad was conceived while Helen was in Silicon Valley, but recognizing the potential in the Middle East she relocated to Dubai and launched the business in September 2019. A strong believer in supporting women both in tech and in the boardroom, Helen is a champion for hiring female talent at Nomad and encouraging a balanced workforce. Helen graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BS in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Martin is the founder of Funding Souq which is a digital lending platform that connects established businesses (SMEs) with investors who are committed to supporting the local economy

John Tsioris is the founder and CEO of InstaShop, the leading grocery shopping app in the GCC, operating in the region since 2015 and having been nominated for two consecutive years as one of the most promising startups in the Arab world by Forbes. John holds a diploma in Mechanical Engineering and a MScBA in General Management. he led the global competitive intelligence of PHILIPS CL for 2 years and set up the marketing Intelligence department for the Middle East and Turkey Lighting organization; he also has prior experience in the startup world having founded a social voice network.”

Mona Ataya, CEO and Founder of Mumzworld.com, has proven to be one of the Middle East most prominent of women entrepreneurs. Beyond leading a successful and growing SME, and inspiring her employees and communities, Mona is on a mission to change the region, one mum at a time. A transformational leader and a change agent in every sense of the word, Mona has managed to grow Mumzworld from a business plan on paper to a leading an enviable brand reaching more than 2 million mothers across the region in 7 years. Founded in 2011, Mumzworld has pioneered a revolutionary and gold standard e-commerce shopping experience for all things mother, baby and child in the ME region. Today, Mumzworld prides itself with being the leading, trusted and definitive source with over 250,000 products, an engaged community, exclusive product offerings and delivery to over 20 different countries in the fastest, most convenient and cost-effective way, at everyday low prices. Under Mona’s leadership, Mumzworld has undergone tremendous growth and successfully established itself as the regional leader in this vertical space. With 6 rounds of funding, great investors on board and a solid business plan, Mumzworld has become the #1 Funded Women-Led e-commerce Company in the Middle East. We expect to hear a lot from this brand in the years to come. Regional recognition: Mona has won more than 80 awards throughout her career. She is amongst the top 2 Forbes women creating impact in the region, and was voted amongst the 100 most Powerful Arab Women, Forbes Top 10 Arab Women 2017, 2018. World’s 100 Most Powerful Arabs – Generation Next – Arabian Business; She was also voted SME Executive of the year 3 years in a row. Mumzworld.com has won The Small Business of The Year Award and Best Kids Online retailer by Timeout Kids in 2015 and 2016. Mumzworld.com was also awarded the Images Most Admired Online Retailer of the Year 2014 and 2016 as well as the “Customer Service Excellence Award” by The Customer Festival Awards 2018. Beyond the many awards she received, Mona was also selected into the prestigious group of globally recognized Endeavor businesses’s in 2014 and was the 1 st woman selected into this prestigious network in the Middle East.

Alexandra is the Founder and CEO of PersEd, a training, coaching and consultancy enterprise for personal education nurturing 21st century skills and mindset through social and experiential learning. She is an international public speaker and an awarded published author, recipient of one of the Alain Decaux Literary Prizes for the Francophone world. Alexandra has been recognized as a MENA Leadership Academy fellow (2016-2017), G20 Young Global Changer (2017), Unleash Global Talent (2018) and UNESCO APCEIU Youth Leader (2019). As the Connection Creator, she’s always exploring the breadth and depth of multidisciplinarity and putting connections at the service of creativity, innovation and foresight.

A multidisciplinary business technologist and a published author, Ali contributes to the the steady growth of Zoho’s diverse ecosystem in the MEA region. Experienced in business growth and transformation, business process, marketing, and information management, Ali understands the challenges of modern businesses and helps them utilize the immense power of cloud computing strategically and in day-to-day operations. Ali also chairs the SME and Entrepreneurship Committee of MENA Cloud Alliance where he contributes with other peers and industry leaders to the advancement and adoption of cloud computing in the region.

Always excited and interested in learning new things. Amy originally started her career in NYC before moving to Singapore. Seven years ago, she landed in Dubai and has enjoyed every moment. One of her greatest pastimes traveling, so like many of you – she is itching to get on a plane and wander around the world to eat and enjoy new experiences. Instead, she’s at her computer with two rescue cats sleeping at her feet.

Triska Hamid is the editorial director of Wamda, the Mena’s region’s leading startup platform.

Elie is the co-founder of Anghami – the leading music streaming service in the Middle East. Anghami has reached over 40 million users, raised many millions from Venture Capital firms over several rounds and partnered with MBC – the top media group in the region – as well as over 20 mobile operators. At Anghami, Elie runs the operations and product development, spending most of his time working between clouds, streams and pixels.

Jon Richards is co-founder and CEO of yallacompare, the Middle East’s leading comparison site. The company’s success is down, in no small part, to the technological innovation that Richards has driven with his insistence on working with the region’s top IT talent. As a result, he and the company have disrupted insurance distribution in the Middle East, and continue to drive innovations in the insurance and finance spaces. An entrepreneur from an early age, Richards is a master of digital marketing and is a keen follower of financial technology developments.

First took on the power of Onedio with the idea that civil journalism would develop in 2010, started his work in the technopark located at METU in 2011 and started to realize his idea. Onedio, which was originally thought to be a blog for serious news, turned into a platform where you can watch the most popular news, photos and videos of the Internet today.

Hisham Al-Falih is a Fintech entrepreneur and investor whose portfolio includes Addepar, Affinity, Blend, and Shogun. A native of Saudi Arabia, Hisham completed his undergraduate studies at Stanford University, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Mayfield Fellowship. Hisham is Co-Founder & CEO at Lean, a Fintech infrastructure company with offices in Riyadh and London. Lean’s mission is to empower innovators, entrepreneurs, and developers by building the Middle East’s first region-wide financial data gateway.

Tala Nsouli is the General Manager of Urban. A graduate of Harvard Business School, Tala worked at McKinsey and Company for 3 years as an Expert Associate Partner. Before that, she was a Senior Product Manager at Amazon in London, and a Consultant with Booz & Company. Tala is also a real estate expert with comprehensive knowledge of the property market in the region.

Yasir is the Chief Technology Officer at Noon Academy, an Edtech startup that impacted more than 6 million students in the MENA. Noon Academy is the fastest growing Edtech startup in the MENA region and solving the biggest problem in studying (“”boredom!””) by making the study experience SOCIAL. Students learn from the best teacher and their friends, compete with them, and initiate live sessions. He is a seasoned technologist, startup enthusiast, and aspiring Entrepreneur. Before Noon Academy, Yasir has a small stint with Morgan Stanley for its Advanced Technology Office. He is currently building technology that can take Noon Academy on a global scale to make their vision to teach 50 million students in the coming four years.

Bijan Azad, is an Associate Professor at the Olayan School of Business (OSB), American University of Beirut and the Director of Samih Darwazah Center for Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship. Dr. Azad, who holds MS and PhD degrees from MIT, teaches in OSB’s Executive MBA, Executive Education and MBA programs. Bijan pioneered the popular experiential Startup Acceleration Practicum graduate course at AUB (modeled after Steve Blank’s Lean LaunchPad). In 2016 he designed AUB’s SME Growth Readiness Program that focuses on overcoming scale-up challenges of companies supported in part by USAID. Bijan is also very active in the startup ecosystem serving as bootcamp mentor/instructor at ArabBank Jordan iHub fintech, Flat6Labs SPEED, and AgryTech accelerators. He has been a mentor with the IM-Capital MIT Venture Mentoring Service in Lebanon. Bijan, in 1988 was co-founder of a successful map technology startup in Cambridge, Massachusetts, GIS/Trans, was acquired later by Google Maps. In 2001 he co-founded another successful map technology startup International Land Information Systems bv (acquired by ARCADIS bv 2003), in Arnhem, Netherlands.

As a Forbes 30 Under 30, Kauffman Fellows, Founding Partner at Shorooq Partners, Shane spearheads the firm. Shorooq is a leading Early Stage VC in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey. Shane has built his career as an investment professional, investment banker and entrepreneur in the US. He used to work at UBS, TD Securities, Lazard Freres & Co., Alpine Investors and GlobalFoundries – wholly owned subsidiary by Mubadala Investment Company, $250bn Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund. Shane concentrated in Finance and Mandarin at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating with Summa Cum Laude, Joseph Wharton Scholar and Benjamin Franklin Scholar Honors. Shane was born and grew up in South Korea and has studied and worked in the US, Canada and China prior to settling down in UAE. Having played the piano and clarinet for 15+ years, he has strong passion for music and community service and performed in many musical concerts.

Elena is an engaging skilled trainer and talent development specialist, credited with combining operations, education, and international expertise to design and deliver programs for diverse audiences. She is known for her ability to drive change within individuals and organizations that are looking to reach their potential and maintain their competitive edge in the business world. She has started her career in higher education, having worked across various institutions, departments and regions. In her recent years, she dove into business and founded a learning and developing consultancy – Agar Global Services and Co-Founded Bessern – tech solution for productivity and well-being in organizations. She is a regular contributor to Forbes Middle East, and various publications and online platforms in the Middle East region.

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.

Berk studied Industrial Engineering and Business Administration in Koc University, Istanbul. He worked at Boeing Company and Intel Corporation in business development departments before founding his first startup, Longi, a well-aging platform. Afterwards, he pivoted the idea to Meditopia, a mental coach with more than 15m users which he runs as the cofounder and CEO.

Abdulla Almoayed is a serial entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Tarabut Gateway (TG) – the first and largest company licensed open banking platform in MENA. Abdulla has been a key figure in driving digital transformation across Bahrain and the wider region. He worked closely with the Central Bank of Bahrain to pioneer the Kingdom’s open banking regulation. Now, through TG, he focuses on projects that will help reposition the region as the leading hub for innovative companies to come and test their technologies. He is a strong advocate for putting data ownership into the hands of the consumer and increasing access to financial services through emerging technologies. Previously Abdulla spent 15 years investing in various sectors, before taking over parts of his family’s investment business. From this, he established his own holding company, Almoayed Technologies – a privately-owned, venture-minded investment vehicle focused on large-scale infrastructure projects aimed at accelerating MENA’s digital transformation. It invests in game-changing companies across Fintech, Healthcare, Education, Logistics, and Cybersecurity – one of which was TG. Abdulla holds an MBA from the London Business School and a BABM with Honours from the University of Westminster, London.

Joel Ayala is a Managing Partner at Class 5. Prior to co-founding Class 5, Joel was on the founding team at Lumia Capital where he focused on investments in emerging markets, including Careem, Shedul, CargoX and many others. Joel serves on the Management Committee overseeing Lumia Capital Fund 1. Prior to Lumia, Joel worked on operations and corporate development at YuMe (NYSE: YUME). Joel also co-founded Mingleton, a social discovery platform. He began his career as a banker with Jefferies. Joel graduated from Harvard University with an AB in Economics. He was named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in 2016 and has invested in several global proptech startups like Cadre, TrueHome, Emcasa, and Nomad Homes.

Muhannad Ebwini, is the founder and CEO of HyperPay. With over 20 years of experience in the online, eCommerce, gaming, and payment industries, Muhnnad has spent every waking moment over the past decade into leading the business to its current position as one of the MENA region’s fastest growing and successful online payment businesses. It is regarded as highly innovative and is seen as one of the new generation payment service providers. Today, HyperPay continuously grows its suite of products and services, helping businesses of all sizes across the entire region, to sell, manage, and accept money online.

Saqr Mashhor Ereiqat is a Dubai based BlockChain aficionado, leading IBM’s consulting arm, Global Business Services for the public sector & government industry in Dubai as well as the IBM Associates program for Middle East and Africa. In the past he has been establishing HealthTech Innovation Hubs and has spent the majority of his career at IBM leading complex projects across 23 Countries in Europe, Middle East & Africa

Khawla is a social entrepreneur who has experience and expertise in Business Development, Strategy, Media & Communications. Prior to starting Takalam, she held several positions in various Abu Dhabi based government entities, including the Emirates Foundation for Philanthropy & twofour54, Abu Dhabi’s Media Zone Authority. She represented both companies at local, regional and international events and conferences related to those industries. She also worked as an independent consultant for startups between the UAE & the US while she was based in Washington D.C. for 5 years. Khawla holds a Master’s degree in International Business from Georgetown University in Washington D.C. and a Bachelors degree in Media & Communication Sciences from Zayed University in Abu Dhabi.

Davide is leading Accenture Innovation Strategy and Ventures efforts in Middle East. He’s Senior Manager of the Strategy & Consulting practice at Accenture Middle East where he joined in May ’14 after transferring from Milan: office where he started his career in September ’11. He has led the effort to first setup Accenture Ventures in Middle East and after to design a collaboration model between all the Innovation capabilities. He has strong expertise around Innovation Hub & Factories Design, Ecosystem Setup & Orchestration as well as CVC Design where he applies new ways of delivery such as Design Thinking, Storytelling, Agile and Value Creation methodologies.

Shereen is very passionate about fostering startup ecosystems and empowering entrepreneurship education. She believes that technology has the power to transform and improve people’s lives, and entrepreneurs will make that happen! On behalf of the Dubai International Financial Centre, Shereen operates the Middle East’s largest FinTech accelerator program and consults financial services and government entities on corporate innovation. She also hosts and produces the podcast Spark! with Shereen to amplify the stories of startups and innovation in the Middle East. With 10+ years of experience in financial services and technology innovation, Shereen is also a former banker & management consultant. She holds a BSc (Hons) degree in Management Sciences from the London School of Economics and is undertaking an Executive MSc in Technology Management from Columbia University.

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 was most recently 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. She has a BS in Computer Science with a minor in Creative Writing from the American University of Beirut. Previously, she worked on both the product and community fronts of converged communication media startup Telephone.com.

Tamatem is the leading mobile games publisher in the Arabic speaking market. Tamatem works with international game developers to localise their games into Arabic and take advantage of the highest ARPPUs in the world. Arabic is the 4th most spoken language in the world, but only 1% of online content is available in Arabic. This, combined with Arabic being the most complex language in the world, makes personalisation and localisation key to success. Tim Bendt is the CGO of Tamatem, working closely with the BD teams to source the highest quality games for the growing portfolio of diverse games.

Anam Mahmood is a Cloud Developer Advocate at IBM. She graduated from the American University of Sharjah with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. She has experience in working with Agile Software Development. She has worked on multiple Agile Web Development projects using Python( Django framework), PostgreSQL Database, JavaScript, HTML5/CSS, and API Integration. She also knows languages such as C++, Prolog, and Android Development. She has a passion for AI, Data Science, Machine Learning, Project Management, and leadership. Anam believes she can combine her passion, knowledge, and skills to contribute meaningfully to the development of the organization through determination, dedication, and hard work.

Leading HSBC’s innovation agenda across Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, Pam is a collaborator across the bank to link emerging technology with business strategy. She oversees the Dubai Innovation Lab, aimed at transforming the bank’s products and processes through strategic partnerships, driving innovative culture and serving as an incubator for new ideas. Pam has worked in a variety of roles and geographies spanning more than 20 years in financial services, bringing a wealth of experience and a creative mindset to open new opportunities in the bank.

The radio host of Channel 4 Breakfast on 104.8FM broadcasting live across the UAE every morning. When she’s not talking on the radio, Nimi is busy running her media company NowMedia, creating content for her platforms, recording her Podcast ‘Everything Legit: The Nimi Mehta Podcast’ & hosting on stage for stars like Steve Harvey and Lilly Singh. Nimi started her media career in Television at the age of 21 with MTV UK as the face and presenter of District MTV. She hosted red carpets for high profile events at London Fashion Week, Harpers Bazaar and Grazia Magazine. She’s a leading face and voice of women in the UAE who recognise their limitless potential in a thriving industry.

Maryna Burushkina is a Digital Marketing Consultant, she has helped dozens of multinational companies reshape their marketing to drive accelerated growth. Now Maryna is building a marketing AI platform to bring machine learning to marketing planning and growth hacking.

Rob was appointed managing director of Virgin Mobile UAE in June 2020. His appointment builds on nine successful years in the region with Virgin Mobile, most recently as Commercial Director of Virgin Mobile UAE. An expert in commercial brand development, digital transformation, multi-channel digital, retail and marketing strategies, Rob has been instrumental in the success of the Virgin Mobile brand in the Middle East, firstly in Saudi Arabia and more recently with the launch of Virgin Mobile’s fully digital offering in the UAE. Prior to joining Virgin Mobile, Rob gained a vast knowledge of all aspects of commercial management through various roles in London, before specializing in mobile telecommunications as Lycamobile Group Marketing Director, where he launched the brand in over 11 markets over a six-year period.

PepsiCo Director of Sales (Strategy and Go To Market) Asia, Middle East & North Africa.

Ali Samir Oosman leads Strategy, Partnerships and Deal Flow at Microsoft for Startups – Middle East & Africa. He is a seasoned digital strategy evangelist who has led functions/businesses across both social development and private sectors, which include venture capital/impact investing, healthcare, education, job creation, insurance, media and digital mapping. Ali is passionate about building the startup ecosystem having worked closely with regional ecosystem players across all stakeholder verticals – This includes partnerships with startup enablers (incubators, accelerators & co-working spaces), relationships with a global network of Investors (Private, Family and Institutional Funds across GCC, Singapore, Pakistan and US) and leading due diligence/strategic/impact assessment/financial needs analysis across 350+ companies.

Gaurav Dhar CEO Marshal. Board Member MENA Fintech Association. Gaurav Dhar is the CEO of the Payments Solution Provider Marshal Equipment. Gaurav has been working at Marshal for over 15 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. LinkedIn Profile:  www.linkedin.com/in/GauravDhar13 

Mohamad has digital and tech startups experience from the investor, founder, and accelerator sides. His experience ranges from initial concept validation, business model design, fundraising, financial modeling, and strategy. Additionally, Mohamad advises several digital startups in the region independently and as part of regional startup accelerators.

15+ years of international experience delivering growth in a variety of industries from mortgage banking to real estate, construction and infrastructure, most recently leading conceptualization and launch of CAFU.

Bader Ataya is the Co-founder and Chief Growth Officer of Kitopi. Bader spearheads international expansion and oversees local market growth across verticals. Prior to Kitopi, Bader co-founded Mumzworld.com the largest shopping site for everything mother, baby and child related in the Middle East. Bader graduated with an MBA from Cambridge University Judge Business School and a BA from Tufts University.

Hosam is the Co-Founder and CEO of Tabby, the region’s first buy now pay later solution. Previously, Hosam was Co-Founder and CEO at Namshi, the Middle East’s premier online fashion destination which was fully acquired by Emaar Malls. Prior to co-founding Namshi, Hosam worked in Private Equity with Waha Capital in Abu Dhabi, managing Waha’s portfolio of assets. A UAE resident for more than 30 years, Hosam earned a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Canada’s Queen’s University and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School in Boston.

Manuel Dolderer is an economist and an edupreneur. He is co-founder and president of CODE, a university of applied sciences with study programs related to digital product development and an innovative learning concept based on curiosity and entrepreneurship. Manuel studied economics, philosophy and cultural studies at Germany’s oldest private University in Witten/Herdecke. After founding two applied research institutes with projects focussing on healthcare, education, and digitalization he joined Klett Group in 2012, one of Europe’s leading education-dedicated enterprises, where he became co-founder and managing director of a private university of applied sciences – praxisHochschule. In 2016 he joined forces with Thomas Bachem and Jonathan Rüth to found CODE – a new kind of university for the digital pioneers of tomorrow.

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.

Registrar and Chief Executive, Abu Dhabi Global Market Courts. Linda is responsible for leading the administration and operations of ADGM Courts, the common law courts of the International Financial Centre of the capital of the UAE. She has extensive legal experience, formerly serving as CEO and Principal Registrar of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Australia. She was previously a Partner of two Australian law firms and held a senior legal position with a large commercial insurer in NY, USA.

Co-Founder, Chairman and Investment Committee member of Dubai Angel Investors, the MENA region’s leading Micro-VC. Expert in seed and early-stage tech investing with deep experience of deal negotiation and documentation. Senior partner at the region’s largest law firm – English qualified lawyer with 25 years experience in Venture Capital, M&A, Corporate Finance and Restructuring with a deep focus on technology, media and telecom.

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/

Sophie is the Co-founder and CEO of Nabta Health, a hybrid healthcare company for women headquartered in Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park. Prior to co-founding Nabta, Sophie worked for Accenture as a technology consultant and then founded several impact enterprises including myZindagi (a doctor-finding platform based in Pakistan) and Le Plastics (a plastic recycling company based in Sierra Leone). Sophie’s lifetime ambition is to make healthcare affordable and accessible for all women. Sophie read History at the University of Cambridge and completed an MBA with Quantic School of Business and Technology.

Walid’s deep involvement in the VC & Technology ecosystem in the MENA region dates back to the mid 2000s . Since 2005, Walid has been intimately involved in this transformational entrepreneurial story by participating in the setup, scale up and exit of several VC Funds and Technology companies. Besides his current role as a Managing Partner & CIO of MEVP, he also serves as a board member and advisor to many successful internet and technology companies regionally and globally. Prior to MEVP, Walid has previously worked in Public Policy (UAE Prime Ministry Office), Strategy Consulting (Booz Allen Hamilton, Roland Berger) and Industrial & Software engineering. Walid holds a Masters in Industrial Engineering from the “Institut National des Science Appliqués” INSA de Lyon (France) and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania (USA).

Founder & CEO TrueHome

Martin Tideström is ADGM’s Director of Business Development. He is responsible for promoting Abu Dhabi as a business destination and attracting new firms, for providing growth support to ADGM’s client community, and for developing markets, products and services to enhance competitiveness of the financial centre and its business ecosystem. Innovation and entrepreneurship are high on ADGM’s agenda. Martin and his team have developed a range of support initiatives to facilitate set-up, growth and the financing lifecycle for start-ups and SMEs in the UAE, and they work closely with leading stakeholders across the region and internationally enhance and boost the sector. Prior to joining ADGM, Martin led business development for two other financial centres. Martin began his career as legal counsel with EY and Skandia, focused on venture capital. He holds an LL.M. from Uppsala, Sweden and MBA from IMD, Switzerland.

Marc is the lead UI/UX designer at FOO, a Fintech pioneer in the middle east and the GCC region. Marc is an out-of-box thinker who doesn’t shy away from employing unconventional techniques to find better digital solutions to everyday human problems. With a master’s degree in visual communication and 7+ years of in-depth experience, Marc worked on more than 100 solution and knows exactly how to think one step ahead, providing his users with optimized seamless experiences. Marc led projects with MasterCard, Zain group and Dubai Police to name a few and is striving to help companies find their way and succeed in the digital world.

Masa Abushamleh is a Developer Advocate at IBM. Her focus areas are AI, DevOps, and Microservices. She is passionate about building solutions that rely on AI. As a Developer Advocate, she delivers workshops, builds PoCs, and supports the developer community in the MEA region.

Murtaza Manji is an award-winning business coach and the founder of Kaizen Consulting Group. Over the last 10 years, Murtaza and his team have worked with over 950 successful CEOs, directors and business owners from a range of industries in the GCC, UK and East Africa to achieve sustainably higher profits, greater productivity from their teams, and attract high-value investments and acquisitions, by creating scalable systems and structures.

Yasin is the Chief Development Office of Brinc Global, the Managing Partner of Brinc MENA. He has been in the MENA region for 4 years, established the first major IoT hub based in Bahrain. Helping the country to build the ecosystem, he has been able to attract startups, scale ups come support the drive to make Bahrain a landing base for their operations. Previously he co-founded Ecico Group and still plays an active role on the Board of directors. Yasin has also co-founded a new home grown coworking brand called Diwan, also based in Bahrain and is active on the board of directors.

Jamil brings more than 20 years of experience working for fortune 500 companies including Apple, IBM, HPE, and E&Y in the US, China and the Middle East. Throughout his career, Jamil identified gaps stalling innovation, organizational integration and growth pre and post M&A deals. He also developed sustainable long-term partnerships globally. Jamil’s recent work experience focused on shaping the ubiquitous computing service offering while concentrating on privacy and security policies. He has carried out several executive positions, managing special and secret projects during his time at Apple and more than 20 M&A Mega deals. Jamil holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Electrical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin, a Diploma in Management and Leadership from MIT and a Master’s Degree of Business Administration from The University of Oxford.

A Digital Marketing Expert with proven experience in working with startups globally and worked with multiple multinational brands. Started his consultancy that focuses only on helping startups overcome their challenges in their digital marketing activities.

Steve Rawling is a former BBC TV journalist, international author and business coach. He helps clients like Google, Roche Pharmaceuticals and Accenture tell better stories about their work. Steve reckons he has told over 20,000 stories in his career, so he can probably help you tell yours.

Passionate about technology and challenges, Rayan is CTO and Founder of HortaTech, a software house that develops and accelerates Ruby on Rails web-apps. He creates each product as if it were his own and in the last two years, he founded 2 startups. Rayan is also an international teacher for Le Wagon, having taught in Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Tel Aviv and São Paulo.

Lee is the Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer of Clara Technologies. As a lawyer who saw the need for change in the entrepreneur’s legal journey to raise money and structure their startup right, Lee and his Co-Founders created clara.co. Lee is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor and mentor.

Qais Haddad is the Performance Specialist at Tamatem; the leading mobile games publisher in the Arabic speaking market. He has been at Tamatem for over two years now and handles all Marketing related topics at Tamatem such as ASO, SEO and UA

Matt is a passionate startuper, who loves & have been building startups for over a decade. His vast experience began from Spain, to New York and To Dubai. He has been a game changer with Grow Valley since the inception. He is also the founder of Startupfy, a growing Startup Studio in Spain.