Ovais Naqvi is the Managing Director of the Abraaj Performance Acceleration Group (APAG), focused on portfolio company operational value add, specifically leading the Center of Excellence model for Sales, Marketing and Pricing across 150+ portfolio companies. His focus areas are brand development, customer insight and segmentation, pricing optimization, physical-to-digital business transformation and sales/channel strategy. He also leads the Firm's efforts in early-stage and entrepreneurship engagement and was in charge of the team that built the Wamda.com content and community platform. Ovais previously served as a Senior Advisor to Abraaj Capital, responsible for strategic marketing and brand creation challenges. He was also CMO/Brand owner at the wholly-owned Riyada Enterprise Development (RED), a US$1 billion investment fund focused on SME investment across 14 markets in Middle East North Africa (MENA). Whilst at Abraaj, he has also served from 2008 to 2010 as and Chief Marketing & Communications Officer (CMCO) at KESC, one of the region’s largest vertically-integrated monopoly electricity utilities, with a turnover of US$1 billion. Ovais was responsible for all facets of the ‘new KESC’ brand transformation: from public messaging, market segmentation and marketing strategy, to advertising, media and public affairs, internal communications on an “Azm” (Resolve) platform, to the company’s CSR programming, with a US$50 million deployment budget over 2009-2012. He has had a twenty-year career in all facets of the media, publishing, interactive/online marketing and marketing services industries and has worked with many of the world’s leading marketing companies, content publishers and global blue-chip and luxury brands. Ovais graduated from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in 1987 with a BSc (Econ) degree, specialising in International Trade and Development. He has completed executive education at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and is an invited participant in TED® Global in 2010. He lives in Dubai and London.

Fuad is the newest member of the Management Committee at Engro Foods, having joined E Foods in September 2010 as VP Marketing. Fuad completed his MBA from Krannert Graduate School of Management in Purdue University, USA and started his career with Unilever Pakistan. He spent over 11 year with Unilever in various roles - Marketing, Sales, Trade Marketing - in increasing levels of seniority. From Unilever he moved to Danone (Biscuits Division), one of Europe largest food companies, working for them in Karachi, Paris, Athens, Cairo and Dubai. During his time at Danone, the Biscuits division was sold to Kraft Foods, USA and he was thus a Kraft employee before joining E Foods. Fuad has a passion for brands and has worked on a wide range of categories in his career. He understands the nuances of marketing and believes that consumer insights and innovation are two critical pillars in realizing business success. He has managed global brands such as LUX and Oreo and knows that consistent and insightful communication are essential to create mega brands.

As Group Chief Marketing Officer, Essa Al Haddad is responsible for marketing activities across Etisalat group of companies with HQ in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and spanning across 17 other operations across the MENA region from KSA, Egypt, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, West Africa, Sudan, and Tanzania. He is also CMO-UAE, responsible for Consumer, SMB (Small/Medium Business) and Enterprise customers, in addition to The Contact Centre and Cable TV Service (e-Vision) operation. Mr. Al Haddad lends his experience as a member of the Etisalat management committee with oversight of the group operational performance and achievements. He also sits on the Etisalat board of companies in India and Nigeria and is the Chairman of Operating Committee for Etisalat Nigeria. He previously served as a board member on many of Etisalat's Affiliates such as Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) at KSA, Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Company (board member and audit committee member) and Atlantique Telecom-West Africa and Zanzibar Telecom Limited (Zantel) in Tanzania. Essa Al Haddad has worked with Etisalat for over 28 years, beginning his career in the Network Planning section of the Engineering department. He moved through Project Implementation, Technology, and Strategy Development until finally heading the Engineering department as Executive Vice President - Engineering. He was appointed as Chief Marketing Officer in May 2006 to oversee and develop Etisalat's marketing strategy and aid the Corporation in its efforts to be positioned as a customer-centric organization as the competition opens up in U.A.E. He was also appointed in 2008 as Etisalat Group Chief Marketing Officer with overall marketing responsibility and branding for Etisalat Operations Worldwide.

Dr. Taseer is a strategic consultant, motivator and a business incubator with a proven track record of 12 working years & over 3000 hours of corporate trainings excelling in business strategy, service delivery, marketing communications & sales in global ICT & ITES operations with particular achievements across MENA & North American markets. Dr. Taseer graduated Summa Cum Laude through to his Doctorate in Business Administration, with specialization in Business Strategy & Business Incubation. He has earned copious Performance Excellence Acclamations at various organizations in his professional career. His core competencies are in the areas of business strategy, portfolio management, sales enablement and marketing communications in Telecom service providers, Oil & Gas, Government, Defense, Education, Healthcare, Banking & Finance, Hospitality, Manufacturing and the SMB industry. Over the past years, Dr. Taseer has led customer strategy from a detailed understanding of both current and potential customers, ensuring a focus on long term direction and commercial value, and pro-actively driven forward activation strategies, retention and revenue. He has enhanced his experience in handling International Business with multiple stakeholders with differing objectives and has excelled in ensuring delivery of top line revenue and profit, developing loyalty from existing customers, attracting new customers and building significant brand equity. Dr. Taseer relies on high motivation, detail-orientation and an upbeat, positive mindset & persistent belief in self-worth and performance capabilities.

Ahmad Yahya is Fonterra's Marketing Director for Middle East, Africa and CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States). Having worked in the FMCG sector for over 17 years, Ahmad Yahya's extensive consumer insight and strategic marketing knowledge will greatly benefit the world’s largest dairy exporter. He joins Fonterra from food giant Kraft, where he was head of the GCC marketing team for the region and prior to this, led the Kraft developing markets brand team. Before moving to Kraft, Ahmad worked for dairy brand Danone for two years and global giant Pepsi for seven years, where he made significant strategic and tactical contributions to the success of the company while based in North America. Amr Farghal, Managing Director for Fonterra Brands Middle East, Africa and CIS, said, "Ahmad's significant practical experience in the field and extensive understanding of building brands in both emerging and developing markets, makes him an invaluable new addition to the company. He has exactly the right skills to help continue to grow the Fonterra brand." Fonterra, the world's largest dairy exporter has a significant presence in the Middle East, Africa and CIS and accounts for around 20% of sales in Fonterra’s Asia Middle East consumer division.

Ayman Abouseif is a seasoned executive with 25 years of experience with multi-national corporations in the Middle East. Ayman is currently driving the marketing transformation at Fujitsu EEMEA&I including the reintegration of the various marketing operations into a cohesive marketing team that generates demand via customer intimacy. He also founded On-Track Arabia, a Dubai based consulting firm that helps first time ERP and CRM customers with their product evaluation, selection and program management. Prior to establishing On-Track Arabia, Ayman was the Sales VP for SAP Middle East and North Africa responsible for driving SAP’s business in the region and leading the cross functional team established to achieve profitable growth. Previously Mr Abouseif held the position of VP and Gulf Managing Director at Oracle Corporation after building and leading the company’s marketing and pre sales teams in the Middle East and Africa, Eastern and Central Europe for several years. Prior to joining Oracle, Ayman held a number of sales and product marketing roles at NCR in the Middle East and Africa. Abouseif holds an MBA in international business from the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom and ENPC in France, as well as a bachelor’s degree in electronic engineering and telecommunications from Ain Shams University in Egypt. He also holds a Master’s certificate in project management from George Washington University. Ayman enjoys photography, cycling and reading.

Dharmendra Parmar is the General Manager for Marketing at FVC Inc, a leading Value Added distributor in Middle East and North Africa specializing in Emerging Technologies. An astute marketer with a keen technology eye, Parmar was responsible for several innovative and game changing marketing strategies to turn FVC from a startup rich media focused company into a multinational with multi million dollars in revenue and a rich ecosystem of partners contributing to the success of the organization. Under his leadership, the marketing functions at FVC has progressively built a lasting brand in the technology distribution domain winning several awards within a very short span and is now the recognized leader in the Emerging technologies space. A multi-talented person with profound technical knowledge thanks to his engineering background, shrewed business acumen (his family runs a successful clothing fashion and couture company) and leadership skills running a very turned-on marketing team, he is a well rounded professional driving his vision of marketing as an enabler to business. In his 20 year career, Parmar has held several sales and sales management roles covering the Middle East before being given the challenging role of setting up and developing the marketing division at FVC which he successfully built and grew into a successful unit in the past 7 years. Parmar graduated from the Manipal Institute of Technology in Electronics and Communication followed by an MBA from Heriot-Watt University. He is an active member in the technology industry and has been a member of IEEE for the last 24 years. He is a well-respected person as the practical and pragmatic marketer among his peers.

With over 12 years of diversified and international experience in the fields of business development, sales & marketing and general management, Fahed Ghanim has amassed industry experience in real estate development, luxury retail & automotive sectors in regional & international markets (the GCC, Levant, Egypt, Morocco, UK, USA & France). A mainstay on Dubai’s luxury retail and marketing scene, Fahed Ghanim began making his impact on the industry in 2003 when he led Al Tayer Insignia’s Watches and Jewelry division as General Manager, expanding their family of Jewelry and Watches brands to over 45. Fahed excelled in bringing several renowned brands to the limelight, including Bulgari, Boucheron, Asprey, Garrard, Gucci, Pomellato, H.Stern, Harvey Nichols Jewellery department, BRM, U-Boat, Alain Silberstein, Pianegonda, Damiani, Azza Fahmy, Azal and Theo Fenell. Fahed's appreciation of beautiful things started much earlier, with cars. In 2001, he joined OLE Jordan as their Marketing Manager. As a key player in the company, he assisted Land Rover, MG Rover and BMW Group in gaining impressive market share while launching new products and services in the Jordanian Market, such as LR Freelander and the reintroduced new Mini. In 2007, Fahed took the vast retail expertise he had amassed, coupled with his passion for the world of luxury, and joined Vantage Holdings as General Manager - International Sales & Marketing where he played an instrumental role in securing high-profile deals with the Trump Organization to develop a Norman Foster designed luxury resort. Bloom Properties, a forward-thinking new developer based out of Abu Dhabi with a fresh approach to the industry, welcomed Fahed to the team as General Manager of Retail & Marketing in 2008. Fahed holds an MBA from ESCP-EAP European School of Management and a BA in Economics from the University of Jordan.

Aly Mustansir began his professional career with Unilever in 1993 when he was made part of a project team that would launch the Wall’s Ice Cream business in Pakistan. Aly spent 12 years with Unilever in Pakistan and abroad and was responsible for major assignments including volume turnaround of the Sri Lankan Wall’s business, value creation in the Pakistani Oral Care business and relaunch of the 50-year old Lifebuoy brand. In 2005, Aly left Unilever to join a European sports marketing company as Marketing Director. A year later, he joined HBL as Head of Marketing & Brand Management. His tasks in the first year were to relaunch the Habib Bank brand with a new positioning and corporate identity, and to centralize Marketing for all businesses of the bank across the globe. Since 2007, HBL has launched a series of brand and product campaigns with an aggressive media strategy making it the most visible financial brand in Pakistan. HBL won the “Buzziest Brand” award in the Financial Institutions category and 3rd “Buzziest Brand” overall for the period 2007-08. Outside work, Aly is involved with the creative arts including theatre and radio, and has delivered lectures on Marketing and Branding to a variety of audiences within and outside Pakistan.

Aaqib is a strategic-thinking, results-producing Business Marketing Professional with a proven 10+ year track record of accomplishment in planning and leading comprehensive marketing strategies in support of business goals and objectives. Aaqib is the only professionally qualified ‘Chartered Marketer’ by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM-UK) in Pakistan. He is also a ‘Certified Professional Marketer' (CPM-Asia) by the Asian Marketing Federation, Singapore (AMF). Aaqib also holds a Fellowship from the Institute of Commercial Management (ICM-UK), qualifying his Commercial & Business acumen. He has worked on both sides of the table, having a solid grasp of Marketing / Brand Management with Local & Multinational Brands (7 years) as well as an enriched 4 years of Advertising Business Management. Aaqib is well versed in Business & Marketing Management, Strategic Marketing Planning & New Communication Channels. He currently heads Group Marketing at International Brands Limited Group, Pakistan as Chief Marketing Officer. His primary role is to drive Innovation & Marketing Operations to sustain & grow Profitability and create strategic alliances with Local & International Partners for long term growth.

Ghufran A. Khan is Chief Engagement Officer at Karachi Electricity Supply Company (KESC), responsible for stakeholder management and all facets of internal and external communication including brand marketing, media management, public & corporate affairs, internal change management, CSR and sports marketing. He has over 19 years of experience in FMCG and the financial sectors, creating, building and managing mega brands and businesses. Working mostly in corporations going through change management process, Ghufran has developed a unique set of corporate transformation and turn-around skills. He was one of the pioneers of change management drive at Nestle, Pakistan, implementing Nestle’s systems in marketing, distribution and supply chain management. He also led a project at Nestle, Central Asia and streamlined a nascent distribution system.

Khalid Alkhudair is a Saudi Marketing professional who has spent the majority of his education and career in North America and Europe. Khalid recently achieved the Chartered Marketer status from the Chartered Institute of Marketing. He is currently registered as the 26th Saudi worldwide to achieve this grand recognition and an MCIM member of the Institute. Khalid's current role is the Chief Operating Officer - Markets at KPMG in Saudi, Kuwait and Jordan. He returns to KPMG as an alumni after establishing Deutsche Gulf Finance's brand, corporate identity and presence in the Saudi market as a leader in the mortgage industry, as well as leading them to 3 financial key international awards. His previous experience at KPMG has helped him secure a broad knowledge and understanding of all the key aspects of strategic and successful marketing, which include Communication, establishing the in house PR department, CSR (KPMG Foundation), Event Management, Branding etc. Also throughout his time at KPMG Khalid managed to lead the firm to over 10 key awards in the space of two years, which were alligned to the firm's overall corporate goals and strategy such as the Best Saudi Company to Work For award (top 5 position for 3 years in a row). Khalid is an active writer and contributor in national and regional publications such as Gulf Marketing Review, Saudi Gazette, Arab News etc. as well as publishing a book entitled "Communicating Effectively in the Work Place". All this led him to being awarded the Best Head of Marketing in the Middle East for 2010. Khalid also sits on a number of Marketing Advisory boards throughout the GCC such as the CMO Council Advisory Board and is the founder of Glowork.net, the first website dedicated to female recruitment in the Middle East.

Mohammad Salama is the CMO Lead and Regional Marketing Director for Microsoft Gulf, based in Dubai. He was previously the Head of Marketing Middle East & North Africa for Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications. In his capacity, he led the strategic & operational marketing teams for the region covering functions of Product Marketing, Marketing Communications, Channel Marketing and Field Marketing. With over fourteen years of experience in marketing management and business development, in several markets globally, Mohammad has developed a very diversified and international experience across several industry sectors and product categories spanning from fast moving consumer goods, small domestic appliances, consumer electronics, office equipment & solutions, IT and Telecom. Mohammad started his career with 3M in the U.S. working for the International business development division. He assumed several management & senior management roles in the Middle East region, working for companies like Unilever Group, Philips, Canon and Sony Ericsson managing and developing their business in countries like Egypt, Gulf, Iran, Levant, South Africa and North Africa. He has gained a solid reputation among industry colleagues as an executive with a rare balance of strategic insight, operational expertise, technology skills and marketing know how. Mohammad's core area of specialization is strategic planning & management, organizational development & efficiency, category Management, marketing innovation, brand building, marketing communications, retail management and product portfolio management. In addition to this, he is particularly interested in segmentation, Key Account Management, marketing effectiveness & measurability, and new media. Mohammad is an MCIM since 2006, and is a guest speaker in many regional marketing and business conferences. He holds a Bsc in Electronics, Computer Science and Marketing, and an MBA in International Marketing.

Loai has 13 years experience in Marketing. Currently he has subsidiary-wide marketing responsibility for Microsoft Saudi. He established the CMG role in Microsoft Saudi and defined the marketing engine along with the demand generation strategy for the business across all segments. Before joining Microsoft, he had company-wide marketing responsibility (Investment Services, Brokerage, Investment Banking and Asset Management) at NCB Capital. Loai led key projects for NCB such as their World Cup Campaign, Credit Card re-launch, Personal Finance and Auto Lease Program Launch. Loai held senior marketing positions in P&G in various categories, covering health care, hair care, food and beverage, and fem care. Loai received a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from King Abdul-Aziz University in Saudi and an MBA from Arabic Academy for Science and Technology.

Ahmad became MTN’s General Manager Operations for the MENA region in 2006. He is also a board member in several MTN subsidiaries. His responsibilities include: analysis of main market KPIs and competitor positioning, driving sales and marketing value proposition revamp initiatives, supervising annual network expansion and vendor negotiation, and participation in the business plan and annual budget revision for MTN’s various operations. He is in charge of driving all the regional initiatives including review of strategy and implementation and consolidation of strategic initiatives. Ahmad has 14 years of experience in the mobile telecommunications space, helping him cultivate his technical experience, project management and team building skills.

Abdulla Mahmood heads the Marketing and Communications (MARCOM) division of RAK Ceramics, the world’s largest ceramic tiles & bathware manufacturing company, and is responsible for overseeing the MARCOM activities of the company and its subsidiaries on a global scale. Abdulla handles the entire gamut of MARCOM operations at RAK Ceramics including corporate communication, corporate branding, trade marketing, product marketing, new product development and market research with day-to-day ATL and BTL activities. Abdulla has been specializing in strategic marketing, brand management and corporate communications for MNCs and major conglomerates within the UAE for last 12 years. He started his career in Dubai in 1999 with Fosroc Construction Chemicals (then part of BP Group), one of the world’s leading manufacturer of chemicals, where he held managerial roles in the marketing department. He also had a brief stint heading the marketing division for Conmix Ltd., one of the UAE’s leading construction product manufacturers, before taking an enterprising multi-dimensional senior marketing managerial role at Tameer Holding, one of region’s leading property developers, where he handled trade marketing, corporate marketing and branding at the strategic level. Some of Abdulla’s notable career achievements include introducing a new E-Marketing Communication tool in Fosroc as well as leading Tameer Holding to become one of the Top 5 UAE property developer brands through strategic marketing campaigns and also increasing sales by 50 percent in two years through tie-ups in key overseas markets. During his tenure at RAK Ceramics, he revamped the whole marketing operations with new vigor and energy through strategic plans to launch new global Visual Identity Guidelines and a series of effective marketing campaigns in order to position RAK Ceramics as a household brand name all over the world. Under Abdulla’s tenure RAK Ceramics has successfully positioned itself as the World’ No.1 ceramic manufacturer and has launched a series new branding exercises that are making industry people sit up and notice them in new light. Abdulla, who holds an MBA in marketing, likes writing and traveling to exotic and remotely uninhibited locations.

Bobby has over 15 years of experience in Consumer Banking spread across the Middle East and South Asia. He has exposure across key GCC, Levant and North African markets doing both in-country roles (KSA and UAE) and regional roles managing Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt. Bobby has cross-functional experience across all major areas of Consumer Banking including marketing, product management, product development, credit, sales, market research, retail, branding and corporate identity programs. He has led numerous product and brand launches in the Middle East and India. Examples include launching the region’s first online savings proposition (eSaver from HSBC), launching a new mortgage proposition in Jordan (HSBC), launching Personal Loans and Consumer Banking (ABN AMRO), and re-launching the Debit Card proposition and Sharia compliant Personal Finance at Saudi Investment Bank, etc. Bobby also has extensive experience in the development of E channels, especially with respect to digital marketing, social media, internet banking strategy, E propositions development, customer online journey design and transaction migration. He is Currently working as the Head of Marketing and Product Development with The Saudi Investment Bank, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He holds a Masters Degree in Management Studies with specialization in Marketing from one of India’s leading business schools.

Farhan Ahmed was appointed Head of Business and Corporate Communications at Standard Chartered Bank in February 2012. He took on this role with a view to create opportunities and provide strategic insights to all business lines in order to increase share of voice with all of Standard Chartered Bank's internal and external stakeholders. Previously, he was the Head of Marketing and Communications for HSBC Pakistan. Under his leadership the function introduced several Corporate Sustainability initiatives, as well as the commencement of HSBC Pakistan's first structured Public Relations Campaign, and the launch of HSBC Advance in Pakistan. Earlier, as Manager Marketing at HSBC, he was responsible for the very successful launch of the bank's Credit Card, the launch of HSBC Premier and the Non-resident Pakistani Proposition for HSBC Pakistan. Before joining HSBC in 2003, Farhan was the Food Services Sales Manager, South at Nestle MilkPak Limited. He was manaaging a sales portfolio of over PKR40million a month. He rose to the position from an Assistant Manager role during which he undertook structural reorganization of the business in his territory. This, and other measures resulted in enabling the business to doubling the regional performance. This was recognized by the management and the team received the Food Services of the Region Award in 2002. Whilst still a Management Trainee at Nestle MilkPak, he worked ardently to develop a Model Sales Area for Karachi, and also managed the Infant Nutritions brand portfolio of CERELAC, NESLAC and NAN for some time. He is an MBA from the Institute of Business Management (IoBM) and remains closely affiliated with academic programs at IoBM, as a visiting faculty. He is also an active member of the Marketing Association of Pakistan and Project Management International, Karachi Pakistan Chapter.

Eyad Al-Hosain is the Chief Marketing Officer at Syrian Industrial Chemical Company LTD. (SICCO), a major company in Syria specializing in detergents and related raw materials. Established in 1991 in Syria and spanning across 10 other operations across the MENA region, South Africa, North Africa, and other Arab Countries, SICCO is equipped with the world's most innovative techniques in the Detergent Industry. Eyad joined SICCO as the CMO in 2004 and is responsible for the planning and execution of strategic marketing plans and the portfolio development of SICCO's brands, including Super White and Prince. He brings over ten years of experience in the Syrian markets to the board and holds a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Damascus University in his native country of Syria.

Dr. Rachid Ezzikhe has over 16 years of marketing experience across multiple therapeutic areas. At Tabuk Pharmaceuticals, he is a top managment executive member who leads day to day corporate marketing strategy of high end pharmaceutical products including but not limited to operational marketing and sales, corporate marketing including medical affairs, PR strategy, corporate branding, corporate social responsibility plan and a digital marketing strategy. Prior to joining Tabuk Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Ezzikhe worked at Roche Pharma and Sanofi Aventis. Dr. He holds an undergraduate degree in General Medicine from Casablanca Faculty of Medicine, Morocco and an MBA from École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussée.

Gopakumar Bhargavan is the Chief Marketing Officer of UAE Exchange, the leading global remittance and foreign exchange brand, with operations spanning 30 countries across five continents with close to 700 direct offices. He leads the Integrated Marketing and Business Development initiatives aimed at optimizing market presence and accessibility of the brand, worldwide. Known for his strong marketing and analytical skills, Gopakumar drives efforts of the organization, globally, including Outbound Remittance Marketing, Inbound Remittance Marketing, Payroll Service Marketing, Business Development & Strategic Alliances, Brand Strategy, Brand Management, Market Segmentation & Product Positioning, Marketing Promotions, Corporate Communications, Marketing Research and Marketing Strategy. Gopakumar’s extensive marketing experience of over 25 years, with renowned companies across diverse industries in India and the Gulf region, has armed him with a strong insight into brand development, brand positioning and dynamics of customer-centric marketing. During his eventful over seven years' tenure at UAE Exchange, Gopakumar has been instrumental in the development and successful launch of various new products including Smart Pay, the WPS-compliant cutting-edge payroll product for UAE, which has been the market-winner in its segment; gocash, the smart card on MasterCard platform for travel requirements and more.

Mahmood Nanji assumed the role of Chief Operating Officer for Ulker (UG Foods Pakistan) in January 2011. Prior to Ulker, Mahmood was the Marketing/Corporate Services Director for Meinhardt (Creek Marina), in charge of strategic planning, resolving outstanding customer issues, improving the collection base and providing marketing input for new sales. His career spans 28 years in various senior marketing and operations roles in the Food & Beverages industry.

Dr. Daher is currently the Executive Vice President International for United Safety. He is tasked to spearhead the international growth strategy and to reinforce the position of United Safety as the partner of choice for both Upstream Oil and Gas companies and Industrial customers for safety solutions worldwide. Prior to his role at United Safety, Elie was the Vice President and Managing Director of NExT ( Network of Excellence in Training), a Schlumberger company in partnership with Texas A&M, Oklahoma University and Herriot Watt University specializing in capability acceleration and development for the oil and gas professionals. Dr. Daher brings over 26 years of Energy, Industrial and Education experience spanning across Asia, Middle East and the US. He occupied various roles in Management, HSE, Strategic and Products Marketing, Technical and Business Consulting. Dr. Daher has collaborated and coordinated with global functional, regional leaders and academia to foster innovation and help fuel the talent flow. He serves on several advisory boards such as the CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) Council, CLOSE (Coalition to Leverage and Optimize Sales Effectiveness), Business Performance Innovation (BPI) Network as well as Engineering and MBA programs at the American University in Dubai (AUD). He has also been a guest speaker at several events and conferences with a recent keynote at the Collaborate to Innovate event in Dubai and a panelist at the CMO Summit for the Middle East discussing Global Marketer perceptions in the MENA region. Dr. Daher also serves on many industry committees namely the International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC 2011), Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Conference (ADIPEC), MEOS 2011 and other committees. Dr. Daher holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the “Ecole Superieure D’Ingenieurie De Beyrouth”–ESIB-Beirut, a Masters and a Doctorate degree in Business Administration from Southern Cross University – Australia.

Prrasad leads Western Union's Business Solutions division across the Middle East and Africa. His responsibility covers introducing and managing strategic initiatives and services in the region to positively impact customer retention and long term growth for Western Union in the money transfer industry. He established Western Union as the leader in money transfer industry across the region. He increased market share and consumer base in money transfer through multiple money transfer services. Prrasad was also responsible for launching Western Union's Account Based Money Transfer service to cater to bank consumers by establishing relationships with banks in the region.

George Karamanos obtained his M.Sc. in Transportation Management, specialising in Aviation Management and Strategy from the University of New York. He started his career as a consultant with Speedwing/ORCO in airline strategy and organisation in 1992. He joined Virgin Atlantic in Athens in 1995 as Marketing and Administration Manager, and in 1999 he moved to Hong Kong as Virgin’s Business Development Manager for Asia. George joined Athens International Airport S.A. in 2000 as Marketing Manager in charge of Airline and Passenger Marketing, as well as Market Intelligence. In July 2005, Mr. Karamanos became Director of Communications & Marketing. During his 9-year tenure at Athens International Airport, he contributed in making Athens one of the fastest growing large airports in Europe, developing an innovative and holistic marketing approach, which resulted in 5 consecutive OAG/Routes Airport Marketing awards (2005-2009), as well as in receiving the overall “Superbrand” award in Greece in 2008. Since October 2009, George Karamanos has been the Vice-President Corporate Marketing & Communications at Abu Dhabi Airports Company, responsible for Aeronautical, Non-Aeronautical and Corporate Marketing, together with Communications, Public Relations and Corporate Social Responsibility. In 2011, Abu Dhabi Airports Company won the Overall OAG/Routes Airport Marketing Award across all regions, as well as the International Business Award for best Corporate Airport Website. In the same year, Abu Dhabi International Airport became the first airport outside to receive the Airport Council International (ACI) Airport Carbon Accreditation. George is a member of the ACI World Economics Committee and the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council.

Yolanda Delport is the General Manager of Market Strategy for Al-Futtaim Trading Enterprises. She was previously Marketing Director for Al-Futtaim Automotive. Working at the divisional level, Yolanda was responsible for the Al-Futtaim Automotive brand as well as driving a strong focus on Customer Engagement as a key differentiator for the group. Deployment of marketing methodologies and adoption of best practice in order to support the Auto brand marketing teams rounds off this interesting and diverse portfolio. With an early career start in the field of engineering, the former BMW and Ford employee then went on to hold leadership roles in marketing for international blue chip companies, spanning over 20 years of working experience in Southern Africa, Australia & New Zealand as well as the Asia Pacific Region as far as Japan. Yolanda joined Al Futtaim – one of Middle East largest family-owned conglomerates – as the marketing lead for Al-Futtaim Technologies. Her understanding of multi-cultural dimensions and business ethics of APAC nations, deep knowledge of IT software and its viable applications, alongside an ability to develop and implement strategic business and marketing processes helped her to support Al-Futtaim Technologies’ product growth targets. She was then assigned to the Strategic Development Team of Al-Futtaim’s Automotive Division – a team focused on future business directions and the development of best practice business processes. This was followed by a secondment to the Honda Division as General Manager, Marketing until her most recent move back into the divisional office as Marketing Director, Automotive Division. Prior to moving to Dubai, Yolanda worked for Microsoft Australia, where she was responsible for market share growth of the Microsoft Dynamics AX and Microsoft Dynamics NAV ERP product lines in Australia and New Zealand.

Badih Kanaan is the Head of Marketing Communications for Arabsat, the leading satellite operator. He is responsible for Brand, Marketing and Digital Communications strategy, plan development and implementation of company communications and advertising campaigns. His responsibilities also include events, trade shows, speaking opportunities, sponsorship and corporate website. Badih has more than 12 years experience in the Telecommunication & Internet industry, Corporate Marketing, Business Development, Advertising (online & offline), branding and identity development and management, Integrated communication strategy.

Ahmad Munshi isthe Chief Marketing Officer for Azizia Panda United Company, a leading grocery retailer in the Saudi Arabian market. His responsibilities span across several functions, including marketing, research, information technology (IT) and CRM. His primary tasks include leading the marketing plans for the Panda and HyperPanda brands as well as developing strategies to maintain the company's number 1 position in customer experience in terms of price, promotion and freshness. He is also in charge of developing and implementing retail image and in-store communication strategies and creating new store launch plans. Ahmad is Chairman of both the Margin Management Committee and the Trading Committee for Azizia Panda United and is a member of the larger Savola Group's Communication Committee and Retail Board.

Mohamed Khalil joined Bahrain Airport Company (BAC) in early 2012 in the capacity of Vice President Commercial and Marketing. His primary responsibility lies in developing the company’s commercial standing and marketing Bahrain International Airport to broader audiences. Accordingly he manages the Aviation Marketing, Property and Retail, Passenger Services and Cargo departments. With a wealth of experience spanning over 12 years and track-proven success in real estate development and investment, construction and project management as well as contract management and strategic planning, Khalil brings into his post an impeccable grasp of the market dynamics with the aim of propelling BAC to achieve its business objectives. Prior to joining BAC, Khalil held the position of Executive Director, Head of the Property Development & Services Department at Al Khaleej Development Co. "Tameer" where he was responsible for managing a vast array of real estate investment and development projects and was more particularly involved in overlooking the different stages of project and property development including the initiation, feasibility, conceptualization, design development, design management, construction management, project management, strategic planning and value engineering of real estate development projects. Khalil furthermore served as Board Member in a number of facilities and property management, contracting and real estate development companies including First Gulf Real Estate Co., Tamcon Contracting Co., BIW Labour Accommodation Co. and Circo Total Facilities Management Co. Khalil holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Architectural Engineering from the University of Bahrain and is the first Bahraini to be registered as a Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) with the National Association of Realtors (NAR) in the United States. Khalil is a Member in the Bahrain Society of Engineering, Committee for Organizing Engineering Professional Practice, Middle East North Africa Real Estate Society (MENARES), National Association of Realtors (USA) and the Project Management Institute (Arabian Gulf Chapter).

Hamid Mahmood Mirza is a hardcore marketer who has over 25 years of hands-on diverse experience in the field. An MBA in Marketing from IBA Punjab University, Hamid’s work history features various industries that include specialty products such as footwear, kitchen utensils and advertising, prior to joining banking. He launched his career as a Management Trainee with Bata. After undergoing rigorous training, he was promoted as the first Brand Manager for an international brand “Bubble Gummers”, which remains the highest revenue earning brand for Bata to date. Debuting his career in banking in 2004, he joined Union Bank as Business Manager SME. He was rapidly promoted and received the Retail Banking Marketing (Country Level) portfolio as soon as his passion and talent for marketing was realized by the higher management. He has to his credit many successful and innovative financial products / 360-degree marketing campaigns that he developed and subsequently launched during his time with Union Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Bank Alfalah. Currently, Hamid is enjoying roaring success as Head Of Marketing for Bank Alfalah Limited, overseeing marketing across Pakistan, as well as wherever the bank has its presence globally. Mr. Mirza has transformed marketing since he joined Bank Alfalah, building brand equity by investing into sports, mainly cricket and polo, linking them with the relevant offerings and target audience. Mr. Mirza is a staunch believer in pursuing ROI model for each marketing dollar spent. He changed the previous pattern of haywire spending, taming chaos into order. Owing largely to such methods and practices, Bank Alfalah has achieved parity within corporate advertising, focusing more on product led activations and ATL/BTL drives. He has served as Vice Chairman for the Pakistan Footwear Manufacturing Association for two consecutive terms and represented the industry in places like Paris, Madrid and Athens Chambers of Commerce and Trade to promote the footwear trade of Pakistan. He also played a pivotal role in organizing the International Footwear Exhibition “JUFT” in Lahore for three congestive years. In his long and varied professional career, he also set up an advertising/BTL agency and successfully managed prestigious brands and accounts.

Mohammed Al-Tajer is a business transformer & a marketing leader. Mohammed has been instrumental in turning around businesses and brands in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the subcontinent. He is best known for transforming marketing from a “cost centre” to a “profit centre”. Mohammed is a keynote speaker in major forums in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. He was awarded the “Brand Super Achiever Award” by the CMO Asia in 2010. He is the Cluster Marketing Head for the Middle East & Africa at Citigroup and been leading the marketing, alternate sales channels, business analytics, & business development functions at Citigroup for the region for the last 5 years. With 18 years of global experience, Mohammed led some of the world’s best brands including Citi, Lipton, & Wrigley’s. His experience spans multiple sectors including financial services, fast moving consumer goods & airlines. He is a globe trotter and spent part of his career working abroad in countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany and the Gulf countries. His area of expertise includes building profitable brands and portfolios helped by his expertise in strategy, marketing, innovation, business development, change management, business integration, process reengineering, business analytics, M&A, market research and E-business. He is a passionate people’s development individual and member of several non-profit organizations including:

• - Chairman of the Advisory Board for Chief Marketing Officer Council’s MENA chapter
• - Member of the Standards & Poor’s Society of Industry Leaders
• - Board member at BPA Worldwide
• - Board member of the CMO-CIO Alignment Imperative

With over 14 years of rich experience in the advertising and marketing space, Anselm is a seasoned industry professional known for his keen understanding of technology and his innovative approach. A self-professed student of customer psychology, Anselm’s insights in relation to the reception and interpretation of messaging, his acute grasp of the tenets of building perception, his ability to apply and build business best practices and sensitivity to customer needs allows him to bring to the table innovative solutions and an insider’s feel to targeted communications. Anselm’s experience spans marketing, corporate communications, advertising, brand management and investor relations in sectors as diverse as Insurance, Financial Services, Media, Entertainment and IT. Anselm currently leads the marketing function at Continental with a keen focus on strategic branding and communication. He has also been tasked with the enhancement and management of the organization’s CRM (Customer Relationship Management) initiative aimed at gearing the organization toward delivering a superior client experience. Prior to Continental he was the Asst. Vice President Corporate Brand development with Zee Telefilms Ltd. Anselm has also worked in management positions at Tata AIG Life Insurance and the Hinduja Group in the past. Anselm’s work has been recognized through awards won at the Pan Arab Web Awards and from the ABCI (Association of Business Communicators India) in 2009 and 2004 respectively.

As Group Chief Marketing Officer for the Emaar Group, Amit brings with him over 16 years of sales and marketing experience with leading international hotel companies. Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer of Emaar Hospitality Group in his current role, Amit oversees all sales and marketing initiatives for the group including developing brand synergies between the groups’ hotels, individual business units and leisure facilities. He is also responsible for setting up and managing cluster sales teams for all Emaar Hospitality Group properties in Dubai and the region. Since joining Emaar Hospitality in June 2007, Amit has spearheaded the creation and launch of The Address Hotels + Resorts brand and has set corporate identity standards to give it a distinctive competitive advantage. He has also been instrumental in the launch of Armani Hotel Dubai and At.mosphere, the world’s highest restaurant. Amit leads the development of a Central Reservations Office, the deployment of a cluster sales and marketing team as well as International Sales and PR Offices in key feeder markets for the group. Amit joined Emaar Hospitality from The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai where he held the position of Director of Sales and Marketing for over five years. During his tenure at The Ritz-Carlton, Amit positioned the hotel as a revpar leader and won several accolades and awards. Under his leadership, the hotel won the Dubai Quality Gold Award and was recognized as the leading leisure beach hotel for service by Conde Nast Traveler UK. Prior to this, he worked as Director of Sales for The Ritz-Carlton Schlosshotel, Berlin where he was responsible for liaising with senior international corporate clients and establishing government relations with Embassies and associations. Amit graduated from the International College of Hotel Management in Vienna, Austria. He has a diplomatic background and was raised in four different continents including Australia, Asia, the United States and Europe and is fluent in German.

As head of Customer Relationship Programmes for the Emirates Group, Craig Lee is responsible for driving customer centricity and transforming customer experience across multiple touch points in the Group. Mr. Lee has a unique understanding of customer needs and behaviors and what this means to the service delivery process. He has over 23 years of international corporate and consulting experience in marketing and communications strategy, management development and training and business transformation (development and process), at director, executive and management levels. He has worked extensively in and with both the public and private sectors. He has industry-specific skills in the retail, travel, transport and leisure sectors. Mr. Lee holds a B.A. degree in industrial psychology from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa.

As Head - Group Marketing, Emirates NBD, Vikram Krishna has the mandate to consolidate and grow the bank’s dominant market position. In his current role, he has been responsible for the successful re-launch of the Emirates NBD Brand through a 360° integrated marketing approach, to win several accolades for the bank. These include Asia’s Best Brand at the 2011 CMO Asia Awards for Excellence in Branding and Marketing and The Stevies® 2011 for Marketing Department of the Year. Emirates NBD’s ‘Truth and Reality’ brand campaign also received recognition as Distinguished Honoree at The Stevies® 2011. In addition, Communicate Magazine included Krishna in its Top 50 Power List for 2011, to position him as one of the 50 most powerful people in the regional media, marketing and advertising industry. Prior to heading Group Marketing, Krishna was instrumental in the profitable turnaround of the Emirates NBD’s Personal and Auto Loan business. Before joining Emirates NBD, he has held the posts of Senior VP - Marketing-Retail Assets in HSBC, India, and VP & Head of Mortgages for North India at CitiFinancial. Krishna, who began his career with the advertising firm Lowe before moving to the banking industry, has a bachelor’s degree in Mathematical Studies (Delhi University) and an MBA in marketing from Bharatidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, India.

Andrew joined Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi as VP Marketing in September 2009. He heads up the Marketing department which includes brand marketing, marketing communications , brand identity, sponsorships and the Etihad media channels. A graduate of Oxford University, he started his career in marketing at Unilever in the UK. He subsequently moved into marketing communications in London and worked for major advertising agencies including TBWA, BDDP and McCann Erickson, heading international accounts for blue-chip companies such as Nestlé, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Hertz and Seagram. He came to Abu Dhabi initially in 2005 to start the TBWA agency office to service Etihad’s rapidly growing communications requirements.

Mr. Matthew Charles Willsher is the Chief Marketing Officer of Etisalat (UAE). He has over 20 years of experience in FMCG and Telecommunication industries in six countries, holding senior management positions. As the corporation’s CMO, Mr. Matthew Willsher oversees the company’s strategy in addressing customers needs as per their defined segments; in terms of product & services offering, business planning and channel management. Prior to joining Etisalat in March 2011, he was the Chief Marketing Officer at Maxis Berhad in Malaysia. Before that, he served as the Chief Operating Officer at HK CSL in Hong Kong. He started his career with Procter and Gamble in the UK, spent seven years with British Telecom in the UK, which included over two years of working in South Korea for LG Telecom where he led the consumer marketing division. He joined Telstra in 2001 where he had various roles in the mobile telecommunications sector, and in the growth of integrated fixed, mobile, broadband and PayTV services. Mr. Willsher holds a Master of Ads (Honours) in Physics from Oxford University in the UK, a Masters Degree in Management from McGill University in Canada and a Diploma in International Practicing Management from INSEAD in France.

Nicholas Couvaras is currently the Global Head of Marketing and Innovation for FoodFund International, the TradeMark license holders of The Meat & Wine Company and Tribes restaurant groups with operations in Middle East, Africa, Europe and Australasia. He was previously New Product Development Manager - Data at Vodacom South Africa. In this role, he developed and managed data and billing structures for consumer facing products. He also worked with leading IT suppliers for co-branded products and led the development and implementation of South Africa's first ever 3G wireless data router. Nicholas has also held managerial roles in sport and sponsorship management companies. As Vodacom's sport and entertainment soccer sponsorship manager, he was part of the executive team involved in securing the sponsorship of two of South Africa's biggest premier soccer league clubs. Nicholas also co-founded Sports Addicts, a consultantancy for organisations specializing in sports and sponsorship management. Nicholas managed and implemented national golf sponsorships for major organisations in South Africa at both a club and committee level. He is a Strategy and Marketing addict in F&B and the Digital playground.

Fadi Ghosn is responsible for all marketing activities for Chevrolet, Cadillac and GMC brands in the Middle East. He began his General Motors career in 1999 with GM Middle East and spent a couple of years in Detroit with the Cadillac Global Development Team. He was responsible for the brand development globally. Before joining General Motors, Fadi was the Client Service Director for Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising in Dubai, UAE and Saudi Arabia where he led all communication activities for Procter & Gamble brands across the MENA region. Fadi also currently serves as Chairman of the Advertisers Business Group (ABG). The ABG's primary objectives are improving standards and providing one voice for advertisers within the GCC and driving meaningful changes within the region’s advertising industry by means of increased transparency, sharing best global practices and developing marketing talent. The focus of the ABG is centered on the introduction of media performance and measurement, in particular TV ratings and print audit circulation. Fadi graduated from Ecole Des Hautes Etudes Commerciales - HEC and holds a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration. Fadi is married and has two children.

Wael Ghonim is the head of Marketing in Google's Middle East and North Africa. He is responsible for driving the growth of Google products across MENA, evangelizing Internet and help growing the Arabic content online. Wael is an Internet expert who has been contributing significantly to the growth of the industry in the Arab world for the past 12 years.  Before joining Google, Wael was the GM of Mubasher.info. He started up the operation and led a team of more than a hundred professional to what became now the leading Arabic financial portal in the Middle East serving more than a million regional investors. Prior to that, he worked as the Marketing & Sales Manager for Gawab.com, and founded one of top visited Arabic websites in the region. Wael advised and consulted with many Internet portals and startups in MENA. His biggest passion is the Arabic language, and he works hard to add a significant value to over 350 million people living in the region. Wael received his Bachelor degree in Computer Engineering from Cairo University, and holds an MBA from the American University in Cairo. 

Mark Magnacca is the Chief Marketing Officer at Gulf Bank, Kuwait’s second largest and fastest growing commercial bank. He is responsible for Marcomms, Channel Experience, Electronic Banking Products & Services, Customer Insight, Service Quality and External Communications. Mark has extensive international experience in consumer marketing, international brand management and new business acquisition. He has worked successfully in a number of senior marketing roles in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia with global and local organizations across the range of industries. Mark has an MBA from Ashridge Management College (England) and holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree with Honors from Queen’s University (Canada).

Mazher is an extensively skilled, competent and results-driven Marketing professional with comprehensive experience of ATL and BTL marketing. He is an expert at forecast & planning annual marketing budgets in line with the marketing objective. He is adroit at planning & executing multi-faceted mega campaigns designed to improve market share and gross revenue. He is an expert at planning and translating conceptual models into reality and develops innovative & cost-effective solutions for enhancing competitiveness, increasing revenues and improving overall customer experience. He is adept at tie-ups and negotiations as well. Mazher spearheads the marketing team of Leejam Sport Company, the manager and promoter of the Middle East’s largest network of premium fitness & leisure clubs called Fitness Time. A graduate in Mass Media with a specialty in Advertising, he is also a post graduate in Business Management.

As Director - Marketing for the Middle East and South Asia, Ananth is responsible for the performance and growth of the MoneyGram brand among consumers and trade across 22 countries in Middle East and South Asia. This region straddles the largest send and receive regions for the global remittance industry by potential. He is based in MoneyGram International’s regional head office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Ananth has previously held roles in leading advertising and communications organizations – Mudra Communications and DDB Worldwide, part of the Omnicom Group. A passionate, well rounded marketer, Ananth is a part of the MoneyGram marketing leadership team and manages teams across geographies, and has successfully implemented several Marketing initiatives to strengthen the MoneyGram brand regionally, as well as globally. He is entrepreneurial by nature and has a keen sense of business and an eye for managing both top line and bottom line deliverables. While the last few years have been within the Financial Services industry, Ananth has successfully managed and nurtured brands in FMCG, entertainment, automotive, consumer durables, telecom and corporate sectors. Ananth is a Graduate in Business Management and holds a Post Graduate degree in Marketing and Finance Management. He is fluent in English, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada.

Kinan Ismael is the Executive Director, Marketing for National Bonds Corporation PJSC, the leading Sharia compliant saving scheme in the UAE. He has been responsible for the entire marketing and corporate communication function since early 2009 devising numerous strategic and tactical marketing initiatives that contributed to making National Bonds a household financial brand that it is today. Previous to his current post, Kinan headed the marketing function at EFG Hermes, the leading regional investment bank looking after the corporate as well as business line marketing and communication requirements across Middle East and North Africa. He started his career in 1996 with Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising in Riyadh, KSA as an Account Executive. He then moved to Dubai in 2000 and made his way up to Group Account Director at TBWA\ in 2007 serving an array of industries along his way before making the move to the client side. He holds an MBA in Marketing from the University of Mumbai and is a certified Product Marketing Manager from the American Institute of Product Marketing Managers.

As Head of the Central Marketing Department, Ziyad's responsibilities include but are not limited to: establishing and implementing The National Commercial Bank's (NCB) marketing strategies, operating plans and marketing budget. Further, Ziyad is responsible for managing retail marketing (products), corporate marketing (NCB brand), internal marketing (to NCB employees) and an in-house advertising agency. Ziyad started his career in Proctor and Gamble, where he worked for five years as Group Manager for Marketing Services. Later, he joined NCB as Product Marketing Manager and later became Retail Marketing Manager. Soon after, he was appointed as Corporate Marketing Manager, and since 2009 he has been the Head of NCB Central Marketing Department. Ziyad has participated in many symposiums, specifically having presented "How to Run Mega Marketing Campaigns" in the Public Relations Conference and in the Arab Academy Forum in 2007. He holds an M.S. Degree in Computer Engineering.

Hamad Malik is the Chief Marketing Officer at OSN, the leading pay-TV network in the Middle East and North Africa. His career began with market research projects in the US. He then moved to Pakistan where he was actively involved in marketing and PR for the defense industry before joining LG Electronics in the UAE in 1995. At LG, Hamad spearheaded marketing and communications activities leading a network that spanned 78 countries across the Middle East and Africa. Hamad was instrumental in the development, official launch and successful growth of LG establishing the brand as a leading household name in the region. As an advocate of consumer insight driven marketing, Hamad masterminded several brand campaigns and strategic initiatives during his 17-year tenure. LG experienced 10-fold growth becoming one of the most popular Arab youth brands during the period when marketing was led by Hamad Malik. Hamad joined OSN in 2011 with a clear goal of redefining the brand perception and strengthening the OSN brand. In the short period that he has been with OSN, his marketing strategy and its strong execution has resulted in the company experiencing double digit subscriber growth and significant up-lift in all critical brand indicators. Hamad has worked in highly competitive markets across sectors including industrial goods, consumer durables, mobile communications, IT and pay-TV industries. He is an active speaker at international and regional marketing, PR and CSR conferences and forums. Hamad is married with three children and enjoys sports, especially cricket.

Kurt Frenier is currently Senior Marketing Director Beverages for PepsiCo MEA, leading the beverages agenda as well as long term strategic innovation. His expertise covers brand strategy and development, new product development, media strategy and planning, consumer insights, and marketing planning and execution. Kurt started in market research before building a very successful career in brand and strategic marketing. At Keystone Network Research he learned that research is the basic cornerstone of understanding the consumer before building solid marketing strategies. After Keystone Network, he worked for 2.5 years for Nutricia/Numico as Brand Manager. Afterwards he joined food & beverage giant Pepsico, the company where he truly built his career. Kurt started as Marketing Manager Benelux and now works in Dubai as Region Group Director and Innovations Director for Middle East & Africa. He had an “interim escape” from PepsiCo after 5 years, holding the position of Marketing & Marketing Communications Director at BASE/KPN Belgium, in the telecom industry. He returned to PepsiCo after one year to pursue international assignments. First as Brand Director for Europe (2004-2007) and since 2007 as Group Marketing Director for MEA. Kurt's leadership is inspiring, his enthusiasm contagious and his professionalism unparalleled. He excels at bringing the best out of his teams. He has a thorough understanding of the deeper dynamics that govern brands, marketing and communication. He knows how to implement his knowledge effectively and with a can-do mentality. In the last 10 years he has built an exceptional expertise in innovation and innovation strategies. He played a key role in initiating what is now PepsiCo's cornerstone strategy: Performance with Purpose. His hobbies include writing (young adult novels, children books and fairy tales), history, traveling, and aikido.

Mr.Gerald Porcario has a Political Science diploma from IEP Aix-en-Provence (Sc. Po Aix, 1992) and a Masters Degree in business administration from EM Lyon (Ecole de Management of Lyon, 1994). Mr. Porcario started his career with Exxon-Mobil in 1996 in retail operations. He joined Volkswagen group in 1999 as Network development manager for two of its brands in France (Seat and Skoda) and ensured extensive dealer coverage and implementation of international brand standards across the country. He joined Renault Group in 2001 and occupied various positions in network management in the South of France, international brand management (product launches in the upper-range segment), brand management - future projects - in the luxury segment before being being appointed in India in the Mahindra-Renault’s joint venture (Mahindra&Mahindra of India and Renault of France) in 2007 as General Manager Marketing and VP, Sales & Marketing for Renault India beginning in 2010. Mr. Porcario was appointed as Marketing Director for Renault & Dacia brands in Morocco in July 2010.

Noah is currently working as a Senior Advisor to Saudi Telecom (PSTN, Mobile, Data & Internet services portfolio) for last 5 years, based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Noah started his career in sales and marketing (both B2B and B2C) with Pest Control India Ltd. where he was the driving force in doubling the divisional revenues and in launching flagship products for the consumer market. After migrating to New Zealand, he started his Telecommunication career in Motorola Cellular Service (MVNO) Retail Network as a Sales Consultant. Foreseeing impending market saturation in 1995, Noah implemented one of the first Database Marketing capabilities in New Zealand to reduce cost of marketing and increase customer retention and loyalty. Noah moved to the Telecom NZ Database Marketing team as Marketing Analyst, providing support to the Mobile marketing team. During his tenure at TNZ, he successfully implemented various customer segmentation models and supported various campaigns aimed at customer acquisition & retention, direct marketing campaigns, and costing & re-pricing of mobile tariff plans. Having developed skills in identifying operational marketing inefficiencies and its impact on customers and profitability, Noah ventured into consulting with Coral Consulting. Here he played a critical role in streamlining customer contact centre operations in NZ and Australia and integrating three business units in a NZ Government Department and was eventually approached by NZ Post to undertake a marketing and operational improvements role. Later on Noah was instrumental in setting up and running NZ Post’s Professional Services BU (a team of 50 consisting of Project Directors, Project Managers, IT Consultants, Finance and Operational Experts) with a mandate to reduce costs and increase revenue & customer satisfaction. After managing successfully and profitably the Professional Services team, Noah joined Opus International Consultants (Management Consultants focusing on public sector organization reform) as Marketing Manager for Asia & Pacific region, charged with market entry into many of the countries in the region. Noah earned his MBA in International Business and Post Graduate Diploma in International Relations from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

Mr. Hanna has over 18 years of experience in the global Telecoms & ICT industry gained in various international competitive markets. He is currently the Chief Commercial Officer for STC Bahrain VIVA. He is also Founder & CEO of Enterprise Partners, a Middle East based and focused advisory firm supporting technology enterprises in commercial optimisation, transformation and market development. Most recently, Mr. Hanna was Senior Advisor for International Market Development for the TRA and responsible for commercially supporting global ICT organisations in establishing local and regional presence.  Before that he held the role Group General Manager with the Batelco Group where, as a member of the Senior Leadership team, he was responsible for strategic consulting and the development of transformation initiatives impacting commercial operations across the various subsidiaries for revenue, cost & operational improvements. Previously, he was the Executive General Manager for Enterprise & Government where his responsibilities included the end-to-end sales, service, and marketing of Batelco's portfolio of solutions to all business customers with full P&L accountability. Mr. Hanna is fluent in Arabic and holds an MBA & Master of Marketing (Monash University, Australia), a Post Graduate Diploma in International Business (Monash University, Australia) and Bachelor's degree in Economics & Commerce from Victoria University in Australia.

Usman Javaid is Marketing Director at Telenor Pakistan, a leading mobile communications service provider in the country. He is responsible for defining and managing the entire marketing effort for Telenor Pakistan in an intensively competitive industry, across 5 brands. Usman is a seasoned Business and Marketing Professional with a proven record of accomplishment in planning and leading comprehensive business and marketing strategies in support of business goals and objectives. He has expertise in directing the creation of marketing tools and steering the execution of marketing programs and has demonstrated success driving growth in targeted markets through implementation of key projects. His solid leadership skills have helped him to build and guide top-performing commercial teams. He is adept at communicating with management and key stake holders to coordinate overall commercial efforts. Usman is also the Vice Chairman of the Pakistan Advertisers Society and a member of the Pakistan Engineering Council, Marketing Association of Pakistan and Adventure Foundation, Pakistan.

Barry currently holds the position of Head of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and Loyalty within the Marketing Department at Etihad Airways. He is responsible for the Loyalty Programme Development and Operation, Customer Relations, Outbound Marketing (Email Campaign execution) and Customer data analytics and scoring. He has worked in the Airline Industry for about 13 years – previously working for both Swissair and Swiss International Airlines. During his time at Etihad Airways, Barry launched the "Etihad Guest" loyalty programme, and has also implemented many CRM initiatives to improve the service offered to passengers. Barry continues to enhance and develop the Etihad Guest programme and constantly strives to introduce innovative features into the airline loyalty programme arena. Barry worked as an IT consultant in many different industries for around 15 years before being introduced to the complexities and addiction of working in the Airline industry. He has found that his experience and expertise in IT has proved to be extremely useful in the CRM field, as so many of the CRM initiatives depend heavily on the successfully incorporation of Information Management disciplines.

Yasser Al-Kharobi is a management professional with 14+ years of exceptional track record in driving business growth through strategic planning, corporate marketing, public relations and business development initiatives across diverse sectors. He recently served as the Marketing Director for Rotana Media Group. Yasser's expertise is around building and developing brand, image and repletion.