Our Experts
We have leading experts on-board, whose enthusiasm and passion towards our mission, enables us to develop and host multi-dimensional programs for our participants.
Lord Clement Jones
Co-Chair of All Party Parliamentary Group on AI, UK House of Lords
Lord Clement Jones
Lord Clement-Jones was made CBE for political services in 1988 and a life peer in 1998. Until July 2004 he was the Liberal Democrat Health Spokesman and thereafter until 2010 Liberal Democrat Spokesman on Culture, Media and Sport, in the House of Lords. He is the current House of Lords Liberal Democrat spokesman for Digital and a former spokesman on the Creative Industries (2015-17). He is the former Chair of the House of Lords Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence (2017-18) and Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Artificial Intelligence. He is a member of the OECD Parliamentary Group on AI and of the Council of Europe’s Ad-hoc Committee on AI (CAHAI). He is Deputy Chair of the APPG China. In 2018, he became a Consultant of global law firm DLA Piper where previous positions held included London Managing Partner (2011-16), Head of UK Government Affairs, Chairman of its China and Middle East Desks, International Business Relations Partner and Co-Chairman of Global Government Relations. He is Chair of Ombudsman Services Limited, the not for profit, independent ombudsman service providing dispute resolution for the communications, energy, property and copyright licensing industries. He is Chair of Council of Queen Mary University of London and Chair of the Advisory Council of the Institute for Ethical AI in Education, led by Sir Anthony Seldon. He was an external member of the Council of University College London and Chair of its Audit Committee (2012-17). He is a Board Member of the Corporate Finance Faculty of the ICAEW. He is a Senior Fellow of the Atlantic Council’s newly formed GeoTech Center which will focus on technology, altruism, geopolitics and competition. He is President of Ambitious About Autism, an autism education charity and school for children with autism and other communication disorders and its former Chairman (2001-08).
Email: timcjones6@gmail.com
Prof. Lilac A. E. Al-Safadi
PRESIDENT OF SAUDI ELECTRONIC UNIVERSITY – EX.VP NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY OFFICER @ MICROSOFT | TECHNOLOGY & BUSINESS CONSULTANT I PROFESSOR UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG I UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Prof. Lilac A. E. Al-Safadi
Lilac is the National Technology Officer in Microsoft. A professor of computer science specialized in e-commerce, data science, AI and Blockchain, with over 50 scientific publications and 20 years of combined academic, practical and consulting experience. She has worked as an advisor to the Governor of the Small & Medium Enterprises Authority for more than 2 years responsible for developing KSA entrepreneurship and startups ecosystem, and creating SMEs in Saudi creativity, ICT and education sectors.
In May 2016, she was assigned the head of strategy and deployment in the Job Creation and Employment Commission responsible for women economic empowerment, formalizing KSA’s informal economy and economic downturn reforms. In 2014, she was assigned as senior consultant to TakaMoL Business Services Co. responsible for developing sustainable projects that contribute to the transformation of the Saudi labour market. In 2010, she was the director of the Technology Incubator in Riyadh Valley Co. focusing on promoting entrepreneurship and turning knowledge into viable technology-based companies. In 2004, she joined Athar AlMajd Holding focusing on business incubation, mergers and acquisitions.
Throughout her career, Lilac has been heavily engaged in providing business and technology consulting services to a number of government, semi-government and private institutions, and in leading NTP and Vision2030 initiatives. She is the Co-founder of Digital Data Solutions and a member of a number of steering and advisory boards.
She received her BSc degree in computer science from the College of Computer and Information Sciences, King Saud University, and the MSc and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science from the University of Wollongong in Australia. Graduate of Saudi Oxford Leadership & advanced management program and MIT Executive Program. Received a number of local and international awards in excellence in scientific distinction, teaching and leadership.
Nate T. Yohannes, J.D.
ADVISOR AND DIRECTOR OF PRODUCT MANAGEMENT & PLANNINGATTORNEY | FORMER SENIOR ADVISOR, THE WHITE HOUSE | ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE LEADER
Nate T. Yohannes, J.D.
Nate Yohannes is the Head of Central Product Management & Planning at Microsoft’s AI & AR/VR engineering and product team, as a direct report to the General Manager of AI & AR/VR Product Management. Mr. Yohannes drives planning & strategy across Microsoft’s AI products and is responsible for leading AI product operations. Prior to joining AI engineering, Mr. Yohannes was a Director of Strategy & Corporate AI Business Development at Microsoft. Mr. Yohannes was responsible for driving strategy, acquisitions, partnerships and complex deal negations with high visibility from Microsoft’s CEO. Mr. Yohannes was the recipient of Microsoft’s Customer Speaker Award and was selected by the EVP of Business Development as the Master of Ceremony for the 2018 Microsoft Business Development & Partner Summit.
Prior to Microsoft, Mr. Yohannes was appointed by The White House to serve in President Barack Obama’s administration as the Senior Advisor to the Chief Investment and Innovation Officer, US Small Business Administration – where he led efforts to manage the United States’ $26 billion private equity fund and a $3B government innovation grant. In addition, he served on behalf of President Obama as a Team Leader for the US Department of Treasury, Community Development Financial Institutions Fund and was a council member of the White House Broadband Opportunity Council, and the White House Business Council. Mr. Yohannes held a leadership position and played a pivotal role in sourcing which startups pitched to President Obama at the first ever White House Demo Day.
Mr. Yohannes was selected to the inaugural class of the White House Economic Leadership program — a highly selective group of presidential appointees who were trained and mentored by US Cabinet members, senior ranking White House officials and private sector CEOs to be future business leaders.
Preceding the Obama White House, Mr. Yohannes was the Vice President – Associate General Counsel at the Money Management Institute (MMI), where he led regulatory affairs with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and U..S Congress during the creation of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act. Mr. Yohannes represented $4Trillion in AUM. Clients included: Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Fidelity, J.P. Morgan, BlackRock, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo.
Mr. Yohannes received a Doctorate Degree in Law from the University at Buffalo Law School, where he was a Barbara and Thomas Fellow for Human Rights. During law school, he was a Summer Honors Clerk to the Chief Justice of the New York State Supreme Court, Hon. Paula Feroleto, and he was elected the Class Director. Mr. Yohannes was the recipient of the Hon. Green Law School Commencement Award and the 2019 Law School Alumni Trailblazer Award. He is admitted to practice law in New York.
Mr. Yohannes is an accomplished thought leader and has been featured in leading publications such as Forbes Magazine, and Products That Count, the world’s leading product management publication. He received the 2019 Most Influential Africans in Technology Award by Amplify Africa and Congresswoman Karen Bass. Mr. Yohannes is an Expert for Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Initiative of the Digital Economy.
Website:https://news.microsoft.com/life/democratizing-technology-according-to-nate/
Igor Jablokov
CEO PRYON (FOUNDER OF AMAZON ALEXA)
BIG INNOVATION CENTER
Igor is the CEO of Pryon, an AI company focused on augmented intelligence. Pryon’s cognitive technology helps machines better understand people, putting AI at the core of enterprise digital transformations. Impatient with the gap between the invention of AI technologies and their commercialization, Igor left his career at IBM and founded Yap in 2006. Just 5 years later, Amazon acquired the company for its AI technology, which is now found in billions of Alexa, Echo, and Fire TV devices. Igor was awarded both the Eisenhower and Truman National Security fellowships to explore and expand the role of entrepreneurship and venture capital in addressing geopolitical concerns.
Igor is a passionate supporter of career and educational opportunities in the STEM fields. As such, he serves as a mentor in the TechStars’ Alexa Accelerator, was a Blackstone NC Entrepreneur-In-Residence (EIR), and founded a chapter of the Global Shapers, a program of the World Economic Forum.
Igor holds a BS degree in Computer Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University, where he was named an Outstanding Engineering Alumnus, and an MBA from The University of North Carolina.
Deemah Al Yahya
DIGITAL ECONOMY ADVISOR & INNOVATION CATALYST FOUNDER AND CEO, ALMATAD CONSULTING
Deemah Al Yahya
Deemah Al Yahya, a digital economy expert and innovation catalyst, possesses 18+ years of experience in delivering transformative digital strategies and mega initiatives that bring about fundamental change at both corporate and national level. Throughout her career, Al Yahya has worked in the private and public sectors, advising, designing, and orchestrating key strategic programs and initiatives, including Chief of MiSK Innovation, CEO of the National Digital Transformation Unit (NDU), Chief Innovation Evangelist of Microsoft, and Director of e-Services at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Besides her experience and efforts in building technology and entrepreneurial ecosystems that have affected and empowered more than 2.5M people, Al Yahya has served on a number of boards, including the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones, the World Economic Forum Global Future Council for Digital Economy and Society, the Global Entrepreneurship Network, the B20 Executive Committee; and the Saudi Digital Economy Policy Advisory Committee. Currently, Al Yahya is the founder and CEO of ALMTD Consulting, a specialized company offering advisory services on Digital Innovation strategies, Corporate Venture Building, and Large-scale Conceptualization. She is also the founder and CEO of Women Spark, the 1st Saudi Women’s Angel Investment Network, which has trained more than 26K women in the technology industry since its inception in 2013. Al Yahya completed two Executive Education Programs on Innovation Culture and Strategy at Harvard Business School, along with two Executive Education Programs on Digital Transformation, Business Development, and Financial Acumen at INSEAD. Al Yahya holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Information Systems from King Saud University
Dr. Maliha Hashmi
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND DEPUTY SECTOR HEAD - NEOM
Dr. Maliha Hashmi
Dr. Maliha Hashmi is the Executive Director and the Deputy Sector Head for the Health & Wellbeing and Biotech Sector at NEOM, where she also served as the Executive Director for all Strategic Partnerships. Dr. Hashmi also serves as a Leading Expert & Council Member for the Prestigious Global Future Council on Health & Healthcare at the World Economic Forum. Dr. Maliha Hashmi has held Executive roles in various sectors and globally renowned organizations. Dr. Hashmi has also globally engaged in strategic partnerships in four continents with eminent scholars and world leaders. Dr. Hashmi received her Doctor of Law & Jurisprudence Degree from Harvard Law School, and her Master’s degree in History of Medicine & Ethics from Harvard Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Her concentration has been on Healthcare systems, Healthcare law, Public Health Law, Healthcare regulations, and Innovative Health Solutions. Furthermore, she also has concentration in Systems Design Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Engineering and MIT Sloan School of Management. She has authored various publications in the research, academic and corporate sector. She was listed as one of the Top Twenty College Women in the Nation in United States of America making it into the Who’s Who in America List.
Dr.Haleema Alamri
RESEARCHER MIT UNIVERSITY
Dr.Haleema Alamri
Dr. Haleema A. Alamri is an R&D program leader at Saudi Aramco, working on smart technologies for polymeric materials.
She holds a master degree in chemistry and nanoscience from University of Waterloo, Canada, and a PhD in polymer science from KAUST, Saudi.
She did her postdoctoral work at MIT, chemistry department and her work were mainly focused on the developments of smart sensors.
Haleema currently, is a research affiliate at the Chemistry department at MIT and she have multiple contributions to various scientific publications in chemistry, polymer science and industrial applications with several patents in the same areas.
DR.Miltiadis. Lytras
PROF. RESEARCH DEREE COLLEGE THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF GREECE, DISTINGUISHED SCIENTIST AT KING ABDULAZIZ UNIVERSITY AND VISITING SCHOLAR IN EFFAT UNIVERSITY, KSA
DR.Miltiadis. Lytras
Dr. Miltiadis D. Lytras is an expert in advanced computer science and information management, editor, lecturer, and research consultant, with extensive experience in academia and the business sector in Europe, Saudi Arabia and Asia. Dr. Lytras is Research Professor at Deree College – The American College of Greece and serves as Distinguished Scientist at the King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Visiting scholar in Effat University, KSA. Dr. Lytras is a world-class expert in the fields of AI, cognitive computing, information systems, technology enabled innovation, social networks, computers in human behavior, and knowledge management. In his work, Dr. Lytras seeks to bring together and exploit synergies among scholars and experts committed to enhancing the quality of healthcare for all.
He serves as the Editor in Chief of the International Journal on Semantic Web and Information Systems, http://www.igi-global.com/ijswis (Indexed in ISI, latest Impact Factor: 1.5)
He has served as leading guest (co)-editor of 85 special issues in peer reviewed International Journals most of them indexed in ISI, (e.g. IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering, IEEE Internet Computing, IEEE Transactions on Education, World Wide Web Journal, Computers in Human Behaviour, Information Systems Management, IJ of Engineering Education, Journal of Universal Computer Science, Journal of Knowledge Management, British Journal on Education Technology, Behavior and Information Technology, International Review on Open and Distributed Learning, Mobile Information Systems, Electronic Government, etc).
He has (co)authored/[co-]edited 70 books in International publishers, Springer, Elsevier, IGI-Global, Emerald [e.g Applying Big Data Analytics in Bioinformatics and Medicine, Computational Methods and Algorithms for Medicine and Optimized Clinical Practice, Innovation in Health Informatics: A Smart Healthcare Primer (Next Generation Technology Driven Personalized Medicine And Smart Healthcare)Cases on Open-Linked Data and Semantic Web Applications, Information Systems, E-learning, and Knowledge Management Research, Trends and Effects of Technology Advancement in the Knowledge Society, Knowledge Management and Drivers of Innovation in Services Industries, Semantic Web Personalization and Context Awareness: Management of Personal Identities and Social Networking, Knowledge Management, Information Systems, E-Learning, and Sustainability Research, Electronic Globalized Business and Sustainable Development Through IT Management: Strategies and Perspectives, Technology Enhanced Learning: Quality of Teaching and Educational Reform, The China Information Technology Handbook, Web 2.0: The Business Model, Progressive Concepts for Semantic Web Evolution: Applications and Developments, Best Practices for the Knowledge Society. Knowledge, Learning, Development and Technology for All, Social Web Evolution: Integrating Semantic Applications and Web 2.0 Technologies, Emerging Topics and Technologies in Information Systems, Visioning and engineering the knowledge society – A web science perspective, Knowledge Networks: The Social Software Perspective, Emerging Technologies and Information Systems for the Knowledge Society, The Open Knowledge Society: A Computer Science and Information Systems Manifesto, Knowledge Management Strategies: A Handbook of Applied Technologies, Technology Enhanced Learning: Best Practices, Semantic Web Engineering in the Knowledge Society, The Semantic Web: Real-World Applications from Industry. Semantic Web and Beyond, Ubiquitous and Pervasive Knowledge and Learning Management: Semantics, Social Networking and New Media to Their Full Potential, Semantic Web-Based Information Systems: State-of-the-Art Applications, Intelligent Learning Infrastructures for Knowledge Intensive Organizations: A Semantic Web Perspective].
He has participated in more than 30+ R&D projects, and recently he seeks collaborations in the Domains of Smart Cities and Personalized Medicine.
Cyrus Hodes
CHAIR OF AI INITIATIVE AT THE FUTURE SOCIETY, DIRECTOR OF COLLECTIVE AND AUGMENTED INTELLIGENCE AGAINST COVID-19, CALIFORNIA
Cyrus Hodes
Partner at FoundersX Ventures, a cross-stage venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley. He is the co-founder and Chair of the AI Initiative within The Future Society—a 501(c)3 incubated at Harvard Kennedy School—where he engages a wide range of global stakeholders to study, discuss and shape the governance of AI.
At the AI Initiative, Cyrus co-leads the Global Data Access Framework (GDAF) project with the Executive Office of the UN SG (Global Pulse) and McKinsey (Noble Purpose AI), and the Collective and the Augmented Intelligence Against COVID-19 (CAIAC) project with Stanford HAI, advised by leading UN agencies.
Cyrus served as the Advisor to the UAE Minister of Artificial Intelligence at the Prime Minister’s Office, and has been leading for the past 3 years the Global Governance of AI Roundtable (GGAR) at the World Government Summit in Dubai.
He is a member of the OECD Expert Group on AI (ONE AI), the Aspen Institute Roundtable on Artificial Intelligence, the Council on Extended Intelligence (MIT-IEEE), and a is co-author of IEEE Ethically Aligned Design. Cyrus is part of the steering committee of AI Commons, Member of the AI Ethics Board of Smart Dubai, and is an AI Governance Advisor at Shanghai Institute for Science of Science (SISS).
He was educated at Sciences Po Paris, where he later was a Lecturer; M.A. (Hons) Paris II University in Defense, Geostrategy and Industrial Dynamics; M.P.A. Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
Dr. Ayad Aldaijy
INDEPENDENT CONSULTANT
Dr. Ayad Aldaijy
د. اياد يوسف الدعيجي
Ayad Y. Aldaijy, Ph.D.
DOB: 18 November, 1963
Marital Status: Married
Mobile: +966-5-0324-5476
Email: ayad@aldaijy.com
P.O. Box 102847, Riyadh 11685, Saudi Arabia
“Award winner of “The World CIO 200 Award” by “The Global CIO Forum 2019””
“Award winner of the Catalyst 2018 “Best Government CIO” in the GCC”
Highly motivated and passionate in turning challenges into success. With long proven track record of accomplishment in crafting practical strategy leading to execution excellence; established through 27-years of experience in working in government and global organizations, I can lead and engage with: Information Technology, Cyber Security, Digital Economy/Transformation, Artificial Intelligence, Technology Strategic Planning, Organizational Transformation Solutions, Drive Smarter Technology and services, Big Data, Web Data mining, IoT, Teaching and Coaching, Knowledge Management, Change Strategies, and Research and Analysis.
Dr. Mohammed Bin Helal AL-Kassar
VICE CHAIRMAN AT ARAB UNION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT & ENVIRONMENT
Dr. Mohammed Bin Helal AL-Kassar
Dr. AL-Kassar holds a PhD degree from Naif Arab University for Security Sciences He previously worked as a Advisor to the Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs & Investment. He is Currently Vice Chairman at Arab Union for Sustainable Development & Environment and the VP of the TJR company in Saudi Arabia. He has more than 20 years experience, In several organizations in Riyadh, in Public, private & non-profit sectors in the field of (Strategic Planning – Policies & procedures – Organizational Development – Organizational structures – Organizational change & culture – Institutional Excellence – Privatization programs & projects – Sustainable development – Corporate Communication – Transformational leadership).
Professional & advisor in management in the field of (Strategic Planning – Policies & procedures – Organizational Development – Organizational structures – Organizational change & culture – Institutional Excellence – Privatization programs & projects – Sustainable development – Corporate Communication – Transformational leadership) With more than 20 years experience, In several organizations in Riyadh, in Public, private & non-profit sectors.
Abigail Hing Wen
SENIOR DIRECTOR OF EMERGING AI TECH , OFFICE OF CTO, AI PLATFORMS GROUP, INTEL
Abigail Hing Wen
Abigail Hing Wen is an AI thought leader, international public speaker, multibillion dollar deal negotiator and New York Times best selling author. Abigail is the Partnership on AI’s Co-Chair for the Expert Group on Fairness, Transparency and Accountability and sits on their Transparency in Machine Learning Steering Committee. Her writing on AI have appeared in Fortune and Forbes. She speaks on AI, venture capital, diversity and leadership in international venues and has been profiled in media/TV in Entertainment Weekly, NBCNews, Bloomberg, Google Talk and the World Journal. Abigail served as Senior Director of Emerging AI Tech, Office of the CTO, Artificial Intelligence Platforms Group, Intel Corporation, and previously as legal lead for Intel Capital’s AI investments and strategic transactions, closing deals ranging from seed funding to $4.1B in ASML. She worked on $9B+ deals on Wall Street, with clients including Goldman Sachs and the World Bank. Abigail is the New York Times best-selling author of the novel, Loveboat, Taipei, a romantic comedy from HarperCollins addressing issues of identity and the immigrant experience. Her novel is being adapted for film in Hollywood, for which she is serving as an Executive Producer. She is working on a sequel addressing women in AI, forthcoming October 2021. She holds a BA magna cum laude from Harvard in Government/International Relations and JD from Columbia Law School. Prior to Intel, she practiced law at Sullivan & Cromwell and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, clerked on the United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit and worked in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Dr. MANAHEL THABET
FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT OF SMARTTIPS CONSULTANTS, PRESIDENT OF THE ECONOMIC FORUM FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, PRESIDENT OF THE WORLD’S IQ FOUNDATION
Dr. MANAHEL THABET
Founder and President of SmartTips Consultants, a premier provider for tools and techniques to grow businesses on a global scale, Dr. Thabet is the President of The Economic Forum For Sustainable Development, President of the World’s IQ Foundation, Vice President of the World Intelligence Network (WIN), Deputy Director of the Institute for Brain Chemistry and Human Nutrition of Imperial College and Vice-Chancellor of The UK Gifted Academy. A talented leader who wears many hats, Dr. Thabet is involved as a successful leader in numerous organizations that connect science, knowledge, and business in the global arena.
Aa a leading intellect on numerous scientific topics, Dr. Thabet has published articles and researches on topics of financial engineering, quantum mathematics, quantum physics, theories of Quantum Brain. Her work and expert opinions of have been featured in several leading publications both nationally and internationally. Dr Thabet is often sought out as a subject matter expert in these areas specially in quantum mathematics, mind enhancements methods, futurism, talent identification and organizational development.
Dr. Ibrahim Ahmad Almosallam
ASSISTANT RESEARCH PROFESSOR, KACST
Dr. Ibrahim Ahmad Almosallam
Dr. Almosallam holds a PhD degree from the University of Oxford in Artificial Intelligence and specifically Machine Learning. He previously worked as a visiting scholar at the University of Stanford and Columbia University in New York City. He is Currently an Assistant Research Professor at the National Center for Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Technologies at King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He has more than ten years of experience in AI research in areas such as Natural Language Processing, Social Network Analysis, Speech Processing and AI governance/safety. His current research interests are astroinformatics and quantum machine learning.
Dr. Ammar Alanazi
DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND BIG DATA TECHNOLOGY
Dr. Ammar Alanazi
Ammar Alanazi is the director of the National Center for Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Technology at King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST). Dr. Alanazi studied a Bachelor of Computer Science at King Saud University and a Master of Information Technology at the University of New South Wales, specialising in Artificial Intelligence and Database Systems. Dr. Alanazi’s research interests include Machine Learning & Data Mining, Intelligent Transport Systems and Blockchain.
DR. Mohammed Majid
SENIOR ADVISOR
DR. Mohammed Majid
MTP:
To make Saudi Arabia the Innovation Hub of the World and the source of new education paradigm.
EDUCATION:
Ph.D., 1997, University of California at Berkeley, Mechanical Engineering, Control Systems.
M.S., 1994, University of California at Berkeley, Mechanical Engineering, Control Systems.
B.S. (with first Degree Honor), 1990, King Saud University, Mechanical Engineering.
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY:
2/2019- 12/2019: Senior Advisor to HE Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources
2018: Senior Advisor to HH Taqnia Chairman of the Board
2016-2017: Many roles to advocate Industry 4.0 Frame work
3/2016-12/2017: Advisor to HH KACST President
1/2017-1/2018: CEO of TDM (To be officially incorporated for Industry 4.0 Technology Localization . I also advise BIAC on Advanced manufacturing (additive manufacturing)
2016: Advisor to HE TVTC Governor and COE Chairman of the Board
2013-2015 Chief Operating Officer, College of Excellence COE
2013: Innovation and Commercialization Coordinator and National Satellite Technology Program Director, KACST
2009-2012: Aerospace Sector Coordinator and National Satellite Technology Program Director, KACST
2007-2009: Associate Research Professor and National Satellite Technology Program Director, KACST
2004-2006: Associate Research Professor
2003-2004: Assistant Research Professor and Satellite Technology Center Manager, Space Research Institute, KACST
2002-2003: Assistant Research Professor and Aeronautics Technology Center Manager, Space Research Institute, KACST
1997-2000: Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, King Saud University
1992-1997: Teaching and Research Assistant, University of California at Berkeley.
1991: Teaching Assistant, Mechanical Engineering Department, King Saud University.
1990: Mechanical Engineer, High Commission for Ariyadh Development
MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS
Substantial contribution to:
1- Design and Establishing Innovation Center for Industry 4.0.
2- Development of the TVTC long term strategy
3- Development and implementation of national satellite strategy
4- Establishing and implementing Public Private Partnership (PPP) for TVET in Saudi Arabia
5- Establishing and Managing the National Satellite Technology Program in Saudi Arabia
6- Establishing and Directing the Advanced Manufacturing Incubator, BADIR, Saudi Arabia
7- An External Advisory Board Member, ME, UC Berkeley, USA
DR. Salem Aleyani PHD
DIRECTOR, CENTRE FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
DR. Salem Aleyani PHD
Director, Center for Artificial Intelligence Consultant, Vice-Presidency for Business and Entrepreneurship King Khalid University He obtained his PhD from Arizona State University 2013 in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. He serves as the Director of Center for Artificial Intelligence, a research center at KKU. He has several publications in the field. He serves as an editorial board member in JISCR and as a PC of several international conferences and a reviewer of several journals including ICTAI, KACSTIT, AAAI, ICMLA, ICML, IRI, JMLR, AJSE and others. Also, he serves as PC member in other international conferences. Also, he served as general chair for 2nd ICACC 2017. He has several in-progress research projects in AI with multidisciplinary teams, such as: AI in healthcare, AI in education, and AI in cybersecurity. He is a former CIO and CISO at King Khalid University (KKU). Beside research and academic field, Alelyani has been leading highly qualified team and supervised them during implementing several IT major projects including: ERP, SOC, NOC, PMO, KKU’s website, KKU’s portal (myKKU) that includes KKU’s core systems, beside a huge networkings infrastructure and data center establishment and rehabilitation
Ziad Hayek
PRESIDENT OF THE WORLD ASSOCIATION OF PPP UNITS, UNECE
Ziad Hayek
H.E. Ziad Alexandre Hayek has 39 years of experience in Investment Banking, Project Finance, International Development, Corporate Strategy, Corporate Governance, and Public Policy, especially in the fields of energy and ICT.
He is the President of the World Association of PPP Units and Professionals; Vice-Chair of the Working Party on PPP of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe; Managing Partner of Hayek Associates LLC; and ex-Secretary General of Lebanon’s High Council for Privatization and PPP, where he developed the basis for the country’s energy policy, contributed to shaping its ICT legislation, and led a project to establish a national data center.
In early 2019, Hayek was nominated to the Presidency of the World Bank.
Hayek is member of the Board of Trustees of USEK University, the Investment Committee of YMCA World Alliance, and the governing boards of several NGOs on behalf of the Carlos Slim Foundation.
Previously, Hayek was CEO of Lonbridge Associates (London), a boutique investment bank specializing in telecom technology and renewable energy; Senior Managing Director of Investment Banking at Bear Stearns (New York); Managing Director of Banque Indosuez Capital Latin America (Paris); President of Indosuez Mexico (Mexico City); Vice President of Salomon Brothers (New York); and Vice President of Citibank NA, where he occupied posts including Treasurer for West Africa, structured finance specialist for Latin America and Head of the Bank’s International Securitization Department.
Hayek was also a member of the US Council on Foreign Relations; a Senior Consultant to the Reagan Administration’s Enterprise Program; and member of the board of directors of various local and multinational companies.
He holds an MA in International Management from the University of Texas at Dallas and studied Business Administration at the University of Houston and at ITESM in Monterrey, Mexico.
Hayek is conversant with 11 languages.
Eng. Salem Gharbi
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE EXPERT IN OIL & GAS INDUSTRY. | MEMBER IN THE AI-ENERGY COMMUNITY | CHAIRMEN OF THE INTERNATIONAL SPE-DUPTS
Eng. Salem Gharbi/h2>
Artificial Intelligence expert, with +15 years’ experience developing smart enterprise systems for the oil & gas industry. Active member in the AI-energy community; Key founder and currently the chairmen of the international SPE-DUPTS technical section. Salem holds MSc in Petroleum Engineering from Heriot-Watt University, and MSc in Computer Science from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals. He authored & co-authored +20 technical papers, book and US patent.
Ms. Eva Muller Stuler
CHIEF DATA SCIENTIST IBM
Ms. Eva Muller Stuler
With over 15 years of experience in innovation and leadership, Dr. Eva-Marie Muller-Stuler brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her current role as Chief Data Scientist for IBM MEA. Her passion and drive are key elements in leading the Centre of Excellence for Data Science as well as implementing sustainable large scale Data Science & AI projects, globally.
As a team-builder focusing on long term partnerships, Dr. Eva-Marie has pioneered highly successful engagements with governments and top-tier organizations alike, driving actionable, data-driven excellence. A key element in Dr. Eva’s success is her expertise in data science combined with a passion for innovation.
Having worked across multiple industries including; Oil & Gas, Energy, FMCG, Healthcare and the Financial sectors, Dr. Eva has been able to create a cross industry competency which is invaluable in assisting enterprises wanting to leverage AI, Machine Learning and Data Science.
Previously, while the Chief Data Scientist at KPMG in Decision Science, Dr. Eva led the development of new ground-breaking approaches to facilitate strategic data driven real-time decision engines.
As a renowned mathematician with a passion for her subject, Dr. Eva is one of IBM’s illustrious thought leaders, and is a popular international conference speaker influencing and disrupting industries with innovative data science engagements, having been invited to speak at the United Nations as well as UNESCO, among many others. Dr. Eva is a trusted advisor to governments on change management through AI and machine learning as well as being a successful investor, consultant and mentor for start-up companies.
Dr. Eva holds a Doctorate from Philipps-University Marburg, and a Master of Science degree in Mathematics from the Technical University of Munich, where she became an expert in gaining insights from unstructured data and mathematical optimization. While on a scholarship of the Japanese Government, Dr. Eva spent a research year in number theory at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. She is the author and co-author of numerous papers and publications as well as a member of various mathematical societies including Women in Machine Learning.
MR.Hamed ALDaghrir
ARAMCO INDEPENDENT CONSULTANT
MR.Hamed ALDaghrir
For over 27 years, Hamed Aldaghrir has been a noteworthy leader in the oil and gas industry. Known as Petroleum Engineering Consultant at Saudi Aramco, Hamed is credited with contributions to the overall industry via his contribution to streamlining many complex workflows. Hamed Aldaghrir has been honored with many distinguished awards for his contributions to O&G industry. He holds a BS in Computer Science and Engineering from King Fahad University of Petroleum and Mineral; and currently resides in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Serving as the PE Systems Consultant at Aramco, Mr. Aldaghrir plays a major role in implanting new technologies, streamlining workflow processes, and developing young talents. Through his commitment to this role, he has helped improve decisions making, develop new staff and reduce cost. As long experienced technical consultant, Hamed developed career path training program with focused courses to enable new staff to be productive in a very short period. He also taught these courses himself for several years. Since after retiring on 2014 , Hamed Aldaghrir is active in providing consultation in the area of PE technology and IT solutions for both upstream and downstream workflow processes. He can be reached via email daghrirhda@yahoo.com and mobile phone no. +966504844008
Charles Kerrigan
CMS UK | PARTNER | FINANCE AND FINTECH
Charles Kerrigan
CMS UK | Partner | Finance and Fintech The Blockchain Industry Landscape Overview 2018 names Charles as one of the UK’s leading influencers on blockchain. He is the UK’s “recommended lawyer” for blockchain and digital technology in the UK Parliament Hub. He is a lawyer specialising in finance and technology. He works on corporate finance and venture capital fundraising transactions for companies, funds, platforms and financial institutions. He works on consulting projects on blockchain, digital assets, AI and automation/transformation for public bodies, policy makers, standards institutions and corporate clients. Charles sits on the Bank of England’s Financial Markets Law Committee on Virtual Currencies; he is a board member of the Innovators Board at the Big Innovation Centre, named Think Tank of the Year 2019. He sits on the advisory boards of the UK All Party Parliamentary Group on Artificial Intelligence (APPG AI) and the UK All Party Parliamentary Group on Blockchain (APPG Blockchain). In November 2019 Charles was a Special Consultee to the UK LawTech Delivery Panel’s Legal Statement on Cryptoassets and Smart Contracts. He lectures on these topics, including at the LSE, UCL and City University. He was a panellist and moderator at the LMA Fintech and Annual Conferences and the ISDA Technology Conference in 2019. He presented at the City University seminar: Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies, Economics, Finance and Law; and at the Future of Finance: Tokenised Assets, London. In the last 12 months Charles worked on two of the largest TMT M&A transactions in Europe; over 30 funding transactions involving IP and intangible assets as theprimary collateral; multiple online platform financings; and for over 25 clients with blockchain or tokenisation projects. Books: Practical Lending and Security Precedents – General Editor (Sweet and Maxwell, 2020) Growing with Blockchain (Co-author, Navarro Publishing, due for publication 2020) The Financing of Intangible Assets, TMT Finance and Emerging Technologies (Butterworths, 2019) Responsible AI (Co-author, ILTA, 2019) Cash Pooling and Insolvency: A Practical Global Handbook (Globe 2012) Press and Journals: The Times; The Guardian; City AM; Journal of International Banking and Financial Law; Bloomberg UK Financial Services Law Journal; E-Finance and Payments Law and Policy; Financier Worldwide; International Accountant. Recent Feature Articles: Artificial Intelligence and Equity; Artificial Intelligence and Uncertainty; Artificial Intelligence and Fallibility, a series (JIBFL 2018/19) Laws and Legal principles relating to Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies: A Taxonomy (JIBFL 2019) Tokenisation and Digital Assets: Blockchain in Capital Raising (JIBFL 2020) CMS UK T +44 20 7367 3437 M +44 7739 875848 E charles.kerrigan@cms-cmno.com Linkedin: charles-kerrigan-77a85b22 “Charles Kerrigan is the go-to person in the London market for funding intangible and digital assets. ” – Legal 500, 2019 Legal 500 – Leading Individual – Fintech Chambers & Partners – Ranked lawyer – Banking & Finance Legal 500 UK Awards 2020 – nomination for Individual Lawyer of the Year – TMT TMT Finance Awards 2019 – TMT Legal Adviser of the Year – CMS Charles Kerrigan “is an excellent technical lawyer with a strong ability to be commercial. He is immensely clever and alwaysfinds a workable solution.” Chambers & Partners 2019 Security Tokens Realised Award Winner London 2020 Crypto A.M. Award Winne
MR. Jalal AlOwibdi/h2>
PROF. DEPT. OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE UNIVERSITY OF JEDDAH
MR. Jalal AlOwibdi
Jalal Alowibdi is Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence at the University of Jeddah. His research interests lie primarily in the area of Artificial Intelligence. He has collaborated actively with researchers in several other disciplines of computer science, particularly Data Mining, Machine Learning, and Social Computing. Alowibdi was the chair of the Department of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence from 2015-2017. Currently, Alowibdi is Dean of Deanship of Knowledge resources as well as he is the Director and CDO of Big data Center in Makkah Region (Amarah). He is Also, the director and owner of the initiative “Smart University” at the University of Jeddah
Khalid Alohali
AI, ANALYTICS LEADER AND KSA HEAD OF INNOVATION AT ORACLE
Khalid Alohali
Khalid Alohali is the KSA Head of Innovation and Analytics, AI/ML Leader and Data Science Ambassador at Oracle Saudi Arabia. Khalid brings more than 12 years of experience in data management, big data, analytics AI and data science. He is leading the Oracle Saudi innovation enablement programs for the public, private sector as well as the startup ecosystem in Saudi Arabia by providing workshops, mentoring and service deign thinking session to entrepreneurs and innovators. Currently he is leading the Analytics, AI/ML and Data Science consulting practice in Saudi Arabia and a major contributor to the Data Science community at Oracle EMEA. Khalid holds a Masters in Electronic Commerce from Dalhousie University in Canada, and a Bachelor in Information Systems from King Saud University.
Mobile: +966540330332
Lila Tretikov
EX-CEO WIKIMEDIA, CORPORATE VICE PRESIDENT, DEPUTY CTO AT MICROSOFT
Lila Tretikov
Lila Tretikov is a Corporate Vice President with the Office of the Chief Technology Officer at Microsoft and a leading expert on Artificial Intelligence. She brings a diverse background of business, technology, design, and policy — and thrives on building products people truly love. Today, Lila brings together the best creators, engineers, scientists, designers, ethicists to solve some of the world’s most challenging problems and empower humanity through technology.
Prior to Microsoft, Lila was Chief Executive Officer of Terrawatt, a global organization that aligns corporate, financial, NGOs and political interests to alter the Earth’s ecology. She was also Chief Executive of Wikimedia Foundation, an organization supporting Wikipedia, and has authored numerous patents and articles in the field of technology-enabled business transformations. Lila also serves as Board Director and CEO advisor for numerous companies.
Mr.Abhijit Akerkar
HEAD OF APPLIED SCIENCES, BUSINESS INTEGRATION, GROUP DIGITAL AND TRANSFORMATION LLOYDS BANK
Mr.Abhijit Akerkar
Bringing machine intelligence to life at the Lloyds Banking Group, Abhjit focuses on combining machine and human intelligence to transform the banking industry and create new opportunities for customers and colleagues.
Earlier, as a leader in McKinsey, he engaged with CXOs from large enterprises to help them make strategic and investment decisions, build new digital business models, and drive above-market growth.
Previously, at HCL Technologies, Abhijit had built and led tech-enabled businesses in Europe and Asia. An engineer by training, Abhijit has an MBA from London Business School with an exchange at MIT Sloan.
Mr. Martin Curley
SPECIALIST IN DIGITAL HEALTHCARE AND OPEN INNOVATION
Mr. Martin Curley
Martin Curley is Director of the Digital Transformation and Open Innovation at the Health Service Executive (HSE), helping enable the digital transformation of Ireland’s health service. Most recently Martin was Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the HSE. Prior to joining the HSE Martin was Senior Vice President and group head for Global Digital Practice at Mastercard. Previously Martin was vice president at Intel Corporation and Director/GM of Intel Labs Europe, Intel’s network of more than 50 research labs which he help grow across the European region. He also served as a senior principal engineer at Intel Labs Europe leading Intel’s research and innovation engagement with the European Commission and the broader European Union research ecosystem. Prior to this Curley was Global Director of IT Innovation and Director of IT Strategy and Technology at Intel. Earlier in his Intel career, he held a number of senior positions for Intel in the United States and Europe. He also worked in research and management positions at GE in Ireland and Philips in the Netherlands.
Martin has a bachelor’s degree in electronic engineering and a master’s degree in business studies, both from University College Dublin, Ireland. He received his Ph.D. in information systems from the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. Curley is the author of eight books on technology management for value, innovation and entrepreneurship. He is a Member of the Royal Irish Academy, fellow of the Institution of Engineers of Ireland, the British Computer Society and, the Irish Computer Society. Martin is co-founder of the Innovation Value Institute at Maynooth University, a unique industry-academia collaboration driving research and development of advanced IT and Digital maturity frameworks. He was previously a visiting scholar at MIT Sloan Centre for Information Systems Research and a visiting research fellow at the CERN Open Lab in Geneva. He was the inaugural winner of the Engineers Ireland Innovation engineer of the year in 2006 and was jointly awarded European Chief Technology Officer of the year for 2015-2016.
Ms.Meriem Menani
SENIOR PUBLIC POLICY ANALYST, THE ECONOMIST
Ms.Meriem Menani
Meriem is a senior public policy analyst, researcher and consultant with nine years of experience leveraging expertise in socioeconomic development and the digital economy to solve complex policy issues for public and private sector clients. She regularly writes about public policy and macroeconomic affairs for The Economist Intelligence Unit and participates as a speaker at international policy conferences. Prior to joining The Economist Group, Meriem worked for the World Bank Group, where she supported the design of national economic reform strategies in sub-Saharan Africa. Meriem holds an MSc in Public Management and Governance from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and a BSc in International Management with French from the University of Bath.
Mr. Mohammed Almoteb
GENERAL MANAGER OF TECHNOLOGIES AT MCIT SAUDI ARABIA
Mr. Mohammed Almoteb
Mohammed is the General Manager of Technologies at MCIT Saudi Arabia, focusing on the technology industry in the Kingdom by providing a sustainable environment for foreign and local companies that specialize in the ICT sector, and offering solutions to motivate ICT companies to increase their contribution to local content. He manages traditional technologies markets such as open source, professional services, operation & maintenance, cybersecurity, and cloud computing. He also oversees emerging technology adaptions such as AI, IoT, block chain, robotics, and VR/AR.
Mr.ARIF KHAN
CEO, ALPTHEA
Mr.ARIF KHAN
Arif Khan is a venture builder, investor and product expert in the areas of Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain technologies. He is the CEO and Co-founder of Alethea AI, a technology platform focused on enabling the synthetic content revolution.
Arif’s prior executive leadership roles include managing the global blockchain-based AI marketplace SingularityNET where Arif was its CMO and founded it’s global Accelerator program. Prior to that, Arif led Strategy and Product Marketing at a Softbank backed Start-up, Grab where he was instrumental in driving usage and adoption of Its flagship Driver Application to more than 2 million Drivers across South East Asia. In his early career, Arif witnessed the disruptive transformation that digital platforms brought, where he led Growth and Business Development for LinkedIn in Asia, winning multiple awards.
Arif is a prolific speaker and is regularly invited to speak at major global events like The World Economic Forum, World Web Forum, and has guest lectured at the Singapore Management University’s MBA program. He is a top writer for Artificial Intelligence on Medium.com and his work has been covered or featured in CBS, Forbes, Inverse, The Wall Street Journal & The New York Times.
Mr.Osama Al-Zoubi
CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER - CISCO MENA
Mr.Osama Al-Zoubi
Author of “The Digital Disruption Book”, Osama is Visionary technology and business executive, enterprise technology chief architect with diverse experience ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 corporations. Creative Cisco Consultant with ability to identify solutions that will support business objectives; driving business growth and acceleration in divers markets across multi domain technologies. Expert in identifying all viable options and communicating the strategy, risks, issues and benefits of each to senior executives and non-technical stakeholders. Proven ability to identify talented individuals and mentor them to create effective teams that achieve business goals. Business, Technology, and Innovation Executive, with more than 23 years of ICT experience. Osama Al-Zoubi is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Cisco Middle East and Africa (MEA). In his current role, Osama leads the Engineering and Innovation for Cisco in MEA. A key area of focus under Osama’s leadership is the development and execution of Technical, Innovation, and Business strategies for digital transformation, for the Middle East and Africa region. Osama drives technology strategy and innovation, through working closely with Government Agencies, Enterprise Customers, Private Sector and Partners across the region. His focus is on developing Business and Technology Architectures to deliver on government priorities, drive innovation, and partners to accelerate country digitization. Osama is experienced and regarded as a technical leader who leads the Systems Engineering and Innovation organization for Cisco in the Middle East and Africa. In his role, he partners with all customers across the region to drive innovation and digital transformation. Osama has a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), and a Masters of Science in Computer Science from the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), in Chicago, Illinois USA. Osama joined Cisco in 2001 in Chicago, IL USA; and a Cisco Certified Internetworking Expert (CCIE). Osama enjoys volunteering, reading, volleyball, swimming, traveling, teaching, coaching and development.
Prof. Ahmed Banaf
UNIVERSITY OF SAN JOSEPH
Prof. Ahmed Banaf
Prof. Ahmed Banafa has extensive experience in research, operations and management, with a focus on IoT, Blockchain, Cybersecurity and AI. He is a reviewer and a technical contributor for the publication of several technical books. He served as an instructor at well-known universities and colleges, including Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley; California State University-East Bay; San Jose State University; and University of Massachusetts. He is the recipient of several awards, including Distinguished Tenured Staff Award, Instructor of the year for 4 years in a row, and Certificate of Honor from the City and County of San Francisco. He was named as No.1 tech voice to follow, technology fortune teller and influencer by LinkedIn in 2018 by LinkedIn, his research featured in many reputable sites and magazines including Forbes, IEEE and MIT Technology Review, and Interviewed by ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, BBC, NPR and Fox TV and Radio stations. He is a member of the MIT Technology Review Global Panel. He studied Electrical Engineering at Lehigh University, Cybersecurity at Harvard University and Digital Transformation at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is the author of the books: “Secure and Smart Internet of Things (IoT) using Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence (AI)” , and “Blockchain Technology and Applications” . Winner of Author & Artist Award 2019 of San Jose State University for “Secure and Smart IoT” Book. “
Dr. Ibraheem Sheerah
CHIEF EXECUTIVE QUALITY OF LIFE
Dr. Ibraheem Sheerah
Dr. Ibraheem Sheerah is the Chief Executive of Business at the Quality of Life Program Center. He started his career as an Engineer then moved to the field of project management as a project manager, program manager, PMO manager and P3O Director for more than 15 years. After that, he took a series of leadership positions in business development, commercial and financial modeling, and consultation in operations and governance. He has established many business firms and supported many entrepreneurs. Hi is a board member in a startup company called abiliti.co specialized in emerging technologies
Dr. Sheerah holds four academic degrees and more than 44 professional certificates. He is a certified PPP Professional and one of the early founders of the National Center for Privatization and PPP in Saudi Arabia. He has more than 21 years of experience in many fields such as defense, security, healthcare, agriculture, Transportation, privatization, Technology, and retail.
Prof.Wadee Saleh Alhalabi
KING ABDULAZIZ UNIVERSITY
Prof.Wadee Saleh Alhalabi
Director of the House of Expertise of Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence
Professor at computer science department King Abdulaziz University
Member of the Scientific council
Member of the promotion committee
Lead of the virtual reality research group
Director of the House of Expertise of Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence
Mr.shaaz Nasir
DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AND AI MICROSOFT
Mr.shaaz Nasir
Shaaz Nasir has worked across public and private sectors globally as a Digital Change Management practitioner for ethical AI. At Microsoft, he’s part of the Digital Advisory Group that’s focused on putting people at the center of any AI program of change for governments. He’s building responsible AI data governance/frameworks, people centric smart cities strategy, and leading change management programs across the public sector. Shaaz was also chosen to be Microsoft’s AI Ambassador and work on their AI for Good program across America. He volunteers as a Global Shaper, and initiative by the World Economic Forum, and contributes to panels on the fourth industrial revolution and the digital divide. He is also the Co Founder of “Mindthis Magazine”, a new digital media company aiming to redefine what success means for the 21st century young professional, with readers in over 175 countries. Shaaz is based in New York City, you can reach him at shaaz@mindthismagazine.com or Twitter @shaaztastic.
Mr.Sid Ahmed Benraoune
SENIOR LECTURER, UNIVERSITY OF MENISOTTA DR. SID AHMED BERAOUANE, SENIOR LECTURER, CARLSON SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA Steve
Mr.Sid Ahmed Benraoune
Professor Sid Ahmed Benraouane is a thought leader with 20+ years of experience in multiple sectors, regions and industries. He is the Chair of the US ISO Working Group on Innovation Management.
Dr. Benraouane advises senior leaders and executive teams in the government and the private sector on issues related to innovation, digital transformation, and AI. With deep understanding of the economics of market behavior in the US, Europe, and the Middle East, Dr. Benraouane work focuses primarily on the decision making process. He help decision makers develop and implement frameworks to forecast, predict, and make projections about business events that may impact their strategy.
Dr. Benraouane is also a speaker at the World Government Summit (UAE 2019) on AI and Ethics and a frequent keynote speaker at regional events such as Big Data Show (UAE), Cloud and Big Data Show (KSA), Energy Digitization Summit (UAE), Artificial Intelligence Summit (UAE), World Mobility Show and Autonomous Driving (UAE), the Middle East Military Technology Conference and the Bahrain International Defense Exhibition & Conference (Bahrain). He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Abu Dhabi Digital Authority’s Digital Next Conference.
Dr. Benraouane has authored two textbooks. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, USA.
Steve Guggenheimer
CORPORATE VP OF AI MICROSOFT, HSBC
Steve Guggenheimer
Steve Guggenheimer is the corporate vice president of Microsoft’s AI Business. In this role, he is responsible for helping to build a new generation of AI based solutions along with moving the broader AI conversation and platform forward. Over his 20+ years at Microsoft, Steve held leadership roles in strategically important areas including close to a decade helping to build Microsoft’s hardware and software ecosystem as the head of Developer Evangelism (DX) and the OEM division. He has also worked on the product teams for Microsoft’s Application Platform, Windows, IE, MSN, SQL Server, Visual Studio and more. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family, watching rugby, playing golf and cheering on his hometown Seattle Seahawks.
Mr. Tonu Tammer
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CERT-EE
Mr. Tonu Tammer
TONU TAMMER CYBER/IT/ELECTIONS/e-GOV/LEGAL/STRATEGY / POLICY / INTERNAL SECURITY SUMMARY Dedicated IT Professional highly skilled in IT security, strategy and policy development with skills in interpersonal communications. Possessing excellent foresight and the ability to plan ahead and assess and identify problems and find innovative solutions. 06.2018 – Present Executive Director of CERT-EE Estonian Information System Authority Cyber-security incident resolution and prevention in Estonia Coordinating, solving and preventing cybersecurity incidents in Estonia and internationally and building resilience and cyber-skills Ensuring safe and secure elections and e-Voting Ensuring security of e-Gov infrastructure: x-Road & EID 01.2018 – 05.2018 Manager of large-scale EU projects IT and Development Centre, Ministry of the Interior (SMIT) Responsible for large-scale EU project in internal security: EU-wide border registration system – Entry/Exit System (EES) EU clearance system – European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) Interoperability of the large-scale IT systems at EU level 09.2016 – 01.2018 Advisor of IT systems in Justice and Home Affairs Permanent Representation of Estonia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Permanent Representation of Estonia to the EU coordinates Estonia’s policy engagement in Brussels towards European Union. Representation of Estonia during the Presidency of the Council in the in the European Parliament and the European Commission Coordinating activities of the Council of the European Union during Estonian Presidency Development coordination of internal security policy and IT systems contributing to internal security and information exchange 11.2015 – 08.2016 Chief Strategy Officer IT and Development Centre, Ministry of the Interior (SMIT) CSO mission critical IT service agency. Among the customers are police, emergency and rescue services and border guards. Long-term strategic and financial planning and development Portfolio and resource development and future IT services planning WORK EXPERIENCE 2004 – 2009 BSc Computer Networking University of Bedfordshire (UK) 2000 – 2004 Diploma on Telecommunications / Cum Laude Tallinn Polytechnic (EE) EDUCATION A Tallinn. Estonia □ (+372) 53284054 □ tonu@cert.ee á linkedin.com/in/tonutammer AREAS OF COMPETENCE Cyber security Election security IT management Legal framework development Policy development Cost management Procurement management PERSONAL SKILLS Effective communication
Gary Thompson
CEO OF TECH CENTRAL, THE SAUDI - PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT, INTELLIGENT AUTOMATION ADVISORS
Gary Thompson
Gary Thompson CEO of Tech Central, the Saudi based emerging technology training and consulting company operating in the MENA region and Principal Consultant for their consulting division, Intelligent Automation Advisors. Aligned to Big Innovation Centre Middle East, Gary is also a senior advisor to BICME, driving the development of the Emerging Technologies Councils in MENA Programme of events and community platform deployment.
Gary relocated to the Middle East 12 years ago and has been living and working in Region as an Advisor, Consultant and Program Director in enterprise wide organizational and digital transformation – leading Commercial, Industrial, Banking and Semi-Government clients through journeys embedding operational excellence and intelligent automation enablement into their day to day activities.
Prior to moving to the MENA Region his work had taken him across Europe, North America and Asia working with global and regional organizations including Barclays Bank – leading the transformation of AML activities and implementation of AI enabled account monitoring software, LafargeHolcim – leading the development of centralized support services for Europe and implementing AI enabled OCR and Avis Budget Group – developing and delivering a new end to end transaction journey through ERP upgrade.
He was also involved in the start-up, development and ultimate sale of two highly successful companies in Europe and North America including a software company responsible for the development of the world’s first traceability tool for major program requirements tracking, working alongside Dr. Richard Stevens, ex Head of Methods for the European Space Agency.
Gary attended university in Sheffield, England majoring in Finance and Accounting and was bestowed Fellowship of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in the UK.
He is a member of the Global Advisory Board for the Shared Services & Outsourcing Network (SSON), a regular speaker and workshop facilitator at Shared Service, OPEX, Process Automation, RPA & AI conferences in the Middle East and an author of white papers and workshops on the use and development of shared services and outsourcing in the region.
Saud al Sheraihi
GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PORTFOLIO, ENTERPRISE BUSINESS UNIT AT SAUDI TELECOM COMPANY (STC), SAUDI ARABIA
Saud al Sheraihi
Saud AlSheraihi is a Technology Thought Leader in Saudi Telecom Company (STC) specialized in building wining and economically viable solutions propositions for our esteemed customers to accelerate the adoption of the kingdom vision 2030. He is leading digital transformation initiatives across different industries such as healthcare, security, industrial, logistics…etc by providing comprehensive digitization solutions leveraging STC capabilities and the latest emerging technologies like 5G, Artificial Intelligence, Industrial 4.0 and Blockchain.
He graduated with honors from King Saud University and completed his MBA from University of Leicester. Saud is passionate about brining innovative solutions to modernize the verticals sectors including healthcare, education, utilities and oil & gas.
Hema Chamraj
DIRECTOR, TECHNOLOGY AND POLICY ADVOCACY, DATA PLATFORMS GROUP
Hema Chamraj
Hema Chamraj is the Technology and Policy Advocacy Lead in Data Platforms Group at Intel. Currently, she is involved with Intel’s Pandemic Response Technology Initiative to collaborate with customers and partners to address COVID-19 challenges. Also, she is driving Intel’s participation in the COVID-19 Industry Coalition (https://c19hcc.org/) – a private-sector led effort to address COVID-19 priorities
She has held varied roles in technology and business at Intel including strategic planning, product development, business development and marketing. In her recent past role, she drove strategy and business development for Intel’s Artificial Intelligence Portfolio including deep learning solutions for Healthcare providers, Lifesciences and Pharma sectors. She has passion for technology and for the role of AI in addressing issues in the Health and Life Sciences Sector. She has driven industry enabling initiatives with key partners, devised concepts to accelerate genomic medicine, precision health and helped shape healthcare policy in the US.
She is active in driving community-based health initiatives – Board member at local YMCA to address chronic diseases & mental health; Executive Council member/Marketing lead for Sankara Eye Foundation, a non-profit with mission to eradicate curable blindness.