Krzysztof is a Senior Engineer based in Dubai. He specializes in fire safety and is also the Co-ordinator for Digital Services for Arup in the Middle East and Africa. Krzysztof has a keen interest in implementing digital solutions on projects and actively works with the wider network of engineers and digital specialists at Arup.

Jean Ghazal is an architect with 22 years of extensive experience in the AEC industry. Graduated from ESTP Paris, France, Jean used his acquired knowledge and experience into managing a French group for over 15 years working on international projects. Jean is acting as Director of Preconstruction and VDC Department at Nesma & Partners taking in charge the implementation of the virtual construction within the different departments of the company.

His contribution on implementing new construction approaches and strategies enhanced the build environment, uplifting the company towards the best practices and the rising era of technologies in this field.

Nour H. Kassassir is the Vice President and CIO for Parsons MEA Business Unit. Nour focuses primarily on the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, manages all ICT planning, design, execution and operations for all of Parsons employees across the MEA Region. Mr. Kassassir is an ICT Executive Management Professional and a leader in engineering digital transformation with over 35 years of extensive & solid experience in information technology service delivery and management, and domain expertise in diverse industries including: Automotive, Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Oil & Gas in the U.S., Middle East, Europe, and Asia regions, including the following countries: UAE, Qatar, Saudi, Oman, Bahrain, Jordan, Indonesia, Italy, & U.K. Nour’s experience includes the transformation of organizations & propelling them to new heights by applying big-picture vision, finding innovative solutions & astutely directing the creation and execution of short- & long-term strategies. Nour has a successful history in building top-performing international operations from the ground up in difficult conditions through tenacity, intuition & multicultural relationship building. Nour successfully recruits leads & inspires teams that harness the power of advanced technology to achieve critical business & financial goals. Nour is currently responsible for all ICT planning, design, execution, and operations for all of Parsons employees across the MEA Region and leads the engineering digital transformation.

Mahmoud is a BIM guru with more than 9 years of international experience focusing on digital construction and openBIM. He was one of the BIM Gurus of the Middle East who presented and participated in several events and conferences including the Festival of BIM & Digital Construction and the BIM Conference & Expo 2021. In addition, Mahmoud has been a member of the buildingSMART chapter since its official opening in the UAE providing presentations and raising awareness on openBIM.

On the projects side, he has worked on award winning projects including The Backyard in Beirut Lebanon, a Crowd Completed Project Award in 2017. In addition, he has worked on massive urban and city projects acting as the lead consultant such as Hotel 12 by The Red Sea and Qiddiya Waterpark by Qiddiya managing more than 12 sub consultants.

In addition, he is a mentor and lecturer in Zigurat University, the institute he graduated from, providing students with guidance and support while lecturing several units of the master programme.

Finally, he is heading the digital construction delivery and strategy at Urban Surveys, keeping a futuristic approach into the digital world.

Colin is a chartered surveyor with over 24 years’ experience across 3 continents providing guidance to developers, investors and landlords for mall developments and large-scale mixed-use developments. His experience ranges from designing and deploying Asset Management Strategy, Leasing and Renewal and tenant retention strategies, Budget Preparation, Property Operating Plans, fit out guidelines, Policy and Procedures, Consultancy and Advisory services focusing on designing effective property and asset management and solutions to clients.

Lindsay has specialist experience in; shopping centre acquisition, asset management, setting and reviewing business plans as well as property management and service charge analysis.

Lindsay has provided key advice to her clients on repurposing strategy to assist portfolio diversification in line with evolving market and consumer trends. She also has extensive experience delivering and implementing business plans for complex portfolios across various asset classes, including setting up industry best practice and procedure guidelines to allow clients to self manage.

Nihal is currently the Executive Director for Digitization, ‬Customer Experience&‬Marketing at Provis, ‬where she oversees strategizing and execution of digitisation roadmaps, ‬service journeys and delivery excellence as well as marketing and communication in line with business goals and strategy. ‬Prior to joining Provis, ‬Nihal held key roles across different organizations in the region and North America. ‬She brings over 20‬years of experience authoring turnkey innovative digitisation roadmaps, ‬customer journeys and experience and marketing and communication strategies that drive customer acquisition, ‬loyalty and conversion.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

HP is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Provis driving an ambitious program to digitally transform customer service, enhance operational productivity and expand market presence through strategic acquisitions.

HP brings with him a wealth of experience in the fields of performance transformation, strategic change management and finance & investments in both public and private sector organizations. Before joining Provis, he was instrumental in the corporate transformation & performance improvement program at Farah Leisure on Yas Island and, was Executive Director & Group Head of Strategy and Investments at Miral Asset Management since 2014. Prior to that, he held various leadership roles at McKinsey and worked at Goldman Sachs, engaging with senior stakeholders in government and multinational organizations across the US, Middle East and India.

He holds two Master degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a Master’s degree from Harvard University. Hehas also completed professional certifications from Stanford University (Risk Management) and Oxford University (Private Equity and Venture Capital) and has passed all three levels of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)program.

David Glennon is the Digital Delivery Director for The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC) , a closed joint stock company wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. He oversees the development and implementation of new and innovative digital delivery techniques for a new international luxury tourism destination set along the Red Sea as part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
Bringing more than 25 years’ experience in the construction industry, he oversees the use of pioneering technology to improve the design and construction process, introducing automation and data driven insights to deliver fast-track construction, design for manufacture and assembly, and enabling the Smart Destination strategy through a ‘Digital Twin’ to enhance customer experience.
Previous positions include Managing Director of DoubleD.io, a digital accelerator for the built environment, and Head of Digital for Arcadis in the UK, leading their digital programme and the delivery of platforms, innovation, data and analytics and ecosystem thinking. As Director of Digital Project Delivery at AECOM, he was responsible for creating and implementing digital strategy across Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa. Prior to this, David held senior positions at Mott MacDonald and Lend Lease.
David was also an on the Executive Board of the UK BIM Alliance, an organization with a mandate to make Level 2 BIM “Business as Usual” for the UK construction industry and chair of the buildingSMART UK & Ireland chapter.
David holds a BSc Construction Management from the University of Salford, UK.

Karim El-Jisr is an effective and passionate communicator in urban development, smart cities and climate change. He worked 15 years in conservation management and then shifted his attention to making future cities and communities more livable and climateproof with a people-centric focus. He is based in The Sustainable City in Dubai, an award-winning master-planned community, where he manages a global platform for advancing knowledge in sustainability and the built environment.
Karim graduated from the American University of Beirut in agricultural engineering and environmental sciences. He completed a course in Business Sustainability Management from the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. A seasoned speaker at international venues, Karim is fluent in Arabic, English, French, and Danish.

Alasdair Reisner is the Chief Executive of the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA). CECA is the representative body for the UK’s civil engineering contractors, who build and maintain the nation’s critical infrastructure networks in the key sectors of transport, energy, water, waste, and communications. CECA represents over 300 contractors of all sizes, covering approximately 80% of the civil engineering market in Great Britain. CECA members employ close to 200,000 people, deliver work worth around £15 billion every year, and build or maintain infrastructure that provides the basis for economic sustainability and quality of life in communities across the country

Chief Engineer and Director of Engineering department at China State Construction Engineering Corporation “Middle East”, he leads the Engineering team of the world leading contractor to develop technology driven technical proposals and Engineering solution for running and upcoming projects across Middle East region.

Mansour holds Master Degree in Construction Management from Reading University, with a major specialty in construction innovation, building information modelling (BIM), Virtual construction and in particular 3D printing applications in construction field.

With an extensive knowledge gained over 20 years of participation in large, complex and landmark projects, Mansour has developed his realistic vision towards construction industry, and became able to early identify the minor flaws before it rolls up into major business failure, accordingly he is capable to manage all sizes of projects, and assist different stake holders to take the right decision on the right time.

With 35 years of structural design experience and project management spanning across a broad spectrum of types of projects such as industrial, commercial, medical, agricultural, oil & gas, and aerospace, Dr. Khaled has led the industry in innovation and applied the highest advanced technology supported by his knowledge in structural design, BIM engineering, surveying, laser scanning, geotechnical engineering, sustainability engineering, and project management. His study of structural strengthening using carbon and glass fibers enabled him to have a recognized rule in strengthening buildings and the rehabilitation of many governmental and private projects in the UAE.

Gnanasihamony Jose Mikle Robin is the Chairman of INR 600 crore (85 Million USD) JMR Group of Companies. JMR is a holding company based in India with diversified business operations in Infrastructure, Real estate development, Energy, Education, Information Technology, Retail, Automation, Telecommunication, Hospitality , Food & Beverage and Agriculture. With over 5000 employees worldwide, JMR Group serves thousands of clients in India, Oman, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United States, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, Timor and South Korea. Jose Mikle Robin is a first-generation entrepreneur with over 25 years of International hands-on experience managing multiple businesses and people. He expanded his construction business in Sultanate of Oman in the year 2000 by establishing Oasis Grace L.L.C. The fantastic journey of Oasis grace L.L.C started with less than 10 employees and today 1800+ people are working, and most of them are Indians. He is a visionary leader with a social conscience who created thousands of employment opportunities for Indian youths and women in particular. Under his able leadership, Oasis Grace L.L.C and JMR Group has come a long way and is currently one of the best companies to deal with and work. He has been instrumental in developing the skills of local youths in Oman by sending them for educational courses and training them to learn and develop their skills. He is a high energy level young leader who has been invited as an honorary speaker , Resource person in Global Conclaves ,Capacity building programmes, Public meetings, Entrepreneurial summits and Income Generation programmes organized by the Self Help Group Federations

Jesús Sancho holds a Master Degree of Aeronautical Engineering from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Spain) and an Executive MBA Diploma from IESE Business School (Madrid).

He presently holds the position of Middle East Director Generalfor Spain´s ACCIONA (www.acciona-me.com). He has been based in Dubai (UAE) since 2008.

ACCIONA is one of the foremost Spanish business corporations, leader in the development and management of sustainable solutions for infrastructure and renewable energy. Listed on the selective Ibex-35 Spanish stock exchange index, ACCIONA´s offer covers the whole value chain, from the development to the design & construction to operation maintenance of infrastructure. ACCIONA is in more than 40 countries with 33,000 employees. The Group develops its business activities based on the desire to contribute to the economic and social development of the communities in which it operates in line with the 17 SDGs from the UN.

Mr. Sancho started his career in the Aerospacefield (The Boeing Co., Seattle, US and Daimler-Benz Aerospace, Germany) and in the Airport Infrastructure sector (Ferrovial, Spain). 11 years ago, he shifted to the General Infrastructure sector and focused in the Middle East.Hehas developed largescale water & wastewater treatment and seawater desalination projects in the Middle East, Africa and Australia. In 2014, he was appointed to take over the global business of the ACCIONA Group in the Middle East. This encompasses the different business units of Construcción (heavy civil works), Agua (water/wastewater treatment plants), Industrial (renewable power plants and WTE facilities), Ingeniería (engineering consultant), Concessions (equity investor), Service (Facility Management, Aircraft Ground Handling) and Cultural Engineering (events & museums) among other businesses.

He has contributed to ACCIONA´s growth in the Middle East and actively participated in the tendering and execution of several infrastructure projects in the GCC. Some of the most complex tenders Mr. Sancho has succeededinclude PPP, IWPP, IWP, ISTP, EPC, O&M and DBOM+F for Public and Private Customers including Alliances in Australia.

José Francisco García is Senior Project Director, Industrial Engineer with an International Master’s degree in Projects Administration (MSc) with more than 13 years of experience in the Water Industry.

José Francisco has extensive experience in project management and administration in both wastewater and desalination, delivering construction projects with an ample range of technical requirements, commercial structures, in a variety of different countries and continents.

Mr. García has developed his career in different countries in Middle East as well as Europe, contributing with the water sector on the design, engineering, construction and commissioning of the projects.

A Chartered Surveyor and Member of the Institute of Asset Management, Matthew is AECOM’s Asset Advisory Lead in the Middle East, delivering strategic and technical services to his clients such as operational cost modeling, life cycle cost analysis, sinking fund calculations and asset management plans. With over 17 years’ experience in property and asset management across multiple sectors, Matthew helps to extract value throughout the asset lifecycle; from design, construction, operation to eventual disposal.

Mohamed Swidan has over 17 years of experience working with multinational technology companies, including leadership roles at Cisco, LinkedIn, SAP and Uber.

He is responsible for managing Procore’s business across all Middle Eastern and North African countries, tasked with strengthening Procore's brand and presence across the region.

Mohamed was drawn to the world of construction after realizing the impact that technology and data can have on transforming the industry.

Shawki Gholmie is the Vice President of Strategy and Corporate development at Nesma & Partners. Inhiscu rent roleheis heading; the execution and planing of the company strategy alongside the President and CEO, the busines and digital transformation strategy and implementation in the company, and the busines development and strategic partnership choices of the company.

Shawki started the digital and busines transformation department 2 years ago and revamped the corporate Strategy and planing function into becoming a major contributor to the managements key decisions and revamps. He was newly introduced to the busines development and partnerships function, wherehe is tasked with improving on the existing responsibilities of the function and further improving its reach and capabilities to match the growing demand of the industry in the country, in line with vision 2030.

Luai Kurdi, the Founder & CEO of PRINT4D. He is an Architect and a 3D Concrete Printing Expert, he has been working full time utilizing this technology for more than 3 years. His start-up company revolutionizes the way concrete is used in construction by reducing the amount of concrete needed to build structures, reducing the CO2 footprint, and also eliminating waste in construction projects. He has been working on multiple applications in construction from small scale projects such as infrastructure projects to large scale projects such as fully printed buildings.

Graduated from University of Balamand in Lebanon with a Structural Engineering Degree, Fady started his career in the contracting field in Saudi Arabia. Moving between different departments, from Design, Site to Office, Fady’s passion toward controlling what goes on after the design has been established when he was appointed as Cost Control Manager. Holder of a Master of Science in Project Management from University of Liverpool, Fady specialized in Construction and Infrastructure and moved into Consultancy.

With his professional knowledge in Cost Control and being technology orientated, Fady spends his time with consulting, training and supporting engineers around the MENA region.

Fady is currently based in Dubai with RIB CCS as Head of Sales & Customer Success for the MENA Region.

Qualified as an Architect MBA, Amit Puri MRICS has been with DAMAC Properties, the largest private developer of UAE, since last year. This is his second stint in the Gulf Region since he moved to the UAE over seven years ago with McARTHUR Consulting.

In his capacity as Vice President Leasing, Amit handles the entire P&L of DAMAC’s Retail and Residential leased assets. Amit’s prime focus is to establish DAMAC as a strong community retail player in the Region which includes developing new territories for DAMAC in London, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar and Jordan. In parallel he strives to ensure the enhancement of productivity and overall valuation of the operational assets of DAMAC in the United Arab Emirates.

Amit comes with over two decades of rich experience of working in the field of real estate with brands such as Ivanhoe Cambridge, McArthur, RMZ, Colliers, Cushman & Wakefield and DLF at leadership positions. All along his passionate journey in real estate, he has been instrumental in formulating innovative strategies and opening up new revenue streams for his stakeholders. He is a progressive believer of the powerful adage ‘Team work makes the dream work’.

Fromorigin Roland van der Heijden is a city planner working on issues regardingthe development of thephysicalcity. He alsoalways had a fascinationfor digital and data, and has built up a lot of experiencearound GIS, tooling and data. These experiences has led totheideathat we no longer live in a social-physicalreality, as we have doneforages, but more and more living in a social-physical-digital reality. This new reality changes everything, the systems we have built and thechallanges we are facing. But italsoraises new questions like what kind of role does everybodyplay in this new social-physical-digital ecosystem, includingtherole(s) of thegovernment? Thisissues havesince 2018 transformed in the program Digital City Rotterdam, of which Roland is the program manager. The program runs until 2024, afterwhichone of themain goals shouldberealised: therealisation of anoperational Open Urban Platform with Digital Twin.

James Smith joined Emrill as a general manager in 2018. With over 20 years' experience in the Middle East in project management, delivery and operations, James has worked across a diverse range of projects and has supported government and commercial customers. He holds qualifications in mechanical and electrical engineering and is a Six Sigma certified green belt.

James has successfully led and managed operations, with a proven track record of improving operating efficiencies through data analysis and promoting change management within businesses. He is dedicated to the continuous improvement of both processes and people. He is a persuasive coach and leader with a passion for the professional development of team members at all levels. He works alongside his peers and team to deliver outstanding facilities management services, meeting and often exceeding Emrill's customers' high expectations.

Savas is heading Real Estate operations for Microsoft’s real estate portfolio in the Middle East since June 2021. He is responsible for delivering the full life cycle of real estate activities (plan, design, build/lease, operate, maintain). Savas has 15 years’ work experience in construction, project management & real estate portfolio management in the emerging and developed markets of Middle East, Africa, Russia, and Turkey.

Prior to his role at Microsoft, Savas took integral part of the real estate transformation of Citibank in the MEA region which consists of 73 premises with over 30+ projects in 26 countries for 9 years. He has shown leadership skills to execute diverse portfolio management which includes offices, branches and data centres equalling to 1MM sqft area. Savas contributed Citi’s ESG agenda by certifying 12 premises with LEED.

Savas started his career in Moscow, Russia at Tendering & Business Development team of an international contractor. He took part of the bidding process for various projects such as shopping malls, office complexes, residential buildings, hotels, and light industrial projects with total value of $5.1B.

During his 15 years’ experience, he developed his skills on analysing investments, making financial assessments, and making recommendations to C level on key real estate investments.

Savas holds Mechanical Engineering and executive MBA degrees. He attended various management and economy related programs in Yale University, London School of Economics, China Europe International Business School, and Vienna Technology University.

Since 2018, Savas is One Young World ambassador since 2018 and Junior Achievement Mentor since 2013 as a part of his passion of giving back to the community. He is also passionate about sailing, basketball, travelling to unusual or rarely visited areas in the world. His last trip was to Gabon which was his 41st visited country.

Prabhu Ramachandran is the Founder and CEO of Facilio, an AI-driven platform for property operations and maintenance. Headquartered in New York with operations in US, ME, Europe, and APAC, customers in the commercial office, healthcare & retail categories across the world use Facilio to reduce operations costs, increase net asset value, and de-risk operational liability. Prabhu’s career spans over 20 years of product, business and customer experience focused on enterprise-scale software for IoT-based connected services, sustainable building solutions, and telecom network management.

Farah Naz, is an award winning Climate Change strategist with over 20 years’ experience in the construction sector gained in the USA, UK, Southeast Asia and most recently the United Arab Emirates (UAE). She is a Chartered Engineer (UK), Fellow of CIBSE, LEED and WELL AP and Verified Research Expert for Dubai Future Foundation. Farah Chairs CIBSE UAE Chapter and is an advocate of STEM education for the future generation. Farah recently co authored a book on Net Zero City, which is considered the first book published from the Middle East Region.

For the past few years Farah has been based in UAE, where she has been steering sustainability and innovation in the built environment covering the entire Middle East, Saudi Arabia and wider Gulf Region. She leads Specialist Services with a focus on Sustainable Cities, ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) and Urban Resilience for AECOM across the Middle East and Africa.

Farah was a prime mover in creating the Energy Strategy for the first zero-energy building in the UK, which subsequently won the 2015 RIBA Sustainable Buildings Award (UK). In the Middle East her name has become a synonym for implementable sustainability & energy strategy among others, linked to projects including Museum of the Future, the Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi, the Bee’ah Headquarters in Sharjah, Expo 2020 Sustainability Pavilion, Masdar Eco Villa, Masdar Housing. Master planning projects like, NEOM, Red Sea, Amaala,and Hudayriat Master Plan. Her projects, Sustainability Pavilion in Dubai expo, Masdar Housing and Bee’ah Head quarters in Sharjah is the winner of the Best Sustainability Project of the year award for last three consecutive years in the Middle East Region.

Over seventeen years of experience in design management, business development, client relations and community management. Currently and for the past eight years focusing on managing residential high end communities for big scale developers

A dynamic professional with 17+ years of experience in UAE in Master Community Management/ Community Management, Facilities Management, Asset Management, Property Management, Administration, Organizational Development, Health, Safety & Environmental Training, Leadership and Man Management.

Current Position:

MANAGING DIRECTOR & FOUNDING MEMBER of Better Communities Owner Association Management Company

BOARD OF DIRECTOR of CAI Middle East Chapter

CAMICB approved PROCTOR to conduct CMCA exam in Dubai.

CHAIRPERSON of ExCom (Executive Committee), Middle East Chapter of Community Association Institute (US-CAI) – Volunteer Position.

Mohamad is a Principal Solutions Consultant at Oracle Construction and Engineering Global Business Unit.

Mohamad supports the solution engineering efforts and works with customers to discover their business challenges, map their key requirements to the right product and to deliver solution demonstrations to show the functional and technical capabilities of Oracle's applications that can help customers drive performance and mitigate risk across their processes, projects, and organization.

Mohamad has 16 years of experience working in the construction and engineering sector. Throughout his career, he led large transformation projects focusing on recommending industry best practices and implementing project controls solutions across EMEA.

Mohamad holds a Masters Degree in Engineering Systems Management from the American University of Sharjah. He is also a certified project management professional (PMP) and Oracle Certified Specialist.

Mr. Jamil is the CEO of Solana KSA where he manages the organisation enhancing knowledge, resources and business relationships to provide the highest caliber of services. He has over 20 years of experience in financial, real estate property and development management. Mr. Jamil managed to transform his 40-year-old family business in real estate property management and operations into a modern, technology-based entity.

With over 17 years of professional experience in the field of real estate asset management. Waseem is a competent estate asset management professional – Home owners association and Property management sector, specialized in Proptech, energy efficiency management, cost controls, sustainability solutions and preparing policies and procedures.

He expertise in managing single component, mixed used community and master plan / master communities having components including but not limited to residential, commercial, retail, hotel, hotel apartments, resort, beach club, sports arena, and health club facilities.

He is looking forward to excelling in Real Estate Asset Management profession globally and to serve this industry with best of his knowledge and experience.

Kaarin is a specialist in digital construction and asset data with diverse experience in design, construction and consultancy in the UK and Middle East. Kaarin has a degree in Architectural Technology, is Chartered Construction Manager (MCIOB) and holds IFMA’s Facilities Management Professional (FMP) certification.

Kaarin is currently an Associate Director at Turner & Townsend, leading its BIM delivery service in the region. She also leads Turner & Townsend’s cost management services digital transformation programme in the Middle East to enhance the overall offering. She is also a member of Chartered Institute of Building Dubai Hub committee.

Kaarin began her career through research in Northumbria University’s BIM Academy. She pioneered standardised BIM object library development for Laing O’Rourke’s Explore Manufacturing pre-cast concrete products. Using the standardised BIM object library, she played a key role in process improvement for engineering, estimating, and pricing. In the Middle East, Kaarin has contributed to the realisation of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar™ programme BIM strategy to deliver an open BIM for use across the lifecycle of an asset and has been playing a leading role in delivering Abu Dhabi Midfield Terminal’s digital data strategy for asset and facilities management.

Kayhan Sen is the Regional Project Controls Director, Middle East at Faithful+Gould, a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group. As part of his role, he leads the implementation of digital capabilities and solutions to enhance processes and workflow for projects and programmes.

Kayhan is an accomplished and result-driven project and program management professional with 17+ years of experience in large scale projects and in-depth knowledge of the supply chain including Client, Consultant and the Contractor in infrastructure, oil & gas, resources, aviation, and rail industries across the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Europe regions. He has a strong technical background that enables him to analyse, improve, and implement data to resolve inefficient operational processes. Throughout his career, he has built successful project teams that embrace an equal, diverse, and inclusive working environment, where everyone’s voice is welcome and respected.

Kayhan holds an EMBA from the University of Manchester and Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Middle East Technical University. He is also a Chartered Project Professional (ChPP) by the Association for Project Management.

Dr Salih is Senior Director of Strategy, Knowledge Management and Operational Excellence at Khatib and Alami. He is also an adjunct faculty at Edinburgh Business School - Heriot-Watt University. His background of research includes leadership, cultural intelligence, entrepreneurship, digital transformation and Aikido in large scale business.

In his capacity as a Knowledge and Innovation Management executive, Dr Salih has been leading the selection and implementation of suitable digital platforms, as a strategic choice, to manage knowledge creation, sharing and curation company-wide. This is accomplished through the development of communities of practice for ongoing services such as Building Information Management (BIM) and digital document management systems.

As a cultural transformation architect, Dr Salih has led many transformation programs company-wide to achieve direct results in efficiency and profitability, where he has been employing theory and practice to reach the best outcomes.

Dr Salih’s strategic leadership competencies and skills enabled him to multiple organizational transformations including digital business transformation, especially at the times that require agility and adaptability, to ensure business continuity.

On the academic dimension, Dr Salih is a course leader and designer of leadership and digital business strategy, author, coach and teacher of leadership, Aikido, entrepreneurship and lately digital transformation. His latest book published with Routledge marks a new milestone in the leadership domain.

Gerry McFadden has been in the Middle East for over 20 years and was an early adopter of BIM and digital design delivery in the region. During his time in the Middle East Gerry has contributed to the delivery of some of the most iconic building and Infrastructure projects in the region. Gerry is a firm believer in the power of Digital Design and is passionate about the benefits the process can bring to all phases of the design, construction and operation lifecycle.

Gerry McFadden has been in the Middle East for over 20 years and was an early adopter of BIM and digital design delivery in the region. During his time in the Middle East Gerry has contributed to the delivery of some of the most iconic building and Infrastructure projects in the region. Gerry is a firm believer in the power of Digital Design and is passionate about the benefits the process can bring to all phases of the design, construction and operation lifecycle.

Digital innovation manager with more than 11 years of practical experience in construction management, business transformation, Innovation, BIM, and construction visualization.

Responsible for the business transformation and VDC implementation in many different locations/projects across the middle east.

Dr Stephen Wilkinson is the Head of the Smart and Sustainable Cities Research Cluster which works on the technology, materials and processes for future cities. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation and a Fellow of the Geological Society. He has spent his research career focused on sustainability in engineering, particularly on sustainable materials used in civil engineering about which he has published 35 research articles, including editing the book “Sustainable buildings and structures”.

Rajaikepin is one of the most highly sought-after technical, commercial & business professionals where Facades, and modular construction operations are concerned. With 18 years’ experience in the Asia, Africa & Middle East Markets, he has been deeply involved in modernization, improving processes, cutting costs, and practicing sustainability.

Presently he is managing multi-million dollars projects for Sobha Facades and Sobha, Sobha Group Companies in the UAE.

Sherief is a Director of Industry Strategy & Innovation at Oracle Construction and Engineering Global Business Unit (CEGBU). Sherief is a civil engineer coming from a construction project management background, with 16 years of experience in Enterprise Project Management systems for asset intensive industries across the project lifecycle from ideation, prioritization & selection, capital planning and budgeting, project planning, scheduling & controls, and down to facilities management.During his career, Sherief has program managed EPPM system implementations and integration projects for large enterprises in AEC, Public Sector, and Transportation organizations within the Middle East. In his spare time, he is always spotted on mountains; either climbing or running trails.

Mr Polat; Chief Planning Officer of IGA, the operator of new ISTANBUL AIRPORT; has over 24 years of planning, design, construction, ORAT and operation experience in the aviation sector. His experience in aviation started as Project Engineer at Boston Logan International Airport Terminal A & E projects with Skanska USA. Upon his return to Turkey, he continued working in aviation, participating in several international projects in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Central Asia for public, private and military Clients.

Currently at IGA, his team provides full technical and engineering studies to entire airport organization with the aim of ensuring the operational integrity of the airport master plan and flexibility for future development in terms of airspace and airside infrastructure, CNS/ATM development and integration, aviation safety & security, operational effectiveness, level of service, constructability, infrastructure capacity, logistics and connectivity.

In addition to his role at IGA, Mr. Polat has been selected as the member of Performance Review Commission of Eurocontrol as Focal Point for Airports, providing independent measurement, assessment and review of gate-to-gate Pan-European Air Navigation Services performance.

Jason English has more than 20 years of senior management experience in the Project Management & Project services space. After serving as a member of the South African Police Force and medical unit, Jason qualified as a Mechanical Engineer and worked for 15 years at Kentz Engineers & Constructors. In 2012, Jason became owner and CEO of Prommac, a specialist mechanical maintenance and project service provider. Jason also holds a project management qualification and has a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA). He has spoken at and attended seminars around the world, and is one of few South African born leaders to be selected as part of the Peter Diamandis mastermind of 250 exponential entrepreneurs. Jason was appointed as CGTech Chief Ecosystem Officer in 2018 and appointed as the CEO of Al Laith in 2020.

Amer Bin Ahmed is not only a name but a synonym often used for construction. With over 20 years of experience in the construction field he has received many awards and recognitions from the UAE government and prestigious organizations for his continuous contribution to the industry and innovation in the field.

From being recognized as “CEO of the Year” by a famous media group in 2016, to being a team player and winner with his plant workers for the Guinness World Record in the same year, the MIT educated visionary has a unique approach to business and life in general. He is someone who connects with people from all spheres and has been recognized by organizations and government bodies like Civil Defense, Municipality and Central Laboratory.

Sustainability has been an important aspect of Amer’s vision, not only for Knauf but also for the whole of Gulf region. This ranges from sourcing and producing locally to minimizing waste, he tries to incorporate these aspects into every stage of the supply chain and production process. For the same Knauf has also been recognized with the “Green Award” by the Ministry of Infrastructure in 2018. In 2019 and 2021, the same recognition was given with the prestigious “Manufacturer of the Year” award at The Transport & Logistics Middle East (TLME) Excellence Awards.

Part of Amer’s region as Managing Director of Knauf was also India. In this context, Amer is especially proud of the set-up of the first of its kind plaster mixing plant in a remote village in south India. With the shared knowledge from UAE, the facility has become ISO approved and up to international standards, even supplying to international markets. The special part about this facility is however that it uses as its raw material the waste of the adjoining salt pane and therefore is a completely sustainable product.

Back at the regional Knauf headquarter which is in the UAE, Amer has been the driving force in Knauf UAE achieving one of the most desired awards in the region as a manufacturer which is the “Made in UAE” award. Not only has Knauf received this award under his leadership but in 2019, but has also been only the second company in the whole of UAE to receive this “Made in UAE” mark. Owing to his contribution to UAE as a nation he was honored by being asked to serve as a Board Member for the Dubai Quality Group for the 2019 – 2021 term. Amer has since also been elected as a Board Member for the Emirates Green Building Council for the 2020 – 2021 term and reelected for the 2022 – 2023 term. His most recent achievement was at the prestigious “Construction Week Awards 2021” where he was awarded second place in the category “Construction Executive of the Year” for the Middle East from a large pool of shortlisted candidates.

Amer has not only interest in locally made products, but also in standards. He was the first who introduced ASTM to the region. He has since then relentlessly supported the promotion of ASTM in various endeavors. Amer made Knauf UAE a 100% ASTM approved company, the first of its kind in the region, but also globally within the Knauf group. For all his efforts and contribution throughout the years, he has been selected as a Board Member for ASTM International for the 2019 – 2021 tenure where he is actively involved to shape various standards globally. Amer was also part of the setup of the local ASTM chapter in 2019, the first of its kind outside the USA. In capacity as ASTM International Board Member, he has also been invited as guest speaker on conferences internationally to share his expertise. For 2022 – 2023 he has been appointed to be the F&A chair of ASTM International and is therefore part of the Executive Committee of ASTM International.

Amer is a people’s person who is trying to make the construction industry and the company he is leading a forum for innovation, learning, safety, and quality. With this he believes even the impossible becomes possible.

Eng. Ahmad AlAboudi is an industrial engineer who graduated from King Fahad Petroleum and Minerals University. More than 22 years of experience in the Business Strategies, Business Solutions and Project Management. Have worked in many leading local and international organizations.

Ahmad is Deputy governor of the Saudi Contractors Authority (SCA). SCA is the regulator of the contracting sector and mandated to develop and enhance the practices and improve the sector’s outcomes.

As the Governor of Saudi Contractors Authority (SCA), Eng. Thabet Al-Sawyeed is responsible for running all facets of the business and its operational plan. As a founding leader in 2016, he formulated the Authority business’s strategy working closely with more than 50 Key strategic government and private stakeholders and has been leading the authority ever since executing its strategy resulting in achieving its planned objectives. Prior to that, Eng. Thabet had nearly 15 years of experience with Saudi Aramco managing various projects and leading several organizations. Eng. Al-Sawyeed has an extensive experience enhancing growth in the company heading Facilities Simulation, corporate producing data Repository, Intelligent fields and completed his experience with establishing a new permanent function, Enterprise Architecture. Al-Sawyeed is holding a master’s degree with distinction in Engineering Science from University of New South Wales, Australia, and has a bachelor’s degree with Honor in mechanical engineering from King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals.