Speakers

His Excellency Eng. Ammar bin Mohammad Nagadi is the Vice Minister of Economy and Planning, in addition to his membership in a number of committees and councils.

His Excellency has more than 18 years of experience in the private sector, in which he held many key and executive roles in local and international companies, including Saudi Aramco, IKEA, and Procter & Gamble.

His Excellency Eng. Ammar bin Mohammed Nagadi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Pennsylvania State University.

Mohamad joined Cenomi in January 2022. He is currently a Board Member of Cenomi Centers, Cenomi Retail, and Voga Closest and Chairman of the Executive Committee for Cenomi Retail. He has a Bachelor of Science with Honors from the Lebanese American University, Lebanon, in 1994. MBA at INSEAD, France, 2001.

Mr. Mourad brings 28 years of global management experience in technology, retail, consumer goods,and e-commerce.

Mr. Mourad has held various senior leadership roles at major tech companies, including nearly 10 years at Google, where he was Google’s Managing Director for the Middle East and North Africa, before moving to take on a global role at Google headquarters in Silicon Valley. More recently, Mr. Mourad served as a Vice President at Instacart, North America’s leading on-demand e-commerce player. Prior to that, Mr. Mourad was in management consulting at Booz & Company (Now Strategy&), focusing on M&A and Corporate Development. Mr. Mourad has an intimate knowledge of the Saudi Arabian market, having spent more than 10 years in the Kingdom and serving the market in his various regional and global roles.

Zia is the Chief Content Officer at Insider Intelligence, the combined organization of eMarketer and Business Insider Intelligence. She oversees a team of 100+ analysts and forecasters who cover digital trends around the globe with a focus on retail and ecommerce, digital marketing and advertising, payments and more.

Prior to her current role, Zia was the Chief Global Content Officer at Shoptalk and co-founder of Groceryshop, two large-scale retail innovation conferences which were sold to UK-based Hyve Group for $150 million in 2019. She also spent 7 years at Forrester Research where she led the team covering global omnichannel retail.

Zia holds a BA from Dartmouth College and an MALD from The Fletcher School at Tufts University. She has lived in 10 different countries, from Liechtenstein to Uzbekistan, and now resides in New York City.

Matthew Shay is president and CEO of the National Retail Federation, the world’s largest retail trade association and foremost industry group focused on the people, policies, ideas and technologies shaping the consumer retail economy. He serves as chief advocate and spokesman for the nation’s largest private-sector industry employer, responsible for supporting one in four U.S. jobs – 52 million working Americans – and generating $3.9 trillion in annual GDP. Since his arrival in 2010, Shay has transformed NRF into Washington’s most powerful voice supporting the retail industry. Under his tenure, membership and revenue have more than doubled and the organization’s influence has grown significantly inside Washington, across the United States and globally. He has led the organization to new levels of effectiveness on policy issues, increasing awareness of the industry’s economic impact and expanding political engagement. Shay has held leadership positions in the retail, consumer and services sector for more than 20 years.

In January 2023, Ahmed Galal Ismail was named Chief Executive Officer of Majid Al Futtaim Holding. As CEO, Ahmed is responsible for driving the sustained growth of Majid Al Futtaim Holding, building on its strong, customer-focused strategy, delivering sustainable value creation, and creating great moments for everyone, everyday. He oversees Majid Al Futtaim’s strategy for long-term growth and success, while cementing its position as the leading privately-owned conglomerate across the region.

Prior to his appointment as CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Holding, Ahmed served as the Chief Executive Officer of Majid Al Futtaim – Properties. In this role, Ahmed was responsible for Majid Al Futtaim’s malls, hotels, communities and project management operations. He previously served as CEO of Majid Al Futtaim – Ventures for 10 years, overseeing seven business verticals including fashion retail, leisure and entertainment, cinemas, financial services and facilities management. He also served as vice president of strategy.

For over three decades, Renuka has guided the Group’s corporate strategy making Landmark Group the region’s largest omnichannel retailer of trusted, homegrown retail brands and a growing portfolio of regional and international hospitality brands. A cornerstone of the Group’s journey, Renuka was instrumental in creating the high-street fashion brand Splash in 1993. Under her leadership the Group forayed into e-commerce over a decade ago, now with 8 homegrown brands online. The Group ventured into the grocery business for the first time in 2018, with the launch of Viva, UAE’s first grocery discounter brand, and has over 60 stores today. She also spearheaded the launch of the automated Mega Distribution Centre in 2019, which is the MENA region’s largest privately-owned logistics and distribution hub.
An ardent believer in the Group’s Social Impact and Sustainability agenda, she started the Group’s flagship community initiative, Beat Diabetes, in 2009 – to raise awareness and fund treatments for diabetes.

John Hadden is CEO of Alshaya Group, one of the world’s leading brand franchise operators with over 6 billion $ of turnover across bricks & mortar & digital channels. Reporting to Alshaya Group’s Executive Chairman, Mohammed Alshaya, John has overall responsibility for Alshaya Group’s performance and growth, including its current transformation programme which is driving Alshaya’s omnichannel evolution. John leads a diverse and skilled team who together drive the performance of thousands of retail stores, cafes, restaurants and leisure destinations, as well as a strong online and digital business, and a commitment to delivering great customer experiences. For nearly 40 years Alshaya has been a pioneering force in brand franchising, building a portfolio that extends across MENA, Turkey, Kazakstan and Europe. He was appointed as Chief Operating Officer in late 2017 and assumed CEO responsibilities in October 2019. John holds a Master of Science (MSc) in Business Management from Reading University in the UK.  

Patrick Chalhoub is the Group President of Chalhoub Group, partner and creator of luxury experiences in the Middle East. Alongside successfully running several luxury brands in the Middle East, he is also behind many home-grown luxury brands. He particularly contributed to the turnaround of Christofle brand that is today owned by the Group. Patrick is also a strong advocate of embracing change to drive strategic growth and long term relationships. He has steered several joint ventures and acquisitions strengthening the Group’s role as a hybrid retailer and partner of choice. Patrick plays an instrumental role in the development of Chalhoub Group sustainability strategy through Chalhoub Impact. He is a firm advocate of Servant Leadership, reverse mentorship, and helping start-ups to scale-up. In recognition of his endeavour to promote the French art-de-vivre culture and language, the French government awarded Patrick with the medal of Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite, and the honour of Chevalier de l’Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur. Patrick is a Board Member of the UN Global Compact, a Council Member of UAE’s Circular Economy, and a Board Member of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry. 

Pavlos Exarchos is a senior partner in McKinsey & Company’s London office. Pavlos is leading our Consumer practice in Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (EEMA) and has previously led our CPG practice in the UK and SE Europe as well as our global Route-to-Market service line. Since joining the Firm, he has worked mainly on growth acceleration and business strategy topics for leading CPG players in developed and emerging markets across EMEA.

Dr Saeeda Jaffar currently serves as Senior Vice President and Group Country Manager for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. In this role Dr Jaffar and her team are focused on driving Visa’s business growth in the region with key clients and partners from financial institutions, partners, and governments in support of Visa’s mission to help individuals, businesses, and economies to thrive.  

Prior to joining Visa Inc, Dr Jaffar was the Managing Director at Alvarez & Marsal ME, the world’s leading turnaround and restructuring firm and held leadership positions at McKinsey & Company as well as Bain & Company, serving clients across the U.S., Europe and the GCC. 

Dr Jaffar is an Emirati national and earned a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Boston University, where she was the valedictorian. She earned a master’s degree and a doctorate in chemical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). 

Saud Ghassan Alsulaiman is Chief Executive Officer of Alsulaiman Group, a digitally enabled active retailer and retail related services group represented by 6 companies in modern retail and logistics serving Saudi Arabia and GCC.
He started his career at IKEA in 2003 as a logistics co-worker in Costa Mesa, Los Angeles. In 2006, he moved back to IKEA, Saudi Arabia to work as an interior designer where he climbed the ranks taking up top management positions, and eventually taking over as CEO in September 2013.
Under Saud’s leadership, IKEA Saudi Arabia achieved #1 Rank in the retailer category in YouGov BrandIndex Saudi Arabia best brand ranking, IKEA Jeddah Store ranked #1 Globally in Revenue out of +360 stores.
Saud established four companies and is board member of: IKEA Saudi Arabia & Bahrain, Flow Progressive Logistics, IKEA Global Strategic Development Council, IKEA Global Strategic Sustainability Council, L’azurde Jewelry, Zamil Industrial, Saudi Logistics Academy, and Saudi Angle Investors. He is chairman of Salasa Logistics and Livspace GCC.

Guy Perry joined Diriyah Company (DGCL) recently as President of DevCo, the development arm of DGCL. In this role, Mr Perry leads the organization’s master planning and construction activities for the 14 square kilometer mixed-use development, anchored on the birthplace of the Kingdom, the UNESCO World Heritage site of At-Turaif. Guy has over 30 years’ experience in regional tourism strategy, design, development and consulting, crisscrossing the globe and giving him a broad view of the industry, its needs and challenges. 

Prior to joining DGCL, Guy worked with McKinsey & Company as Vice President in charge of development strategy for the Middle East, South Asia, Africa, and Europe. He also previously held the role of President of Cities & Strategy at Essel Group in Mumbai, India; Executive Director of Building and Places for APAC at AECOM based out of Hong Kong; President of In-Vi Investment Vision+Environments covering Zurich, Warsaw and Sao Paulo; Senior Vice President at TriZecHahn Europe based in London; and Vice President at HOK based out of St. Louis with a global remit. 

While presiding over his own design and development firm, IN-VI, his projects received top accolades from ULI, ISOCARP, the International Property Awards, FIABCI, the International Academy of Design and Health, the Architecture Review and the Global CSR awards. 

Guy is focused on the creation of human centric, environmentally appropriate and fiscally responsible districts and cities and holds two Master’s degrees from Harvard University and has taught at Harvard, MIT and the University of Hong Kong. Early in his career he led the production of the Smithsonian Institution’s first Emmy Award winning documentary.

With more than two decades of experience in marketing and communications, Mr Tash has worked in the aviation, FMCG and real estate sectors where he has led brand development, brand management, strategic launches and transformation initiatives. He began his marketing career in 1999 as Brand Manager at Procter & Gamble. In 2005 he joined the Sunbulah Group, before moving into the real estate sector as the Director of Marketing at the newly established King Abdullah Economic City. In 2018, he was appointed Deputy Governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), where he spearheaded the promotion of Invest Saudi. He was then appointed Deputy Minister for Marketing & Communications at the Ministry of Investment (MISA). Mr Tash joined SAUDIA as Vice President of Corporate Communications in February 2021, before being promoted to GCMO later that year. In his role, he leads SAUDIA’s Wings of Vision 2030 campaign.

Prior to joining Cenomi Centers, Alison held the role of CEO for Pradera Retail Asia, a joint venture that was formed with Macquarie Bank’s MIRA division, based in Shanghai, China, for 5 years. This JV was subsequently acquired in 2021 by Brookfield Asset Management, one of the world’s largest alternative asset managers, where Alison led the transition of PRA into Brookfield and acted as Senior Advisor and Acting Head of Commercial Real Estate for Brookfield Properties in China where she was responsible for all retail assets including shopping malls, offices, and mixed-use developments. Before China, Alison spent several years in Turkey and Europe as Managing Director and Board Director for Pradera.

Alison holds a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership with honors from Colorado State University and a bachelor’s degree in Marketing and International Trade with honors from the F. I. T., State University of New York.

Alison has more than two decades of extensive shopping mall and retail real estate experience having been based in and managed some of the world’s most prominent emerging markets across Asia, Europe, and Latin America. In addition, she has more than 10 years of experience working in the US market with global industry-leading companies, like General Growth Properties and Simon Property Group.

Georges Barakat is the Chief Operating Officer of Richemont Saudi Arabia, a Riyadh-based position that he has held for over 2 years, and prior to that, he was the Regional Brand Director for Alfred Dunhill, part of the Richemont group.

Before joining Richemont, Georges’ career spanned almost 20 years in the Middle East with various senior roles in FMCG and Luxury with Reckitt, Swatch Group, L’Oreal and Samsung, covering 23 countries at the South Korean Electronics giant.

As an experienced Retail leader, Georges has successfully rolled out many product launches across a vast geography, helping brands & organizations successfully grow their brand footprint across the region.

As the Managing Director of Saudi Payments, the national payments infrastructure provider and main enabler of payment services to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Abdulaziz AlAfaleq has a proven track record of running the Kingdom’s systemically important payment systems.

Abdulaziz has been instrumental in building Saudi Payments, under the supervision of the Saudi Central Bank, with a clear mandate in establishing the national foundation of digital payments within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

With over 17 years’ experience gained within the Financial Services sector. A graduate of King Saud University, Abdulaziz obtained his Master degree of Business Administration from Alfaisal University as well as attending, Harvard Business School for Leadership Development.

Waleed N. F. Al Saud is the founder and CEO of Mukatafa. He has over 30 years of experience within the Saudi private sector. In 2016, he helped organize the first private-sector assembly, which led to policy changes. Today, Prince Waleed is leading Mukatafa to mobilize major industries that impact Saudi Arabia’s GDP and unify their voice for maximum impact. Also, he is working with the public sector to improve the quality of legislation to help the growth of the business, reduce the cost of doing business and increase the level of doing business. His proudest achievement is bringing together an exceptional team of young females and males, helping realize V2030’s goals.

Mohamed has more than 30 years of experience in the field of Retail and Strategic planning. He started his carrier with different reputable firms in the banking, auditing and FMCGs sectors. Prior to joining eXtra in 2004, he was working with P&G, where he spent 15 years in senior positions across the region.

Mohamed also plays a Strategic role as a Board Member in several international companies across GCC and MENA like Halwani Bros, Egypt and Joknur, Turkey

A preeminent name in the fashion industry, Burak Çakmak joined the Fashion Commission in February 2021, with a mandate to lead efforts to elevate the Saudi fashion sector as it seeks to preserve the Kingdom’s rich fashion heritage and empower domestic talent. Prior to joining the Saudi Fashion Commission as CEO, Burak Çakmak was the Dean of Fashion at Parsons School of Design between 2015 – 2020. Before this, he held several key positions in the fashion industry, including vice president of corporate responsibility at Swarovski, corporate responsibility director at Kering, and general manager for the UK and Benelux countries at MADE-BY. Çakmak has vast experience in the fashion industry including some of the leading luxury brands such as Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Boucheron, Alexander McQueen among others. He also led the Swarovski Waterschool Initiative’s education program and continues to act as an expert jury for LVMH Prize.

ET 40 under 40 business leader. Debashish focuses on driving large scale change at the board level for retailers and consumer companies, especially related to topline and bottom-line improvements. He has experience across 10 countries in India, Asia and Middle East and has served on several National Business Committees and taskforces related to Consumer and Retail, in addition to serving as jury of several prestigious Retail Awards. Debashish has an MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta and is a Mechanical Engineer from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. 

Norma has over 24 years of experience with PwC and is a Partner in our Transaction Services Team based in Dubai.

She currently leads our Retail and Consumer markets practice across the Middle East. She has led numerous financial due diligence deals and valuation projects in the retail and consumer sector including fashion, F&B, Consumer products and others in the Middle East region for large regional families, corporates and private equity clients.

She also works with teams leading other propositions to bring industry specific solutions to PwC client.

Norma authors the annual PwC publication titled “Consumer Markets Insight Survey” covering consumer behavior in Egypt, KSA and the UAE and more recently the pulse survey post Covid.

She also leads PwC ME’s Inclusion and Diversity proposition across the Middle East.

Abdellah Iftahy is a partner in McKinsey & Company’s Dubai office. He leads the consumer and retail practice in the Middle East and is an active member of the global Strategy service line at McKinsey. In the last 12 years he has served several institutions on strategy and organization topics. He serves local and multinational consumer players, retailers and family businesses in the Middle East on a multitude of topics, varying from strategy to large commercial transformation of organizations. Abdellah is a thought leader on the topics of consumer and retail industries of the future and has written several publications and articles on those subjects. He leads the research associated with the firm’s Consumer Sentiment Survey in the Middle East, a proprietary survey that measures the pulse of consumer trends and behavior in the region. Abdellah also serves family-owned businesses in the region on strategic, organizational, and transformation issues.

Aref Yehia is the Head of Retail and Ecommerce at TikTok in the MENA region. 

Leading a team across omnichannel retail and pure play e-commerce verticals, Aref is in charge of building and growing the TikTok business in the MENA region. 

A digital savvy and accomplished business leader, Aref brings over 15 years of multinational experience across Consumer Packaged Goods, having been part of Procter and Gamble (P&G) for 13 years, holding different brand building roles for the IMEA region and across Retail, from his journey as the Head of Marketing for Mall of the Emirates, at Majid Al Futtaim (MAF Properties). 

Aref has extensive experience leading cross-functional teams across geographies and building iconic brands across developing markets. He specializes in digital marketing and is equipped with a proven track record in brand and asset development, stakeholder management across complex organisation structures, digital marketing, strategic planning, digital media planning, business insights, data analytics and people management. 

Aref holds an Executive MBA (TRIUM) from the London School of Economics, New York University and HEC Paris, as well as an Executive Education in Digital Marketing from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the American University of Beirut. 

Cyrille Fabre is a Senior Partner in Bain & Company’s Middle East offices; he leads Bain’s Consumer Products & Retail practice and family businesses in the Middle East. Cyrille has 20 years of management consulting experience and delivers strategies that work for leading businesses. He primarily advises retailers and consumer product companies on strategy, customer experience, digital and performance improvement. He has also developed specific expertise in the Middle East food sector from producer to retailer. In addition, Cyrille works with economic development agencies to address topics such as retail sector strategies, ecommerce regulations, food security in the GCC region. Cyrille has applied his management consulting expertise globally with Bain, having worked in the firm’s Brussels office. He is a frequent keynote speaker in retail conferences and his insights have been published in global and regional publications including Financial Times, Forbes, The National, Saudi Gazette. Prior to joining Bain, Cyrille worked in marketing and consulting for IBM Middle East and Cap Gemini. 

Omar Almajdouie is the founding partner of Raed Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm that partners with exceptional founders building transformative companies in the MENA region. Raed’s AUM exceeds SAR 500m and backed by top investors in the region including PIF’s Jada, SVC, Mubadala, Almajdouie Holding and many more. As an investor and entrepreneur, Omar founded Raed Ventures in 2016 as part of Almajdouie Holding diversification strategy, which has funded more than 40 innovative startups to-date.

He is the former CEO of Almajdouie Manufacturing Co. and he’s currently the Vice Chairman of the Saudi Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, as well as a chairman and board member of several leading tech startups and companies. Omar has more than 20 years of enriched experience in various managerial and executive positions.

Abdulmajeed Alsukhan is cofounder and CEO of Tamara. Abdulmajeed is a serial entrepreneur, with Tamara being his third startup so far. Tamara allows online and in-store shoppers in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait to split their payments with no hidden fees or interest. Today, Tamara has over 5 million registered customers and more than 12,000 partner merchants. It has raised over $215 million in funding and employs over 300 people across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Germany, and Vietnam.

Previously Abdulmajeed cofounded Nana, a digital grocery shopping platform, as well as hyperlocal delivery service Habli. Nana is currently the largest digital grocery shopping platform in Saudi Arabia and has raised more than $212 million in funding to date.

Abdulmajeed has a Masters in Economic Policy from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts in Financial Economics from California State University.

Rawan AlSahsah is the Founder and CEO of RIS Group, a Saudi Home lifestyle brand, specializing in design, sales, and distribution of Contemporary Luxury furniture & decor, operating in Saudi Arabia and across the GCC.

Ms. AlSahsah holds a B.A. in Interior Architecture; a member of the Saudi Council of Engineers, and a member of the International Interior Design Association.

In 2002, Ms. Alsahsah founded RIS and has become an industry leader in design & execution of sophisticated & prestigious residential and commercial projects. She is also an IIDA Award Winner.

In 2013 Ms. Alsahsah expanded RIS Group to Retail & Distribution, to be amongst the first Saudi women to have founded and led a successful Design, Retail & B2B company in Furniture and Homes in Saudi Arabia.

In addition, Ms. AlSahsah sits on the board of Saudi Arabian Trading & Engineer Company (SATEC) and Al Rama Company.

Abdulla Al Hammadi is Regional Business Lead for Snapchat heading Saudi Arabia. He is in charge of growing Snapchat’s business and market presence across the region in general with particular focus on Saudi Arabia. Abdulla also serves on the boards of Batelco and BEYON Money. Prior to Snapchat, he was a Senior Engagement Manager with McKinsey & Company serving clients across private and public sectors in MENA.

Panos Linardos is the Executive Director of the New York Institute of Management and Chairman of Retail Leaders Circle. Panos leads the retail, consumer goods, tech, media and sports practice at NYIM and has advised and worked with the chief executives and founders of some of the world’s leading commerce and tech-enabled companies in a variety of areas, including strategy, business transformation, global opportunities, and the launch of several market-shaping innovations.

Panos has an active travel schedule, discussing research findings with CEOs and other executives at international Fortune 500 companies, and is a frequent speaker on those topics as well as on broader global trends. At NYIM, Panos is known for his work on promoting innovative human capital development practices and maximizing ROI on organizational transformation, talent, and strategy initiatives for leading consumer-facing clients.

Prior to NYIM, Panos held various leadership positions in corporate strategy and finance with WestRock Company. Throughout his career he has collaborated with technologists, business leaders and policymakers on taskforces and commissions on how disruption is catalyzing growth and economic development.

Myf joined Cenomi Group in August 2022. She brings two decades of retail and real estate marketing expertise, holding global leadership roles with renowned industry names including Westfield and Nestle. Myf is overall responsible for the development of the Cenomi Group marketing strategy. Managing a team of 6 direct reports and over 70 indirect reports across KSA and the CIS. Responsible for the launch and development of the first corporate master brand in the history of the organization. Responsible for the development and execution of a new Group-wide digital strategy including loyalty and Mono-brand eCommerce sites.

Myf also held the role of Executive Director of Marketing and Communications at the Saudi giga project, NEOM, and most recently was Global CMO with commercial real estate developer IWG, based in London.

Myf’s academic Qualifications are a Bachelor of Business and 2 years of an MBA, but she moved from Australia to the UK in 2010 before she could finish it.

He specialized in E-commerce, E-marketing and enabling companies to foster their work by maximizing the power of technology and e-business.

Amin Magrabi started his career in 1995 in financial services in Egypt and New York.   

In 2003, Amin returned to the region to join the family-led MAGRABi business, becoming CEO of MAGRABi Retail in 2008. From 2019, he held the position of CEO for the MAGRABi Group, encompassing the Magrabi Hospitals and Centers and the Magrabi Foundation. In January 2023, Amin transitioned to Chairman of the MAGRABi Retail Group.   

Under Amin’s stewardship, MAGRABi Retail has consolidated its position as the leading high-end optical retailer in the Middle East, with a network of over 140 outlets across five countries. With a strong commitment to social matters and a particular focus on gender equality, Amin leads by example.    

Further to his roles at MAGRABi, Amin is an accomplished speaker and an active member of the global Young Presidents Organization. He also holds a number of Board, Director and Executive level positions.  

Stephen runs the Apparel, Toy Division, and Beauty Salon for the Kamal Osman Jamjoom Group, 8 business units with a cumulative annual turnover running into the billions of Dirhams.

He joined KOJ in 2013, with over 30 years of apparel industry experience, directly managing or partnering with global brand names such as Playtex, Wonderbra, Marks & Spencer and Victoria’s Secret.

Prior to moving to the region Stephen spent time working in Europe, the United States and Asia, as well as holding non-executive positions with a number of SME businesses.

He holds an MSc from the Cranfield Institute of Technology as well as a number of professional qualifications from the London Business School.

Stephen loves the cultural diversity and opportunity travel affords and is fascinated by the ever changing social fabric of our world.

Ali is a financially astute business leader and retail development champion with a wealth of commercial expertise

Before being named CEO in Jan 2019, Ali was the eXtra’s Chief Commercial Officer as he orchestrated commercial strategies through his strong leadership building sustainable growth strategies for core consumer electronics categories

Since assuming the CEO position, Ali has developed and established a new corporate purpose to redefine customers’ electronics shopping experience, as well as a long-term growth strategy and sustainability initiatives while delivering on key financial and strategic commitments.

Ali Bailoun is the Regional General Manager for GCC Cluster – Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman. He is responsible for overall strategy in KSA, Oman and Bahrain, including business development, resource optimization, and building long-term partnerships with Visa’s clients, fintechs, digital banks, government, regulators and other key stakeholders to drive the adoption of cashless payments and digital transformation across the three markets.  

Ali is an accomplished business leader bringing almost 20 years of payments, banking and management experience to support issuers, acquirers, merchants and governments in Visa’s key markets to improve their profitability and grow their business. He joined Visa in 2012 and has since been responsible for the overall strategy that has successfully led Visa’s business.  

Ali holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and Marketing from the Lebanese American University and completed several leadership, strategy and decision-making programs at Harvard University and MIT Sloan Management.

Jhonny leads the Leap (business building) service line for Consumer sector in the Middle east. He has served clients in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates on topics related to new business building, strategy and large scale digital and analytics transformations.

Prior to joining McKinsey, he obtained a Masters and Bachelors degree from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (Dean’s List). He worked with the Indian Space research organization to launch a student space satellite and had launched his own venture in the EdTech space in India.

London born Sujata Assomull is a Dubai based journalist and Author. The founding editor in chief of Harper’s Bazaar India, she previously worked with Khaleej Times as their Group Fashion Editor. An international chronicler of fashion trends, she is a go-to resource in the industry for commentary on the Middle East and the South Asia’s evolving and dynamic markets. A contributing editor for Vogue Business and a columnist for India’s leading business daily, Mint. Her by-lines have appeared in Business of Fashion, South China Morning Post and Arab News, Vogue India, Vogue Arabia, Fast Company Middle East and many more. Sujata is also a regular moderator at both literary and retail related events.

Joel Banck has been working in the Supply Chain industry for the last 10+ years in both Manufacturing, Wholesale and Retail. He is now a Lead Senior Solution Principal working with strategic accounts in EMEA and APAC at RELEX Solutions, a market-leading, unified supply chain and retail planning platform that empowers retailers and consumer goods companies to align and optimize demand, merchandise, supply chain, and operations planning across the end-to-end value chain. Their mission is to help customers drive profitable growth across all sales and distribution channels by maximizing customer satisfaction and minimizing operative costs in a rapidly changing market. RELEX drives record-high product availability, significantly reduced waste, increased sales, improved sustainability, and the best return on investment in inventory, space, workforce, and capacity. Their unwavering commitment to their customers is demonstrated by their track record of 100 % successful implementations and 100 % referenceable customers.

Lynn Al Khatib is Group Head of Communication at Chalhoub Group, the largest retailer and distributor of luxury brands in the Middle East and North Africa. She brings over 15 years of corporate and brand communication experience to her current role, which includes building the Group’s corporate brand and communication strategy, managing social media channels, keeping team members informed through internal communications, crisis management, as well as managing external communications and stakeholder relationships. Lynn joined Chalhoub Group in 2021 after more than two years as the Global Nutrition, Heath, and Wellness Communication Manager at Nestlé S.A, where she worked from the world’s leading food and beverage company’s headquarters in Switzerland on bridging corporate, scientific, and consumer information. She particularly led the development of a modular system that allows brands to communicate their purpose and impact in society. Lynn holds a Master-Degree in Nutrition and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nutrition and Dietetics from the American University of Beirut. A proud mother of two boys, Lynn’s personal passion is to help people lead healthier and more active lives. 

Patrick Bousquet-Chavanne is President and CEO Americas, and Global Luxury Practice Lead at ESW, a leader in global DTC Ecommerce solution. Patrick is one of the world’s leading experts in International brand development and retail digital transformation. With more than 30 years of operating experience in the worlds of luxury retail and beauty, Patrick has an exceptional track record in integrating physical and digital channels for internationally renowned brands in New York, London, Paris, and Dubai. He recently served as CEO of EMAAR Malls, owner of The Dubai Mall and prior to that, was Chief Customer, Marketing and Digital Officer for Marks & Spencer PLC and a Group President at The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. Patrick is a member of the boards of Flow Beverage Corp [XTSE], the French American Chamber of Commerce in New York, and a Forbes.com contributor on Luxury and Beauty.

Peter Fader is a Professor of Marketing at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. His work focuses on the analysis of behavioral data to understand and forecast customer shopping/purchasing activities.

In addition to his dozens of academic papers, book chapters, etc., Fader is the author of “Customer Centricity: Focus on the Right Customers for Strategic Advantage” (2020), co-author of “The Customer Centricity Playbook” with Sarah Toms (2018), and co-author of “The Customer-Base Audit” with Bruce Hardie and Michael Ross (2022).

Besides his various roles and responsibilities at Wharton, Professor Fader co-founded a predictive analytics firm (Zodiac) in 2015, which was sold to Nike in 2018. He then co-founded (and continues to run) Theta to commercialize his more recent work on “customer-based corporate valuation.”

Effective organization builder, repeatedly accelerating profit growth and delivering business transformation for multinational retail organizations.  Executive leadership with business plan and P&L responsibilities over teams of more than 7,000 generating more than $1B sales.

True change-driver able to build cross-cultural consensus, motivate individuals and teams to embrace change and strive for ambitious goals with method. Passionate about building stimulating environments where goal setting and measuring performance is the norm. Successful at creating a vision, turning that vision into an actionable strategy, setting the milestones critical for the delivery of that strategy and ensuring all milestones are hit.

Global citizen, multilingual (Fluent French – English – Spanish – basic Japanese – notions of Arabic), having worked in eight different countries, four continents, and comfortable in diverse cultures.

Nabila Nazer is a Saudi Entrepreneur, MBA holder and a fashion designer. Nabila has 15 years of professional experience in fashion design, marketing, branding, customer service, product quality and control. She is a Saudi-100 brands ambassador. She is also an expert speaker, a verified trainer by both local and international accreditation presented in many colleges and universities locally and in the Gulf Region. She has cooperated with many universities to present courses in entrepreneurship to help Saudi women, “How to Legalize Your Brand in Saudi”. A Former Member of the first Committee of Fashion Designers in Jeddah Chamber of Commerce. The journey as a designer started as a small home business filled with passion and dedication to get brand standard out and became a trendsetter. “We were one the very first brands in KSA that specialized in modest wear with a modern twist. We want to lead the revolution of the Arabian Fashion industry internationally. We aspire to represent our country and present Arabian elegance.”

Mohammed Bajbaa is a 29-year-old fashion entrepreneur. He had Saudi Arabian childhood but was educated in Los Angeles. He is the founder of Proud Angeles and Proud X Fashion Consultancy. Proud Angeles is a blend of his upbringing in KSA and his education from LA. He has mentored multiple creatives to help highlight their talents and break into the industry to become big names. His work has been featured in Vogue Arabia, Destination KSA, Harper’s Bazaar, Arab News.

Dr. Mohammed A. Fitaihi is an experienced business professional for more than 25 years. He founded several companies and brands among them “Baby Fitaihi”. He is a recipient of several prestigious international awards as a successful entrepreneur from several prestigious renowned entities such as Ernest & Young, “Global Competitiveness Forum”, and “Global Entrepreneurship Summit, sponsored by Harvard Business School. He has also been featured on the cover of Forbes Middle East. He Served in International Medical Center Co, Fitaihi Co. and Al-Jouf Co. as a board member, chairman and member of several committees. He also served as OQAL Jeddah, an NGO venture capital investment club board chairman, and served in several local accelerators and incubators such as Serb and Qotuf AlRiyadah. He holds several higher degreed from top universities, a BSC Eng., a MSF, an MBA in Entrepreneurship, a Doctorate in Business Administration with specialty in Leadership.

Farimah Moeini is a highly experienced senior leader in tech and digital media with over 15 years of experience. As the second employee of Snap Inc. in the Middle East, she played a key role in driving the company’s commercial growth in the region. Currently, she is the Head of Industry at Snap MENA, where she provides specialized consulting services to large retail and eCommerce businesses. Farimah is passionate about supporting the region’s digital transformation and adoption of new technologies such as shoppable AR. Prior to this, she served as the strategic solutions lead at Yahoo Inc. for 7 years, where she worked as the Global Client Director and was behind a few award winning campaigns.

Mohammad AlRazaz is a Serial Entrepreneur and the Co-founder & CEO of OTO – MENA’s Largest Shipping Integrator & Aggregator Solution for Online Businesses & OmniChannel Brands. At the age of 22, Mohammad founded Jeeny (previously EasyTaxi) in Saudi Arabia during his time with Rocket Internet, making him the youngest Country Manager in Easy Taxi globally by then. Al-Razaz is a MIT Global Entrepreneurship Bootcamp alumni, selected out of 800 global applicants, and has built several startups and businesses in transportation, e-commerce, logistics and technology. Founded early 2020, OTO is an All-in-one Shipping Management Software for Online Businesses & OmniChannel Brands to Ship, Manage, Track, Return & Analyze their online orders with 140+ Shipping Carriers from 1 consolidated dashboard.

As the CEO of Almosafer (part of Seera Group), Muzzammil Ahussain is known for his exceptional strategic acumen and operational expertise in running large-scale organizations. Spearheading the growth of the most holistic travel platform in the region, Muzzammil has been instrumental in positioning Almosafer as Saudi Arabia’s leading travel company for outbound, leisure, and religious travel. He now leads the company’s overall portfolio of brands that serve B2C and B2B customers, partners, and suppliers with state-of-the-art travel solutions, a digital-first mindset, and travel advisory.

Muzzammil has been with Almosafer since 2016 and has since then been a driving force in the development of the Middle East’s premier consumer travel brand. Under his leadership and guidance, Almosafer’s consumer business has transformed into a fully-fledged omnichannel travel agency for the
Middle East. Since the amalgamation of all of Seera’s travel businesses under the Almosafer umbrella, Muzzammil is also responsible for the continued success of Discover Saudi, Almosafer’s Destination Management Company, Hajj & Umrah Tour Operator Mawasim, as well as Corporate & Government Travel Management company Almosafer Business.
With a background as an internationally-recognized management consultant and operations executive, Muzzammil brings to the table a wealth of experience in scaling and optimizing performance, whilst enabling sustainable growth. His focus on innovation and customer experience has been key to Almosafer’s success and the pending investment into Almosafer by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is a testament to this.

Prior to his current role, Muzzammil served as a Senior Manager at Accenture Strategy, leading projects for a diverse range of international clients. His exceptional educational background includes an MBA with Distinction from INSEAD, one of the world’s top business schools, and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the prestigious University of California, Irvine.

Abbondandolo has over ten years’ experience supporting entrepreneurs and business leaders to scale their businesses across the MENA, Africa and APAC regions. At Checkout.com, Remo is responsible for expanding the business across the Middle East and North Africa region.

Prior to joining Checkout.com, Remo worked for Africa’s largest online travel agency, Travelstart, where he oversaw the company’s expansion into the Middle Eastern market. He was also part of the founding team of Africa Internet Accelerator (a Naspers’ investment), which launched three of the fastest-growing e-commerce businesses in South Africa. He also worked at Rocket Internet Australia & South East Asia where he was a founding member of the team that launched leading e-commerce companies The Iconic, Zalora and Lazada.

Remo is based in Dubai, UAE and holds a Dual Master’s of Science in Management of Innovation and New Technology from Bocconi University and Copenhagen Business School.

Faraz is the CEO of noon, the region’s leading consumer commerce platform. The noon ecosystem of services now includes marketplaces for food delivery, grocery, quick-commerce, fintech, and fashion. Faraz is an engineer by training and has an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to noon, Faraz was the co-founder and Managing Director at Namshi.

Roy is a Partner with PwC and leads Consumer Markets for the Deals Strategy & Operations business unit in the Middle East. 

Roy has 20 years of strategy and investments experience, as both an industry practitioner and consultant/advisor in the region. 

He specializes in advising Sovereign Wealth Funds, Private Equity and Family Businesses with their investment-related decisions by delivering commercial due diligence, market entry/growth strategy and value creation projects across Consumer Market sectors, including Retail, ConsumerTech, Consumer Goods and Agri/Food. 

Prior to PwC, he held a number of executive roles in both government and privately owned companies in the region with a focus on strategy and business development and has invested in a number of SMEs. 

Eithne Treanor is a professional conference moderator and international communications consultant. She also provides dynamic bespoke media and presentation trainings for business leaders, government officials and corporate executives. Having worked as a financial TV reporter, she covers business and finance with expertise in retail, logistics, energy, infrastructure, technology and corporate leadership. She is the Founder and CEO of E Treanor Media based in Dubai, UAE and she is building a community around Own the Space; her formula for better communication. As a former international broadcast journalist, her TV reporting experience spans major television networks including ABC News, Sky News, BBC World, Bloomberg TV and CNBC International. Eithne has interviewed politicians, dignitaries, and high-ranking business people and has written and reported for television, radio and print publications.

A strategy think tank, with over 30 years of experience in creating successful developments and renovating existing retail properties in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.  

With well-versed skills and persistent follow-up in operations and marketing, Mohammad created two epic retail shopping centers in Saudi Arabia: Hera Community Mall at Madinah Road and the iconic super-regional, Red Sea Mall at King Abdul Aziz Road in Jeddah. He also carries in his career a portfolio of eight other shopping malls which were developed during his work with SAVOLA. 

Mohammad is a public Saudi figure on the retail scene. He chairs the Shopping Malls Committee at JCCI, a member with the promotions and events Committee at JCCI and a member with the National Saudi Tourism Board in Riyadh. 

Currently he heads one of the most dynamic Real Estate Development Companies in Saudi, Red Sea Markets Co.  His vision is to turn it into one of the major players in the Shopping Mall Industry in Saudi Arabia.           

Extensive experiences in manufacturing and FMCG followed by a lengthy and detailed career in grocery retail. Led high growth retail strategy development and execution to leadership position in the market place.

Afterwards, moved to the public sector and participated in the establishment of Small & Medium Enterprises General Authority, Monsha’at. Throughout that tenure, managed national projects that formed the strategies for retail in the Kingdom. 

Moved back to the private sector to lead the strategy development an execution for a major grocery retailer to take them to the leadership position in the market place.

Active participation in the World Retail Congress and well as other important retail events, like Retail Circle Leaders.

Currently, holding several board seats creating value in different sectors with the majority of which in retail.

Mohammed Dhedhi is a strategic advisor to consumer and retail organizations. His key areas of focus include growth strategy (organic & inorganic, go-to market strategy), digital business models, EBITDA improvement and global client portfolio across Americas, Europe and MEA.

He has authored and commented on relevant regional topics. Recent topics include consumer behavior and sentiment, e-commerce, and transformation.

He holds an MBA from the University of Michigan, Ross School of Business and a B.S. in Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Nisreen Shocair was previously appointed by Providence Equity Partners as the CEO of a live streaming network serving the MENA region, a first mover in the space of shoppable digital content. She had been the President of Virgin Megastore for the Middle East & North Africa for over a decade, leading its transformation and playing a key role in promoting Middle Eastern culture to a young demographic.

Nisreen has held leadership positions at Viacom, Sony Music, Bertelsmann AG and Hearst Entertainment. Nisreen co-chairs the Retail Leaders Circle, a think tank for the Middle East retail industry and its eco-system. She has been awarded Female CEO of the Year by CEO Middle East and Businesswoman of the Year by Women in Leadership. Nisreen is on Arabian Business 100 Most Powerful Arab Women’s list four years in a row and is listed in the top 100 Most Powerful Arab Women by Forbes Middle East.

Saima Khan is currently the Director of Citizen Cosmetics, an internationally distributed vegan friendly inclusive makeup company manufactured in Italy with offices in Dubai, London and Los Angeles & Amsterdam. The premium brand has received global accolades, press, & gaining wide recognition in top North American department stores and positive reviews including winning the Allure Magazine ‘Best of Beauty’ Award two years in a row. In 2023 CTZN will be launching distribution in retail stores in United Kingdom; and Sephora online.

Saima is a recognized serial entrepreneur, angel investor, and operator who has successfully built several businesses from a ‘back of a napkin’ idea to multi-million-dollar valuations and exits over the past 20 plus years with businesses primarily focused on the retail space. Saima is also a conscious and avid philanthropist supporting many causes predominantly focused on the needs of children and women.

Michael began his career in chartered accountancy, training originally with Ernst and Young in 1980, before taking his first Group Finance Director position at Bassett Foods PLC in 1986 gaining an MBA during this time.

In 1989 he was appointed Group Finance Director of H.P. Bulmer Holdings PLC, before moving into the retail space in 1994 as Managing Director of Lloyds Chemists PLC. After a period of senior directorship roles in retail, Michael was invited to join Harrods as Managing Director in 2005. During his time at Harrods, he has overseen programmes of huge growth and expansion within the luxury department store, as well as the transition to new ownership by the Qatar Investment Authority.

Michael is a leading voice in the luxury industry and currently holds the position of Chairman of Walpole, the official sector body for UK luxury. He was also appointed to the V&A Corporate Advisory Board in August 2020.

Richard Simonin, French Citizen, living in Bologna Italy since 2011 has held Chairman & CEO positions in Luxury: Kenzo (LVMH), Givenchy (LVMH), Escada, Harrods and in Retail: La Redoute (PPR-KERING), Etam Group, Limoni, Vivarte Since 2016, he is a Senior Advisor and an independent Retail Transformation and Turnaround Expert. Since 2017, he is Vice-Chairman of the Board at Al Tayer Retail in Dubai. Additionally, he has led the transformation and turnaround of the Company in 2019 as COO and CTO. This transformation paved the way to the emergence of Ounass, a leading Luxury pure player in the region. In the last 20 years, Richard has been leading major turnarounds of disrupted retailers through transformations of organizations. He has extensive experience and expertise in financial restructurings, Product-Offering and Marketing mix repositioning. Under his guidance some major brick & mortar retailers have been regaining performance, agility, profitability and successfully became omnichannel due to effective digitalization.

Christine is a serial entrepreneur; launched multiple businesses over the last 20 years; Dunkin’ (Lebanon), Semsom (UAE, Oman), Green Falafel (KSA), Catalyst of Growth (UAE) and more.

Board Member & Strategy Advisor; focusing on business development for restaurants, cloud kitchens, malls, consumer apps… in more than 12 markets.

And a Passionate Mentor for women in business for the last 10 years.

Christine holds a BSc. in Nutrition from AUB (Beirut), MSc. in Food Science from McGill University (Montreal), Masters in Marketing from ESA (Beirut) and YPO Harvard Presidents’ Program (Boston; 8 out of 9 years completed). She is an active member of YPO, where she served in the Lebanese and presently the MENA Regional board.

She was awarded the Middle East Business Woman of the Year in 2011 by Arabian Business and Listed in the 100 Most Powerful Arab Women by Arabian Business and Forbes Middle East for 7 years.

Dina Joined Google in 2015, with a mandate to forge digital partnerships with key tech companies in MENA, and has since led digital transformation initiatives for businesses across multiple industries. Today, she is leading Google’s digital media business in Saudi Arabia.

Before joining Google, she was a management consultant at Booz & Co, working on a variety of engagements with regional and global tech companies and telecom operators.

Dina started her career at Kuwait Petroleum International, holding positions in Germany, Belgium and Kuwait. Thereafter, she joined Zain Kuwait for 3 years, where she led high profile strategic projects.

She received her MBA from the London Business School in 2012 and speaks 4 languages.

Yash is a senior director at PwC Middle East’s Transport and Logistics Practice with 20+ years of experience and has spent the last 14 years in the Middle East. Yash has been closely involved in supporting the largest public and private sector entities with strategy led transformation and supported them on topics related to growth strategies, M&A, resilience, and sustainability. 

Yash holds an MBA in Strategy from INSEAD and a Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management from Michigan State University.

Experienced and focused on execution in the field of digital marketing and technology. With more than 15 years exclusively in Marketing and IT with a Computer Science background have led a performance marketing team and later a business unit of EKWB, a European blue-chip.