Category: Invited guests

Associate Director at the Boston Consulting Group. Sanjay Nawandhar leads the BCG Center for Public Economics (CPE) and has over a decade of experience advising government ministries, investment agencies, and leading public and private sector organizations on economic transformation, policy design, and strategic planning. His expertise spans across the design of strategies to drive economic diversification and sustainable growth, economic modeling, and impact assessment. An expert on economic policy and localization, Sanjay has led multiple national-level initiatives, including the development of comprehensive trade strategies, investment frameworks, and government spending prioritization programs. He specializes in translating complex economic data into actionable insights, fostering alignment with long-term developmental goals. Sanjay is a gold medalist Chartered Accountant and holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and finance. He was honored as one of the “40 Under 40 Indian CA Business Leaders” by his alma mater, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, in partnership with CNBC.

Chief of Staff to the Capgemini Group CEO since 2022. Formerly an advisor on industrial policy at the French Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, he has previously held various senior positions at the Government Shareholding Agency and the Budget Directorate. Thibaud graduated from Ecole Polytechnique, Mines Paris and Sciences Po. He is a lecturer in industrial policy at Sciences Po and is also a board member of the French-Asia Foundation and a member of the editorial board of the Terra Nova think tank.

Head of direct investments at the UAE Sovereign Wealth Fund ($100 billion AuM), Global Tech and Digital Infrastructure Investor. With over three decades of transformative experience in private equity and corporate development, he has overseen 100 investments totaling $24 billion across major tech hubs worldwide, establishing himself as a leading figure in advanced technology investments. Championing the transformative power of technology to drive economic growth and social progress, he remains committed to innovative and sustainable solutions addressing global challenges. His career is distinguished by trailblazing contributions that have shaped our current digital ecosystem such as mobile networks as a co-founder of Bouygues Telecom (1995); telecoms, Internet, digital TV as a PE investor at Apax Partners (1998); mobile broadband as a founder of Qualcomm Ventures Europe (2006); cloud computing, virtualization and IoT as the leader of Cisco Investment International and its €3-billion European deep tech strategy (2012-2016). His investments in 5G, Cloud, AI, Cybersecurity, New Space and Quantum have significantly propelled the growth of numerous technology leaders. Graduated from Sorbonne University (MBA) and ECE Paris (Engineering), Mr. Rombaut has taught private-equity for two decades, exemplifying his commitment to knowledge-sharing.

Founder and Chairwoman of Swift Property Holdings (Dubai-based REIT and prop tech), Founder and CEO of Blue Bridge (expert in generative AI adoption at scale and digital agents). Sylvie Ouziel is a board member of Covivio (REIT managing €25+bn assets) and Technion University. She has a track record of building and growing successful global technology-centric businesses. As CEO of Shared Platform for Publicis, the advertising global leader, she was notably in charge of AI and relationships with technology partners. Previously, based in Singapore, Sylvie was International President (for the world except China) of Envision, the “Net Zero thanks to technology” champion (AIoT, wind turbine and EV batteries). She was for eight years global CEO of Allianz Assistance (based in Singapore), the B2B2C travel, automotive, home and digital service leader and chairwoman of Allianz Managed Operations and Services (based in Munich). She has been global COO of Accenture Management Consulting where she spent twenty years helping clients transform and grow in the pharmaceutical, automotive and construction industries, and served in the board of M6 / RTL (TV and radio broadcasting) and Aperam, during IPO time. Sylvie graduated from Ecole Centrale Paris and holds an Accenture-sponsored Kellogg’s Northwestern Executive MBA.

Business strategist with extensive expertise in international market expansion, cross-cultural partnerships, and strategic business development. Serving as the Deputy Secretary General of the Malaysian Business Council UAE, she actively fosters collaborations between ASEAN and Middle Eastern enterprises to drive regional growth. As co-founder of IACS International, Faten leads high-impact consultancy projects across diverse industries, including telecommunications, finance, healthcare, and renewable energy. Currently pursuing an MBA in Energy Management at Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS and a graduate of Harvard University’s Energy Within Environmental Constraints course, she combines rigorous academic training with hands-on expertise in sustainable business practices. Faten is dedicated to promoting leadership development and diversity, particularly within male-dominated sectors, through impactful empowerment initiatives.

Economist and policy analyst in the Artificial Intelligence and Digital Emerging Technologies division of the OECD. Her work focuses on analysing national AI strategies, policies, and regulatory approaches, as well as coordinating AI country reviews. Lucia Russo also leads the development of a composite measurement framework for AI. Before joining the OECD, Lucia served as an economist in the Digital Economy and Skills Unit at the European Commission’s Directorate General CONNECT, where she designed digital skills policies and led the evaluation of EU digital research programmes. Lucia holds a Master’s degree in Development Economics and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Roma Tre.

COO & CFO for a prominent investment office in Dubai investing across all different asset classes. Previously, Mr Vijayakumar served as COO & CFO for Miras Investments, an intergenerational institutional size family office managing a multi asset portfolio for nearly five years. Mr Vijayakumar not only specialises in LP investing in both public & private markets but also specialises in building investment management infrastructure across legal, operations, finance, treasury, IT and Human capital. Mr Vijayakumar built his family office wealth management career with Northern Trust in the Global Family Office Group in London advising UHNW and family offices and with Royal Bank of Canada in the Channel Islands and London. Mr Vijayakumar is a Fellow member of CPA Australia, Qualified TEP from Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners and a Qualified Chartered Accountant. Mr Vijayakumar also obtained family office certifications from Harvard business school and Columbia business school. Mr Vijayakumar is a frequent speaker in Industry events and is often seen as the thought leader in the family office segment.

Swiss public health expert and researcher known for his work on tobacco control and smoking cessation. He earned a master’s degrees in political science and in public health in 1995 and a doctorate in political science in 1996. An honorary professor at the University of Geneva, he has conducted research for over 30 years on smoking prevention and cessation, nicotine addiction, and the impact of various public health policies on smoking behavior. His studies often focus on harm reduction strategies, particularly in relation to e-cigarettes and other nicotine and tobacco products. His work is widely cited and has contributed significantly to the understanding of smoking behavior and to the development of effective tobacco control policies. It has made him a prominent figure in tobacco research and policy debate.

Acclaimed South African economist and entrepreneur. Between 2018 and 2023, she served the Presidency as full-time economic advisor to President Cyril Ramaphosa, driving the administration’s investment and reform agenda. Trudi also served as South Africa’s G20 sherpa, representing the President in the negotiations ahead of Leaders’ summits and meetings. Trudi currently serves as a board member of JSE-listed Spar Group and chairs the Social, Ethics and Sustainability committee. Trudi’s previous roles include being Deputy Commissioner of the Competition Commission of South Africa, and management consulting and corporate roles at Deloitte, Genesis Analytics and AngloGold Ashanti. Trudi holds an MBA and an MSc in Development Economics from Oxford University, where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar. From the University of Witwatersrand, she holds an MCom in Economics, an honours degree in economics and a BCom in Law and Economics. A former league debater, Trudi represented Wits at two World Universities Debating Championships (Manila 1999, Sydney 2000).

Regional Head of French Treasury’s units in the Arabian peninsula and economic counsellor at the French Embassy in Abu Dhabi since 2022. He was previously member of the office of the French Minister in charge of Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness, Mr. Franck Riester (2020-2022). Mr. Chauvel was deputy head of the French macroeconomic policies unit (2016-2017), then portfolio manager at the Agence des Participations de l’Etat (APE) in charge of shareholdings in the energy and mining sectors (2017-2018), before joining the Kepler Cheuvreux Group as Group General Secretary, member of the Executive Committee.He is a former board member of Orano Mining, Orano Cycle and the Compagnie Nationale du Rhône. Mr. Chauvel started his career in equity derivatives trading, in Paris and Luxembourg. Jean-Baptiste Chauvel is a gradute from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (HEC, Paris) and an alumnus of the Ecole Nationale d’Administration (ENA).

Managing Partner and co-founder of ALVEN, one of the largest and most active Private Equity funds in digital technologies in France (software, artificial intelligence, fintech). The fund manages 1,5bn€ of capital, and has invested in 170 companies, mainly in Europe and the United States. Charles Letourneur started his career in M&A with LAZARD in New York, and then Paris. In 1999, he was appointed Executive Director of LAZARD and became a member of the Executive Committee of EURAZEO. He graduated from Ecole Polytechnique, ENSAE and Science Po.

Managing Director of Eiffel Investment Group and SEO of Eiffel IME, established in Abu Dhabi. He led the development of the firm in France before setting up the office in Abu Dhabi in 2023. Eiffel is an independent asset manager focused on green and sustainable investments. With close to $10bn AUM, it operates globally and manages funds on behalf of major institutional investors. Alexis held previous positions in the insurance and asset management industry in Paris and London. He has been a Professor at HEC Paris and Université Paris Dauphine in philosophy and economy. He currently teaches in the philosophy department of Sorbonne Abu Dhabi. He is also the author of several books including La vocation de l’investisseur à la lumière de la Doctrine Sociale (collective work, 2022), and L’économie science barbare (2023). He graduated from HEC Paris and Sorbonne University.

Special Envoy of the French President for IMEC, the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor. He has been appointed by Emmanuel Macron in late November 2023. Previously, M. Mestrallet served as Executive Chairman of the French Agency for AlUla (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) cultural, heritage and tourism development in cooperation with the Kingdom from 2018 to 2023. Gérard Mestrallet is a prominent figure of the French private sector after acting more than 21 years as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GDF SUEZ (now ENGIE; CAC 40 index) after the merger between SUEZ and Gaz de France on July 2008. In 2015, he was appointed by the government Chairman of the Business dialogue of the COP 21 which has contributed to the final agreement of the climate conference. He has held various positions at the Treasury Department and at the Cabinet office of the Minister of Economy and Finance (J. Delors) at the beginning of his career, before joining Compagnie Financière de SUEZ in 1984. 

Professor at the RSCAS and adjunct professor at the School of Transnational Governance (European University Institute, Florence). Prof. Roy has been a Senior Researcher at the French National Center for Scientific Research (since 1985), professor at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (since 2003), and visiting professor at Berkeley University (2008/2009). He has a PhD in political sciences and a Master in Persian language and civilization (INALCO-1972). He is the author of, among other books, “The failure of political Islam” (Harvard University Press, 1994), “Globalized Islam” (Columbia University Press, 2004), “Holy Ignorance” (Hurst/ Oxford University Press, 2010), “Jihad and Death”, (Hurst/OUP 2017), “In search of the Lost Orient”, (Columbia UP, 2017), “The Crisis of Culture”, Hurst/ Oxford UP 2024.

Partner and member of the Executive Committee of the international law firm of Cleary Gottlieb, with over 35 years of experience in Latin America. His practice focuses on the energy and natural resources sectors, in which he has led a number of groundbreaking transactions. Mr. Lewis has been cited as “one of the best lawyers for corporate matters” in the region by Chambers, and named a Market Leader by IFLR and a Hall of Fame lawyer by The Legal 500. Mr. Lewis received a J.D. from Columbia Law School and a B.A. from the Williams College.

Head of research on Emerging countries and Global Geopolitics at Crédit Agricole Group’s Economic Research Department. She used to be head of the Master’s in finance and strategy, at Sciences Po Paris, where she is still teaching economics and country risk analysis. She was several times jury member for the National School of Administration. She has been expert for the European Commission and member of the London Club for the restructuring of Russian debt. She has conducted numerous research papers on geopolitical risk assessment in the financial sector. She is also an author and has published six novels.

Argentine transactional and regulatory lawyer with more than 20 years of experience in oil and gas, conventional and renewable energy, mining, and natural resources-related litigation and arbitration. He completed a Masters Degree in Energy Law and Policy in the United Kingdom (University of Dundee) as a Chevening Scholar. He founded the first and only Argentine Journal on Energy Law (RADEHM). He is a founding Partner of Martínez de Hoz & Rueda, the only Argentine law firm ranked number one at Chambers & Partners (Energy: Oil & Gas). Tomas has worked in the main energy projects of the past 15 years in Argentina (Vaca Muerta gas pipeline, Loma Campana shale oil upstream project, Trasandino oil pipeline, Pacifico gas pipeline, Cerros Colorados hydro project).

President Gas, Renewables & Power and member of the Executive Committee of TotalEnergies since 2021. In 2011, he became TotalEnergies E&P Qatar Managing Director and on April 1, 2014, the E&P Senior Vice President Middle East/North Africa and a Member of the Management Committee of the Exploration and Production segment. In 2008, Stéphane Michel was appointed TotalEnergies E&P Qatar JV Business Development Manager and in 2010 Managing Director of TotalEnergies E&P Libya. After serving as Energy Advisor to the French Finance Minister (2002-2004), Stéphane Michel joined the Group in 2005, working as Business Development Manager for TotalEnergies Downstream Asia, based in Singapore. A graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique (1994) and the Ecole des Mines in Paris (1997).

Vice President International Public Affairs at TotalEnergies. Prior to joining TotalEnergies in 2019, he held several positions at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He notably was Consul General in Dubai, Political Advisor for the French Delegation to NATO and n°2 at the Embassy of France to Qatar.

CEO of the Capgemini Group since May 20, 2020. Since assuming the role, Mr. Ezzat has directed the integration of Altran and reinforced Capgemini’s position as a leading responsible organization, notably committing to becoming a net zero business by 2040. With more than 25 years’ experience at Capgemini, he has developed a deep knowledge of the Group’s main businesses and has worked in many countries, notably the UK and the US, where he lived for more than 15 years. During his tenure as COO (from 2018 to 2020) and prior to this as CFO, from 2012 to 2018, Mr. Ezzat reinforced both the Group’s position as a global leader as well as its financial resilience. Mr. Ezzat has a dual background in chemical engineering and management. He holds a MBA from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA. Mr. Ezzat is also on the Air Liquide Board of Directors and is a member of the Business Council and the European Round Table for Industry.

Ambassador of Bangladesh to UAE and Permanent Representative to IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency). His Excellency Mohammed Abu Zafar, a career diplomat, joined Bangladesh Civil Service (Foreign Affairs) in 1991. During his 31 years of service with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Bangladesh, he served in different capacities at home and abroad. Prior to his diplomatic career, he worked in the Ministry of Post & Telecommunication as well as in the Ministry of Agriculture since 1987. 

Ambassador of the Republic of Austria to the United Arab Emirates. At the Federal Chancellery in Vienna, H.E. Dr. Etienne Berchtold previously worked as Foreign and European policy spokesperson for three Austrian Chancellors. Before that, Etienne Berchtold, who studied law, worked for several years as spokesperson for the Austrian foreign minister Sebastian Kurz, respectively before among others as an employee at the Permanent Representation to the EU in Brussels and for Shell Austria GmbH in Austria.

Partner and Director at the Boston Consulting Group. Based in Morocco, Mr. Zrikem is BCG’s Public Sector Practice node for Africa. He serves clients in governments on various issues (social protection, food systems, trade, investment, and climate change). Before joining BCG, he was a Partner at Roland Berger and worked for Azura, a leading agriculture Moroccan company. Prior to that, Mr. Zrikem served as an adviser to the Moroccan Prime Minister and a Project Director at Sciences Po Paris. Mr. Zrikem studied at École normale supérieure, Sciences Po Paris and La Sorbonne.

Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer at Investment Corporation of Dubai – ICD. He is the Chief Operating Officer of ICD, Dubai’s sovereign wealth fund ($380 billion AUM). Leading the corporate functions, he supports the Managing Director in the corporate strategy development and is responsible for the efficient operational management of the organization with the aim of optimizing business performance. He is a member of several boards, including IHI – International Hotel Investments, Dangote Cement, and SmartStream. Prior to joining ICD, he was with Xerox for over 25 years during which he held several board, general management, leadership and transformation roles in Europe, North America and globally. His last position was Corporate Officer and President, Channel Partner Operations for Xerox based in New York. In this role, he led an end-to-end global business generating over $10 billion in revenue. On a social and humanitarian level, he has always been very active in the fields of education, innovation and health. He is a member of the board of directors of IPEMED (Institut de Prospective Economique du Monde Méditerranée). He studied at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris, holds an engineering degree from the National School of State Public Works – ENTPE (France) and is also graduated in Business Administration – Strategy and Management – from ESSEC (Ecole Supérieure des Sciences Economiques et Commerciales) in Paris. He has lived and worked in France, USA, Spain, Italy, UK and Dubai and speaks French, English, Spanish, Italian and Arabic.

Former President of International Public Affairs and Sustainability at UPS. An experienced global leader, Mrs. Naas leads teams in the development and execution of strategies in complex, regulated environments. In her previous role, she led efforts to advance strategies for UPS and its customers on issues including climate change, cross-border trade, and digitalization. She began her UPS career joining as the Head of Public Affairs in the then-EMEA Region. Prior to joining UPS, she worked for Citigroup in the Global Government Affairs team. She opened Citigroup’s first government affairs office in Brussels, where she advanced legislative and regulatory strategies on issues that arose after the 2008 Financial Crisis. She started her career at the US Department of Commerce, where she worked for 13 years in various roles covering global commercial issues. Her final role was to lead the office of Europe, where she oversaw US-European commercial issues. She is an experienced Director on various not-for-profit Board of Directors. Mrs. Naas has a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She is a US and Belgian citizen.

Director General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF). Before taking on this position, H.E. Dr. Abdulrahman A. Al Hamidy was Vice Governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA). He has also served as Deputy Governor for Technical Affairs at SAMA, Director General at Economic Research and Statistics, as well as Director of Training, Research and Information at the Institute of Banking. Before that, he taught Economics at the King Saud University. Dr. Al Hamidy was a member of the Board of Executive Directors in the Arab Monetary Fund, as well as other organizations. He has participated in international meetings such as G20, International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB), as well as meetings of the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), Financial Stability Board (FSB), and Council of Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB). In addition, with his appointment as Director General Chairman of the Board of the Arab Monetary Fund, Dr. Al Hamidy also holds the position of Chief Executive Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Arab Trade Financing Program “ATFP” and Chairman of the Board of “BUNA”.

French Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates since December 2022. Mr. Nicolas Niemtchinow studied at École Nationale d’Administration (ENA), École Normale Supérieure (ENS), and Sciences Po Paris (IEP, Paris), BA and MA in History. He joined the Foreign Service in 1995. He holds the rank of Minister plenipotentiary. He was first desk officer for NATO and European Defense in the Strategic Affairs Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1995-1998). He was posted to the French Embassy in Moscow, as first Secretary, then to the French Embassy in Amman, as Deputy Head of Mission. He was subsequently appointed as Deputy Director of Strategic Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2005-2009). He then served as the diplomatic adviser to the Minister of Defense (2010-2011) and Deputy Director of the State Minister’s private office at the Ministry of European and Foreign Affairs (2011-2012). He was appointed Ambassador, permanent representative of France to the United Nations’ Office in Geneva and to the international organizations in Switzerland (2012-2015) then Deputy General Director to the International Labour Organization (ILO, UN-Geneva) from 2015 to 2017. From October 2017 to November 2022, he served as Strategy Director at Ministry of Defense.