Category: Invited guests

Senior Director of Space Engineering Department at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre. Head of the Satellite Development Program as part of the UAE National Space Programme. He held several leadership roles at MBRSC from SW unit, to Space Systems Section. He held different roles in the main MBRSC Space projects, as head of AIT of DubaiSat-1, Deputy Project Manager of DubaiSat-2, Project Manager of KhalifaSat, the first UAE satellite to be developed in the UAE, with 100% UAE leadership. He is currently the project Manager of MBZSat, named after HH Shielh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of UAE. This mission is in particular a key milestone for the Space industry im the UAE, as it has a major development fone by the UAE private sector. This mission aims at localising the Space economy with strong partnership between government and private sector. He was awarded the UAE Pride Medal in 2014, for his achievement in building the engineering and scientific capabilities of UAE nationals. He holds a bachelor degree in Electronic Engineering, and a Master degree in Aerospace Engineering.

Chief Economist of the West African Development Bank (BOAD). He is responsible for improving the Bank’s access to international capital markets at a time when the institution is committed to strengthening its equity capital to support the economic and social development of WAEMU countries. A senior financial analyst with nearly 30 years of experience with European banks and investment banks, he began his career with the Crédit Agricole Group (Paris-France) in 1987 where he held, among other responsibilities, the position of Head of the team of financial analysts responsible for monitoring European banks. His career path led him successively to Paris and London within the teams of Exane BNP Paribas, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, ING Wholesale banking and Mediobanca Securities.

Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium to the United Arab Emirates, since August 2022. Previously, he has been Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium to the People’s Republic of China, and to Mongolia (2019 – 2022). From 2016 to 2019, he worked at the Directorate General for European Affairs (Brussels, Belgium); Horizontal EU external policy coordination, focal point for Belgium (European Correspondent 2017-2019); Coordinator for the Middle East and Northern Africa Regions (2016-2017); Belgian Senior Official for the Union for the Mediterranean, Belgian Coordinator for the relations between the EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council, and between the EU and the League of Arab States. From 2012 to 2016, he was Head of the Economic Department, Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium to the Republic of India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and The Maldives. From 2009 to 2012, he worked as Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium to Lebanon. Previously, he was Attorney at Law in Belgium (1999 – 2008).

Co-founder and CEO of TiLT Capital Partners, an asset management company dedicated to energy transition. Its first fund focused on growth capital for European SMEs in the sector has reached €320m in subscriptions. To date, TiLT has invested in 9 companies in France, Germany, Spain and Norway. Up until 2018, Nicolas was SVP in charge of M&A and Corporate Development for Engie, a Paris based energy company employing then over 150 000 people across 70 countries. He’s been working in the field of energy and project development / M&A for the last 13 years, after 5 years in HR working on social sustainability. He is also a First Mover Fellow of the Aspen Institute. Currently based in Paris, Nicolas lived in Brussels and Rome and spent a lot of time on transactions in the US, China, Russia, South-East Asia and South America. Sustainability and ethics have been at the core of his motivation, fueled by his graduation in Philosophy and Political Sciences and translated into a PhD in Economics on this topic, earned magna cum laude from Paris-Dauphine university.

Ambassador of the Republic of Rwanda to the United Arab Emirates. Prior to his appointment, he served since 2017 as the Deputy CEO and Chief Operating Officer of Rwanda Development Board (RDB), a one stop agency of the Government charged with fast tracking economic development through the private sector. Before RDB, he served as the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, a position he held for close to seven years since 2010. Ambassador Emmanuel Hategeka also served for 15 years in many positions of responsibility in the private sector. He began his career working for the National Insurance company of Rwanda, later moved to become Sales and Marketing Director for MTN (Rwanda) a global telecoms operator followed by his four-year tenure as CEO of the Private Sector Federation in Rwanda. He has proven knowledge and rich experience in corporate leadership, policy and strategy design, multilateral trade systems, Investment advisory and regional value chains frameworks. He is passionate about youth empowerment, innovation, entrepreneurship, and sustainable development. Ambassador Emmanuel Hategeka holds an MBA in Corporate Strategy and Economic Policy from Maastricht School of Management- Netherlands and a B.COM – Finance Bachelors’ degree from Makerere University- Uganda.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Romania to the  United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi since June 2022. Beforehand, he was Head of Controlling and Reporting for The Private Healthcare Network Regina Maria. He also served as Consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers  in Romania. He obtained a degree in Business Administration from Bucharest University and one in Foreign Languages – English and Arabic from Dimitrie Cantemir University.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Poland to the United Arab Emirates. From 2004, he worked in Polish diplomatic missions in Sanaa, Algiers and Riyadh. He is also the author of two books: Yemen – world of tribal values (2008); Arabic and Polish diplomatic and political vocabulary (2016). Jakub Sławek graduated from the Faculty of Arabic Studies at the Jagiellonian University in Cracow in 2002. He also followed a course of Arabic in Damascus and completed post-graduate studies in the field of diplomacy and international relations at Collegium Civitas, Warsaw. Jakub Sławek holds a Ph.D. in the field of humanities (Yemen studies) from the Oriental Institute at the Warsaw University.

Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the United Arab Emirates. He started his career as a Senior Lecturer at the Nur-Mubarak University of Islamic Culture of Egypt in Almaty and at the Academy of Public Administration attached to the President of Kazakhstan. He then became Third Secretary of the Department of Asia and Africa of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan before he was appointed Attaché, Third Secretary and eventually Second Secretary of the Embassy of Kazakhstan in the UAE. In 2011, he was First Secretary of the Department of Asia and Africa then in 2012, Counsellor of the Embassy of Kazakhstan in the United Arab Emirates. From 2015 to 2017, he served as Minister-Counsellor of the Embassy of Kazakhstan in the UAE and then until 2019 as Consul General of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Dubai. He obtained a Bachelor from the Faculty of Arabic Language and Islamic Studies at the University of Islamic Appeal, Tripoli, Libya in 2002 as well as a Master of Philology at the Kazakh Abylai Khan University of International Relations and World Languages in 2004.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the United Arab Emirates since May 2022. In July 2020, Mr. Senik was appointed Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Chief Digital Transformation Officer. In 2016 Dmytro Senik was appointed Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Singapore. He also served as Ambassador of Ukraine to Brunei Darussalam and to New Zealand (with residence in Singapore). In 2014 – 2016 Mr. Senik held the position of the Chief of Staff to the Foreign Minister of Ukraine. In 2012-2014 he was Adviser to the Foreign Minister, and later to the Deputy Prime-Minister of Ukraine. In 2011-2012 Dmytro worked as principal assistant to the Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine. In 2007-2011 he worked at the political section of the Embassy of Ukraine in the United States. Mr. Senik joined the Foreign Service in 2004. He is a graduate of the Kyiv Institute of Economics and Management. Mr. Senik received Master in Diplomacy at the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies, University of Malta. In 2019, Dmytro graduated from the Nanyang Technological University with Master in Public Administration.

Chief of staff to Moldova’s Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu. Olga Rosca joined Moldova’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development where she was leading Communications for some of the Bank’s largest markets, including Turkey and Ukraine. During her almost ten years at the EBRD, Olga was based at the London headquarters, the regional hub in Istanbul and most recently in Kyiv. Prior, she had been working in the media unit of the OSCE Mission to Moldova. Her previous experience also includes roles at the EU Delegation to Moldova and the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. She holds a master’s degree in Public Communication from the Moldova State University.

Senior Executive of the International Organizations Unit of the Ministry of Finance of the United Arab Emirates. She is responsible for following up the implementation of joint activities with international organizations of which the Ministry of Finance is a member at.

Founder and CEO of CYSEC. Before launching CYSEC, Patrick Trinkler played an active part in the world’s first exit in quantum technologies. Patrick has specialized in creating business value from security for governments, banks, the industrial sector and telco, using his deep experience in security, especially in technologies relating to quantum computing and cryptography. Patrick earned an undergraduate degree in engineering at the University of Applied Sciences and a Master in Project Management at the Geneva School of Business Administration.

Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Charge of East African Community of Rwanda since 1^st May 2020.  From 2003 until 2005, he served as the Minister of Commerce, Industry, Investment Promotion, Tourism and Cooperatives. He was appointed the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Ministry from 2005 until 2006. In 2006, he was appointed Minister of Public Service and Labor until 2008, when he was named as Senior Economic Advisor to the President of the Republic of Rwanda. Professor Nshuti Manasseh, was also the Chairman of Board of Promoters assigned to set up Umutara Polytechnic (University) in Eastern Province, Nyagatare District. He has over 23 years of University lecturing and administrative experience gained from high standards universities. He is a Professor of Finance, holding a PhD in Finance from Aberdeen University, UK, a Masters of Business Administration in Accounting, Aberdeen University, UK, and a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons.) from Makerere University.

Head of Middle East, Turkey and Central Asia at Bpifrance, the French Public Investment Bank. Prior to this, she headed the Middle East department of MEDEF International, the French business confederation, between 2018 and 2020 and was COO of a boutique advisory firm helping French companies address the Iranian market between 2016 and 2018. She held several positions in European Union agencies (Zimbabwe, Vienna) and the Project Finance team of the legal firm Clifford Chance in Paris. Catherine holds a Master’s degree in Business Law from Sciences Po and a Master’s degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics (LSE). She is member of the German Marshall Fund of the United States since 2018.

Minister of the State for International Cooperation of the UAE since 2016. Her Excellency Reem Ebrahim Al Hashimy was appointed to the UAE Cabinet as Minister of State in February 2008. Prior to this, Reem led the UAE’s bid to host the World Expo 2020 in Dubai. She served as Managing Director of the Expo 2020 Dubai mega-event, following which she was appointed CEO of Expo City Dubai Authority. She also manages the Vice President’s Office for Political Affairs. She continues to serve as the Chairperson for Dubai Cares. She was also the former chairperson of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority and has been appointed as Chairperson of Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi.

Official Spokesperson for the health sector in the UAE, Manager of Communicable Diseases Department of the Abu Dhabi Center of Public Health and Adjunct Associate Professor at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at the UAE University. Dr. Farida Al Hosani contributed in the field of public health, as she participated in scientific and international research in health and infectious diseases and developed strategic plans for infectious diseases preparedness and dealing with pandemics. She is an expert of the World Health Organization in the field of emerging diseases.

Chairman of Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Al Mazrui served as Managing Director of the National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Tunisia and the Emirates. In 1984, he decided to end his journey with government work and devoted himself to starting his own business. Today, Al Mazrui Group includes about 30 companies and is spread in many sectors, including oil and gas, retail, education, health care, foodstuffs and industry. He is also the Chairman of the BOD of Emirates Insurance Company, which he established during the 1980s.

Director of the Policy Planning Department at the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC). Prior to his current position, he served as a Deputy Director within the same deparment and as a Senior Specialist in the Office of the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs from 2016 to 2021. He currently holds the rank of Counsellor. With a diplomatic career spanning over a decade, Alneyadi has worked as the Head of the International Security Coordination Section in the International Security Cooperation Department, from 2015 to 2016. He has also served as the Head of Political and Economics Sections at the UAE Embassy in Ottawa, from 2012 to 2015. Prior to this, he worked as a Desk Officer at the European Affairs Department, between 2011 and 2012. Alneyadi holds a Master of International Strategy and Diplomacy from the London School of Economics and Political Studies (LSE), as well as a Bachelor of Art in Interpreting and Translation, from the University of Western Sydney, Australia.

Head of Corporate Development at Eurasian Resources Group (ERG), a leading diversified natural resources group – present in 16 countries with around 80,000 people. With over 14 years of senior-level experience in general management, strategy, and M&A, Jonathan D. Cordero is a leading advisor in the metals and mining industry. At ERG, he is responsible for global ventures development, strategy, and M&A, with a special focus on the group’s MENA growth platform. Mr Cordero is also an investor and mentor in the ResourceTech space, and co-founder and partner at Caesar Ventures, a seed-stage investment firm supporting entrepreneurs in the fields of clean energy, circular economy, and digital transformation. He has served as a board member at various companies and holds a Master of Science in Management from HHL- Leipzig Graduate School of Management.

Managing Director of UAE-based Big Picture Strategy LLC, a consultancy that specializes in communication and marketing services for clients in the energy, climate and natural resources sectors. Arash Duero is also Senior Advisor at Berlin Global Advisors, a leading German public and government affairs consultancy, where he provides strategic counsel to a wide range of clients across multiple industries and functions. Mr. Duero regularly serves as Senior Expert at Roland Berger, Senior Consultant at Berlin-based Clean Hydrogen Advisors (CH2A), Advisor to the Global Gas Centre and the Clean Energy Forum, and member of the German Economic Council. Moreover, Mr. Duero is Head of Strategic Programs at the European Cluster for Climate, Energy and Resource Security (EUCERS) at the Centre for Advanced Security, Strategic and Integration Studies (CASSIS), University of Bonn. He previously worked at the European Commission’s Joint Research Center (JRC) – Institute for Energy, as a researcher at the Environmental Policy Research Centre (FFU) of the Free University in Berlin, as a research associate at the Berlin Centre for Caspian Region Studies, was part of the Resilien-tech Working Group of the German National Academy of Science and Engineering (ACATECH) and was a Senior Fellow at the European Centre for Energy and Resource Security (EUCERS) at King’s College London. He has also served as an advisor and peer-reviewed various International Energy Agency (IEA) publications. As a researcher, he has published on a number of energy-related topics in scholarly journals and other publications, including for Energy Policy, the Bosch Foundation and the German Foreign Office. A native of Savannah, Georgia, USA, Mr. Duero studied economics at Georgia Southern University and holds an advanced degree in Political Science with a focus on Macroeconomics and International Energy Policy from the Free University in Berlin, Germany. He is based in Dubai and, in addition to his native tongue of English, speaks German, Farsi and Armenian fluently.

Executive Director of the Global Gas Centre based in Geneva, Switzerland (GGC). The GGC is an association bringing together leading stakeholders of the gas industry and was founded by major gas companies in December 2014. The GGC program consists mainly of meetings and roundtables organized by the GGC, sometimes in collaboration with one of their members or partners. Among the latter are the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), the International Society for Energy Transition Studies (ISETS), and the Energy Policy Research Foundation Inc. (EPRINC). From 2009 to 2014, Valérie Ducrot was the Manager of the UNECE (the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) Gas Centre. Previously, she occupied several positions in the French energy company named today ENGIE. Over the last 27 years she has gained extensive experience in the energy sector, particularly the gas sector, at a global level. She holds an MBA from the Grande Ecole EMLYON and graduated in Business Administration in 1995. She also received a Master’s Degree in Political Sciences from the University of Lyon, France, in 2004. Additionally, Valérie has finished the Executive Diploma Program in International Relations and Business offered by the Ambassador Partnership, an international consultancy of former Ambassadors from 15 countries.

Global lead of Capgemini Invent Sustainability Services. He advises organisation from different sectors on their climate, environment, and energy transition transformation projects. Florent graduated from EM Lyon in France in 2001. He started his career in the Energy Industry, before joining Capgemini Invent in 2005. Since then, he has worked with many companies players in the Energy and Utilities sector on strategy and transformation projects. For a couple of years now, Florent has been working a lot with clients from various industries willing to transform their business and operating model to reduce their environmental footprint.

First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Georgia since June 2021. His responsibilities include to deal with the issues concerning the Russian-Georgian conflict, as well as neighboring countries and International Organizations. Mr. Darsalia is chief negotiator from Georgia to the Russian Federation in the Geneva International Discussions (GID). Prior to his assignment Lasha Darsalia was First Deputy Minister at the State Ministry for Reconciliation and Civic Equity. His main responsibilities included to work on the issues of the engagement policy with the communities on the Russian Occupied territories.

Associate Director at MacroScope Strategies. Before joining M2S, she served as Strategy and Policy Advisor at the Netherlands Ministry of Defense. She was also a Senior Research Fellow at the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy in Abu Dhabi, a Political Affairs Officer for the UN Mission to Libya (UNSMIL), a Manager in the Government and Public Sector Advisory arm of PwC, and a staff member of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Development Cooperation of the Senate of the Netherlands. She is a Non-Resident Research Fellow at the Royal Dutch Defense Academy and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute (MEI) in Washington DC. She has an extensive publications track-record in international affairs related issues, both in Europe and the Middle East. She holds a Ph.D. in European and Middle East Studies from the Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), an MA in International Relations and International Economics from Johns Hopkins University (SAIS), an MA in the History of International Relations and a BA in Italian Literature from Utrecht University. She speaks English, Dutch and Italian.

Assistant Minister for Health and Life Sciences in the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and also serves as the Director General of the Frontline Heroes Office in the UAE. Professor Maha Barakat is the former Chair of the RBM Partnership to End Malaria, has held the post of Director General of the Health Authority Abu Dhabi 2013-2018, and was Co-Founder, Medical & Research Director and Consultant Endocrinologist at the Imperial College London Diabetes Centre (ICLDC) in Abu Dhabi. She has served as a member of the Social Development Committee of the Executive Council of the Government of Abu Dhabi, and Board member of several Government of Abu Dhabi-related entities including the Board of Trustees of Khalifa University, the Family Development Foundation, the Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council, and the Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi. As part of her role within the Health Authority, in addition to the fight against lifestyle-related disease, Professor Barakat has supported several public health eradication campaigns against communicable disease both within the UAE and internationally, including Africa and the Indian subcontinent.

Founder and CEO of Obrist Group which was founded in 1996. Before setting up his company, he studied as a mechanical engineer and worked closely with Felix Wankel where he became specialized in R744 compressors and test benches. Obrist Group owns today over 400 patents. Frank Obrist has devoted his professional career to the design of advanced machinery and to the creation of sustainable innovations. His main ambition has been finding the best technical solutions to fight climate change with the help of world-leading scientists. Frank is leading his company toward renewable technology, such as the Obrist aFuel; The world’s first climate-positive energy carrier. Obrist Group has developed this technology, to be applicable to the current infrastructure, affordable to consumers, and to be globally scalable. As a long-term goal, Frank Obrist wants to bring the world to a new “carbon sink-era”, which enables us to significantly reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.

Partner and Associate Director, EU & Global Trade and Investment at Boston Consulting Group, London. Tim is a senior expert in geopolitics and trade working within Boston Consulting Group’s Global Advantage practice. He advises public and private sector clients globally on geopolitical and business strategy, with a particular focus on the future of Europe and the intersection between climate action and trade. He has published widely on a range of related topics including geopolitics and private equity, geopolitics and climate, and carbon border adjustments. Before joining BCG, Tim had a long career as a policymaker with the UK Government and the European Commission, spending over a decade in Brussels focussing on EU single market and trade issues. More recently he was a policy advisor on EU and trade issues for the UK Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (2017-2019) and Policy Director for the UK’s leading manufacturing trade association.