Hala Sulaiman, is the Founder and Managing Director of Beyond Borders Consultancy focused on providing strategic management and communication consultancy. Hala Sulaiman has extensive expertise in the Middle East market and has created and implemented holistic marketing communications strategies, and used her extensive knowledge and skills to engage with the various stakeholders in the various public and private sector roles she has contributed to. Hala Sulaiman’s experience mounts up to 25 years in the fields of Strategic Management and Communication and has launched several start-ups in both the Public and Private Sector.

In her capacity as an in-house consultant, she is currently the Director of the Executive office of Bahrainouna (the National Plan to Promote the Spirit of Belonging to the Nation and Reinforce the Values of Nationalism). She is also a Co-Founder of AlRawi Media WLL, an innovative and award-winning audiobook application specialised in Arabic Books (@alrawibooks) and has been appointed as a board member of Radio Bahrain’s Company, a wholly subsidiary of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s Sovereign Wealth Fund (Mumtalakat).

She formerly served as the Director of Marketing and Communications in Tamkeen during which she was responsible for Tamkeen’s positioning and clarifying the effective role it plays in shaping the future of Bahrain’s labour market and enabling Bahrainis and the private sector. During her tenure at Tamkeen, she was also seconded as part of the strategic team responsible for setting the policies and frameworks for the media center at the National Dialogue held in the Kingdom of Bahrain in 2011. It is worth noting that as part of her duties within Tamkeen, she also lead the “Equal Opportunity Committee” that ensured that all programmes delivered and activities executed are based on competency and fairness and not gender-based.

Current Role & About Transformation

Maha Muraish is the Senior Vice President of a massive and mission-critical
Transformation program of B2B and Etisalat Digital workstream with the objectives to fast track migrating Enterprises (private and public) and SMB from legacy services and connectivity to cloud platforms and managed services while ensuring the growth of Etisalat Digital organically through international expansion and inorganically via merger and accusations.

Area of Experience

Maha has over twenty years of telecom experience, with extensive expertise in
big data/data, ML and AI combined with strong experience digital business
covering: digital platforms, digital media, digital entertainment and much more
business.

Prior Experience
Maha has worked in Etisalat UAE very extensively however; she has worked
internationally within Etisalat footprint like KSA, Egypt and Nigeria in Digital
Marketing, Future Communication and Digital Entertainment.

Educational Background
She holds a MMSC in AI from Colombia university alongside with BSC in Computer science and Math Major from the US an. Maha is currently in the process of finalizing her Executive Leadership Program with Cornell University.
Maha is also:

1. Certified Data Scientist from Hopkins University
2. Management Executive Education on Artificial Intelligence for Business from
   MIT
3. Certified as GDPR Data Protection officer.

Myriam Ghedas heads the Middle East branch of Vocalcom, a French software editor for contact centers. Graduated of La Sorbonne University with a master degree in Contemporary History, Myriam has over 20 years experience in customer relationship &customer experience, contact centers business & technology, and digital transformation.

As she started her carrier as call center manager in BPO and 1st Cable TV & Internet provider in France (Lyonnaise Cable- Suez Group), she combines both sector-specifics and technical aspects of the business. She joined Vocalcom headquarters in Paris (France) in 2001 she was Global Support & Professional Services Director, and then Product Manager, driving the new Cloud Offer of Vocalcom as well as strategic new challenges in customer experience by integrating all new digital channels and automation services with Bots and AI. She acquired a strong expertise on the market that she developed and shared with Vocalcom’s customers across more than 50 countries in all industries. Her focus, following Vocalcom DNA was to deliver rich and complete easy to use solutions to compagnies in order to provide the most innovative and seamless customer experience. She retains this passion for this industry because everday she can contribute to facilitate our daily life as customers.

Over the years, the customer relationship has undergone different important phases of transformation, and digital is one of the most challenging of them. Myriam believes that technology must bring solutions, and not new problems to end-users and customers. Even moving to digital, it remains a human relationship, even when it includes Bots and AI. This is where she put her attention by sharing expertise, best-practises and recommendations to support customers in their own transformation, making possible to get the best usage and benefits of all new technologies.

Reem Asaad is the first female and local leader in the role of Vice President at Cisco Middle East and Africa. She is responsible for overseeing the work of 2,500 employees and contractors, while driving the company’s position as a leading technology provider and consultant across 74 markets in the region.

With over two decades of experience across industries including technology, financial services and customer experience, Asaad’s role focuses on strengthening collaborations with governments, customers and partners, underpinned by Cisco’s portfolio of advanced solutions to accelerate their digitization agendas. Cisco is currently working alongside national leadership, industry and academia in markets such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and South Africa, as part of the Cisco Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) program.

Under Asaad’s leadership, at the height of the pandemic, Cisco supported 3,600 customers across MEA in ensuring continuity via the use of Webex, including transitioning over 500 educational institutions to distance or hybrid learning models. Her teams also transitioned Expo 2020 Dubai’s 2,000-strong workforce to remote working and Cisco was earlier this year appointed as network operator for the mega-event.

With a focus on training, upskilling and developing human capital, Cisco’s Networking Academy is helping to futureproof job roles and aid the transition towards more digitally-focused economies. During Asaad’s time with Cisco, in FY20 alone, over 370,000 students across MEA gained Cisco Networking Academy certifications, representing a 27% increase year-on-year. Cisco currently has 1,627 academies running in 60 countries regionally, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Turkey, South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya.

Prior to joining Cisco, Asaad spend 8 years across various roles with Raya Corporation in Egypt. This included serving as CEO of Raya Customer Experience – a business process outsourcing service provider based in Cairo with operations in Europe, Middle East, and Africa servicing multi-national and Fortune 500 companies, as well as CEO of Raya Data Center. In her positions of leadership, she acquired the knowledge and experience to drive company growth, digital transformation, and regional market development.

Other positions Reem has held with Raya Corporation include Chair of Corporate Sustainability Committee, Board of Directors Corporate Secretary and Director of IT, Investor Relations and Corporate Communication. Asaad’s early career also included 15 years of experience working in the United States, in roles involving technical consultancy.

In addition to her role at Cisco, Asaad currently serves on the board of ETISAL International – a leading outsourcing services company. With an interest in nurturing talent and spurring innovation, she is also involved in various startup and incubation projects, helping small businesses and entrepreneurs make prototypes and garner investment.

Owing to her impact in the region, Reem was recently recognized as one of the top 30 leaders in Forbes Middle East’s ‘Global Meets Local’ list – a look at the top regional executives heading international companies. Having shown resilience, agility and strength in the face of unprecedented adversity, Forbes has also recognized Reem as one of the top 25 leaders in its ‘Middle East’s Power Businesswomen 2021’ ranking.

Owing to her impact in the region, Reem was recently recognized as one of the top 30 leaders in Forbes Middle East’s ‘Global Meets Local’ list – a look at the top regional executives heading international companies. Having shown resilience, agility and strength in the face of unprecedented adversity, Forbes has also recognized Reem as one of the top 25 leaders in its ‘Middle East’s Power Businesswomen 2021’ ranking.

With more than 10 years of experience in Engineering Business, and leading projects in the field of technology and innovation. Eng. Al Enazi helps organizations to find the best solutions for their business.

Eng. Al Enazi joined Women in Ai global in 2019 and establish with 3 ladies the Women in Ai UAE chapter with the mission to empower women of UAE community in Ai felid.

Eng. Al Enazi joined 01 Government origination in Jan 2021 and recently focused on new field related to GOV-Tech and innovation related to digital transformation happening in MENA region
and global south Governments.

Prior to that, she worked with two tech companies (KUKA Robotic system partner called DGWorld Robotics and Siemens system partner called Raban Al Safine). Her experience with multinational companies like Siemens and KUKA Robotics has added to her knowledge and expertise in digital
economy and transformation.

In 2018, she was chosen for “The best 100 faces representing Emirati women” by the Emirates Women's Union and Al Bayan newspaper. She is also a member of “I am an Engineer” organization the first Arabic regional platform offering help for new engineers and training.

Eng. Al Enazi has a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Technology and continues to develop her skills, as she received certificates in “Future of Government Innovation” from Mohammed Bin Rashid Center for Innovation, “Introduction to AI” from IBM, “ISO 9001 Foundation – Quality Certification” from Chiltern TMC Consultant, and “Risk Management” from Brentwood Open Learning College, to name a few.

Hoda has 17 years of experience in industrialization and economic development projects. She has led and motivated several tech-based industrial investments in the UAE and internationally. She worked on several turnaround projects that were aimed to achieve strategic, financial and operational synergies of industrial and business prospects. She has a specific interest in SDG based investments as well as her current background.

Hoda A. Alkhzaimi is currently the Director of Center of Cyber Security in New York University AD and a research assistant professor in New York University. She served in different posts for research and development in the Technology development sector for the past years, she also played a vital role in developing Cyber Security and Cryptology research and development ecosystems. She headed the Department of Research and Development for Cyber Security and Cryptology in different national initiatives in the United Arab Emirates along with her associations to different security initiatives nationally and internationally. She consults for special projects with national and international technology development initiatives.

Alkhzaimi has specific expertise in cryptology; cryptanalysis, constructing and validating security hardware and software components, constructing trusted security architectures for different environments in different products for the respective industries. Hoda. Alkhzaimi obtained her Ph.D. in Cryptanalysis from Denmark Technical University. Her current research interests include Space, Aerospace, and UAV and autonomous systems security, constructing and analyzing cryptographic primitives, validating, and investigating links between different cryptanalytic approaches and utilizing cryptographic primitives in different cybersecurity architectures as in Internet of Things and big data analysis among others. Her research includes analysis of the effect of AI and machine learning techniques on improving security analytics. She is as well leading several AI based initiatives globally.

Majda joined Ericsson Morocco in 1998, since then she has held various senior positions across Africa and Middle East. Prior to her current position as head of Networks solutions for West Africa and Morocco, she was country manager of Ericsson Morocco and before that Head of Strategy, Marketing and communications for hub Maghreb, and Regional Head of project management office for region Middle East and Africa. Majda holds an IT& Telecom engineering degree and an MBA, she is also a mother of 17 years old boy.

Dr Ryma Abassi received her HdR (University Habilitation) and her PhD in ICT from SUPCOM, University of Carthage in 2021 and 2010 respectively and is currently an Associate Professor at ISETCOM and the Director of the Institute, too. She is also a member of the “Digital Security” research lab at SUP’COM, Tunisia.

Dr Ryma Abassi obtained the SSHN (Séjour Scientifique de Haut Niveau) grant two times in 2014 and 2017 and was a visiting professor at University of Limoges, France. In 2017, Dr Ryma Abassi received the prestigious Fulbright visiting scholarship at Tufts University, MA, USA.

In July 2020, she was recognized as one of the TOP 50 women in cybersecurity in Africa and in September 2020 as the best young researcher in Computer science in Tunisia by the Tunisian Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts.

Her current research work is focusing on cybersecurity, MANET/VANET security, trust management, security protocols validation, IoT security, artificial intelligence, etc.

She has more than 50 publications in impacted journals and classified conferences and is currently co-supervising four PhD students. In 2018, Dr Abassi edited her first book entitled “Security Frameworks in Contemporary Electronic Government” and the second “Artificial Intelligence and Security Challenges in Emerging Networks” was published in January 2019. A third book is being edited and is concerned with “Cybersecurity Crisis Management and Lessons Learned From the COVID-19 Pandemic”. It will be published in 2022.

A Business Leader whose a Firm Believer in technology, with strong commercial acumen and operational success in driving aggressive omni-channel digital, customer centric and marketing strategies across multiple countries and regions.

Having a strong operational focus, based on data and customer insight, I am used to inform, persuade and enable the strategy. With An out of the box approach and a deep grasp of technology, Customer needs, demand generation and team building experience combined with strong communication skills allowed me to deliver solid P&L operations. My leadership style is collaborative yet decisive and results driven.

Currently holding the Country Manager  position of BMB Jordan allowed me to share part of my experience with multiple sectors within my country to stress on the importance of technology to progressively advance as a country, build a digital economy and provide a better quality of life to our citizens.

I am also leading our fintech division as a Business development Manager across the middle East were we are focusing on providing financial intuitions with solutions & Platforms  that build customer journeys and provide an Omni channel experience to clients.

Having held the position of  regional manager for HP Egypt and Levant [from 2004 to 2009] and the GM of PCdalnet Value add distribution company , I developed insights into the challenges the region is facing when it comes to digitization, cyber security and big data management and analytics, in addition to a strong understanding of the business cultures in these geographies, which broadened my experience beyond Jordan to include Egypt, Levant and part of the Gulf region.

I am a proud member of the board of The Information and Communications Technology Association of Jordan (“int@j”), which serves as the collective voice of the technology industry to boost the role of [ICT] in the national economy. My role with int@j has also enabled me to support the role of women in the technology sector, along with helping technology entrepreneurs and incubators in Jordan.

In addition to my corporate roles, I enjoy participating in technology conferences (as a speaker and moderator) and coaching young technology professionals.

I am a graduate of the Princess Sumaya University For Technology (“PSUT”) with a BSc degree in Electronics Engineering

An international banking veteran and serial financial literacy entrepreneur, Dina Shoman brings almost two decades of experience to her role as Co-Founder of Verity, the Middle East’s family banking app that teaches kids and teens how to make smart money management decisions.

Verity is Dina’s third financial literacy-focused venture, having previously founded inherQuests, a New York-based startup that offers subscription boxes with games and activities, built on a curriculum that empowers young girls to begin their financial journey, and Nahji, a Jordanian social enterprise that teaches basic financial concepts through a range of engaging resources.  By working closely with educational and child development experts, both startups successfully integrated experiential and play-based learning with relevant content and programs, encouraging kids to start building their personal finance skills.

Before starting her entrepreneurial journey, Dina was Executive Vice President and Head of Branding at Arab Bank.  During this time she also served as a Board Member for Arab Bank Plc, Arab Bank Switzerland, Arab Tunisian Bank and Arab Bank Australia, as well as a number of non-profit organizations based in Jordan.

Dina holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Bentley University. In addition, she has completed continued educational certificates in Organizational Design and Change Leadership from Georgetown University, and in Design Thinking from INSEAD. Adding to her cohort of achievements, Dina was nominated as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2012, and ranked third out of the ‘Top 100 Most Powerful Arab Business Women in Listed Companies’ by Forbes Middle East.

When she’s not exploring new and fun ways to teach kids the importance of saving and spending responsibly, Dina can be found whipping up her favourite dishes in the kitchen, traveling the globe, spending time with friends and family (especially her niece and dog), and singing karaoke every chance she gets.

With a diversified experience within the financial industry, Al Said comes with a 25+ years of experience in Banking as well as the FinTech domain, where she is currently heading one of the largest, fast-growing local FinTechs, Gate to Pay

Zein Malhas experience spans over 14 years in investment banking, corporate banking, transaction banking and digital transformation.

Between 2014 and 2018, I managed the Global Subsidiaries business at Standard Chartered Bank- Jordan looking after the bank’s network business in Jordan by managing relationships with multinational organizations and subsidiaries of global relationships. Prior to that, I worked as part of the Corporate and Investment Banking department at the Housing Bank for Trade and Finance, from 2007 until 2014, where my experience was focused mainly in corporate finance, project finance and syndicated facilities.

I joined Capital Bank in June 2018 as Head of Transaction Banking and was responsible for establishing the Transaction Banking function. My role transitioned from Transaction Banking to heading products and channels for the bank’s business in Jordan and Iraq. With the focus on digital transformation, I was appointed as the Group Chief Digital Officer which was the point at which I was given the opportunity to lead the bank’s neobank project and for which I have been appointed as the CEO.

I hold an MBA degree with a concentration in Banking and Finance from the German Jordanian University, as well as a BA degree with a double major in International Banking & Finance and International Management from Franklin University in Switzerland.

Mariam leads global marketing and sustainability at Agility, a leader in supply chain services, innovation and investment with a market cap of $7 billion. Overseeing a senior team of functional leaders on multiple continents, Mariam is responsible for driving digital marketing, corporate communications, and the company’s award-winning sustainability strategy that has reached more than 1.6 million people in need. Before joining Agility, Mariam worked in the international development and poverty alleviation field. She is a graduate of Stanford University and the London School of Economics with advanced degrees in Media Studies and Development Management.

Entrepreneur/Founder of Two Startups, Having Raised Over $100 million In Venture Capital, Turned Investor, And Advisor, Joy Ajlouny Is Considered To Be A Maverick. Born And Raised In California To Palestinian Refugees, Ajlouny Has Built A Reputation For Her Success In Startups And Ventures Worldwide, All The While Disrupting The Status Quo Of Women In Business. Belonging To The Top One Percent Of Female Entrepreneurs, The Self-Made Entrepreneur Has “Gamified Rejection” And Carved Her Space In The Business World.

In 2015 Ajlouny Co-Founded Fetchr, The Silicon Valley-Backed Tech Company That Was Created To Tackle The Middle East’s “No Address” Issue, Which Has Been Long Been A Hindrance To Growth In Emerging Markets. She Facilitated $11 Million In Initial Investments In Fetchr,As Well As $41 Million In A Series B Round In 2017. The Company Now Successfully Operates In Five Countries With A 4500-Person Staff, And Was Dubbed The Number One Startup In The Middle East By Forbes. In 2019, Ajlouny Demonstrated That She Was Beholden To Nobody When She Resigned From Her Position At Fetchr To Follow Her Passion Of Mentoring and Funding Entrepreneurs with Innovative Ideas.

Ahead Of Founding Fetchr, Ajlouny Was The Driving Force And Sole Entity Behind The E-Commerce Luxury Fashion Platform Bonfaire. Acquired By Moda Operandi––A Fashion E-Commerce Giant Owned By LVMH And Condé Nast––In 2013, Just Two Years After Its Launch, This Was Only The Start Of What Would Develop Into A Long-Lasting Relationship Between Ajlouny And The Fashion Industry. Ajlouny Is Regularly Hired As A Consultant For Fashion Startups, As Well As For Venture Capitalists.

Over The Last Decade, Her Unmatched Knowledge And Expertise In Funding And Investment, Startups And Marketing Strategies Has Compounded Into What’s Known As The “Joy Effect,” A Term That Refers To The Ripple Of Her Influence On A Multitude Of New And Once Suffering Companies. Considered An Expert In Emotional Marketing, She Follows The Rule Of Thumb That In Order To Be Successful, You Have To “Fall In Love With Your Customer.” With Less Than Three Percent Of Venture Capital Funding Raised By Women, Ajlouny Has Successfully Raised Multiple Rounds Of Funding For Her Two Startups, Acquiring Investments From Some Of The Most Prestigious Silicon Valley Venture Capital Firms.

As A Self-Made Woman In The Industry, Ajlouny Is Passionate About Encouraging And Investing Knowledge Into The Young Women Of Tomorrow. Ajlouny Is Regularly Invited To Speak At Forums And Events Across The World And Most Recently Took The Stage At The World Economic Forum In Jordan And BoF VOICES In The UK. Her Talks Are Not Only Centered Upon Her Businesses, But On The Realities Of Being A Female Entrepreneur, The Double Bind And The Relentlessness It Takes To Secure A Position That Counters The Traditional Roles Allocated For Women.

Consultant, Tech Expert, Startups Enthusiast (Previously Co-founder & COO of ShopGo)

Noora is passionate about finding effective & innovative ways to optimize business operations. As an operations professional with over fifteen years’ combined experience in project management, tech solutions and ICT, utilizing best practices to manage support services in several startups, she worked with various businesses from early startup days through to their growth and scaling stages. 

Noora launched her own startup in 2010 which lasted a few months, where she then began her journey with ShopGo as a staff member of the early founding team, facing many challenges and coming up with innovative solutions leading to the business' growth and sustainability. This journey was rewarded by her becoming ShopGo's Co-founder and COO in 2017. 

Noora is a very energetic professional who tends to wear many hats within a business, allowing her to experience and specialise in a wide spectrum of areas such as UX/UI design, customer service, project management and sales. 

Recently, ShopGo has been acquired by Mawdoo3, a great business & personal achievement to its co-founders, allowing Noora both the opportunity & time to share her experience and success in her next career move.

Noora is a self driven & results oriented individual. She practices a customer-centric approach in service delivery and business operation. As a successful previous business owner, she believes in coaching & training effective teams to realize process & communication improvements within the workplace. 

Undoubtedly, Noora has the required communication and people skills to lead and manage teams on complex projects. Having her as a lead in any team would be of great asset and a driving force to get things done.

Souad Al Hosani leads the Investor Care team at the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO). Souad focuses on the growth of the Investor Care team at ADIO. Her team is responsible for ensuring that existing and new investors remain happy and do well throughout their Abu Dhabi journey, including the provision of incentive packages and advisory work. Prior to joining ADIO, she held leadership positions at the Nexus group of companies, as well as strategic roles at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Mubadala Development Company, the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB). Souad’s involvement with UAE and international government entities and private agencies built her expertise across strategic business sectors in the country. She was the recipient of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) certificate for successful completion of a capacity building programme for women entrepreneurs. In 2013, Souad was awarded the Youngest Achievers Award by the American Chamber of Commerce in the UAE. She was also the recipient of the Arab Women Award in 2017 in the business category and the Emirates Women Community Contribution Award in 2018. Souad received her Bachelor Degree in Human Resource Management from the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) in Abu Dhabi. Souad is an engaging speaker who participates in international and local conferences, panels and roundtables. She also actively writes articles on LinkedIn on a number of topics. Her articles can be read here.

Regional recognition:

Mona has won more than 100 awards throughout her career.  Most recently, she was voted as one of 6 Powerful Women Transforming the Business World in the Levant, among UAE’s 5 Most Prominent Women in the Tech World. She is amongst the top 2 Forbes women creating impact in the region, most recently featured in Forbes Middle East as the one of the Middle East’s Power Businesswomen in 2021 and 2020, and was voted amongst the 100 most Powerful Arab Women, Forbes Top 10 Arab Women 2017, 2018; World's 100 Most Powerful Arabs - Generation Next - Arabian Business. She was also voted SME Executive of the year 3 years in a row and one of 30 Most Influential Women in the Arab World in 2019.

Mumzworld.com has won The Small Business of The Year Award and Best Kids Online retailer by Timeout Kids in 2015, 2016 and 2018. Mumzworld.com was also awarded the Images Most Admired Online Retailer of the Year 2014 and 2016 as well as the “Customer Service Excellence Award” by The Customer Festival Awards 2018. 

Beyond the many awards she received, Mona was also selected into the prestigious group of globally recognized Endeavor businesses’s in 2014 and was the first woman selected into this prestigious network in the Middle East. Furthermore, she is an UNCTAD representative for the region with a mandate to empower women and create enabling opportunities for women in the digital ecosystem.

Lana is the founder and lead of the largest community in Bahrain, Google Developers Group (GDG) Manama. With over 2800 Developers, designers and marketeers, GDG Manama provides free trainings in 21st century and future of work skills and have trained over 33,000 Attendees since starting 3 years ago.

Lana is also a serial social tech entrepreneur that has dedicated her life to empowering socially good projects/businesses initiatives with technology. She is an active member of her community and helps shape the country's agenda through her community work and active participations at round table discussions with several government and private entities.

Lana is an active Google for Startups MENA Mentor and the first Google Women TechMaker Ambassador in Bahrain. She is an alumni of the Global Shapers Community, GSc Steering Committee for Education and Employability and Ashoka's ChangeMaker Exchange.

Ameera Al Qubaiti's responsibilities are to manage operations, monitor the performance of Al-Rawi Studios, and achieve total quality requirements and financial control. Ameera is responsible for scheduling and monitoring content development and managing relationships with narrators, writers and publishers.

Ameera has 5 years experience in project management in the field of information technology where she held the position of administrative officer in the Specific Council for Vocational Training in the Communications Sector and Bahrain Information Technology Society where she was responsible for managing the two projects in full.

Ameera obtained an Executive Professional Master's Degree in Islamic Finance from the General Council of Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions and a Bachelor's degree from the University College of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bahrain.

Dr. Fay Bint Abdulla Al Khalifa is the Director of the eLearning Center at the University of Bahrain. She leads teams of specialists and multimedia experts and is playing an active role in managing the digital transformation process at the University throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. She has an extended experience in executive leadership, higher education, and scientific research.

She is also an Assistant Professor with a Master’s degree in Building Conservation and Urban Regeneration and a Ph.D. in Sustainable Urbanism. Her research aspires to contribute to the understanding of ESGs, Smart Sustainable Urbanism and the Smart Sustainability of the Real Estate Market in Bahrain.

Dr. Al Khalifa was part of a team that won the Golden Lion award in the Venice Biennially in 2010, and she was awarded RIBA’s president’s award for research in 2012. Dr. Al-Khalifa was also awarded the Emerging Scholar Award in 2018 and the Smart Urbanism Award in 2019. Under her leadership, the University of Bahrain won the Blackboard Catalyst Award for Leading Change in 2020.

Dr. Fay Bint Abdulla obtained a number of professional certificates in Sales and Marketing Management, Commercial Real Estate Development, FinTech, the Application of AI, InsurTech, and Real Estate Technology. All in addition to being a certified expert in blockchain technologies by the Blockchain Council, a fellow of the British Academy of Higher Education and an Associate of the American Green Building Council.

Dr. Fay Bint Abdullah represents the Kingdom of Bahrain in the Secretariat of the Committee of E-Learning Officials in Universities and Higher Education Institutions in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and represents the University of Bahrain in several committees nationally.
Dr. Al Khalifa is a member of the Board of Directors of the Bahrain Smart Cities Society and a member of the Board of Directors of the UK Alumni Network of the British Council in Bahrain. She is also a member of a number of other specialized societies such as the Bahrain Technology and Business Society and the Bahrain Society of Engineers.

Latifa Al-Khalifa is a social edupreneur, STEAM education advocate and Co-Founder and CEO of Clever Play, a multi-award winning, purpose-driven startup with a mission to inspire, educate and empower children with future-relevant education.

Driving innovation and inclusivity in the EdTech space to empower youth through education, one byte at a time. Shireen is the CEO of Edraak, an initiative of the Queen Rania Foundation. Edraak is the Arab world's leading open online education platform, reaching a growing community of more than 5 million learners across the MENA region, including disadvantaged youth in conflict zones and refugees. Edraak is catalyzing an online reSkilling/upSkilling revolution in the MENA region and beyond, aimed at bridging the skills gap and building back better post-COVID. She is currently pursuing her master's degree at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Technology, Innovation and Education.

Dima is a Director in the Technology Risk Team at EY-Jordan with +16 years of experience. She has a Bachelors degree in Management Information Systems (MIS) from the Hashemite University, Jordan with Honors. Dima is keen on the continuous development and expansion of her skills and thus invests her time in professional certifications such as CIPP/E, CISA, CISM, COBIT, ISO 27001, Network+ and ITDRS.

As part of her role, Dima leads a team of experienced consultants and auditors to assist organizations in managing their technology related risks by either identifying and assessing these risks or by implementing controls and solutions to elevate their risk profile. To that extent, she has extensive experience in Technology Risk and Cybersecurity consulting and assurance. She has led projects and programs across the MENA region as well as Belgium in the areas of data protection and privacy, IT governance, Information Security Management Systems, standards certification audits, information systems assurance, evaluation of information technology and security processes and associated controls as well as business continuity and disaster recovery planning

On the other hand, is fluent in both Arabic and English and has obtained the DELF certificate in French. She is passionate about people’s development and well being, volunteer work and women’s rights.

Dima is also a dedicated mom of two kids, loves reading books and listening to good old music hits of the 80’s and 90’s.

Abeer Khedr is the Information Security Director at the National Bank of Egypt with more than 20 years of experience in technology and information security fields. Abeer has been serving in her current role for ten years where she has established the information security strategy & program at the bank and designed an information security management system (ISMS) for the bank’s main data center & call center which got certified in 2016 & 2017. The certification scope was extended in 2020 to include the bank's digital branches. She has also developed an information security effectiveness measurement program to ensure continuous improvement and maturity in security processes. Prior to joining NBE, Abeer has been leading the security consulting and IT audit service lines at Deloitte Egypt serving different industries. Abeer is a graduate of the American University in Cairo with a computer science major and economics minor. She also has a Master’s of Science degree in Business Information Technology from Middlesex University, England. Abeer has a number of security & governance related certifications: C|CISO, C|DPO, CISM, CISA, CRISC, CGEIT and ISO 27001 and most recently a Certified Corporate Director.

Abeer has been recently awarded among top 50 influential women in Egypt for community work related to the cyber security industry and named to Egypt's 30 successful women list in the Egyptian Women Forum 2020. She was also named to the Global CISO 100 list for 2020. Additionally, Abeer was recognized among top regional government security leaders in the Middle East by the CISO council in Dubai and was also awarded among leading information security executives in the ME by the council in 2018 & a Woman Security Leader in 2016. Abeer was also selected as “CISO of the year” in 2021, 2019, 2018 and 2016 by multiple reputable national and international organizations.

Abeer is actively involved in initiatives to support inclusion & diversity where has co-founded Women in Cyber Security Middle East (WiCSME) group in 2018 which has over 1100 women members from different countries in the region. She championed the organization of the first CTF for women in the MENA region in 2018. Abeer is also a mentor in the UN-ITU women in cyber mentorship program launched in March 2021 and in the WiCSME mentorship program as well.

Abeer's awards judging experience includes being selected among the panel of judges for IFSEC 2019 to select global cyber security influencers and as a judge for Top 50 Women in Cyber Security Africa in 2020 as well as a judge for Women in Cyber Security Middle East 2020 awards.

Arwa Alsalamah has more than 10 years of experience in cyber security and IT fields. Graduated from King Saud University with a Bachelor's degree in Computer and Information science (Saudi Arabia) and got a Master's degree from NortheasternUniversity (USA) in Information Assurance and Cyber Security. During her experience, she worked in several well known commercial and government entities. Currently, She works in a Government entity in the field of Cybersecurity. Have multiple professional certifications (such as INSEAD, HARVARD, GPEN, GMON, ITIL, and others.) . She also has publications in topics of cybersecurity. In 2021, she won the award of WiCSME2021 Women Cyber Security Consultant.

Eng. Nada Khater is Digital Transformation | Cybersecurity | Public Policies & Strategies Expert, she has more than 15 years of experience in public and private organizations related to Digital transformation and Cybersecurity sector in Jordan, currently she is Head of Digital Transformation Policies and Strategies at the Ministry of Digital Economy & Entrepreneurship of Jordan. Previously, she was Chief Operating Officer ‎at IT Experts Company in Jordan.

Eng. Nada participated in the developing of National ‎Cyber‎security Strategy 2018-2023, Cybersecurity policies framework 2019, and Jordan’s Cybersecurity Law in 2019. Critical instruments to ensure that Jordan’s cyberspace is ‎safe and secure for residents, government as ‎well as businesses. Also, she lead and participated in the development of Government Data Classification and Management policy 2020, which aims to provide a general methodologies includes a unified principles and guidelines for government entities on the ‎mechanism for classifying and managing their data.

In addition, she assigned to study the Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) in march 2021 with the Secretariat of the Arab League working group, in order to improve the global ranking of Arab countries, through a detailed study of all aspects of the index, discuss the most important challenges facing Arab countries in it, and provide recommendations to help improve performance.

She participated in ICAO Cybersecurity and Resilience Symposium in October 2019, and in MENA Cybersecurity Forum organized by the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) in December 2016

In addition, she led and participated in the development of national digital policies, which includes AI Policy 2020, Cloud Computing Policy for Jordan 2020, Jordanian E-participation Policy 2021, and Open Government Data Policy 2017.

A Business Leader whose a Firm Believer in technology, with strong commercial acumen and operational success in driving aggressive omni-channel digital, customer centric and marketing strategies across multiple countries and regions.

Having a strong operational focus, based on data and customer insight, I am used to inform, persuade and enable the strategy. With An out of the box approach and a deep grasp of technology, Customer needs, demand generation and team building experience combined with strong communication skills allowed me to deliver solid P&L operations. My leadership style is collaborative yet decisive and results driven.

Currently holding the Country Manager  position of BMB Jordan allowed me to share part of my experience with multiple sectors within my country to stress on the importance of technology to progressively advance as a country, build a digital economy and provide a better quality of life to our citizens.

I am also leading our fintech division as a Business development Manager across the middle East were we are focusing on providing financial intuitions with solutions & Platforms  that build customer journeys and provide an Omni channel experience to clients.

Having held the position of  regional manager for HP Egypt and Levant [from 2004 to 2009] and the GM of PCdalnet Value add distribution company , I developed insights into the challenges the region is facing when it comes to digitization, cyber security and big data management and analytics, in addition to a strong understanding of the business cultures in these geographies, which broadened my experience beyond Jordan to include Egypt, Levant and part of the Gulf region.

I am a proud member of the board of The Information and Communications Technology Association of Jordan (“int@j”), which serves as the collective voice of the technology industry to boost the role of [ICT] in the national economy. My role with int@j has also enabled me to support the role of women in the technology sector, along with helping technology entrepreneurs and incubators in Jordan.

In addition to my corporate roles, I enjoy participating in technology conferences (as a speaker and moderator) and coaching young technology professionals.

I am a graduate of the Princess Sumaya University For Technology (“PSUT”) with a BSc degree in Electronics Engineering

With a passion to help organizations transform their potential into real performance, Ms. Abandah uses her 20+ experience consulting and practical experience to enable real and rapid change in organizations across various industries. Nada walks with her clients hand in hand in creating a difference in bottom lines and addresses real pains. She has lead PMOs, managed high-profile programs and projects in private and public sectors, consulted for Fortune 500 companies, started 6 companies, & still refuses to call herself an entrepreneur. Ms. Nada A. Abandah is considered a pillar in the region for matters concerning Organizational Maturity, OPM3, PMOs, Project Management, and Portfolio Management.

Nada just finished being an advisor to the DG of Dubai Health Authority where she lead the COVID-19 PMO, and moved to Abu Dhabi Department of Health at the beginning of the year as a Strategic Affairs Advisor.

She also has a certificate from Harvard Business School in Data Science for Business

If she's not in the office trying to come up with groundbreaking ideas to turn around the business, you can probably find her climbing a mountain or hiking somewhere.

Alia is the Head of Regulatory & Scientific Affairs at Egypt/Levant & Iran (ELI) region at Pfizer Biopharmaceutical Group ( PBG ) , she gained her Bachelor degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Cairo University back in 2003.

Alia started her Pharmaceutical career in 2004 in Merck sharp & Dohme ( MSD ) Egypt in Sales & Marketing department, in 2007 she relocated to UAE where she had several Sales, Marketing and Regulatory & Scientific Affairs roles within Pharma industry, she has worked for MSD, Wyeth, AstraZeneca, Takeda, Abbott before she move in 2017 to her current role at Pfizer , she was able to gain a wide pharmaceutical background across different regions, therapy areas, and business functions within Pharma industry where she has participated in setting regulatory and commercial strategies, policy shaping and gained high technical expertise within CTD regulatory submission as well as dealing with different Health Authorities and industry associations across middle east markets.

Lana is the Managing Director of Hikma Ventures (the corporate VC arm of Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC) which she helped establish in 2015. Lana started her career at Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC in 2012 as the Assistant to the CEO and Director of Corporate Strategy & Development where she worked on strategic projects across the company’s various functions including strategy, M&A, operations and finance. Prior to joining Hikma, Lana worked as a Financial Analyst in the Mergers and Acquisitions department at Dresdner Kleinwort Investment Bank in London where she worked on transactions for clients across multiple industries. She co-founded the Innovation & Leadership Advisory Board (ILAB) at Hikma which consists of young Hikma employees whom share a dedication to advancing Hikma and ensuring it is at the frontier of innovation. Lana holds an MBA from Harvard Business School (HBS) and a Bachelors of Commerce degree from McGill University.

Maha Melhem is the key driving force behind Vezeeta’s ePharmacy solution, responsible for leading growth, operational excellence, and profitability within the fast-growing business vertical, across all markets.

Drawing from two decades of experience in the global pharmaceutical industry, Maha helps set strategic direction within Vezeeta’s ePharmacy vertical, and oversees the roll-out of value-driven solutions that has served more than 1 million patients since first launching in early 2020, 68% of whom suffer from chronic illnesses.

Prior to joining Vezeeta, Maha headed the Sales Force Effectiveness in GlaxoSmithKline and then led their Global Multichannel Digital Marketing division after working in AstraZeneca as Head of SFE and Training. Maha holds a Bachelors in Business Administration from the American University of Beirut.