Speakers

My name is Bader Mushabeb Al-Otibi, an architect and a   town planner by profession, had my bachelor degree of Architectural Engineering   form a UAE University in year 2007.  During my professional journey spanning over a decade, had been associated with excellent organizations in both government and private sector. 

Just to name a few,  Al Ain Municipality a government organization responsible for the development of Al Ain Region, Masder , a leader in the provision of an innovative approach  to green and clean housing, M/s Fosters + Partners and CH2M Hill a leading professional consultants in the fields of urban planning and infrastructure development.   

Played a central  role in shaping up the urban fabric of Al Ain Region, lead various planning teams to develop plans for new neighborhoods, industrial areas and safeguarding futuristic transport modes requirements at local and regional level. Have also provided an inspiration and technical input   in formulating policies and design guidelines, critical  review and evaluation of major development projects and liaison  with government and semi-government  bodies  for a coordinated effort.

Stephen Goldie is the City Planning Advisor at Al Ain Municipality.

He has over forty years’ experience in urban planning and design, mostly at executive level.

His urban planning and design experience ranges from regional and metropolitan strategy to complex inner-city design, from high-level policy and legislation to seemingly intractable local disputes, and from detailed urban design to complex management issues, including:

• An urban expansion for a third of a million people,
• A high density transit oriented development; and
• 100 km of metro rail in three different projects.

Earlier this year Stephen received a 2023 UAE Ministry of Energy & Infrastructure Research & Innovation Award for groundbreaking work on Artificial Intelligence Supporting Urban Planning.

Phil Mennie is PwC’s Middle East Data Privacy Leader and a partner in Cyber Security and Digital Trust. In this role he leads projects in cyber security, data privacy, data management and business resilience across many industries. He has over 16 years of experience helping clients manage all forms of technology and digital risk.  Outside of the Middle East he has worked in Europe, the United States, Russia, China, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Phil is also a published author, having written a book in 2015 on digital and social media risk and governance for businesses.

His experience and expertise stem from a strong foundation in data analytics, programming and technology. He has led the development of a number of complex and bespoke IT systems, including secure systems in financial services, which help clients capture, manage and analyse operational and financial data.

Ivar has over two decades of experience in master planning and architecture, creating large complex projects totalling millions of square meters, including multiple LEED Platinum buildings, Estidama 4 pearl buildings, and Net Zero Architecture. He is Design Director and Sustainability Advocate at Q / Modon.

Kurt leads Jacobs smart city work for major green and brownfield developments, integrating digital into traditional built environment designs. This includes closer alignment of end service design with physical infrastructure and operationalisation. Kurt is working with Middle East and Global clients to do just this, considering the role of data, innovation and the built environment to improve efficiency and consider monetisation as the way we design and use cities, campuses and buildings evolve. Kurt joined Jacobs in 2021, following prior Smart Cities roles with Arup and UK Government, leading various Middle East commissions, relocating to the region earlier this year.

Pedro Martins has more than 10 years in experience city command and control centers, as he played different roles within Rio de Janeiro Municipality Operations Center (COR). For Rio’s 2016 Olympic Games, he leaded COR’s operational preparations, including the implementation of municipal integrated transportation control center, ensuring urban mobility full-range coordination. In COR, Pedro was also responsible for the integration of city plans for the annual heavy rain seasons, and for the pioneer innovation program which immersed startups within the control center to co-develop smart resilience solutions. Currently, Pedro is involved in smart city projects within GCC region, as Engagement Manager at RMA Advisory.

Farah Naz is the director of ESG and innovation for the AECOM Middle East. She is a chartered engineer, a fellow of CIBSE, an award-winning climate strategist, Zayed Inspirer and honored with most influential woman of the year award in 2024.

She authored Middle East region’s first book, on decarbonization, titled “net zero city: 10 year transformational plan for our cities” in 2021 and published a Childrens book on Climate Change titled “ Mission zero”. Farah has over 20 years’ experience in the built environment, working across four continents and in the UAE, and lead the sustainability for projects like the Museum of the Future, in Dubai, Louvre Abu Dhabi, Bee’ah HQ in Sharjah, and the Expo 2020 Sustainability Pavilion and very recently lead the Sustainability strategy and Carbon Management for COP28, UAE.

Rupak is a design and team manager for urban planning, master planning and urban design projects having led multi-disciplinary teams. Rupak’s wide-ranging planning and design project portfolio includes State-level 25-year framework / strategic planning, Government strategic assets master-planning, new industrial cities, city-centre regeneration, new master plans, urban design and public realm development, community planning, and housing.

Deepthy is a professionally qualified Architect, LEED Accredited Professional (BD+C) and has an ALM Master’s in Sustainability and Environmental Management from Harvard University. She is a sustainability professional with over 15 years of experience in the built environment sector, as an Architect, Management Consultant and Sustainability advisor. She was instrumental in establishing the US Green Building Council and GBCI HQ for Middle East & North Africa and leads the region as GBCI's Regional Director, based out of Dubai. Her work experience includes advisory services for clients within the real estate, utilities, oil and gas, financial institutions, retail and hospitality sectors, federal and local governments as well as not-for-profits to guide them through sustainable best practices to transform into tangible, impactful outcomes for the future. She has been a speaker at various events hosted by Federal Governments, Not-for-profits, green building councils and other sustainability event organizers across MENA. She believes that one small step towards sustainability is a giant leap for mankind.

Jihad Tayara is an accomplished executive in ICT & Digital Transformation with proven track record of delivering on P&L ambitions. He is also an expert in leading, closing and delivering on complex deals, PPPs & large government engagements in Infrastructure, ICT, Smart City services and cloud platforms like Dubai Pulse with Digital Dubai, Hassantuk with the Ministry of Interior and Tatmeen, the nationwide track and trace project with the Ministry of Health and Prevention.

He is currently the CEO of EVOTEQ, a Digital Transformation leader based in the UAE and a member of Young President Organization – YPO, sits on the board of YPO Emirates Chapter and on the Advisory board of the Canadian University in Dubai

With a career spanning more than 28 years of Telecom and Technology with Investcom, Motorola & du before joining EVOTEQ, Jihad is a Computer Engineer by training and holds an MBA from Cambridge in the UK.

Organization – YPO, sits on the board of YPO Emirates Chapter and the Advisory board of the Canadian University in Dubai.