Abdallah is a qualified project management professional that hold over 6 years of in-depth industry experience in iconic project developments such as Bee’ah Headquarters designed by Zaha Hadid. He is responsible for a diverse and flexible set of roles that include management, planning, productivity, supervision, and commercial aspects of projects.

Adrian Cole is a construction dispute specialist with expertise in energy, real estate and infrastructure development and formerly led King & Spalding's Middle East Dispute Resolution Practice. He practices as an Independent Arbitrator, Mediator and Dispute Board member.

Mr Cole is listed by Who’s Who Legal as one of the top 25 construction dispute resolution lawyers in the World and ranked tier one by Chambers Global and Legal 500. Part of the “Global Elite” in thought leadership, "He's the kind of guy you want with you rather than against you." and is ranked for “his knowledge in arbitration” (Chambers Global). He "stands out as a strong expert in construction-related dispute resolution" (Legal 500).

As arbitrator, Mr Cole has decided over 70 significant and complex construction cases sitting with some of the world’s leading construction arbitrators and is listed by Chambers Global 2021 as one of the most in demand arbitrators.

With an 18-year experience in the Energy Industry across APAC, Germany, and the UAE, Atique Chaudhry has worked on a multitude of projects ranging from management of complex sales projects, disciplinary leadership programs as well as Market and Competitive Intelligence. Currently, Chaudhry is the Vice President Head of Project Excellence at Siemens Energy leading the enablement of project business within divisions in a coordinated and systematic way to implement best practices for project management, people development projects, and fostering cross-division collaborations and knowledge exchange.

Daniel is a Senior Director and Regional Head of Valuation for CBRE. He has extensive experience within the Middle East region, having been permanently based in Dubai since 2012. He specialises in valuation and development advisory and has undertaken transactional due diligence roles for major corporate transactions in the region.

Daniel brings with him a wealth of experience and business insight gained while working for CBRE and Deloitte in the UK, Middle East and Hong Kong. His Middle East valuation expertise covers the vast majority of asset classes and ranges from single assets to city-scale master-planned schemes.

Relevant previous engagements include:

• Expert Witness for Middle-East REIT arbitration held in the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA). This included:

1. Initial Expert Witness report preparation
2. Rebuttal and Rejoinder production
3. LCIA attendance.

• Valuation and valuation assurance engagements for various Doha-based entities, including Qatari Diar, Mshreib, Qatar Foundation.

Experience

Daniel joined CBRE in March 2018 following ten years at Deloitte where he most recently led their Middle East valuation assurance function, involving annual impairment reviews and speaking at IFRS events, with a particular focus on IFRS 13. Daniel’s wider role included real estate and business valuation engagements, market and financial feasibility studies and project feasibility review and challenge. His previous involvement with wider financial advisory and audit functions provides insight into regional operational businesses, particularly in the tourism hospitality and leisure sectors.

Professional Affiliations / Accreditations

• Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS)
• RICS Registered Valuer
• Registered as a Certified Valuer with the Dubai Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA)

Education

• MSc Real Estate Development and Investment – University of Greenwich, UK
• BSc (hons) Biomedical Science – University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK

David is a chartered Mechanical Engineer, with over 20 years of nuclear and power experience within Atkins, now part of the SNC-Lavalin group.

He has been based in the Middle East since 2012 and has grown the nuclear business to become the largest and most trusted power nuclear advisors across the region.

David’s remit also covers net zero energy, and has been instrumental in some of the regions more complex and first of a kind renewable and hydrogen projects.

David is a dispute resolution specialist in the energy, renewables, marine and construction sectors. He has over 30 years’ of international experience, representing a wide range of clients in these sectors in international arbitration, litigation and mediation. He has practised as an in-house counsel in the energy sector and as a Barrister in London. David also has extensive experience of regulatory law, including fraud, bribery and corruption, health, safety, and environmental law. He has conducted internal investigations, appeared at Inquests and defended companies and individuals in a wide range of criminal prosecutions, many involving an international element.

Professor Abdul Rahim Sabouni holds a PhD degree from Cornell University and a Master’s degree from George Washington University, USA in Structural Engineering.

During his professional career which spans more than 30 years, in the US, Canada, and the Middle East, he had been actively involved in the engineering construction industry, and contributed to numerous projects, including the Sheikh Zayed mosque, and the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi.

Assumed several senior engineering posts, including the "Building's Design Expert" and the "Advisor of Technical Affairs and Construction Projects" of Abu Dhabi municipality. On the academic side he was University President two times.

Dr. Sabouni is Registered Professional Engineer in Ontario, Canada; Fellow & President of the ASCE-UAE Section, Fellow of ACI, and Fellow of CIOB in the UK. He is First Recipient of the George Winter Award, Cornell University, USA.

Professor Carlos Montaña PhD is the founding faculty, former assistant dean, and current chair of research committee in the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation DIDI, the first specialized design university in the UAE, in collaboration with MIT and Parsons.

A multi award-winning design and academic leader, Prof. Montana has 30+ years’ experience in Colombia, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Australia and the UAE. His transdisciplinary research in design, innovation and entrepreneurship focuses on sustainable development, with expertise in biomimicry and design for health. He was program director of industrial design in the University of Canberra, Australia (2010-2018), Assistant Professor, National University of Singapore (2006-2010) and Adjunct Assistant Professor in Product Design Engineering in EAFIT University in Colombia (2001-2003).

As a practitioner, Prof. Montana worked in-house in the design of packages, electric appliances, furniture, lamps and ceramics. Many of his projects, as well as projects by his students, have received international design awards, including Braun Prize, Dupont Imagineering and Red Dot design award, among others.

Professor Ammar Kaka graduated with an Honours degree in Civil Engineering and a PhD in Construction Management. On completion of his PhD, he joined the University of Liverpool as a faculty member and in 2000, joined Heriot-Watt University as a Professor of Construction Economics and Management. During the years he spent at the Edinburgh campus, he assumed a number of roles including leader of the Construction Management research group and Director of Learning & Teaching.

In 2010 he joined the Heriot-Watt University Dubai campus as the Provost and Vice Principal. Professor Kaka’s contribution to transnational education in general and to Dubai’s education landscape in particular has been immense. With a student population of 4000 and a growing research culture, the Dubai campus is recognised as one of the UK’s leading providers of transnational education.

Professor Kaka has an international reputation for research on the assessment, planning and control of construction projects. Author of more than a hundred research papers, he has held numerous funded research grants with impact demonstrated by the extent of citation and direct industrial application. He is a fellow of RICS, the Conseil International du Bâtimen Lead for the Middle East and North Africa and a member of the editorial boards of a number of international academic journals. He has supervised more than 30 PhD students to completion, many of whom have developed into senior roles in governments, industry, and academia.

Dr. Fadi Aloul is the Dean of the College of Engineering and a Professor of Computer Science & Engineering at the American University of Sharjah (AUS), UAE. He holds a PhD and MS degrees in Computer Science & Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA, respectively, and a BS degree in Electrical Engineering summa cum laude from Lawrence Technological University, Michigan, USA. His research and industrial interests are in Cyber Security, Mobile Applications, Teaching Innovation, and Design Optimization. He is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).

Dr. Aloul received a number of prestigious awards including the Global Engineering Deans Council (GEDC) Airbus Engineering Diversity Award, the H.H. Sheikh Khalifa, UAE’s President, Award for Higher Education, the Sheikh Rashid's Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement, the Abdul Hameed Shoman Award for Young Arab Researchers, and the AUS Excellence in Teaching Award. He has 140+ publications (available at http://www.aloul.net) and 1 US patent. He is a regular invited speaker and panelist across a number of international conferences related to Cyber Security, AI, Technology, Innovation and Education.

With a career spanning over 3 decades, Faisal Al Raisi is an accomplished multi-industry senior management executive with expertise ranging across strategic planning, concept creation, project development, management consultation, collaborations and strategic partnerships .

Faisal is someone who takes a vision, makes it reality through sound strategy development and translate ideas into profitable businesses. His strong presence and adept problem-solving abilities always leave an impact.

Currently, as COO & ACEO at Etihad Energy Services, Dubai’s Super ESCO, being a key advocate of green economy and sustainability, he oversees entire company’s operations and plays a pivotal role in organizational development. Accustomed to driving operational efficiency, under his leadership, Etihad has witnessed significant growth and emerged as the market leader in sustainability and energy efficiency industry in the MENA region.

Previously, Faisal held senior management positions with both public and private sectors and served prestigious entities such as Dubai Holding, Dubai Development Authority and Abu Dhabi Capital Group. During his time at Dubai Holding, leveraging his strong background in Project Management, he was instrumental in strategic development of several landmark projects in Emirate of Dubai.

Faisal holds a Master’s Degree in Project Management from Regis University in Washington D.C. USA. He also received executive leadership certification from Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

When he isn’t working, Faisal is committed to giving back to the community and often directly gets involved in CSR activities which means working closely with young college graduates and nurturing local talent.

Gary is the International and Special Projects Director of Binnies having recently joined the business from Atkins in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia where he held the role of Infrastructure Business Unit Director.

He is a Civil Engineer with over 30 years of industry experience covering general business management, project and programme management and operational business leadership and delivery.

His experience has been gained from working as client, consultant and contractor at various career stages both in the UK and overseas markets, starting out in Scotland with MJ Gleeson and spending time working for Scottish Water before gaining significant overseas experience in senior roles for Hyder Consulting and Mott McDonald.

Gary is a champion of collaborative working who has a track record of building teams and expanding business growth in multi sector consultancy businesses.

Lee joined NES Fircroft in 2018 and has worked and lived in the region for 10+ years including Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and most recently Dubai. Lee has dedicated his career for the last 20 years to providing tailored solutions for many global and regional clients involved in CAPEX projects with a focus on the Middle East securing a number client contracts that have led to substantial opportunity and growth.

Manosh is a creative designer and urban futurist. He has an in-depth understanding of the intersection between wellbeing and technology in the cities of tomorrow.

He has worked across the Middle East and North Africa, Asia, Europe and the Carribean on a range of city changing design projects involving large multi-disciplinary teams that have included designers, economists, engineers, sustainability consultants, and smart city specialists.

He is currently helping lead the implementation of Dubai’s 2040 spatial plan through Dubai Municipality.

Manosh is a frequent contributor to magazines, radio shows and conferences in the region.

He is an alumnus of the US Dept of State International Visitors programme, a UK Chevening scholar and a member of Beta Gamma Sigma.

1. Dubai 2040 strategic plan
2. Diriyah Gate (KSA) Phase 2 master plan
3. Amravati (India) Capital city master plan
4. World Cup Qatar public realm programme
5. Business Bay Dubai  master plan
6. Lusail Doha master plan
7. Hatta development plan
8. Historic district Dubai local area framework plan

His day job is working with a growing PMC organisation, PMKConsult in the region and previously Mark was an Executive at 2 major PMC / Engineering companies.

A Civil Engineer with over 30 years’ global experience in construction and engineering, Mark has delivered major construction projects from nuclear to rail and infrastructure to building mega projects. Mark’s current ICE roles involve looking after the interests of the 1000 members registered here in the UAE and the many ICE members resident or seconded into the MEA region.

Mark is Chairman of Darjeeling Cricket Club, the oldest such club in Dubai and a Corporate Representative of the British Business Group, Abu Dhabi. He recently was appointed to the Engineering and Technology Advisory Board of the University of Birmingham. He is a regular contributor to white papers and conferences in the region and for ICE.

Mazin’s primary area of practice is construction, covering both contentious and non-contentious work for clients based in the GCC.

Mazin is a Senior Associate in the firm’s Middle East offices where he is a member of the Construction, Engineering and Projects team. Mazin acts for a range of clients primarily based in the GCC in relation to various business sectors including amongst others construction and engineering, industrial manufacturing, general trading, insurance and hospitality. Such clients range from multinational construction companies, manufacturing and technology companies, hotel operators to reputable family business owners as well as high net worth individuals.

More recently, Mazin has focused his practice in construction disputes under arbitration. Mazin has acted for clients in high value disputes conducted by the ICC, LCIA, DIFC-LCIA, DIAC and ADCCAC providing all-inclusive legal services. Mazin also works closely with local advocates and litigators on contentious matters before the national courts of the UAE and Bahrain.

Mazin is qualified to appear before Bahrain Courts and is fluent in both English and Arabic.

Experience:

Successfully acted for Terna Contracting WLL (Bahrain), a subsidiary of GEK Terna Group, in a high value construction dispute referred to arbitration before the ICC. Mazin is currently working in collaboration with litigators for the enforcement of a favourable ICC final award.

Currently advising Terna S.A. (Greece) in relation to a € 400m waste to energy plant in the Republic of Malta, in particular for the negotiation of commercial terms with the joint venture partner and a €150 million EPC contract.

Successfully acted for Terna SA (Abu Dhabi) in an ADCCAC arbitration relating to the construction of an international school facility in Abu Dhabi, achieving a favourable settlement for his client

Regularly advise Obermeyer Middle East GmbH in respect of their regional business operations including in relation to the design of DEWA’s new iconic “zero energy” headquarter building worth over AED 1 billion; and construction of the new Terminal 4 at Kuwait’s International Airport valued north of $ 173 million.

Mazin regularly advised Haya Power and Desalination Company BSC (Bahrain) in relation to all commercial contracts for the construction and operation of a state of the art water desalination and power plant.

The CIOB are the largest and most influential professional body for construction management and leadership. At the CIOB we stand for the science, ethics, and practice of the built environment across the world. Everything we do is to improve the quality of life for those using and creating the built environment.

Matt heads up the Dubai branch of The CIOB and leads the strategy for the MENA region. Matt has been an inspirational influence in the construction industry over the last two and a half years, creating over 100 events for members and partners capturing a global audience of over 20,000 covering approx. 50 countries.

Matt posted the largest membership growth of any region throughout the pandemic and has successfully supported over 200 individuals through to chartered manager status in his time with CIOB. The CIOBs Chartered Manager and Fellow status’ are equivalent to a honours degree and masters in UK. Matt is also responsible for revitalising the CIOBs hub communities across countries and now has over 50 active construction professionals supporting the strategy. This is one of the many ways that the CIOB can influence change in the industry.

Matt is a keen collaborator and has travelled across the region in order to develop strong relationships for CIOB and the industry.

Mazin’s primary area of practice is construction, covering both contentious and non-contentious work for clients based in the GCC.

Mazin is a Senior Associate in the firm’s Middle East offices where he is a member of the Construction, Engineering and Projects team. Mazin acts for a range of clients primarily based in the GCC in relation to various business sectors including amongst others construction and engineering, industrial manufacturing, general trading, insurance and hospitality. Such clients range from multinational construction companies, manufacturing and technology companies, hotel operators to reputable family business owners as well as high net worth individuals.

More recently, Mazin has focused his practice in construction disputes under arbitration. Mazin has acted for clients in high value disputes conducted by the ICC, LCIA, DIFC-LCIA, DIAC and ADCCAC providing all-inclusive legal services. Mazin also works closely with local advocates and litigators on contentious matters before the national courts of the UAE and Bahrain.

Mazin is qualified to appear before Bahrain Courts and is fluent in both English and Arabic.

Experience:

Successfully acted for Terna Contracting WLL (Bahrain), a subsidiary of GEK Terna Group, in a high value construction dispute referred to arbitration before the ICC. Mazin is currently working in collaboration with litigators for the enforcement of a favourable ICC final award.

Currently advising Terna S.A. (Greece) in relation to a € 400m waste to energy plant in the Republic of Malta, in particular for the negotiation of commercial terms with the joint venture partner and a €150 million EPC contract.

Successfully acted for Terna SA (Abu Dhabi) in an ADCCAC arbitration relating to the construction of an international school facility in Abu Dhabi, achieving a favourable settlement for his client.

Regularly advise Obermeyer Middle East GmbH in respect of their regional business operations including in relation to the design of DEWA’s new iconic “zero energy” headquarter building worth over AED 1 billion; and construction of the new Terminal 4 at Kuwait’s International Airport valued north of $ 173 million.

Mazin regularly advised Haya Power and Desalination Company BSC (Bahrain) in relation to all commercial contracts for the construction and operation of a state of the art water desalination and power plant.

Michael is a projects and construction partner and has been based in the Middle East with Clyde & Co LLP since 1998. During his time in the Gulf Michael has been involved in many of the region's highest profile construction projects and disputes.

Michael is well known for conducting complex construction arbitrations pursuant to the DIAC, LCIA and ICC Rules of Arbitration. He has represented parties in numerous disputes involving variations, extensions of time, early termination and related issues. He has been appointed as a sole arbitrator by the Dubai International Arbitration Centre and is a judge of the Bahrain Court of Cassation assigned to the Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution Court.

In addition to conducting disputes, Michael reviews and drafts conditions of contract and the associated suite of documents for infrastructure and building projects and has extensive experience of the FIDIC Conditions.

Michael is the author of "Construction Law in the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf" (Wiley-Blackwell, 2016), which includes a commentary on the application of the FIDIC Conditions (1999) in the GCC. He has presented papers at various conferences including the Commercial Law Conference in Bahrain for members of the region's judiciary at the invitation of the United States Department of Commerce, the first international conference of the Society of Construction Law as well as the first conference of the Gulf branch of the Society of Construction Law in Dubai.

He is recommended in the top tier of all the leading independent legal directories including Who's Who Legal, Chambers Global and Legal 500.

Paula specialises in construction projects throughout the region, in particular Bahrain, Oman, and Qatar.

Paula is Head of Construction Engineering & Projects for the Middle East Region. Based in Bahrain since 2006, she specialises in construction projects throughout the region, in particular Bahrain, Oman and Qatar. Her extensive experience includes real estate and development, regeneration, infrastructure and utilities, hotels, leisure and tourism, residential, industrial and commercial, education and healthcare, both in the private and public sectors. Paula acts on behalf of government and regulatory clients including Ministry of Works, project employers and developers, lenders and investors, contractors, subcontractors and consultants.

Projects Paula has worked on include Shangri-La Oman, Bahrain National Assembly, Durrat Al Bahrain, Doha Convention Center, Bahrain Bay to include Four Seasons Hotel, Riffa Views, Diyar Al Muharraq, Bahrain Airport, King Abdullah Medical City, Education City Doha, Lusail Doha, Investment Gateway Bahrain and Reef Island. Paula also assisted the Bahrain Ministry of Works in the drafting and publication to market of its first ever Standard Suite of Construction Contracts (2009 Edition) based on FIDIC forms.

Paula is admitted to practice in England and Wales.

Pedram is a RIBA Chartered Architect with master’s degree in architecture. He is co-founder of U+A who has set goals and visions for the company to become one of the world’s finest design studios.

Pedram has over 23 years of architectural design experience in hotel & hospitality design, residential housing, high-rise and commercial mixed-use development. He provides an expertise in initiating Project Briefing and Development Strategy, Space Planning, Program Management, Technical Detailing & Project Strategic Management from inception to completion on multitude projects. He has worked in many projects in MENA region including Dubai Towers, Emirates Towers Expansion, Maritime City, Dubai Hills, Creek Harbour Towers, Floating Homes etc.

Being in Dubai, UAE over 20 years gave him a vast knowledge on the region’s culture as well as understanding of developers/clients which resulted to numerous project awards in Dubai and MENA region.

Dr. Peiman Kianmehr is the Chair of the Department of Civil Engineering and Associate Professor of Civil Engineering at American University in Dubai (AUD). He accomplished his PhD program at University of Waterloo-Canada in water resources group. His expertise is in environmental engineering and sustainable built environment. Prior to joining AUD, he worked with Environment Canada and he also worked as the director of several dam construction and water transmission projects.

During his work at AUD, he has published about 40 journal and conference papers in prestigious journals and conference proceedings. He received several awards including School of Engineering Excellence in Teaching Award and best paper awards from international conferences held in Montreal, Dubai, Zurich and Ottawa.

Professor Ammar Kaka graduated with an Honours degree in Civil Engineering and a PhD in Construction Management. On completion of his PhD, he joined the University of Liverpool as a faculty member and in 2000, joined Heriot-Watt University as a Professor of Construction Economics and Management. During the years he spent at the Edinburgh campus, he assumed a number of roles including leader of the Construction Management research group and Director of Learning & Teaching.

In 2010 he joined the Heriot-Watt University Dubai campus as the Provost and Vice Principal. Professor Kaka’s contribution to transnational education in general and to Dubai’s education landscape in particular has been immense. With a student population of 4000 and a growing research culture, the Dubai campus is recognised as one of the UK’s leading providers of transnational education.

Professor Kaka has an international reputation for research on the assessment, planning and control of construction projects. Author of more than a hundred research papers, he has held numerous funded research grants with impact demonstrated by the extent of citation and direct industrial application. He is a fellow of RICS, the Conseil International du Bâtimen Lead for the Middle East and North Africa and a member of the editorial boards of a number of international academic journals. He has supervised more than 30 PhD students to completion, many of whom have developed into senior roles in governments, industry, and academia.

Rob is a business advisor and trusted industry expert with over 30 years’ experience in multiple markets and industrial sectors. Rob has sat on the senior leadership teams and boards of several multinational businesses and had non-executive director roles covering a diverse range of sectors. He has led major growth initiatives and helped businesses transform under PLC, private, and PE ownership environments. He led the RICS’ activities in the AEMEA region and has an intimate grasp of the end-to-end challenges that the built environment sector faces. In his last corporate role as global Chief Growth Officer, Rob was determined to help drive the digital transformation and unpick the technology and data challenges that the built environment sector faces.

He lives in Dubai, UAE, a graduate of Oxford University, still considers himself a competitive sportsman (in mind if not in body!!) and loves drawing parallels between sporting team performance and business team performance.

Rose Armour serves as Head of AUS Sustainability at American University of Sharjah. Rose has led AUS Sustainability in addressing all aspects of sustainability on campus, including community engagement, operational efficiencies, sustainability focused research, and promoting sustainability within the classroom.

Prior to joining AUS, Rose worked in Washington D.C., with the Social Innovation Fund (SIF), an Obama initiative providing grant funding to enable social innovation across America. SIF and its private-sector partners invested over a billion dollars in community programs. Additionally, Rose has worked with the Peace Corps as the Director of Programming and Training in Fiji and as a Program Officer for Small Enterprise Development in Burkina Faso, West Africa. Rose began her career working with rural women’s associations in Morocco. Rose holds a Master of Community and Regional Planning from the University of Oregon and a Bachelor of Arts in Natural Resource Management from the University of Texas at Austin.

Rusty Russell is the Mobility Director for The Red Sea Development Company, the developer behind the world’s most ambitious regenerative tourism projects, THE RED SEA and AMAALA, both of which aim to offer emission-free electric and hydrogen transport across the entire destinations.

He is an experienced professional with a diverse background in transportation and mobility event and project management, including almost 25 years of experience in major international mega-event design, planning, multi-million-dollar budget management and full operations delivery.

As an international events leader in transportation and mobility, who has managed challenging environments including three Olympic Games, two World Cups, two Club World Cups, two Special Olympic World Games, the Asian Games, the Asian Cup, multiple Formula One races and numerous other high profile international megaevents, Rusty has successfully trained and managed multicultural teams to ensure superior performance and successful delivery of operations.

After obtaining his degree in Sports Management, Rusty immediately began working in the field of international mega events. Over the course of his career Rusty has traveled to many locations across the globe to strategically plan, lead, consult and operate transportation and mobility for events of various scopes and scales. He was previously the Head of Transport, Traffic and Parking for Expo 2020 Dubai.

Background

He is the leader of the Firm’s OG&C practice and the Global Lead Partner for Saudi Aramco His extensive international experience includes advising most of the leading NOCs and Supermajors on large scale transformation, PMI and Business Turnaround for energy and infrastructure clients across EMEA, Canada and APAC He serves as an advisory partner to the World Green Economy Organization ( and sits, as advising expert on the World Bank’s Benchmarking Group A citizen of Canada and holder of Golden Visa in UAE.

Previous Career

Consulting Partner, CEO, Board Advisor and Senior Executive with a number of multinational companies including Altus origin, PwC, Harris Telecom, Bank of Jordan Group of Companies, Halliburton, Larsen Toubro, Sapura, SAIC and Citigroup spearheading strategy transformation and growth.

Functional Expertise

His 20 years of functional experience in strategy and business operations, digital transformatio n JV operating models and separation structuring, corporate and performance transformation programs He is recognized for his expertise in designing and delivering multi year cost reduction, capital efficiency and operational excellence programs for IOCS and NOCs in Downstream segments Successfully led four of the largest M&A and IPO readiness support programs, and recently, led an industry game changer Petchem acquisition in MENA.

Recent Project Highlights

Supporting a Major Transformation through Downstream carve out Helping a major OG&C client company through a comprehensive global carve out of their Downstream business ( global asset base, commercial separation, contract redesign between Upstream and Downstream, IT, etc Transformation spread over a period of 2 years, resulting in a major tax savings ( and performance improvement of more than 340 million.
Refining Capacity revamp OG Downstream Worked with both JV partners to increase asset refining capacity through multi lot contracting strategy focused on integrating their trading platform and expanded sourcing improving production continuity and competitiveness The project delivered 115 M in savings from procurement initiatives and over 425 million of spending base and 78 M capex savings on a related facilities project.
Developing Business Strategy and SBU Operating Models Led the comprehensive strategy design and rollout for building a major lubricant business, covering benchmarking against peer group, production configuration and supply chain integration, sales and marketing restructuring Generated a client impact of over 132 M between synergy of integrated adjacent operations and direct margin enhancement.
Enterprise Asset Management ( strategy Upstream O&G Designed reliability centered asset management approach, asset life cycle, and led the integrated asset management strategy roll out aiming at minimal equipment idling, breakdowns and recycling Operational efficiency for the first year alone surpassed 76 from 52 the year before.
Target Operating Model Transformation for a petrochemical company Led integrated program management over large scale, multi site, phased delivery implementations, integration, outsourcing under onshore, near shore and offshore delivery models for 37 MM budget, transitions of 900 staff and 13 cross functional teams.
Corporate Transformation for an Integrated Oil Gas Company Spearheaded four corporate renewal, growth, value enhancement and turnaround strategy development and execution engagements across all phases of the project life cycle (i e Conception through Inception Implementation Operations, to Steady Sate for the 5 SBU client The clients have gained better cash management and ROIC, Cash conversion cycle and “nil dry out”.

Sandeep has over 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry with rich experience in strategic business consulting, hospital projects, operations & management, and HCIT solutions.

He has managed over 600+ research and consulting projects across MEA and South Asia region in the areas of ; healthcare delivery, medical technology, healthcare IT, biotech & pharma, diagnostics, wellness, extended care, business & financial Sector (Private Equity & IBs)

Sandeep ‘s core strength lies in growth strategies, market entry strategies, geographical expansion, new product launch, detailed business plan & feasibility studies, , business facilitation and partner search, competitive benchmarking, technical , commercial & operational due diligence & M&A support, healthcare IPOs. Sandeep has worked with most of the leading healthcare clients in the region:

Sandeep is responsible for growing the JLL’s healthcare practice , clients relationship management, business development and overseeing the delivery of client assignments across healthcare space.

In his previous assignments Sandeep has worked with Frost & Sullivan, Dubai as Head and Associate Partner of Healthcare practice for MEA and SA region, Televital India, Narayanan Health Bangalore, NU Hospitals Bangalore.

Simon's main areas of expertise are large scale mixed-use development and redevelopment projects, real estate investment (both commercial and residential property) as well as real estate management and finance (conventional and Islamic). Simon also has a significant hotels & hospitality practice.

Simon is an International Partner and leads our focus in Asia from our Hong Kong office. Simon is also the Head of Real Estate and Hotels & Hospitality across Asia and the Middle East.

Having spent nearly 15 years in the Middle East, Simon has lived and worked in all three jurisdictions where we have offices: Bahrain, Qatar, and Dubai. Simon is now based in Hong Kong but continues to be involved in our Middle East practice.

Simon specialises in real estate. His main areas of expertise are master planned development projects as well as city center redevelopment, real estate investment, management, and finance. Simon is also recognised as an expert in relation to hotel & hospitality work – particularly in relation to development, investment, and management of hotels – having advised on nearly 50 transactions in the last decade.

In addition, Simon regularly advises our Asia and Middle East clients with their outbound investments into the UK in relation to both commercial as well as residential property.

Simon acts for a variety of developers, financial institutions, government and quasi-government entities, sovereign wealth funds and private clients (including Royal Family members) across Asia and the Middle East.

Simon has been recognised as a leading lawyer by Chambers Global and Legal 500 EMEA consecutively.

Simon is admitted to practice in England and Wales. Simon is also a Registered Foreign Lawyer with the Hong Kong Law Society and is licensed to practice in Dubai with the Legal Affairs Directorate.

Mr. Simon Townsend is a Chartered Surveyor with over 30 years of experience of which 22 years within the GCC and is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (“RICS”). Mr. Townsend brings experience in the implementation of regulation and transparency in real estate activities across the region and has been active in leading and advising multi-sector real estate acquisition and disposals Internationally with transactions of more than US$2bn and advisory assignments across the region on many of the most prominent developments and masterplans.

Through his experience in both advisory and client side, Mr. Townsend has been involved in establishing businesses in new geographies, growing and diversifying existing businesses while managing and leading cross border multi-sector and multi-region teams.

Mr. Townsend notably held directorship and senior leadership positions including as Chief Executive Officer of Ellington Capital (DIFC) Ltd and as a Senior Director at CBRE Middle East within the region. He is currently the Managing Director for a confidential regulated private equity business with a focus on structuring and managing real estate private equity projects globally.

Mr. Townsend holds a bachelors degree in Urban Land Economics from Sheffied Hallam University, UK.

Ms. Sirine TAJER is CEO and Managing Director of MENA Energy Partners that she co-founded in 2011 and which is specialised in strategic advisory and M&A focused on the energy sector in the MENA region. Formerly, she worked in Europe and in the GCC for selected international financial institutions (including Société Générale, ABN AMRO Bank and HSBC), advising and supporting leading companies in their acquisitions, equity and financing transactions in the energy sector.

She holds a double Masters of Science (MS) in Petroleum Economics and Management from the Colorado School of Mines and the French Institute of Petroleum. She also has MS degrees in both International Projects Management from the leading Paris business school ESCP and in Economics and Finance from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques, Paris. She also benefited from the Harvard Leadership Program.

She is a member of selected associations such as the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN), the Dubai Energies Club and the Dubai Business Women Council (DBWC). Ms. TAJER was a Board member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) for UAE, Northern Emirates, from 2015 to 2017. She was recognised as the “Most Influential Businesswoman: Oil & Gas – Middle East” in 2016 and as the “Most Inspiring Female Leader in Oil & Gas – MENA” in 2017 by Acquisition International Awards”. MENA Energy Partners was selected as the “Best Energy Sector Consultancy Firm” by MEA Markets UAE Business Awards 2021.

Responsible for the EMENA-wide Project business of Grohe/Lixil product solutions to all large-scale construction projects Stefan drives with his team the specification and execution of new-build and renovation projects. The Business Unit Projects is organized in 5 segments - Hospitality, Residential, Healthcare, Commercial and Marine – to deliver a customer focused support and service to the segment specific decision makers and influencers. With Grohe as the leading global brand in the sanitary industry he and his team support hospitality groups like Accor, Hilton or Marriott, Residential developers such as Bonovia, Heimstaden or EMAAR, Marine clients such as MSC and Disney Cruises as well as governmental and educational institutions and healthcare establishment.

Designers and architects are a core clientele that are supported by his team providing across EMENA and globally a support network for the A&D community in design hubs in London, Dubai, Moscow, Milan, NYC, Shanghai and Singapore just to name a view. When designing the bathroom his team, consisting of experienced professionals, help A&D`s to create the desired shower and bathroom experience for each project and every budget, be it for governmental housing or the luxury boutique hotel.

Prior joining Grohe, Stefan was CEO of the KWC Group a faucet manufacturer based in Switzerland with plants in Europe and Asia and previously he was President of the Tiles and Sanitary Ware Division at RAK Ceramics, a global manufacturer of premium ceramic products based in the United Arab Emirates, with $1 billion in annual revenue. Stefan spent nine years at Geberit an international manufacturer of sanitary technology with more than $3 billion in annual revenue. For Geberit he was the Managing Director for South and North East Asia in Singapore, where he led the firm’s expansion in the region. Prior to that he was Managing Director of the Gulf Region based on Dubai, before that spent a year as the Head of Geberit OEM Business, and two years as the Head of Strategic Planning. Before joining Geberit in 2006, Stefan was a Senior Manager at Helbing Management Consulting, and previously held a similar role at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants.

Stefan is a Swiss national with a degree in Business Administration from the University of Bern, Switzerland.

Stephan Degenhart is an Associate Partner of Drees & Sommer and the Managing Director of the Dubai office from where he oversees a team of professionals across the Middle East Region. He holds a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Applied Sciences Munich and has been leading international expansion efforts for Drees & Sommer for over twenty years.

Stephan has extensive experience in the field of real estate development consulting and project management and is currently leading the strategic growth of the Drees & Sommer Middle East, fortifying the company’s place in the region.

Suzannah Newboult is a Partner and Board member of one of the world's largest global law firms, DLA Piper. As a Partner she focuses on resolving international construction and engineering disputes through negotiation, mediation, adjudication and arbitration. She has been based in the Middle East for more than 10 years, working across the GCC. Her disputes span hard infrastructure, construction in the oil and gas sector, social infrastructure and complex engineering world first- type developments.
Suzannah is well known as a thought leader and industry commentator for the construction industry. She is appointed to the Market Advisory Panel Board of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and contributes to the UAE Construction Think Tank. Suzannah is ranked in Chambers & Partners directory, mentioned in Legal 500 and listed in Who's Who Construction and Expert Guides Women in Business Law (Construction).

She has been described in Chambers Global as: praised for her "strategic thinking, good risk appraisal and construction industry knowledge" and “really positive and engaging in a proactive and thoughtful way, while always looking for an advantage that positively benefits the client’s commercial position." And in relation to the Middle East is “very heavily invested in the region, she tells it exactly as it is in the best possible way. She's very good."

Tatiana Antonelli Abella is the Founder and Managing Director of Goumbook, a Social Enterprise established in 2009 and dedicated to raising awareness among the local community on Sustainability and Green Living.

Goumbook is one of the oldest Social Enterprises in the UAE and today it manages different projects such as Give a Ghaf and Trees Matter, regional and global tree planting programs to encourage reforestation and rehabilitation of ecosystems; Drop It - Rethink Plastic campaign to help businesses and individuals reduce single use plastics, and SustainableMena, a business directory dedicated to promoting sustainable products and services in the region.

Most recently Goumbook was proud to conceptualise and project manage Dubai Can, a campaign by HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai.

Tatiana sits on the Engage Committee, under Dubai Chamber of Commerce’s umbrella and has been nominated Environmental Ambassador for the Middle East Youth Expo. She also acts as an advisor to events such as Art Dubai or the Emirates Literature Festival to help them be more sustainable. Since 2012 she has been proud to be a judge of the Gulf Capital SME Awards for the ‘Most Sustainable Business of the Year’. In 2020 Tatiana also joined the Advisory Board of the Gulf Sustainability Awards.

In April 2019 Tatiana started Forward Talks, a weekly podcast highlighting leaders and professionals who, through their work, entrepreneurship and commitment, promote positive impact and sustainability in the UAE and beyond.

During her 16 years in the UAE, Tatiana has garnered a strong reputation and she is actively involved in the green arena: in 2021 she was nominated by LinkedIn as a UAE Top Voice in Sustainability. Considered one of UAE's top environmental influencers, she contributes regularly to media and at conferences in her role as a green business leader in the country.

Cathal is an Associate Director within the Valuation team of CBRE MENA. He specializes in the areas of real estate appraisal and development advisory services where advises Banks, Investment Institutions, Property Development Companies as well as Corporate and Government Entities. Cathal’s remit primarily covers the UAE but he does cover the wider GCC region when required. Since relocating to the UAE he has been involved in a number of significant valuation mandates across the region. The purpose of valuations range from Capital Raising, Securitization, Acquisition, Disposal, Financial Reporting and Expropriation .He also advises clients on how to maximize value and minimize risk within their real estate portfolios. Prior to moving to the middle east Cathal previously worked in both Dublin and New York. He possesses a number of years professional valuation experience along with several years of financial investment experience gained within State Street Bank. He is a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS) since 2017 and is also a member of the Institute of Bankers. Education MEconSc in International Finance, National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) BSc (Hons) in Property Studies, Galway Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) Diploma in Financial Advice, University College Dublin (UCD)

“We are honored and proud of this award as it’s our first MENA Winner even though we have won many National Awards over the last 10 years with MEED. As EPC Contractors this is truly inspirational and motivational to be recognized as Leaders in Quality and not just in delivery.

We live by our moto of “We Deliver” but our core values extend from our CEO and Founder Mr. Hassan Ibrahim who always says “You are leaving behind your footprint for generations to come and we don’t want anyone to speak poorly of our work so do it right or don’t do it at all”

Looking forward to continue doing what we do best and thank you so much MEED for taking the initiative with such awards.”

“This award is a great recognition of the efforts that entire ILF desalination team has undertaken.

We are honored to be awarded for the MEED Mega Project of the year 2022.

This is an inspiration for keep doing our job at best and serve our clients with the same high standards.”

"We're honored winning the 2022 MEED Projects Awards as MENA and National winner in Oil & Gas Project of the Year category and additional winning National Winner in the Mega Project of the Year category. The pride and excitement should be shared with all project stakeholders and partners who are involved in our project's success. Samsung Engineering will keep priortising in providing innovative and quality solutions to our clients, that will benefit them as well as their countries, in order to cherish their local developments."

"We are delighted at Gulf Consult (Kuwait), to have received the New Mercedes-Benz 2S Customer Services Facility; Small Project of the Year National award and for the Social Infrastructure Project of the Year; National and Regional (GCC) awards for the College of Science. MEED in association with Mashreq is a unique platform for firms like ours which have a regional scope, providing solutions to urban requirements and environmental constraints in the Middle East. Our collaborative based practice involves clients, stakeholders, and experts from a wide range of fields from early on in the creative process. The results have been exemplary. The outspoken MEED award winning projects enable the region to strive towards a better future."