As an accomplished leader, I've successfully led and overseen a variety of high-impact projects in different sectors throughout my career. My experience encompasses a diverse range of roles, from directing large-scale government initiatives to managing complex projects. I have consistently demonstrated strong leadership, strategic planning, and effective execution, contributing to the successful completion of numerous projects in various sectors, Higher Urban Planning Committee, Bahrain International Sports City Project Steering Committee, and other Executive Committees to ensure that decisions were made in alignment with government priorities and objectives

I am an Infrastructure Asset Management Expert with over 20 years of experience spanning construction, oil & gas, transportation, and municipal sectors in the UAE. I currently serve as an Asset Expert at Dubai Municipality, where I lead strategic initiatives to advance asset management frameworks, governance models, and enterprise-wide transformation programs in alignment with international standards.

Throughout my career, I have operated at both strategic and operational levels across complex asset environments, with deep expertise in lifecycle management, performance optimization, risk management, and value-based decision-making. I bring an integrated perspective that aligns engineering, financial, and service outcomes to enhance asset performance and long-term sustainability.

I play an active role in advancing the asset management discipline, contributing to the development of methodologies, tools, and frameworks in collaboration with the Institute of Asset Management (IAM), and supporting the UAE Chapter through its various initiatives and professional activities. I am committed to strengthening asset management culture and enabling data-driven decision-making.

I am also leading the adoption of Artificial Intelligence in asset management by developing a first-of-its-kind AI agent designed to support end-to-end asset lifecycle management. This innovation leverages advanced analytics and intelligent automation to enhance decision-making, optimize asset performance, and transform how asset data is utilized across the organization.

a Senior Associate, BIM Design at MODON, Abu Dhabi, specializing in infrastructure, utilities, and digital engineering. With nearly a decade of experience across water, drainage, utilities, and major infrastructure projects, he focuses on BIM standards, digital delivery, automation, and technology-driven design review. Amr is passionate about transforming BIM from a project deliverable into a strategic platform for smarter, more connected infrastructure.

Dr. Basel Elkhapery joined AUD’s School of Engineering in Fall 2024 as an Assistant Professor in Civil Engineering. His expertise spans construction management, Building Information Modeling (BIM), artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), and emerging technologies in the built environment. Dr. Elkhapery is passionate about integrating AI, digital technologies, and immersive learning tools into engineering education and practice. His research focuses on advancing construction productivity, sustainability, and decision-making through AI-driven solutions, automation, robotics, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and digital construction technologies. Through both his teaching and research, he strives to cultivate innovation, critical thinking, and an entrepreneurial mindset among future engineers, preparing them to address the evolving challenges of the construction industry

John is a Director of Transport and Mobility at Buro Happold, leading teams in the Middle East. With approximately 20 years of experience across the UK and Middle East, he advises governments, developers and authorities on mobility strategy, master planning and infrastructure. His experience includes Expo 2020 Dubai, the Riyadh On-Street Parking Strategy and the Dubai Expo Legacy Master Plan. He combines technical expertise with a commercially grounded approach to sustainable urban development and an interest in AI-enabled planning and consulting delivery.

A civil Engineer specializing in the roads and bridges construction field, with experience in project management, he holds a Project Management Professional certificate and thrives on seeking new challenges in order to expand his skillset and acquire new knowledge continually.

• B.Sc. in Civil Engineering, University of Bahrain, 2015.
• Site Engineer, G.P.Zachariades Group, Apr – Nov 2016.
• Civil Engineer, (December 2016 – May 2022) at the Ministry of Works, where he was promoted from trainee engineer till he got senior engineer during this period.
• Head, Bridge & Flyover Projects, Ministry of Works Dec 2016 – 2024).
• Director of Roads Projects and Maintenance Department, a position to which he was appointed on August 6, 2024 by Edict (37) of 2024 issued by His Royal Highness Crown Prince and Prime Minister.
• It is worth noting that he worked as a customer service agent (October 2013 - March 2016) in a telecommunications company during his university studies.

Responsibilities:

• Supervising all aspects of developing the road network in the Kingdom of Bahrain through implementing strategic projects and working on their maintenance and operation to ensure sustainability.
• Working on developing project implementation programs to establish and maintain a wide network of roads, bridges, tunnels and road-related assets.

Major projects involved on:

• Al Fateh Highway Upgrade,
• Bahrain Airport Access improvement Stage 1 & 2,

Professional Awards:

• Best Idea Award, Government Innovation Competition (FIKRA), 2021

Dr Hesham Nour Eldeen is Senior Director of Civil Engineering in AECOM ME leading the Bridges, Structures, Roads, Ground Engineering and Tunnelling departments. He brings over 33 years of diverse experience, combining design, project management, and construction expertise across major infrastructure projects. His experience spans road and rail bridges, tunnels, and railway stations, with particular specialization in complex cable-stayed and segmental bridge systems.

Throughout his career, Hesham has played a key role in the design and construction of numerous landmark bridge projects worldwide, providing technical leadership from concept development through delivery. His unique blend of engineering, management, and construction knowledge enables him to successfully lead multidisciplinary teams and deliver innovative, practical, and cost-effective solutions for complex infrastructure challenges.

Manosh De is an award-winning urban development professional specializing in resilient, human-centered, and sustainable city solutions across global contexts.

With over 22 years of experience, Manosh has led transformative, cross-disciplinary projects across the Middle East and North Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Caribbean—collaborating with teams spanning design, economics, engineering, sustainability, and smart city innovation.

He combines expertise in policy development, urban design, and strategic partnerships to deliver outcomes aligned with sustainable development goals and regulatory frameworks.

Manosh currently serves as an advisor at ADPIC, Abu Dhabi’s Projects and Infrastructure Center, which oversees major capital projects aimed at enhancing quality of life across the Emirate.

He is an alumnus of the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program, a UK Chevening Scholar, and a member of Beta Gamma Sigma.

Mohamed Ali is an Associate within Project & Development Services at JLL, with extensive experience leading capital programmes, portfolios and transformation initiatives across the UAE and the region. His career spans contracting, engineering consultancy, government authorities, and real estate advisory, giving him a broad strategic and commercial perspective across the asset lifecycle. His experience extends from development and capital delivery through handover, operations, maintenance, and facilities management, combining portfolio leadership with governance, business planning, procurement, commercial management, and asset performance. He works closely with senior government and private-sector stakeholders to translate strategic priorities into executable programmes and strengthen the connection between capital investment and long-term operational performance

Muhammad A. Alqahtani is known for his remarkable achievements in project management, arbitration, and driving transformative change. With a solid academic foundation — a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from KFUPM, a master's in Engineering Management from IAU, and an MBA from Liverpool John Moores University — Muhammad has supplemented his education with a Project Management qualification from George Washington University. He is recognized as a registered Professional Civil Engineer and Technical Expert, holding certifications as an Arbitrator, TapRoot Analyst, and Six Sigma Green Belt, alongside a certificate of management excellence from Harvard Business School.

Currently serving as Executive Vice President at Sports Boulevards Foundation (SBF), Muhammad spearheads the development and execution of projects exceeding SAR 5 billion, critical to realizing KSA's Vision 2030. With extensive experience at Qiddiya Investment Company and Saudi Aramco, he has further enriched his expertise through the Executive Education Program at Harvard Business School, specializing in Managing Turbulence.

Naji Atallah leads the Construction and Manufacturing industries for Autodesk across EMEA Emerging Countries. He focuses on defining the regional vision for the industries, cultivating and sustaining the firm's relationships with strategic industry leaders and associations as well as enabling regional designers, builders and makers to innovate through the use of technology. He evangelizes purposeful digital transformation as a roadmap for companies to make more with a less negative impact on the plant necessary to sustain the demographic changes of the future

His research interests focus on advanced technologies such as Generative Design and the effect of those technologies on the design process and outcomes. He is a peer-reviewed published author on the topic.

Naji has been in the engineering technology sector for nearly 25 years. Prior to joining Autodesk in 2013, he served as the Middle East Regional Manager for AVEVA Solutions and as a Project Engineering Lead for Petrofac. He holds a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon.

Raed Atari is a civil engineer and MBA holder with more than 30 years' experience delivering large-scale projects across the GCC and North Africa, spanning high-rise towers, master-planned communities, hotels and infrastructure.

He currently serves as Waste Management Expert at Dubai Municipality responsible for strategic projects including waste to energy and waste to SAF projects that support the circle economy of waste management.

He previously held senior leadership positions with major Development and construction companies in Kuwait, UAE and Saudi Arabia leading the delivering major projects some of which are now landmarks.

A well-known and respected thought leader in MENA affairs, Edward James has been with MEED for more than 19 years, working as a researcher, consultant and content director. Until September 2008 he was MEED’s Gulf Bureau Chief, after which he moved over to head up the consulting arm of the business. From 2015-2021 he was responsible for content and research at MEED Projects, the region’s leading projects tracking service. Today he heads up all content and research produced by the MEED group. His specific areas of expertise are construction, hydrocarbons, power and water, and the petrochemical market, and is considered one of the world’s foremost experts on the MENA projects market. He is a regular guest commentator on Middle East issues for news channels such as the BBC, CNN and ABC News and is a regular speaker at events in the region. He has an honours degree in Arabic and Middle East Politics.

Colin Foreman is Editor and a Specialist Construction Journalist for news and analysis on MEED.com and the MEED magazine. He has been reporting on the region since 2003, specialising in the construction sector and its impact on the broader economy. He has reported exclusively on a wide range of projects across the region including schemes such as Dubai Metro, the Burj Khalifa, Jeddah Airport, Doha Metro, Hamad International Airport, and Yas Island. Before joining MEED, Colin reported on the construction sector in the Middle East and Hong Kong. He has a bachelor’s degree from Newcastle University and a master’s degree from the University of Reading.

Yasir Iqbal is MEED’s Construction Editor. He has been with MEED for more than 3 years, working as a researcher, writer and construction expert. Before joining MEED, Yasir worked as an analyst at a regional project tracking platform where he led a team of researchers analysing the projects market and providing expert assessments for key project stakeholders across the region.

His specific area of expertise is the Saudi Arabia construction market, with a particular focus on the giga projects program on which he is widely-known for his insights and commentary. He holds an MBA degree from the University of Kashmir.

I am an Infrastructure Asset Management Expert with over 20 years of experience spanning construction, oil & gas, transportation, and municipal sectors in the UAE. I currently serve as an Asset Expert at Dubai Municipality, where I lead strategic initiatives to advance asset management frameworks, governance models, and enterprise-wide transformation programs in alignment with international standards.

Throughout my career, I have operated at both strategic and operational levels across complex asset environments, with deep expertise in lifecycle management, performance optimization, risk management, and value-based decision-making. I bring an integrated perspective that aligns engineering, financial, and service outcomes to enhance asset performance and long-term sustainability.

I play an active role in advancing the asset management discipline, contributing to the development of methodologies, tools, and frameworks in collaboration with the Institute of Asset Management (IAM), and supporting the UAE Chapter through its various initiatives and professional activities. I am committed to strengthening asset management culture and enabling data-driven decision-making.

I am also leading the adoption of Artificial Intelligence in asset management by developing a first-of-its-kind AI agent designed to support end-to-end asset lifecycle management. This innovation leverages advanced analytics and intelligent automation to enhance decision-making, optimize asset performance, and transform how asset data is utilized across the organization.

Manosh De is an award-winning urban development professional specializing in resilient, human-centered, and sustainable city solutions across global contexts.

With over 22 years of experience, Manosh has led transformative, cross-disciplinary projects across the Middle East and North Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Caribbean—collaborating with teams spanning design, economics, engineering, sustainability, and smart city innovation.

He combines expertise in policy development, urban design, and strategic partnerships to deliver outcomes aligned with sustainable development goals and regulatory frameworks.

Manosh currently serves as an advisor at ADPIC, Abu Dhabi’s Projects and Infrastructure Center, which oversees major capital projects aimed at enhancing quality of life across the Emirate.

He is an alumnus of the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program, a UK Chevening Scholar, and a member of Beta Gamma Sigma.

Dr. Peiman Kianmehr joined AUD’s School of Engineering in Fall 2010 as an Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering. His expertise lies in environmental engineering and sustainable built environments, focusing on water infrastructure sustainability, wastewater treatment technologies, and green building. His research spans the characterization and treatment of water and wastewater, bioenergy generation from municipal wastewater, and the sustainable development of water infrastructure and green buildings. From 1999 to 2004, Dr. Kianmehr directed various design, planning, and quality control projects in hydraulic engineering, working on major water transmission and supply projects, as well as earth dam construction and flood control initiatives. Before joining AUD, he collaborated with Environment Canada on wastewater treatment plant components' design, operation, and evaluation. He is a member of the Water Environment Federation (WEF) and the Water Environment Association of Ontario (WEAO).

Muhammad A. Alqahtani is known for his remarkable achievements in project management, arbitration, and driving transformative change. With a solid academic foundation — a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from KFUPM, a master's in Engineering Management from IAU, and an MBA from Liverpool John Moores University — Muhammad has supplemented his education with a Project Management qualification from George Washington University. He is recognized as a registered Professional Civil Engineer and Technical Expert, holding certifications as an Arbitrator, TapRoot Analyst, and Six Sigma Green Belt, alongside a certificate of management excellence from Harvard Business School.

Currently serving as Executive Vice President at Sports Boulevards Foundation (SBF), Muhammad spearheads the development and execution of projects exceeding SAR 5 billion, critical to realizing KSA's Vision 2030. With extensive experience at Qiddiya Investment Company and Saudi Aramco, he has further enriched his expertise through the Executive Education Program at Harvard Business School, specializing in Managing Turbulence.

Dr. Zaid Alyami has extensive industry experience with key focus on Business Transformation, Operations Management, Asset Management and Strategy Development and Execution. Dr. Alyami has progressive experience in public and private agencies in Saudi Arabia and Internationally. Dr. Alyami currently is at the Ministry of Transportation and Logistics Services, Saudi Arabia where he holds several leadership roles under road affairs key strategic programs including Heading the Roads Asset Management, Roads Operation and Maintenance Transformation Program, and Leading Roads Public Private Partnerships projects.

Eng. Majed Abed Alkatheeri is the Executive Director of the Operations and Maintenance Sector at Abu Dhabi City Municipality, where he leads operations and maintenance projects for municipal infrastructure assets across Abu Dhabi City and oversees emergency response activities.

With over 30 years of experience in project management, infrastructure development, and municipal asset management, he has held several senior leadership positions, including Executive Director of the Infrastructure and Municipal Assets Sector, Director of the Integrated Planning Support Department, and Director of the City Center Municipality, where he supervised multidisciplinary teams of more than 250 employees.

He has received several awards and recognitions, including the Abu Dhabi Award for Government Excellence, awards for Best Sub-Municipality, international recognitions in road safety and infrastructure, and special recognition for his leadership during the COVID-19 response. He has also represented Abu Dhabi City Municipality at regional and international conferences and participated as a keynote speaker at Smart Cities conferences.