Archives: Speakers

Ghina’s facade design management competence allows a robust delivery of projects from concept stage to completion, including design reports, specifications, and detail drawings. Ghina has a developed an understanding of design and buildability of façade systems including material knowledge and installation techniques. She has been involved in Façade and Facade Access jobs for prestigious projects in the Saudi Arabia, UAE. She handled the management and façade design process of a business complex in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi targeting Net Zero for its main headquarter building.

Ghina oversaw the multidisciplinary project management and the façade design of a mixed- use project adapting the Najdi architectural style, with history and heritage assets at its core, challenging the modern compliance requirements with respect to the traditional Najdi aspi- rations. The project is considered as a world class destination project within Riyadh, aspiring for LEED Cities and Communities Gold and Mostadam Communities rating accreditation.

Prior joining the middle east firms, Ghina joined Permasteelisa Group, Scheldebouw B.V. in Netherlands as an intern, where she observed closely the design and execution of the various façade systems for prestigious projects in Europe.

WORK EXPERIENCE
Principal Facade Consultant at Zutari Middles East
Facade Engineering Department, Dubai.
March 2023 – Present
Role Description:
– Leading facade team to develop façade design scheme from CD to IFC.
– Managing facade designers workflow, providing technical guidance.
– Developing technical specifications and reports.
– Leading clients meetings and workshops through the project’s phases.
– Developing façade system concepts based on architectural concepts.
– Managing site supervision scope, shop drawings, material submittals and site inspections.
– Facade Project management, resourcing, budgeting, and administration daily work.
– Managing the facade department business development.
– Leading Facade bids opportunities, reviewing RFPs, negotiation proposal with clients.

CONFERENCES / ARTICLES
The March 2022 edition of ITP Media Group’s MEP Middle East (ITP) magazine, The MEP industry needs to step up in “Implementing Advanced Tech” –
Link: https://www.mepmiddleeast.com/people/mep-industry-ghina-yamak

The March 2022 edition of ITP Media Group’s MEP Middle East (ITP) magazine, Reshaping the narrative of the male-dominated MEP industry
Link: https://www.mepmiddleeast.com/business/diversity-mep

Speaker at Women in Construction Summit Dubai 2019. Panel discussing the early engagement with educational insitutions.

Mina Nessim serves as the Head of Engineering & BIM at Binladin Contracting Group, where he spearheads the Engineering and Digital Delivery of large-scale projects, including the Sharjah Airport Expansion. With a distinguished track record managing high-profile developments such as Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi, the Doha Gold Line Metro, the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Uptown Dubai, and the Zayed National Museum, Mina is a recognized leader in BIM management and construction engineering. His strategic use of cutting-edge engineering technologies has been instrumental in enhancing project efficiency and ensuring adherence to industry standards. Mina’s leadership and technical expertise have been critical in the successful execution of these iconic ventures.

Omar is an Associate Partner in McKinsey’s Middle East office working on major construction projects and real estate developments in the region and globally on a variety of topics including e.g., future-proofing developments, supply chain security, execution and market entry strategies. Prior to McKinsey, Omar was a Project Manager in the construction and engineering realms and is holder of a bachelor of engineering and an MBA”.

Nicola began her career in Scotland as a Designer before moving into the project management field, relocating to the Middle East 12 years ago.

Nicola joined Summertown as Projects Director with over 20 years’ experience in the construction industry, she has a proven track record of successfully managing multiple projects from design through to delivery, Nicola transitioned over to Commercial Director in June 2021 managing Summertown’s pre-contract team including sales, estimation, and design and now currently heads up the full team as Summertown’s General Manager, her passion still lies in client satisfaction and seeing the finished product on site and thrives on being part of the whole Summertown Team.

As a Mum of 4 day the day to day can be a busy and challenging balancing act, having the right team in place helps to manage the load, prioritising the critical tasks and delegating in the right areas is key to being successful, teamwork is key, both at work and at home, whilst we embrace Diversity at Summertown it can sometimes present it’s own challenges, taking into account the needs of the full team and continually striving to get the best and ensure that everyone feels valued and understands their roles and responsibilities keeps her busy, keeping the team motivated daily is a priority given the general stressful conditions of the Desing, Fit out and Construction Industry, but we get there.

As a women in a predominantly male environment it is important to be confident in her experience and take each day at a time, facing obstacles and dealing with them on a real time basis, Nicola is a big supporter of the next generation, male and female and believes that we as leaders need to lead the way to allow an easier path, she believes that we can really achieve great things by supporting and inspiring others to achieve their full potential.

BSc Civil Engineering & Master degree in Civil Engineering completed by University of Bahrain.

Working Experience:

1. About 4 years in the Central informatic organization.
2. 30 years in Ministry of Housing, as:
   • Engineer
   • Head of Estate Management Section
   • Chief of Estate Management section
   • Chief Quality Management Section.
3. part time lecturer in the University of Bahrain
4. Member in Manama Municipal Council in the kingdom of Bahrain.

Proffisional @Personal Skills:

• Wide experience in the engineering field as a civil engineer, construction works, project manager, maintenance engineer.
• Estate management works
• Material Quality regulations & control
• Volunteer works in Bahrain Society of Engineering, in the training field, treasurer, media etc.

Achievements:

• Awarded the king efficiency honor medal, one of the highest medals in the kingdom of Bahrain.
• Appreciation certificates form Ministry and Bahrain Society of Engineering.

Eng. Faisal Al Atel earned his degree in Electrical Engineering from California State University,
Fresno, USA, and a Master of Science in Engineering Management from Sunderland University,
UK. He currently serves as a faculty member at the Public Authority for Applied Education and
Training.

In addition to his government role, Eng. Faisal is actively involved with the Kuwait Society of
Engineers, a non-governmental organization, where he has served in various capacities,
including President since 2017. His commitment to volunteer work extends internationally; he
served as President of the Federation of Arab Engineers in 2020 and is an active National
Member of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations under the auspices of UNESCO.

Locally, Eng. Faisal has made significant contributions to renewable energy technology and has
fostered a culture of teamwork and leadership. With over a decade of teaching experience, he is
dedicated to motivating others and enhancing the quality of life through engineering initiatives
within his community.

Ehsan Khoman joined MUFG in 2016 and is the Head of Commodities, ESG and Emerging Markets Research (EMEA), based in DIFC Branch – Dubai, UAE.

Ehsan leads MUFG’s commodities, ESG and emerging markets research. He is known for applying global perspectives to provide easy-to-grasp, research-backed investment outlooks to institutional, corporate and retail clients, policymakers as well as across the bank. He also regularly delivers the bank’s commodities, ESG and emerging markets perspectives to external audiences through a multitude of media platforms.

Ehsan has over fifteen years’ experience in the banking industry and began his career in London for Societe Generale Corporate and Investment Banking (SGCIB) within the Research and Strategy Division.

Ehsan is a British National and has graduated with First Class Honours in BSc Economics in 2004 from the University College London (UK) as well as acquiring a Distinction in MSc Economics from the University of Warwick (UK) in 2005.

Ehsan is a member of the UK Royal Statistical Society (RSS) and has published with the RSS journal, with a notable co-authored contribution with previous Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member, Dr Martin Weale CBE.

Ehsan is a skilled horologist, a member of the British Antiquarian Horological Society and has a collection of antique clocks.

Dr. Hawileh is Professor of Civil Engineering at the American University of Sharjah. Since joining AUS in 2007, he was able to build a strong and active research focus that has resulted in around 145 journal papers published in well reputed international journals and around 75 papers in conference proceedings. His research interests are primarily focused on strengthening of reinforced concrete structures, computational and analytical modeling, fire resistance, AI and machine learning applications in Civil Engineering, and in the analysis and design of sustainable concrete structures.

Dr. Hawileh received the College of Engineering “Research Excellence Award” for the year 2013-14 and was awarded a scholarship by the Arab Fund Fellowships Program in 2015. He has also been ranked, since 2020, among the top 2% Scientists worldwide in their field based on their career-long citation impact, according to a study published and led by Stanford University researchers.

Ahmad Awada serves as the Divisional General Manager of Digital Health Transformation & Innovation at Mediclinic Group, leading digital innovation in Mediclinic Middle East. A passionate digital health enthusiast and entrepreneur, Ahmad has launched pivotal initiatives such as MyMediclinic 24×7, Chronic Disease Management, Virtual Clinic, and Care Collaboration Center. He also scaled telemedicine services to 153,000 teleconsultations in 2022. With two decades of experience in digital transformation projects, including ten years in digital health and agile software development, he co-founded Mobile Doctors 24-7 and TruDoc 24×7, and established multiple R&D units to develop telemedicine, telemonitoring, and other digital health systems.

Ahmad has a robust educational background, having studied Innovation in Healthcare at Harvard X, Foundations of Telehealth at Johns Hopkins, and Telehealth Best Practices at UC Davis Health. He also completed Product Management and Analysis at Product School New York and is currently pursuing a Master of eHealth Management at Rome Business School, expected to graduate in April 2024.

Recognized as a Subject Matter Expert for the Joint Commission International’s telehealth certification program, Ahmad is an active member of several prestigious organizations, including the International Society for Telemedicine & eHealth, HIMSS Telemedicine and Middle East Communities, and the UAE chapter of PMI.

Leads the region-wide strategy for digital health transformation, telemedicine, innovation and AI across 30+ facilities. Recent wins include scaling telemedicine to 153 k consults in 2022, launching the MyMediclinic 24×7 app, Care Collaboration Center, Care Gaps, Chronic Disease Management programme and virtual clinic.

20 years in digital transformation | 10 years in digital health
Co-founded Mobile Doctors 24-7 and TruDoc 24×7, set up multiple in-house R&D units that built Virtual Care EMR, telemedicine, remote monitoring, scheduling, disease-management and patient-experience platforms.

Academic credentials
• Master’s in e-Health Management – Rome Business School
• Innovation in Healthcare (HarvardX)
• Foundations of Telehealth (Johns Hopkins)
• Telehealth Best Practices (UC Davis Health)
• Product Management & Analysis (Product School, New York)

Industry leadership
• Subject-matter expert, JCI Telehealth Certification
• Vice-Chair, HIMSS Virtual Care Committee; member, HIMSS Middle East Community
• Active member, International Society for Telemedicine & eHealth

Wael Debs is a distinguished Lebanese architect whose career bridges innovative design, academic leadership, and professional service. He served as Vice President of the Order of Engineers and Architects – Tripoli (2022) and as President of its Architects Branch (2019–2022), where he championed architectural excellence and professional advocacy.

A graduate of ALBA University, Debs has led the design of more than 150 projects, ranging from residential developments to landmark public spaces, earning multiple awards and recognitions in Lebanon and across the Gulf region. His practice is defined by a strong commitment to thoughtful design and strategic project management.

Since 2012, Debs has been shaping the next generation of architects as a lecturer in Architecture Studio for graduate students at the Lebanese University and the University of Balamand. His work—both in the field and in academia—reflects a dedication to creating spaces that inspire, endure, and connect communities.