Louise is Partner and Director at Focal Middle East, steering the firm’s engineering, sustainability, and cost consulting services across the UAE and wider MEA region. She supports clients in hospitality, commercial offices, residential, education, and industrial sectors with strategic advisory encompassing engineering design, cost management, sustainability consultancy, and net-zero implementation.
With over 23 years’ experience in Europe and the Middle East, Louise has worked in roles such as Design Consultant, Principal Engineer, Project Manager, and Client Representative. She is passionate about delivering energy- and water-efficient solutions and remains at the forefront of Focal’s transformative sustainability agenda.
Louise is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer, LEED AP, holds an Executive MBA, and co-chairs the CTBUH Middle East Regional Hub.
“I believe Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) will drive the BIG SHIFT in this century towards a global, cohesive action plan for the climate and biodiversity emergency. For me, reimagining ESG through our Sustainable Legacies framework is key in advising our clients towards climate-smart cities.”
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 Children’s book on Climate Change titled “ Mission zero”. Her third book titled Intelligent Buildings will be launched in London in November 2024.
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 Museum in Abu Dhabi, Bee’ah HQ in Sharjah, Masdar Eco Villa, and the Expo 2020 Terra Sustainability Pavilion, Very recently she lead the Sustainability strategy and Carbon Management for COP28, UAE and ADIPEC Energy event, Abu Dhabi.
Basel Tachwali, a seasoned architect, is driven by a passion for design and innovation in construction technology. With extensive expertise in Industry 4.0, Design for Manufacturing & Assembly, Concrete 3D Printing, and Sustainability, he has instrumentally contributed to projects totaling over 300,000 sqm, such as the award-winning The Coastal Village Residence by The Red Sea Global named sustainable project of the year 2020 at Big Projects Middle East and Technology Champion of The Year by Big Project Awards 2021.
Tachwali was awarded and nominated for several prominent prizes throughout his career, and he was named Young Talent of the Year by Design Middle East in 2021, Featured on the Middle East’s Most Influential Architects Powerlist in 2022.
Today, Basel takes up an advisory role as a Construction Technology Specialist at Dubai Municipality, working on paving the way and regulating the use of innovations in the construction industry, and also serves as a member in Architecture School and Center for Research, Innovation, and Design Advisory Boards at the American University in Dubai.
Mikhael is a multi-faceted Business Development Manager and Acting Director at BEC Arabia Ltd, a top contracting conglomerate in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. His role encompasses Giga projects, PPP initiatives, and strategic alliances. His expertise includes overseeing tendering processes, project supervision, and strategic oversight of contracting, Real Estate Development, Landscaping, Facility Management, and other subsidiaries.
Committed to driving business acumen, fostering innovation, and ensuring client satisfaction, Mikhael’s work at BEC Arabia reflects his dedication to maintaining the company’s industry leadership while contributing to Saudi Arabia’s transformative initiatives in line with Vision 2030, with a particular emphasis on Giga projects.
Lucien Zeigler is a venture capitalist, strategic advisor, podcast host, and public speaker with over 15 years of experience working with and living in Saudi Arabia. Lucien is Managing Director at RedSalt Advisory Company, a boutique business development and strategic advisory firm with clients in the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East, principal and director for the MENA region at Pilatus Capital, a deeptech venture capital fund based in Silicon Valley, California, and Vice President of the non-profit Saudi-US Trade Group based in Washington, D.C.
Lucien is founder and co-host of The TWENTY30 Podcast, the number one bi-weekly podcast show and Youtube channel in English covering Saudi Arabia featuring interviews with changemakers leading Saudi Arabia’s transformation, topical deep dives into the news driving the day, and more.
Previously, Lucien was co-founder and CEO of the media startup Outlit, the venture-backed social publishing network and micropayments platform.
He is a frequent public speaker and event moderator. Among Lucien’s recent Saudi Arabia public speaking engagements include the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) Private Sector Forum in 2023 and 2024, the Human Capability Initiative launched by the Saudi Ministry of Education, events at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, and others.
Lucien splits his time between Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Washington, D.C., USA.
Education: M.Sc.Eng. in Building Engineering/Architecture (University of L’Aquila); Ph.D. in Building Engineering/Architecture (University of Pavia).
Pierluigi is part of the Swiss BIPV Research team of SUPSI since ~ 10 years, where is currently senior researcher and responsible for the BIPV Advanced Building Skin Team. He is active in R&D projects, industry developments, pilot constructions and sensitization activities on solar architecture at swiss and international scale. He’s a construction & energy specialist, passionate about the relation between technological innovation, energy and architectural quality. He developed and implemented innovation actions in several multidisciplinary projects focused on BIPV (Building Integrated Photovoltaics) in collaboration with international consortia and partnerships. Prior to that, as architect, project manager and site supervisor he conducted real projects such as “Energy Box”, a nearly-zero energy building awarded in the post-earthquake reconstruction in L’Aquila. Pierluigi is member of the expert group of Task 15 IEA-PVPS at the International Energy Agency, and of other scientific and technical committees such as review expert for EUPVSEC and team member of IEC TC82.
Pierluigi is senior researcher and head of BIPV Research team at SUPSI. He’s active in R&D projects, industry developments, pilot constructions and working groups at swiss and international scale. Pierluigi main mission is to enable market implementation, competitiveness and quality of solar architecture, using photovoltaics as a building material. He’s also member of the Task 15 at international Energy Agency.
Andy initiated his career in the manufacturing industry and subsequently transitioned to the building services sector. During this time, he also completed an ONC & HNC in mechanical engineering (HVAC) before moving to work for a global design consultancy and then to a national main contractor in the UK. Andy is currently a resident of the UAE with family back in the UK.
Andy now brings more than two decades of professional experience to the table, serving in diverse engineering and managerial capacities within the construction industry, with a focused expertise in information management using Building Information Modeling (BIM) over the past ten years working for tier 1 contractors.
Known as a vocal proponent for digital transformation across the industry, Andy’s current role as Head of Digital Construction has meant a broader focus on ALEC’s digitalization with an emphasis on increasing workflow communication and vertical efficiencies. As head of department Andy manages a team of digital construction managers, coordinators and engineers.
With a keen focus on implementing BIM according to the ISO 19650 series, Andy is one of the co-authors of the best practice guidance resources developed within the UK BIM Framework.
Running in parallel to his duties with ALEC, Andy also works in a voluntary capacity as an international ambassador for nima (formally the UK BIM Alliance), where he helps provide independent leadership and support for the adoption of information management best practice across the MENA region.
