Archives: Speakers

Abdullatif is the director of Emirates Green Building Council.

Abdullatif is a Chemical Engineer and has an MSC in Energy Studies and has 22+ years of experience in Jordan, UAE and KSA.

Abdullatif also serves as the honorary vice chair and secretary general of the Energy Institute Middle East Branch and judges in number of international and national awards in sustainability, energy, risk and health and safety. Abdullatif is a member in the Industrial Advisory Board of the Engineering and Physics School of Heriot Watt University – Dubai.

Prof. Alraouf is an architect, urban designer and planner focusing on research within the domain of theory, criticism and creativity in architecture and urbanism. Alraouf has held permanent and visiting teaching and research positions at regional and international universities. He provides consultancy in numerous projects regionally and internationally and acts as a consultant for international organizations including UN-Habitat, UNESCO, ESCOWA, ICOMOS among others. He published more than 150 journal refereed papers, critical reviews, essays, in addition to books and book chapters. Alraouf serves in editorial boards and acts as a reviewer for international journals and conferences. He has been invited to present his research work at international institutions in over 30 countries. Alraouf is the recipient of several research and teaching awards. In addition to teaching at HBK University in Qatar, Alraouf currently acts as senior advisor for research and development at the Ministry of Municipality in Qatar. He is a board member of the international society for city planners (ISOCARP) and director of Awards and Publication program.

Elie is the Head of Electricity at the Regulatory and Supervisory Bureau, the regulator of Dubai’s electricity, water, and district cooling sectors. He has been with the RSB for 10 years supporting the development and implementation of policies, legislation, strategies, regulations, and programmes.

Elie holds a master’s degree in business administration and a bachelor’s in electrical engineering. He has over 22 years of experience in the energy and utilities sector, predominantly through regulatory and consulting work. He has been involved in transformational projects in the region, mainly dealing with independent power producers, renewables, sustainability, demand side management, energy services and energy efficiency, power sector restructuring, and utility digital transformation.

Professional Summary:
With a career spanning over 2 decades, Dr. Waleed Al Nuaimi is an accomplished multi-industry senior management executive with expertise ranging across strategic planning, project development, management consultation, collaborations and strategic partnerships.

Dr. Waleed is someone who takes a vision and 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 CEO 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, Dr. Waleed held senior management positions with both public and private sectors and served prestigious entities such as Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Emirates Airlines and ADNOC Distribution. During his time at Ministry of Foreign Affairs, leveraging his strong background in Project Management and Commercial Negotiations, he was instrumental in strategic development and close-out of several landmark deals with various foreign governments.

Dr. Waleed holds a PhD in Project Management from British University in Dubai which goes hand-in-hand with his MBA from Higher College of Technology. Amongst others, he also received certification from PSB Academy Singapore on Productivity Management for Government Officials.

Dr Stephen Wilkinson, is the Director of Research and Graduate Studies at the University of Wollongong in Dubai. Leading the University’s research initiatives to ensure that they have real world impact through collaborations with industry. He is also an internationally recognized researcher in the applications of sustainability including the development of new zero carbon materials and processes. He has published over 60 papers in this field focused on supporting companies to make a difference. He is an alumnus of Imperial College London and the University of Liverpool. He is also a Fellow of the Geological Society, a Fellow of the Royal Microscopical Society and a Fellow of the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation. He supports professional bodies in the UAE including as the Vice Chair for the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation Dubai Group.

Dr Bhakti More is a Chairperson & Associate Professor at the School of Design & Architecture, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) Dubai Campus with over 25 years of experience in academia and the design industry. She has pursued her doctoral studies at the School of Built Environment, University of Salford, Manchester, UK and worked as Project Architect in design consultancies. She is currently the coordinator for Manipal Environment and Conservation Students Club which has received consecutive awards for Best Sustainable Green Campus Audit and Best Sustainability Action Project from Environment Agency Abu Dhabi. In her role, she is guiding the MAHE Dubai team for Climate Action Plan for MAHE Dubai for UNFCC, Race to Zero and has led ‘Team Tawazun’ for Solar Decathlon Middle East 2021 for designing net zero homes. The Environment Agency Abu Dhabi awarded Dr Bhakti ‘Best Coordinator’ for commitment in 2015. Dr Bhakti is an ambassador for ‘Woman in Construction’ Big 5, Dubai, mentor for the Link program for Women Mentorship, Advisory Group for Women in Built Environment (WiBE) and is passionate about encouraging the role of youth towards building a sustainable future. She is currently part of the Advancing Net Zero Volunteering team for Communities and Infrastructure.

Ayman Ayad is an experienced Water and Utilities Sector Manager at the European Union Delegation to Egypt, with 17 years of experience in business planning and international development. Thanks to his expertise, the EU Portfolio of Cooperation in Water and Utilities has secured funds from European Financial Institutions worth almost EUR 3.0 Billion under his management. With a PhD in Engineering and degrees in Civil Engineering, Transboundary water resources Management, and strategic planning, Ayman has worked with prestigious institutions, including the European Union Delegation to Egypt, the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, Holding Company for Water and Wastewater, and Mott Macdonald. In addition, his strong relationships with donor agencies make him an invaluable asset in his field.

Dr. Haggar’s 30 years’ experience in Energy and sustainable development Consulting and University teaching. Dr Haggar has been a visiting professor at Washington State University and at University of Idaho, U.S.A. He is presently the professor of Energy and Sustainable Development – Mechanical Engineering Department at the American University in Cairo, Dr. El-Haggar is the president of Egypt Green Building Council since 2012. Egypt GBC is an NGO under the umbrella of Ministry of social solidarity and a member of the world Green Building Council.

Dr. Haggar’s has 28 Academic Honors, grants and awards. Dr. El-Haggar received the outstanding teaching award from AUC in 1995 as well as an Excellence in research and creative endeavours awards in 2009. In 2012, Dr. El-Haggar received Provost Award in recognition of the innovations in Environmental science and engineering as well as distinguished service award of 25 years of services at AUC. In addition, Dr. El-Haggar has 230 Scientific Publications in Environmental, Sustainable Development and Energy Fields, 53 invited presentations, 57 technical report, 17 books, 15 Book chapter.

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.

Dr. Jauad El Kharraz is the Executive Director of the Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE), an intergovernmental organization with diplomatic status based in Cairo with 17 Arab countries onboard. Dr. El Kharraz took his office on October 2021 bringing over 20 years of experience in various sustainable energy fields including energy policies, wind and solar technologies, and green hydrogen in addition to water management, desalination, water-energy-food-climate nexus, climate change, and environment.

As the Executive Director, Dr. El Kharraz undertakes the strategic management of RCREEE. He leads RCREEE Secretariat in implementing its strategy aiming to enable and increase the adoption of renewable energies and energy efficiency practices in RCREEE 17 member states. With the region’s great potential, rapid sustainable energy market changes, Dr. El Kharraz is entrusted with tailoring innovative initiatives to deepen Arab-Arab cooperation in sustainable energy fields & to boost our member states’ efforts towards energy transition.

Prior to joining RCREEE, Dr. El Kharraz held the position of Director of Research at the Middle East Desalination Research Center in Oman (2015-2020). Previously, he served as a senior expert, advisor, and evaluator for several international institutions (e.g., European Commission, UN-ESCWA, PRIMA Foundation, EU-GCC Clean Energy Technology Network, KAS-REMENA, Ocean Oasis, COMSTECH Scientific Advisory Council, ENSUS/UM6P University, EMME-CCI Task Force/Cyprus Institute, “French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation”) and member of board of the European Desalination Society, AgreeMed and WEFE4Med Nexus projects and Jovesolides Association (Spain). He is also member of the International Desalination Association, the Mediterranean Water Institute, and Oman Energy Majlis.

He brings over 20 years of experience in various sustainability fields including energy and water policies, desalination, water-energy-food nexus, green hydrogen, climate change. Dr. El Kharraz sustainability career officially started in 1998 as a researcher at the Global Change Unit -University of Valencia. Through his journey, he coordinated, prepared, and contributed to an important portfolio of international programs/projects of millions of euros such as FP5-FP7, H2020, ENPI CBC Med, INCO MED, INCO NGOs, SMAP, LIFE, PRIMA. He carried out projects for national and international donors such as GIZ, SIDA, IsDB, TRC/Oman and USAID apart from private sector companies.

Dr. El Kharraz is a founding member of Nice hub (France) – Global Shapers Community (World Economic Forum), aiming to push young talents from Nice city to develop projects of development for their local community.

He chaired and contributed to the development of an important number of scientific papers, policy briefs, policies, training & mentorship activities, lectures, awards ceremonies, and events (e.g., World Economic Forum, World Water Forum, World Science Forum, World Urban Forum, Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, MENA Europe Future Energy Dialogue, World Hydrogen Summit, Planetary Security Initiative, Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue Conference, International Higher Education Conference, COP26, COP27, etc.) in more than 55 countries.

Dr. El Kharraz is a national of Morocco and France, and a graduate of the University of Abdelmalek Essaadi. Dr. El Kharraz obtained his MSc and PhD degrees in Physics from the Department of Earth Physics and Thermodynamics, University of Valencia, Spain, and a diploma in enterprises management and strategies from SKEMA Business School, France. He is a fluent French, Arabic, Spanish and English speaker.