Archives: Speakers

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).

• CEO of Span Management Consulting
• Professor of Structural Engineering and former university president.
• Holds a PhD from Cornell University and an MSc from George Washington University in the USA.
• Held senior engineering positions, including the design expert and technical and the project advisor of the Abu Dhabi Municipality.
• Played leadership roles in major engineering projects and companies, and led the establishment and development of multiple universities.
• Certified Professional Engineer in Ontario, Canada (PEng), and a fellow of the UK Chartered Institute of Builders (FCIOB).
• Fellow of the American Concrete Institute (FACI), Fellow and Life Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (FASCE) and Past President of its UAE Chapter.
• Board Member of the Afro-Asian Council of Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity – CAAAIC.
• Distinguished academic experience as a faculty member, visiting professor, or researcher at several universities in the USA, Canada, Syria, and the UAE.
• The inaugural recipient of the prestigious “George Winter Award” from Cornell University in the USA.
• Recipient of the International “ASCE Region 10 Distinguished Service Medal Award” in the USA (2023)

Tatiana Antonelli Abella is the Founder and Managing Director of Goumbook, a Social Enterprise established in 2009 dedicated to accelerating Sustainability and Climate Action in the UAE and beyond.

Today Goumbook manages different projects such as Trees Matter, regional and global tree planting programs, to encourage reforestation and rehabilitation of ecosystems; Drop It – Rethink Plastic, to help businesses and individuals reduce single use plastics; Eat It or Save it, to drive awareness about food waste in partnership with UAE Food Bank, and Take a Breath, highlighting the need to monitor and improve indoor air quality, proposing solutions focused on human health, circular economy thinking and nature based approaches.

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.

In November 2023, at COP28, Goumbook launched the MENA Oceans Network in partnership with the UN to accelerate collaboration, partnerships and action for the oceans in the Middle East and North Africa region.

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 18 years in the UAE, Tatiana has garnered a strong reputation: 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. In 2022 she was awarded the Mother Teresa Award for Environmental Stewardship and Excellence.

Cathal is an 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)

David is a partner at Clyde & Co and is based in Dubai. He heads the firm’s Energy and Marine practice in the Middle East and Africa and sits on the Clyde & Co Global Board.

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.

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.

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

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.