Speaker

Professor Dr. David Romero is a Senior Research Scientist and Scientific Project Manager at the Center for Innovation in Design and Technology of the Tecnológico de Monterrey University in Mexico, as well as National Academia Representative and Coach for the Regional Secretariat of Intelligent Manufacturing Systems (IMS) – Mexico. His research interests include: Circular Manufacturing, Service Engineering and Product-Service Systems, Cyber-Physical Systems & Human Systems, Advanced Production Management Systems, Green Virtual Enterprises, and Technology and Engineering Management. He is a member of the Society of Collaborative Networks, the IFAC TC5.3 on Enterprise Integration and Networking, the IFIP WG5.7 on Advances in Production Management Systems, the IFIP WG5.12 on Architectures for Enterprise Integration, the IEEE Technology and Engineering Management Society, and the IEEE Internet of Things Community. Furthermore, he is an Agenda Contributor at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Council on “Shaping the Future of Advanced Manufacturing and Value Chains”, and a World Manufacturing Forum (WMF) Ambassador. He has published more than 100 journal and international conference articles and serves at different editorial and scientific committees and advisory boards in academia, industry, and government in the disciplines of business and industrial engineering. Nowadays is focused on promoting the concepts of the "Operator 4.0" and "Digital Lean Manufacturing"; father of both terms.

Derek Woodgate is a consulting futurist, educator, author, speaker and curator. He is the President and Chief Futurist of The Futures Lab, Inc., a foresight consultancy, he founded in 1996, which specializes in creating future potential for major corporations and institutions (http://futures-lab.com).

In addition, Derek is an Associate Professor in the ICT Department of the Engineering and Science Faculty at the University of Adger in Norway and a Visiting Professor at the University of Houston College of Technology Foresight Program. In all cases, he teaches Grad and PhD students in Applied Foresight. Recently, he was appointed to the Executive Board of the Center for Futures Studies at the University of Dubai. Derek is also a member of the World Futures Studies Federation UNESCO Committee. Derek is a resident of USA and UAE and has extensive experience of UAE government operations. Derek has BA in Eastern European Studies and a MA in Political Economics and studied for his PhD in the ICT Department at the Faculty of Engineering and Science University of Adger.

His book, Future Frequencies (2004) was considered paradigm shifting in the foresight field, and his various pieces already published from his book Future Flow give a fresh look at how experiential manifestations can be designed to facilitate new approaches to exploration, innovation, and learning. Presently, his academic papers are concerned primarily with emerging technologies, immersive spatial narratives and increasing human creativity. He is particularly active in the field of smart cities, security and the techno-cultural integration into urban development and its impact on societal transformation.

Derek has worked on numerous integrated city development projects at the government, regional and local level, as well as with the world’s leading architects, construction, and materials manufactures. He was previously advisor to the US Government on the future of transportation and infastructure 2050, the UAE Ministry of the Interior on Security, policing traffic and civil defense, UN/UNESCO on the advancement of futures literacy for societal improvement, Ministries of Education Norway and Germany introducing transdisciplinarity for societal transformation, for the Texas State Government on the 30-year development of the future of Austin, TX, the Central Texas Technology Corridor and the cultural development of Austin, TX as well as the future of energy tech for city development, Malaysian Government on the integration of creative into the 30 year Kuala Lumpur development plan, The City of London for the repurposing of Covent Garden and the future vision for Silicon Roundabout, etc.

Derek is a world-renowned conference speaker on a myriad of future-related subjects, particularly those related to the impact of future technologies on transformative societies, human-machine integration and co-development, and intelligent environments. He has worked for a number of years in UAE

Prior to The Futures Lab Inc., Derek had previous experience as an executive on the board of two major international corporations with over 20 years SVP-level management in global strategy. He started his career as a diplomat with the British Government (FCO).

He has lived and worked in eleven countries and is at home in seven languages (English, Croatian, French, Italian, Bulgarian, Russian and Dutch).

Derek is a founding and board member of the Association of Professional Futurists and ex-President of the World Futures Society Texas Chapter and a long-term member of the World Futures Studies Federation. He is also on the Executive Board of TAFFDs (Transdisciplinary Agora for Future Discussion).

Recognized as a top ten CIO by leading publications in MENA, Fady is an executive leader with 18 year’s of experience who has been instrumental in business transformation for General Electric MENA operations. Fady is a regular keynote speaker at conferences that cover topics related to Innovation, Business Transformation, Fintech and Blockchain. Fady has a proven history of successfully executing leadership & management roles within IT, Operations, Business Strategy, M&A, JV’s & ‘green field’ business builds & business turnarounds.

Specialties: Government Relations in the Middle East Region, Strategic Planning, Quality - Six Sigma (Green & Black belt Certified), Customer-centricity, Change Management, Business Transformation, Mergers and Acquisitions, Banking IT and Operations Platforms, Vendor Negotiations.

Sectors: Financial Institutions, Aviation, Healthcare, Oil & Gas, Energy

Khaled Alshami is a Solution Consulting Management professional with 18 years of experience in the enterprise software market. Focusing on customers success in their Industry 4.0 journey, developing innovative business models, enhanced business outcomes and a more productive and engaged workforce.

Khaled is a technology advocate who is passionate about modern-day philosophies such as Industry 4.0, Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, and Predictive Analytics to help companies deliver ROI, process improvement, and increased efficiency.

Ahmed El Azhary has an extensive experience in the healthcare industry. Throughout his 17 Year professional journey he has taken several leadership positions in Marketing, Sales, Innovation & Digital Transformation in multinational pharma companies. Currently, he is leading the Business Innovation and Digital transformation department at Merck in the Gulf countries aiming to transform the business and Introduce Innovative solutions that positively impact the business, healthcare professionals and ultimately patients. His key areas of interest are Strategy, Leadership, and Innovative Marketing.

Handling Production and quality of three main factories MV cable, LV cables and Building wires.

Developing manufacturing standards, building a quality culture, and leading operations excellence improvement

Qualifications:

• Electrical Engineering Master degree.
• ISO 55001 Lead auditor
• ISO 9001 Lead auditor
• Black belt lean six-sigma
• Certificate in Asset Management ((IAM))

Mohamed Fayez is an industrial pharmacist with more than 22 years of experience in the pharmaceutical manufacturing & supply chain industry.

He started his career working as lecturer for analytical chemistry in Misr International University, Egypt. Afterwards, he shifted to the Research & development career with two big local Egyptian pharmaceutical companies " EIPICO" and "ALKAN".

In 2005 Fayez moved to Bristol Meyers Squibb in the Quality Assurance field looking after the whole manufacturing operations quality specifically the sterile production. In 2006, Fayez joined AstraZeneca and contributed to the Egypt site start up building the quality management system, deploying the quality function for the site and developing the relationship with the local healthcare authorities. Mohamed Fayez shared in transfer of AstraZeneca products from UK and Sweden to Egypt from 2006 till end of 2008.

In Nov 2008, he was assigned as regional quality manager for third part manufacturers for AstraZeneca Middle East and North Africa. In 2011, Fayez became responsible also for Third parties pharmaceutical manufacturers in Europe besides MENA. During his career he manages different big projects for products launches, supply chain designs and third parties setup.

In Jan 2013, Fayez joined Boehringer Ingelheim MENA as Third Parties Quality Management Manager looking after the quality of the third party manufacturers in the MENA region and supervising the different projects arising due to business needs. Fayez is a qualified lead auditor for pharmaceutical manufacturers from AstraZeneca and Boehringer Ingelheim. He is a certified black belt six sigma from International Quality Federation. Since 1st of June 2014, Mohamed Fayez becomes responsible for all third party manufacturing, external supply and business support for Middle East, Turkey, and Africa in Boehringer Ingelheim managing the external contracted manufacturers. He is responsible for manufacturing & supply E2E from manufacturer selection, qualification, contracting then technology transfer then later routine management.

Lately Fayez start to specialize in digital transformation in manufacturing & supply chain mainly life sciences through technical & strategic studies and being part of global community of digital masterminds for smart solutions architecture for industry 4.0.

8 years of experience in Process Control Automation Systems. Worked on challenging assignments in System Design, Development and Implementation to manage challenges in the areas of Application and System Development, Customization and Implementation to suit changing needs of customer.

Dr. Hakim Laghmouchi is a senior expert in Digital Manufacturing and Industry 4.0 with over 15 years of experience in applied research, technology, and management consulting. His domain expertise lies mainly in disruptive technologies and smart factory. He worked for Capgemini APAC, Accenture ASGR, The Fraunhofer Institute for Production Stems and Design Technology (IPK), a leading Industry 4.0 applied research institute in Berlin, Germany. Currently, he is leading the solution design and enterprise architecture at NEOM Industrial City (OXAGON). Hakim holds a Diploma (BSc & MSc) and Ph.D. in Computational Engineering Science from the Technical University of Berlin and a MA in Sustainability and Quality Management from Berlin School of Economics and Law. 

Graduated with honors from Metallurgy faculty of Krasnoyarsk state academy of non-ferrous metals and gold (now part of Siberian Federal University, Russia) with engineer degree in Automation of technology processes in 2002.

2002-2010 worked for Mathematical modelling group at Engineering and technological center (ETC) of RUSAL and was involved to new cell technology development and testing.

2010-2013 worked for Performance Improvement Department of DUBAL on enhancements of existing DUBAL technologies as modelling and design engineer.

End of 2013 got a PhD degree from Ural Federal University

Since February 2014 works for Technology Development and Transfer department of EGA as Head of modelling team.

Kiran is the head of Data, Analytics, IoT and Industry 4.0 at EDGE group, UAE Government's leading defense technology company. He focusses on developing the data,AI, and IoT vision for EDGE across its more than 20 entities to deploy digital solutions, drive their adoption and also ensure clear economic value from these investments. Prior to this role, Kiran was a lead account partner at IBM in Singapore with deep experience in Digital Transformation, Management Consulting and Technology Strategy. As the Accounts and Delivery Leader, he led the delivery for large Digital, Analytics, and IoT engagements for IBM Services within ASEAN. Kiran also led the sales and delivery of digital re-invention programs for Public Sector / Singapore Government, Communications, and Banking sectors for IBM Services ASEAN. He has worked extensively across Singapore, ASEAN, India, EU, Middle-east and Africa for the past more than 20+ years.

Professor Abu Al-Rub is currently the Director of ADAM (Advanced Digital & Additive Manufacturing) Center at Khalifa University. He is also the Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Khalifa University. He has been a Professor at Texas A&M University. Currently, he is also an Adjunct Professor at Air Force Institute of Technology of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, USA. Professor Abu Al-Rub primary research field of interests are in employing digital design and 3D printing for creating multifunctional architected materials and composites for various engineering applications. He has published one book, 5 patents in additive manufacturing, and over 250 publications. He has served as the principle/co-principal investigator of more than 30 projects; he is responsible for more than $26Million. In 2007, he has been selected among nine leading scientists in the US by National Science Foundation and Department of Energy to design new grades of advanced high strength steels for the automotive industry. He has been among the Scholar Google 100 Most Cited Authors in Civil Engineering. He has been included in the prestigious 2019 and 2021 Stanford University’s List of World’s Top 2% of Career-Long Scientists.

Mr Nouman Qaiser is the Supply Chain Digital Transformation Manager for North Africa & Arabia at Unilever.  Before joining Unilever, Nouman has worked at Microsoft & P&G.  Nouman’s core area of expertise is solution design, pertaining to Manufacturing or planning. He has designed multiple solutions leveraging on Cloud Computing and IR4.0 tech to transform Manufacturing & Planning Processes. In an earlier role Nouman lead Digital transformation Program for Unilever’s Dubai Personal Care site which was eventually recognized as a Lighthouse of 4^th Industrial Revolution by the World Economic Forum.

Nouman has profound interests in Computing technology & Software Design. Off the job, he enjoys spending time with his kids and Swimming.

Eng. Abdelrahman Mohamed is the Project Manager at Sadeem Energy with responsibility for project management and business development department.

Prior to joining Sadeem Energy, Eng. Abdelrahman worked in Project leader Assistant at several companies, including University of Sharjah.

Eng. Abdelrahman received BSc in Nuclear Engineering from University of Sharjah from 2015 and 2019., MSc in Engineering Management from University of Sharjah 2019 until now.

His professional interests focus on Industry 4.0 Technology, Nuclear Energy, Engineering Management, and his current projects include Knowledge management and Industry 4.0. In addition, he serves as the Energy Project Manager for Sadeem Energy LLC, and is a member of American Nuclear Society, Project management Institute, INMM, ASQ. Eng Abdelrahman was recently honored with the Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award For Distinguished Performance.

Pranish Kushare is a solution consulting professional with over 27 years of experience in the enterprise software market.  Pranish has extensive experience in ERP Business Consulting, Operational Excellence, Digital Manufacturing, Supply Chain Optimization and supporting organizations with their Project Management and Industry 4.0 – Driving digital Transformation.

Pranish has a Masters in Production engineering and M.B.A. in Finance and Operations.  Prior to join Infor, he worked at Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd India and United Gulf Group in Saudi Arabia.

Alyssa Al-maiahi, runs the fastest growing Digital Marketing Agency in the UAE, as covered by Gulf News. Alyssa is an award-winning Entrepreneur, who has been recognized by Gulf News as one of the most influential self-made Founders in the Middle East.

She is an Advisor for In5 Technology and Innovation Hub: https://infive.ae/events/ and supports multinational brands with growth hacking, scaling, and business excellence.

Hisham is an ecosystem builder and business consultant with extensive experience in the entrepreneurship sphere as part of top-tier startup incubators and accelerators. He has advised founders across the venture life cycle on how to build, fund, launch and grow startups in different business verticals, along with advising corporates on how to increase their innovation capabilities. He is passionate about helping startups achieve profitability and to build innovation ecosystems that create meaningful collaboration opportunities to advance technology development and adoption.

30+ years experienced professional in Manufacturing IT and Industrial Automation with rich hands-on-experience in Business Acquisition, Consulting, Technical Solutions, Building Digital Assets and Program Management.

Expertise:

• Manufacturing process knowledge in discrete manufacturing domain.
• Rich hands-on experience in Manufacturing IT system design and deployment.
• Proven track record in consultative technical sales and business acquisitions in Europe, North America and APAC regions.
• Thought leader: Consulting and directing industry bodies and industrial consortia on I4.0 / Smart Manufacturing possibilities and their business implications.

Youssouf Kamal started his career as a strategy consultant in one of the largest consulting firms in Morocco, where he worked with various governments on drafting sectorial strategies throughout the MENA and West Africa regions. It is during his consulting years that his interest in innovation ecosystems grew, as a means to efficiently achieve socioeconomic impact. With over a decade of experience in innovation, Youssouf has been a startup founder, before joining the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa) as a Senior Strategy Associate. After a successful experience in Sheraa, Youssouf joined the world largest accelerator, Plug and Play, as a Program and Partnerships Manager. In Plug and Play, Youssouf founded the Industry 4.0 vertical, with the objective of creating an interdependent ecosystem in Abu Dhabi, focused on 4IR open innovation. He recently joined the District 2020 team, as a Senior Manager of Innovation Ecosystems.

Tariq Najar has around eight years of professional experience in the energy sector. He is currently working in Al Ain Distribution Company (AADC)- a Subsidiary of TAQA as a demand-side management engineer. He has been involved in crucial phases of ESCO projects (Designing, Financing, Contracts, Execution, Measurement and Verification, and early stage of Maintenance).

Tariq holds a bachelor of electrical power engineering, and he is currently pursuing a Master of Science in professional studies (MS Data analytics ). Furthermore, Tariq obtained highly recognized worldwide industry technical and management certificates such as Project Management Professional ( PMP) ,Certified Demand-Side Manager(CDSM), Certified Expert in Climate & Renewable Energy Finance (CECRF), Certified Business Energy Professional (CBEP), Certified Energy Manager (CEM), Certified Energy Auditor (CEA), Certified Measurement and Verification (CMVP), Certified Building Commissioning Professional (CBCP).