Natalie SLEIMAN

Elias AAD

Elias is a Vice President at Mastercard advisors, heading the government business of Mastercard for Middle East and Africa

His professional track is a strong blend of corporate and entrepreneurial endeavours. Most recently, he was a member of the leadership team Roland Berger ME, in the capacity of Principal, advising Finance and Tech clients on growth and investment strategies across developing markets.

Today, he heads the Government business of Mastercard Advisors in Middle East and Africa, based in Dubai.

In parallel to his corporate track, Elias co-founded and led a Rocket Internet venture in UAE and KSA. He is also a co-founder and a member of the Dubai Angel Investors. He is the co-owner and chairman of a leading F&B group in Lebanon. Moreover, Elias is a Senior member at LIFE (Lebanese International Finance Executive)

Elias holds an MBA degree from INSEAD Business School and an undergraduate degree in Computer and Communication Engineering from the Lebanese American University (LAU).

Miguel LOBO

Miguel Sousa Lobo is an Associate Professor of Decision Sciences at INSEAD. He is currently the Director of the INSEAD Middle East Campus in Abu Dhabi and is leading its development. Miguel Sousa Lobo holds MS, MA, and PhD degrees from Stanford University, USA, and had completed his undergraduate degree at Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal. After working for two years with the startup companies in Silicon Valley, and prior to joining INSEAD, he held academic appointments at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and has served as a visiting professor at the Columbia University's Graduate School of Business.

His work has appeared in leading publications such as Operations Research, Journal of Finance, Administrative Science Quarterly, Management Science, and Harvard Business Review. He has worked on methods for the analysis of social networks, in particular, the role of affect in intra-organisational task networks, as well as sequential decision making, with applications ranging from revenue management and optimal pricing to market microstructure and optimal trade execution.

Kinda BAYDOUN

Kinda Baydoun is currently the Director of Channel and Alliances at Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, responsible for managing HPE resellers, distributors, and service providers as well as major alliance partners including ISVs (such as Microsoft and SAP), the biggest six Indian SIs (such as TechMahindra, Wipro, and TCS) and the G4 consulting companies (Deloitte Accenture, PWC, and KPMG) across the Middle East. Having joined HPE 8 years ago, Kinda has held various regional roles within HPE from leading the inside sales and the midmarket organization, to managing the channel and alliances ecosystem.

With more than 15 years of experience in the IT industry, working for other multinationals such as Sun Microsystems, Kinda has witnessed the major industry’s M&A’s as well as its transformation. She is a technology enthusiast and women in leadership advocate. Has received various awards for channel and sales performance, the latest of which were “Best Channel Management by Vendor” award in 2016 by Reseller Middle East, and “Channel Champion” award in 2017 by Channel Middle East. Kinda has a BS in Management Information System, and earned her MBA from École Supérieure des Affaires (ESA) as well as Masters in Management from ESCP-EAP in 2004.

Zina AJLOUNY

Originally Palestinian, Zina has worked in Hong Kong, San Francisco, and Dubai, where she is currently working on solving complex public policy issues at Careem, the region's only startup unicorn. Previously she was at the Boston Consulting Group in Dubai, and prior to that helped co-found a start up, Bonfaire, that was later acquired in Silicon Valley. She is an alum of The University of Michigan and INSEAD. She considers it part of her life mission to empower Middle Eastern women dream bigger and live up to their ambitions (just ask anyone who read her business school essays).

Cyrus HODES

Cyrus Hodes is passionate about drastically disruptive technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, robotics and biotech together with their cross-pollination and impacts on society.

He is an Advisor to the UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence and a Partner at FoundersX Ventures, a Sand Hill Road based early stage venture firm with a heavy focus on AI and robotics.

Cyrus is also the Vice President of The Future Society, a 501(c)(3) in Massachusetts incubated at Harvard Kennedy School, where he founded the AI Initiative in 2015, engaging a wide range of global stakeholders to study, discuss and help shape the governance of AI through various international policy platforms as well as AI ethics and safety initiatives. He is a member of three Committees (Policy, Well-Being, and General Principles) of the IEEE Global Initiative for Ethical Considerations in Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems.

Cyrus was educated at Sciences Po Paris, where he later was a Lecturer, holds a MA (Hons) from Paris II University in Defense, Geostrategy and Industrial Dynamics and a MPA from Harvard Kennedy School.

Ayah SHASHAA

Ayah Shashaa is MENA Head of Partnerships & Business Development at Udacity, a Silicon Valley based education technology company that democratizes education by offering world-class higher education opportunities that are accessible, flexible, and economical through an online platform. Udacity’s Nanodegrees cover an array of subjects from self-driving cars and AI to data science and digital marketing, upskilling students for the jobs of the future. Content for these programs are created at a global level in partnership with the world’s leading organizations such as Google, Facebook, Amazon and IBM.  

Ayah joined Udacity in 2017 to develop partnerships with governments, enterprises, and foundations across the MENA market. She also leads all project management activities related to programs. Ayah is also responsible for defining and driving all business devleopment activities for MENA, including career services to match the supply and demand for talent in the region.

Ayah has experience in consulting in the US and the Middle East. Most recently, Ayah was at McKinsey & Company, where she advised governments on large economic development projects, and private sector clients in the real estate and consumer businesses on growth and talent. She was also involved in shaping McKinsey’s capability development and leadership development strategy for the region.

Ayah obtained her MBA from INSEAD and her undergraduate degree in Industrial Engineering & Management Science, and Economics from Northwestern University in Chicago.

Mirna SLEIMAN

Mirna Sleiman is the founder and CEO of Fintech Galaxy, a global crowdsourcing platform that connects the fintech ecosystem. A senior executive with 15+ years of experience in government relations, business strategy, digital communications and journalism, mostly within the MENA region.

Driven by passion for innovation and positive impact, Mirna has a track record in leading digital transformation projects, marketing comms strategies and global partnerships with public and private entities, focusing on knowledge economy development, regulatory infrastructure and financial markets.

Mirna has also managed public sector business for Thomson Reuters across MENA and partnered with international organizations to promote innovation and social change, and currently sits on the advisory board of the Union of Arab Banks and MENA Research Partners.

She has also spent more than 10 years as a financial journalist with Reuters, Dow Jones, The Wall Street Journal and Zawya. She has been awarded three EMEA Dow Jones awards and received a Global William Clabby Award in investigative reporting, Thomson Reuters Over And Above award for strategic relations and the IPRA trophy for the impact on the region's corporate world.

Mirna has been certified from MIT university in Fintech and ecommerce, certified from Columbia University in Digital Marketing and Communications, and is an Executive MBA candidate with City University of London (Strategy - Digital Transformation).

Tarek AMIN

Tarek Amin is an active mentor, advisor & angel investor serving on the board of many startups in the region. He has founded/managed media, technology and investment companies exiting his first startup in early 2000.

Serving as a strategic advisor to founders, Tarek has successfully executed fundraising and M&As for some of the leading tech and media startups across the Arab world.

Driven by his passion for entrepreneurship he founded Dubai Angel Investors (DAI), the member based angel network supporting the startup ecosystem in MENA, where he serves as a board members and permanent investment committee member.

Tarek is currently CEO | Digital at Adline Media Network one of the biggest independent media-marketing networks with strong local operations in all major Arab markets, where he established the Digital business for the group.

Mohamed HAMDY

Mohamed Hamdy is the Head of Future Platforms at the Dubai Future Foundation, focusing on emerging technology and innovation initiatives. He spent time working on setting up a government backed venture capital fund and is an Alumni of Singularity University and the THNK 'Creative Leadership Program'. He also set up the The Catalyst, the first MENA based accelerator program focused on investing in sustainable technology, in collaboration with Masdar and BP Ventures, he previously the managing director of Turn8, the founder of Tadawul, an online stock brokerage, based in Abu Dhabi, and did private equity for 7 years. Lastly, as an angel investor, Mohamed is passionate about entrepreneurship and learning about Artificial Intelligence.

Heather HENYON

Heather Henyon is Founding General Partner of Mindshift Capital, a venture fund investing in women-led technology companies globally, and Founder of the Women’s Angel Investor Network (WAIN), the first and largest women’s angel group in the Middle East. An activist venture investor with a passion for fintech and women-led startups, Heather has over 75 direct and fund investments in the US, Europe and Middle East.

She started her career on Wall Street and has almost 20 years of experience in venture finance, entrepreneurship, emerging markets, angel investing, fintech, crowdfunding, credit, microfinance and impact investment. Heather is on the Investment Committee of Dubai Angel Investors and US-based NextWave Impact Fund. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Sekem Holding Group in Egypt and several Advisory Boards.

Heather has been nominated as “Investor of the Year” by Arabian Business in 2016 and 2017. She holds an MBA from the Johnson School at Cornell University and a BA from Oberlin College. Heather lives in Dubai, UAE.

Dunia OTHMAN

Dunia Othman co-founded mrUsta, the UAE’s leading online service provider marketplace and the recipient of numerous recognitions including Forbes’ Top 100 Startups In The Arab World 2017, in 2014 along with three other partners. Coming from a diverse background and calling two vastly different countries home (the UAE and New Zealand), Dunia’s over 15 years of professional life has seen her leading development and marketing efforts across a plethora of countries – including New Zealand, Canada, Iraq, and the UAE – for major brands such Microsoft, Nokia, and software firms in New Zealand. Her experience brings an analytical mind, creative thinking, and strategic outlook to the table and has been a deciding factor in the success of mrUsta.

Dunia, at her very heart, is passionate about sharing her experiences with other up-and-coming female entrepreneurs through the lens of her journey with mrUsta. As such, Dunia has been very active – and continues to be – in supporting and mentoring women entrepreneurs in the UAE, playing key roles with groups such as the Dubai Business Women Council and others to provide the right tools for budding female entrepreneurs in the country. She has also been regularly featured in the media, with Zawya (Thomson Reuters) and MBC covering her story, amongst others. In addition, she’s a regular speaker in key events in Dubai and the UAE and has spoken in events such as INSEAD’s International Women’s Day panel. Dunia has also been recognized with accolades such as the Top 10 Entrepreneurs in the GCC 2017 for her role in bringing mrUsta to fruition.

While keeping a foot in mrUsta, Dunia has recently taken on a new challenge with Dubai Smart Government, taking on the leadership of the Dubai Now app team to further grow and innovate the mobile application.
Dunia holds a bachelor’s in electrical and electronics engineering from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and post-graduate diploma in management from the New Zealand Institute of Management.

Rana NAWAS

Rana is a corporate veteran, writer and podcaster on a mission to inspire women of all backgrounds to shine. She has recently left the corporate world after 17 years, with the last 11 in aviation finance.

Rana grew up in Sharjah, went to Choueifat School, and got her Engineering Degree from Oxford University. Her career spans McKinsey & Company's London Office, the Dubai Government, and GE Capital. As Rana rose through the corporate world she realised that the system is rigged, so in addition to her day-to-day business roles led the charge in rewriting policies, championing pay parity, and helping women rise in their professional and personal lives.

In October she launched the When Women Win Podcast, an inspirational platform for boss ladies from around the world to share their stories, strategies and specific tips to help women everywhere succeed. When Women Win is on iTunes, Sound Cloud and all other podcast apps. She is also the chapter president of Ellevate, a global organization that brings professional women together.

Rana has written for the Huffington post, spoken in front of various audiences, appeared on Dubai TV and radio, and is active on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Natalie SLEIMAN