Meet the Judges

Anas Almarie is the Director of Social Media Solutions & Training specialising in government and corporates at UAE-based Social Station - an official LinkedIn partner. As an executive and founding member of the Arab Social & Digital Media Council since 2016, he also Co-hosts the weekly live show #HRMEChat in affiliation with SHRM - MEA.

Additionlly Almarie was awarded by Dubai Internet City in 2015 for the best app award in the smart city app hackathon. He is also the founder of MENA Social Media Awards, Almarie currently judge’s and acts as chair across 6 regional & international awards: International Business Excellence Awards, Gulf Customer Experience Awards, Gulf Real Estate Awards, Gulf Digital Expereince Awards, Gulf Employee Experience Awards, and Gulf Sustainability & CSR Awards.

Currently Almarie is a TV guest, author and keynote speaker across Asia, Middle East and Africa, and an adjunt faculty at SP Jain Global Managment School and a former lecturer at the University of Sharjah – Engineering School. He is also an active member at Social Media Club and Toastmasters International.

More info: www.AnasAlmarie.com, Portfolio: https://goo.gl/T2Tzhy

Kashif is a dynamic, results-driven leader with years of progressive experience leveraging management consulting skills with legal acumen to drive business growth, protect assets and, assure legal compliance. He is currently working as Director Corporate Services with Biznet Consulting advising Entrepreneurs, Corporates and Business Owners on Company Formation and Business Setups in UAE.

His is also an active Council Member of GLG (Gerson Lehrman Group) and successfully incorporated many local and MNC’s in UAE. His expertise and knowledge includes; structuring of legal entities and help foreign companies to setup branches and investment companies in UAE.

Amer has over 20 years of diverse work experience across multi-national and regional companies. Amer has held leading positions at Merck Sharp & Dohme, Bayt.com, Altibbi.com and others in the MENA Markets. One of Amer’s many passions is mentoring and advising start-ups and entrepreneurs in the region. He sits on the advisory board of multiple new ventures and dedicates much of his spare time and energy in assisting these local and regional start-ups to grow.

CEO Graham Shapiro is a designer with over 20 years experience. He has won national and international design awards, including 3 IBX Awards. He invented the interloopmailer® and Reggie®. Graham founded his digital agency GSD® over 20 years ago and more recently Reggie Enterprises Ltd. He is a member of The Chartered Society of Designers, The Chartered Institute of Marketing and an Ambassador of Innovation for The University of Cambridge

Ahmad is technology enthusiast thats been consulting and building solutions for over 14 years. He is the Co-Founder and CEO of HeyDoc!, a global and award winning telemedicine platform and the Managing Director of WebMisc. a Digital Marketing Agency based out of Dubai.

Badia is an HR Director at Deloitte & Touche ME — one of the world’s largest professional services organizations. Badia is a Human Resource Executive with more than 20 years of experience leading HR for global organizations. She has extensive experience developing people strategies that support business goals and building the HR function into a value-added, true business partner. Prior to joining Deloitte, Badia has been working with several large Multinationals from Financial Service to Manufacturing Organizations, as the HR department head in the Middle East and Africa regions.

Serial Entrepreneur and Tech-Geek at heart with more than 16 years of professional experience. Founder and Managing Director of NOCC, a systems integrator and network security solutions company; Co-founder and Partner in WebMisc., a Digital Marketing Agency; Co-Founder of HeyDoc! a global and award winning healthcare revolution as the Middle East's first telemedicine platform that connects patients with Doctors via in-app advisory.

Ayman is the Co-Founder and Group Managing Director of The Corporate Group. He is in charge of subsidiaries responsible for delivering one-stop-shop of professional services related to business setup solutions and enabling both FDIs and foreign companies to do business in UAE and the region.

He has attracted businesses across all sizes and industries such as but not limited to education, healthcare, technology, energy, professional services. Some of these businesses are listed in global stock market while others are start-ups offering disruptive technologies/ideas.

Furthermore, his experience includes advising companies for corporate structuring and merge & acquisition transactions along, developing operational framework that delivers unique customer engagement with clients and stakeholders along with association with both private and government sectors.

Past work experience:

• Worked in Government Resource Planning project (currently known as Dubai Smart Government) for Oracle implementation across local government departments of Dubai Government (2002-2006)
• Co-Founder and COO of Zeroday IT Solution L.L.C., an information and cyber security consulting company based in Dubai (since 2007)
• Corporate Business Services L.L.C., a professional services company specialized in company formation solutions and business consultancy based in Dubai (since 2007)

Personal achievements:

• Awarded for outstanding performance and achievements made in GRP project (currently known as Dubai Smart Government)
• Working closely with Injaz UAE as judge/mentor for entrepreneurship programs. Injaz UAE is a member of Junior Achievement Worldwide (JAW), one of the world's largest non-profit business education organizations
• Participating as judge for various award programs of International Awards UAE
• Active speaker in number of local and global seminars and conferences sharing knowledge and experience around entrepreneurship and legal/operational framework of doing business in UAE
• Active member of Institute of Directors, Hawkama at DIFC

Ayman is fluent in English and Arabic. He earned his BA in Business Administration and Information Systems at University of Colorado (USA) and pursing for his Master of Project Management in British University in Dubai.

Andrea is Partner of GRS Research and Strategy. He holds a bachelor degree in International Trade and master degree in International Economics, both from the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. Andrea has shaped his skills and knowledge through several educational and professional experiences in different countries, such as the United States of America, Australia, and Spain. He primarily focuses on Customer Satisfaction, Business Intelligence, Customer Experience, and Project Management.

He lives in the UAE since 2016, where he heads GRS's business for the MEA Region.He is married and happy father of a beautiful little girl

Issa Baluch is a 40-year logistics veteran, author, and philanthropist. He serves as Chairman of African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI), a non-profit research and training initiative based in Cambridge, Massachusetts designed to inspire and empower African agribusiness professionals to apply global best practices in agribusiness, conservation, and economic development, into workable, achievable steps toward social, environmental and economic sustainability. Baluch is a Member of the Dean’s Council , Senior Fellow and Associate of Science, Technology, and Globalization at Harvard Kennedy School.

Subhi is the CEO and Co-Founder of Kanari, a customer experience management technology company based in Dubai. He has a degree in computer science and an MBA from IESE Business School.

HR Professional with over 15 years of experience with a proven track in many sectors in UAE. Extensive experience in working in Human Resources and demonstrated strong leadership, ownership and responsibility in achieving objectives. He has Developed, managed and supervised the Emiratisation, also have developed policies and directed and coordinated human resources activities, such as Recruitment, HR Business Partner, Training and Development. He believes in keeping employee engagement and motivating them to always keep the best practices to the organization.

John is a well-respected figure within the luxury yacht industry, and Director of the UAE’s leading yacht brokerage, Bush & Noble. With his extensive knowledge of the Middle East market and over 25 years’ experience in Business Development, John is a highly regarded consultant, regularly asked to give advice on 360 marketing strategies, management practice, and revenue generation for some of the key players in the GCC.

Before devoting his fulltime work to Bush & Noble, John worked closely with a portfolio of International Yacht brands, including Edmiston, Burgess, and Sunseeker; orchestrating the sale of world famous Yachts.

Indu Singhal is an Engineer & a Business Management Post Graduate, and is also a certified 6 Sigma Black Belt. She has been heading Visual Ace Business Solutions & EBM since their inception, for over 20 years. She has over 25 years of experience in various areas of business including Leadership, Human Capital, Business Strategy Formation, Process Re-engineering, Knowledge Management, and Value Chain Enhancement.

She is a self-employed Business Excellence Consultant and has worked closely with the Business Excellence Department under the Department of Economic Develop, Government of Dubai for well over a decade. She has guided various organisations, of all sizes, from several industries, in their process of Continuous Improvement. Indu has facilitated Balanced Scorecard Development & Implementation, Performance Management Systems Setup, PESTLE Analysis, SWOT Analysis, Ishikawa Diagram Studies, Cost-Benefit Analysis, development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), etc. for many organizations in the UAE.

As an Innovator, she has conceptualized and designed, and is managing the EBM Benchmarking Program that facilitates transparent sharing of Business KPIs of various businesses from a cross section of industries across the UAE, exchange of business best practices through facilitation of B2B Benchmarking Visits and Club Sessions.

She has also conceptualized and designed, and is managing the first ever Health Awards across the UAE (2016) - a program that facilitates the recognition of the contribution of Organizations and Individuals in the Healthcare Industry across the UAE. This has also been endorsed by the Government of Dubai, UAE.

Dr Rita Younes holds a Doctorate degree in Business Administration from the Paris School of Business. She is Co-founder and partner of Quantz Consulting, a marketing research and consulting company. Prior to Quantz, she was a senior marketing research analyst at Leger & Leger International and has more than 20 years of experience in the field of education, FMCG and service industries covering marketing strategy, brand and marketing management, market research and business development. She enjoys a proven track of record in growing bottom-line figures; combining innovative strategy with hands-on management of operations.

On the academic side, she has gained valuable experience as chair of the school of Business in the Canadian University of Dubai and later as Director of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning in similar industries. She has an extensive experience in the educational sector and has championed many programs’ accreditation providing leadership, vision and direction for activities related to institutional planning, research, institutional effectiveness and quality control.

Dr. Rita Younes is a Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP) and an EFQM assessor.

Naila Al Moosawi represents the new breed of female Emirati Board-ready women.A credible Exco member and commercially focused decision maker championing differentiation through commercial transformation.

She naturally drives performance to transform organizations and develop strong high-potential teams across the region.Recognized speaker and panel judge member across MEA.As the Director of Human Resources - GCC she is responsible for organization and human capital development, offering over 15 years of progressive experience.

Naila is the Diversity and Inclusion Champion leading D & I ambitious plans in GCC. She holds MSc in Psychology from Middle Sex University UK and CIPD Associate; and a Directorship Program Graduate from Hawkamah- Institute of Directors

Leith Hoffensetz is an expert real estate lawyer with over 25 years experience in real estate development and operations. Leith has worked for multi-national corporations in Australia and UAE and has significant knowledge on all areas of real estate development from initial planning, feasibility and design, through to handover, operations and long term sustainability. Leith is best known for her practical and common sense approach solving all your real estate issues. As General Manager of HTJM Real Estate Consultancy, and as partner with Sheikh Hasher Bin Thani Bin Juma Al Maktoum, Leith is at the forefront of the real estate industry in the UAE.

Iqbal has hands-on business operating experience and the ability to improve business performance, reduce costs, validate, assess and solve business problems. He has helped organizations move to new levels by crafting new strategies, solving persistent problems, discovering efficiencies, facilitating partnership relationships that transform the organization and result in greater impact.

Provides a turn-key solution which includes Corporate structure, Strategic and Tactical plan, Policies and Procedures; Training and Implementation; Accounting and Marketing procedures; Customer Service, Space Optimization, Risk Management, Employee Training, Government compliance etc.

Iqbal has turned around wrist-watch manufacturing/distribution company and a few real estate companies in Dubai.

Thom is an experienced International Business Development Director. Thom heads the Middle Eastern operation for Synapse Medical Services with focus on new routes to market for the disruptive & innovative healthcare solutions that the company offer. He leads the Business Development team in Sydney, Dubai and Chennai.

Thom has a wealth of knowledge within Business Development, having built a corporate proposition in the UK from scratch for a leading healthcare agency. Thom brings with him a variety of experience from both a sales and operational standpoint, in the legal and healthcare sectors.

Mr. Bosse, Head of Programmes at Dubai Carbon, manages the company’s business in the fields of energy, sustainability, green economy, and climate change. He has more than 10 years of international working experience as project/program manager and team leader in various areas of energy, environment, sustainability, green economy, and climate change. His primary focus areas are renewable/conventional energies, biomass and waste to energy, energy efficiency, and the demand side of energy.

Dr. Pablo Izquierdo has an Engineering Doctorate (EngD) on Environmental Technologies from the University of Surrey in UK. He also holds a Master of Science (MSc) degree on Applied Energy from Cranfield University in the UK. Pablo also has an Industrial Engineering degree from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid in Spain.

Currently Dr. Pablo is the Senior Technical Manager in Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence (DCCE) where he provides technical support, management and expertise on sustainability. His particulars areas of expertise are energy and waste management in buildings, Green House Gases (GHG) accounting, energy auditing and management and LEED certifications.

Sam Thomas Sam is a leader in the fields of Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Technology and Higher Education Sam Thomas is the Director of GCC operations for MCS solutions- a Global leader in CAFM and Integrated Workplace solutions software. Sam is an Adjunct Faculty at the Burns School for real estate and construction management at the University of Denver Sam has been a successful Real Estate Entrepreneur. He is an approved trainer for FIABCI International. Sam currently has Real Estate development projects in India and in the United States Sam has served in Senior Executive positions in IT, Aviation and Retail sectors and has been a founder of several successful startup companies and currently serves in a senior role with The Corporate Group (TCG) of Companies in Dubai. Sam is an Adjunct Professor at the Jake Jabs Center for Entrepreneurship, at the University of Colorado Denver Campus, where he teaches Social innovation & Entrepreneurship and he is an Adjunct faculty at the Daniels college of Business at University of Denver teaches Global perspectives in Real Estate. Sam is an internationally recognized trainer on Leadership, Ethics & Innovation

Francisco is co-founding partner of Innoway. Before that he spent more than six years in a strategy consulting firm, specialized in Strategy Execution.

Francisco has wide experience as a strategy & innovation consultant, helping organizations define their strategies, innovate and also help startups validate their ideas and grow their business.