Speaker | AD23

Deniz Kent, PhD

Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Prolific Machines

Deniz Kent, PhD is the Co-founder and CEO of Prolific Machines. Prior to starting Prolific, Dr Kent spent his career working in the pursuit of improving human health. After studying Cellular and Molecular Medicine, he began researching in a tumour immunology lab, working to reprogram the immune system to fight cancer. After this, he went to GSK and worked to reprogram the immune system to respond to allergens with tolerance instead of inflammation. He did his doctorate in stem cell biology, and during his PhD he co-discovered a new liver stem cell, and conducted the world's first high throughput screen on hiPSC-derived hepatocytes. During his PhD, Deniz conceived of the idea for Prolific Machines, a cell type agnostic assembly line for biomanufacturing. Applications for Prolific Machines span cultured meat, biologics manufacturing, cell based therapies, and beyond.

Rabia Iqbal

Managing Partner, Nural Capital

Rabia Iqbal is Managing Partner of Nural Capital. Nural Capital is a web3 investing platform focused on providing access to top blockchain funds and direct investments. Nural's investors include FTX Ventures, executives from leading VC firms, global family offices, HNWs, and crypto natives like Kenetic Capital. Rabia began personally investing in crypto in 2017; she is excited about the power of web3 to build community and financial independence for a wide swath of the world.

Rabia brings ten years of experience from the traditional finance sector to web3 investing. Prior to Nural Capital, Rabia worked at Morgan Stanley, Mubadala Capital, and Coatue Management covering investments, business development, and operations. She holds a BS from Cornell University and is a member of the Milken Young Leaders Circle.

Chika Uwazie

Co-Founder, Afropolitan

Chika is a cofounder of Afropolitan, the first network state for the African diaspora. She is also the founder of the second-largest women's group on clubhouse with over 170K members. A serial entrepreneur that has been in the tech ecosystem for ten years, formerly as the CEO of Talenbase.

She has been featured on BBC, Wired, Tech Crunch, and Forbes for her work as a serial entrepreneur. Further, Chika has spoken globally at World Economic Forum, The Economist Summit, Cannes Lions, SXSW, and the UN, to name a few.

His Excellency Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri

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Minister of Economy, United Arab Emirates

H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri was appointed Minister of Economy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) under the new government structure approved in July 2020.

He is chairman of the General Civil Aviation Authority, UAE International Investors Council, and CSR UAE Fund’s Board of Trustees.

Prior to his appointment, H.E. Al Marri held important positions in the government as a senior, top-ranking official. He was the Secretary General of the UAE Cabinet since 2017, during which he was instrumental in strengthening the interdependence between the federal and local governments. In this role, he also spearheaded many initiatives to get the pulse of the people and know their sentiments, as well as build the UAE’s long-lasting relations with international organizations such as the World Economic Forum.

H.E. Bin Touq formerly served as the head of Securities and Commodities Authority, and was also the former Director General of the Executive Office of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. He was part of the high-profile team that was behind the launch of ‘Area 2071,’ the nucleus of the future envisioned in the UAE Centennial Plan 2071. Furthermore, the UAE Minister of Economy, in his previous post, took part in the unveiling of the Hatta Economic Zone development project and the relaunching of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Center for Leadership Development.

In addition, he was the CEO of the Dubai Future Foundation, enabling him to play a vital role in the successful launch of Dubai 10X and other initiatives of national importance. The Dubai 10X initiative, in particular, aims to strengthen the emirate’s bid to become the city of the future.

H.E. Al Marri is a member of the Boards of Directors of different federal entities. His memberships allow him to actively support the development of priority sectors in the country such as the Golden Visa initiative, which seeks to attract talented individuals from across the world.

The UAE Minister of Economy holds a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Sheffield in the UK. Also, he is a graduate of the UAE Government Leaders Program and Mohammed Bin Rashid Center for Leadership Development.

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ﺗﻢ ﺗﻌﻴﻴﻦ ﻣﻌﺎﻟﻲ ﻋﺒﺪا ul.J ﺑﻦ ﻃﻮق وزﻳﺮ[ ﻟﻼﻗﺘﺼﺎد ﻟﺪوﻟﺔ ا.,\ﻣﺎرات اﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﺘﺤﺪة ﺿﻤﻦ اﻟﺘﺸﻜﻴﻞ اﻟﻮزاري ﻟﺤﻜﻮﻣﺔ ا.,\ﻣﺎرات ﻓﻲ ﻳﻮﻟﻴﻮ 2020، ﺑﻌﺪ أن ﺷﺎرك ﺧﻼل ﻣﺴﻴﺮﺗﻪ اﻟﻤﻬﻨﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ إدارة اﻟﻌﺪﻳﺪ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻤﻠﻔﺎت اﻟﺤﻜﻮﻣﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﻬﻤﺔ. 

ﻛﻤﺎ ﻳﺘﻮﻟﻰ ﺑﻦ ﻃﻮق ﻣﻨﺼﺐ رﺋﻴﺲ اﻟﻬﻴﺌﺔ اﻟﻌﺎﻣﺔ ﻟﻠﻄﻴﺮان اﻟﻤﺪﻧﻲ، وﻣﺠﻠﺲ ا.,\ﻣﺎرات ﻟﻠﻤﺴﺘﺜﻤﺮﻳﻦ ﺑﺎﻟﺨﺎرج، وﻣﺠﻠﺲ أﻣﻨﺎء اﻟﺼﻨﺪوق اﻟﻮﻃﻨﻲ ﻟﻠﻤﺴﺆوﻟﻴﺔ اﻻﺟﺘﻤﺎﻋﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﺠﺘﻤﻌﻴﺔ ﻟﻠﺸﺮﻛﺎت. 

ﺷﻐﻞ ﺑﻦ ﻃﻮق ﻣﻨﺼﺐ ا1Jﻣﻴﻦ اﻟﻌﺎم ﻟﻤﺠﻠﺲ اﻟﻮزراء ﻣﻨﺬ اﻟﻌﺎم 2017 ﺣﻴﺚ ﺳﺎﻫﻢ ﻓﻲ ﺗﻄﻮﻳﺮ آﻟﻴﺎت ﻣﺒﺘﻜﺮة ﻟﺘﻌﺰﻳﺰ اﻟﺘﺮاﺑﻂ ﺑﻴﻦ اﻟﺤﻜﻮﻣﺔ اﻻﺗﺤﺎدﻳﺔ واﻟﺤﻜﻮﻣﺎت اﻟﻤﺤﻠﻴﺔ، وإﻃﻼق اﻟﻤﻨﺼﺎت اﻟﻤﺒﺘﻜﺮة ﻟﻠﺘﻌﺮف ﺑﻌﻤﻖ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺗﻮﺟﻬﺎت اﻟﺠﻤﻬﻮر واﻟﺮأي اﻟﻌﺎم ﻓﻲ ﻛﺎﻓﺔ إﻣﺎرات اﻟﺪوﻟﺔ، ﻓﻀﻼ ﻋﻦ إﻗﺎﻣﺔ اﻟﻌﺪﻳﺪ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻌﻼﻗﺎت اﻟﻤﺜﻤﺮة ﻣﻊ اﻟﻤﻨﻈﻤﺎت اﻟﺪوﻟﻴﺔ ﻋﺒﺮ ﻗﻴﺎدة اﻟﺸﺮاﻛﺔ ﺑﻴﻦ اﻟﻤﻨﺘﺪى اﻻﻗﺘﺼﺎدي اﻟﻌﺎﻟﻤﻲ ودوﻟﺔ ا.,\ﻣﺎرات. 

ﺷﻐﻞ ﺑﻦ ﻃﻮق ﻣﻨﺼﺐ رﺋﻴﺲ ﻫﻴﺌﺔ ا1Jوراق اﻟﻤﺎﻟﻴﺔ واﻟﺴﻠﻊ ﺳﺎﺑﻘ[، ﻛﻤﺎ ﺗﻮﻟﻰ ﻣﻌﺎﻟﻴﻪ ﺳﺎﺑﻘ[ ﻣﻨﺼﺐ ﻣﺪﻳﺮ ﻋﺎم اﻟﻤﻜﺘﺐ اﻟﺘﻨﻔﻴﺬي ﻟﺼﺎﺣﺐ اﻟﺴﻤﻮ اﻟﺸﻴﺦ ﻣﺤﻤﺪ ﺑﻦ راﺷﺪ آل ﻣﻜﺘﻮم، ﺣﻴﺚ ﺷﺎرك ﻓﻲ إﻃﻼق)ﻣﻨﻄﻘﺔ (2071، اﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﺸﻜﻞ ﻧﻮاة ﻟﻨﻤﻮذج ا.,\ﻣﺎرات 2071 ﻓﻲ ﺗﺼﻤﻴﻢ اﻟﻤﺴﺘﻘﺒﻞ، وﻣﺸﺮوع ﺗﻄﻮﻳﺮ ﻣﻨﻄﻘﺔ ﺣﺘﺎ اﻻﻗﺘﺼﺎدي، وﻟﻌﺐ دور[ ﻣﻬﻤ[ ﻓﻲ إﻋﺎدة إﻃﻼق ﻣﺮﻛﺰ ﻣﺤﻤﺪ ﺑﻦ راﺷﺪ .,\ﻋﺪاد اﻟﻘﺎدة. 

وﺷﻐﻞ ﺑﻦ ﻃﻮق أﻳﻀﺎ ﻣﻨﺼﺐ اﻟﺮﺋﻴﺲ اﻟﺘﻨﻔﻴﺬي ﻟﻤﺆﺳﺴﺔ دﺑﻲ اﻟﻤﺴﺘﻘﺒﻞ، وﺗﻮﻟﻰ إﻃﻼق ﻣﺒﺎدرة دﺑﻲ 10X، اﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﺴﻬﻢ ﻓﻲ ﺗﻨﻔﻴﺬ رؤﻳﺔ دﺑﻲ ﻟﺘﻜﻮن ﻣﺪﻳﻨﺔ اﻟﻤﺴﺘﻘﺒﻞ، ﺑﺎ.,\ﺿﺎﻓﺔ إﻟﻰ إﻃﻼق اﻟﻌﺪﻳﺪ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻤﺒﺎدرات اﻟﻨﻮﻋﻴﺔ واﻟﻤﺒﺘﻜﺮة. 

ﻳﺸﺎرك ﺑﻦ ﻃﻮق ﻓﻲ ﻋﻀﻮﻳﺔ اﻟﻌﺪﻳﺪ ﻣﻦ ﻣﺠﺎﻟﺲ ا.,\دارات ﻓﻲ اﻟﻌﺪﻳﺪ ﻣﻦ اﻟﺠﻬﺎت اﻻﺗﺤﺎدﻳﺔ، وﻳﺴﻬﻢ ﻣﻦ ﺧﻼﻟﻬﺎ ﺑﻔﺎﻋﻠﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ إﻃﻼق وﺗﻄﻮﻳﺮ ﻣﺒﺎدرات ﺗﺪﻋﻢ ﻣﺨﺘﻠﻒ اﻟﻘﻄﺎﻋﺎت ﻓﻲ اﻟﺪوﻟﺔ ﻣﺜﻞ ﻣﺒﺎدرة اﻟﺘﺄﺷﻴﺮة اﻟﺬﻫﺒﻴﺔ ﻟﺠﺬب اﻟﻜﻔﺎءات واﻟﻤﻮاﻫﺐ ﻣﻦ ﻣﺨﺘﻠﻒ أرﺟﺎء اﻟﻌﺎﻟﻢ إﻟﻰ ا.,\ﻣﺎرات. 

ﻳﺤﻤﻞ ﻣﻌﺎﻟﻲ ﺑﻦ ﻃﻮق ﺷﻬﺎدة اﻟﺒﻜﺎﻟﻮرﻳﻮس ﻓﻲ اﻟﻬﻨﺪﺳﺔ اﻟﻤﺪﻧﻴﺔ ﻣﻦ ﺟﺎﻣﻌﺔ ﺷﻔﻴﻠﺪ ﻓﻲ ﺑﺮﻳﻄﺎﻧﻴﺎ، وﻫﻮ ﺧﺮﻳﺞ ﺑﺮﻧﺎﻣﺞ ﻗﻴﺎدات ﺣﻜﻮﻣﺔ دوﻟﺔ ا.,\ﻣﺎرات وﻣﺮﻛﺰ ﻣﺤﻤﺪ ﺑﻦ راﺷﺪ .,\ﻋﺪاد اﻟﻘﺎدة.

His Excellency Dr. Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi

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Minister of State for Foreign Trade, United Arab Emirates

H.E Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi was appointed the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, following the new UAE Government structure in July 2020, and has been assigned a file to attract the best talents and competencies to serve the strategic direction of the UAE. H.E. also oversees the development of non-oil foreign trade sectors and the expansion of global partnerships, in addition to enhancing the investment climate in the country, in order to cement its position as a major business destination at the regional and global levels.

H.E. had held the position of Minister of Climate Change and Environment previously, during which he supervised the implementation of the UAE's strategies locally, advancing environment and climate actions. He also led the country’s efforts in limiting and adapting to the repercussions of climate change at the global level, while also focusing on the preservation of the UAE’s biodiversity through the development and implementation of a set of effective policies and measures.

Prior to assuming his ministerial position, H.E Al Zeyoudi served as the permanent representative of the UAE to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), and Director of the Department of Energy Affairs and Climate Change at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

H. E. began his career as a petroleum engineer at the Abu Dhabi Marine Area Operating Company (ADMA-OPCO) before moving to the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar), where he worked on the development of renewable energy technologies and solutions. He has played a major role in the UAE’s successful diplomatic campaign in 2009 to host the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in the capital, Abu Dhabi.

H. E. Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al-Zeyoudi holds a Bachelor's degree in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Tulsa; a Master's degree in Business Administration from the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT); a Master's degree in Project Management from the British University in Dubai; and a PhD in Strategy, Program and Project Management from SKEMA Business School in France.

Jeremy Allaire

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Co-Founder, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Circle

Jeremy Allaire is Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of Circle, a global financial technology firm that enables businesses of all sizes to harness the power of stablecoins and public blockchains for payments and commerce. Founded in 2013, Circle is the pioneer of USD Coin (USDC), the fastest growing, fully-reserved, and regulated dollar stablecoin. Governed by the Centre Consortium, led by Circle and Coinbase, USDC's market cap is more than $26 billion with over $800 billion in transaction volume. Previously, Mr. Allaire co-founded and led multiple global internet technology companies with thousands of employees, hundreds of millions of consumers served, and multiple successful public offerings on NASDAQ. He has provided expert testimony on digital assets and monetary policy before the US Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Government Affairs, US Senate Banking Committee, and he has been named to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) High-Level Advisory Group on FinTech. Mr. Allaire provides perspective and policy recommendations at the highest levels inside financial bodies across the US, UK, and Europe.

Arjun Sethi

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Co-Founder, Tribe Capital

Arjun Sethi is a Co-Founder of Tribe Capital, a venture capital firm built by engineers and scientists. Arjun sits on the board of Carta, Relativity, and Bolt. As a founder and operator, he has also been an active angel investor in over 100 companies, including Lyft, Opendoor, Gusto, and Front.

Prior to founding Tribe, Arjun was a partner at Social Capital, where he led the team investing in companies such as Slack, Cloud Kitchens, and Box. He also served on the executive team at Yahoo!, where he grew product usage to over 1 billion monthly active unique users. He joined Yahoo! as part of its acquisition of MessageMe, a messaging app he founded in 2012. Prior to that, Arjun founded Lolapps, a mobile gaming and apps company which he grew to 100 million monthly users and sold to Nexon.

Ryan Williams

Founder, Executive Chairman & Co-Chair, Global Investment Committee, Cadre

Ryan A. Williams founded Cadre in 2014 to begin to level the playing field in commercial real estate investing, leveraging technology to provide institutions and individuals access to previously inaccessible real estate and alternative investment opportunities. The next-generation platform uniquely empowers individual investors to invest alongside institutions with lower minimums and fees than traditional private equity and offers first-of-its kind liquidity through a secondary trading market.

Ryan, a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and serial entrepreneur, has founded and scaled multiple companies over the past fifteen years. More recently, he started investing in real estate as an undergraduate student at Harvard University.  Seeing the dislocation that resulted from the 2008 financial crisis, Ryan pooled funds from his classmates to acquire foreclosed homes in the Atlanta area, frequently working with previous owners to remain in their homes and eventually buy them back. This experience cemented in Ryan an ethos to “do well and do good.”

After graduating from Harvard, Ryan worked at Goldman Sachs in its technology, media, and telecom group, and then at The Blackstone Group in its real estate private equity division.

Ryan is regularly profiled as a top Founder and CEO. He was featured on the cover of Forbes Magazine in 2019 and has written extensively about the urgent need for social and economic justice for all members of society. Cadre is dedicated to doing business with local operators from diverse backgrounds and with community and Black-owned banks. 

Ryan and his family live in Brooklyn.

Noor Sweid

Founder, Global Ventures

Noor is the Founder and Managing Partner of Global Ventures, a UAE-based, Series-A focused, emerging-market venture capital firm with presence in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria. With $200 million AUM, and financial returns rating it as a top decile fund, Global Ventures has become a leading investor across the Middle East and Africa.

Since its inception in 2018, Global Ventures has completed 50 investments across ten markets, deliberately focused on sectors positively affecting millions of lives across the world, such as FinTech, Digital Health, EdTech and AgriTech. In addition to generating top decile returns, the portfolio has had a demonstrable impact on millions of lives through its company founders creating 7,200 jobs, enabling female leadership, powering financial inclusion for over 27 million people and expanding healthcare access to over 4 million patients.

Prior to Global Ventures, Noor was the first woman to operate, scale and IPO a company in the MENA region, listing Depa on NASDAQ Dubai and the London Stock Exchange for US$1.1 billion in April 2008. One of the world’s largest interior contractors, Noor scaled Depa tenfold, expanding operations from six countries to 22, including four cross-border acquisitions.

Identified by Forbes as one of the “World’s Top 50 Women in Tech” and by Arabian Business as one of the “Most Influential Arabs”, Noor's previous roles include Chief Investment Officer at The Dubai Future Foundation and a Founding Partner at Leap Ventures. Noor also founded the largest chain of yoga and pilates studios in the Middle East, ZenYoga, which was acquired by Cedarbridge in 2014.

Noor is an active, independent board director of Clue, the largest femtech company in Europe, and VAM Acquisitions Corp., a US based special purpose acquisition vehicle focused on the space ecosystem. She is the Founding Chairwoman of the Middle East Venture Capital Association, a Director of the Global Private Capital Association, TechWadi, and the Karman Fellowship.

She is a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders. She previously held Board Director roles at MIT Sloan and was a founding board member of Endeavor UAE.

Noor holds Bachelors’ degrees in Finance and Economics from Boston College, an MBA from MIT Sloan.Noor is the Founder and Managing Partner of Global Ventures, a UAE-based, Series-A focused, emerging-market venture capital firm with presence in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria. With $200 million AUM, and financial returns rating it as a top decile fund, Global Ventures has become a leading investor across the Middle East and Africa.

Since its inception in 2018, Global Ventures has completed 50 investments across ten markets, deliberately focused on sectors positively affecting millions of lives across the world, such as FinTech, Digital Health, EdTech and AgriTech. In addition to generating top decile returns, the portfolio has had a demonstrable impact on millions of lives through its company founders creating 7,200 jobs, enabling female leadership, powering financial inclusion for over 27 million people and expanding healthcare access to over 4 million patients.

Prior to Global Ventures, Noor was the first woman to operate, scale and IPO a company in the MENA region, listing Depa on NASDAQ Dubai and the London Stock Exchange for US$1.1 billion in April 2008. One of the world’s largest interior contractors, Noor scaled Depa tenfold, expanding operations from six countries to 22, including four cross-border acquisitions.

Identified by Forbes as one of the “World’s Top 50 Women in Tech” and by Arabian Business as one of the “Most Influential Arabs”, Noor's previous roles include Chief Investment Officer at The Dubai Future Foundation and a Founding Partner at Leap Ventures. Noor also founded the largest chain of yoga and pilates studios in the Middle East, ZenYoga, which was acquired by Cedarbridge in 2014.

Noor is an active, independent board director of Clue, the largest femtech company in Europe, and VAM Acquisitions Corp., a US based special purpose acquisition vehicle focused on the space ecosystem. She is the Founding Chairwoman of the Middle East Venture Capital Association, a Director of the Global Private Capital Association, TechWadi, and the Karman Fellowship.

She is a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders. She previously held Board Director roles at MIT Sloan and was a founding board member of Endeavor UAE.

Noor holds Bachelors’ degrees in Finance and Economics from Boston College, an MBA from MIT Sloan.

Anthony Scaramucci

Founder & Managing Partner, SkyBridge

Anthony Scaramucci is the Founder and Managing Partner of SkyBridge Capital. He is the author of four books: The Little Book of Hedge Funds, Goodbye Gordon Gekko, Hopping Over the Rabbit Hole (a 2016 Wall Street Journal best seller), and Trump: The Blue-Collar President.

Prior to founding SkyBridge in 2005, Scaramucci co-founded investment partnership Oscar Capital Management, which was sold to Neuberger Berman, LLC in 2001. Earlier, he was a vice president in Private Wealth Management at Goldman Sachs & Co.

In 2016, Scaramucci was ranked #85 in Worth Magazine’s Power 100: The 100 Most Powerful People in Global Finance. In 2011, he received Ernst & Young’s “Entrepreneur of the Year – New York” Award in the Financial Services category. Anthony is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), vice chair of the Kennedy Center Corporate Fund Board, a board member of both The Brain Tumor Foundation and Business Executives for National Security (BENS), and a Trustee of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Foundation. He was a member of the New York City Financial Services Advisory Committee from 2007 to 2012.

In November 2016, he was named to President-Elect Trump’s 16-person Presidential Transition Team Executive Committee. In June 2017, he was named the Chief Strategy Officer of the EXIM Bank. He served as the White House Communications Director for a period in July 2017.

Scaramucci, a native of Long Island, New York, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Tufts University and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School.

Rachel Pether, CFA

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Television Host, Fintech TV; Senior Advisor, SALT

Rachel is a television news anchor and sits on the board of various digital asset companies, including cryptocurrency exchange MidChains, the world’s first Shariah-compliant cryptocurrency Islamic Coin, and Web3 gaming company Chain X Game.

Based in the Middle East since 2008, Rachel spent almost a decade at Mubadala Investment Company - one of the Middle East’s largest sovereign wealth funds - in their Capital Markets & Treasury team. A CFA Charterholder and chartered treasurer, in 2014 the Association of Corporate Treasurers named Rachel “The One to Watch” in Treasury.

Rachel began her career as a journalist and spent 5 years with the BBC. She currently hosts two shows produced by FintechTV (Digital Asset Report and TheIMPACT) which broadcasts daily from their studio in the Abu Dhabi Global Market. She acts as MC for numerous international high-profile events such as SALT, Crypto Bahamas, the SWFI Summit Series and the Global Entrepreneurship Summit.

Passionate about helping others become more confident public speakers, Rachel is also the Co-Founder of “The Speakeasy Club”, an online training course for Public Speaking that empowers individuals to hone leadership-level speaking skills and build personal confidence.

In 2009 Rachel published her first book - Jandal Prints on the Globe – and helped to establish a charity called Espoir so that sale proceeds could go towards supporting youth entrepreneurship in New Zealand. She is also a member of Mensa and an advisory board member at the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute.

May Nasrallah

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Founder & Executive Chairman, deNovo Corporate Advisors

May Nasrallah is the Founder and Executive Chairman of deNovo Corporate Advisors, an Independent, Middle-East focused, best-in-class corporate finance advisory firm, offering international bulge bracket expertise to MENA-wide and centric corporates and institutions. deNovo’s activities include regional and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, restructurings and capital raising transactions covering clients across services and industries region-wide.

deNovo Corporate Advisors under May’s leadership until late 2018 as Founder & CEO has over the past 9 years established its reputation and track record as the pre-eminent independent, regionally-headquartered boutique advisory firm. deNovo has successfully executed numerous sellsides, buysides, stake sales, restructurings, valuations, fundings, capital structure and strategic reviews on behalf of its continuously growing client base. May and deNovo’s advice is consistently sought by the region’s leading family groups, corporates and sovereign wealth funds as well as global firms seeking regional acquisitions.

Prior to founding deNovo, May spent almost 16 years at Morgan Stanley in numerous capacities and geographies including New York, Hong Kong, London and Dubai. Most recently, she was Head of Investment Banking for the Middle East and North Africa region, where she established, led and grew Morgan Stanley’s first-ever on-the-ground investment banking presence in the Middle East, based in the DIFC, Dubai.

May worked briefly at McKinsey & Company in New York and after receiving her MBA, May joined Morgan Stanley in the Mergers, Acquisitions and Restructuring Group in New York. May’s career at Morgan Stanley then led her to the Global Infrastructure and Project Finance Group followed by the High-Yield Capital Markets Group, focusing on Asian corporate and sovereign high-yield bond issuances where she spent a significant amount of time in Asia based in Hong Kong. Following the Asia crisis of 1997, May relocated to New York where she worked on a number of large leveraged buyouts for US companies and private equity funds. In 2000, May moved to London where she became responsible for European corporate leveraged financings for telecom, media and industrial companies and, following the dotcom crash, worked on restructuring the debt of a number of these corporates. In 2003, May set up and led the Liability Management Group for Europe and MENA, where she was instrumental in establishing Morgan Stanley’s presence and dominance in sovereign and corporate debt optimization and restructurings. May also led the efforts to initiate Morgan Stanley’s Islamic finance presence. In 2005, May was named Morgan Stanley’s Head of Investment Banking for the MENA region, and relocated to Dubai then to set up the Investment Banking business for Morgan Stanley, a position she held until retiring from the firm in late 2009.

May graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (“MIT”) with Dual Degrees: a Bachelor of Science in Economics and a Bachelor of Science in Political Science. May then received her Masters in Management and Finance from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. May was a Member of MIT’s Sigma Xi Honor Society and received numerous awards and recognitions for various competitions, initiatives and volunteer work during her years at MIT.

May speaks fluent Arabic, English and conversational French. She is married and is the mother of four boys.

Erik Kaas

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Partner & Chairman of Europe, Partners Group

Erik Kaas is Chairman of Europe with responsibility for strategic client relationships in the Middle East and plays a strategic role in growing the firm’s exposure and network in that area. He is a Senior Partner of Partners Group, the second largest private markets firm globally in terms of market cap. Founded in 1996, the firm has since grown to actively manage USD 90.8 billion from over 20 offices around the world. During his tenure at Partners Group, Mr. Kaas has been part of senior management of the firm from its beginnings, more recently as a member of the executive board, and a member of the strategy and investment committees.

Mr. Kaas has also played a major role in the development of many of the firms private equity portfolio companies to achieve designed value creation measures. Most recent of which was Vermaat Groep B.V., the Dutch market leader in high-end catering and hospitality services, where he was a member of the board and instrumental to exceeding underwriting assumptions in Partners Groups recent exit of the company.

Mr. Kaas, a native from the Netherlands, graduated with a double degree in European business administration from the UK and Germany prior to joining Goldman Sachs.

Nancy W. Gleason, PhD

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Director, Hilary Ballon Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, New York University Abu Dhabi

Nancy W. Gleason, PhD is the inaugural Director of the Hilary Ballon Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning and an Assistant Professor of Practice in Political Science at New York University Abu Dhabi. Her research focuses on the Fourth Industrial Revolution’s impact on higher education, workforce training, and the future of work. She considers societal impacts of employment disruption, continuous reskilling, and the role of industry in supporting upskilling of adults. She has published and consulted widely in these areas and is the editor of Higher Education in the Era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution(Springer, 2018). She is the co-editor of the forthcoming (Palgrave March 2020) volume, Diversity and Inclusion in Global Higher Education: Lessons from Across Asia. Dr. Gleason holds a PhD from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, an MSc from the London School of Economics, and a BA from George Washington University. @NWGleason

Hadley Gamble

Anchor, CNBC

Hadley Gamble is CNBC’s Anchor based in Abu Dhabi. Hadley anchors Capital Connection from CNBC’s Middle East Headquarters based within Abu Dhabi Global Markets. The show, broadcast daily, gives you a reading on Asia's markets mid-day and sets you up for the Middle East and European trading day.

In addition, Hadley also fronts CNBC’s popular documentary franchise, Access: Middle East where she speaks to world leaders, international CEOs and philanthropists. Recent guests include Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir and HRH Princess Reema bin Bandar Al-Saud.

Hadley speaks to world leaders, international CEOs and philanthropists. Hadley has profiled some of the biggest names in business including the man behind the world's tallest tower, Emaar Chairman Mohammed Alabbar, bitcoin brothers Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss and the only Western investor to hold a telecom license in North Korea, billionaire Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris.

Hadley regularly reports for CNBC from the World Economic Forum in Davos, moderating panels on topics ranging from the geostrategic outlook for the Middle East to the future of education and infrastructure. Hadley is also a passionate advocate for women in the workplace and their advancement across the Arab world. She moderated the first ever women's business forum in Saudi Arabia and provided exclusive content to CNBC as the Kingdom lifted its decades-old driving ban.

An experienced journalist, Hadley has also worked for ABC News and Fox News in Washington, DC producing news programmes and covering national and international political events, including the 2008 Presidential Debates, Election Night 2008 and the Inauguration of US President Barack Obama.

His Excellency Waleed Al Mokarrab Al Muhairi

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Investment Committee, Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer & Chief Executive Officer, Alternative Investments & Infrastructure, Mubadala Investment Company

Waleed serves as Mubadala’s Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer and Chief Executive Officer of Alternative Investments & Infrastructure.

As Deputy Group CEO, Waleed has strategic oversight of the company’s broad investment portfolio and special projects at the group level, while ensuring that the company’s four platforms are coordinating efficiently. In addition, he leads the healthcare, real estate & infrastructure, and capital investments portfolios.

Prior to joining Mubadala, Waleed worked with the UAE Offsets Program Bureau as a Senior Project Manager. Past roles also include working with McKinsey & Company as a commercial and governmental consultant.

Waleed holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Harvard University, USA, and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, USA.

Nabyl Al Maskari

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Executive Chairman, Al Maskari Holding

Mr. Nabyl Al Maskari is Executive Chairman of Al Maskari Holding (AMH). AMH is the privately-owned holding company of the Al Maskari family portfolio. AMH traces its foundation to 1968 with the establishment of the Al Maskaria Group in Abu Dhabi to engage in petroleum trading and oil field services. AMH has evolved over the past 50 years and today is comprised of diversified enterprises with international investments and operations.

Mr. Al Maskari currently serves as Vice-Chairman of AMH as well as a board director on select subsidiaries and joint venture partnerships. Prior to joining his family conglomerate as the third generation of leadership, Mr. Al Maskari conducted strategic engagements in the financial, petroleum, and public sectors as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company.

Mr. Al Maskari sponsors philanthropic initiatives in Africa and Asia through his family's non-profit foundation. He is a Fellow of the Aspen Institute's Middle East Leadership Initiative and actively supports high-impact entrepreneurs as a Board Member of Endeavor UAE.

Mr. Al Maskari received his Master of Business Administration with Distinction from Yale University’s School of Management, graduated Summa Cum Laude Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Rollins College, and is an alumnus of Choate Rosemary Hall.

Huda Al Lawati

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Partner, Gateway Partners

Huda Al Lawati’s career has spanned 17 years in private equity and investments across emerging markets.

As Chief Investment Officer for Savola Group, she was responsible for business and investment strategy, portfolio management, M&A and investor relations for one of the largest publicly-listed strategic investment holding groups for food & retail businesses in the Middle East and North Africa region. Prior to Savola, Huda was a Partner and Chief Investment Officer for MENA at the Abraaj Group, where she deployed over

$1 billion in equity capital into MBOs, LBOs, venture capital, growth capital and structured equity transactions and arranged over US$1.5 billion in acquisition and related financing across a broad range of sectors.

Ms. Al Lawati holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Neuroscience and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Economics (Honors) from Brown University.

She has served on the boards of Panda Retail Company, Herfy, AlKabeer, Savola Foods Company, SMG, The Entertainer and Kudu. She is currently a member of the board of directors the Young Arab Leaders and the Middle East Investor Relations Association and a member of the advisory board of Global Ventures.

His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama

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Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, United Arab Emirates

His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama has been appointed as Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence following the Cabinet reshuffle in October 2017. His responsibilities include enhancing the government performance by investing in the latest technologies and tools of artificial intelligence and applying them in various sectors.

His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama is currently the Managing Director of the World Government Summit. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Dubai Future Foundation and Deputy Managing Director of the Foundation. In November 2017, the UAE government announced selecting HE. Omar Al Olama as a member of the Future of Digital Economy and Society Council at the World Economic Forum.

During his work in the Future Department at the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs and the Future, His Excellency participated in developing the UAE Centennial 2071 strategy that aims to position the UAE as the best country in the world. He also participated in developing the UAE 4th Industrial Revolution Strategy that aims to promote the UAE’s status as a global hub for the 4th Industrial Revolution and develop a national economy based on knowledge, innovation and future technologies. Prior to his appointment, His Excellency worked on developing the UAE’s Artificial Intelligence Strategy, making it the first such strategy of its kind globally.

His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama worked in several sectors including the banking sector, telecommunications, private enterprises and government. H.E. also worked on developing and executing strategies, risk analysis, change management and scenario planning.

His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama holds a Diploma in Project Management and Excellence from the American University of Sharjah and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the American University of Dubai.

وزير دولة للذكاء الاصطناعي

انضم معالي عمر سلطان العلماء إلى الحكومة الاتحادية كوزير دولة للذكاء الاصطناعي في أعقاب التعديل الوزاري في أكتوبر2017، للارتقاء بالأداء الحكومي من خلال استثمار أحدث تقنيات وأدوات الذكاء الاصطناعي وتطبيقها في شتى ميادين العمل.

يشغل معالي عمر سلطان العلماء منصب مدير مؤسسة القمة العالمية للحكومات، وعضو مجلس أمناء مؤسسة دبي للمستقبل ونائب العضو المنتدب للمؤسسة. وفي نوفمبر 2017، أعلنت حكومة دولة الإمارات اختيار معالي عمر سلطان العلماء لعضوية مجموعة مستقبل الاقتصاد الرقمي والمجتمع التابعة للمنتدى الاقتصادي العالمي.

خلال عمله مع فريق إدارة المستقبل في وزارة شؤون مجلس الوزراء والمستقبل، ساهم معالي عمر سلطان العلماء في إعداد استراتيجية "مئوية الإمارات 2071" التي تهدف إلى الارتقاء بجميع القطاعات التنموية في الدولة وتعزيز مكانتها كأفضل دولة في العالم. وشارك معالي عمر سلطان العلماء في إعداد استراتيجية الإمارات للثورة الصناعية الرابعة، التي تهدف إلى تعزيز مكانة دولة الإمارات كمركز عالمي للثورة الصناعية الرابعة، والمساهمة في تحقيق اقتصاد وطني تنافسي قائم على المعرفة والابتكار والتطبيقات التكنولوجية المستقبلية التي تدمج التقنيات المادية والرقمية والحيوية. عمل معاليه ايضاً على تطوير استراتيجية الذكاء الاصطناعي في دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة والتي تعتبر الأولى من نوعها في العالم.

عمل معالي عمر سلطان العلماء في عدّة قطاعات من بينها القطاع المصرفي، وتنظيم الاتصالات، والقطاعين الحكومي والخاص، كما شارك في تطوير وتنفيذ الاستراتيجيات وتحليل المخاطر، وإدارة التغيير، وتخطيط السيناريوهات.

يحمل معالي عمر سلطان العلماء دبلوم في إدارة المشاريع والتميز من الجامعة الأمريكية في الشارقة، وشهادة البكالوريوس في إدارة الأعمال من الجامعة الأميركية في دبي.