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Mostafa Zafer, Vice President, IBM Data & AI and Automation, IBM Technology MEA
Mostafa Zafer is the Vice President, IBM Hybrid Cloud and AI, Middle East and Africa. Mostafa is responsible for sales and client advocacy for IBM’s hybrid cloud and data and AI solutions – a high growth business for IBM. He has over 20 years of experience in sales and strategy leadership in IBM in multiple countries, including leading Data & AI unit for MEA, leading software business for Middle East and Pakistan, leading software sales in Saudi, and acting as WW software sales strategy executive in New York.
Muhammed Raza Jessani, SVP - Head of Strategic Planning & Business Analytics, Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB)
A seasoned banker and senior executive Muhammad Raza Jessani has enjoyed a career in financial services spanning more than 25 years. As the Senior Vice President – Strategic Planning & Business Analytics at Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), he has been instrumental in the bank’s recent success, contributing to several strategic bank wide initiatives and transformations. He currently spearheads the banks strategic planning, performance management, BI and advanced analytics functions, playing a key role in assisting the wider executive team in their strategic and tactical decision making. Prior to joining DIB, he held various roles and headed the finance department of a multinational NBFI with geographical presence of 102 offices across 32 countries.
Annmarie Mccormack, Head Of Analytics Impact, Chalhoub Group
Annmarie McCormack is the Head of Analytics Impact at Chalhoub Group. She leads the analytical transformation for the Group in partnership with the board of presidents, bringing everyone at Chalhoub on the data driven journey.
Before joining Chalhoub Group, Annmarie worked at LinkedIn where she was the Director of Insights (Talent Analytics) for Europe, Middle East, Africa, and LATAM. She has deep experience in analytics, strategy consulting and leading teams, and is passionate about developing people and helping them attain their aspirations.
Arjun Sarkar, Senior Director, E-commerce Solutions & Partnerships, Dubai CommerCity
A passionate, energetic, inspirational, resilient and highly driven technology professional with over 14 years of experience and an outstanding track record of driving eCommerce and supply chain transformation for large global retailers. In his current role, he is leading the eCommerce division of a $1bn Dubai Government led JV – Dubai CommerCity, the region’s first and leading freezone dedicated to ecommerce. His goal is to develop an e-commerce ecosystem aka ‘ecom-in-a-box’ where customers will find all digital solutions and services required to run an online business under one roof. He has previously worked as a consultant for IBM, responsible for their eCommerce and supply chain software business across Middle East & Africa, managing client accounts like Majid Al Futtaim Carrefour (UAE), Al-Futtaim Group (UAE) , Landmark (UAE), Apparel Group (UAE), Ikea (KSA), MTN (South Africa), Safaricom (Kenya), Saudi Telecom (KSA), etc.
Sadaf Rizvi, Head of Data Governance - Enterprise IT, Al-Futtaim Group
A seasoned Data Governance leader helping organisations achieve their strategic data, advanced analytics, and AI goals by harnessing the real value of data and treating data as a business asset. He has designed, implemented, and operationalized pragmatic techno-functional data governance solutions across multiple industries, including, but not limited to, retail, telcos, BFSI, etc. He has an extensive consulting background and has headed data governance functions for top-tier firms like IBM and Capgemini, across Australia, USA, and India. He is currently heading Data Governance for Al Futtaim Group and is tasked with delivering a multi-year roadmap of implementing capabilities uplifting the data governance maturity across the entire organisation.
Mohammed Riaz, General Manager, GBM Dubai
Mohammed Riaz is the General Manager for GBM Dubai, he comes with a progressive experience of over 22 years working with the leading technology companies such as IBM, SAP and Microsoft across Europe and Middle East where he has held a number of senior positions within IBM’s Global Business Services (GBS) Division, most recently as Managing Partner/Vice President for GBS based out of Dubai. Mohammed has also spent 11 years leading Client and Services teams in the UAE and is joining us from Linkmedia a Digital Cloud Solutions Company where he was the Chief Operating Officer. Mohammed has an M.Sc. in Economics from Copenhagen Business School and has acquired a number of leadership certifications from other prestigious institutions such as Harvard Business School and Kellogg School of Management.
Mohit Saraswat, ISV Sales Manager- Middle East, Turkey & Africa, Amazon Web Services
Joy Paul, Regional Leader – Analytics, AI, Risk & ESG , Gulf Business Machines
Joy Paul is the leader of Advanced Analytics at GBM. Within GBM he is responsible for execution and strategy of IBM AI, Optimisation and Analytics Solutions across the GBM territory (UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar,Oman). He has been helping organisations to leverage analytics for over 18+ years across India and GCC
Ranjit Rajan, Vice President, Research, IDC
Based in IDC’s regional HQ in Dubai, Ranjit oversees the management of all of IDC’s research programs in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa region. In this role, he drives thought leadership in digital transformation and technology market strategies and models, leads the development of new research products, and oversees the delivery of IDC’s research product portfolio which includes market trackers, spending guides, and subscription services. Ranjit is a thought leader on Digital Transformation, a C-suite advisor, and a leading analyst on technologies such as Cloud, Big Data Analytics, AI, IoT, and others.
Geordee George, Enterprise Architect, GBM
Geordee George is a seasoned professional in data and digital. As an Enterprise Architect at GBM he helps clients solve their business challenges using modern technologies, platforms, and practices. During his 22 years of experience in the software industry, he has architected large-scale data and digital solutions across industries – retail, manfacturing, healthcare and governments. He is a passionate technologist, a thought-leader and a keen observer of the future and trends in technology.