Dr. Juma Al Matrooshi

Dr. Juma Al Matrooshi is Director General at Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO). In his capacity as Director General, Dr. Al Matrooshi is responsible for the development, implementation and communication of DSO’s strategy, including the organization’s mandate, mission, vision and values. Dr. Al Matrooshi also oversees the leadership team, providing his expert guidance and support to ensure that DSO’s business objectives are achieved efficiently and effectively, all the while upholding international best practices. Moreover, Dr. Al Matrooshi assumes leadership for the financial performance of DSO, guiding the development, monitoring and management of DSO’s annual budgets. In sum, he is responsible for delivering on short, medium and long-term goals, ensuring the correct team, policies, procedures, technology and all other essential tools are in place to ensure the success of DSO.

Besides his role at DSO, Dr. Al Matrooshi is a representative for the Dubai government at general assemblies for publicly listed companies. He has also served as a member of several committees, including the Ministry of Economy and Commerce’s trademark committee, Dubai Marketing and Tourism’s development board, and the UAE Banking Institute’s insurance brokerage committee. Dr. Al Matrooshi is the current Assistant to The Secretary General of Dubai Freezone Council; he is also serving as one of the Board Members of World Freezone Organization; Dr. Al Matrooshi is one of the incumbent members of the UAE Economic Acceleration Unit and he is presently a member of Dubai Government Economy Team.

With vast experience in finance, commercial operations and licensing, among other areas, Dr. Al Matrooshi joined DSO in December 2006. Before joining DSO, Dr. Al Matrooshi held several senior governmental positions, including running commercial licensing at the Dubai Economic Department (DED).

Dr. Juma holds a doctorate in General Management from the Golden Gate University of San Francisco, California and an MBA in Business Development from the Western University, Michigan, USA.

Mashal Waqar

Mashal Waqar is an entrepreneur, writer, and techie. She’s a Managing Director at Milestone Ventures and an EIR at a femtech startup at HatchnBoost. She has also worked in the VC space on a frontier tech fund. Mashal was previously the co-founder and COO of The Tempest, a global media company reaching millions of readers around the world. She also co-founded 60 Day Startups, a business accelerator supporting women entrepreneurs in growing from early stage to revenue in 60 days. Mashal has been recognized for her work by the Pakistan Foreign Minister for the Achieving Overseas Pakistanis list, Forbes Middle East 30 Under 30 list, and Entrepreneur Middle East’s Achieving Women of the year. She’s on the board of the RIT Alumni Association and a frequent mentor and advisor to startups. She has previously co-authored a research paper on challenges faced by female entrepreneurs, and is a co-author of the Possibilities Project. Mashal is passionate about DEI, startups, and media. She has given two TEDx talks, and has been a speaker at Stanford University and Harvard University conferences. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Computing Security from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Dubai.

Syed Shahan

TouchForce was born out of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is our vision to empower companies through technology and solutions which will ultimately enhance productivity. The best way to do this is to bring in technologies from the rest of the world into the GCC region – and there has been a demand to bring in technologies that creates a lot of value-add for the enterprises located in the region, especially in the UAE”

We have a plethora of solutions that includes AI, drone technology and performance monitoring solutions. We believe that it is not going to be a case of work from home, but instead work from anywhere. However, I do think we need to be very cautious in terms of how we empower staff, clients and vendor partners to make this journey a seamless one, and that’s where TouchForce comes in and brings real tangible value to enterprises in the GCC region

Revenue leakage and productivity are major challenges for enterprises in this current business environment. For example, we are working very closely with some major banks, and if they are scaling from 25 million customers to 100 million customers in the next 2-3 years then one key priority for them is that every employee in their organization is top of their game in terms of performance, but how do you identify that. You need visibility on the entire landscape, and we have the technology to do that

Ayman Ibrahim’s

Dr. Ibrahim brings more than 25 years of Leadership, Portfolio Management, Management Consultancy & Strategic Business Development with multinationals managing complex multidisciplinary business ICT and innovation programs from inception all through to delivery.

He is a recognized judge and mentor for several regional entrepreneurial and innovation initiatives. He recently led the Head of Judging for the UAE Hackathon 2020 & 2021 delivering more than 300 inspiring ideas.

While with Nile University as Director of the Big Data & Data Science initiative, Dr Ibrahim succeeded to position the university as the destination and platform for the discipline in Egypt.

As Shell Mobility Champion and Senior Consultant to the CIO Group Office for Shell IT International, Dr Ibrahim pioneered the first mobile digital transformations for the Group.

Moreover, he co-established Orange Labs Cairo in Egypt in 2008, created and led the Techno-Economic, Open-Innovation & Socio-Economic Development activities for the EMEA footprint (2008-2013).

He led and launched 2 Africa Com Award Winning Services for 2 consecutive years: Village Phone (2010) and Surf & Pay (2011). He established also several important entities; the eLearning Center at the National Telecommunication Institute and the Communication & Information Technology Department at the French University in Egypt. Dr. Ibrahim is a Senior Advisor to several entities (startups, government, multinationals, academia and NGOs) on several mega projects on Strategy, Innovation, R&D & Socio-Economic Development.

He is also an analytics' translator, expert management consultant and professor with Rochester Institute of Technology of Strategic Management, Business Model Innovation, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data Analytics and Digital Transformation. Dr. Ibrahim holds a PhD in Computer Science from Telecom Bretagne, France.

Dr. Ioannis Karamitsos

Dr. Ioannis Karamitsos (B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D.) has vast industry and research exposure over 30 years under a unique mix of academic research, industrial, and DOE lab R&D experience. Ioannis has worked both in the private and public sectors with European, Middle East and Chinese companies.

Since 2020 till present, Ioannis has been appointed as full-time Assistant Professor in Data Analytics at RIT University. From 2016 to 2020, Ioannis has joined the Department of Electrical Engineering as an Adjunct Professor at Rochester Institute of Technology Dubai. Ioannis is also a member of DSOA-Dubai Innovation Advisory Board and DTEC accelerator as a mentor.

His current research concerns telecommunication security systems and networks, post-quantum computing, cryptography, blockchain, AI, machine learning, next generation cloud networks, Big Data and Analytics, Internet of Things (IoT), Software defined networks (SDN), network modeling and performance analysis, Smart building services, and Smart Cities under the ICT and non-ICT convergence.

From 2010 to 2020, Ioannis was a Regional Digital Transformation Technologist- Blockchain Practice Lead at Orange Business Services in Dubai. As a blockchain practice lead, he collaborated with UAE public entities to conceptualize and implement blockchain and AI solutions, as well as defining a complete end-to-end digital enablement road-map.

He has conducted multiple digital innovation workshops, Artificial Intelligence, Machine and Deep Learning, Blockchain-smart contracts and POCs to identify digital disruption and associated business and technology transformation approaches. He was appointed as Head of Consultancy for developing smart services portfolio for Healthcare sector (smart hospital) in GCC. In addition, he was appointed as strategic advisor for developing the two smart cities in KSA, the Information Technology Complex (ITCC) and King Abdulaziz Financial Center (KAFD) and supported the strategy for developing a suite of smart city services.

As an avid learner, he also possesses executive certificates from Oxford Said Business School (Blockchain Strategy), MIT (Tackling the challenge of Big Data) and from Columbia Business School (Driving Strategic Impact Program).

Moreover, he is the author of a plethora of journal papers and book chapters; a member of IEEE since 1997, and he is serving as a reviewer in several engineering journals, and conferences.

Ioannis have several certifications such as: CBH, CISCO/CCNA Data Center, CEH v.9, ISO27002, PRINCE2, COBIT 5.0, IBM Certified Infrastructure Cloud Solution and IBM Cloud Computing Architecture, ITIL, TOGAF 9, and Scrum Master.

Last but not least, Ioannis holds a PhD in Computer Science from University of Sunderland, UK, a Master’s degree in Telematics Management from University of Danube Krems, Austria, and Bachelor’s degree (Laurea) in Electronic Engineering from University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Italy.

Sarmad Ibrahim

A Solution Architect with 29 Year experience in the IT industry, Cloud consultant, and Migration architect professional with a passion for IBM cloud, Application migration, Watson, and Security projects, progressive experience, and a proven track record in IT Cloud Architecture, Artificial Intelligence, Security, Application migration projects, Road Map, IT Strategy consultant with strong focuses on closing business deal, particularly with IBM’s Cloud platform, Security and Watson AI platforms.; establishes effective and long-term partnerships across fast-growing industries and skilled in win-win negotiation tactics with other expertise in:

* IBM Cloud platform Certified.
* Design Thinking Certified.
* Non-Functional requirement.
* Solution Architect design professional.
* AWS and Azure Expert.
* Application Migration.
* Project Management.

Dr. Tibor Turi

Dr. Tibor Turi is Executive Director of SOSCIP, Canada’s leading industry research and development consortium dedicated to harnessing advanced computing technologies including artificial intelligence and data science to solve social, technical and business challenges, and drive industry innovation. His broad career experience spans academic research, industrial R&D, and government investment in the innovation ecosystem. During his time in the private-sector, Tibor held leadership positions in research and development, technical design, product engineering, international technical auditing, intellectual property, and global product market development in the materials and manufacturing industries. As an internationally recognized innovation expert, he is an invited university lecturer, guest speaker and panellist at conferences around the world, and is passionate about global sustainable development and inspiring the next generation of innovators.

Tibor holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Materials Engineering, a doctorate in engineering nanotechnology, and an Executive Certificate in Strategy and Innovation from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has been a licensed professional engineer for 30 years and is the past President and Chair of the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE).

Roberto Croci

With over 20 years experience working for the likes of Microsoft and Google, Roberto Croci’s passion lies in innovation, startups and PEOPLE. Relationship driven, he has bridged the gap between corporates and startups across more than 20 countries. helping them develop real solutions that solve real-world problems.

A leading innovator in developing ecosystems where startups thrive, Roberto’s expertise and candid approach have kept him in demand with major tech companies throughout his career. In his current role as the Managing Director of Microsoft for Startups, Roberto is building Microsoft’s new division from scratch, including spearheading its expansion and innovation strategy, with the vision to foster a collaborative startup ecosystem to create a better, brighter future for people around the world. Connecting the dots between startups, government agencies and private sector organizations, Roberto helps organizations adopt the innovation mindset and leverage the technology and nimbleness that startups provide. With an ability to cut through the noise, he works directly with startup founders and encourages them to “think differently” and to be more curious.

Roberto is passionate about mentoring young people, helping them develop an entrepreneurial mindset to search for solutions to problems they see in their community, country, or across the globe. He regularly speaks at prominent universities, including Abu Dhabi University and Zayed University, as well as within local school systems, such as the GEMS schools. His vision is to inspire 1 million students and entrepreneurs to build homegrown tech startups that evolve to become global Unicorns. An in-demand international speaker, Roberto speaks about authentic and creative leadership, employee engagement, mental health, innovation and digital transformation, funding and startups.

In his personal world, Roberto enjoys reading hardcover books, hiking, running, and spending time with his family. He has summited K2, the second highest mountain in the world. He enjoys building relationships with passionate, driven people from all sectors, cultures, and walks of life.

Dr. Akram Almatarneh

Dr. Akram Almatarneh is an Associate Professor of Business Administration at American University in Dubai. He was previously a member of the Faculty of Law at the University of Wollongong-Australia.

Prior to teaching, Dr. Almatarneh worked as a senior legal consultant for one of the most prestigious law firms in Amman, Jordan. During that period, he provided high quality advice for internal and external clients on a number of legal issues for different areas of practice. He also served as a professional regulatory risk adviser in the wealth management arm at a leading financial services institution, NAB Group.

His main research interests are in the field of business law, business ethics, foundations of business, international trade law, and privacy & data protection law. He is the author and co-authored of a number of referred articles in the area of law, business ethics, privacy and data protection.

Dr. Almatarneh holds a Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) form University of Wollongong, Australia, Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) from Macquarie University, Australia, Master of Laws International
Business Law) from University of Western Sydney, Australia and Bachelor of Laws from Mu’tah University, Jordan.

Elliott Lloyd Denham

Elliott sits on the intersection between people, business, and technology. Having traveled the world helping startups develop, refine, and execute their go-to-market strategies, he now leads the Startup Programs team in DTEC Ventures, notably running SANDBOX; the region’s landmark founder-focused 12-month program supporting early-stage technology entrepreneurs to scale, fundraise and grow.

Khurram Qureshi

The DigiPix Inc. brand began as video production & postproduction outfit due to
Khurram’s passion for those arts in 2006. His keen eye & creative skills made the
company successful. He has served hundreds of clients & until today maintains the
highest ranking on online for 15 years with exceptional video reviews by the clients who
were extremely happy with his work. Check reviews at digipixinc.com/testimonials

Soon he realized that the entrepreneur marketplace was thirsty for other facets of
growing their brands. Therefore, he added to his toolbox & offered 3D Animation, 3D
VR/AR, business consulting, branding, marketing & technology advice. He saw the
challenges of small businesses within the communities & opened his door to provide
advice & solutions to help people grow. He is extremely focused on assisting struggling
businesses & providing value for their hard-earned money.

His experience in the arena of leading successful brands & serving as CEO of Here I
AM App, Marketing manager of Food Time Restaurant, Marketing Director of SKOP
(Special Kind of Play daycare), design & business consultant of Memory Bloom &
served as director of marketing & sales for Norseman Construction & Development led
him to throw his hat in the ring to be a co-chair of the Downtown Ajax BIA (Business
Improvement Area). The Ajax BIA was impressed with his strong leadership qualities &
elected him as the Chairperson in 2019. Khurram advocates for the 130 businesses &
property managers that make up the Downtown Ajax BIA till August 2021.

He also advised the Town of Ajax, Region of Durham & MPP Rod Phillips during
COVID-19 for supporting small businesses & giving them right funding & tools during
the pandemic. His tagline at DigiPix Inc. is “Passion for Perfection” which truly defines
the way he works & progresses in any project. As well, his mission statement drives his
mantra: “Our focus is to build & maintain long-lasting relationships with our clients. We
not only take part in your business development & growth but also ownership of your
success, ensuring that it stays with you throughout your business endeavors.”

Dr.Rafik Loutfy

Dr.Loutfy joined Ryerson University in July 2013 as Innovator-In-Residence, and became the inaugural Director, of the Centre of Engineering Innovation & Entrepreneurship in the Faculty of Engineering & Architectural Science, in July 2014. He had a 30 years long and distinguished career with Xerox Corporation. Loutfy joined Xerox in 1974 as a researcher and held a variety of project and managerial positions at the Xerox Research Centre of Canada (XRCC) including Centre manager. He was appointed vice president in Xerox’s Corporate Research & Technology organization in 1991 and held a variety of VP positions, including vice president of strategy planning and innovation. Loutfy became a corporate officer in 1997 and served as the chief technical officer (CTO) and senior vice president of Xerox Business Group Operations, and vice president of the Wilson Center for Research & Technology in Webster, New York – one of Xerox’s largest research centers, and Director of Corporate Business Strategy.

Dr.Loutfy possesses a BSc and MSc in organic chemistry from Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt, a PhD in Photochemistry from the University of Western Ontario, and a Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Toronto. He holds 32 US patents and has published more than 178 scientific articles.

Nasim Seifi

Nasim Seifi leads a team dedicated to nurturing the talents of Ontario entrepreneurs through a range of diverse programs, including the Business International Program which is collaborated with with diverse International Accelerators. Nasim is so enthusiastic and motivated in Innovation and entrepreneurship and Sustainable Business Strategy to build the Sustainable business Ecosystem. Nasim graduated at Harvard Business School in Sustainable business and holds her first MSc in Material Chemistry and Second Master of Engineering, Innovation and entrepreneurship from Ryerson University and a Professional diploma in immigration consultant under immigration, Refugee and Citizenship of Canada. She is currently is student at School of Law and Business at University of California, Berkeley. She has had many experiences in collaborating with the industry and worked as an executive in diverse events such as Career Fair at the University of Toronto and International Talent to Talent Conference at Ryerson University. She is an Award winner of Connect Grant from NSERC: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada in 2018 and 2017 and Canadian Merit Award in 2012. She also serves as a board member of the Chemical Institute of Canada, Toronto Chapter, and CEO of the Canadian Society for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and founder of Global Ignite Innovation hub. She also is working with Richmond Hill Board of Trade in Government Affair committee.

Gregory J. Van Laeken

Mr. Van Laeken is the Managing Director for Investments at Rochester Institute of Technology. He oversees the management of $350 million of fixed income securities in the University’s working capital investment portfolio, and also serves as the portfolio manager for the RIT Venture Fund, a venture capital investment fund that invests solely in alumni-founded, high-growth start-up companies. Prior to joining RIT, Greg spent more than a decade as an interbank dealer of interest rate and currency derivatives in New York City and Zurich, most recently serving as vice president and global head of emerging markets for a prestigious Swiss Bank based in Zurich, Switzerland.
Mr. Van Laeken earned both his bachelor’s degree in economics and his MBA from RIT.
He also serves as an adjunct faculty instructor in the Saunders College of Business at RIT where he specializes in international finance, derivative products, and new venture finance.

Dr. Alfadhel Alhemeiri

Disrupting the way we lead by enhancing our belief system. Dr. Alfadhel is a government leader and a seasonal consultant and coach who oversees serving the community, developing entrepreneurs, and helping clients realize their potentials. Holder of a Ph.D. from the British University in Dubai, known for being a lateral thinker, and a culture oriented person, and a caring father.

Dr. Yousef Al-Assaf

Dr. Al-Assaf had his PhD from Oxford University and leadership training from Cornell University. He is a widely published and academic and senior education management professional with extensive international experience.

He is currently President of Rochester Institute of Technology- Dubai, a leading not for profit international branch of RIT Rochester, New York. RIT Dubai University is established in conjunction with the Dubai Government in Dubai Silicon Oasis. Prior to this he was Dean of the College of Engineering at the American University of Sharjah where he was one of the founding members of the electrical engineering and computer engineering programs.

During his tenure at RIT Dubai, he has ensured that the university plays a major role in the ecosystem of Dubai Silicon Oasis and supporting the achievements of Dubai vision. Introduced a number of new programs, certifications and initiatives to meet the needs of public and technology partners including: Smart City Sciences, Data Analytics, Emerging Technologies, Corporate and Customer Happiness, Future Shaping, Computing Security and Sustainability among others.

Dr. Al-Assaf’s research focuses on using soft computing to model and control various industrial, business and medical systems. Applications include materials modeling and classification, prostheses control, industrial quality control and optimization. His industrial experience is in the areas of adaptive and predictive control, soft computing and industrial instrumentation and control.

Ghanim Al Falasi

Ghanim Al Falasi career in Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority spanning from 2011 when he
was appointed as Senior Vice-President. Under his lead, Ghanim have managed under
his wings the Corporate Support Services (HR, Business Excellence, IT & Supply
Management), People Happiness and Innovation, Client Success and his most recent
assignment to spearhead and direct the Technology & Entrepreneurship business units
under the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones (DIEZ).

Ghanim brings with him extensive knowledge and know-how in the ICT sector through
his previous role as Vice-President of the ICT Unit at Dubai Airports where he provided
executive, technological and enterprise administrative leadership employment.

In his earlier association with Dubai Airports, Ghanim successfully established an ICT
directorate for DCA based on a study conducted to identify and enhance Dubai Airports
ICT infrastructure and ICT services required for the delivery of outstanding performance.
Al Falasi also worked for several governmental organizations including the UAE Ministry
of Defence, UAE Armed Forces, and the Central Military Command
Heading two departments in DSOA, including: People Happiness & Innovation; Al Falasi
was mandated to develop and drive strategic plans for People Happiness as well as
innovation across the organization.
In 2013, Ghanim was appointed as the Vice Chairman of the Smart City Project
Committee at Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority.

Ghanim holds a BS degree in Computer Science from California State University of
Hayward, USA. Moreover, he is also holding a Chief Innovation Officer “CCInO”
Certification from LEAD, Organization & Relation Systems Coaching Certification from
ORSC, and most recently a certification from Neurolink-USA for being a Brain &
Emotional Intelligence Practitioner.

Dr. Slim Saidi

Dr. Saidi carries a wealth of academia, operational and consulting experience in innovation, international strategy and telecommunications, having advised executives across the world on strategy, quality and business improvements.
Prior to joining RIT, Dr. Saidi headed the Master’s of Science of Quality and Business Excellence in Abu Dhabi School of Management and University of Wollongong in Dubai. He also held a number of Senior Executive positions in the telecommunications sector across the Middle East and Africa and was a Partner with the global management and strategy consultants, KPMG and Arthur D. Little. He was also involved in the development and rollout of value added services for a Major North American Railroad.
Dr. Saidi has previously been associated with Universities in Canada (Bishop’s University, (Ecole Polytechnique), Tunisia (SUPCOM) and UAE (UOWD, ADSM, AUS and AGU) His areas of expertise include : Industrial Engineering, strategy articulation and implementation; innovation, customer experience; operational efficiency; cost optimization; supply chain strategy and operation; General board and executive advice; excellence programs and quality management.

Dr. Saidi, holds a Ph.D. in Engineering Mathematics from École Polytechnique of Montréal (Canada), a Principal Engineering Degree in Industrial Engineering from ENIT (Tunisia), and a Graduate Business Degree (DSA) from HÉC Business School of Montreal (Canada).

Khalid AlShaibani

Khalid Al Shaibani heads sales & business development for Dubai Technology Entrepreneurship Campus, the largest startup ecosystem in the MENA region. He has held various corporate strategy, risk management and business development positions across various Government agencies of the UAE. In his current capacity, Khalid is driving the technological innovation and entrepreneurship change that is taking place in the UAE.

Hans Henrik Christensen

Hans holds a BA, MBA and is studying for his PhD. For 10 years he’s been contributing to building the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Dubai, creating the largest tech hub in MENA, with 1000+ start-ups from 75 nations, attracting 1$billion+ in FDI, specialising on incubation, acceleration, venture capital investment, corporate innovation and knowledge. Previously, Hans founded 3 start-ups, raising $10m+ from renowned VCs, and pioneered corporate incubation in Europe.