8TH Annual Media And Telecommunications Convergence Conference 2011 (Amman June 6 & 7 2011)
Conference Highlights Schedule Speakers Sponsors & Exhibitors Registration/Sponsorship Details
   


Mr. Jawad Abbassi
Mr. Samir M. Abdulhadi
Dr. Diar Ahmed
Dr. Mashhour Abudaka
Mr. Faris Awartani
Mr. Imad Ayoub
Dr. Saad Al-Barrak
Mr. Sam Barnett
Mr. Jeremy Foster
Mrs. Khédija Hamouda Ghariani
Mr. Krishna Gopal
Mr. Steven Hall
Mr. Ghassan Hasbani
Mr. Yousef Hamidaddin
Mr. Alan Horne
Mr. Khaled Hudhud
Mr. Serge Van Herck
Dr. Ahmad Hiasat
Mr. Ihab Hinnawi
Mr. Laszlo Horvath
Mr. Tony Huang
Dr. Nasser Jabari
Dr. Abdel Malik Al Jaber
HE Minister of ICT Mr. Marwan Juma
Dr. Ibrahim A. Kadi
Mr. Peter Kaliaropoulos
Mr. Hakam Kanafani
Mr. Hesham Khalipha
Mrs. Nayla Khawam
Mr. Mathias Liebe
Mr. STEVE McCAFFERY
Mr. Yousef H Mugharbil
Mr. Emad Elmasry
Mr. Mohamed Elnawawy
Mr. Ahmed Ossama
Mr. Mohammad Omran
Mr. Hans Ovesen
Mr. Qusai Qaryouti
Mr. Santino Saguto
Mr. Alex Shalaby
Mr. Jawad Shaikh
Mr. Hosam Sokkari
Mr. Jihad Srage
Mr. Osman Sultan
Mr. Alper Turken
Mrs. Wassila Zitoune

Mr. Jawad Abbassi
Founder and General Manager
Arab Advisors Group


Mr. Abbassi has 16 years experience in the telecommunications, Internet and datacommnications fields. Mr. Abbassi founded the Arab Advisors Group in 2001. As General Manager of Arab Advisors Group, Mr. Abbassi directs the research and consulting activities of the company in addition to steering its marketing operations. Mr. Abbassi is also a frequent guest speaker at conferences and seminars related to technology, communications and media in the Arab World.

On September 14, 2005, the Arab Jordan Investment Bank (AJIB) and Arab Advisors Group concluded an agreement by which AJIB buys a 55% stake in Arab Advisors Group. The cash transaction allowed AJIB and the Arab Advisors Group to leverage strategic synergies to enhance the quality and scope of services of Arab Advisors Group. Arab Advisors Group -a private shareholding company registered in Jordan- will now be owned by the Arab Jordan Investment Bank (55%) and Mr. Jawad Abbassi (45%).

Before founding Arab Advisors Group, Mr. Abbassi’s career experience includes working as a senior telecommunications and technology consultant with the Yankee Group in Boston - USA. Between 1998 and 2000, Mr. Abbassi was a Senior Analyst with the communications research arm of the Economist Intelligence Unit in Boston.

Before his work in Boston, Mr. Abbassi worked as a corporate accounts manager for Jordan’s leading Internet service provider (NETS). With NETS, Mr. Abbassi led and coordinated the work needed to establish its first international leased line with Cyprus. Mr. Abbassi also worked for Apple Computers dealership, in addition to being a weekly columnist on Information Technology in Jordan’s leading English weekly.

Languages:
Mr. Abbassi is fluent in English in addition to being a native speaker of Arabic. Basic French.

Education:
Mr. Abbassi received a BSc in engineering from the American University in Cairo (Egypt – 1993). Jawad also received an academic scholarship to complete his MSc in information systems from the London School of Economics (United Kingdom - 1998).

Memberships and affiliations:
Member of Jordan’s Engineers Association
Member of The Arab Business Forum for Information and Communication Technology ABFICT. Elected to the board in 2005.
Member of the steering committee for UN ICT Task Force of the "Wireless Internet and the Arab-World" series.
Vice Chairman of Jordan’s information technology association (int@j) between 2006 and 2008. Elected to the board in 2004 and elected as Vice Chairman in 2006.
Chosen for membership in the Young Arab Leaders Organization.
Bishop’s school (Amman), AUC (Cairo) and LSE (London) Alumni associations

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Mr. Samir M. Abdulhadi
President & Chief Executive Officer
Orbit Group


Mr. Samir M. Abdulhadi has had a long and successful professional career that has given him experience in a wide variety of industries and businesses.

Mr. Abdulhadi completed his education in the United Kingdom attaining his Master’s Degree in Petrochemicals and Hydrocarbons from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology. In 1976, he returned to his native Saudi Arabia.

Mr. Abdulhadi has a 33-year career which started in 1977 when he joined the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC). After a ten-year tenure with SABIC in senior positions at the corporate and joint venture levels, Mr. Abdulhadi moved to the private sector where he held the position of Managing Director at the Arabian Company for Detergents (DAC), and transformed DAC from a small detergents company into one of the major industry players in Saudi Arabia and Arab detergents market with significantly expanded product range.

Mr. Abdulhadi joined the Mawarid Group as the Managing Director of Mawarid Food Company in January 1991, and continues with the Mawarid Group to date.

In January 2002, Mr. Abdulhadi was appointed President & CEO of Orbit Communications Company, and is now the President & CEO of the Orbit Group of companies.

Mr. Abdulhadi currently holds the following functions:

  1. Saudi Chemical Company (Publicly listed)
    - Vice Chairman of the Board
    - Member of the Executive Committee
    - Chairman of the Compensation Committee

  2. Meed Holding Company (Closed Joint Stock Company)
    - Chairman of the Board
    -Chairman of the Executive and Compensation Committees

  3. Noorsat
    - Chairman of the Board

  4. Panther Media Group (Orbit Showtime Network)
    - Vice Chairman of the Board
    - Chairman of the Compensation Committee

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Dr. Diar Ahmed
CEO
Asiacell


Dr. Diar Ahmed is the CEO of Asiacell, the first and largest Iraqi telecom company. Dr. Ahmed assumed this position in 2008 to lead a world-class team extending over 2,000 employees. Dr. Ahmed has scored numerous achievements as the company's CEO, most notably of which is increasing the company's subscribers well over 7 millions in a record time. Under his leadership, the company also became the sole Iraqi telecom provider with 100% national coverage of the all 18 governorates of Iraq.

As the company's CEO, Dr. Ahmed shoulders the responsibilities of devising and implementing Asiacell's long-term strategies, monitoring the work process and controlling quality.

Since joining Asiacell in 2002, Dr. Ahmed has assumed a number of critical positions at the company. He was first appointed as a media relations manager and the official spokesperson for Asiacell, for which he was greatly qualified due to his staggering ability to communicate with the various media and social segments in the country.

Dr. Ahmed later become the company's marketing manager, assuming the responsibility of placing long-term marketing and public relations strategies to promote the company's various products and services to the Iraqi public. Under his leadership, the department was able to develop highly creative strategies that had greatly benefited the company and the Iraqi public.

Before becoming CEO, Dr. Ahmed was the official consultant for the company's Board of Directors on all executive, financial, developmental, quality control, marketing and public relations issues.

Dr. Ahmed established IraqCom, a company specialized in providing advanced IT end to end solutions in 2004 to become one of the leading players in the field in Iraq.

Dr. Ahmed acquired MBChB in General Medicine from Sulaymaniyah University in 1998. He also acquired a Master's degree in clinical Pharmacology in 2005. He is also a certified HP expert.

Dr. Ahmed believes that an organization's success cannot be achieved without the implementation of various mechanisms that allow for continuous communication with all segments of society. He also believes that life is full of positive opportunities that any ambitious person must combine with viable skills and expertise to secure a promising future.

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Dr. Mashhour Abudaka

Finished high school in 1977, Gaza Strip, left to Manchester, England for his university education, and joined Manchester Institute of Science and Technology UMIST, in 1983 obtained BSc degree with honours in Engineering, the following year he obtained MSc in engineering also from UMIST. In 1985 he enrolled for a PhD at Imperial College Science, Technology and Medicine, University of London. In 1989 he completed a PhD and DIC in Engineering. He then worked for the following 5 years as a postdoctoral researcher at the University College London UCL and Imperial College.
In November 1994 decided to relocate to Palestine and was appointed as Assistant Professor of Engineering at Birzeit University, West Bank.

Worked as freelance consultant on institutional development and planning for major local and international organisations

From January 2001 to March 2005 was the Executive Director of Palestinian IT Association of Companies PITA, ICT private sector business association.

In 2005-2006 served as advisor to the Ministry of Telecommunication and Information Technology. Later on, Dr. Abudaka has worked as Birzeit University Consultant.

Appointed Minister of Transport in Dr. Salam Fayyad June 2007 and Minister of Telecom and IT May 2009

Have several publications in Science and technology journals and many articles on ICT and development

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Mr. Faris Awartani
Chair of the FTTH Council Europe Middle East Group

Experience:

Jan. 1989 Dec to 1990
Worked with Modern Scientific & Electronic Co. in Telecommunication Division – Riyadh – Saudi Arabia

Jan. 1991 Decto1993
Established and worked as Manager Computer Division with Modern  Scientific and Electronic Co. – Riyadh – Saudi Arabia

Jan. 1994 June to 1996
Worked as a Deputy General Manager with Modern Scientific and Electronic Co. – Riyadh – Saudi Arabia

June 1997 Now -
Established Modern Scientific and Electronic Co. / Jordan . And established  International Telecom & Electrical corp.
/ Palestine . Both works in the field of Construction communications and  Educational equipments.

  • I came a partner in Bazy Trading Co. and established Telecommunications Division in it .

  • I was a board member at Jordan Gulf Bank – Jordan until 2000

  • I was a board member at Falcon for Investment & Financial Services until 2000.

  • I was a board member at Al Salam for Investment Co. until 2000

  • I was a board member at Association Health Care Management , Inc. until 2002.

  • Partner and board member at Al Araab for Contracting Co. – Dubai – UAE

  • Partner and board member at Al Jallaf Factory for Metal Works – Dubai – UAE.

Others: Member at Jordanian Businessmen Association

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Mr. Imad Ayoub
CEO
Cyberia Group


Imad is an entrepreneur who established several companies in the Internet and data communications field in Jordan and the region.

He is currently the CEO of Middle East Internet Co. (Cyberia) the leading broadband Internet Service Provider with operations in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Jordan. Cyberia is serving the corporate, SME and consumer markets with fixed and wireless broadband and data communication services and solutions. Cyberia is also an equity owner in Abdali Communications Company which is building the fiber and “triple play” infrastructure for Abdali the new downtown of Amman.

Cyberia was acquired in 2007 by Oger Telecom the leading regional telecom operator with over 40 million customers under management.

Imad co-founded and managed Global One Jordan in 1996 which introduced the Internet to Jordan, and become the number one Internet and Data communication service provider in Jordan. Global One was acquired by Jordan Telecom and is now Orange Internet.

Imad also co-founded NETS in 1994 which introduced email and on-line services to Jordan. NETS was acquired by Batelco Jordan, and is now Umnia Internet.

Imad started his work career in 1984 in the Silicon Valley where he worked at world leading high tech companies National Semiconductors and American Microsystems Inc.

He does a lot of voluntary work contributing to the society; he is a member of the Board of Trustees at the King Hussein Foundation, and he is the Chairman of Tamweelcom, Jordan’s leading microfinance non-profit company. In 2009 Tamweelcom was ranked as number one regionally and number eight worldwide among 650 microfinance companies.

Imad graduated in 1984 from Santa Clara University, California, where he received his BSEE degree, and he received the MSEE degree from Santa Clara University in 1986.

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Dr. Saad Al-Barrak
(Former) Managing Director of Zain Group
Current Managing Director and CEO of Zain Saudi Arabia


A quote from Dr. Saad Al-Barrak: “Be First, Be Daring and Be Different... This is the motto that guided Zain from our beginnings from a small regional player to an international leader, and it will guide us to global player, to global leader. You are as large as your dream and as able as the capabilities you build. You have two choices as a human being: to be a subject of history or a maker of history. Zain has chosen to belong to the second category.”

Dr. Al-Barrak is a distinguished engineer and businessman of international repute. Since his appointment in mid 2002 (to his recent exit from Zain Group in February 2010), and through the implementation of his vision of the “3x3x3” profitable expansion strategy, Zain’s customer base has increased from 600,000 as a single operator in Kuwait to having a commercial presence in 23 countries with over 70 million active customers across the Middle East and Africa (Sept 30, 2009).

Additionally during this period, the company’s market capitalization has multiplied many times to reach the Financial Times’ Global 500 Index which ranks the world’s largest companies based on market capitalization. Notably, company revenues for the year ending December 31, 2008 reached US$7.44 billion with net income of US$1.2 billion. For 2009, which will be announced in the last week of March 2010, the company revenue are expected to exceed US$8 billion.

Dr. Al-Barrak holds a BSc in Electrical Engineering, an MSc in Systems Engineering from Ohio University, and a PhD in Information Systems & Technology Management from the University of London. He is also an alumnus of Harvard University.

Prior to his appointment with Zain, Dr. Al-Barrak was Managing Director of International Turnkey Systems (ITS), one of the leading IT companies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Under Dr. Al-Barrak, ITS’s revenues grew from $5 million in 1985 to exceed $100 million in 2000.

Dr. Al-Barrak has served as Vice-Chairman of the Social Development Office (SDO) of the Amiri Diwan in Kuwait; Chairman of Egyptian Software Developer IT Soft; Chairman of Arab Telecom; and a non-executive Director of Arab Management Association in Cairo as well as a number of other senior positions.

Notable Awards to date

  • In October 2009, Global Telecoms Business magazine ranked Dr Saad Al-Barrak in 20th position among most influential telecom executive over the century in its top 100 survey, first among his Middle East & African peers.

  • In October 2008, Dr. Saad Al-Barrak scooped up three prized awards, winning Africa Investor’s International Business Leader award, CEO Middle East magazine’s Telecom CEO of the Year award and Bespoke magazine’s 2008 Visionary Award

  • In February 2008, Dr Al-Barrak was honored as Man of the Year by Arab Ad, the Middle East’s leading media and advertising magazine in recognition of the brave and successful launch of the new Zain brand as well as for Zain efforts in community support programs.

  • In September 2007, Dr Al-Barrak received the 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award from leading industry magazine COMMSMEA for his pioneering efforts in the Middle East and African Telecom industry.

  • At the 2005 Arab Economic Forum, Dr Al-Barrak was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his pioneering efforts in the regional Telecom industry.

  • In 2003 he received the ‘E-businessman of the Year’ award in the region and in 2005 he received the Middle East’s ‘CEO of the Year’ award in the Information Communication Technology sector.

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Mr. Sam Barnett
Chief Operating Officer and General Manager
MBC Group


General Manager and Chief Operating Officer of MBC Group, Sam Barnett joined the company in 2002. In his role, he has supported the Chairman and CEO, Sheikh Waleed Bin Ibrahim Al Ibrahim, in the commercial restructuring and ongoing growth of the MBC Group. MBC currently reaches 106 million viewers and listeners each day, has 45% share of audience in Saudi Arabia and is the largest broadcaster in the Middle East. It is also one of the few that is profitable.

During his time at MBC, Barnett has overseen the outsourcing of advertising sales, the launch of new channels and media, the development of an organisational structure to fit a multi-platform network and the enforcement of commercial discipline across the operation.

Prior to joining MBC, Barnett held senior roles in global management consulting firms Arthur Andersen and PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he was responsible for advising on privatization projects for telecommunication companies and developing growth strategies for government, financial and media companies in the UK, Africa and the Middle East.

Barnett was educated at Cambridge (History and Economics) and has an MBA from INSEAD. He is based with his family in Dubai.

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Mr. Jeremy Foster
Marketing Director, Marketing and Strategy
Ericsson Middle East


Jeremy Foster is the Marketing Director for Ericsson in the Middle East region, responsible for all marketing initiatives relating engaging with operators, non-operators and governments across the GCC, Levant region and including Pakistan and Iran. Joining Ericsson New Zealand in 1996 Jeremy spent 5 years in technology and sales support roles before leaving Ericsson to work for Vodafone in 2001. At Vodafone , Jeremy had various senior sales and marketing roles, his last being responsible for business products nationally. Achievements included launching 3G to the business community in NZ and winning major contracts with some of the largest corporates in the country. In 2006 Jeremy brought his family to Abu Dhabi where he is currently domiciled. A significant part of Jeremy's role is to engage strategically with all stakeholders across the region as they strive to achieve their broadband ambitions

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Mrs. Khédija Hamouda Ghariani
Secretary-General
Arab Information and Communication Technologies Organization

Mrs. Khédija Hamouda Ghariani, Sup Telecom Engineer, graduated from the “Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications de Paris” in 1984, has been Secretary-General of AICTO, since 1st January 2008 .
From 2004 to 2007, Mrs. Khédija Ghariani was a member of the Tunisian Government as Secretary of State to the Minister of Communication Technologies for computer Science, Internet and Free Open Source Software.

From 1999 to 2007, she held a number of responsibilities as the General Manager of the Telecom Research & Studies Center, Tunisia Telecom, CEO of the Tunisian Internet Agency and GM of the National Agency for Frequencies.
She has also been very active on the level of associations, namely dealing with disabled persons, Vice-President of the friendly society for Sup’Telecom engineers, Founding member and previous chairman of “Women & ICT” Association .

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Mr. Krishna Gopal
Corporate Head
Tech Mahindra


Krishna Gopal is a mechanical engineering graduate from VJTI (1981) in Mumbai, INDIA and has a Masters in Marketing from SPJIMR (1983), Mumbai (http://www.spjimr.org).

He carries a rich experience of over 23 years primarily in marketing and sales across diverse industries like office equipment, consumer durables, chemicals, retail and software services. He has been with Tech Mahindra Ltd since 1999 and currently heads the Middle East, Africa and SAARC regions as Vice President. Krishna’s prior employment includes leading Indian conglomerates like Godrej and Boyce (http://www.godrej.com/), Asian Paints (http://www.asianpaints.com/) and Satyam (http://www.sifycorp.com/). His work tenure also includes a year of experience at Saudi Arabia in retail operations.

At Godrej he was part of the management team that established the IT and Office Automation business.

Krishna was amongst the initial members of the start up team at SIFY, India’s first private Internet service provider.

Besides actively pursuing his career he also undertakes teaching assignments on a part-time basis at MBA schools in Mumbai.

He has participated as a speaker on several forums in India such as NASSCOM, CII etc and has also conducted workshops on IT strategy on behalf of these organizations.

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Mr. Steven Hall
CEO
CNBC Arabiya


Steven Hall, a seasoned broadcast executive, has extensive experience in journalism, commercial development, branding and marketing, having been at the helm of a wide range of media enterprises in Europe and the Middle East. He also possesses a depth of understanding of the Middle East region, having worked in Arabic television for many years with MBC News and with Abu Dhabi TV's News Centre being involved with the planning and start up of the operation as Head of Production.

Steve was appointed CEO of CNBC Arabiya in February, 2008, developing a new vision for the channel coinciding with its 5th anniversary year.

Identifying a need to consolidate CNBC Arabiya’s position as the market leader in business television while significantly enhancing the channel’s relevance and reach, Steve devised and implemented a new vision for CNBC Arabiya, driving forward theme driven stock market coverage, widening the channel’s demographic and audience appeal through heightened interaction between on-air talent, expert guests and enhancing bureaux input across the programme platforms.

Staging a major re-launch in November, 2008, CNBC Arabiya’s programming was revitalized with the addition of 12 new programmes, including two major new anchor shows, Al Bousaleh and Al Haseelah as well as programming focusing on women business leaders, green business, Islamic finance, private equity, and personal finance.

CNBC Arabiya significantly upgraded its web presence in May, 2009 by launching a true financial portal (cnbcarabia.com) to add complementarity and reinforcement of its broadcast product. 2010 will see further enhancements in new media services across the region further adding value to the broadcast and web products.

Mr. Hall's educational background includes degrees from Oxford University
(M. Phil.) and California Lutheran University (BA)

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Mr. Ghassan Hasbani
CEO
International, Saudi Telecom


Ghassan Hasbani is the new Chief Executive Officer of the International Operations group of Saudi Telecom Company (STC). He joins STC from the global management consulting firm Booz & Company, where he led the firm’s Middle East Communications and Technology practice. Mr. Hasbani has more than 16 years of experience with telecom operators in the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and Africa. Ghassan brings a wide spectrum of capabilities covering all aspects of the telecommunications industry including investment strategies, mergers and acquisitions, post merger integration, marketing, product and service development, organizational restructuring and governance, technology plans, retail and distribution, channel strategy and management, customer care, business development and CFO and CEO agendas.

Mr. Hasbani has worked with leading organizations in the telecommunication and technology industries, including Nortel Networks and Cable & Wireless and spent the past ten years operating within the Middle East Region. In addition to the Middle East, his global experience includes markets such as Europe, South East Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Mr. Hasbani is also a chartered engineer and a member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) in the U.K. He holds an MBA and a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering with first class honors from the U.K.

The responsibilities of the CEO - International are primarily focused on supporting the group in creating value across the global community of partners and operating companies. The role includes the management of synergy creation activities, post merger integration, market monitoring, legal and strategic governance of board and executive management relationships across the group companies in addition to supporting mergers and acquisitions activities.

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Mr. Yousef Hamidaddin
CEO
Acxiom MENA


Yousef Hamidaddin envisioned developing the Direct Marketing industry in the MENA region and his launch of DMS in 2000 was a true testament to this vision. Over the past ten years, Yousef has transformed DMS from a small Saudi firm to a regional organization as Acxiom MENA, catering to some of the region’s largest multinational and local clients. His most recent initiatives include launching The Arab Direct Marketing Association (and serving as CEO of that organization), the DM Park in King Abdullah Economic City and the Direct Mail Center of Excellence. Yousef has also garnered the support of the Arab League and the Arab postal operators towards building the direct marketing industry in the region.

Prior to his role as CEO of Acxiom MENA, Yousef was the CEO of DMS. Before that, he held the position of General Manager at the Executive Office for Commercial Services and prior to that was the Arabian Peninsula Recruiting Manager at Procter & Gamble. Yousef graduated from King Saud University with a degree in Economics and Quantitative Mathematics.

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Mr. Alan Horne
Mortal Independent Regulatory Expert

Alan is an ICT professional having spent his career mainly in the telecommunications sector. He has a balanced view having worked for, advised or represented Government, Consumers, Operators and Regulators. He is a seasoned speaker, rapporter and chairman of working groups and conferences.

In December 2009 Alan Horne completed his three year contract as Director General of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) in Bahrain. During 2007/8 he also held the position of the President of the Arab Network of Regulators (AREGNET). Alan was the first non Arab to hold this key position. Over his three years as DG Alan built up a strong Team which published key regulations and Orders, overall resulting in strong growth in the telecommunications sector with consumers being presented with greater choice of services and service providers. In Q4 of 2009 TRA was awarded Regulator of the Year by CommsMEA and the Most Innovated Regulator of the Year by SAMENA.

Commencing his career with British Telecom (BT), Alan has held senior positions in BT, Phillips, Mitel and was a founder of InterConnect Communications (ICC). During 20 years as CEO of ICC Alan advised Governments, Regulators and Operators on regulatory matters surrounding the liberalisation and developments of markets throughout EMEA. After selling ICC to Telecordia Technologies of the USA, Alan took up the invitation, in late 2006, to be the Director General of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) Bahrain.

Alan has a 1st Class Honours Degree in Electronic Engineering and a Masters in Telecommunications. He is a member of the Institute of Electrical Engineers as well as a member of the Institute of Directors. Alan has authored two publications concerning telecommunications regulations, regularly provided Key Note Speeches as well as Chaired many conferences.

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Mr. Khaled Hudhud
Director of Government Relations and Regulatory Affairs, Umniah

As Umniah's Director of Governmental & Regulatory Affairs, Khaled Hudhud utilizes 15 years' worth of knowledge in the telecom industry to formulate regulatory positions, draft consultation replies, make representations to competition and other regulatory bodies, and recommend sector-related strategies.

An active proponent of the Jordanian telecom sector since 1995, Hudhud's longstanding career before becoming part of Umniah in 2005 extends to include experience in Heavy Engineering projects between 1990 and 1994, as well as in IT and management consultancy in 1995. In early 2000, he took on the role of Intelligent Network Products Manager with a Jordanian mobile operator, where he later became the Products and Services Department Manager. In 2003, Hudhud joined the Government as the Head of Telecom Policy, putting together the Mobile and Fixed Telecom Liberalization Policies and the Universal Service Policy.

Hudhud holds a BSc in Civil Engineering from Northeastern University in the U.S.

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Mr. Serge Van Herck
CEO
Newtec Cy


Serge Van Herck, Chairman of the Board and CEO. Appointed by the board of directors as CEO in 2006, Serge Van Herck has replaced Dirk Breynaert, who became CTO. Serge Van Herck most recently served as Director Business Development for Asia at Newtec and General Manager of Skyware, acquired by Newtec in 2002. Prior to joining Newtec in 2003, Serge Van Herck was Senior Manger at Accenture. From 1994 to 2001, he served as Head of Satellite Services at Belgacom and was a member of the Eutelsat Board of Signatories. He holds a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Ghent. He is a graduate in Management and Business Administration of the Leuven Ghent Vlerick Management School.

 

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Dr. Ahmad Hiasat
Telecom expert / consultant

Dr. Ahmad Hiasat, has been the Chairman of the Board and CEO of Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) of Jordan since March 19, 2006 until January 26, 2010. He is a staunch advocate of TRC’s vision to create an advanced environment for ICT and Postal services in Jordan, which is efficient, competitive and provides access to all beneficiaries. Dr. Hiasat supports transparency and impartiality in dealings with all stakeholders and believes that these are essential qualities found in all of the TRC’s activities. Prior to heading-up the TRC, Dr. Hiasat held the position of Dean of the King Abdullah II School of Electrical Engineering - Princess Sumaya University for Technology (PSUT). Dr. Hiasat joined PSUT in 1996, where his early work was as a faculty member in the Engineering school, being involved in teaching and research in topics related to new technologies. In addition, he worked as Part-Time Technology-Consultant to the Minister/Ministry of Education of Jordan for the "Education Reform for Knowledge Economy" (ERfKE) project (2000-2005), where he worked with many international agencies and technology companies on the strategic planning and implementation of the ERfKE project. Dr. Hiasat progressed in academic standing, and currently holds the rank of “Full Professor”. His work has been widely published and he has authored or co-authored over 30 papers in the ICT field. These papers have been published in prestigious international scientific journals such as IEEE Transactions & IEE Proceedings. Furthermore, he has played an active role in several specialized international conferences, seminars and workshops on ICT related issues. Ahmad Hiasat started his career as a senior communications engineer with the Royal Jordanian Air Force from 1985 to 1993. He was awarded the "Abdel Hameed Showman Award" for Young Arab Researchers in Engineering Sciences in the Arab World in 1999, the "Oakland University Certificate of Merit" Rochester, MI, USA in 1995, and the "King Hussein Award" for Outstanding Academic Achievements in 1984. Dr. Hiasat holds a Ph. D. in Systems Engineering from Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA; an M. Sc. in Communications Engineering; and a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Jordan.

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Mr. Ihab Hinnawi
Chief Executive Officer
Umniah


Ihab Hinnawi joined Umniah as the Chief Executive Officer in 2009, drawing upon over 20 years of extensive managerial experience to lead the company's industry-pioneering operations.

Prior to assuming his new position at Umniah, Hinnawi joined Batelco Bahrain in 2009 as General Manager of the Enterprise Division, directing the sales, service and marketing operations of Batelco's solutions portfolio. In 2007, Hinnawi held the position of Chief Executive Officer at Batelco Jordan, where he successfully set the strategic direction of the company, achieving considerable transformational turnarounds and augmenting Batelco's commercial success by garnering greater gross profits and customer satisfaction. Before joining Batelco, Hinnawi helped establish Umniah in 2004 within his capacity as a key member of its initial management team, and continued to work at Umniah until 2007 as its Operations Director.

Hinnawi held several senior positions over the years, the most notable was his role as General Manager at Nuqul Group. His repertoire of key expertise includes growing revenue, leading change management, developing new businesses, managing high stake negotiations, strategic planning, key partnership development, corporate and marketing strategy development, risk management, and organizational restructuring.

Ihab Hinnawi who holds a BA in Business Administration, is the Vice Chairman of the Int@j Board of Directors, a member of the Young Arab Leaders (YAL) association, as well as a member of INJAZ Board of Trustees.

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Mr. Laszlo Horvath
President and Founder
Active Media


Laszlo Horvath’s award winning company puts its clients on top of the search engines’ results pages - increasing their visibility and sales worldwide, making their entry into new markets cost efficient. He founded global online search, advertising and media agency ActiveMedia (www.activemedia.com) in 1996. Prior to launching his business, Laszlo was tapped as a Strategic Consultant for America Online in 1995. His clients included the Greenhouse of AOL Studios, the AOL Finance Channel and a wide range of interactive brands like the Motley Fool, iVillage and NetNoir. Laszlo placed the first advertising program on AOL’s largest content site.

Laszlo received his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1995. He graduated from the Film Academy of Budapest in 1989, as a film and television director, including a study period at the BBC in London. Laszlo received his Bachelor of Arts degree in languages and literature from the ELTE University of Budapest, Hungary. He chaired the Service Export Task Force of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and provides services for the Virginia Economic Development Partnership’s (www.exportvirginia.com) export promotional programs. Laszlo serves on the board of Leros corporation (www.Leros.com) and Carnation (www.carnation.hu) and on the board of advisors for mybizhompage.com. He is a member of the Harvard Club of New York and Washington DC and an Alumni Advisor and Fundraiser for the Harvard Business School. Laszlo is a sought after speaker at US and International conferences on online marketing, advertising, branding and Internet strategy, including Fortune Magazine, MEED Middle Eastern Business Intelligence and he also serves as a member of the Global Advisory Board of the CEO Clubs International (www.ceoclubs.org) and the American Hungarian Executive Circle (www.americanhungarian.org) .

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Mr. Tony Huang
Director, CTO Office, MENA Region
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.


Tony joined Huawei in 2005, he is based at the Dubai office in UAE, his responsibility covers the entire Middle East and North Africa Region. In his capacity, he aims to meet up with clients for experience sharing with the focus on business development, business plan formulation, marketing strategy and operation improvement.
Prior to joining Huawei, he previously served Hutchison Telecom International for 11 years as Operation Director and Business Development Director respectively, during that time, he was responsible for the telecom business in Asia Pacific region; In 2003, he acted as Senior Advisor to Arthur D Little; Spectrum Strategy Consultants and Deloitte Consultants in the fields of Telecom and Media sectors for 3 years. In 2000, he served Pearl Oriental Telecom & Technologies as the Executive Director and COO overseeing the Telecom and Internet business; Prior to that, he served NCR Corporation for 15 years as the Technical Supports Manager.

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Dr. Nasser Jabari
Director of Research and Consulting
Arab Advisors Group


Dr Ja’bari holds a Ph.D. degree in management cybernetics from England. He possesses around ten years of experience in the telecom industry. He worked at the strategic planning and performance department at Saudi Telecom (STC) for five years where he was responsible for helping the different sectors at STC to put it strategic and annual business plans and tracking their performance. He also was a leading member in the team which led the implementation of balanced scorecard (BSC) at STC.

Dr Ja’bari joined Umniah, the third GSM operator in Jordan, right after its grant of the telecom license and undertook several assignments at the company. He was a marketing research and regulatory affairs manager responsible for all market research activities (pre and post-launch) as well as putting replies to the regulator consultations and ensure that the replies are in line with the company’s strategic intention. Later on, Nasser was requested to head the business development unit in pursuit for telecom opportunities outside Jordan. He put a bid on behalf of the company for the 6th GSM license in Bangladesh. He was also part of the team which was investigating the 3rd GSM license in Yemen where he did extensive market due diligence. He also carried out extensive due diligence on the telecom setting in Iraqi Kurdistan.

After the sale of Umniah, Dr Ja’bari joined Neu Venture Groups upon the request of its owner (the previous managing partner of Umniah). Dr Ja’bari was the director of business development where he attempted to obtain telecom opportunities in the following markets: Oman, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Cote d’Ivoire among others. Nasser obtained an individual license for Neu (now Dama Max) which later on was used in the lease of the fibre optic network from NIPCO.

In addition to the above, Dr Ja’bari carried out some consultancy projects in Jordan. The last project was an asset valuation for a wireless operator which was completed in Jan 2010.

Dr Ja’bari worked in academia for over 5 years where he was a professor of management. He is currently the treasurer of the Jordanian association for spinal cord injuries care (JASCIC) the first of its kind in the Middle East.

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Dr. Abdel Malik Al Jaber
CEO
Zain Jordan


Dr Abdel Malik Al Jaber comes to Zain with a wealth of experience and a long record of achievements both locally and regionally. He was appointed CEO of Zain Levant in July 2009 and CEO of Zain Jordan in August 2009.

Prior to his new post at Zain he was appointed Vice Chairman of the Board and CEO of the Paltel Group in 2003 during which he was able to restructure the company towards increased profits and sustained innovation and social responsibility. He increased the company’s profits from USD$ 15 million in 2003 to USD$ 100 million in 2005. Additionally, during his tenor, the Paltel Group became the first company in the country to pioneer the practice of Corporate Social Responsibility introducing Sustainability Practice and Reporting as per the GRI Standards and later on creating the first Corporate Foundation in the country.

In private sector in Palestine, Dr. Al Jaber is the Chairman of the Golden Wheat Mills Company, Chairman of the Board of Wasel Logistics, and a Founder of Al Rafah Bank, the first Mirco-Finance Bank in the region.

In 2005, Dr. Al Jaber helped found VTEL Holdings, a UAE based company with USD$ 1 billion in capital comprised of high net worth investors from Palestine and the Arab World. VTEL’s business objectives were to obtain licenses to operate ICT projects worldwide; in CSR countries, Africa, Central and Latin America including the Caribbean. Today the company has operations in Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Iraq, Kurdistan, Jordan and Burundi in Africa. He is also a member of the Board of Cairo Amman Bank in Jordan, and is a member of its Audit Committee as well, he is a Member of the Executive Committee at Ayla Jordan, and a Member of the Executive Committee for Astra Group Jordan, which is considered as one of the most important investment holdings in the Kingdom with investments in: Tourism, Insurance, Real Estate, and Agriculture.

He is a current member of the Arab Business Council and the World Economic Forum, The Arab Technology Forum, Member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO), Founder of the Young Arab Leaders Chapter in Palestine, and today serves as a regional Board Member of the YAL Organization in Dubai with Chapters in Lebanon, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE.

Dr. Al Jaber is a graduate of Jordan University of Science and Technology, McGill University - Canada, North Western University- Kellogg School of Business Administration, USA, and International School of Management, Paris. He holds a DBA, MBA as well as an BEng and MSC in Engineering. He is a recipient of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed Al Maktoum “Best Arab Manager Award for Excellence in Management” for the year 2001, as the leading business executive in Palestine

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HE Minister of ICT Mr. Marwan Juma

Marwan Juma is currently holding the position of Minister of Information and Communications Technology. Prior to this position he was the Chief Executive Officer of Xpress Telecommunications, one of Jordan’s leading mobile operators and the first Arab company to introduce the iDEN technology in the region which combines the abilities of ordinary mobile phones with the instantaneous Direct Connect (walkie-talkie) service. Juma is also the founder and Chairman of Sama for Integreated Systems, better known as dot.jo, one of the country’s leading web development houses.

Juma was the outgoing Chief Executive Officer of Batelco Jordan, the country’s second fixed line operator and the leading data communication provider. In addition, Marwan was the Chairman of the local chapter of the Young Arab Leaders Organization, the region’s leading youth NGO. He also serves on several prominent boards including the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development, the Jordan Education Initiative, the King Abdullah Award for Excellence in Government Performance and Transparency. Juma served on the “National Agenda’s” Royal Steering Committee entrusted with developing the country’s strategy for the coming ten years.

Marwan Juma was also reelected as the Chairman of INTAJ, Jordan’s Information Technology Association in 2009, and a founding contributor to Jordan’s national initiative for establishing Jordan’s IT Industry, known as the “REACH Initiative”. The REACH Initiative is a five-year action plan to advance Jordan’s nascent IT sector, and strengthen its position to compete in local, regional, and global markets.
Holder of a Master in Management degree from North Carolina State University in the United States, and two Bachelor degrees in Business Management and Economics, Marwan has been an active player in Jordan’s Information Technology sector since 1990. Upon completing his studies, he joined Ideal Group, (the Apple Computer and Compaq distributor in Jordan), and moved up the ranks to become Vice President. In 1995, he took over as the General Manager of NETS, Jordan’s first e-mail and second Internet Service Provider. Six years later, NETS, and a second data provider, Firstnet, and Bahrain Telecom, a regional leading telecom provider completed the first IT merger in Jordan and formed Batelco Jordan.

An outspoken character, Marwan has lobbied long and hard towards the establishment of a world-class telecom infrastructure in Jordan, and has been an ardent supporter for increased private-public partnerships to further enhance and accelerate the country’s modernization and economic development.

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Dr. Ibrahim A. Kadi
Senior Advisor
Communications & IT Commission (CITC)


Prof. Ibrahim Kadi is Senior Advisor at the Communication & Information Technology Commission (CITC), the ICT regulatory authority in Saudi Arabia. He has over 30 years of experience in academic, professional, industrial and regulatory fields. His areas of expertise include Communication engineering, Knowledge Economy, Information Security, and Socio-economic Impact of Technology.

He was a Professor of Communications at King Saud University (1984-2004). He served as the ITU Representative to the Arab States and Head of the ITU Arab Regional Office (2002-2003). Prof. Kadi was Vice President for Engineering and R&D of Advanced Electronics Company (1991-1994) and served as an Executive Consultant (1994-2004). Prof. Kadi currently serves as an independent Member of the Board Risk Management Committee at the Saudi Stock Exchange Co. (Tadawul), He is a member of the Advisory Board for Academic Accreditation, of KSU College Engineering. Prof. Kadi performed consultancy services to government agencies, private sector and international organizations.

Prof. Kadi holds a Ph. D. from Stanford University (1984), an M.Sc. from the University of Michigan (1984), and B.Sc. from Riyadh University (1978), all in Electrical Engineering.
Prof. Kadi has published over a 120 scientific papers, general-interest and literary works, and spoke at numerous national and international conferences. He is a member of the Saudi Computer Society, International Association for Cryptologic Research, Saudi Association for Mathematical Sciences, and Saudi Economics Association. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE.

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Mr. Peter Kaliaropoulos
CEO
Batelco

Peter Kaliaropoulos, with over 29 years experience in the international information communications technology industry, joined Batelco in June 2005 and has led its transformation into a regional company.

Batelco now operates in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait, Yemen, Egypt and India; its combined customer base in 2009 exceeded 5.3 million mobile and broadband customers with revenues over USD920m and net profit of USD278m.

Prior to joining Batelco, Peter held various senior executive roles including MD SingTel Optus Business (Australia); MD Mobile Sales & Distribution, Telstra (Australia), COO/SVP StarHub (Singapore); CEO Clear (New Zealand); Director Sales & Service, BT Asia Pacific (Singapore & Australia); Director, BT Syncordia Asia Pacific and VP Sales & Marketing, Telstra (USA).

Peter has led the transformation and growth of a number of companies operating across multiple geographies supporting both consumer and corporate, multi-national clients. He has been responsible for profit growth through new services and cost leadership programs, driving customer-centric operating cultures, development of future leaders, implementing growth strategies and, leading mergers and acquisition initiatives.

Peter has also served as a Director on the Board of various IT&T companies in Singapore, USA, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East and India.

Peter holds a Bachelor of Electrical engineering degree and a MBA. He was born in Athens, Greece, is an Australian national and is married with one daughter.

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Mr. Hakam Kanafani
Chief Business Development and Synergy Office
Oger Telecom


Hakam Kanafani is a University Trustee Scholar and holds Beta Gamma Sigma honors. He graduated from the University of Maryland, college Park with a B.A. and a B.Sc.. Kanafani holds an MBA with a 4.0 GPA and post graduate work in Economics. He continued his Executive Education Harvard Business School (financial Analysis and Valuation).

Mr. Kanafani is the Chief Business Development and Synergy Officer for Oger Telecom (over 45m million subscribers under management). He also represents Oger Telecom as a Member of the Board of Directors for South Africa’s GSM operator “Cell-C”, Turkey’s leading broadband provider “TT Net”, Innova Systems, ASSIST Inc. and ARGELA Solutions in Turkey and USA.

Upon graduation, Kanafani joined the Information Technology team in NASA, Goddard Space Flight, Maryland. He was then named as the COO for United Auto Technologies, Orange County, California. Kanafani then moved to the Middle East as the Business Development Director for Egypt’s oldest running private holding company “MM Sons Conglomerate” (established 1895). He spearheaded the conglomerate’s efforts to establish successful, rapidly growing ICT enterprises including Egypt’s first GSM distribution and sales network and Egypt’s first satellite Internet provider.

Kanafani was then recruited to become CEO of JAWWAL, Palestine’s first private cellular network. He was then promoted to the holding company level as PalTel Group’s COO and led the Group’s in strategy, acquisition and financial consolidation.

Mr. Kanafani is a founding member of the Dubai based Young Arab Leaders and heads the business development committee for the Cairo based Arab Business Forum for Information and Communication Technology. He is also a Young Global Leader, an organization within the World Economic Forum in Geneva, Switzerland. Kanafani wrote several papers and research material covering the fields of Information Technology Communications and International Management. He was featured in the Independent, Forbes magazine and other periodicals. During his college days, Kanafani was the President of the Organization of Arab Students and was on the Maryland Water-polo team. Kanafani is a fan of Ahly Football Club in Cairo and is married to Fatenn Mostafa. He is a proud dad of; Marwan, Ahmad and Jenine.

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Mr. Hesham Khalipha
A/Director of Marketing
Arabsat


Hesham Khalipha is the senior marketing manager of Arabsat. He has ten years of experience in satellite telecommunications in different technical, sales and marketing functions. Graduated from Applied Science university in Amman major in telecommunication. Started his Career with Arabsat as an operation engineer in 1999. Later on, he joined Arabsat sales department as regional manager for Arabsat Riyadh office. Building on his experience in the market, at present, he is leading Arabsat marketing team of product managers to design and implement diversified Arabsat marketing strategies.

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Mrs. Nayla Khawam
CEO
Jordan Telecom Group - Orange Jordan


Ms. Nayla Khawam is the Chief Executive Officer of Jordan Telecom Group. Before holding this position, she was the Territorial Director for Ile de France (Paris region) in charge of commercial and technical departments for Mass Market and Business Clients.

Before that, Ms. Khawam was Head of Customer Services for landline, mobile and Internet for the whole France Telecom Group in France. Earlier, Ms. Khawam was a member of the Executive Board in Orange France and Head of Customer Services for mobile phones. Previously, she was the Senior Vice President in charge of the resellers Distribution Network for the French territory at France Telecom and prior to that held the positions of the Human Resources Director for the Paris Region and Regional Director in the North of France.

Ms. Khawam also worked as a forecast manager in charge of building econometric models for the Telecom Industry, as a consultant in BIPE (Bureau d’Informations et de Prévisions Economiques) and as a product manager in the Peugeot marketing department.

She actively took part in negotiations which led to the signature of “the Contrat de Plan” with the French Government in 1994

Ms. Khawam holds a degree in statistics & Economics from ENSAE in Paris (National Institute of Statistics and Economic Administration), and in Mathematics from the Université de Paris VI.

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Mr. Mathias Liebe
Head of Product Marketing
Orga Systems GmbH


Mr. Mathias Liebe has been working in the IT and Telecommunications business for nine years. He holds a German University degree in European Marketing and a BA in International Business of the BCUC (Buckinghamshire University College), United Kingdom. Mr. Liebe joined ORGA Systems - an ISV for Convergent Real-time Billing Products - in the year 2000. He currently holds the position “Head of Product Marketing” of Orga Systems. Mathias has a strong background and experience in real-time charging and billing, mobile pre- and postpaid market offerings as well as marketing and customer loyalty solutions.

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Mr. STEVE McCAFFERY
Vice President and General Manager
EMEA Home Business Motorola Inc


Steve McCaffery is vice president and general manager for Motorola’s Home business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Steve is responsible for driving sales of Motorola’s solutions that accelerate the delivery of personal media experiences, including for the company’s video delivery solutions, digital entertainment devices and broadband networks.

Prior to joining Motorola in 2008, he spent five years building the commercial arm of a start up company in the Metro Ethernet space, called Native Networks, before eventually leading it through a lucrative trade sale with French equipment manufacturer, Alcatel.

Steve spent his last two years at Alcatel within the company’s wireline product group leading sales for the North Europe region. During this time, he oversaw the integration of Native Networks into Alcatel’s portfolio and additionally assisted in the integration program of the optical networks group following the merger of Alcatel and Lucent at the end of 2006.

Steve started his career with GEC/Marconi having graduated with a degree in electrical/electronic engineering.

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Mr. Yousef H Mugharbil
President of Rotana Digital Entertainment
ROTANA Media Group


Graduated in 1988 from the University of Denver in Colorado, USA majoring in Electrical Engineering. With over 20 years of international & regional experience starting in 1988 working for Fortune 500 companies which included StorageTek (USA), AT&T Bell Laboratories (USA), Lucent Technologies (USA, EMEA) and joining Etisalat-UAE for three and a half years upon leaving Lucent Technologies in November 2002; while for the past three years working with Rotana, the world’s largest Arabic media company in the capacity of President for Digital Media & New Entertainment.

Initially engaged in engineering designing high-speed Integrated Circuits (ICs) developing one of the world’s fastest data archival systems at StorageTek. Later joining AT&T Bell Laboratories as a Member of Technical Staff working on communication circuits in the Advanced Technology laboratory and later on, joining Lucent Technologies (due to company split) in the Global Commercial Markets and subsequently in the Optical Networking Group. Internationally, the work assignments included working in Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and the UAE engaging with key customers and global telecom operators. Departed from Lucent Technologies in November 2002, with the position of Director for Technical & Market Development responsible for the Optical Networking Group activities in the MEA region overseeing region strategy, market & business development and offer development, to take on an Executive position at Etisalat. At Etisalat engaged in leading the development and implementation of the corporation’s overall Corporate Strategy overseeing the Group’s domestic & international strategies reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer. In March 2006, accepted a leading Executive position with Rotana Entertainment Group to oversee the global convergence of Media & Telecom and assume the responsibility of transitioning the company into the digital world and setting the overall strategy for the group across the entire digital domain value channels including Digital Interactive TV, Online, Mobile and New Media. Currently holding the position of President of Rotana Digital Entertainment.

A seasoned senior leader with a proven track record of with long experience in working effectively in a multi-cultural environment, having had the experience to work and engage with clients in different regions including North America, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia.

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Mr. Emad Elmasry
Director, Corporate Strategy
Arabsat


Leading Arabsat Corporate Strategy function, building on 13 years experience in Strategic Planning, Strategic Investment, Performance management, Business Process Management, PMO, and extensive knowledge of the Satellite Telecom market in the Middle East & North Africa. Identifying and driving Arabsat expansion and growth opportunities along the fixed satellite services value chain focusing on developing and implementing new strategic and business development initiatives.

A Graduate of University of Jordan in 1994, and has a bachelor degree in Electrical & Telecom Engineering.

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Mr. Mohamed Elnawawy
Vice President for Corporate Strategy
Telecom Egypt


In May 2009 Mohamed was appointed as Vice President for Corporate Strategy (CSO) for TE. Before that and since November 2006 he held the position of VP, International, Wholesale and Regulatory Affairs. He joined the Telecom Egypt Group in November 2001 as the Chairman and Managing Director of TE Data, SAE which is the TE subsidiary responsible for the TE Group’s retail IP transit and managed data services.

Previously, in Jan 1992 Mohamed co-founded InTouch Communications Services, SAE a local ISP in Egypt where he resided as Chairman and Managing Director till April 2000. After that for 18 months, Mohamed consulted for the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority.

Mohamed holds a B.Sc. in Computer Science and a Master of Laws (LLM)

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Mr. Ahmed Ossama
Managing Director
TE Data


Ahmed Ossama was appointed Managing Director at TE Data in August 2008. Ahmed has been with the TE group since 2003 as TE Data’s Product Marketing and Government Affairs Director. Before that, Ahmed co-founded Site Information Consultancy, an Internet application development company in 1998 that was later on acquired by Pyramid Technology in 2000, where Ahmed worked as the ISP Operation Manager until 2003. Before that Ahmed joined InTouch Communications Services in 1996 as a Systems Engineer, where he participated in building the infrastructure of the first ISP in Egypt and later on became the Operations Manager. Before that, Ahmed worked in IBM Egypt as a software engineer. Ahmed holds a B.Sc. in Computer Science and a Minor in Electronics from the American University in Cairo.

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Mr. Mohammad Omran
Chairman
Etisalat


Mohammed Omran leads Etisalat, which is now one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world with a market value of approximately $25 billion.

Mr. Omran has worked for Etisalat over three decades and served in many different positions until he became the Chairman of Etisalat in 2005. From his current position he has overseen many of the company’s major achievements and today is considered one of the key decision makers in the telecommunications sector in the region. In 2010, Arabian Business named Omran in its Power 100 list of the ‘Most Influential Arabs in the Arab World’ and he is the only representative from the regional telecom sector to maintain their presence in the list in 2010.

Omran joined Etisalat in 1977, one year after of its inception. In 1982 he was promoted to Area Manager in Ras Al Khaimah, and then appointed as Deputy General Manager of Etisalat in 1984. He held several managerial positions after this until he became the CEO of Etisalat in 2004.

Under Omran’s leadership Etisalat has accomplished a great deal in terms of financial and operational issues, in addition to its international expansion. Revenues increased at a compound annual growth rate of 24% between 2005 and 2009 to reach AED 30.8 billion. Net profits increased by 20% in the same period. And the total profit distributed by Etisalat in the last five years is equal to the total amount of profit distributed during the previous 24 years. The amount of bonus shares the company distributed in the last five years is also approximately the same amount of bonus shares it has distributed since its inception.

Omran led Etisalat into new markets through a set of expansions and global investments in Asia and Africa. Because of this, Etisalat is now rated among the list of largest international telecommunication operators. Many of Etisalat’s international expansions became models for hard work and success - most notably the Saudi and Egyptian markets.

Through Omran’s strategy which is based on deploying international best practise, thorough market analysis and selecting opportunities based on stringent criteria, the number of Etisalat’s customers increased from only 4 million in 2004 to 107 million customers in first Quarter 2010 across 18 markets in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. This means that the number has increased 2,500% in about five years, an unprecedented achievement on the international level. Etisalat operations now cover 2 billion people compared to only 5 million in 2004.

Etisalat has also received the Best Operator in the Middle East Award five times in the past three years, and the Best International Operator Award globally in 2008.

Omran is one of the most important personalities in the telecommunication sector across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. He has received numerous personal recognitions including national, regional and international awards.

Since 2007, Omran became the Chairman of Thuraya, the UAE-based satellite mobile telephone operator which covers two thirds of the world.

Mr. Omran received an Engineering Degree in Electronics and Communications from Cairo University, Egypt, in June 1977.

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Mr. Hans Ovesen
Vice President, Industry Relations and Marketing
Ericsson AB, Sweden


Hans Ovesen is Vice President Industry Relations and Marketing, responsible for Ericsson´s work in different Industry Groups and Organizations.

Hans has been with Ericsson since 1990 working in many of the different Product Areas as well as a in large part of the Ericsson global market and has held a range of Managerial positions. Lately he has been responsible for Markets in Middle East and Northern Africa. After spending almost 10 years abroad he returned to Sweden and joined the group responsible for Product and Portfolio Management in Business Unit Networks.

Before Ericsson, Hans was in the Test and Measurement industry working with a number of the Swedish Telecoms Companies and other industries in R&D testing as well as Production testing.

Hans was a Naval officer in the Swedish Navy where he received his Telecommunications training and has also acquired an Executive MBA from the Stockholm School of Economics.

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Mr. Qusai Qaryouti
Business Development Manager
ESKADENIA Software


Mr Qaryouti has an extensive experience in the Telecommunications and Information Technology fields.

The past eight years have been invested in technical, sales and business development positions at ESKADENIA Software, with special focus on the area of telecommunications.

Work responsibilities at ESKADENIA started with Software Development and matured into Marketing, Sales and Business Development strategic responsibilities.

Mr Qaryouti has spoken at a number of telecom events in the Gulf and North Africa.

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Mr. Santino Saguto
Managing Director
Value Partners Dubai


Santino joined Value Partners in July 2004 as Partner and responsible for the company’s operations across Italy, Greece and the Middle East and Africa region. In April 2008, Santino was handed the responsibility of setting up and running the operations of the Dubai office which opened in mid 2008. His experience in international management consulting services with leading telecommunications and media companies has been instrumental to Value Partners in establishing its presence in the region.

Prior to joining Value Partners, Santino was the Vice President of the Communications and High tech Global Industry Group at A.T. Kearney in Milan and prior to that he was Senior Principal at Booz Allen & Hamilton. He has also worked for several international organizations including Telecom Italia Group (Italtel), Eli Lilly, Procter & Gamble, Harvard Smithsonian Institute and has started his own consulting company. In addition, Santino has specialized industry experience across areas such as fixed and mobile telecom, media, technology, regulatory issues and sports. His recent work has been focused on digital convergence and the development of new technology platforms, including IPTV, 3G, online, DVB-H. Some other areas in which he has gained extensive knowledge include organization restructuring; strategic business transformation, marketing and new services; regulatory issues and alliance development. His extensive international experience results from having worked in more than 30 countries across Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa.

Santino holds an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management and a degree in Electronic Engineering from University of Palermo. He is married with a daughter.

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Mr. Alex Shalaby
Chairman
Mobinil


On September 1, 2008 Alex Shalaby was appointed Chairman of the Egyptian Company for Mobile Services (Mobinil) by Board consensus; prior to that he was its President and CEO since 2005. This step came because of Shalaby’s remarkable achievements at Mobinil over the preceding three years where the company witnessed continued market share leadership, tripled its subscriber base from six to 19 million, doubled the revenues, and increased net profits by 30%.

Shalaby came to Mobinil from Washington, DC where he was AT&T Director for Public Affairs, serving as the company’s link to lawmakers on Capitol Hill and lobbying the executive branch of the U.S. government. He helped in achieving more liberalization of the telecoms sector internationally for the emerging nations of the Middle East, Africa, and Eastern Europe through the relevant bi-lateral and multi-lateral agencies. During these years, he served on the boards of the American Chamber of Commerce becoming its president during the period (1991 – 1992), the Bi-national Fulbright Commission, and Seeds of Peace; he currently chairs the board of Injaz & SIFE in Egypt. Between 1993 and 1995, Shalaby became Regional Director for International Public Affairs for AT&T, based in Cairo, Egypt, where he was the principal interface with key agencies within the governments in the region on matters impacting AT&T’s operations.

In 1966 Shalaby graduated with a Bachelors of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Alexandria and earned a Masters of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from San Jose State University in California.

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Mr. Jawad Shaikh
Vice President & Head of Middle East Region
Capgemini Consulting

Jawad Shaikh is a Vice President and the Managing Director of Capgemini Consulting in Middle East.
With more than 15 years’ experience at Capgemini, Jawad has played a key role in developing and managing important client relationships within the telco, media and entertainment (TME) sector, with a particular focus on mobile telephony.

Since joining Capgemini in 1994, Jawad’s career has focused on high-growth and emerging markets. Most recently, he has been advising CEOs and Chairmen of large mobile operators on strategic topics such as corporate strategy and vision, growth options in a converging marketplace, how to launch fixed line operations, mobile data services, and outsourcing of IT and networks functions. In previous roles, he headed up the global research lab for Capgemini’s TME practice, and has directed many client projects, for example to evaluate telco web-based services, improve customer retention and drive operational efficiency improvements throughout our client’s operations.

Jawad holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters degree in Engineering Management and Manufacturing from Cornell University (New York).

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Mr. Hosam Sokkari
Head of Audience
Yahoo! Middle East


Hosam El Sokkari is Head of Audience in Yahoo! Middle East. He is responsible for Yahoo! audience and content strategies in the region.

Till early 2010 he was head of BBC Arabic. In 2004 he became the first Arab to head the service since its launch in 1938 and led the operation for the launch of BBC Arabic TV, an integral part of a unique multimedia offer to the Arab world.

He has most recently been working on a special project for the BBC to create an offer that integrates TV with social media networks. The success of 710 Greenwich has paved the way for a new genre of programming with its innovative approach. He launched BBCArabic.com as the first non English website for the BBC and introduced interactive programmes to the region.

Before joining the BBC, Hosam worked as a reporter, columnist as well as science and technology editor for a number of pan-Arab publications. He introduced internet journalism to the Arab world print media with his writings in different publications, while his popular BBC programme, The Electronic Café Tales, brought information technology and the worldwide web issues to the fore of the Arab public discourse. He presented BBC Arabic news and current affairs programmes and interviewed major international figures.
Hosam was educated in Cairo, Berlin and London. He has an MSc from the London School of Economics in Analysis, Design and Management of Information Systems.

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Mr. Jihad Srage
Vice President
Business Development – Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia


Jihad (Jay) Srage serves as the vice president of business development for Qualcomm’s Middle East operations. In this role, he leads Qualcomm’s business operations in the region and manages the Company’s strategic relationships with regional customers, including network operators, infrastructure equipment providers, mobile handset vendors and value-added service developers.

Prior to joining Qualcomm in 2008, Mr. Srage spent more than 10 years at Texas Instruments (TI), most recently overseeing marketing operations for TI’s wireless terminals business unit. Mr. Srage also co-managed TI Ventures, the company’s venture finance fund, where he directed TI’s investments in start-up companies focused on the wireless and telecommunications industries. In previous roles, he was involved in marketing and business development for TI’s digital audio business unit.

Mr. Srage earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago, a Master of Science in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, and a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from the American University of Beirut.

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Mr. Osman Sultan
CEO
DU


Osman Sultan, the CEO of Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company, du, has a wealth of experience having worked in telecommunications and information technology in several countries in Europe, North America and the Middle East.

The holder of a Degree in Engineering, Mr. Sultan was the Chairman of the Arab Working Group for the Private Sector in the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) from 2003 to 2005. He began his professional career with the France Telecom Group in 1983, going on to receive the award for The Best Web Site-Legal Product from the American Information Association in 1996. He later received the Man of the Year award (1996) from the Professional Electronic Information Services Community in France. Mr. Sultan comes to du having completed an eight year stint at the helm of the Egyptian Company for Mobile Services (MobiNil), a company he helped set up in 1998 to operate a GSM licence in Egypt. In 2008 he received a prestigious award from MENA Crysta as a Media Man of the year for his wealthy contribution to the world of media and content..

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Mr. Alper Turken
Director of Sales, Middle East & Turkey
Motorola Home


Alper Turken is director of sales for Motorola’s home business in Turkey and the Middle East and is responsible for driving sales of Motorola’s solutions that accelerate the delivery of personal media experiences, including for the company’s video delivery solutions, digital entertainment devices and broadband networks.

Alper joined Motorola in 2000 and has held a variety of sales and business development roles within the organization’s networks and home businesses. He has a PhD in philosophy from Bosphorus University and BS in Electrical & Electronics Engineering.

Alper is a member of ABFT (American Business Forum, Turkey) and participates in a number of work group activities which provide consultation to the Turkish Government regarding telecoms strategies.

Alper’s interests include philosophy, psychology, politics, travelling and football.

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Mrs. Wassila Zitoune
VP Orange Jordan
Fixed and internet Business Unit


Mrs. Wassila Zitoune is the Vice President Orange Internet and Fixed. She has held this position since July 2007. She was formally responsible for Marketing Strategic Segmentation in 1993, then as Senior Product Leader in GSM and Paging activities from 1995 to 1998, then as a Sales Director in Paris. She was appointed in 2001 as the francetelecom.com channel director until 2004 before implementing and leading the Commercial Processes activities in France for all distribution channels from 2004 to 2006. She joined AMEA early 2006 as Executive Project Manager for International Business Development.
Mrs. Wassila Zitoune is a Civil Engineer and holds an MBA in Marketing from HEC Business School - France.

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