Speakers

His responsibilities included sustainably utilizing the country’s petroleum, minerals, electricity, and water resources for its socio-economic development. Earlier, His Excellency served as Minister of Energy, where he led the UAE’s efforts to enhance its energy security. In addition to his ministerial responsibilities, His Excellency Al Mazrouei is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Etihad Water and Electricity and Emirates General Petroleum Corporation. Moreover, he is Vice-Chairman of the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, Nawah Energy Company, and Barakah One Company. He is also member of the Board of Directors and of the Executive Committee of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and member of the Board of Directors of Mubadala Investment Company and Dolphin Energy. His Excellency Al Mazrouei holds a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Tulsa in the US.

that provides a roadmap for the transition to a clean energy and climate resilient pathway. As the CEO of ALTÉRRA, a new catalytic climate fund launched to mobilize investment at scale to finance the new climate economy, Mr. Al Suwaidi is responsible for leading the effort to mobilize US $250 billion globally by 2030 towards climate positive solutions at scale. ALTÉRRA is the world’s largest private investment vehicle for climate change action, currently managing a US $30 billion commitment, with focus on transforming emerging markets and developing economies.
As DGSR of COP28, Mr. Al Suwaidi is responsible for championing implementation of the COP28’s Presidency Action plan to deliver long-lasting transformational impact to advance key initiatives well beyond COP28 and help keep the goal of keeping global average temperature rise to 1.5°C within reach.
Prior to ALTÉRRA and COP28, Mr. Al Suwaidi held leading roles as UAE Ambassador to Spain, Andorra, and Vatican City; UAE Consul General in New York; and as the UAE’s Lead Negotiator on Climate Change, Energy and Sustainability in multilateral negotiations processes that led to the adoption of the Paris Agreement and of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in 2015.
Mr. Al Suwaidi earned a Master of Science in Geosciences from Simon Fraser University in Canada and a Bachelor of Science in Earth Science from Brunel University in the United Kingdom. Additionally, he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic by the Government of Spain for extraordinary services as Ambassador in the promotion of international relations.

Munther made significant steps towards strengthening and developing cooperation avenues with other leading entities in the government and the private sector. Before joining the Municipality, Munther took senior management positions at Etisalat, Emirates Post and in the Office of the Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah. His areas of responsibility in those positions included customer service, logistic operations and corporate communications respectively. Munther is a graduate from the College of Literature, and believes in the principles of teamwork, creativity and continuous improvement

the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it, in September 2021. She is the second woman to lead the organization in its 75-year history and its first president from West Asia. Her Excellency Razan Al Mubarak serves as UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for the leadership team of COP28 Presidency, which will take place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from November 30 to December 12, 2023. Her diverse experience leading the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, the largest environmental regulatory agency in the Middle East, the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, an international philanthropic organization supporting species conservation projects worldwide, and Emirates Nature – WWF, an Emirates-based NGO focused on citizen engagement, earned her recognition as one of the top 100 Young Global Leaders by the World Economic Forum in 2018.

HE Eng Al Olama’s extensive experience, especially in the oil and gas and energy industry, includes strategical planning, engineering, project management, performance management, investment, and operations. HE Eng Al Olama received his bachelor’s and MSc degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado in Denver, USA.

With a career spanning over 20 years in the energy and petrochemical industries, Yousif Al Ali is also a the Chairman of Naqaa Desalination Plant. He has extensive and distinguished practical experience in the areas of investment, engineering, planning, and strategic project management. Prior to joining EtihadWE, Yousif Al Ali took up leadership positions across several entities in the energy sector, including as the Assistant Undersecretary for Electricity, Water & Future Energy Affairs at the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure and as the Executive Director of Masdar Clean Energy Unit, where he led several departments including investment, asset management and operations for local and global large-scale renewable energy projects. Yousif Al Ali holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from IE Business School in Madrid, a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from UAE University, in addition to being a Certified Professional in Project Management.

With over 25 years of experience from field sales, to sales management, to product marketing, Mr. Massaad has highly developed business leadership skills in national and international markets. Mr. Abdallah Massaad’s tenure with RAK Ceramics began in 2004, when he was invited as a Marketing Consultant to assist the CEO office, and upgrade the branding and positioning of the company in preparation for future sales and marketing challenges arising from ambitious expansion plans. Mr. Massaad formally joined RAK Ceramics in 2006 as Deputy CEO, responsible for operations management, strategy development, implementation and RAK Ceramics’ global interests. He supported the Chairman and CEO with strategic planning and expansion initiatives enabling the company to reach the milestone of 1 billion square meters of global sales since it began. He was also responsible for implementing corporate governance regulations and overseeing the strategic refocusing of the business portfolio. Mr. Massaad has led RAK Ceramics PJSC as Group Chief Executive Officer since June 2012.

With over 25 years of hands-on experience in the energy sector, Eng. Abdulla is a seasoned professional. His expertise spans power and water generation, transmission and distribution businesses, and he has successfully led diverse areas including maintenance, operation, control, project management, engineering, technical, and asset management. He also led strategy, planning, and performance management and managed special projects such as smart grid, energy storage, and energy efficiency. Prior to joining Etihad, he held leadership positions in various governments, semi-governments, and the private energy sector. Eng. Abdulla’s academic and professional qualifications are a reflection of his commitment to continuous learning and professional development. He holds a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. He is also a Certified Professional in Project Management and a Charter Engineer in the UK Institution of Engineering and Technology.

He has been with GCCIA for 16 years since he initially joined in 2007 as director of operations & maintenance. He has over 30 years of experience in power systems, electric grids and infrastructure operation and planning, including previously working as CEO of Sintegro International, an infrastructure and facilities management development company for large scale real estate developments, and earlier as Manager of System Operations in the Ministry of Electricity & Water Bahrain. Ahmed holds M.Sc. in Electrical Power Engineering from the University of Strathclyde in Scotland, B.Sc. in Electrical Power Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin – USA, and MBA from DePaul University USA. He is Steering Board Member and former President of Very Large Grid Operators Organization (GO15), Board Member of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) USA, Board member and Technical Committee Chairman of GCC Cigre, Board Member of the Association of Power Exchanges (APEx), Board Member of InfraCorp Co. Bahrain, and former Board Member of the GCC Electrical Testing Lab company, In 2017, Ahmed was voted amongst the Top 15 most influential people in the GCC utilities industry.

where he supported governments, oil & gas majors and leading utilities in the fields of strategy, operations improvement and energy efficiency. Prior to joining Ras Al Khaimah Municipality, Andrea Di Gregorio supported the activation of the Dubai Demand Side Management strategy as a PMO Director at the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, UAE, and as a Director of Strategy and Continuous Improvement at TAQATI, UAE. Previously, he worked as a strategy consultant at Booz & Company and Oliver Wyman, and as a Business Unit Director at Bertelsmann. He holds an MSc. summa cum laude in Mechanical Engineering from Politecnico di Milano and an MBA from SDA Bocconi, Milan.

She also played a crucial role in implementing Holcim’s Alternative Fuel concept as Deputy to the Corporate Head of the alternative fuels division. In 2008, Anne founded her own company, Cementis, to contribute the cement industry to be more sustainable. Her expertise has been recognized internationally, and she frequently contributes as an expert in various capacities. Anne was the cement lead during COP29 presidency and now still serves as the cement expert at MOIAT as well as in the “Cement and Concrete Breakthrough Initiative”. Anne now also took as part time the position of Executive Director of the newly created Center for Worldwide sustainable Construction at EPFL University (Switzerland)

Her work spans first and last mile connectivity, micromobility, walkability, decarbonization, and the electrification of buses. She also has publications in leading academic journals and presentations at high-profile conferences. Her research focuses on the deployment of sustainable, technology-driven transport solutions such as electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, and drones. She also has strong interests in logistics, urban mobility, sustainability, supply chain management, and the application of blockchain in these fields.

and more than 30 local jurisdictions develop energy and / or climate action plans. For 6 years Ben acted as Arup’s partnership director for the firm’s partnership with C40 Cities, which included overseeing energy technical assistance for six cities – from Vancouver to Athens. Ben has also led work for several other city networks including the City Resilience Network, WWF, CDP and UNISDR.

He transitioned to CEO positions for thyssenkrupp AG and thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions in Türkiye, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific region from 2013, driving sustainable growth across diverse markets. Since 2020, Dr. Nazikkol is CEO of thyssenkrupp’s Regional Platform Asia, Pacific & Africa. In addition to his regional role, Dr. Nazikkol was appointed Chief Transformation Officer in August 2023, overseeing thyssenkrupp’s global performance program “APEX”. In October 2023, he became Member of the Board (Chief Strategy Officer) of thyssenkrupp’s Decarbon Technologies segment. Dr. Nazikkol’s academic background includes a Diploma and PhD in Chemistry from the University of Münster in Germany, complemented by an Executive Master in Business Administration from Hogeschool Zeeland in the Netherlands.

He has extensive board level experience from 10 years in Deutsche Bank (among others, youngest board member in Deutsche Bank Italy Group) and several leading renewable energy organisations and associations via pro bono work as well as different startup companies. By building the international shareholder and partner network of Dii (Desertec Industrial Initiative), he was at the forefront of the renewable energy revolution in North Africa and the Middle East. A keen entrepreneur and investor in emerging markets with recognitions such as “Solar Pioneer 2015” for the Middle East, he is lecturing at several universities including St. Gallen and is a regular speaker at international conferences. He holds an MBA (Dipl. Kaufmann) from University of Passau, and speaks German, English, Italian, French and Russian. His experience ranges from M&A transactions, asset management, developing utility scale renewable energy projects (including mid-market with private PPAs), pay-as-you-go solar to energy efficiency, including ESCO projects and new business models. Some of the projects and companies were executed in challenging settings or countries. He has led sizable organizations both in startup environments and blue-chip companies and has raised funds from angel investments to USD 100m+ projects with institutional investors. “I am glad to be able to work in renewable energy which is also my passion – we can genuinely make an impact with many different things and help people, to make our planet a better place. Having new challenges every day is fantastic and many more mountains to be climbed!” Executive management and boards of a variety of companies in emission-free technologies, as well as investment funds, seek his advice.

Dure is also as a Strategic Business Management expert has 20 years of experience spanning major multinational corporations, media, government organizations, non-profits, and associations.

She is now focused on studying and enabling the feasibility of establishing an emission trading system in the Emirate as well as on understanding and strengthening the environmental innovation and investment ecosystem to accelerate economic diversification towards non-oil, low-carbon sectors. She has over 20 years of experience in public policy, corporate sustainability, and sustainable development. She has worked for businesses, governments and multilateral organizations in Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. She holds an MSc in Business Administration and Economics from the Universidad de Alicante, Spain, and an MPhil in Development Studies from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) at the University of Sussex, UK, where she was a Chevening Scholar.

Mr. Al Rashid has been frequent speaker and active participant at various local and international energy related events. He has published numerous articles on energy management and sustainability topics. He currently holds a position of Senior DSM Director in Dubai Supreme Council of Energy looking after the whole energy demand management spectrum of emirate of Dubai. He has contributed to the success of DSM programs, DSM strategy activation, energy consumption reduction and energy efficiency policy structure in Dubai. He is also a chairman of a newly launched platform Advancing Net Zero Volunteering Team with the objective of accelerating decarbonization of cities in the UAE. Served previously in oil and gas industry for 16 years as project division manager/Project Executive, handled mega feed and EPC projects and worked as general manager in glass manufacturing firm for 3 years.

infrastructure, healthcare and technology. Prior to joining Siemens, he worked at AT&T and IMS Consulting Group. As a management consultant, he advised companies such as GSK, Pfizer, Abbott, Johnson & Johnson and Bayer on digital transformation, organizational structures, go-to-market strategies and due diligence. He held multiple positions of increasing responsibility at Siemens in Turkey – a company with over 4,500 employees involved in manufacturing, R&D and sales. In his role in strategy and government affairs, Ozdemir was involved in major projects in healthcare, high-speed rail, energy, and infrastructure valued at over €1 billion. Prior to his nomination as the CEO of Siemens in Qatar, he was the vice president and head of sales of Siemens in Turkey, with direct responsibility of over €300 million in annual revenue. As a business executive, Ozdemir is an advocate of implementing technologies in infrastructure and industries that transform our lives and protect our planet. These days his focus is on melding technologies – such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, additive manufacturing, 5G and the future of automation – into a cohesive bundle that will create immense value for Siemens’ customers. Born in Munich, Ozdemir earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from at Boğaziçi University in Turkey, and a bachelor’s degree and Master of Business Administration from the University of West Georgia in the U.S.

desalination, water-energy-food nexus, climate change, and environment. Prior to joining RCREEE, Dr. El Kharraz has been senior consultant for several prestigious institutions and programs, and he held the position of Director of Research at the Middle East Desalination Research Center in Oman (2015-2020). He served as a senior expert, advisor, and evaluator for several international institutions (e.g., European Commission, UN-ESCWA, PRIMA Foundation, EU-GCC Clean Energy Technology Network,” , etc.) and he is member of board of the European Desalination Society, AgreeMed and WEFE4Med Nexus projects. He is also member of the International Desalination Association, the Mediterranean Water Institute, Oman Energy Majlis, and Oman Water Society. Dr. El Kharraz sustainability career officially started in 1998 as a researcher at the Global Change Unit -University of Valencia and projects manager later at the Euro-Mediterranean Water Information System, France (2004-2015). Through his journey, he coordinated, prepared, and contributed to an important portfolio of international programs/projects of millions of euros such as FP5-FP7, H2020, ENPI CBC Med, INCO MED, INCO NGOs, SMAP, LIFE, PRIMA. He carried out projects for national and international donors such as GIZ, SIDA, IsDB, TRC/Oman and USAID apart from private sector companies. He chaired and contributed to the development of an important number of scientific papers, policy briefs, policies, training & mentorship activities, lectures, awards ceremonies, and events (e.g., World Economic Forum, World Water Forum, World Science Forum, World Urban Forum, Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, MENA Europe Future Energy Dialogue, World Hydrogen Summit, Planetary Security Initiative, Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue Conference, International Higher Education Conference, COP26, COP27, etc.) in more than 60 countries. Dr. El Kharraz is a national of Morocco and France, and a graduate of the University of Abdelmalek Essaadi. Dr. El Kharraz obtained his MSc and PhD degrees in Physics from the Department of Earth Physics and Thermodynamics, University of Valencia, Spain, and a diploma in enterprises management and strategies from SKEMA Business School, France. He is a fluent French, Arabic, Spanish and English speaker.

he advocates for building them in areas looking for expansion and growth. His mission is to accelerate the transition to a cleaner and greener mobility system, generate employment opportunities and deliver direct and indirect economic benefits for local communities as well as the global market – enabling a future of global energy independence.

to Regional Commercial Director managing the transformation of EDF to face the opening of the French electricity market to competition. He joined EDF International Division in 2017, as Vice President for Southern and Eastern Africa, based in Johannesburg, in charge of the development of the Group in the region. During this period, he has been developing projects, especially in Hydropower and Energy Efficiency to support the energy crisis and the energy transition from coal to clean energy. In September 2022, he has been appointed as Managing Director and CEO, EDF Middle East, based in Abu Dhabi. Present in the UAE, KSA, Qatar, Bahrein, Oman and Lebanon with 650 employees locally implemented, EDF bring its well-recognized expertise to the Middle East region who has started its energy transition. Through a range of diverse solutions involving energy efficiency programs and the use of hydroelectric, wind, solar, biomass, thermal with carbon capture and nuclear power, EDF Group favors the most appropriate and low-carbon solutions answering the regional energy transition expectations.

Previous responsibilities included the management of projects in carbon dioxide capture and CCS integrated systems, consultancy, chemical engineering, and process design. Prior to joining the Institute, Prof. Abu Zahra worked as a professor and CO2 capture research leader at Masdar Institute and Khalifa University (2011-2022). He worked at the International Energy Agency Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme (IEAGHG) as a project manager for the carbon capture and integrated energy systems team.

and providing technical consultancy in Quality Assurance / Quality Control management. Skilled in biomedical signal processing, device development, and cross-disciplinary research.

In his previous role as Global Product Manager for Energy Efficiency Analytics, Ralf was leading the way for a SaaS product to derive energy and process efficiency measures from big data and AI analysis of energy consumption and process data in industrial and infrastructure processes. He holds a Dr.-Ing in Thermoacoustic and Dipl.-Ing in Aerospace, Aeronautical and Aeronautical Engineering with majors in Fluid Dynamics and Thermodynamics

Environment and Renewable Energy) Pioneer, recognized as a young leader working on the global transition to net zero.

The Myth of the Oil Crisis, and Capturing Carbon, and editor of Low Carbon Energy in the Middle East and North Africa. He is the columnist on energy and environmental issues at The National newspaper (UAE), and comments widely on energy issues in the media, including Foreign Policy, the Financial Times, The Atlantic, CNN, CNBC, BBC, Bloomberg, Sky News and others. He holds a first-class degree in Geology from the University of Cambridge, and speaks five languages including Arabic.

In her previous role as Senior Advisor at a government development agency, Roisin was instrumental in managing diverse portfolios and establishing long-term, sustainable business relationships, notably in the clean technology and sustainability sectors. Her work involved identifying strategic partners and successfully aligning companies with reputable local entities, contributing significantly to their export sales achievements. As a leader in the clean energy sector, Roisin focuses on driving the CEBC’s mission to support the clean energy transition and position the CEBC as the primary platform for clean energy dialogue, collaboration, and innovation in the MENA region. Roisin facilitates important partnerships and leads initiatives that aim to improve the resilience and sustainability of the energy sector. Her commitment to promoting sustainable development and her skill in engaging diverse stakeholders are key to advancing the region’s move towards a cleaner energy future.

His strategic approach to exploration in the UAE and East Africa has been vital in RAK Gas’s growth. Known for his hands-on leadership and positive outlook, Thibaut’s work ethic is evident in his approach to coaching and project management, ensuring that exploration activities meet the company’s strategic goals. Holding a Master’s in Geosciences from Henri Poincaré University and an engineering degree from UPMC, Paris, Thibaut’s educational background and multilingual fluency in French, English, and Spanish underscore his role as an expert in a dynamic, global industry.

he worked with the monitoring experts on development and deployment in operational condition of remote monitoring and remote diagnosis to the equipment of power generation (e.g. generators, transformers, thermodynamical and hydraulic performance, ancillary services, penstocks, and gates). Between 2019 to 2023, he was also in charge of the business development of EDF’s engineering services for international clients. He is currently in charge the Hydropower business development in Middle East at EDF International, based in UAE, and is working on several Pumped Hydro Storage projects in this region.