Ms. Hamda Khalil

Acting Director, Credit & Underwritings Department, Dubai SME

Ms. Hamda has over 10 years of experience in Finance and banking having worked in FAB bank within)different departments of Retail, Global Market Operations and Trade. She currently holds a position of Director in the Credit & Underwriting department at The Fund, which is the investment arm of Dubai SME.

Ms. Hamda Khalil -

Acting Director, Credit & Underwritings Department, Dubai SME

Mr. Essam Disi

Manager, Dubai SME

Mr. Essam Disi is Director of Strategy and Policy at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment for Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Dubai SME) - a government agency under the Department of Economic Development (DED), Government of Dubai. He is tasked with the development of Entrepreneurship and Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Dubai. Essam's main roles and responsibilities are to formulate long-term plans, strategies and policy support framework for SME development, in addition to executing strategic initiatives to support the SME sector and the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Dubai.

Mr. Essam Disi -

Manager, Dubai SME

Mr. Saeed Alnofeli

Director, in5 Innovation Centers

Mr. Saeed Alnofeli is the Director of in5 who joined the business incubator with a mandate to drive innovation across Dubai’s entrepreneurial ecosystem in 2020. He is responsible for supporting startups and members of the enabling platform by turning early-stage startups into commercially viable ventures. With 15 years of commercial, telecommunications, technology and command and control systems experience, Saeed’s unique skillset has enabled local firms to take their idea from concept to prototype to market.

Mr. Saeed Alnofeli -

Director, in5 Innovation Centers

Mr. Ghanim Al Falasi

VP, Corporate Services, Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority

Mr. Ghanim Al Falasi is the Senior Vice-President of People Happiness and Innovation at Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority (DSOA). Ghanim brings with him extensive knowledge and know-how in the ICT sector through his previous role as Vice-President of the ICT Unit at Dubai Airports, where he provided executive, technological and enterprise administrative leadership. Al Falasi is mandated to develop and drive strategic plans for People Happiness as well as innovation across the organization.

Mr. Ghanim Al Falasi -

VP, Corporate Services, Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority

Mr. Ayman AlAwadhi

Co-Founder & Group Managing Director, The Corporate Group

Mr. Ayman Al Awadhi's work experience includes having worked in the Government Resource Planning project (currently known as Smart Dubai) for Oracle implementation across local government departments of Dubai Government (2002-2006). He was also Co-Founder and COO of Zeroday IT Solution, an information and cyber security consulting company based in Dubai (since 2007). He also was a part of the Corporate Business Services, a corporate service provider company specialized in company formation solutions and business consultancy based in Dubai (since 2007).

Mr. Ayman AlAwadhi -

Co-Founder & Group Managing Director, The Corporate Group

Dr. Assaad Farah

Dean, School of Business Administration, AUD

Dr. Assaad Farah holds a PhD in Management from the University of Bath in the United Kingdom. In addition to his academic responsibilities, Dr. Farah is an executive educator and consultant mainly for the UAE public sector. Prior to that, he worked in the aeronautical and mobile industry in Canada. His research focus revolves around knowledge management, strategic human resource management and artificial intelligence.

Dr. Assaad Farah -

Dean, School of Business Administration, AUD

Dr. Georges Kachaamy

Director, Center for Research, Innovation & Design, Associate Professor of Architecture

Dr. Georges Kachaamy has served as the chairperson of the Department of Architecture under which the program has received the NAAB Accreditation. He has offered creative support as an advisory member to AEIC for evaluating student pitches.

Dr. Georges Kachaamy -

Director, Center for Research, Innovation & Design, Associate Professor of Architecture

Mr. Paul Epping

Co-founder & Chairman, XponentialEQ

Mr. Paul Epping has a background as clinician,  in psychology, philosophy and information technology and over 30 years of innovation experience in areas such as healthcare, education and technology. Paul commands international expertise in development, implementation and management of innovative information technologies and exponential transformation.  He held the position of CIO of several hospitals, in the Netherlands. He was the global keynote speaker about the impact of exponential technologies on industries, governments and societies.

Mr. Paul Epping -

Co-founder & Chairman, XponentialEQ