MENTORS
Mr. Ayman AlAwadhi
Co-Founder and Group Managing Director, The Corporate Group
Mr. 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 Al Awadhi
Co-Founder & Group Managing Director, The Corporate Group
Mr. Hassan Khayal
Senior Consultant, Mazars’ Consulting
Mr. Khayal’s experience spans both the public and private sector across the GCC. The public sector experience includes both federal and local government projects. During his work, Hassan has had exposure and experience in the Government Services, Financial Services, Free Zones, Security, Oil and Gas, Nuclear Energy, Space, Education, Construction, Food and Beverages, Hospitality and Retail sectors. Prior to joining Mazars, Hassan worked in Protiviti, where his duties included independently establishing internal audit functions for the clients, conducting risk assessments, internal audit assignments, corporate governance reviews, business process reengineering projects, and strategy formulation projects.
Mr. Hassan Khayal
Senior Consultant, Mazars' Consulting
Dr. Ruchi
Dana
Founder, Dana Group
Dr. Ruchi Dana is a qualified medical practitioner, who has transitioned successfully into a seasoned entrepreneur and Business Leader. Ruchi did her MD from AMU and her full-time MBA from Stanford University. Ruchi has been recognized by Forbes Middle East as the “Next Generation Business Leader, Arab World” for 3 consecutive years 2017, 2018, and 2019. Recently, Dr. Ruchi was featured on the Forbes ME Top Power Businesswomen 2020. Dr. Ruchi is actively involved in strategic planning for Dana Group and manages the family office investments.
Dr. Ruchi Dana
Founder, Dana Group
Mr. Kamal Dimachkie
Co-founding Partner &
COO – Toughlove Advisors
Mr. Kamal is a versatile leader and a polyvalent talent. He is the current COO and co-founding partner of TOUGHLOVE Advisors, an advisory firm focusing primarily on supporting SMEs and FOBs. He is also the former COO of Publicis Communications and Executive Regional Managing Director for Leo Burnett UAE, Kuwait, and the Lower Gulf. Mr. Kamal has 40+ years of leadership, communication, advertising, and Marcoms industry experience.
Mr. Kamal Dimachkie
Co-founding Partner &
COO – Toughlove Advisors
Ms. Mihaela Nina
Partner at Augmentation X, Founder of Concerto TIC, & Host of the Impact Talks
Ms. Mihaela is a Partner at Augmentation X, a business innovation studio, that creates novel digital products to support organizations’ transformation. She has been dedicated to building growth strategies across a wide spectrum of organizations. Ms. Mihaela is also the host of The Impact Talk and engages in public speaking, moderating panel discussions, and was a part of the informal GCC Impact Group led by Expo Live in Expo 2020.
Ms. Mihaela Nina
Partner at Augmentation X, Founder of Concerto TIC, & Host of the Impact Talks
Mr. Seif El Hakim
Vice President, Riversong EMEA; Co-founder, 10xVibes Holiday Homes and Global CEO for Momentum Group; Founder of Seif El Hakim Co.
Mr. Seif is a global authority on business, entrepreneurship, leadership, and marketing. A corporate executive turned entrepreneur who crafts businesses and leaders, he is also a highly sought-after strategic advisor for leaders and companies across the globe. He has been awarded internationally as a top marketing executive, business strategist, and entrepreneur. Mr. Seif is an inspirational speaker, and guest writer for several businesses.
Mr. Seif El Hakim
Vice President, Riversong EMEA; Co-founder, 10xVibes Holiday Homes and Global CEO for Momentum Group; Founder of Seif El Hakim Co.
Dr. Tirupathi Parthasarathy Anand (TP)
Chief Strategist,
Leap Business Excellence Advisory FZE
Dr. Anand has a PhD in Business Administration and is a Chartered Accountant with over 35 years of experience in India, Singapore, and Dubai. He helps with Strategic Planning Process, Business Process Mapping, Corporate Strategy, Strategic Alliances, Design Thinking, and Business Excellence. He is also a Senior Assessor for various Excellence Award programs in the UAE, and a member of the Panel of Judges for American Business Awards in the USA.
Dr. Tirupathi Parthasarathy Anand (TP)
Chief Strategist,
Leap Business Excellence Advisory FZE
Dr. Laura Bakalka
Assistant Professor of Graphics for the Visual Communication
Dr. Laura Bakalka is an international mentor for postgraduates undertaking the Advertising, Branding, and Communication course in association with the University of West London. She also supervised the artistic mural project for the International Humanitarian City event, in which she received the IHC award on behalf of AUD. Dr. Laura was a speaker at the 1st Brand Design Conference at the University of West London in September 2018. She was also shortlisted as one of the top 5 designers who participated in the MEFIC Capital. Dr. Laura also provides workshops, talks, and exhibits her projects at D3 during Dubai Design Week.
Dr. Laura Bakalka
Assistant Professor of Graphics for the Visual Communication
Dr. Vinod Pangracious
Chair, Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering,
Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering
Prior to joining AUD, Dr. Pangracious was a research and development engineer at the Cypress Semiconductor Technology in San Jose, CA/Bangalore India and in 2004 he joined Infineon Technologies Germany to work with the Research and Development team to develop stack capacitor memories. In 2007, he moved to Switzerland to join Innovative Silicon a start-up company specialized in Zero Capacitor Memory.
Dr. Vinod Pangracious
Chair, Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Mr. Alexander Epure
Co-founder & CEO of Qureos
Mr. Alex is the co-founder and CEO of Qureos which helps aspiring professionals succeed in their careers. Qureos started as a passion side project, to prepare students for the workplace and get them placed in relevant jobs. From there, Qureos quickly grew to now serve 70,000+ students /graduates in 20+ countries,300+ mentors, and 150+ employers. Prior to Qureos, he also launched the Middle East region at Swvl-a mass transit mobility startup and the first to be listed on Nasdaq at a valuation of $1.5B. Before Mr. Alex entered the startup ecosystem, he was a successful leader at Cisco and was looking after the Middle East and Africa.
Mr. Alexander Epure
Co-founder & CEO of Qureos
Dr. Sunitha Kshatriya
Entrepreneurship and Innovation (Center) Director and Associate Professor of Management
Dr. Sunitha Kshatriya is the director of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center at AUD since its inception in June 2019. She served as Associate Professor, Human Resource Management (HRM) and Director, Institutional Effectiveness prior to joining AUD. She is also Chairperson of ‘Empowerment Centre for the Advancement of Education’ (ECAfE), a not-for-profit she founded in Canada. She specializes in program creation, teaching and curriculum design, reinforced with an extensive breadth of international experience.
Dr. Sunitha Kshatriya
Entrepreneurship and Innovation (Center) Director and Associate Professor of Management