Charles Fakhry heads the EMEA region for OneSpan’s security business focused on key accounts, advising banks and financial institutions on digital identity, secure authentication, and fraud prevention. With over 22 years of experience in cybersecurity, banking technology, and telecommunications, he has held leadership roles including CTO at Banque Société Générale Lebanon and technology strategist at Oracle France. Charles has deep expertise in IT infrastructure, data security, and compliance frameworks, with a strong track record of enabling secure digital transformation.

George Maktabi is the Group Chief Executive Officer of Webedia Group MENA. He was appointed in 2020 to lead the group to an exponential business growth, with breakthrough creative work, exceptional brand building activities, initiatives and innovative business models for the multitude of companies and publications under the group.

Maktabi brings over 20 years of experience in GCC, having led the operations of Publicis Communications and taken the Publicis Group into new heights in Saudi, through working with blue chip multinational clients, local brands as well as governmental entities.

He played a key role in helping multinational brands become more relevant in the Saudi market and engage with the Saudi people.

He has a passion for marketing, strategic brand building and creative communication that resonates with people and helps build brands that grow from local origins.

During his free time, George is an aspiring artist with a solid collection of his own illustrations that have been attracting a big following on social media.

Key Industry and Brand experiences:
Riyadh Season, G20 Saudi Arabia 2020, KSA Ministry of Investment, KSA Ministry of Labor, KSA Ministry of Economics & Planning, Saudi’s HRDF, SEDCO, KSA Ministry of Health, Atheeb Telecom, Samsung, General Motors, Kellogg’s, P&G, Phillip Morris, McDonald’s, Blackberry, Zain Telecom, Misk Foundation, Aramco, Savola, Al Safi, Baeshen, Halwani Bros, Juffali Group, British American Tobacco, and many others.

George Nazi brings a wealth of international executive leadership experience to his role as CEO at the Saudi Company for Artificial Intelligence (SCAI). With a career spanning over three decades, he has been instrumental in driving transformative growth and operational excellence within the AI, TMT, and cloud industries.

Before joining SCAI, George served as the Global Vice President of Telecom, Media & Entertainment, and Gaming industries at Google Cloud, where he spearheaded visionary strategies across four regions, developed high-performing teams from the ground-up, and expanded revenue.

Prior to his tenure at Google, George held significant roles at Accenture, a Fortune Global 500 professional services company, where he served as Senior Managing Director for the Global Comms & Media Industry. There, George oversaw large professional services organizations. During his tenure, he also devised new solution offerings and developed targeted go-to-market strategies.

George’s career also includes senior executive positions at Alcatel-Lucent and British Telecom, where he led large-scale transformation programs, optimized operational efficiency, and managed complex portfolios of products and services.

George holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering where he specialized in AI and Artificial Neural Networks from the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma in the USA.

Hoda Sleilaty Younan is Chief Operating Officer and Chief Marketing Officer for Microsoft Middle East and Africa. With over 30 years of experience in technology, she has held leadership roles in development, consulting, sales, and business strategy across diverse markets. Hoda is currently focused on advancing responsible AI adoption and digital transformation, supporting Microsoft’s efforts to drive innovation and positive impact throughout the region.

Hugo B. Qermane is a member of the Executive Committee and Managing Partner at Five Capital, the joint alternative investment platform of Kingdom Holding Company and Bpifrance. In this role he leads cross-border transactions between Europe and the GCC in particular and sits on the boards of portfolio companies in media, data/AI and technology-enabled services.

With more than 20 years of investment experience across the United States, Europe and the MENA region, his expertise ranges from healthcare and technology to industrials, real estate, hospitality and commodities.

Before joining Five Capital, Hugo was Managing Director and Head of International Investments at Caisse des Dépôts International Capital, steering the French sovereign investor’s partnerships in North America, the Middle East and Asia. Earlier, he served as a Vice President at Sun Capital and BNP Paribas Investment Bank in London and was Head of Economic Affairs and senior adviser to Morocco’s Prime minister, and as a senior adviser of the OECD on its MENA Investment Program. 

A King Mohammed VI Scholar, he is a graduate of Harvard University, Sciences Po Paris and an alumnus of MIT.

Karl Abouzeid, Founder & CEO of Fundbot, is a seasoned fintech entrepreneur with over a decade of experience, driving innovation in embedded lending and B2B payments in the MENA region and in Europe. As a second-time founder, he brings a proven track record of building and scaling financial solutions that empower businesses to grow and thrive.His current venture, Fundbot, has accelerated millions of USD in SME payments through banking partners across industries such as healthcare and FMCG. Beyond payments and loans, Karl has led Fundbot in creating advanced AI tools, enabling clients to streamline operations, and improve efficiency.Karl Abouzeid’s vision is rooted in redefining how businesses access and manage financial services. Through digital transformation and innovation, he continues to shape Fundbot into a growth partner for enterprises across the region.

Leila Serhan currently serves as Senior Vice President and Group Country Manager for the North Africa, Levant and Pakistan (NALP) region – a region which serves 15 countries from five regional offices. In this role, Leila and her team are focused on driving Visa’s business growth in the region with key clients and partners from financial institutions, partners, and government in support of Visa’s mission to help individuals, businesses, and economies to thrive. In support of national digitization agendas, Leila and her team are committed to making Visa a partner of choice, while unlocking growth opportunities for new and existing clients and partners across the NALP region.

Leila brings more than two decades experience of leadership positions, including 20 years gained at Microsoft prior to joining Visa where she led Microsoft’s public sector business across the Gulf region, and previously served as General Manager for its operations across North Africa, East Med and Pakistan. She has held roles spanning country management, finance and marketing and has driven public and private sector digital transformation initiatives in finance, government and education. Leila is the co-chair of the Visa Women Network in the CEMEA region and a strong advocate for women’s empowerment, and currently serving as President for the Women in IT Association in Lebanon. She is also an active Business Angel supporting startups in the region to realize their potential and has been featured in several luminary business accolades including Forbes Middle East’s Global Meets Local (2022 and 2023) and 100 Most Powerful Businesswomen (2024).

Leila holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the American University of Beirut.

Nizar brings 20+ years of experience in the consulting business with extensive experience leading consulting and transformational projects globally. His focus lies in supporting clients on strategy, digital transformation and technology topics. Nizar holds an MBA from Kellogg School of Management / WHU, an MSc in Telecoms Engineering from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer and Communications Engineering from the American University of Beirut. Nizar currently serves as the Managing Director of Roland Berger Middle East, leading the Digital & Services practice.

Ramez T. Shehadi is Senior Managing Director at Accenture, where he leads among the firm’s fastest-growing global portfolios, as Global Head of Public Sector Strategy and Head of Strategy & Consulting for the Middle East & Africa. In this capacity, he shapes vision and offerings, accelerates profitable expansion, and spearheads AI-powered reinvention to deliver 360° value for governments, state enterprises, sovereign wealth funds, and Fortune 500 clients worldwide.
With more than 25 years of experience, Ramez has built, scaled, and led regional and global businesses across consulting, technology, social media, logistics, and proximity-commerce platforms, among many others. He has previously held senior leadership roles at Meta (formerly Facebook), REEF Technology, Booz Allen Hamilton, Strategy& (formerly Booz & Company), and Kearney, and co-founded eBreviate, a pioneering B2B eSourcing unicorn. His expertise spans transformational leadership, industry and technology strategy, venture building and scaling, AI-enabled reinvention, sectoral digitization, and social media.
Beyond the corporate sphere, Ramez serves as an active advisor and board member to leading institutions and NGOs, including EqualityNow, Beirut Museum of Art, Aspen Global Leadership Network, Middle East Leadership Initiative, Takreem Foundation, and previously the Young Presidents’ Organization and Young Arab Leaders. His board work advances socio-economic development, community leadership, women’s empowerment and human rights, Arab achievement, and entrepreneurship.
Recognized by Forbes, Gulf Business and other leading publications as one of the region’s most influential executives and tech voices, Ramez is a sought-after speaker on the future of technology and public-private transformation.
He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Rutgers University and an M.A.Sc. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Toronto.

Rima Maktabi is the United Kingdom’s bureau chief for Al Arabiya news network. Rima has over 25 years of experience in broadcast journalism and was nominated by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader. Between 2012 and 2015, Rima did extensive war zone TV coverage from Syria on political, military and humanitarian stories; she also showcased the emergence of ISIS in Iraq’s Mosul. In 2010, Rima was an anchor at CNN reporting news in the Middle East including the Arab Spring in Tunisia, Egypt, and Bahrain. She was also the host of CNN’s renowned show Inside the Middle East. Rima is an award-winning journalist; she was given the “Outstanding Media Performance” award from May Chidiac foundation and received Mohammed Bin Rashed Al Maktoum award for her work covering Israeli war on Lebanon in 2006. Rima interviewed world leaders  throughout her career, hosted various news shows and covered major events events. Rima started her career in her home country Lebanon at Future TV where she worked for ten years. Rima has a Masters of Arts in international affairs and attained her bachelor’s degree in communication arts from Lebanese American University in Beirut.

Sandra Salame brings over 22 years of experience in the technology sector, leading digital transformation across the MENA region. She leads Crestan International, a regional cybersecurity value-added distributor operating across multiple Middle East markets. She builds high-performing, multicultural teams and forges alliances with leading global cybersecurity vendors including Palo Alto Networks, Akamai, Onespan, and SecurityScorecard while strengthening governance, routes to market, and enterprise partnerships. Sandra also serves as a Board Member of La French Tech Lebanon, helping bridge innovation ecosystems across Europe and the GCC. In parallel, she is the Founder & CEO of Siira, a health-tech venture advancing mental well-being through community, behavioral science, and Arabic-first psychosocial education programs for organizations and the public. She is one of the region’s earliest female CCIEs (Voice) consulting on enterprise VoIP transformations and multi-country telephony rollouts.

Shaun leads Mastercard Digital Labs in Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa. As an award-winning Product Design Strategist he has lead the design of 168 client innovations in across 22 countries. His designs have impacted over 18 million users on topics such as AI Powered Digital Humans, Banking Metaverses and sport fan stadium experiences, to name a few.

Stefano Fallaha is the CEO and founder of Podeo, the fastest‑growing podcast platform in emerging markets.
As the foundational layer of the podcasting ecosystem, Podeo connects over 100,000 advertisers, creators, and publishers with 50 million listeners through its all‑in‑one decentralized platform built to amplify the next billion voices shaping culture and conversation.
For nearly a decade, Stefano has pioneered podcast innovation, leading Podeo to master the trifecta of growth, engagement, and monetization ‑ empowering a new generation of storytellers to thrive at scale. His work has earned him recognition on the covers of leading global publications and keynote stages including TED, Web Summit, Forbes 30 Under 30, and the Global Business Summit, among others.

Toufic Abillama is a senior executive with extensive experience in cybersecurity, digital transformation, and enterprise technology sales across the Middle East and Africa. He has held leadership positions with global industry leaders including Akamai, Rubrik, Proofpoint, Forcepoint, and Palo Alto Networks, where he consistently drove regional growth, forged strategic alliances, and developed high-performing teams.
Throughout his career, he has demonstrated deep expertise in network and information security, strategic consultancy, and business development. His leadership style emphasizes strategic alignment, operational excellence, and long-term customer partnerships at the C-suite level.
Mr. Abillama holds an Executive MBA from Harvard Business School, Boston and master’s degrees in Telecommunications and Computer Engineering from Jean Monet, France ,He is fluent in English, French, and Arabic.

Will Gray is a cybersecurity and risk management expert with over two decades of experience in third-party risk and operational resilience. At SecurityScorecard he heads the EMEA Region, works with CISOs, CIOs, and risk leaders to assess vendor ecosystems, close security gaps, and strengthen incident response capabilities. His expertise spans risk quantification, regulatory alignment, and board-level security reporting. Will is recognized for bridging technical assessments with business priorities, helping enterprises reduce exposure to evolving cyber threats while meeting compliance requirements.

Anas Khattar is a Lebanese cloud architect, entrepreneur, and recognized AWS Community Hero. He is the co-founder of Digico Solutions and the founder of the AWS User Group Lebanon, where he has grown the community to over 1,000 members since 2018. Anas is deeply involved in the global cloud and AI ecosystem, regularly speaking at conferences, leading workshops, and co-organizing events like AWS Community Day MENA. His work focuses on cloud computing, AI/ML solutions, and empowering tech communities across the MENA region.

Charbel Sarkis is the Country Director for Google in Saudi Arabia. Charbel brings a decade of leadership experience with Google across markets and sectors in the MENA region. Beyond technology, Charbel’s expertise spans finance and strategy through his previous roles in investment banking at Goldman Sachs in London and strategy consulting at Booz Allen Hamilton (now Strategy&) in MENA. Charbel holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, a Masters in Strategic Management from HEC Paris and a Bachelor of Engineering from Saint Joseph University in Beirut.

Elias Boustani is the co-founder of Metod, an AI-first platform that enables data-driven due diligence for investors. A lifelong believer in the Lebanese tech ecosystem, he serves on the board of Forward MENA, which trains Lebanese youth for the jobs of the future in partnership with Microsoft, Amazon, and the World Bank. Elias helped launch the AUB Innovation Park and previously served as COO at Wamda. Earlier in his career, he was a strategy consultant, where he helped build the data analytics practice at Booz & Company/Strategy&, and he also held roles at Accenture France. Elias holds a Master of Engineering from Telecom Paris. His work sits at the intersection of AI and investment research, turning messy data into clear, decision-ready insights.

Elie Habib, co-founder and CEO of Anghami, leads the premier music streaming platform in the Middle East. Starting as a software developer at age 11 and a freelancer at 17, Habib earned his Software Engineering degree from the Lebanese American University. He founded several successful businesses before launching Anghami with Eddy Maroun in 2012, which now boasts over 100 million users and an average of one billion monthly streams. Following a merger with OSN+, Habib steers the new entity as CEO, focusing on operational excellence, iterative improvements, and AI integration to enhance user experiences. His dedication to continuous learning and innovation keeps him at the cutting edge of technology, driving Anghami and OSN+’s growth and service expansion.

Hassan Sawaf has 30+ years of experience in employing cutting-edge AI technologies for mission-critical business operations. He has founded several machine learning organizations in small and large tech companies that are leaders in their respective market segments today. The teams he started and managed are in Facebook/Meta, AWS/Amazon, eBay, SAIC/Leidos, and AppTek.
In 2020, Hassan founded aiXplain, a platform designed to democratize AI development by simplifying access to best-in-class models and enabling intuitive prototyping and deployment. He also serves as an investor, board member, and advisor to global startups and companies.

Ibrahim Chawa is the Director of Product at Toters, where he oversees major areas of the product and platform. One of the company’s earliest employees, Ibrahim has been instrumental in shaping Toters’ growth and evolution over the years.

Starting his journey as a developer, Ibrahim played a hands-on role in building the foundations of Toters’ technology. Over time, he spearheaded the creation of the product organization from the ground up, growing it into a team of over 20 members across product and design. Under his leadership, the team has been at the forefront of driving platform evolution, enhancing user experiences, and introducing advanced capabilities including AI-powered features.

Ibrahim is a graduate of Computer Science from the American University of Beirut.

Ibrahim’s contributions have been central to Toters’ ability to scale its multi-vertical platform while continuously innovating to stay ahead of the market.

Jad El Boustani is a Partner at Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP). He joined the firm in 2012 as one of its earliest team members, playing a key role in its growth from $10M to $300M in assets under management (AUM). At MEVP, Jad has led and overseen numerous investments across the MENA region and has been deeply involved in fundraising efforts.

Before MEVP, Jad was a Project Manager at Truffle Capital, a leading French venture capital firm, and an M&A Analyst at Lazard Frères in Paris. He holds an MBA with a concentration in Finance and Private Equity from ESSEC Business School (Paris, France) and a Telecom and Computer Engineering degree from the Lebanese University (Roumieh, Lebanon).

Dr. Laura-Joy Boulos is a neuroscientist at the intersection of academia and industry. She holds a dual Ph.D. in Neuroscience from McGill University and the University of Strasbourg. Currently, she is an Associate Professor at Saint Joseph University of Beirut, where her team explores the impact of chronic multi-crisis contexts on brain health through a project they have named “ENSA.” Her interdisciplinary approach combines experimental psychology and artificial intelligence to intersect social determinants and digital biomarkers. She advocates for research that is resolutely focused on innovation, aiming to transform scientific advances into useful digital tools for societies in times of crisis through iterative processes. Her work has earned her numerous awards, including the 2020 L’Oréal-UNESCO Prize awarded to the 15 most promising female researchers internationally.

Aligning with this vision of research and innovation, Laura-Joy is also a Partner at the venture capital fund Globivest, which has a unique “One Health” thesis: investing in startups in human health and environmental health to demonstrate the close link between these two areas. Globivest is also the first women-led investment fund in the Middle East and the Mediterranean region.

Lynn Ezzeddine is a recent Industrial Engineering graduate from the American University of Beirut (AUB) currently serving as an Investment Analyst at Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) and will be joining Bain & Company as an Associate Consultant.

Maroun N. Chammas is a successful Lebanese entrepreneur with activities ranging from Oil and Gas, to Telecom and F&B, as well as Technology and Innovation.  At 12, he began his entrepreneurial journey, later co-founding with his brother Lebanon’s first internet provider, Data Management (IDM), and acquiring and reinvesting Cablevision in 2018. He is the Vice Chairman and GM of MEDCO Holdings, Lebanon’s leading oil and gas company, and Chairman and CEO of Berytech since 2003, where he plays an active and key role in shaping the ecosystem of Lebanon that nurtures and supports Lebanese innovation, venture capital and entrepreneurship. He has led several industry associations, was named a Top Business Leader by Forbes Middle East, and founded the Maroun N. Chammas Award supporting tech and sports excellence.

Rany Sader is a Lebanese lawyer and one of the Arab world’s foremost voices in legal innovation, intellectual property, and legal data transformation. As Chief Legal Innovation Officer at SADER Legal 1863, he leads pioneering projects integrating AI, structured data, and legal knowledge engineering across the Middle East. A recognized IP authority, his vision has inspired Fortune 500 companies to innovate in the legal field, redefining how legal information is created, accessed, and applied. He is also the co-founder of LAITRON, an innovative Arabic-native legal AI ecosystem, bridging law, culture, language, and technology to empower the future of legal intelligence in the Middle East and beyond.

Roy Baladi is a Lebanese-American tech entrepreneur who has become a leading innovator in AI-powered recruitment. Moving to the US at 17, he earned degrees in computer science, mathematics, and finance from Virginia Tech before working as a derivatives trader on Wall Street during the 2008 financial crisis.

Baladi’s recruiting career took off at SmartRecruiters in San Francisco, where he served as Global Head of Marketplace and helped scale the company from zero revenue to $85M ARR and unicorn status. He recognized that billions of talented job seekers are overlooked—not for lack of ability, but for lack of access to opportunity.

Today, Baladi leads Kanz (ka.nz), the AI recruitment copilot that has scaled to 1 million job seekers. Kanz automates 90% of recruiting tasks and delivers vetted candidates within days while doubling recruiter productivity. Starting in Saudi Arabia to support Vision 2030, Kanz is positioned to become a standard for AI-powered recruitment in the Middle East.

Tarek is the Founder and CEO of FADEL, a global leader in AI-enabled licensing rights and royalty management, brand compliance, and content management cloud solutions. FADEL is headquartered in New York with offices in Los Angeles, London, Paris, Beirut and Amman.

Tarek has over 30 years of experience in B2B enterprise software, product strategy, and go-to-market leadership. He has guided FADEL through multiple technology and product innovations, global partnerships, strategic acquisitions and divestitures, venture capital funding, and a successful public listing on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market in 2023. Tarek has also scaled technology back office operations in Lebanon (since 2005), Jordan, and India, building strong global delivery capabilities while driving continuous product innovation. His background combines expertise in deploying complex enterprise business applications, coupled with product management and strong sales and marketing skills, enabling him to position FADEL as a trusted partner for major brands such as Bose, Disney, Hachette, Hasbro, L’Oreal, Pearson, Pepsi, and many other enterprise and mid-market customers. Before founding FADEL in 2003, Tarek held senior roles at Oracle and Cambridge Technology Group. He has a Computer and Information Science degree from the City University of New York and an MBA from Columbia University.

Ziad Jreijiri is the cofounder and CEO of Oreyeon, a technology startup bringing computer vision solutions to airports around the world helping them manage airside safety and operations. Ziad has a masters in aerospace vehicle design and is the recipient of the excellence in achievement award for recent aerospace graduates from Cranfield University.