DRIVING GOVERNMENT INNOVATION AND
ADVANCING CLOUD SOLUTIONS TOGETHER!

His Excellency Yousuf Hamad Al Shaibani has been appointed the Chief Executive Ofcer of the Dubai Electronic Security Center (DESC).

With over 25 years of experience serving in the government sector, Al Shaibani has held several senior positions in DESC and at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) including being a member of the both organizations Board of Directors. Recognized as one of the founding members of DESC and MBRSC , Al Shaibani has made valuable contributions towards the growth and development of the organizations.

Al Shaibani’s relentless drive and expertise have played a pivotal role in leading the DESC development team to create innovative platforms and soware programs that signicantly enhanced the monitoring of Dubai’s cyber readiness. Under his guidance, these remarkable achievements have paved the way for a more secure and technologically advanced city.

Furthermore, Al Shaibani has le an indelible mark on space exploration and scientic advancements, with his instrumental role in launching the MARS mission and realizing the dream of sending the rst UAE astronaut to space. His dedication to pushing the boundaries of human exploration and scientic discovery has inspired countless individuals and opened new possibilities for the future of space research.

In addition to his roles at DESC and MBRSC, Al Shaibani is also a Board Member of the UAE Cyber Security Council and the UAE Space Agency.

Al Shaibani graduated from the Etisalat University College (now known as “Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research – KUSTAR”), Sharjah in 1995 and went on to receive his Master’s Degree in Microelectronics Systems Design from Central England University (now known as Birmingham City University) in UK in 1997.

Al Shaibani is a true pioneer in the elds of cybersecurity and space exploration, and his exceptional achievements serve as an inspiration to all, motivating us to reach for the stars and never stop exploring the vast potential that lies ahead.

Dubai Electronic Security Center

In his role as CEO at Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), Fahad Al Hassawi is responsible for the organisation’s vision, strategy and long-term success. He is committed to driving innovation, accelerating digital transformation, and creating a fearless and industry-leading telecommunications organisation.

His key responsibilities include achieving revenue targets, enabling greater customer engagement, and increasing du’s market share by creating seamless customer journeys that are focused on the end-to-end customer experience end-to-end. Under his leadership, du has streamlined how business units interact with optimised service delivery, operations, finance, and central service hubs. This has maximised efficient, increased customer satisfaction and set du on a path to long-term and sustained growth.

Fahad Al Hassawi is also responsible for overseeing telecom operations of du and Virgin brands’ digital lifestyle and innovation divisions, overseeing infrastructure development, technology and network investment, and continued 5G rollout.

In his previous role as Deputy Chief Executive Officer at du, Fahad Al Hassawi assumed responsibility for a broad scope of operations across various business units, including enterprise, consumer, brand & communication, planning & strategy, government relations, and customer experience. He also held positions as the company’s Chief Human Resources & Shared Services Officer and Executive Vice President – Human Resources. He held several Human Resources positions at Emirates Airline prior to his roles at du.

Fahad holds a Master’s Degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Miami and he completed a Global Business Consortium Programme at the London Business School in 2005.

Mr. Mohammed Bin Sulaiman, the CEO of Data Hub Integrated Solutions Moro LLC (Moro Hub), is one of the key leaders who spearheaded the commencement of Moro Hub in 2018. In a very short period, Moro Hub was able to establish its global footprint in the fields of digital transformation and data innovation in line with the national strategies and the initiatives of Dubai Future Accelerators.

As a part of Dubai 10X vision, Moro Hub is committed to lead disruptive innovative solutions, attracting partnership with global pioneers, large investments and engaging in vast digital transformation projects. Mr. Bin Sulaiman is leading Moro Hub to be the best data hub to offer best of breed technology solutions abreast with latest digital services focusing on sustainability and sovereignty. Moro Hub is the largest solar powered data center operator in the world, in addition to various elite certifications and awards in digital security and data services. Moro Hub’s consistent ongoing achievements has substantially created a qualitative shift in the progress of digital solutions in the public and private sectors in the UAE and the region.

Mr. Bin Sulaiman is a holder of EMBA from the UAE Higher Colleges of Technology. Graduated from Mohammed Bin Rashid Center for Leadership Development (Impactful Leaders Program -2019). He is recognized as inspiring and collaborative leader with influencing skills to motivate & lead people in diverse cultural environment. He has over 21 years of cross functional expertise in telecom, energy and digital solutions spectrum. He began his career in the Emirates Telecommunication Group Company (Etisalat) in 2003, served various positions in Telecom Carrier, SMB/ Channels and Govt & Enterprise Sales. Bin Sulaiman possesses high business acumen skills in leading B2B & B2C market segments.

In 2016, he joined Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) appointed as Chief Digital Solutions Officer to lead the digital innovation, customer happiness and transformations projects.

Mr. Herrera, a Mexican National, has extensive experience in governance, as a practitioner and from the development and academic perspectives. He joined the World Bank in 2010 as Senior Public Sector Management Specialist in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region. He held various positions in the Bank including as Sector Manager in LAC, Practice Manager in Governance Global Practice for the LAC and East Asia and the Pacific regions in the Global Unit before leaving the World Bank Group in 2018.

Between 2018 and 2021 he has held leadership positions in the Government of Mexico as Co-Head of the Finance Team in Presidential Transition Team, Deputy Finance Minister and, most recently, as Minister of Finance and Public Credit. He was also the Chairman of Mexico’s Exchange Commission and Member of the Board of the Central Bank.

As Global Director for Institutions, country-level governance, especially in fragile, conflict and violent settings; maximizing the effectiveness of operational support for public financial management and public procurement; fostering excellence in the Bank’s Prosperity vertical work on public sector administration and operational support for legal and judicial reforms.

Mr. Herrera has also taught Monetary and Banking and Macro and Micro Economics at both El Colegio de Mexico and New York University where he completed his doctoral studies in Economics.

Mr. Vinay Thakur has more than 20 years of experience in implementing IT and e-Governance Projects. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the Engineering College Jabalpur and a Master’s degree from the Delhi College of Engineering Computer Science. He has implemented many e-Governance projects comprising of Land Records Computerisation NREGA workflow, Mobile based Fertilizer Monitoring System, GIS platform, etc. Also, he has published around 30 papers on e-Governance, Land records, and the Social impacts of e-Governance projects and guided around 60 MCA / MTech / B.E. students. Presently, he is working as Director (Projects), National e-Governance Division (NeGD), Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), where he has been instrumental in designing the Government e-Market Place (GeM), Geographic Information System(GIS) for fast decision making in government.

With a degree in Computer Engineering and a +20-year experience in software development and digitalization processes management, Mirko has used and applied a large variety of technologies covering the entire WEB and Enterprise Stack, front end implementation, mobile and universal interfaces.

In 2020, he joined PagoPA S.p.A. (the State Owned Enterprise aimed at spreading digital payments and citizen services in Italy) where he is currently leading the Technology & Services Department aimed at developing e-Government infrastructures and platforms that are at the basis of a new generation of digital public services.

Prior to PagoPA, he worked as Technical Project Manager at the Italian Government’s Digital Transformation Team to lead the realization and spread adoption of ANPR (National Registry of Resident Population). In his previous international career, he has worked as technical architect, senior developer and CTO for companies based in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Switzerland. From 2017 to 2020, Mirko served as Contract Professor in Web and Mobile Development at the University of Camerino.

Matteo is the Head of EU AI Policy for Cisco’s EU Office, in addition to focusing on other key policy areas such as IP, Competition, and Platforms. He joined Cisco’s Brussels Government Affairs Team in May 2024. He was previously Director, Policy – EMEA at BSA – The Software Alliance, leading its work on AI. Matteo has been based in Brussels since 2013, having worked in consultancy and at the U.S. Mission to the EU. Matteo holds a Master’s Degree in EU Law from LUISS University, and an LLM in International Legal Studies from Georgetown University.

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Norihito Yamamoto is Chief Cloud Officer in Digital Agency with 10+ years experiences of cloud services consultant and team manager in public agencies and a cloud service provider. He leads developing Government Cloud in Japan since FY2020 and builds up the government cloud team in the agency. He is one of co -authors of “Amazon Web Services Enterprise Deployment Guidebook” in Japan and has made many presentations at conferences. He has plenty of both enterprise IT architect experiences and modern cloud development skills so that he has the ability to lead digital transformations in large organizations by using the cloud technologies. After working as an IT architect at IBM, he launched and scaled the cloud consulting organization at AWS from 2013.

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Antonio De Palmas was appointed Vice President of Worldwide Public Sector Market Development for Microsoft in August 2020. In this role, Antonio heads the new Global Market Development operations to shape Cloud, AI and Procurement requirements and drive global digital transformation across the Public Sector.

De Palmas came to Microsoft from Boeing, where he was President of Southern Europe region, overseeing the company operations, growing in-country business activities and seeking development opportunities for the whole Boeing enterprise.

De Palmas started working at Boeing in 2003 and led the company’s European and NATO Relations, engaging with all European institutions and representing Boeing interests in the European Union (EU) and at NATO.

From 2000 to 2003, De Palmas was director of Business Development for Cisco Systems. In this position, he initiated and managed strategic initiatives for the company and was in charge of developing the public sector market for the company.

Before joining Cisco Systems, De Palmas developed his career in Brussels in the EU policy areas for eight years. During this time, he established and managed the EU and Government Affairs function for Oracle Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and also handled EU affairs for various business interests.

An Italian native, De Palmas has a degree in law and is fluent in four languages: Italian, Spanish, English and French.

Roby Senderowitsch currently serves as the Practice Manager for Public Administration, Governance Global Practice at the World Bank. Previously, he has held various positions, including Practice Manager, Governance Global Practice, Europe and Central Asia (West); Manager for Leadership, Learning & Innovation; Manager of the Global Partnership for Social Accountability (GPSA); and Country Manager in the Dominican Republic. His work at the World Bank includes a strong focus on political economy analysis, building coalitions for change, anti-corruption, and performance-based management of public institutions. He has been a lecturer in Human Resource management in nonprofit organizations, as well as director of educational programs and community development and HR management in the private sector.

Roby’s publications include “Building Effective, Accountable, and Inclusive Institutions in Europe and Central Asia,” “Democratic Governance in Mexico: Beyond State Capture and Social Polarization” (with Yasuhiko Matsuda), “Performance Informed Budgeting and Trust in Government” (with Nick Manning and others), and “From the International Financial Crisis to Inclusive Growth in the Dominican Republic.” Senderowitsch holds a Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Buenos Aires and a Masters in Policy Studies, Public Administration/Nonprofit Management from the Johns Hopkins University.

Khuram Farooq is Senior Financial Management Specialist, Africa Region, since February 2014. Prior to taking this role, he worked as consultant for the World Bank, IMF and DFID during 2012-2014.
Prior to this, he joined the Bank as Program Manager, HRMIS, HRVP, World Bank Group in December 2008.

Before joining the Bank, he worked in the civil service of Pakistan. He oversaw the implementation of PFM reforms in Pakistan as Director, Project to Improve Financial Reporting and Auditing (PIFRA), from 2001-2008. During this period, he managed, among others, the implementation of SAP based IFMIS for the federal, four provincial and 127 district governments in Pakistan. During this project, he also implemented payroll of 2.25 million employees.
Currently, he works on treasury systems, budgeting, IFMIS, HRMIS, and financial reporting reforms in Africa, South Asia, and Eastern Europe.

Khuram Farooq holds an MBA in MIS from The University of Hull, UK, and post-graduate diploma in Public Financial Management, from the University of London.

Daniel Ortega Nieto Is a Lead Governance Specialist and Program Manager of the World Bank’s Public Sector Innovation and GovTech Program. The Program provides direct support to operations and convenes key stakeholders to promote the use of foundational and frontier tools and technologies with the goal of transforming the way governments operate, deliver services, and interact with citizens. Before this responsibility, Daniel was based in Jakarta, where he managed Indonesia’s Public Financial Management Multi-Donor Trust Fund, the Bank’s largest single-country governance trust fund and in-country governance team. The Trust Fund provides technical assistance for budgeting, treasury, civil service, data analytics, and accountability reforms. Previously, he led the public sector management operations in Brazil. During his tenure in Brasilia, he designed and led the Pro-Gestão Program, a US$1 billion credit line to improve fiscal and public financial management across Brazilian states. Daniel led the development of DeCODE, an evidence-based system that uses machine learning to leverage data to help anticipate and solve delivery challenges, and the Governance Risk Assessment System which uses artificial intelligence for extracting 200+ firm-level and agency-level corruption risk red-flags. He has worked across regions and Governance issues, supporting projects and analytical work in Argentina, Bangladesh, Colombia, Croatia, Ecuador, Kenya, Mexico, Mozambique, and Uruguay, among others. Before joining the World Bank, he was an advisor to the Mexican Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, a consultant to the Inter-American Bank, and the United States Ministry of Labor and the Agency for International Development. He has conducted research at Harvard and Sciences-Po universities. Daniel graduated from El Colegio de México, holds a Master’s degree in Development Management from the London School of Economics (Chevening fellow), and holds a PhD in Public Policy and Government from Georgetown University (Fulbright fellow).

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Dr. Luigi Martino is Research Scientist at the Center for Cyber Physical Systems (C2PS) and oversees the activities of the Cyber Security Academy at Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi UAE. He is Professor of Cyber Security and International Politics, and CyberSecurity and International Business at the Department of Political Sciences at the University of Bologna and Professor in Intelligence and National Security at the University of Florence, Italy, where he Directs the Center for Cyber Security and International Relations Studies (CCSIRS). Dr. Martino obtained his PhD from the School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, Italy, and has established academic affiliations with notable institutions such as MIT in US, UCL and the University of Kent in the UK. He actively participates in the UN Open-ended Working Groups (OEWG) on both cyber and ICT issues including the emerging threats related to AI and Quantum Technology impacting also the Space sector, shaping international policies in these critical areas.

Dr. Martino has over 15 years of experience in cybersecurity, international strategic advisory, the intersection of technology and policy, and in the design and implementation of national innovation programs for emerging technologies and digitalization, and the implementation of public-private partnerships model to enhance the protection of critical Infrastructure from cyber attacks.

Dr. Martino is the principal investigator (PI) of the project “Academic Engagement or Strategic Leverage? Assessing Dual-Use Technology Transfer, Sharp Power, and Security Risks in Sino-Italian Research Partnerships” a grant founded by the US Department of State.

He actively participated at the G7 Ise-Shima Cyber Working Group and contributed to draft the Convention on Resposible State Behaviour in Cyberspace. Dr. Martino is a member of the CINI Italian Cyber Security Lab and the G7 Cyber Expert Group, focusing on the financial sector with a focus on the strategic adaptation of AI and Quantum Technologies in this sector. Additionally, Dr. Martino contributes to the EU-ENISA working group, which implements national policies, and collaborates with EU DGINTPA to promote the internationalization of the EU’s digital projects. He is member of the scientific committee of the CISO Executive program implemented by the DCIP and the DESC in Dubai, UAE.

In 2019, Dr. Martino was honored with an award from the US Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) for his contributions to the Multilateral Partnership in Cyberspace. In 2024, He is recipient of the IEEE Technical Committee on Homeland Security (TCHS) Young Research Award. His latest book is Cybersecurity in Italy. Policies, Governance and Ecosystem, published by Springer in 2024.

ℴ Public Sector Cloud Team Manager, Digital Infrastructure Management and Assurance Division, MOIS

ℴ Architecture Diagnosis Team Manager, National Information Resources Service, MOIS

ℴ Won the 2021 Government-wide Active Administration Contest for improving the Covid-19 Vaccine Reservation System

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MAXIMILIANO MANEIRO is the Deputy Director of the Information Technology Department at Agesic, the Agency of the Presidency of the Republic responsible for promoting the development of digital government and the information society in Uruguay. Maximiliano is part of the leadership team of the department tasked with researching, developing, and promoting solutions, methodologies, best practices, and tools that contribute to value creation and facilitate the effective management of information technologies within State organizations. At Agesic, he led the Emerging Technologies team and was responsible for the design and implementation of the Presidential Office’s private cloud, a reference solution for the Central Administration. Previously, he worked as a consultant for technology companies in the areas of infrastructure and virtualization.

Ed is the UK Government’s Chief Architect, responsible for building the core digital strategy for digital architecture. This includes cloud implementation and procurement. He has spent much of his career implementing technology solutions at the UK’s Ministry of Defence and completed a secondment to AWS.

Bailey is the Head of International for the UK’s Government Digital Service. He manages and owns all the UKs bilateral and Multilateral partnership for digital government . Previously he has worked to implement reform of how the UK’s trade border operates and worked to support the UK’s trade secretary negotiate free trade agreements and set up the UKs trade policy.

Akshay is a security, privacy, compliance leader with experience across multiple industries and geographies. In his role, he develops and scales solutions that solve complex GRC challenges – protecting revenue and driving strategic growth for a multi-billion book of business for Google. Akshay read an MBA from the University of Oxford, and a Bachelors in Engineering from the University of Delhi.

Camila Saad is a Principal on the International Government team at Amazon Web Services (AWS). In this role, Camila works with governments, multilaterals, and non-profits to help them prepare for, and respond more effectively, to human-made and climate disasters using cloud technology. She has led efforts to address numerous major crises, particularly in Latin America, including the 2021 Haiti earthquake, the 2023 Hurricane Otis in Mexico, the 2024 wildfires in Chile and Colombia, and the 2024 floods and landslides in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Before joining AWS, Camila worked in international development and management consulting at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and McKinsey & Company, among other organizations. She earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Bentley University. Committed to building resilient communities, Camila is mainly focused on government’s digital transformation to mitigate the impact of climate and human-made disasters.

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Douraid is EVP and Chief Operating Officer of Investment Corporation of Dubai, the principal investment arm of the Government of Dubai ($380 billion in Total Assets), a diversified and international investment fund. Leading the Corporate Affairs (including Finance, Strategy, ESG, Legal, Governance, Technology …), he supports the Managing Director in the corporate strategy development and is responsible for the efficient management of the organization with the aim of optimizing business performance.

Douraid is a member of several boards from diverse industries, including IHI – International Hotel Investments, Dangote Cement and SmartStream, boards where he is very active and results driven as chairman or member of different committees (Sustainability, Investment, Finance, Remuneration, Governance …).

Prior to joining ICD, he was with Xerox for over 25 years during which he held several board, CEO, general management, leadership and transformation roles in Europe, North America and globally. His last position was Corporate Officer and President, Channel Partner Operations for Xerox based in New York, leading an end-to-end global business generating over $10 billion in revenue.

On a social and humanitarian level, he has always been very active in the fields of education, health, innovation, and ESG. He is a member of the board of directors of IPEMED, a Euro-Mediterranean Think Tank and also enjoys delivering practicum classes to Master students in different universities and particularly at Université Paris II, Panthéon Assas.

Douraid attended Lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris, holds an engineering degree from the National School of Public Works – ENTPE (France) and is graduated in Business Administration – Strategy and Management – from ESSEC (Ecole Supérieure des Sciences Economiques et Commerciales) in Paris. He is multilingual, speaks French, English, Spanish, Italian and Arabic and has lived in France, USA, Spain, Italy, UK and Dubai.

Jasim Al Awadi, Chief ICT Officer is a remarkable leader, who has been in the technology field for over 23 years and has worked for du for more than 17 years. In his journey at du, he has been an integral part of functions like technology and commercial where he was heading the government segment. Jasim Al Awadi is now leading du’s ICT department to accelerate the digital transformation agenda for the company for government entities, large / medium enterprises, start-ups and individualsrepresenting du Tech sub-brand. To enable a seamless digital economy, where digital trust, digital infrastructure and digital innovation are the key driving pillars and lie in the heart of everything.

Jasim Al Awadi has a strong commercial acumen and leadership qualities where he has contributed in generating billions of dirham worth business projects that drive critical digital growth initiatives and has been in the forefront of the development of the right cutting-edge 5G and ICT solutions enabling the vision of the Ruler of UAE to create a future ready country. His passion to lead and work closely with the ICT team to drive the vision of becoming a more purpose-driven, performance-focused and customer-centric organisation with a secure and agile ecosystem and a huge portfolio of digital solutions is outstanding.

To name a few projects he has played a key role in include, hyperscale cloud and sovereign AI services powered by AI GPU as a service for government & public sector entities in UAE, launched the first NVIDIA supercluster in GCC that will leverage cutting-edge liquid cooling technology to enhance AI processing efficiency, sustainability, and performance in Dubai which marks a significant advancement in the Data Centre and AI technology landscape of the region. Unique Industry 4.0 Technology robotics automation deployed, first of its kind agritech platform, 5G Drones with Digital Dewa, Digital Twin for RTA, Fednet UAE Smart Government, Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), the launch of 5G in the UAE, the development of the first-ever full-insight customer portal, the leadership of the virtual CPE [customer premises equipment], and the cloud.

Jasim has won several recognitions and awards, some of them include, “Government Leader of the Year” from Edge Middle East, “Security Leader of the Year” from ITP Media. “Innovation in cooling 2024” at Dubai Cloud & Data Centre Convention & Awards 2024 from W.Media. “ICT Champion Award 2024” from the Integrator. “The Best Cloud Provider” and “The Best Government digital transformation initiative in 2023, at Telecom Review Summit. “The Best Middle East 5G Innovation” and “The Best Asian CSR Initiative” at Telecom Review Regional Excellence Awards 2022. As well as “Smart Data Excellence Awards -Telecom” at Smart Data Summit Awards 2022.

Prior to joining du in 2007, he worked for telecom industry in UAE and for Canar in Sudan. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Electronics Engineering from Etisalat University of UAE and a post-graduate digital transformation leadership program at Henley Business School in London.

ICD Investment Corporation of Dubai

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