Speakers & Moderators

Dr Han is adjunct Professor at MBRU School of Medicine. He is Vice President of Emirates Pathology Society and the first Deputy International Commissioner of the College of American Pathologists for the UAE. He practices pathology and was involved in establishing the American Hospital Dubai clinical affiliation with Mayo Clinic. He is passionate about quality and patient safety in healthcare.

• M.B.B.S – UAE University. • Master in Occupation and Environmental Health – Monash University – Australia. • Certified and Accredited Doping Control officer from World Anti-doping Agency (WADA). • Worked as specialist doctor in UAE Armed Forces (1996-2009). • Secretary General of UAE National Anti-doping Committee (2004 – to 2018). • Chairman of the medical committee of Government of Sharjah(2017-to date) • Board Member of UAE Health council (2012-to date). • Board Member of EmiratesFood Security Council (2018-to date). • Vice chairman of University hospital of Sharjah board of trustees (2014- to date). • Director of Sharjah Health Authority (2014-to date).

Adam Odessky is the founder and CEO of Sensely, a virtual assistant platform with commercial usage across the insurance, pharmaceutical, and healthcare industries. An expert in voice interfaces and conversation design, Adam's background includes roles at Oracle, Microsoft, Scient, and TellMe Networks. Adam is a listed inventor on multiple issued patents in the areas of user interface systems, gestural authentication, and augmented reality. Adam holds a BS in Computer Science from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and an MBA from the University of San Francisco. When he's not working, Adam can be found touring San Francisco’s best coffee shops, banging out Metallica guitar solos, or running after his young children.

Dr. Ahmad is Director of the Genetics Laboratory at Al Jalila Children’s. He completed his doctoral studies (PhD) at Dartmouth College in the USA followed by a fellowship in molecular diagnostics at Dartmouth Medical School. In 2013, he joined Harvard Medical School where he completed his clinical molecular genetics fellowship and, in 2015, became board-certified by the American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ABMGG). Dr. Abou Tayoun is a fellow of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics. Prior to joining Al Jalila Children’s, he was a director in the Division of Genomic Diagnostics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and also an assistant professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. To support clinicians in various specialties at CHOP, Dr. Ahmad developed genomic sequencing-based diagnostic tests for a range of pediatric disorders. He also developed and published several tools and assays involving next generation sequencing and variant interpretation. Dr. Abou Tayoun is a co-chair of the Clinical Genome Resource (ClinGen) Hearing Loss Expert Group, and is a member of the ClinGen Sequence Variant Interpretation group. In both capacities, Dr. Abou Tayoun is working with international experts to establish guidelines and recommendations for sequence variant interpretation in general, and in the hearing loss disease area specifically.

IT Senior Director, Business Technology Leader, Emerging Markets, Medical Devices, covering Middle East, Central Eastern Europe, South Africa, Russia & CIS, Turkey and MISSA. Dedication to value creation, innovation, Quality and ethics. Strategist and Technology Evangelist, Business Transformation Catalyst, Digital Adviser and Influencer Leader with over 20 years of extensive experience in Healthcare, Telecom, Manufacturing, Government and Private Sectors in the Gulf Region, North America and MEA. Expertise spans Innovation and Creative Thinking, Business and Digital Transformation, Strategy, Planning, Program Management, Managed Services, Governance and Customer Experience. Held various management and senior leadership roles working for the private and government sectors including National Research Council of Canada, Department of Justice Canada, Revenue Canada, Bupa Arabia, Ajilon Communications, du Telecom, Ooredoo, Atos, Digital Equipment, Adecco, amongst others. Frequent public speaker and articles publication author on many technology, healthcare, business and customer experience topics. Digital Leader, Strategist and Technology Evangelist | Business Transformation Catalyst | Applied Learner, Collaborator, Advisor and Influencer Leader | Visualizer and Actualizer | Value Creator and Customer-Obsessed | Experimental and Thoughtful Risk Taker | People Leader and Coach | Positive Energy Generator and Change Agent | Inclusion and Diversity Leader

As the International Hospital Federation’s Programme Manager of Hospital Services, Alexandra manages a large portfolio of programmes on behalf of the IHF Secretariat including the IHF’s ‘Beyond COVID-19’ Task Force. With a background in local government and healthcare, Alexandra has previously worked at The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Switzerland and for NHS England, where she managed large-scale transformation programmes within the UK's national health system focused on delivering high-quality patient care. Passionate about improving outcomes in healthcare, Alexandra has a Masters in Health Policy from Imperial College London and a demonstrated interest in achieving social change through volunteering (currently supporting Switzerland’s Serve the City initiative).

Ali is a visionary business and technology strategist with experience in designing digital solutions and business models across multiple sectors including retail. Ali has delivered digital and business transformation programs involving people, process, data and technology for for large organizations in the public and private sectors. Ali is currently the Digital Transformation & Innovation leader at Cisco, Middle East. He started his career as a software engineer moving onto management consultancy where he worked with a number of international consultancy firms including PwC, E&Y, and IBM (GBS).

Dr. Ali Mostashari is a Co-Founder and the CEO of LifeNome (https://www.lifenome.com), a precision health platform headquartered in New York City, powered by Genomics AI technology. LifeNome is the leading science-based personalized health and wellbeing platform for global enterprises and has been recognized as a Global Innovator company by the World. Dr. Mostashari has served as a Member of the Futures Councils of the World Economic Forum and is among the top 20 cited scholars in the world in Complexity Science. Prior to LifeNome, Dr. Mostashari served as a Program Chair and Director of the Global Smart Cities Consortium at Stevens Institute of Technology. Between 2004-2008, he served as the strategic resource manager for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) overseeing a development projects portfolio of over $1.2 Billion in 44 sub-Saharan African countries.

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Amal Masalmeh, MSc in Health Care Management from Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI). Is currently working as a Clinical Operations Lead and Vendor Center of Excellence Manager for Gulf at Novartis Pharmaceuticals. Amal joined Novartis Pharma in Dubai, UAE in 2011 where her experiences established in building investigator networks and managing interventional and non-interventional clinical trials. Amal successfully achieving the improvement of the clinical research portfolio in terms of site diversity, clinical study management and audit outcomes. On top improving outcomes and oversight on clinical operation processes and vendors selection/approval across the Gulf.

Experienced humanitarian worker with a demonstrated history of working in the non- profit organization management industry. Skilled in Non-profit organization program development, team building, and management. Strong healthcare services professional with a Master of Art focused in Development and Emergency Practices and Master of Science in Public Health with great interest in patient experience.

A passionate healthcare professional with advanced experience in international business development, management and international standards conformance audits. Promotional, training and communication activities in the healthcare sector, in cross-border care strategies and elements, as well as in the certification and compliance assessment sectors have been the main responsibilities over the 10+ years of her experience in various countries as Germany, Cyprus, Croatia, Turkey, Brazil, Philippines, China, Hungary, Ukraine, Iran, Albania and Greece. An experienced business manager of accreditation and certification sector on international level, specialised in the wider healthcare sector (providers and satellite sectors) and an internationally active consultant and tutor for value-based care, risks' management, quality, patients' safety, regulatory and management systems. In the frame of the international business' expansion projects she has been evaluating partnerships worldwide through an innovative business SLA framework that she structured and implemented.

Dr Anil Bankar, is the Vice President of Business Intelligence for Global Medical Services. Dr. Bankar has diverse work experience in health and medical tourism, including consulting, strategic planning, research, teaching, and training. As an active and practicing Professor specializing in medical tourism, Dr. Bankar has affiliations with, Gulf Medical University UAE, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Institute of Clinical Research India, Global Healthcare Network, Web Med Central U.K., Infoline Research, TÜV Rheinland Middle East, Dubai Healthcare City, and Medico Travel Club. He is a member of the Sector Advisory Committee by National Qualification Authority (NQA), Government of UAE. Dr. Bankar is also developing a National Occupational Standard (NOS) for Medical Tourism in association with UAE medical tourism stakeholders. In addition, he was named one of the 100 Most Impactful Healthcare Leaders Award by CMO ASIA. Dr. Anil Bankar received his master’s degree in Tourism Administration and PhD from Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University. His research thesis is an analytical study, Organization and Management of Medical Tourism. It is the pioneer research study in the country

Dr Ann joined SEHA in June 2019 to lead the organization-wide Transformation program, supporting the development of high quality, sustainable and connected care for patients. She was previously Director of Strategy at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, including the lead for Tech Transfer. Prior to this as Director of OperationsDr Ann worked on the development of the Imperial College Academic Health Science Centre (AHSC), which was designated by the Department of Health as one of only six AHSCs in the UK in 2014. Dr Ann has extensive experience in private and public healthcare where she has developed models of care in areas such as trauma and cardiovascular disease. As the governance and organizational restructuring lead for one of the largest and most successful NHS mergers she has designed resilient, and cost-effective operating models. In a national patient safety role, Dr Ann worked with big data to analyse adverse and sentinel events reported by all NHS organizations, to improve learning and foster a culture of patient safety. She qualified as an Occupational Therapist and holds an MSc in Clinical Evaluation and a PhD on the subject of Healthcare Mergers, Performance and People.

Graduate of Alexandria Faculty of Medicine (Nov. 1984), with honor, Master Degree in Chest Diseases with a Critical care sub-specialty 1989 MRCP (UK) November 1997 and awarded FRCP (London) 2008. European Diploma of Intensive Care Medicine 2012 Currently, Consultant ICU Dubai Hospital. Examiner for the Royal College of Physician “UK”, Professor of Medicine Dubai Medical College, Chairman of the infection Control Committee Dubai Hospital.

Dr Al Mannaei plays a prominent role in the Department of Health and has overseen a transformation in patient care quality and safety. With the introduction of JAWDA Program in 2014, quality in Abu Dhabi took a leap towards building a quality of healthcare culture across the sector, while positioning Abu Dhabi as a global leader in Medical Tourism. The establishment of Abu Dhabi Healthcare Quality Index (Muashir) that provide star rating of healthcare provider performance based on the best international quality practices. Aspiring to raise the bar for the healthcare performance, Dr. Al Mannaei worked on developing an enabling ecosystem to allow revolutionary treatments and latest health technologies to be introduced in Abu Dhabi, in partnership with Advanced Technology Counsel, Department of Economic Development, Abu Dhabi Global Market, PlugAndPlay Dr Asma Healthtech hub linking healthcare research with industry. She is also leading the establishment of Abu Dhabi Drug and Medical products Authority that will accelerate the adoption of novel medications and technologies for a better healthcare Quality in Abu Dhabi.

Dr. Azad Moopen is an Indian Physician-turned Entrepreneur / Philanthropist based in Dubai. He passed his MBBS with Gold Medal and MD from the Government Medical College, Calicut and did his DTCD from Delhi University, India. In 1987. He is the Founder Chairman and Managing Director of Aster DM Healthcare, a public listed company in Indian Stock Exchange. Dr. Moopen has earmarked large part of his personal wealth for charity through Aster Volunteers (www.astervolunteers.com) for healthcare related and other social initiatives. Some of the ongoing activities are Free / Subsidized treatments in India, Refugee relief program in Syria since 2016 – Middle East, Cancer Screening Centres for the underprivileged in various countries, BLS Training of general population, Food for Famine affected population in Somalia, Providing jobs for people with special needs etc. Dr. Azad Moopen has received ‘Padma Shri’, ‘Pravasi Bharatiya Samman’, ‘Arab Health Award’ (in 2010) and the ‘Best Doctor Award’. He is the Board Member of Abu Dhabi University and is also the Director of ‘NORKA Roots’ (Non-Resident Keralite Affairs), and the Vice Chairman of SAFI (Social Advancement Foundation of India). He is the Founder President of AKMG (All Kerala Medical Graduates Association, UAE).

Babak has 10+ years of experience working in technology, construction, financial services and education sectors in the UK, Germany, France, and UAE. He is currently a Co-founder/Director at Plug and Play ADGM where he engages with private and public sector entities to support them in meeting their digital innovation and aiding them in connection. and collaborating with exceptional tech startups/scale-ups. He has supported the successful launch of two open innovation platforms in Berlin (for Energy & Sustainability) and Paris (for Smart Cities). Babak has moved back to the UAE to support and develop Plug and Play's existing and future partnerships in the MENA region. Babak and his team are proud to support the development of the Abu Dhabi, UAE and MENA tech ecosystems with Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) by building bridges between corporations, government entities, startups, and investors. Within 18 months, Babak and his team have established three Open Innovation Platforms servicing key stakeholders in the Health, Financial Services, and Travel/Tourism sectors. The Plug and Play ADGM's vision is to enable the MENA region to be a destination of choice for tech entrepreneurs and startups and a globally recognized tech hub. To meet this end, the mission is to create an open and frictionless B2B marketplace for local and international startups, by supporting corporations and government entities in their innovation/digital transformation journey. Babak is extremely motivated to see the region unlock its potential as a hub of technology and innovation. His previous experience in the tech domain includes playing a key role in the launch and growth of a high impact tech incubator which is now in 6 countries and founded 200 startups with a combined portfolio value of $1.5bn. He was also a founding member of a Rocket Internet startup in London in 2012. Having been an award-winning teacher and an Ambassador of Teach For All/Teach First, Babak is a founding board member for a social enterprise in the UK which has helped over 300k students to be inspired and motivated by tech and industry leaders - something Babak hopes to replicate in the UAE. Babak's passion lies in teaching, entrepreneurship, investment, and technology.

Baher is a dentist by study and a serial entrepreneur by practice, with 14 years experience in a broad spectrum of disciplines including product & technology, business, sales and marketing. Before Medicus AI, Baher founded CloudAppers digital agency in Dubai 2008 with 100+ projects under its belt, from which he stepped down in 2015 to start Medicus AI. He also founded napkin startup studio in 2012 with $850,000 in funding, that prototyped, built and launched many products, 3 of which were spun off as standalone companies. Most successful of them is Wally, a smart personal finance app that become no.1 finance app in 22 countries and currently has millions of users around the world

Bart is responsible for Data Science at the BeNeLux campus. During his career, he took on various leadership roles within Janssen R&D, IT and Commercial, at both local and international level. Bart was the coordinator of the EMIF project (European Medical Information Framework), an IMI (Innovative Medicine Initiative) funded project. He was one of the first advocates for re-using patient level data in the late 80s. He led the first innovation projects in Real World Data (RWD) and has been instrumental in developing the hospital network for the InSite Champion program, a follow-on project of the IMI EHR4CR project. Bart was one of the pioneers that started “Healthy Solutions” a J&J daughter company that focused on developing integrated services in the healthcare field. Between 1999 and 2003, he was in the core team that developed the initial Customer Relationship Management (CRM) approach for Janssen EMEA. Bart holds a Master’s degree in Biology from the University of Ghent (BE) and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam (NL).

In his current role Bart leads the Janssen Campus in The Netherlands. As Campus Lead he ensures internal strategic alignment on shared opportunities and interests. As the external face of the Janssen The Netherlands Campus, he represents the Janssen Campus towards internal and external stakeholders to strengthen the position and contribution of the Janssen companies in The Netherlands and establish Janssen as trusted partner and as the preferred Company in Dutch Life Sciences & Health. In addition, Bart is Chairman of the Leiden Bio Science Park Foundation, Member of the Executive Board of the Economic Board Zuid Holland and member of the Advisory Board of HealthHolland. Bart joined Janssen-Cilag The Netherlands in 1988 as a sales representative. Bart became Director Sales and Marketing for Janssen-Cilag The Netherlands in 2000 and Vice-President Sales & Marketing for Janssen-Cilag EMEA in 2003. From 2005 till 2018, Bart has been in Managing Director roles with responsibility for Janssen Switzerland (2005-2009), Janssen Benelux (2009-2012), Crucell (2012-2014) and Janssen Mid-sized markets (2014-2018). In that role Bart was responsible for the commercial activities of Janssen in the Benelux, Nordics, Baltics, Central- & Eastern Europe, Switzerland, Austria, Greece, Malta, Cyprus and Israel. From end-2018 till end-2020, Bart was VP Strategic Alliances EMEA & Janssen The Netherlands Campus Lead establishing a strong Janssen Campus in the Netherlands and successful exporting the Benelux Strategic Alliances concept to other countries in EMEA. Bart holds a PhD in genetics from the State University of Leiden.

Dr Ben Hanson has extensive clinical and senior healthcare management, digital transformation and innovation management experience in Australia, Saudi Arabia and UAE. He is a Certified International Healthcare CIO (CHCIO) by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executive (CHIME) and a Certified Health Informatician Australasia and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Digital Health (AIDH). He is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD). He has Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning qualifications from Oxford University and MIT. He is a licensed Physician in Australia and at FEMICLINIC in Dubai Healthcare City, with over 26 years direct clinical experience in high quality clinical care of patients, and an experienced educator and mentor of students and junior clinicians and colleagues. He also has 20 years of experience as a Managing Director and healthcare facility owner in Australia. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine UK and a Fellow of the RACGP. In 2016 he was the Founding Medical Director for Meraas Healthcare, a private holding company of the Ruler of Dubai and Vice President of UAE Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum. Dr Ben has been the CEO and CIO of Rivers International Management Services since 2017, with clients throughout Australia, MENA region, UK and Asia. Significant achievements in this role include as the Founding Senior Vice President of Clinical Alliance at the Abu Dhabi Health Data Services (MALAFFI), a PPP of the Department of Health Abu Dhabi and Mubadala. This initiative is the foundation of digital transformation and value-based healthcare in Abu Dhabi, with an Emirate-wide Health Information Exchange connecting all healthcare providers and patients as the core, and digital health platform including AI and ML powered analytics for advanced public and population health initiatives and chronic disease management. In 2018 with the MBF Group he was acting as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Medical Officer and lead executive in ICT and health informatics to establish 4 new hospitals with 500 beds in the Emirate of Dubai. These facilities were being developed in partnership with NHS International and The Christie from UK, and HCG from India. He was also recently the Founding Clinical Director for the innovative Abu Dhabi Stem Cells Center, owned by the Abu Dhabi Royal family. Their recent work with stem cell technology in the fight against covid19 has been remarkable and has earned international recognition and praise from the Crown Prince of the UAE.

Dr. Bhaskar Dasgupta is the Associate Director of Business Development at ADGM focusing on financial services across Emerging Markets and Europe. Dr. Dasgupta is responsible for overseeing the development of the banking, asset management, private banking sectors including key areas such as Crypto Assets, FinTech, Re‐Insurance, Sustainable Finance, Digital Banking and Digital Investment Management in ADGM. Prior to joining ADGM in 2019, Dr. Dasgupta was the Chief Operating Officer of UK Export Finance at the Department of International Trade, UK Government. His 25 year career included senior level business development and transformation roles in investment banking, transaction banking, technology and consulting in firms such as HSBC, ABN AMRO, Citigroup and PwC. Dr. Dasgupta holds a BSc in Mathematics from the University of Bhopal, an MBA in Finance from Indore University, a PhD in Financial Modelling & AI from the University of Manchester, and a PhD in Politics from Kings College London. He is currently completing a PhD in Food History from Brunel University.

Dr. Charles Alessi is a globally recognized and trusted leader in health care. He brings to HIMSS a wealth of experience, particularly around health systems and the interface between healthcare, social care and the personalization of wellness. He is a physician in London, with more than 35 years of experience in all aspects of clinical practice in the UK National Health Service. Most recently, he served as the Chairman of the National Association of Primary Care, part of the NHS confederation, where he was at the heart of the recent health and social care reforms. He is also the Senior Advisor to Public Health England, a position leading thought leadership around productive healthy ageing including dementia, targeting risk reduction. Furthermore, he fulfils key roles in PHE around digital interventions, particularly those that involve behavioral change. Other responsibilites include air quality and antibiotic prescribing. He forms part of the World Health Organization (WHO) Expert Panel that is formulating new guidelines around risk reduction in dementia globally and also leads thought leadership around productive healthy aging. He has extensive experience in military medicine, being a past Medical Director and Director of Clinical Governance for the British forces in Germany and was recently appointed to serve on the Reference Committee tasked with renewing military medicine in the United Kingdom. He holds a variety of international academic positions both in Europe and the Americas and has published widely in the media and journals. He is an Adjunct Research professor in Clinical Neurosciences at the Schulich School of Medicine at the University of Western Ontario, Canada and Visiting Scholar at the Odette School of business in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. He continues to advise major corporations and national governments around health and care reform, particularly where systemic reform and digital interventions are being considered.

Dr. Craig Cheifetz is currently the Regional Dean for VCU and UVA School of Medicine at Inova’s Regional Campusand Inova’s Vice President for Corporate Health Services for which services include: concierge medicine, executive healthcare, occupational health, employee assistance and wellness programs. He graduated medical school from the State University of New York at Buffalo both AOA and Summa Cum Laude and completed his residency and chief residency at Georgetown University Medical Center. His primary interests arein clinical and corporate health innovation and clinical education having completed both the Stanford Faculty Development Facilitator’s Program in Clinical Teaching and the Harvard-Macy Program for Leaders in Medical Education. Dr. Cheifetz has trained over 300 academic and community physician educators in how to become better clinical educators. He has lectured at the national, regional, and local levels in the area of clinical education.For the past 12 years, he has advised hundreds of companies, many of which are Fortune 100 companies, on effective and innovative strategies to optimize their health and wellness related workforce programs. Dr. Cheifetz has also served as a trusted medical advisor for the Inova Health System’s Personalized Health Accelerator. His Inova VIP 360 practice currently serves more than 80 companies, more than 4,000 executive, and concierge clients across 5 offices and 15 providers. Dr. Cheifetz is a regarded as a national leader and authority on regional medical campus education. Recently, Dr. Cheifetz was the 2020 award recipient for theACP Virginia Chapter Laureate Award which is presented to long-standing and loyal supporters of the College who have rendered distinguished service to their chapters and community and have upheld the high ideals and professional standards for which the American College of Physicians is known.In 2017, he received the Association of American Medical College’s Group on Regional Campuses’ Distinguished Service Award having led the national group 2011-2013 and authored the defining 2014 paper in Academic Medicine on categorizing regional medical campuses. He has been the recipient of two Golden Apple Teaching Awards from Georgetown for his past contributions to medical student and residency education. In 2005, he was named as the Young Internist of the Year for the state of Virginia by the American College of Physicians and in 2012 received the Walter J. MacDonald Award for the top young internal medicine physician in the United States. Dr. Cheifetz was the 2011 recipient of the Enrique Gerszten Faculty Teaching Excellence Award from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, which is their highest honor for a clinical educator to receive. In 2015, Dr. Cheifetz successfully developed and opened Inova’s Center for Advanced Medical Simulation (ICAMS) that currently serves students, residents, nurses, and attending’swhich in 2018 earned its’ national accreditation. Dr. Cheifetz is a model physician executiveleader who is passionate about providing outstanding and progressive clinical care, education, and innovation to his patients, learners and the community.

He is a recognised leader within the healthcare field known for crafting the requisite strategic vision to achieve business goals, global team-building and development. David Hadley is the Chief Executive Officer for Mediclinic Middle East, which is owned by Mediclinic International, one of the world’s leading private hospital groups. He has worked for Mediclinic International since 1993, and has enjoyed many positions throughout the company which enabled him to successfully command positions in Human Resources, Finance, Operations and Hospital Management. Mediclinic seconded David to Dubai in 2007 to complete the Mediclinic City Hospital Project and to head up the opening of the company’s first "off shore" facility, which opened in 2008 in Dubai Healthcare City. Since his appointment as the CEO of Mediclinic Middle East the group has grown to become the largest private healthcare provider in the UAE with seven hospitals and more than 20 clinics. They have also recently launched their first project in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He completed his commerce undergraduate education in South Africa (B-Comm), dividing his time between work and school, and holds a Master’s in Business Administration.

David spearheads the team in fulfilling Binah.ai’s vision and mission. A seasoned speaker and international industry leader, David is a serial entrepreneur who has taken numerous start-ups from vision to international success: Hexatier (acquired by Huawei), Precos, Vanadium-soft, GreenCloud, Teridion and others. Binah.ai is his 13th start-up where David sets the strategy and manages the execution of the company's mission to enable healthcare services to anyone, anywhere.

The Honorable Dr. David J. Shulkin was the Ninth Secretary of the US Department of Veterans Affairs having been appointed by President Trump. Secretary Shulkin previously served as Under Secretary for Health, having been appointed by President Obama and confirmed twice unanimously by the US Senate As Secretary, Dr. Shulkin represented the 21 million American veterans and was responsible for the nation’s largest integrated health care system with over 1,200 sites of care, serving over 9 million Veterans. Prior to coming to VA, Secretary Shulkin was a widely respected healthcare executive having served as chief executive of leading hospitals and health systems including Beth Israel in New York City and Morristown Medical Center in Northern NJ. As an entrepreneur, Secretary Shulkin founded and served as the Chairman and CEO of DoctorQuality and has served on boards of managed care companies, technology companies, and other health care organizations including the IsraelUAE Health Collaborative. Secretary Shulkin is the University of Pennsylvania Leonard Davis Institute Distinguished Health Policy Fellow and Professor at the Jefferson University College of Population Health. He is a board-certified internist and received advanced training in outcomes research and economics as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania. Over his career Secretary Shulkin has been named, “One Hundred Most Influential People in American Healthcare” by Modern Healthcare.

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His Excellency Dr. Jamal Mohammed Al Kaabi is the Undersecretary of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DOH), having previouslyoccupied prominent roles in Government operations followinghis experience in the military. Dr. Al Kaabi began his career in healthcare at HAAD (currently DoH), where he held the position of Section Head of Health Audit – Facilities, before being promoted to Head of Customer Services & Corporate Communications. In March 2014, Dr. Al Kaabi was appointed to work in the office of theVice President of the Executive Council, as a consultant to the healthcare sector,before taking on the role of Director of Social Developmentat the Abu Dhabi Executive Council. In July 2015, he moved to the General Secretariat of the Executive Council as Director of the Social Development Sector. Following this, in 2018, he was appointed Executive Director of Government Affairs. The following year, he served as Director General of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office. In February 2020, Dr. Al Kaabi moved to the Department of Finance (DOF), where he held the position of Director General of Governmental Affairs. In addition to his vast expertise in the government sector, Dr. Al Kaabi, presented a number of Arabic TV programmes, including the “Think about Health” and the “Oxygen”programmes on Abu Dhabi TV, in addition to the “Green Apple” show on MBC. Dr. Al Kaabi is a graduate of UAE University with a bachelor’s degree in Medicine and Surgery. He also holds a master’s degree in Public Health and Leadership from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the United States of America.

Dr Eldaw Suliman holds a PhD from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in USA in Population and health economic and works currently as an adviser at the Strategy and Governance Department in Dubai Health Authority. Dr. Suliman has over 20 years of experience in the field of strategic planning for healthcare health policies and research. He led several research projects as a consultant for the World Bank, The UNICEF, the UNFPA, The Futures Group, USAID and the Population Council International. Dr. Suliman have won research grants and funding in millions of US $ for conducting research and programs in population and family health. Dr. Suliman has worked as principal Investigator (PI) for several research projects on health service delivery establishments/facilities which included customer satisfaction and quality of care modules as well as household health surveys. Dr Suliman is an author for several articles published in peer-reviewed journals and appeared on TV, Radio and Newspapers in UAE many times speaking on healthcare issues.

Emily Hill is a Senior Vice President at Mubadala Healthcare and was appointed as Head of Strategy for Mubadala Healthcare in 2018 to lead strategic planning, portfolio diversification and transformational initiatives for Mubadala’s healthcare portfolio, a multibillion dollar investment portfolio of healthcare provision assets. Emily also actively supports Mubadala Healthcare’s Quality Patient Safety and the Research, Innovation and Education Board Committees. In 2020, Emily has supported the development of Mubadala’s Life Sciences strategy and supporting Abu Dhabi stakeholders in related initiatives. Emily first joined Mubadala Healthcare in 2011 and has held the several roles at Mubadala Healthcare in portfolio business development and strategic planning, as well as, asset management for Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. Emily has a Bachelor’s in International Political Economy from Boston University, and a MBA from Babson F.W. Olin School of Business, with a specialization in Management of Technology Intensive Enterprise. Previously, Emily worked in Boston, Massachusetts for Pfizer, Inc. for six years in sales and portfolio management for the neuro-psychiatry division, managing the largest volume and revenue account in the nation. Emily supports global health, women’s leadership and environmental causes. Emily is a proud mother of two children and enjoys travel, reading and yoga.

Fadi Haddad is an entrepreneur with 12 years of business experience in sales, marketing, and go-to-market strategies. Prior to joining Medicus, Fadi founded a startup in the direct-to-consume space, and prior to that, he held various positions with startups and corporates in Dubai, Singapore, Mexico City and Vienna. Fadi first joined Medicus AI as a consultant in 2018 which allowed him to dive deeper into Medicus’ industry transforming technology and the impact it will have on the world. He then officially joined the team in 2019 heading up global business expansion with the goal of enabling people everywhere to understand their health better.

Fodhil Benturquia is the Founder & CEO of Okadoc, the GCC’s leading healthtech startup with the mission to improve the healthcare experience for all. Under his leadership, Okadoc was named 2019 Arabian Business Start-up of the Year, Healthcare Innovator of the Year at the 2019 Entrepreneur Magazine’s Agility Awards and International Healthtech Start-up of the Year by CV Magazine He was named among the GCC’s top 100 inspiring leaders of 2019 by Arabian Business magazine and listed in the same magazine’s 40 top entrepreneurs and business leaders under 40. Fodhil is a veteran of the technology ecosystem in the region having co-founded MarkaVIP in 2010 and later joining the core team of Souq.com where he launched the Deal of the Day and rose to become the company’s head of Saudi Arabia, Souq.com’s largest market. In 2015, Fodhil was appointed Group CEO of Noon.com where he built the company from the ground-up to become one of the largest e-commerce players in the region. After a frustrating personal experience booking a doctor’s appointment, Fodhil founded Okadoc with a vision to leverage technology to simplify and improve the broken patient experience while at the same time improving operational efficiency for healthcare providers. Okadoc is the region’s first instant online appointment booking platform that seamlessly connects healthcare providers and doctors with their patients. Patients can use Okadoc to find in-network (insurance) doctors across any location, specialty, language spoken, or gender and view real-time availabilities, instantly book appointments, receive reminders, reschedule, cancel or even request earlier availability. For healthcare providers, Okadoc provides both a 24/7 intelligent medical calendar system and a fully interoperable solution that integrates with most hospital information systems. Okadoc helps doctors, clinics, and hospitals reduce 'no-shows', optimize their bookings, attract and engage new patients.

Fred Butler Jr has led improvements in the healthcare delivery system for more than 20 years. He is a national leader in generating results in the key areas of health promotion and disease prevention, clinical and operations management, population health, and the effective use of health information systems and knowledge management. Mr. Butler earned his Master of Business Administration, Master of Public Health, and Bachelor of Arts degrees from The George Washington University’s School of Business, School of Medicine and Health Science, and the Elliott School of International Affairs. Within the US Department of Health and Human Services, Mr. Butler served at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS). Fred demonstrated quality improvement expertise through execution of the HRSA Health Disparities Collaboratives, the Organ Donation and Transplantation Collaborative, the Patient Safety and Clinical Pharmacy Services Collaborative. He expanded his leadership in the development and execution of the Partnership for Patients achieving the program goal of 40% reduction in preventable Hospital Acquired Conditions and 20% reduction in avoidable readmissions in more than 3700 hospitals. Fred has served as faculty leading instruction in the Model for Improvement. He is a speaker at national and international conferences. Fred served as a Health Service Officer in the US Public Health Service. He was a key architect and leader in the development and execution of the Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative supporting clinical practices and 140k primary and specialty clinicians as they prepared to participate in value-based payment arrangements. Mr. Butler is the recipient of numerous awards for his commitment to health including: Federal Executive Board Silver Award; United States Public Health Service Outstanding Service Medal; United States Public Health Service Commendation Medal; the Hubert H. Humphrey Award for Service to America in recognition of the outstanding achievements that contributed to the improvement of the health and quality of the nation; the American Pharmacists Association’s Pinnacle Award; and the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Administrator’s Award for Excellence “innovative leadership, demonstrated results improving the health status of medically under-served, and sustained exemplary performance in support of the HRSA Health Disparities Collaboratives across our nation…” He has also played a prominent role in leading private organizations. Mr. Butler has served in several executive leadership roles including Vice President Health, Director Clinical Health and Quality and Chief Executive Officer.

Friedrich Lämmel is the CEO of Thryve - Europes leading provider for continous health data from wearables, medical devices and other sources. Thryve’s technology enables digital health services, insurers and care providers to access data of more then 300 data sources to get a better understanding of their users’ individual health. Prior to Thryve, he helped setup bespoke eCommerce solutions for multinational corporates from Retail, Fashion, Telecommunications and Entertainment. As a studied economist with a focus on entrepreneurship and international business relations, he worked and lived in several countries in Europe and Latin America.

Hamzeh joined Hikma Ventures in August 2016 and worked on closing 10 Digital Health deals in North America, serving as an observer board member on 4 of these companies. Prior to that, Hamzeh was part of the Corporate Treasury team at Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC (LON:HIK). He also held various finance roles at Phillips Morris International and Capital Investments in Amman, Jordan. After graduating from the George Washington University in 2010 with a Bachelor of Business Administration majoring in Finance, Hamzeh helped organize TedxDeadSea in Jordan. He was also the Co-Founder of a social networking platform based in Madrid, Spain.

Originally from Northern Australia, Harris is on a mission to improve Brain Health outcomes. That is, improved access, screening, diagnosis, treatment and prevention for brain health disorders across the lifespan including ADHD, autism, depression, addiction, bipolar, dementias and brain injury. He is an alumnus of Forbes 30 Under 30 and the Fulbright Scholar program. He was awarded the 2020 Innovation Award from the Australian American Chamber of Commerce and HP. Harris is seeking to reduce the burden of brain health disorders on patients, families, communities, and economies. These disorders cost the global economy trillions per year in lost productivity. As a Brain Health Executive, Harris is working to advance novel technologies into the market. He is President of PRODEO, a group of streetwise and mission-driven executives. PRODEO specializes in deep technologies including genomics, AI, digital biomarkers, gut-brain axis innovations etc. As a Brain Capital Builder, Harris is working to transform the way we consider the role of the brain in the economy. He has co-developed the field of Brain Capital, a form of capital relevant to a complex, interconnected and fragile global economy which puts a premium on brain skills and brain health. It ensures that the impact of brain health disorders are interwoven in a new understanding of the economy and to explore measures such as tracking, monitoring and evaluating diversified investment approaches. He actions this work as Co-Founder of the PRODEO Institute, which seeks radical advances in brain health - driven by a closer integration of diverse disciplines and sectors. It empowers brain health leaders with the facts, insights, and frameworks necessary to make informed and effective management, policy and funding decisions. As a Brain Health Diplomat, Harris is motivated to optimize the promise and mitigate the perils of technological innovation on brain health globally. He maintains advisory or adjunct roles with the Healthy Brains Global Initiative, the American Psychological Association, the American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry, the Stanford University Brainstorm Lab, Deakin University, the University of Melbourne and The University of Adelaide. Harris has authored 100+ papers and co-edits ‘Convergence Mental Health’ (Oxford University Press). Harris enjoys golf, hiking, biking, swimming, meditation, podcasts, foreign affairs and history.

Dr. Hatem Alameri is the Manager of Medical Education and Examination department at the Department of Health Abu Dhabi since 2017. From this position, he plays an integral role in setting strategy for ME in Abu Dhabi. He oversees the quality of ME programs at all levels and support the expansion of ME activities within the Emirate. He works with others in Abu Dhabi, UAE or international to establish strategic ME Initiatives, which aimed to transform academic medicine in Abu Dhabi.

Homero Rivas, MD, MBA, FACS, FASMBS is a Professor of Surgery, and Associate Dean of Innovation and the Future at the Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences in Dubai, UAE. Formerly he was Associate Professor and the Director of Innovative Surgery at Stanford University. As a digestive and bariatric surgeon, he has 18 years of experience. After his training in general surgery at the University of North Dakota, he completed two one-year fellowships in Minimally Invasive Surgery at the University of Louisville and also at the Hospital Clinic in Barcelona, Spain. He is certified by the American Board of Surgery. He is a pioneer and leader in numerous state-of-the art innovative techniques of minimal access surgery including: scarless surgery; natural orifice surgery; Per Oral Endoscopic Myotomy (POEM) for achalasia, robotic surgery, and more. He has been involved in minimal access surgery both nationally in the US and internationally in nearly all continents, as a surgeon-in-training, a practicing surgeon and also as teacher of other expert surgeons. Dr. Rivas Co-Chairs the International Committee for the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, and he has been inducted as Honorary Fellow for both, the Brazilian College of Surgeons and the Brazilian College of Digestive Surgery. Dr. Rivas has been involved in Digital Health for many years and has founded and advised many Digital Health startups. As a thought leader in Digital Health, he often collaborates with entrepreneurs and innovators from the Silicon Valley and now in the Middle East. He is also a Co-Founder and Director of the 8-Lab (Emergent Innovations in Global Health Lab). He is strong proponent of novel technologies in healthcare such as wearables, augmented and virtual reality, telemedicine, 3D printing, drones, artificial intelligence engines, etc. He teaches does some research on those subjects and also on implementing design thinking in medical education. He is the author of multiple peer-reviewed journals and book chapters. He is the Co-Editor of a book called “Digital Health, Scaling Healthcare to the World”. He holds an MBA from the Cox School of Business at the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX.

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Dr. Humayun J. Chaudhry is President and CEO of the Federation of State Medical Boards (U.S.) and Secretary of the International Association of Medical Regulatory Authorities, which he chaired from 2016 to 2018. He is a graduate of New York University, New York Institute of Technology and Harvard University. He trained in Internal Medicine at NYU-Winthrop Hospital, New York, and then served as a hospital DIO and then Assistant Dean and Chair of Medicine at NYIT. He became Health Commissioner for Suffolk County, New York, in 2007 and then FSMB’s Chief Executive in 2009. The FSMB co-owns the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) and its member boards license more than one million physicians in the United States. Dr. Chaudhry is the co-author of two books and more than 60 peer-reviewed articles.

With four decades of experience in healthcare, Irving Stackpole is the President of Stackpole & Associates, Inc., a strategy, marketing and research firm founded in 1991. Stackpole & Associates has conducted strategic research and marketing projects throughout the world, and has worked for providers, governments and agencies on 4 continents, and many countries, including Costa Rica, Korea, Saudi Arabia, India, Argentina, Colombia, Poland, Mexico, Cayman, Greece, as well as the EU and the UN. Irving is a mentor for the European Institute for Innovation in Health, an EU program to stimulate healthcare entrepreneurship. He edited Medical Tourism Marketing the 1st book on the subject, is the co-author of The Marketing Handbook in Health Tourism, co-hosts the podcast, The Medical Travel Show, is widely published, and has been quoted in The New York Times, The Financial Times, Forbes and many trade publications.

Jamie has over 20 years of experience in the medical device industry, building successful sales infrastructure and driving growth on a global scale. Prior to joining ResApp in April this year, hespent three years as International Sales Director with MolecuLight, who’s lead product is a CE Marked handheld point-of-care wound imaging device. However, the majority of Jamie’s career was spent at Olympus Medical where he held a number of senior sales and marketing roles in the UK, Middle East and Africa.

John is an award-winning technologist within the health and biotech sector. He holds multiple patents, and many of his products are being sold and actively sought internationally. John's expertise span across the entire product development lifecycle. Johns role within Connected Health is to coordinate the design & development of innovative technology products and technology-assisted patient services.

Kai Ling Ting leads innovation at Etihad Aviation Group, with a strategic focus on organisational capability development and culture change, accelerated innovation delivery and external partnerships. In her current role, she has conceptualised, designed and delivered Etihad’s innovation lab which provides seed funding, resources, streamlined governance and shelter to incubate promising ideas and accelerate the delivery of innovative projects for the organisation. In partnership with Microsoft, she launched MENA’s first ever in-house AI Academy for Etihad employees in early 2019. She also leads Etihad’s involvement as the founding anchor partner for Startup Runway, Abu Dhabi’s travel and hospitality accelerator programme delivered by Plug and Play ADGM. She is passionate about innovation that drives business value and is a firm believer in the power of partnerships, both internally and externally, to deliver change. Prior to joining Etihad, Kai Ling worked in strategic project management and marketing in Abu Dhabi and Singapore.

Dr. Katerina Gjorgjieva is Doctor of Dental Medicine with Master Degree in Public Health and Health Management with more than 12 years working experience in pharmaceutical industry different roles in sales and medical positions in international pharma companies. Currently working on identifying the areas for 3D Printing and implementing the 3D Printing Strategy in DHA.

KoveyKovalan’s life principal is impossible reads “I’m-Possible®.”He is an inventor and innovator with a passion for technology in the areas of visualization, artificial intelligence, graphics processing unit (GPU), and high-performance computing cloud. He bootstrapped, built and patented LifeVoxel.AI technology and deployed it at healthcare settings at imaging centers and hospitals. His past work experience includes Lead Software Developer for 3D Medical Imaging at Fujifilm Medical System, Principal Engineer at ORICON acquired by Lockheed Martin, and others. Kovey grew up in Malaysia and came to the US to further his education. Graduating from The Ohio State University with a Masters in Computer Science led him to multiple software engineering positions, one of which landed at Fujifilm Medical Systems. When the opportunity to provide better care for patients emerged, he left a stable career to pursue a lifelong calling to become an entrepreneur. LifeVoxel.AI was founded in 2007 when the US economy began to tank. Under his leadership, he bootstrapped to build the technology platform using consulting income, personal savings, family and friends funds, a prestigious National Science Foundation and other government grants. He obtained fourteen international patents, FDA clearance, and HIPAA compliance for the technology. The technology has been honored with North America Technology Innovation Award from Frost and Sullivan. He was invited and participated in Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) Innovation Summit. The AMD Innovation Summit showcases high growth software companies, including the latest in next generation gaming, Big Data and datacenter technologies. AMD is the second-largest supplier to Intel in the market for x86-based microprocessors. Both AMD and its competitor NVIDIA have dominated the GPU market. Kovey has built a leap inproprietary cloud for artificial intelligence and visualization using gaming technology for managing, viewing, and sharing large records online that solves critical challenges in the healthcare market and deployed using only a web browser. For this innovation, he holds fourteen patents, and the intellectual property list is growing. Customers are currently using and paying for the system and he can now grow the business by scaling sales.

Dr. Lina Reaide, is a PharmD currently practicing as a licensed Clinical Pharmacist in Clemenceau Medical Center, DHCC. Prior to joining CMC Dubai, she spent over 2 years at Clemenceau Medical Center affiliated with Johns Hopkins in Beirut before transferring to their new Dubai Branch last year. She obtained her B.S. in Pharmacy from the Lebanese American University in Lebanon and acquired her PharmD at Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas.

As Senior Vice President for Business Development and Operations,Lisa Cover is responsible for expanding ECFMG|FAIMER services, programs, and initiatives in conjunction with the enterprise’s strategic plan. Lisa provides overall leadership of signature programs including ECFMG Certification, ERAS Support Services, the Exchange Visitor Sponsorship Program, and credential verification services including the International Electronic Portfolio of International Credentials (EPIC). Ms. Cover’s expertise and experience focus on institutional strategy; new business development, both domestic and international; and operations management. Before joining ECFMG|FAIMER in 2015, she held several leadership roles over more than a decade at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), including Senior Director of International Medicine and Assistant Vice President of Planning and New Business Development. Prior to her time at CHOP, Ms. Cover held management positions at academic medical centers, including Columbia University in New York and BJC Health System in St. Louis. She also served as Senior Associate at a prominent health care consulting firm based in New York City. Ms. Cover holds a Bachelor of Applied Arts with emphases in public health and management from Central Michigan University School of Public Health and a Master of Health Administration from Washington University School of Medicine. She is active in a variety of professional and civic organizations.

Dr. Louiza (Pharm D, MBA, Ph.D.) has 10+ years of experience in Healthcare, Pharma, Biotech and Digital Health industries in Asia (China) and the Middle East & Africa. Over the last 5 years in the UAE, she was responsible for assisting government institutions and private players in the biotech/pharma sector to strengthen their vaccine manufacturing capabilities across the MEA region and Pakistan. She is also the co-founder of a Digital Health venture “ Magikcraft ” that develops health education videogames for Type 1 Diabetes and other diseases (cystic fibrosis, Type 2 Diabetes). Prior to that, she spent 8 years in China for her postgraduate studies and her early professional career in the recruitment industry for an Australian recruitment firm in Shanghai, helping F500 companies in the healthcare/Pharma sector find the best talent and expand in the Greater China area. She is currently the head of the MENA Health Tech Program at Plug and Play ADGM where, in Partnership with the Department of Health, she is working to develop the Digital Health Ecosystem in Abu Dhabi and across the MENA Region. Her role is to understand the specific challenges faced by the healthcare providers, payers, regulators and private Pharma/Biotech/Medical devices MENA Region, and provide tailored services from scouting the best digital technologies worldwide, ensure their market fit here and render them available for deployment here. Furthermore, she assists key healthcare stakeholders here to be able to absorb the new technologies these startups can provide by offering a series of educational workshops, seminars and roundtable discussions around digital transformation and corporate innovation. Given her extensive academic and professional experience across MEASA in the Biotech and Pharma industries, in conjunction with her passion for tech, this makes her well-positioned to understand the challenges of this region and find the technological tools best fit to address them. Dr. Louiza's passion lies in digital health, entrepreneurship, social impact and community service.

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With his extensive background in healthcare management, Mr. Majd Abu Zant brings a wealth of international and regional experience to UEMedical’s network of hospitals and clinics in his role as the Chief Operating Officer. Since joining in 2007, he has been the driving force behind numerous successful collaborations with leading international healthcare providers, creating strong clinical partnerships and establishing world-class facilities in the UAE and KSA. In his current role at UEMedical, Mr. Abu Zant oversees the organization’s overall strategy and effective operations. Moreover, he is the CEO of HealthPlus Network of Specialty Centers, part of UEMedical group, which has started with a single outpatient specialty center in 2010; and has expanded to include a chain of leading IVF centers in UAE and KSA, a number of family clinics and highly specialized centers in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Prior to joining UEMedical, Mr. Abu Zant was Deputy Chief Operating Officer and Director of Support Services at King Hussain Cancer Center, one of the most prominent cancer institutions in the region. Mr. Abu Zant holds a Master’s degree in Healthcare Management from the Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland (RCSI) and a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology and Immunology from McGill University, Canada.

Maria D. Georga is a Health Tourism professional, IMTJ article contributor and International Speaker. She is the Regional Manager of LaingBuisson dealing with its international business sector. The company is a leading company in Health Tourism and has a long & deep expertise in Medical Travel Consultation & Solution projects, International Surveys, Web Media Marketing, Medical Tourism Conferences and Workshops. LaingBuisson though is widely known for www.TreatmentAbroad.com the main gate for patients who are looking for healthcare options abroad and for the International Medical Travel Journal www.Imtj.com the main e-newspaper currently distributed to readers from all over the world. Mrs Georga is a University graduate with studies in Business Administration & Philosophy. She is an awarded writer of two books. Her interviews have been published in local and international Web, Press and TV media. She has participated several health tourism events and seminars as an international speaker. Her involvement with ministries, associations and healthcare providers from different destinations has given her an international perspective of Health Tourism.

Martin Fletcher is the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency which implements the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme regulating more than 790,000 health practitioners in partnership with 15 National Health Practitioner Boards. Prior to joining AHPRA, Martin was Chief Executive of the National Patient Safety Agency in England. From 2004-2007, Martin worked with WHO to establish a global patient safety program.

Martin leads the team responsible for supporting Janssen operating companies in achieving and maintaining patient access to the company‘s portfolio of innovative products across Europe, Middle East and Africa, a role which he has held for the past six years. Prior to this, he was Director of External Affairs at Janssen UK, where we led a number of functions, including Health Technology Assessment, Market Access, Health Policy, Government Affairs and Communications. During this time, Martin also spent six years as an industry representative of NICE’s Apprasial Committee, which makes recommendations on the availability of medicines in England and Wales. Martin joined Janssen from GlaxoSmithKline, where he worked in the Global Health Outcomes team on products in respiratory and infectious diseases. During his twenty four years in the Pharmaceutical Industry, Martin has gained extensive experience of working with Healthcare Decision-Makers and HTA agencies and was responsible for introducing the first NICE approved patient access scheme into the UK. This innovative risk-sharing arrangement secured a positive NICE decision and national funding for a new oncology medicine. Martin originally qualified as a Clinical Pharmacist working in a busy general hospital, before returning to Academia where he completed a PhD in Health Outcomes Research, whilst continuing to work as a Community Pharmacist.

Melanie Endicott is Senior Director of International Education & Training for AHIMA International. She has developed education and conducted training around the globe on health information management (HIM) topics such as medical coding, clinical documentation integrity (CDI), and health data analytics. Prior to joining AHIMA in 2004, Ms. Endicott served as the program director and lead instructor of Spokane Community College and was a health information analyst at a large acute care hospital in Washington State. For the past 20 years, she has been a frequent presenter on coding, CDI, and other HIM topics locally, nationally, and internationally. She has also been an educator in the HIM programs at the University of Cincinnati, Stephens College, and Loma Linda University. Ms. Endicott holds a Master’s of Business Administration and Healthcare Management from the University of Phoenix and a Bachelor’s of Health Information Management from Carroll College

Milo is a Business Development Executive at Infermedica, who joined the company in 2015 just before its global expansions started. He is a young professional passionate about technology and the future of healthcare. In his work, Milo is helping Infermedica to deliver tailored AI medical solutions to crucial business partners all over the world, such as Microsoft or Al-Habib Medical Group.

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Mohamed is a pharmacist by education and has a strong passion to clinical research via support on getting patients the right access to new treatments. He is a certified GCP holder from Royal College of Physician United Kingdom and Certified Clinical Project Management. Mohamed has been working over the past 13 years in pharmaceutical and CRO industry both in commercial and clinical operations fields, having strong knowledge and experience in all phases of clinical trials from Phase I to Phase IV and all types of research designs and methodology across Middle East and Africa.

Currently the Director of IT for The Ministry of Health and Prevention, Mubaraka Ibrahim is, in many ways, the face of Healthcare IT – not only in The UAE but in the Arab region in general. Possessing an impressive career track record, spanning over 20 dynamic years, and affiliating with many world renowned IT organizations, she has participated as keynote speaker in endless conferences, exhibitions and discussions pertaining to the imperative role IT plays in today’s healthcare. Possessing a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Kuwait University and Master Degree in Information Management systems from The American University in Washington along with a Healthcare Leadership diploma from The Harvard School of Public Health, Mubaraka’s passion in the relationship between Health and Information Technology is easily recognized. Her key involvement in the multiple national healthcare technology projects, such as Riayati (National unified medical Record) Track & Trace, are just a few of many on her resume – she wasn’t named in the top 50 CIO and top Female Executives Middle East for no reason – these are just a few accolades to mention.

Dr.Nabila AlAwadhi is the head of Aeromedical section at General Civil Aviation Medicine. Dr Nabila is the first Aeromedical Inspector in the UAE and is recognised as the founder of the section.

Dr. Ramadan AlBlooshi is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dubai Healthcare City Authority – Regulatory (DHCR) Dr Ramadan holds a Masters’ degree in business administration (MBA) from the Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, and in Science (gastroenterology) from the Queen Mary University, London, UK. In addition, he holds an Executive Diploma in Public Administration from the National University of Singapore. He is a member of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and a participant of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Program for Leadership Development (MBRPLD), an innovative leadership program designed to develop future national leaders capable of promoting the sustainable development of Dubai. Prior to joining in October 2014, Dr Ramadan was the Director of the Health Regulation Department at Dubai Health Authority (DHA). Committed to raising the standards of healthcare delivery, played an instrumental role in establishing clinical governance in the emirate. He was also tasked with leading medical tourism strategy and setting up policies in healthcare practice in both government and private sectors. His journey into governance was preceded by clinical roles - three years as internist with the UAE Ministry of Health (MOH) and two years as a gastroenterologist at Rashid Hospital. In his career, he has demonstrated expertise in areas including registration, regulation of facilities and professionals, inspection of healthcare facilities, customer care, polices and standards, complaints management, health informatics and medical tourism.

Highly-experienced and senior Technology & ICT executive, innovation enthusiastic, entrepreneurship and startup strategies. Currently, Rashid is leading InfraX, the ICT arm of Digital DEWA a subsidiary owned by Dubai Electricity & Water Authority - DEWA. Before that Rashid worked as Senior Director Special Projects & External Affairs with du in the UAE, after earlier roles with the company including Director of External Affairs and Director of Fixed Access Network Planning. Rashid skills and experience encompass the development of commercial and digital innovation strategies, international relations, technology innovation leadership, project management, the identification of new trends, technical knowledge (earlier roles in network management), team leadership, staff coaching/development and improving customer experience, start-ups, and entrprunrship ecosystem. Innovation practitioner, focusing on helping organizations to use technology to build sustainable winning strategy.

Rasmus Prior Gjesing is the Director for Health Economics and Market Access with responsibility for Value-Based Healthcare at Johnson & Johnson, Medical Devices in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa). He holds Master of Science degrees in both Pharmacy and Health Economics. During the past 20 years he has lived and worked in diverse settings incl. 6 years in the Middle East. His experience stems from both medical devices and the pharmaceutical industry as well as the WHO (essential drugs programme). His main area of focus is on how decisions are made within the healthcare sector – and in particular how health economics can be a valuable tool for improving such decisions by having a stronger focus on achieving the outcomes that matter to patients and healthcare systems.

Responsible for strategic, operational planning and implementation of the joint collaboration programs between WHO and each of UAE and Qatar since there is no office for WHO at country level to oversee and manage joint initiatives, ensure ongoing technical, policy advice and support to health authorities and national stakeholders by liaising with regional and Headquarters technical programs.

Dr Al Gurg is the Director of Strategy and Institutional Excellence and a member of the Health Policy faculty at Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU). She graduated from the University of Sharjah, UAE with a BSc in Medical Lab Technology in 2004, before being awarded master’s degrees from both King’s College London, UK and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dubai Campus, UAE. She subsequently undertook a PhD at the University of Bradford, UK, investigating ‘The factors that influence nutrition intervention in the United Arab Emirates’ healthcare system’. Prior to her appointment at MBRU, Dr Al Gurg was Adjunct Faculty in the Health Science Department, Zayed University, Dubai and a Senior Executive of Medical Affairs at Dubai Health Care City, UAE. Dr Al Gurg has been awarded several noteworthy accolades including the ‘Best presentation at the E-health conference (HBMEU)’ in 2009, the Sheikh Rashid award for ‘Outstanding scientific research’ (2016) and, this year, an ‘Inspiring women in healthcare’ award.

Clinical Pharmacist graduated from King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah. Worked at IABH Dammam National Guard 2010-2012. Experienced Performance Specialist with a demonstrated history of working in the hospital and healthcare industry. Skilled in Management and Public Speaking. Strong Human Resources professional with advanced skills in conflict resolution. Peace studies and Conflict resolution from George Mason University.

Dr. Robin Ohannessian, MD MPH, is a medical doctor specialized in public health from Paris, France. He is the director of Télémédecine 360, a dedicated consulting agency for telemedicine, telehealth and digital health, created in 2015, currently advising Ministries of Health and international organizations such as the United Nations. He is also an academic researcher on telemedicine applied to neurology and stroke and board member of the French Society of Digital Health. Dr. Robin Ohannessian has conducted several works on telemedicine policies and, most recently, has published a global call to action for telemedicine integration in pandemic response for COVID-19.

Rolf Hartung was born in 1954 in Bonn-Germany. He started his medical studies in Bordeaux-France in 1973 and graduated in Bonn-Germany in 1979. His internship in Argentina was followed by two years of PhD in histopathology department of RWTH - University Aachen-Germany. Hereafter he completed his residency training in general surgery in the surgical department of the university hospital Aachen and became Facharzt in general surgery in 1987. He specialized in visceral and endoscopic surgery and subspecialized in visceral & digestive surgery in 1997. In 2009 he became Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and Fellow of the International College of Surgeons of America, and in 2012 Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow. He worked for 16 years as head of consultants in EKM Hospital in Muelheim, an academic teaching hospital of the University Duesseldorf-Germany. In 2003 Rolf Hartung became head of general surgery in Rashid Hospital Dubai. From 2006 till January 2014 he was the head of the new general surgery department in Dubai Hospital. In June 2013 he joined BR Medical Suites in Dubai Healthcare City as consultant general surgeon and Head of Surgical Department, and Mediclinic City Hospital in Dubai Healthcare City. He became Medical Director of Mediclinic City Hospital in 2017 and is currently the CMO at Al Zahra Hospital Dubai since November 2020. Rolf Hartung is assoc. professor of surgery in Mohammed Bin Rashid University and member of the academic board of the medical college at MBRU. He also is member of the advisory board in Dubai Medical College. He was program director of Dubai Residency Training Program in general surgery from 2004 until begin 2010. His interests are endocrine surgery, hernia surgery, minimally invasive surgery and high tech developments in medicine such as robotic surgery and OPMI surgery. He is member of numerous committees, international surgical associations and faculty member of multiple international surgical and medical societies. He is UAE governor of ELSA, foundation and main board member of IFSO chapter UAE, past president of GCC Hernia Society-a chapter of APHS, President of APHS from 2019 to 2021 and past-president of ESLES Emirates laparo-endoscopic society of surgeons. He has organized 21 international conferences and congresses in Dubai, and more than 100 local and national meetings. Rolf Hartung is examiner for MBBS in several national and international universities. He is reviewer and editorial board member of international journals and has given more than 200 presentations in international conferences and meetings. He has published numerous articles in international journals and books. In his functions as director of surgery and Medical Director he has been chairing and member of multiple committees including COVID-19 command and control committee, infection control, clinical review, quality and patient safety, OR-committee, ethics and research, medical liability, transplant, brain death committee, clinical utilization, recruitment, IT, M&M, medical affairs board, medical records, head of department and pharmaceutical committee. He also chairs investigation committees and serves as expert advisor in legal cases.

Saif Aljaibeji is Co-Founder & Chairman of Sehteq, a digital health insurance startup based in Dubai. Saif was the regional CEO at UnitedHealth Group. He worked with Aetna, Daman and AXA Green Crescent prior to that. He also worked as a policy maker at DHA and DGHR.

Mr. Saleh Al Hashimi has MBA from CASS Business School - City University – London UK. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Health Insurance Corporation. He was Deputy Secretary-General of “Tamaiaz Wa Falak Tayyeb Award” and was a Member in “Absher initiative” which supervised by Ministry of Presidential Affairs and implemented by Ministry of Human Resources & Emiratization in order to provide a decent life for UAE citizens. Additionally, He held executive positions in the banking and insurance sectors and he has great experience in family business.

Salvatore Lavallo is the Acting Head of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)at the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO). Prior to joining ADIO, Salvatore has held roles across an eclectic range of industries and organisations. Salvatore started his career with Invest in Bavaria before founding Trail of Seeds – an NGO promoting culturally inclusive development around the world. He has also held positions at McKinsey and Company, Akemi Venture Partners and, most recently, acted as an advisor for the Tony Blair Institute. Salvatore also holds the distinct honour of having travelled to every country of the world – one of the youngest ever to do so – as part of his “193Journeys” project where he shared images and stories with over 100k social media followers. The project was featured in Conde Nast, CNN, the New York Post and more. Salvatore holds an International Baccalaureate from the United World College as well as a B.A. in Culturally Inclusive Development from New York University where he was the recipient of the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholar for Devotion to Service and President’s Service Award.

Dr. Samir Said leads the Connected Care and Healthcare Informatics at Philips, supporting Health Institutions with Innovative Solutions in their Digital Transformation journey to better serving patients. Before working at Philips, Dr. Samir was the General Manager, Health, Social Services, and Life Sciences for the Middle East and Africa at Microsoft Corporation. Prior to joining Microsoft in 2007, Dr. Samir spent 10 years in the Pharmaceutical Industry as General Manager at Eli Lilly and Novartis. Samir is a physician with a specialty in Psychiatry and Mental Health. He also advised the World Health Organization on National Mental Health Programs.

Director of medical strategy and performance at UNICANCER (a French hospital group, covering 18 French comprehensive cancer centers), Paris, France. Responsible for development of management tools for the French hospital market (benchmarking on economic indicators, branches of activity, market studies), developing organizational audits (operating rooms, radiation therapy, consultation, outpatient care, pharmacy), drafting and defending UNICANCER's position before the ministry of health concerning financial issues and hospital pricing systems. In 2013, She has supervised a study on the evolution of the treatment of cancer patients (EVOLPEC) to assess the consequences and financial impact. This study was very successful, in 2016 she continued to explore these issues until 2025. Since March 2017, in addition to her previous responsibilities, she is also responsible for the following departments: - Medical information center - Efficiency pole - Quality and risk management, - Medical-Scientific Project and EEQ, - Health Law Since 2018, she has defended the Unicancer’s position before the French Ministry of healthconcerning financial issues of article 51, a new financial plan for experimenting new health system organizations based on innovative funding approaches.

Shahrukh K. Hashmi, M.D., studies cancer survivorship and late effects of blood and marrow transplantation. This includes physical and psychosocial illnesses that result as a late effect of chemotherapy or radiation. The translational aspect of Dr. Hashmi's research focuses on the biology of aging in cancer survivors. Dr. Hashmi's interests also include development of novel agents for treatment of graft-versus-host disease.

Dr. Shazya Rashid Lakadawala is a licensed Clinical Psychologist at Rashid Hospital, Dubai Health Authority (DHA), and a Certified EMDR therapist. She obtained her master’s degree from India, and her doctorate from the United States of America. She has worked in India and in the U.A.E, both in the government and private institutes, and has more than 18 years of experience in the field of Clinical Psychology. Presently, Dr. Shazya leads and supervise the psychology team, and her core areas of expertise is in mind-body work, and in grief and trauma therapies. She uses an elective treatment modality, and specializes in Client-Center Approach, Inter-Personal Therapy, Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT), Play Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization Therapy (EMDR), Hypnotherapy and Core Somatic Integration Therapy. Dr. Shazya offers psychological services for people experiencing stress and adjustment problems, suffering from PTSD, Depression, Anxiety, Phobia, Mood Disorder, Addiction and Personality Disorder. She works with both children and adults, providing individual, couples, family, children and group psychotherapy and supportive counseling. Additionally, Dr. Shazya specializes in crises intervention, psychometric assessments, forensic evaluation and testing. She is actively involved in providing clinical supervision for trainees, and sharing her insights through workshops and presentations on different psychology related topics within the community and for health care workers, patients and families.

Sir Terence is an eminent clinical academic and took up the position of Chair on 1 September 2019. He is Nuffield Professor of Child Health at the University College London Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and Honorary Consultant Paediatrician at UCL Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust & Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust. Sir Terence is also a former Dean of the University of Nottingham’s Medical School, President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, Chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, and most recently of the General Medical Council.

Prof. Tawfik A. M. Khoja got his bachelor degree of medicine and surgery (MBBS) from King Saud University in 1982, Higher diploma as a GP in Family Medicine, same university in 1986. He is the fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners (FRCGP) since 1989 and the fellow of the Faculty of Public Health (FFPH) since 2003. He was awarded in June, 2003 the Professorial ship in health systems and quality (Adjunct Professor) from Oklahoma University, USA. He got the fellowship in medicine in 2007 (FRCP). At the beginning of 2010 he received the Professional ship degree from Imperial College, London – UK. Prof. Tawfik Khoja is a Family and Community Medicine Consultant & Prof. of Public Health. He was the Director General, Executive Board, Health Ministers’ Council for the Cooperation Council States for more than 16 years. He is now the General Secretary of the Arab Hospital Federation, as well as Deputy Chairperson of Arab Union Anti -Forgery and Counterfeit. He is a member of the Board of Islamic Organization for Medical Sciences. He is the chairperson of the Saudi Epidemiology Society. Prof. Tawfik Khoja is the author and co-author of many books and manuals which were over 40, he published more than 115 research and scientific articles in various international, regional and national scientific journals. He is a reviewer of a number of local, regional, and international journals. He was awarded more than 30 Medals and Certificates, and Order of Merits. He is the founder and a member of more than 35 scientific societies, associations and organizations.

Dr Kgosi Letlape, is currently the Chairperson of the Medical and Dental Board and the President of the Health Professions Council of South Africa. He has obtained his MBChB degree in medicine from the University of KwaZulu Natal in 1981. In 1988, he completed his FSC (OPHTH) degree in Ophthalmology at the College of Ophthalmology Medicine South Africa. In the same year he obtained his FRCS (OPHTH) degree in Ophthalmology at the University at Edinburgh.

Tina is a Certified Health Coach (IIN) Personal trainer and Registered Nurse who has worked in the healthcare industry for 30 years in both the healthcare environment and the corporate world. She believes in a holistic approach to health that incorporates fitness, nutrition and lifestyle changes that promote both physical, mental and emotional well-being. Tina can provide you with tools and support to empower you to make changes in behaviour and mindset that will help you achieve a healthier lifestyle With over 20 years of experience in the corporate world Tina has an in-depth understanding of the stress and impact a demanding corporate role can have on you. Her Corporate Wellness program focuses on helping individuals manage their time ensuring they don’t lose sight of their health and wellbeing. She can provide group sessions or one- one coaching for those who may require it.

Vignesh is the India Lead for Drones and Tomorrow's Airspace at the World Economic Forum's Future of Mobility Platform and has actively been involved in implementing drones in healthcare logistics through the 'Medicine from the Sky' initiative. He was the President (2017-2019) and Founding Member of the Drone Federation of India – the voice of India’s UAV industry that focuses on industry advocacy, governance, and policy. In 2018, as part of the DFI, he commissioned the ‘Drone Festival of India’, the biggest commercial UAV conference in the region. Alongside this, he headed Marketing and Digital Initiatives for Quidich Innovation Labs, one of India's leading UAV companies, based in Mumbai. Prior to UAS, Vignesh was an Information Security Business Analyst with Wipro Technologies where he spent close to three years in Warsaw and Singapore working on BFSI projects prior to pursuing his Management Studies. Post-MBA, he worked with AP Moller-Maersk where he managed B2B initiatives in North Africa, Middle East, and the United States.

Vishnu is the Managing Director of the Janssen business in GCC based out of Dubai since January 2017. He is a member of the executive committee of the PhRMAG (Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers Association Gulf) and is the mentor of the regulatory working group. Vishnu joined Johnson & Johnson in 2002 and has worked with Johnson & Johnson in the Europe, United States, Middle East & Asia Pacific. Vishnu has had a diverse career in J&J having worked across functions including Global Marketing, Product Development, Business Development, General Management and Mergers & Acquisition. Prior to his current role, Vishnu was the Managing Director for Johnson & Johnson in Indonesia with responsibility of leading the Medical Device, Pharmaceutical, Consumer Healthcare and Vision care businesses in Indonesia. Vishnu was also the Vice President for the Global Orthopaedics Group leading the business for the South Asia cluster based out of Singapore and a member of the Asia Pacific Management Board. Vishnu holds a Bachelor of Engineering from University of Pune, India, and an MBA degree from McGill University, Montreal, Canada.

Dr. Walid Zaher, Chief Research Officer at Group 42 Healthcare the Abu Dhabi – based leading Artificial Intelligence and Cloud Computing company, is helping fulfill the UAE Leadership’s vision and commitment to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic by directing the world’s first phase III clinical trial of a COVID-19 inactivated vaccine. He is also an Associate Professor at UAE University. Dr. Zaher graduated with bachelors of medicine and surgery from Saudi Arabia with a residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology, followed by Master’s degrees in Medical Education, Anatomy & Embryology and Bioscience Technology. In addition, Dr Walid holds a PhD in Regenerative Medicine from Denmark, and a Photo-Medicine attachment at Harvard-MGH (Boston-USA). Before joining Group 42, Dr. Walid was Corporate Group Director of Research Development and Innovation at the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company – SEHA. He was also the director of the College of Medicine Research Center at King Saud University (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia), a consultant for the Saudi 2020 National Biotechnology Infectious Disease Plan and an assistant professor of regenerative medicine.

Willie heads the Business Performance Improvement unit at Mediclinic Middle East, which forms part of Mediclinic International, a private healthcare services group consisting of 77 hospitals, five sub-acute hospitals, 15 day-case clinics and 22 outpatient clinics. Mediclinic Middle East operates seven hospitals, two day-case clinics and 19 outpatient clinics with more than 900 inpatient beds in the United Arab Emirates. Willie’s career at Mediclinic began 25 years ago at a small-town hospital in South Africa. With a background in finance, Willie’s journey with Mediclinic includes hospital administration and financial management, corporate funder relations, and commercial management. His current position sees him exploring and leading a range of projects and initiatives focused on process efficiencies, business development, digitalisation, and innovation.

Zahra Mansoor is the Global Brand Protection Manager for Johnson & Johnson (Middle East, Africa & Pakistan) supporting Medical Devices, Pharmaceuticals and Consumer Health products. In her role, Zahra is responsible to combat illicit trade activities such as counterfeiting, tampering as well as parallel trade for all J&J’s products to ensure patient and consumer safety. She is responsible to partner with Health Authorities, Law Enforcement Agencies as well as key institutions to address illicit trade issues within the industry. Prior joining Johnson & Johnson, Zahra was in GE Corporate covering regional responsibilities. Zahra has a double major degree in Finance & Management from the American University in Dubai.

Dr Zisis Kozlakidis is the Head of Laboratory Services and Biobanking at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC/WHO). He is responsible for one of the largest and most varied international collections of clinical samples in the world, focusing on gene–environment interactions and disease-based collections. This WHO infrastructure supports multinational efforts in making treatments possible and delivering those to resource-restricted settings.Dr. Kozlakidis has significant expertise in the field of biobanking and has served as President of ISBER. Dr. Kozlakidis is a virologist, with a PhD in microbiology from Imperial College London. He is an elected Fellow of the Linnean Society of London, the Royal Academy of Sciences, UK, and a Turnberg Fellow of the UK Academy of Medical Sciences. Dr Kozlakidis has contributed to seminal studies in the adoption of innovations into routine healthcare, and their associated financial impacts. He is scientific advisor to the PTEN Research Foundation, holds an MBA from Cass Business School, City University, London, and he is a co-founder of the City Healthcare Innovation Network, a conduit for providing and strengthening contacts between healthcare start-ups and financial institutions based in the financial district of London.