THE TOP SUSTAINABLE COMPANIES
UAE PANEL
(CONTRIBUTORS / ADVISORY)
An evolving cross-section of professionals
Amjad Rihan, Director of Climate Change & Sustainability Services, Middle East - Ernst & Young
Amjad heads a team which offers advice on and solutions to climate change and CDM projects, GHG management, sustainable energy, corporate sustainability management and reporting, green building, life cycle assessment, waste management, environmental management systems and occupational health & safety management systems. Amjad worked with leading multinationals, including Fortune 500 companies, in Canada and the UK as a Specialist in Business Sustainability Solutions. Examples of organizations that Amjad serviced include and not limited to: GE, ALCOA, Bombardier, Scotiabank, Mercedes-Benz, Honeywell, Unilever, Lafarge, Holcim and Sears. Besides his private sector experience; he consulted for different departments of the United Nations in Germany and Jordan and also has experience working within governmental departments in the Middle East.
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Asmaa Al-Shabibi, Director, Art Dubai and START
Asmaa Al-Shabibi is currently a Director at Art Dubai, the region’s leading international art fair, with responsibilities for fundraising and regional relationships. She is also plays an active role in the fair’s children’s art education programme, which runs regular workshops for underprivileged children and young people with special needs. Before entering the art world Asmaa trained as a solicitor practising finance and capital markets law with an international law firm.
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Charles Neil, CEO, Landmark Advisory (Division of Landmark Properties)
Charles Neil is an experienced senior financial executive who joined Landmark in 2008 following his tenure with the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). In DIFC, he held many executive posts, including Director of Special Projects (Legal), Commissioner for Data Protection and Commissioner for anti Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism. He was one of the original executives recruited to found the DIFC. Prior to the DIFC, Neil was GM of Emirates Bank International Dubai, heading corporate and commercial banking, as well as overseas operations and treasury. Before that he was the Regional Head for Lloyds Bank (International) responsible for commercial, private and retail banking, as well as treasury operation. He was the founding Chairman of the Dubai-based British Business Group (BBG). In addition, he is a Governor at Dubai College.
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Chip Harris, MD, Aqualyng Industrial Services & Suppliers
Chip Harris has been active in the water treatment field since the mid 70’s and involved with membrane treatment consistently since 1979. He has worked in the "field" for many years, being responsible for service, commissioning, training and construction supervision and management of membrane facilities for potable, industrial and waste treatment applications in his early years in the business. Of late he has been involved in the process, mechanical and electrical (I&C) design for numerous types of membrane facilities including Ultrafiltration, Nanofiltration, Brackish RO and Seawater RO. After 5 years as an independent water consultant he joined Aqualyng Holdings AS in hopes he can help to move Aqualyng more firmly into the global marketplace. Chip is the Chief Technical Officer of Aqualyng and a member of the International Desalination Association (IDA), European Desalination Society (EDS), American Water Works Association (AWWA), American Membrane Technology Association (AMTA), Southeastern Desalting Association (SEDA), South Central Desalting Association (SCDA) and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). He has published numerous papers on desalination in general and energy recovery in particular.
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Clare Woodcraft, Regional Communications Director, Shell
Overseeing a team of 50 communications professionals, Ms. Woodcraft is responsible for managing Shell’s reputation in fifteen countries in the region for both the upstream and the downstream business. Prior to joining Shell, she was the Head of Public Affairs for Visa International for Central Eastern Europe, Middle East and North Africa covering 84 countries. In this role Clare was involved in various lobbying initiatives related to the regulatory environment for electronic payments in addition to promoting payments as a means of promoting economic growth and transparency. Earlier roles include Director of Strategy at ASDA’A PR Consultancy in the UAE, one of the largest PR agencies in the region and the affiliate of Burson-Marsteller in the Middle East. She was also formerly the Finance Editor of the regional oil and gas journal, Middle East Economic Survey (MEES) based in Cyprus where she reported on regional capital markets, bank performance and energy finance. On graduation, Clare spent several years working as a development practitioner in Palestine with numerous NGOs and aid/development bodies. She was commissioned by the EU and the World Bank on various consulting projects and contributed to several publications on the issue of economic development and sovereignty. Clare holds a MSc in Development Studies (Economics) from the London School of Economics and a BA in Arabic and French and speaks both languages fluently.
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David Brennan, GM, Etisalat Academy
With a Masters degree in business administration from Queensland University of Technology, David Brennan joined Etisalat Academy, the largest single source provider of business, finance, technical and HR solutions in the Middle East in 2009. David has about 23 years of training, development, business management and leadership experience. During the late 1990s, he was an advisor to Kevid Rudd (now the Prime Minister of Australia) and held various leadership roles in local Government organisations.
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Dr Maria Angelo-Khattar, MD, Aesthetica
Dr Maria Angelo Khattar is the founder of Aesthetica, a Dubai-based clinic that offers treatments for repairing, rejuvenating and restoring facial and body contours, as well as refining skin tone and texture. Dr Maria holds a B.Sc. Hons in Biochemistry and a Ph.D in Pharmacology. Trained at London University, she has many published articles to her merit. Dr Maria was also a Professor of the faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University and holds a fellowship at the Royal Society of Medicine. She holds the credit for introducing procedures such as Accent Radio Frequency, Radiesse, Organic Peel, Photopneumatic Theraphy and Autologous Cellular Rejuvenation in UAE.
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Dr. Mohamed Ali Karkoukli, Senior Specialist, Clinical Quality Clinical Affairs
An awards winning medical professional with 18+ years of diversified experience in all aspects of healthcare & quality management, and accreditation within medical framework, 7 years in the field of strategic development at the National and international level including the upgrading of emergency and disaster system in Syria in collaboration with Japan, Sweden, and France (SAMU). The project of establishing referral system was one of the main significant achievements to allocate patients at the appropriate level of care, significantly contribute to the capacity planning at the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.Dr. Karkoukli main contribution to clinical quality, system improvement, staff development, accreditation, and logistic strategic initiatives to support privatization, integration, and standardization in government, military, and private sectors in the Middle East, and at the international level were recognized through several awards. Currently, holds senior specialist position in Clinical Quality Clinical Affairs Division, Abu Dhabi Health Services Company ‘SEHA’. Abu DhabiDr. Karkoukli holds MBBS degree from Damascus Univ. 1989, MPH from school of public health MOH/WHO, CPHQ certified in 2006, 2008. Currently he is finalizing his MIB degree early 2009 at Wollongong University Dubai / Australia. Also, he is in process of obtaining his Fellowship in healthcare quality from The National Association of Healthcare Quality, Phoenix, USA.
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Issa Baluch, Chairman, Swift Freight International
Mr. Issa Baluch founded Swift Freight International in Dubai, UAE in 1989, and has since transformed the company into one of the leading freight forwarding and logistics companies in the Middle East. Mr. Baluch is credited with having pioneered the thriving multimodal sea-air combined transport freight business that operates in the UAE. He is also active in various networks and associations promoting freight forwarding and logistics industry. He served as President of FIATA (International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations) from 2003 to 2005; and continues to be a Member of the Board of Directors. Likewise, he is a Member of the Board of Directors for TIACA (The International Air cargo Association). At present, he serves as Member of the Advisory Board of Dubai Logistics City; and a Member of the Marketing Committee of Dubai Flower Centre. Mr. Baluch is the author of Transport Logistics: Past, Present and Predictions, which has been translated into German, Arabic and Chinese.
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Jeremy Bowen
Jeremy Bowen is an experienced senior manager with 25 years experience working in the Middle East. Jeremy runs his own consultancy company, which provides advice to both global and large family businesses in the region. Until 2006 Jeremy worked for BP Plc for over 30 years where his last roles included Chairman BP Oman, General Manager Lubricants Middle East & South Asia, Chief Representative BP Dubai and President BP Iran. In addition, he is a Governor at Dubai English Speaking College (DESC).
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Jocelyne Chidiac, MD, Mille Miglia Restaurant & Cafe
Jocelyne Chidiac worked for the Mercedes-Benz dealer in Dubai for nine years, managing the performance centre where all the individualized cars of AMG, Brabus and Fab design were promoted and sold.She is currently the managing Director of Brabus regional office in the Middlle East, the office that looks after sales and marketing of BRABUS, the no 1 Mercedes-Benz tuner in the world. Besides her job, Jocelyne Chidiac owns a restaurant and a café where the theme complements her passion for cars, the automotive theme.
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Kaltham Al Koheji, Regional Head of Sustainability HSBC Bank Middle East
Kaltham, a UAE national, started her career with HSBC in November 1999 as a Training Executive in the regional training centre, providing sales and services training for the bank across the region. In 2002, she was responsible for establishing the first Customer Relations department in the Middle East for developing a system to handle customers' escalated complaints as well as the introduction of revamped employee suggestion and recognition schemes.`
In January 2005, Kaltham was promoted to Human resources with HR management responsibility for Commercial Banking in the UAE. In addition, she played a major part in achieving the Emiratisation goals for Commercial Banking. In September 2006, Kaltham was appointed Head of Regional Communications. Kaltham is also the chairperson of the HSBC in the Community Middle East Foundation and a board member of INJAZ UAE (an arm of the Global Junior Achievement). Prior to joining the bank, Kaltham worked and lived in 11 different countries in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. She listing painting, renovating houses and travel among her interests.
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Kelly Lundberg, Founder Divine Shopping
Kelly Lundberg, the award-winning stylist, is originally from Edinburgh, and has worked with independent clients of all nationalities; recent red carpet styling events include the Grammies, the Brit Awards, Dubai World Cup, as well as offering exclusive services to the Burj Al Arab as well as Quintessentially.
Kelly Lundberg and her company Divine has been featured in all major publications in Dubai, including worldwide exposure on The Discovery Channel, The Sunday Times, Virgin and BA’s onboard magazines, GQ and Tatler UK editions. In 2007, Divine won the Lloyds TSB Small Business Awards – Creative Promotion and in 2008 she was nominated for Female Entrepreneur of the Year by Visa and Your Business magazine.
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Maria Sillanpaa, Founding Director, Sustainability Advisory Group
Maria is an internationally recognized sustainability practitioner. Prior to founding Sustainability Advisory Group, she has held pivotal roles at The Body Shop International, KPMG and AccountAbility and during her 20 year career in sustainability has made pioneering contributions in the areas of strategy development, stakeholder engagement, supply chain management, reporting and assurance. Maria has made instrumental contributions to the various sustainability standards and initiatives – notably AA1000 Assurance and Stakeholder Engagement Series of Standards. She sat on the founding board of Ethical Trading Initiative and is a member of Global Reporting Initiative’s Technical Advisory Committee. Maria’s publications include The Stakeholder Corporation – A Blueprint for Maximizing Stakeholder Value, endorsed by global leaders from prime ministers to Noble Laureates as a seminal work. Her recent number three ranking in the advisory category of CSR International’s global Top 100 CSR leaders reflects her profound and continuing impact in this field.
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Mark Beer, British Business Group, Dubai and the Northern Emirates, Chairman & CEO
Mark Beer is currently the Registrar of the DIFC courts and responsible for the overall administration and management of the DIFC courts that are modelled on English Civil Procedure Rules (CPR). He also has various judicial functions such as handling urgent applications and ensuring the delivery of efficient justice by actively managing the progress of cases.
Mark has come a long way prior to joining DIFC. He has worked for MasterCard Worldwide in Dubai for five years as Regional Legal Counsel for South Asia, Middle East and Africa (SAMEA) handling legal and regulatory matters across the region and later as Vice President when he headed the company’s Government Relations and Corporate Services initiatives across SAMEA. Previously, he has worked in the corporate finance team of Man Investments in Switzerland and prior to that in private practice both in UK and UAE.
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Matthew Silvester, Director, Lux Research
Matthew Silvester has been in the GCC for 12 years in Multinational Technology companies, he is a MSc. Holder in Computer Sciences and BSc. In Mathematics from Wollongong University Australia; he is currently the Director for Lux Research covering the MENA region looking at emerging technologies and there affects on Environment and Regional Economic sustainability. Prior to this Matthew spent 3 years as the Regional Manager for Gartner where he worked directly with senior IT Executives in GCC companies assisting them in providing the best IT model to support their Corporate strategies and business requirements, In 2000 Matthew started his own successful Telecoms company providing Regional Government organizations with Call centre technologies, he also spent five years with Intel Corporation running the Channel Organisation in the Middle East.
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Mike Staley, British, CEO, Molok LLC
Mike Staley, CEO, Molok LLC set up the company in Dubai towards the end of 2001. Prior to that, he worked as Country Manager, Reckitt Benckiser, Egypt. Holding a degree in Management Sciences from Manchester University in 1977, he joined a marketing consultancy company IMES as a junior consultant and visited Middle East to carry research work on soft drinks, toiletries, cosmetics and dairy products between 1977 and 1980. During the course of a wide spanning career, he has also worked for companies like Beechams (now Glaxo), Pepsi Cola International, Snapple and Gatorade under various positions.
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Patricia Jurewicz, Director, Responsible Sourcing Network
Patricia Jurewicz is head of the Responsible Sourcing Network, a project of As You Sow, with a special focus on bringing various stakeholders together to address forced labor in corporate supply chains. Prior to joining As You Sow in 2006, she was at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) managing the Global Cooperation Project. She co-authored the report, The Treaty Database: U.S. Compliance with Global Treaties. At Gap, Inc. she spearheaded a rewrite of the company’s Vendor Handbook, which was distributed to 3000 manufacturing facilities worldwide. She is fluent in Spanish, and has past work experience with natural dyes, Latino political outreach, and women's craft cooperatives in Latin America. She has an International MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management, a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University, and an Associate degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology.
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Robert Ziegler, GM, A.T. Kearney, Middle East
A. Ziegler joined A.T. Kearney in 1997 and has more than 15 years industry and consulting experience in operations, strategy and growth. Robert was appointed to Vice President of A.T. Kearney in 2008 and holds the position of General Manager of the Middle East office in Dubai, UAE. Before joining the Dubai office, Robert had worked in several A.T. Kearney offices throughout Europe. He has lately researched the solar energy opportunity for the MENA region which has led to several publications of results both in A.T. Kearney Executive Agenda as well as regional media. As a consultant, Robert’s expertise covers a wide range of industries, including transportation and aerospace, logistics services and property development. Educated in several countries and speaks four languages fluently, Ziegler holds three degrees from ESCP Europe from Paris, Oxford and Berlin as well as a degree in Marketing and IT from the Technische Universitaet Berlin.
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Sami Khoreibi, Saudi Arabia, CEO, Enviromena
Young, successful and committed to Abu Dhabi’s solar power future; Sami Khoreibi represents the typology of the new eco entrepreneur that is weaving his destiny to the energy diversification of the emirate.
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Sandhya Prakash, Director, Projects, International Association of Human Values
Sandhya Prakash is Director, Projects, International Association of Human Values. Besides, she runs a software business in Dubai Internet City. Sandhya is passionate about working on grass root level projects that make a difference to the people of the country she lives in. An alumnus of BITS, Pilani – India, she has been living in the Middle East for over 15 years. Since 2005, her tireless efforts in environmental issues like the campaign against plastic usage in the UAE has taken her abroad where she has participated in many forums. A member of the Art of Living Foundation, Sandhya believes practice of simple values enhances the quality of life. In addition, she has headed the Indian Women’s group in Saudi Arabia.
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Siobhan Leyden, Radio Presenter and Producer, Dubai Eye Radio
Siobhan Leyden is currently radio presenter and producer of the popular talk radio show, ‘Siobhan Live’ on ‘Dubai Eye Radio’ 103.8 FM. The show encourages lively debates and interactive discussions on what is happening in Dubai when it comes to property, arts and culture, environment and life-style improvement. Over eight years, Siobhan has produced, presented and scripted current affairs, news as well as entertainment shows on television and radio in the UAE. Her work has provided her opportunities to interact with international and regional celebrities including Kofi Annan, Noam Chomsky, Sir Richard Branson and Paulo Coelho. Siobhan has travelled extensively reporting on environmental issues, real estate development, post tsunami aid efforts as well as art and cultural initiatives to give Dubai listeners the pulse of today’s world.
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Suzi Croft and Manar, Al Jayouchi Founders, Appetite Catering
Winners of the 2008 Lloyds TSB ‘Small Business Of The Year’ award, Suzi Croft and Manar Al Jayouchi, the founders of Appetite Catering established in 2005 typify the genre of successful expatriates establishing themselves in the UAE. With vast experience in management, media and F&B spheres, Appetite is forging an enviable brand identity that is based on sustainable systems and procedures.
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Tariq Qureishy, MD, i2i Group
Tariq Qureishy is CEO of SAB Holding and SAB Media. Originally from Pakistan, Tariq has spent twelve years at Dow Jones in London and the EMEA region (1986-1998). For about two and a half years, he was the CEO of the Information Services & Media Group of Cupola Group, a private equity firm based in London and Dubai, that later morphed into Abraaj capital. He also spent a year at the Starlab technology institute in Brussels. In 2003, he launched i2i Group in Dubai Media City. Also, Tariq runs a charity ‘Mobile-Aid for children’s causes. Tariq holds a degree in economics and attended Harvard Business School.
