Ahmed Bin Sulayem
Executive Chairman & Chief Executive Officer,
DMCC
Speaker Profile
Ahmed Bin Sulayem
Executive Chairman & Chief Executive Officer,DMCC
Ahmed Bin Sulayem is the Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DMCC and has driven its growth from a start-up of 28 member companies in 2003 to the world’s leading free zone in 2023 with 24,000+ member companies from 180 countries, employing over 80,000 people. Tasked with enhancing commodity trade flows through Dubai, DMCC has introduced to the market a number of value-added products and services under Mr Bin Sulayem’s leadership. In 2023, DMCC was named the ‘Global Free Zone of the Year’ by The Financial Times fDi Magazine, for a record ninth consecutive year.
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Feryal Ahmadi
Chief Operating Officer,
DMCC
Speaker Profile
Feryal Ahmadi
Chief Operating Officer,DMCC
Overseeing its long-term strategic growth, Feryal has shaped the corporate governance structure at DMCC, fostering the development of high-growth, high-impact ecosystems that increase global trade and investment flows through Dubai. She has been instrumental in securing DMCC’s reputation as the world’s leading free zone, recipient of the Global Free Zone of the Year award by the Financial Times for nine consecutive years. With a member base of over 24,000 companies across diversified sectors, DMCC today contributes to 11% of Dubai FDI and 7% of GDP. Feryal leads the implementation of DMCC’s Smart and Sustainable District Strategy and oversees the development of its iconic mixed-used districts of Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) and Uptown Dubai.
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Director-General,
World Trade Organization
Speaker Profile
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Director-General,World Trade Organization
Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala took office as WTO Director-General on 1 March 2021. She is a global finance expert, an economist and international development professional with over 40 years of experience working in Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and North America. Dr Okonjo-Iweala was formerly Chair of the Board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. She was previously on the Boards of Standard Chartered PLC and Twitter Inc. She was appointed as African Union (AU) Special Envoy to mobilise international financial support for the fight against COVID-19 and WHO Special Envoy for Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator. She is a skilled negotiator and has brokered numerous agreements which have produced win-win outcomes in negotiations. She is regarded as an effective consensus builder and an honest broker enjoying the trust and confidence of governments and other stakeholders.
Hilda Al-Hinai
Secretary-General,
Arab-Swiss Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Speaker Profile
Hilda Al-Hinai
Secretary-General,Arab-Swiss Chamber of Commerce and Industry
A native of Oman, Ms. Hilda Al-Hinai, the Secretary-General of the Arab-Swiss Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CASCI), brings 30 years of experience working with governments, the private sector, and regional and international organizations. Before joining CASCI, she served as a diplomat at Oman’s Mission to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva for over 20 years. Her responsibilities included defending and representing Oman’s interests in various international organizations, including the WTO, WIPO, UNCTAD, and the International Trade Centre (ITC). She participated WTO negotiations for Oman’s accession and chaired the negotiations for Seychelles’ accession to the WTO. Prior to her diplomatic career, she worked for eight years at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in Oman.
Focus on her role as Secretary-General of CASCI:
As the Secretary-General of CASCI, Ms. Al-Hinai emphasizes the promotion of trade and investments between the 22 Arab countries and Switzerland. She encourages the accession of the remaining Arab countries to the WTO and actively seeks investment opportunities in key sectors such as advanced technologies, financial services, e-commerce, green energy, healthcare, tourism, logistics, agriculture, education, and vocational training.
ELENA OGRAM
Sustainability and Sales Management, Global Wealth Management EMEA,
UBS AG
Speaker Profile
ELENA OGRAM
Sustainability and Sales Management, Global Wealth Management EMEA,UBS AG
Elena is a senior financial services professional with more than 25 years of experience as a sustainability leader, portfolio manager and management consultant, with a particular focus on ESG, sustainability and impact investing.
As a subject matter expert on sustainability, Elena advises Ultra High Net Worth clients in Global Wealth Management EMEA at UBS AG on sustainable and impact investment strategies. Prior to the merger with UBS AG, she led Sustainability and Sales Management team for Credit Suisse’s European wealth management division. Elena has been instrumental in integrating the ESG agenda into the investment advisory process. She has also facilitated the alignment of the bank’s product suite and investment strategy with broader client requirements around sustainable and impact investing, which has positioned her as a sought-after subject matter expert by colleagues, clients, and the wider market.
Previously, Elena was a key founding member of the emerging markets investment team at Bellevue Asset Management, where she contributed to the successful establishment of an emerging markets investment management franchise from scratch. Earlier in her career, Elena worked for Bank Julius Baer, McKinsey and Co, Arcelor Mittal and Daiwa/EBRD.
Elena is passionate about sustainability, possesses exceptional numerical and analytical acumen and a profound understanding of global, regional, and sectoral investment catalysts, asset allocation principles and evolving regulatory imperatives. Always keen to add theoretical knowledge to practical experience, Elena is a CFA charterholder and became a Certified Environmental, Social and Governance Analyst awarded by the European Federation of Financial Analyst Societies in 2019.
Hosuk Lee-Makiyama
Director,
European Centre for International Political Economy
Speaker Profile
Hosuk Lee-Makiyama
Director,European Centre for International Political Economy
Hosuk Lee-Makiyama is the Director of European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE). His academic work on trade diplomacy, global economic governance and economic security spans over two decades.
His advice has also been sought by the EU institutions and Member States, G7/20 governments and all the principal organisations on economic and regional cooperation, including APEC, ASEAN, OECD, World Trade Organization, and various UN agencies. He is also affiliated with the London School of Economics and other leading academic institutions.
Lee-Makiyama is also a regular commentator on BBC, Financial Times, Nikkei, Al Jazeera, Chinese state media, CNBC, and CNN, and he has been called as a witness by the US Congress, European Parliament, UK House of Commons, and other legislative assemblies.
Prior to academia, he was posted to the UN and World Trade Organization for Sweden and also served as a commercial attaché in various countries. He was born in Tokyo and completed degrees in economics, international law and public administration in Stockholm, London and Massachusetts.
Dmitry Grozoubinski
Executive Director,
Geneva Trade Platform
Speaker Profile
Dmitry Grozoubinski
Executive Director,Geneva Trade Platform
Dmitry is the Executive Director of the Geneva Trade Platform and previously worked as an Australian trade negotiator. Dmitry has trained hundreds of government negotiators, civil servants, and corporate officers globally on the intricacies of trade policy. His training programs cover the mechanics of trade policy, the nuances of negotiating trade agreements, and strategies for external stakeholders to influence trade outcomes. As the Executive Director of the Geneva Trade Platform, Dmitry continues to contribute to the global discourse on trade, providing valuable insights and fostering a deeper understanding of the complexities of international trade and geopolitics.
Michael Lawrence OBE
Chief Executive,
Asia House
Speaker Profile
Michael Lawrence OBE
Chief Executive,Asia House
Michael Lawrence is the Chief Executive of Asia House, an independent think tank and advisory service. He leads the Asia House team in delivering business and market intelligence to some of the world’s biggest companies and governments in Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Michael was appointed Chief Executive of Asia House in September 2012 after a distinguished career as a journalist, editor and executive in international media. He was Global Editor of Reuters from 2006-2012, leading a team of 3,000 journalists covering news in text, television and pictures from almost 200 bureaux around the world. Michael was awarded an OBE in the King’s 2023 New Year Honours list for his services to international relations between the UK and Asia.