Marwan Saleh

Director of Sales and Business Development,
Free Zone, DMCC
Marwan Mohamed Saleh is the Director of Sales and Business Development, Free Zone at DMCC. He brings over 25 years of work experience in strategic planning, marketing and business development, driving international sales and realising business objectives.

Prior to joining DMCC, Mr. Saleh was the Head of Business Development and International Sales at the Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC).

Mr. Saleh is well-known for his extensive work with Etisalat Afghanistan from 1996 to 2015. He began his career journey as a Government & Corporate Segment Manager. Demonstrating excellence and business acumen, he then climbed the corporate ladder to become Vice President for Etisalat Afghanistan between 2011-2014, before assuming the role of the CEO at Etisalat Afghanistan.

Mr. Saleh completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration in the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU). He also holds multiple certifications in leadership and organisational leadership from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard Business School.

Mehmet Ali Akarca

Türkiye UAE Chairperson, DEİK (Foreign Economic Relations Board)
CEO, KoçSistem

Mehmet Ali Akarca is the General Manager of KoçSistem and Vice Chairman of KoçDigital. He previously held senior leadership roles at Bookinturkey.com, Koç.Net, Zer, and Türk Telekom Group. Akarca has been serving as General Manager of KoçSistem since 2017. He is a Board Member of TÜBİSAD and chairs the Türkiye-UAE Business Council while also serving on the Türkiye-Saudi Arabia Business Council. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Nottingham and a postgraduate degree in Marketing and Tourism from the University of Surrey. He is married with two children.

Tarik Tamimi

Founder and CEO,
Tamimi Consulting

Tarik Tamimi has a diverse experience in various industries as a professional and entrepreneur in the United Arab Emirates, GCC, Middle East, Turkiye, UK, CIS Region and East Africa, operating out of UAE since 2005. Worked in large multi-national corporations in Oil & Gas, energy, construction, supply chain and logistics, and trading industries. Focused for setting up and managing challenging operations to create competitive commercial advantage for organizations across multi-disciplines.

Founded Tamimi Consulting in 2010, and established a cross border consulting firm with Fatma Nilgun Emrem to offer guidance to organizations, advise top executives, boards, and business owners with an aim of creating value and differentiation while evaluating a business from multiple perspectives such as commercial, administrative, compliance, banking, strategy, risk, marketing, and development. Tamimi Consulting offers tailored services in the field of management and business consultancy for companies of all sizes, sectors, and backgrounds with a unique approach for establishing and strategizing businesses.

Tamimi Consulting has successfully incorporated more than 900 companies in U.A.E. and continue to be the leading company among Turkish Investors especially. Tamimi Consulting has been awarded for the last 8 years in a row as the Top Performing Consulting Company in U.A.E. by the DMCC Authority and awarded as the Best International Service Provider in 2020.

Tarik Tamimi is a Founding Member of the Dubai Business Group for Professional and Business Services under Dubai Chambers, a Board Member of the Turkish Business Council in Dubai and Northern Emirates, and an active member of the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) of Turkiye.

Fatma Nilgun Emrem

UAE Representative,
DTIK (World Turkish Business Council)

Fatma Nilgun Emrem has a career history across multi disciplines and sectors from Banking, Textile and Construction which provided a natural appreciation of different sectors and organizational structures and managing skills to transfer to the consulting field. Her experience in markets extend from Turkey, United Arab Emirates, GCC, Middle East, Turkiye, United Kingdom, Baltic Region and Africa.

In 2010, established Tamimi Consulting with Tarik Tamimi to extend her knowledge and experience to those investors looking for opportunities in the GCC region. Since its inception Tamimi Consulting has successfully incorporated more than 900 companies in the U.A.E. and continue to be the leading company among Turkish Investors especially. Tamimi Consulting has been awarded 8 years in a row by DMCC Authority as the Top Performing Consulting Company in U.A.E. and awarded as the Best International Service Provider in 2020.

She is the U.A.E. Country Representative in Africa - Middle East - Gulf Region Committee in the World Turkish Business Councils (DTIK) under the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) of Turkiye.

She served as the President of Turkish Business Council in Dubai and Northern Emirates between 2019-2023.

Mert Danisger

Chief Representative Officer, Türkiye Office
Dubai International Chamber

Mert Danisger is the Chief Representative for Türkiye at Dubai Chambers. In his current role, Mert leads Dubai International Chamber’s international representative office in Istanbul, which was launched in 2022 to further strengthen the robust business, trade, and investment ties between Dubai and Türkiye. The office plays a key role in assisting Turkish businesses with setting up in Dubai and leveraging the emirate as a launchpad for their global ambitions, as well as supporting Dubai-based businesses seeking to enter the Turkish market.

Mert leverages the extensive experience and knowledge gained throughout his international trade and investment promotion career to build connections and identify opportunities between businesses and investors in Türkiye and Dubai. Prior to joining Dubai Chambers, he gained expertise in cross-border trade through senior roles with at Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) in Istanbul and the Hungarian Export Promotion Agency (HEPA), in addition to several positions with private sector companies.

Khozama Al Saadi

Senior Manager, Corporate Sales – UK, Western Europe & Türkiye,
DMCC

Khozama Al Saadi is Senior Manager in Corporate Sales, Free Zone at DMCC, where she is responsible for operations in Western Europe, Israel, and Turkiye. She brings a decade of expertise in fostering strategic partnerships, relationships and alliances notably with governments and prominent industry stakeholders.

Prior to joining DMCC, Khozama worked for Dubai Chambers in the Investment Attraction division and has experience in Corporate Sales for Jumeirah Group and Mashreq Bank.

Khozama holds a Bachelor in Business Administration and Management from the American University of Dubai.