NextGen Connect

1.30 pm- 🤝🏻 Cocktail Lunch

2.30 pm - 🎤 Panel discussions

6.00 pm - 👥Cocktail reception & networking

🎤 Lorenzo CROATI - Associate Partner, ARTEFACT - moderator

With over ten years of expertise in innovation consulting and corporate events, Lorenzo’s passion lies in unlocking value from data and leveraging artificial intelligence to transform businesses. As a Partner at Artefact, a global leader in data-driven solutions, he leads the Artefact Open Innovation division, aimed at accelerating the adoption of AI across organizations and institutions. He’s the former co-founder of Startup Inside (acquired by Artefact in 2022), at the forefront of innovation strategy consulting, championing intrapreneurship, organizing hackathons, and creating the biggest international conferences focused on AI and data. 

🎤 Jad ANTOUN - CEO and Co-founder, HUSPY
Jad Antoun is the CEO and Co-founder of Huspy, a proptech startup on a mission to improve the home buying ecosystem in EMEA backed by Sequoia, Founders Fund, Fifth Wall, Breyer Capital, and others. Prior to this, Jad worked at BECO Capital, a Seed to Series C VC fund that invested early in some of the largest companies in the region such as Careem, PropertyFinder and Kitopi.



 

🎤 Dani EL-ZEIN - Co-Founder and CEO, SUPY INC.
Dani is a Lebanese entrepreneur based in Dubai. He co-founded and serves as CEO of Supy Inc., a FoodTech startup launched in 2021, which provides software for restaurant back-office operations. With 1,000+ active clients and $12 million in funding, Supy operates in the UAE, KSA, Australia, and the UK. Previously, Dani was the COO of Quiqup, a London-based logistics company, where he helped establish its UAE presence. He began his career at Deutsche Bank, becoming the youngest VP in MEA Investment Banking team. Dani holds a degree in Manufacturing Engineering from Boston University.

🎤RAMI TABBARA - Co-Founder and Co-CEO, STAKE.
18+ years of experience in the Dubai real estate market. Rami was one of the first employees at The First Group in 2006 where he helped grow the company from a 5-man team to over 800 people, mostly reporting to him as Head of Sales. Rami then moved on to become Senior Vice President at Damac Properties where he was in charge of all direct sales operations for the company reporting directly to the Chairman. Throughout his career he has been responsible for over AED 28 billion worth of property sales. Rami is a graduate of the American University of Beirut (BA in Business).

🎤 Lorenzo CROATI - Associate Partner, ARTEFACT - moderator

With over ten years of expertise in innovation consulting and corporate events, Lorenzo’s passion lies in unlocking value from data and leveraging artificial intelligence to transform businesses. As a Partner at Artefact, a global leader in data-driven solutions, he leads the Artefact Open Innovation division, aimed at accelerating the adoption of AI across organizations and institutions. He’s the former co-founder of Startup Inside (acquired by Artefact in 2022), at the forefront of innovation strategy consulting, championing intrapreneurship, organizing hackathons, and creating the biggest international conferences focused on AI and data. 

🎤 Amir FARHA - General Partner, COTU VENTURES
Amir is the founder of COTU Ventures, an early stage technology investment firm that focuses on backing extraordinary founders from the MENA region at the idea to post-product stages.  He has been a VC for over 17 years, starting his career at a corporate VC in London in 2005 where he invested in early stage technology companies in the UK and Sweden, and then moving back to Dubai in 2008 to start the Arab Business Angel Network (ABAN), the first Seed fund in the MENA region backed by Dubai International Capital. In 2009, Amir went on to start Tandem Partners, a leading advisory firm for SMEs in the UAE, which he successfully exited in 2017. Prior to founding COTU Ventures, Amir co-founded BECO Capital in 2012, one of the early pioneers in early stage VC in the Middle East, where he successfully raised and deployed 2 funds across 35 companies, reaching an AUM of over $200m. Over his career so far, Amir has backed companies such as Careem (acquired by Uber), Fresha, Property Finder, MaxAB, Kitopi, Syarah, Tenderd, Huspy and many more. Amir is a Kauffman Fellow and holds a BSc in Computer Information Systems and an MSc in Management from the University of Bath.

🎤 Abdulaziz SHIKH AL SAGHA - General Partner, BECO CAPITAL
Abdulaziz is a General Partner at BECO Capital, where he oversees the investment team and serves on the board of several portfolio companies, including Abwaab and Mango Sciences. In 2013, he co-founded Oryx Ventures, focusing on investing in growth stage (Series B+) technology companies globally. Notable investments he has led include Cohesity (valued at $7B), Palantir (IPO), DataRobot, Beckley Psytech and Versa Networks.

🎤 Noor SWEID - Founder and Managing Partner, GLOBAL VENTURES
Noor is the Founder and Managing Partner of Global Ventures, a leading venture capital firm based in the UAE, investing across the Middle East and Africa (currently deploying from Fund III). Prior to launching Global Ventures in 2018, Noor was the Chief Investment Officer at The Dubai Future Foundation. Before her tenure at DFF, she successfully scaled two companies. The first was Depa, initially her family business and ultimately the world's largest interior company, which she listed on the LSE and NASDAQ in April 2008 in a billion-dollar IPO.  The second company was ZenYoga, the region’s first yoga studio, which became the largest yoga and wellness chain, and which she exited to a PE firm in 2014.
Noor is frequently featured as an authoritative voice on venture capital in the region by Bloomberg, CNN, and Forbes. She has been on the covers of Entrepreneur ME and Womenpreneur ME, and is cited by Forbes as one of the "World's Top 50 Women in Tech", by Arabian Business as one of the "Top 100 Most Influential Arab Women", and is one of the 'sharks' on Shark Tank Dubai Seasons 1 and 2. She is an MIT Sloan 2005 alumni, Aspen Fellow, Kauffman Fellow and YGL. Noor is the author of the upcoming book, ‘Coming of Age: The Digital Rise of the World’s Youngest Population’, and is a strong advocate for founders in the region, helping them scale their businesses into global success stories.
 

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30' break - ☕ Expand your network and build connections

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🎤 Emile SALAWI - Head of the Middle East and Key Clients, Indosuez Wealth Management - moderator
Emile Salawi started his career in 1996 in the M&A department of UBS in London before joining Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette in investment banking. In 2001, he joined Deutsche Bank in Paris and then, in 2007, the private banking department in London and Geneva. From 2011 to 2020, Emile held a number of responsibilities including Single Family Office and Key Client Coverage at BNP Paribas in Switzerland. He is a mentor for young talents in the banking field and is a sponsor of the Indosuez Wealth Management Group's NextGen programme developed in Paris. Emile has worked in London, Paris and New York. He is fluent in French, English and Arabic. He holds a Master's degree in Financial Management from the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne. He followed an intensive MBA course at UBS in New York early in his career.

🎤 Sharif FARHA - Head of Investments, HBI
Sharif leads all public and private investments at HB Investments (HBI) overseeing a broad portfolio across multiple asset classes and sectors. Prior to HBI, Sharif founded and managed Safehouse Capital, the region's only global consumer equity fund. Before launching Safehouse, he was a Senior Analyst and Vice President at Amwal Capital Partners, a USD 1bn public equity fund. Before joining Amwal Capital in Dubai, Sharif was a Senior Analyst and Partner at R Squared Capital in New York. He began his career in New York in 2011, when he joined Artio Global Investors (ex. Julius Baer Investment Management), a USD 35bn long only equity fund. Sharif has over a decade of experience investing in the consumer and consumer technology sectors. He advises regional family offices and individuals on portfolio construction and sits on numerous advisory boards.

🎤 Malek IDRISS - Director of Idriss Single Family Office
Malek began his career at Quiqup, a last-mile logistic tech business. In this role, he focused on improving operations and supporting the company's growth.
Later on, Malek joined Rentify, a prop-tech firm based in London, where he lead their Middle East expansion. In addition, Malek led several internal initiatives to improve operational efficiency. In his most recent role, Malek joined CloudKitchens, where he played a role in their M&A activities spanning across the Middle East and the UK. His responsibilities encompassed assisting the company in acquiring, integrating, and expanding its operations. Malek has been actively involved with his family office for eight years. He serves as a Director and is a member of their Investment Committee. His primary focus is on private markets in Europe and the Middle East.

🎤Shahan SARKISSIAN  - Founder of Tamar Capital Family Office and Founder of Tioopo Capital
Shahan previously co-founded Tamar Capital Family Office managing a large single family office with real estate, private equity and venture capital investments internationally. Shahan also co-founded Tioopo Capital, a multi-family backed Private Equity firm focusing on European SMEs. Previous experience also includes Site Engineer and Deputy Operations Manager at a large construction group focused on power generation. Shahan has 10 years of experience from real estate, private equity and venture capital investing across North America, Europe, and the Middle East. Shahan graduated from North Eastern University with honours with a Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering and a minor degree in Business in 2011. Shahan is a Founding Director of Tamar Real Estate and Grace Real Estate Partners.

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🎤 Anna HAZLETT - Founder and Principal, AzurX , moderator
Anna Hazlett is the founder of AzurX, a leading entity in the Middle East's private space and satellite consulting services and investment arena. Under her visionary leadership, AzurX collaborates with cutting-edge space companies, facilitating high-tech access and support for commercial and government space enterprises. AzurX Space Ventures (ASV) was established to harness the cross-cutting nature of strategic technological innovation and market growth, offering multi-generational investment opportunities.  Anna serves on the Fund Advisory & Decision Committee of the AED 2 billion Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund (MBRIF) and is a Space Mentor for Saudi Arabia's Communications, Space & Technology Commission (CST) Space Entrepreneurship Bootcamp.

🎤Allan CANNON , CEO and Co-Founder of Krucial
Allan is the CEO and Co-Founder of Krucial, an award-winning space technology company on a mission to digitize the planet and deliver value beyond connectivity. Krucial’s full-stack platform combines satellite, cellular, IoT, analytics, and cybersecurity to drive digital transformation at scale, helping organizations increase profitability, reduce risk, and enhance sustainability. With over 20 years of experience in space and defense, Allan possesses a strong technical background, sharp business acumen, and a visionary approach to innovation. He is also a passionate mentor, supporting emerging entrepreneurs and startups in the space sector.

🎤Anas Zeineddine ,Founder & CEO – InnovaMENA

Anas has been leading innovation programs by establishing innovation hubs, investing in startups, and providing early-stage incubation and acceleration programs.  He has extensive experience in advising governmental entities in establishing sustainable innovation ecosystems, and developing strategies for supporting small and medium enterprises to stimulate economic development.  Anas has worked closely with national space organizations in establishing innovation frameworks and strategies for accelerating entrepreneurship in the space industry.  He recently led several initiatives in the incubation of space technology startups in the UAE through custom space innovation programs, and has done extensive work in the drones tech industry by launching strategic R&D projects for investors and stakeholders.  Prior to that, Anas worked with leading oil and gas firms in engineering and project management. He also co-founded companies in the media and IOT industries. Anas is also the founder of innovaMENA, an innovation enabler that supports entrepreneurs, startups and industry stakeholders, and provides innovation advisory to various organizations. 

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6.00 pm  - 🤝🏻 Cocktail reception & networking

Following the afternoon session, you will also be welcomed to join us for our Macro Outlook focused on Post US Elections, along with Indosuez Wealth Management experts and clients. This will be followed by a cocktail reception at 8.00 pm.