AME Info Digital Marketing Event speakers

Bobby Kakar, Head of Marketing for Direct Banking Channels, HSBC

Over 13 years experience in consumer banking spread across the Middle East and India. Prior to banking, sales experience with India's leading consumer durables marketing company.

Cross-functional experience across all major areas of consumer banking including marketing, product management, new product development, credit, sales, market research, retail / branding & branch promotions, and management of alternate delivery channels.

Led numerous product and brand launches in the Middle East with the latest being the launch of the UAE's first online savings proposition, eSaver from HSBC. Currently working with HSBC as the Head of Marketing for Direct Banking Channels and responsible for all digital marketing efforts and channel migration programs.

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Dan Healy, Managing Director, Real Opinions

Dan Healy is the Managing Director of the newly formed research company Real Opinions. He has over 10 years international and online market research experience, having worked on over 100 different research projects over this time with various governments and global brands such as Visa International, British Airways and Hewlett Packard.

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Dimitri Metaxas, Group Director, Omd Digital

A digital marketer with over 6 years of regional experience handling 350 regional campaigns across 40 of the world's leading brands, Dimitri has been at the forefront of the online marketing industry in the Middle East since 2001 and has been an active proponent of Internet and new technology for the wider marketing/media industry. As a regular speaker at regional conferences, conducting company workshops, Dimitri has always aimed to develop the industry by educating marketers about the unique opportunities available in the digital space.

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Fayez Abu Awad, Business Development Manager - MEA, Nokia Interactive

Fayez Abu Awad holds an MBA from the University of Oxford and an MS Eng from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. With over 10 years of experience, Fayez currently leads Nokia Interactive in the Middle East and Africa - the division charged with availing intelligent mobile marketing solutions to content creators as well as brands and agencies in the region. Previously, Fayez served as Nokia's Essential Insight Manager for the Middle East and Africa region, as part of the Strategy Process and Insights team.

His career experience includes his position as Research and Marketing Director at ITP Consulting, and Strategic Account Director at Interactive Limited in Dubai.

Fayez also has extensive experience in due diligence activities as a local advisor to the Yankee Group as well as other venture capital services. Prior to that, he was part of Bidaya Ventures, a local venture capital boutique services firm in Amman, Jordan, which was one of the founders of Jordan's first ICT incubator, and a partner in a software start-up in the United States. His business acumen and passion for the success of the Arabic language in the digital world culminated in his keynote speech at the first Arab World Search Engine Conference in 2005.

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Hisham Faouri, General Manager, eworks, Jordan
Certified digital marketer, IDM (UK)

Having started his own small business in web design and development upon his graduation from Cardiff University, Hisham foresaw the importance of the digital marketing elements required to successfully deliver web projects. As a result, he pursued a career in digital communications by joining Wunderman Amman in 2003 as a Digital Account Manager where he successfully setup their digital marketing division. Towards the end of 2006, moving up the career ladder, Hisham was appointed general manager of eworks Amman, the first fully dedicated digital marketing agency in Jordan.

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Iman Annab, Regional Qualitative Director, YouGovSiraj

Iman Annab is an Arab British Woman, graduated from the London College of Printing, the London Institute, who started her Market research career as a Qualitative researcher more than ten years ago. Iman has been involved in projects throughout Arabia, the Levant and North Africa including work with CNBC Arabiya and since 2004 with the YouGovSiraj team where she has been Regional Director for Qualitative Research since 2006.

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Laszlo Horvath, Founder, ActiveMedia

Laszlo Horvath's award winning company puts its clients on top of the search engines' results pages - increasing their visibility and sales worldwide, making their entry into new markets cost efficient. He founded global online search, advertising and media agency ActiveMedia (www.activemedia.com) in 1996. Prior to launching his business, Laszlo was tapped as a Strategic Consultant for America Online in 1995. His clients included the Greenhouse of AOL Studios, the AOL Finance Channel and a wide range of interactive brands like the Motley Fool, iVillage and NetNoir. Laszlo placed the first advertising program on AOL's largest content site.

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Lina Naifeh, Senior Manager - Online Strategy, Nakheel

With more than 9 years regional experience, Lina's passion for digital has transcended her career. Originally arriving as an architect on a 6 months contract for the Burj Al Arab project, as part of her scope she designed the interactive multimedia system and functionality, look and feel, etc. It was really then that her passion for digital developed and she moved permanently into the digital field.

Lina's experience saw her move to Publicis Graphics in 2000, where she later launched and became General Manager of eWorks under the Publicis Graphics umbrella, one of the main digital agencies in the Middle East with clients including BA, HP, Nestle, Carrefour and many more. As part of her role here, Lina launched Nestle's first digital presence in the Middle East.

From 2005 working as a strategic consultant, Lina has continued to develop the long term-strategic planning for brands on digital platforms, projects including major brands such as Coca Cola, McDonalds, etc.

More recently Lina has joined Nakheel to use her innovative digital skills to take Nakheel to the next level; she is responsible for driving the overall digital strategy and Nakheel's presence on the global arena through diverse online channels, managing all the digital requirements for business units across Nakheel. Her industry experience will ensure Nakheel becomes one of the leading brands to utilize digital marketing as a communication platform on a strategic level.

Lina is one of the most respected contributors to the Digital Marketing arena in the Middle East and contributes where possible to its development.

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Magnus Nystedt, President and Ambassador, EmiratesMac

Magnus Nystedt is an information technology college teacher with
international experience from building and operating web sites for as
long as the web has been around.

The web sites range from personal blogs to corporate web sites and online communities. One of the most recent web sites is www.emiratesmac.com, the home of the EmiratesMac Apple User Group.

You can find more information about Magnus and his work at www.nystedt.org.

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Mahmoud Al-Sharif, Director of Interactive Marketing, Tameer

Mahmoud Al-Sharif comes with one of the longest experiences in the digital and online arena in the Middle East, having actively participated in leading, managing and consulting for pioneering online companies in the region, with special focus on the Marketing, Communications, Client Servicing and Technology aspects of the business.

Mahmoud Al-Sharif is currently the Director of Interactive Marketing in Tameer, one of the largest regional real estate developers in the Middle East.

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Mohammed Itani, Head of Media, Neo Digital

Mohammed Itani holds the distinction of managing Neo Digital, the region's leading independent digital media agency since 2005.

One of the youngest leaders in the arena, Mohammad's competency rests in the strategic planning and evaluation of regional media portals, while taking into consideration suitability to client campaigns and objectives.

With almost four years of exposure to the online scene in the region, he also responsible for allocating respective online media budgets and negotiating the purchase of selected media, and all associated reporting on campaign effectiveness. With a sound background in the region's online media, Mohammad brings a wealth of skill in corporate strategy, research, statistics and marketing to his role as Head of Media, and has participated in various conferences, workshops and judging panels across the region.

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Nassim Ghrayeb, Siraj Co-founder and C.E.O., YouGovSiraj

Nassim Ghrayeb is Lebanese Canadian and graduated with a degree in Business Administration. He began his career in 1992 covering the MENA region as a Quantitative Researcher and following positions with AC Nielsen and Lowe,co-founded Siraj. In 2006 Nassim took the position of CEO at YouGovSiraj.

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Nick Wiggin, Managing Director EMEA, Ansible

Nick Wiggin has recently joined Ansible as Managing Director EMEA. He brings his 15 years of media experience, with the last 7 years focussed on mobile media, to help advertiser and agency clients maximise the impact of mobile advertising through the Ansible Full Service business.

He set up his own mobile specialist company in early 2003, successfully cultivating strong international relationships with agency groups and mobile operators. Last year Nick helped launch a mobile ad serving business in Asia & the Middle East, cultivating relationships with Etisalat, Du and a number of local UAE based advertising agencies and media companies.

WhoHow was instrumental in the launch, acquisition and strategic development of mobile businesses for clients such as WPP, Aeigis, Mitsui and Endemol. Before setting up his own company Nick worked in South East Asia and Europe for the media agency OMD where he was directly responsible for multi-market projects and staff in 3 regional offices.

Nick was Chairman of the Mobile Marketing Association for two terms from 2005 to 2007, responsible for developing the mobile advertising standards initiative and re-writing the 'Code of Conduct'. He has a passion for helping the mobile industry overcome hurdles such as metrics and standards to make mobile advertising happen, hence following his MMA role with a strategic advisory position on mobile advertising at the GSM Association.

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Omar F Koudsi, President and Co-Founder, Jeeran

Getting an economics degree from Brigham Young University (Utah, USA) did not stop Omar Koudsi from getting deeply involved with Internet when it hit main stream in the U.S during the late nineties. At the age of 20 and after experimenting with several models on the internet and witnessing the rise and fall of several internet giants, Omar and his friends launched Jeeran in 2000.

He returned to Jordan a year later and worked at the family's software development company. In 2003, Jeeran started showing a lot of promise; Omar decided to work on Jeeran full time even though it was making no revenue at the time.

Five years and a venture capital round later, Jeeran is the largest user generated content portal in the Middle East with several offices in the region. It is also the online community of choice among the top regional online advertisers in the region. Omar and the rest of the team are currently busy supporting the growth of Jeeran by filling many shoes; typical of many entrepreneurs working on their startup.

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Phil Ryan, Head of Digital, Four Communications

Phil heads up the digital practice across the Four Communications group. He has eight years of technology communications experience, having worked for both challenger brands and blue chip companies. Previous clients include Fujitsu Siemens, Worldspan, T-Mobile, Dubai Internet City and Intel. He currently advises clients on how best to leverage new and social media and the wider digital channel, whilst maintaining a strong understanding and interest in the Technology and Telecoms industry landscape. Current clients and recent digital projects have included work for LloydsTSB, Shaftesbury, Nakheel, and The Crown Estate.

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Rob Jones, Editorial Director, AME Info

Rob Jones is the Editorial Director at AME Info, a position he has held since June 2007. Prior to relocating to Dubai, Rob was online editor-in-chief for Computeractive and Personal Computer World in the UK, two of Britain's largest technology titles. With some 15 years of business and consumer journalism behind him, he has edited a number of titles over the past eight years, but moved online several years ago when it became obvious where the future lay and the breadth of new opportunities the digital medium presents.

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Terry Kane, Head of Digital Marketing, Jumeirah

A dedicated online professional and self confessed Tech Geek, Terry Kane is responsible for the digital marketing of the dynamic Dubai based luxury international hospitality management company. Jumeirah are currently undergoing a full digital rethink and have focused on user feedback as the main direction of development. Always seeking to live by the STAY DIFFERENT philosophy, Terry is responsible for implementing the innovation that ensures users get more from every element of their online experience than most in the industry offer.
Surfing and his iMac are Terry's two passions; he is hoping that some day soon a portable, waterproof version will be introduced. Take note
Mr Jobs!

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Yousef T. Tuqan, Regional Account Director, Flip Media

With over 11 years of regional experience, Yousef is one of the most respected and and sought-after online marketing consultants in the Middle East. Since building his first websites in his bedroom in 1996, he has gone on to work with a number of agencies, and has developed and executed online marketing initiatives for some of region's leading brands, including Emaar, Jumeirah, Nakheel and Emirates. A regular contributor to regional publications and conferences on Internet strategy and marketing, Yousef has been one of the most vocal and visible evangelists for the role of the Internet in the marketing mix. In his role as Regional Account Director at Flip Media, Yousef is responsible for strategy and delivery at the largest interactive agency in the Middle East.

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Zeid Nasser, Founder & CEO, mediaME.com (Mediascope Ltd)

Zeid Nasser is the founder of mediaME.com, the first user-generated portal for advertising and media professionals serving the Middle East. mediaME has over 4,000 unique users, incorporates the region's largest online creative gallery, the region's first downloadable media rates section, a comprehensive company directory, a specialized marcom jobs channel, and events agenda, news, blogs and more.

Starting his career in 1994, Zeid Nasser established a media sales and events company in Jordan, MediaScope Ltd., which has grown to be a leader in annual directories for professional sectors (publishing Who's Who in Jordan's Advertising & Media, Who's Who in Jordan's ICT) and a regional pioneer in organizing awards ceremonies since 2000 (Jordan Advertising Awards, Jordan Web Awards) in addition to organizing the region's first digital media conference since 2004 (immedia). Over the years, Zeid has also acted as a marketing and advertising consultant for many leading portals including Arabia.com, Maktoob.com, Jeeran.com, IKBIS.com, ShooFeeTV.com and others. Accordingly, MediaScope has recently started digital media sales representation operation across the region, representing leading portals and Internet communities.

Zeid is the Secretary General of the International Advertising Association (IAA) - Jordan Chapter, and holds an MBA in Marketing. In his spare time, Zeid writes for various local and regional magazines and websites on digital media and publishes a blog, AdBlogArabia.com.

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Ziad Khammar, General Manager, AME Info

Ziad Khammar, a Lebanese national, was appointed as the General Manager of AME Info following its acquisition by EMAP for $25 million in 2006. Ziad, who has lived in Dubai for nearly 20 years, has a degree in business from the American University of Beirut as well as Chartered Institute of Marketing and Webmaster qualifications. His business, marketing and web expertise are key qualities to lead the team to build on and strengthen the success of the AME Info site, which is visited by 883,194* people every month, to reinforce AME Info's position as the leading online business tool in the region.

*audited October 2007

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