Gary Dugan

Gary Dugan has 37 years experience in senior roles at some of the leading global financial services businesses such as JPMorgan, Barclays and Merill Lynch and more recently in the UAE at Emirates NBD and NBAD. As a Chief Investment Officer and Global Strategist, he has led investment teams in private banking and institutional portfolio management for multi asset portfolios for the past 18 years for clients around the world. Prior to that, he was a sell-side European equity market strategist. His formative years were spent as UK equity portfolio manager for major UK pension funds and investment management companies.

Gary has a reputation for making bold calls on markets including call the 1987 crash, the rise of the eurozone, the collapse of the tech bubble, and 2007 World Financial crisis. More recently he predicted Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election. He has been regularly in the media in Europe, Asia, Middle East and on Wall Street.

Specialties: Private Wealth management; portfolio theory and practice; active versus passive management. Strategic and tactical asset allocation. Equity portfolio management. Change management in asset management and private banking.

Laidi EL Wardi

Laidi was CEO of the retail and corporate Banking Division of Banque Centrale Populaire (Morocco) where he was a member of both the Executive Committee and Management Committee. During his tenure, its responsibilities were extended to the group whole commercial banking, including the markets of Moroccans living abroad [M.R.E] and SME, representing nearly 55% of the group’s net banking income. He was also overseeing the upgrading of the group’s foreign distribution platform, that he organized around the branches of its banking subsidiary in Europe, Chaabi Bank. This overhaul of Chaabi Bank’s modus operandi abroad has made it possible to consolidate the group’s market share at more than 52% in customer deposits of Moroccans living abroad. Laidi has also actively steer the restructuring of the functioning of the Atlantic Banks, a sub-Saharan banking network acquired by the group, and the development of its “Retail Banking” activities within this network.

From November 2015, he initiated and supervised the creation and launching of a banking subsidiary dedicated to crowdfunding activities, which started its activities in August 2018. In June 2019, he supervised as Advisor to the Chairman and Group CEO of the Banque Centrale Populaire Group, the deployment of the strategy and program to restructure payment and mobile payment activities, to further strengthen the group’s position in financial inclusion and mass retail banking.

In February 2021, he joined an international think tank on blockchain and cryptocurrency. He is also a member of several boards of directors of financial institutions established in different jurisdictions (Morocco, Europe, sub-Saharan Africa).

Laidi is graduated from the Ecole centrale de Lyon and he holds several prestigious international executive certificates.

Mazen Sowan

Mazen was CEO of Siemens AG North Africa (Morocco) for 26 years and worked for the group more than 34 years. During his tenure, Mazen oversaw strategic infrastructure project in Morocco in different fields of which: Production and distribution of electricity (Thermal power plant, hydroelectric Dam, renewable energy plant…), chemical and mineral industry for phosphate, Airport infrastructure, Water & Sewage treatment plant and mobile & landline Telecommunications networks.

For 26 years as a CEO, Mazen was instrumental in the success of Siemens AG, particularly in Morocco and the North African region.

Mazen holds an Engineering and Economic Degree from Braunschweig University in Germany. Mazen is fluent in French, German and English.

Mazen was also the President of the German Moroccan Chamber of Commerce & Industry during many years.

Gilles Vliegen

Gilles Vliegen is a French entrepreneur and an Information Technology Engineer. He has more than 40 years of High Technology industry experience, including creating, financing, overseeing, and managing domestic and international software and software distribution companies. Gilles created his first company in 1981. This company was a pioneer in development tools for the UNIX environment and developed a fourth-generation language.

After selling his company in 1986, Gilles developed during the following ten years a solid Executive Officer experience in software distribution and in significant public American software companies. He has established a solid network with key Silicon Valley Executives and Venture Capitalists. Following his return to Europe, Gilles co-founded and managed an investment company, specializing in bringing portfolio companies of California Venture Capitalists, then a software platform dedicated to significant event organizing committees.

Gilles is still non-executive chairman and shareholder of a software company and advisor of several private equity funds.

Engr. Rafael Solans

Rafael Solans is an environmental engineer, CEO and founder of Solans Carbone. He is actively engaged in seeking practical solutions to combat global warming and specializes in carbon footprints, recovery of organic waste, decarbonization training and energy saving recommendations.

After ten years of advising private and public companies in Spain, France and Portugal, he founded the biological recovery department in Barcelona, at CESPA GR, a subsidiary of SITA at the time. All the installations built at that time are still in operation to process more than 4,000 t/day.

In 2000, he moved to France to be an independent consultant and as a teacher at environmental engineering schools in France (ENSIL and EME) and Spain (EINA). He is currently in charge of the environment and sustainable development as one of the deputies elected in Ambazac, France.

Rafael holds a Master’s degree from EINA (School of Engineering and Architecture of the University of Zaragoza, Spain).

Tarik Elazzouzi

Tarik brings deep experience in leading vision from strategy design to implementation and operational excellence. Tarik’s career spans multiple industries and functions – he started in the US west coast tech hubs (Silicon Valley and Arizona) then moved to a global engineering role at Caterpillar before joining McKinsey&Company. Tarik then led as Group COO a 10K FTEs BPO company with operations in 15 countries where he transformed the company on multiple fronts (geographical expansion, operational enhancement, and fund raising from PE fund). Tarik then sought to ‘disrupt his industry’ and launched an AI and Industry 4.0 advisory and implementation firm that conceptualized and implemented innovative solutions for companies and launched disruptive tech companies for investors (e.g. in EdTech, FinTech, Entertainment, Logistics).

Tarik has been also involved in major transformations and efforts – e.g. KSA Vision 2030, designing a FinTech strategy for a GCC country, designing first smart city in the Middle East, designing regulations for digital media for a GCC country, financial turn around of major companies, launched a world Economic forum affiliate for Industry 4.0, developing the first Tesla and Xbox models, etc.

Tarik holds a BSc and MSc in Engineering (Computer and Industrial Engineering) from the University of Arizona and an MBA from INSEAD.

Ms. Morin Oluwole

Morin Oluwole is an accomplished Luxury industry thought leader with a strong international experience and areas of expertise in Digital Transformation, Optimizing and Digitizing operations, Brand Strategy and Marketing, Marketing efficiency and Optimization, and Team Development and Management.

She leads the global luxury division and has managed multiple product and business teams as a Director & General Head of Luxury at Meta (Facebook/Instagram) for the past 16 years.

Morin has been featured as well in some of the leading media brands and news articles for years, such as: New York Times, BlackEnterprise , Vogue , Vogue Business, CB News Business of Fashion , Fashion Network and many more.

Morin is born and raised in Nigeria and speaks 4 languages (English, French, Spanish and Yoruba). She holds a BA and MA from Stanford University in Human Biology and Sociology and an MA in Management from Columbia University. She was also a Bill Gates Millenium scholar and a Stanford Dean’s Award for Academic Execellence recipient – both for 5 consecutive years.

Ms. Kaoutar Abdallah

Kaoutar Abdallah is the Director of Legal, Compliance and Risk at Telr, the UAE based award-winning payment gateway solutions provider.

Kaoutar is a trilingual French, English and Arabic, mainly focusing on Cross-Boarder Payment; Payment Processing/Settlement; E-commerce/Fulfillment; B2B / B2C Fintech & Tech Solution; Digital Banking; PSP regulatory licensing and International Corporate/Business Law (Common & Civil legal systems) in the MENA Region.

Kaoutar is a French qualified lawyer and has a Bachelor & Masters degrees in International Business Law from Paris Sorbonne University (France) and postgraduated from Oxford University (UK) Fintech Executive Program.

Kaoutar is currently a PhD student on Fintech Regulatory and Implementation Aspects.

Zaahirah Muthy

Zaahirah Muthy is a passionate artist-activist, an agent of change, and a curator hailing from Mauritius, nestled in Dubai for the past 10 years. As a person who aspires to bring about positive changes in society, she conveys a strong message of empowerment through her art and artistic initiatives. Muthy has had her art exhibited in Africa, Europe, Middle East, United States, and Asia. She has curated over 75 Art Exhibitions in UAE, Singapore, Georgia, Mauritius, France and Lebanon as well was the curator for World Art Dubai. she has numerous awards under her belt for her arts and her various art initiatives including the Oscar in Artistic Pursuit, in Mauritius, the Leonardo Da Vinci Universal Artist Award in Florence, Italy, in Jan 2018 and in February 2018 the Femina–Women International Leadership Award in the artist category in Mumbai, India. Muthy has also achieved a curating foundation with Sortheby’s Institute of Arts and Curating Socially Artistic Engaged projects by Node, Berlin. Muthy is the founder of ZeeArts, an international art organization that connects artists from across the world through a myriad of artistic projects including Art Exhibition, and Fair, Artistic Retreat program, Artist Empowerment Program, Women Art Therapy, and Art Consultancy services. Zaahirah has provided consistently impassioned support for women artists across the globe. She has been the mastermind behind the Art Connects Women, an International Art Exhibition which is on its 5th Edition. Muthy has launched the 2 nd Art Book- ‘Women Artists around the World’ in March 2020, kudus to 100 female artists from 100 different countries covering Europe, Africa & Middle-East, Americas, Asia, and Oceania. In 2019, the art activist has established the premier MIAF- (Mauritius International Art Fair) as a multidisciplinary contemporary art fair with the aim to position Mauritius as the Art and Cultural destination In the region.

Miguel Gómez y Molina

One of the 200 ambassadors appointed worldwide by the Foundation de la Haute Horlogerie based in Geneva (Switzerland) President of CIT Marbella for 7 years, currently a member of the Board of Directors.

Member of the Permanent Commission of the Marbella Tourism Innovation and Promotion Forum Member of the CEA Tourism Board. Graduated Gemmologist from Spain (I.G.E.) Germany(D.G.G) and United States (G.I.A.) Jewellery forensics and jewellery designer (G.I.A) Senior Business Management Diploma by the San Telmo International Institute.

Jewellery and Watches Councillor by the CFH Institute of Lausanne (Switzerland)
Together with his brother and sister, he runs Gomez & Molina joyeros, a leading establishment in the jewellery sector that celebrated his 50th anniversary in 2019.