Gulf Business Breakfast to Focus on Digital Innovation
The Gulf Business Business Breakfast is set to return on April 23, 2025, at the Metropolitan Hotel Dubai. This high-level panel event will delve into the cutting-edge technologies shaping digital innovation across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.
The event will bring together prominent figures from the telecom, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing, and e-mobility sectors. Attendees will explore how these emerging technologies are transforming industries, reshaping business models, and impacting regulatory frameworks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the wider GCC.
Key Speakers and Topics
Confirmed speakers include:
- Rifad Mahasneh, General Manager, OKX MENA
- Iwan Stella, Head of Strategy and Commercial Management, Ericsson Middle East and Africa
- Cherian Varghese, Senior Vice President, Technology – Middle East and Africa, Oracle
- Samar Mittal, Vice President and MEA Head of Cloud & Network Services, Nokia
- Dr. Mohamed Madkour, VP, ICT Strategy & Marketing, Huawei Middle East & Central Asia
- Vasudha Khandeparkar, AI, Analytics and Data Practice Lead, Grant Thornton UAE
- Andreas Hassellof, CEO and Founder, Ombori
The agenda will feature keynote speeches, four sector-specific panels, and networking opportunities. The detailed agenda includes:
- Registration & Breakfast: 8:00am
- Welcome: 9:00am by Manish Chopra, Publisher, Gulf Business
- Chair’s Opening Remarks: 9:05am by Gareth van Zyl, Group Editor, Gulf Business
- Panel: Telecoms & Cloud – The Next Frontier: 9:30am
- The impact of 5G Advanced and the roadmap to 6G
- The shift from telco to techco
- Sovereign cloud, data security, and the future of telecom innovation
- Key panellists: Iwan Stella, Ericsson; Cherian Varghese, Oracle; Dr. Mohamed Madkour, Huawei; Samar Mittal, Nokia
- Panel: Artificial Intelligence – A Regional Powerhouse: 10:15am
- The UAE’s rise as an AI innovation hub
- AI’s impact on finance, healthcare, and logistics
- International partnerships and regulatory outlook
- Key panellists: Vasudha Khandeparkar, Grant Thornton; Andreas Hassellof, Ombori
- Panel: Blockchain Evolution – From Pilots to Pioneers: 10:45am
- From proof-of-concept to full-scale deployments
- How UAE regulations are attracting blockchain leaders
- The role of tokenisation, DeFi, and CBDCs
- Key panellists: Rifad Mahasneh, OKX MENA
- Panel: The State of E-Mobility: 11:30am
- UAE’s roadmap for EV adoption and infrastructure
- Connected mobility through telecom and cloud
- EV subscription models, battery tech, and sustainability policies
- Closing Remarks: 12:00pm
Event Details
- Date: 23 April 2025
- Time: From 8:00am
- Venue: Metropolitan Hotel Dubai
Registration is now open; interested parties are encouraged to secure their place for a morning of strategic insights, networking, and discussions. Register here: https://bit.ly/3FFCYMg
