Meet the Judges

Anas Almarie is an Executive and Founding Member of Arab Social & Digital Media Council, Co-Host of the weekly show #HRMEChat in affiliation with (SHRM) Society for Human Resources Management – MEA, Award Winning Entrepreneur by Dubai Internet City 2015, Founder of MENA Social Media Awards, TV guest speaker, Keynote speaker and a featured speaker at various conferences and trade shows across Middle East and Africa, Former Lecturer at University of Sharjah – Engineering School, active member at Social Media Club, Chair Judge at International Business Excellence Awards, Gulf Customers Experience Awards, he’s currently the Director of Training & Consultancy at Focus Social Academy in Dubai Media City. www.AnasAlmarie.com

Ian Golding is a Certified Customer Experience Professional. A highly influential freelance CX consultant, Ian advises leading companies on CX strategy, measurement, improvement and employee advocacy techniques and solutions. Ian has worked across multiple industries including retail, financial services, logistics, telecoms and pharmaceuticals and has deployed CX tools and methodologies all over the world. An internationally renowned speaker and blogger on the subject of CX, Ian was the first to become a CCXP Authorised Resource & Training Provider.

Bala is a Certified Customer Experience Specialist who leads Marketing, CRM and CX Practices as Business Director at Jacobsons. He is a Customer Strategist with over 20 years’ experience in helping brands to focus on monetising customer intelligence for business growth in the region. Bala is an accredited practitioner of SCHEMA® Customer centricity framework, and a Fellow of IDM, UK committed to the highest levels of professional and personal excellence. He Judges at the Gulf CX Awards and is excited to see the positive trend in adoption of Customer centric practices by brands in the region.

Customer focus and experience measurement characterize Akram’s 36 years career. His experience spans Consumer Research, Advertising & Marketing Services, Direct & Loyalty Marketing, CRM, Customer Experience Management & connected practices. While member of the Executive Board of the IAA-UAE Chapter Akram co-organized or chaired several Awards editions from 1993 till 2003, with particular emphasis on jury appointment, entry screening & assessment methodologies and criteria. Akram currently advises other entities that award via jury selection or public voting

Edward is an experienced leader with almost 20 years of leadership experience in Human Resource Development, Sales and Financial Services, where he has proven his ability to manage, motivate and influence others through strong and effective communication skills and a commitment to realizing individual and team success.

Prior to moving to Dubai to head up CCM Consultancy, Edward lived in Toronto and was Regional Director for Canada’s largest financial planning firm. He spent 14 years working with his team of over 90 wealth managers, financial planners and support staff (having started off with 19 individuals) managed over US$540 Million in assets for clients and achieved an annual turnover of US$65 Million. This success led to his region ranking number one in Canada for Asset and New Business growth. He had received several awards for exceptional achievements as a Division and Regional Director. Edward and CCM Consultancy have won numerous awards for the work they’ve done and the results they’ve achieved.

Edward currently delivers keynote speeches focusing on customer experience, employee engagement and leadership essentials. He has also personally delivered over 1000 workshops and has co-designed several interventions on organization culture and memorable customer experiences. He has worked with clients in several industries and sectors such as Automotive, Aviation, Pharmaceutical, Retail, Hospitality, Oil & Gas, FMCG and Financial Services.

Gus Younis is a Social Media Strategist and Consultant helping brands develop and execute successful social media strategies. One of the first digital marketing professionals in the MENA region since 1998 with 20 years of experience working with Fortune Global 500 brands and major GCC corporations and government organizations.

Writer, trainer, international speaker (nine countries in the past seven years), and media commentator. Gus also discusses the latest tips and news on marketing and social media on his blog and YouTube channel.

Web: https://gusyounis.com
YouTube: http://bit.ly/GusYT
Twitter: @GusYounis

With 22 years professional experience in mature and emerging markets, Ayesha delivers the combined value of a seasoned international CEM professional and advisor to executives of leading organisations. Ayesha has led critical efforts to create competitive advantage across business strategy, customer experience and delivery within consumer services; telecoms, technology, banking, retail and financial services.  With unequivocal passion and knowledge, Ayesha has the unique ability to combine a customer first mindset with commerciality to make organisations relevant to the new consumer. Strongly reputed, Ayesha continues to spearhead launch and transformation for leading brands.

Strategic, action oriented, and results driven member of the leadership team providing senior-level guidance for global support initiatives and customer success programs, and resource assignment and scheduling. Has been instrumental in development of growth strategies and marketing plans. Focus on Performance Solutions while maintaining internal performance and productivity standards to increase efficiencies and productivity. A Customer Experience thought leader who is passionate about helping to build people-focused organizations.

• An innovative problem solver who is passionate about customer success, and able to demonstrate the value of excellent customer service
• A strategic planner with hands on exposure in implementing customer experience management and Key Account Management.
• Core competencies include leadership, diverse customer relations, performance management, process management, data analysis, problem solving, effective communication, business acumen, and technical aptitude.
• Effective in Event Planning & Management, Public Relations & Media, Advertising & promotions. Self-starter with a proven track record of driving customer success and aligning complex customer solutions at the executive and department levels
• Superior communication skills (verbal and written) and well-developed presentation skills
• A strong, passionate, optimistic, global team leader with a "will do" attitude that is contagious

Craig Lee is a Customer Experience transformist, speaker, advisor and coach. He is Co-founder of TribeCX, (UK, US, Dubai), a customer experience business supporting companies building customer competence. Craig is a recognised globally for his expertise in customer experience, employee engagement, integrated marketing and bringing brands to life. He has led on customer centered change in the financial services, telecoms, retail, technology sectors, hospitality and travel. Craig consults internationally and has lived in Dubai for 20 years. Craig recently also held the position of CX &Brand at Emirates Group.

Helen develops strategy that drives focus and direction for client organisations to deliver superior customer and employee experiences and dramatically improve business results.

Using design thinking and service design tools and techniques she inspires cross functional creativity to innovate current and future customer experiences. Her non-traditional approach to consultancy is focused on building internal capability through knowledge transfer training programmes and workshops to foster a truly customer centric culture.

Her 20+ year career has delivered excellence across a range of industry sectors including publishing, education, government services, real estate, retail, telecommunications and leisure. Helen founded the customer experience consultancy Customer at Heart in 2010 and now works as an independent customer experience consultant.

German national and 13-year Permanent Resident of Singapore, Marcus has more than 25 years in the Sales and Service Management Industry.

Marcus conducts Customer Experience-based Mystery Shopper programs, Customer Satisfaction Survey programs and Focus Group discussions to inspire & improve Client service delivery across all touchpoints to help people & organizations to make their Customers’ lives better.

In training sessions Marcus gets people inspired, motivated & skilled to improve their performance, while sharing real-world experience gained working with organizations around the globe.

Since 2017 he is Associate Faculty Member of the Othman Yeop Abdullah Graduate School of Business in Malaysia.

Daniel Ord is a 30-year veteran of the Contact Centre & CX industries with half his career spent in the US and now nearly 19 years in Asia.

Daniel is an ICMI Certified Associate, a CIAC Strategic Leader and a Certified Customer Experience Professional as well as an Associate Faculty at a Graduate School in Malaysia and an Associate Trainer at the Singapore Civil Service College.

Daniel founded his company, OmniTouch, in Singapore in 2001 and conducts global workshops and training on CX, Contact Centres, Leadership, Management and communication skills. Daniel’s company also conducts CX-based Mystery Shopper research.

Kashif is a corporate and government service consultant with years of progressive experience leveraging management consulting skills with legal acumen to drive business growth, protect assets and Intellectual Property, assure legal compliance and minimize risk. He is currently working as Director Government Services with Biznet Consulting, advising Property Developers on Government approvals for their projects.

His is also an active Council Member of GLG (Gerson Lehrman Group) and successfully incorporated many local and MNC’s in UAE. His expertise and knowledge includes; structuring of legal entities and help foreign companies to setup branches and investment companies in UAE.

Ismail Al Hammadi is an expert real estate professional. He is founder and Managing Director of Al Ruwad Real Estate and Biznet Consulting. Before starting his journey as an entrepreneur, he served as Executive director (Business Development) in TECOM, Sales Director in TECOM investments, Manager Government Relations in Dubai Industrial City and Senior Coordinator in Department of Economic Development Dubai.

His versatile experience enables him to provide appropriate consultancy to real estate investors and streamlined solutions for startups. The entrepreneur and resourcefulness in Mr. Hammadi helps organization to create profitable changes through unconventional and futuristic thinking using nimble and advance technology cutting down unwanted time constraints and road blocks. His venture and synergy till date have complimented hundreds of campaigns, non-profits, legal boards and brands.

HR Professional with over 15 years of experience with a proven track in many sectors in UAE. Extensive experience in working in Human Resources and demonstrated strong leadership, ownership and responsibility in achieving objectives. He has Developed, managed and supervised the Emiratisation, also have developed policies and directed and coordinated human resources activities, such as Recruitment, HR Business Partner, Training and Development. He believes in keeping employee engagement and motivating them to always keep the best practices to the organization.

Serial Entrepreneur and Tech-Geek at heart with a passion for technology & Startups. Spent more than 17 years building enterprise solutions.

Co-Founder of HeyDoc!, a global telemedicine platform; Founder and Managing Director of NOCC, a system integrator and network security solutions company; and Co-founder and Managing Director at WebMisc., a Digital Agency.

A passionate Tech-thusiast, International Speaker and Executer that's been consulting, innovating and delivering solutions for over 12 years. Managing Director of WebMisc. a Digital Marketing Agency and Co-Founder of HeyDoc! - an award winning telemedicine platform that is disrupting healthcare relationships and the way Doctors advise patients by focusing on emerging and innovative communication technologies.

Mr. Kumar has over 19 years of experience in roles of strategy deployment, customer centricity, performance management, process re-engineering, sales and consulting across the various industries and verticals including projects, engineering, energy, commodities and healthcare industry. Most of his experience has been with the TATA group across 3 different group organizations. Currently heading the operations of Weathermaker, Mr. Kumar oversees the P&L of a wholly owned subsidiary of Voltas which manufactures HVAC ducts and Prefabricated MEP Modules.

With over 15 years’ experience in the banking industry in senior HR roles, Hessa has become a trusted advisor to senior business leaders in the UAE across all critical aspects of HR.

Currently, Hessa is the Chief Human Resource Officer of CBI and appointed Head of Corporate Social Responsibility. Supporting over 750 employees across the region, she is committed towards implementing best people practices that advance talent and leverage business strategy.

Previously, Hessa was the Chief People Officer at Tanfeeth; the GCC’s first-ever Shared Services organization and fully owned subsidiary of Emirates NBD. She established the HR structure and function at Tanfeeth, which was highlighted as a business case study in Harvard Business School.

Recently, Hessa's regional leadership and influence was recognised by Linkedin with a UAE Power Profile award and last year she was awarded "Inspirational Female Leader" at the 2016 IBX Awards for her expertise and innovative leadership style.

Due to her accomplishments, regional leadership and expertise, Hessa is commonly requested to be a keynote speaker and awards judge,within the GCC and internationally. As a keynote speaker, she provides insights on cutting-edge topics such as: Talent Development, Emiritization, HR Strategy, Employee Engagement, Workforce Analytics and Women Empowerment & Leadership.

Andrea is Partner of GRS Research and Strategy. He holds a bachelor degree in International Trade and master degree in International Economics, both from the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. Andrea has shaped his skills and knowledge through several educational and professional experiences in different countries, such as the United States of America, Australia, and Spain. He primarily focuses on Customer Satisfaction, Business Intelligence, Customer Experience, and Project Management.

He lives in the UAE since 2016, where he heads GRS's business for the MEA Region.He is married and happy father of a beautiful little girl

Ayman is the Co-Founder and Group Managing Director of The Corporate Group. He is in charge of subsidiaries responsible for delivering one-stop-shop of professional services related to business setup solutions and enabling both FDIs and foreign companies to do business in UAE and the region.

He has attracted businesses across all sizes and industries such as but not limited to education, healthcare, technology, energy, professional services. Some of these businesses are listed in global stock market while others are start-ups offering disruptive technologies/ideas.

Furthermore, his experience includes advising companies for corporate structuring and merge & acquisition transactions along, developing operational framework that delivers unique customer engagement with clients and stakeholders along with association with both private and government sectors.

Past work experience:

• Worked in Government Resource Planning project (currently known as Dubai Smart Government) for Oracle implementation across local government departments of Dubai Government (2002-2006)
• Co-Founder and COO of Zeroday IT Solution L.L.C., an information and cyber security consulting company based in Dubai (since 2007)
• Corporate Business Services L.L.C., a professional services company specialized in company formation solutions and business consultancy based in Dubai (since 2007)

Personal achievements:

• Awarded for outstanding performance and achievements made in GRP project (currently known as Dubai Smart Government)
• Working closely with Injaz UAE as judge/mentor for entrepreneurship programs. Injaz UAE is a member of Junior Achievement Worldwide (JAW), one of the world's largest non-profit business education organizations
• Participating as judge for various award programs of International Awards UAE
• Active speaker in number of local and global seminars and conferences sharing knowledge and experience around entrepreneurship and legal/operational framework of doing business in UAE
• Active member of Institute of Directors, Hawkama at DIFC

Ayman is fluent in English and Arabic. He earned his BA in Business Administration and Information Systems at University of Colorado (USA) and pursing for his Master of Project Management in British University in Dubai.

Indu Singhal is an Engineer & a Business Management Post Graduate, and is also a certified 6 Sigma Black Belt. She has been heading Visual Ace Business Solutions & EBM since their inception, for over 20 years. She has over 25 years of experience in various areas of business including Leadership, Human Capital, Business Strategy Formation, Process Re-engineering, Knowledge Management, and Value Chain Enhancement.

She is a self-employed Business Excellence Consultant and has worked closely with the Business Excellence Department under the Department of Economic Develop, Government of Dubai for well over a decade. She has guided various organisations, of all sizes, from several industries, in their process of Continuous Improvement. Indu has facilitated Balanced Scorecard Development & Implementation, Performance Management Systems Setup, PESTLE Analysis, SWOT Analysis, Ishikawa Diagram Studies, Cost-Benefit Analysis, development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), etc. for many organizations in the UAE.

As an Innovator, she has conceptualized and designed, and is managing the EBM Benchmarking Program that facilitates transparent sharing of Business KPIs of various businesses from a cross section of industries across the UAE, exchange of business best practices through facilitation of B2B Benchmarking Visits and Club Sessions.

She has also conceptualized and designed, and is managing the first ever Health Awards across the UAE (2016) - a program that facilitates the recognition of the contribution of Organizations and Individuals in the Healthcare Industry across the UAE. This has also been endorsed by the Government of Dubai, UAE.

Marc Karschies is considered one of the leading experts on Customer Experience (CX), Customer Service (CS), Service Quality (SQ), and LEAN Management in the MENA region. Marc’s international cross-industry advisory includes Corporate and Service Strategy, Customer Experience Management, PMO Setup, and integrated KPI & Measurement Systems.On top of his international consultancy work, he is a frequent conference and corporate event speaker, award judge, university teacher, and expert trainer.Marc holds a wide range of professional certifications including CXPA “Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP)”, ASQ “Certified Quality Manager (CMQ/OE)” and “Six Sigma Black Belt (CSSBB)”, and is McKinsey LEAN, PMI and Prince2 Project Management certified.

Prior to becoming Executive Director for SHRM MEA Dubai, Brad Boyson spent 15 years holding senior HR roles in globally diverse organizations including Mitsubishi Corporation (Tokyo), Royal Caribbean International (Miami) and most recently, Hamptons/Emaar (Dubai). A globalist by nature, Mr. Boyson has practiced embedded HR on every inhabited continent and has first-hand HR experience in almost every major industrial sector. He holds three business degrees, six active professional HR certifications, is a published author (Global HR Economics), frequent international keynote speaker and board member on UAE government & UAE university HR advisory committees.

Francisco is co-founding partner of Innoway. Before that he spent more than six years in a strategy consulting firm, specialized in Strategy Execution.

Francisco has wide experience as a strategy & innovation consultant, helping organizations define their strategies, innovate and also help startups validate their ideas and grow their business.

Jorge is the Executive Director of Innoway, an innovation house focused on helping organizations instill innovation practices. A dedicated professional with more than 17 years of international experience. Some of Jorge’s relevant roles: Innovation catalyzer at ADNEC, Transformation coach at Philip Morris, innovation advisor at Mars Wrigley and startups mentor and coach. Jorge collaborates pro bono with Grow Movement, a Non-for-Profit organization that helps entrepreneurs in East Africa.

David is a senior operational & strategic executive with over 20 years' service experience. Having managed large scale operations throughout EMEA/NA/LATAM/APAC markets, with a team in excess of 1000FTE across 15 languages and 50+ nationalities, David learned quickly that when running successful customer centric operations, customer experience & employee experience are interlinked. David is a passionate individual who truly understands what is needed to drive customer experience improvements on a truly global playing field.

James started Touchpoints Consulting & Communications in 2008. Since then he has been helping clients in the GCC, North African, Central European and Asia Pacific markets realise their Customer Management aspirations. James brings a decidedly customer-centric viewpoint to customer management and helps clients realise the potential of communications to create and manage moments of truth. He has also run innovation workshops for some of the regions larger brands and governments. His recent and current clients include twofour54, Yas Marina Circuit, Nissan, Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi, United Nations Environment Programme, Aldar, Majid Al Futtaim and the Berkeley Group. James is a regular speaker at client and industry events. Prior to establishing Touchpoints James worked for the Ogilvy Group for 17 years, across Asia Pacific, Europe and most recently as the Chief Executive Officer of OgilvyOne Middle East, which he founded. He was the architect of Emirates frequent flyer programme – “Skywards” and several of the regions other leading loyalty initiatives in the financial services, telco and hospitality sectors.

Rima, graduate of Harvard Business School, is a commercially driven business leader with more than 17 years’ experience in multinational blue-chip companies across Europe, Caribbean and last 10 years in Middle East.

Having worked for organizations with different levels of financial prowess and cross-cultural operations, Rima can easily lead and integrate high performing teams.

As Senior Leadership Team Member of ManpowerGroup Middle East, Rima helps set and drive its strategic executive framework. In addition, as Regional CFO, she drives the business and its financial strategies; as Regional Director of Shared Services she drives HR, Legal, Marketing & IT strategies; and as Regional Leader of Right Management, she drives ManpowerGroup's Career and Talent Management brand.

Mohammed Husary is a results-driven leader, entrepreneur, and corporate strategist with over 20 years’ experience in aviation. He is Co-Owner/Founder and Executive President of UAS International Trip Support, a leading global trip support solutions provider. His dynamic leadership has helped the organization create innovative new products and services and has been a pivotal factor in its strong global expansion.

Mr. Husary sponsors a wide range of philanthropic social initiatives. He’s also a member of several official international associations and organizations. In 2018, he was selected as a member and lecturer in the Arab Professionals Forum of Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation and won the Sapphire Pegasus award for lifetime achievement.

LYNN BAKER Director CX Connection and Customer Experience Academy South Africa. She has worked for corporates in UK & South Africa focusing on Sales, Marketing and Customer Experience. Lynn attained her Disney Institute Quality Service Certificate in 2006 and attended the Disney Customer Experience Summit, California 2018. Lynn is a renowned international speaker on Customer Experience and combines her dynamic keynote speeches with interactive learning by playing the Customer Experience Game with audiences around the world.

Emad is a Business Excellence professional with twenty years experience, influencing and guiding repatual organizations both in governmental and private sectors to improve business performance towards achieving excellence culture and practices that have been rewarded with recognizable business excellence awards.

Emad had shown a great success in helping businesses to improve business processes, build excellence culture, enhance their capacity, generate innovative ideas, explore the future, reduce waste and increase profit