Connect | MENA // 2026 Agenda
8:30 a.m.
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DCD Connect | MENA Registration and Badge Collection
- Convention Center Lobby | Ground Floor
- Open Session
10:00 a.m.
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Tech Showcase: Unlocking the potential of passive heat pipe technology | Enover
- Spotlight Stage - Show Floor | Baniyas Ballroom | Ground Level
- Data Center Cooling
- Open Session
Speakers
Malik Çağlar
President, Enover
Felix Jaffe
Conference Production - EMEA, DCD
Ömer Gökdemir
Advisory Board Chair, Enover
10:30 a.m.
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DCD Talks speed to market vs certainty with Christopher Nicolas | TBH
- Spotlight Stage - Show Floor | Baniyas Ballroom | Ground Level
- Data Center Construction
- Open Session
Speakers
Alex Dickins
Content Director, DCD
Christopher Nicolas
Director, TBH
11:00 a.m.
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iM Women Welcome Brunch
- Al Ameera 1 | Ground Floor
- Hospitality & Networking
- Invite-only Session
Speakers
CEO, Syntys
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Tech Showcase: The AI Factory – From Grid to Chip | Delta
- Spotlight Stage - Show Floor | Baniyas Ballroom | Ground Level
- Mission Critical Power
- Open Session
Speakers
Felix Jaffe
Conference Production - EMEA, DCD
Anas Al Saifi
Senior Regional Sales Manager - MEA, Delta Electronics
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Major Panel: Modernising data centers for next generation compute
- Main Stage - Show Floor | Baniyas Ballroom | Ground Level
- Data Center Cooling
- Mission Critical Power
- Data Center Construction
- Open Session
Speakers
Hady Stephan
VP, Secure Power & Data Center Business – MEA, Schneider Electric
AlMuayyad Makki
Regional Engineering Leader - EMEA, AWS
Johan Nilerud
CEO, Landfall Infra
Rhian Collinson
Group Managing Director and COO, DCD
Mohammad Majed Alhnaity
Associate Director, Black & White Engineering
11:30 a.m.
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DCD Talks from GPU roadmap to engineering reality with Lee Prescott | RED Engineering
- Spotlight Stage - Show Floor | Baniyas Ballroom | Ground Level
- Open Session
Speakers
Lee Prescott
Chief Technology Officer, RED Engineering
Gabriella Gillett-Perez
Portfolio Director - EMEA & Awards, DCD
12:00 p.m.
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Mission Critical Power Welcome Lunch
- Al Maasa | Level 1
- Mission Critical Power
- Invite-only Session
Speakers
Chief Strategy & Growth Officer, Data Centers - Electrification Segment, GE Vernova
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Data Center Cooling Welcome Lunch
- Al Dana | Level 1
- Data Center Cooling
- Invite-only Session
Speakers
Hitesh Prajapati
Managing Director, Data Centers, Carrier
Chief Solution Architect, Carrier Middle East
12:15 p.m.
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Welcome Networking Lunch
- Show Floor - Baniyas Ballroom | Ground Level
- Hospitality & Networking
- Open Session
1:30 p.m.
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Debate: AI vs lifetime ROI - Designing and retrofitting facilities that survive the hype cycle
- Al Ameera 2 | Ground Floor
- Data Center Construction
- Open Session
Speakers
Manikiran Tadikonda
Senior Projects Director, Syska Hennessy Group
Tarek Qabaha
Senior Technical Director, GHD
Alistair Davis
Director, Black & White Engineering
Shamim Miah
Project Director, Pure Data Centres Group
Gabriella Gillett-Perez
Portfolio Director - EMEA & Awards, DCD
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Debate: Greenwashed gigawatts? Can hyperscale growth align with sustainability goals?
- Al Ameera 3 | Ground Floor
- Energy & Sustainability
- Open Session
Speakers
Professor and Chair of Advanced Energy and Sustainability, Northumbria University
Ryan Waltke
Senior Associate/Studio Director, Gensler
Safaa Abdel Baki
Senior Digital Strategy & Sustainability Consultant, LTA
Saad Omeirat
Senior Associate Engineer - Data Centers & Mission Critical, Dar Al-Handasah
Thomas Buckley
Global Portfolio Manager - Investment, DCD
CEO, SolydEra Group
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Debate: Machine‑led vs. human‑led - Who should run operations?
- Al Ameera 1 | Ground Floor
- Management & Operations
- Open Session
Speakers
Ossama Dahabreh
Associate Director, Syska Hennessy Group
Mohammed Feroz Khan
Head of IT Infrastructure, TotalEnergies
Gaurav Mathur
Chief AI & Data Center Officer, JLL
Felix Jaffe
Conference Production - EMEA, DCD
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Debate: Beyond hyperscale - Is MENA ready for mass liquid cooling deployment?
- Main Stage - Show Floor | Baniyas Ballroom | Ground Level
- Data Center Cooling
- Open Session
Speakers
Head of Data Centers, Telecom Egypt - Centra
Alex Dickins
Content Director, DCD
Imran Shaikh
Director of MEP & Specialisms, Ramboll
Aida Elbouanani
Business Development Director MEA, Castrol
2:15 p.m.
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Interactive Debate Debriefs
- All Debate Stages
- Open Session
2:30 p.m.
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Debate: Building sovereign AI - Enabling innovation through scalable compute
- Al Ameera 1 | Ground Floor
- Cloud & Hybrid
- Compute, Storage & Networking
- Open Session
Speakers
Felix Jaffe
Conference Production - EMEA, DCD
Dr. Fayid Kadambodan
Assistant IT Director – Enterprise Solutions, Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority
Roger Habr
Chief Technology / Data and AI Officer, Gulf Data Hub
Bahaa Al Janabi
Technical and Solution Lead, Middle East, Turkey and Africa, Submer
Sami Saadaoui
Director IT Infrastructure, Ooredoo
Chief Technology Officer, Microsoft - G42 Partnership, Microsoft
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Debate: Quiet contenders or hollow hype? Are MENA’s secondary markets ready to deliver on the AI boom?
- Al Ameera 2 | Ground Floor
- Investment & Markets
- Open Session
Speakers
EMEA Associate Director - Data Centers, UBS
Amit Singh
Chief Business Development Officer, iX Africa Data Centers
Saamer Shafique
Lead Principal Site Selection - EMEA, Oracle
Thomas Buckley
Global Portfolio Manager - Investment, DCD
Digital Infrastructure Consultant (MENA), Independent
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Debate: High density reliability - Is the power stack ready for what's next?
- Main Stage - Show Floor | Baniyas Ballroom | Ground Level
- Mission Critical Power
- Open Session
Speakers
Alex Dickins
Content Director, DCD
Head of Tech Division, Innovo
Shahrukh Shaikh
Datacenter Operations Manager, ServiceNow
Nader Tahan
Products Marketing Director, Gulf & Pakistan, ABB
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Debate: What interconnectivity strategy will secure success in an unpredictable digital future?
- Al Ameera 3 | Ground Floor
- Telecoms & Connectivity
- Open Session
Speakers
Design Manager/ Senior Associate – Data Centers & Missions Critical, Dar Al-Handasah
Salim Chalha
Market Development Manager, Middle East , Corning
Rhian Collinson
Group Managing Director and COO, DCD
Atul Anand
Director - Data Center & Real Estate Investments, DAMAC Group
3:15 p.m.
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Interactive Debate Debriefs
- All Debate Stages
- Open Session
3:30 p.m.
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Cooling & Operations 5x5 Lightning Pitches
- Spotlight Stage - Show Floor | Baniyas Ballroom | Ground Level
- Data Center Cooling
- Management & Operations
- Open Session
Speakers
Lawson Cai
International Sales Manager, BEHEE
Lisa Xu
Overseas Regional Manager, RUNHE MATERIALS
Magide Sebtioui
Director, Global Strategic Accounts & Growth – Data Centers, Honeywell Technologies
Eanna O’ Conbui
Director of Accounts EMEA & APAC, Johnson Controls
Mohamed Elmaghawry
Strategic Vertical Sales Leader - Data Centers - META, Honeywell Technologies
Georges Dubien
Executive Director - MEA, EXAGATE | BOREAS
Mohamed Ashok
Global Business Development Director, FläktGroup
Jonathon Lee Szostak
Regional Technical Manager (Middle East), IMI Climate Controls
Osama Al Masri
Solutions Sales Manager-Middle East & Africa, Tate
Hüseyin Doğa Emiroğulları
Founder & CEO of Otomatica, Otomatica
Mahmoud Mohamed Abdelmoneim
Senior Tendering Engineer, Schneider Electric
Yasser Alkhaldi
Director – Service & Customer Excellence, Daikin
Neil Bilton
Key Account Manager, SPX Cooling
Hassan Majari
Regional Sales Manager, Data Centers, Carrier Middle East
Ivan Kuts
Solution Architect, EMEA, Vertiv
Chief Growth & Innovation Officer , AVAR
Liam McDermott
Sales Development Manager, Data Centers, Grundfos
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Power, Construction and Connectivity 5x5 Lightning Pitches
- Main Stage - Show Floor | Baniyas Ballroom | Ground Level
- Mission Critical Power
- Data Center Construction
- Telecoms & Connectivity
- Open Session
Speakers
Omai Gamaleldin
Application & Engineering Manager, Power Generation Solutions, Al Masaood
Ratheesh Valayanad
Senior Sales Manager, DCS, MEA, Delta Electronics
Raed Al-Qutub
EMEA Key Accounts Manager- Data Centers, Eaton
Alan Burberry
Managing Director, EAE
Hans-Jürgen Niethammer
Market Development/Solution Architect Data Center Business MEA, CommScope
Chris Davies
Global Data Centre Manager, Cleveland Cable Company
Associate Technical Manager, DCV Industries
Murat Can Surucu
Colocation Segment Director, Middle East and Central Asia - Data Centers, Huawei
Monaam Htiouech
Head of Generation Sales – Middle East, Siemens Energy
Xavier Mercier
National Key Account Manager, Socomec
5:00 p.m.
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Explore the Floor
- Show Floor - Baniyas Ballroom | Ground Level
- Open Session
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Major Panel: AI at scale - How MENA’s digital transformation is reshaping power, cooling, construction and design
- Main Stage - Show Floor | Baniyas Ballroom | Ground Level
- Open Session
Speakers
Tom Bosmans
Business Development Manager EMEIA, BAC
Himmath Mohammed
COO, Gulf Data Hub
Yashnath Issur
CEO, Nxtra Africa
Managing Partner, UBIK
Gabriella Gillett-Perez
Portfolio Director - EMEA & Awards, DCD
6:00 p.m.
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Icebreaker Networking Evening
- Andiamo! Restaurant - Grand Hyatt | Lower Lobby Level
- Hospitality & Networking
- Open Session
No results found
8:30 a.m.
-
DCD Connect | MENA Registration and Badge Collection
- Convention Center Lobby | Ground Floor
- Open Session
9:30 a.m.
-
DCD Talks shifting from scheduled servicing to prescriptive AI agents with Fadi Greige | AVAR
- Spotlight Stage - Show Floor | Baniyas Ballroom | Ground Level
- Management & Operations
- Open Session
Speakers
Chief Growth & Innovation Officer , AVAR
Gabriella Gillett-Perez
Portfolio Director - EMEA & Awards, DCD
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Major Panel: Gridlock to gigawatts - Defining MENA’s power strategy for AI’s next leap
- Main Stage - Show Floor | Baniyas Ballroom | Ground Level
- Mission Critical Power
- Open Session
Speakers
Simon Young
Sub Regional Lead - Energy, Location & Strategy Middle East & Africa, Google
Alex Dickins
Content Director, DCD
Director - Advanced Technology Services, Moro Hub
Data Center Business Leader & Global Accounts Director, Eaton
Sameer Gupta
Director, Analysys Mason
10:00 a.m.
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Tech Showcase: The physical layer that powers AI | Panduit
- Spotlight Stage - Show Floor | Baniyas Ballroom | Ground Level
- Telecoms & Connectivity
- Open Session
Speakers
Physical Infrastructure Consultant, Panduit
Gabriella Gillett-Perez
Portfolio Director - EMEA & Awards, DCD
10:30 a.m.
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DCD Talks from circuits to strategy, optimizing electrical topology and delivery with Khaled Banat | Huawei
- Spotlight Stage - Show Floor | Baniyas Ballroom | Ground Level
- Mission Critical Power
- Open Session
Speakers
Felix Jaffe
Conference Production - EMEA, DCD
AI Data Center Technical Program Manager , Huawei
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Major Panel: Solving MENA’s cooling dilemma - Balancing heat, water, and efficiency in the AI era
- Main Stage - Show Floor | Baniyas Ballroom | Ground Level
- Data Center Cooling
- Open Session
Speakers
Somen Mathur
Vice President - Head of Engineering and Design, DATAVOLT
Alex Dickins
Content Director, DCD
Regional Product Director, Johnson Controls
Gaurav Mathur
Chief AI & Data Center Officer, JLL
Steven Briscoe
Managing Director of Gulf Operations, Subsea Cloud
11:00 a.m.
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DCD Talks the density dilemma with Graham Easton and Furqan Mian | Engie Solutions
- Spotlight Stage - Show Floor | Baniyas Ballroom | Ground Level
- Mission Critical Power
- Open Session
Speakers
Furqan Mian
Head of Data Centers, ENGIE Solutions
Graham Easton
Managing Director, IFM GCC, ENGIE Solutions
Gabriella Gillett-Perez
Portfolio Director - EMEA & Awards, DCD
11:30 a.m.
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Tech Showcase: Rethinking physical data center operations | Grenzebach
- Spotlight Stage - Show Floor | Baniyas Ballroom | Ground Level
- Mission Critical Power
- Open Session
Speakers
Felix Jaffe
Conference Production - EMEA, DCD
Andreas Mathe
Director of Engineering, Grenzebach Data Center Solutions
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Major Panel: Blueprints without builders - Can MENA deliver the talent to match its digital ambitions?
- Main Stage - Show Floor | Baniyas Ballroom | Ground Level
- Management & Operations
- Open Session
Speakers
Director Capacity Planning GPU & Compute (EMEA & JAPAC), Oracle
James Richards
Vice President - HSE, DAMAC Digital
Gabriella Gillett-Perez
Portfolio Director - EMEA & Awards, DCD
Group Human Resources Manager, AVAR
12:00 p.m.
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Project Showcase: From data centers to AI factories, the next era of deployment | Vertiv
- Spotlight Stage - Show Floor | Baniyas Ballroom | Ground Level
- Data Center Cooling
- Mission Critical Power
- Open Session
Speakers
Tassos Peppas
Regional Director Middle East, South East Europe, Turkey and Central Asia, Vertiv
Kenny Scott
CEO, Edge Serve
12:30 p.m.
-
Data Center Construction Hosted Lunch
- Al Dana | Level 1
- Data Center Construction
- Invite-only Session
Speakers
Basheer Massad
CEO, BK Gulf
12:45 p.m.
-
DCD Connect | MENA Networking Lunch
- Show Floor - Baniyas Ballroom | Ground Level
- Open Session
2:00 p.m.
-
Major Panel: Beyond PUE & WUE, can MENA forge its own sustainable accountability?
- Main Stage - Show Floor | Baniyas Ballroom | Ground Level
- Energy & Sustainability
- Open Session
Speakers
Edmar Cabra
Head of Sustainability - MENA, Black and White Engineering
Gabriella Gillett-Perez
Portfolio Director - EMEA & Awards, DCD
Global Expansion Director, Beratung Group
Elisabetta Baronio
Head of ESG, Khazna
Head of Strategy & Advisory, AESG
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DCD Talks from grid to rack, creating a smart and sustainable future with Varun Mehndiratta | Hitachi Energy
- Spotlight Stage - Show Floor | Baniyas Ballroom | Ground Level
- Mission Critical Power
- Open Session
Speakers
Vice President - Head of Marketing & Sales, Grid Integration, MEA Region, Hitachi Energy
Thomas Buckley
Global Portfolio Manager - Investment, DCD
2:30 p.m.
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DCD Talks architecting power for the Gulf with Mandar Pandit | GE Vernova
- Spotlight Stage - Show Floor | Baniyas Ballroom | Ground Level
- Mission Critical Power
- Open Session
Speakers
Chief Strategy & Growth Officer, Data Centers - Electrification Segment, GE Vernova
Felix Jaffe
Conference Production - EMEA, DCD
3:00 p.m.
-
Major Panel: Building at Speed, Performing at Scale - Rethinking delivery models for lasting reliability
- Main Stage - Show Floor | Baniyas Ballroom | Ground Level
- Data Center Construction
- Open Session
Speakers
Ehab Ibrahim
Managing Director – UAE, Iraq, and North Africa, Meinhardt
Gareth McElroy
Director of Technical Facilities, MEEZA QSTP
Steffen Zimmermann
Campus Delivery Director MENA&APAC, Pure Data Centres Group
Kareem Sadek
General Manager - Corporate Strategy & Transformation, Daikin
Gabriella Gillett-Perez
Portfolio Director - EMEA & Awards, DCD
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Tech Showcase: Emax 3 - Intelligent power for AI data centers | ABB
- Spotlight Stage - Show Floor | Baniyas Ballroom | Ground Level
- Mission Critical Power
- Open Session
Speakers
Atif Saleri
Product Marketing Director, ABB
Felix Jaffe
Conference Production - EMEA, DCD
Basma Elakkad
Product Marketing Specialist, ABB
3:30 p.m.
-
Tech Showcase: Optimizing data center cooling with distributed pumping | Grundfos
- Spotlight Stage - Show Floor | Baniyas Ballroom | Ground Level
- Data Center Cooling
- Open Session
Speakers
Sales Development Manager, Data Centers, Grundfos
Felix Jaffe
Conference Production - EMEA, DCD
4:00 p.m.
-
Tech Showcase: Redefining data center delivery speed with modular solutions | CIMC Digital Power
- Spotlight Stage - Show Floor | Baniyas Ballroom | Ground Level
- Mission Critical Power
- Open Session
Speakers
Felix Jaffe
Conference Production - EMEA, DCD
Freddy Chen
Business Development Manager, CIMC Digital Power
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Major Panel: Kuwait’s digital pivot - How public–private alignment will shape success in the next decade
- Main Stage - Show Floor | Baniyas Ballroom | Ground Level
- Investment & Markets
- Open Session
Speakers
Alex Dickins
Content Director, DCD
Priyanka Nagpal
Director, Data Center Capital Markets, JLL
Zaid Al Othman
Director of Enterprise Customer Success & Data Center Solutions, Zain Kuwait
AI & National Digital Transformation Leader | Former CTO, Public Sector
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Closing networking hour
- Show Floor - Baniyas Ballroom | Ground Level
4:30 p.m.
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Tech Showcase: Every watt counts, optimising dense compute at 50°C | Exagate & Boreas
- Spotlight Stage - Show Floor | Baniyas Ballroom | Ground Level
Speakers
Çağrı Akkaya
Data Center Sales Manager, Exagate & Boreas
Felix Jaffe
Conference Production - EMEA, DCD
Onur Güney
Automation Director | Data Center & Smart Infrastructure, Exagate & Boreas
