Committed to connecting the world

Search for:

Biographies

Person Icon

Gabriel Abed
Barbados' Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates

His Excellency Dr. Gabriel Abed is one of the world’s leading authorities on blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. He is recognized globally for transforming governance systems in the 21st Century. Among his many accomplishments, Gabriel invented the field of Central Bank Digital Currencies. His company Bitt launched the first synthetic digital currency sanctioned by a Central Bank. He became globally recognized as a pioneer in the evolution of digital currencies as he led the first movement to encourage central banks to adopt digital currencies. In 2016, under Gabriel’s leadership, his technology start-up received the largest investment in the history of the Caribbean. Gabriel, Barbadian-born with Syrian heritage, incorporated the first Caribbean company in the field of blockchain in 2011. He is the founder of the Abed Group, an innovation-driven family office. Abed Group’s venture studio has incubated over a dozen regulatory technology companies, which makes it one of the most significant contributors to the invention of RegTech and blockchain companies in the world. Today, Gabriel’s many inventions are taken through the venture studio to create globally transformative products. Gabriel co-founded Digital Asset Capital Management in 2017, one of the best performing hedge funds in its category. DACM has commanded astronomical growth and currently manages hundreds of millions of dollars in assets under management. In 2018, Gabriel was appointed as the Special Technology Advisor to the Honorable David Burt, Premier of Bermuda, and in 2020, Gabriel was appointed as the Co-lead on the Regulatory Framework of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Cryptocurrencies. Gabriel is now transforming the field of diplomacy as Barbados’ Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates. In 2021, Gabriel led the Government of Barbados’ launch of the first embassy in the decentralized metaverse challenging age-old concepts of sovereignty and diplomacy and leading the way for small island developing states to position themselves to attain diplomatic parity. Gabriel currently serves on the board of the Barbados Stock Exchange and Ansa Bank, Trinidad’s leading digital bank, where he also serves as Chairman of the Digital Sub-Committee. In 2022, Gabriel was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Law by the University of West Indies for his contribution to transforming the Caribbean. Gabriel graduated with Honors from the University of Ontario where he pursued a degree in Information Technology and Network Security.

Person Icon

Hussein Abul-Enein
Head of Middle East at Access Partnership

Hussein Abul-Enein is the Head of Middle East at Access Partnership. Hussein’s work touches on briding the digital divide, fostering innovation, disruptive technologies, and the establishment of successful public private partnerships in line with the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. In his current role, Hussein co-leads Access Partnership’s Metaverse Policy Lab (MPL), a vendor and technology-agnostic forum where honest and insightful conversations around the metaverse can take place and where Access Partnership is helping steer the tech industry in (i) defining what the metaverse is (where we are going); and (ii) navigating the related policy challenges (how we get there). Prior to joining Access Partnership, Hussein worked at various multilateral organisations including the International Telecommunications Union. He holds a MA in Security Studies from King’s College London and a BA in International Relations from the Geneva School of Diplomacy.

Person Icon

Vincent Affleck
Consultant, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, United Kingdom

Vincent Affleck has spent over 20 years in regulatory matters relating to telecommunications. First, from the early 1990s, as Deputy Director at Oftel, he worked on developing the world’s first interconnection regime between BT and other operators following the liberalisation of telecommunications in the UK and subsequently was responsible for resolving interconnection disputes and complaints of anti-competitive behaviour. Then from 2003, as Director of International Standards, he was responsible, inter alia, for the UK’s engagement with ITU-T leading the UK delegation to WTSAs in 2008, 2012 and 2016. For eight years, he chaired the OECD CISP (Communication and Infrastructures Services Policy) Working Party. Since 2019, he has been an expert consultant on standardisation issues to the UK Department of Science, Innovation and Technology. As part of that role he represents the UK in ITU-T Study Groups 11 (Signalling Requirements and Protocols) and in ITU-T SG 16 (Multimedia and Related Digital Technologies). Although a classicist by background, Vincent Affleck obtained post-graduate qualifications in Economics and Competition Law from Nottingham University in the 1990s.

Person Icon

Bushra A. Alahmadi
Chief Scientist, Innovation Labs, Saudi Information Technology Company (SITE)

Dr. Bushra Alahmadi is Chief Scientist in Research and Innovation Labs at Saudi Information Technology Company (SITE) . With a PhD in Cybersecurity from the University of Oxford, she has a strong foundation in both cybersecurity and machine learning with a deep understanding of the technical and interdisciplinary aspects of the field, as well as a track record of applying this knowledge to solve real-world challenges. She consults in various areas of cybersecurity and Machine Learning for government and private organizations, and works closely with nonprofit organizations and entrepreneurs to build innovative solutions to solve challenges such as Cyber bullying and Child Online protection. She received numerous awards, grants and recognitions from the Computer Antivirus Research Organization (CARO), Google, and the University of Oxford, among many others for her contributions to international science and community.

Person Icon

Nadine Alameh
CEO & President, Open Geospatial Consortium

Nadine is the CEO of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) - a global not-for-profit membership organization hosting the largest collective-problem solving community of experts making geospatial/location information Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) via open standards, innovations, and partnerships. Nadine spent her career applying open mapping/geospatial standards in multiple domains including aviation, earth observations, public safety, and defense. She's a champion of collaboration at scale in the expanding geospatial ecosystem, and a passionate cheerleader for the value that geospatial can bring to new domains like digital twins, gaming, and metaverse. Dr. Alameh is an appointed member of the U.S. National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC) and sits on the board of the UN Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) Private Sector Network. Nadine was awarded the 2022 Geospatial World Diversity Champion award and the 2019 Geomatics Canada Diversity Leadership Award. Nadine has a Ph.D. and 2 M.S. degrees from MIT in the field of Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

Person Icon

Mansour AlQurashi
General Manager for International Affairs, Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Mansour Alqurashi is a leader with more than 14 years of experience in the field of ICT, and held different positions of increasing scope and responsibility, which allowed him to get his arms around the digital and space sectors and understand the benefits and challenges on both the national and international level. Alqurashi proved his significant international skills to representing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia internationally, strengthening the relationships with all stakeholders and working towards building consensus. As a result of his hard work, Alqurashi was appointed as the International affairs general manager in CST and the Saudi Arabia councilor in the ITU Council. In addition, Alqurashi also held the position of the Chair of the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD). Alqurashi earned his bachelor’s degree in electronic engineering from the De Montfort University in 2007, also received his master’s degree in software engineering in 2008. In 2019, he earned an executive certificate in strategy and innovation from MIT Sloan School of Management.

Person Icon

Alrebdi Alrebdi
Deputy Governor for Policies and Regulations, National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Alrebdi is a National Cybersecurity expert with over 28 years of experience in cybersecurity and technology. He has worked in the development and maintenance of national cybersecurity regulatory mandates across all national entities/sectors, including National Critical Infrastructure (CNIs). Alrebdi holds a Bachelor's degree in Information System Management from King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals.

Person Icon

Khalid Alshathri
General Manager for Emerging Technologies, Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Khalid has long-standing 20 years experience in the ICT sector staring with the telecom sector in the 2003. He worked then in opening Saudi Telecom market for competition with focusing on Mobile and New generation networks that is going to be enabling all sectors for digital transformation. Therefore, Khalid has been assigned to lead CST initiatives to increase the Emerging Technologies adoption in KSA. He is currently working in developing and activating the strategies for emerging technologies (e.g. IoT Blockchain, AR/VR, Web3 and Metaverse) adoption. He holds a Ph.D. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology, NJ, USA.

Manuel Barreiro
Founder & Chairman, Aston Group

Manuel is the founder and chairman of the Aston Group, a private equity firm with $1 billion in investments to date. The firm develops real estate projects and makes private equity investments with a focus on the North American and European continents. He is a strategic leader with more than 20 years of high-level experience in international real estate and a history of success advising public and private sector stakeholders on the intersection between technology, sustainability, mobility, smart cities, and the metaverse. Manuel completed the Oxford Real Estate Programme at the University of Oxford. He also holds an Executive Master of Science (MSc) in Cities from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences (LSE), where he had the opportunity to further develop his knowledge in sustainable urban development, mobility, and water management to improve the quality of life in large cities and small urban areas. This degree also sparked his interest in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT), which will be at the center of his projects in the near future.

Natalia Bayona
Director of the Innovation, Education and Investments Department World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

Natalia Bayona leads the innovation, education, and investments strategy of UNWTO, the UN specialized agency for the promotion of sustainable tourism. With a diverse background on politics, destination management and business, she has become the first innovation director at UNWTO, has introduced entrepreneurship and education as key factors for tourism and development, and has positioned UNWTO as an innovation benchmark within the wider United Nations system as recognized by the UN. Chief Executive Board (CEB) in 2020. Her work consists of identifying the most disruptive startups and investment projects. and matching them with Member States and leading corporations. As an advocate of youth and technology, she seeks to make entrepreneurs grow for a promising future in all regions.

Agustina Brizio
Under Secretary of State for Public Innovation of the Chief of Cabinet of Ministers' Office, Argentina

Agustina Brizio is a lawyer from the University of Buenos Aires, with a masters degree in public policy at Torcuato Di Tella University, and has postgraduate studies in economics and finance from Pompeu Fabra University and regional development and integration from FLACSO.Currently she is the Undersecretary of Information Technologies in the Secretariat of Public Innovation of the Chief of Cabinet of Ministers of Nation, with more tan ten years of experience on telecommunications and ICTs international and regulatory affairs at the argentinean regulator.She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Argentine Chapter of the Internet Society and Vice chair of the Telecommunications Development Advisory Group of the International Telecommunication Union.

Renato De Castro
Executive Director, RMA Advisory

With over 20 years of experience as a global executive across Asia, the Americas and Europe, Renato de Castro is one of the foremost Smart City Experts and Metaverse shapers. A world-renowned speaker, he has delivered keynotes internationally on Smart Cities, AI, the Internet of Things, and Innovation. He is co-author of the revolutionary Neural Smart City Model, which conceptualises the complex connections across Smart Cities to help Governments and Developers build more cohesive, connected communities, increasingly important as these move into the Metaverse. He has a forthcoming book building on the theories developed in his 2 books: The StartUp City: A New Era of Smarter Cities (2019) and Urban Neural Networks (2022). De Castro has lectured across three continents on urban development, innovation and globalisation strategies. During COVID-19, De Castro served as a Task Force Coordinator for the Italian government. He is currently Ambassador for Rio Operations Centre and Smart City Advisor at Unidroit Rail Working Group. De Castro is also Executive Director at RMA Advisory, advising the most senior stakeholders in the Middle East.

Chris Duffey 
Tech Futurist and Creative Director, Adobe and Author of “Decoding the Metaverse”

Chris Duffey is globally recognized as a leading figure in the design of digital experiences using emerging technologies. With more than 25 years of experience, he has collaborated with some of the largest multinational corporations. As a strategic futurist and authority on growth prospects for brands, organizations, and society through technology and creativity, Duffey spearheads the development of Adobe's Creative Cloud strategic partnerships. Duffey's keynote speeches have garnered over 50 million impressions. He has been featured in more than 100 media outlets worldwide, including The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Inc., Adweek, Ad Age, Cheddar, The Mirror, The Drum, Campaign, CMO.com, New York Post, and Business Insider. Additionally, he has been profiled by Google, McKinsey, and Wharton. Duffey is an expert on topics such as the Metaverse, Web3, blockchain, NFTs, DAOs, DeFi, cryptocurrency, AR/VR, generative AI, spatial computing, and virtual worlds. Moreover, Duffey is the author of the award-winning book Superhuman Innovation, which is the world's first book co-authored by AI about AI. He is also the author of the upcoming book Decoding the Metaverse: Expand Your Business Using Web3.

Ahmed Etman
Managing Director, Accenture Security

Ahmed is the Managing Director of Accenture Security in the Middle East. With over 20 years of experience in the Cybersecurity industry, Ahmed has worked with clients in North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa. His extensive security experience serving clients in multiple industry verticals includes Defense, National Security, Public Services, Financial Services, Mining, Utilities, Energy and Telecommunications. In his current role, he leads Accenture Security in the region and oversees all Security services delivered to Accenture clients. Ahmed has over 100 Security professionals with expertise in Security Strategy and Risk Management, Cyber Defense, Application Security, Digital Identity and Managed Security Services. Prior to moving to the Middle East in early 2020, Ahmed led the Security practice for Accenture Canada where he worked with Canada’s largest and most sophisticated companies helping them address some of the most complex Security and Risk challenges. Prior to Accenture, he held various leadership positions with Cisco’s Security group both in North America and in EMEA. Before assuming the Chief Technology Officer’s responsibility for Cisco Canada, Ahmed was the General Manager for the Security business. He joined Cisco from Internet Security Systems (now IBM) where he started his professional Security career as a Security Engineer then led the Security Engineering and Consulting teams in Middle East & Africa for a number of years. Ahmed has an MBA from Kellogg School of Management and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the American University in Cairo.

Per Fröjdh
Vice President International Standards, Ericsson

Per Fröjdh has more than three decades of experience in research and innovation. He received his MSc and PhD degrees after studies at Chalmers University in Gothenburg and at Imperial College in London. Subsequent to postdoctoral appointments in Seattle and Copenhagen he was professor of theoretical physics at Stockholm University before joining Ericsson as manager of video research and standardization. Per has contributed to the AVC/H.264 and HEVC/H.265 standards for video compression, the DASH streaming format and the ISO base media file format in MPEG, for which he was recognized with an Emmy Award. He served on the advisory committee for W3C and has been editor of 15 standards in MPEG, ITU-T, 3GPP and IETF. He is currently the Multimedia Chair at the Swedish Institute for Standards, Vice Chair of ITU-T Study Group 16 on multimedia, Vice Chair of ITU-T Focus Group on metaverse, Treasurer and Board Director of the DASH Industry Forum and Steering Board Member of DVB. He also serves as Vice President and Board Director of the Media Coding Industry Forum.

Radia Funna
Futurist and creator of the xHuman theory

Radia Funna is an internationally recognized theorist whose xHuman theory explores the impact of frontier technology on institutional behavioral norms to help inform a framework of understanding that can guide technology companies, their regulators and the general public. Founder and principal at the consulting firm Build n Blaze; over the last decade, she has led client projects to develop initiatives for scaled action and transformation (including the launch of the first innovation unit at the United Nations' Secretariat). After graduating university early, Radia, in her twenties, became the first regulatory professional to systematize the ~$10B New Jersey (USA) State Medicaid contract at a commercial enterprise (Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey) in 2000. Her corporate career then became an interplay between compliance and innovation that culminated in the development of her first independent theory, happening soon after she assumed leadership of Heidrick & Struggles’ global partnership with the World Economic Forum in 2009. Radia is an informal advisor to the UN and an advocate of the Sustainable Development Goals. She regularly speaks on the role of technology in equitable futures and creates mentorship and STEM programs for underrepresented women, girls and youth.

Shane He
Program Manager and Strategist, Nokia

Dr. Shane HE currently participates in several industry standards bodies related with metaverse and Internet of Things (IoT), in ITU-T, 3GPP, oneM2M, etc. Shane takes leadership role on metaverse and IoT related standardization activities in ITU-T including Vice-chairman of Focus Group on metaverse, ITU-T Study Group 20 Vice-chairman, and WP1/20 Vice-chairman. She is also serving in the role of Chair of the Requirements & Domain Models (RDM) Working Group of oneM2M, focus on information model and IoT enablement for metaverse. As a program manager and strategist in Nokia S&T (Strategy and Technology), she is leading internal programs on vertical industry enablement, focus on metaverse and media ecosystem landscape, as well as 5G/5G-Advanced networks and new services to enable vertical domains (Industrial IoT, Smart Cities, Automotive, Powe Utilities, etc.)

Natasha Jackson
Head of Public Policy and Consumer Affairs, GSMA

Natasha Jackson is a public policy expert, with over 25 years of experience in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector. Currently she is the Head of Public Policy and Consumer Affairs for the GSMA, the global organisation representing the interests of mobile operators worldwide. Natasha joined the GSMA in 2006 and built up the association’s advocacy work on consumer affairs, leading the organisation’s work on data privacy, security, safety and child online protection. Prior to joining the GSMA, Natasha worked within both blue chip international and start-up companies. She began her career in Cable & Wireless plc, where she worked in a number of roles in finance, mobile, new business development and strategy departments across European, Caribbean and Asia Pacific markets as well as in the USA. Natasha has a BA in Economics, qualified with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, is a board member and former Chairman of FOSI and an advisory board member for Child Helpline International.

Bilel Jamoussi
Chief of Study Groups, TSB, ITU

Tunisian born, Dr. Bilel Jamoussi is Chief of the Study Groups Department of ITU Standardization Bureau in Geneva Switzerland. Since 2010, he has been leading the bureau’s standards making activities into a new era characterized by rapid convergence and the need for increased collaboration with vertical sectors and partnership between developed and developing countries. Prior to 2010, Jamoussi worked for a Telecommunication equipment and solutions provider for 15 years in Canada and then in the United States where he held several leadership positions and was granted 22 US patents in diverse areas including packet, optical, wireless, and quality of service. He holds a BSc, MSc and PhD degrees in Computer Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University, USA. He is fluent in Arabic, French, and English and speaks some Spanish and German.

Person Icon

Shin-Gak KANG
Chairman of ITU-T FG-MV(metaverse)

Shin-Gak KANG is the Assistant Vice President of ETRI, Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute in Republic of Korea. He received B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in electronics engineering from Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Korea in 1984, 1987, and 1998, respectively. He joined ETRI in 1984 and is currently Head of the Standards and Opensource Research Division. He is also Adjunct Professor of ETRI School of University of Science and Technology in Korea. He has actively participated in many international standardization activities of many SDOs including ITU-T SG 7, SG 8, SG 17, SG 11, SG 13, SG 16, SG 20, GSC, ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 6, IETF and IEEE, as Rapporteur, Convenor, Editor, and major contributor since his first joining to ITU-T SG 8 meeting in 1988. He served as ITU-T SG11 Vice-Chairman and its WP Chairman from 2013 to 2021. Since 2004, he has been working as Convenor for ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 6/WG 7 on Future Network. He is also currently serving as Vice-Chairman of ITU-T SG16, Co-chairman of WP1/16, and Co-Chairman of the CG-Metaverse in SG16. He has been appointed as the Chairman of ITU-T Focus Group on metaverse in December 2022 by TSAG.

Khaled Koubaa
Founder, Medeverse

Khaled is a global public policy leader highly sought for advice and consulting on the intersection of business, technology, and governance. Khaled is the only person ever to have held significant leadership roles for two private giants in the industry, Meta ( formerly Facebook ) and Google, and to have also served on the board of directors for the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), on the board of trustees for the Internet Society (ISOC), on the board of directors of AfriNIC, and as a member of the UN's Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Multistakeholder Advisory Group, four of the most influential non-governmental organizations in Internet governance. He also has served on the advisory council of the Public Interest Registry and the World Bank Group Council on Civic Engagement.

Bertrand Levy
Senior Vice President of Global Partnerships, The Sandbox

Bertrand Levy is a Digital Pioneer Who has been working in the Music Industry for over 15 years (Over 10 years @ Universal Music Group - Ended Global Vice President @ UMGB ) Since 2020 VICE PRESIDENT @ THE SANDBOX, One of the leading Metaverse In The World .

Alison B Lowndes
Senior Scientist, Global AI | NVIDIA

Joining in 2015, Alison spent her first few years as a Deep Learning Solutions Architect and is now responsible for scientific support to applied Artificial Intelligence both around the globe and off Earth, in Space. A mature graduate in AI, Alison combines technical and theoretical computer science with astrophysics & over 25 years of experience in international project management, entrepreneurial activities and the internet. She consults on a wide range of applications, including planetary defence with NASA, ESA & the United Nations and works closely with world governments advising them on how to harness AI for economic growth, national security & climate action, using NVIDIA’s GPU Computing platform.

Rudolph Lohmeyer
Partner, Kearney, Head, National Transformations Institute | Global Business Policy Council

Rudolph Lohmeyer leads Kearney’s National Transformations Institute – an internal think tank dedicated to helping government and business leaders worldwide anticipate and plan for the future. He also leads the International Affairs platform of the firm’s Government and Economic Development Practice. An expert in strategic foresight and scenario planning, his work focuses on the intersection of international policy, corporate strategy, and the cross-border digital economy including cybersecurity. He has led multiple long-term strategic planning for national governments and leading corporations. Previously, Mr. Lohmeyer served in government for five years in a non-political role as the Senior Advisor for Long-Term Strategic Planning at the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Strategic Planning. Mr. Lohmeyer received his BA from Stanford University, and his MBA and MPP in International Policy from the University of Chicago, with honors for his work on the China-US strategic relationship, which focused on its technology dimensions.

Kavya Pearlman
Founder & CEO, XRSI

Well known as the “Cyber Guardian,” Kavya Pearlman is an award-winning cybersecurity professional and the founder & CEO of the XR Safety Initiative (XRSI), a Standard Developing Organization with the mission to help build safety and inclusion in emerging tech ecosystems. Kavya is the pioneer of the novel XRSI Privacy and Safety Framework for the Immersive Technologies Domain, Metaverse Safety Week Annual Awareness Campaign, and various baseline security, privacy and ethics standards for Emerging Technologies. She has won several awards for her work and been named one of the Top twenty Cybersecurity influencers for three consecutive years, 2018-2019-2020, and again for the year 2022 by IFSEC Global. Kavya has previously advised Facebook on third-party security risks during the 2016 US presidential elections and worked as the head of security for the oldest virtual world, “Second Life” by Linden Lab. Kavya is the leading voice in cybersecurity, privacy, and Ethics for Emerging technologies including AR, VR, XR, exploring cross-sections of 5G, AI, and BCI - leading Standards development and promoting Diversity and Inclusion in the Immersive Technologies. Kavya serves as the key member to Global Coalition for Digital Safety at the World Economic Forum (WEF) and a subject matter expert at several Security and safety focused multidisciplinary groups including INTERPOL’s Metaverse Experts Group (i-MEG), United Nations Business and Human Rights Working Group, Metaverse Standard Forum and the new Metaverse Initiative at WEF. Kavya currently advises over 30 global governments and several big tech corporations on cybersecurity and global policymaking to safeguard humans in emerging tech ecosystems.

Andrey Perez
Regulatory Expert, Agência Nacional de Telecomunicações (ANATEL), Brazil

Andrey Perez is advisor for the Executive Superintendence of the National Telecommunications Agency of Brazil, body in charge of the telecom sector regulation. In the organization since 2010, he has developed projects related to consumer relations and competition issues. More recently, Andrey has being acting in a prospective way on new tendencies for the sector future developments, promoting studies and subsidizing the decision process with a focus on the digital ecosystem and its interface with the telecom industry. A Brazilian national, he has a Network Engineering degree from the University of Brasilia (UnB) and a Master’s degree in Economics from the Catholic University of Brasilia (UCB).

Mounir Tabet
Deputy Executive Secretary UN-ESCWA

Mr. Mounir Tabet (Canada) is Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nation Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) since 7 September 2018. In this Function Mr. Tabet oversees the work of the substantive divisions of ESCWA to help advance the implementation of Agenda 2030 in the Arab region and promote regional integration and transboundary cooperation between member states. Prior to his ESCWA assignment, Mr. Tabet held several progressively responsible UNDP posts including Country Director in Iraq (2016-2018) and in Egypt (2007-2013) and several other posts in New York, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, and Beirut. From 2013 to 2016, Mr. Tabet served as the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System and Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program in Tunisia, where he coordinated the United Nations System in its support to the Tunisian transition including on issues of electoral support, constitution making, parliamentary effectiveness, security sector reform, anti-corruption, as well as job creation and sustainable development. Mr. Tabet holds a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University- the Kennedy School of Government, where as a Mason fellow (2003- 2004) his areas of focus included globalization and international trade, macro- economics, competitiveness, management, Leadership, and knowledge management. He also holds a master’s degree in economics from the University of Ottawa – Canada.

Yuntao Wang
Deputy Chief Engineer of Cloud Computing and Big Data Research Institute, China Academy of Information and Communications
Technology

Yuntao Wang, Senior Engineer, Deputy Chief Engineer of Cloud Computing and Big Data Research Institute of China Academy of Information and Communication Technology (CAICT), Deputy Director of Internet Governance Research Center of CAICT, Head of Overall Team of Artificial Intelligence Team of CAICT, Head of Overall Team of Blockchain Team of CAICT, Vice Chairman of Young Experts Committee of CAICT, Rapporteur of ITU-T Q5/16 of United Nations International Telecommunication Union, Vice Chair of Focus Group on Metaverse. Postgraduate Tutor of Institute of Telecommunication Science and Technology, National Science and Technology expert (Ministry of Science and Technology), expert appointed by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, expert appointed by the Chinese Institute of Electronics, expert appointed by the Education and Examination Center of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. His main research interests are focused on the research of new generation information and communication technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, standardization and industrial development policy formulation.

Shoaib Yousuf
Managing Director and Partner, BCG

Shoaib Yousuf is an expert on digital transformation and cybersecurity at Boston Consulting Group, and a core member of the firm's Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT) practice and DigitalBCG. He has worked with leading telecommunications, technology, and oil and gas clients across Europe, Asia, and Australia. Shoaib's client work focuses on shaping and executing transformative programs, typically enabled by digital processes and advances in technology. He has taken the lead on multiple projects identifying and building new businesses, and transformation of operations and capabilities enablement to drive better customer experience and growth ambition. Shoaib started his BCG career in the Singapore office in 2015 before transferring to the Middle East in 2017. Prior to joining BCG, Shoaib served as a VP for IT Strategy, Enterprise Architecture & Cybersecurity at the leading telco group in Southeast Asia and has led multiple transformation projects across both business and technology in a range of industries, including mining, utilities, financial services, telecommunications, and law-enforcement.