OUR SPEAKERS

SESSION 1: REBOOTING UK ARAB TRADE

LORD KARAN BILIMORIA CBE DL, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE CBI AND FOUNDER, COBRA BEER

Karan Bilimoria is the founder of Cobra Beer, Chairman of the Cobra Beer Partnership Limited, a Joint Venture with Molson Coors, and Chairman of Molson Coors Cobra India. He is a former President of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).

Lord Bilimoria, a Crossbench Peer in the House of Lords, is the Founding Chairman of the UK India Business Council, a Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London, a former Chancellor of Thames Valley University (now University of West London). Karan was a former Senior Non-Executive Director of the Booker Group now TESCO PLC (20072016); he is a visiting entrepreneur at the University of Cambridge; and a founding member of the Prime Minister of India’s Global Advisory Council.

In 2006, he was appointed the Lord Bilimoria of Chelsea, becoming the first ever Zoroastrian Parsi to sit in the Lords. In 2008 he was awarded the Pravasi Bharti Samman by the President of India.

He is an Honorary Fellow of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge and was Chair of the Advisory Board of the Judge Business School, Cambridge from 2015-2020 and subsequently appointed as an Honorary Ambassador.

He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Ernst & Young and graduated in law from the University of Cambridge. He is also an alumnus through executive education of the Cranfield School of Management, the London Business School and the Harvard Business School.

In July 2014, he was installed as the seventh Chancellor of the University of Birmingham, making him the first Indian-born Chancellor of a Russell Group University. Since 2017 Lord Bilimoria has been a Bynum Tudor Fellow at Kellogg College, Oxford.

Lord Bilimoria is an Honorary Group Captain in 601 Squadron Royal Air Force. In September 2020, he was appointed Visiting Fellow at Oxford based at the Centre for Corporate Reputation. Karan has been awarded Honorary Doctorates from the universities of East Anglia, Birmingham, Brunel, Cranfield, Exeter, Heriot-Watt, London Metropolitan, Staffordshire, York St John, West London and Westminster. He is also President of The UK Council on International Student Affairs (UKCISA) and Co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for International Students. In January 2022, Lord Bilimoria joined the Board of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) UK.

DR KHALED HANAFY, SECRETARY GENERAL, UNION OF ARAB CHAMBERS

Dr Khaled Hanafy is Secretary General of the Union of Arab Chambers and a Professor of Economics and International Business. He held several governmental, academic, business and consultancy positions, most recently as Minister of Supply and Internal Trade in Egypt, Chairman of Internal Trade Development Authority and Dean of College of International Transport & Logistics in the Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport. He was awarded “The Best Minister” for two consecutive years according to top surveys, in recognition of developing a New Food Subsidy System serving more than 70 million Egyptian citizens.

Dr Hanafy has made a notable contribution to developing the Egyptian internal trade, through launching a number on initiatives that were reflected in developing internal trade and in making it more efficient. These initiatives include: Egypt’s Food Industries, Consumer Complexes E Linking Project, Gameeti Project, Internal Trade and Logistics Zones and Upgrade The Egyptian Storage Capacity.

Dr Hanafy was the Chief Editor of the Economic constitution of Egypt. He was Chairman and board member of several holding companies in the private and governmental sectors. He participated in and headed a number of consultancy projects for the Arab League, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization, the United Nations, the International Labour Organization and the European Union. He was also an Economic Advisor for the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce and provided consultancy services to several national & multinational organizations.

He holds a PhD degree in International Trade and a MSc degree in Regional Development. He also holds many diplomas in International Trade, & Business Administration from top American universities. On the academic level, Dr Hanafy is a Professor of Economics and International Business and has produced a wealth of profound publications.

RAMY JALLAD, CEO, RAS AL KHAIMAH ECONOMIC ZONE (RAKEZ)

Mr Ramy Jallad is the Chief Executive Officer of Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ). His role is to develop and drive the strategic growth, creating a thriving commercial and industrial business hub that attracts and welcomes investors from all around the world. Mr Jallad leads a thriving team of over 580 multicultural employees who are subject matter experts in diversified fields and expertise.

He is also the CEO of RAK fDi and sits on the boards of RAK Academic Zone as well as RAK International Corporate Centre (RAKICC) offshore jurisdiction. He has over 25 years of experience in developing and leading various commercial and industrial zones, business parks, airports and mixed-use real estate developments, contributing to the GDP and economy.

Mr Jallad is fluent in both English and Arabic. He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering, and is also a Lead Assessor by the European Foundation for Quality Management and a certified trainer in sales, marketing, customer experience and leadership.

MOHAMED JUMA’A AL MUSHARRAKH, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, SHARJAH FDI OFFICE (INVEST IN SHARJAH)

H E Mohamed Juma’a Al Musharrakh is Chief Executive Officer at Sharjah FDI Office (Invest in Sharjah), the investment promotions office operating under the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq).

He worked for the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) for 7 years and held numerous posts in the International Affairs Department at the SCCI. He joined Shurooq in 2012 as the Head of Investment Promotion and in September 2016, he was promoted to Director of the Sharjah FDI office (Invest in Sharjah), before promoted to CEO of Invest in Sharjah in 2018.

Mr Al Musharrakh is also the Regional Director of WAIPA Steering Committee for the MENA region, and member of the Steering Committee since 2019. He is Board Member of the Sharjah Investors Services Centre (Saeed), and member of the Board of Trustees at Pantheon-Assas University Paris II.

Mohammed Juma Al Musharrakh holds a master’s degree in International Business Management from the Australian University of Wollongong in Dubai, a Bachelor’ s degree in International Relations from the American University in Sharjah. He graduated from the Executive Authentic Leadership Development at the Harvard Business School in the United States, the Executive Leadership Programme at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business in the United States, and the Executive Leaders Programme at the London Business School, UK.

MARC SAROUFIM, MANAGING PARTNER, AL AKEEL & PARTNERS

Marc Saroufim is the Managing Partner at Al Akeel & Partners and is a US-trained legal consultant with over 19 years of experience in providing advisory services on a wide range of corporate and commercial legal issues. Marc’s career has spanned practices in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and USA. Marc was recommended as a corporate legal consultant of note by prominent publication, Corporate Law Experts in 2019.

Mr Saroufim has advised a variety of clients, including local and international entities/conglomerates, family-owned businesses, high net worth individuals, government organizations, and small and medium sized enterprises, on transactions involving joint ventures, M&A, initial public offerings, rights issues, real estate development, agency and distribution, franchises, intellectual property, corporate formations, employment, and company restructuring. Marc’s experience includes the drafting of advice on a wide variety of Saudi laws and regulations, as well as the drafting of appropriate legal documentation associated with the types of transactions listed above.

His clients most appreciate that he is constantly available, is regularly responsive, and is humble in character. Mr Saroufim’s colleagues most appreciate that he has an open-door policy and is constantly giving of his time to offer any advice or feedback sought.

Marc Saroufim obtained his Juris Doctor degree from Valparaiso University School of Law in Indiana and his Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Boston University. He is fluent in English, Arabic and French.

Our Speakers

SESSION 2: BEYOND COP26

DARREN WARD, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, UVA UK)

Mr Darren Ward is Chief Executive Officer at UVA UK. He is a serial entrepreneur who has been involved in many start-ups in the Mobility as a Software Solution (MASS) space. He has worked with many ride-hailing and delivery solution including Gett, Addison Lee, Wheely and iGo which was acquired by UBER in 2021. UVA UK a ride-hailing app that is community driven. Darren also loves snowboarding and in his younger days was an instructor in Meribel France.