2024 Breakout Sessions

Breakout Room One

1:45 PM Qatar – Doubling Down on Diversification: New Opportunities in the GCC
With one of the youngest populations in the world, the Middle East has an opportunity to transform its economic prospects through jobs in sectors beyond oil. We hear from the businesses driving diversified growth across the region and pinpoint the biggest prospects and hurdles that lie ahead.

• Sheikh Ali Alwaleed Al-Thani, CEO, Investment Promotion Agency Qatar (Invest Qatar)
• Santiago Bañales, Managing Director, Innovation Middle East, Iberdrola
• Saeeda Jaffar, Senior Vice President & Group Country Manager, GCC, Visa
• Sky Kurtz, Co-Founder & CEO, Pure Harvest Smart Farms
• Moderator: Abeer Abu Omar, Deputy United Arab Emirates Bureau Chief, Bloomberg

2:15 PM Qatar – Applying a Disruptive Mindset
Technological disruption is accelerating at a rapid pace. As industries and modes of working change, business leaders need to adapt their processes and approaches to avoid being left behind. We explore how incumbents and startups are putting game-changing innovation into practice.

• Noah Deich, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Carbon Management, United States Department of Energy, Office of Fossil Energy & Carbon Management
• Silvina Moschini, CEO, Unicorns Inc.; Founder & Chairwoman, Unicoin, Inc.
• Ram Ramachandran, Head & Senior Vice President for MEA Region, Tech Mahindra
• Konstantin Rangelov, Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer, Dronamics
• Moderator: Jacqueline Simmons, Editorial Lead for Europe, Middle East & Africa, Bloomberg

Proudly Sponsored by Investment Promotion Agency Qatar (Invest Qatar)

Breakout Room One

3:00 PM Qatar – In Conversation With Ahunna Eziakonwa

• Ahunna Eziakonwa, Assistant Secretary General & Director, Bureau for Africa, United Nations Development Programme 
• Moderator: Jennifer Zabasajja, Anchor, Bloomberg Television

3:20 PM Qatar – Going Green: Matching Sustainability With Profitability
Private sector leaders are increasingly working to adapt their business models and supply chains to be more sustainable. We examine successful methods for creating greener businesses and how this progress is being measured.

• Fatma Ali AlKhater, Founder, Torba Market
• Anne Le Guennec, Senior Executive Vice President, Water Technologies Zone, Veolia
• Sakari Puisto, Chairman of the Commerce Committee, Finnish Parliament
• Moderator: Abeer Abu Omar, Deputy United Arab Emirates Bureau Chief, Bloomberg

3:45 PM Qatar – Beyond Business: Delivering Social Value
Consumers today are more diligent than ever about where they spend their money and how these purchases impact the causes they care about. What are businesses doing to ensure they meet these expectations and are having a positive impact on their stakeholders, customers, and society at large?

• Manfredi Catella, Founder & CEO, COIMA
• Tomaso Rodriguez, CEO, talabat
• Margarita Skarkou, Principal, 2150
• Moderator: Shartia Brantley, Executive Editor & Head of Inclusive Programming, Bloomberg

Breakout Room Two

8:30 AM Qatar – Middle East War & Oil: Four Scenarios
The Israel-Hamas war is primarily a human tragedy. But its effect on the global economy has so far been limited. That could change – an escalation could send energy prices higher and sentiment lower. We analyze four scenarios for the war, and their impact on oil, global growth and inflation, OPEC+, different sectors and companies.

• Ziad Daoud, Chief Emerging Markets Economist, Bloomberg Economics
• Salih Yilmaz, Senior Analyst, Bloomberg Intelligence

The following panel is hosted by The Shaikh Group

8:45 AM Qatar – Middle East Security: Examining Economic Implications
The Middle East is facing a period of heightened instability, underpinned by the Gaza war and Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea. We discuss the current security dynamics in the region, with a particular focus on the Gaza war, food security, and the impacts on international economic ties.

• Farhad Alaaldin, Advisor of Foreign Affairs to the Prime Minister of Iraq
• Hatim Al-Shanfari, Faculty Member, Department of Economics & Finance, Sultan Qaboos University
• Bijan Kahjepour, Managing Partner, Eurasian Nexus Partners
• Saleh Lootah, Chairman, Lootah Holding
• Moderator: Salman Shaikh, Founder & CEO, The Shaikh Group

Breakout Room One

8:45 AM Qatar – Welcome Remarks

• H.E. Mehmet Şimşek, Minister of Treasury & Finance, Republic of Türkiye

8:50 AM  Qatar – Opening Address

• H.E. Dr. Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser, Chairman, Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group

8:55 AM Qatar – Prioritizing Education
We discover innovative solutions for financing education in emerging markets grappling with fiscal deficits and mounting debt. Our experts identify the strategic policy changes that can ensure education thrives despite long-term financial challenges.

• T.H. Prof. Tahir Mamman, OON, SAN, Minister of Education, Federal Republic of Nigeria
• Léonardo Puppetto, Vice President, Lazard
• T.H. Conrad Omalikeh Sackey, Minister of Basic & Senior Secondary Education, Republic of Sierra Leone
• Moderator: Jennifer Zabasajja, Anchor, Bloomberg Television

9:20 AM Qatar – Key Observations

• Fahad Hamad Hassan Al Sulaiti, CEO, Education Above All Foundation

9:25 AM Qatar – Funding Education: Technical Discussion

• Safaa El Tayeb El-Kogali, Country Director, GCC, World Bank
• Ferdinando Regalia, Manager, Social Sector, Inter-American Development Bank
• Moderator: Thomas Poulsen, Director for Education & Research, Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation

Hosted by the Education Above All Foundation (EAA)

Breakout Room One

12:15 PM Qatar – Industry 5.0: The Business and Investment Opportunity
Artificial intelligence and the Internet of everything is powering the fourth industrial revolution and its huge gains in productivity, efficiency and flexibility. The fifth industrial revolution, or Industry 5.0, will incorporate sustainability and social responsibility to help create a human and environment centered transformation. We find out how businesses and investors can capitalize on Industry 5.0 and the changes it will bring.

• Khalid Mohamed Al-Kubaisi, CEO, Malomatia
• H.E. Reem Mohammed Al Mansoori, Assistant Undersecretary of Digital Industry Affairs, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), State of Qatar
• Mohammed AlSada, Assistant Professor, Qatar University; Director, KINDI Computing Research Center
• Rick Tallant, Executive Vice President GTL & Managing Director, Qatar Shell
• Moderator: Ali Bin Towar Al Kuwari, Author & Presenter

12:45 PM Qatar – The Social Impact of Industry 5.0
The fifth industrial revolution will transform the way society interacts with business all across the world. Will this increase productivity? Will Industry 5.0 mean more or fewer jobs? How will this transform the global education system? Our experts tell us what to expect.

• Abeer Al-Hammadi, Director of Innovation Center & Economic Development, Hamad Bin Khalifa University
• H.E. Saleh bin Majed Al-Khulaifi, Assistant Undersecretary for Commerce Affairs, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, State of Qatar
• Aysha Al Mudahka, RDI Program Director, Innovation, QRDI
• Jack Lau, President, Qatar Science & Technology Park
• Moderator: Rana Sobh, Professor of Marketing & Dean of the College of Business and Economics, Qatar University

Proudly sponsored by Qatar University

Breakout Room Two

1:30 PM Qatar – Putting Sovereign Wealth to Work
Sovereign investors aren’t like other investors. With effectively permanent capital, they can think longer-term and take unconventional risks. They’ve got different priorities. And increasingly, sovereigns are looking for returns that go beyond pure investment profits. So how, in today’s markets, are they putting those advantages to work? What opportunities best satisfy their objectives? Who stands out and why?

• Mohammed Al-Sowaidi, Chief Investment Officer – Region Americas, Qatar Investment Authority 
• Cyrus Hiramanek, Senior Managing Director, M. Klein and Company
• Katie Koch, President & CEO, The TCW Group, Inc.
• Moderator: Erik Schatzker, Editorial Director, Bloomberg New Economy

2:00 PM Qatar – M&A in a Volatile World
An unprecedented volume of elections and hard to predict interest rate policies make this year a challenging one for dealmakers. The positive news is that inflation is starting to head in the right direction and there is an abundance of dry powder looking to be deployed. Our panel addresses the latest M&A strategies and activities in a tough market.

• Alison Harding-Jones, Managing Director & Global Head of M&A, Deutsche Bank
• Tara Luthra, Managing Director & Head of Global Banking, MENA, UBS 
• May Nasrallah, Founder & Executive Chairwoman, deNovo Partners
• Moderator: Dinesh Nair, Chief Deals Correspondent, Bloomberg

Breakout Room One

3:15 PM – 3:30 PM – Media City Qatar & Qatar University

4:00 PM – 4:30 PM – Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) & Hashgraph Group

4:30 PM – 5:00 PM – Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) & Unicorns, Inc