Speakers

Mahmoud Abdulhadi is Deputy Minister for Investment Attraction at the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Tourism. Having joined in July 2020, Abdulhadi leads the Ministry’s investment attraction activities with the aim of expanding Saudi Arabia’s growing tourism sector. He and his team are responsible for enabling and facilitating domestic and international private sector investment, supporting sector development by creating opportunities and updating regulations, as well as managing investor relations to create a sustainable investment environment for the private sector.

To execute this mandate, Abdulhadi draws on 17 years of experience at UBS where he was latterly Chief Executive Officer and Head of Investment Banking at UBS Saudi Arabia. During his career at UBS, Abdulhadi worked on a variety of transactions in M&A and equity capital markets spanning multiple sectors including infrastructure, entertainment, telecoms, oil and gas, financial institutions and agriculture to name a few.

Abdulhadi holds a master’s degree in Manufacturing Engineering and Management from the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom.

Muhammad Al Amir is the CEO of Hospitality at AIMS Holding, one of the prominent business conglomerates in Saudi Arabia with a wide range of Investment portfolio in banking, real estate, services, and industries locally and internationally.

He started his career in 1991 where he joined Al Yamamah Project / ZFA for the Royal Saudi Air Forces . In 1992 he moved to The Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) as Capital Project Planner for the Western Region, then In 1998 Muhammad joined the Saudi Economic and Development Company (SEDCO) where he was the Vice President for Tourism and Hotels and later the VP for Direct Investments. In 2003, he joined Tamlik Real Estate Development and Investment company, as the Director of Development and General secretary of The Board of Directors. in 2005 Muhammad Founded many business ventures where he assumed different executive and board roles. In 2018, Muhammad was appointed as the CEO of Hospitality in AIMS Holding.

Muhammad is currently the vice chairman of the board of the Saudi Association for Tourist Accommodation Facilities, a member of Real Estate and Hotels Committees of Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industries, and previously the Vice President of the national real estate committee at the Council of Saudi Chambers. Muhammad is actively involved in many conferences and ongoing professional development as a speaker and steering committees member. He also plays different voluntary roles in promoting entrepreneurship, small businesses start-ups, and helping youth to enter different business arenas.

Muhammad is a holder of Master of Science in Project Management and a Bachelor of Architecture with Honors from KFUPM, Dhahran, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Certification in Strategic Hospitality Management from Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA; and an Alumni of the Entrepreneurs Development Executive Training, University of California at San Diego, California, USA. He completed the Directors Development Program by the Institute of Corporate Governance (Hawkamah).

Faisal Al Fadda is the Executive Director of Business Coverage, Large Institutions at the Tourism Development Fund (TDF). He has extensive over 14 years of experience in Corporate Banking, Project Finance, and SME Finance. Throughout his career, Faisal has occupied vital roles in Samba Financial Group and The National Commercial Bank. Faisal holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the American University of Sharjah.

خريج جامعة الملك فهد للبترول والمعادن بتخصص نظم معلومات إدارية خبرة مهنية في القطاع العام والخاص متخصص في تطوير الأعمال ودراسة الاستثمار

Shaikha Al Nowais is Corporate Vice President of Owner Relationship Management at Rotana, one of the leading hotel management companies in the region with hotels across the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Turkey.

Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer, Al Nowais is responsible for strengthening the close working relationships between Rotana and hotel owners by overseeing the effective communication of all the latest developments and initiatives implemented at their properties.

Al Nowais joined Rotana as Director of Internal Audit in May 2011, where she leveraged her considerable knowledge and expertise to maintain consistently high standards and drive improved efficiencies throughout its operations. During her time in this role, she successfully led the internal audit team to ensure that all properties were in full compliance with Rotana’s company policies and procedures, as well as external regulations outlined by UAE Federal Law, the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, and the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority.

Prior to joining Rotana, Al Nowais honed her financial and analytical skills during a two-and-a-half-year tenure at KPMG, where she was responsible for performing audits of financial statements, developing robust audit plans and strategies, and examining internal controls to assess the efficiency of procedures.

Shaikha Al Nowais is a graduate of Dubai’s Zayed University, where she attained a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Sciences – Finance in 2006.

In his role as Vice President at Seera Group holding, Fahad is committed to ensuring the continuous growth of all Seera's global retail & sales channels.

Fahad is responsible for overseeing and managing all aspects of the company's sales channels for Almosafer - the group's Travel Unit for Consumer, Corporate & Government and VIP Travel and Discover Saudi - Sera's integrated Destination Management Company.

Fahad is a strong believer in the power of omni-channel sales and the integrated and seamless customer journey and has been overseeing Almosafer's transformation from an online travel agency into a completely developed cross-channel travel booking services business.

With over 20 years of experience in a variety of retail sectors and industries across Saudi Arabia, Fahad has already overseen several successful initiatives and projects. He joined Seera Group in the beginning of 2019 after three years as the Head of Lexus operations from 2016 to 2018. During this period, he managed all retail stores across the Kingdom and successfully developed new processes and policies geared towards improving the purchase and ownership experience across all channels Fahad is a member of various boards and committees including: Member of Board of Directors and NRC of NAJM insurance services company, Vice Chairman of board of directors in Tatweer (Saudi industries development company) and member of board of directors in Batic. Prior to this, Fahad was the Marketing General Manager at Abdul Latif Jameel group from 2014 to 2017 following ten years gaining invaluable experience in multi-functional roles in Sales operations and planning in Lexus and Toyota.

A vice chairman of a Tourism committee of Riyadh Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Fahad dedicates a lot of his free time to volunteering, and as a member of the Business Youth Committee, lends his expertise at sessions at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce. He is also a member of the Communication Committee of King Saud University.

Fahad graduated from King Saud University with a BA in Marketing and attended further courses at London Business school and the Thunderbird School of Global mgmt.

Visionary leader bringing over 18 years of experience in development. Recognized for talents in strategy development and providing corporate vision. Converts strategic plans into tactical reality through guiding organization in establishing themselves as viable business. Devises and implements new programs, and initiates successful processes to produce new products with maximum revenue, extensive experience in strategic planning goals and objectives and converting them into action plans and KPIs.

• Diversified background in management; distinguished for an entrepreneurial mindset, creative problem solving, cross-functional teams and a bottom-line orientation.
• Offers innovative solutions to operational challenges and leverages decisiveness to implement solutions while minimizing risk and maximizing performance.
• Expert in transforming strategic plans into tactical initiatives, Road Maps and KPIs for national and regional programs.
• Motivator and coach combining business acumen with analytical depth to align operational efficiencies with organization goals.

• Advisor & FURAS supervisor – Deputyship of Investment and Revenue – MoMRAH
• City Planning Engineer & Master of real estate development

Christopher Lund oversees the Hotels consultancy division of Colliers in the Middle East and North Africa. Over the past decade, the Hotels team has worked on more than 800 projects and deals in the region, providing advisory services to hotel developers, investors, operators, governments, law firms and banks. Christopher specializes in development consultancy and strategic asset management, ranging from standalone hotels to large-scale destinations and portfolios, as well as hotel company strategies, condo-hotel investment models and negotiating complex hotel management agreements. His operational and asset management experience allows him to have a 360-degree view and hands-on approach when providing actionable advice to enhance hotel profitability. Christopher holds an MSc in Real Estate Investment and Finance from Henley Business School, with other degrees and certificates from New York University, Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne and The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management.

Chris was born into a family of hoteliers and he started working at the family-owned Yacht Club very young. While learning the trade hands on, he developed his life-time passion for extreme sports. But it wasn't until his early twenties that Chris experienced the synergy between travel and adventure, embarking on a three-day expedition kayaking with whales in Canada. That immersive experience only reinforced him to push his career in hospitality and after an MBA at the Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne in 2008, Chris joined the team that launched Shaza Hotels in Geneva. He eventually moved to Dubai to lead the company’s international growth. From 2014 to 2017, he was also the Vice-President of Development for Kempinski Hotels covering Africa and the Middle East.

It was while living in Switzerland that Chris discovered the world of experiential lodging at an eco-luxury camp in the Swiss Alps. 10 years later, he finds himself launching a new eco-lodge brand of his own.

ENVI Lodges combines his love for adventure, his passion to create meaningful experiences, and his ambition to promote responsible hospitality.

A Jordanian national, Basel Talal, has over 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry. The majority of this time was spent with Radisson Hotel Group, one of the world’s largest hotel groups. Basel is now Regional Director, Radisson Hotel Group, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the Levant, where he is responsible for operations and profitability. Radisson Hotel Group quickly expands in Saudi Arabia, with over 40 properties in operation or under development. Basel began his professional career as Front Office Manager at the Radisson SAS Resort in Aqaba. His drive and dedication to the hospitality industry led him to the position of Operations Manager at the same hotel. He was promoted to Executive Assistant Manager in mid-1999, taking over the launch of the Radisson SAS Muscat. After three years at the Radisson SAS Muscat, Basel relocated to Saudi Arabia to become the General Manager of the Radisson SAS Hotel Jeddah. In 2005, he opened the first Royal Suites Hotel in Jeddah, Radisson SAS Royal Suite. Following this assignment, Basel became the General Manager of Radisson Blu Resort in Sharjah. He spent five years managing the resort, successfully overcoming several challenges following the global financial crisis. Prior to his current role, Basel was appointed District Director -Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where he has played an instrumental role in establishing the Group’s operations in the Kingdom. Basel’s commitment goes beyond the successful operations of the Group’s hotels in Saudi Arabia, and he takes an active role in Radisson Hotel’s “Talent Development” program in Saudi Arabia. Basel also actively supports Radisson Hotel’s balanced leadership efforts in the Kingdom, a program designed to encourage more women to enter the hospitality industry in Saudi Arabia and develop more women into leadership positions. Basel contributed to Radisson Hotels' rapid development in Saudi Arabia by growing the KSA hotels portfolio and footprint. Basel is an experienced dealmaker who oversees agreements from inception to completion.