Speakers & presentations

Ghaith Abuiyada

Regional Business Development Manager

Importance of Tunnelling Projects in the Gulf Region

The Importance of Tunneling Projects in the Gulf Region

Ghaith Abuiyada, a graduate of mechanical engineering and certified project management professional has over 13 years of experience in mechanized tunnelling technologies. Currently, he is working as Regional Business Development Manager for the Herrenknecht Group in Gulf Cooperation Council Countries and is promoting tunnelling technologies and solutions for projects with large tunnelling diameter (>4.8m).

During the past years, Ghaith oversaw several regional projects with importance for particular global events i.e. Expo Route 2020 as well as for the development of modern connectivity in the main cities i.e. Riyadh Metro Project.

Jassim Al Ansari

Chief of Program Delivery for Qatar Rail

Qatar Rail Phase 1 and Future Opportunities

Qatar Rail - Phase 1 and Future Opportunities

Eng. Jassim Al Ansari, Chief of Program Delivery for Qatar Rail has been working with Qatar Rail since early 2012.

In his current role, Eng. Jassim is working with various divisions, departments as well as the external stakeholders to ensure that the railway projects are executed according to plan and with the highest standards possible. Also, he is responsible for directing and coordinating the efficient functioning of the Delivery division as per Qatar Rail's objectives and program schedules, through managing the departments of Program, Technical, PMO, Logistics, and Contract Administration to achieve these goals.

Before joining Qatar Rail, Eng. Jassim held various positions in engineering management, operations management, engineering, and maintenance jobs in the Ministry of Municipality, the Public Works Authority (Ashghal), and Makeen Holding.

Eng. Jassim holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Qatar University.

Fahad M. AlHashem

Real Estate and Construction Managing Director // Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia – Construction Magnet (Presentation currently not available)

Fahad is a holder of a Bachelors degree in International Trade, with 12 years experience in management across various sectors, most notably; real estate, tourism and hospitality, aviation and construction.

Throughout his career, he has been working with various stakeholders from government and private sector, and he currently holds the position of Real Estate and Construction Managing Director at the Ministry of Investment, where he oversees the development of investment plans and strategies for the sector, with acquired knowledge in the field stemming from serving in advisory roles for HE Minister on various topics.

Further, he is a Board member at the real estate general authority and serves on the supervisory committee for development of the contracting sector, playing a key role in attracting and facilitating market entry for various companies in related fields such as development, construction, building material and MMC/FMC, all in order to cover the demand generated by the country’s various giga and mega projects, as well as ensuring the country’s regulatory system and processes being investor friendly across all necessary parameters: Building code, Labor Issues, Contractors classification, amongst many other.

Olivier Bouvart

Chief Business Development Officer // Egis

Infrastructure Market Trends in the Gulf Region

Infrastructure Market Trends in the Gulf Region

Olivier Bouvart is Graduated from Grenoble School of Management (GEM). He has now almost 30 years of experience in public transport and rail engineering, both in France and abroad. After a first experience as an entrepreneur Olivier Bouvart joined Egis Group in 1994 as Chief Financial Officer of Scetauroute SO region, then of Semaly (which became Egis Rail in 2007). In 2009, he was appointed Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Egis Rail.

In March 2015, Olivier Bouvart became CEO of the company and has been the Executive Director of the Rail Business Unit, which brang together all the skills and expertise of Egis Group in the fields of guided urban transport and rail transport worldwide. He led the organization’s strategy and international development (internal and external growth).

Since January 2023, Olivier Bouvart has been appointed Chief Business Development officer of Egis Group.

Reinhard Bütikofer

Member of the European Parliament // Greens/EFA

Keynote Speech on EU Foreign Policy Priorities

Reinhard Bütikofer is a Member of the European Parliament (Greens/EFA). He sits on the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET), where he serves as Greens/EFA foreign affairs spokesperson, and on the Committee on International Trade (INTA) as a substitute member. He is the Chair of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with the People’s Republic of China as well as a member of the Delegation to the U.S. and a substitute member of the ASEAN Delegation.

From 2012 to 2019 he was co-chair of the European Green Party (EGP). Before getting elected to the European Parliament in 2009, Mr. Bütikofer was the Co-Chair of the German Green Party BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN (from 2002 - 2008). He was the party’s Secretary General from 1998 - 2002. Prior to that he served as the Chair of the Greens in the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg. From 1988 - 1996 he served as a Member of the Baden-Württemberg State Parliament.

Besides his positions in the party and parliament, Mr. Bütikofer is, amongst others, a member of the Europe/Transatlantic Advisory Board and the Heinrich Böll Foundation, the German-Israeli Society and the German-Chinese Dialogue Forum, as well as the DGAP, the ECFR and the IISS.

 

 

Alessio Costanzelli

Director of Commercial Planning // Webuild

Interactive Panel Discussion on Business Environment

Mr. Costanzelli is Director of Commercial Planning in Webuild. He has more than 20 year experience in energy, oil & gas and construction industry mostly with large corporations in M&A, Strategic Marketing, Sales and Financial Services.

Mr. Costanzelli started his career in the oil & gas division of General Electric, he has spent 5 years as M&A Senior Manager leading acquisition projects to sustain the company growth in the global market. Afterwards he has been Executive Country Manager for an engineering company managing a business unit dedicated to develop a renewable energy portfolio in Canada, USA, Caribbean and Far East. Prior to joining Webuild in 2019, Mr. Costanzelli has been Director of the Italian service workshop of Marelli Motori.

Strong expertise in developing and executing on company strategy, performing market analysis, portfolio positioning, business planning and corporate reporting. He is specialized in developing and managing complex modeling toolkit to forecast and monitor progress of commercial projects across industries.

Mr. Costanzelli graduated in Mechanical Engineering at university of Padova and holds a master degree in Business Economics and Management from university of Pisa.

Charles-Emmanuel de Beauregard

Head of Corporate & Institutional Banking // Qatar National Bank

Financing Solutions for Infrastructure Development in the Gulf Region

Financing Solutions for Infrastructure in the Gulf Region

Charles-Emmanuel joined Qatar National Bank (QNB) Paris’ office in January 2021 as Head of the Corporate & Institutional Banking team, overseeing the relationships with large UE-based corporates and European & African financial institutions. 

Previously, he spent 6 years in Societe Generale (SG)’s Dubai office as the Head of Structured & Asset Finance in the Middle-East, covering Export Finance, Shipping, Aircraft, Leasing & Real Estate financing, including transactions in Transportation, Infrastructure, Metals & Mining, Power, Oil & Gas, Media & Telecom, Food and customers (corporates, public entities, sovereign wealth funds, asset-managers, banks, multi-lateral organizations).

Before moving to Dubai, he worked in Paris during 4 years in SG’s Export Finance department covering the Gulf region.

Charles-Emmanuel was previously a Director in the Americas and Asia Group, a Coverage Division of SG, in charge of North American & Asian companies for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Prior to joining SG, Charles-Emmanuel spent five years with Citibank (Paris) and five years at Crédit Lyonnais (Paris/ Asia).

Over his 25-year career, Charles-Emmanuel has been involved in structured financing, capital markets, asset finance, structured investments, M&A, trade and general corporate finance.

Charles-Emmanuel graduated from EM Lyon, a French Business School, in 1995 and holds a Master in Business Law (Lyon III).

Philippe Dessoy

General Manager Business Development // Besix Group

Interactive Panel Discussion on Financing Options and Delivery Models

Philippe Dessoy has over 30 years of experience in the construction industry throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He graduated in 1983 in civil engineering from the University of Brussels and started his career with CGEE Alstom and Spie Batignolles on the Cairo Metro project. In 1989, he joined BESIX Group and moved in 1992 moved to Dubai to be in charge of the tender department for BESIX-Six Construct. From there he was promoted to Deputy General Manager of Six Construct in 2003, and then to General Manager in June 2007. Since 2013, he holds the position of General Manager – Business Development for BESIX Group and in that capacity, he is a member of BESIX’s Executive & Strategic Committee.

BESIX, founded in 1909, has recorded regular and impressive growth, covering all fields of construction. Active in the Middle East for as long as 50 years, Mr. Dessoy has helped the company group to win contracts on some of the world’s and the region’s most prestigious projects, including works on the Burj Khalifa Tower in Dubai, the world’s tallest structure.

Philippe DESSOY is currently the Vice-President of EIC and President of CICA.

Nicholas Gould

Partner // Fenwick Elliott LLP

Avoiding Claims and Solving Disputes in the Gulf Region

Avoiding Claims and Solving Disputes in the Gulf Region

Nicholas is a construction and international arbitration lawyer.  Frequently selected to advise on high value complex construction, engineering and energy projects around the world, Nicholas is highlighted as one of the titans of the international construction market according to Global Elite Thought Leader’ Who’s Who.  The IBA’s International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers Today, listed him as one of the “ten most highly regarded individuals internationally for construction law”.

Nicholas is a Visiting Professor at King’s College London and Vice President of the ICC’s Arbitration Commission.

Sabah Haidar

Director of Operations - United Arab Emirates // DAR Group

Interactive Panel Discussion on Business Environment

Sabah Haidar is Director of Operations at DAR-Al Handasah Consultants (Shair & Partners) – United Arab Emirates.

Since his move to Dubai in 2005, Sabah focuses on managing the delivery of Strategic Master Planning Solutions, focused on Aviation Infrastructure and Large-Scale Urban Master Plans, not to mention major buildings and infrastructure projects in the area.

Throughout his presence in Dubai, Sabah witnessed the thrive of the engineering & construction industry in the area and built strong knowledge of the market demands and its evolution.

His exposure to a wide spectrum of specialities in this field equipped him with an extensive and diversified experience.

As a senior DAR member, he plays a Key role in strengthening the firm’s relationship with its clients and government authorities while focusing on delivering their strategic visions.

Prior to moving to Dubai he worked with DAR in Beirut and Cairo on managing and delivering designs for various types of projects including mega developments.

Oliver Oehms

CEO // German Emirati Joint Council for Industry & Commerce (AHK)

Panel Moderation

Oliver Oehms majored (M. A.) in Political Science, Public International Law and African Studies from the University of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.

During his studies, Oliver started working for the German African Business Association (Afrika-Verein e. V.) where his last position was Regional Manager Western Africa. From 2003 onwards, he headed the Foreign Trade and Trade Fairs Department of one of the regional Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Early 2009, Oliver moved to Jakarta where he was tasked to develop a new service unit in the national Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN Indonesia) in Jakarta. Oliver was hired from 2014 onwards by GIZ for promoting a program of regional economic development.

In January 2016, he was appointed by the Association of German Chambers of Commerce & Industry (DIHK) as the Delegate of German Industry and Commerce for Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Yemen. Heading the Chamber Abroad (AHK) in Riyadh, Oliver managed a team of twenty professionals working in the capital city, in Al Khobar and Jeddah. Since Mid-August 2019, Oliver is the CEO of the German Emirati Joint Council for Industry & Commerce (AHK), and ex office the Delegate of German Industry and Commerce to Iraq.

Christophe Petit

Deputy CEO // Bouygues Bâtiment International

Interactive Panel Discussion on Financing Options and Delivery Models

A Case Study: Six Flags theme park at Qiddiya

Christophe PETIT is the Deputy CEO of Bouygues Batiment International since 2012. Before, he has been the Legal General Counsel of Bouygues Batiment International from 2002 to 2012. As Deputy CEO of Bouygues Batiment International, Christophe PETIT is in charge of business development for complex projects worldwide, which include financing and/or operation components such as airports, hospitals, social accommodations, hotels, etc. and for projects to be developed in new countries.

He is a Board member of ZAIC Ltd, the Concession Company for the Airport of Zagreb, which is the Concession Company for the Airports of Madagascar. He is further Chairman of the Board of Hermes Airports Ltd., which is the Concession Company for the Cypriot Airports. Christophe is also the President of MEDEF International for South Balkans.

He is a member of the Executive Committee of Bouygues Batiment International and reports directly to its CEO. Bouygues Batiment International (a fully owned subsidiary of Bouygues Construction) is the company in charge of the building activity of Bouygues Construction with sales exceeding € 2,5 billion in 2022 (out of circa € 12 billion sales for Bouygues Construction). Bouygues Construction is the fully owned subsidiary of Bouygues SA, a company listed with the Paris Stock Exchange with sales exceeding € 50 billion in 2022.

Dyrik Wellershaus

Managing Director // Strabag International

Interactive Panel Discussion on Business Environment

Dyrik Wellershaus started his career as a construction manager at STRABAG International, after successfully completing his civil engineering studies in Aachen. Two years later, he moved to Bilfinger and Berger, for whom he worked as a construction manager in Nigeria, among other places. In 1998, his work with Hochtief took him to Argentina and later Taiwan, where he focused on contract and claim management as a department manager. 

As part of the Lane Cove Tunnel project in Sydney, Australia, the last section of the Sydney Ring Road was completed between 2004 and 2006 under his project management on behalf of the Thiess company.

From 2007, his path with Julius Berger led him again to Nigeria. As the Division Manager he signed responsible for his team of engineers and commercial specialists for the successful realization of turnkey office, institutional and residential projects as well as infrastructure projects for the development of Abuja and Northern Nigeria and remained with this same company as a management consultant until 2015.

From 2016 to 2021, as Head of Business Development & Marketing for Keller Holding GmbH, he developed strategies and processes to structure the work and forecast the growth of the operational business units, as well as to optimize operations. He represented the Keller company in the German Construction Associations (HDB - Auslandsbauausschuss)

In Spring 2021, Dyrik Wellershaus started as Technical Director at STRABAG International GmbH and became Managing Director of the same company in February 2022.