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Topic:
Generative AI Revolution: Challenges And Opportunities for Business Transformation
Panel Speakers
Gohil Surendrasinh
Chief Executive Officer
Gulf Cyberfender Hub – FZCO
Gohil Surendrasinh
Founder and Managing Director at Cyberfender Infotech Private limited and CEO at Gulf Cyberfender Hub FZCO
Surendrasinh Gohil brings in 35 years of experience in IT and ITES industry and specialization in Customer support operations and held various senior management positions across geographies, industries and organizations.
In Atos, his last organization, he held the position of Senior Vice president and Head of Middle East, Turkey and Africa Region looking after Infrastructure and Data management business. Prior to that he managed the Global Delivery Centers for Managed Services across multiple continents of diverse culture comprising of 17000+ strong technically skilled resources, and was also responsible for the India region.
He was leading the Global infrastructure operations during his tenure in Siemens. Also ran strategic projects for UK & US and was pivotal in setting up & running of Call Management Operations for APAC & India in NCR. Before NCR he worked in Electronics Corporation of India Ltd. for more than 12 years in various capacities.
He is also the Founder and CEO of Cyberfender Infotech private limited as well as Gulf Cyberfender Hub FZCO which is engaged in complete IT solutions with specialization in cyber security. He also is on advisory board of Hemabh Solutions Private Limited, a venture providing sophisticated IOT based safety solutions & services.
Surendrasinh is a graduate engineer in Electronics & Communications and MBA in Operations Management. He holds master’s Certificate in Project Management from SP Jain institute of Management, Mumbai and trained at IIM Ahmedabad in leadership development program. He is also certified at INSEAD Paris for Executive Leaders Vision and Excellence.
His other interests are in playing cricket and practicing yoga.
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Kamel Tawil
Managing Director – Middle East & North Africa
Equinix
Kamel Tawil
Kamel Tawil joined Equinix in September 2020 as Managing Director MENA (Middle East and North Africa). In this role he is responsible for developing our growth strategy in the MENA markets, working closely with our customers and partners to deliver world class digital infrastructure solutions and building a network dense ecosystem.
Prior to joining Equinix, Kamel spent 18 years at Oracle in various leadership roles across ECEMEA (East Central Europe, Middle East and Africa) including his most recent role of Vice president for Business Applications where he led major digital transformation projects for some of Oracle’s largest customers. Prior to Oracle, Kamel held leadership roles with EMC and NCR in the Middle East.
Kamel is a native of Lebanon and currently residing in Dubai. He graduated from the Lebanese American University with a degree in Business Management and Computer Science. He also attended leadership courses at University of Michigan Ross Business School and at IESE university in Barcelona.
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Mario M.Veljovic
General Manager
VAD Technologies
Mario M.Veljovic
Mario is a veteran of the ICT industry who has held various Senior Management positions at leading ICT distributors across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Through the course of his almost 30-year long career, he has been building and executing strategies that have helped transform organizations he has worked for from Traditional ICT Distribution to Value-Added Distribution, as well as founded a Distribution Business that is focused on Next-Generation and Disruptive Technologies.
He is based in the Middle East since 2003 and as the General Manager at VAD Technologies, he is excited to engage with enterprises, vendors and resellers in the region to help address some of the biggest IT opportunities and challenges in the Middle East.
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Michael Andersen
Chief Executive Officer
EuroTech ME
Michael Andersen
Michael Andersen is the Founder and CEO of EuroTech ME, an IT expert, a technology enthusiast and an investor. He is based in Dubai (United Arab Emirates), and he is originally from Denmark. He is a successful serial entrepreneur and serial investor focused on tech start-ups and empowering the next generations. He is also a dynamic millennial driven by a passion to share his knowledge, especially with the youth, and to uplift talented individuals. Michael is someone who appreciates informal education and what someone might bring to the table rather than which school they attended. He, himself, followed a non-traditional path by interning at an IT security company, then decided to travel for a few years before coming back to the IT security company. He relocated to Dubai for an IT security role and then founded EuroTech ME in 2009.
He is also a father who puts family at the centre of his life, regardless of how busy his schedule gets. He lives what he preaches when it comes to family, life and leadership values.
To summarize on his mindset, Michael built his career through networking, quality services, hard work, and meeting the right people. He put in the necessary efforts to get to where he is, but he is also aware that he crossed paths with key people, and that is also why today he invests his finances and time into new projects and has become that key person for the next motivated entrepreneurs. Michael’s vision is not just to invest but to advise and actively contribute to taking these companies to the next level, leveraging his experience and insights; he embodies the true definition of a leader.
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Rahil Ghaffar
VP – EMEA
WhiteSwan Security
Rahil Ghaffar
Rahil Ghaffar, VP for EMEA, at WhiteSwan Security is a Cyber Security professional with over two decade of extensive experience working in various domains of Information Security, defining and delivering Information Security strategies in complex enterprise environments. He has worked for companies like Palo Alto, Trend Micro , Virsec, Sonicwall etc.
He has trained more than 200 security professionals in customer and partner organizations and holds many industry certifications. Rahil Has been a speaker in various customer and partner events in India, Saarc and Middle East.
He has won several awards , one of the recent ones being in UAE – Dubai. He has given interviews on the need for Cyber Security in organizations in various media publications.
With a keen eye for emerging trends, Rahil has propelled growth by fostering strong client relationships and delivery niche and innovative solutions in the market.
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Samer Semaan
Regional Channel and Alliances Manager-
Middle East & Emerging Africa
Pure Storage
Samer Semaan
As one of the region’s most recognized channel leaders, Samer is playing a pivotal role in building Pure’s channel in the region and is responsible for partner recruitment and enablement and revenue growth. Prior to joining Pure Storage in 2019, Samer held Channel Manager / Distribution Manager roles in leading technology companies including Dell EMC in the Gulf Region and Prior to that he worked for almost 10 Years as Operation Manager at PartnerRe (Re-Insurance) in France. Samer holds a Master’s in Management & New Technologies from the University Pantheon Assas (France).
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Sertan Selcuk
VP – METAP & CIS
OPSWAT
Sertan Selcuk
Sertan Selcuk is an industry luminary shaping the landscape of Cybersecurity in the region.
As the VP of METAP & CIS at OPSWAT, he orchestrates business management across the Middle East, Turkey, Africa, and Pakistan regions. With over two decades of extensive experience in business development, Sertan specializes in establishing crucial partnerships with ministries, military institutions, intelligence agencies, public organizations, and major commercial enterprises in the region. Before joining OPSWAT, Sertan held key roles as the CSO at V-Count, Managing Director of Kaspersky in Turkey and Turkic Countries, and Senior Director at Innova IT Solutions, one of the leading Cybersecurity system integrators in the META region. Sertan is an academically accomplished professional with a bachelor’s degree in electronics and telecommunications engineering from Yildiz Technical University, a master’s degree in Cybersecurity from Middle East Technical University, and an MBA from Manchester University.
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