CPI and tahawultech.com are pleased to report on the successful conclusion of our Channel Leadership Forum and Awards 2025. The event took place at the spectacular Raffles Dubai Hotel and saw top channel executives, thought leaders, and innovators gather together to celebrate leadership excellence in the channel ecosystem.
This dynamic event combined high-impact panel discussions, and a prestigious awards ceremony honouring top performers across sales, marketing, distribution, and reseller leadership roles.
The event began with a welcome note by emcee and moderator Sandhya D’Mello, Technology Editor, CPI Media Group. “Today’s forum comes at a critical juncture, where AI, Cloud, and XaaS are not only disrupting traditional models but are redefining the very fabric of leadership and value creation”.
“In the context of the UAE’s ambitious digital agenda, channels are more than intermediaries — they are innovation multipliers, trusted advisors, and vital engines of growth”.
The day also saw two detailed panel discussions take place, one titled ‘Channel Evolution – Leadership in the era of AI, Cloud & XAAS’ featured conversations between Charbel Zreiby from Dell Technologies, Praveen Sengar from Cyble Inc., Taj El-Khayat from Vectra AI and Masood Sheik from Hiperdist UAE. The second discussion ‘From Revenue to Relevance: Creating Value Beyond Deals’ saw insights from Mario M. Veljovic from VAD Technologies, Karthik Sundar Rajan from TP-Link MEA, Junaid Ahmad from ASBIS Middle East, Samer Semaan from Pure Storage and S.M. Hussaini from Almoayyed Computers Middle East as panel speakers.
In addition we would like to thank our Gold Sponsors Cyble Inc., Hiperdist UAE, Huawei Cloud, Ingram Micro, TP-Link MEA and Silver Sponsor ASBIS.
The full list of winners at the Channel Leadership Forum and Awards 2025 included:
- Transformational Leader of the Year – Channel and Distribution – Elie Abou-Semaan, Ingram Micro
- Channel Sales Visionary of the Year – Rajan Nair, FVC
- Channel Leader Personality of the Year – Mounir Sarkis, Logicom FZE
- Outstanding Regional Manager of the Year – Distribution – Issa Fannoun, Dell Technologies
- Global Strategic Alliances Visionary of the Year – Taj El-Khayat, Vectra AI
- Emerging Channel Leader Personality of the Year – Karthik Sundar Rajan, TP-Link MEA
- Outstanding Channel Sales Leadership – Nassif Yazbeck, Vertiv
- Channel Account Manager of the Year – Reshma Nair, Cyble Inc.
- Innovative Channel Marketing Strategist of the Year – Anusree M, Avientek
- Outstanding Leadership in Value-Added Distribution – Mario M. Veljovic, VAD Technologies
- Excellence in Business Expansion – Junaid Ahmad, ASBIS Middle East
- Outstanding Channel Events Manager of the Year – Vasu Sharma, FVC
- Reseller Business Leader of the Year – M. Hussaini, Almoayyed Computers Middle East (ACME)
- Channel Marketing Manager of the Year – Amrita Nag, ASUS
- Channel Growth Leader of the Year – Rehan Shahid, Hitachi Vantara
- Distribution and Alliances Visionary of the Year – Samer Semaan, Pure Storage
- Channel Sales Strategy and Vision Award – Adil Ali, Hiperdist Gulf
- Channel Executive of the Year – Charbel Zreiby, Dell Technologies
- Channel Sales Executive of the Year – Meriam ElOuazzani, SentinelOne
- Top Influential Channel Sales Leader of the Year – Sakkeer Hussain, D-Link Middle East and Africa
- Distribution Leader Personality of the Year – Sajin Yousuff Kutty, StarLink DMCC
- Reseller Leader Personality of the Year – Sathish Kumar, Digit Solutions LLC
- Rising Star of the Year in Channel Marketing – Zainab Ali Shabib, Almoayyed Computers Middle East (ACME)
- Emerging Sales Leader of the Year – Abbas Shahid Baqir, Student Shelter in Computers
- Marketing Impact Leader of the Year – Faraz Ali Khan, ASBIS Middle East
- Channel Marketing Visionary of the Year – Kamlesh Lal, Dell Technologies
- Channel Marketing Team of the Year – The Logicom Marketing Team – UAE
- Excellence in Distributor Engagement – Devang Parikh, MITSUMI Distribution
- Reseller Visionary of the Year – Aniket Manoj Shroff, Niti Group of Companies
