Middle East Retail Forum (MRF) 2024

MRF'24

SPEAKERS 2021

Ahmad AR BinDawood
Ahmad AR BinDawood
CEO - BinDawood Holding
Ahmed Ragab
Ahmed Ragab
Group CEO - Baraka Retail Group
Amina Flaifel
Amina Flaifel
Head of Real Estate - Alhokair Fashion Retail
Ashish Panjabi
Ashish Panjabi
COO - Jacky's Retail

Ashish Panjabi is the COO of Jacky’s Business Solutions. Panjabi also runs Jacky’s Retail LLC, which operates Samsung Brand Shops across the UAE and is a partner in Cutting Edge Solutions FZE. He is a board member and president-elect for the UAE Chapter of TiE (The Indus Entrepreneur), where the focus is on fostering entrepreneurship through mentoring, networking, education, funding and incubation. He is also involved in various mentorship activities, as a Tech Mentor at in5 Tech and at Techstars, which is a seed accelerator. Panjabi is also a board member of the Dubai Computer Group, which represents the interests of the computer industry in Dubai and is formed under the auspices of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He is currently a member of the Young President’s Organization (YPO) MENA One Chapter as well as a member of the Advisory Board for RetailME and MRF.

Avijit Yadav
Avijit Yadav
CEO - Tamdeen Malls Management
Daniel Gomez
Daniel Gomez
CDO - Al Malki
Fahad Kazim
Fahad Kazim
Partner, Head of Infrastructure & Real Estate Advisory - KPMG Lower Gulf
Jerome Georges-Vivien
Jerome Georges-Vivien
Country Manager - AZADEA Group
John Strickland
John Strickland
Business Development Lead – ME, I & Emerging Markets - Board International
Kapil Sethi
Kapil Sethi
Deputy CEO - Gulf Marketing Group
Kartik Bhatt
Kartik Bhatt
COO - Sharaf Retail
Khaled Soliman
Khaled Soliman
Group CEO - Jashanmal
Kishan Palija
Kishan Palija
CEO - Geekay Group
Kunal Kapoor
Kunal Kapoor
Founder & CEO - The Luxury Closet

Initially sales manager at Louis Vuitton in Mall of the Emirates, Kunal Kapoor noticed how the brand never went on sale, as coveted as it was by many. This brought him to think of ways to democratise luxury and sell items at a lower price, which lead to him founding his own company. The Luxury Closet is a marketplace for new and pre-loved luxury items for top designer brands like Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Cartier and Rolex. The company that started in his own apartment, now has close to 80 employees, across the UAE, KSA and India. The company raised over $18 million from leading regional investors like MEVP, Wamda Capital and Precinct. The site now features the largest luxury catalogue in the region with 22,000+ unique styles and customers from over 40 countries each year.

Leena Khalil
Leena Khalil
Co-founder - Mumzworld
Majed M. Al Tahan
Majed M. Al Tahan
Founder & CEO - AYM and Co-founder & MD, Danube Online

Majed M Al Tahan is the Founder & CEO, AYM and Co-founder & MD, Danube Online. He is an award-winning entrepreneur and e-commerce leader in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with a great passion to impact the apps market. Al Tahan recognised that e-commerce was the missing element in the Saudi retail landscape and he grabbed the opportunity to begin his journey to build the first-ever online service for grocery shopping in the Kingdom in partnership with BinDawood Holding. In 2016, he founded AYM Commerce as the platform to power the technology needed to revolutionise the Middle East’s e-commerce grocery space and set up Danube Online in partnership with BinDawood Holding. In 2019, Al Tahan was recognised for his achievements and contribution to Saudi Arabia’s economy when he was awarded ‘Young CEO of the Year’ at the Saudi Top Achiever Awards and ‘Digital Leader of the Year’ at Seamless Middle East.

Mark Thomson
Mark Thomson
Retail Director EMEA - Zebra Technologies
Michael Chalhoub
Michael Chalhoub
President - JVs and Strategy, Growth, Innovation & Investment - Chalhoub Group
Muna Al Gurg
Muna Al Gurg
Director of Retail - Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group
Naim Maadad
Naim Maadad
Chief Executive & Founder - Gates Hospitality
Nilesh Ved
Nilesh Ved
Chairman - AppCorp
Nisreen Shocair
Nisreen Shocair
CEO Middle East - YOOX Net-a-Porter
Phil McArthur
Phil McArthur
Founder and Chairman - McArthur Retail Development Specialists
Phillip Smith
Phillip Smith
Group Digital Director - Kamal Osman Jamjoom Group
Pilar de Miguel Viera
Pilar de Miguel Viera
Partner, Head of Experience Design & Innovation - KPMG Lower Gulf
Piyush Kumar Chowhan
Piyush Kumar Chowhan
Group CIO - Lulu Group International

In his role at Lulu Group International, Piyush Kumar Chowhan is responsible for digital strategy and execution of technology for all its global businesses across 12 countries, which include retail, hypermarket and shopping malls. He has over 20 years of experience in driving businesses change using the latest technology innovations, thereby enhancing business value. Chowhan has acquired strong domain knowledge in retail, e-commerce and supply chain management while working for global retailers like Walmart, Target, Circuit City, Tesco and Best Buy. He has also been instrumental in leading the deployment of state-of-art, award-winning supply chain replenishment programme, defining the roadmap for future-ready retail stores and Artificial Intelligence and analytics. He has won many awards for his work and is a part of the Steering Committee of the Analytics and Data Science COE (jointly started by the Government of Karnataka and NASSCOM in Bangalore).

Raza Beig
Raza Beig
CEO - Splash and LMI

Raza Beig heads Splash and LMI, the fashion concepts of the retail conglomerate Landmark Group. He is also a Director of Landmark Group. Back in 1993, when Splash was at a nascent stage, Beig was involved in almost every aspect of the business from buying to visual merchandising, budgeting and retail operations. Over two decades with the organisation, Beig’s strong dedication and passion guided Splash to become a category leader and a core brand within the Landmark Group’s portfolio. Splash currently operates over 220 stores and 55 brand stores (offering brands such as Lee Cooper, Bossini, Kappa and more) across 14 countries.

Renuka Jagtiani
Renuka Jagtiani
Chairwoman & CEO - Landmark Group

For over 25 years, Renuka Jagtiani has guided Landmark Group’s corporate strategy and grown the fashion and hospitality businesses for the region’s leading retail and hospitality conglomerate in the Middle East, Africa and the Indian subcontinent. A cornerstone of the Group’s journey, Jagtiani was instrumental in creating the high-street fashion brand Splash in 1993. In her current role, she oversees all retail and hospitality operations, leading strategic growth through expansion into new markets and driving the group’s CSR initiatives. Under her leadership, the Group forayed into e-commerce and invested in the MENA region’s largest privately-owned logistics and distribution hub, with a vision to reach the customers, no matter where they shop.

Sander Maertens
Sander Maertens
Head of Middle East - Adyen
Sima Ved
Sima Ved
Apparel Group - Founder and Chairwoman
Simon Smith
Simon Smith
COO - Landmark Group
Sowmya Iyer
Sowmya Iyer
Founder & CEO - DViO Digital
Tapan Vaidya
Tapan Vaidya
CEO - PJP Investments Group
Tawhid Abdullah
Tawhid Abdullah
Chairman - Dubai Gold and Jewellery
Thomas Prom
Thomas Prom
Regional Head of E-commerce - Virgin Megastore
Tom Foley
Tom Foley
General Manager Middle East - Al Mana Fashion Group
Tom Harvey
Tom Harvey
General Manager - Spinneys
Toufic Kreidieh
Toufic Kreidieh
Founding Partner and CEO - Brands For Less
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