Speakers

Professor, Senior Researcher Kharkov
National Medical University
Ukraine

Professor Knigavkowas are born in 1979 in Kharkov, Ukraine. He graduated from secondary school with a gold medal in 1996 and entered Kharkov State Medical University (KhSMU) where he obtained his diploma with distinction in 2002. For more than 18 years, Prof. Knigavko is practicing medicine as a Doctor – Urologist- Andrologist in the Kharkov Regional Clinical Centre of Urology and Nephrology. It is the biggest Urological center in Europe with 420 beds and highly specialized departments including the Andrological department with 30 beds.
Currently, Prof. Knigavko is a leading scientist researcher in the Problem Laboratory of Andrology and Human Reproduction and Professor of Urology, Nephrology, and Andrology in Kharkov National Medical University. He has been among the pioneers in his University and he introduced customized training courses for physicians covering areas of high importancelike Male infertility, Erectile dysfunction and Ejaculatory disorders.
Prof. Knigavko published more than 180 papers, 20 of them in international Journals, he is a well recognized speaker in international scientific conferences and congresses in many cities across the globe including and not limited to Miami, Beijing, Paris, Lisbon, Berlin, Madrid, Milan, Dubai, Istanbul. He is consistently presenting in the annual ESSM Congress since 2014.He is the author of next monography “Male infertility”, “Clinical Andrology’, “Ejaculatory disorders”
Professor Knigavko has a great passion for his patients which was the reason that he maintains his daily medical practice besides his academic and research career. He consults daily 20-30 patients with the andrological problem (Male infertility, Erectile Dysfunction, premature and retrograde ejaculation, STI, prostatitis and another disease of the male sexual tract). In addition, he operates monthly 30-50 patients with andrological problems (varicocele, hypospadias, urethral stricture, clitoroplasty for Peyronie’s disease, phalloprosthesis for ED, penile length and girth enlargement…).
Prof. Knigavo developed and patented some operations for treating ED, Premature ejaculation, and male infertility. As of now, he has 19 patents for inventions, new methods of treatment, and new technics of operation. His last patent was for treating erectile dysfunction caused by venous leakage with autological stem cells, PRP microinjection and venoocclusive surgery.
From 2003 till 2005, he participated in the Ukrainian cohort of INNUENDO project (AllEuropean research influence of dioxins on human reproductive function). He is a member of the European and International Society of Sexual Medicine since 2014 and a member of the American Soceity of Andrologists since 2017. He become a member of the Arab Association of Urology in 2020.
Research Interests and spheres of professional activity
Erectile Dysfunction (conservative treatment, PRP injection, stem cell treatment, Penile prosthesis implantation), Ejaculatory disorders (PE, RE delay ejaculation), Male Infertility, Peyronie’ disease, urethral stricture, STD, influence of electromagnetic fields of cellular phones on male sexual and reproductive function, question of ethiopathogenesis and treatment of relapsed urolithiasis, Male climax, penile dysmorphophobias connected with penile curvature.

Chairman - Board of Directors
General Authority of Healthcare Accreditation and Regulations - GAHAR
Egypt

As the chairman of the General Authority of Healthcare Accreditation and Regulation in Egypt, Dr. Ismail leads Egypt’s strategy in adopting and organizing healthcare for all healthcare facilities and workers.
Dr. Ismail has worked for more than 40 years in the healthcare field. With an international career spanning 25 years internationally, he has a plethora of experience in accrediting hospitals, managing healthcare quality, improving performance, and developing human resources for health. His contributions to quality education and training in post-university education are well known.
Dr. Ismail was appointed by the Joint Commission International as General Director of its Middle East branch in March 2009. Over a period of ten years, he led the efforts of the Joint Commission International in the region and achieved tremendous success in increasing the number of accredited institutions from 50 accredited institutions in 2009 to 370 accredited institutions in 2019. During this period, Joint Commission International became the gold standard for accreditation all over the world.
As an assistant professor at the George Mason University School of Health and Human Services, he has taught a variety of quality courses to obtain a degree in Quality and Results Management. Dr. Ismail is also a WHO consultant on accreditation and quality of healthcare.
In 2006, he was chosen as a strategic planning consultant to the Minister of Health of the United Arab Emirates in order to develop a new strategy for the health sector. As a quality consultant, he assisted healthcare facilities in the accreditation process. His experience in these areas extended from the United States of America to the Middle East. For four years, he worked as a quality consultant for the Innova Health System, the largest health system in Northern Virginia.
As a faculty member at Johns Hopkins University and director of the Regional Bureau for Asia/Near East/Europe for the Johns Hopkins Obstetrics and Gynecology Education Program, he led efforts to implement family planning, reproductive health, and development of USAID-funded human resources projects in 14 countries in the region.
While working with the United States Agency for International Development in Cairo as a director of medical programs, he implemented with the Egyptian government the largest family planning program at the level of Egypt, established the Regional Center for Training in Family Planning and Reproductive Health at Ain Shams University and presented the first national program to improve quality in family planning clinics In Egypt.

President Association of Medical Laboratory Scientist Nigeria
Federal Republic of Nigeria

Dr Bassey Enya Bassey is a public health scientist with over 31 years of experience working in the Nigerian public health sector. His area of expertise cuts across, but not limited to fields of epidemiology, outbreak response, infectious disease control and policy management.
Haven spent over a decade working in World Health Organization’s Expanded program on Immunization (EPI) serving in various capacities from National Surveillance Officer to State Coordinator of WHO EPI projects in three significant states in Nigeria, Dr Bassey knows what truly drives the successful planning and implementation of EPI projects- and it is not how many professional accolades you show up with to an event. It is actually how well you connect with the heart-beating people you are trying to help and how well you communicate your understanding back to them.
As State Coordinator, he successfully coordinated the activities of hundreds of health and technical officers involved in the EPI, Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) and outbreak response. His ability to manage the operational planning and implementation of WHO incident management systems made him an asset to the Government of the Republic of Kenya and South Africa where he helped develop strategic plans for measles eradication, institutionalized the weekly reporting of measles cases thereby improving measles surveillance, conducted in-depth comprehensive EPI/Surveillance review to identify best practices, evaluate existing challenges and made recommendations that will guide EPI/Surveillance practices to improve performance.
Dr Bassey is a very committed and reliable team player. His ability to provide support for the regular identification and monitoring of health risks towards implementing the most effective preventive, control and response measures made him an excellent choice for the Ebola response team that provided outbreak response to the Government of Sierra Leone as well as in Nigeria during the 2014 Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak where he served as both Field Coordinator (Tonkolili district) and Team Coordinator Comprehensive EPI Review (Gauteng province) in South Africa respectively. As Field Coordinator, Dr Bassey coordinated the activities of all partner agencies involved in the outbreak response in Tonkolili District and other personnel drawn from the UK army, Ireland, India, Uganda and the USA.
As an excellent multitasker, he serves as the National President; Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria haven previously served the Association in various capacities ranging from Chairman, Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria to National Financial Secretary, Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists and then National Secretary, Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria. In these roles, he performed regular and frequent coordination of meetings to monitor and evaluate project implementation, facilitated resource mobilization, accountability of all stakeholders while providing the platform for capacity building for Association members.
In WHO Nigeria, he is among the lead facilitators in the developments of research protocols with over 50 publications in various well-read international peer reviewed journals. He has also supported the country in several occasions in the review of laboratory standards, plans, guidelines and other tools in the framework of IDSR and the International Health Regulation (IHR) of 2005.
An associate Professor in the University of Calabar, Nigeria with numerous involvements in community healthcare development projects, Dr Bassey Enya Bassey hold a Bachelor’s degree in Medical Laboratory Science with specialization in Medical Microbiology, MSc in Medical Microbiology and PhD in Environmental and Public Health Microbiology. Certificate in Field Epidemiology & Laboratory and disease outbreak investigation (CDC/WHO) 2008, Certificate in Middle Level Management, Primary Health Care(WHO/NPHCDA) 2020 and Certificate in Management and Development(Managing Teams)(WHO) 2012, Certificate in Integrated Disease Surveillance & Response (WHO).
He has been actively involved in Nigeria’s Poliovirus containment activities. Dr Bassey was actively involved in Establishing schedule of visit to all laboratories in the states of assignment, Contact the heads of biomedical facilities and laboratories to be visited prior to field visits, Conduct On-site visit to biomedical facilities and laboratories and administer questionnaires, Encourage and support destruction of poliovirus infectious or potentially infectious materials including tOPV, mOPV2, Sabin2 and VDPV2 through autoclaving and incineration, Document all infectious materials found and destroyed, Support in updating list of biomedical facilities in zone of assignment, Collate data, share with WHO office, Forward weekly report of activities to the NTF coordinator and WHO and Present an end of assignment report by 20th October 2016. He has also been involved in biosafety and bio-risk management of infectious disease pathogens, infectious disease pathogens, laboratory and bio-medical safety, virology, molecular biology, immunology and epidemiology of infectious diseases, specifically in vaccine-preventable diseases, preferably in poliomyelitis. Dr Bassey was also involved in producing the draft and finalized country’s containment report.

Senior Advisor, Deloitte UK
Senior Advisor, IHS Markit
Co-Founder, Leading 4 Life
United Kingdom

A senior military leader and former Deloitte Director who is now an independent consultant and executive coach focused on helping clients across the industry spectrum with a particular emphasis on personal performance coaching, leadership training and development, as well as consulting opportunities particularly in the public sector and the aviation, aerospace, and defence industries.
39 years of experience spanning the Royal Air Force and Deloitte LLP with a proven ability to get the best results from a large and diverse workforce even in the most demanding and hostile environments.
Bob has routinely operated at the highest levels of Government in the UK and overseas. A broad-based skill set with a strong operational, risk management, policy, training delivery, industrial liaison and transformation focus. He holds the highest level security clearance, has extensive large budget management, communication, public speaking and media facing experience. Excels at delivering to tight deadlines under extreme pressure.
Bob Judson is a dynamic, driven and highly motivational leader with a passion for personal mentoring as well as leading and developing teams. Having started out as a fast-jet pilot with the Royal Air Force flying Jaguars, Phantoms and Typhoons, over the course of his career he rose to the rank of Air Vice-Marshal, and was part of the Royal Air Force’s Senior Leadership Team.
Bob is a graduate of the Joint Service Defence College, the MOD Higher Command and Staff Course and the Royal College of Defence Studies. He had the privilege of commanding a squadron on operations, an RAF base for the introduction of a new aircraft, and a NATO base in Afghanistan. And to top it all, he also had the honour of leading HM The Queen’s Birthday Flypast for her 80th birthday and displaying the Spitfires and Hurricanes of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight in 2005/6.
After leaving the RAF, Bob worked in the private sector initially as a Director at a global professional services firm, and then most recently as a management and training consultant across a variety of industry sectors. Bob brings a unique blend of experience and insight to his work with high performing individuals delivering leadership and team development, crisis management and resilience.
Away from work Bob is a keen motorcyclist and enjoys skiing, scuba diving and the occasional round of golf.

President National Association of Healthcare Quality
United States of America

Carole S. Guinane, RN BSBA MBA BBSS CPHQ, is the Executive Director for ASC operations at Cedars Sinai. Guinane has extensive experience as the Chief Clinical Officer, Corporate Vice President, Interim President and Vice President levels at health care systems in Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Colorado.
From steering system-wide initiatives and introducing/expanding orthopedic service lines, to leading the charge on opening multi-million dollar ambulatory surgery centers.
She served as Vice President at one of six hospitals in the country to adopt quality improvement strategies as implemented in manufacturing and industry, and the hospital was featured in the book Striving Toward Improvement: Six Hospitals in Search of Quality published by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.
Guinane has authored and co-authored numerous books and articles on various health care topics, Guinane is the 2020 President for the National Association for Healthcare Quality.

Trust Chair - NHS
North Middlesex University Hospital
United Kingdom

Cedi is chair of North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust, which serves a population of 350,000 people across the diverse London Boroughs of Enfield and Haringey and employs 3,600 staff, of whom over 63% are from a BAME background.
Cedi has enjoyed a 40-plus-year career in the public, not-for-profit and private sectors, including 25 years at CEO level as managing director of a BME housing association, 12 years as chief executive of a London-based, multi regional charity that supported people with learning disabilities, autism and mental health problems, then over five years as chief executive of a charity employing 2,500 staff caring for and supporting more than 3,000 people a year through its older people, children, young people and families services.
He has more than 30 years’ experience as a non-executive director on the boards of NHS trusts, housing organisations, national and international charities and voluntary organisations, universities and sporting national governing bodies.
Cedi is the owner and managing director of Article Consulting Ltd, established in 2016 to work with leaders by supporting their thinking, planning and resilience. He is also a certified personal performance coach and describe himself as a strategic coach and results mentor.
Cedi is a former England men’s international basketball player and coach, and has been named four times as one of Britain’s 100 most influential black people. He was described as an ‘…unsung hero of the third sector, who has changed as many lives in his life outside work as he has in his job’. In 2015, Cedi was recognised as one of the ‘1,000 Black & Asian Heroes 1950-2010’

Chief Executive Officer
International Federation of Health Plans (IFHP)
United Kingdom

Christopher Watney is an executive with more than twenty years in senior roles across a broad range of industries. Prior to joining the International Federation of Health Plans (iFHP) as CEO in 2020, he spent five and a half years as chief marketing officer at Southern Cross Health Society, New Zealand’s largest health insurance business. Before working in health, Christopher spent time in London and New Zealand in senior roles at Royal Bank of Scotland Insurance, AXA New Zealand and Genesis Energy. He also served on the board of Osteoporosis New Zealand, later Bone Health NZ.

Professor, Chairman
School of Medicine
University of Catania
Clinical Pharmacology Unit
Teaching Hospital
Catania, Italy

Prof. Filippo Drago graduated summa cum laude in Medicine from Catania University Medical School, Italy in 1978. He was certified in Psychiatry in 1982 from the University of Catania and in the same year he achieved his PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Utrecht.
In addition, he was certified in Neurology in 1986 and Mental Hygiene in 1990. At present, Prof. Drago is Full Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Catania Medical School, Chairman of the Clinical Pharmacology Unit, Teaching Hospital, University of Catania, and of the Master Course of Drug Regulatory Disciplines at the same University.
He was President of the CRO Unifarm Research Centre for Clinical Pharmacology until 2012. Since 2001, he was member of the Committee for Drug Evaluation, Ministry of Health, Italy and since 2004 through 2012 of the Italian Agency of Drugs (AIFA, Agenzia Italiana del Farmaco) as member of the Scientific Committee of the Agency.
Since 2012 through 2015 he was member of the Committee for Price and Reimbursement, AIFA. For about twenty years, until the end of 2015, he was member of the Regional Drug Formulary Committee in Sicily. Since 2012 through 2014 he was President of the European Federation of the Pharmacological Societies (EPHAR).
In February 2019 he was nominated World President of the Association for Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics and in May 2019 President of the Biomedical District for the High Technology. Since October 2019 he is Chairman of the Centre for Research and Consultancy in Regulatory Affairs and HTA (CERD), University of Catania. In the role of member of the AIFA committees, as private consultant and Chairman of the CERD he has assessed the cost/effectiveness profile of a great number of drugs. He is author of about 500 papers published in peer-reviewed journals.

Chief Medical and Research Officer Human Health Education and Research Foundation
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Dr. Ghoneim is an international renowned healthcare consultant with more than 40 years of experience in the healthcare industry. He is the Chief Medical and Research Officer of HHERF.

• Over 36 years of clinical experience in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Women’s Health.
• Over 25 years of leadership and management experience in healthcare.
• Over 25 years of experience in quality management, patient safety, and patient experience.
• Over 13 years of experience as an International consultant in health care quality, design, management, and accreditation.
• Over 13 years of experience in Healthcare information management systems including appraisal, gap analysis, and implementation.
• Over 13 years of experience in medical planning for small and large healthcare projects.
• Over 10 years of experience in writing healthcare Policies and Standards.

Dr. Ghoniem is currently a Senior Healthcare and Quality Advisor at the Council of Cooperative Health Insurance in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Prior to this, he was an Expert Consultant with the Saudi Central Board for Accreditation of Healthcare Institutions (CBAHI) since 2013. Hossam’s main task is leading the development of the standards and survey process for Kingdom-wide accreditation and certification programs. He is a member of KSA “Standards Steering Committee” and the Co-chairman for the Technical Committee on developing the National Hospital Standards”. He designed and led the development of the “National Ambulatory Standards” under a new functional format (Published June 2019). Hossam is also a member of the Current Certification Programs’ Committees (Trauma centers, Child developmental disorders, Stroke, Spine surgery and Myocardial infarction certification programs). He designed the backbone structure for developing CBAHI certification programs.
For a period of 12 years, he was an intermittent Consultant for the Joint Commission International (JCI) where he consulted with large healthcare institutions and University Hospitals in 72 countries across Europe, Middle East, and Far East (including South Korea and Japan), providing healthcare advice at clinical and managerial levels. He actively participated in the development of the JCI Standards (Hospital, ambulatory care, specialty certification and transportation standards) as an active member of the JCI standards development committee (2012 – 2015). Hossam also participated as a Faculty Member in the Joint Commission Practical courses that are held in different locations around the globe.
He worked in several leadership/consulting positions in many big organizations including but not limited to King Abdullah Economic City, Dr. Soliman Fakeeh Hospital, King Abdulaziz National Guard Medical City, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center and Addenbrooke’s hospital and the Rosie Maternity Hospital.

Owner and Principle
Emica Consulting
United Arab Emirates

Emica Consulting provides strategic advisory, management consultancy services to clients and mentoring/coaching services to executives across the globe.
Prior to this Howard most recently drove the strategic development and expansion of Cigna’s (NYSE Listed – CI, Fortune 20) presence across a broad portfolio of countries and segments which include Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as well as joint venture partnerships in India and Turkey.
Based at Cigna’s EMEA regional headquarters in Dubai, Howard ensured that Cigna delivered on the organization’s mission of improving the health, well-being and sense of security of the people it serves through its broad range of solutions that include group and individual, domestic and global, and business-to-government and international organization’s health services.
Howard also had Global responsibility for all of Cigna’s Health Solutions for International Markets. These responsibilities included oversight of a network of more than 1 million provider relationships around the world that customers access; the clinical teams of doctors, nurses and health practitioners globally that ensure customers’ health is optimized and crucially ensure our health insurance products are affordable.
With more than 17 years of experience in the worldwide health services market, Howard has held several senior leadership roles at Cigna. His career with Cigna began following the acquisition of vielife, a leading health management company, where he led strategic market development.
Howard then spent five years in the U.S., first as Head of Distribution of Cigna Health Solutions (part of domestic U.S. Operations) before assuming the role of Chief Strategy and Market Development Officer for Cigna Global Health Benefits (CGHB), where he was responsible for global strategy, business development, including new geographies and segments, mergers and acquisitions, and product management to drive CGHB as a market leader. Howard then transitioned into expanding CEO roles, initially in Shanghai, China as CEO for Middle East & Asia Pacific, then as CEO for the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) Region and the Global Individual Private Medical Insurance solutions business. It was while in this role that Howard and his family relocated to Dubai, UAE.
Howard qualified as a Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, and has a First Class Honours BA degree from Nottingham Trent University in the U.K.

Head of WHO Burundi
WHO
Mali

Prof. Keita is renowned public health leader with more than 40 years of experience. He was the WHO representative in several African nations including and not limited to Burundi, Algeria, Niger and Mauritania over the last 13 years.
Being a strategic public health expert, he participated in the development of national advocacy and resource mobilization strategy plans for Health Action programs as well as in the development of the strategy for strengthening the performance of Health Systems. He was part of the team how developed the strategic plan to strengthen Universal Health Coverage. He also provided strategic advice for Human Resource Capacity Building, particularly in the fight against TB and HIV / AIDS. He as well provided strategic advice for strengthening WHO leadership in the health sector.
During his career, he has provided strategic advice to the Ministries of Health (Algeria, Niger, Mali), within the framework ofmanagement of MERS epidemics, Ebola, cholera and Covid 19 as well as strategic advice on the establishment of the intersectoral mechanism to deal with the threat of Ebola Virus Disease “Surveillance, alert and management of viral hemorrhagic fevers”.
He has supported the development of the national plan for preparedness, alert and response to health threats with epidemic potential and public health emergencies of international concern and contributed to improving operational capabilities to effectively address the threats of epidemics and disasters as well as the development of the ” National Risk communication plan in accordance with the recommendations of the 2005 IHR
Training and capacity building was among his favorite passion, he dedicated his time to skills development of health personnel at sea, land, air ports of entry. He provided technical support for capacity building of the members of the communication group of the National Health Crisis Management Committee on communication at risk and contributed to strengthening the capacities of the heads of laboratories of the Pasteur Institute of Algeria and the National Institute of Public Health in biological risk management at the laboratory and certification for the international shipment of hazardous biological samples.He supported the training of 150 African doctors in modern methods of fighting TB, co-infection TB / HIV, and pharmaco-resistance.
He was instrumental in the mobilization of financial resources for the implementation of emergency action plans for preparedness and response to an epidemic or health disaster.
He took part in the development of national plans for the management of communicable and non-communicable diseases with epidemic potential and provided advocacy with technical and Financial Partners for the implementation of END TB and commit TB Strategy. He also supported for UNDAF implementation and monitoring activities.
He was part of the team who created and launched the WHO International Course on TB, co-infection TB/HIV and pharmaco-resistance in partnership with UNAIDS.
Prof. Keita contributed to the preparation and implementation of the END TB global strategy and The ENGAGE TB Strategy and extended strategic support for the development of the regional tuberculosis plan, 2007-2011
In 2002, he contributed to the finalization of the regional TB Strategic Framework and AIDS Harare in Zimbabwe.
He also played an important role in supporting the training of a pool of consultants from the African region in the formulation and submission of grant proposals to be submitted to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and malaria in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Harare, Zimbabwe in 2002, then in Geneva, Switzerland from 2003 to 2006 followed by Dakar, Senegal in 2007 then finally Cotonou, Benin in 2008.
He was the main catalyst behind the development of the Maghreb initiative to combat tuberculosis (MATCI) in Rabat,Morocco in 1999.
Prof. Keita supported the training of Teachers of the Faculties of Medicine of French-speaking African countries on the introduction of the teaching of tuberculosis control in the training curriculum of students respectively in Dakar (Senegal) 1998 and Bamako (Mali) 2003. As well, he supported the training of National Tuberculosis Reference Laboratories in Francophone countries, Cotonou, Benin 1998.
He also supported the training of the Directors of the national programs to combat tuberculosis in French-speaking and Portuguese-speaking countries, in the management of tuberculosis at the national level, respectively, in Lomé (Togo) 1997 and Yaoundé (Cameroon) 1998.
From 1996 he was the Head of the Intercontinental Support Team for tuberculosis control in West Africa (Cote D’Ivoire, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Guinea (Conakry), Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Togo, Senegal).
Prof. Keita authored and co-authored more than 100 scientific articles in both English and French. He is the author of the book “Choix de vies”, published by Editions L’harmattan Paris, 2015.

Chief Executive Officer
Health Beyond Borders
United Arab Emirates

Laila is the founder & CEO of Health Beyond Borders in Dubai. Health Beyond Borders is a bespoke Dubai-based health care advisory firm focused on the following services; Healthcare Strategy and Research, Health Investment Facilitation, Healthcare Marketing, and Business Development in UAE, Medical Tourism Consulting, and advising. HBB can help your business navigate through the challenges and leverage the opportunities and bring considerable economic benefit in a sustainable and effective manner.
Prior to this Laila was the CEO of the Health Policy and Strategy Sector at Dubai Health Authority (DHA).
She was responsible for the development of the policy and legislation for the health system in the Emirate of Dubai driven from the Dubai Strategic Plan (DSP). Overseeing the implementation of the DHA Health strategy and conducting sector planning and forecasting. She has extensive knowledge of the healthcare systems, Health reforms, strategic direction, planning, and delivery of healthcare services.
She was leading the process of Dubai health reform that took place in 2007 and responsible for the development of the Dubai Health Insurance Model in 2009. Laila also was leading the Dubai medical tourism initiative which was launched in 2012 to place Dubai on the world health tourism map.
Laila is a graduate from the College of Allied Health Science, Kuwait University, and secured her Masters in Executive Healthcare Administration with honorary from Zayed University in affiliation with the State University of Arizona. She is a graduate of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Executive Leadership Program and Sheikh Rashid Award for Scientific Outstanding.
Laila was also awarded the Feigenbaum Excellence Leadership Award for “Women’s leaders”. Recently she is been awarded as one of the 50 “GCC Women leaders” by World CSR Day & World Sustainability in Dubai. Also, Laila has been awarded as one of the 50 Women in Health Care & Wellness in Mumbai, and one of the World’s Greatest Women Achievers by URS Asia One. Laila is a member of the Board of Governors for Rak Medical & Health Sciences University as well as Dubai Pakistan Association for non for profit. She is also a member of the Global Health Travel Council since 2013.

Chief Executive Officer
Community Integrated Care
United Kingdom

Mark Adams is an internationally renowned and respected authority in healthcare management with over 35 years of CEO experience in the UK, USA, and throughout the GCC.
Mark Adams is CEO of Community Integrated Care, one of Britain’s biggest and most successful social care charities. The charity, which turns over £140m annually, supports almost 4000 people who have learning disabilities, autism, mental health concerns, and dementia. It has a workforce of 6500 people.
Community Integrated Care is nationally recognized as being one of the most innovative providers in the market, with significant sector recognition – including being named as the 2019/20 Charity Times Charity of the Year for its impact and innovation.
He is currently also a Non-Executive Director for the National Care Forum, a leading representative body for the not-for-profit care sector which brings together 115 members, as well as the Countess of Chester NHS Foundation Trust in the North West of England.
He also sits on the Board of Directors of John Hopkins Aramco Healthcare in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Mark has an extensive background in the healthcare and commercial industries. This includes CEO and senior Board roles with leading organizations, including Denplan, AXA PPP, Virgin Healthcare, Vitality Healthcare, and Netcare UK, He has also had a decade leading large healthcare organizations in the Middle East. This includes forming Anglo Arabian Healthcare (AAH), an integrated network of 40 clinics, diagnostic centers, hospitals, pharmacies, and other specialist services that became one of the biggest operators in Dubai.
Mark has led start-up Healthcare Operations, PE-backed buy and build as well as listed companies in the UK, America and across the Gulf Council Countries. Mark has led companies ranging from Denplan and AXA PPP to Virgin Healthcare and the South African owned Netcare UK as well as startup ventures and Publicly Listed Companies.

Chief Executive Officer
Trust Vision
Pakistan

Dr. Awan is a consultant ophthalmologist with more than35 years of experience, back in the year 2003, Dr. Awan decided to dedicate the remaining years of his professional life, full time in the service of the underprivileged majority of the community.As a humble start in 2004, he converted a donated two-bedroom first floor apartment into an eye clinic and never ever had to look back thereafter. It took him about 12 years of perseverance to earn the donor confidence and the patient satisfaction.
His humble endeavors continue to grow as of date and fuel his passion to move forward and set new and advanced goalposts after every one achieved, in spite of an episode of myelitis in past leaving him with a gradually increasing paraparesis and being wheelchair bound since last 10 years or so.
Dr. Mazhar’s contributions in fight against Visual Loss and blindness in Pakistan, in line with vision
He has been the engine of creating and delivering high quality eye care available and accessible to all.
Drive: Dr. Mazhar Awan aims to rid the world of avoidable blindness and Visual Loss in line with IAPB/ WHO Vision 2020 Right-to-Sight Initiative and Global Action Plan (GAP) Integrated with People Centered Eye Care (IPCEC).
Commitment: His physical impediment, by being on wheelchair since last 10 years or so following an episode of Myelitis is past, didn’t hold him back from relentless pursuit of his vision. In his own words “I have achieved more during this phase of disability than during able years.”
Quality of work:He worked hard to create, Khairun’nisa Eye Hospital and then got it certified for ISO 9001:2015 QMS. This was his way of ensuring the creation and delivery of the quality service. He strongly feels it’s the right of all, regardless of paying power.
Milestones Achieved: He Initiated the School Health Program with following unique attributes
Disease control: As of date, under his supervision, seen more than 73,000 patients, performed about 16,000 Cataract Surgeries, and counting. Countless outpatient diagnostic & therapeutic procedures, medicines, optical aids, major and minor surgical procedures were provided. About 70 % of the patients were treated Free Of Cost, while the remaining were charged minimum possible amount on not-for-profit basis.
Institution-building: HRD is THE only way forwards if we want to achieve any meaningful results in curtailing the prevalence of Visual Loss and blindness anywhere. Dr. Mazhar Awan, with his team is developing a one-year internship program, aimed at capacity building of our optometry graduates. This is being launched under the umbrella of Khairun’nisa Institute of Visual Sciences.
He firmly believes that targets of minimizing, let alone eliminating Visual Loss is possible through provision of robust primary care infra-structure, accessible in the community.

EDUCATION

• Membership Ophthalmology – College of Physicians & Surgeons of Pakistan 1991
• MBBS – Sindh Medical College – University of Karachi – 1982.

Director General for Private Health Establishments
Ministry of Health Oman
Member IAC

Doctor Mazin Al-Khabouri is an ENT surgeon from Oman. He graduated from Ain Shams University in Egypt in 1981 and was admitted as Fellow to the Royal College of Surgeons and Physicians of Glasgow in 1990. He has been developing and taking care of ENT services in Oman since 1996.
He is a senior consultant ENT at Al-Nahdha hospital in the capital Muscat.
He was in charge of under and post graduate ENT teaching in the country till 2020.
He is the President of ENT for the Arab Board.
He is the Advisor for Clinical Services to the Minister of Health in Oman.
Director General for Private Health Establishments, Ministry of Health Oman.
He is also associated with many International bodies; many of which are responsible for teaching of ENT and Hearing loss.

Senior Advisor on Research MENA - NIAID - National Institute of Health
Senior Lecturer - Harvard Medical School USA
United States of America/Lebanon

An eminent leader, Dr. Mohamed H. Sayegh served as the Raja N. Khuri Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Executive Vice President of Medicine and Global Strategy at the American University of Beirut (AUB) from 2009 to 2020. Dr. Sayegh started his career path by obtaining his MD with distinction from the American University of Beirut in 1984. He then moved to the USA where he pursued the rest of his training and spent most of his academic career. In 1987, he completed his residency training in Internal Medicine at Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio. By 1990, he completed his research and clinical fellowship in Renal Medicine and Transplantation Immunobiology at Harvard Medical School and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He then ascended the academic ranks at Harvard Medical School, from Instructor in 1990 to Assistant Professor in 1992, to Associate Professor in 1997, and Full Professor of Medicine in 2004. By 2005, he was awarded the Warren E. Grupe and John P. Merrill Endowed Chair in Transplantation Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and Director of the Schuster Family Transplantation Research Center at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital. He is currently (starting January 2020) the Special Advisor to the President for Medicine and Health at AUB focusing on new business development outside Lebanon. He also serves as the Senior Advisor on Research in the Middle East and North Africa at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) / National Institutes of Health (NIH) to promote NIH-funded research in the MENA region.
Dr. Sayegh actively engaged in research and became internationally known as a world leader in transplantation, renal medicine, and transplantation immunobiology. As an investigator, Dr. Sayegh’s name appears in 359 journal publications. Since 1989, he has published 270 articles, 57 reviews, and 36 editorials in peer-reviewed journals. Among the 359 publications, he is the major contributor (First or Senior author) to 159 articles. Of the 159 articles where he is a major contributor, 128 are published in top-tier journals (Q1) in their respective discipline. Additionally, he published 41 book chapters, 8 textbooks/monographs, 50 proceedings of meetings, and established 19 patents. According to Scopus, his H-index is 95 and his total citations are 31,099. However, according to Google Scholar, his H-index is 110 and his total citations are 42,730.
In addition to his interest in research, Dr. Sayegh has extended his knowledge and experience in the scientific community by serving on several committees in various capacities. He served as Council Member and President (2000 – 2001) of the American Society of Transplantation (AST) and as the Chair of the Transplant Advisory Board of the American Society of Nephrology (ASN). A few years later, he served as the Chair of the AST Program, Education and Development Committees, as the Chair of the 2005 ASN Program Committee, the Chair of the Program Committee of the 2006 World Transplant Congress, and the 2007 World Congress of Nephrology. His efficiency and determination to progress further in his career led him to serve as co-chair of the Steering Committee of the NIH Immune Tolerance Network and a member of the Executive Committee. Subsequently, he was selected as Chair of the Steering Committee of the NIH consortium, Clinical Trials in Organ Transplantation (CTOT). He continues to provide ongoing editorial support as an ad-hoc reviewer for many prominent journals just NEJM, American Journals of Pathology, Kidney Transplantation, and Kidney Diseases, to name a few, and served as Editor-in-Chief for Organ Transplantation and held several editorial positions in many prominent journals.
Believing that leadership is about creating leaders, and in addition to his notable achievements, Dr. Sayegh proved to be a distinguished mentor with exceptional training skills when elected as a member of the ASCI, AAP, and FRCP. Under his direction, tens of investigators trained and grew to become active leaders in renal and transplant programs worldwide. In recognition of his exceptional efforts, he was awarded the 2008 First Mentoring Award of the AST.
Dr. Sayegh’s record of accomplishments encompasses many highly distinguished and prestigious awards and honors including:

• 1983 Alpha Omega Alpha
• 1984 MD Diploma with Distinction (Honors)
• 1989 UPJOHN Young Investigator Award, American Society of Transplant Physicians
• 1991 – 1992 Ortho-Grant-In-Aid Young Investigator Award, American Society of Transplant Physicians
• 1996 – 1999 Clinician Scientist Award, National Kidney Foundation
• 1997 First Young Scientist Award, Wyeth-Ayerst-American Society of Transplant Physicians
• 2008 First Mentoring Award, American Society of Transplantation
• 2008 NKF’s Shaul G. Massry Distinguished Lecture Award
• 2010 AST Basic Science Established Investigator Award (Professor Level)
• 2013 Gold Award, American University of Beirut Alumni Chapter
• 2014 Ben Qurrah Award, National Arab American Medical Association – Houston Chapter
• 2015 Fellow of the American Society of Transplantation
• 2018 Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) Prize: Fundamental Sciences – Biological Sciences

Internationally, Dr. Sayegh held a number of leadership positions. He served as Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board and member of the Board of Trustees of the Harvard Dubai Foundation. Currently, he serves on the International Advisory Board for the Hamad Bin Khalifa University and Qatar Foundation. In addition, he is a Board of Trustee member with the University of Sharjah and a member of the Association of Academic Health Centers International (AAHCI) Steering Committee, the Regional Ambassador hosting the AAHCI MENA Regional Office at AUBMC, and the Chair Designate of AAHCI. He is also a member of the newly formed Academy of Arab Scientists of the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences of which he is the recipient of the KFAS prize. Credited for substantial and landmark contributions, Dr. Sayegh was elected into Arab Business’ 2011 and 2012 Power 500 – World’s Most Influential Arabs.
In July 2009, Dr. Sayegh returned to Lebanon and the American University of Beirut as Raja N. Khuri Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and the Executive Vice President for Medicine and Global Strategy. He envisioned and developed an ambitious and impactful plan for AUB’s Medical Center and healthcare in Lebanon and the region, known as the AUBMC 2020 Vision, adopted by the Board of Trustees in June 2010. AUBMC 2020 Vision encompasses propelling patient care, medical education, and research to new levels of excellence unprecedented in the Middle East region. This strategic vision, with clear goals and intricate implementation processes, has generated a significant amount of local, regional and global support. The realization of the AUBMC 2020 Vision has been witnessed in many ways. The successful model of recruitment and “reverse brain drain” is the first attestation to the success of the vision which has allowed the recruitment of over 200 faculty members back to Lebanon since the summer of 2009 to join AUBMC from leading academic medical centers throughout the world and be part of this pioneering vision. This model was published in “Nature Middle East” to be used as a guide for other entities in the region. Philanthropists have also shown their trust and support in the vision through unprecedented donations. Since 2009, during his tenure at AUB, Dr. Sayegh raised a total of $230 million to support the AUBMC 2020 Vision. The vision has also helped the Lebanese economy not only through the creation of jobs and donations but also through catalyzing other market sectors such as construction, contracting, manufacturers, amongst others, with the development of the AUBMC 2020 Medical Complex and the new buildings that are being erected. AUBMC is leading the way through the establishment of leading Centers of Excellence (CEOs) in areas that impact the people of our region the most with an integrated and multidisciplinary approach. The model of CEOs has bread group practices, encouraging faculty to sub-specialize and work together in a complementary fashion. This environment fosters cooperation, synergy, innovation, opportunities for additional faculty recruitment, advances in basic and clinical research, and comprehensive and specialized teaching, and training of the future leaders in medicine and healthcare.
In 2015, Dr. Sayegh was appointed as the Executive Vice President of Medicine and Global Strategy at the American University of Beirut. In this capacity and in view of the new Health 2025 Vision, the Strategic Health Initiatives (SHI) was announced by the AUB President as the starting step in the path for operationalizing AUB vision on health, unifying AUB Vision: health as a demonstration area and creating an interim participatory platform of engaging campus and AUBMC on the health theme – Health 2025. Since then, this strategy evolved towards a new plan for a Health Sciences Complex (HSC), serving as the first in the Arab region. An integral component of the HSC is the establishment of a new flagship unit, the Global Health Institute (GHI), the first such institute in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. GHI serves as a hub for interdisciplinary research, capacity building, and dedicated service as well as an incubator for contextualized solutions to global health challenges emerging from the Global South. Finally, Dr. Sayegh is the sponsor and national ambassador of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number 3 (UN-SDG3, Good Health, and Wellness) and serves on the UN-SDG Council of Global Compact Network Lebanon.

Consultant Urologist -
Chairman U-merge
U-merge
Germany

Dr. Noor Buchholz was trained in Germany, Switzerland and Australia. He has worked as a Consultant Urologist in Pakistan and in the Netherlands, and for 14 years in the United Kingdom where he was the Director of Endourology and Stone Services at the Royal London Hospital. In 2014, he has moved his practice to Dubai/ UAE.
Dr. Buchholz is a leading expert in minimally invasive urological surgery in general, and stone treatment in particular. He is a worldwide recognised expert in shockwave lithotripsy, the treatment of urinary stones, endourology and laparoscopy. He is also the world’s leading expert in the novel technology of permanent metal stenting of the urinary tract.
VFor more than 10 years, Dr. Buchholz has been one of only 46 trainers worldwide recognised by the International Endourology Society (IES) for Endourology and Stone treatment, and the first such recognised trainer in Europe by the European Board of Urology (EBU). He was awarded multiple grants and awards. He is author on more than 350 original articles in scientific journals and book chapters. He sits on the editorial board of many international urological scientific journals, and is a peer reviewer for many more.
Dr. Buchholz sat also on the board of the stone section of the European Association of Urology (eULIS-EAU) for 8 years, which is responsible for guidelines, training and standards in stone treatment, both in European and worldwide. He was member of the Board of Directors of the Societe Internationale d’Urologie (SIU). He is founder and chairman of Experts in Stone Disease (ESD) organising global scientific meetings.
VDr. Buchholz is the Founding Director of U-merge (Urology in emerging countries), a society that been created to promote medical and urological education and training in emerging countries to elevate the worldwide standard of urological care for patients. As such he organises teaching and training activities from one-to-one tutoring to major international conference.

Freelance/Locum General Practitioner (GP) & Family Physician
MRCGP UK
FRACGP Australia
UK/Australia/UAE

Dr. Saima Salahuddin has more than 10 years experience as a General Practitioner and Family Medicine Consultant. She worked in the NHS in UK as well as several private practices and setups across UK, Australia and United Arab Emirates. During the novel pandemic, she has adopted different telehealth approaches to overcome limitation and be able to assist her patients. She is currently licensed General Physician in UK, Australia and United Arab Emirates.
She earned her Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery (MB.BS.) in 1995 from University of Karachi in Pakistan. Then later in 2010, she became a Member of Royal College of General PractitionersUK (MRCGP). In 2012, she became a Fellow of Royal College of General Practitioner Australia (FRACGP).
Dr. Salahuddin has more than 40 articles and abstracts published so far and she delivered around 30 teaching presentations across different universities and platforms.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE:
Medicine:
Teaching Professionals how to cope with stress and make work more fulfilling
Teaching patients how to cope with health concerns
Teaching at GP training sessions and supervising Foundation SHO in GP practice
Regular in-house SHO teaching sessions (endocarditis, HIV-brain impairment, alcohol detoxification)
During the PRHO year, I was involved in teaching medical students on physical examination
Involved in an educational video for asthmatic patients right after MBBS
Taught colleagues how to use of Power Point to make presentations
Active participation in journal clubs
Involved in guiding PRHO’s in how to apply subcutaneous injections and speculum examinations
Guiding junior doctors through a major audit as audit lead 2006
Guiding colleagues and professionals to deal with difficult situations
Outside medicine:
She used to teach new actors/actresses during drama rehearsals for television and stage performances
She taught drills to the juniors, as a leader of a Woman Guards training program
AUDIT
2014 Audit on prescribing of Antibiotics in the light of UK regional guidelines
2014 Audit on Notes entry standards
2010 Developed ‘Patients’ Needs and Expectations Questionnaire’ for a population of 5000 patients
Audit lead in planning, executing and analyzing an audit comparing emergency SWL treatments with conservative SWL approaches (Barts & The London NHS Trust). I guided a team of junior doctors through the process. The data have shown a huge saving in bed time and other hospital costs and have been used to justify the employment of a third lithotripter operator and installation of regular emergency SWL slots. I will present the data on the Euro-American Urology Conference in Athens/ Greece in June 2006.
Independent planning, conducting and analyzing of an audit on Infection rates following breast surgery, Dept. of Surgery, Princess Alexandra Hospital Harlow. The audit showed (1) an increased rate of infections compared to national and international standards, and (2) a poor standard of documentation in the notes. The latter was the reason that results remained incomprehensive. Proper documentation was implemented on which basis the audit could be repeated later.

Chief Scientific Officer
Fedora Pharmaceuticals
Canada

Dr. Salama has more than 25 years drug discovery experience across several disciplines including the discovery and development of new antibacterial and antifungal agents. In addition to being the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of Fedora Pharmaceuticals Inc. (fedorapharma.com), he is also the CSO of Brass Dome Ventures Ltd.(brassdomeventures.com); an active member of the Multi-sectoral Federal Provincial and Territorial Task Group on Antimicrobial Resistance for the Government of Canada; Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Canadian Antimicrobial (AMR) Resistance Innovation Coalition (CAIC); Director on the Board of Directors of Alberta (bioalberta.com), a biotechnology advocacy group representing the biotechnology sector of the Province of Alberta, Canada; Chairman of the Board of Al Rashid Education Foundation (alrashideducation.com), a not-for-profit organization promoting post-secondary education of marginalized communities; and involved in a number of not-for-profit organizations. He also held several senior positions in both the drug discovery and contract research sectors, including several vice-president roles.
In his scientific capacity, Dr. Salama played a senior role in the discovery and development ofantibiotics including beta-lactmas, beta-lactamase inhibitors, fluoroquinolones, azoles, polyenes, as well as several natural products.
Additionally, Dr. Salama is business development professional with nearly 20-year experience in strategic planning, evaluation of new business and scientific opportunities, partnership and management, contract negotiations, as well as in-licensing and out-licensing of assets. He was actively involved in dozens of licensing and partnership agreements, including the licensing of Fedora’s Beta-lactamase inhibitors to F. Hoffman La Roche in a US$750 million license deal.
Dr. Salama received his Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Salford, UK, and published over 50 original research articles and presentations at international congresses. He is also an inventor on several original patents in the anti-infective and anti-inflammatory disease areas.

Senior Advisor to the Minister of Health
Federal Ministry of Health
Ethiopia

Dr. Senait Beyene is Senior Adviser to the Minister, at Ministry of Health- Ethiopia and President of Ethiopian Medical Women Association (EMeWA).
Before her current role, she has served as a CEO for the Center for Fertility and Reproductive Medicine and as a principal investigator for center of excellence for reproductive health at St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College in Addis Ababa.
vPrior to joining St. Paul’s, she worked for International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs (ICAP) in Ethiopia as an associate director of the central technical department. She has also served MOH as program coordinator for improving maternal and newborn health, as Regional maternal, newborn, child health and RH (MNCH/RH) adviser for Management Sciences for Health (MSH).
vHer career began as Lecturer and head of department for the department of Pediatrics and Child Health at Mekelle University, College of Health Sciences.
vSenait is passionate about holistic approaches for women representation, empowerment, career development and reproductive health rights and has demonstrated this throughout her career.She received her MD and her MPH from University of Gondar.

Senior Vice President
KAMCO
United Arab Emirates

Mr. Jain has over 20 years of experience in investment analysis and valuation of listed and unlisted stocks in various countries across MENA, Turkey and India. He is heading Global’s Private Equity team in the Dubai office. He has ten years of experience in leading private equity transactions and portfolio companies in MENA, India and Turkey.
Sharad has led key transactions such as TAV (an airport construction and management company in Turkey), Dubai Financial Market, Parsvnath Developers (a real estate and infrastructure company in India), Tasheed Real Estate Company (a real estate company in Qatar), a logistics company focused on over dimensional consignments and a component manufacturer in India. Prior to joining Global, he was a Senior Equity Research Analyst with Batlivala & Karani Securities India Pvt. Ltd, where his role included research and analysis of infrastructure companies and conglomerates.
Some of the companies covered were VSNL (owner of largest bandwidth capacity globally), Torrent Cables (the most efficient distribution cable manufacturer in India), KEC International (the largest transmission tower company in India with presence in 20 other countries). He was rated as the “Star Analyst” for Indian equities in the year 2004 by ‘The Week’ (a leading Indian business weekly). Sharad received his Masters in Business Administration from the Middlesex University Business School (London, UK).

Associate Dean and Professor
School of Business
MacEwan University
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada

Prof. Sherif Elbarrad is the Associate Dean at the School of Business, MacEwan University. He was previously the chair of the Accounting & Finance Department – BCOM program. He has been involved in teaching accounting at eight universities in Egypt, Germany, Saudi Arabia and Canada for more than 32 years at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
He was the chair of the Accounting department at three different Universities. Prof. Elbarrad is a Chartered Professional Accountant (Alberta), and an Associate Member of the Montana Society of Certified Public Accountants (USA). He has extensive professional experience in the field of financial and managerial accounting. He also developed and delivered several workshops in the field of accounting for executive managers in different countries.
Prof. Elbarrad received Teaching Excellence awards from different Universities. He has developed numerous accounting courses at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels at several Universities.
Prof. Elbarrad received both his BCOM (with distinction) and Master of Accounting degrees from Ain-Shams University in Egypt. He received his Ph.D. in Accounting through a joint program between Ain-Shams University in Egypt and the University of Cologne in Germany.
Prof. Elbarrad received the runner-up award for the Howard Teall Award. This award is offered by CAAA (The Canadian Academic Accounting Association). The Award “recognizes an individual who goes ‘above and beyond”’ to create original learning activities and to motivate students to pursue future learning opportunities and has a unique and innovative approach to accounting education.” He received this award for two successive years (2019, 2020).
Prof. Elbarrad had shared in peer-reviewing universities in both Canada and Saudi Arabia. Prof. Elbarrad has numerous publications. In addition to publishing research articles in reputable peer-reviewed journals, he has authored / co-authored several text-books for both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. His latest publication is a Financial Accounting textbook with Pearson Publishers.

CEO and Executive Director
National Association of Healthcare Quality
United States of America

Stephanie Mercado is a leader in healthcare association management and advancing healthcare professions. Since joining NAHQ in December 2013, CPHQ certification candidates have grown by over 95% in the last six years and membership by almost 50%. Stephanie has increased NAHQ’s prominence and value in the healthcare quality space, with the introduction of industry-elevating initiatives such as the award-winning Healthcare Quality Competencies Framework and the National Healthcare Quality Summit. In partnership with NAHQ’s Board of Directors, and an outstanding staff and volunteer team, Stephanie led the development of the profession’s first ever comprehensive Healthcare Quality Competency Framework, and the profession’s first ever Workforce Study, offering critical insights to workforce development opportunities for healthcare quality and safety professionals. Stephanie speaks nationally on NAHQ’s behalf about the critical need to reduce variability in healthcare quality competencies, and the intense training needs that are in-play with the decreasing shelf-life of skills in the rapidly evolving healthcare market.
Stephanie has deep knowledge of healthcare issues gained from almost 20 years in association leadership roles, supporting both practitioners and healthcare executives. She has led the development of healthcare competencies and medical curriculum models, certifications, professional development and training programs, and advocacy efforts for societies and professions. Stephanie is a sought-after expert on healthcare association management and the topic of preparing the healthcare quality workforce to delivery on quality, safety and value. She has served on the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s National Steering Committee for Patient Safety, the Association Forum Healthcare Collaborative Steering Committee, and is a board member of the Commission on Accreditation for Healthcare Management Education (CAHME), and more. In 2018, Stephanie was selected as a recipient of the Outstanding Nonprofit Leader Award from .orgCommunity.

Chief Executive Officer
The Leaders Club
United Kingdom

Born and raised in Wallasey, Merseyside. Educated at Wallasey Grammar School (1959/65)
After leaving school in 1965, joined Martins Bank (taken over by Barclays in 1968) and then moved in 1969 to Royal Insurance 1969 -91
In 1984 Personal computing was in its infancy and he was invited to organize training on the first IBM PCs. In finding a niche he then founded Royal Insurance Education Services (RIES) to not only organize training within the
The company but also (following acceptance at Board Level in 1987) to market training on a commercial basis. This became hugely successful and RIES became the first Authorised Microsoft IT Applications training center in the UK and the first Lotus 1-2-3 UK Training Centre also. Simultaneously he founded MERIT (Merseyside Information Technology) to bring together IT expertise across the region. MERIT was supported by the regional government and also became very successful in running for 21 years. MERIT was a forerunner to TLC.
VNG Group 1991-5 – Divisional Managing Director. Four successful years but VNG was hit with the then recession and sold.
BroadSkill 1996 – 2014
Mr. Fletcher formed and founded BroadSkill in 1996 offering national IT training and solutions services. In 12 years we became one of the UK’s top IT Training companies working behind the scenes for many major organizations. BroadSkill was sold successfully in 2008 to Bray Leino. In the meantime, they developed an IT database to handle long-term healthcare issues. BroadCare became very successful and is now (within its sphere) de facto within NHS. Mr. Fletcher had taken the view that BroadCare would be better developed in a more focused environment and he identified CHS Healthcare as being the best new owner. Mr. Fletcher then retired as Managing Director of BroadCare in 2014, became Executive Chairman of CHS Healthcare. He negotiated and organized the sale of BroadCare to CHS then following completion decided to fully retire and focus on the development of The Leaders Club.
The Leaders Club (TLC)
Founded The Leaders Club www.theleadersclub.org in 2009 to bring together an eclectic group of people from a wide variety of disciplines to share and compare leadership experience. TLC has now had over 150 events and meeting monthly in mainly Liverpool and London. Running on the Chatham House rule, Its motto is Bringing Great Minds Together. It now has over 800 members. TLC has become hugely successful and meetings are now largely conducted via videoconferencing and attracting large numbers due to the width and breadth of the program. Mr. Flectcher is actively seeking to move TLC onto a truly international basis
Senior Fellow – Liverpool Hope University 2017-20
Mr. Fletcher was invited by Liverpool Hope University to become a Senior Fellow. Developed the Leaders Awards scheme for Liverpool City Region in conjunction with the University. The pandemic has clearly curtailed further activity and 2020 was well underway and in its 3rd year, Leaders are nominated, judged, and recognized in 6 categories – Arts, Education, Enterprise, Health & Social Care, Uniformed Services, and Common Good. The annual celebratory dinner was attended by over 150 guests. Unfortunately, a change in Pro-Vice-Chancellor has curtailed activities and he decided to resign his position.

Trust Chair
East Kent Hospitals
NHS
United Kingdom

Stephen Kevin Smith is an academic and health executive who led the creation of the United Kingdom’s first Academic Health Science Centre at Imperial College London.Previously, Professor Smith was Principal of the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College, London and Chief Executive of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust at its inception in 2007 then the largest such trust in the United Kingdom. More recently he was Dean of the Faculty of Medicine Dentistry and Health Sciences at the University of Melbourne having been the Vice President (Research) at the Nanyang Technological University and Founding Dean of the joint Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine in Singapore. He was a founder of the Sino-Chinese biotechnology company, GNI Group Ltd.
A gynaecologist by training, he has published over 230 papers on reproductive medicine and cancer and was awarded his Doctor of Science in 2001 for his work in Cambridge on the complex gene pathways that regulate the growth of blood vessels in reproductive tissue using gene network analysis. He was head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Cambridge. He now serves on the Board of Great Ormond Street, Children’s Hospital, London and a range of biotechnology and digital analytics companies.
Career
He began his academic career at the University of Edinburgh (1978–1981 and 1985–1988) and the University of Sheffield (1981–1985). Soon after, he served at the University of Cambridge as Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (1988–2003). He was also the Clinical Director, Women’s Services, at Addenbrooke’s Hospital National Health Service Trust (1997–2003). In 2004, Professor Smith served as Executive Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing at the University of Glasgow.
In 2004, he was appointed the Principal of the Faculty of Medicine of Imperial College London, heading one of Europe’s top medical schools through an active period of growth and development. At Imperial College, Professor Smith also led the formation of the United Kingdom’s first Academic Health Science Centre as Chief Executive. Launched in 2007, the Imperial College Healthcare National Health Service Trust was formed from the integration of Hammersmith Hospital National Health Service Trust and St Mary’s National Health Service Trust with Imperial College. His pioneering role in establishing the trust was recognised at the 2009 National Health Service Leadership Awards, during which he was named Innovator of the Year.
In 2010, Professor Smith was appointed Imperial College’s Pro Rector (Health), while remaining the Chief Executive of the Imperial College Healthcare National Health Service Trust. He took on the role of NTU’s Vice-President (Research) in September 2011 to lead the strategic development of research at the university, which is the fastest-rising Asian institution among the world’s top 100 universities in the QS World University Rankings between 2010 and 2011.
Research and innovation
Professor Smith has been active in research since 1978. A gynaecologist by training, he has published over 230 papers on reproductive medicine and cancer. For his work on the complex gene pathways that regulate the growth of blood vessels in reproductive tissue, Professor Smith was awarded his DSc in 2001.
Professor Smith is a founder-member of biomedical start-ups Metris Therapeutics Ltd and GNI Group Ltd, the latter undertaking a successful IPO in 2007 and is now listed on the Mothers market (comprising high-growth start-ups) of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Awards and appointments
In addition to his academic and clinical work, Professor Smith is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Royal Society of Arts. In 2009, the Health Service Journal ranked Professor Smith among the top 30 most powerful people in National Health Service management policy and practice in England. He was the only National Health Service chief executive to be included.
Professor Smith has served on numerous committees for organisations such as the United Kingdom’s Medical Research Council, the World Health Organization, the National Institutes of Health (USA), the National Health Service, the British Heart Foundation and the Wellcome Trust. He also sat on the Health Innovation Council of the National Health Service and is a Trustee of Pancreatic Cancer UK and chairs the scientific advisory board.

Chief of Staff
Human Health Education and Research Foundation
United Kingdom

Mr. Boyle is a senior consultant specialising in Supervisory, Management and Leadership Development, Communication Skills, Performance Management, Coaching, Personal and Organisational Change.
Tom worked as a consultant for British Telecom for 16 years working on the change and cultural implications of the organisation’s transformation from public to private sector. As part of this change, he developed a Knowledge management and Collaborative Working practice and spoke internationally on these subjects.
Subsequently he worked for a range of clients as an independent consultant for 10 years in the Oil and Gas, Telecoms, IT, Banking, Insurance, Health Transport, Leisure, Property and Retail sectors.
During this independent period, he worked on the privatisation of an East European telecoms company, assisting the transition of 25,000 employees back to the civil service through a measured change operation. He also delivered management assessment and development programmes for two African telecoms and a Malaysian and a Middle Eastern mobile operator. At the same time, he helped a range of business owners to improve their businesses via the ActionCoach methodology.
More recently he headed up the Learning & Development function for 1800 managers in The UK Post Office during its separation from Royal Mail. Here he focused on building a coaching and commercial culture to help Post Office towards financial independence. He also developed the senior leadership programme for the top 50 executives in the company. In the same period, he has delivered a wide range of management and leadership training across Africa and the Middle East.
Tom has worked across a range of managerial levels from apprentices to managing director clients. His style is passionate, responsive and creative. He works to help individuals build their confidence to become more assertive in their management career and their lives.
He holds an MA from Glasgow University and a Post Graduate Certificate in Education. He also holds a Royal Society of Arts Diploma in Teaching English as a Foreign Language and a Diploma in Training from ITD (now CIPD). He is a fluent speaker of Swedish.

Chairman - Arab School of Urology
Professor of Urology
Emirates Urological Society
United Arab Emirates

Dr. Yasser Farahat currently serves as Professor of Urology at Tanta University, Egypt, a Clinical Tutor at Edinburg University, UK, and a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, UK. He is a Consultant Urologist at the Ministry of Health and Prevention UAE and a Fellow of the European Board of Urology (FEBU). He is acting as a Senior Consultant of Urology at Sheikh Khalifa General Hospital (SKGH-UAQ), UAE.
His special interests & research include minimally invasive surgery, Endo-urology, Robotic Assisted FURS, Reconstructive Urology, and Andrology. He completed his MD in 2004 at Tanta University, Egypt. He had been awarded several prizes including the Best Research and Presentation at The First Eastern Mediterranean Meeting of European Association of Urology in 2007 and The Best Research Poster Presentation at the 25th annual EAU Congress in 2010.
He is one of the worldwide initiators of using the robotic-assisted RIRS since the invention of the Roboflex and improving the utilization of flexible ureteroscopy in renal calculi management.
He is also, a reviewer of several international journals. He has published over 35 international and local publications and has presented at 90 conferences worldwide.
Dr. Farahat is an active member of many international urological associations and societies including, The European Association of Urology (EAU), Société Internationale D’Urologie (SIU), Endourological Society and he is currently the head of the scientific committee of Emirates Urological Society (EUS), Cochair of the scientific committee of Urological Association of Asia (UAA), Secretary-General of Arab Association of Urology (AAU) and Chairman of Arab School of Urology.

Director of Nuclear Medicine
Burjeel Medical City
United Arab Emirates

• Born in Baghdad & Graduated from AinShams Medical School in Cairo, Egypt.
• Resident in Radiology & Nuclear Medicine in Baghdad, Iraq.
• Postgraduate training in Nuclear Medicine in Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA.
• Nuclear Cardiology in Ibn-Al Nafis Cardiovascular hospital in Baghdad, Iraq.
• Hammersmith Hospital in Nuclear Medicine in London, UK.
• Master’s degree in Nuclear Medicine in the Royal Postgraduate Medical School, Univ.of London, UK.
• Moved to Abu Dhabi in 1987 as head of Nuclear Medicine in Tawam Hospital
• Associate Professor of Nuclear Medicine & BMD in Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, UAE University.
• Training in Anderson in Bone Densitometry in the USA.
• Started BMD for the first time in UAE in 1995.
• Awarded Shaikh Hamdan Medical Award for the group conducted research in Women Osteoporosis & BMD in 2006.
• Moved to Dubai in 2004.
• I had training on PET-CT in Sherbrooke in Canada in 2005.
• Associate Professor in Dubai Medical School.
• Trained in Canada, Germany (Munich, Bad- Berka and Hannover), France & Belgium.
• Certified by European Nuclear Medicine Board (FEBNM) 2005.
• Founder & Chairman of the Pan Arab Osteoporosis Society (PAOS).
• Third President of PAOS & Member of IOF.
• Founder & Currently Chairman of Emirates Osteoporosis Society.
• Member of Examiners board of Asian Nuclear Medicine Board (ANMB) Japan 2014-now
• Director the Head of Nuclear Medicine in Al Andalus Private Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq
• I have over 40 publications, chapters in Books & 1000s of Oral presentations.

Chief Strategy and
Transformation Officer
Program for Health Assurance
and Purchasing
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Dr. Sven Rohte is a Partner in Accrescence Consulting LLC. Prior to this, he was the Chief Commercial Officer at Daman Health Insurance in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. A position he has held from 2010 to 2019. He was responsible for leading the company’s commercial activities such as sales and after-sales services, marketing, and customer experience management. He also oversees the management of the health insurance scheme for UAE Nationals, Thiqa.
Prior to joining Daman, Dr. Rohte served as Chief Commercial Officer at Thuraya Telecommunication Company in the United Arab Emirates. He has more than ten years of experience in strategic management; and has worked for Roland Berger Strategy Consultants on business transformation projects in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and Europe.
Dr. Rohte’s experience includes academia where he was an Assistant Professor at the University of Trier. Dr. Sven Rohte holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Trier, Germany.

Show Host
Let's Talk Loyalty
United Arab Emirates

With over twenty years sales & marketing experience spanning a variety of sectors, Paula’s expertise and career includes loyalty strategy and operations for top international brands including Telefonica O2 (Priority Moments programme), British Airways, Emirates Airline, Puma Energy, Allied Irish Bank, Avios.com, Electric Ireland and The Entertainer Group (Dubai).
She has spent over a decade focused exclusively on loyalty marketing as an independent consultant, specializing in driving operational excellence and performance.
She is a founding Partner of the Customer Strategy Network – a global network of loyalty practitioners who collaborate to advise clients on various aspects of loyalty programme needs across strategy, programme evaluations, statistical analysis, partnerships, technology, GDPR etc.
She holds a first class busines degree (MBA) from Michael Smurfit Business School in Dublin and is a former Judge for the UK-based Loyalty Magazine Awards.
She is also a “Certified Loyalty Marketing Professional” – accredited by the Loyalty Academy.
She writes extensively about loyalty and is the author of a book entitled “Driving Loyalty in Convenience Retail”.
She is also the proud host of the first independent podcast for the loyalty industry called “Let’s Talk Loyalty” and she is passionate about marketing through voice as a powerful format for brands to communicate to both staff and customers.

Board Chairman and CEO
Stochos
Australia

Dr Aline, an established Senior Healthcare Executive, is specialized in organizational excellence and capacity building.
Her expertise and proficiency in analyzing and understanding the foresight of organizations and translating it into insights- to build organizational capacity and advance performance- have been a differentiator.
Dr Aline has a sound track record in driving Organizational Transformation through exploiting her expertise as a Leadership Development Specialist and a Licensed Emotional Intelligence Expert.
Over the past 20 years, Dr Aline has been instrumental in substantiating strategic growth and transforming under-performing organizations, as well as, enhancing the efficiency of the productive ones. She has had the opportunity to work with organizations around the world, in the United States of America, Germany, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Egypt- all of which enforced her expertise in international systems and multicultural Leadership Environments.
During her 20-year service, as a Senior Healthcare Executive and in appreciation to her accomplishments, Dr Aline achieved 25 Awards from various sectors Governmental, Regulatory body, Public and Private. She was namely recognized by the UAE Nursing & Midwifery Council, for co-founding the council in 2010. In addition to that, Dr Aline received awards for Successful Organizational Capacity Building, her Skilled Leadership, Advancement of Leadership Teams, and Enhancement of Service Quality.
Dr Aline organized, chaired, directed and served as faculty on more than 70 International conferences.
She has several publications on Leadership and Capacity Building and serves as an Editorial Board Member at the Open Access Journal of Clinical Surgery and Aver journal of Nursing & Healthcare
Dr Aline holds a Doctorate Degree in Educational Administration, a Masters in Psychology of Education and a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing. Throughout her career, Aline has served as a CEO, Executive Director of Health Affairs, Executive Consultant & Advisor, Corporate Chief Nursing Officer and Chief Quality Officer.

Senior Manager, Global Medical Accounts
The Panama Clinic
Panama

Maria is a physician, specialized in Health Services, Marketing and Management with 18 years of experience. She has had leadership, management, and advisory roles in the pharmaceutical industry, health insurance, and service delivery. Also, she has a background in marketing, international relations, and new business development for markets in Latina America.
Dr. Aponte is a bilingual professional and given her experience, she has a thorough knowledge of the overall health social security, the decision-making dynamics, and demonstrable achievements of successful launching, positioning, and high-cost therapy support in the Andean region and Central America.
Currently, she is leading the international department of The Panama Clinic and the access and positioning of Panama in the international scope with the city´s Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Aponte has a wide scope of international experience in the USA, Mexico, El Salvador, Colombia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras, Venezuela, Ecuador, Chile, Peru, Aruba, Curazao, and St. Maarten.

Change Management International Speaker, Author and Leadership Alignment Coach
A2B consulting
United Kingdom

Peter speaks on organizational change management and change leadership. He has a proven track record of complex change and project delivery in multi-disciplinary environments for the world’s largest and most successful organizations. He has Big Four external consulting experience, as well as internal and commercial consulting experience, working in over thirty countries over a thirty-year career. Companies he has worked for include: EY, Shell, NCR, and Bombardier Aerospace. His clients include organizations such as ADNOC, Boeing, GE, Rolls Royce, and Aramco. Peter has also held senior roles in the industry and has boardroom experience as a NED.
Author:
Peter is the author of six change management books – Leadership of Change® Body of Knowledge: Change Management Fables – Leadership of Change® Volume 1
Change Management Pocket Guide – Leadership of Change® Volume 2
Change Management Handbook – Leadership of Change® Volume 3
Change Management Leadership – Leadership of Change® Volume 4
Change Management Gamification Leadership – Leadership of Change® Volume A Change Management Gamification Adoption – Leadership of Change® Volume B
Qualifications:
Peter has an MBA (Distinction) from Robert Gordon University. He is an American Society of Quality (ASQ) Certified Manager of Quality, and is one of the ‘First 100’ globally Certified Change Management Professionals™ (CCMP™) with the Association of Change Management Professionals (ACMP). He also holds three certifications from the Project Management Institute (PMI).
Board Member:
Vice President of the Association of Change Management Professionals (ACMP) the UK since 2019

Lead Faculty Quality Improvement Programme
Royal College of Physicians of Ireland
United Kingdom

Peter Lachman M.D. MPH. M.B.B.Ch., FRCPCH, FCP (SA), FRCPI was Chief Executive Officer of the International Society for Quality in Healthcare (ISQua) from 1st May 2016 to 30th April 2021.
He has great experience as a clinician and leader in quality improvement and patient safety. He led the transformation of ISQua to be one of the leading global organizations in quality, safety, and person-centered care.
Dr. Lachman was a Health Foundation Quality Improvement Fellow at IHI in 2005-2006 and developed the quality improvement program at Great Ormond Street Hospital where he was the Deputy Medical Director with the lead for Patient Safety. He was also a Consultant Pediatrician at the Royal Free Hospital in London specializing in the challenge of long-term conditions for children. Dr. Lachman has been the National Clinical Lead for SAFE, a Heath Foundation-funded RCPCH program that aims to improve situation awareness in clinical teams across England. Currently, he is Lead Faculty Quality Improvement at the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI) in Dublin, where he directs the Leadership and Quality program to develop clinical leaders in quality improvement. He is co-founder and Chairperson of PIPSQC, the Paediatric International Patient Safety, and Quality Community.

Advisor & Consultant
Blockchain trainer, Lecturer
JUUBIX and Kivachain
Portugal

Josina is an advisor & consultant and the first holder of a blockchain Ph.D. in Portugal. Before starting as a technology-based investigator, she worked for over 20 years in the corporate world as a Marketing & Finance Director and as a Consultant & Advisor for several enterprises. She is currently a consultant at various companies and startups, amongst them JUUBIX and Kivachain, a blockchain trainer, as well as a lecturer. Furthermore, Josina is a member of the Academic Advisory Body for the International Association of Trusted Blockchain Applications (INATBA).

Sr. Director, US Health & Life Sciences
Microsoft
United States of America

Claire currently serves as Sr. Director of the US Health & Life Sciences department at Microsoft. She works in partnership with US life science companies, pharma, and health organizations to create innovative Microsoft solutions specific to the company’s issues affecting their patients and their business.
She brings with her an expertise in the clinical trial and pharmaceutical industry, having been a global study lead on oncology clinical trials at a large pharmaceutical company prior to joining Microsoft. She has deep understanding of the clinical trial value chain and the complex nuances that biotechnology and life science companies experience. She is passionate about the many services and innovations Microsoft has to offer to reduce time to market for new drugs and provide better outcomes to patients.
Claire is also the producer and host of the Confessions of Health Geeks podcast, an industry focused podcast on the biggest trends and pain points in health and life sciences. Find the podcast here.
Claire also has a passion for inspiring young women to be interested in STEM and leadership roles in STEM related fields. She recently hosted and spoke at the HBA Seattle Digital Health Panel and is very involved in local mentorship programs for girls in STEM.

Former Chairman,
National Transporation Safety Board
United States of America

Appointed by three US presidents, Robert Sumwalt served as an NTSB Board Member from August 2006 to June 2021. In August 2017, he was sworn in as the 14th chairman of the NTSB, after being nominated by President Donald J. Trump and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. He was reappointed as chairman by President Trump in August 2019, after being unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Robert was known to be a fierce advocate for improving safety in all modes of transportation, including teen driver safety, impaired driving, distractions in transportation, and several aviation and rail safety initiatives.
Before joining the NTSB, Mr. Sumwalt was a pilot for 32 years, including 24 years with Piedmont Airlines and US Airways. He accumulated over 14,000 flight hours. During his tenure at US Airways, he worked on special assignment to the flight safety department and served on the airline’s Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA) monitoring team.
Following his airline career, Sumwalt managed the corporate aviation department for a Fortune 500 energy company.
In other notable accomplishments, he chaired the Air Line Pilots Association’s Human Factors and Training Group and co-founded the association’s critical incident response program. He also spent eight years as a consultant to NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) and has written extensively on aviation safety matters. He has co-authored a book on aircraft accidents and has published more than 100 articles on transportation safety and aircraft accident investigation.
Sumwalt earned an undergraduate degree from the University of South Carolina and a Master of Aeronautical Science (with Distinction) from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, with concentrations in aviation/aerospace safety systems and human factors aviation systems. In recognition of his accomplishments, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of South Carolina, and an honorary doctorate from Embry-Riddle. He is an inductee into the South Carolina Aviation Hall of Fame.

Director of Education Cannot Wait (ECW)
World Humanitarian Summit
UNICEF
USA

Yasmine Sherif is the Director of Education Cannot Wait (ECW) established at the World Humanitarian Summit.
A Swedish national, Ms. Sherif is a lawyer specialized in international humanitarian, human rights and refugee law (LL.M). She first joined the United Nations in 1988 and has served with the humanitarian, development and peacekeeping arms of the United Nations.
With 30 years of professional experience, including with UNDP, OCHA and UNHCR, and international NGOs, Ms. Sherif has served in New York and Geneva, as well as in some of the most crisis-affected countries on the globe: Afghanistan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Jordan for the Syria-crisis. In addition, she has led missions to Bangladesh, Chad, Central African Republic, East Timor, Kosovo, Guatemala, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Uganda.
Ms. Sherif’s long-standing service to crisis-affected populations (refugees, internally displaced, children and women), covers a broad range of operational humanitarian and development assistance programmes in crisis/post-crisis settings, strategic policy-making at all levels and management of highly effective and results-driven teams.
Ms. Sherif has also worked as an Adjunct Professor at Long Island University (LIU) responsible for the masters’ programme on the United Nations and human rights, and has published on humanitarian and development issues, as well as international law. She has appeared in the media in Scandinavia and the US and is also a Huffington Post blogger. Ms. Sherif is the author of the book, The Case for Humanity: An Extraordinary Session, which was launched at the United Nations in New York in 2015. In 2017, she received the annual “Sweden’s UN Friend” Award.

VP - Commercial Business Operations
Roche Diagnostics
USA

Ketan is the VP of Commercial Business Operations at Roche. He is also a VP in the Roche Information Solution group chartered with harnessing the power of data, diagnostics and other critical information to support better clinical decisions.
Ketan holds MS degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences from the University of Wisconsin and an MBA from the University of Oregon, where he was the class valedictorian. He also completed the Stanford Executive Program as well as coursework in Healthcare Management at the Harvard School of Public Health. He is finishing up his PhD in applying Artificial Intelligence to Healthcare from the Amsterdam University Medical Center.
He is an Honorary Research Fellow at the Imperial College London and Technical Advisor in
Artificial Intelligence at Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine Singapore. Ketan is a certified Paramedic and resides in Indianapolis, Indiana with his wife and son.

Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
SSB
USA

Jacque J. Sokolov, M.D. is chairman and chief executive officer of the SSB, a diversified U.S. based healthcare management, development and investment company. Its four strategic businesses include SSB Solutions, SSB Investment Funds, SSB Financial Services and SSB Governmental Services.
As CEO, Dr. Sokolov leads SSB’s four strategic business units to optimize healthcare solutions, investment strategies, financial structures and governmental contracting. SSB was founded on a premise to develop high quality, value-based solutions in rapidly evolving markets. The company operates across the United States and has worked with more than 100 healthcare companies in virtually every healthcare sector.
Dr. Sokolov and the SSB teams have been vital to large healthcare corporations to reimagine their business models and improve and increase performance at critical inflection points in their history. Some of his projects include redesigning large health plans such as the Humana Inc. turnaround in 2000, the transition of Hospira from an I.V. solution company to the largest independent biosimilar manufacturer in the world that Pfizer acquired for $17 billion in 2015. In addition, Dr. Sokolov remains active in the development of physician practice management companies such as the Summit Medical Group and CityMD transaction by Warburg Pincus in 2019. The firm continues to be involved in advanced digital health companies such as GlobalMed and next-generation Immuno-Signature/Immuno-Therapy companies such as Calviri.
Upon starting his career, Dr. Sokolov served as Vice President of Healthcare and Chief Medical Officer for Southern California Edison where he restructured one of the largest self-funded, self administered corporate ERISA plans in the US. The restructured “SCE Health Plan” is similar to the health-care venture between Amazon, J.P. Morgan and Berkshire Hathaway called HAVEN. Dr. Sokolov’s plan cut spending by $100 million and improved healthcare quality for SCE employees/retirees. He currently serves on multiple public, private and not-for-profit healthcare boards. Dr. Sokolov received his BA and MD Degrees from the University of Southern California and completed his internal medicine residency at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine followed by his fellowship in cardiovascular diseases/nuclear cardiology from the University of Texas- Southwestern Medical School.

Assistant Director & Chief of Financial Policies Division,
Institute for Capacity Development
The International Monetary Fund
USA

Ralph Chami is currently Assistant Director and Chief of Financial Policies Division, Institute for Capacity Development at The International Monetary Fund. Ralph has recently co-founded two entities Rebalance Earth and Blue Green Future that are engaged in realizing the value of the natural world to our well-being and integrating it into our economic system. He has co-authored several groundbreaking publications that value the carbon sequestration service of keystone species such as the great whales and forest elephants. His work on valuing natural capital has been featured in National Geographic, Financial Times, Washington Post, and WEF, among others. He is a fragile states expert and his new book “Macroeconomic Policy in Fragile States,” was recently published by Oxford University Press. Ralph is the recipient of several awards, including the 2014 IMF Operational Excellence for his work on fragile states. Before joining the IMF in 1999, Ralph was on the faculty of Finance, Mendoza Business School, Notre Dame University, USA. He has also consulted for the World Bank and for the private sector in the US. He is the author of several publications in peer reviewed journals on remittances, banking, and financial markets. Ralph holds a BS from the American University of Beirut, an MBA in finance and statistics from The University of Kansas, and a Ph.D. in economics from The Johns Hopkins University.

Group Chief Medical Officer
Ramsay Health Care
Australia

Professor Ed Byrne is currently Global Chief Medical Officer for Ramsay health care group having succeeded Prof. John Horvath in February 2021. He is also vice-chancellor's distinguished fellow at ANU and serves as a non executive director on a number of boards and is a trustee of the Ian Potter foundation. Ed Byrne was President & Principal at King’s College London and Chairman of King’s Health Partners board from 1st August 2014 until early 2021.
He began his career in Adelaide after graduating with first class honours from the University of Tasmania in 1974. He was made Neurology Registrar at Royal Adelaide Hospital in 1978. He finished his neurology training and completed his doctorate at the Institute of Neurology Queen Square and in 1982 was awarded the Queen Square prize for neurological research. In 1983, he was appointed Director of Neurology at St Vincent's Hospital and Professor of Clinical Neurology at the University of Melbourne in 1992.
Professor Byrne was a founding director of the Melbourne Neuromuscular Research Unit and the Centre for Neuroscience in 1993. He was also made Professor of Experimental Neurology at the University of Melbourne in 2001. His major research contributions have been in the field of mitochondrial medicine and neuromuscular disorders. More recently he has worked on changes in universities and health systems to meet societal needs.
He first came to Monash University as the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences, a role he held from 2003 until 2007.
Professor Byrne was then appointed the Vice Provost (Health) at University College London (UCL). He held that position until becoming the eighth University President and Vice-Chancellor at Monash University in 2009.
In the commercial world, Ed Byrne served for many years as a non executive director at Cochlear Ltd and also as a director of Bupa both in the UK and Australia. He has served on a number of research institute and charity boards.
The University of Melbourne awarded him a Doctor of Science, a higher degree conferred in recognition of a demonstrated record of research excellence. He completed a Masters of Business Administration in 2005. He has honorary professorships from UCL, Warwick University and Peking University and Honorary Degrees from the University of Adelaide, Warwick University, Western University and University of Sydney. He is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and Technology and the Australian Academy of Health and Medicine and is a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology and the American Neurological Association. He is a fellow of the Royal Australian College of physicians and the Royal Colleges of physicians of London and Edinburgh. He is emeritus professor of medicine at Monash University and neurology at King’s College London.
Professor Byrne was admitted as an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2006 and a Companion of the Order of Australia, Australia’s highest honour, in 2014.
He was elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in the UK in 2019. He was awarded a Knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in October 2020 for contributions to higher education and healthcare.
He has wide interests in the arts and has published four books of poetry through Melbourne University Press and has recently co-authored with Charles Clarke, a former senior UK Cabinet Minister, a book “The University Challenge : Changing universities in a changing world”.

Professor of Cancer and Global Health
King’s College London & Guy’s Comprehensive Cancer Centre,
Director - King’s Institute of Cancer Policy
Co-Director - Conflict and Health Research Group
UK

Richard Sullivan is Professor of Cancer and Global Health at King’s College London and Guy’s Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Director of the King’s Institute of Cancer Policy and co-Director of the Conflict and Health Research Group. Richard’s global cancer research covers cancer systems strengthening, financing, political economy, global radiotherapy, social welfare and cancer care in conflict. He also leads major programs on conflict and health across the Middle East, global health security & intelligence and a wide range of clinical areas, including virtual reality enhanced surgical training. Professor Sullivan trained in surgery (urology) gaining his PhD in Biochemistry from University College London. Richard was Clinical Director of Cancer Research UK for nearly ten years. He has worked with wide range of international organisations around issues of biosecurity. He is Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Cancer Policy, Chair of Trustees for eCancer and a national cancer advisor to a number of governments. Richard is a WHO NCD advisor, a member of the National Cancer Grid of India and currently convenor of the COVID-19 & Cancer Global Taskforce.

Founder & Director,
ABAAD,
Lebanon

Ghida Anani (Lebanon) is the Founder & Director of ABAAD – Resource Centre for Gender Equality, a leading CSO in the region advocating for gender equality, women's rights and the political participation of women.
Ghida is putting in place the infrastructure for a sustainable system of protection against gender-based violence. She engages stakeholders that others avoid or fight: men, parliamentarians and ministries, and religious leaders. She has led a number of public opinion campaigns, notably the #Undress522 which resulted in a historical parliamentary vote, repealing Article 522 – the infamous ‘’rape-marriage’’ law - from the Lebanese Penal Code. In 2019, the campaign received the first prize “UN SDG Action Award” for the most impactful campaign globally.
As an expert in GBV and Child Protection, Ghida has published a number of studies, articles, training kits and community educational materials on GBV & Child Sexual Abuse in Lebanon and the MENA region. She is part of a global roster of senior Gender and GBV Experts contributing to the GBV Area of Responsibility (AoR) Helpdesk. Ghida has also dedicated some of her time teaching at the Faculty of Public Health at the Lebanese University.
In 2018, Ghida was listed by the World Bank as one of 10 Inspiring Women Entrepreneurs Making a Difference across MENA and in 2019 she was selected by the UN Solutions Summit as one of the 10 extraordinary solution makers across the globe advancing the SDGs. In 2020, Ghida was elected an Ashoka Fellow and announced ‘’Heroine of Peace’’ by Peace One Day.

Tropical Field Biologist and Environmentalist
Ambassador
UN’s Convention on Migratory Species
UK

Ian Redmond is a tropical field biologist and conservationist, renowned for his work with great apes and elephants. For more than 35 years he has been associated with Mountain Gorillas, through research, filming, tourism and conservation work. He has served as Ambassador for the UN Year of the Gorilla in 2009 and for the UNEP Convention on Migratory Species since 2010.
As with his mentor, the late Dr Dian Fossey, the main focus of his work shifted in 1978 from research to conservation work, after poachers killed Digit – a young silverback in one of the Karisoke study groups – to sell his skull and hands. Finding the headless, handless body of a gorilla he regarded as a friend was a turning point in his life. Ten years later in Kenya, the shock was repeated when some of the cave-elephants he was studying were killed by ivory poachers.
As a result, Ian became a conservation consultant and advisor for organisations such as the Born Free Foundation, the Gorilla Organization (for which he became Chairman of the Board of Trustees in 2012), the Orangutan Foundation, International Fund for Animal Welfare, etc. To encourage such groups to work together, he established and chairs the Ape Alliance (95 organisations linked via www.4apes.com), the African Ele-Fund and the UK Rhino Group. He was Chief Consultant and Envoy for GRASP - the UNEP/UNESCO Great Apes Survival Partnership www.UN-GRASP.org he helped launch in 2001 – until 2012 and continues as a consultant for UNEP and the FAO on matters pertaining to apes, bushmeat, forests and related issues. He is now the Ambassador for Virtual Ecotourism, and is helping develop this exciting concept for immersive, interactive conservation education – experience it at www.vEcotourism.org

Professor & Director
Drexel Food Core Lab
Dept of Food & Hospitality Management
College of Nursing & Health Professions
USA

Jonathan Deutsch, Ph.D., CHE, CRC is Professor in the Department of Food and Hospitality Management in the College of Nursing and Health Professions at Drexel University and Director of the Drexel Food Lab. He is the President of the Upcycled Food Foundation and previously was the inaugural James Beard Foundation Impact Fellow, leading a national curriculum effort on food waste reduction for chefs and culinary educators. He was named a Food Waste Warrior by Foodtank. Before moving to Drexel, Deutsch built the culinary arts program at Kingsborough Community College, City University of New York (CUNY) and the Ph.D. concentration in food studies at the CUNY Graduate Center and School of Public Health. At Drexel, he directs the Drexel Food Lab, a culinary innovation and food product research and development lab focused on solving real world food system problems in the areas of sustainability, health promotion, and inclusive dining. He is the co-author or -editor of eight books including Barbecue: A Global History (with Megan Elias), Culinary Improvisation, and The Anti-Inflammatory Family Cookbook, and numerous articles in journals of food studies, public health and hospitality education. He earned his Ph.D. in Food Studies and Food Management from New York University (2004), his culinary degree from the Culinary Institute of America (AOS, Culinary Arts, 1997), and is an alumnus of Drexel University (BS, Hospitality Management, 1999). A classically trained chef, Deutsch worked in a variety of settings including product development, small luxury inns and restaurants. When not in the kitchen, he can be found behind his tuba.

GVP, Principal Scientist
Exponent
USA

Dr. Doyle leads Health Sciences at Exponent, applying deep interdisciplinary expertise to evaluate a broad range of environmental, occupational, medical, and public health issues that face the world. Dr. Doyle is an epidemiologist and health services researcher who specializes in studying the risks, benefits, and value of healthcare interventions. He has over 25 years of experience in conducting research covering subject areas such as pharmacoepidemiology, health economics & outcomes research (HEOR) and real-world evidence (RWE).
Prior to his role at Exponent, John led the Patient Health & Impact Global Healthcare Innovation Center at Pfizer, focused on optimizing equitable and affordable access to medicine and vaccines. His team designed new models of access including, innovative financing, outcome-based contracting, and healthcare system partnerships to facilitate Pfizer’s transformation to value-based healthcare. Before joining Pfizer, John led the Global Enterprise Solutions team at IQVIA, providing technology-enabled real world evidence platforms and research networks to facilitate biopharmaceutical industry engagement with healthcare systems worldwide. Prior to joining Quintiles, John served as President of Analytica International, providing market access, HEOR and RWE research services to the global biopharmaceutical industry. Before co-founding Analytica, he led the Health Economics Research team for the Center for Health Outcomes and Economics at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.
Dr. Doyle has published 200 abstracts and peer-reviewed articles, with special concentration in oncology. He serves as the co-chair of the Health Economic Impact Steering Committee for the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine Foundation where he focuses on advancing the value assessment of cell and gene therapy.
John earned Doctorate and Master of Public Health degrees in Epidemiology from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management and Applied Economics with a concentration in the Life Sciences at Cornell University. Dr. Doyle serves on the faculty at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health since 2005.

Transform Program Leader
Fight Food Waste CRC
Australia

Francesca is TRANSFORM Program Leader at the Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre. She brings research, policy and industry experience to the role. Prior to joining the CRC she worked as Waste Minimisation Manager for Foodstuffs NZ, New Zealand’s largest grocery retailer. In this role she solidified research and industry partnerships to understand the emerging sector of upcycled foods, where surplus and by-products are transformed into new food products. Francesca works globally across the sector as the International Representative for the University of Otago Food Waste Research Theme in New Zealand and co-chair of the Standards Committee for the Upcycled Food Association in the USA.

Head of the Research Department 2 of Climate Resilience
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
Germany

Sabine Gabrysch is Head of Research Department 2 on Climate Resilience of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) as well as Professor for Climate Change and Health at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin.
Sabine studied medicine in Tübingen and Providence/Rhode Island (USA) and worked clinically in Sweden before completing an MSc and PhD in epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). After acting as head of the Unit of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Heidelberg Institute of Global Health (HIGH) and deputy head of the Institute, she joined PIK and Charité in June 2019. She holds an Honorary Professorship at LSHTM and continues her affiliation with HIGH.
Her research focus is maternal and child health in low-income settings, in particular early life malnutrition. Guided by the transdisciplinary concept of Planetary Health, she aims to assess health and nutrition impacts of global environmental change and evaluate win-win solutions for the transition towards climate-resilient, sustainable and healthy food systems. In 2018, she received the "Preis für mutige Wissenschaft" (Award for bold research) of the State of Baden-Württemberg for her research project FAARM (Food and Agricultural Approaches to Reducing Malnutrition) in Bangladesh.
Sabine served on the Boards of the Heidelberg Centre for the Environment (2014-2019), the German Society for Epidemiology (2017-2020) and the German Alliance for Global Health Research (in 2020). She is a member of the Advisory Council “One Health” of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (since 2020) and the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU, since 2020).

Executive Director
ReFED
USA

Dana Gunders serves as Executive Director of ReFED, a national nonprofit working to end food loss and waste in the United States by advancing data-driven solutions. She is an expert on food systems and was one of the first people to raise the alarm about how much food goes to waste across the country and the subsequent impacts on our environment, food security, and the economy.
Prior to her role at ReFED, Dana served as a Senior Scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, where she authored the landmark Wasted report about food waste and testified before Congress on the topic. She also launched the "Save The Food" campaign with the Ad Council, providing consumers with easy-to-use strategies to reduce the amount of food that goes uneaten in their homes, and wrote the popular Waste-Free Kitchen Handbook.
Dana has made a number of appearances in the media and was called “the woman who helped start the waste-free movement” by Consumer Reports magazine.

Assistant Director & Chief of Financial Policies Division,
Institute for Capacity Development
The International Monetary Fund
USA

Senior Global Health Adviser Sustainability Expert European Commission Belgium

Alice Schmidt is a policy advisor, business consultant, author and speaker working at the intersection of social, environmental and economic issues around the globe. With more than 20 years of experience working in 30 countries with over 60 organisations she is able to see the bigger picture and quickly understand what different stakeholders need. At the same time, she has an eye for detail and always look for tailor-made solutions that make sense in a given context.
Above all, Alice is concerned about societal progress and sustainable development that creates opportunities across the social, ecological and economic spheres. She wants to help ensure that stakeholders across the globe work together in ways that prioritise social and environmental goals as much as economic objectives. To rephrase Lord Baden Powell, founder of the Scout Movement, she aims to leave the world a bit better than she found it.
Alice Schmidt enjoys working with businesses, governments, international organisations and civil society on complex issues and challenging projects that make a positive impact across the socio-economic and environmental domain. Her consulting offer ranges from providing speeches at conferences and seminars to conducting assessments, evaluating projects, developing strategies and publications, and training teams.
In addition to directing a consulting firm, Alie Schmidt is an MIT Climate Ambassador. She also chairs the Board of the not-for-profit arm of Berlin-based research and consulting firm Endeva and is a senior university lecturer for BA and MBA students on Sustainable Business and Management for the Future at Vienna University of Economics and Business.