Avanthika Satheesh
Avanthika has around 15 years of experience working in the electricity and power sector. She is passionate about energy transition through the adoption of newer technologies such as energy storage, electric vehicles, and hydrogen. She has been working closely with policy makers, utilities, and private sector players in enabling adoption of these technologies, in India, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East. Her experience covers supporting companies through strategic decision making through technology evaluation, techno-commercial analysis, supporting manufacturing and mapping of supply chain.
Board member- Clean Energy Business Council 2024-25.
She holds a Master’s degree in Power Systems Engineering from Anna University, India, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from Symbiosis University, and certification on Executive Finance from Oxford Said School.
Dr Hemachandran Kannan
Dr Hemachandran Kannan is the Director of the AI Research Centre, Associate Dean of the School of Business, and Area Chair of the Analytics Department at Woxsen University. He is an ambassador of the AI Accelerator Institute and an Advisory Board member in many international and national companies such as AptAI Labs, USA, Agzitence Pvt, Ltd, and many more.
He served as an effective resource person at various national and international scientific conferences and also gave lectures on topics related to Artificial Intelligence. Currently serving as Expert at UNESCO and ATL Mentor of Change.
Dy-Cheng Wang
My name is Dy-Cheng Wang. I graduated from National Cheng Kung Univ. in Taiwan, and got my master degree of material science at Case Western Reserve Univ. in USA. I am a Taiwanese, and live in Taiwan now. I founded Team Young Technology in 1990, and founded NewTech in 2024. Team Young was a chip capacitor maker before, later transformed to be an inventive company in 2014.
Our principle is to find out and solve the natural secret, to develop unique products, and to let people have “smarter living, better life”. Thus, we spent 10 years to successfully develop the lasting battery power device, and this product is also called B-Power in short. We digitalize the traditional lead acid battery to be an electronic device. Since B-Power is an electronic device, we can put all the needed functions inside. It is not only lasting and safe, but also can have fuel saving and better driving performance. Finally, I hope our invention can bring better future for all the people and our planet.
Feras Jawhari
Feras Jawhari was appointed as the Head of Fleet Mobility Emerging Markets on March 2024. Prior to this role, Feras was the Fleet & Proactive Solutions Manager for Commercial PBU – responsible for the MEA region, he led and execute the growth strategy in the Fleet channel in addition of development of the Goodyear Proactive Solutions across the strategic countries.
Over 14 years within the Goodyear Middle East team, Feras managed various roles in Sales, Technical department, and Fleet Solutions.
Feras holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and an Executive MBA degree and has +18 years of experience within the Automotive sector in the Middle East, Turkiye, South Africa and Central Asia regions.
Ghanim Al Falasi
Ghanim Al Falasi career in Dubai Silicon Oasis spans more than 12 years when he was appointed as Senior Vice-President of Corporate Support Services in 2011. Under his lead, Ghanim managed the HR, Business Excellence, IT & Supply Management, People Happiness and Innovation, and Client Success Department. In 2021, Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority (DIEZ) was established to consolidate and integrate the products and services of Dubai Airport Free Zone (DAFZ), Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO), and Dubai CommerCity (DCC). Following to this establishment, Ghanim was assigned by the end of 2021 to spearhead and direct the Technology & Entrepreneurship business units under the DIEZ. Furthermore, Ghanim was entrusted in 2023 with a significant responsibility with his new appointment as the Senior Vice President of the Technology Ecosystem and development office at DIEZ and in 2024 has appointed as SVP of the Director General Office in DSO.
Ghanim has developed an extensive knowledge and know-how in the ICT sector from his previous role as Vice-President of the ICT Unit at Dubai Airports where he provided executive, technological and enterprise administrative leadership employment.
In his earlier association with Dubai Airports, Ghanim successfully established an ICT directorate for DCA based on a study conducted to identify and enhance Dubai Airports ICT infrastructure and services required for the delivery of outstanding performance. Al Falasi also worked for several governmental organizations including the UAE Ministry of Defence, UAE Armed Forces, and the Central Military Command.
In 2013, Ghanim was appointed as the Vice Chairman of the Smart City Project Committee at Dubai Silicon Oasis.
Ghanim holds a BS degree in Computer Science from California State University of Hayward, USA. Moreover, he also holds a Chief Innovation Officer “CCInO” Certification from LEAD, Organization & Relation Systems Coaching Certification from ORSC, and most recently a certification from Neurolink-USA for being a Brain & Emotional Intelligence Practitioner.
Heiko Seitz
Heiko Seitz is a Partner and the Global eMobility Leader of PwC, based out of Dubai. With 20 years of international hands-on experience in the mobility, energy and infrastructure sectors, he is a trusted advisor for top government and industry leaders, to transform towards sustainable and profitable eMobility ecosystems.
Khaled AbdulRahman Al Awadhi
Director, Transportation Systems Department - Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) With more than 22 years of managerial skills and technical capabilities, Technology, Smart Mobility and operations, Khaled has been playing a major role in bringing robots and UAVs to Dubai.
He is also part of the team which supervising the implementation of the Dubai’s Autonomous Transportation Strategy, which aims to transform 25% of the total transportation in Dubai to autonomous mode by 2030.
Marcus Zahren
In his current role, Marcus Zahren serves as subject matter expert for S&P Global Mobility’s Aftermarket Solutions in EMEA, and he is also responsible globally for the related go-to-market, pricing, and product packing strategies.
22 years with S&P Global Mobility, Mr. Zahren has been holding various positions in Sales and Product management, always focused on services for the Automotive aftermarket and OES suppliers. In prior positions, Mr. Zahren worked as product manager for Renault aftersales, and marketing assistant at Carglass. Mr. Zahren has got a Diploma degree in economics from the University of Cologne, Germany.
Max Stanley
A Behavioral Scientist focusing on delivering behaviorally informed strategy & policy to products, teams and individuals.
Over the past several years he has worked with clients ranging from Start-ups to Fortune 500s and Governments
Currently he is at the Department of Energy Abu Dhabi, supporting on the UAEs sustainability journey.
Prashant Bhatt
Prashant Bhatt is a seasoned expert in lubricants technology, boasting over 25 years of experience across automotive, industrial, and marine applications. His career is marked by a diverse range of activities, including product development and technical support. Prashant has been instrumental in conducting technical benefit demonstrations, facilitating OEM requirements and approvals, and leading value engineering programs.
He plays a pivotal role in driving quality assurance initiatives and collaborates on global technology platforms. His extensive knowledge and hands-on approach have positioned him as a leader in the lubricants technology sector, helping to innovate solutions that meet the evolving needs of clients worldwide. Passionate about advancing technology in his field, Prashant is committed to delivering high-performance products that enhance efficiency and sustainability.
Roberto Lopes
Roberto Lopes Da Silva is the General Manager of NIO UAE. In May 2024, he joined NIO bringing over 25 years of experience in the automotive industry. As General Manager, Roberto leads all aspects of NIO's operations in the UAE, including sales, aftersales, power, operations, and marketing, to drive sustainable growth and enhance user engagement.
Roberto has a well-established career internationally and in the UAE, having held numerous leadership positions, including General Manager for Al-Tayer Motors Ford, General Manager for Al-Futtaim Motors Toyota and Chief Executive Officer for STREIT Group.
Throughout his career, Roberto has built a reputation as a dedicated, results-driven leader with a strong track record of achieving growth in the Middle East market, substantial business acumen from Europe and Asia, and extensive experience in the UK automotive industry.
His ability to adapt, drive revenue growth, enhance value, and develop talent has made him a valuable asset to every organisation he has been a part of.
Dr. Stephane Dreher
Dr. Stephane Dreher is Head of Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility (CCAM) at ERTICO – ITS Europe. He is coordinating the EU-funded FAME project aimed at supporting the alignment of CCAM R&I and testing in Europe by facilitating the collaboration and sharing of knowledge within the community of CCAM stakeholders, fostering international cooperation and by developing a European Framework for Testing on Public Roads. He is a member of the Executive Group of the European CCAM Partnership under the Horizon Europe funding programme, leading the coordination cluster. From 2015 to 2017, he was a Transport Data and Statistics Expert with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He advised the Saudi Ministry of Transport on technical and policy matters regarding Transport Data, Analytics and ITS in the frame of the update of the National Transportation Strategy and Vision 2030. Prior to that, he worked 10 years at HERE, in charge of EU Government Programmes in Brussels.
Thomas Edelmann
Thomas Edelmann is a graduate of the University of Commerce Vienna, Austria (1991). Majors: Transportation Science, Marketing. He has been a UAE resident since the year 2000.
In 2014, Thomas founded RoadSafetyUAE, a holistic platform to engage with all stakeholders (governmental entities, corporate partners, the media, the road users) to raise awareness for proper behavior on our roads.
In 2018, Thomas was awarded the ‘Prince Michel of Kent International Road Safety Awards’, often referred to as the ‘Oscars of road safety’. In 2017, IRF awarded the ‘Global Road Safety Achievement Award’ for a university initiative developed for Nissan. Thomas also holds certificates of appreciation for his work from Dubai Police, RTA and Dubai Chamber of Commerce. For the way how Thomas integrated corporate CSR-Partners he was awarded the ‘CSR-Arabia Awards’ two times, in 2015 and 2016.
In 2023, Thomas received the order of the cross of merit of the Republic of Austria granted by the Austrian President and handed over by our Ambassador.
Prior to RoadSafetyUAE, Thomas worked for more than 20 years for global blue-chip companies (Coca-Cola, Mastercard, Cisco learning partner) in the fields of general management, marketing & communications, sales/business development.
Vimal Rau Aparow
Dr. Vimal Rau Aparow received his BEng and MSc from the Department of Automotive, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM). He has completed his PhD in Mechanical Engineering (Automotive) at Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM). Then, he joined in Energy Research Institute at Nanyang Technological University, (NTU) Singapore as Postdoctoral Research for one of the NTU projects known as CETRAN. In CETRAN, his research works mainly focus on development of autonomous vehicle simulation and testing the behavior of the autonomous vehicle in various testing conditions. Currently, he is working as Assistant Professor at Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Head of Automated Vehicle Engineering System (AVES) Research Group at University of Nottingham Malaysia (UNM). He is a certified Professional Engineer (PEng) and ASEAN Chartered Professional Engineer (ACPEng) under Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM), Chartered Engineer approved by UK Engineering Council under Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) board and certified Professional Technologist under Malaysian Board of Technologist (MBOT). He is recognized as one of the member of Young Scientists Network under Academy of Science Malaysia (YSN-ASM) for his research contributions. He also has been awarded with SG Academies South-East Asia Fellowship (SASEAF) Programme by Singapore National Academy of Science (SNAS) for research project focusing on validation of virtual safety testing of autonomous vehicle at CETRAN, Energy Research Institute at Nanyang Technological University, (NTU), Singapore. He is also been appointed as Technical Advisory Panels for MRANTI Autonomous Vehicle Living Lab in 2022 to support for virtual and physical safety assessment of autonomous vehicle using MRANTI road and environment.