Shaping the future of
retail

Filip Nekvinda
Chief Information & Digital Officer
Abdul Latif Jameel

Filip Nekvinda is an accomplished leader in the global digital landscape, with a distinguished 19-year career spanning diverse industries. Currently serving as the Chief Information and Digital Officer at Abdul Latif Jameel Enterprises, he is driving the company’s digital strategy and execution across key sectors: Automotive, Healthcare, Logistics, Real Estate, and Diversified Businesses. With a proven track record of spearheading successful digital initiatives at major companies including IKEA, Procter & Gamble, Mars, Mondelēz, and Menzies Aviation, Filip brings a contemporary and agile approach to leadership. Under his guidance, ALJ Enterprises is embracing digital innovation and helping shape Saudi Arabia’s technological evolution in line with Vision 2030.

Hani Weiss
Chief Executive Officer
Landmark Group

Appointed in 2025, Hani Weiss is the Chief Executive Officer of Max Fashion, a UAE-based value fashion omnichannel brand selling apparel and footwear across more than 250 stores in over 15 countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Max is the largest retail brand belonging to Landmark Group, a US$ 7.5bn omnichannel retail and hospitality conglomerate.

Hani Weiss has extensive experience in retail of over 25 years, beginning his career in 2001 as a store manager at Majid Al Futtaim Retail which owns and operates the Carrefour franchise among other brands, rising through the ranks to be CFO in 2014 and then CEO from 2017 till 2024.

Abdullah Al-Sabban
Chief Operating Officer & CEO Advisor
Panda Retail Company

Abdullah is an enterprise leader, board member, and CEO advisor with over 28 years of experience driving large-scale transformation, growth, and operational excellence across the retail, FMCG, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, and consumer goods sectors. He currently serves as Chief Operating Officer and CEO Advisor at Panda, where he leads operations and supply chain across more than 200 stores, five distribution centers, and 16,000+ employees, overseeing multi-billion SAR operations across Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Known for aligning strategy with execution, Abdullah specializes in enterprise transformation, organizational scalability, and leadership development, with a strong focus on building high-performance cultures, resilient operating models, and long-term value creation in line with national transformation agendas such as Vision 2030.

Neeraj Teckchandani
Chief Executive Officer
Apparel Group

Neeraj has been with Apparel Group for 24 years and spent over 30+ years in the UAE. He has vast experience within the retail industry across various domains such as strategy, general management, operations, mergers and acquisitions and financial operations to name a few.

Neeraj is an Alumni of Harvard Business School & University of London and has been awarded various industry awards like “Best Fashion Lifestyle CFO (UAE) Award at the Global CFO Excellence Awards 2020”, “ World’s Greatest CFO Award 2018-2019 by Asia One” and “Most influential CFO in Fashion and Lifestyle Services (UAE)” at the Global Business Insights Awards 2018.

At Apparel Group, he has an impressive track record of steering the Apparel Group to new heights, he brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to lead the break through initiatives at the Apparel Group.

May Kanounji
Chief Commercial Officer
Aani&Daani

May Bahjat Kanounji is a visionary brand builder, commercial leader, and transformation catalyst with over 20 years of experience shaping and scaling luxury and premium brands across fashion, beauty, lifestyle, and confectionery in the GCC. Renowned for merging commercial growth with cultural storytelling, May has led strategic brand evolutions that strengthen emotional connection, accelerate performance, and elevate brands to regional prominence.

Throughout her career, she has held senior leadership roles in leading regional companies — steering brand repositioning, omnichannel expansion, retail transformation, product innovation, and creative commercial strategy. Her leadership blends analytical discipline with intuitive brand expression, enabling her to build distinctive identities that resonate across digital and physical worlds with equal strength.

Andreu Marco
Chief Operating Officer
Chalhoub Group

Andreu Marco is the Chief Operating Officer at Chalhoub Group, the partner and creator of luxury experiences in the Middle East. He is responsible for enhancing the Group’s core operations aligning them with the overall strategic objectives. His primary focus is to ensure efficient delivery of innovative, reliable, and customer-focused business services internally and externally in areas like End-to-End Supply chain, Logistics, Admin, Store Operations, and 3D. He is member of the Group’s Ex-com and serves as an advisory role for the Presidents and fellow Ex-Com members, providing strategic direction to the Group’s Operations.

Mohammed Aldabbagh
Managing Director KSA
Chalhoub Group

Mohammed Aldabbagh is the Managing Director in KSA at Chalhoub Group. He is responsible for thoroughly understanding and studying the Saudi market trends and consumer insights to support commercial business owners in growing the business. He acts as the ambassador and representative of the Group to secure excellent relationships and identify business and growth opportunities with strategic partners such as governmental entities, real estate companies, VIP customers, suppliers, etc.

Younis Skainy
Chief Operating Officer
Lagate

Younis is a dynamic professional with over 20 years of experience in the FMCG and retail sectors, excelling as an effective catalyst in sales management, business transactions, manpower retention and training, and driving organizational growth. Renowned as a habitual achiever with strong business acumen, he consistently surpasses targets while leveraging exceptional communication and problem-solving skills to deliver results. Colleagues recognize him as a highly creative leader who prioritizes business needs, deeply understanding the market and audience before proposing innovative approaches—capable of working independently yet thriving in collaboration as a true team player, always eager to support, encourage, and promote his team’s success.

Ammar Aklan
Chief Executive Officer
Al Hatab Foods – Daajan Holding Group

Ammar is a seasoned CEO and Board Member with over 25 years of leadership experience across manufacturing, retail, and healthcare sectors. He has a proven track record in driving business transformation, operational excellence, and sustainable growth, with a strategic focus on maximizing shareholder value, building high-performance teams, and delivering superior customer experiences. Passionate about scaling businesses that balance market success with positive community impact, Ammar is committed to shaping visionary organizations that contribute meaningfully to both industry and society.

Anshuman Anand
Co-Founder & CEO
Al Safa Brands

A strategic leader with over 20 years of experience, specializing in driving transformational growth and profitability in the retail sector. Demonstrated success in scaling and optimizing global retail brands such as Adidas, Reebok, Timberland, Vero Moda, and Jack & Jones. Leveraging over a decade of strategic leadership in the Middle East as Vice President of Apparel Group, consistently delivering outcomes that set businesses on a path to sustainable, long-term success.

Ravi Raman
Publisher
Fast Company Middle East

Ravi Raman, a TEDx speaker and no stranger to a stage, is a media professional with more than two decades of content strategy, brand marketing and team leadership experience.
He launched the regional editions of world-renowned brands such as Wired and Bloomberg Businessweek, and his reach has extended to other leading publications from the New York Times to India Today.

Shaik Maqbool
Chief Technology Officer
Al Jazera Markets

Shaik is a retail technology leader with over 26 years of experience driving digital transformation across grocery and fashion hypermarkets and supermarkets. As a CTO, he specializes in IT infrastructure transformation, ERP implementation, and large-scale technology programmes, aligning digital strategy with operational performance and business growth.

He has led high-impact implementations of Microsoft Dynamics Business Central and Navision platforms, modernising retail operations and integrating technology into core business functions. With a strong focus on automation and digital innovation, Shaik has delivered significant efficiency gains, including major cost reductions and productivity improvements across retail environments.

Shaik brings deep techno-functional expertise and leadership capability, focused on building scalable, efficient, and future-ready retail operations.

Yasser Taher
Chief Executive Officer
MAGRABi Retail

As the CEO of MAGRABi Retail Group, I am responsible for overseeing the operations and growth of the largest eyewear retailer in the Middle East and Africa, with over 200 stores across 5 countries. I have been leading this family-owned business since January 2023, after serving as the COO for 14+ years and the VP of Business Development for three years.

My core competencies include strategic planning, business development, retail management, negotiation, and entrepreneurship. I am passionate about delivering excellence in customer service, product quality, and social impact. I hold a Bachelor of Commerce from Ain Shams University, a Diploma in Diamond Grading from the International Gemological Institute, and an Advanced Management Program certificate from Harvard Business School. I also completed an executive education course on Leading Businesses into the Future at London Business School in 2015.

Sunil Nair
Chief Information Officer, SVP – Business Technology & Analytics
Majid Al Futtaim Retail

Sunil is the Chief Information Officer and SVP – Business Technology & Analytics at Majid Al Futtaim Retail, and a globally recognized leader in digital transformation with more than 28 years of impact across the retail and consumer sectors. He has driven large-scale transformation programs across multiple regions, reshaping omnichannel, e-commerce, data, and supply chain capabilities for some of the most influential retail brands.

Known for translating strategy into execution, Sunil has built a reputation as a trusted board-level advisor, guiding C-suites through technology-enabled growth and enterprise-wide change.

Having earned multiple industry distinctions for his work, Sunil continues to accelerate business performance by aligning technology, analytics, and operating models to deliver measurable commercial outcomes.

Rami Rihani
Chief Marketing & Communications Officer
Alsulaiman Group

Rami Rihani is a seasoned, multi-disciplinary marketing and customer experience leader with over 17 years of expertise across marketing, e-commerce, omni-channel strategy, and customer retention.

He currently serves as the Chief Marketing Officer at IKEA Saudi Arabia, where he leads brand strategy, customer engagement, insights, and retention initiatives, shaping IKEA’s growth and customer experience across the Kingdom. Prior to this role, Rami served as Acting CMO and Omni-Channel Director, overseeing e-commerce and customer retention for IKEA in both Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

Earlier in his career, Rami spent several years at Ogilvy, managing integrated campaigns for major regional brands including IKEA, NCB Capital, Kleenex, Kotex and Hempel Paints.

Recognised for his strategic thinking and ability to bridge digital and retail worlds, Rami continues to drive impactful transformation across the region’s retail and consumer landscape.

Nicole Nitschke
Managing Director
FACES Beauty Middle East

Nicole is the Managing Director at Faces, one of the leading beauty retailers in the Middle East and the owned beauty brand of Chalhoub Group.

She joined the Group in September 2024 with a clear mission: to elevate Faces, strengthen its customer relevance, and become the leading omnichannel beauty destination in the region.

A passionate strategist and international business leader, Nicole brings more than 30 years of experience across nearly all beauty categories—both on the industry side and within retail. Her career spans senior executive roles at Henkel, Coty, and Shiseido, where she built strong foundations in brand building, portfolio management, and transformation.

Before joining Faces, Nicole served as Managing Director for the DACH region at Douglas, where she led the company’s shift from a traditional retailer to a modern omnichannel beauty leader, delivering double-digit growth in both revenue and profit.

Dr Martyn Davies
Head of City Excellence and Retail Sector Leader
Royal Commission for Riyadh City

Dr. Martyn Davies is Head of the Retail Sector and leads the City Excellence Division at the Royal Commission for Riyadh City in Saudi Arabia. Previously, he was a Senior Partner and Managing Director of Africa & Emerging Markets at Deloitte. An alumnus of the Young Global Leaders Community of the World Economic Forum (WEF), he has served on numerous advisory groups at the WEF, including the Global Agenda Council on China, and has been an expert adviser to the Mining & Metals Industry Group.

Binoo Joseph
Chief Digital Officer
Cenomi Centers

Binoo Joseph is a seasoned technology and transformation leader with over 20 years of experience driving innovation and enterprise-wide digital strategy across customer-centric sectors including real estate, shopping malls, hospitality, retail, and e-commerce. As Chief Digital Officer at Cenomi Centres, he leads large-scale transformation initiatives that reimagine both physical and digital retail environments—enhancing customer experience, improving operational efficiency, and enabling sustainable growth.

With deep expertise in aligning technology and business strategy, Binoo has delivered major transformation programmes across multiple geographies, integrating cloud platforms, smart technologies, data infrastructure, and emerging tech to modernise systems and unlock new value opportunities. He has built and led high-performing technology organisations, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and measurable impact.

Driven by a mission to use technology as a catalyst for positive change, Binoo is committed to shaping the future of retail and creating long-term value for customers, partners, and communities.

Alok Pandey
Chief Executive Officer
Tim Hortons GCC

Alok is the Chief Executive Officer of Tim Hortons GCC, bringing over 28 years of leadership experience across F&B services, quick service restaurants (QSR), retail, and retail development. He has a proven track record of driving growth and operational excellence across large, multi-market organisations.

With deep expertise in scaling high-performance teams across multiple locations, Alok has led complex business transformations, managed full P&L ownership, and delivered strong financial and customer-centric results. His leadership spans end-to-end retail operations, expansion strategy, operational optimisation, and customer experience enhancement.

Recognised for his ability to build brands, accelerate regional footprint expansion, and elevate service standards, Alok continues to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of the QSR and retail landscape in the GCC.