Archives: Session Speakers

A strategic, transformative, and customer-obsessed executive with nearly two decades of experience shaping the luxury, retail, destinations, and leisure sectors in the MENA region. Her expertise lies in building brands and propelling them onto the global stage.

Maria founded Gedeon Mohr & Partners with a vision to service clients around the world helping them design, transform and grow sustainably. Previously Maria served as the former Chief Customer and Marketing Officer of the Chalhoub Group the largest fashion and beauty retailer in the MENA and the JV partner of LVMH, the world’s largest luxury group conglomerate. In her capacity, Maria managed an award-winning team of 150+, driving the transformation, overseeing brand building, marketing, customer experience, customer engagement, loyalty insights and advanced analytics, commercial partnerships, and content for the group.

Maria’s entrepreneurial journey began in 2002 with the establishment of Select, an events and entertainment startup catering to the Middle East. In 2006, she relocated to the UAE to work on the World Future Energy Summit, a collaborative initiative between Turret Media, Masdar, and the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Centre. She also spearheaded marketing and sponsorship for the Turret Media consumer portfolio, playing a key role in the acquisition and growth of Taste of Dubai and the Abu Dhabi Art Fair, and the Abu Dhabi Motorsports Festival among others.

In 2009, Maria took up the role of Director of Marketing and Communication at the Abu Dhabi Entertainment Company (a Mubadala subsidiary) heading up the function for Zayed Sports City. Her responsibilities included transforming and growing the brand, driving a turnaround in the company’s performance, and transforming the marketing, sponsorships, events and customer experience organization.

Maria then moved to Majid Al Futtaim in 2016, the leading shopping malls, retail, and entertainment conglomerate in the MENA region, as Director of Marketing. As part of the senior executive team, she managed a cadre of 70+ award-winning marketers for the Entertainment division. Her tenure was marked by the transformation of the marketing and customer organization to instill an innovative, creative, customer-obsessed, and data-driven culture.

Presently, Maria serves as an external advisor to Bain & Company and holds positions on several regional boards, including the Marketing Society’s Middle East Chapter, the International Women Board of Directors, and Almentor.net, the largest e-learning platform in the Arab world. Maria earned her bachelor’s degree in Advertising and Visual Communication from the Académie Libanaise des Beaux Arts (alba) in Beirut.

She is a proud working mother of two and a huge proponent of diversity & inclusion initiatives. A former national ski champion and enthusiastic tennis player, she possesses a deep appreciation for art, hospitality, and food. In her spare time, she travels, exercises, and delights in cooking for friends. Maria also lends her support to startups emerging from the MENA region and mentors marketing leaders of tomorrow.

Musharaf’s career in consumer business spanned over 36 years. She started her career with Unilever Pakistan in 1983. Her 23 years with the organization included roles from brand management to country operations. Musharaf’s various assignments included posting in Unilever’s London Headquarters where she worked for the Asia Pacific and Africa Middle East regions from 1991-94. Her key experience in Pakistan included the Ice Cream acquisition and merger, assuming the role of Board Director for Unilever’s Home & Personal Care Business, and subsequently becoming the National Sales Director. In July 2001, she was appointed Chairman & CEO and served in this capacity till September 2006.

Musharaf joined the L’Oreal Group in 2008 with the responsibility to establish and launch the L’Oreal business in Pakistan. The company was established in 2009, comprising entrepreneurial talent, manufacturing, supply chain, and multi-channel distribution to reach Pakistani consumers. Musharaf’s span asCEO and Founder of L’Oreal Pakistan was completed in June 2019.

She then worked with Khaadi (Pakistan’s premier fashion retail brand) on brand transformation project from October 2019 to December 2021. Some of her external roles included Board positions in Education Institutions, Banking, Non- Government Organisations, and in the Health sector. She has been a member of several Government policy groups.

In 2005, Musharaf received the Presidential Performance Award – Sitara-I-Imtiaz. This award was given in recognition of her outstanding business achievements and contribution to the economy. In 2011, the President of France, awarded Musharaf the Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Merite (Knight of National Order of Merit). In addition, she was listed among the 50 Most Powerful Women in the World by Forbes Magazine in 2004.

Khurram has been responsible for leading digital transformation for global industry powerhouses including Gillette, Procter and Gamble, GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer. He was also a subject matter expert on Digital Marketing for the University of Cambridge Judge Business School, a mentor to emerging market startups as part of the United Nations Development Program and a founding member of the UAE government’s corporate innovation accelerator Area 2071.

He currently serves as a senior digital strategy and innovation advisor to a G20 government regulator providing expertise and future thinking on policy, regulation and innovation in developing a digital economy He is also the Co Founder of a global non non for profit think tank called the Web 3 Institute and author of “The New Digital World Order”.

Dr. Zeelaf Munir is the Managing Director & CEO of English Biscuit Manufacturers (Pvt.) Limited (EBM) since 2015. Building upon the company’s strong foundations of over five decades, EBM has grown exponentially under Dr. Zeelaf’s leadership to become the largest national FMCG and biscuit and cake manufacturer in Pakistan while consecutively winning the “Best Place to Work” award. Her 30 year career, extending from medical practice, and managing a multi-state organization to serving on the Boards of several for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, is much like the woman herself; authentic, dynamic, and purposeful.

Along with her current role at EBM, she is also Vice Chairperson at the Pakistan Business Council (PBC). She is the Chairperson of the Pakistan Advertisers Society (PAS), Chairperson of the i-Care Foundation, and a board member of LUMS Foundation, IBA Corporate Leaders Advisory and serves on the jury of the IBP (Institute of Banking Pakistan) banking awards committee.

Dr. Munir holds a medical degree from Dow University, a Master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University, post-graduate residency training from Washington University School of Medicine and has done a management and leadership program from Harvard Business School.

Aamir Ibrahim is a highly accomplished business executive with over 25 years of experience in diverse industries such as telecommunications, automotive, and financial services. He is the CEO of Jazz, the largest telecom company in Pakistan, and a member of the Global Executive Committee of VEON, the sixth largest telecom operator in the world. Under his visionary leadership, Jazz has emerged as the most successful digital conglomerate in Pakistan, becoming the connectivity lifeline in the country.

Aamir has made significant contributions to the telecom industry of Pakistan, including leading the highest investment to-date in Pakistan, crossing over $10.4 Bn, which is the highest among all telecom companies. He successfully spearheaded the merger between two giants – Mobilink and Warid – and expanded Pakistan’s 4G penetration to remote areas. As the Chairman of Mobilink Microfinance Bank Ltd, he has driven the bank’s overall strategic direction to accelerate economic growth and digitize the microfinance industry of Pakistan.

Aamir is a strong advocate of diversity and inclusion, particularly for women in Pakistan to have access to digital technologies. He has driven numerous programs to make technology more inclusive and accessible. Under his leadership, Jazz has emerged as a major player in the fintech space, with JazzCash becoming the national wallet of Pakistan, with over 56.2% mobile wallet owners.

Aamir is committed to giving back to the community and has led Jazz to be at the forefront of philanthropy. During crises such as COVID-19 and the 2022 floods, Jazz stepped up to support the community. He has served on the Boards of the Universal Service Fund (USF) and Ignite, driving connectivity projects and the network of National Incubation Centers across the country. He has been the Chair of the Telecom Subcommittee of the Prime Minister’s Council for Digital Economy for Pakistan.

Aamir received his Bachelors in Business (Accounting) from The University of Texas at Austin. He also holds an MBA from IMD in Switzerland and an APM Diploma from the Harvard Business School. Throughout his career, he has held senior leadership positions in VEON, Telenor Group, Ford Motor Company, Jaguar, Land Rover, and Mobilink.

Rafael Prandini (“Rafa”) is The Coca-Cola Company Marketing Vice President for Eurasia and Middle East. Rafa is a change agent who is passionate and obsessed about helping with human development, engagement, and growth. Rafa began his career as an intern in Ebay. Then he joined The Coca-Cola Company in 2004 as a trainee in Brazil.

He has worked in almost all marketing and strategic functions and categories in Latin America and North America, including the global digital lead of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, the turnaround of the hydration & nutrition business in Brazil, the revamp of talent engagement in Latin America, and the launch of Latin America’s first alcohol endeavor, Topo Chico Hard Seltzer. In 2021 and 2022, he oversaw Coca-Cola TM brand in North America, where he led a team that transformed the brand strategy and achieved record results including the rejuvenation of the brand and its consumer base.

Kiranjeet is a senior technology executive who has over a decade of experience working at digital native businesses. He has operated across many APAC countries including Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. The tech categories include food tech, mobility and quick commerce with experience in ad-tech, strategic partnerships, operations, commercial, amongst others. Currently, Kiranjeet leads both strategic partnerships and adtech for foodpanda (a Delivery Hero company) across 11 countries in APAC.

Prior to foodpanda, Kiranjeet was at Gojek, Uber and Uber Eats. Kiranjeet also is a member of the regional board for IAB Southeast Asia and India.

Muhammad Ammar Hassan is the Chief Marketing Officer of Daraz, Pakistan’s largest e-commerce platform backed by the Alibaba Group which houses over 100,000 sellers from all across the country with 27 million monthly active users.

Under this role, Ammar leads a team of 150 people from various functions including Branding, Buyer Growth, Traffic Operations, Design Studio, Daraz Advertising Solutions, and Corporate Communication/PR.

With over 12 years of experience in Marketing, Ammar was previously responsible for laying the foundation for OLX (one of the fastest-growing network of trading platforms globally, headquartered in Amsterdam) in Pakistan where he served as the Head of Marketing & Digital Ad Sales. He has also held senior positions in advertising agencies such as Adcom Zenith and Dentsu.

Ammar holds an undergraduate degree in Marketing from the Institute of Business Management (Karachi). A passionate new-age marketeer, Ammar is a prominent thought leader with over 15,000 followers on the professional social network LinkedIn where he regularly writes about e-commerce, performance-driven marketing, branding, and organizational culture.

Muhammad Ammar Hassan is a Fractional CMO & CGO. Currently engaged with technology companies like DVAGO, Oraan, Onic & Yango where he working in areas pertaining to brand, performance marketing, Data, engineering & product management to amplify demand side growth for companies involved in eCommerce & physical retail, Pharmacy, FinTech, Telecommunication & Ride Hailing.

Ammar previously held C-Suite level positions in Daraz [Alibaba Group] where he was the CMO & SVP Monetization for 5 years. Ammar also was a founding member of OLX where he served as Head of marketing, Sales and customer operations from 2014 to 2019.

Ammar also have ground level experience in advertising working in the field of media planning, creative, brand activation and PR agencies in ZenithOptimedia, Adcom Leo Burnette, Evernew concepts, RG Blue comms & Status Pro along with his sales experience in ARY Digital.

Ammar is a prominent thought leader with over 27,000 followers on LinkedIn where he regularly writes about e-commerce, performance-driven marketing, branding, and organizational culture.