Archives: Speaker

Junaid is an investor and entrepreneur.

As CEO of Salt Ventures, he has invested in startups that are disrupting retail, logistics, Fintech, agriculture, health and construction industries in KSA, Pakistan, UAE and beyond.

His latest venture is Caravan Media, is a digital first content platform aimed at building awareness about economic reform and opportunity in the MENA region.

In his previous roles, Junaid served as Managing Director of Careem, and as CEO of Elixir Securities and BMA Financial Services.

He holds a B.Sc in Economics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

For over 27 years, Shahbaz has been chasing ideas across continents, from Asia-Pacific to the U.S. to the Middle East, living and breathing creativity, design and digital innovation every step of the way. He has cut his teeth at some of the world’s most iconic agencies including JWT, Fallon, Carmichael Lynch, Interflow, Ogilvy, McCann, MRM, Promoseven 360, MullenLowe MENA, and Momentum, learning how to turn bold thinking into business results.

He has worked on global icons such as BMW, PepsiCo, Porsche, Harley-Davidson, Sony, Nike, Turkish Airlines, American Express, Shell, McDonald’s and Zespri to name a few. His ideas have been celebrated on the biggest creative stages including Cannes Lions, Clios, New York Festivals, Spikes Asia, One Show, Epica, The Webbys, and more.

After decades of steering brands within global networks, Shahbaz decided it was time to flip the script. Enter quote un quote, a global independent boutique agency he co-founded to chase fearless, collaborative, culture-led ideas that refuse to play it safe. Today, he is not just making campaigns, but creating impact and proving the most exciting stories are still unwritten

Hamza Jawaid is the co-founder of Bazaar Technologies, Pakistan’s leading e-commerce and financial services platform with operations across 10+ cities. Since launching in 2020, Bazaar has built a digital ecosystem that empowers consumers and businesses to access everyday low pricing across 30+ product categories with next day delivery and seamless payment solutions—all through a simple mobile app.

Under Hamza’s leadership, Bazaar has become one of Pakistan’s most well-funded startups, raising $100 million in funding to-date. The company continues to expand across e-commerce and digital payments, acquiring Keenu in 2025 to become Pakistan’s first integrated e-commerce and payments platform.

The company has also gained global recognition. In 2022, Bazaar became part of the yearly curriculum at Harvard Business School as a case study and was selected as the first startup from Pakistan to join the Endeavor global community.

Before founding Bazaar, Hamza studied at London School of Economics, then pursued consulting at McKinsey and Company in the Middle East, advising global companies on growth and digital transformation, particularly in retail and tech.

Khaled is a pragmatic business leader with a 30-year career in marketing, branding, public affairs and communications in Europe, Central Asia, Middle East and Africa region.

He is currently the CEO and Founding Partner of Tough Love Advisors.

His career started in advertising and continued into international sales, marketing and branding in FMCG (B2C) and the food packaging industry (B2B), in companies such as The Coca-Cola Company and Tetra Pak.

Khaled is an internationally recognised keynote speaker and author (This Tickles Me and Made With Tough Love).

He is the Chairman and Board Member of The Marketing Society, UAE. He is also an active investor in technology, beverages, advisory, hospitality, sports marketing and banking.

Khaled has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Concordia University, Canada and has completed several executive leadership programmes at Ashridge in the UK, IMD in Switzerland and at Harvard Business School in the USA.

Born in Beirut, Lebanon, Khaled is a Canadian citizen who has lived in 15 countries and travelled to over 55 other countries. Since 2002 he calls Dubai home.

Faizan is an experienced entrepreneur and founder with two successful businesses in growing sectors – digital media and consumer lifestyle. Faizan has a demonstrated history of working across functions and industries and is skilled in Analysis, Management, Leadership, Team Building, Collaboration, Finance and Marketing.

Prior to being a founder, Faizan spent time in investment banking with Lehman Brothers / BarCap in the Industrials Group. He also gained operations and marketing experience early in his career with General Motors. Faizan has an undergrad degree from the University of Virginia and an MBA in Finance from Cornell University.

He is also a global entrepreneur with experience in digital marketing, digital marketplaces, health & lifestyle publishing, finance and audit, manufacturing, marketing and business development. Strategized and financially supported by a variety of industries from healthcare and beauty to technology, beverage, real estate and finance. An Emerging Global Leader recognized by the US State Department, and Effie award winner for their full service digital marketing agency.

In a versatile career of over 20 years, Aziz has led large scale FMCG organizations, built business models for iconic brands, established a successful start-up company and produced a blockbuster animated feature film.

His experiences are spread over 3 continents (Asia, Africa, North America), 5 countries (USA, Singapore, Kenya, Dubai and Pakistan) and two world class FMCG companies (P&G and Colgate Palmolive) where Aziz worked at positions of increasing responsibility across General Management, Marketing and Sales functions.

In between, while on sabbatical, he founded a start-up animation company and co-produced Pakistan’s highest grossing animated feature film ‘The Donkey King’. Subsequently, the animation studio has turned into a sustainable business venture with dedicated, professional management at its helm as he serves in a non-executive capacity on the BoD, allowing him the freedom to do what he is most passionate about – building brands and organizations in FMCG industry

Hasan understands the emerging markets and has a background in developing the digital ecosystem including both product and growth. His current flagship product is Tamasha, the largest OTT platform in Pakistan.

Prior to this, Hasan was leading the digital marketing team at HBL, tasked to inculcate a culture of data-driven decision making and enhancing the digital profile of the bank. At Telenor, he has been instrumental in establishing the digital business for the Emerging Asia Cluster. Hasan has also been in consulting working for Ernst & Young and International Data Corporation in the Middle East.

He has done his MSc in International Business from CERAM Business School in France, an undergraduate degree in Computer Science from LUMS and a number of executive courses from LBS, INSEAD, LSE and IMD. Hasan is a water sports enthusiast and has been part of various swimming, waterpolo and sailing teams as an amateur.