SPEAKER BIOS | IN SPEAKING ORDER Greg Fairlie Broadcaster Dubai One Presenter, Broadcaster, Multi tasked Video Journalist & Business Communications Expert with a wealth of experience in the UK, Australia, Europe & MENA region. Bringing a warm, personable, informative and friendly approach to presenting, interviewing and drawing out the best of people in many diverse fields. Fully experienced in a live studio environment and on location. Specialties: Facilitating business programming for both TV and Radio stations. Managing teams within a broadcast unit. Presenting, producing, directing, filming and editing live and recorded TV & Radio content. Experience of anchoring in a live environment. Specialist in media training and presentation on-air delivery. Moderator at events. Magazine and newspaper features writer. Voice Over artist and Voice imaging. Experienced in using AVID inews, Final Cut Pro X, Adobe Premiere, audio editing software including soundtrack pro and Twisted Wave. His Excellency Hani Al Hamli Secretary General Dubai Economic Council (DEC) H.E. Hani Rashid Al Hamli is the Secretary General of the Dubai Economic Council (DEC) since 2006. The Council envisioned acting as the strategic partner for the Government of Dubai in economic-decision making. It provides policy recommendations and initiatives that enhance the sustainable economic development in the Emirate of Dubai. Prior to his service at DEC, Mr. Al Hamli held a number of senior positions in various government and private entities in Dubai such as the Executive Council-Government of Dubai, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Investment & Development Authority, and Emirates Bank Group. Under his management of the DEC Secretariat, Mr. Al Hamli has realized many achievements for the DEC, notably the establishment of Dubai Competitiveness Center (DCC) in 2008, and the DEC has embraced the stated center from 2008-2013. Additionally, he initiated the “clusters development” and “macroeconomic modelling” for Dubai’s economy. Moreover, Al Hamli has restructured the DEC Secretariat and established two affiliates that form together the think tank of the Council. Those include: the Economic Policy & Research Center (EPRC) and the Legal Affairs & Research Center (LARC). Most recently, Al Hamli created “Driving Innovation Spirit for Dubai” initiative in partnership with Royal Philips aimed at enhancing the concept of innovation in the U.A.E. and strengthen the institutional capacities of Dubai’s businesses. Al Hamli strongly believes in the vital role of the strategic partnerships and alliances with local and international entities in order to exchange knowledge, advice and expertise in various issues. This vision has been translated into practical steps when the DEC has collaborated with a large number of governmental entities at both federal and local levels, world’s leading think tanks; and top companies from China to the North America. These collaborations are inclusive of enhanced coordination and unified visions in many areas of common interest. China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), and the U.S. Ex-Im Bank are among those entities that the DEC linked in partnership projects with. Coupled with above, Al Hamli believes in knowledge accumulation aiming at materializing the UAE vision 2021 which envisages development of a knowledge-based economy. To this end, he sought to deploy the potentials of the DEC’s experts in developing policy proposals and initiatives in order to reach the best results in the context of economic decision-making, both at the local and federal levels. Indeed, the DEC Secretariat General has conducted in-depth researches along with publications of reports, international books and numerous working papers. Additionally, the Council organized a number of hi- profile conferences, seminars, experts meetings and workshops on various economic issues of strategic importance for Dubai and the UAE. In this context, the DEC Secretariat has created a number of strategic partnerships with respected international research institutions and academics to enhance the scientific efforts being made in economic policy-related studies and research. Al Hamli is an associate member of many forums and associations where he has participated as a keynote speaker in many hi-ranking regional and global events. Some of these include the American Economic Association (USA), World Competitiveness Forum (Spain), World Economic Forum (Switzerland), Economic Research Forum (Egypt), Board member of Trustees at the Kuwait Centre for Knowledge Economy (Kuwait), the Annual Investment Meeting-AIM (UAE), and Young Arab Leaders (UAE) to name a few. He is also a Member of Board of Directors: Oman Insurance Company (UAE), Kuwait Center for Knowledge Economy (Kuwait) and The Competitiveness Institute-TCI (Finland) Mr. Al Hamli holds a Degree in business administration, Higher Colleges of Technology, (UAE). He has been also trained in several reputable international colleges and institutes: LSE (UK), IMD (Switzerland), Harvard (USA), INSEAD (France), Dubai School of Government (UAE). Ahmed Bin Sulayem Executive Chairman Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) Mr Ahmed Bin Sulayem is the Executive Chairman of Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC). Suoud Al Agroobi Director of International Relations UAE Federal Customs Authority Mr. Suoud Salem AlAgroobi joined the Federal Customs Authority (FCA) since its inception in 2003. In 2007, he held the position of Executive Director of the MENA Regional Office for Capacity Building of the World Customs Organization (WCO) up to 2010 to promote regional customs development under the umbrella of WCO. He was simultaneously appointed as Director of International Relations Department in the FCA, which he still holds to this day. As Director of International Relations, Mr. AlAgroobi plays a key role in representing UAE Customs internationally, highlighting the role and achievements of UAE Customs. He is responsible of being the key negotiator for UAE Customs in bilateral and multilateral agreements such as Customs Mutual Assistance Agreements and the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement. Using international best practices, he contributed to the development of numerous customs programs in the UAE. Mr. AlAgroobi is a graduate of the Government Executive Leadership Program run by the UAE Prime Minister’s Office, where he was able to further develop his leadership skills in order to benefit the UAE Government. Sanjay Sethi Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer Signature Agri Ventures Mr. Sanjay Sethi was recognised for his noteworthy contributions to improve the agribusiness and food security situation in African countries and he won the prestigious “The Africa Food Prize 2013 Award” at Kampala, Uganda. Mr. Sanjay Sethi has led Africa focused teams on agribusiness investment, developing and managing large commercial farms, agri infrastructure and agri business companies. Mr. Sethi undertook many infrastructure projects like setting up India’s first Mega Food Park and India’s first Free Trade Warehousing Zone. Mr. Sethi lives in Dubai and has held senior leadership positions in various reputed international companies in India, Africa and Middle East. His publications ‘Land of Opportunities – The Food Industry in India’ and ‘Building Exponential Growth in India’s Agricultural Exports’ have been widely referred by decision makers in government and private sector world over. Mr. Sethi has a distinguished track record as a Strategist, Entrepreneur, Business Leader, Change Agent and a Thought Leader. He has been invited to speak on business forums all over the world on the topics of food security, investment opportunities in Agriculture and building Africa’s Agribusiness. He has been a Founding Member of G8 Countries’ “New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition” and World Economic Forum’s “Grow Africa” initiative which transformed the investment climate in African Agriculture. Mr. Sethi recently Chaired Gulfood Conference on Halal Foods and also spoke at Global Islamic Investment Gateway, Bahrain and at Global Ag Investment Forum, Dubai and GTR Africa’s conference on Commodity Trade Finance. Previously he has spoken at FAO Conference at Zhengzhou, China, Asia Fruit Logistica, Hong Kong, Super Returns, Nairobi, Opal Financial’s South African Investment Summit, Cape Town and at Private Equity World Africa, London. Jeffrey Rhodes Chief Executive Officer Zee Gold DMCC Jeffrey is the CEO of ZEE GOLD DMCC, which is based in the Dubai Multi Commodity Centre and focussed on physical precious metals with a regional presence and global footprint. ZEE GOLD is a wholly owned subsidiary of Shirpur Gold Refinery Limited and an enterprise of the Essel Group enterprise, which is one of India’s business giants and best known for its’ ZEE TV media activities. Widely recognized as a leading figure in the international bullion market, with a career spanning four continents and decades, Mr Rhodes has been prominent in the development of the Dubai Multi Commodity Centre, working closely with the Government of Dubai, and has been a member of Dubai’s Gold Advisory Group since its inception in 2003. Jeffrey has a regular weekly slot on Dubai’s leading morning business radio show, Dubai 103.80, talking about precious metals, and participates regularly as a speaker at major precious metals conferences around the world. He is a past chairman of the Public Affairs Committee of the London Bullion Market Association and was the founding editor of its popular