Eren is a seasoned analyst with 20+ years of experience in the ICT sector. He directs all IDC ICT research and consulting engagements in Türkiye, and all sustainability research and consulting projects across the Middle East, Türkiye, and Africa (META).

Based in Istanbul, Eren has been involved in projects ranging from market forecasts to strategic consulting engagements on market entry, competitive analysis, go-to-market strategies, technology marketing, and end-user studies. Eren’s vast experience in the IT services, cloud, software, and telecommunications domains helps IDC clients understand the impact of technology-enabled, sustainable transformation processes in the context of sustainable digital business strategies, operations, products, and services. In addition to his research and consulting activities, Eren is a speaker at industry events.

Prior to joining IDC in 2017, Eren spent more than a decade in IT industry roles spanning portfolio management, channel and business development, pricing, and software development at companies including Turk Telekom and TAI.

Eren earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronics engineering and an MBA focused on technology road mapping for strategy and innovation, both from Middle East Technical University. He received a master of science in information systems, with a thesis on modeling mobile telecommunications services, from Middle East Technical University. During his academic endeavors, he studied for one semester at the University of Copenhagen, and for one semester at Harvard University. He is pursuing a marketing PhD focused on sustainability.

leading enterprise AI agent plaform. Prior to UnifyApps, Rohan spent eight years at Sprinklr, where he served as Vice President of Product Management, leading the development of cutting-edge enterprise solutions. He holds a degree from Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati.

With over a decade of experience in product leadership, strategy, and working with Fortune 500+ brands, he has been instrumental in driving innovation and growth across organisations. His ability to build and scale impactful products has played a pivotal role in the success of the companies he has worked with. Beyond product development, he has a strong track record of shaping and executing go-to-market strategies that drive adoption and business outcomes.

Dr. Joseph George serves as the group chief digital and information officer at Doha Bank. He is a respected C-level executive with 21+ years of experience in the fields of software management, digital transformation, customer experience, process reengineering, and vendor management. He is an expert in robotic and artificial intelligence, with a proven capability to reduce operational and transaction costs using technology. Joseph has excellent people management skills and is able to drive alignment with business goals for optimum return on investment. His extensive experience in the banking domain spans IT policy frameworks, IT strategies, project management, portfolio management, program management, software engineering, stakeholder management, it infrastructure management, problem solving, and decision-making.

Archana is an award-winning global thought leader, executive coach, and Vice President
– Technology Projects at QNB, the largest financial institution in the Middle East and Africa.
With over 25 years of leadership experience, she has led groundbreaking digital
transformations—from AI-driven platforms and open banking to advanced payment
innovations redefining the future of financial services.
Recognized among the Top 100 Global Thought Leaders by PeopleHum, Archana is also
the recipient of the SHELeads Qatar Award, honoring women leaders in technology, and
the Stevie® Award for Coach and Mentor of the Year. She mentors with Alchemist
Accelerator and Startup India, helping founders turn bold ideas into scalable success.
Her keynote on Moving Beyond the AI Hype and Leading Real AI Transformations received
rave appreciation from senior executives, leaving audiences both spellbound and
inspired. She has spoken at leading global conferences including the MEBIS Summit (The
largest Banking Summit), Digital Transformation Summit Qatar, IDC CIO Summit, Digi
Summit Qatar, PMI, ICF, the Coaching Summit, and the National Toastmasters
Conference.
As curator and host of the Inspirational Leadership Summit, Archana has collaborated with
luminaries such as Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, Tal Ben-Shahar, and Marshall
Goldsmith to bring breakthrough ideas on strategy, leadership, and culture to global
audiences.
Specializing in digital leadership, AI, innovation, and blue ocean strategy, Archana
inspires audiences to embrace disruption with courage, clarity, and compassion –
helping leaders unlock shared genius and create new competitive edges in a changing
world.

Abdulrahman Hassan is an information security expert who works for a leading government organization in Qatar. He is an experienced and highly skilled professional in the field of IT, information security, and emerging technologies, with an impressive career spanning 22 years. He has expertise in a diverse range of areas, including AI, cybersecurity, IT service management, IT governance, technology risk, business continuity, and project management. Throughout his career, Abdulrahman has played a vital role in integrating IT and information security capabilities to drive innovative and business-focused operations, resulting in enhanced operational efficiencies, revenue growth, and competitive market positioning. He has also shared his expertise locally and internationally as a technology consultant. Known for his fresh perspectives on innovation, he brings valuable insights to various discussions.

Dr. Ali Al Sanousi is the executive director of clinical information systems at Hamad Medical Corporation. He is a visionary digital transformation healthcare entrepreneur focused on improving the quality of care through the use of information technology. He is an analytical thinker with a strategic expertise in implementing new concepts and deploying end-to-end solutions such as electronic medical records systems and biomedical systems in large-scale medical facilities. Dr. Ali has extensive experience in executive-level management and business development. He serves as an assistant professor at Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, and as director of the university’s Clinical Informatics Fellowship Training Program. He also sits on the steering committee of the National Qatar Health Information Exchange QHIE-HUB Program of the Ministry of Public Health, and is the clinical lead for the enterprise-wide Clinical Information Systems (CIS) program being implemented in 15 hospitals, 31 healthcare centers, and numerous specialty clinics across the state of Qatar.

As the head of cybersecurity at a Leading Bank in Qatar, Nikunj Desai leads the design and implementation of cybersecurity solutions, policies, and operations to protect the bank’s assets, data, and customers from cyberthreats. He also manages incident management and threat management within the cybersecurity function and oversees a global team of cybersecurity professionals. Nikunj leverages more than 25 years of experience and expertise in network security, cloud security, IT operations, SIEM, endpoint solutions, and cyberdefense centers to deliver customized and effective cybersecurity solutions. He is passionate about cybersecurity and enjoys mentoring and sharing his knowledge with others. Nikunj holds the CISA, GCIH, and AWS Architect certifications and is always eager to learn new skills and technologies.

Perttu Korhonen serves as director of financial analysis and innovation at the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA), where he is responsible for driving the evolution of financial supervision into the AI era. With over 20 years of experience in regulatory analytics, risk-based supervision, and data strategy, Perttu champions approaches that blend machine intelligence with human expertise. His vision focuses on neuro-symbolic SupTech — combining the perceptive power of large language models with the reasoning and auditability of enterprise knowledge graphs. Through exploratory initiatives in integrated data ecosystems, Perttu aims to make supervision seamless, adaptive, and insight driven, turning data into foresight and foresight into better decisions.

Jiri Laznicka is a seasoned CIO/CTO with experience spanning the full life cycle of technology strategy leadership for tier 1 telcos, including Ooredoo and Orange.

He drives disruptive yet practical innovations by adopting emerging technologies such as AI, IoT, and cloud to deliver actionable change. Most recently, his teams delivered an integrated advanced data platform that enables real-world AI and GenAI use cases across the organization. Jiri’s work also includes delivering and launching innovative technology products internationally — from creating forward-looking strategies and building emerging competencies to introducing comprehensive product portfolios, resulting in multi-million-dollar growth.

Thomas Philip is the head of digital and IT at Petrotec, where he leads the digital transformation of the group (Al Mahar Holding) and its subsidiaries, which are among Qatar’s largest engineering and oil & gas service companies. With over 25 years of IT and OT experience, including at QatarEnergy LNG (Qatargas), Thomas drives enterprise integration across HR, finance, operations, and engineering. His team has delivered projects such as Dynamics 365 and Office 365 with Copilot, Azure App Service-based ITSM, .NET Core Production Planner, SAP SuccessFactors–Business Central integrations, and AI-powered employee engagement via Amber by inFeedo. He also leads Petrotec’s “Data Stream” and “Field to Boardroom” digital solutions for industrial clients, bridging field operations and executive intelligence.

Islam Naarat is a data science and AI lead in Mowasalat Qatar (Karwa) with extensive experience driving analytics and innovation initiatives across enterprise environments. He focuses on leveraging data to enable smarter decision-making, operational efficiency, and digital transformation through modern AI and cloud technologies.

Sinan Serpicioğlu is the Sales Director for the Middle East South Region at NTT DATA, where he has spent eight years leading strategic initiatives in digital transformation. Specializing in SAP solutions and emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Generative AI, Sinan helps organizations leverage innovation to optimize operations and drive business results. With a strong focus on aligning technology with business objectives, he works closely with clients to implement solutions that address complex challenges and enhance overall efficiency in today’s evolving digital landscape.

David “Hos” Hostetter is the Digital CTO at Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN) A mission-driven technologist, Hos and his team develop and deploy next-generation AI and platforms that amplify Al Jazeera’s mission — giving voice to the voiceless — while advancing world-class standards in privacy, usability, and engagement. 

Hos brings decades of experience across media, cloud computing, and AI, with leadership roles at startups and major enterprises including Hipcricket (CTO, acquired by Aurea), Loudeye (CTO and EVP, acquired by Nokia), MOD Systems (VP Engineering), and over 11 years at Microsoft. A recognized inventor and patent holder, he has built a career on transforming bold ideas into scalable platforms that deliver measurable impact. 

Elias Samarani serves as Proofpoint’s head of sales engineers for the Middle East and Türkiye, where he leads a team and advises organizations across the region on people-centric cybersecurity strategies. He has more than 17 years of experience in the security industry, having previously worked at Forcepoint and held network security roles at several organizations. His passion for technology and cybersecurity has equipped him with the skills necessary to quickly assess the most complex environments and develop strategic people-centric security solutions. He also arms businesses with the ability to build security strategies that scale for the future in terms of reliability, growth, performance, and productivity.