Ride The World’s Only Glass Slide

As CEO of AESG, Saeed founded and built AESG into one of the Middle East and Europe’s largest and most respected specialist consultancy, engineering and advisory firms with a core focus on sustainable urban development.

He holds a First-Class Master’s degree with honours in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Bath and is a LEED Accredited Professional and Estidama Pearl Qualified Professional as well as a Certified Energy Manager.

Under Saeed's direction, AESG has developed a strong reputation for delivering the highest quality consultancy in sustainability, energy management, fire and life safety, facade engineering, environmental consultancy, waste management, acoustic consultancy, commissioning, government advisory, project development and building consultancy services.

In his role at AESG, Saeed has been involved in managing and directing some of the world’s most prestigious real estate and development projects through planning, design, and execution. Saeed has also led a number of pioneering strategy and policy assignments throughout the MENA region that focus on energy security, sustainable development and climate change. With his global expertise, Saeed sits on a number of governments, real estate and academic advisory boards and regularly consults regional governments on progressive strategies and policies.

Saeed is recognised as a thought leader in sustainable development, engineering and construction and has published numerous papers and presented at hundreds of local, regional and international conferences. As well as presenting at industry conferences, Saeed has also presented policy papers at key international forums including the United Nations Regional Policy Dialogues and COP Climate Change talks.

Obada serves as Dubai Office Director and leads the architectural design efforts in the Middle East region. He is an award-winning architect with a passion for pushing the boundaries of design. Throughout his 18-year career, Obada’s design acknowledges not only the immediate setting but the larger context of the building to ensure overall integrity in the relationship between functional, programmatic, environmental, and contextual needs. With projects varying from residential, hospitality, mixed-use, and shopping districts, Obada has a proven track record of cutting-edge design in the industry.

Ill Sam Park studied architecture at Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, joining Foster + Partners in 2006. He worked on a variety of award-winning projects across Asia and the Middle East, such as World Trade Centre Souk mixed-use development in Abu Dhabi, The Alif Mobility Pavilion in Dubai Expo 2020, Coral Bloom sustainable hospitality project in KSA, etc. Ill Sam has an interest in innovation, sustainability, and user focused design which is best reflected in his project ICD Brookfield Place project in Dubai, which has received various awards including LEED Platinum. Ill Sam has relocated to Dubai in 2016 to manage projects in the region.

Phil Schneider is Head of Sales EMEA and responsible for the implementation of global sales processes within the Vector Foiltec Group. With a view on technology and engineering, but also on processes, overall solutions and the clients view, he was a vital part of very successful large scale Texlon® ETFE projects, like King Abdullah Gardens in Riyadh, Al-Rahba Park in Abu Dhabi and the Verona & Cologne Fairs.

The combination of his understanding of the ETFE systems from a technical point of view, a Master of Engineering degree in light-weight structures and his knowledge about the international markets, including a vast amount of time spent in South- East-Asia, gives him a great opportunity to translate German engineering into ETFE solutions for a global market.

Michelle graduate as an Architect at PUC-PR University - Brazil. In the first years of her career she gained experience as an architect working in Brazil and Australia. In 2004, she has completed a Masters Degree in Structural and Construction Engineering with Griffith University -Australia. She furthered her engineering experience working as a structural engineer in Australia, UK and Middle East.

In 2008 she joined the growing field of Façade Engineering. Working as a façade consultant, she combined her experience in the Architectural and Structural fields. In 2011, she moved to façade contracting where she gained hands on experience on façade design and construction before going back to façade consulting in 2019.

Alastair Common was born in UK (1976) and finished his Civil Engineering studies with Honors.

He started his career in the façade industry in 2002 and has since then obtained a wealth of knowledge through experience gained in Italy, Ireland, UK, Middle East and India. A large portion of employment has been technically based where he learned the grass routes through, arguably one of the industry’s best, Permasteelisa, in their Italian based head office. He has worked on countless high rise projects such as the Yas Viceroy Hotel, Sowwah Square, Shining Towers, Rosewood Hotel, Al Massa Towers, Katara Towers, Al Fattan Crystal Towers, Damac by Paramount and many others.

Further, he has used his extensive knowledge in the field of sliding and unitized Systems to initiate the design of several bespoke design systems used all over the Middle East.

His career has steadily progressed from humble beginnings in the design office, to Project Manager, to Senior Project Manager, with experience through main contracting and technical sales to now being Technical Director at Schueco Middle East, UAE.

With over 35 years’ experience at the offices of Foster and Partners, Squire and Partners, PRP Architects LLP and Broadway Malyan, Jeff has played a strategic design role on several iconic UK and International award-winning architectural schemes.

He spent 15 years at the London studio of Squire and Partners where he was made Partner in 2002. In 2010 Jeff joined PRP as Global Design Director operating in the UK, Russia and China.

In 2003, Jeff set up Aquaria Developments, a development company responsible for land acquisition, design management and development of bespoke homes with projects in the Caribbean, Japan and London.

Jeff is an experienced recreational Scuba Diver and has also worked as a Divemaster, wreck guide and instructor in the Pacific, Indian and Caribbean Oceans since 1990.

Mercè Berengueras joined Axalta in 1998 and with wide experience in technical, productive and commercial areas around the powder business. Since 2015 she is leading the European & middle east specifications team and has a very close link to Architects and Designers around Europe. Merce is directly involved on international construction projects supporting architects and façade companies on finding the right coating to fulfill any surface related specifications. She is passionate for color with a fundamental technical understanding and has a deep knowledge on powder coatings for the architectural market.

Will has worked within the construction industry for nearly 20 years with a focus on building performance. Specialising in insulation, particularly advanced technology materials such as vacuum panels and aerogels. More recently he has been driving EWI systems to enhance existing buildings and maximise new build. Currently he is working on the control of condensation and air tightness, and how to simplify both factors into the design of a building. A key driver being the offsite sector. Will has recently been promoted to Head of Business Management at the A. Proctor Group Ltd.

For over 80 years the A. Proctor Group have supplied technically advanced product solutions for all parts of the building envelope. In the façade and high rise sector, the ground breaking Wraptite self-adhesive and vapour permeable external air barrier membrane improves airtightness and simplifies design, installation and detailing, while lowering costs and ensuring compliance with technical standards. The A. Proctor Group’s experience of hygrothermal modelling and understanding of the balance of heat, air and moisture within the building envelope gives specifiers confidence in achieving a robust and effective envelope design.

Dorian is the Head of Specification for Saint-Gobain UAE. With a background of civil engineer, he has been working in sustainable and lightweight construction for the past 10 years in Europe and in the Middle-East.

He and his team work closely with developers and consultants around the UAE to present the full portfolio of Saint-Gobain solutions and help them design healthy, comfortable and energy efficient buildings and homes. He is an advocate of LCA and EPD of construction materials to lower the built environment carbon footprint in Middle-East.

Before joining Studio Libeskind’s New York office in 2003, Yama Karim had already collaborated with Daniel Libeskind for several years in the late 1990s in Berlin. He has brought extraordinary experience to the Studio, having served first as a senior designer at Polshek Partnership (now Ennead Architects) where he worked on the Brown Fine Arts Center at Smith College, Massachusetts, and the Sarah Lawrence College Monica A. and Charles A. Heimbold Jr. Visual Arts Center, New York, among others. He also worked at Reiser + Umemoto (RUR) in New York, where he served on the team for the Kaohsiung Port Terminal in Taiwan.

He is currently managing the master plan and redevelopment of the former fairgrounds in Milan, Italy; the Downtown Tower in Vilnius, and several high-rise and cultural projects throughout the Middle East.

Yama has taught full-time at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich and as a visiting professor at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. He graduated from Columbia University with a Masters in Architecture in 1995 and from the University of California, Berkeley, with a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Design in 1991. Yama speaks widely on architecture, design, sustainability and urban planning. Yama speaks English and Farsi.

Jan Scheers is a Belgium born glass professional working for Kuraray GmbH. He was born in Belgium (°1964) and started working for the US chemical giant DuPont after finishing his Bachelor in Marketing.

He worked for 14 years in the paints division in DuPont in various functions in logistics, quality control and R&D.

In 1999 he moved to the Glass Solutions division of DuPont where he worked in technical service, product development, marketing and sales.

Since 2014, when DuPont Glass laminating Solutions was acquired by Kuraray, Jan focused on Sales and Technical Service in various countries in EMEA.

Currently Jan is the Sales and Market Development Manager for the Middle East based in Dubai, UAE.

Agnes Koltay has a Masters degree in Architecture (Hungary, USA) and in Façade Engineering (UK) and worked with award winning architects and multidisciplinary engineering companies before founding Koltay Façades, a boutique façade engineering consultancy firm, in 2011. She is the lead façade consultant on a number of prestigious high-rise projects, such as Skyviews, Burj Vista, The Opus, The Address Boulevard Hotel.

Andy has over 30 years of experience in the field of Building and Construction, ranging from structural testing within the nuclear industry to fire testing. Having established the Dubai façade laboratory, and operated it for 10 years, he has particular knowledge of heavy structures testing and weathertightness testing of cladding, curtain walling, building envelope systems and materials.

He has carried out many consultancy projects as a third-party specialist in the field of building envelope technology; particularly these days specializing in updating the facades of existing buildings.

Andy has a long-standing association with the CIOB, and is an ex-Chairman of the Dubai and Northern Emirates Centre.

He continues to provide input into regional code and is a regular speaker at industry technical seminars such as this one.

“I’m looking forward to seeing my amazing industry friends and colleagues during the conference.”

Moustafa is a seasoned civil engineer with 35 years of extensive Global construction management experience as a main contractor and developer representative in the gulf area including 20 years in Saudi Arabia, 15 years in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Kuwait. Moustafa is responsible for the execution and handing over of Mega projects, leading big teams of engineers and operatives to execute projects with special emphasis on high rise buildings, luxury villas, hotels & resorts, mega malls, hospitals, royal palaces, residential compounds, commercial buildings, and infrastructure. Moustafa is recipient of the 2009 Project Manager of the year Dubai award by Construction Week Online Magazine, for the Anantara Hotel and Resort, Palm Jumeirah.

Abdelkader has over 20 years of extensive experience in architecture in different world leading markets around the world.

Starting in the UK and focusing primarily on design development of multi million pound projects for both, the public and private sector then moving to the far east where he was involved in large scale mixed use developments and high rise buildings. After a successful career in China, he then moved to the Middle East in late 2015 where he has been heavily involved in the design of several hospitality and residential developments in the GCC, Africa and Asia. Since then, he has recently joined Jacobs as the regional head of architecture where he leads the design and development of several high profile projects in KSA.

Benjamin has been working as a façade professional for 20 years with projects around the world and long-term positions in Stuttgart, London, New York and Dubai. After building up and heading the Dubai office of Werner Sobek in the position of Executive Vice President, Benjamin joined the Werner Sobek Head Office in Stuttgart, Germany and acted as Team Leader for Façade Engineering. In 2012, he joined Meinhardt Façade Technology in the role of Technical Director. After being Head of Façade at Ramboll Dubai from 2018 to 2020, he re-joined Werner Sobek in the position of Façade Director. His contributions to international façade conferences include being conference session chairman, conference moderator and speakers at various events. He was author of various façade engineering technical publications and currently acts as the chairman of the Middle East Region of the Society of Façade Engineering (SFE).

Edward McIntosh was born in Ecuador, South America; where he received his first Professional Architect degree. During his years in Ecuador, Edward designed multiple commercial, sports and hospitality projects. Amongst these projects, the “Meson del Quijote” Eco-Resort stand out. This highly innovative project was entirely constructed out of local bamboo, giving Edward the opportunity to research and advance the knowledge in the cultivation, harvesting and detail design of complex, large bamboo structures.

After several years of professional practice in South America, Edward won a Fulbright Scholarship which took him to further his academic studies at Columbia University in New York. At Columbia, he was awarded a Master in Science in Advanced Architectural Design, graduating with several honours and prizes such as the Kinne Travelling Fellowship and the Award for Excellence in Design.

Edward moved to London under the behest of one his tutors at Columbia, Sir Peter Cook, and continued to develop his passion for Stadia and Event Venue design for nearly a decade. During this period, he led several design competition teams and was involved in the design and construction of a World Cup and Winter Olympics Stadium, a UEFA Euro Cup stadium and a Summer Olympics stadium as well as leading his team on the Real Madrid, Santiago Bernabeu Remodelling Competition

Paulo Carvalho is Effisus commercial & corporate relations director, supporting the business with his skill set and experience in the international building construction industry. With a solid experience on sales, management, product development, and business strategy, his current focus is to leverage the Middle East business for Effisus.

Since early in his career he has been working with and for the five continents, being currently based in Dubai. He has worked at the beginning of his carrier on the automotive industry, moving later to the building construction industry, where he has been working for the last 15 years. In recent years Paulo has collaborated with numerous stakeholders to develop sustainable and functional building envelopes, with a key focus on optimizing to each specific project needs.

Nitin Govila is a senior-level International Director with diversified experience in managing business operations in B2B, B2C environments across different business categories at a Regional level. He has also handled international consulting assignments and global projects. Nitin is based out of Singapore.

Giovanni Zizioli is the Middle East Regional Director at Maffeis Engineering, a leading international consulting firm, headquartered in Italy. He has been involved in managing, planning, coordinating and designing projects over a wide range of engineering services and in four different countries, three different continents. Since 2018 Giovanni leads the Middle East Market for Maffeis Engineering, following projects from concept up to construction/installation and with a wide range of façade technical solutions.

Renato studied master’s degree in industrial engineering and joined the façade industry in January 2001.He has an extensive experience in the design of façade systems with a wide range of materials such as aluminium, steel, curved glass, special laminated glass, GFRP, GFRC, brass and stainless steel. He is experienced in façade testing at labs, supervision of installation on-site and failure investigation. He has an excellent working knowledge of other specialist services such as fire engineering and building physics. He has an extensive experience in the Middle East and Europe. He authored seven articles about façades and glass engineering and lectured at the Facades master’s degree in Spain during 2010 and 2011.He has continuously deepened his leadership and management skills to guide and contribute to teams in project delivery. He has mentored and supported younger engineers career development. Renato worked full-time on-site in Kuwait from February 2018 to September 2021 as part of the design compliance team led by Foster and Partners. He led the design façades team in Dubai for Werner Sobek during 2022.

Jasmin is the Marketing Director for Africa & Middle East for Guardian Glass, working with glass industry experts in the region to help them see what’s possible™. With 20 years in the glass industry and a degree in electromechanics, Jasmin has led diverse teams around the globe in marketing, demand creation, commercial and technical excellence. Originally from Bosnia and Herzegovina, while having lived most of his life in Luxembourg, Jasmin currently resides in Dubai since 2018.

Ammar Alul is the Managing Director of Schüco Middle East which is the regional headquarters of Schüco International KG that’s responsible for eleven countries across the Region. He has been in the Middle East since 1996 and has held several top management positions in different industries.

Ammar holds a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the U.S.A. and a senior management certificate from Switzerland’s Institute for Management Development (IMD). He has served on several boards of directors of local and European corporations over the past two decades.

A professional with 20 years of extensive experience, and solid technical knowledge, covering the design, specification, construction, testing and commissioning of building envelopes.

Mr. Abbas holds dual major degrees in engineering, a Master’s degree in Façade Engineering, and a Bachelor Degree in Civil Engineering. Both with Academic Distinctions.

A Member of the Society of Façade Engineers, and the UAE Society of Engineers, as well as being an accredited Certified Energy Manager (CEM) by the Association of Energy Engineers.

Mr. Abbas is the CEO of IBECE with branches in UAE, KSA and Lebanon, offering services in two major disciplines: Façade Consulting & Engineering; Building Energy Saving & Sustainability;