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.

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.

Thomas Fruhmann is a senior Façade/Building Skin Specialist with a top-level experience in curtain wall construction industry. He has acquired a diversified experience in design, production, project coordination, project management, contracts management, risk management, and tender/sales management, and developed a keen interest in coordinating multi-disciplinary building envelope projects.

Thomas has acquired extensive expertise in building skin design by working on a number of international projects and has developed a multi-cultural approach in handling complex projects as a result of his involvement in major assignments in the GCC, UK, Europe, Africa and Asia.

In 2018, he became the Director Pre-Construction Services at Schueco Middle East. Previously, he held senior positions with reputed organisations in the industry, including Dar Al-Handasah, ALICO (Aluminum & Light Industries), CTI (Cladtech International) and Façade Innovation Konhausner Group.

Bart Leclercq has worked in the middle east region for 17 years with a number of world class consultants, during which time he worked on projects that include Dubai World Trade Center, Royal Mirage on the Palm Jumeirah, as well as the retail district and parking component of Bluewaters in Dubai. He was also involved with the 5-star Kempinski Hotel for The Wave in Muscat, Oman.

Bart was born and raised in Maastricht in the south of the Netherlands, and was educated at the University of Technology in Delft. There he studied Civil Engineering with a specialisation in large complex building projects. At the beginning of his career he worked in London and Dublin in Ireland, before relocating to Dubai in 2004. In January 2021 he moved to Riyadh on the back of some significant project wins for BSBG in Saudi Arabia. Bart’s combination of high-end design and first-class delivery expertise is very rare, and is something has been of enormous value as BSBG continue to expand operations in KSA.

Bart Leclercq is a very familiar face within the Middle East; he has been a keynote speaker at various conferences and professional events throughout the region, and has also been a long-term judge for the ME Architect’s Award.

Mr. Takamori Yamazaki brings together a broad range of design and management experience from his 39 year career ranging from large scale mixed use urban developments, educational and commercial buildings to innovative galleries, working thoroughout Japan, and internationally.

Mr. Yamazaki strongly believes that every project has the potential to create unique architecture when it is derived from the sensitivity of the clients’ goals and site context. In this way the architecture becomes meaningful to its urban and social context, building on and supporting existing and future social infrastructures while contributing to the visual and spatial language of the urban setting.

Mr. Henckens' work focuses on managing complex projects in the Middle East. In 2015 he was appointed General Manager of the Nikken Riyadh Branch which he helped set up in 2010. He contributes strong communication skills and management experience in coordinating the design process from bidding (competition) through all stages, liaising with local partners, authorities and specialists.

His work spans across sectors, encompassing research facilities, commercial, financial, mixed-use, embassy and hospitality projects. In all his projects he puts great emphasis on efficient and smooth liaison between the client and the design team (both in-house and external consultants) towards a successful design process.

Ahmed is on a mission to help architects, façade designers, and developers to select the right glass for their projects. Ahmed graduated as a mechanical engineer and after that, he worked in the glass field. His passion is to share his knowledge in glass with the different stakeholders to help them select the right glass, making the building’s users feel comfortable and reducing the electricity consumption for a greener society. Ahmed started with Guardian as a specification manager in KSA. After that, he was the demand creation team leader in GCC and Pakistan. Most recently served as regional mega projects manager for Africa and the Middle East.

Paul has dedicated over 30 years to the design and delivery of some of the Middle East and North Africa’s (MENA) most prominent and successful shopping and entertainment destinations. With specialist knowledge of local planning policy and legislation, particularly in the context of its retail implications, Paul offers insight into the future of these environments and leads CRTKL’s design and delivery of complex retail mixed-use projects across the region.

As a highly experienced architect, he informs the strategies of the many leading commercial developers and is working alongside them to define what the mall of the future will and bring forward design innovations that improve the environmental and social impact of these projects and expand them beyond a single use. Evidence of this and Paul’s influence can be found at Riyadh Front, Saadiyat Grove, Avenues Riyadh and Avenues Khobar. 

Benjamin has been working as a façade professional for more than 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 and Managing Director of the Dubai office. 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). 

Christoph Timm is an architect with over 20 years of experience in the creative field. During his career Christoph has designed a great variety of projects encompassing products, furniture, street lights and architectural spaces. At SOM, he currently serves as Senior Leader of the Enclosure Group, whose practice is embedded among the various architectural design and engineering studios in the New York office.

Christoph’s expertise is in building enclosures, both in their aesthetically crafted appearance in varying light conditions as well as performance.  Efficiency and appropriate use of materials with a focus on innovation and techniques new to the building process are among the many considerations central in his design process. Within SOM, Christoph has started a construction site visit program that regularly takes young architects onto different construction sites in the city with the goal of creating a better understanding of construction complexities and how these conditions are influencing design.

Christoph participates or acts as a design critic on most of SOM’s New York projects.  Outside of SOM Christoph shares his expertise actively at conferences and industry events. He has lectured on design and building performance related topics in North and South America, Europe and Asia.

Abdullah holds a Bachelor of Science with Honour degree in Fire Safety Engineering from University of Central Lancashire, UK. He is a graduate member of the Institution of Occupational Safety & Health.

He is an experienced fire engineer with high skills and knowledge in fire & life safety design, fire & gas mapping, façade assessment, inspection and risk assessment. He delivered landmark projects in UAE and GCC countries such as Al Wasl 2020 tower, A2/A3 towers, UAE Pavilion Expo 2020, Wafi Tower, MBR Library, Dubai Frame, Riyadh DAMAC Towers, Riyadh Avenues Project, and others.

In addition to the engineering experience, Abdullah was a fire safety instructor delivering fire safety awareness courses for a variety of candidates such as fire marshals, security guards, hotel staff, healthcare staff, restaurant staff and others.

James is the Fire and Life Safety Technical Manager at AESG, Dubai. He holds a Masters Degree in Architectural Engineering from the University of Leeds (UK) and has 7 years of experience working in the Fire Protection and Fire and Life Safety industry.

James enjoys working in a multidisciplinary team environment to find tailored and practical solutions which all stakeholders can agree upon. James specialises in the development of fire and life safety strategies using both prescriptive and performance-based approaches. Moreover, he is experienced in the design of fire protection systems and in application of computational fluid dynamics (CFD).

James has experience across a diverse range of projects including residential apartments, hotels, offices, healthcare buildings, shopping malls and masterplan developments. Experience includes projects in Middle East, Europe, North America and Asia.

Some of his key projects include Creek Beach District (Dubai), Masdar City Square (Abu Dhabi), Amaala Staff Village (Red Sea), Diriyah Gate (Riyadh), Marina Bay Sands Apple Store (Singapore) and Canada Water Masterplan (London).

Micha Pawelka, who has an academic qualification in Wholesale Management and Foreign Trade, gained over 20 years of experience in the Glass and Facade Industry in Europe. He was a Sales Director in the Schollglas Group in Germany before relocating to the Middle East in 2008 to establish an office for Interpane Glass.

At the end of 2014, he joined Priedemann as one of the Managing Director of Priedeamnn FZCO in Dubai with several years of experience alongside the Management Team of Priedemann Facade Experts. Handling business development for the Middle East projects, Micha was in charge of all sales and marketing activities, the business development plan, and the client relationship of Priedemann Middle East and India.

Recently resettled in Germany, Micha Pawelka has been the CFO/COO of Priedemann Holding GmbH since January 2021. He oversees and handles the company's day-to-day administration and operational function and the group's financial matters. In addition, however, he maintains contact with the market, especially in the Middle East, and supports the development there.

Dr. Hassan Waked has extensive design expertise of 43 years, he worked on comprehensive architectural design and urban planning of mega projects in the Kingdom. (30 years in Zuhair Fayez Partnership as a consultant and director of design, The diversity of projects achieved included designing five educational universities, campuses and cities such as King Khalid University, King Sultan University, Dar AlHikma,.. he designed King Fahad cultural centers in Argentina and south Africa, Saqr AlJAzerah Aircraft museum in Riyadh and AlHaram library commlex, Ministries, real estate developments, special needs and healthcare projects.

He joined 8 years as a chief designer in Beeah Group consultants for ADA projects developing Justice Palace area and Deplomatic Quarters.

A lecturer in different events and conferences and universities transferring knowledge and inspiring for creativity and innovation. He holds a Doctorate of Philosophy in Architectural Urban Planning, which focused on the means of promoting spirituality in sacred cities and worship and meditation places.

Dr. Afaf A. Badran is the founder of Darbellabbana Group for Design and Architecture and Darbellabbana Center for Culture, Arts and Skills and Environmental Development which opened in Cairo in 2012.

She started her career as an architect in 1980 working for diverse international companies in Egypt. In 1983 she started being independently assigned design projects, e.g., The Delta Scientific Research Center, for the Academy of Scientific Research, the renovation of the Headquarter Building of Chloride Factory, both in Egypt, and later the UNICEF Headquarter Building in the Diplomatic Quarter in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Upon moving to Riyadh, she worked with Beeah Consultancy, joint venturing with Buro Happold on prestigious projects for AlRiyadh Development Authority. Among these was a challenging research project The Reinstatement of Old Riyadh City Walls and Gates of the 1920s in the 1986 Riyadh context, and the design of a Replica of Old Riyadh City as an Open Museum in Jinadreyah, in Riyadh which was awarded first prize. In 1992, she moved to Jeddah where she continued being involved in a variety of projects with prestigious consultants’ offices, as well as independently. She then embarked on her post graduate studies focusing on Environmental Design and Planning.

She taught, in Dar Al Hekma University between 2001 and 2008. She has been lecturing, providing consultancy on architecture curriculums and critiquing projects, as well as jurying competitions ever since. She is also continuing her professional career as an environmental designer and design consultant.

Abdullah is a seasoned Architect bringing more than 22 years of experience in the Design and Construction Industry. In the last decade he has gained significant experience in the façade engineering leading the design, construction, and delivery of many important buildings within the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD).

KAFD is the iconic real estate development in the city of Riyadh crafted by world- renowned architects and designers. KAFD is designed to meet the requirements of the international sustainability scheme LEED.

With more than (30) years of experience, arch. Sami Sabbagh is a DAO " Partner / Architect & Head of Urban Planning since 2001. In addition to his professional work, Sami engages with the BAU University and his academic experience includes visiting Instructor for 5th year architectural design studio in addition to being a Jury Member for different Architectural Universities.

Sami started his professional career by joining Dar Al Omran- Amman as an architect where he worked closely with Arch. Rassem Badran in 1989. Proving himself as a professional creative architect, Sami was promoted quickly to senior level architect and became responsible of managerial posts. After becoming a DAO partner, he established DAR AL OMRAN CONSULTANTS – KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA, and became and occupies still the General Manager post..

With his negotiation skills and design talent, acrh. Al-Sabbagh is efficiently leading both design and supervision teams, managing multidisciplinary design projects, including technical liaison with clients, as well as quality management. Arch. Sami has built an excellent reputation in the Middle East through his excellent record in designing a variety of successful mixed-use, residential, cultural and urban design projects in KSA, Jordan, and other Arab cities which proved to bring positive asset for DAO. Additionally, working with key consulting firms has rendered him to be involved in large scale and major projects including master planning, hotels, offices buildings, universities, educational facilities, hospitals and medical facilities.

Mohammed Bahsh holds master’s degree in “International Marketing” from UK, is currently the Senior Manager – Tensile Architecture of Serge Ferrari Group for Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa regions. He has Over 15 years of international experience in industrial and architectural textile and held position from 2006 – 2020 as General Manager for Verseidag Indutex GmbH for Middle East region.

Over the years, he has delivered over 2 million sq.m of PTFE Architectural fabrics for landmark projects such as QATAR - FIFA 2022 “5” Stadiums, Lusail Plaza. UAE - Asia Cup 2019 Maktoum Stadium, The Birds at EXPO 2020, Sheikh Zayed University Dubai, Midfield Terminal at Abu Dhabi Airport, Emirates National Schools. KSA - Haramain Railway Stations, Jamarat Bridge, Mashaer Metro Stations, New Madinah Airport, Main Building Multi-Story Car Park, KAP4, Falcon and Dates National Markets. Bahrain – F1 Race Circuit, Khalifa. Kuwait – Kuwait University New Campus, National Schools Program.

Jan Scheers is a Belgium born glass professional working as a consultant 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 working as a sales consultant for Kuraray, responsible for the Middle East and South Africa. He is based in Dubai, UAE.

Ricky has over 11 years’ experience in working on passive fire compartmentation and noise control solutions for all kinds of unusual, large-scale and iconic façade developments all over the world, which have been required to facilitate best practice with the right solutions.

Starting his Siderise career in the UK, Ricky helped to establish Siderise as the market leader there in the façade sector, before moving onto solidifying a presence for them in many European markets. Following that success, Ricky now works with the Siderise Middle East team, based at their Dubai branch and covers the Middle East region as Business Development and Specification Manager.

Zaid Suleiman is HILTI façade segment manager, with 15 years of experience in sales management, system development, and business strategy, he is driving the Façade business development for HILTI within Middle East, Turkey and Africa.

Holding a bachelor degree in civil engineering and a master’s degree in projects management, he joined HILTI in 2008 managing UAE contractors business before moving to Saint-Gobain in 2012 where he lead the development of façade solutions within EIFS, SFS and direct render applications with Façade architects, designers & contractors in Middle East region. Rejoining HILTI in 2021 with the mission to drive the development of the façade industry within the areas of curtain wall bracket fastening, fire stopping and ventilated façade cladding with all project key stakeholders and developers.

Holding a bachelor degree in Industrial engineering, Ahmad’s area of responsibility is to Develop, Specify and Execute the ventilated façade solutions across the Saudi construction market. With his extension experience he supports the façade consultants and contractors throughout the entire projects life cycle from design, plan up to execution stage. Ahmad continues to demonstrate success working with various stakeholder and projects in KSA through a close engagement in the façade construction sector.

Architect with extensive experience in Design and Construction. Skilled in Design management and Mixed-use projects. Strong arts and design professional with 30 years of International experience. Registered Architect in Architectural Institution of British Columbia (AIBC) – Canada. Member of the Royal Architectural Institution of Canada (RAIC).

Vinay Sharma is a qualified Civil Engineer with a MBA in marketing background. He is working in Jotun Powder Coatings since last 13 years and currently is designated as Marketing and Sales Manager(Eastern Region). He has a versatile experience both Powder and Protective Coatings market in all sales channels - Specifications, Sales and Marketing and is an expert in recommending Coating solutions to the Aluminum market.Vinay has an overall experience of 25 plus years in coatings.