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.

Peter Key has gained over 40 years’ of experience in the construction industry starting his career with Saint Gobain, in their glazing sector.

Peter has spent the last 18 years working for Vector Foiltec - the market leader in Texlon® ETFE building envelopes. His expertise has helped clients deliver high-profile projects including The Olympic Stadium, London, and Gatwick Airport North and South terminals to name a few.

For the last 8 years, his focus has been to develop the Middle East market - enabling clients to realize their vision from initial concept and design development to value engineering; within the boundaries of their budget and timeframe.

Peter has been responsible for the development of the hugely successful shopping mall – The Avenues, Kuwait, a 3-phase project creating an outdoor experience in an indoor space. This success has led to the development of 2 further shopping malls in Saudi Arabia.

Susanna holds a master’s degree in Façade Engineering from the University of Applied Science in Detmold, Germany. In her current position as the Head of Facade Engineering she is responsible for technical and commercial design, competition design documents and managing one of the largest specialist services teams at WSP in the Middle East.

With over 12 years’ experience in the façade industry in both Germany and the UAE, Susanna is knowledgeable of the various façade cladding materials for both commercial and residential sectors and has applied them confidently in practice.

Her specialism is in façade design for sustainable building envelopes and she has a detailed understanding of system development for curtain walls and aluminium windows, including façade testing and construction supervision. Susanna has been the lead façade consultant for several high-end projects in the region. Her understanding of client needs and regional design requirements allows Susanna to execute her skills in international testing and design standards for curtain walling to achieve best practice and adopt the design to local market requirements.

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.

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.

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.

With a foundation in architectural background and over 14 years of specialization in façade engineering, he currently holds the role of Project Manager for façades in a confidential initiative led by the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Collaborating closely with lead architects and consultants, his responsibilities encompass overseeing façade design and engineering packages, with a focus on successful execution. Prior to this, he dedicated 9 years to Reynaers, providing pre-sales services to architects across the Middle East and contributing to numerous projects in the region. Before that, he spent four years at a renowned façade factory in KSA, honing his expertise in aluminum and steel fabrication. His approach involves multidisciplinary collaboration with clients, architects, consultants, and suppliers, aimed at delivering comprehensive and sustainable façade solutions.

Lars Anders is the CEO of Priedemann Façade Experts and Façade-Lab Research & Development Center, which accomplishes tasks relating to the façade or building envelope. In this role, He manages and leads along with his managing partners, a team providing all services in façade planning, consulting, and engineering as well as other project-related assignments like product research and functional development.

Lars is a seasoned engineer and holds a degree in Civil Engineering (University of Applied Sciences, Berlin 1985). Inspired by building skins and their limitless possibilities, Priedemann provides interdisciplinary services to investors, developers, architects, consultants, main contractors, and fabricators, which have enabled them to achieve higher levels of efficiency, quality, and cost certainty in the development and execution of their façade projects

With over 22 years of professional experience in the façade industry. As an Engineer in architectural design, Stefan started in 2000 with Schüco in Germany as a Project Developer in the Façade Engineering department before moving in 2007 to another German system supplier. He was a Project Manager for different high rise schemes before shifting to sales function and being the General Manager of the subsidiary of the same company in Dubai.

Before joining Schüco Middle East in 2019, Stefan worked as an International Business Development Manager for a well-known International Façade Consultancy firm based in Berlin/Germany.

Arne Emerson is a Partner at Morphosis with more than 27 years of experience in the field. Since joining Morphosis in 2009, he has led the design and construction of a broad range of buildings, competitions, and planning projects in the U.S., Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. He has worked on a variety of international project types and scales throughout his career, including museums, residential, mixed-use, master planning, retail, and healthcare facilities.

Arne served as Project Architect on the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas and is currently serving as Design Partner for two new US Embassies in Beirut, Lebanon and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the new headquarters for ENI in San Donato, Italy, a new arts district at The University of Texas at Dallas, and the new headquarters for lululemon in Vancouver, British Columbia. Prior to working with Morphosis, Arne was a design Principal with Daniel Libeskind for nearly ten years, where he played pivotal roles in the design, management, and realization of several award-winning buildings.

In addition to his professional career, Arne is a committed educator and lecturer. He is a frequent guest professor at Montana State University, the Young Architects Academy in Italy, and as a studio critic at Washington University in St. Louis. He currently serves on the President’s Committee for Art and Architecture at Montana State University.

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.

Michelle graduate as an Architect with the 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.

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.

Haytham is a sustainable energy expert with a Masters's degree in Sustainable Engineering and a Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering. He holds different accreditations including, CEM, CAP, LEEP AP, and Project Management; and is a member of the USGBC Advising Committee and ASME Energy Storage Committee (ESC).

Haytham has extensive experience managing multimillion-dollar energy infrastructure development projects in the Middle East across different lifecycles; project execution, planning and design, research and consulting. He delivered the EPC scope for one of the first renewable energy projects in the region – the Shagaya Renewable Energy Park in Kuwait. Haytham independently supported energy-intensive organizations to execute decarbonization transition strategies with tailored and economically viable measures. He published thought leadership pieces in numerous international industry-leading journals and presentations, i.e., ASME Energy Conference and ASHRAE Water Conference, providing road maps and technical solutions to meet the region’s goals. Haytham also lectured and delivered sustainability-focused training to young professionals in one of the top universities in the Middle East.

He is currently a member of the Strategy & Advisory division at AESG where he directs project activities related to Energy, Carbon, Net-zero and Sustainability.

He is passionate about making a positive impact on the evolving energy and climate crisis and is interested in furthering Energy Transition & Management, Sustainability & Decarbonization, ESG, Energy Economy & Market Assessment.

Ghina is a Principal Façade Consultant at Zutari Middle East, where she leads the portfolio of façade design and engineering projects. Her primary focus lies in delivering a comprehensive sustainable design approach. She has actively contributed to the success of award-winning projects within the Middle East market.

Ghina oversaw the coordination of both multidisciplinary and façade engineering aspects for several upscale hotels within the Dirriyah Gate Development. These projects aimed to achieve LEED Cities and Communities Gold certification, aligning with the Mostadam Communities initiative while incorporating the traditional Najdi architectural style, rooted in historical and heritage elements. This endeavor posed a unique challenge, as it required balancing modern compliance requirements with the preservation of traditional Najdi aspirations. Furthermore, Ghina played a pivotal role in the realization of Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, particularly in achieving the Net Zero energy goal for its primary headquarters building.

With a foundation in architectural engineering and a role in consultancy firms with diverse specialists, Ghina's proficiency in design management enables her to emphasize a multidisciplinary approach. She collaborates closely with clients to assist them in devising innovative engineering solutions that address the challenging performance targets of the market.

A Mechanical Engineer by vocation with over two decades of experience, Eddy started his career in Lebanon heading commercial roles for manufacturers in the Power generation and HVAC sectors.

2006 saw a change of base to the UAE to handle the Middle East operations for a leading manufacturer of glass processing machinery.

The shift from manufacturing to retail distribution began with his role as Middle East Sales Director of German kitchen appliances brand Miele. Five years later, enriched by considerable B2B and B2C market experience during the course of his career, he went on to successfully co-found Studio 971, a multi-brand home furniture and modular kitchen solutions brand based in Dubai. In 2017, he joined global surfaces leader Cosentino. As the brand’s Middle East & India Regional Director, Eddy continues to play a decisive role in fostering strategic partnerships with the construction and design industry and expanding Cosentino’s footprint in the region.

Olaf Conreur is based in Axalta’s European Headquarter in Basel in Switzerland. He is the Global Construction Segment Strategy Director and the Global Specification leader of the Architectural Powder and Liquid business. He cumulates more than 20 years of regional and overseas experience in the coatings industry during which he worked for different multinational companies in various positions such as Sales, Business Development, Product, and Marketing management. Along the years, he has been acquiring an in-depth knowledge of the architectural coating industry and building a wide global network. Passionate about the industry, firm believer in sustainability, digitalization and innovation, strong advocate of Axalta ColourDesign approach, Olaf has always been eager to support Architects and Facade Companies find the right coating for their most prestigious projects.

Olaf is a chemical Engineer from the University of Brussels in Belgium and holds a MBA from ESADE Business School in Barcelona in Spain.

Donel Dippi is an experienced stakeholder-focused Technical Engineer who specialises in passive fire protection and acoustic solutions for the façades of buildings in the Middle East, India, and South Asia Pacific.

With a deep understanding of testing, certification, compliance, and regulatory codes, he helps architects, façade consultants, contractors, developers, and fire and rescue services navigate the complexities of fire safety in both the new construction and retrofitting of buildings, whilst giving guidance on where there is scope for improving performance levels.

Donel is an advocate of best practice in testing, design, installation, inspection, and auditing and firmly believes that this principle should guide all our actions. He takes great pride in encouraging developing countries to avoid repeating the mistakes of others by adopting standards and practices that promote safer buildings to allow their people to live, work, learn, play, and worship with peace of mind – “doing the right thing today is one step closer to protecting the people of tomorrow”.