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).

Tarek Shuaib has led Pace since 2005 to become one of the leading multi-disciplinary consultancy firms in the region, with an international reputation for design quality. Utilising over 30 years of professional experience, and in-depth industry knowledge, Tarek has spearheaded the growth of the firm and delivery of award-winning projects that continue to shape the region’s architectural landscape.

Robert-Jan van Santen graduated in Architecture from UPA3 Versailles, France. He worked for 4 years in “Atelier de Paris” with Renzo Piano in Paris. He set up his own consulting firm focusing on building envelopes, “Bureau d’études façade van SANTEN” in 1989, which later became “van SANTEN & Associés” in 1999, and later VS-A in 2010. Under his supervision came the establishments of VS-A.HK in 2011, VS-A.KR in 2013, VS-A. SZ in 2018. In the last decade, he was instrumental in the formation of VS-A Design, which hosts VS-A’s R&D activities. The design outputs are regularly patented. The Korean start-up company, UBLO was jointly set up with Naree Kim. This latest enterprise is responsible for developing a personalized ventilation window. He was honored with the Silver Medal from the French Académie d'Architecture for Research and Technique in 2008. In 2019, one of his leaded projects “Vanke Binhai Cloud Center” in Shenzhen, CHINA was awarded by CTBUH Façade Engineering Award 2019. Robert-Jan is a regular speaker at international conferences and participates in numerous jury panels worldwide.

VS-A Architect – Project Manager – Business developer for projects in the Middle East and Gulf regions at VS-A

After obtaining her Architecture degree from the Lebanese University's Faculty of Fine Arts, Nirvana AL DIB gained 6 years of experience working with various construction and architecture firms in Lebanon. In 2022, she completed her second Master’s in Glass Design Architecture at ENSA, Nancy.

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;

Markus Pfisterer has been Associate Partner at gmp’s Berlin office since 2014 and is responsible for an international team of architects. During his studies at Stuttgart University and the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, his focus was already on integral design, which sees architectural and engineering design for structural and services engineering as a unit. At gmp he was able to contribute as Project Manager of numerous projects. These include the Concert Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan, the National Stadium in Warsaw, and the Jawharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi.

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.

Abdullah Faza is the Director of Fire and Life Safety in AESG Middle East, and he holds Bachelor of Science with Honour degree in Fire Safety Engineering University of Central Lancashire, UK, 2014 with Associate Membership in Institute of Fire Engineering, UK. He is ex perienced fire engineer with high skills and knowledge in fire & life safety design, construction and operation stages and he is specialist in Façade Fire Safety consultancy services. He delivered landmark projects in the Middle East working with Architect s, Consultants, Contractors and Developers such as Expo 2020, Al Wasl Tower, Hatta Hydropower Plant, Red Sea Airport, NEOM and Al Ula various Projects . His Fire & Life Safety expertise is demonstrated by strong relationship with different authorities in t he region.

English

Khaled Raslan joined Vitro Architectural Glass as the Senior Manager for GCC region back in September 2018. Raslan carries an MBA, and with more than 28 years’ experience in the region, he has extensive experience in the commercial construction, automotive industries and in the sales, marketing and supply chain functions.

Raslan has worked for several multinational cooperations in the Middle East and moved up from being a Market, Product & Logistics Analyst to a Supply Chain Manager, to a Certified Sales & Marketing Manager, to Regional Sales Manager, to Senior Manager.

Raslan continues to hone his skills in the glass industry and commercial construction.

He works directly with architects, façade engineers, curtainwall manufacturers and glass processors to deliver high performance glass facades and glazing solutions.

Arabic

Jeff Dibdin joined the A. Proctor Group in 2010. Jeff has many years of experience in the construction industry, focusing on modular construction, product development and innovation. By advocating a systems-based approach to airtightness the Proctor Group have simplified the build-up of ‘through wall’ designs and pushed forward the specification and completion of safer and more robust solutions utilising technically advanced materials with proven performance. 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, technical reinforced vapour barriers, newly developed fire rated vapour barriers, and the ground-breaking Wraptite membrane can combine to improve airtightness and simplify design, installation, and detailing. 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.

Medhat is the Managing Director and Senior Façade Specialist at ARKS Designs LLC, a leading façade consultancy company in Egypt/Canada. He has acquired a vast experience in Façade design and engineering of many distinct and highly significant projects at several regions and countries including Egypt, KSA, UAE, Libya, Bahrain and Canada. After his Architectural Engineering degree, he continued his façade engineering studies in University of Bath, UK – CWCT in 2009 till 2012, and in 2019 he started his Business studies in Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh Business school. He has also been teaching Façade Engineering for Pre-masters candidates, at the German University in Cairo – GUC in 2019 as a guest Lecturer.

Since graduating in civil engineering Oliver is involved in the execution of prestigious construction- and façade projects mainly in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. For over 12 years in UAE, he gained an appropriate market experience and developed a huge network. Oliver is a technically minded and performance driven professional with extensive experience in business development. Previously, he worked as a General Manager in an engineering and project management company responsible for the Middle East, Asia and Africa. With his skills in planning, execution and spearheading complex projects, he enabled the sustainable growth of the business in this region.

For over 3 years Oliver is the managing director of seele middle east FZE – a leading company for façade industry and has been handling spectacular façade construction projects in the Middle East. He is in-charge of enquiries and projects in the Gulf area. Recent projects executed by seele in this region are the glass walkway and the all-glass façade of the Apple flagship store Al Maryah Island in Abu Dhabi., 13m high glazed elevator enclosures of the luxury resort Royal Atlantis in Dubai and many other high end projects.

Ben Runhaar is the Product & Marketing Manager for LUMIFLON resins and FLUON ETFE Film for AGC Chemicals in the EMEA Region. In his over 25-year career, he held functions in sales, marketing and product management in different parts of the world. In 2013 he joined AGC Chemicals in Europe taking the responsible for the sales and marketing of two product lines (LUMIFLON and ETFE FILM), both finding many applications in the Architectural Market. He has been actively involved in the development and growth of powder-coatings passing the highest Qualicoat Class 3 standard, suitable to withstand the harsh conditions in the Middle East. Fluon ETFE Film has become the standard for light weight architectural Roof and Façade Film for Biodomes, Stadiums, Shopping Malls, and Atriums. He holds a master’s degree in Polymer Chemistry from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands.

Rami Bou Chakra is the Market Manager for AGC Fire Rated Glass in GCC & Egypt, With one year of experience in Fire Rated glass industry and 16+ years’ experience in the façade industry, He had developed a deep understanding of the intricacies involved in creating fire resistant materials that not only meet stringent safety standards but also seamlessly integrate into modern architectural designs, also been privileged to work on a diverse range of projects, collaborating closely with architects, engineers, and construction professionals to provide tailor-made solutions that enhance both the safety of the human being which is the most important & aesthetics of buildings. Being committed in staying at the forefront of industry trends and advancements it drives him to continuously seek out new technologies and materials that can push the boundaries of what fire rated glass can achieve. We are determined to make buildings safer and more visually captivating through the transformative power of fire rated glass.

As the Specification & Business Development Manager at Jotun Powder Coating based in Dubai office, Khalid has successfully specified and worked on several high-profile projects in the GCC region as well as Egypt & North America. With over 10-years experience in the Façade Industry, Khalid is not only known for his desire to serve all stakeholders in a thorough and prompt fashion. He has a specific passion in both empowering and enlightening them with the knowledge and necessary tools required to better understand Powder Coating. You might already know him from his weekly educational videos on powder coating through Linkedin.

Kelvin Tan is the General Manager of CoxGomyl & Manntech (Alimak Group) Middle East and Africa. Since his educational background from Mechanical Engineering (NTU, Singapore) and an MBA (Sunderland, UK) and with over 18+ years in the vertical access industry, he had been in various senior positions in KONE South East Asia, CoxGomyl SEA, Alimak Group (CoxGomyl & Manntech) Middle East and was involved in numerous super-tall high rise projects of various segments and complex building facade types across Middle East, South East Asia, Indochina, South Asia, Africa regions.

Throughout his career, he had built on his knowledge in Vertical Access and implemented highly effective project solutions for various projects in those regions. Not only does he focus on the deliverables but bringing exceptional value to the entire project life cycle including remarkable efficiency, high safety standards and reduced total cost of ownership.

He was also a key subject contributor for the first ever Façade Access Maintenance Guide for the Building Construction Authority in Singapore.

Mohamed Alkhateeb is an architect who has implemented a wide range of projects. He is specialised in managing and resolving technical issues in construction projects.

He is a certified Project Management Professional. He tries to apply and elevate construction methodologies which support rushing schedules.

Ibrahim Abdallah is a civil engineer and the GM of Cube Metal Industries, a facade contracting company in Jeddah, KSA. He has over 17 years of experience in the Middle East, working on landmark projects with top clients and contractors. He graduated from BAU with honors and joined ALUMCO in 2006, where he worked in all its branches in Beirut, Doha, Jeddah and Dubai for 10 years. He then became the GM of CMI in 2016 and led a major transformation over 8 years. He is also a sports enthusiast who loves playing football and basketball in his spare time.