Day 1 - Saturday, April 27th, 2019: Core Themes: Challenges, Financing and Marketing

MC: Georgina Learman, Managing Partner, Creative Intelligence

12.00pm - 12.20pm: GCC F&B Market Landscape – What’s up?

Abdul Kader (Aboudi) Saadi Founder and Managing Director, Glee Hospitality Solutions

As competition in the market intensifies, untapped opportunities in mid-market F&B are impacting the industry as a whole. With price continuing to play a significant role in attracting and retaining guests, this session addresses the realities we are facing as F&B owners in a saturated market. With two decades of experience bringing both standalone F&B concepts and hotel restaurant outlets to life, this regional expert of the highest order provides much needed clarity on what it takes to move forward both as a brand and as an industry.

12.25pm – 1.00pm: Panel Discussion: The Demand`vs Supply debate in UAE F&B

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Moderator:

• Stefan Breg, Serial restaurant concept creator and strategist, Keane Brands 

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Panelists:

• Naim Maadad, Chief Executive Officer, Gates Hospitality

• Sajan Alex, Vice President Operations, Tablez Food

• George Kunnapally, Managing Director, Nando's UAE LLC

• Marvin Alballi, Director of Restaurants & Bars - IHG

1.05pm – 1.30pm: Spotlight Keynote - Creating a World Class Gastronomy Destination

Darren Tse, Commercial Director – Concessions, Dubai Expo 2020

1.35pm - 2.10pm: Panel Discussion: Financing in the F&B sector

Moderator:

• Naveed Dowlatshahi, Kash Global Group 

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Panelists:

• Duncan Fraser-Smith, Director, Global Food and Beverage, The First Group

• Omer Aslan Gurel, Co-founder & CEO, Repeat

• Nader Bassit, CEO, Wakira Investments

2.15pm – 2.55 pm: Pitch Presentation: Five (5) Food Tech Pitches

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Moderator:

• Sameer Sortur, Founder and CEO, SquareCircle Tech

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Panelists:

• Benjamin Mouflard, Co-founder, ChatFood

• Rida Abi Farraj, General Manager, IoT Plus Middle East LLC

• John Balian, CEO BIM POS

3.00pm – 3.35pm: Panel Discussion: Smart Marketing and the Role of Videos

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Moderator:

• Martin Kubler, General Manager, CEO, sps:affinity

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Panelists:

• Reim El Houni, Executive Producer and CEO, Ti22 Films and dubai ON demand

• Prafull Dwivedi, Director, FoodKraft International

• Sajith Ansar, Founder & CEO, Idea Spice

• Ketaki Shah, Marketing & PR Manager, Nando's UAE LLC

3.40pm – 4.15pm: Panel Discussion: Launching a startup – how do you transform your idea into a business?

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Moderator:

• Karthik Ramamurthy, Regional Director& Head, IPSOS 

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Panelists:

• John Balian, CEO, BIM POS

• Murad Alnasur, Managing Director, Restonalysis Hospitality

• Firas Alsahin, Co-Founder, Design Director, 4SPACE Design

• Jaydeep Anand, Chief Operating Officer and General Manager, Five Palm Jumeirah Hotel & Resorts