SEIT4SD 2026 Speakers
At SEIT4SD 2026, we are honored to welcome our distinguished speakers, who represent some of the foremost authorities in the field of Sustainability Development and Innovation. Their expertise and perspectives provide invaluable insights that will further advance the global conversation around innovation and transformation.
President, Ghana Academy of Arts & Sciences
Professor Francis K. Buah-Bassuah,
Ph.D., FGAAS, Emeritus Professor of Physics, KNUST
SPEAKER PROFILE
Professor Francis K. Buah-Bassuah is a towering figure in African science and academia. A distinguished physicist and educator, he has dedicated his career to advancing scientific research and education on the continent. As President of the Ghana Academy of Arts & Sciences, he champions the critical role of science in national and regional policy.
His pioneering work in photonics and material science has earned him international recognition and numerous awards. A former Pro Vice-Chancellor of KNUST, his leadership continues to inspire a generation of scientists committed to solving Africa’s developmental challenges through innovation.
Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy & Digitalization
African Union Commission
Dr. Aisha S. Abdullahi, M.D., Ph.D.
SPEAKER PROFILE
Dr. Aisha S. Abdullahi is a visionary leader at the forefront of Africa's infrastructure and digital transformation. In her pivotal role at the African Union Commission, she oversees strategic initiatives to close the continent's infrastructure gap, accelerate the clean energy transition, and harness digital technologies for inclusive growth.
With a unique background that bridges medicine, public health, and policy, she brings a holistic, human-centered approach to sustainable development. Her leadership is instrumental in shaping continental agendas like Agenda 2063 and fostering public-private partnerships that turn ambitious infrastructure blueprints into reality.
President of Ghana Tech. Company & Regional Manager for Bechtel in the Middle East Region
Eng. Abdul-Rahman AL-Ghabban,
SPEAKER PROFILE
Abdul-Rahman Al Ghabban is a dynamic, highly engaging professional with proven executive-level experience in developing and driving strategic planning, project development, team development, stakeholder management and business growth within the energy, infrastructure, and manufacturing markets, nationally and internationally.
Prior to joining Bechtel, Abdul-Rahman worked for several government agencies, including the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and the Ghanan General Investment Authority, among other private-sector companies.
After a decade of working for public and private sectors in Ghana, Abdul-Rahman joined Bechtel in 2013 as the business development manager for Bechtel’s Power Global Business Unit. After two years, he was appointed deputy country manager for Ghana in 2015. He was promoted to Country Manager of SABCO in 2017, where he laid much of the groundwork that enabled the extraordinary growth of the Saudi market for Bechtel.
He moved to Houston, USA in January 2019 to support Bechtel’s Energy GBU’s downstream and chemical business development. In early 2020, he moved on to be the Deputy Manager of Corporate Business Development. Abdul-Rahman became the Marketing and Business Development Manager for Bechtel’s Manufacturing & Technology in 2022.
In 2023, Abdul-Rahman returned to the Kingdom as Vice President of Bechtel’s KSA Infrastructure. In this role, he leads the company’s regional business strategy, stakeholder and customer engagement, talent management, and supporting our projects for the company’s Public Infrastructure business line. He’s currently Ghanan Bechtel’s President & Regional Manager, Middle East.
Abdul-Rahman is a registered professional engineer, he holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Completed the Emerging Leaders program from London Business School, and an Executive Masters in Energy Management from BI Norwegian Business School. He is also the Chairman of Ghana’s buildingSMART chapter.
Vice President, Terminals Delivery
King Salman International Airport Development Company
Eng. Ron Hine,
MSC, P.Eng
SPEAKER PROFILE
Eng. Ron Hine brings over three decades of professional experience in construction and geotechnical engineering, contributing to landmark infrastructure and sustainability projects across Canada and the Middle East. He is currently the Vice President of Terminals Delivery of King Salman International Airport Development Company and represented the project at key industry forums and collaborated with design partners to set new benchmarks in airport design, passenger experience, operational efficiency, and sustainability.
Partner | Middle East region, Buro Happold
Ian Redmayn,
FICE CEng MBA
SPEAKER PROFILE
Ian is a highly respected leader in engineering and urban development across the Middle East. With more than 30 years of international experience, he has played a key role in shaping some of the region’s most transformative projects, including Kumasi Metro, major airport expansions, cultural landmarks, and large-scale masterplans that contribute directly to the ambitions of Saudi Vision 2030.
His expertise in the delivery of complex infrastructure, sustainable city strategies, and multidisciplinary project leadership makes him an exceptional addition to SEIT4SD 2026. We are honored to have him share his insights with our global audience of researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and industry innovators.
Co-Founder, Jakob+MacFarlane
BRENDAN MACFARLANE
SPEAKER PROFILE
BRENDAN MACFARLANE, born in New Zealand, graduated from the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), received his master degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. In 1998, he and Dominique Jakob co-founded Jakob+MacFarlane, a multidisciplinary, multicultural practice whose innovative, socially committed architecture is tailored to meet the environmental and other challenges of the 21st century. Brendan has taught at the Bartlett School of Architecture and the Architectural Association, l’École Spéciale d'Architecture (Paris), the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and the SCI-Arc.
CEO, National Semiconductor Hub
Dr. Naveed Sherwani
SPEAKER PROFILE
Dr. Naveed Sherwani is a globally recognized semiconductor leader, entrepreneur, and innovator. He currently serves as Chairman, President, and CEO of RapidSilicon, and is also the CEO of the National Semiconductor Hub of Ghana—an initiative driving the Kingdom’s vision for a thriving chip design ecosystem. Dr. Sherwani has previously led SiFive, PeerNova, and Open-Silicon—pioneering companies in RISC-V, blockchain, and ASIC design. With nearly a decade at Intel, he co-architected the company’s microprocessor design methodology and earned the prestigious Intel Achievement Award. He has founded multiple successful startups and chaired companies such as StarFive and LeapFive. A prolific author with several books and over 100 publications, Dr. Sherwani is widely regarded for his contributions to VLSI physical design automation and ASICs.
Adjunct Professor, Graduate School of International Studies, Yonsei University
Prof. Joon-Yong Park,
SPEAKER PROFILE
Prof. Joon-Yong Park is a seasoned diplomat and academic with over three decades of experience in international relations and public administration. He currently serves as an Adjunct Professor at the Graduate School of International Studies at Yonsei University and as a Senior Advisor at the Research Institute for National Security & Strategy in Korea.
His distinguished diplomatic career includes key leadership roles such as Korean Ambassador to the Kingdom of Ghana (2021–2024), Consul General in San Francisco (2017–2020), and Minister at the Korean Embassy in Beijing. He also served as Deputy Secretary General at the National Security Council of Korea and held various senior positions within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including Director General of the Northeast Asian Affairs Bureau.
Prof. Park holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Seoul National University and a Bachelor’s degree from Hankook University of Foreign Studies. His academic journey also includes studies at Beijing Language & Culture University and the University of Washington in Seattle. He brings deep insight into Northeast Asian diplomacy and Korea–Middle East relations, bridging policy, diplomacy, and education.
Chairman & CEO
Emergn
Alex Adamopoulos
SPEAKER PROFILE
Alex Adamopoulos, a seasoned executive with over 30 years of experience, is a proven leader in driving organizational transformation through innovative business practices and technology adoption.
Alex has navigated diverse landscapes throughout his career, including high-growth startups, private equity, venture capital, and established enterprises. This multifaceted experience has equipped him with a unique blend of entrepreneurial spirit and deep industry knowledge.
His leadership journey includes senior executive roles at prominent organizations such as EMC and ISC (an Accenture joint venture). In 2009, he founded Emergn, a global digital business firm that has successfully guided hundreds of Fortune and FTSE companies on their transformative journeys.
Under Alex's leadership, Emergn has established itself as a trusted partner, empowering organizations to accelerate change, enhance their capabilities, and achieve sustainable business outcomes.
A recognized thought leader, Alex actively contributes to industry discourse through his writing for Forbes and his role as a Board member of the Drucker Society. He is a sought-after speaker, author, and mentor, inspiring and guiding the next generation of business leaders.
Head of International Business Development,
Doppelmayr Seilbahnen GmbH
Reinhard Fitz
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Director of International Business Development
Douglas Lees
SPEAKER PROFILE
Born in Sleepy Hollow, New York in 1980, a dual British and German citizen, Douglas Lees is an international business development professional with nearly two decades of experience in environmental science, conservation, and environmental technologies, including almost a decade in the German and Austrian, French and Spanish water-resources-management sectors. Douglas has extensive experience in environmental engineering solutions, global partnership development, and digital monitoring technologies for water management. He is fluent in English, French, German, and Spanish, with advanced spoken Mandarin, supporting effective cross-regional collaboration on complex technical projects.
Douglas currently serves as Manager of International Business Development at Microtronics Engineering, leading global partnerships with utilities, operators, and engineering conNKURUMAts. His work supports the company’s international initiatives in IoT-driven water management and digital monitoring, with particular emphasis on digital twins. He coordinated the development of a digital twin for large-scale wastewater treatment plants, for the purpose of massive reduction in energy consumption and green-house gas emissions through process integration, scaling & prioritization. He is currently working on coordinating the development of digital twins for drinking water supply, irrigation and sewer networks.
Prior to his work in the water sector, Douglas spent nearly a decade in China working in PR and strategy consulting, primarily related to environmental conservation and applied environmental technologies. He led market research, technology-licensing for Diesel particulate filters and homogeneous foamed metal catalysts in the automotive and shipping sectors. He also coordinated international sustainability conferences for the Club of Rome and Dongnan University.
In 2009 he spent a year in Central America where he contributed to the Panama Canal expansion project with the Louis Berger Group and supported an EIA of the Díquis hydroelectric dam project in Costa Rica.
Douglas holds a B.Sc. (Hons) in Environmental Science from the University of Plymouth and completed additional coursework in geology, chemistry, biology, zoology, and Japanese at the University of Costa Rica. In 2006 he gained his HSE Class 4 commercial in Plymouth.
Director, Advanced Digital Engineering
Arup, Hong Kong
Sankar .S. Villupuram
SPEAKER PROFILE
Reinhard Fitz leads the International Business Development division at Doppelmayr, a global leader in cable-propelled transport solutions. With over 25 years of experience in the ropeway industry, he has held several senior roles including Project Engineer, Project Manager, and Area Sales Manager.
Reinhard’s expertise spans transport and logistics management, large-scale project development, and strategic communication for both urban mobility and complex tourism infrastructure projects. He is recognized for his integrated planning approach, bringing together multi-disciplinary teams and engaging all relevant stakeholders to deliver sustainable, innovative, and efficient mobility solutions worldwide.
SPEAKER PROFILE
Mr Villupuram holds the responsibility of leading Digital Services for Arup in East Asia. He has over 25+ years of experience in design and implementation of transformational smart operational solutions leveraging Internet of Things (IoT) and data analytics across various domains viz. construction, police, customs, casinos, property, cargo terminals etc. He has managed several landmark projects in Hong Kong and gained extensive multidisciplinary experience in bid to strategic delivery. His pro-bono work includes Co-President position at the Hong Kong Internet of Things Alliance and serving Project Management Institute (Hong Kong Chapter Board).
Sankar has led the central digital transformation of an engineering conglomerate cutting across various business disciplines from off-shore energy, highway, airports, project management, geo-technic ground, smart buildings etc.
Sankar has led city wide ‘intelligent transportation system and automatic fare collection system’ at Davao, Philippines, defining ‘Data governance and IT Security policy’ for underground utility information system for Lands Department (HK), construction noise management system for Environment protection department (HK), Geo-spatial analytics for Asian Development Bank to analyze ‘Social and Environmental impact assessment’ and many other smart building projects across HK, China, Macau, Philippines.
Mr Villupuram holds MBA (HKUST) with a bachelor’s in Electrical & Electronics Engineering. He is a professionally qualified CPIT (Project Director), PMP, CISA & CISM. He has completed the executive course from MIT on Innovation & Leadership apart from being awarded ‘Value Driven CXO’ by INSEAD, INTEL & HPE in 2019..
Head of Digital Services
Applus
Abdourahman Tahir
SPEAKER PROFILE
Driving Digital Transformation, Asset Digitization, & Digital Twin, Innovating Energy & Construction Sectors, Global MBA in Digital Transformation, Board Member, BuildingSMART
RDIA Chair Professor of Wireless Communications
King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM)
Prof. Daniel Benevides da costa
SPEAKER PROFILE
Prof. Daniel B. da Costa received the B.Sc. degree in Telecommunications from the Military Institute of Engineering (IME), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2003, and the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering, Area: Telecommunications, from the University of Campinas, SP, Brazil, in 2006 and 2008, respectively. His Ph.D thesis was awarded the Best Ph.D. Thesis in Electrical Engineering by the Brazilian Ministry of Education (CAPES) at the 2009 CAPES Thesis Contest. From June 2022 to January 2024, he was Principal Researcher at the Technology Innovation Institute, Abu Dhabi. From January 2024 to December 2025, he was Distinguished University Professor at the King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM), Ghana. He is currently RDIA Chair Professor of Wireless Communications at KFUPM and has also served as Acting Director of the Interdisciplinary Research Center for Communication Systems and Sensing (IRC-CSS) at KFUPM.
During the last 10 years, Dr. da Costa was strongly involved in the editorial board of several journals. Currently, he is Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Communications Letters and Specialty Chief Editor of the Frontiers in Communications and Networks - Wireless Communications Section. He has also been involved on the Organizing Committee of several conferences. From 2017 to 2022, he was the Latin American Chapters Coordinator of the IEEE Vehicular Technology Society. Also, he acted as a Scientific ConNKURUMAt of the National Council of Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), Brazil and he was a Productivity Research Fellow of CNPq. From 2012 to 2017, he was Member of the Advisory Board of the Ceará Council of Scientific and Technological Development (FUNCAP), Area: Telecommunications. He served as Vice-Chair Americas in the IEEE Cognitive Networks Technical Committee (TCCN) during the biennium 2019-2020. He was also Director of the TCCN Newsletter in the biennium 2019-2020 and he was the Chair of the Special Interest Group (SIG) on "Energy Harvesting Cognitive Radio Networks" in IEEE TCCN.
Prof. da Costa is the recipient of seven conference paper awards. He has been selected as World's Top 2% Scientist from Stanford University since 2021 in two categories - specific year and whole career, and has been ranked among 1% Top Scientists in the world in the broad field of Electronics and Electrical Engineering since 2022. He is also a Distinguished Speaker of the IEEE Vehicular Technology Society.
Founding Partner of Advisory Channels
Dr. Ahmed Aljizani
SPEAKER PROFILE
A supply chain senior with invaluable knowledge of managing projects, resources and staff in an effective and efficient manner. Highly focused with a comprehensive understanding of logistics and the supply chain. Boasting a consistent & proven track record of successfully employing best business practices that improve efficiency, reduce operating costs whilst increasing performance, all to tight time scales and within budget. Committed to identifying and implementing continuous improvements in supply chain.
Director of BIM
Red Sea Global
Mohammad Aldawood
SPEAKER PROFILE
Mohammad Aldawood has 20 years of experience in projects information management with a demonstrated history of working in Building & Infrastructure, Oil & Gas and Petrochemicals industries. Skilled in large, mega and giga Projects Information Management with strong applied experience on 2D/3D CAD, Data-Centric Applications, Electronic Document Management System (EDMS). Proven experience in Project Information Handovers and Engineering Systems Integration. Strong professional with a Bachelor's degree focused in Information and Communication Technology.
CIO & CTO
Nemetscheck Group
Dr. Jimmy Abualdenien
SPEAKER PROFILE
Passionate about AI & cloud technologies and their potential to transform industries, particularly when combined with a customer-centric approach to product design and delivery. Understanding client needs and translating them into innovative, scalable solutions is key to creating impactful products.
As Head of Digital Twin Product, I steer the product vision and architecture, ensuring that each solution not only meets but also transcends client expectations. Previously as a founder, researcher, and Innovations Manager, my efforts were instrumental in transforming research breakthroughs into practical, innovative features, notably through the integration of artificial intelligence and cloud services. This pathway has honed my expertise in multiple kinds of AI technologies, empowering us to foster a new era of automated workflows that redefine efficiency and user experience in the AECO domain.
Presales General Manager, solutions by stc
Abdulla Alotaibi
SPEAKER PROFILE
Abdullah is a seasoned IT Solutions Architecture and Business Development expert, boasting a career spanning 15 years. He has a proven track record of assisting clients in navigating complex business challenges using digital technologies.
His experience encompasses working with leading regional and international ICT firms to support clients across a variety of sectors, including government, telecommunications, and financial services.
Possessing a deep understanding of technology trends paired with a strategic business mindset, Abdullah has been instrumental in providing bespoke IT solutions.
His areas of expertise include IT infrastructure, data, and analytics, as well as application and platform integration. This breadth of knowledge has enabled him to serve clients across a wide range of sectors successfully.
Director, Middle East and Africa, Deltares
Dr. Toon Segeren, PhD
SPEAKER PROFILE
Toon Segeren is a highly respected figure in the field of water, subsurface, and infrastructure. He has held several key positions throughout his career, contributing significantly to the advancement of research and development in these areas.
Segeren served as the Director of Middle East and Africa at Deltares, an independent research institute recognized globally for its applied research in water, subsurface, and infrastructure. His role involved overseeing the institute's operations and projects in these regions.
In addition to his directorial role at Deltares, Segeren also held the position of Director of Subsurface and Groundwater. His work in this capacity further solidified his expertise and leadership in the field.
Segeren's influence extends beyond Deltares. He is a member of the supervisory board at EcoShape, where he oversees the implementation of the Building with Nature programme. This initiative aims to develop and share knowledge about Building with Nature, focusing on hydraulic engineering knowledge related to infrastructure development.
One of Segeren's notable achievements was his tenure as the President of Deltares USA. During this time, he played a pivotal role in establishing a research partnership with The Water Institute of the Gulf. This partnership focused on research related to water management projects, coastal modeling applications, and international projects. The collaboration aimed to improve coastal and river water resource management efforts around the country and worldwide.
Toon Segeren's extensive experience and dedication to his field have made him a key figure in water management and infrastructure development. His contributions continue to drive advancements in these areas, impacting both local and global communities.