Author: theciotimes

Effective leadership at the upper management level demands a strategic balance of autonomy, accountability, and alignment with the organizational goals. Khaled Almomani, General Manager at Versuni, Saudi Arabia, is a true example of this. His professional journey has always been shaped by a deep passion for understanding consumers and delivering meaningful, technology-driven solutions that enrich daily life. He began his career at Orange, where he managed key accounts and developed a strong foundation in customer-focused service excellence. This experience taught him the value of reliability, responsiveness, and building lasting trust in business relationships. He later joined Samsung Mobile, where he oversaw distributors across multiple countries in the Levant region, strengthening his strategic and cross-market management capabilities. At Philips, he managed sales operations across Saudi Arabia in several categories and channels, gaining in-depth experience in consumer electronics and small domestic appliances.

About his journey, he adds,” Joining Versuni has been a defining moment in this journey.”

Versuni is a global leader in home appliances with a legacy of more than 130 years, originally part of Royal Philips. Since 2021, Versuni has operated independently under global investment ownership. Its diverse portfolio includes kitchen appliances, coffee, climate, garment care, floor care, and healthy cooking solutions. With a presence in over 100 countries and more than 900 patents, Versuni continues to lead the industry with innovation and trust. As General Manager in Saudi Arabia, he drives operations in a rapidly advancing market, focusing on sustainable growth, strengthening Versuni’s leadership in the small domestic appliances (SDA) sector, and ensuring that Philips-branded products meet the high standards of Saudi consumers. At Versuni, he embodies the company’s consumer-first philosophy, ensuring that every decision contributes to creating homes filled with innovation, quality, and trust.

In his current role, Khaled takes pride in harmonizing global expertise with local insight. By leveraging Versuni’s advanced R&D capabilities and its strong regional foundation in small domestic appliances, he delivers products that are both technologically superior and highly relevant to the evolving lifestyle needs of Saudi consumers. This well-rounded approach not only strengthens Versuni’s leadership in the Middle East but also deepens its connection with households across the Kingdom. Through innovation, insight-driven strategy, and operational excellence, Khaled and his team continue to empower families in Saudi Arabia to live better, healthier, and more convenient lives.

Consumer Commitment

Throughout Khaled’s career, one principle has remained constant.

He emphasizes, “Understanding the consumer is the foundation of any successful business”.

Building trust, anticipating needs, and creating seamless experiences are essential for fostering lasting loyalty. These values have shaped his professional approach from the early stages of his journey to his current leadership role.

At Versuni, this consumer-centric mindset drives every aspect of the organization. The company places strong emphasis on consumer insights, using them to fuel innovation across its portfolio. From standing steamers that keep abayas looking flawless, to irons with precise temperature control, and air purifiers designed to perform effectively in sandy climates, the organization ensures its products align with the distinct lifestyles and environments of its consumers. The AquaSpin nozzle in floor care solutions, Philips LatteGo coffee machines, and Airfryers further demonstrate how consumer understanding translates into products that save time, elevate convenience, and deliver exceptional performance. By continuously innovating with the consumer at the heart of every decision, Versuni strengthens its leadership in the small domestic appliances sector and nurtures trust that extends well beyond the product itself.

Equally important is the company’s commitment to after-sales excellence. Khaled recognizes that true customer satisfaction depends on accessibility, responsiveness, and personalized service. By maintaining these standards, Versuni ensures every interaction reinforces its dedication to long-term trust. This consumer-first philosophy defines how the company operates both globally and within Saudi Arabia, solidifying its position as a trusted and leading name in the small domestic appliances industry.

Strengthening Consumer Connections

In his current role, Khaled focuses on three key priorities. The first is strengthening Philips’ market presence in the small domestic appliances segment across Saudi Arabia. The second is enhancing operational excellence by introducing products specifically designed to meet the needs and lifestyles of Saudi consumers. The third is expanding omnichannel and e-commerce capabilities to ensure seamless, accessible, and convenient purchasing experiences for all customers.

Through these strategic initiatives, he continues to drive Versuni’s mission of delivering innovative, trusted, and practical solutions that enhance everyday living. Guided by a deeply consumer-obsessed philosophy, Versuni draws on insights from local audiences to shape both product development and service strategies. This ensures that every offering not only meets but consistently exceeds the expectations of Saudi consumers, strengthening the company’s position as a trusted household name across the Kingdom.

Loyalty Leadership

Building customer loyalty and trust in the region demands a blend of innovation, agility, and a deep understanding of local consumer behavior. Over the years, Khaled has learned that delivering consistent, high-quality experiences is vital for nurturing long-term relationships built on reliability and satisfaction.

At Versuni, the focus remains firmly on placing the consumer at the heart of every decision. The company integrates real customer insights into the design and development of each product.

He adds,” This ensures that every innovation, from Philips, addresses real consumer needs for convenience, performance, and reliability.”

He also emphasizes that loyalty extends beyond products; it thrives through meaningful engagement across the entire customer journey, including after-sales service and digital support. By combining deep local understanding with Versuni’s global expertise, teams are empowered to deliver solutions that resonate culturally, align with evolving expectations, and reinforce trust within the community.

This insight-driven, innovation-led approach enables Versuni to continuously strengthen brand loyalty and build on its leadership in key small domestic appliance categories such as garment care and Airfryers. Through this commitment, the company consistently exceeds consumer expectations and reinforces its reputation as a trusted partner in homes across the region.

Evolving Expectations

Consumer expectations in Saudi Arabia have evolved dramatically in recent years. Today’s consumers seek more than just high-quality products; they expect intelligent, connected, and sustainable solutions that align with their modern lifestyles and personal values. There is a growing emphasis on convenience, performance, and personalization, along with a strong preference for brands that are transparent, reliable, and responsive.

At Versuni, Khaled and his team have strategically adapted to these changing expectations by blending global innovation leadership with deep local consumer insights. The company’s Philips-branded products embody this approach. For example, the AquaTrio floor care solution offers exceptional hygiene, efficiency, and simplicity, catering to households where spotless floors are essential. In the coffee category, the Philips LatteGo series has become a favorite among Saudi consumers, allowing them to create café-style beverages ranging from espressos and cappuccinos to iced lattes with one touch. Its easy-to-clean milk system fits perfectly into fast-paced, modern lifestyles.

In the kitchen, the Philips Airfryers with dual baskets allow families to cook two dishes simultaneously with less oil, promoting healthier and more convenient meal preparation. Similarly, the garment care range featuring standing steamers ideal for abayas and irons with optimal temperature control enables consumers to look their best effortlessly.

About the quality of the purifiers, Khaled adds,” Our air purifiers are also highly relevant in the Kingdom, delivering cleaner, healthier indoor environments.”

Beyond product innovation, Versuni continues to invest in digital transformation and omnichannel experiences, ensuring that consumers can connect with its products seamlessly both online and in-store. The company’s innovation philosophy extends beyond technology, emphasizing design, usability, sustainability, and service excellence. By continuously engaging with consumers and understanding their needs, Versuni delivers groundbreaking solutions that set new benchmarks and strengthen its global leadership in the small domestic appliances industry.

Innovative Efficiency

Balancing operational excellence with innovation begins with setting clear processes and goals, while giving teams the freedom to explore new ideas. At Versuni, Khaled emphasizes investing in employees through comprehensive training, ongoing support, and recognition, empowering them to take ownership of results and experiment with creative solutions. By combining insights from local markets with global best practices, the company ensures that operational efficiency reinforces a culture of innovation. This strategy enables Versuni to quickly introduce new technologies to the market while maintaining consistent quality and ensuring high levels of customer satisfaction.

Sustainable Consumer Evolution

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 highlights digital transformation, consumer empowerment, and sustainability, collectively reshaping expectations in the electronics and home appliances sector. At Versuni, Khaled has observed a rising demand for smart, connected, and environmentally responsible solutions that simplify daily life, promote healthier living, and support sustainability.

Versuni’s strength lies in translating deep consumer insights into meaningful innovations that integrate seamlessly into everyday routines.

Khaked shares,” We focus not only on technology but also on usability, design, and relevance to local lifestyles.”

Sustainability is a core element of this approach: by designing products for circularity, energy efficiency, and recyclability, and incorporating recycled materials whenever possible, Versuni extends product lifespans and minimizes environmental impact. This blend of practical innovation, cultural relevance, and trusted Philips quality enables the company to meet the evolving expectations of Saudi consumers while contributing to the advancement of the small domestic appliances industry in the Kingdom.

Market Insight

Saudi Arabia’s consumer market is a dynamic blend of tradition and rapid modernization. Throughout his career, Khaled has encountered challenges such as balancing global brand standards with local consumer expectations and educating audiences about the benefits of innovative solutions.

These challenges were addressed through an insight-driven go-to-market strategy, ensuring wide product availability and clear communication of value. By combining deep local consumer insights with Philips’ global expertise, Khaled and his team delivered solutions that resonated with cultural and lifestyle preferences, fostering greater adoption of innovative products. This approach strengthened Versuni’s market position in small domestic appliances, particularly in categories like garment care and Airfryers, illustrating that a consumer-focused mindset and operational agility are essential for navigating evolving markets successfully.

Consumer Growth

Across all sectors, Khaled believes that sustainable growth is rooted in understanding consumer needs and transforming them into meaningful solutions.

Highlighting it further, he shares, “Whether in electronics or home appliances, we prioritize insight-driven innovation, ensuring every product, from Airfryers to smart floor care devices, delivers tangible benefits.”

Equally important is building trust through reliable operations, transparent communication, and responsive after-sales service. By integrating these practices with deep local market knowledge and Versuni’s global R&D expertise, Khaled and his team deliver offerings that truly resonate with consumers and support long-term growth across the region.

Digital Excellence

Versuni is enhancing its digital presence to ensure that consumers can access products effortlessly across multiple channels. The company optimizes e-commerce platforms to deliver clear, detailed product information, seamless purchasing experiences, and responsive post-purchase support.

This strategy is paired with insight-driven innovation, where product development addresses genuine consumer needs, including convenience, performance, and reliability. By combining local market insights with global expertise, Khaled and his team ensure that consumers receive solutions designed for their lifestyles, strengthening trust and satisfaction at every interaction.

Localized Market Strategy

Success in the GCC requires a deep understanding of local culture, consumer behavior, and market dynamics. Khaled recognizes that brands relying solely on global policies without adapting to regional needs often face challenges in gaining traction.

He adds,” At Versuni, we combine our global expertise with local insights to ensure that products, marketing, and service delivery resonate with regional consumers.”

Close engagement with distributors, retailers, and consumers is essential. By understanding their priorities and expectations, Versuni develops solutions that are culturally relevant, practical, and aligned with everyday lifestyles. Operational agility is equally important; the ability to respond quickly to changing market conditions, regulatory shifts, and evolving consumer preferences ensures long-term sustainability and continued success in the GCC markets.

Home Innovation

“Through my leadership”, Khaled adds, “I am committed to supporting Versuni’s mission of turning houses into homes by providing solutions that are innovative, convenient, and sustainable.”

The company focuses on providing products that make everyday life easier, healthier, and more enjoyable, whether through advanced floor care, coffee, healthy cooking, or garment care technologies.

Beyond product innovation, he is dedicated to nurturing Versuni’s teams in Saudi Arabia, fostering a culture where employees feel valued, empowered, and encouraged to grow. Diversity and inclusion are central to this approach, ensuring the workforce reflects the rich variety of the markets served and can provide insights that drive meaningful innovation.

Additionally, Khaled aims to strengthen Versuni’s presence across the region by expanding distribution, optimizing omnichannel experiences, and continuously adapting products based on local insights. By combining innovation, operational excellence, and talent development, the company seeks to create a lasting positive impact in Saudi Arabia, enhancing consumer lifestyles, building trust in its brands, and fostering home environments where people feel safe, comfortable, and genuinely at home.

Today, technology is rapidly advancing to deliver cutting-edge solutions. The advent of the latest technologies like virtual reality (VR), AI-powered tools, and custom software development is being tailored to match the demands of the consumer. We have business leaders who leverage tech just right to bring in exceptional disruptions within society. A similar leader is Nargiz Noimann-Zander, Founder at X Technology, FZCO. Her professional journey began in the mid-1990s when she founded her first Health and Rehabilitation Center in Russia in 1996. The center focused on psychology, physiotherapy, and rehabilitation, creating a safe and supportive environment for children with developmental challenges and their families. It was among the first in the region to implement biofeedback (BOS-therapy) and explore alternative, integrative methods for managing chronic and complex conditions.

Nargiz shared, “From the very beginning, my mission was deeply personal.”

The birth of her son, Denis, who was born with a congenital heart condition, became the defining moment that shaped her professional philosophy. His rehabilitation journey and her pursuit of new, science-based methods to improve his quality of life inspired her to integrate psychology, neuroscience, and technology into a single field.

Over time, Nargiz’s consulting and educational initiatives evolved into developing psychotechnologies, ultimately leading to the founding of X-Technology, a company born from both scientific curiosity and human necessity. She recognized that technology could serve as a bridge between the emotional and biological, empowering patients with practical tools for recovery and self-regulation.

Global Insights

During her nearly two-decade tenure leading Noimann Academy across Russia, Kazakhstan, and Latin America, Nargiz gained profound insights into how education and neuroscience can transcend cultural and linguistic boundaries when driven by authentic transformation. Under her leadership, Noimann Academy became one of the first institutions in the post-Soviet region to integrate VR learning and cyberpsychology into applied education well before these concepts became global trends.

Nargiz adds, “Each region had its own dynamics.”

In the CIS countries, psychotechnologies were initially met with caution; in Latin America, curiosity dominated; and in the UAE and Europe, innovation was embraced as a natural extension of healthcare evolution. To ensure accessibility and cultural alignment, Nargiz and her team localized educational games and simulations, translating content into English and Arabic and adapting scenarios to honor regional values and norms.

A pivotal milestone came in 2019, when Noimann Academy signed an agreement with the European Academy of Economics and Politics in Prague, enabling the issuance of dual MBA diplomas under European accreditation. This achievement validated the Academy’s academic excellence and positioned it as a global center for psychotechnology education. For Nargiz, the most valuable takeaway was the realization that science and empathy share a universal language and that immersive learning has the power to rewire not just the brain, but the human mindset itself.

NeuroTech Evolution

At Noimann Academy, Nargiz pioneered some of the earliest innovations in VR simulations, neuroavatars, and digital training games efforts that laid the groundwork for her current approach at X-Technology. Her team developed biofeedback-integrated VR simulations that tracked EEG activity, pulse, alpha-beta-gamma rhythms, and galvanic skin response to study how the brain and body interacted during emotional training.

Explaining about the experiments she added, “The goal was to visualize inner states to let a person see and feel their mind-body connection in real time.”

This early research evolved into digital training games such as Cubes, Spheres, Puzzles, and Meditation Shores, each designed to enhance focus, emotional regulation, and neuroplasticity. Results were measured through pre- and post-session psychological assessments, consistently revealing significant improvements.

The insights gained from those formative years shaped the evolution of X-Technology. Lessons in human engagement, sensory balance, and measurable feedback enabled the transition from educational prototypes to clinically validated therapeutic systems. Today, X-Technology’s AI-powered platforms analyze biometric and behavioral data without physical sensors, maintaining the same precision and personalization. What began as an academic exploration in VR learning has now transformed into a global clinical framework redefining how individuals recover, adapt, and heal through technology.

Synergistic Strategy

Nargiz shares, “Investment is both a catalyst for growth and a bridge for collaboration”

In the neurotechnology space, she believes true progress relies not only on financial backing but also on shared vision and intellectual partnership. At X-Technology, this philosophy drives a balance between funding and expertise, recognizing that access to clinical data, academic alliances, and scientific insight often accelerates innovation more effectively than capital alone.

Under Nargiz’s leadership, X-Technology’s partnerships are rooted in clinical and academic collaboration with hospitals, research institutions, and universities that share its mission. Each alliance whether with a large medical organization or an independent practitioner, contributes to refining the company’s technology and ensuring its relevance to real clinical needs.

Looking to the future, Nargiz aims to attract strategic investors and venture partners who recognize that neurotechnology represents more than a business opportunity it’s an investment in the future of human health. The company’s financial priorities center on clinical research and international expansion, maintaining scientific rigor while extending its reach to patients worldwide.

For Nargiz, balancing growth with integrity is fundamental. X-Technology remains independent through a unified team, clear strategy, and value-driven partnerships grounded in humanitarian goals and a shared long-term vision. In her philosophy, investment in healthcare is an exchange of money for time; the time of human life. To invest in neurotechnology, she believes, is to fund not just innovation but the extension of life’s most meaningful moments.

Cognitive Revolution

With over 25 years of experience in neuroscience and psychotechnology, Nargiz has witnessed a profound evolution in how emerging technologies like AI and VR are shaping mental health and rehabilitation. When she first began exploring the intersection of psychology and technology in the early 2000s, digital tools were regarded as experimental an intriguing novelty rather than a viable clinical resource. By 2009, her team began employing biofeedback and early VR environments to monitor emotional and physiological responses. The outcomes were remarkable: even simple immersive experiences could alter perception, alleviate stress, and accelerate recovery.

Since then, the field has advanced dramatically. VR has evolved from a supplementary training aid into a powerful therapeutic medium capable of rewiring neural pathways through sensory and emotional engagement. The integration of Artificial Intelligence, which began at X-Technology in 2018, introduced a new dimension enabling real-time emotional data analysis, adaptive scenarios, and personalized therapy.

Nargiz shares, “One of the biggest breakthroughs came when AI made it possible to remove physical sensors altogether, maintaining the same precision through behavioral analytics.”

Today, as Nargiz emphasizes, technology is no longer just an external instrument it has become a neurocognitive partner. She foresees a future where AI and VR are seamlessly embedded into global medical standards for mental health and rehabilitation, promoting care that is not only scientifically measurable but also profoundly humane and scalable.

Transformative Leadership

Over the past several decades, Nargiz has founded and led five medical and wellness centers dedicated to rehabilitation, mental health, and psychosomatic care.

About each center’s aim Nargiz shares, “Each center was built around one core principle creating an ecosystem where medical experts, psychologists, and patients could work together toward measurable transformation.”

One of the greatest challenges she faced was overcoming resistance to innovation. Introducing psychotechnologies, biofeedback, and later VR-based training often met skepticism from the traditional medical community. Through persistence, research, and consistent clinical results, Nargiz and her teams gradually shifted perceptions, proving that technology could coexist with and enhance conventional therapeutic methods.

Building sustainable, mission-driven teams was another critical learning experience. Nargiz discovered that the most effective way to maintain long-term success was by uniting specialists around a shared purpose to improve human lives. That collective sense of mission often proved stronger than any financial or operational obstacle.

Among her many experiences, one stands out on a personal level. Her son, Denis Verner, underwent complex heart valve replacement surgery, and his rehabilitation incorporated VR-based therapy as a key component of recovery. The technology helped him regain physical endurance and emotional balance, offering tangible proof of the transformative power behind Nargiz’s work to restore not only strength but also confidence and joy to people’s lives.

Collaborative Innovation

Nargiz believes, “Collaboration lies at the heart of innovation”.

Under her leadership, the company’s partnerships with leading UAE healthcare institutions and international research experts have become essential in advancing both scientific rigor and practical clinical outcomes. Among these key alliances is an ongoing collaboration with Dr. Sam Abuomar, Ph.D., Professor of Data Science and Director of the AI Master’s Program at Lewis University (USA), who plays an instrumental role in guiding X-Technology’s research strategy and clinical study design.

Through these strategic collaborations, X-Technology has gained access to medical teams, patient feedback, and real-world clinical environments factors that have significantly accelerated the validation and optimization of its therapeutic protocols. Physicians’ insights have been pivotal in refining user interfaces, adjusting therapeutic pacing, and ensuring that the company’s digital programs integrate seamlessly into hospital workflows.

Interestingly, these interdisciplinary exchanges have also broadened X-Technology’s vision. While its early focus was primarily on oncology, collaborative research encouraged the expansion into other key areas such as stress management, dementia care, and chronic pain rehabilitation.

For Nargiz, every partnership reinforces a central philosophy: innovation in mental health extends beyond technological advancement it’s about building a bridge between science, empathy, and the deeply human experience of healing.

Empathic Precision

At X-Technology, Nargiz ensures that every innovation begins with a clearly defined clinical problem not the technology itself. Each product originates from a scientific hypothesis rooted in psychological research and her decades of clinical experience, later translated into interactive VR environments. Collaborating closely with clinicians, her team defines target emotional and physiological responses such as EEG activity, heart rate, and stress patterns to guide therapeutic outcomes.

Once initial data is gathered, AI models analyze it to identify the most effective parameters for recovery. These insights help refine VR scenarios through clinical testing and user trials before wider implementation. Clinicians remain involved from concept to validation, while AI specialists fine-tune adaptive algorithms for personalization.

Equally vital is the user experience. Guided by principles of comfort, empathy, and immersive balance, the team continuously integrates patient and physician feedback to enhance emotional engagement and reduce side effects like dizziness or fatigue.

For Nargiz, the philosophy is clear evidence-based medicine through empathy where technology merges scientific precision with emotional intelligence to create therapeutic experiences that truly heal.

Therapeutic Learning

For Nargiz, education has always been the bridge between science and humanity. From founding Noimann Academy to developing interactive patient platforms, she views medicine and learning as two sides of the same mission transforming the human condition.

About the new learning methods she says, “In the coming decade, I see digital education becoming the new dimension of healthcare.”

For clinicians, working with VR technologies feels intuitive once they understand the behavioral science behind immersive therapy. For patients, learning becomes part of healing—interactive programs that teach self-regulation, stress control, and emotional awareness deliver measurable therapeutic outcomes.

Noimann Academy served as the testing ground for early VR prototypes and became the intellectual foundation for X-Technology’s growth. Looking ahead, Nargiz envisions a hybrid model where physicians train and treat through immersive platforms, and patients engage in gamified experiences to better manage their mental and physical states.

In her words, digital education represents the next stage of healthcare evolution where knowledge itself becomes a powerful form of therapy.

Healing Innovation

Nargiz highlights X-Technology’s ongoing pilot program with a leading oncology hospital in the UAE as a defining milestone in fulfilling the company’s mission to support cancer, dementia, and chronic stress patients while easing medical staff workload. The study explores how VR and AI modules can help reduce pain perception, anxiety, and emotional fatigue, all while assisting clinicians in managing psychosocial stress.

The pilot employs immersive therapeutic environments focused on pain relief and emotional stabilization, aiming to validate measurable improvements in patient well-being and demonstrate smooth integration into clinical workflows. Though still underway, early feedback from both patients and doctors has been highly positive showing better treatment adherence, calmer emotional states, and reduced stress among caregivers.

For Nargiz, the key takeaway is clear: innovation in healthcare doesn’t replace human empathy it amplifies it. This experience reaffirmed X-Technology’s mission and proved that technology, when guided by compassion, can redefine emotional and cognitive care worldwide.

Global Expansion

Nargiz specifically adds about the regions, “Each region presents a unique ecosystem of possibilities and challenges for innovation in healthcare”.

In the UAE, a strong national commitment to innovation and a supportive legal framework make it one of the most forward-thinking environments for neurotechnology and human development.

The MENA region presents immense potential, driven by a young population, growing awareness of mental health, and enthusiasm for science-based solutions all closely aligned with X-Technology’s mission. However, adapting content, language, and communication styles to each culture remains essential to building meaningful connections and effective therapies.

To address this, the company focuses on localizing programs, training physicians, and forming partnerships with clinics and research institutions. Over the next few years, X-Technology’s primary focus will remain the MENA region, followed by a strategic expansion into Europe.

For Nargiz, this growth isn’t just about entering new markets it’s about creating a unified global ecosystem where clinics, researchers, and patients collaborate through VR technology to redefine the future of cognitive healthcare.

Purposeful Partnerships

Nargiz views investment as both a catalyst for growth and a bridge for collaboration. In neurotechnology, she believes progress depends as much on shared vision and expertise as on capital itself. That’s why X-Technology emphasizes a balance between financial support and intellectual contribution—recognizing that access to clinical data, academic insight, and research partnerships often drives innovation faster than funding alone.

Nargiz adds, “Every collaboration, whether with a large medical institution or a private practitioner, helps us refine our technology and ensure it serves real clinical needs.”

Looking ahead, Nargiz aims to attract strategic investors who understand that neurotechnology is not just a business it’s an investment in the future of human health.

Maintaining independence and integrity remains central to X-Technology’s strategy. The company partners only with those who share its humanitarian values and long-term vision. For Nargiz, investment in healthcare represents more than capital it’s an exchange of money for time, extending the years and experiences that make life truly meaningful.

Responsible Innovation

Nargiz believes that adopting AI and VR in healthcare requires precision, empathy, and responsibility rather than speed. Innovation, she says, must align with clinical standards, safety protocols, and human comfort to truly serve its purpose. At X-Technology, her guiding principle is simple help people in ways that feel natural and intuitive, where technology becomes invisible and healing feels effortless.

For healthcare leaders, she advises beginning with a clear understanding of the problem before introducing digital tools. Technology should enhance existing systems, not replace them. Transparency is equally vital patients must know how these tools work and what they aim to achieve, while professionals must remember that AI and VR are guided by humans, not substitutes for them.
Her message to innovators is clear: design with empathy and purpose. In healthcare, technology should always serve life not rearrange it.

Future of Care

Nargiz envisions X-Technology as a global ecosystem where VR and medicine integrate seamlessly, creating accessible, evidence-based, and human-centered cognitive healthcare. Over the next decade, she aims for the platform to become part of routine clinical practice worldwide, positioning emotional and cognitive health alongside traditional medical pillars like surgery and therapy.

X-Technology’s solutions are designed not only to treat psychological and emotional disorders but also to enhance overall wellbeing. While the Middle East remains a strategic hub, the long-term goal is a global network of clinicians, researchers, and innovators advancing human resilience and mental health.

Her vision extends to everyday life: effortless mental care, where ten minutes in a VR environment can bring clarity and balance. By 2035, VR assistants could guide patients through treatments, reduce anxiety, and support doctors in delivering care with precision and empathy. Ultimately, X-Technology seeks to create a new dimension of healthcare where technology fosters awareness, healing, and measurable impact.

“Nothing is ever as good or as bad as it first seems.”

This line suits a leader who learned to weigh lift and drag before he weighed risk and reward. John Kinton is such a leader and the story that follows is about steadiness. It is about choices that favor transparency, balance, and results.

In courtrooms and conference rooms, John draws the same line. Facts first, people next, and progress always. This approach defines why he stands among 2025’s Top CLOs Shaping Business and Governance.

Standards evolve, laws shift and new tools like AI test old rules. John meets that change with preparation and calm. He invites implementers to the table and earns the trust of licensors. He keeps the purpose in view, creates value, reduces friction and sets a path others can use. That is how a legal department becomes an engine for growth for business.

John started his career as an Aeronautical Engineer doing research in McDonnell-Douglas’s Phantom Works and became an inventor on two patents. Through that experience, he met several patent attorneys who inspired him to go to law school.
After graduating law school in 1998, he moved to California to join a startup where he was both General Counsel and Director of Engineering. As the company was working on obtaining investment, John learned to appreciate the nature of patents as business tools, not just recognitions of technical advancement.

The startup did not survive the dotcom bust, and he went into private practice as a patent litigator. His very first case was Rambus v. Infineon, a landmark case in standard essential patent (SEP) circles.

Throughout his career in private practice, he has been involved in numerous high profile patent litigations involving technology standards, including memory standards, telecom standards, image compression standards, and video compression standards. Today, John serves as Chief Legal Officer at Access Advance LLC, guiding patent pools that touch how the world streams video.

A Unified Approach to Modern Video Licensing

Access Advance LLC is an independent licensing administrator, established in 2015, currently offering industry-leading patent pools for licensing essential patents of the most important standards-based video codec technologies.

The company offers a market-driven, modern, efficient, and transparent approach to patent pool licensing, at FRAND rates that reflect a fair balance between the interests of patent owners and implementers. It currently administers three patent pools.

Under Access Advance’s HEVC Advance Patent Pool, licensees enjoy coverage for over 27,000 essential, high-quality patents necessary to implement the H.265/HEVC standard, which the company believes represents approximately 75-80% of the universe of HEVC SEPs. Access Advance also offers its VVC Advance Patent Pool, currently providing coverage for 3600+ patents essential to the H.266/VVC standard.

To promote further efficiency and savings, Access Advance offers a Multi-Codec Bridging Agreement (MCBA), providing companies that are licensees in both the HEVC Advance and VVC Advance patent pools with substantially reduced royalties for products that implement both codecs as compared to the sum of the royalty rates of the two pools individually.

And in January 2025, Access Advance launched its newest offering: the Video Distribution Patent Pool (VDP Pool). The VDP Pool includes, for a single royalty, a license to standard-essential patents covering each of the four most modern codecs currently used or contemplated for use by video distribution providers: HEVC, VVC, VP9, and AV1.

Tailored Royalties and Transparent Rules

Access Advance started based on the simple premise that the most successful patent pools are the ones that fairly balance the interests and concerns of both patent-owners and implementers.

The company was formed in response to the concern that video codec licensing of SEPs had shifted from an appropriate balance between licensors and implementers to one that undervalues the contributions of the patent holders and their patents, which are at the core of technology products, as compared to the contributions of implementers.

Access Advance’s approach rebalances this with a tailored royalty structure that accounts for licensees’ product type, country-of-sale and compliance, rather than a one-size-fits-all regime that will necessarily undervalue the technology’s contribution to multiple product types. The significant success of their HEVC pool with more than 350 licensees and substantial coverage of the products licensable under the pool is a testament to this approach.

Maintaining the Balance

John says that aside from the typical challenges, the biggest challenge he faces as the CLO is balancing the sometimes-disparate interests of both Advance’s licensees and licensors, while navigating the ever-evolving patent, contract, and competition legal landscape in multiple jurisdictions around the world. Access Advance has done an excellent job of striking a balance and as CLO, one of John’s mandates is to maintain that balance.

Every patent pool licensing administrator must convince those that need a license to take one. The company has an obligation to the licensors to optimize the value of their patents. A challenge that Access Advance faces from time to time is that licensees that have acted appropriately—by recognizing the need to be licensed to the patents they use in their products and services—are disadvantaged by those that continue to infringe the patents of their licensors.

If, after a long period of negotiation, the company becomes convinced that the implementer is not acting in good faith and is unwilling to become licensed, it brings that information to the attention of the licensors, some of whom may choose to begin an enforcement action against the unwilling implementer.

Access Advance provides appropriate administrative support, and the litigating licensors have sole control over every facet of the litigation, including if, when, and how to settle. Each situation is a unique and interesting challenge.

Access Advance prides itself on its fairness and transparency in licensing terms. It publishes an overview of each licensing program on its website which features a royalty rate table. The company’s licensing professionals are always available to explain aspects of the tailored royalty structure to potential licensees and licensors.

To provide further transparency and thought leadership, Access Advance also offers a white paper explaining the fairness and reasonableness of its rates to anyone with a bona fide interest in joining the pool as either licensor or licensee. Anyone navigating to the company’s website, for example for the HEVC patent pool, will find a list of the patents in the pool that have been determined essential by the patent evaluator, will see for each patent the specific portions of the standard on which claims of the patent were determined by the patent evaluator to be essential, and will see lists of licensors and licensees.

Moreover, the company’s website includes its Duplicate Royalty Policy to assist licensees that may be licensed to SEPs through more than one pool or joint licensing program, and if requested, Access Advance will provide a detailed estimate of the royalty offset a licensee could expect to receive in that situation.

The historical success of the company’s HEVC and VVC device pools which reflects significant trust relationships built with their diverse roster of licensors and licensees, is one of the reasons the VDP Pool launched successfully with 31 licensors and 4 licensees (and has since added licensors and licensees).

Licensing That Powers the Streaming Economy

Device manufacturers, streaming platforms, and users all benefit from access to the most advanced video codecs in terms of bandwidth savings, storage costs, and more efficient delivery of high-quality video.

The vast majority of internet traffic is video content. Access Advance’s licensing programs play a vital role in the video ecosystem by making available a large number of standard-essential patents for a defined royalty on terms that balance the interests of both licensors and licensees. As the pools attract additional licensors and additional SEPs, licensees benefit from the increased coverage for no additional incremental cost. This clarity around royalty rates provides predictability that facilitates long-range planning by implementers.

The success of Access Advance’s HEVC device pool provided a natural launching point for its Video Distribution Patent Pool, which it developed in response to a request from the market to develop a pool licensing the four modern video codecs that would apply the fair and balanced approach that is the company’s trademark to the nascent licensing market for streaming video content.

Access Advance was able to call upon trusting relationships it established through the device pools and undertook a listening tour to understand the particular concerns of streaming platforms and SEP holders. All that upfront work resulted in a market-responsive pool license offering that the company believes will lead to success from the start.

Imparting Valuable Advice

We asked John about what advice he would give to companies navigating patent licensing in the video technology space, he said, “Probably the biggest piece of advice is to actively engage in the licensing process, particularly as it relates to SEPs.”

John says negotiation of SEP licenses involves some unique characteristics that make it generally inadvisable to ignore licensing offers in the hope that the issue will go away. And, if a company approaches about an SEP license, he says it’s always a good idea to see if a pool license is available because it is generally more efficient (and less expensive) for a licensee to negotiate a single pool license covering the SEPs of many licensors than it is to negotiate individual bilateral licenses necessary to clear the same risk.

The Next Decade of Patent Pools

Talking about the future of patent pool licensing, John sees two main areas of evolution over the next decade: Evolution in the legal framework governing patent pools, and evolution through the use of AI tools.

The legal interpretation and application of FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) commitments for SEPs will continue to be refined by courts and policymakers, impacting licensing negotiations and the availability of injunctions against infringers. The assertion of jurisdiction by courts in some countries to set global FRAND rates will continue to impact multinational patent licensing and litigation strategies.

Additionally, patent pools will remain subject to antitrust or competition scrutiny and need to be carefully structured and managed to ensure that they are procompetitive. Adopting transparent and fair licensing practices, including FRAND terms and openness to new members, as Access Advance has done, is crucial for patent pools to thrive and survive legal challenges.

Separately, John doesn’t think one can talk about how anything will evolve over the next decade without mentioning AI. At minimum, patent pools and their independent evaluators will implement AI analytics to streamline patent searches and enhance analysis and evaluation processes resulting in stronger and more valuable patent portfolios.

There are potential applications in the operations of pool administration as well, for example in the auditing function. Of course, there will be a whole host of new legal issues associated with AI as well. All this is to say nothing of the impact AI will have on video compression itself, particularly on the encoding side since companies will likely deploy bespoke AI models to generate image and video content.

From Codecs to Smart Homes

Access Advance’s mission is to continue to be the industry-leader in administering patent pools for licensing essential patents of the most important standards-based video codec technologies.

John sees Access Advance continuing to expand the scope of their existing pools and adding new pools in the video codec space, like their newly launched Video Distribution Patent Pool. He eventually sees the team leveraging their skills in administering patent pools to add additional pools in other non-video standards-based technology areas, such as a Smart Home patent pool the company is currently exploring.

John Kinton’s approach remains steady. He leads with transparency, tailored royalties, and a focus on balance between licensors and implementers. The mission is clear. Build coverage, reduce friction, and keep licensing fair.

Operational Technology (OT) cybersecurity has emerged as one of the most critical areas in today’s industrial landscape. It is due to maestros like Colin Prentice, OT Cybersecurity Leader, MEA Region, at Emerson, that this sector stands at the core of resilience. Colin began his career early, working in a semiconductor plant where his first exposure to automation sparked a passion for engineering. While his initial work involved operating machinery, it inspired him to pursue further education, earning qualifications in Electrical and Mechatronic Engineering. Over the years, he gained diverse experience across industrial manufacturing facilities, witnessing first-hand the shift from proprietary, offline systems to interconnected automation built on Common Off-The-Shelf (COTS) components. To stay ahead of this evolution, he advanced his studies in computing and networking.

His career took shape with a leading OEM, where he worked as an Application Engineer across sectors such as food and beverage, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals, focusing on factory automation. In 2014, he joined Emerson in United Kingdom as an Oil & Gas Technical Account Manager, a role that marked a turning point. As automation systems became increasingly connected, the vulnerabilities of COTS-based solutions highlighted cybersecurity as a critical business priority. Recognizing this, he chose to specialize in Operational Technology (OT) cybersecurity in 2016.

Two years later, he was entrusted with leading Emerson’s OT cybersecurity strategy for the Middle East and Africa. Moving to Dubai, he worked with major clients to strengthen the resilience of their automation systems and mitigate emerging cyber risks across vital industries. Alongside leadership responsibilities, he earned multiple certifications, including IEC62443 Expert, GICSP, and GRID, reinforcing his expertise in securing critical infrastructure.

Today, his journey reflects the UAE and Emerson’s broader vision of innovation and resilience, bridging engineering, automation, and cybersecurity to safeguard the future of industrial operations in a rapidly digitalizing region. Colin deserves applause as his journey has been nothing short of inspirational. His dedication and commitment to the world of OT cybersecurity have been transformative and innovative due to his technical expertise.

Balancing Security Reliability

Colin explained that at Emerson, part of his responsibility is to help organizations maintain strong cybersecurity without compromising safety, reliability, or operational continuity. Supporting clients through system changes, upgrades, and technology integrations forms a key part of their digital transformation journey.

He emphasized that achieving the right balance between availability, reliability, safety, and security requires strategic planning. As an OEM, Emerson ensures that every system remains highly available while being safe and secure. All solutions and applications undergo rigorous testing and validation to prevent any negative impact on operations.

When customers pursue new technologies such as remote connectivity, he ensures that cybersecurity is integrated from the design stage. This includes implementing secure infrastructure, perimeter protection, access controls, and continuous monitoring, essentially a defense-in-depth strategy.

Acknowledging that cybersecurity is never a “set-and-forget” exercise, Colin works closely with clients to understand their operational needs, aligning Emerson’s advanced automation technologies with their security and business objectives. Any solutions that expand connectivity or create additional entry points by expanding the attack surface are carefully reviewed, risk-assessed, and protected with appropriate safeguards.

Molding Cyber Leadership

Colin shared that his advanced certifications GICSP, GRID, and ISA/IEC 62443 Expert, have deeply shaped his approach to cybersecurity leadership, providing a comprehensive understanding of the complexities within industrial control systems that support critical infrastructure. He emphasized that cybersecurity in this domain goes beyond traditional IT, focusing on the unique vulnerabilities and operational requirements of operational technology (OT).

He explained that while all three certifications are OT-specific, each offers a distinct perspective. The GICSP provides broad coverage of OT from operational and technical angles, addressing security controls, risk management, governance, and ICS architectures. The GRID certification, by contrast, is highly technical and hands-on, incorporating real-world attack simulations, defense methodologies, and incident response preparedness. Meanwhile, the ISA/IEC 62443 certification focuses on global standards, policies, architectures, and lifecycle management critical for compliance in the Middle East region.

According to Colin, these programs collectively equipped him with diverse frameworks, tools, and practical insights from system design and implementation to response strategies. They have also enhanced his ability to collaborate across multidisciplinary teams and communicate complex cybersecurity concepts effectively to both technical and non-technical audiences within Emerson and its customer ecosystem.

Cybersecurity Leadership

Colin highlighted that Emerson plays a leading role in advancing OT cybersecurity across the Middle East, Africa, and beyond. The company continuously delivers innovative, secure solutions for critical process control systems embedding cybersecurity from the earliest design stages. Every new product inherently includes enhanced security features, reflecting Emerson’s “Secure by Design” philosophy, where protection is built in, not added later.

What sets Emerson apart, Colin explained, is its end-to-end approach. The company’s broad cybersecurity portfolio is developed, engineered, tested, and validated to ensure systems remain safe, reliable, and operationally efficient. Emerson aligns with global standards such as ISA/IEC 62443, ensuring compliance with regional regulations and best practices for critical infrastructure.

Emerson’s dedicated OT cybersecurity team partners closely with clients throughout their security journey, offering tailored assessments, policy development, upgrade planning, and ongoing operational support. The company also collaborates with global cybersecurity bodies and partners to stay ahead of emerging threats and regulatory trends.

Colin added that Emerson’s strong regional presence further strengthens its differentiation. With major facilities in Saudi Arabia’s SPARK supporting Vision 2030, a state-of-the-art solutions and education centre in Dubai’s Jebel Ali, and a new Global LNG Innovation Centre in Doha, Emerson’s localized investments enable faster response times and deeper customer support.

Through its scalable, adaptive cybersecurity solutions and strong regional commitment, Emerson continues to lead OT cybersecurity innovation across the MEA region.

Empowering Digital Resilience

Colin emphasized that cybersecurity should be viewed as a strategic business enabler rather than a cost center. He explained that true cybersecurity maturity begins with senior leadership involvement, as C-level executives are ultimately accountable for protecting business continuity. To secure the right investments, decision-makers must understand cybersecurity not as an operational expense, but as essential risk management.

He noted that while cybersecurity may not directly enhance product quality or output, neglecting it exposes organizations to significant safety, environmental, financial, and reputational (SEFR) risks. Global standards like IEC 62443 help quantify these risks, highlighting how a single cyber incident, such as ransomware or a plant shutdown, can cause massive financial losses, regulatory penalties, and lasting brand damage.

According to Colin, cybersecurity should be a foundational element of every critical operation, ensuring continuous uptime and resilience. It also enables safe digital transformation by securing IoT integration and connected systems that might otherwise expand the attack surface.

He further stressed that cybersecurity must become part of an organization’s culture, driven by the combined strength of people, processes, and technology. It’s not just an IT function and responsibility; every employee plays a role, serving either as the first line of defense or, if untrained, as a potential vulnerability.

Navigating the OT Challenges

Colin noted that industries across the Middle East and Africa are facing increasingly sophisticated and frequent cyber threats as operational technology (OT) systems become more connected. This growing interconnectivity expands the attack surface, exposing systems that were once isolated to new vulnerabilities and evolving threats.

He explained that many facilities still operate legacy systems such as Windows XP and Windows 7, which are no longer supported or patchable. This creates serious security risks, as deploying modern countermeasures like antivirus software or application whitelisting often leads to compatibility challenges with outdated hardware and software.

Colin highlighted that upgrading OT systems is another major hurdle. Since many industrial plants run continuously, scheduling shutdowns for upgrades can result in manpower strain, production loss, and financial impact. Maintaining up-to-date, supported systems requires careful lifecycle planning and budget allocation.

He also emphasized the growing complexity of compliance, with multiple standards and government regulations now mandating cybersecurity audits for critical infrastructure. Despite this, many facilities still lack full visibility into their networks and endpoints, a gap made worse by the limited availability of specialized OT cybersecurity expertise. As a result, many organizations are increasingly turning to external partners for support in monitoring and managing their systems securely.

Bridging Security Silos

Colin observed that many organizations still treat IT and OT security as separate functions, largely due to historical structures and organizational culture. This siloed approach, he noted, often prevents a unified security strategy that meets enterprise-wide objectives. He emphasized that management support is essential to break down these silos by forming multidisciplinary teams and fostering collaboration and communication between IT and OT.

He explained that in today’s interconnected environment, data flows both ways between IT and OT, making alignment critical for secure operations. While IT typically prioritizes confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CIA), OT focuses on availability, integrity, and confidentiality (AIC), with an added emphasis on safety, an area not usually addressed in IT. Despite these differences, IT’s long-established practices, policies, and procedures can often be adapted to OT contexts.

Colin highlighted the importance of understanding OT’s unique requirements, such as legacy systems and hardware compatibility, while leveraging IT expertise. Cross-functional training and a “one-team” approach can bridge knowledge gaps, enabling both departments to work together. By acknowledging these interdependencies and tailoring frameworks to OT’s operational realities, organizations can build a cohesive, enterprise-wide defense strategy that protects both business and operational systems.

Securing Operational Systems

Colin shared a generalized example of a project his team handled for an oil and gas company facing regulatory pressure to upgrade multiple legacy systems. These systems, many of which were out of support and connected to the IT network, lacked critical cybersecurity controls, raising significant operational risks. The customer was particularly concerned about system downtime during the upgrade.

Emerson began with a comprehensive cybersecurity and system upgrade assessment to understand the site’s security posture, vulnerabilities, and asset status. Using these insights, Colin and his team conducted workshops with the customer to educate them on the plant’s assets and the steps required to bring legacy systems up to current standards.

The team designed a new, segmented network with appropriate security zones and perimeter protections, including firewalls, to replace the existing flat network. They recommended end-to-end cybersecurity solutions aligned with regulatory requirements and developed upgrade and cybersecurity requirement specifications to define the scope and technical requirements of the project. Emerson also provided technical and awareness training to plant personnel, reinforcing good cybersecurity practices.

The result was a fully supported system with updated operating systems, patched hardware and software, hardened security measures, and a redesigned network that significantly reduced exposure to cyber threats. The upgraded system improved availability, reliability, and operational safety while ensuring compliance with local regulations and enhancing staff awareness to minimize human-related risks.

Future-Proofing OT

About the rise of Industry 4.0 automation, IoT, and Digitalisation, Colin believes that while terms like these are often used synonymously, the core concept remains the same: integrating intelligent devices and software into control systems. These advancements offer significant organizational benefits but also introduce new cybersecurity risks.

He highlighted that IoT devices and increased connectivity expand the attack surface, exposing previously isolated systems to potential threats. For critical infrastructure, which was traditionally air-gapped, the key consideration is always whether the business benefits outweigh the risks. When the benefits, financial or competitive, are clear, organizations must quantify and mitigate risk through system redesigns, enhanced cybersecurity measures, updated policies, and employee training.

Colin also noted the growing role of AI in cybersecurity. AI-driven systems are already being used for threat detection and response, analysing network behaviours, establishing baselines, and flagging anomalies. Advanced learning rules enable these systems to identify adversary tactics and correlate large volumes of data tasks that would be challenging for cybersecurity personnel alone. While AI can support automated responses, such as adjusting firewall rules or isolating assets, he stressed the importance of human oversight to prevent false positives from impacting critical systems.

In summary, Colin sees the convergence of automation, IoT, and AI as a transformative force for OT security, offering enhanced efficiency and threat detection, but requiring careful risk management, system design, and skilled human oversight.

OT Resilience

Colin observed that the landscape of OT cybersecurity is evolving rapidly, driven by emerging technologies that enhance the protection of critical operational systems. He noted a growing demand for greater visibility into Industrial Control Systems, enabling monitoring of endpoints and networks. Tools such as Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) and Network Intrusion Detection Systems (NIDS), often referred to as anomaly detection systems, provide early warnings of potential compromises. While many OT environments have protection and prevention measures in place, they often lack comprehensive monitoring of networks and endpoints. These systems require specialized, trained professionals to interpret alerts and define rules that detect abnormal or suspicious behaviour.

He highlighted that the integration of AI and machine learning into these monitoring systems is accelerating. These technologies help translate complex SIEM and NIDS data into actionable insights, enabling faster and more accurate decision-making by security analysts. AI also supports cybersecurity assessments by automating data collection, comparing systems against baselines, and providing recommendations for patching and hardening.

Colin further explained that as AI, machine learning, IoT connectivity, and cloud integration become more prevalent, cybersecurity standards will evolve to address the associated risks alongside business benefits. Regulations are expected to become increasingly stringent, with mandatory compliance criteria and frequent audits for critical infrastructure. This, he emphasized, will drive changes in governance models, policies, and procedures across asset-owning organizations, ensuring a more resilient and secure operational environment.

The Future Career Path

In discussing a career path in OT Cybersecurity, Colin advises that one must first understand that it is distinct from IT Cybersecurity. This differentiation is crucial for selecting the appropriate courses and training to ensure one begins on the correct professional trajectory.

He explains that securing OT and Critical Infrastructure typically involves Industrial Control Systems (ICS), SCADA Systems (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition), PLC Systems (Programmable Logic Controllers), and Safety Systems, which can be integrated or standalone. A recommended starting point is a course or training that provides an understanding of what these systems are, where they are used, and how they function. Once an individual grasps the fundamentals of OT systems, they can better understand how to secure them.

He notes that numerous cybersecurity courses are available at colleges, universities, and through standard bodies. ISA, for instance, offers a course based on IEC 62443, the global standard for process control systems, which is a broad offering covering best practices and securing OT Systems. SANS also provides OT-centric courses focusing on securing, defending, and responding to incidents within these systems.

Colin mentions that readily available resources, such as free courses and webinars, can be found easily on platforms like YouTube and LinkedIn and serve as a good initial starting point. Given the many roles in OT Security, he stresses that defining one’s desired specialization is important for choosing the right course. Example roles include Risk Assessment Specialist, Penetration Tester, Security Engineer, Security Analyst, and Incident Responder. He suggests that some experienced cybersecurity personnel may have the capability to handle a few of these roles after training, development, and experience.

According to Colin, hands-on experience is a must; while education is beneficial, putting knowledge into practice in real-world scenarios is vital. He recommends looking for opportunities to gain as much practical experience as possible. Internship roles and entry-level roles are invaluable, supplementing academic education. Furthermore, there are many online labs, open-source simulations, and software available. He adds that many cybersecurity conferences offer free general attendee access, which are great events for networking and hearing from experts on different topics.

He concludes that the world of OT Cybersecurity is expanding rapidly, creating a demand for talented and skilled professionals. He suggests this offers an exciting and worthwhile career with extensive opportunities for development and growth. The fast growth in OT cybersecurity and the evolving threat landscape mean there are stable and long-term job prospects for successful candidates.

Predicting the Future of OT Security

The vision for the role of OT security, according to Colin, is the continued safeguarding of critical infrastructure across the MEA region, specifically the power, water, and energy sectors, including electricity, oil, and natural gas. These sectors face persistent threats from increasingly sophisticated and well-funded cyber adversaries whose aim is to disrupt or destroy vital systems with little regard for human life or safety.

As the cyber threat landscape evolves, he stresses that it is imperative to evolve alongside it. This necessitates ensuring the right combination of skilled people, cutting-edge technologies, and robust processes are in place. Equally important is fostering a strong cybersecurity culture within organizations, acknowledging that cyber risks can affect everyone both within and outside the workplace.

Protecting critical systems is non-negotiable. To achieve this, Colin emphasizes that there must be collaboration as a unified community. This includes working closely with standards bodies, regulators, and trusted partners to establish a cohesive and strategic approach to OT security. Through these collective efforts, a resilient, secure infrastructure can be built that will continue to serve the region for years to come.

To get updates about Colin’s expertise and achievements, you can follow him on LINKEDIN LINK.

Integrated healthcare services are the new trend. It encourages coordinated and holistic patient care. Jeff Petet, SVP Information Technology at Petauri, is a true example of deploying tech and achieving operational excellence. His career spans more than thirty years across multiple industries, each contributing to his distinctive approach to technology leadership. He began his professional journey in manufacturing, where he spent twelve years dedicated to achieving operational excellence and developing scalable systems. He then transitioned to the employee benefits and insurance sector for seven years, gaining deep expertise in data management, regulatory compliance, and the intricate balance of supporting organizations and their employees through innovative insurance solutions. Following that, he spent nine years in healthcare, a field where technology choices directly influence patient outcomes and organizational resilience.

Throughout these roles, he has specialized in aligning IT initiatives with overarching business objectives, crafting strategic roadmaps, and delivering measurable outcomes through scalable and cost-effective technology solutions. Two years ago, he joined Petauri, inspired by its mission to accelerate access to life-changing treatments. The opportunity to integrate technology across activities that support the pharmaceutical commercialization spectrum, while building a secure and unified platform represented a natural progression in his career. His professional journey has consistently been driven by a commitment to connect purpose with tangible results, and at Petauri, that translates into empowering every business unit to achieve measurable impact through technology.

A lifelong learner and advocate for innovation, Jeff remains ahead of emerging technology trends to sustain business growth and value. He enables organizations to increase revenue, reduce costs, and enhance productivity by simplifying technology strategies and championing automation and adoption, always underpinned by transparent communication and alignment with business goals.

A Bouquet of Services

Petauri offers a comprehensive suite of services that includes U.S. access strategy and marketing, commercialization insights, medical and scientific communications, global pricing and HEOR, health systems solutions, and Medicaid access consulting. The company’s integrated model enables clients to experience seamless collaboration and unified expertise across the entire product lifecycle.

This integrated framework shapes its approach to data architecture and interoperability. The organization has developed a secure, cohesive technology environment that connects customer engagement, financial operations, work management, and content collaboration. Its analytics backbone delivers unified dashboards and actionable insights, empowering data-driven decision-making across every service line. Through standardized platforms and integrations, Petauri ensures that each business unit’s work remains connected, measurable, and continuously optimized while upholding rigorous governance and privacy standards.

A defining strength of the organization lies in its commitment to integrating all acquired companies onto a unified technology platform. Instead of maintaining or linking fragmented legacy systems, the company ensures consistency, security, and seamless connectivity across its operations. This strategy not only streamlines processes but also maximizes ROI on technology investments, accelerating growth through both mergers and acquisitions, as well as organic expansion.

Strategic Technology Alignment

Alignment at Petauri begins with a business-anchored strategic plan. The company’s technology roadmap is structured to first deliver foundational capabilities, identity, collaboration, integration, and security before advancing to differentiation through sophisticated analytics and AI. Each initiative is evaluated against enterprise-level objectives, including growth, integration, and operational excellence.

Jeff specializes in building high-performing teams, fostering strong partnerships with stakeholders and executives, and delivering IT services that empower global users. Petauri takes a pragmatic approach to AI, emphasizing use cases that shorten cycle times and enhance quality, always reinforced by human oversight. The organization’s Intranet SuperApp equips employees with governed AI assistants for search, onboarding, and creative tasks, boosting proficiency while maintaining compliance. By defining key performance indicators and executing pilots with clear baselines, Petauri consistently demonstrates measurable value, supporting its mission to deliver life-changing therapies to patients faster.

AI Integration

In terms of work orchestration, the company’s Intranet SuperApp places AI assistants directly where employees perform their internal-facing tasks, reducing the path from question to governed answer, minimizing context-switching, and maintaining strong auditability and compliance controls.

The organization’s AI approach is partner-first and governed, integrating AI-native platforms to compress cycle times, avoid proprietary builds, and uphold quality through human-in-the-loop oversight.

Cybersecurity Governance Framework

The organization’s cybersecurity program is built on layered defence, managed detection and response, and rigorous governance.

Proactive threat management is a cornerstone of the program. The company partners with leading providers to deliver 24/7 monitoring, threat research, and executive reporting, ensuring rapid detection and response. Its managed detection and response (MDR) service includes continuous scanning of the threat landscape, mitigation support for zero-day vulnerabilities, proactive and reactive threat hunts, and detailed threat advisories.

Secure collaboration and auditability are also prioritized. The Intranet SuperApp and core platforms provide strong controls, including audit logs, data loss prevention, and legal holds, supporting investigations and maintaining compliance.

Governance and oversight are formalized within the cybersecurity roadmap, with clearly defined roles for change management and release discipline, ensuring that every rollout and integration adheres to policy.

The organization maintains a sharp focus on protecting sensitive healthcare information, in alignment with applicable data privacy regulations, including HIPAA, CCPA, PCI, and GDPR.

Navigating through Challenges

Pharmaceutical service platforms encounter notable challenges when striving for real-time data integration:

Diverse systems from growth and acquisitions:

Newly acquired business units often bring a variety of technology infrastructures. At Petauri, acquired companies are fully integrated onto the unified Petauri platform. This strategy delivers consistency, strengthens security, and enables seamless organizational integration, avoiding the pitfalls of maintaining or linking disparate legacy systems.

Complexity of analytics infrastructure:

Petauri addresses this by implementing a cohesive analytics environment that supports cross-domain data products, minimizing latency and duplication. The framework incorporates open table formats, governance standards, and generative-AI-assisted creation of analytics queries, aligning with industry trends and lowering integration costs for new acquisitions.

Regulatory and compliance considerations:

Handling sensitive clinical and commercial information along with market research insights requires detailed governance across data pipelines, storage, and access. Petauri employs enterprise-level controls and full auditability throughout its technology environment to maintain compliance.

Petauri’s data architecture is intentionally designed to adapt to the organization’s evolving needs, enabling enterprise-wide data products while ensuring analytics capabilities remain future-ready.

Strategic IT

The organization applies “just-enough” process rigor to align with its high-growth environment. Structured release cycles and change management are supported by documented SOPs and program governance, ensuring predictability and auditability. KPI-instrumented pilots, particularly for AI initiatives, measure cycle-time reductions and quality outcomes, allowing the company to scale solutions that prove effective. A platform-first configuration approach prioritizes enterprise platform setups over custom builds, reflecting the organization’s “partner-first and governed” AI strategy while maintaining a low total cost of ownership. The IT strategic plan includes seventeen initiatives, chosen for their ability to deliver strategic business value, reinforce security measures, and further enhance core IT competencies.

Expandable Architecture

Scalability is a core element of the organization’s strategic roadmap and operational design:

Sequenced technology and organizational build:

The roadmap defines the architecture, regulatory obligations, and multi-year plans for platform development, security, data/AI capabilities, and integration of acquisitions.

Integration playbook for acquisitions:

Subsidiaries are incorporated into the standardized platform, strengthening cross-sell potential and connecting platform alignment to measurable business results.

Reference architecture and platform standards:

The technology ecosystem supports identity management, collaboration, CRM, ERP, work management, intranet, and analytics, all reinforced with security measures and single sign-on to reduce friction and mitigate risk.

This strategy ensures that every business unit operates effectively and securely, enabling rapid growth while driving operational excellence.

Future Tech

Jeff is most excited about several emerging technologies in healthcare IT. Agentic AI for scientific and commercial workflows, multi-agent systems that plan, debate, and validate under human supervision have the potential to accelerate research and evidence tasks, speeding expert judgment. Reasoning models and AI assistants are increasingly integrated into daily work, orchestrating richer workflows across content, data, and processes, all supported by enterprise controls and auditability. The maturity of the data ecosystem, with open formats and data-fabric capabilities, simplifies cross-organization analytics and makes AI-assisted insight generation both safer and more cost-effective.

His technology strategy is anchored in secure, scalable platforms that unify data, collaboration, and analytics. This integrated approach enables every business unit, from market access and commercialization insights to medical communications and global pricing, to operate efficiently and securely.

Future Forecast

Jeff’s vision centers on IT as a trusted, high-performing partner that strengthens business compliance and operational excellence. He underscores the organization’s role in delivering measurable value and enabling scientific advancements that improve patient outcomes. The coming 5-year plan of the team includes:

Completing platform integration and scaling responsibly:

Shorten assimilation time for acquisitions and demonstrate how platform cohesion accelerates growth and operational excellence.

Institutionalizing governed AI:

Expand KPI-instrumented AI use cases while maintaining human expertise and oversight that ensure permanent quality safeguards.

Elevating employee experience:

Continue and expand use of embedded AI assistants in the Intranet SuperApp and employee collaboration platforms, to deliver governed answers where people work and bolster the employee experience with the auditability that empowers internal controls, compliance initiatives, continued growth and future improvement.

Jeff’s team is glued to the thought of continuous improvement, innovation, and the tactical utilization of data to bring in business value and improve patient outcomes.

A Favorite Quote

The quote, “If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else,” by Yogi Berra, resonates deeply with Jeff’s personal journey and his leadership at Petauri. Throughout his career spanning manufacturing, insurance, healthcare, and now pharmaceutical commercialization, he has learned that clarity of purpose and direction is essential for meaningful progress. In every role, Jeff has emphasized developing strategic roadmaps and aligning technology initiatives with business objectives, recognizing that without a clear vision, even the most talented teams and advanced tools can lose their way.

At Petauri, this philosophy is embedded in the organization’s DNA. The company’s mission to accelerate access to life-changing treatments requires a clear sense of direction. Petauri assimilates acquisitions onto a unified platform, structures its analytics and AI strategies around measurable outcomes, and ensures that every initiative is grounded in long-term goals. This intentionality enables the organization to remain focused, resilient, and capable of delivering tangible impact in a complex, fast-evolving industry.

Yogi Berra’s words serve as a reminder that strategic clarity is more than a leadership principle; it is a safeguard against distraction and drift. By maintaining a clear direction, Petauri empowers its teams to innovate with confidence, adapt to change, and consistently fulfill its commitment to improving patient outcomes and driving business value.

To know more or connect with Jeff, you can click on https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffpetet/

In the rapidly evolving landscape of Saudi Arabia’s digital economy, few leaders embody the spirit of transformation as compellingly as Ahmed M. Al-Ghamdi. As the Vice President of Digital Transformation and Chair of the AI Committee at Vision Invest, he brings over two decades of experience from industry giants such as Saudi Aramco, Baker Hughes, and Halliburton, combining technical depth, strategic foresight, and operational agility that positions him at the forefront of innovation.

Since joining Vision Invest, an infrastructure investment holding company headquartered in Saudi Arabia, Ahmed has spearheaded a comprehensive digital overhaul, modernizing the company’s IT infrastructure by embedding AI and machine learning across business functions, and has successfully fostered a culture of data-driven decision-making. Ahmed is currently Chair of the AI Committee where he underscores a pivotal role in aligning technology with Vision Invest’s broader mandate: delivering sustainable value through impact investments that support Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.

Ahmed’s leadership is not just about systems and software; it is about reimagining possibilities. By championing cross-functional collaboration and the adoption of ethical AI, he is helping Vision Invest evolve from a traditional investment holding company into a digitally empowered catalyst for regional growth. Ahmed’s vision is clear: transformation is not a destination, it is a mindset.

Bridging Industries, Building Intelligence

From the oil and gas fields of Saudi Arabia to the boardrooms of national and international organizations, Ahmed’s career trajectory has consistently centered on one mission: unlocking operational value through transformative technologies. Beginning with industry stalwarts like Saudi Aramco, Halliburton, and Baker Hughes, Al-Ghamdi architected a breakthrough digital infrastructure, including the ambitious interlinking of over 200 drilling rigs with Aramco’s central systems. This early success sharpened his instinct for extracting intelligence from complexity, an ethos that has guided his leadership ever since.

Today, Ahmed is steering a modernization effort that touches every corner of the enterprise, from automation and analytics to AI ethics and strategic foresight. His work blends global best practices with a localized innovation lens, reflecting Saudi Arabia’s accelerating pivot toward digitization under Vision 2030. His recent recognition as AI Leader of 2025 by the Arab Leaders Organization is a timely affirmation of his influence across the regional tech landscape.

Complementing his corporate leadership is a deep commitment to cultivating the next generation of Saudi innovators. Ahmed actively mentors emerging talent, seeing knowledge-sharing and coaching as not just a responsibility but as a source of joy and passion. This led him to launch Refaq.ai, a platform designed to connect seasoned professionals with young minds eager to navigate the evolving tech ecosystem. For Ahmed, mentorship is not a side pursuit; it is an extension of his vision for a smarter, more inclusive future.

Leadership Philosophy in Action

Ahmed has forged his leadership style in environments where failure was not an option and technology had to perform under relentless pressure. His formative years in the oil and gas industry instilled in him a deep respect for operational resilience and scalability, values that now underpin his digital strategy. In the high-stakes world of drilling operations, systems had to run 24/7, flawlessly. That mindset, where robustness and reliability are non-negotiable, continues to guide his approach to enterprise-wide transformation.

Ahmed’s tenure in the oil and gas industry also refined his ability to navigate cross-functional collaboration. Often positioned at the intersection of engineering, geology, manufacturing, Information technology, and business strategy, he became a natural translator between disciplines, a skill that has become indispensable in his current role. In his current role, Ahmed actively ensures that digital initiatives are not siloed within IT but are shaped by insights from every department, fostering a culture where transformation is truly organization-wide.

His leadership principles are anchored in integrity, impact, and inclusion. He leads with a clear sense of purpose, empowering teams and championing decisions that deliver long-term value. Importantly, Ahmed is a vocal advocate for ethical AI, emphasizing transparency, responsible governance, and the belief that technology must serve people, not the other way around. This philosophy is reflected in his AI strategy, which strikes a balance between innovation and accountability, ensuring that every digital advancement aligns with human-centric values.

Ahmed’s journey, from managing building and managing data centers, real-time data project across 200+ drilling rigs to chairing the AI Committee at one of Saudi Arabia’s most strategic investment firms, is a testament to how technical rigor, collaborative agility, and principled leadership can converge to drive meaningful transformation.

Investing in Transformation

Today, Ahmed plays a pivotal role in steering one of Saudi Arabia’s most forward-looking investment firms toward a tech-enabled future. His mandate goes beyond digital transformation, it’s about embedding artificial intelligence as a strategic enabler across the organization. He is leading efforts to modernize IT and digital infrastructure, deploy machine learning solutions, and build internal AI capabilities that empower smarter decision-making. Ahmed’s work on the AI committee’s includes crafting a scalable AI adoption roadmap, supporting portfolio companies with intelligent tools, and establishing governance frameworks that ensure ethical, transparent, and responsible AI use.

Under his leadership, digital transformation functions as a strategic nerve center, aligning innovation with business priorities while safeguarding data integrity and regulatory compliance. This includes regular progress reviews, cross-functional collaboration, and the development of success metrics to measure AI’s impact across operations. Ahmed’s approach reflects a deep understanding of both the technical architecture and the human implications of AI, making him a key architect of Saudi Arabia’s digital future.

AI for National Impact

At the core of Saudi Arabia’s ambitious transformation lies Vision 2030, a national blueprint designed to diversify the economy, empower the private sector, and position the Kingdom as a global leader in innovation and sustainability. This isn’t just a guiding framework, it’s a foundational ethos. As Ahmed puts it: “Vision 2030 is a huge part of our DNA and purpose.” The company sees itself not merely as a participant but as an executor of the Vision, translating national goals into tangible infrastructure, investment, and technological outcomes.

Ahmed is entrusted with the development of a scalable AI roadmap that integrates intelligent systems across investment evaluation, infrastructure planning, and operational efficiency. These efforts directly support Vision 2030’s pillars, particularly in digital transformation, smart city development, and data-driven governance. By deploying AI to optimize resource allocation and embed smart solutions into infrastructure, his team is helping shape urban environments that are more connected, resilient, and citizen-centric.

However, Ahmed’s vision goes beyond technology. He blends deep industry knowledge with an entrepreneurial mindset, proactively leading change rather than reacting to it. His commitment to ESG principles ensures that every investment delivers both financial returns and sustainable development. From water and energy to healthcare and logistics, as a leader, Ahmed prioritizes long-term impact, aligning with Vision 2030’s emphasis on inclusive growth and environmental stewardship.

Ahmed’s personal passion as a Saudi professional adds a layer of authenticity to this mission. He views success not just in terms of profit, but in how effectively it contributes to the Kingdom’s transformation. “Our success is ultimately measured by how much we help the country achieve its Vision,” he shares.

From Tech Upgrade to Cultural Shift

Digital transformation, believes Ahmed, must not be treated as a one-time technology upgrade, it is effectively a strategic cultural evolution. As a mentor, he advises embracing a holistic approach that builds digital muscle across people, processes, and platforms. This philosophy recognizes that true transformation requires more than new tools, it demands a mindset shift across the organization.

Ahmed has led the overhaul of legacy systems, replacing fragmented infrastructure with scalable, cloud-based solutions that support agility and interoperability. His team has launched AI pilot programs that target high-impact areas such as process evaluation, workflow automation, and predictive analytics, each designed to validate use cases before scaling enterprise-wide. These pilots have not only improved operational efficiency but also fostered a culture of experimentation and data-driven decision-making.

Cybersecurity has been another cornerstone of the transformation agenda. He has helped strengthen cyber defenses, implementing robust governance frameworks, proactive threat monitoring, and employee training programs to mitigate risks in an increasingly digitized environment. These efforts align with national priorities, as Saudi Arabia continues to invest in cybersecurity infrastructure to support its digital economy and infrastructure.

Of course, the journey has not been without its challenges. Change resistance, especially among legacy teams, and talent gaps in emerging tech areas initially slowed momentum. But Ahmed’s leadership emphasized clear communication, ongoing training, and cross-functional alignment, turning these hurdles into stepping-stones. By fostering a shared vision and empowering teams with the right tools and knowledge, he has cultivated a transformation-ready culture.

This people-first approach ensures that technology serves as an enabler, not a disruptor. It’s a model that reflects Ahmed’s belief that digital transformation is ultimately about empowering people to operate smarter, faster, and more collaboratively.

Rewiring Investment: A Tech-Led Evolution

The investment sector is no longer edging into the future; it is charging headlong into it. As Ahmed puts it, “Technology is not just about enabling innovation; it is reframing how value is assessed and built.”

AI is doing more than crunching numbers. It is powering predictive analytics, decoding market sentiment in real time, and customizing investment strategies at scale. Blockchain, too, has graduated from theory to traction, particularly in private markets, where its transparency and traceability are redefining trust.

Ahmed also points out the rise of ESG intelligence. Sustainability metrics, once side notes, are becoming decisive factors in asset selection and portfolio construction. Investors now seek environmental and social indicators with the same rigor once reserved for financials.

What is striking, he feels, is the emergence of digital twins and IoT as infrastructure game-changers. By simulating asset behavior and gathering granular performance data, these tools help investors preempt risk and optimize returns before a single dollar moves.

The most quiet transformative shift, he shares, is automated due diligence. AI-backed platforms are streamlining the legal, financial, and market review process, accelerating deal velocity and minimizing friction.

The net effect is not incremental; it is in fact architectural. The very scaffolding of investment logic is being rebuilt with technology at its core. And for leaders like Ahmed, this is not a threat; it is an invitation.

Future-Proofing Investment

Technology and artificial intelligence are not simply operational tools. Ahmed makes sure to use them as strategic imperatives. His leadership is about actively guiding firms to evolve as an AI-enabled entity, embedding intelligent systems into every layer of its decision-making architecture. This transformation is not a distant ambition: it is already underway, with AI and advanced analytics becoming integral to daily operations, from investment evaluation to portfolio optimization.

His focus is on drafting a long-term strategy built on a cloud-based digital infrastructure that connects ecosystems seamlessly, enabling real-time data access, predictive modeling, and scalable automation. One of the most forward-looking initiatives under Ahmed’s leadership is the pilot deployment of generative AI for scenario planning and knowledge management. These tools allow users to simulate complex market conditions, anticipate risk trajectories, and refine strategic foresight, aligning perfectly with Saudi Arabia’s push toward a data-driven, AI-powered economy. By leveraging generative AI, one can explore multidimensional futures, test hypotheses rapidly, and democratize strategic insight across teams.

But with innovation comes responsibility. Ahmed’s team is equally focused on strengthening governance frameworks, including:

Robust data governance to ensure integrity, traceability, and ethical use of information

Cybersecurity infrastructure that protects digital assets and stakeholder trust

Audit oversight mechanisms that align with regulatory standards and internal accountability

Ahmed’s vision is clear: within a few years, every major decision will be informed by digital insight, supported by a resilient tech backbone, and governed by principles of transparency and trust. This isn’t just about future-proofing the business; it is about redefining what it means to lead in the investment and infrastructure sector.

The Skillset That Powers Transformation

In the fast-moving world of AI and digital transformation, technical proficiency is just the starting point. According to Ahmed, what truly distinguishes impactful professionals is their ability to translate technology into business value, bridging the gap between innovation and outcomes.

While Ahmed leads enterprise-wide modernization, he also emphasizes a multidimensional skillset that blends strategic thinking, ethical awareness, and adaptive learning. Here is how he breaks it down:

Data Literacy: The ability to interpret, visualize, and act on data is foundational. Whether evaluating investment performance or optimizing infrastructure, professionals must be fluent in data-driven decision-making. This includes understanding data quality, governance, and the nuances of analytics tools.

AI Ethics: As AI becomes embedded in core business functions, ethical considerations are no longer optional. Ahmed champions responsible AI use, effectively ensuring transparency, fairness, and accountability in every deployment.
Professionals must be equipped to assess bias, safeguard privacy, and align AI systems with human values.

Prompt Engineering: With the rise of generative AI and AI agents, knowing how to communicate effectively with large language models is becoming a core competency. Prompt engineering enables teams to extract meaningful insights, automate tasks, and accelerate workflows, thus turning AI from a novelty into a strategic asset.

Change Leadership: Digital transformation is as much about people as it is about platforms. Ahmed stresses the importance of guiding teams through the change. Building alignment, fostering resilience, and cultivating a culture of continuous improvement are where leaders must be able to inspire, communicate, and adapt.

Curiosity and Continuous Learning: In a field that evolves by the minute, curiosity isn’t just a trait; it is a survival skill. Ahmed encourages professionals to stay curious, experiment boldly, and embrace lifelong learning. This mindset fuels innovation and keeps organizations ahead of the curve.

This holistic approach to capability-building reflects Ahmed’s broader philosophy: technology must serve people, not the other way around. He ensures that this ethos shapes a new generation of talent, one that is not only technically sharp but also ethically grounded, strategically agile, and relentlessly curious.

AI as a Strategic Engine for Infrastructure, Investment, and Ethics

For Ahmed, AI is a strategic engine reshaping how infrastructure is planned, financed, and governed. As he leads digital transformation across complex portfolios and organizations, Ahmed sees three AI trends as game-changers:
Generative AI for Strategic Modeling: From scenario planning to investment simulations, generative AI is enabling leaders to visualize outcomes, stress-test assumptions, and optimize capital allocation. It is not just about faster modeling, it is about smarter foresight.

Predictive AI for Asset Management:

Infrastructure assets are being monitored and maintained with unprecedented precision. Predictive algorithms flag risks before they materialize, optimize maintenance schedules, and extend asset lifecycles, thereby driving efficiency and resilience across the board.

AI-Enhanced ESG Scoring:

With sustainability at the core of modern investment, AI is elevating ESG analysis from static checklists to dynamic, data-rich evaluations. Ahmed highlights how AI tools ingest real-time environmental and

social data to generate nuanced ESG scores: informing decisions that balance profit with purpose.

Building Trust Through AI Governance

Ahmed is clear-eyed about the ethical stakes and the balance between power and responsibility. He ensures that the AI governance framework is designed to ensure that innovation does not outpace integrity. Here’s how it works:
Bias Assessments: Every model undergoes rigorous testing to identify and mitigate bias, whether in data inputs, algorithmic logic, or decision outputs.

Auditable Data Sources: Transparency starts with traceability. Ahmed’s teams rely on data that can be verified, challenged, and explained: ensuring accountability at every step.

Stakeholder Inclusion: Ethical AI isn’t built in isolation. Diverse voices, from engineers to community representatives, are involved in shaping how AI is deployed, especially in projects with social impact.

Explainability and Transparency: Models must be interpretable, not just to data scientists, but to decision-makers and regulators. This clarity builds trust and enables responsible scaling.

Ahmed’s philosophy is simple but powerful: AI must serve people, not replace judgment. By embedding ethics into the architecture of innovation.

De-Risking with Strategy and Sustainability

For Ahmed, risk management and sustainability aren’t parallel tracks, they are deeply intertwined. Under his leadership, the investment process is being reengineered to reflect this reality. There’s a move beyond traditional financial metrics, embedding AI-driven intelligence into every phase of infrastructure planning and execution.

He supports leveraging AI to evaluate climate risks, regulatory volatility, and ESG performance with precision and accuracy. These insights inform not only initial due diligence but also post-deployment compliance, ensuring that infrastructure assets remain resilient and aligned with evolving environmental and policy landscapes. By integrating real-time data and predictive analytics, one can anticipate disruptions; from extreme weather to legislative shifts; and adjust strategies proactively.

AI Strategies That Drive Infrastructure Performance

Ahmed highlights three core AI applications that are transforming how one can build and manage infrastructure:
Demand Forecasting: AI models analyze historical usage patterns, weather data, and socio-economic indicators to predict future demand across utilities and transport networks. This enables smarter capacity planning and reduces the risk of over- or under-investment.

Project Feasibility Modeling: Machine learning algorithms simulate multiple development scenarios, factoring in cost, environmental impact, and community outcomes. These models help prioritize projects with the highest ROI and lowest risk exposure.

Proactive Maintenance Systems: AI-powered sensors and analytics monitor asset health in real time, flagging potential failures before they occur. This reduces downtime, extends asset life, and lowers operational costs; especially critical in sectors like water, energy, and logistics.

Sustainability as Strategy

Sustainability cannot be a simple checkbox exercise, it is a strategic lens. Ahmed makes sure that ESG metrics are embedded into the investment lifecycle, using AI to track emissions, resource efficiency, and social impact. This approach aligns with global best practices and Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 goals, positioning the firm as a leader in responsible infrastructure development.

By fusing AI with sustainability, one does not just mitigate risks: it builds infrastructure that is future-ready, impact-driven, and resilient by design.

Global Signals, Local Strategy and the Playbook for Future-Ready Investing

For Ahmed, global trends aren’t just reference points, they are catalysts for transformation. His investment strategy is shaped by a dynamic interplay between worldwide innovation and regional relevance, with AI and sustainability at the core. He emphasizes:

Decentralized Energy & Green Infrastructure

The global pivot toward clean, distributed energy systems is reshaping infrastructure priorities. Businesses need to actively explore green hydrogen, smart grids, and renewable energy corridors that align with Saudi Arabia’s climate goals and energy diversification strategy. These investments are not just environmentally sound, they are economically strategic, offering long-term resilience and energy independence.

AI-Augmented Investment Platforms

AI is no longer a back-office tool: it is a strategic enabler. Businesses need to use AI-powered platforms to evaluate opportunities, model risk scenarios, and optimize portfolio performance. These platforms integrate ESG metrics, regulatory forecasts, and market signals to support real-time, data-driven decision-making. It is a leap from intuition to intelligence.

Regulatory Shifts & ESG Standards

Global markets are tightening ESG and digital compliance frameworks. Businesses need to localize these standards to fit the Saudi context, ensuring that every investment meets both international benchmarks and regional priorities. This dual lens helps the firm stay globally credible while remaining locally impactful.

Lessons from Global Markets

Ahmed emphasizes that Saudi Arabia’s investment sector can accelerate its transformation by embracing:

Agility:

Rapid iteration and adaptive strategy, especially in tech-driven sectors.

Ecosystem Thinking:

Building collaborative networks across startups, corporates, regulators, and academia.

Human-Centric Innovation:

Designing solutions that serve communities, not just balance sheets.

Saudi Arabia has the ambition, talent, and capital. What is now needed is amplified collaboration, digital adoption, and a mindset that sees innovation as a shared journey embraced by all, not merely a solo sprint.

“We need people and businesses who truly embody the Vision 2030 ideals: technologically advanced, innovative, and delivering tangible social and economic impact. Personally, I aim to mentor the next generation of digital leaders, shape regional AI policy, and scale innovation that improves lives. Together, we will build a smarter, more sustainable future,” concludes Ahmed.

The following sections need to be designed/highlighted in the PDF version:

A Word for Companies Embracing Digital Transformation

“Start small but think big. Align your tech initiatives with business value. Secure leadership buy-in, create a culture of experimentation, and invest in digital skills. Transformation isn’t a one-time project, it’s a continuous mindset shift.”

A Quote to Live By:

“Don’t optimize for the next quarter. Optimize for the next quarter-century.”

For Ahmed, it’s a daily reminder to think long-term, lead with purpose, and build legacies, not just profits.

He further shares, “His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman said, ‘We want to be a nation of dreamers and doers, a nation that leads the world in innovation and creativity’.”

“This quote deeply resonates with me, both as a Saudi and as someone who has dedicated his life to digital transformation. It captures the boldness, ambition, and forward-looking mindset that is defining our generation in the Kingdom. We’re no longer content with catching up, we’re here to lead. That means taking calculated risks, embracing emerging technologies like AI, and nurturing the kind of talent and culture that sees innovation not as a buzzword, but as a responsibility.
Every day, I think about how we turn that dream into execution, how we build systems, strategies, and teams that don’t just envision the future, but shape it. That spirit of dreaming big and doing even bigger is the fuel behind Vision 2030, and it’s what drives me and my team at Vision Invest.”

Highlight Feature:

Leading the Largest Remote Operations Deployment in Baker Hughes History

Before his tenure at Vision Invest, Ahmed played a defining role in one of Saudi Arabia’s most ambitious digital transformation projects. During his time at Baker Hughes, he led the end-to-end delivery of the largest remote operations solution ever deployed by the company, supporting Saudi Aramco’s drilling operations across more than 200 sites. This landmark initiative was not only a technical feat but a strategic leap forward in how real-time data, edge computing, and centralized monitoring could be harnessed to optimize performance in the oil and gas sector.

Ahmed’s leadership was instrumental in integrating WellLinkRT technology, enabling unified data streaming, visualization, and proactive wellsite management. The project involved over 200 field deployments, covered 350,000 kilometers, and supported 2,000+ end users operating 24/7. He oversaw the creation of a dedicated digital center staffed by a multidisciplinary team, 90% of whom were Saudi nationals, reflecting his commitment to local talent development and digital upskilling. Delivered 50% faster than planned despite pandemic constraints, the project stands as a testament to Al-Ghamdi’s ability to scale innovation under pressure and build resilient, future-ready infrastructure.

Driving Regional Innovation Through Halliburton’s Digital Center in Dammam

During his tenure as Digital Solutions Leader for Halliburton in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, Ahmed played a pivotal role in shaping the strategic direction and operational impact of the Halliburton Digital Center in Dammam. Positioned as a regional hub for technological advancement, the center was designed to accelerate digital transformation across the energy sector, delivering tailored solutions to partners both locally and globally. Under Al-Ghamdi’s leadership, the center became a catalyst for innovation, supporting Saudi Aramco and other key stakeholders with advanced digital capabilities while reinforcing Halliburton’s long-standing commitment to the Kingdom.

Ahmed ’s efforts extended beyond technology deployment to workforce development and national capacity building. By championing initiatives that nurtured local talent and aligned with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, he helped ensure the center’s impact was both immediate and enduring. With Halliburton employing over 3,000 people in the Kingdom, the Digital Center served as a bridge between global expertise and regional empowerment, solidifying Ahmed’s reputation as a leader who blends strategic foresight with operational excellence.

In today’s business and leadership landscape, a new class of executives is reshaping industries by combining deep professional expertise with a passion for mentorship, inclusion, and service. Among these influential leaders is Dr. Rhonda GloverReese, CEO of The Rhonda M. Glover Group, LLC, a firm specializing in coaching, mentoring, training,and development. With a career spanning more than three decades at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and a lifelong commitment to developing people-centered leadership frameworks, Dr. Reese exemplifies what it means to lead with purpose.

The company is dedicated to instilling law enforcement leaders and guiding individuals seeking careers in the public service sphere. Her influence reaches far beyond law enforcement. Through her executive coaching, public speaking, and leadership development programs, she is enabling leaders in business, government, and community organizations with the skills imperative to thrive in a rapidly changing world.

We are more than elated to highlight her remarkable career journey, leadership philosophy, and her enduring mission to empower the next generation of leaders.

Early Life and Academic Foundation

Dr. Reese was born in Annapolis, Maryland, and raised in Washington, DC. From an early age, she depicted both intellectual curiosity and a strong sense of social responsibility. Her pursuit of academic excellence reflects a career-long commitment to continuous learning. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, followed by a Master of Science in Management from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Her scholarly journey culminated with a Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona.

Her dissertation,titled“Making the Roadmap Visible: Black Female Leaders in Federal Law Enforcement Ascending to the Senior Executive Service,”fuels her focus on advancing women within leadership pipelines. In addition to her progress, she holds certificates in Nonprofit Executive Management from Georgetown University and Howard UniversitySchool of Business Executive Education – Global HR Institute.She also contributed to academia as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Security at Pace University, New York.

This strong educational foundation would prove invaluable throughout her FBI career and in her subsequent role as a CEO, where academic rigor and practical experience blend seamlessly in her approach to leadership development.

FBI: A Distinguished Career

Dr. Reese’s professional journey is inextricably linked to her 34-year tenure with the FBI. She began in 1984 at FBI Headquarters within the Technical Services Division. She was promoted to the Laboratory Division as a photographer in no time. In 1987, she was working in the New York Office as an Investigative Specialist in the Special Surveillance Group, focusing on foreign counterintelligence.

In 1988, she fulfilled her enduring goal of becoming a Special Agent, assigned initially to drug violation cases at the Newark Field Office in New Jersey. During her tenure, she played a crucial role in major investigations, including TWA Flight 800, the Unabomber case, the Times Square bombing investigation, and the Sandy Hook shooting investigation.Her leadership trajectory accelerated swiftly, with the promotions that witnessed her managing critical programs across organized crime, counterintelligence, cyber operations, and professional development.

One of her most powerful roles was as Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) of the New Haven Field Office, where she oversaw the National Security Branch and the Criminal/Administrative Branch. In these positions, she managed teams working on counterintelligence, counterterrorism, cybercrime, violent crime, gangs, white-collar offenses, and public corruption,while also serving as a Leadership Coordinator and Compliance Officer.

Her FBI tenure also opened avenues for mentorship and professional development. As a Program Manager for the Bureau’s Professional Development Program, she ensured new employees had access to structured guidance. She also led the Cross-Cultural Mentoring and Sponsorship Program. It was designed to transform leadership culture and expand diverse career development networks across the FBI.

Her trajectory at the FBI not only solidified her reputation as a highly effective leader but also molded her understanding of how coaching and mentorship could transform careers. It’s an insight that became the cornerstone of her entrepreneurial realm.

Recognition and Contributions Beyond Law Enforcement

Dr. Reese’s impact extends far beyond her formal roles. She has been consistently recognized for her contributions to law enforcement, leadership, and community development.

She is a Life Member of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), where she created the NOBLE Youth Program in October 2001 and serves as the National Youth Committee Chairperson. To date, the program has impacted more than 4,850 youth. Her leadership within NOBLE underscores her lifelong commitment to preparing future leaders.
She has also been actively involved in organizations such as Women in Federal Law Enforcement, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), and the Police Executive Research Forum. Through her work with the IACP’s Human and Civil Rights Committee, she developed the on-sitecommunity service projects and Explorers/Public Safety Cadets Project, which linked law enforcement and youth atthe IACP’s annual conferences.

Her accolades are equally impressive. In 2007, she received the FBI Director’s Award for Equal Employment Opportunity, one of the Bureau’s highest honors, for advancing opportunities for women and minorities. In July 2013, she received NOBLE’s Lloyd Sealy Award for outstanding accomplishments in criminal justice, and in 2022, she was honored with the NOBLE Civil Rights Youth Services Organization Justice By Action Award. Her recognition also includes being named in one of Success Magazine’s “50 Women of Influence” in 2022 and one of EliteX’s “10 Fearless Women in Business” in 2024.
Each recognition reflects not only her accomplishments but also her enduring influence on industries, communities, and individuals.

Purposeful Coaching and Mentoring

Upon retiring from the FBI in 2018, Dr. Reese transitioned seamlessly into her next chapter, founding The Rhonda M. Glover Group, LLC. The Glover Group specializes in coaching, mentoring, and professional development for law enforcement leaders and aspiring public service professionals.

Her approach is distinct due to her unique blend of real-world experience and certified coaching expertise. Unlike generic coaching models, her methods draw directly from her lived experiences in law enforcement, enabling her to ask probing, contextually relevant questions that resonate with the clients.

She emphasizes that effective planning begins with helping clients discover their “why.” By encouraging individuals to gain a deep understanding of themselves, she empowers them to align their career decisions with their personal purpose. Her mentoring approach is equally impactful, particularly because she connects with both seasoned professionals and aspiring law enforcement candidates, offering tailored guidance informed by her remarkable career journey.

Leadership Traits Suggested for the Future Generation

Dr. Reese firmly believes that leadership development must begin early, particularly for those aspiring to careers in high-demand fields such as law enforcement. She identifies essential traits for young leaders, including:

Courage

Collaboration

Initiative

Confidence

Compassion

Resilience

Communication

Decision-making abilities

Emotional Intelligence

Accountability

Listening Skills

These qualities, she emphasizes, not only prepare individuals for success within law enforcement but also give them the confidence and perspective to lead effectively in any sector. Her belief in developing well-rounded, holistic leaders is deeply tied to her own journey, one where technical expertise was always balanced by emotional intelligence and a genuine respect for human connection. For Dr. Reese, leadership has never been about titles; it has always been about people.

Emotional Intelligence and Modern Leadership

Among the many themes that define her philosophy, emotional intelligence,also known as EQ, stands out as a cornerstone. Dr. Reese often stresses that in modern policing and leadership more broadly; EQ is what allows leaders to bring out the best in others. It equips them to motivate teams, resolve conflicts, and earn the trust of the communities they serve. Leaders who are self-aware and mindful of emotional cues are better prepared to manage stress, inspire confidence, and nurture relationships that endure beyond the workplace.

She has seen firsthand how organizations thrive when EQ is embedded in leadership development. Stronger cultures take root, teams collaborate more freely, and communities feel a stronger sense of connection. In her coaching practice, Dr. Reese draws on proven tools, such as EQi-2.0 and EQ 360 assessments, to help leaders uncover their strengths, identify blind spots, and refine their ability to connect with others.

Collaboration and the Future

In today’s global landscape, Dr. Reese emphasizes the importance of collaboration. With criminal activity stretching across borders and cyberspace, no single agency can address these challenges in isolation. She highlights the FBI’s increasing commitment to building bridges with public and private partners as a model for the future, one rooted in shared responsibility and collective impact.

She also offers practical advice for those aspiring to careers in law enforcement. Rather than relying solely on conventional degrees in criminal justice, she encourages students to pursue diverse academic paths and follow areas of genuine interest. By developing versatile skill sets, young professionals will not only align more closely with the FBI’s evolving needs but also stand out as more competitive candidates.

Vision for the Future

Dr. Reese pictures the future of The Rhonda M. Glover Group, LLC, shaped by expansion and innovation. She has strategies to broaden her reach through more speaking engagements focused on leadership in law enforcement while also transforming her doctoral research into a ripple effect of empowerment where the leaders she trains go on to inspire and mentor others, multiplying her impact across generations.

At the heart of her leadership lies a guiding principle captured in one of her favorite quotes by Dr. Cornel West: “You can’t lead thepeople if you don’t love the people. You can’t save the people if you don’t serve the people.” This principle underpins every aspect of her work, whether she is mentoring young people, coaching executives, or speaking on global stages.

A Lasting Legacy

Dr. Reese’s journey from FBI Special Agent to CEO of her own leadership development firm is more than a career path; it is a story of resilience, vision, and an unwavering dedication to service. Through her work with The Rhonda M. Glover Group LLC, she continues to transform lives by equipping leaders with the mindset, courage, and integrity to thrive in a complex world.

As organizations everywhere grapple with disruption, uncertainty, and the demand for social responsibility, her story offers a powerful blueprint for principled yet progressive leadership. By blending experience with emotional intelligence and a deep sense of purpose, Dr. Reese is not just shaping the leaders of tomorrow; she is leaving an enduring mark on industries, communities, and individuals alike.

The benefits a human resource professional brings to a business are exceptional. The epitome of this is Catherine Edge, AVP Head of People Center Operations & Talent Acquisitions. Her career has been defined by curiosity, problem-solving, and continuous growth.

Catherine began in HRIS as a technician, drawn to the ways systems could make work more efficient and transparent. That early experience gave her a strong technical foundation in data integrity, workflow design, and enhancing the employee experience.

Building on that expertise, she moved into broader roles in process improvement and talent management, where she learned to connect technology with people-first strategies. Each opportunity expanded her perspective from ensuring payroll accuracy to designing scalable processes and ultimately leading talent acquisition. Today, she weaves those threads together by attracting top talent, streamlining operations, and shaping a culture where people can thrive.

Catherine has been recognized for her extraordinary ability to transform challenges into opportunities and ideas into lasting impact. Her career reflects a unique blend of curiosity, technical expertise, and people-centered leadership, making her a true innovator in the way organizations grow and thrive. She mastered the art of balancing efficiency with empathy, consistently driving progress while keeping people at the heart of every decision. By championing integrity, fostering collaboration, and inspiring those around her, she has become a role model whose journey motivates professionals to pursue excellence with both vision and purpose.

Balanced Leadership

Catherine has come to believe that efficiency and humanity are not mutually exclusive.
She asserts,” HR at its best is both people-centric and process-driven.”

Her background in HRIS reinforced the importance of accuracy and consistency; her work in process improvement revealed how small adjustments can eliminate friction; and her experience in talent management underscored that behind every system is always a person.
These combined perspectives allow her to align HR with operational excellence, ensuring the function not only runs efficiently but also delivers an employee experience that embodies National Life’s values: Do good. Be good. Make good.

Amplifying Humanity

Catherine believes that while technology will remain a powerful enabler, true transformation lies in how it is applied. Automation and AI can reduce repetitive tasks, freeing HR to focus on high-impact, people-centered strategies. With data-driven insights, organizations can personalize employee experiences, anticipate workforce needs, and measure outcomes in real time.

For her, the future of work is not about replacing the human element but amplifying it. Technology should enhance empathy, not diminish it. At National Life, she began by simplifying and streamlining overlapping systems and workflows, then reinvesting strategically where it mattered most.

One of her major initiatives focused on strengthening recruitment. She introduced processes that enabled managers to adopt behavioral interviewing, simplified recruiter workflow, and elevated candidate engagement. These efforts not only improved efficiency but also raised the quality of hiring decisions.

Catherine is also especially proud of the organization’s campus programs. By collaborating with leaders, she helped design initiatives that resonate with college students and position the company to attract the next generation of talent. At a time of generational workforce shifts, guiding the organization to stay relevant, attractive, and future-ready has been one of her most rewarding accomplishments.

Careers Over Numbers

Catherine acknowledges the importance of tracking standard KPIs such as quality of hire, retention, cycle times, and accuracy. These metrics provide essential visibility into efficiency and outcomes. Yet, for her, the true measure of success runs much deeper. It is not just about positions filled; it is about careers built. Success is found in seeing a candidate become a valued colleague, witnessing growth sparked by a coaching conversation, or watching future leaders step confidently into their roles.
She emphasizes,” Success is found in those moments where the data meets the human impact.”

Predicting the Future

Catherine’s experience spans over two decades. Speaking of the coming developments in the HR realm, she highlights the following:
• AI and personalization of employee experiences
• Strategic Workforce Planning
• Data transparency to build employee trust
• Focus on employee well-being as a driver of performance
• Agile HR models that flex with business cycles
She also adds that the upcoming decade will be defined by adaptability.

Pacing with Strategy

Catherine believes that the greatest challenge is not change itself, but that change is not inherently difficult. The real challenge lies in determining how much change the organization can absorb at any given time.

At National Life, as the organization scales for growth, numerous positive and necessary initiatives emerge. Through close collaboration with cross-functional teams, she has observed how easily end users can become overwhelmed if too much is introduced at once, even when the work is valuable and essential.

Her approach emphasizes prioritization and pacing. By identifying initiatives with the highest impact, sequencing changes thoughtfully, and maintaining disciplined timing, she ensures both adoption and long-term sustainability. Success, she notes, comes from striking the right balance between momentum and manageability.

Talent Accelerates Growth

Catherine emphasizes the importance of staying anchored to long-term organizational goals while remaining agile in response to market dynamics. By cultivating close partnerships with business leaders, she helps anticipate workforce needs and leverages labor market insights to guide tactical adjustments. For instance, when talent pools tightened, her team intensified recruitment marketing efforts and strengthened the internship pipeline.

She says,” It’s about flexibility in execution while holding firm to strategic direction.”

She sees her role as a translator between business needs and people solutions, bringing workforce data, market insights, and process options to help executives understand how talent strategy drives business growth.

Executives particularly value her ability to frame HR initiatives in terms of outcomes, revenue growth, retention, productivity, or risk reduction, fostering alignment and building trust.

People-oriented Initiatives

Clarity serves as the foundation: when leaders articulate the business outcomes they aim to achieve, it enables the design of people strategies that effectively support those goals. Effective leadership avoids the false dichotomy between “caring for people” and “driving results.” By investing in culture, employee development, and engagement, organizations naturally drive performance. When operational processes function seamlessly, employees experience support rather than friction. Payroll is accurate, recruitment is efficient, and onboarding is welcoming. Operational excellence fosters consistency, which in turn cultivates trust across the organization.

Catherine explains, Trust is the foundation of a positive employee journey.”

Empowering Leadership Impact

Catherine is known for her collaborative, transparent, and future-focused leadership style. She excels at meeting people where they are, painting a compelling vision, and empowering teams to chart the path forward with confidence and purpose.
“I believe in doing the right thing, even when it’s hard; asking questions to uncover better ways; and always seeking to leave things better than I found them.”

Consistent Soul

Catherine’s professional legacy will be focused on helping to lay the foundation that allowed National Life to scale for growth without losing the organization’s soul. It is a place where it grew double in size and kept the sight of culture intact, which is doing good at all times.

Wisdom Speaks

She advises against limiting oneself to a single career path, encouraging professionals to embrace roles across systems, data, operations, and strategy, each offering a unique perspective. She believes HR requires leaders who can fluently navigate both the language of people and the language of business.

Catherine emphasizes,” Culture is your greatest competitive advantage. Protect it fiercely.”

Future Predictions

Catherine envisions HR not merely as a functional department, but as a strategic driver of organizational growth. She is committed to building systems that scale seamlessly, designing experiences that attract and retain top talent, and empowering leaders to lead with both effectiveness and humanity.

At National Life, this vision translates into a continued dedication to the company’s values: Do Good. Be Good. Make Good. Catherine demonstrates that a company can achieve sustainable growth while maintaining its core values and staying true to its heart.