Inside the Middle East’s AI Revolution 50 Leaders to Know

Inside the Middle East’s AI Revolution: 50 Leaders to Know

Guided by vision and intent, these 50 AI trailblazers are turning possibility into practice, while building a future that’s capturing the world’s attention.

Artificial intelligence has evolved from a frontier technology to a defining pillar of modern business strategy. Over the past few years, it has drawn extraordinary investment and attention, not just for its technical promise, but for how deeply it is reshaping the way organizations work, compete, and grow.

At the center of this transformation are leaders who are translating AI’s potential into real outcomes. They are driving innovation in automation, enterprise systems, and digital transformation across industries that anchor today’s economies — from healthcare and finance to manufacturing, education, and technology.

These individuals have been selected for their unique role in shaping AI-driven impact within their sectors and for advancing thoughtful and responsible adoption of the technology.

Together, they reflect the region’s growing voice in the global AI conversation — a generation of thinkers and doers who are adapting to the future of AI and actively defining it too.

Abhinav Sharma
Abhinav Sharma
CTO, Cisco APJC
Ahmed Serag
Ahmed Serag
Chief AI Officer, Weill Cornell Medicine
Alessio Bagnaresi
Alessio Bagnaresi
Vice President of AI – Middle East, Africa, and Turkey, Oracle
Amel Chadli
Amel Chadli
President of Gulf Cluster, Schneider Electric
Amit Rawal
Amit Rawal
Chief Product & AI Officer, Cafu
Ashish Koshy
Ashish Koshy
CEO, Inception
Awad Ahmed Ali El-Sidiq
Awad Ahmed Ali El-Sidiq
Head of Artificial Intelligent & Data Science, ADNOC
Bahaa Farouk
Bahaa Farouk
Chief Digital & Data Officer, Suez Canal Bank
Bart Pietruszka
Bart Pietruszka
Founder & CEO, Refocus AI
Caner Canak
Caner Canak
Group Director of AI & Data Science, Ooredoo Group
Chiara Marcati
Chiara Marcati
Chief AI Advisory and Business Officer, AI71
Chris Shayan
Chris Shayan
Head of AI, Backbase
Dena Almansoori
Dena Almansoori
Group Chief AI and Data Officer, e&
Dr. Akram Awad
Dr. Akram Awad
Managing Director & Partner, BCG
Dr. Dirk Jungnickel
Dr. Dirk Jungnickel
Senior VP Enterprise Analytics & Intelligence, Emirates Group
Dr. Eva-Marie Müller-Stüler
Dr. Eva-Marie Müller-Stüler
Partner Data & AI, EY
Dr. Hanan El Basha
Dr. Hanan El Basha
Co-Founder & CSO, Maverika
Dr. Mohammed Alhussein
Dr. Mohammed Alhussein
Founder & CEO, Mozn
Dr. Najwa Aaraj
Dr. Najwa Aaraj
CEO, TII
Dr. Sanjay Chawla
Dr. Sanjay Chawla
Chief Scientist of Qatar Computing Research Institute, Hamad Bin Khalifa University
Gopinath Polavarapu
Gopinath Polavarapu
Chief Digital & AI Officer, Jaggaer
Hussein Al-Natsheh
Hussein Al-Natsheh
CTO – GenAI & Unstructured Data, Beyond Limits
Jack Hidary
Jack Hidary
CEO, SandboxAQ
Joe Devassy
Joe Devassy
Director, Strategic Alliances & Generative AI – Center of Excellence, KPMG Lower Gulf
Joe Dunleavy
Joe Dunleavy
EMEA CTO and Head of Dava.X AI, Endava
Kiril Evtimov
Kiril Evtimov
CEO of Core42 and Group CTO, G42
Krishna Sai
Krishna Sai
Chief Technology Officer, SolarWinds
Kuntal Malia
Kuntal Malia
Chief Data & AI Officer, Metro Brands
Kurt Muehmel
Kurt Muehmel
Head of AI Strategy, Dataiku
Lamya Abdulaziz AlOmair
Lamya Abdulaziz AlOmair
Executive Expert Advisor at Technology Foresight and Digital Economy, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology of Saudi Arabia
Lt. Colonel Dr. Essa Almutawa
Lt. Colonel Dr. Essa Almutawa
Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer, Dubai Civil Defense (DCD)
Mahmoud Abdelaziz
Mahmoud Abdelaziz
CEO, Devision X
Manal Jalloul
Manal Jalloul
Founder, AI Lab
Manish Vaidya
Manish Vaidya
Data Science & AI Head, Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi
Merouane Debbah
Merouane Debbah
Professor at Khalifa University, Director of the KU 6G Research Center
Mohammad Refai
Mohammad Refai
Director AI & Data Science, Du
Mohammed Bin Sulaiman
Mohammed Bin Sulaiman
CEO, Data Hub Integrated Solutions Moro LLC (Moro Hub)
Moza Omar Al Futtaim
Moza Omar Al Futtaim
Chief AI Officer, Al-Futtaim
Nicolai Solling
Nicolai Solling
Chief Technology Officer, Help AG
Nikita Gordeev
Nikita Gordeev
Chief Technology Officer, Snoonu
Noor Alnahhas
Noor Alnahhas
 CEO, nybl
Nurettin Cetinkaya
Nurettin Cetinkaya
Network Infrastructure CTO Middle East, Nokia
Olaf Penne
Olaf Penne
Lead Expert for Data, Analytics & AI at EDGE Learning & Innovation Factory
Omran AlShamsi
Omran AlShamsi
Chief of AI, Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation
Padam Kafle
Padam Kafle
Head of Innovation, Aster DM Healthcare
Paul Potgieter
Paul Potgieter
Director – Technology, Product and Platforms, NEOM
Rob Lee
Rob Lee
CTO, Pure Storage
Sumeet Agrawal
Sumeet Agrawal
VP – Product Management for Agentic AI, Informatica