MESIF RIYADH 2026

Ibrahim Almoaiqel is the Assistant Deputy Minister for Investment and Privatization at the Ministry of Sport in Saudi Arabia, leading efforts to commercialize the sports sector, expand private sector involvement, and oversee the national privatization program—ranging from transforming state-owned sports clubs into private entities to evaluating the privatization of major sports assets including Stadia and Sports cities.

Aphrodite Moschoudi is an accomplished professional with expertise in major sports projects and events. Her career highlights include extensive involvement in bidding, strategic planning and delivery of major events, including the Olympic Games, Asian Games, Arab Games, FIFA World Cup, FIFA Arab Cup, Asian Cup, World Championships in Athletics and IPC Para-Athletics. Aphrodite has recently joined Qatar Tourism as a Director of Planning and Quality.

Abdullah Aldrees is Chief of Staff of the Vice Minister of Sport's Executive Office at the Ministry of Sport of Saudi Arabia, where he also leads the Decision Support function, helping shape the strategies driving the Kingdom's transformation into a global sports hub. Before joining the Ministry, he was a consultant at Portas Consulting, advising on football strategy, mass participation and the development of sports federations. He holds a Master's degree in Materials Engineering from Swansea University. 

Kamel Badawy is a distinguished business leader with over 18 years of extensive experience across various domains, including sports operations management, strategic partnerships, sponsorship, events management, and commercialization. Currently serving as the Chief of Data and Strategic Alliance at Aspire Zone Foundation, Kamel exemplifies dynamic leadership and unparalleled expertise in driving business success. 

A Saudi executive with experience across public and private sectors, he has driven strategic planning, transformation initiatives, and investment programs within the sports landscape. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee and sits on several committees, including the Investments and Funds Committee of SURJ Investments, a Public Investment Fund (PIF) company.

Suliman B. Hammad is a senior investment and sports industry professional serving as Head of Investment Enablement at the Ministry of Sport, Saudi Arabia. In his role, he focuses on supporting investment opportunities and enabling the continued development and growth of Saudi Arabia’s sports ecosystem.

Basim K. Ibrahim, CLSS, CIPM, is passionate about the opportunities for sport development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He is a seasoned Investment Attraction & Development Manager with 20 years of diverse professional experience in Investment, IT, Training, Project Management, and Research.

In addition to his role in the Ministry of Sport, Abdullah acquires over a decade of an enriched, diversified experience in Private & Public sectors. Starting from the Banking industry in the Cash Management field with an exposure on Operations, Business Implementation, Product Creation & Management, to contributing into building the Strategic Partnership foundation with the private sector throughout his career in LCGPA.

Ahmed Mohtaseb is the Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Business Development and Co-Founder of Sela, the leading Saudi entertainment, sports, and live-experiences company. He helps direct global expansion, major sports partnerships, and large-scale entertainment projects.

Vanessa Basora is Chief Marketing & Content Officer at Al Hilal, the record Saudi and Asian champions, where she leads brand, digital, content, fan engagement and retail strategy for one of world football's fastest-rising club brands. She brings more than 20 years of experience at the top of European football, previously serving as Head of Sports Marketing at FC Barcelona and Global Brand & Digital Director at Sevilla FC. 

Nader Nasser Hamood Al Rawahy is seconded to Oman's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth from the Oman Vision 2040 Implementation Unit, where he leads Operational Excellence for the Sultanate's national development roadmap. His work spans the Vision's flagship projects, from the waterfront Sports City in South Al Batinah to the Sustainable City YITI and Oman's green hydrogen programme. An expert in inward investment and economic development, Nader brings over 20 years of experience at KPMG and EY across audit, advisory and structuring. 

Nasser Majali is the General Secretary of the Islamic Solidarity Sports Association (ISSA), where he plays a key role in advancing the organisation’s strategic direction and supporting the development of sport across the Islamic world.

Ahmed Akmal is an entrepreneur and Head of the Entrepreneurs' Community at the Misk Foundation, the non-profit founded by HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to empower Saudi Arabia's next generation. At Misk, he leads the community connecting the Kingdom's founders, helping them build networks, scale their ventures and access funding as part of one of the region's fastest-growing startup ecosystems. 

Majid T. Zahid is Group President, Energy at Zahid Group, the Jeddah-headquartered family conglomerate founded in 1943 with interests spanning energy and utilities, heavy machinery, financial services, industrial manufacturing, transport and hospitality. He leads the group's energy portfolio, including Altaaqa, where he previously served as Chief Commercial Officer, and its renewables drive — notably the 119MW Wadi ad-Dawasir solar plant developed with TotalEnergies and Toyota Tsusho. 

Faisal Mohammed Bin Homran is Chief Product Officer of the Esports World Cup Foundation, where he leads the development of the world's largest competitive gaming event, staged annually in Riyadh with a record $70 million prize pool and a global broadcast audience. A former professional gamer himself, he previously served as Chief Esports Officer at the Saudi Esports Federation, helping establish the Kingdom as the leading esports hub in the region. 

Dr. Sakis Batsilas has contributed to the bidding, planning, delivery, and legacy of some of the world’s most prestigious and complex sporting events, including the FIFA World Cup, AFC Asian Cup Championships, UEFA European Championship, and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. As Deputy CEO of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, he oversaw the operational, strategic, and financial aspects of the tournament, helping to ensure its success and sustainability in alignment with the vision and values of FIFA and Qatar. 

Omar Batterjee is Senior Director of Communications and Public Relations at the Saudi Pro League, where he leads global communication strategy for the league at the centre of world football's attention — from matchday execution across more than ten cities to the international reputation of Saudi football through its era of record signings and privatisation. He previously directed communications at the Saudi Esports Federation and, as a consultant at Hill+Knowlton Strategies, advised the Ministry of Sport on global projects including the Diriyah Formula E races. 

Amir Tawfik is Chief Commercial Officer of Al Ahli, the Jeddah giants and 2025 AFC Champions League Elite winners, where he leads all commercial affairs across sponsorship, partnerships, marketing rights and revenue-generating events as the club builds toward commercial self-sustainability. He arrived from Egypt's Al Ahly, Africa's most decorated club, where as CEO of the club's football company he helped double commercial returns and secured strategic partnerships with SELA, Presentation and United Media Services. 

Mark Alexander is CEO of Living Lab, the advisory and experience studio working at the intersection of sport, culture and luxury. His 25-year career spans some of the most complex ventures in global sport: delivering the NBA's international expansion plans, shaping Williams F1's commercial strategy, leading Discovery Eurosport's cross-border sales, and advising on projects from the €1.1bn redevelopment of Athens Olympic Park to Olympic and F1 hosting agreements. 

Rasha Al-Khamis is President of the Saudi Mixed Martial Arts Federation and a member of the Board of Directors of the Asian Boxing Confederation, as well as Vice-Chair of the Strategy Committee and Board Advisor for Strategic Planning at the International Boxing Association (IBA).

Shireen is a Senior Principal and a member of the firm’s Global Board of Directors. Her experience spans stadium, arena and convention centre design for projects in the UK, Europe and the Middle East, as well as mixed-use sports masterplans and Olympic and FIFA overlay design. Fluent in Arabic, Shireen oversees Populous’ Middle East operations. She is currently leading the design of several large-scale sports and entertainment infrastructure projects across the Middle East, including in Saudi Arabia. 

Haya Sawan is a Saudi entrepreneur and one of the Kingdom's leading voices in health, wellness and female empowerment. She is Managing Partner of Motion Academy, which delivers accredited fitness education and certified courses aligned with Vision 2030's health goals, and founder of SheFit, the women's fitness initiative she launched in 2019. 

Amr El Rawi is Founder and CEO of Game Changers, the sports digital transformation company helping clubs, leagues and federations unlock commercial value through data, technology and reimagined fan experiences — with a particular focus on high-growth markets across the Middle East and Africa. An award-winning sports business leader with over 25 years spanning telecoms, technology, financial services and sport, his recent work includes partnering with Egypt's ZED FC to redefine its fan experience.

Michael Gawith is Chief Executive Officer of NexVenue, the Riyadh-headquartered facilities management consultancy formed as a joint venture between Dussmann-Ajlan & Bros and Mosanada FMS — the only FM consultancy in MENA to have delivered both a FIFA World Cup and a World Expo. Drawing on delivery experience from Qatar 2022, NexVenue advises on the operation, optimisation and governance of complex venue ecosystems across sport, entertainment and major events, with its sights set on the Kingdom's defining milestones: Expo 2030 and the FIFA World Cup 2034. Michael leads the business at the centre of one of Saudi Arabia's most practical questions — how world-class venues are run, sustained and monetised long after opening day.

Al Naaman Al Naamani is President of the Oman Padel Committee and co-founder of Smash Padel, Oman's first padel club. Under his leadership, one of the world's fastest-growing sports has taken root in the Sultanate, with Oman's player base recently crossing 10,000 and an ambitious expansion drive under way across courts, clubs and development programmes. As both a national federation leader and a founding entrepreneur in the sport, he sits on both sides of the padel boom — governing its growth while proving its commercial model. His experience speaks directly to one of Gulf sport's most compelling investment stories: how emerging sports build participation, infrastructure and returns at speed.

John Curtis is General Manager of Whisper MENA, leading the regional arm of the award-winning production company behind some of the biggest properties in world sport — from Formula 1 and the NFL to UEFA's broadcast and digital content production. From its Saudi base, his team delivers world-class live production across the region, including PFL MENA's mixed martial arts events and the production of Kings League MENA — bringing broadcast standards built in the UK to the fastest-growing sports market in the world. As the Kingdom scales its ambitions from hosting events to producing and exporting them, John operates precisely where that capability is being built.

Nasser Al Khori is Executive Director of the Generation Amazing Foundation, the flagship human and social legacy programme of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, which uses football to drive positive change in underserved communities around the world. A recognised voice in sports diplomacy, legacy and impact, he has built partnerships with FIFA, UNESCO and UNHCR, and serves on the Advisory Committee of the UNESCO Chair on Governance and Social Responsibility in Sport.

Christopher Styring is a Director in Deloitte's Sports Business Group in the Middle East, the practice behind some of the most influential analysis in world sport, including the annual Football Money League. Based in Dubai, he advises governments, federations, clubs and investors across the region on commercial strategy, brand, digital and major-event planning. His career spans management consulting at EY in infrastructure advisory across the UK, UAE and Australasia, and a spell as Chief Commercial Officer of a digital publishing start-up, where he negotiated partnerships with brands including F1, Liverpool FC and Lufthansa Group. Few advisors sit closer to the numbers defining Gulf sport's investment story.

Ahmed Abas is a business and real estate advisory professional who serves as the Regional Head of Sports and Entertainment at JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle). Leading the Sports and Entertainment sector practice for JLL in the region, guiding strategic advisory, investments, and developments tied to major sports, leisure, and entertainment infrastructure.

Albaraa Dahlawi is Client Relations Executive Director at SELA, the Saudi powerhouse behind many of the Kingdom's most ambitious live experiences, from major sporting events to landmark entertainment productions. A Johns Hopkins University graduate based in Jeddah, he has risen through SELA's enablement and project delivery programmes to lead relationships with the organisation's most senior clients and partners. SELA sits at the centre of Saudi Arabia's events economy — including its landmark partnership with Riyadh Season and title roles across Saudi sport — making Albaraa's perspective essential to understanding how the Kingdom delivers world-class experiences at unprecedented pace and scale.

Marwan Albazie is Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Islamic Solidarity Games at the Saudi Olympic & Paralympic Committee, helping lead one of the largest multi-sport events in the Islamic world as Riyadh prepares to welcome athletes from over 50 nations. His career spans the full arc of Saudi event delivery: Programme Director at the Royal Commission for Riyadh City, Director of Events at the Ministry of Sport, and event delivery at SRJ Sports Investments. A returning MESIF speaker, Marwan brings first-hand insight into how the Kingdom's mega-event machine is built, staffed and delivered.

Maha Al Faleh is a Board Member of the Saudi Jiu-Jitsu Federation and Director General of Human Capital at Saudi EXIM Bank, combining senior financial-sector leadership with sports governance at a time when both are being transformed in the Kingdom. Her career spans human capital and leadership roles across Saudi finance, including AlJazira Capital and Osool & Bakheet Investment Company, alongside the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce. As Saudi Arabia builds the workforce its sports economy needs, and brings more women into federation leadership, Maha speaks to both stories with the authority of someone living them.

Dr. Kam Al-Mazrui is Director of Sports and Events for Mott MacDonald in the Middle East, leading the global engineering consultancy's sport and event infrastructure work across the region from its Riyadh base. He advises governments, developers and event owners on strategy, masterplanning and delivery of stadiums, arenas and sports destinations, with multidisciplinary experience spanning urban mega-projects across Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Oman. With the Kingdom building towards the AFC Asian Cup 2027, Expo 2030 and the FIFA World Cup 2034, Kam works at the sharp end of the region's most consequential infrastructure question: building venues that outlast their opening ceremonies.

Soren West leads TAIT in the Middle East and North Africa, the company behind many of the world's most spectacular live experiences, from stadium shows and ceremonies to permanent venue attractions. A live entertainment veteran of more than two decades, he previously served as CEO of ATOMIC, co-founded Beame Lighting, and was a founding force behind Rock Lititz, the world's leading campus for live event production. Now driving TAIT's growth across the Gulf, Soren brings global production standards to the region staging the world's next decade of mega-events — and spoke at MESIF Riyadh 2026 on innovation and the future of sport in MENA.

Miguel Viana is Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Unlock Brands, the branding studio behind the visual identity of some of world sport's biggest properties. Over a 25-year career he has developed comprehensive branding programmes for FIFA, UEFA, FIBA, European Aquatics, Expo Doha and the Lusail International Circuit — and before founding Unlock Brands, led the team that designed the official emblem of the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018. As Gulf sport invests billions in properties the world will watch, Miguel's expertise answers a deceptively simple question: how a sporting event becomes a brand the world remembers.

Iris Córdoba Mondéjar is Managing Director of the Global Sports Innovation Center powered by Microsoft (GSIC), the world's leading ecosystem connecting sports organisations with the technology transforming them. From its Madrid headquarters she has built sport-tech networks spanning Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific, guiding federations, leagues and clubs through digital transformation. Recognised among Spain's most influential women leaders, Iris sits at the global intersection of sport, technology and investment — bringing to MESIF a unique view of which innovations are genuinely reshaping the industry, and how the Gulf can lead rather than follow.

Cordelia Begbie is CEO of the Saudi British Joint Business Council (UK), the organisation at the heart of commercial relations between the two kingdoms, where she leads strategy, the London secretariat and the Saudi-UK Tech Hub. With over a decade of experience across Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East, she previously served as Head of Middle East at Asia House, leading research and programmes on Gulf political and economic development. A Middle Eastern Studies and Arabic graduate of Exeter University, Cordelia champions exactly the corridor MESIF was built on: British expertise meeting Saudi ambition

David Davies is Group Chief Experience Officer at Catapult, the world leader in sports performance technology, whose wearables, video analysis and athlete management platforms are used by more than 4,500 teams across elite sport. He leads the global experience of a company whose data shapes decisions from training loads to transfer fees, spanning football, rugby, American football and beyond. A regular contributor to MESIF, including our London edition at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, David brings a clear view of the fastest-growing layer of sports investment: the technology and data infrastructure underneath elite performance.

Trevor brings more than 25 years at the heart of the business of sport. As Global Head of Sport and Entertainment at Pinsent Masons, he leads a team of over 135 professionals advising across every corner of the industry. He led the 1997 rescue of AFC Bournemouth as Chairman, overseeing the club's strategy and the development of its current stadium, and served as a director of the English Football League, leading negotiations with the European Commission on post-Bosman transfer reform. His recent deal work includes the sale of Everton FC, the acquisition of Burnley FC and the sale of West Bromwich Albion, with extensive experience across the Middle East through the firm's four regional offices.

Shifa Garg is a founding team member and Chief Business Officer of Spectatr.ai, the AI platform automating sports content creation and distribution — turning live action into instant highlights, sponsor analytics and fan engagement for leagues, broadcasters and media owners. Her career spans Goldman Sachs, where she worked in investment analysis and portfolio management, and FanClash, where she led business growth in esports. A graduate of IIT Roorkee with an MBA from IIM Bangalore, Shifa operates where two of sport's biggest forces converge: artificial intelligence and the fight for fan attention.

Tatiana Fasolari leads Fast Group, the Brazilian engineering and event-infrastructure company behind the delivery of some of the world's biggest sporting moments, including overlay and structures for major international events in Brazil. An LSE-educated executive and board member who rose through the company's commercial and project leadership, she now drives Fast's international expansion — with the Gulf firmly in focus as Saudi Arabia builds towards Expo 2030 and the FIFA World Cup 2034. Tatiana brings a rare perspective to the room: what it actually takes, structurally and operationally, to deliver a World Cup.

Abdulkader Bogari is a Director of Pure Sports, the Saudi sports business and marketing company using sport as a 360-degree platform for activation, connection and growth. His career spans consulting, technology and corporate roles with Uber and Saudi Aramco alongside multiple startups, and he holds an MBA in Strategy from HEC Paris. He also serves on the Board of the Saudi Surfing Federation, placing him inside one of the Kingdom's emerging-sport stories. Abdulkader represents the new generation of Saudi sports entrepreneurs: commercially trained, globally experienced and building the industry from within.

Jorge Vizcaya is Head of Sports & Entertainment at Sener, the Spanish engineering group behind some of the most technically ambitious venue projects in world sport. An architect by training, he is one of the minds behind the patented Hypogea® system at the Santiago Bernabéu — the world's first retractable, underground pitch storage system, which lets Real Madrid's stadium operate year-round as a multi-event venue. Named one of ENR's Top 25 Newsmakers for 2025, Jorge brings to MESIF the engineering answer to the question every Gulf venue owner is asking: how a stadium earns its keep 365 days a year.

Al Naaman Al-Naamani is a sports development professional and currently serves as President of the Oman Padel Committee, where he contributes to the growth and long-term development of padel in Oman. He is also Co-Founder of Smash Padel Club Oman.

Fatema Hayat is a Kuwaiti sports leader and strategist with extensive experience in organizational development, governance, and international relations. She currently serves as the Director of International Relations and Cooperation at the Islamic Solidarity Sports Association (ISSA), where she plays a central role in strengthening global sports collaboration among the 57 National Olympic Committees of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states. During the Islamic Solidarity Games Riyadh 2025, she oversaw key protocol functions, including the Opening Ceremony, Medal Ceremonies, and Games Protocol.

Ahmad Abu Gheith is CEO of Black Orange, the Saudi-headquartered live events agency delivering brand experiences, ceremonies and international major events across Jeddah, Riyadh and Dubai, growing to over 300 people in peak season. His career spans some of the region's most high-profile productions, previously as Chief Operating Officer of HQ Worldwide Shows and in senior roles at Blink Experience. A judge for the Middle East Event Awards and a returning MESIF partner, Ahmad has helped build the creative delivery industry the Kingdom's events boom runs on — and knows exactly where its next opportunities lie.

Mohamed Zakaria Boumanjal is Chief Executive Officer of SIDELINE, the sports platform and a partner of MESIF since our Riyadh 2026 edition. [Public information on him is thin — I'd rather you gave me two lines on what SIDELINE actually does (the sales sheet shows them as a Silver Speaking sponsor at Riyadh, but their positioning isn't publicly documented) than have me guess and put something wrong on your website. Send me a sentence and I'll polish it into the same format.]