Mr. Omran, 51, is President & CEO of ETISALAT, and Chairman of Thuraya, the UAE-based regional mobile satellite operator. He is also Chairman of ETISALAT’s fully-owned subsidiaries including E-Vision, which are separate business units providing specialized solutions to the local and regional telecommunications, information and business sectors.

In his capacity as President & CEO, Mr. Omran is currently overseeing a crucial phase in ETISALAT’s evolvement as a customer-centric organisation and a global brand in the lucrative UAE market that has just embarked on a deregulation strategy. He is also leading the Company’s external expansion initiatives following the recent win of a high-profile bid to be the second mobile operator for GSM and 3G services in Saudi Arabia.

Omran’s career in telecommunications began in 1977 when he joined ETISALAT’s engineering department. In 1982, he was promoted to Area Manager in Ras Al Khaima, and then appointed as Deputy General Manager of ETISALAT in 1984. In that role, he was significantly involved in formulating and implementing strategies that successfully introduced many pioneering technologies and value added services that made ETISALAT boast a leading status in the industry over the last two decades. Following a corporate restructure in 1999, his post in “ETISALAT” was changed to Senior Executive Vice President.

As Chairman of Thuraya, Mr. Omran is responsible for the management of the first and largest geo-mobile satellite system in the Middle East, Africa, Indian Subcontinent, Central Asia and part of Europe. Prior to his election to that position in March 1997, he was heading the Project’s Steering Committee, which managed the planning, development and launch phases of Thuraya MSS system since early 1995.
During a career span of more than 25 years, he has developed extensive telecommunications management and engineering experience in such key areas as telephony radio and cable systems, mobile and data technologies, TV satellite systems and mobile satellite services (MSS), as well as regulatory and commercial aspects in several regional markets.
Mr. Omran is on the Board of Directors of ARABSAT (the largest Arab satellite organisation), as well as the Board of Governors of Higher Colleges of Technology, the Board of Directors of General Information Authority, the Board of Emirates Post Authority and Vice Chairman of Gulf Cement Company in the UAE.
Mr. Omran received an Engineering Degree in Electronics and Communications from Cairo University, Egypt, in June 1977. Additionally, he attended several training courses and seminars in telecommunications, management and leadership in Japan, Sweden, UK and other countries. He also spoke on many telecommunications topics in several regional and international conferences, representing both ETISALAT and Thuraya.
He also represented the UAE, ETISALAT and Thuraya in several ITU and regional telecommunications meetings.

Abdulla Saif Al Nuaimi, a national of the United Arab Emirates was born in UAE in 1969. He graduated in 1992 with a B.A. in Business Administration in Management from Emirates University, UAE.

After completing several graduate courses in the United States of America, he joined the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) as a Senior Analyst specializing in the US market from 1992 through 1997, analyzing the USA companies for investment opportunities and preparing recommendation for selling and buying of shares.

In 1997, Abdulla Al Nuaimi was seconded to the Privatization Committee for the Water & Electricity Sector in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (PCWES) as a Director for the Independent Water and Power Producers Projects (IWPP). He continued with this role after the establishment of the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA) on 1st March 1998. (ADWEA is responsible for supervising and managing the entire Water and Electricity Sector in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi including PCWES). Independent Water and Power Producers Projects under his direct management, in addition to Taweelah A2 IWPP, include the Taweelah A1 IWPP, the Shuweihat S1 IWPP, Umm Al Nar IWPP, Taweelah RO IWP, and Taweelah B IWPP Project.

Currently, Mr. Al Nuaimi holds the positions of Director of the Privatization Directorate at ADWEA, Deputy Managing Director of Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Company (ADWEC), Chairman of Gulf Power Company (GPC), Vice Chairman of Gulf Total Tractebel Power Company (GTTPC), board member of Emirates Power Company (EPC), and was Chairman and Managing Director of Al Wathba Company for Central Services (AWCCS) from 1999 and up-to 2003.

Mr. AlShareef received his M.A. (Economics) from Utah State University and his B.A. (Economics & Political Sciences) from King Saud University. He holds and has held various positions in his professional career, including Advisor to H.E. the Minister of Water & Electricity (MOWE), Deputy Governor for Policies & International Cooperation and Deputy Governor for Investors Services at the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), Acting Governor and Vice Governor of the General Electricity Corporation (Saudi Electricity Co.), Director General, Financial & Administrative Affairs at the Ministry of Health, Assistant Deputy Minister for Financial & Administrative Affairs at the Ministry of Industry & Electricity.

He has served as the Chairman of the Board of the Saudi Consolidated Electric Company (SCECO East) from 1985 to 2000. He is currently the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Water and Electricity Company (WEC).

After graduating with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Georgia, USA, Dr. Anani assumed high level positions in Government. From the position of Head of economic research, he became Deputy Minister of Labor where he was very instrumental in changing labor laws, introducing and successfully defending the creation of Social Security Corporation and helping in promoting the apprenticeship training corporation in Jordan. In 1979, he became a Cabinet Minister of Supply, and assumed many positions including Ministry of National Economy and Labor. After a brief stay at the private sector where he established three companies, Dr Anani was appointed president of the Royal Scientific Society, where he founded the Jordan Technology Group and put the plans for promoting the Princess Sumayya College to a full university.

In 1993, he was appointed on the management committee of the ailing Petra Bank, where he managed with the other members to cut the initial losses by 60 percent. In 1993, Dr. Anani became the Minister of Information and the coordinator of the peace process with Israel. In He was appointed later as a senate member, a position which he kept until 2001. In 1997, he became Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Foreign Minister. In 1998, he was promoted to the Chief of the Royal Court, and was the last one to serve under the Late King Hussein. In 200 he resigned after a brief service under King Abdullah II. Since, 2002 Dr. Anani has been running the AlBaseera Consultancy firm in Dubai Media City. Dr. Anani has published 4 books and coauthored a book on the peace process to be published in the UK and USA. He wrote tens of scientific articles in English and Arabic.

Mr. Al Quda obtained a Master’s degree in Management with a specialization in Finance from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce (Business Administration) from Cairo University. Mr. Al Quda also holds a Higher Diploma in Customs Management.

Mr. Al Quda has served as the Minister of Supply in Jordan. Prior to being the Minister of Supply he served as the Chairman of the Accountancy Counsel and the Director of the Department of Income Taxation. He has also served as the Director of the Customs Department in the Ministry of Finance. Mr. Al Quda is currently serving as the Chairman of the Executive Privatization Commission in Amman, Jordan.

Dr. Shabib F. Ammari obtained his Bachelor of Science in Political Science and Economics from Cairo University, two Masters of Science degrees in economics from Michigan State University and the University of Southern California and Ph.D. in Economics in 1980. In January 2000, Dr. Ammari was appointed as Chairman of Jordan Telecom and since April 1995, also the General Manager of Al-Daman for Investments (a public shareholding co.) Back in 1973, Dr. Ammari held the post of Acting Director of the General Planning Department, at the Ministry of Planning.

During the years 1977 – 1980, Dr. Ammari worked as a lecturer at the Department of Economics in the University of Southern California. Between 1980 and 1984, Dr. Ammari was a senior lecturer at the Economics Department at the University of Southern California, a part-time lecturer at the Economics Department at California State University- Long beach, and a part-time lecturer at the Economics Department at California State Polytech in Pomona – California

Between 1985 and 1995, Dr. Ammari held a number of managerial positions in Jordan’s private sector companies. Dr. Ammari is on the board of Arab Jordanian Investment Bank, the Jordan Electricity Distribution Company, Al-Sharq Hotels and Tourism Projects, and the Investment Promotion Committee “Representative of the Private Sector”.

Recognized for over a decade as one of the leading authorities on Customer Relationship Management (CRM) business strategies, Don Peppers is an acclaimed author and a founding partner of Peppers & Rogers Group, the world’s leading customer-focused management consulting firm. Don’s vision, perspective and thoughtful analysis of global business practices has earned him some significant citations by internationally recognized entities. The United Kingdom’s premier marketing organization, the Chartered Institute for Marketing, cited Don among their inaugural 2003 listing of the 50 “most influential thinkers in marketing and business today.” He has been ranked by Accenture’s Institute for Strategic Change among the global “Top 100 Business Intellectuals” for two years running. Business 2.0 Magazine has named him one of the “foremost business gurus of our times,” and the World Technology Network has cited Don as an “innovator most likely to create visionary ‘ripple effects’.” Inc. Magazine cited Peppers & Rogers Group as a 2002 Web Awards winner for the innovative way the firm uses the Internet to leverage their collective expertise to service clients.

Don’s expertise and clear concise way of thinking places him in high demand as both a speaker and a management advisor with Fortune 500 executives and entrepreneurs seeking to identify their most valuable customers, increase customer satisfaction, and improve ROI. He is a popular voice among editors and the media, both online and in print, and is the co-author, with Martha Rogers, Ph.D., of a series of international best sellers that have collectively sold over a million copies in 14 languages.

Prior to marketing and advertising, Don worked as an economist in the oil business and as the director of accounting for a regional airline. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in astronautical engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy, and a Master's Degree in public affairs from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School.

Jalil Tarif is the Chief Executive Officer of the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE), a position he has held since the creation of the ASE in March 1999. During this period the ASE has implemented electronic trading system and all of the rules and regulations required to run the ASE. The ASE has also started remote trading, allowing brokers to trade from their offices instead of the stock exchange floor and completed the infrastructure of the ASE.

Prior to his work at the ASE, Mr. Tarif was the Deputy Director General of the Amman Financial Market (AFM) where he oversaw Jordan’s entire capital market. During his six years as Deputy Director General, Mr. Tarif assisted in writing the new securities law that implemented the three separate entities that make up Jordan’s Capital Market today. He also supervised all of the regulatory and operational aspects of the AFM.

Mr. Tarif has also published several works including External Debt and Economic Development of Jordan, Obstacles of Attracting Foreign Investment in Jordan and The Legal Structure of Arab Stock Exchanges. In addition to those, Mr. Tarif was awarded a certificate of merit from the International Development Center of Japan (IDCJ). In 1995, he earned the certificate of distinguished delegate in the alternative structure for securities markets conference that was held at Georgetown University, U.S.A.

Mr. Tarif is the Chairman of NSC-Unix users Group (Countries using the French Trading System), Atos - Euro Next. Mr. Tarif is also the Chairman of the Technical Committee of the Federation of Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges (FEAS). Mr. Tarif received his undergraduate degree and Masters Degree in economics from the University of Jordan and began his career in 1978, as an Assistant Director at the Central Bank of Jordan.

Dr. Ashraf started his career as economic researcher at the Ministry of Finance & Economics 1986-1989 and then Deputy Director of the Department of Economic Research, Ministry of Finance & Economics. While he was working for the Ministry of Finance & Economics he was appointed as member of the Gulf Co-operation Council Commercial Delegation Negotiating with the European Union, Japan and USA.

He was also appointed as alternate Director of the Board of Directors of Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) 1990-1993, representing the Ministry of Finance & Economy and member of PDO's Tender Board in his capacity as representative of the Ministry of Finance & Economy. He shifted to Muscat Securities Market (MSM) as Executive Vice President from 1993 to 1998.

He was appointed as Director in the Board of Directors of Oman & Emirates Investment Company (Representing the shares of the Government of Oman) He also represented the company in the Boards of Fiber Optics Co., Al Anwar Ceramic Tiles and Majan College. He was also appointed Acting Executive President of MSM 1998-1999 and Acting Executive President of the Capital Market Authority (CMA), January June 1999.

After completing the PhD programme at the end of 2003 he was appointed advisor to the Office of the Executive President of CMA and then was appointed as Executive Vice President for Research & Development in May 2004. Dr. Nabhani received his BSc in Economics, from the American University of Cairo in 1986 and his PhD in Financial Markets & Economics in 2004, from University of Cambridge UK.

Dr Edward Metcalfe obtained a PhD in Metallurgy from Cambridge University in 1973 and then joined the Central Electricity Generating Board in the UK. He spent over 10 years involved in research and development of materials for use in power generation. He subsequently held various managerial positions in the Engineering Division of National Power.

In 1997 he became involved in Business Development and in 1998 moved to Australia to develop the South Australian business for National Power, subsequently International Power. This involved the construction of Pelican Point power station, the acquisition of a peaking power business and the construction of the SEA Gas pipeline.

In 2003 Dr Metcalfe moved to Abu Dhabi to become the Executive Managing Director of Arabian Power Company, which is the owner of the power and desalination plant on Sas Al Nakhl Island, Abu Dhabi.

Bennet A. Zelner is an Assistant Professor of Strategy and Policy at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. from the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley, where he studied in the Business and Public Policy Group, and his A.B. in economics and public policy from Brown University.

Dr. Zelner’s research focuses on business-government relations, market-oriented policy reform, and infrastructure development, especially in emerging and transitional economies. His most recent work examines the issue of “sustainable” private infrastructure investment. How can private investors entering recently reformed liberalized and privatized industries reduce their susceptibility to politically-motivated government renegotiation? How can market-oriented policy reforms be designed to reduce the chance of a political backlash? In short, how can private infrastructure investment be made to stand the test of time?

In order to shed light on these questions, Dr. Zelner and colleagues at the Wharton School are currently examining the efficacy of multilateral lending agencies such as the World Bank and IMF in promoting sustainable market-oriented reform. This line of research was motivated by interviews conducted with over 300 managers, policymakers, regulators and consultants involved in the electricity and telecommunications industry in 14 countries in Southeast Asia, South America and Central Europe.

Dr. Zelner has served as a consultant for the World Bank, U.S. government agencies and private firms, and is currently a principal in the political risk management consultancy PRIMA LLC. His most recent articles are forthcoming in the Academy of Management Review and International Organization. Dr. Zelner has also published in the Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, Industrial and Corporate Change and Strategic Organization, and he currently has articles under second review at the American Sociological Review ad Harvard Business Review.

Guy Holburn is an Assistant Professor at the Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario. He completed his Ph.D. and M.A. in regulatory economics at the University of California, Berkeley and his B.A. (First Class) at Cambridge University.

Dr. Holburn’s research focuses on regulation, privatization and restructuring issues in international and North American utility sectors. Recent research topics include wholesale power generation markets and private sector investment in developing countries; electricity deregulation in the U.S., U.K. and Canada; governance of regulatory institutions; and consumer organization and social equity in utility policies.

His papers have been published in journals such as the Journal of Law, Economics and Organization, Public Choice and Advances in Strategic Management, and in the Economics of Contracts. Dr. Holburn has been awarded a number of major research grants, including from the Olin Foundation, the University of California Energy Institute and the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

In addition to his academic research, Dr. Holburn has extensive professional consulting experience in the utilities sector. As a management consultant for Bain & Company he assisted the largest U.K. electricity company with business process redesign and M&A strategy in the period after privatization. Dr. Holburn has also performed consulting work for the California Public Utilities Commission, including a review of consumer representation organizations and policies. In Canada, Dr. Holburn has provided frequent interview commentary for television and newspaper media on electricity restructuring issues.

Omar Al-Salehi joined UBS Investment Bank in 1997 and is responsible for the Middle East region within the bank. He advises both corporations and private entities on all aspects of investment banking.

His recent transactions include advising MTC Kuwait on their US3.4bn acquisition of the Pan African mobile company Celtel, advising Kuwait Petroleum Corporation on its $8bn stake in Aventis during the Sanofi merger talks, bookrunner for KPC on its two stage U$6bn disposal of its holding in Sanofi, Volkswagen, Olayan (Saudi Arabia) and Abu Dhabi on their U$2.2bn acquisition of leaseplan in Holland, MTC on its bid for the 2nd GSM license in Saudi Arabia, AMC (Saudi) on capital raising(including 2 bond issues) and the Government of Jordan on raising debt in the capital markets.

He is currently advising the Government of Saudi Arabia on its railway privatization and expansion.

Omar holds a B.Eng in Mechanical Engineering from Bradford University and an MBA from Manchester Business School.

Prior to UBS Omar worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers and Baring Brothers.

Kamal Shehadi is the Managing Director of Connexus Consulting, a consulting firm specializing in privatization and the economic regulation of telecommunications. Kamal has served as consultant to a number of telecommunications companies in the region, investors, governments in the region, and various international organizations, including the World Bank and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Overall, Kamal has almost 15 years of experience in economic analysis and consulting.

Kamal has a B.A. with honors from Harvard University in economics and a PhD from Columbia University in international political economy. He has received a number of fellowships and academic awards. Kamal has authored a number of books and publications, most recently on public finance and budgets, on privatization in Arab Countries and on foreign direct investments. Kamal has experience in teaching and training, more recently as lecturer at the American University of Beirut's School of Business

Diana is a senior partner with Ernst & Young and is currently the Head of the Ernst & Young Middle East Privatization and Restructuring Group. She has over 26 years experience providing strategic, policy, financial, industry and corporate restructuring, privatization, valuations and regulatory consulting services to both Governments and private companies. She is considered a strong, action-oriented strategic business leader and is able to successfully build and manage international business initiatives in diverse cultural environments. She has extensive industry skills in the energy industry – primarily in strategy, regulation, transfer pricing and costing, privatization and restructuring. She has been called on to respond quickly to changing market environments as deregulation and restructuring that reshapes the industry and impacts the country’s potential for economic growth.

One of her recent engagements has been to deliver a project for the privatization of the first power & water utility in Saudi Arabia. This has been the first project which has set the benchmark for the privatization program for power and water utilities in Saudi Arabia. She worked directly with the Board of Directors, the Minister of Finance and the Privatization Committee (Council of Ministers) in Saudi Arabia. She advised the Egyptian Minister of Electricity on developing and attracting private investment in the country. Recently, Diana was a strategic advisor to the Government of South Africa in developing an implementation program for restructuring the distribution sector for the country.

Diana is also one of the lead partners for the Reconciliation Services of Iraq External Debt project for the Iraq Interim Government. This project consists of the reconciliation and rescheduling of the Iraq Sovereign Debt with the Paris Club countries, as well as with other bilateral countries and Commercial/Trade debt creditors. Her ability to complete these engagements in complex political and economic environments is attributed to her strong negotiation skills combined with her mastery of the art of working across international boarders where there are multiple ethnic and cultural diversities.

Simon has 15 years experience working in the power sector around the world, in the capacity as equity investor, power developer, power purchaser, financier and adviser. He has an understanding of the technical and contractual dynamics of a privately financed power transaction as well as an in-depth understanding of the credit requirements of equity and debt providers to a power deal. Simon worked for International Power, one of the leading power developers globally and a significant player in the Middle East power market, where he was responsible for the company’s equity investments and capital raising in a number of the pioneering projects in Europe, China and South East Asia.

Simon has a truly international CV having been involved in transactions in Latin America, Western and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. He joined Standard Bank’s project finance team in March 2000 to head up the bank’s power and infrastructure group, with the mandate to develop its global power business. Early in 2002, Simon was appointed to deputise in the Energy Infrastructure and Resources Funds Group, where he has been instrumental in the development and recent launch of the GCC Energy Fund. Simon now works, as a senior vice president, in the company responsible for managing the fund based in Dubai. Prior to joining Standard Bank, Simon worked in the project finance advisory team of PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he joined from Sumitomo Bank as head of their power team. Simon holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electronic and Electrical Engineer and an MBA from Warwick University.

Raj specializes in infrastructure and utility projects with an emphasis on projects in the water and wastewater sector and private finance initiative (PFI) and public, private partnership (PPP) projects.

He has acted for developers, sponsors, lenders and Governments and has substantial experience of concession agreements and associated regulatory work.

He also has advised on the regulatory aspects of sales and purchases of regulated water companies in England and Wales. Raj recently advised the UK's Ministry of Defense on Project Aquatrine, the largest water and wastewater project in the United Kingdom.

Barry has been with Macquarie Bank for 8 ½ years and for all this time has worked the Investment Banking Group in the area of asset and infrastructure finance. Prior to Macquarie Bank, Barry worked in the Project and Structured Finance group of Coopers & Lybrand, advising government bodies on the feasibility of private infrastructure projects.

Whilst at Macquarie, Barry has been at the forefront of origination and deal structuring. He established many of the asset finance transactions undertaken by the Investment Banking Group and has advised local authorities, universities and health agencies on asset and infrastructure financing.

Barry established Macquarie Bank’s asset finance business in Canada and travels abroad advising private and government clients on privatization of infrastructure and asset financing.

Mohammed is a software consultant in the UK.

Having worked with a number of blue chip organizations he has gained significant insight and experience in the implementation of technology solutions to support compliance requirements.

His knowledge and experience centers around the design development and implementation of solutions that enables organizations to ensure their business operations are compliant to regulation whilst maintaining business efficiency.

He has worked with companies such as Unilever, Barclays Bank, The Bank of New York and American Express, to name just a few.

Declan joined HSBC in 1994 and is currently located in Riyadh having moved there in 2003 after 5 years in Dubai covering the GCC. Declan is responsible for HSBC’s debt capital markets, syndicated debt and project finance and advisory business in the Kingdom, working with The Saudi British Bank which is the primary HSBC Group for transacting business in the Kingdom.

He has played a leading role in the development of HSBC’s debt activities in the Gulf region and has played a leading role in many of the major financings concluded across the Gulf over recent years. Over that time, the market has experienced a significant growth in both the volume and size of transactions and this growth is fuelling innovation in the debt capital markets in the region.

In his current role, Declan is currently involved in a number of transactions in the Saudi market at an important time as the Saudi Arabian Capital Markets Authority is developing the framework for more extensive fundraisings in the Kingdom.

As part of the Metito Group’s strategic commitment to economic development, James is the Concessions Specialist in Metito’s privatization practice, and has been providing advisory services to leading utilities across the GCC region. James is based in Jakarta and is currently responsible for five Metito concessions in Indonesia. James has 32 years of water and wastewater experience, 12 of which in private sector participation projects. He has led some of the World’s largest water concessions in Argentina, Indonesia, Bolivia, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic.

Prior to joining Metito, James was Thames Water’s Operations Director for the Jakarta Concession, serving some 8 million customers. James was also a key member of the Anglian Water team that pioneered the development of the “deep shaft” process at its Tilbury Sewage Treatment Works to treat very high organic wastewaters. James started his career in as a chemist his local town sewage works after having studied Chemistry at John Dalton College of Technology in Manchester, UK. James is a member of the Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management in the UK.

Founded in 1958, with 15 offices across the Arab and Islamic world and beyond, Metito is the region’s primary private water and waste water company. Having implemented over 1,000 projects, Metito provides the full range of services from conceptual design, manufacturing, installation through to complete operations and maintenance services. Metito currently has 17 concessions in operation, and is positioned to be the leader in the region’s pioneering water privatization programmes.

Nigel Cassidy is one of BBC TV and radios most established reporters and presenters -- best known in the UK for his morning appearances as business presenter on the top-rated Today radio programme, and now a regular face on BBC World business programmes, and other global and domestic programming about financial and commercial affairs.

Nigel's journalistic career began in print in London. After a spell in general national reporting, he worked on political coverage at Westminster and then moved to the financial and business programmes unit, where he was soon presenting the Financial World Tonight.

In particular, Nigel Cassidy has just written and presented The Global Sell Off, a four-part landmark series about the invention and rapid spread of privatisation. This included visiting India, Eastern and Southern Europe, and coverage from Africa and Latin America. Previously,he visited companies across Asia and South America to present Workers Without Frontiers, a five-part series about labour migration and globalisation. He has also invented, written and hosted several other radio series, including a business panel show, The Board Game.
In particular, he takes a keen interest in management, business development, digital technology and employment issues and is a popular host and occasional after-dinner speaker.

Nigel Cassidy has also recently co-written a careers book for young people, Starting Out, and is working on a sequel, aimed at those looking for a new direction at work.

Nigel Cassidy is married with two teenage daughters and lives in SW London. His unfulfilled ambition is to read a whole newspaper, journal or magazine entirely for pleasure without tearing something out of it for future reference.