BA in Economics. Former mini-cab dispatcher. Currently, Head of News and Programming, CNBC EMEA; responsible for CNBC business day programmes in the EMEA region; leads CNBC journalists, sets news agenda, manages key external relationships, budgets, live coverage and outside broadcast work. Interests: global markets and business, with a keen interest in finding solutions to youth employment.

Based in Nairobi, Dr. Wilmot Allen is an entrepreneur, investor and political economist. Wilmot has invested or managed investments totaling over $4 billion across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. His academic research and publications address comparative Diaspora economic engagement, creative economy, healthcare, international trade, innovative financing mechanisms and Sovereign Investment Funds.

Wilmot is Founder of VentureLift Africa (VLA), a venture studio (www.vlafrica.com) with an advisory firm (VLA Capital Advisors -www.vlaadvisors.com) facilitating investment, trade, tech transfer, market entry and expansion for SMEs, startups and corporates. VLA curates leading Diaspora companies into Africa and supports the market expansion of great African brands into global markets with significant Diaspora populations. The company is also an implementation partner for the USAID ATI program for the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) under Prosper Africa.

Wilmot leads the Africa operations for DGRID Energy as Managing Director and Partner. DGRID is a US-based company with a presence across emerging markets and in six countries in Africa. The company provides solar-based cold chains solutions for agriculture, horticulture, fisheries, healthcare and other verticals through its Cooling as a Service (CAAS) products.

Wilmot is a Partner with RH Managers based in Johannesburg, a private equity fund investing in healthcare across Southern and Eastern Africa. The fund invests in hospitals, clinics, pharmaceutical manufacturing, digital health, med-tech, medical device companies and healthcare-related educational institutions. Wilmot was recently a management consultant to the African CDC to create the strategy, fundraising and operational plan for its new Africa Public Health Foundation (APHF). He established a genomics company in Nairobi and had operational responsibilities as a management consultant to the R&D division of Allergan Pharmaceuticals and a clinical researcher with Proctor & Gamble.

In the creative sector in Africa, Wilmot is Co-Founder of the International Writer’s Lab (IWL), an accelerator and fellowship program for experienced writers of film and television. The IWL started in East Africa in 2021 and is now launching its first cohort in West Africa (Ghana). The program showcases African writing talent, connects the African film and television ecosystems to Hollywood creative talent and content buyers, facilitates deals for writers and catalyzes job creation and investment into the creative sector. The IWL will establish its first animation cohort in 2023.

Prior, Wilmot worked with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in Washington DC, executing investments and managing the portfolio of the private equity funds team, financial institutions and infrastructure groups. At the IFC, he was also Senior Advisor to the CEO Lars Thunell on entrepreneurship initiatives supporting SMEs in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, in conjunction with the World Economic Forum. In other roles, Wilmot worked as a venture capital investor in women and minority-owned businesses with the Commonwealth Enterprise Fund in Boston, a digital media, technology M&A investment banker with JPMorgan H&Q to Silicon Valley and international companies in San Francisco, and a private placement and IPO investment banker with Merrill Lynch in New York. Wilmot previously was the Director of East Africa with CrossBoundary LLC, leading the transaction advisory practice for East Africa from Nairobi. Under his leadership, this group served as the transaction team for a USAID Presidential Trade Africa initiative, the East Africa Trade and Investment Hub and established CrossBoundary’s most successful advisory office.

Wilmot is a visiting researcher with the Africa Studies Department of the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Wilmot is co-author of the forthcoming Sovereign Wealth Funds and the New State Capitalism in Africa (Palgrave MacMillan). Wilmot has a PhD from Georgetown University in Comparative Political Economy, an MBA from the Wharton Business School, an MPA from Harvard University and BA from Yale University.

Poppy Allonby is a senior financial services executive with a passion for management, finance, the energy transition and sustainability.

Poppy is currently Head of ESG Enablement for T. Rowe Price, a leading global asset manager. She is responsible for the Company's ESG strategy and its execution.

Previously Poppy spent 21 years as a senior executive at BlackRock where she held a number of roles. Most recently she was head of the Global Product Group in EMEA & APAC. As such she is responsible for driving product strategy, pricing, product development & structuring and ongoing oversight of Blackrock's investment products across all asset classes. Previously, Ms Allonby was a portfolio manager and member of BlackRock's Natural Resources Team where she was responsible for multi billion dollar global Energy investment funds. She managed investments in both the oil & gas sector and in businesses that are facilitating and benefiting from the transition to a lower carbon economy (for example: clean tech, renewable power, energy efficiency and sustainable mobility). At BlackRock, Poppy was a member of several senior leadership committees: the EMEA & APAC Executive Committees, Enterprise Risk Committee, Global Human Capital Committee and Product Development Committee (Chair).

Poppy has previously served as the Vice Chair of EFAMA's Fund Regulation, Asset Protection and Service Providers Standing Committee and as a Commissioner on the Energy Transitions Committee.

She currently sits on the Board and Assets Committee for the Church Commissioners, one of the world's largest charitable endowments and a global leader in responsible investments. She also sits on the external advisory board for MIT's Energy Initiative (MITEI), MIT's hub for energy research, education and outreach. MITEI's mission is to develop low and no carbon solutions that will efficiently meet global energy needs while minimizing environmental impacts and mitigating climate change.

Poppy has a degree in Physics from Imperial College, London

Omar co-heads Direct Investments for the MENA Investments Division, overseeing PIF investments and opportunities in key strategic sectors.

He formerly held the position of Senior Managing Director & Member of the Board at Abdul Latif Jameel Investments where he led Abdul Latif Jameel’s diversification efforts, building and investing in businesses that support our growth and entry into new sectors and geographies.

Omar joined Abdul Latif Jameel’s leadership after three years within Volkswagen Group’s leadership as the Chief Executive Officer of Volkswagen Group Saudi Arabia.

Prior to that, Omar was a member of SAGIA's executive team. Prior to SAGIA, Omar worked in a multitude of positions within Saudi Aramco including participating in developing the company’s long-term strategy in the technology area. He was also an Associate at McKinsey & Company in Dubai, UAE.

Omar obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 2002. He also received an MBA degree from the MIT Sloan School of Management in 2007.

Omar was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, joining the class of 2017. In naming Omar, the Forum characterized him as "a recognized corporate executive who has emerged a champion of job creation, employment and infrastructure in Saudi Arabia".

He was appointed by Royal Decree to the Board of the Saudi Job Creation & Employment Commission and was later selected to also sit on the Board’s Executive Committee. He is chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee of the Saudi Fisheries Company and is also a member of the Board of the National Agricultural Development Company (NADEC) — key portfolio companies of PIF.

He is an Eisenhower Fellow having been selected as the Fellow from Saudi Arabia for Eisenhower Fellowships’ 2011 Multi Nation Program. As an Eisenhower Fellow, Omar was awarded the Ward Wheelock Distinguished Middle East Fellow honor. He is also the recipient of the 2007 MIT Sloan Martin Trust Fellowship, which recognizes excellence in members of the graduating class.

Omar is married with three children and is fluent in English, Arabic and Greek.

Director General of Bahrain Prime Minister's Office

Abdulrahman Essa Al-Mannai has been the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Milaha Group (Qatar Navigation) since 2015. He sits on the Board of Directors of Nakilat and QTerminals, a joint venture between Mawani and Milaha. Prior, Al-Mannai held various leadership positions at Qatargas, the world's largest LNG company where he oversaw the largest LNG supply chain, Europe's largest regasification terminal and the South Hook LNG Terminal. Throughout his career, Al-Mannai has developed extensive experience in multiple fields, including shipping, energy and commercial activities. He has a degree in aeronautical engineering.

Mr. Almaraj is the Chief Executive Officer of Bank ABC’s Digital Retail Bank “ila” in Bahrain, joining the bank in 2015. Before this appointment, Mohamed served as the COO of ila Bank. Previously, he played a key role in several Group level initiatives, including establishing Bank ABC’s DIFC office, launching the Debt Capital Markets practice, and the overall fintech strategy for Bank ABC. Before joining Bank ABC, Mr. Almaraj was a Senior Associate with the investment bank Perella Weinberg Partners in New York, focusing on mergers & acquisitions transactions and corporate restructurings in the technology, media, telecom, and financial services sectors. He has 13 years of experience in corporate finance, restructurings, fintech, and digital transformations across the GCC and the U.S. He holds a B.S. in Finance and Accounting from the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, United States.

Chief Executive Officer of the Saudi Industrial Development Fund. Sits on multiple boards, including Samba Financial Group, Raidah Investment Company (overseeing the public pension fund), Awqaf Investment Company, and the Arab Mining Company. Previously worked at Saudi Aramco in multiple functions, including corporate strategy and Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures. Most recently, Chief Executive Officer of Wisayah, the investment management arm of Saudi Aramco. BSc in Electrical Engineering from Vanderbilt University, MSc in Electrical Engineering and PhD in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University.

Her Excellency Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak is a United Arab Emirates native who for more than twenty years has supported her country’s efforts to realise a more sustainable future while spearheading progressive environmental protection, species conservation, and global climate action. She was elected President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it, in September 2021. She is the second woman to lead the organization in its 75-year history and its first president from West Asia. Her Excellency Razan Al Mubarak serves as UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for the leadership team of COP28 Presidency, which will take place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from November 30 to December 12, 2023.
Her diverse experience leading the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, the largest environmental regulatory agency in the Middle East, the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, an international philanthropic organization supporting species conservation projects worldwide, and Emirates Nature – WWF, an Emirates-based NGO focused on citizen engagement, earned her recognition as one of the top 100 Young Global Leaders by the World Economic Forum in 2018. She also serves as the Co-Chair of Champions for Nature Community by the World Economic Forum from 2023 – 2024.

Naif Al-Mutawa is an award winning serial entrepreneur, clinical psychologist, clinical sexologist and clinical hypnotherapist who is the founder of The Soor Center for Professional Therapy and Assessment, Kuwait's leading professional source of a broad range of psychological services, and co-Founder of Tuhoon, a Mental Health Tech startup. A licensed psychologist in the State of New York, Kuwait, Dubai, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman, he is certified by the American Society for Clinical Hypnosis, is an AASECT certified sex therapist and is a member of the American Psychological Association. A Professor of Clinical Psychology at Kuwait University's Faculty of Medicine, he is on the board of the Albert Ellis Institute in New York City. Naif is also the creator of The 99, the first comic book to feature superheroes born of an Islamic archetype. Forbes named The 99 one of the top 20 trends sweeping the globe.

Moath has co-founded Alpha Capital and built a profound organization, which has been a well-respected entity both locally and regionally, evidenced by the recognition received in 2021 from Forbes as it became among the 30 most prominent asset managers in the Middle East. Before Alpha Capital, Moath worked in Saudi Aramco and was entrusted by Saudi Aramcos Senior Management to be part of a carefully selected solid team to manage several asset classes of Saudi Aramcos USD multi-billion Global Pension Plans. Throughout the journey of Alpha Capital, Moath attracted top-tier investment professionals, delivered top-quartile public equity performance consistently, successfully exited from the first private equity investment at an impressive return and advised on the fundraising and structuring of the first Saudi digital bank that the Council of Ministers has licensed. Moath has demonstrated strong leadership skills while serving on various government and non-government boards and committees.

Wafa Alobaidat is the Founder and CEO of PLAYBOOK - A fast-growing digital membership networking platform focused on connecting and supporting women and executive leaders in MENA. With an award-winning leadership team that is fully female-founded, our network has been making waves regionally and internationally. Wafa is an award-winning serial entrepreneur, TEDx speaker, and public speaker represented by The Middle East leading speaker’s bureau, MENA Speakers. Her expertise lies at the nexus of growth and scaling up, with underlying themes of empowering women and youth, entrepreneurship in the Middle East, and starting and scaling companies. She was named one of the top 50 most influential women leaders in business by Business in the Gulf. She is a graduate of the University of the Arts London.