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Denis Morisset, Consultant & Executive Director, Essec MBA in International Luxury Brand Management |
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Denis has worked for more than 20 years in the Luxury Fashion Industry and occupied CEO/COO positions with companies such as Polo Ralph Lauren (Europe), Pierre Balmain and Giorgio Armani (France).
Denis’ particular focus and passion is emerging markets. He has collaborated with international companies on brand extensions & branding issues. His advice has also been invaluable to new brands and designers from emerging markets on their international distribution and retail strategies. |
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Concetta Lanciaux,
Strategy Luxury Goods Advisor, Senior Advisor to the Chairman,
Groupe Arnault |
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| Dr Concetta Lanciaux, PhD, Executive MBA and former Professor at the Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA - USA), joined Bernard Arnault, Chairman of LVMH in 1985 and has since played a key role in the organizational development of the Groupe Arnault, introducing innovative practices, injecting highly creative designers and strongly contributing to the modernization of the French luxury industry. |
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Patrick Chalhoub,
Co CEO,
Chalhoub Group |
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| For 30 years, Patrick has been involved on a daily basis in the company's strategic development to ensure its long term success. He works alongside the other members of the family to grow the Group's distribution, retail, marketing and communication businesses and is also keen on strengthening the Group's support services. Mindful of perpetuating the values of the Chalhoub family that inspired the formation of the company, he is committed in motivating and training his staff (3 700 people). |
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Fabian Krone,
CEO,
A. Lange & Söhne |
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| Fabian’s was Member of the Executive Board Fiat Automobil AG Germany, responsible for the distribution strategy of the company’s brands in Germany. After which he was reposted to the group headquarters, where he was responsible for the worldwide distribution strategy of the brands Lancia, Alfa Romeo and Fiat and captive dealerships in Europe. He has been at Lange Uhren for 5 years in the Managing Director capacity before moving onto the CEO position. |
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Ravi Thakran,
Group President - South Asia, South East Asia and Middle East,
LVMH |
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| Ravi is also the Managing Partner for L Capital Private Equity and Director for Groupe Arnault in Asia. Prior to joining LVMH, Ravi has worked with organisations like Godrej Soaps, Titan and Nike. In 1998, he became the youngest member of the Extended Group Management Board at Swatch Group, Switzerland |
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Ralf Kern,
Regional Director EMEA,
Vertu |
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| As Regional Director EMEA, Ralf drives Vertu’s strategies and activities in the region and ensures synergy is maintained across all the countries. Ralf brings to the company a wealth of luxury goods sales and distribution expertise combined with important market experience and consumer understanding. Prior to joining Vertu, he worked for 2 years with the German luxury brand “Gold Pfeil” and the Italian leather brand Mandarina Duck. |
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Tawfique Abdullah,
Chairman,
Damas |
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| A Gemmologist by education since 1980, jeweller by profession and currently holds professional and active membership with various reputed organizations such as the World Diamond Council and the World Confederation of Jewellery (CIBJO). He is a founding Member and Chairman of Dubai Gold and Jewellery Group (DG&JG) since 1996 and a former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dubai Multi Commodity Center (DMCC). He has been bestowed with the title of "Knighthood of Belgium”. |
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Anan Fakhreddin,
Head of Sales & Marketing,
Abyaar Real Estate Development |
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| Prior to joining Abyaar; Mr. Fakhreddin was Regional Director of the at De Beers Group from 2000 till 2008. Prior to that Mr. Fakhreddin was the Regional Manager of the Western Province at American Express International from 1990 till 1999. |
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Ananya Narayan,
Senior Vice President, Global Strategy,
Preferred Hotel Group |
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| Narayan has spent thirteen years in senior management roles in the hospitality industry. At Preferred Hotel Group as head on Asia Pacific, he helped establish the brand of Preferred Hotel Group in the region by increasing the number of hotels from 13 to 45, tripling the size of the personnel, and helping the hotels increase revenue by an average of 20% annually in the process. Prior to Preferred Hotel Group, he held key positions with Hyatt International Corporation and Grand Hyatt Hong Kong. |
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Pierre Fayard,
Managing Director,
Sephora Middle East |
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| Pierre has been with Sephora for 10 years in roles spanning purchasing, marketing, category management and country management across the whole of Europe. Previously the GM of Sephora UK, he then moved to Dubai to head up Sephora’s Middle East operations. |
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Joe Nahhas,
Regional Director,
Montblanc |
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| Joe’s extensive experience lies in Luxury Goods, Retail, Loyalty Marketing and CRM. He is responsible for the overall development of Montblanc across the Middle East region including brand strategy and distribution management. |
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Werner Baumgartner,
Managing Director,
Swarovski Middle East |
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| In 1997, Werner moved to Dubai as Regional Sales Manager for the Crystal Components Division and two years later he was promoted to Managing Director Swarovski Middle East. In 2005 he took on additional responsibilities as Regional Sales Director for Contemporary Lighting and Project Business for AMESA (Africa, Middle East and South Asia, especially India). |
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Zayan Ghandour,
Creative Director,
S*uce |
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| Zayan Ghandour is co-owner of homegrown fashion and lifestyle boutique ‘S*uce’. As buyer and creative director, Zayan’s singular vision and inspiration have been an instrumental driving force in the brand’s development at every stage, growing S*uce from a charming, yet relatively small high-end retail destination in Jumeirah, to the phenomenon it is today. Hailed by the media as the most influential woman in fashion, Zayan has spoken at the International Design Forum in Dubai in 2007, and is a member of the advisory panel for Dubai Fashion Week. |
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Carmine Rotondaro,
Worldwide Real Estate Director,
Gucci Group |
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| Carmine has been working for the Gucci Group for the last 6 years. He coordinates the real estate needs and projects of all the Gucci Group brands and divisions which include, beside Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Sergio Rossi, Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga |
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Hugues Jucker,
Regional Director Middle East,
Chopard |
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| Hugues has been with Chopard since 1992 and have held a variety of positions including Sales Director Middle-East (Wholesale), Area Manager Middle-East, Area Manager Australia / Pacific Region & Area Manager France. |
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Charles Yardley,
Managing Director EMEA & APAC,
Forbes.com |
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| Charles Yardley is Managing Director, EMEA and APAC, responsible for the Forbes.com sales efforts in Europe, The Middle East and Asia Pacific. During his four year tenure at Forbes.com, Charles has led the EMEA sales efforts with an average 50% year over year growth, and has a deep understanding of the international online marketplace. He was recently promoted to take on the added responsibility for the APAC region, as Forbes.com continues to expand internationally. |
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Akash Pal,
Head - Customised Research,
AC Nielsen |
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| Akash has spent over 12 years in Market Research, 5 of which has been with The Nielsen Company, UAE. Prior to Nielsen, Akash spent 8 years with Research International and Indian Market Research Bureau in Mumbai. His experience cuts across several product categories that include FMCG, Telecommunications, Automotive, Household Durables, IT and other Business-to-Business products and services. |
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Guido Grassi Damiani,
Chief Executive,
Damiani Group |
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| He joined the family business in 1994 and took care of the sales network in Italy and marketing, introducing new strategies and made significant contributions to development. In 1996 he took charge of the whole company and today is both President and CEO. |
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Stephane De Palmas,
Director,
Van Cleef & Arpels |
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| Stephane has over 20 years experience in the luxury industry. Previously he worked at Cartier in Europe across a variety of functions from finance through to after sales. He joined Van Cleef & Arpels in 2001 running their Swiss operations after which he took up the role of Director for the Middle East. He is responsible for the overall development of the Van Cleef & Arpels brand in the region. |
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Philippe McGarry,
Managing Director,
De Beers ME |
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| In 1997, Philippe created Richemont Middle East, as MD of Cartier and negotiated many contracts including Saks Dubai and Hermes on behalf of local operators. In 2005, he acquired the DeBeers master franchise, associated the Salam Group to the venture, and opened the first store in the region in Dubai. Philippe also obtained for Salam, the rights for other international jewellery brands for the region, including Mauboussin & Victoria Casal. |
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Henning Fries,
General Manager & Regional Director U.A.E,
The Monarch Dubai |
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| Henning A. Fries brings a wealth of international experience to the position which he has held since 2007, as he has pursued a diversified and international career path, holding key management positions for Fairmont, Park Lane Hotels, Mandarin Oriental and InterContinental Hotels. Throughout his corporate career, Henning has consistently achieved the highest levels of guest and employee satisfaction amongst his peers. This makes him the perfect fit to position The Monarch Dubai as the most distinguished luxurious hotel in the region that differentiates by the quality of its personal service. |
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Sonya De Castelbajac,
Regional Marketing Director,
YSL Beaute Middle East |
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| Sonya de Castelbajac is the Regional Marketing Director for the YSL Beaute brands in the Middle East. She has lived and worked with luxury brands in the region for eight years since completing Masters Degrees in Business (Luxury Brand Management, ESSEC) and the Arts (Tisch School of the Arts, NYU). |
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Premal Patel,
Senior Director – Marketing,
American Express |
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| Premal’s remit spans across Customer Marketing, Market Research, Co-branding, Product Development, Premium Products, Public Relations and Corporate Communications. His focus is to design, develop and implement robust Card marketing and brand strategies which result in the launch of profitable and consumer focused strategic card products across 18 markets in the Middle East, North Africa, and Levant. Premal has 13 years of international and regional marketing experience, primarily gained in the Cards and Financial Services arena in the UK, Saudi Arabia, UAE and now Bahrain. |
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Mohamed Al Geziry,
Chairman,
Mohamed Al Geziry Consultancy |
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| Founder of the consultancy, Mohamed Al Geziry has spent the last 30 years working in the hospitality, leisure and tourism industry in the Gulf. He is one of the founders of the Dubai Commerce and Tourism Promotion Board, now known as Government of Dubai’s ‘Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing’, and an active partner in a committee which was established for Dubai Hotel Classification. |
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Hugues de Pins,
Regional Director,
Vacheron Constantin |
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| Hugues has over 12 years experience in the luxury industry. He spent 9 years with Cartier in Paris & Madrid. His roles there included Marketing Product Manager, then Perfumes & Eyewear Division Director. Currently, he has been based in Dubai for the last 3 years at Vacheron Constantin with responsibility for the Middle East & Indian Sub-Continent. |
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Ajoy K. Misra,
Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing,
Taj Hotels |
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| In a career spanning 27 years, all with the Taj Group, Ajoy has worked in various departments of Taj Hotels from Sales and Marketing to Operations. Currently he has overall the responsibility of heading sales & marketing for the entire Taj group. |
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David Beath,
Internal Innovation,
Jumeirah Group |
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| In his current role at Jumeirah, David is responsible for the prioritization and implementation of ideas that will ensure Jumeirah guests are delighted time and time again. David’s presentation will explain how customer co-creation sits at the heart of the development cycle for new products and services at Jumeirah. |
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Lucy Chow,
Partner,
Windward Islands |
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| In total, Lucy's career has spanned Canada, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Wall Street and now Dubai. She has 16 years of experience in all aspects of marketing in sectors ranging from non-profit to investment and commercial banking. |
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