Advisory Board

Eng. Hamad Muhsen Abdulla is the Section Head, Technical Studies - Abu Dhabi City Municipality. Eng. Hamad is UAE national with vast work experience. working in Abu Dhabi City Municipality as part of the Sustainable Infrastructure Standards & Specifications, unifying the infrastructure design standards and specifications.

Eng. Hamad has Initiated and executed many ADM initiatives that service smart city, environment and sustainability of ADM infrastructure. He is also supervising the design phases of more than 50 infrastructure projects.

Eng. Hamad is Holder of Master's degree in Project Management Engineering (2017). Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering (2015). diploma degree in Electronic and Communication Engineering (2001). Eng. Hamad has recently completed a Diploma in Artificial Intelligence from Oxford University.

Dr. Ammar Jarrar is a Smart Cities and Water Resources Expert. His recent work focuses on managing programs with the aim of addressing challenges facing smart cities, sustainable water resources management, and treated wastewater reuse. He has published several articles and reports in WRR Journal, IAHS, ASCE, and IAHR. He is the author and contributor to several reports and studies in the field of sustainability and water resources management and planning.

As a performance-driven professional with more than 25 years of experience in the smart cities and water industry in Australia and worldwide, Dr. Jarrar has worked across all facets of natural resources management and smart city initiatives, from operations and project management through to executive board meetings. He has solid experience working with water resources management, smart city management, greening and landscaping program management, water resources assessment and modelling, water quality, recycled water use, the nuances of cross-jurisdictional engagement, project management, value engineering, water & irrigation infrastructure projects, drainage projects, climate change impact and adaptation, socio-economic impacts and structural adjustments, strategic planning, environmental impact assessment, and rigorous evaluation of water sector reform implementation.

Dr. Jarrar has a proven track record in developing and maintaining strategic policy advice on smart cities and water reform programs. His achievements range from developing a smart city strategic plan and implementation framework, to designing and implementing successful irrigation, parks, landscape, and water management initiatives, as well as delivering efficient and effective programs on sustainable water and smart city strategies. Together with a strong technical background in research and project management, he has driven successful initiatives leading to improved and sustainable smart cities and water management programs across the world.

Profoundly deaf since birth, Steve Dering is the Operations Director for disability accessibility and inclusion consultancy Direct Access. He worked on Expo 2020 Dubai for four years culminating as Accessibility Operations Manager during the event itself. He is working on a variety of landscape projects in UAE and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and has completed disability access audits for Causeway Coast and Glens, including UNESCO World Heritage Site Giants Causeway, the ten-mile Sherbourne River from the source to its confluence including where it disappears under the historic city centre of Coventry (UK) and with the development of accessible trails in Vermont, United States. Steve is also undertaking doctoral research on accessibility in public spaces in a post pandemic world.

Giancarlo Mangone is internationally recognized for his unique interdisciplinary expertise in designing and implementing communities, strategies, and assets that maximize their socio-economic + sustainability performance potential, in ways that achieve aspirational client objectives practically + within budget. Implemented solutions have achieved world leading performance targets in diverse performance categories, such as: reducing municipal, business, and residence costs; economic, business, and industrial development; affordability; livability; circular economy; climate and disaster resilience; nature regeneration and community and economy integration.

He leads the strategic planning and implementation of all assets owned by the national corporation, ADNOC, including the Ruwais region expansion, a critical national economy driver for the UAE, in ways that drive innovative and resilient business development, win-win investments, and foster world class livability + sustainability.

As Principal of Symbiosis: Sustainable Design + Consulting, Dr. Mangone brings together deeply interdisciplinary teams and key regional stakeholders to deliver resilient solutions that generate otherwise unobtainable results. He has developed award winning, industry leading projects across every inhabited continent.

Kourosh Salehi is the Design Director for LWK + PARTNERS. He is a British Architect, Urbanist and educator with over 25 years international experience.

He has designed and successfully delivered a range of award winning multidisciplinary signature projects in the UK, Asia and the Middle East. Kourosh has established a comprehensive portfolio of constructed and award winning projects in London, Beijing, Hong Kong, Doha and Dubai amongst others, covering a wide spectrum of projects.

As a Design Director, he has designed a diverse range of projects from concept to detail design including mixed-use of various scales, hospitality, high end luxury and low cost residential projects.

As an urban designer, he has lead the design process for urban skyline, large scale master planning like “Qetaifan Island” in Doha and was the team leader for compiling the Architectural Design Guidelines for the Emirates of Sharjah.

Nadine Bitar is a strategic advisor on cities, sustainable development and place-based approaches to 2030 agenda. Mrs. Bitar advises on urban policy and strategies and transformational urban programs ; she has worked in this capacity in the United Arab Emirates such as Abu Dhabi Municipality and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia such as Riyadh, Jeddah on transformational urban initiatives and programs. She has a deep understanding of urban structures and governance of the region ,combining technical skills in strategic planning/development management with understanding of strategic advisory working with the likes of PWC, JLL and others.

For the past two decades, she lead , oversaw or reviewed the urban development of more than 40 large-scale districts and urban extensions in the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia Region. She worked with international consultants inside the public sector and private sector in developing influential and impactful urban policies and strategies both in DDIA, Dubai Holding, MAF , WSP and others. Her two decade experience spans multiple sectors:

• Cities Strategic planning including vision, pillars , programs and initiatives
• Urban Infrastructure
• Real Estate and Urban Development
• Mobility and sustainable Transport
• Land Use Planning and zoning
• Urban/municipal governance
• Guidelines and Standards
• Development Planning for mega-projects

Her skillsets include senior and higher-level stakeholder engagement & communication, foresight, deep insights, strong analytical and problem-solving skills, Agility in scoping programs and projects and turning around roadblocks, excellent communication skills. She maintains professionalism, pro-active attitude, positive look-out, communicate well in multicultural and diverse environments and deals well with ambiguity.

Mrs. Bitar is a recognized global Place Thinker on Urban Regions, Cities and Districts. She is a keynote speaker and advocates on Place in global and regional forums held by international and regional organizations such as the Arab League, World Bank, IFLA, UN-Habitat and GCC in addition to the Arab Town Organisation and others .

Licensed architect with a Bachelor in Architectural engineering, holding two masters Msc in urban Design and Master in Public Policy with distinction from MBRSG, Dubai School of Government. She trained on innovation from Insead Business School ( Dubai Holding fast track leadership program ) and Smart cities ( Harvard GSD).

Linked-in Profile link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadinebitar

Manosh is a creative designer and urban futurist. He has an in-depth understanding of the intersection between wellbeing and technology in the cities of tomorrow.

He has worked across the Middle East and North Africa, Asia, Europe and the Carribean on a range of city changing design projects involving large multi-disciplinary teams that have included designers, economists, engineers, sustainability consultants, and smart city specialists.

He is currently helping lead the implementation of Dubai’s 2040 spatial plan through Dubai Municipality.

Manosh is a frequent contributor to magazines, radio shows and conferences in the region.

He is an alumnus of the US Dept of State International Visitors programme, a UK Chevening scholar and a member of Beta Gamma Sigma.

Key projects:

1. Dubai 2040 strategic plan
2. Diriyah Gate (KSA) Phase 2 master plan
3. Amravati (India) Capital city master plan
4. World Cup Qatar public realm programme  
5. Business Bay Dubai  master plan
6. Lusail Doha master plan
7. Hatta development plan
8. Historic district Dubai local area framework plan

Ian currently works with Cracknell leading a design team delivering landscape architectural and landscape planning projects in the region.  He is a chartered member of the UK Landscape Institute and acts as a mentor for Pathway to Chartership candidates.  He has over 20 years’ experience in the UAE and MENA region working on many varied projects including Green Riyadh, Al Ain Zoo and Abu Dhabi Corniche.
 
Previously he worked as Landscape Consultant with Abu Dhabi City Municipality advising on landscape and public realm development, planning and projects.   This role involved working with other government entities, developers, and consultants within Abu Dhabi on strategic policy, planning and design to assist with the development of a coordinated approach to public realm in Abu Dhabi.
 
In the UK he worked with Groundwork, a leading environmental regeneration charity focused on practical community action.  He has also worked for several international design and engineering consultancies.