Advisory Board
2023 Advisory Board
H.E. Hamad Al Mutawa
Executive Director of Planning & Infrastructure - Department of Municipalities and Transport
His Excellency Hamad Al Mutawa Executive Director for Planning and infrastructure Sector at the Department of Municipalities and Transport DMT. His responsibilities include overseeing the Planning & Infrastructure Sector, which includes Urban Planning, Urban Policies, Urban Development, Urban Growth, Building regulations, in addition to Infrastructure Operations & Regulations Divisions.
In leading the Planning and infrastructure Sector at DMT, Hamad is responsible for overseeing preparation of strategic regional plans for Abu Dhabi Emirate and monitoring regular updates of such plans, master plans for UAE National Housing and mixed-use developments across the Emirate. Hamad also oversees the preparation of policies, manuals, guidelines and regulations for urban planning and infrastructure design and planning, and developing policies and regulations for property registration, spatial data and system developments and maintenance. In addition, the sector coordinates and advises Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Dhafra municipalities on their capital projects and community development work programs, in coordination with stakeholder agencies and the Executive Council of Abu Dhabi.
H.E has a proven track record - with practical experience - in various professional fields such as power, construction and maintenance, urban planning, development policy and regulations, and he holds a bachelor degree in Civil Engineering from Colorado State University, USA, and a master’s degree in Urban Planning and Policy Design from Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy.
Alanood Saeed Hafeedh Al Mazrouei
Director, Department Of Strategic Planning And Organizational Excellence - Abu Dhabi Housing Authority (ADHA)
Alanood Al Mazrouei has more that 19 years of public sector experience, and 8 years is the Abu Dhabi’s Housing Sector. She conceptualized and lead the first National Housing Demand and Supply study for Abu Dhabi setting the foundation for the government capital projects planning as a cornerstone for the process thereafter, which helped ensure integrated planning amongst the different players in the housing ecosystem for the delivery for government housing communities. Alanood also contributed to transforming the award-winning customer journey by leading the digital transformation in customer-centric manner, and facilitating providing neighborhoods with the required services and amenities.
Ben Hudson
Chief Executive Officer - Q Properties
As the CEO of Q Properties, Mr. Hudson brings with him more than 26 years of experience as an industry leader in master development, property development and asset management in the United States, Southeast Asia and Gulf Region. During this period, he has successfully delivered to market billions of dollars in new real estate, creating great places to live, work and play around the world. Before joining Q Properties, Mr. Hudson served as founding member and Chief Strategy Officer of ROSHN Real Estate, Saudi Arabia’s newest property development giant, as Chief Operating Officer at Kinan International Real Estate Development, among Saudi Arabia’s larger private developers and with a number of major developers and homebuilders in the United Arab Emirates, Southeast Asia and United States. Mr. Hudson holds degrees in Architecture and City Planning from Yale University and MIT as well as his MBA from the University of Warwick in the UK.
Chris Smeaton
Associate Principal - Insite (KEO)
As the Digital lead of InSite International, Chris is responsible for transforming the way we design and advise, to help clients become future-ready and working with professionals across the business to enhance the way they design and implement integrated solutions across core digital competencies, including visualization, data analytics, digital modeling, computational design, information management, and solution development.
Chris is a recognized expert in digital technologies and data in the context of cities and urban development. He leads companies Smart City capability across the GCC and Aisa and has extensive experience delivering smart city planning, city infrastructure, and city digital platforms.
David Carlson
Director - Cracknell
David brings more than three decades of international experience to his work in the fields of urban design, landscape architecture and site planning. He has completed projects throughout the world including Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and the Americas.
In addition to his design sensibilities, he provides clients with significant commercial and procurement expertise, with a strong corporate governance focus. He leads teams to successfully design and implement complex, mega-projects as well as smaller scale public realm improvements, park designs, and open space revitalizations, transforming spaces across a broad range of scales. David’s LEED accreditation reinforces his keen focus on sustainable design and smart growth.
Kheira Anissa Tabet Aoul
Professor & Chair - United Arab Emirates University
Dr. Kheira Anissa Tabet Aoul is a sustainability professional, Architecture and Building Science Professor, and currently Head of the Architectural Engineering Department, at the United Arab Emirates University. She draws from 30 years of international academic and professional experience in USA, North Africa and the Middle East. She is engaged in education and practice-based research focusing on advancing the design and execution of a sustainable, socio-culturally sensitive built environment in hot climatic zones. High Performance buildings, building integration technology and human factors in the built environment are her major areas of expertise and research interest. In 2019, Prof. Tabet Aoul was appointed as Director of ZEMCH Network (www.ZEMCH.org) UAE regional center, and serving as the Chair of ZEMCH 2021 International Conference in UAE. She has a strong record of accomplishment in providing the necessary expertise in Sustainable Design and Green Building Practices, in both professional and educational environments. Outcomes include extensive publications, Editorial roles, successful supervision of Masters and PhDs and leading major interdisciplinary consulting and research projects in UAE and internationally. Kheira holds a PhD in Building Science from Sheffield University (UK). She is a LEED Accredited Professional and Green Advantage Certified (USA).
Stephen Goldie
City Planning Advisor, Al Ain Region - Department of Municipalities and Transport
Stephen Goldie is the City Planning Advisor at Al Ain Municipality.
He has over forty years’ experience in urban planning and design, mostly at executive level.
His urban planning and design experience ranges from regional and metropolitan strategy to complex inner-city design, from high-level policy and legislation to seemingly intractable local disputes, and from detailed urban design to complex management issues, including:
- An urban expansion for a third of a million people,
- A high density transit oriented development; and
- 100 km of metro rail in three different projects.
Earlier this year Stephen received a 2023 UAE Ministry of Energy & Infrastructure Research & Innovation Award for groundbreaking work on Artificial Intelligence Supporting Urban Planning.